Southampton Road Elementary School

There is a heat advisory in effect for our area on Wednesday, September 5 and Thursday, September 6. Heat indices are expected to reach between 95-100 degrees. These temperatures make teaching and learning especially difficult in the majority of our buildings that are not air conditioned. For that reason, Westfield Public Schools staff and students will be dismissed early the next two days. High schools will dismiss at 11:00 a.m., Intermediate and Middle Schools at 11:30 a.m., and Elementary Schools at 12:15 p.m. Fort Meadow Early Childhood Center will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday as well. Sincerely, Superintendent Czaporowski

A reminder that schools are closed on Monday, September 4, 2023, for Labor Day. Schools will reopen on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. Thank you.

Westfield Public Schools is hiring: Speech and Language Pathologists Special Education Teachers ESL Teachers Paraprofessionals Click on the link below to view our current openings. Thank you! https://www.schoolspring.com/jobs?employer=11953&fbclid=IwAR1GNsNa8Kvxp-JJN--3K6AuBq0q3d6vHQUsWwUIrmfgXYI1N6IrLcygiMg

To encourage their students to continue reading over the summer, the staff at the Southampton Road School gave every student in the school a copy of “The Lemonade War” by Jacqueline Davies in June, before school ended. The book is about two siblings who compete with each other to have the most successful lemonade stand. “We encouraged the kids to read it, and raise money for the Community Closet,” said Southampton Road principal Mary Cieplik. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2023/08/second-grader-takes-school-project-to-heart.html

Christine Shea, Westfield public schools’ director of assessment and accountability, said 152 new English language learners moved into the district this past year. English language learners are students whose native language is not English and who are not yet able to complete ordinary classroom work in English. According to state and federal laws, each school district must arrange for them to receive instruction from certified ELL teachers trained specifically to work with students still learning English. Most of the new families in Westfield are coming from Ukraine, a total of 102 students this past year, some from the same families. Other students are from Russia, Moldova and Turkey, and 15 are from Afghanistan, families that are still trickling out after the end of the U.S. occupation. There are also several families from Ecuador that recently arrived. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2023/07/families-from-ukraine-afghanistan-among-english-learners-in-westfield-schools.html

With school ending today, the Westfield Athenaeum is offering a fun program with prizes that is aimed at helping children and teens stay engaged with reading over the summer months. The Athenaeum’s annual Summer Reading Challenge program has reading challenges for all ages, complete with different levels of activities. One program is for children up to grade 6, and a second one is for teens from grades 7-12. There’s even a reading challenge for adults who want to join their kids in summer reading. All participants are challenged to read at least 20 minutes a day. Reading challenges run from June 26 to Aug. 12 — at least 1,000 minutes of reading, total. Signups are being taken at westath.beanstack.org/reader365. The Athenaeum uses a program called Beanstack, which allows participants to sign up, track their reading and earn extra raffle tickets toward prizes online instead of using a paper log. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2023/06/summer-reading-programs-for-youth-adults-begin-next-week-at-westfield-athenaeum.html

A reminder that Westfield Public Schools are closed on Monday, June 19. Tuesday, June 20 is the last day of school, and it is an early release day. High school students will be dismissed at 11:00 a.m., Middle and Intermediate school students at 11:30 a.m., and Elementary school students at 12:15 a.m. Thank you.

Did you know students in grades 4,7, and 10 are required to submit a physical exam within 30 days of school entry. Students in grades K-12 are also required to be fully immunized against certain diseases. Please click on the image for more information.

