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Spofford Times Newsletter |
Greetings!
I apologize for the delay newsletter. With the internet affected this week, it was a challenge to get this out to you. I hope that conditions at home for each family with power and heat has improved. I'm so sorry for all who have had a tough time this week with the power outages. I have been very impressed with the students good spirits this week, despite the difficulties many of them have experienced. This week, students and staff have started the Olweus Anti-Bullying Program. This program has been adopted by all of the elementary schools in the Tri-Town School Union. We are very excited about the program as it will provide a consistent structure and a common language for staff, students and parents around proactive behaviors to prevent bullying. The Olweus Principles are:
- Warmth, positive interest, and involvement are needed on the part of adults in the school.
- Set firm limits to unacceptable behavior.
- Consistently use nonphysical, nonhostile negative consequences when rules are broken
- Adults in the school should function as authorities and positive role models
Each week students will engage in class meeting with their teachers to discuss concepts in the Olweus Program. On Fridays, we will read on our announcements the four anti-bullying rules, which are: - We will not bully others
- We will try to help students that are bullied.
- We will try to include students who are left
out. - If we know that someone is being bullied, we will tell
an adult at school and an adult at home.
We are planning to have a parent event to provide you with more information about the program. Throughout the school year, teachers, bus drivers, recess/lunch staff, office staff (all staff in our school) will be trained in the program. It is our belief that if everyone is trained, the program will have the most success. Be on the look-out for more information! I hope you all enjoy the week! Sincerely, Kathryn Nikas |
Grade Five News!
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Grade 5
We are almost two months into the school year, and the fifth grade students have been working hard. In social studies, the students have been learning about early European explorations in North America. Students are learning about European motives for exploration, navigational tools used, and new products that explorers discovered in the Americas. In math, some classes have been learning about averages while other classes have been learning number sense. Students have been doing experiments in science using magnets to learn about magnetism. They have also been studying the scientific method. Keep up the good work!
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Art News!
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Special Event:
Here's your chance to get an original piece of artwork from our very own Mrs. Dalton and Mrs. Davis! They are donating artwork for the annual Citizens for Adequate Housing Benefit Auction. 'Raising the Roof ' this year will take place on Friday evening, November 4th at the Kernwood Country Club in Salem, MA.
Please visit this link for more details about this fun-filled night for a great cause! http://cahns.org/events.html
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Technology News!
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At Spofford Pond School, we have a state-of-the-art weather monitoring system on the school roof to track 27 different real-time weather measurements. We are 1 of 7000 Weatherbug Achieve Schools across the nation. Our Weatherbug Weather Station includes a:
- Wind Sensor to record wind speed, direction, average wind speed, and highest gust for the day.
- Sensor to record 18 weather parameters, including temperature, relative humidity, heat index, barometric pressure, dew point and more.
- Rain Gauge to record five weather parameters, including daily, monthly and yearly rain measurements and amounts of rain per hour.
- MotionCam with the ability to pan, tilt and zoom to take images of local weather conditions
- Internet Weather Transmitter - An advanced Internet appliance that processes, transmits and stores weather data, with automatic rebooting capability if there are power outages and data recall so you station stays up through vacations, etc.
Weather forecasters use data transmitted from our weather station to inform their predictions, and Spofford Pond is recognized on occasion by WBZ TV (channel 4) weathermen during their forecast. You can check out the weather at Spofford Pond School with the link on the Spofford Pond Home Page under General Information. Many thanks to the BEST organization and Boxford PTO for funding the purchase and installation of Weatherbug! Mrs. Wainwright
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Spanish Greetings from the Spanish classroom! The end of October and beginning of November usher in a very important holiday for the Spanish-speaking world called "El Día de los Muertos" (The Day of the Dead). Although it coincides with our Halloween celebration, it is not a sad or scary event. This festive holiday is a time for families to honor and celebrate the lives of those people, who are no longer with them. All grade levels are learning more about this special holiday, not only in Spanish class, but also through Library and Art classes. The skeleton is an important image for the Day of the Dead, as well as for Halloween. Our third graders are using skeletons as a means to review the parts of the body. They have made jointed skeletons and are labeling their body parts in Spanish! The fourth graders are making skull masks representative of ceremonial masks used in Day of the Dead processions. After decorating their mask, they will write a few descriptive sentences about it in Spanish. It is the practice in Mexican culture to leave the favorite foods of deceased loved ones out on a table or alter for their spirits to enjoy during the Day of the Dead celebration. The fifth graders are creating pictures showing a skeleton enjoying his or her favorite foods. They will label the foods in Spanish, which will begin our study of food vocabulary and structures for talking about foods we like, or don't like. The sixth graders are involved in a combined Art/Spanish project. In art classes they are making "calaveras" or skeletons. In Spanish class they'll be giving that calavera it's own unique identity! They'll give it a Spanish name and a birthday and then write a description in Spanish including both physical and personality traits. This provides a fun and interesting way to practice vocabulary for describing someone! ¡Hasta luego!
