Sanbornton Central School's
Monthly Newsletter
September 19, 2008 ____________ Volume #3
Dear Families,
Thank you very much to all the families who attended the Open House. The PTO did a great job having dinner for everyone; the book fair was a great success; fingerprinting was a very busy activity; and the children loved having you meet their teacher and see their room. The atmosphere, in the building, was very much a community event, which is one of our goals, while you get to know your child’s teacher, what he/she is doing this year, and enjoying our school as much as we do. Again, thanks for coming. “Thank you” to so many people who helped make the evening a very special night.
Your child(ren) has probably told you about the tree, on the playground, that fell on the new fence. Last Monday, before school began, with the wind blowing hard, a tree fell down across the new fence. Mr. Henchey called the people who own the land, and it is being removed this weekend. The children have not been able to play on the equipment because not only is the tree in the way, but there are two more trees that are unstable right behind it so they will be removed, too.
In May, the NH Department of Education had the fourth, eighth, and eleventh grade students take their first NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) Science test. The test was comprised of four different domains: physical science, earth space science, life science, and inquiry. The results of the testing were released to the public on Wednesday, September 17th. We held our own on the testing. We are disappointed that we didn’t have any students in level 4, but we are pleased not to have any in level 1. Our goal will be to move the level 2 students to level 3 and the level 3 to level 4. SCS’s results are as follows with the state results:
SCS – 0% in level 4 District – 2% in level 4 State of NH – 2% in level 4
SCS – 59% in level 3 District – 56% in level 3 State of NH – 49% in level 3
SCS – 41% in level 2 District – 41% in level 2 State of NH – 40% in level 2
SCS – 0% in level 1 District – 2% in level 1 State of NH – 9% in level 1
SCS mean scaled score = 442 District = 442 State of NH = 440
NECAP TESTING: Grades 3, 4 & 5 will be taking the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) tests in mathematics and reading from October 3rd to October 23rd. The teachers have been reviewing curriculum and also strategies for test taking with the students. In the next week, the teachers will be doing the practice testing for the NECAP with the students. Next week, we’ll be sending home a letter explaining the testing, and it will also give the days for each grade level for testing. We are asking parents to please join us in our efforts for great testing environment. Please have your child go to bed on time, eat a good breakfast, and please talk about doing his/her best on the test. We will, again, be providing snacks for the children during testing. If you are interested in more information, please go to the NH DOE website: http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/curriculum/NECAP/NECAP.htm
GUIDANCE CLASSES: Guidance classes began this week for all students. Please ask your child about what they did in his/her class. We also sent home a letter from all three guidance counselors informing you of the themes they will be doing, at each grade level, for the fall.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PTO AND THE TEACHERS: We were notified recently that Sanbornton Central School has been awarded the NH Partners in Education Blue Ribbon Volunteer Award for the sixth straight year. Many “thanks” to everyone who volunteered last year, and also we’d like to “thank” Mrs. Jodi Phelps, the PTO Volunteer Coordinator. Thank you very much to everyone.
LIFETOUCH PICTURES: On September 26th, all students will be having their individual and class pictures taken. We need a volunteer(s) who can come in for the day to help comb the children’s hair prior to their pictures. If you can help, and you’ve been through our volunteer process, please call the office. Thank you.
HOMEWORK: Our PBIS theme is homework completion. Each classroom teacher has set up his/her expectations for homework completion, and he/she is working with each child to encourage homework completion. Ask your child what needs to be done for homework. Please set up a quiet place for it to be done. We appreciate all your help with helping your child to complete the homework.
REMINDERS:
· Please label all lunch boxes, backpacks, jackets, etc.
· Unless birthday invitations are for all students in a class, we need them to be distributed at home. We know you can understand what happens when a child isn’t invited, when they are young. Thanks for your help here.
· The front driveway is a fire lane.
TEACHERS NEWSLETTERS: Please make sure to check your child’s webpage for the class newsletter. We are working to put them on the websites promptly. The SCS website is updated each Sunday. If you have any input for the website, please send an email to: ssterling@wrsdsau59.org Thank you.
“THANK YOU”: Many thanks to all parents, as we have had a great beginning to school. We appreciate everything you do to help your child be successful in school. Our sincerest thanks…………….
