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MEMORIAL SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
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31 West Main Street Newton, NH 03858
603-382-5251
Interim Principal, Deborah L. Bulkley
Assistant Principal, Donna B. Johnson
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Principal Search Committee News
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Parents, students, and community members are invited to attend a meeting at Memorial School on Wednesday, February 22nd, to provide feedback to Superintendent Dr. Brian Blake and members of the School Board about the search for a new Memorial principal. The meeting will be held in the Library from 5:30-6:30. This is your opportunity to express your thoughts on filling this important position.
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Principal's Message
Deborah Bulkley
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Dear Parents,
I would like to thank all of the parents who attended last week's Deliberative Session. There was a strong turnout and the majority voted to restore over a half million dollars to the school budget that will now go before the voters on March 14th. While the budget is still below this year's level of spending, we can move forward and maintain most of the current programs in our schools. Please remember to vote at the polls on March 14th to support the budget and to pass the teacher and paraprofesssional contracts.
I hope you have all survived our crazy snow days and delayed openings over the last few weeks. I personally enjoyed the time at home as it allowed me to work on my quilting, a favorite hobby. As I puzzled over the placement of my fabric squares I realized that I was using skills I learned very long ago. While you probably know that quilting involves lots of sewing, you may not realize that quilting involves complex spatial reasoning and a lot of math and measuring skills. (Gardening, another of my hobbies, also involves these same skills.) I am so thankful that I had excellent teachers in elementary school who fostered these skills before I ever knew I would need them.
You, too, can help your kids develop these skills even if they have different interests than I do. They might want to figure out where to put the bed when redecorating their room or how to pack the car when going on vacation.
Research has shown strength in spatial reasoning abilities is related to success in mathematics. Spatial Reasoning, an important part of geometry, is actually a process that enhances learning and communication across all math strands and all grades. Who doesn't want their kids to be better at math?
Spatial reasoning can be improved with a variety of activities at all ages. Studies have shown that improvements in one area of spatial reasoning will often transfer to other types of tasks.
Here are some examples of ways spatial reasoning can be promoted at home:
- Provide opportunities for your child to use their visualization skills to better understand solutions to problems. Ask your child to explain what they are seeing in their mind or what they visualize when solving a problem.
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Emphasize spatial language by m
odeling the use of spatial words. For younger children, this language will include words related to location, distance, orientation and direction like left, right, over, under, above, below, parallel, tall and short. For older children this language will include geometrical rotations, translations, and transformations.
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Provide playtime opportunities for your child to use their spatial reasoning: jigsaw puzzles, many board games, block- playing with geometric shapes, Legos, and Connect Four are a few examples
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Digital technology allows students to manipulate and see space and spatial relationships. Some examples include: GIS, GPS, Google Earth, and any tools that allow students to manipulate and rotate objects that is not possible with a paper and pencil.
- Include your children to help when planning out a garden or ask them how they could rearrange the furniture in their room.
It's important to improve math skills, especially when those skills can translate to better understanding in class. You also never know when those skills will come in handy in future hobbies or even future careers. Good luck!
REMEMBER TO VOTE ON
MARCH 14TH!
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NG2
written by: Ellen Hume-Howard
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Have you heard about our No Grades, No Grades (NG2) project? Three primary classrooms at Memorial and three at Bakie are participating. Here is a write up from Ellen Hume-Howard, our curriculum director, describing the project:
What might it look like if we could group students based on their interests and learning strengths rather than just with their same age peers? This year the Sanborn Regional School District is partnering with the New Hampshire Department of Education and the New Hampshire Learning Initiative to develop a personalized educational pathway for students in grades K-2. The project called NG2: No Grades, No Grades, is one of the 12 projects in the nation sponsored by the Assessment for Learning Project supported by the Center for Innovation in Education. NG2 focuses on learning experiences for students that allows them to learn at the level that is most challenging and appropriate for them.
We already have half of NG2 in place. For the past seven years, Sanborn has been providing students with feedback and next steps for learning that goes beyond typical "letter" grades, hence the No Grades. This feedback is given to evaluate the expectations for all aspects of the work rather than just giving students a letter grade. The students then go back into their work to make changes and improve the product so that it meets competency. Student progress toward meeting those competencies is shared with parents through letters such as M for meeting or IP for in progress instead of arbitrary grading with A, B, or C.
