Margaret Neary School

Newsletter from the Guidance Office

September 2008

 

Welcome back to a great school year!  It was a pleasure to see so many parents at our Curriculum Night last week. We will have several activities sponsored by the Gudiance Office this year and I look forward to getting to work with the students, parents, and staff at Neary.

If you need to contact me for any reason, please call me at (508) 481-2300 x1108, or email me at esobol@nsboro.k12.ma.us . My office is room # 26 in the fifth grade hallway.   

                                                Mrs. Betty Sobol

Lunch Groups

Many students participate in Lunch Groups throughout the school year.  All fourth grade students are invited for lunch in the Guidance Office in small groups at the beginning of the year.  It is an opportunity for a more quiet lunch time and more time to get to know peers.

On occasion we may have special lunch groups for specific issues. Some of the special groups we look forward to starting include: a group for children who have changes in their family and a group for children who have a sibling with special needs.  We have also had some questions about starting a group for children with adoption in the family. If you would like your child to participate in any of our lunch groups, please contact me.

 

Homework Club

Homework Club will be run this year on Tuesday and Thursday 2:25-3:30. We have Neary Staff memebers running the Homework Club, along with volunteers from the eight grade at Trottiers. There is a fee for the Homework Club. Scholarships will be available. Please check for the flyer which has gone out in the Thursday packet and is on the Neary website to enroll your child.  If you have questions about Homework Club, you may contact me or your child’s classroom teacher.  We plan to begin Homework Club on Thursday, October 2^nd.

 

Southborough Youth and Family Services

We are fortunate to have support services in our schools through Southborough Youth and Family Services.  Laurie Sugarman-Whittier and her staff members are available to work with students and families during or after the school day.  You may contact them directly at 508 481-5676 or let me know if you would like your child to meet regularly with one of their counselors.

 

Interns

This year we will have some interns splitting their time between Neary and Trottier. We are looking forward to having this additional support for our Neary students.

Project Friend

This is a program run through Southborough Youth and Family Services in which Neary students get matched with high school students from Algonquin for some 1:1 meeting times. Project Friend is similar to a  Big Brother/Big sister program. It will begin in late October. If you would like your child to be a part of this program, please let me know.

Girls Health Group

A new group, also sponsored by Southborough Youth and Family Services, will be presented to help 4th and 5th grade girls to develop healthy attitudes toward their daily choices and positive self images. the group will meet once a week for 6-8 weeks. If you would like your child to participate in this group, please contact me.

 

Neary CARE Program

Throughout the year we continue to focus attention on the CARE (Compassion and Respect for Everyone) Program and keep parents informed about our activities.  Mrs. Theve and I will work with teachers each month around the CARE themes.  In September our theme is RESPONSIBILTY. The October theme is ACCEPTANCE. We have several schoolwide activities in which students are becoming actively supportive of our school environment. Each month two classes - a 5th grade class and a 4th grade class - present ideas to the school about ways to incorporate the theme into their daily activities.