DATES TO REMEMBER:
· September 8th to October 3rd MAP Testing – gr. 1 – 5
· September 25th 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM School Board Community Outreach
· September 26th K – 5 Life Touch Pictures
· October 1st to 23rd Grades 3, 4 & 5 NECAP Testing (more to come)
· October 10th NO SCHOOL Teacher Workshop Day
· October 13th NO SCHOOL Columbus Day Observance
· October 15th 7:00 PM PTO Meeting
· October 27th Rescheduled School Board Mtg.
· October 31 Tentative Fall Festival Day
· November 10th NO SCHOOL Teacher Workshop Day
· November 11th NO SCHOOL Veteran’s Day Commemoration
August 13, 2008
Volume #1
Dear Families,
It doesn't seem possible that we are only a couple of weeks away from school beginning. It will be great to have everyone back for a new school year.
We have some new, familiar faces at SCS, and we have some new staff members. Ms. Nicole DuBois, now Mrs. Rogers, will be teaching grade five at Southwick School, and Mrs. Brenda Charpentier, from USS, will now be teaching kindergarten at SCS. In addition, we would also like to introduce Ms. Lauren Zimmerman, as our guidance counselor, and Mrs. Donna Anderson as our part-time special education teacher. Mrs. Bartley's class will have a student teacher, from Plymouth State University, this fall, Selina Malmborg. We are very pleased to have all on board. When you are at SCS, please stop and introduce yourself to our new staff.
As always, our facilities staff, Niel Cameron, and Chris Hampe headed by John Henchey, the Facilities Manager, have done another outstanding job with the school. I know you all appreciate how great a job they do with SCS. Thank you to John, Niel, and Chris!
Also, many "thanks" to Gloria Muraszko, our school secretary. She is the one who makes sure all the books and supplies the teachers ordered are checked in, in good shape from transporting, and gets to the right classroom. Thank you, Mrs. Muraszko!
You might have heard that we have had some construction work done at SCS. In the past, we were approved by the voters to have a structural beam put into rooms 142 and 143 (Mrs. Hines' and Mr. Cormier's rooms). When the crew was doing the work for the beam, they discovered that we had a problem with the way the outer walls had been constructed so we needed to have them repaired. The construction company, CCI, Conneston Construction, Inc. from Gilford, has done an outstanding job with quality, precision, and timeliness for the project to be completed for the third grade students to be in their rooms for the beginning of school.
In the spring, we sent home information that Sanbornton Central School was a School in Need of Improvement (SINI) because we didn't show enough growth in the subgroup of special education in the math cell for two years. Consequently, we are writing a grant to the NH Department of Education (DOE) that outlines what we want to do to improve student learning. This is a grant that also gives us $20,000 to be able to do what we are proposing to do to improve student's learning. In the early part of the summer, we put together a committee of teachers, administration, consultant recommended by the NH DOE, and parents. Our committee members are: Paul Ezen, consultant, Suzan Gannett, Director of Curriculum, Jackie Blake, grade 4 teacher, Paula Young, grade 5 teacher, Tammy Guilmain, parent, Cherie Snow, parent and PTO President., and Sandie Sterling, Principal. At this point, we have drafted our proposal, which we need to send to the state by September 5th. We have looked at many areas in our proposal, which will be on our website beginning Tuesday, August 19th. We have proposed: a before and after school mathematics tutoring, before and after school homework support, teacher mentoring program, using "I Succeed" software with students for math reinforcement, staff development of differentiated instruction in mathematics via a consultant, parent night and/or consistent communication home about math, and continuation of the summer school program, as the principle areas. As of right now, these are only proposed because we still need to have approval by the NH DOE. In the meantime, if you feel, as a parent, that your child would benefit from any of the before or after school programs for grades 3, 4 and 5, please contact either one of our program administrators: Jackie Blake or Paula Young, beginning August 25th. We will also be continually updating you as to our progress in receiving the grant, services being provided, and ultimately our success in our goal of improving student learning.
We are also very fortunate this year at SCS to have a Kindergarten+ program for the first time. Union Sanborn School has had a program, due to their Title I involvement for many years, and Sanbornton students attended their program. This year we are going to have our own program. This means, qualifying students, will come to both sessions to develop reading and math skills by continuing and extending their learning from their Kindergarten class. We are very pleased about this new program.