The second half of NG2 involves the blurring of grade levels for students during the project. During the project, students will be able to work on tasks and use reading materials that are at their instructional level. For many of our students this will mean using materials and meeting expectations well above their current grade level in school. This project promotes self-direction in setting their own learning goals as they move seamlessly and independently through the unit activities. The goal of the unit is to provide students with the best learning pathway based on their knowledge, understanding and skills and to support student independence.
Sanborn's NG2 project involves the design and assessments for a unit of study (2-3 weeks) that focuses on "The Community". Students will be working on activities and a final project that address the competencies and standards in social studies, reading, writing, speaking, and research as students learn more about their community. Students will also focus on Work Study Practices: collaboration, communication, creativity, and self-direction.
During the project students will work with their own peers as well has with students of different ages. Teachers will be studying how students work within a multi-age environment, how technology impacts learning, and the types of structures and supports needed to support learners in a personalized learning environment. The district is grateful to have the support of these partners and the supportive resources to design personalized learning environments for students to address competency education.
Teachers involved in the project see the development of this unit as a first step in designing the foundations for personalized learning at the primary level. Amy MacDougall, a 1st grade teacher at Memorial School commented recently about NG2, "We are excited to delve deeper into personalized learning to meet our students at their skill level and provide more authentic opportunities for them to grow." Amy's comments echo the other teacher's feelings about NG2. Our educators are focused on supporting our students as individual learners and in making sure they experience challenging and rewarding educational experiences at Sanborn.
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Memorial Happenings
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Band Concert
Congratulations to the 4th and 5th Grade band students from Memorial and DJ Bakie Schools who offered an amazing performance to a full-house crowd at the Sanborn High School Auditorium!
Snowshoeing at Memorial School
A group of lucky 5th Grade SET students got to be the first to try out our new snowshoes with Mr. McKenney this week. As you can see, they quickly realized that it is not as easy as it looks. The remaining 5th grade students will have an opportunity to get out in the snow and give it their best effort in the coming weeks.
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News from 5th Grade
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Free At Last!!!
Congratulations to all of the grade 5 students and parents that escaped slavery on the Memorial School Underground Railroad Simulation this past Thursday night. Facing the fear of the unknown, where one wrong move can mean the difference between continuing toward freedom, and getting captured, these brave souls risked it all in their daring escape.
Students and parents alike learned much about this ugly time in the history of our great nation. Looking back at the events from that time period, it is no wonder that people cannot forget what happened. Judging from the reactions of all of our participants, this promises to be an experience that they probably will never forget either.
Thank you to all of the staff that helped transform the school, and for such realistic portrayals of the various characters in this simulation. Without this level of volunteerism and dedication from our staff, going above and beyond what is typically expected anywhere; the students would miss out on experiences like this.
Team 5
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Memorial School Celebrates Dr. Seuss' Birthday
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 In honor of Dr. Seuess' birthday (March 2nd) Memorial School will celebrate on Friday, February 24th. We will dress up as our favorite Dr. Seuss characters and lunch will be Green Eggs & Ham, Who Hash Potatoes and  birthday cake for dessert (no pizza). We will have buddy readers around the school and the students will receive a reading challenge from the Fisher Cats to share with their families.
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Library News
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LIBRARY VIRTUAL LEARNING CENTER NEWS
by Mrs. Mulcahy
 When students come for their Library class they will be learning about the Caldecott Medal, and enjoy exploring many of these books here in our Library Collection (we have over 200 of them-they have been awarded since 1932).
On January 23, 2017, these children's books won the Caldecott Medal, and
Memorial School Library will be adding these to our collection for our children to borrow as soon as possible.
Gold Medal Radiant child, by Javaka Steptoe
Silver Medal They all saw a cat, illustrations by Brendan Wenzel
Silver Medal Du Iz Tak? illustrations by Carson Ellis
Silver Medal Freedom in Congo Square,
illustrations
by R. Gregory Christie
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
 Older classes will also explore the Newbery Medal books collected by our Library. On January 23, 2017, these books for children and young people won
The Newbery Medal
, and Memorial Library will add the appropriate ones to our collection (some are for older students).