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B.E.S.T
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TheB.E.S.T. Holiday Homes Tour 2011 is just 2 weeks away! Holiday season is just around the corner so mark your calendar for the B.E.S.T. Premier Holiday Homes Tour 'Entertaining with Style!'; presented on Saturday, November 5, 11:00 - 4:30. Designers, florists, retailers and artists from the N. Shore area will showcase the latest decorating trends in 11 distinguished Boxford homes. Order a gourmet boxed lunch, stop at our coffee/pastry bar and enjoy this self-guided tour of spectacular decorated homes. Bountiful harvest themes, festive Christmas décor, and splashes of floral designs everywhere with specialty retail shops eloquently displaying their gift giving ideas will truly inspire you. This extraordinary event features talented designers artfully capturing the essence of entertaining at home with up-to-date color schemes and clever tricks of the trade to decorate your own home. Click here: BoxfordHomesTour.comto reserve yourtickets, order lunch or become a 'Friend of B.E.S.T.'.Also view photos of our amazing 8 raffle packages to purchase on line, including furniture, garden delights and artwork. Thank you for your continued support of B.E.S.T.which provides innovative teaching tools and professional development to our elementary schools. Don't miss this much anticipated fundraising event! We welcome you to join our team of volunteers on Tour day, just a few hours, allowing you to still enjoy the tour. Please contact Ellie Benson at ebenson@verizon.net, 978.887.0064 Please join B.E.S.T. for our general membership meeting on Wednesday, November 16th at 9:30 am in the Cole Cafeteria. This is a great opportunity to learn more about B.E.S.T., the exciting programs and events we have planned for this year, and volunteer opportunities (no pressure!) One of our upcoming events is the Wine & Women February fundraiser at the Gould Barn on February 9th. It was a really fun night out last year! And a fun event to plan! We have one Co-Chair in place and are looking for a second volunteer to help lead the event. We also need volunteers for activities such as decorating the Barn, working with the Wine Tasting host, and helping with the catering. Please contact Ellie Benson at ebenson@verizon.net if you can help out. |
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Girl Scout Troop Announcement...
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Junior Girl Scout Troop #60417 and Brownie Troop #62005 will be collecting items for the animals at the MSCPA at Nevins Farm in Methuen. The drive will run from October 31st to November 18th. A collection bin will be placed in the lobby of our school for your convenience. Some of the items needed for cats, dogs, small mammals like rabbits and guinea pigs, farm animals and horses include: kitty litter, fun cat and dog toys, "Kaytee Complete" rabbit and guinea pig food, laundry detergent, paper towels, Kleenex, toilet paper, towels, blankets, sheets, hand and dish soap...and so much more. If you are interested in seeing their complete wish list please visit their website at http://www.mspca.org/adoption/methuen-nevins/donate/nevins-farm-wishlist.html . We appreciate any help you can give us. Thank
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A Community Event Opportunity...