All year long, parents worry about the safety of their children, especially when they are in school. That’s why Westfield Public Schools started a new safety program to provide extra pairs of eyes on students this year. It’s a pilot program called “school safety attendants” featuring volunteers who are retired or current military personnel or first responders. In exchange, they receive an incentive that may motivate others to join for the upcoming school year. Volunteers from the “school safety attendants” program in Westfield are showing up in the schools every day, connecting with kids, and making a difference. The program was born from joint efforts by the Westfield Public Schools, State Senator John Velis, and the city’s Veterans Affairs Department. Stefan Czaporowski, Westfield’s school superintendent, and Christopher Rogers, the director of student interventions and safety, told Western Mass News the goals of the program are simple. “They are building relationships; they are another set of eyes and ears in the building, and often times when there is a safety issue in the school, it is known that something is going to happen somewhere,” said Czaporowski. “So, this is just another trusted adult for our students to confide in and maybe even prevent something that might happen that way.” This program is also the result of multiple safety concerns that have come up in recent years because of the many mass shootings in schools across the country. “We have protocols in place, we have systems in place, and I think, and while this—I don’t know that this is going to deter it, but we hope it does— we hope it’s a deterrent, knowing that there is another adult in the building who is, you know, trained in identifying threats,” said Rogers.” On Wednesday, Western Mass News got a chance to see one of the volunteers in action at the Southampton Road Elementary School. Carl Schwarzenback, a military veteran told us he first decided to volunteer so he could spend more time with his son Lincoln, and he really enjoys the experience. “Teachers focus on teaching, counselors can focus on counseling, the administrators can focus on administrating, and I can be there to focus on talking or just listening, that’s it through the day,” said Schwarzenback. “Walking, getting my step count in, saying hi to kids, high fiving. It’s, it’s a lot of fun actually.” Volunteers are eligible for up to $1,500 off their property taxes. Czaporowski told us they started with three schools participating this year, but they are hoping to have more volunteers and reach all six of their elementary schools next year. https://www.westernmassnews.com/2023/06/14/getting-answers-westfield-public-schools-spearheads-new-school-safety-attendants-program/

more field day photos...

more field day photos...

more field day photos....

more field day photos...

More field day photos!

We had a fantastic field day at SRS today! A HUGE shout out to Kate Bust and Jess Stanwood and the army of volunteers for making our field day so special. I also want to thank our amazing SRS Staff. The kids had an absolute blast! Here are a few pictures from some of the events. Please feel free to email any fun photos you took today, Thanks again to everyone who helped us make so many wonderful memories today.

Greetings SRS Families, June 13, 2023 Due to the rain that is predicted for tomorrow, we are going to move our 4th grade celebration to Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Although I understand the many changes over the past week due to the weather are not ideal for some people’s work schedule, the weather predicted for Thursday will be much better for the outdoor activities we have planned for the kids. In an effort to include all families, we will do a live stream video of the ceremony and a link will be sent to the 4th grade families, so any parent or guardian that is not able to attend in person can watch it live. Please note, in order to keep the 4th graders’ favorite lunch on the celebration day, we will switch the lunch menus for Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday we will have lasagna and on Thursday we will have nacho tacos. Thank you for your continued support and flexibility as we continue to pivot and find the best solution for the kids when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate with us! If you were scheduled to volunteer for the 4th grade celebration and you have questions about volunteering, please email Kaitlyn Bruce at kaitlynbruce13@gmail.com. We are looking forward to celebrating this exciting day with all of you. Take Care, Mary K. Cieplik Principal mary.cieplik@schoolsofwestfield.org 413-572-6435

When 14 fourth graders from Southampton Road Elementary School visited the Whip City Animal Sanctuary on Montgomery Road recently, they also brought a check for $400. The money will be used to buy more hay for the farm’s “animal friends.” With more than 50 animals to feed, one of the Westfield farm’s biggest expenses is hay – and lots of it. Hay costs are about $300 a week, so the large donation from the students was greatly appreciated. https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2023/06/westfield-schools-kiwanis-k-kids-raise-400-for-whip-city-animal-sanctuary.html

If you missed this morning's episode of "Superintendent's Spotlight", please click on the link below. This week, we spoke with Senator John Velis about the mental health crisis and what he is proposing to increase services for students. We also celebrated National Doughnut Day with some treats from Mrs. Murphy's. Thanks for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_zpfDQZVi0

We are looking forward to the SRS 4th Grade Celebration on Wednesday, June 14th at 10:30 a.m. The rain date will be on Thursday, June 15th. Please see the attached invitation. We hope to see all of our 4th grade families there!

If you missed the latest episode of "Superintendent's Spotlight", click on the link below. On last week's show, we talked with Food Services Director Rachel Kania about all our school breakfast and lunch program. We also talked about some famous people named George on National George Day. Thanks for watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XjU0WMpDBM