Gold Medal: The girl who drank the moon, by Kelly Barnhill;
Silver Medal: Freedom over me, eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life, by Ashley Bryan;
Silver Medal: The Inquisitor's Tale Or, the three magical children and their holy dog,
by Adam Gidwitz;
Silver Medal: Wolf hollow, by Lauren Wolk
The Newbery Medal is named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
Our CARES Book Shelf
books to grow students who are successful in friendships, life, and work:
Our students can learn about - and grow - traits that give them a power start for getting along with others, for setting and reaching their goals, and for working together for success. In class their teachers share books of stories and facts all about these; it is called CARES -- Cooperation, Assertiveness, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-regulation. Now the Library has a CARES shelf where books can be checked out! Titles are added regularly, so keep looking.
Want To Write Your Own Mystery, or Science Fiction, or Fantasy, etc?
Check out our How-To books!
We hope our kids will enjoy checking out these books:
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News from our School Counselor
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School Nurse
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Outdoor recess clothing:
Our students will be playing outside every day, sometimes twice a day for recesses. We are now approaching the colder seasons of late fall and winter, and some of our students are forg
etting to bring a warm coat. We suggest that you remind your child of the outdoor temperature to insure that they are warm at play. Please be aware that after wet weather, we may have some puddles on the playground. You are encouraged to send a spare set of dry clothing to school for your child to change at school should they become wet during outdoor recess. Please label the clothes with your child's name, so they can keep the bag in their cubby here at school. Thank you!
Cold and Flu season is here
This is the season for an increase in the number of cases of colds, flu, intestinal, & GI viruses, conjunctivitis, and even strep throat and pneumonia. Parents are asked to consider the following suggestions from the school nurse in order to limit the exposure of healthy children to those who are ill, and to ensure that those who are ill will have as rapid a recovery as possible:
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If your child has a fever (99.6* or above), please keep your child at home for an additional 24 hours of fever-free time (OFF fever-control medicines) to ensure adequate rest and the opportunity for the immune system to recover. Your child may still be contagious if he/she has a fever at night, but is fever-free in the early morning.
2)
If your child has vomited during the night, keep him/her home for at least another 24 hours until you know that he/she is eating regular foods without difficulty and is no longer experiencing nausea or abdominal pain.
3)
If your child has a persistent cough not controlled by over-the-counter medications, please contact your health care provider, as they may have an underlying bronchial or lung infection or pneumonia.
4)
If your child has one or both eyes with a red appearance to the sclera (white area), and/or drainage from the corners which is yellow, and/or yellow crusts on lashes and lids which are itchy and/or swollen, please keep them home and consult your health care provider.
Conjunctivitis is very contagious, and children with this infection must be on medications for a minimum of 24 hours and no longer draining from the eye to attend school.
Frequent hand washing is the number one prevention for the spread of germs and disease within your family as well as in school. Concerns regarding your child's illness, or duration of his/her symptoms should be addressed to your family health care provider. Thank you for your assistance to help ensure the health of all students (and staff) at our school.
Thank you,
Sheila Koutelis, RN
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Kindergarten Registration for 2017-2018
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NEWS RELEASE
SANBORN
REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Office of the Superintendent of Schools
17 Danville Road
Kingston, New Hampshire 03848
Date: January, 2017
MEMORIAL SCHOOL
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
If your child will be five years old by September 30, 2017, and you are a resident of Newton, New Hampshire, he or she is eligible for full day kindergarten for the
2017-2018 school year.
All incoming kindergarten students will participate in a screening process
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Student screenings will take place on Thursday, May 11th and Friday, May 12th.
Please call Memorial School at 603-382-5251 as soon as possible to pre-register your child and to schedule a screening appointment.
An orientation and information night for parents of all incoming kindergarten students will take place on Thursday, April 13th, 2017, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Memorial School library. School personnel will be available at the orientation meeting to answer any questions.
