BUTLER FAMILY NEWSLETTER
In this Edition: Safety Drill, Winter Weather, Attendance, Butler Book Fair, FBE Spelling Bee
December 4, 2025
From Dr. Nolan
I hope you all had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving. On the Wednesday before the break, a captivated audience watched our first graders march around school with their own “floats” in the “Balloons over Butler” parade. In addition, we held an all-school assembly, celebrated our November birthdays, and learned more about earning Paw Prints.
We look forward to December and this busy time before our Winter Break.
I look forward to seeing you around school. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns at 617-993-5550 or enolan@belmontschools.net.
All the best,
Beth
Safety Drill
As we often tell students, our most important job is to keep them safe—both emotionally and physically. We do this in several ways, including setting clear expectations for behavior, directly teaching and supporting social skills and problem-solving, establishing routines for arrival and dismissal, and preparing for the unlikely event of an emergency. Throughout the year, we practice evacuation drills in case of a fire. During the first half of December, we will conduct a safety drill.
During the brief drill, the children will sit in a designated spot in their classrooms and wait quietly while we check all areas of the school to ensure they are safe. We will review the drill with our students using a common set of slides. These slides are designed to reduce anxiety and help students recognize all the people in their community who are here to help and protect them.
We will contact you once the drill is completed to share how it went. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.
Weather
The weather is changing in New England, and we go outside to play whenever it is safe to do so. In winter, parents/guardians should send appropriate clothing with their children to school each day. This includes boots, snow pants (when there is snow on the ground), hats, gloves, and a warm winter jacket.
So long as it is not raining, snowing heavily, or icy, our goal is to get them outside for recess. While we do not have an absolute threshold, our general approach is to hold outdoor recess on days with temperatures of 20 degrees or above. Of course, we will always consider factors such as wind chill and act in our students' best interests for their safety. As a general rule, please dress your children with the expectation that they will go outside at least once during the day. Unless they have snow boots and snow pants, they need to stay on the blacktop during recess for their own safety.
If you need financial support for purchasing winter gear, please reach out to us - we can help!
The Butler Book Fair
Hosted By: The Butler PTA & Best Book Fairs
After a six-year pause, the Butler Book Fair has returned!
On December 5, 2025
From 2:30 to 6:30 PM (drop in)
For Butler Students, Families, & Faculty-Staff
In the Butler Gymnasium
Explore new books, genres, authors, and titles!
Books on sale are targeted to our students’ ages, reading levels, and interests.
After pickup on December 5, please spend your Friday afternoon visiting the book fair. It’ll be a new activity for your kiddo because students will not visit during school hours. Please tell siblings and friends, too!
Attendence
Each month, we review attendance records and reach out to families if a student has been absent, tardy, or dismissed for five or more days (or 10% or more). If your child meets this criteria, you will receive this notice, even if we’ve already been in contact.
We understand that there are many reasons for absences; however, frequent absences can impact a child's ability to keep up with their learning. We’re reaching out to:
Understand if there are challenges affecting attendance
Explore ways to support regular attendance moving forward
Our goal is to work together to ensure your child’s success and well-being. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
FBE Spelling Bee
The FBE Spelling Bee will be on February 7th this year at Chenery (snow date: February 8th). Please see this link for more information.
Winter Break
A reminder that we will begin our winter break on December 22nd and return to school on January 5th. ________________________________________________________________________
Important Dates to Remember:
December 5th: Butler Book Fair
December 8th: PTA Meeting: Virtual
December 9th: PTA Hanami Fundraiser
December 11th: School Advisory 6:00 pm: Virtual
December 19th: In-Person Coffee with the Principal
December 22-January 2nd: Winter Break
January 12th: PTA Meeting: Butler Library 6:00 pm
January 19th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day: No School
January 23rd: Virtual Coffee with the Principal
January 23rd: PTA STEM Night
February 3rd: PTA Meeting: Virtual, 6:00 pm
February 12th: PTA Art Show 6:00 pm
February 12th: School Advisory Council 6:00 pm
February 16th-February 20th: February Break
February 25th: PTA Event: Pizza Fundraiser