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 Spofford Times Newsletter |
Greetings!
It's hard to believe that the second month of school is starting! We have had a productive first month of school with the curriculum in the classrooms and establishing school and class routines! The return of school brings means the return of structure and routine for every family! Children begin sports, scouts and other activities again each September. Therefore, it is critical that each family finds ways to support children with striking a healthy balance between school and after school interests/activities, all important to in lives of our students! At Spofford Pond School, we can help you with that as well!
One of the challenges that many students face with the return of school is balancing after school activities with homework. By now, you have likely figured out with your children what the best routine for successfully balancing their after school schedules with homework. If you are still working on improving this routine in your home, remind your child to set up a place in the home where homework can be done distraction-free. Having a clear space for homework and materials there to support your child with homework is helpful. Establishing a time to do homework each night is also helpful for children as routine and structure make it easier for a child to accomplish tasks. When children struggle with an assignment, communicate that to your teacher. Don't let the night become too stressful on your child with an assignment. There are specific homework guidelines in the Student/Parent Handbook for your reference. We are here to support healthy homework habits and we can work with you when needed! Dismissal Plans: We recognize that children's after school plans change with activities or other family needs. Our staff works diligently each day to remind children of dismissal plans, however, we need your help as well! We ask that you please remind your child of what their afternoon dismissal plan is each morning, if it is different from their daily routine. This will help your child to feel comfortable knowing where he/she is going at the end of the day! Back-up Plans: If sports or after school activities are canceled, we ask that you discuss with your child a back-up plan for transportation home. For example, if soccer is cancelled, please decide and communicate to your child if he/she will take the bus home or if he/she should expect to be picked up by you or another designated adult. Thank you for all of your support! I wish you all a wonderful week! Sincerely, Kathryn Nikas, Principal |
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Hello from the Art Room! First of all, I would like to say how wonderful it is to be back!! I missed everyone so much while I was out last year and I sincerely appreciate everyone's thoughtful words of encouragement and well wishes!
We are off to a great start in Art this year. I am beginning with some new projects and will be revisiting some old favorites as well. As some of you may know, I name the tables that the students sit at after famous artists. I choose different artists each year and try to select artists who work in different media and from different parts of the world. I also like to include contemporary artists alongside the more well known. This year our tables are named after Sandro Botticelli: Italian painter, Deborah Butterfield:American sculptor, Hayao Miyazaki: Japanese Animator, Shahzia Sikander: Pakistani painter, James VanDerZee: American Photographer and Terry Winters: American painter. All students were introduced to each of our six table artists including a brief discussion of their work and identification of their country of origin.
In grade 3, we are beginning with observational drawing of an autumn still life. The students will be adding color with watercolor pencils. I am very impressed with their observing skills! They look beautiful!
In grade 4, students are embarking on a printmaking project. The subject is a different autumn still life than the 3rd graders. Most students have transferred their drawing onto their Styrofoam plates and will be ready to print next week. Again, I was impressed with their concentration and attention to detail!
Grade 5 students are working on tonal study collages of orchids. These detailed collages incorporate light, medium and dark values or tonal ranges of one color family. They will be mounted on a vertical format. I think they will be quite stunning.
Grade 6 students are finishing up their 'Cursive Name Creatures'. Students love transforming their names into funny and unique characters. Always a crowd pleaser!
Just a reminder: Please log on to your student's Artsonia account and make sure your email is correct. We have been getting some messages that we have some expired emails. Also, it is never too late to join Artsonia! If you are new to the school, or new to Artsonia, you can download a permission slip from the Spofford Pond website and bring it in to me or Mrs. Dalton. Also, we are always looking for volunteers! If you are interested in helping out, we meet on Wednesdays from 10:45-12 noon. Please let me know if you'd like to help.
I can be reached at: bashmoredavis@boxfordschools.org
All the best and Happy Fall!
Mrs. Davis
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Grade Four News!
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The Fourth Grade Team is off and running into the new school year! We are excited about the addition of two new teachers on our team and we have been working hard to make their transition and the students' transitions smooth. It was a pleasure to meet all of the families on Open House Night and we look forward to the continued collaboration with parents! We are on a roll into the curriculum! We have a field trip planned for this fall to the Lowell Boote Mills, which ties into the Social Studies unit. Unit One of Trailblazers is present in each classroom and we are beginning to plan for the next unit. Our Mad Scientists are discovering the scientific process, and we have started both Reading and Writing Workshops. We are very excited about our classes and the caliber of the 4th graders. They have impressed us each day and will continue to do so throughout the school year!
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Grade Five News!
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Grade 5 The fifth grade team is off to a great start. We have settled into our routines, and the students have easily adapted to switching among three teachers rather than two. Our team was impressed by the turnout on parent night, and we hope to build closer relations with all parents throughout the year. We are working to incorporate the Readers' and Writers' Workshops to improve our curriculum. Three of the six fifth grade classes are participating in piloting two new math programs until January. At that time, all classes will be using the Math Trailblazers program until June when a decision about a new math program will be made. Finally, the fifth grade team would like to thank the PTO for their generous gift of two Elmo projectors. Our team is grateful to have this technology to support and enhance our instruction.
