"Seek perfection of character. Be faithful. Endeavor to excel. Respect myself and others. Refrain from violent behavior." This is the student creed at Empower Martial Arts school in Newton, NH. We were very fortunate to have Sensei Dean Mace spend the week with our PE classes and work with all of our students to develop some of these character values while learning some martial arts skills. This was a great program for our students at Memorial School, the values that Sensei teaches mirror our CARES values. The students worked on cooperation and empathy to cheer each other on confronting their fears and being courageous while breaking boards. The lessons emphasized respect as the reason for a lot of the traditions and symbolism in karate. Sensei also worked with the students to be assertive and give their full effort in everything they do, and to self-regulate and never use the karate skills that they have learned for evil, or outside of the karate class. The students had a lot of fun and got a great work out all week. 

empower slide video

Second graders completed their second performance assessment titled "Welcome to NH Weather". We studied weather and seasons in New Hampshire to find out how the weather affects people and their lives. After receiving a letter from a friend, who's not familiar with NH weather, students choose a season for their friend to visit. They then had to create a 5 day forecast, tell their friend what clothes to pack and plan activities that would be appropriate for that season and the weather. After completing this task, they displayed their forecast and a written explanation back to their friend on a poster. If you would like to check out our finished projects they are hanging in the first/second grade hallway.

Here are some students in 2K working on their forecasts.

Outdoor Recess:

Parents, please be aware that our students will be going outdoors for recess whenever the air temperature is 20 degrees or above.  Children should be bringing their snow pants boots, mittens and hats daily to be dressed warmly for winter exercise.  As the temperatures moderate, melting snow and ice will mean more slush and puddles on our playground area.  You are asked to send in a change of clothing for your child to keep in the cubby here at school in the event that they "find' a puddle and become soaked.  Clean dry slacks, shirt, underwear and socks should be in a bag labeled with your child's name and grade.  Thank you for preparing your child for weather changes and outdoor play at school.

Immunization Requirements for Fifth grade students:

Please be advised that when your child is age 11 years or older, and it has been 5 years or longer since their last Tetanus toxoid-containing immunization, they must receive a booster dose of tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine.  If your child has a documented medical contraindication to pertussis vaccine, a Td booster is acceptable.  In addition, every child entering grade 6 must have had (2) doses of Varicella vaccine (chicken pox).  If your child had the disease of chicken pox, this must be listed with the date of the disease on a recent physical history and exam form completed by your child's health care provider.  If your child is 11 years old, and has already received these immunizations, please provide a copy of the latest physical exam and updated immunization record to the health office as soon as possible.  This may be faxed to the school nurse at 603-382-1466. If your child has a well-child visit scheduled within this school year, please discuss these requirements with the doctor at the time of the visit, and provide a copy of this physical and updated immunization record to the school nurse. 

Click here for more information about being healthy!
 

Thank you,

Sheila O'Sullivan, RN

If anyone out there is interested in co-chairing the 5K for next year, please contact Amy LeMay. It's a wonderful event which we would like to continue, but will not be able to if we're unable to secure someone to help.

How you can help End 68 Hours of Hunger

Depending on the extent to which you want to become involved with the program, your participation can vary from a one- time contribution to monthly or even weekly participation.

Here is a list of the kinds of support that you can provide depending on your desired level of participation.

One event contributions:

You can send a single donation to P.O Box 240, Newton, NH 03858.

You can go shopping and purchase non-perishable food products (with expiration dates as far as possible into the future) and deliver them to us (requires prior arrangement so call us at (603)560-0151 or (978)210-1335 for a list of products and delivery arrangements).

You can host a fund raiser to earn money for the program.  We can help provide you with letter head, forms and if possible have someone there.  We are gearing up for food drives this spring and summer and we need tons of volunteers for that to run smoothly!

Multiple event contributions

You can send us a check every month or as often as you wish to support our efforts.

You can set up a team to be responsible for one week each month. Packers go to the high school to our storage room, pack bags, and sometimes deliver them back to the schools filled. 

You can help unload, sort, and store groceries after each delivery/purchase.

We currently need, canned pasta with meat, tuna, mayo, cereal bars/granola bars, crackers, cereal, canned fruit, jelly, and snacks or fun single serve items.

Perhaps you have your own ideas!  We are open to suggestions!  Call or write now!