Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
413-238-5856
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org
Dear Community:
Pancake Breakfast: Community members are invited to R.H. Conwell on Saturday, March 9 from 8AM – 9PM, 1 pancake and 1 sausage $5.00, 2 pancakes and 2 sausages, $10.00. Juice, coffee, tea and hot chocolate included. It’s not too late to sign up with Ms. Ashley at atompkins@hr-k12.org.
Preschool Open House: Are you interested in signing your little one up for preschool? Come join us on March 9, 2024 from 9-11 a.m. to meet the preschool team and tour the preschool classroom. All interested families are welcome to join us at 8:00a.m. for a homemade pancake breakfast and then join us in preschool at 9:00. All proceeds will be for future Nature’s Classroom trips.
Book Bazaar: The PTO is sponsoring a book bazaar on March 9th from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. in the Arts room. Books are $2.00 each!
Spring Recital: The R.H. Conwell Band & Chorus will present a Spring Recital on March 29 at 9am! The event will include a flute trio, a clarinet duet, a brass ensemble, and a percussion ensemble, as well as the chorus singing “Peace Like a River.” Families and community members are welcome to attend.
Positive Discipline: Would you like to: Reduce power struggles? Find more joy in parenting? Discipline with kindness and firmness? Encourage personal responsibility? Research has demonstrated the importance of social and emotional learning, even above academics. Positive Discipline parenting tools teach valuable social and life skills without using any form of punishment, rewards, praise, permissiveness and even logical consequences—at least hardly ever. We will cover strategies that are both common sense and research based, including: Using routines effectively; Creating a Wheel of Choice with your child; Strengthening your child’s problem-solving skills; Finding solutions together with family meetings.
When: Friday mornings at the Hilltown Family Center, 9 Russell Road, Huntington, beginning March 15, 2024 from 10-12. Childcare available with registration. Limited to eight caregivers. For more information or to register, contact: Kim Savery at 413-685-3500 or ksavery@hchcweb.org Or Susan LeBarron at 413-307-6012 or slebarron@hchcweb.org
Babysitting Course OFFERING: We are partnering with UMASS Amherst’s 4-H Youth Development program to offer a full day babysitting course to students over April break for students 12 years and older. Mature 11 year olds will be considered as well if availability allows. The class will be held Wednesday, April 17 from 8:30am-3pm at R.H. Conwell. If interested, please contact Nurse Steph ASAP at sfaas@hr-k12.org. TWO SPOTS LEFT!!!!!
Solar Eclipse: On Monday, April 8, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk. While no place in Massachusetts will see the sun completely disappear, some parts of the state will see a shadow cover 95 percent of the sun, if weather permits. The eclipse will begin shortly after 2 p.m. and will last about two and a half hours until about 4:30 p.m. We ordered solar eclipse glasses for all the students!
MCAS DATES: Students in grades 3- 6 will be taking the MCAS test during the dates listed below.
- ELA: April 2 and 3
- Math: April 30 and May 1
- Science: May 14 (grade 5 only)
News from the school nurses:
Measles is increasing in the United States, and this is believed to be a result of a decline in routine childhood vaccinations and an increase in exemptions. Please be aware of the signs and symptoms: fever, runny nose, red and watery eyes, and cough with a rash appearing about 4 days later. While these symptoms may not grab your attention, measles is one of the most contagious viruses on Earth, infecting about 9 out of every 10 people exposed, and can be very dangerous for immunocompromised people, young children, and the elderly.
For people without immunity: 1 in 5 will be hospitalized, 1 in 20 will develop pneumonia (the most common way measles kills young kids), 1 in 1000 will develop encephalitis (sometimes causing permanent brain damage), and 1-3 in 1000 will die. Another incredibly concerning characteristic of measles is the weakening of the immune system, resulting in the loss of the body’s ability to remember how to protect itself against infections that people were previously immune to. This is scary, and leaves children vulnerable to other diseases and poor health outcomes.
The current measles vaccination rates of RH Conwell students unfortunately do make us a vulnerable community with less than the 95% vaccination rate threshold necessary to achieve herd immunity. Our intention in sharing this information is to be informative, and not instill worry in families. Please reach out to Nurse Steph or Nurse Meg if you have questions, concerns, or if you are considering vaccinating your child against measles and would like to discuss safety and efficacy of vaccination. If an unvaccinated or undervaccinated child is exposed, they will need to isolate for 21 days!
You may have heard that the CDC has dropped the five day isolation requirement for a positive COVID-19 test. We want to remind our school community that in Massachusetts the following guidance is still in effect. If and when the COVID-19 isolation guidance in Massachusetts changes, we will certainly let you know.
Seasonal influenza (flu) activity remains elevated nationally. Though many associate the flu with the winter months, the flu season can often extend into May! CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine as long as influenza viruses are spreading. Vaccination can still provide benefits this season- it is not too late to get your flu shot!
News from the cafeteria:
National School Breakfast week was a hit! Students enjoyed some of their favorite meals, chocolate chip pancakes, muffins, and a few new, pineapple banana smoothies, blueberry lemon scones, and blueberry buns! The cafeteria served 151 breakfast meals this week!
Students had a fun breakfast this morning celebrating National School Breakfast Week!
Family Lunch is on March 29, 2024
HOTM: www.massfarmtoschool.org
We are able to provide treats for special celebrations in the classrooms. Please check out the link here for more information and the order form.
The cafeteria now has a peanut free table at lunch time due to the presence of a student in the school with a severe peanut allergy.
Upcoming Events:
March 14, 2024: K – 6th grade go to Springfield Museums
– School Committee Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
March 19, 2024: ⅚ graders go to HRHS for the musical, Mary Poppins
March 29, 2024: Family Lunch
March 29, 2024: Spring Recital during All School Morning Meeting beginning at 9:05 a.m. ALL are welcome to attend.
April 2, 2024: MCAS testing for grades 3- 6 beginning at 9:00 a.m.
April 3, 2024: MCAS testing for grades 3- 6 beginning at 9:00 a.m.
April 10, 2024: Dog Sled Presentation : BB from Hilltown Sled Dogs will present a reading of her Serum Run Children’s Story Book with accompanying slides from Alaska. Families are welcome to join us.
April 12, 2024: Walk to School Day (watch for more information and a permission form to participate)
April 15 – 19, 2024: School Vacation Week Have a wonderful weekend!
Warmly,
Gretchen Morse-Dobosz
Superintendent/Principal