The district has also looked at meeting the needs of all the students in the district with services, etc. for the number of students in each building. As a result, Mrs. Bea Gove, guidance counselor from USS, will be teaching guidance classes in grades kindergarten, first and second grades on Tuesdays. Ms. Kathleen Morrill, guidance counselor from Southwick School, will be teaching guidance classes in grades three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. In addition, Lauren Zimmerman, the SCS newly hired guidance counselor, will be teaching guidance classes in grade 5 while still having the individual, small group, parent contacts, etc. for all the students in grades kindergarten through grade five. So we have all of our needs met, and so Ms. Zimmerman can follow up, all three guidance staff members will be meeting, with administration, once a week to stay updated. We are pleased with this for our students and meeting their needs.
In August, it is always time for everyone to come back - I am looking forward to seeing everyone on August 27th: Please continue to have a great summer! Hope for more sun!
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR GRADES 1 - 5 IS AUGUST 27TH. THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS IS AUGUST 28TH, WITH AN OPEN HOUSE ON AUGUST 27TH.
KINDERGARTEN OPEN HOUSE: Mrs. Charpentier will be contacting parents, by phone, to set up a time for you to come in on August 27th. Parents, and their child, come to visit during their session time to see the room, meet Mrs. Charpentier, meet other students and their parents, and learn about the processes such as snack, milk, etc.
REMINDER TO STUDENTS: Don't forget to get the summer reading books read and do your project. The first day of school is on Wednesday, August 27th for grades 1 - 5. (I hope you've read every day for 15 to 20 minutes:) Mrs. Sterling
KINDERGARTEN/NEW PARENTS TO SCS: Typically, at SCS, we don't ask for supplies from the students because we furnish them. If there are special things the teachers want your child to have, then he/she will send home a letter requesting them. We do think it is handy for a student to have a backpack to carry everything in due to the notices that go home, etc. Also, we do have a mid-morning snack at every level so the students need to bring a snack. (After school begins, we will provide snacks, in the cafeteria, before school that can be purchased, but more will come home about that.) Below are the costs and the procedure for ordering milk or juice at snack time. If you have any other questions, please feel free to call our office so we can answer them. We also hope to see you at the Open House for your child's grade level, as advertised in this newsletter.
OPEN HOUSE: We will have an open house on Tuesday, August 26th from 10:00 AM to 10:45 AM for students in grades 1 - 3 and new students in grades 4 & 5. This is a time to come in, look around the room, meet the teacher, and locate the important items. For example: the closest bathroom to the classroom this year. We hope to see you here!
LUNCH COSTS: The cost of lunch is $1.70 per lunch. Milk and juice are available for lunch and snacks at the price of $.35. We have the prepayment envelope, which will be coming home in the first day of school packet. For the new parents, there is a main selection served everyday, but students can choose a yogurt or sun butter sandwich instead. If you have any specific questions please contact, Mrs. Linda Burke, Food Service Director, via email to lburke@wrsdsau59.org or call her office @ 286-7739.
LUNCH MENU FOR THE FIRST THREE DAYS: August 27th: hotdog on a roll, beans, cucumber rounds
w/low fat dip, pineapple tidbits, and milk. August 28th: egg and cheese on an English muffin, hash browns, chilled pears, and milk. August 29th: cheese pizza, tossed salad w/low fat dressing, chilled fruit, and milk.
FREE & REDUCED PAPERWORK: We will be sending a packet home on the first day of school that will have the Food Service Free & Reduced Applications for breakfast and/or lunch. We also have the applications available on the Winnisquam School District website: www.wrsdsau59.org You may also pick up an application at the secretaries' office (at the SAU and at SCS), food service director's office and the food service manager's office at SCS.
REMINDER FOR VISITORS: In order not to interrupt the educational process in the classrooms, if you'd like to observe/visit in a classroom, please make sure to make prior arrangements with either the classroom teacher or the school principal. As in the past, we will need you to sign in the book in the office whenever you come to school and get a visitor's pass. This enables us to know who is in the building in case of an evacuation. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter!
FIRST DAY NOTE TO TEACHER: We will need you to send a note to your child's classroom teacher the first day of school letting us know: How is your child getting home the majority of the days; bus? daycare? pick up? by whom? etc. These notes will be submitted to the office, and Gloria will make a list for us to use. If your child's (ren's) plans for going home are different than these original plans, then we will need a note telling us what the plans are for whatever length of time. Keeping us abreast of the plans to go home on a regular basis is very important because we work hard to make sure that your child is safe, and we need your help. Thank you to all of you who do this on a regular basis for us - We really do appreciate it!
