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We hope everyone enjoyed a happy and healthy holiday break. We are thrilled to report that two new water fillers were installed over vacation break. One is in the gym and the other can be found in the 2nd & 4th grade hallway. We will continue to update you on the enhancements being made at our beloved school with our Giving Tree dollars ~ there is an exciting list of items we are working to fulfill.
The month of January is packed with events. Please make note of the dates that are on the calendar below and on the
PTC website as there are so many super South School events this month and in the upcoming months: Parents Night Out, Read-A-Thon, Movie Morning, KidsCare sessions, Author Visits, STEAM week, Science Fair, and Sound Tigers just to name a few!
Behind all these programs and events is a corps of PTC Volunteers. If you are interested in joining the PTC Board for the 2019-2020 school year or chairing a committee, please see the list of open positions below and nominate yourself or a friend. You can email any member of the Nominating Committee with your nomination, your thoughts, or any questions. We would love to hear about your interests!
Available positions include: President, Assistant Treasurer, Communications Chair, VP Ways and Means, VP Programs, VP Social, Board of Education Representative, and Secretary.
Nominating Committee: Kelly Lavigne (Chair), Kimberly Jetnil, Carrie Kurtz, Jackie Monohan, Katey Ryan, Genevieve Schettino, and Anne Wagner
Once again, Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
Melissa Baker, Amanda Reid, Stefanie Grupp-Clasby,
and
Katy Pymm,
for helping our staff feel festive and organizing
the staff cookie swap!
All our parent volunteer bakers who contributed holiday cookies -
the party was a huge success!
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From Joanne Rocco and Matt Kascak
Dear South School Families,
Happy New Year! I hope the holidays were an enjoyable time with family and friends. I wish you all much happiness and good health in the upcoming year. We are looking forward to a terrific second half of the year with your children.
Thank You!
Thank you to the many parents who baked delicious desserts for the staff cookie swap in December. Everyone enjoyed the cookies and it was such a wonderful and thoughtful treat for our staff.
Holiday Sing-a-long
We ended 2018 with a very joyful sing-a-long, led by our South School band of Mr. Messina (piano), Mr. MacDonald (saxophone), Teaching Assistant Mrs. Tuga (clarinet), Technology Manager Mr. McHugh (guitar) and Mrs. VanVeghel and her Tech Team of Luke Riley and Milo McCaughey. There is no better way to get into the holiday spirit than bringing together our entire South School community to sing and laugh together for an hour of pure joy!
Transition to Kindergarten - Thursday, January 10, 9:30 - 10:45 a.m. - East School Galley
All Incoming Parents from East, West and South are welcome! Come for a presentation and conversation about preparation for kindergarten, including social, emotional, and developmental milestones. Younger siblings welcome.
Presenters include: Elementary Principals and the Director of New Canaan CARES
* Learn valuable insights that will help your child
* Sign-up to receive communications about next year's kindergarten class
* Pre-register your children to assure the appropriate number of kindergarten classes for 2018-2019 (computer stations will be setup to assist you during this process)
In case of school delay or cancellation on January 10, the snow-date for this event is Friday, January 11. If you are unable to attend this meeting please visit the New Canaan Public Schools website at
www.newcanaan.k12.ct.us
(click on "Parents" then click "Kindergarten Pre-Registration") to pre-register your child for kindergarten.
Follow South Happenings on Twitter!
I have entered into the world of tweeting, and you can follow South School's great work and happenings at @South_School. I'll be posting weekly updates to keep everyone informed and updated.
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January 2018
1: New Year's Day
-
No School
2: Box Tops Collection Starts
8: PTC General Meeting, 9:30 a.m. East School
10: Kindergarten Transition Meeting - 9:30 a.m. East School
21: MLK Day -
No School
24: Parents Night Out - 7:30 p.m. Baldanza
25:
School Spirit Day - Crazy Hair Day!
February 2018
9: Movie Morning - 10 a.m.
12: PTC Joint Meeting with NC Cares, 9:30 a.m. East School
14:
School Spirit Day - Wear Red!
15-22: No School - Winter Vacation
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State of Our Schools: Parent Meeting with Dr. Luizzi
Join us
Tuesday, January 8 at 9:30 a.m.
at
East School
for an all-elementary school parent PTC meeting where Dr. Bryan Luizzi, NCPS Superintendent, will present the New Canaan Public Schools Budget for 2019-20 and discuss School Start Times. Following the presentations, Dr. Luizzi will answer budget and school start time questions from the parent community. This is a great opportunity to hear directly from district leadership on two important topics. Hope to see you there! East School Galley.
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Interested in Joining the PTC Board?
The Nominating Committee will be meeting in the coming weeks to nominate candidates for the PTC Executive Board 2019-20. If you are interested in joining next year's board, or if you have individuals to recommend, please contact
Kelly Lavigne, Nominating Committee Chair. The following positions are open:
President
Ways and Means
Programs
Social
Treasurer
Secretary
Board of Education Representative
Communications
Job descriptions are available
here. A
dditionally, refer to the PTC Committee Chairs section in your Directory to see an outline of each Board position and its respective committees.