New Hampshire State Law requires all children to have had immunizations for DPT, Polio, Mumps, Measles, German Measles, Chicken Pox, and Hepatitis B prior to entry to school. They also require each child to have a complete medical examination within one year prior to entry into kindergarten.
Registration materials will be available beginning Monday, February 27th at the Memorial School office between the hours of 9:00 AM and 2:30 PM when you present your child's original birth certificate. Additional documentation required to complete the registration process includes, updated physical and immunization records, proof of residency as defined by the Sanborn Regional School District, and a government issued photo ID. The completed registration packet is due by June 9, 2017.
Please contact the Memorial School main office at (603) 382-5251 with any questions regarding Kindergarten registration.
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Integrated Preschool Program for 2017-2018
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APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED
FOR SANBORN REGIONAL INTEGRATED PRESCHOOL PROGRAM
The Sanborn Regional Integrated Preschool Program is offered at both the
D.J.Bakie Elementary School in Kingston, NH and at the Memorial Elementary School in Newton, NH. We are currently accepting applications for the 2017- 2018 school year for the three year and four year old preschool programs.
The three year old program is held Mondays through Thursdays from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM. Eligible children must be three years old by September 30, 2017 and be residents of Kingston or Newton, New Hampshire.
The four year old program is held Mondays through Thursdays
from 12:00-3:00 PM at each school for residents of Kingston and Newton.
Eligible children must be four years old by September 30, 2017. There are limited openings in the four year old program at both schools.
Tuition for the three year program is $165 per month and the four year old program is $200 per month. A tuition agreement form must be completed and returned in order to participate in the program. Enrollment is limited, and the deadline for submitting an application is Friday, February 24, 2017.
All applicants must participate in a developmental screening process. Please note that this is not a Child Find. You may call to schedule a Child Check Appointment if you are questioning a possible educational issue. For more information, or to register your child for the lottery, please click on the link below.
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Memorial PTO
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The PTO is looking forward to Spring!!
We are working hard on putting together our Spring Events such as the Spaghetti Dinner on 3/23, Father/Daughter Dance on 4/7 and Teacher Appreciation Week held the first week in May.
We also will be selling raffle tickets at Voting Day for our Theme Baskets and on 3/10 and 3/17 at Acio's.
Please keep in mind the Theme Baskets for each classroom! There still is time to donate. Room parents are working hard on getting them together! We thank you to the ones already completed they look great!
Themes:
Cole - We all scream for ice cream
Carroll - Let's get crafty
Manning - Scrapbook Memories
Patkin - Chocolate Candy Craze
Cardarelli - Game stop
Gwynne - Reading and writing
MacDougall - Lego-tastic
Black - Life's a beach
Kaminski - Science experiment
Banyas - Go Patriots
Kirste - Night at the movies
Doucette - Green thumb garden
Tozier - gift cards galore
Daigle - Day at the spa
DesRosiers - Red Sox Rally
LaPorte - Grillin and chillin
Tatirosian-Augustin - Italian dinner party
Bolduc - Coffee lovers
Teachers - Camp out
P.S. If/When shopping Amazon, don't forget to shop at "
smile.amazon.com
" and first pick Memorial as your charitable organization. It is so easy!
Our next PTO Meeting is March 9th at 7:00 in the library. Hope to see you there!
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Memorial School Community Partnership
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Memorial School's Community Partnership has two openings for co-coordinators for the 2017-2018 school year. We are looking for a couple of parents who are interested in volunteering their time to help collect information relating to volunteers for school events (i.e. holiday shopping, book fair, spaghetti dinner, and teacher appreciation) as well as organizing room parents. If you are interested and would like more information, please contact Michelle Trinceri at
[email protected].
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Summer Enrichment Camps
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Click here for program descriptions, registration form & emergency/medical forms
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Box Top News
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Box Tops Update
BOX TOPS for EDUCATION UPDATE!! We have almost 5000 Box Tops bagged, boxed and ready to go for the next submission date. That means a check to this school for almost $500! With your help we can get that check to be even more. Please send in as many Box Tops as you can by Feb 17th so I can get them ready. Also please check your Box Tops for ones that will expire on Mar 1 2017 and get them in ASAP so we get credit before they expire. Thanks for all the Box Tops you've clipped so far.