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 Literacy News! |
Summer Reading was an unbelievable success here at Spofford Pond School! Students were offered the opportunity to receive additional prizes for reading above and beyond the program offered through the Town Library. I was thrilled to be able to award students for over 1,000 hours of additional reading - giving out 51 homework passes and 47 free ice creams from Benson's! During the first week of October we will be rolling out "Fluency Bags" in the entire third grade. These are a home-to-school initiative where students will be making a weekly choice of printed text to read aloud to an adult at home one night per week. Keep your eye out for the bags - and check out my website for additional information. This was an initiative that I piloted in two 4th grade classrooms and one 3rd grade classroom last year with much success. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions. From, Betsy Gadbois Literacy Specialist |
 Help Wanted! |
Spofford Pond School Recess/Cafeteria Monitor: We are looking for one more person to work with students during lunch and recess. The position is five days per week. This would be Monday through Friday from 11:15 until 1:15pm. Inquiries for this position can be made via email to Kathryn Nikas at knikas@boxfordschools.org Thanks! The Proctor School Food Service Department has 2 openings. These positions are 5 days a week. They are paid positions. Responsibilities will include preparing and serving lunch to students and clean up at the end of lunch. Substitute positions are also available. Food service experience is helpful. Please contact Susan Bodwell at Proctor School at sbodwell@tritownschoolunion.com |
Physical Education News! 
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Greetings from the Physical Education Department! Let me begin by saying that here at Spofford Pond the idea that each student can grow and improve in the areas of physical fitness and wellness regardless of their level of athletic ability is strongly emphasized. In addition to that idea, I personally put a strong emphasis on creating an environment that is safe, fun and stimulating. All classes engage in a healthy discussion about respect and how that concept specifically relates to the various aspects of physical education. We spent the next few classes participating in activities and challenges that were designed to increase support, cooperation and respect within the group. More recently we have been playing a classic outdoor game called capture the flag or as we sometimes call it capture the chicken. The object of the game is to invade the opposing team's territory, capture their flag or rubber chicken and return safely to your side of the field without being tagged. There are many wonderful benefits to this game including a great cardiovascular workout, the use of basic and advanced strategy, a high degree of teamwork and a whole lot of fun. Coming up in October, we will begin doing some basic fitness testing, which of course includes the beloved mile run.
Regards,
Bob Aho |
 Spanish News!
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¡Hola and bienvenidos! Hello, and welcome back to Spanish class. Our program has developed and improved over the past four years and we look forward to continuing with that progress throughout this fifth year. We incorporate a variety of materials and teaching strategies into our lessons to promote the acquisition of the language. Language acquisition takes time. The more slowly we go in introducing vocabulary and structures, the better the acquisition. Therefore, in September and October we spend plenty of time reviewing! We will focus on answering the essential questions: "What does Spanish look and sound like?" and "How do I identify myself to others?" These questions have us reviewing introductions, descriptions, clothing, weather and seasons as we begin the year. Repetition is key in internalizing these structures and in our weekly sessions we strive to continually recycle the information in varied and interesting ways. Review pages with previously learned content have been given out in every grade level. Most of the time students keep their Spanish material at school, but they are welcome to take it home and share it with you, as long as they remember to bring it back for the next class. Gracias. Sra. Careri Sra. Marcille |
| Tri-Town Council News
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APPLAUDD: A Prevention Program About Underage Drinking & Drugs APPLAUDD will be presented on Mondays October 17, 24 and November 14, 21 at 7pm in the Masconomet High School Library in Topsfield "Prevention" means taking pro-active steps before a problem arises, rather than reacting after the problem occurs. The Tri-Town Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, a program of the Tri-Town Council, is sponsoring APPLAUDD, an award-winning parent workshop series to provide parents with proactive prevention steps that will reduce substance abuse risks for their adolescents. In a four-part series of presentations, this program is designed to empower parents of students' grades 5 through 12 with proven, yet simple strategies that reduce risk of underage drinking and drug experimentation. Parents & educators from Topsfield, Middleton and Boxford are welcome and encouraged to attend! Please pre-register (preferred) by e-mailing programs@tritowncouncil.org or call (978) 887-6512. ______________________________________________________________________ HORIZONS - Not too late to join the fun!! Limited space available in most classes! Contact the Tri-Town Council office by e-mail horizons@tritowncouncil.org or by phone (978) 887-6512 to check on course availability at your school. ______________________________________________________________________ Coming Soon...Help Navigating the Parenting Path Have you ever wanted a sounding board to help you along the bumpy road of parenthood?
Starting later this fall, Tri-Town parents are going to have the opportunity to join other parents in exploring the "Path of the Courageous Parent". It will be a relaxed monthly forum which will include discussion of brief readings on topics of mutual interest. These facilitated meetings will allow parents to come together and reflect on the challenges and "potholes", the opportunities and rewards, of helping their children grow-up. Please RSVP your interest by e-mailing programs@tritowncouncil.org . You will receive advance notice of the meeting dates and the reading materials (we promise they will not be cumbersome).
PROJECT SAFETY NET 24/7 Crisis Hotline (978) 771-4619. Speak with a counselor directly anytime.
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