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NOVEMBER is FAMILY LITERACY MONTH!! Make a commitment to learn about how you can create activities for your children that lead to LITERACY! (even if your child is a baby!) FOSTERING the ESSENTIAL BUILDING BLOCKS for LITERACY SKILLS A 3-part workshop series presented by the Tri-Town Special Education Department: PRESENTER: Ilda Carreiro King, Ph.D. Developmental and Educational Psychologist, Reading Diagnostician & Classroom Ecologist Session 1:Linking Literacy and Play Play is many things to children. The growth of imagination and socialization are the two that come clearly to mind. But these days, it is critically important that teachers and parents acknowledge play's value for offering all children the opportunity to explore and learn about writing and reading while children do things they love to do. In this workshop, teachers and parents will learn about ways to facilitate the development of literacy skills by providing everyday literacy supplies and creating places for children to play with print. Critically, they will also learn how to play with their children to develop their language skills and their connection to reading and writing. Session 2: STAY TUNED... TOPIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE SOON Session 3: STAY TUNED... TOPIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE SOON Parents may attend one or all of the workshops within this series as each connects to the prior workshop but will also be presented as a 'stand alone' workshop. Dates Times Location REGISTER by: Wed. 11/2 7:00-9:00 pm Howe Manning School Library 10/28, 3:00 Wed. 11/16 7:00-9:00 pm Cole School Library 11/10, 3:00 Wed. 11/30 7:00-9:00 pm Proctor School Library 11/22, 3:00 REGISTER WITH: Linda Repucci 978-887-4119 lrepucci@tritownschoolunion.com (While registration is free, it is REQUIRED in order to plan for seating and handouts; priority will be given to Tri-Town parents and educators; parents and educators from other towns are welcome, but only after Tri-Town parents/educators have registered and been accommodated.) Below is the MA DESE link to the state information regarding Family Literacy month: http://www.doe.mass.edu/familylit/month/announcement.html
Think Differently: A New Approach for Parenting, Teaching, and Treating Children with Behavioral Challenges
Arlington Town Hall, 730 Mass. Ave., Arlington, MA. 02476
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Think:Kids and the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is pleased to offer a one-day training program featuring Dr. Larry Epstein. This one-day introductory training is intended for parents, clinicians and educators interested in learning about the innovative and evidence-based approach to understanding and helping children and adolescents with behavioral challenges described in the acclaimed book, Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach.
The approach provides a new way of understanding and helping kids who struggle with behavioral challenges. Challenging behavior has traditionally been thought of as willful and goal oriented which has led to approaches that focus on motivating better behavior using reward and punishment programs. If you've tried these strategies and they haven't worked, this workshop is for you! At Think:Kids we have some very different ideas about why these kids struggle. Research over the past 30 years demonstrates that for the majority of these kids their challenges result from a lack of crucial thinking skills when it comes to things like problem solving, frustration tolerance and flexibility. Our approach, therefore, focuses on helping adults teach the skills these children lack while resolving the chronic problems that tend to precipitate challenging behavior.
Through lecture, videos, case examples and role plays this one-day training will help you shift your thinking and approach to foster positive relationships with these children and encourage growth in areas of self-regulation, communication and problem solving. The training qualifies towards our Think:Kids Mentor Certification.
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Used Sports Equipment Sale...
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The best bargains of the year for your family's sporting needs can be found at the Sports Equipment Sale to be held on Saturday, November 19th at the Proctor School in Topsfield. The Friends of the Boxford Town Libraries and the Topsfield Elementary School PTO host this popular annual fundraising event which enables interested participants to consign goods or purchase items at bargain prices, while helping raise funds in support of educational programs.
Sale items include ski, hockey, soccer, baseball, tennis and fitness equipment, camping and fishing gear, bikes, sleds, snowshoes, water skis, roller blades, helmets, golf clubs, apparel...and the list goes on!
To consign, simply bring your items in good, clean, saleable condition to the Proctor School, 60 Main Street in Topsfield, on Friday, November 18th, the night before the sale, between 4:30 and 7:30 pm (pricing assistance will be available and donated goods are welcome). The next day, Saturday, November 19th, arrive between 9am and 11:30am to shop. Items unsold and not retrieved at the end of the sale will be donated to charity. Large items must be retrieved at the end of the sale.
Contact Martha Roberts (Friends of the Boxford Town Libraries) at 978-887-4227 with any questions, you have large items to donate or are interested in volunteering at the sale.
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