BEFORE/AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM: The Sanbornton Recreation Department runs a Before/After School Program for the students. If you'd like more information, please contact Mrs. Julie Lonergan @ 286-2659 or sanbrec@metrocast.net . (The program is also looking for a program director. Mrs. Lonergan has furnished the following information: Part-Time Licensed Child Care Provider Seeks an Energetic Director for Before & After School Program. Approximately 22 to 25 hours per week. Minimum Requirements: Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education or Work Related Experience. If you are interested, please contact Julie Lonergan, Director of the Sanbornton Rec. Dept.)
SCHOOL TIMES: Children can be on the school grounds at 8:20 AM. If they are any earlier, then one option may be the Before School Care Program (see notes above, please). School begins at 8:50 AM, and the children come in from outside @ 8:45 AM. The AM kindergarten program runs from 8:45 AM to 11:20 AM, and the PM program runs from 12:40 PM to 3:15 PM.
NEW STUDENTS AND KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS: All paperwork needs to be complete before the child can enter school. If you have remaining paperwork for us, please get it to us ASAP
FIRST STUDENT BUS ROUTES: We received the bus routes from First Student today. We will be putting them on the front doors under the alcove, and we will also have them on our website by Monday, August 18th. Please visit: http://www.wrsdsau59.org/SCS/BusRoutes/busroutes.htm If you are a kindergarten parent or the parent of a new student, please call First Student Bus Company @ 286-7434 to make arrangements for your child's bus transportation. They will tell you where the nearest stop is, the bus number, and the pick up/drop off time is for your child. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us @ 286-8223.
SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS WITH NEW POLICY: We have a new policy in the district where all volunteers have to have their fingerprinting, background investigation, and criminal records check done. If you anticipate being a volunteer at SCS either in the classroom, helping out in the school, or on a field trip, then we need you to contact Adele Chertoff, at the SAU office, at 286-4116. The cost of the fingerprinting is $22.50, which the district will reimburse you for when returned. Adele will let you know what you need to do. We also need to have each volunteer complete an application form, and sign a confidentiality statement. We will be keeping an ongoing list, in our office, of those volunteers who have gone through the process.
BACKPACKS: If your child needs a backpack, then you can contact Mrs. Muraszko, our school secretary, as we have a few available.
SCS WEBSITE: Please check our website if you have any questions or want to check dates, etc. at http://www.wrsdsau59.org/SCS We work to update the website every Sunday. Also, please take some time to check out the district website as there is very good information there. http://www.wrsdsau59.org
INFORMATION FOR NEW PARENTS: We have also enclosed information for our new parents on our PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Systems) for SCS. When your child comes home, we want you to know what the 3Bs are, and what it means for your child at SCS.
PTO UPDATE: The PTO held their meeting on August 12th at SCS. The PTO is sponsoring a pizza party prior to the Open House on September 11th. Notices will be going home in the first day packets requesting a response for number of people and volunteers. ($2 per person with a maximum of $10 per family) There will be a meeting on Thursday, September 4th @ 7:00 PM to organize volunteers for the evening of September 11th. There will also be a table at the pizza party selling the long sleeve "Sanbornton" t-shirts. (More to come in the flyer going home.) Upcoming fund raiser: Current. More coming home on September 5th. New members are always welcome: Also, please check the PTO webpage on the SCS website: http://www.wrsdsau59.org/SCS/pto/pals.htm
DATES TO REMEMBER:
" August 25th & August 26th
Teacher Workshop Days
" August 26th
10:00 AM to 10:45 AM
Open House ( gr. 1-5)
" August 27th
First Day of School - Grades 1 - 5
" August 27th
Open House - Kindergarten Students
" August 28th
Appropriate Sessions Kindergarten - First Day of School
" September 1st
NO SCHOOL Labor Day Observance
" September 4th
7:00 PM
PTO Meeting
" September 5th
PTO fundraiser info going home
" September 8th to October 3rd
MAP Testing - gr. 1 - 5
" September 11th
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
PTO Pizza Party/cafeteria
" September 11th
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
SCS Open House (more to come)
" September
SCS Book Fair (more to come)
" September 17th
K - 5 Constitution Observance in School
" September 19th
PTO fundraiser info last day
" September 26th
K - 5 Life Touch Pictures (more to come)
" October 10th
NO SCHOOL Teacher Workshop Day
" October 13th
NO SCHOOL Columbus Day Observance
We look forward to seeing everyone on August 27th: