Dear Parents, I would like to begin with a big “Thank you “again to Darci Militello, our volunteer coordinator, for her efforts in coordi- nating and recruiting our parent volunteers this year! We are continuing to get our parent volunteers connected with class- room teachers, as well as training our volunteers for the many up and coming jobs and activities at our school with the chil- dren and staff. If you would like to volunteer, please contact us and we will connect you with Mrs. Militello. We have received notification that we have won the Blue Rib- bon Award for volunteerism. Thank you, parent volunteers, for all your devoted hours and time spent at our school and at home. Without your help activities and programs wouldn’t happen at Sandown Central School! We are sending many drug-free messages during Red Ribbon Week. The children are participating in many activities aimed at prevention and awareness of staying drug free! Parents can further reinforce these important messages by talking with your children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. We would like to thank Mary Hatton, our school nurse, for coordinating Red Ribbon Week! We have completed our NECAP assessments and we would like to thank our parents for your support in encouraging your children to do their best! The children are back in full swing with their school work. I urge you to talk with your children everyday about their successes and challenges at school. The staff continues to be committed to answering, discussing, and communicating with you about your children to making learn- ing the best possible experience for them and you! We look forward to meeting with parents for Parent Teacher Conferences on November 6 th early release day. Students will be released at 1:00 on this day. Parents, a quick reminder that that October and November brings changing temperatures with cold mornings and warmer afternoons. I would recommend dressing your child in layers during this time of year. Happy Halloween! Cordially, Douglas E. Rolph Principal Sandown Central School [email protected]Principal’s Notes November Calendar Nov.6, 1:00 PM: Early Release, Parent-teacher conferences. Nov. 7, 8:30-3:00 Enrich- ment Day; Day of the Coast. Nov. 7, 7:30 PM: TRSD School Board Meeting, Superintendent’s Office, 30 Greenough Road, Plaistow. Nov. 11: Veterans’ Day observed, no school. Nov. 13, 6:30-8:00 PM: Sandown PTA Meeting, Sandown North School. Nov. 14, 7:00 PM: TRSD Budget Committee Meet- ing, SAU Boardroom, 30 Greenough Road, Plaistow. Nov. 21, 7:30 PM: TRSD School Board Meeting, Superintendent’s Office, 30 Greenough Road, Plaistow. Nov. 26, 7:00 PM: TRSD Budget Committee Meet- ing, SAU Boardroom, 30 Greenough Road, Plaistow. Nov. 27: No school: Thanksgiving Break begins. Students return to school on Dec. 2. Sandown Central School News October 2013 Save the date!!! Annual PTA Holiday Auction Friday, December 6, 6-9 PM
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ntral School News · 2016-10-19 · Page 5 Student Council SANDOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL NEWS Introducing the 2013-2014 Sandown Central School Student Council representatives and alternates!
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Dear Parents,
I would like to begin with a big “Thank you “again to Darci
Militello, our volunteer coordinator, for her efforts in coordi-
nating and recruiting our parent volunteers this year! We are
continuing to get our parent volunteers connected with class-
room teachers, as well as training our volunteers for the many
up and coming jobs and activities at our school with the chil-
dren and staff. If you would like to volunteer, please contact us
and we will connect you with Mrs. Militello.
We have received notification that we have won the Blue Rib-
bon Award for volunteerism. Thank you, parent volunteers, for
all your devoted hours and time spent at our school and at
home. Without your help activities and programs wouldn’t
happen at Sandown Central School!
We are sending many drug-free messages during Red Ribbon
Week. The children are participating in many activities aimed
at prevention and awareness of staying drug free! Parents can
further reinforce these important messages by talking with your
children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. We would
like to thank Mary Hatton, our school nurse, for coordinating
Red Ribbon Week!
We have completed our NECAP assessments and we would
like to thank our parents for your support in encouraging your
children to do their best! The children are back in full swing
with their school work. I urge you to talk with your children
everyday about their successes and challenges at school. The
staff continues to be committed to answering, discussing, and
communicating with you about your children to making learn-
ing the best possible experience for them and you!
We look forward to meeting with parents for Parent Teacher
Conferences on November 6th early release day. Students will
be released at 1:00 on this day.
Parents, a quick reminder that that October and November
brings changing temperatures with cold mornings and warmer
afternoons. I would recommend dressing your child in layers
It’s hard to believe that we are saying goodbye to October, and the holidays are just around the corner. We have been
in school over eight weeks and have accomplished so much. We have been busy in math reviewing and introducing
new concepts. We have completed our first unit in Reading Street, and two weeks of NECAP testing. We have also
been on our first field trip of the year to Sturbridge Village. Your children have been hard at work!
In math, fifth graders have been focusing on addition, subtraction, and multiplication of whole numbers. They have
been learning the traditional algorithm for multiplication, which we are sure looks very familiar to most parents. We
are encouraging students to continue their practice of multiplication facts at home. Fluency with these facts is critical
as we progress with more complex concepts in fifth grade.
“Doing the right thing” is the theme of our next Reading Street unit. Be sure to read the Family Times newsletter that
your child brings home. This will help you be aware of the reading skills and strategies that your child is learning
each week.
Our field trip to Old Sturbridge Village was a great success! Students learned about the lifestyles of early Americans.
They met tinsmiths, blacksmiths, bankers, and printers. Many observed a demonstration of musket firing. Some
students even tried to herd the chickens at Freeman Farm! This was an awesome introduction to learning about life in
colonial America.
In conclusion, parent conferences will be held on November 6th, which is an early release day. At this point, you
most likely have heard from your child’s teacher to schedule an appointment time. We look forward to meeting with
all of you. Such communication is important to your child’s success in school.
Mrs. Bruce and some of the girls visited the bank at Old Sturbridge Village.
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Grade 5 News
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This month fourth grade students worked very hard on their NECAP tests. There were three sessions in reading, which included writing in response to what they read. Then they had three math sessions which cov-ered several areas of math such as geometry, algebra, problem solving, etc.
In literacy we completed our first unit in Reading Street called ―This Land is Your Land‖. This unit incorporated social studies as we ―traveled across America‖. We started in the southeast with an excerpt from Because of Winn Dixie. Then we journeyed west with a Lewis and Clark story. Next we learned about the Japanese immigration to California as we read Grand-father’s Journey. We learned about the southwestern region of the United States when we read a modern fairy tale about a horned toad. Letters Home from
Yosemite shared information about one of America’s amazing National Parks.
Our field trip to Concord was a great success where we had the opportunity to visit the Statehouse and Supreme Court buildings. This trip supported our study of the three branches of government. A couple of classes even got to meet the governor!
Students have been do-ing a great job getting used to Spelling, Grammar, and Math homework. The spelling lessons help students review their phon-ics and the grammar helps them with their writing skills. Thank you for your support in getting this homework in on time as well as helping your child study for his/her Spelling and Vocabulary tests!
In math we completed our addition and subtraction unit. This unit also included place val-
ue and graphing. We organized and worked with data including finding landmarks (maximum, minimum, range, mode, median, and mean).
In science we have been learning about rocks and miner-als. We performed experiments on rock and mineral specimens to help us identify them. Several classes participated in Distance Learning video conferences which helped support this study with experts from across the United States.
The parent/teacher conferences are scheduled in November during the week of November 4-8. November 6th is the Early Release Day and night scheduled for these confer-ences. We are looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
The Fourth Grade Team
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Grade 4 News
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Mrs. Gilman and Mrs. Mortenson’s classes were fortunate to get to meet our
governor on their visit to the State House!!
Our students have been celebrating National Red Ribbon Week and have
been learning about drug awareness and prevention. They are learning about the importance
of being drug free, saying “no” to drugs, and making healthy choices. Each class has com-
posed a pledge to be drug free and the students have shown their commitment to this
pledge by signing it. These pledges are displayed in their classrooms for all to see. Our stu-
dents have also created their own slogans for living a drug free life and have written them
on red ribbons. Students have learned strategies for saying “no” to drugs, such as, changing
the subject or suggesting something else to do, giving a reason for not doing drugs, assert-
ing themselves, or simply walking away. The students have learned a valuable life long mes-
sage about the importance of choosing to be drug free!
~Mary Hatton School Nurse
The PTA needs your Help! The PTA is still looking for donations to help fill the class baskets for the holiday auction. The holiday auction is the only fundraiser put on by the PTA, to help sponsor and support many programs for our children. Please send in cash or a check payable to the Sandown PTA so class baskets can be made to raise money for all
of our children.
We are also in need of volunteers to help the night of the auction.
Please contact Ashley Smith, auction coordinator, at
Kerry Gannon Arianna Mazur Jack Noyes Melanie Marino
Owen Kellerman Elizabeth Fournier Cooper Kelley Chris Beyrent
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Technology News
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The students are really getting into their software applications
projects. Don't be surprised to see some convincing reasons to
buy a new pet come from your child this season. (Sorry!) Their
assignment is to use four different types of software applications;
a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software and graphics
software, to convince you to buy them a new pet. Some of the
reasons are quite amusing. Look for information on how to access
these projects from home in the coming newsletters. Our fifth
grade students are learning how to create, sort and filter using a
database. This is part of our work on using digital tools to gather and evaluate information.
(National Education Technology standard for Research and Information Fluency)
Home connection: Remember, you can always view the EasyTech lessons online at
www.learning.com to see what your child has been working on during class.
