We are down to the last few weeks of school - with 27 days left! Exciting things are happening as we wind down the school year - field trips, visitors to classrooms, special activities and still learning happening in between. The signs of spring are all around the Forestdale campus - with leaves now coming out of the previously seen buds on trees. Daffodils have made their appearance and are now leaving room for the next stage of flowers to show. Most excitingly, we have opened the "Together We Grow, Forestdale Garden", which is now ready for students and teachers to plant and observe. I hope you enjoy this week's recap of events at school.

-Kara Schofield, Assistant Principal

(this memo was sent home Monday via Parent Square)

Hi Forestdale Families,

Please enjoy these photos from yesterday’s Forestdale Garden Dedication Ceremony, a truly special moment for our school community. Congratulations to second grader Avery Braunagel, winner of the “Name the Garden” contest, with the thoughtful and inspiring title: “Together We Grow” Forestdale Garden.

This incredible project became a reality through the generosity and support of the Fund for Sandwich, the Cape Cod Foundation, and State Senator Dylan Fernandes, who helped secure a remarkable $30,000 donation to help support the construction of the garden.

The Forestdale Garden was intentionally designed to create meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable learning opportunities for all students. Features include:

Surrounding the garden is a beautiful Mindfulness Pathway thoughtfully created by Health teacher Mrs. Crosby and Physical Education teacher Mrs. DeNardo, providing students with an additional space for reflection, connection, and wellness.

This garden represents far more than a physical space, it is an investment in experiential learning, collaboration, environmental stewardship, and student well-being. I look forward to seeing Forestdale students engage in hands-on learning experiences in this space for many years to come.

Warmly,

Chris Dintino

Principal

Second graders immerse themselves in learning about community helpers through text reading (ARC curriculum), online research and special guest visitors. Second grade families are invited by classroom teachers to come and present about their job to the second grade students. Presentations have included guests from Mass Maritime, the Coast Guard, the Police Department, Fire Department, an EMT, electrician, Behavioral Analyst, plumber, nurse, teacher, principal and so many, many more. Below are images of only some of the presentations that have occurred this month in our second grade classrooms. A huge thank you to the family members who have participated, and to the teachers for inviting these special guests to share their knowledge and expertise. Having this personal connection with the community helper truly expands on student's learning about the topic. I try to observe as many of these as I can, as I hear interesting information in each one, and love seeing the joy of the 2nd grader who has brought in this special guest. Please reach out to your student's second grade teacher if this is something that interests you.

We have a few special shouts for the week. To start, this student (below) in Ms. Cavanaugh's class has been working really hard at collecting his thoughts, recording them on paper and then making a neat copy as a final draft. He was so very pleased with this particular writing sample that he wanted to come and share! Super proud of this student for persevering and completing the task.

You many not be aware, but our 1st grade team has a chicken expert on staff. This comes in handy as our 1st graders are incubating eggs in their classrooms and they are set to hatch early next week. Mrs. Morgan is our resident Chicken expert who, in this image, is "candling" the eggs to see the development occurring inside each egg. She explained the process as she showed Mrs. Eastman's students what to look for in the eggs she candled.

Three students from Ms. Cavanaugh's class have been exceptional this week. As we are nearing the final weeks of school, students are at times showing some difficulty with following expected classroom norms. These students have continuously been showing on target behavior and have been role models for the class. We HAD to celebrate their great work with a disco, dance party lunch in my office.

Last image is of Bus #13. This bus receives compliments almost daily from their bus driver. She shares how polite, respectful, friendly, kind and calm bus riders they are every day. Huge shout out to Bus #13 for all their hard work!

Lastly, there is no image but a worthy shout out, nonetheless. Our second graders have been working really hard at using best cafeteria behavior - staying in seats, using softer voices, being kind, cleaning up after selves, and being good listeners. The entire second grade has earned "free choice seating Friday". Their entire lunch section is available and students can choose where and with whom they'd like to sit. The only rules that apply are 1 - no student is to sit alone, and 2 - if you see someone sitting alone, invite them to join you. Lots of adults were there to support, but none was needed. Students did an amazing job including each other, and finding new spaces to sit. Great job, second grade.