Keep those Box Tops coming!
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Gale Library News
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Bingo for Books at Gale Library
For some fun school vacation activities join us for
"Carol and Crew". Her Puppet friends will entertain children of all ages on
Tuesday, Feb. 28 promptly at
10 AM. With original stories and old favorites and lots of child interaction, everyone will enjoy the morning.
On Wednesday from 12-4, drop in with your friends and
Legos will be available to build your favorite project or get new ideas from our collection of Lego books. We can also display your project in our display case.
Also on
Wednesday, March 1 "Happy Feet Two" will be playing at our next Family
Movie Matinee at
2 PM.
The movie is rated G and runs for 99 minutes. Snacks will be served, please bring your own beverages.
Our
Winter Reading Programs are coming to a close soon with many people reaching their goals and earning prizes. Make sure to update your Reading Logs and collect your prizes by
March 4.
As a Winter Reading finale we are playing
Bingo For Books on
Monday, March 6 at 6:30 PM. Come join us, all players are winners and go home with a book of their choice from the Treasure Chest. Storyhour on
Tuesday,Feb. 21 at 10 AM will feature stories, songs and a game of
Picture Bingo, keep playing until everyone wins and selects a book from The Picture Book Suitcase.
Celebrate Read Across America at a special Dr. Seuss Storyhour on Tuesday, March 7 at 10 AM.
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Dr. Seuss.
Crazy 8's are returning to finish up the last 4 episodes of fun, starting
Mon. March 20 from
6-7 PM. This is an exciting, fun, hands-on, program for children in grades K-2. Sign up in the library or call 382-4691.
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Important Information on Absences and Dismissals
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STUDENT ABSENCE/TARDINESS
When a student is going to be absent or late for school:
- Please call the absentee phone number 382-5251, ext. 100. A phone answering machine is in operation all hours that the school is not open.
- If the parent does not call, the school will then try to reach the parent at home or work and, if necessary, the person(s) listed by you on your child's emergency card will be phoned to assure the safety of your child.
- If the school is still unable to ascertain the whereabouts of a child after these steps, the Newton Police Department will be contacted to conduct a well-child visit at the home to ensure the child's safety.
- Any student arriving after the 8:40 a.m. tardy bell must use the main entrance and check in at the office for a "tardy pass" before reporting to his or her classroom.
- To be eligible to participate in an after-school curricular or extra-curricular activity, a student must be present in school on the day of the event unless there are extenuating circumstances and approval has been granted by the activity leader or school administration.
STUDENT DISMISSAL
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Dreambox
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Dear Parent/Guardian,
Memorial School has purchased DreamBox Learning's Math Program, an online, Intelligent Adaptive Learning(tm) program that helps all students achieve better, faster math proficiency.
DreamBox is an online program - there's no software to download! All you need is a high-speed Internet connection and Adobe Flash. Adobe Flash is free and is included with many Internet browsers.
To access DreamBox on iPad, go to
http://www.dreambox.com/ipad
, or search for "DreamBox Math" in the App Store. Download DreamBox Math Green and DreamBox Math Blue to ensure your student has access to the full catalog of DreamBox Learning Math lessons. When prompted in the app, use this School Code: 4f3h/memorials
Review your student's academic progress with a DreamBox Parent Account. Please follow these steps to create your free Parent Account:
2. Have your student login to their profile just as they would at school.
3. Click Setup Parent Access at the bottom of the page.
4. Follow instructions to create a new login and password.
5. Read Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
6. Click "Submit".
Log into your home account after set up:
2. Enter your email address and password.
3. To see student progress, click the "Family Dashboard" button.
If you have any questions, please contact DreamBox Client Care by calling them at 877-451-7845 (weekdays 7am to 5pm, Pacific Time), or email
[email protected]
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You can also contact our technology teacher, Jodi Tamayoshi, at
[email protected]
with any questions.
Sincerely,
Donna Johnson
Assistant Principal
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Bakie Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser
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Sanborn Youth Soccer Association
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Internet Essentials
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