Upcoming Events
5/8
Soccer Club
3-4:30pm
5/9
Girls on the Run
3-4:30pm
5/10
Early Release Day
11:15am Dismissal
5/11
Girls on the Run
3-4:30pm
5/12
Pizza Friday!
Read-In: Acadia & Yosemite
8:15-8:45am
5/15
Spring Soccer
3-4:30pm
5/16
4th Grade Field Trip
Girls on the Run
3-4:30pm
5/17
Drama Club
3-4:15pm
Outdoor Adventure Club
3-5:15pm
5/18
Girls on the Run
3-4:30pm
5/19
Pizza Friday!
Read-In: Denali & Olympic
8:15-8:45am
Thanks, Ms. Mindy for securing a donation of wooden disks for our play area!
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CORPORATE SPONSORS
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We gratefully acknowledge the ongoing contributions from the following corporate partners:
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May Flowers...at last!
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It was wonderful to welcome back everyone on Monday following April Vacation. We surprised the students with some fun additions to our outdoor space. From a 4-square court to hopscotch, basketball to outdoor chalk boards. The students have really enjoyed the new outdoor games and are SO appreciative to have the donations of balls, hula-hoops and more from our wonderful families. Again our sincere thanks! We have also purchased a few more picnic tables and soccer goals...slowly our outside space is taking shape!
This past week was
National Teacher Appreciation Week and our parents spoiled us! Rachel Marziano & Lisa Zonfrillo masterminded a week full of amazing activities from massages by MFCS mom Julia Soto, to Smoothie and Salad Bars. We are so deeply appreciative of everything shared this week and feel both loved and appreciated!
Thank you!!!
 On Tuesday the Mill Falls Charter School Foundation hosted its 5th Annual Leadership Breakfast. A small group of singers, led by music man, John Chouinard, provided a warm welcome to our more than 160 guests, largely comprised of community, business and political leaders. Two of our students spoke about their experiences at Mill Falls and yet another introduced our guest speaker.
This year's guest speaker was long-time SNHU Men's Basketball Coach, Stan Spirou. While Coach Spirou is recognized nationally as one of the winning-most coaches in Division 2 history, sports played second fiddle in his Tuesday speech. Stan talked generously and emotionally about his own experience as an immigrant child who arrived in NH at age nine, speaking no English. He described his struggles as he slowly began to feel at home here, and discussed how his personal experience has impacted his coaching and his empathy for those who are different. His words, and those of all of our speakers, presented a wonderful quilt highlighting our core values of diversity, kindness and inclusion into the morning event.
Special thanks to Ms. Mindy and Ms. Kristin for their help in making the tables look great, and to Rachel Marziano, Mel Johansson, Will Kanteres, Naomi Butterfield, Sarah Jacobs & Katie Cote - for helping to make the event so successful! And our sincere thanks to the event sponsors, Chris & Theresa Dolloff/Cityside Management, Quentin & Maryjane Keefe/Regency Mortgage, Susan Contos/Accurate Title, Will Kanteres/Kanteres Real Estate, Newton Kershaw/Elm Grove Realty, Helen Davies/Southern New Hampshire University.
 Today we welcomed our 2017/18 Kindergarten students at our annual Kindergarten Interview Day. As many of you know, most of next year's class are siblings of our already enrolled families. We have watched many of these kiddos grow ready for kindergarten and are excited to have them with us next year. It is also wonderful to meet our new Mill Falls Families. Thanks to Susanne, Allison, Kristin, Sherry, Tana, Colleen L and Laura W for your great work on this important day and Gina & Rachel for helping to make our new families feel so comfortable!
As we head into the final stretch of the 2016/17 School Year, we note that the months of May and June will be full of lessons, field trips, community days like Field Day, and Graduation for our 6th Year students. Please
see below
for several of those important dates.
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Wednesday, May 10th, 11:15am
FINAL Early Release Day
of the school year!
Need ChildCare for the day?
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Bus for the 2017/18 School Year
Forms for 2017/18 school bus service were sent home with all returning Manchester students in backpacks today. If you would like bus service starting at the beginning of the next school year, the form must be turned in NO LATER THAN Monday, June 5th.
Please
click here
for the PDF.
If you do not plan to use the bus, you do not need to turn in the form.
Please note: If you have an incoming Kindergarten student who you would like on the bus next year, there is a different form that needs to be filled out. Please call or email Ms. Allison
for the form and for more information.
Not Returning Next Year?
If you have made a decision regarding moving to a new school for next year, be sure to notify the front office in writing with your decision ASAP.
Seasonal Allergies in School
Springtime is in full bloom, which means seasonal allergies are running wild! Seasonal allergies affect 40% of school aged children.
The symptoms of seasonal allergies, when not properly treated, can cause many deficits in focus and attention during the school day. Please be sure that you have taken care of your child's allergies before they are sent to school in the morning, to help minimize discomfort and maximize learning during the day.
Background Checks
Interested in volunteering before the end of the year? Time is RUNNING OUT to process background checks. Please see Ms. Allison for a copy of the background check paperwork
or click here.