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Parent Lunch Visits: Sign Up Now
Beginning January 15 and continuing through February 8, K - 4 parents are invited to have lunch with their children in the cafeteria. Please remember to bring your photo ID and limit your visits to two per child during the four weeks. The cafeteria is not able to provide lunch for visitors since we need to have enough food available for our later lunch shifts. We hope you enjoy the time to visit with your child!
Click here to sign up for each visit.
The lunch schedule is:
Kindergarten - 11:50 - 12:15
Grade 1 - 11:15 - 11:40
Grade 2 - 11:40 - 12:05
Grade 3 - 12:45 - 1:10
Grade 4 - 12:20 - 12:45
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Box Tops Collection is On!
Calling All South School Families: BOX TOP classroom
collections began January 2, so please keep clipping!
Last year our school raised over $1600 - free money for our school! The class with the most BOX TOPS wins a cupcake party! Collections end January 31. For a complete list of participating products click here.
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Save the Date: Parents Night Out
Join us at Baldanza
on Thursday January 24 from 7:30-10 p.m.
for the first Parents Night Out of the year! Book
your sitters now and come mix and mingle with other South School moms and dads.
Drop by for a drink or make a whole night of it - no ticket necessary. Cash bar.
We can't wait to see you there!
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Kids Care 1st/2nd Grade Session Lottery Open!
Want your child to have fun while learning how their small acts of kindness make a big difference? Community service empowers kids to make a difference in the lives of others and in the world around them. Kids Care is back for a second year and provides children age-appropriate service opportunities that are both fun and fulfilling.
This program is open to 20 1st and 2nd graders and will meet at
South School on Wednesdays February 6, March 6, and April 3 from 2:45-3:30.
Students will be chosen via lottery. Click
here
until 1/23 to enter your child into the lottery. Winners will be emailed no later than Friday, January 25. South School parents Becky Paniwozik and Michelle Marti are leading this PTC-sponsored program. The cost to participate is $30 per child.
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South School Goes to the Movies!
Save the Date for the annual South School Morning at the Movies!
Saturday,
February 9 at 10 a.m.
Details and ticket information will be available shortly!
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Memory Books: Order Before February 14
There is still time to order your Memory Book for the 2018-2019 school year! Orders placed by
February 14 will be guaranteed a book, after that sales will be limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis. We encourage every student at South to have a Memory Book-every child will be pictured. It is an 80 page color book with a hardcover and the cost is $25.
Click here
to order!
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Calling All Shoppers!
Did you know that South School can earn money each time you shop for everyday products?
You can help by:
- Joining the Amazon Smile Program! Go to smile.amazon.com and type in "South School Parent Teacher Council" as your preferred charity. South School will earn a portion of all the sales placed through this program!
- If you grocery shop at Shop and Stop, see directions below to login and register your own cards. Please reach out to
South earns money through SNS's "Bonus Bucks" program.
Participation in this program really does help raise money for our school, so by taking a few minutes to register it really does benefit all of us! Here's how to do it:
-
- MENU dropdown
- REWARDS AND PROGRAMS
- OTHER WAYS TO SAVE
- A+ SCHOOL REWARDS - PROGRAM DETAILS
- LOGIN AND GET STARTED
- Choose SOUTH SCHOOL - New Canaan when prompted
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Board of Education Update
At the last Board of Education meeting an update on School Start Times and the Statement of Accounts were presented. The district has created a website (
here) to share an overview of work being done on evaluating School Start Times as part of its overall approach to student wellness.
The next Board of Education meeting is Monday, January 7 at 6:15 p.m. in the Wagner Room at NCHS. Proposed items are School Start Times and the Superintendent's proposed 2019-2020 Budget. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
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New Canaan Softball Registration Now Open
New Canaan Softball is accepting registration for "Softball Sunday" Winter Clinics (grades 1-8) that begin on January 27 and for the 2019 Spring Little League season for girls in grades K-8 . A late fee will be applied after 2/17. Please visit
www.newcanaansoftball.com to learn more and register.
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New Canaan Baseball Registration Now Open
Registration is open for the Spring 2019 New Canaan Baseball season (ages 5-12).
Click here to register and find out more. Late fees will be applied for any registrations received after February 24.
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Winter Registration Now Open for K-4 Squash Program
Winter Session II 2018/19 registration is now open for the New Canaan
Squash
elementary (K-4) program! You can
register here
or go to the New Canaan
Squash
website,
www.ncsquash.com
(click on "Elementary" Tab for details). The program is designed for New Canaan public school students to learn
squash
in a positive team environment. Players will be grouped by grade (K-2, 3-4) and practices will be held at St. Luke's
Squash
Club in New Canaan. Clinics are available 1 or 2 days a week. Contact If you have any questions, please contact Liz Schmidt
or Suzanne Koeppl
.
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New Canaan Field Club Open House Event
Join the New Canaan Field Club for an informative Open House on January 29 from 7- 9 p.m. Complimentary drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be served in the Field House for a fun, casual evening. Please rsvp here.
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