Day of the Coast Enrichment Day
On Thursday, November 7th, our school will enjoy a Day of the Coast event. This is one of two enrichment days this year where students get the opportunity to break from the routine and enjoy a large variety of learning experiences. We have more than a dozen docents from the UNH Outreach program coming to work with our students. With them they bring years of experience, expertise and some amazing knowledge about marine biology. The students will also enjoy a Sea Chantey sing along and programs run by our wonderful Sandown Central staff members, who offer their own expertise and knowledge to our day. It should be an exciting learning op-portunity and a fun way to usher in the long Veteran's Day weekend.
Schools and educators are forever sharing the importance of reading at home with children. We know that children who live in homes where reading is a source of enjoyment and daily practice, do better in school than children who live in a home where the act of reading seldom takes place. We often forget about reading’s twin however, and that twin is writing. Writing is a critical life skill as well. Writing is the primary basis upon which a person’s work, learning, and intellect will be judged – in college, in the workplace, and in the community. It expresses who you are as a per-son. Writing will equip children with the communication and thinking skills they’ll need to participate in our society. There are many ways that you can help develop your child’s writing skills at home. I happen to like the list created by educator and writer, Elizabeth Moore. These are things that you can do at home to help raise a writer!
Ten Suggestions for Encouraging Kids to Write at Home
1. Help your child set up a place at home for drawing and writing. It doesn’t have to be a desk, and it doesn’t have to be fancy. It could be a cozy corner for writing where a basket of books and a writing folder, or a clipboard, or note-books are kept. Worried about messes? Try to just put out a few interesting materials at a time, and rotate them now and then.
2. Help your child notice reading and writing that is going on in the world. Notice commuters who read on the bus or the train. Pay attention to environmental print like street signs, menus, billboards and more. In your child’s play area, leave some paper and crayons along with blocks, sets of train tracks, dolls, or other toys, so that your child can make her own signs, lists, menus and billboards. Not only does this help your child understand that writing conveys a mes-sage, it also helps your child connect reading and writing with play!
3. You are your child’s first and best model for writing. Shopping lists, notes, birthday cards and phone messages are all superb examples of home literacy. Kids can be included in these everyday types of writing. Kids love to do re-al, authentic, grown-up things. Encourage your child to write thank you cards and letters to folks. This helps children understand that writing has a purpose and an audience. Invite your child help you get the mail each day, and read some of it to your child.
From the Literacy Specialist
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4. Leave notes for your child in his/her lunchbox, schoolbag or around the house, and ask your child to leave notes for you—even if your child is very young, and his ―note‖ is just a picture. Like letter writing, this helps your little one under-stand that writing conveys meaning.
5. During the year, colored pencils, fresh pads of paper and journals make great gifts for birthdays or holidays. What could be better than a brand new set of pens for writing notes, or a pack of special Post-its? This helps foster a love of writing.
6. Drawing and writing random letter strings are an important first step to writing. Compliment your child’s attempts at drawing, writing, and storytelling even when those attempts are not perfect. Try using phrases like ―I notice…‖ or ―I see that you tried…‖ or ―You worked really hard on…‖ instead of making it seem like writing is something that just comes ―naturally.‖ Resist the urge to correct everything and know that your child’s writing will grow and improve with practice, time, and experience. Language that emphasizes effort and trying new things encourages a ―growth mindset‖ as well as a sense of agency, resilience, and confidence. Help your child understand that she’ll grow as a writer with practice and experimentation, rather than being ―born with it.‖
7. Remind your child to bring a writer’s notebook whenever you go on a family outing. Whether it’s to grandma’s house, a soccer game, or a long car ride, there will be plenty to notice and draw, comment on or wonder about. I al-ways keep a small notebook and a handful of crayons in my purse—they’ve come in handy in many a doctor’s office and restaurant!
8. Read, read, read to your child to encourage them to tell stories and write. The author William Faulkner once said, ―Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it.‖ Read aloud to your child every single day. Find a routine that works for you. Find books that work too. Every child is different in terms of interest, topics, and pref-erences so take advantage of your local library so that you can test out all kinds of books in search of something you and your child can enjoy together.
9. Play word games like Scrabble, Boggle, ABC Bingo, Word Concentration and others. Make up rhymes just for fun.
10. Last, but not least, tell stories of your own childhood aloud to your child and encourage him to tell you stories. Lis-ten to your child’s stories, helping your child speak with detail. Compliment your child’s stories, saying, ―I could really picture that story the way you told it,’’ or, ―You really sounded like a storyteller,‖ or, ―The way you said that sounds like a poem.‖ I read a parenting article once that suggested that if your child is having a tantrum, try telling a story about your own childhood. It has worked for me many times!