End of Year Attendance
As we approach the end of the school year, we would like to highlight the importance of regular school attendance. This is the last push to finish up many units and lessons in the classroom, as well as the time for special end of year events. It is imperative that your student is on time and remains in school for the full day every day. If you have any questions about Mill Falls' attendance policy, please see the
Family Handbook.
No Pizza Fridays or Read-Ins in June
Due to the increased number of end-of-year activities in June, May is the last month for Pizza Fridays and Read-Ins.
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 2017 Parent/Guardian Step Up Night
As Mill Falls students progress through our 7-year Public Montessori Program, the expectations and structures grow along with them. To help our parents understand and anticipate the changes ahead, we strongly encourage ALL parents/guardians of our current kinder and 3rd year students to join us on May 24th for our annual Parent/Guardian Step Up Night.
Please note this is a parent-only evening.
with your intentions to attend. Thank you!
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2017 Student Step Up Days
With a bit of spring in our step, we are moving into our Student Step Up Days here at school. Each Friday in May, our current Kinder Students will visit our Lower Elementary Classrooms, and our current 3rd Year Students will visit classrooms in our Upper Elementary Program. Visiting students are paired with older students in each classroom. It's a great mentoring/modeling opportunity and a great way for the students to get a sneak peak at the next program level.
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2017 Summer Art Camp
for current kinders - current 3rd year students
July 10-14th, 9am-12pm
Join Ms. Shannon and Ms. Kristin at our first every Summer Art Camp. Campers will explore the art and style of Eric Carle. Each day campers will create their own works of art based on Carl's techniques.
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Join Girls on the Run NH
in their spring 5K!
When:
Saturday, June 3rd.
Activities begin at 8:30, and the 5K Run starts at 10:00.
Where:
The New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon..
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Important Dates
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May 10th: Final Early Release Day of the School Year, 11:15am
If you need child care that day, please contact
Ms. Susanne.
May 24th: Step Up Night, 6:30pm
All parents/guardians of current Kinders and 3rd grade students are asked to join us for an important information-filled evening as your child moves from one program level, to the next. We will also host the parents/guardians of
next year's Kindergarten students. Please RSVP by sending an email to
Allison.
Thanks!!
June 2: Field Day Community Lunch, 12-1pm
Field Day organizing is moving along well. This is a wonderful MFCS community day. Please plan to join us for our annual community lunch!
June 8th: Graduation Celebration for our 6th Year Students
Details to follow.
June 9th: Upper Elementary Dance
The final evening gathering of the year and a great way to send off our 6th Year friends!
June 12th: Kinder Tea
A special morning event for our current Kinder Families. Please save the date Kinder Families! Details to follow.
June 14th: Last Day of School for the Year
Barring any more unexpected weather days, this full day will be our final day of school.
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We Have a Winner!
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 Thanks to all those who are participating in our
Family & Friends Monthly
Giving Program
. As part of that program, the names of program participants
are drawn monthly in a small gift raffle.
The winner of this month's
raffle prize is the
Boisvert Family
!
T
hank you Kate & Peter for your years
of support! The prize this month is a gift certificate to Dunkin' Donuts.
Corporate Matching
We LOVE corporate matching and hope to connect with more businesses large
and small this year to grow our corporate match partnerships. Please help
be part of that effort! Inquire with your employer today to find out if
they will match your donations. If you have any questions, please send
Meryl an email. Thank you!!
Give & Gets, aka Effort-Free Giving
A reminder that Mill Falls is enrolled in a number of programs which are
designed to provide small financial donations from places many of us shop
regularly. These 'Give & Get' opportunities are mapped out on our
website...click here to find out more!
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Recipe for Success
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We opened the
Mill Falls Food Pantry in December 2016 to support those in our school community who are food insecure.
To date, we have given out 1223 meals (one meal is 1.2 pounds so that's 1468 pounds of food) to about 15 Mill Falls children and their families. Seventy percent of our food for the Pantry comes from the NH Food Bank and the rest comes from YOU! Thank you SO much for your generous donations throughout the year. A special shout out to Melissa Merhalski who provided extra food for the children in the days before April Break to help them bridge the time away from school. And a HUGE thanks to Susanne for her hard work in making this program such a great success.
Coming up, the Food Bank will offer a free Culinary Training in their beautiful industrial kitchen on the second floor of their facility which is just around the corner from School. If you'd like to know more, please
click here
for the application.
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Montessori Moments...
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Lower Elementary Classes completed their annual Egg Drop Experiment on Tuesday. In preparation, students worked in small groups to create protective containers to hold, and hopefully protect, a single egg.
This week, from atop a ladder, Ms. Shannon dropped the eggs, and then Ms. Susan checked to see which eggs survived the fall in tact, and which eggs had broken.
Fthia & Addison sharing their voices at our 2017 Leadership Fundraising Breakfast
held at the Puritan Conference Center on Tuesday.
This week marked the start of our After School Adventure Club. Here students are shown on their first adventure to Dorrs Pond in Manchester.
A few samples of the many wonderful Thank You cards
made for our teachers this week:
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