Spofford Times Newsletter 

 Dear Parents,     

The next two months will be particularly busy with end of the year field trips, events, concerts and the like. We are looking forward to all of the special activities that the students will engage in before the end of school. In the midst of all of this,  we will be maintaining the focus on our curriculum and staying the course to complete the learning standards for the year.  Please remind your children to stay focused on their learning and that they will also have enjoyable events for the year's end. Your help in maintaining home routines for your children and keeping them focused on the learning will be of tremendous support to us as we continue with the last month of school.   

As we approach the warmer weather, I am publishing the dress recommendations from our Parent/Student Handbook for you: 

From our handbook, page 23:  

Dress Recommendations
It is expected that students will take pride in their personal appearance. Fads in dress, hair and makeup sometimes tempt students to persuade their parents that "all the kids are doing it." Student dress should be within reasonable limits and not be extreme. Personal appearance, dress or grooming must not disrupt the education process or threaten the health or safety of any individual.  

Specifically:   

- No clothing or jewelry may be worn that causes disruption or disorder within the school.
 
- It is not appropriate to wear clothing to school that is designed for beachwear (i.e., halter and tube tops,
bare midriffs, short shorts & skirts, and flip-flops).
 
- No hats or caps may be worn within school buildings.
 
 
- Please label clothing such as jackets, sweaters, raincoats and hats and other belongings; i.e. lunch
boxes, boots, sneakers, etc. Labeled items are more easily returned if lost.
 
- Apparel with "double meanings" is inappropriate for school wear, such as concert T-shirts depicting illegal
or anti-social behavior and buttons or pins with profane or vulgar words.
 
- Parents will be notified by the principal if a student's clothing does not meet school expectations.   

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

We did it! The fourth graders are officially done with MCAS for the year! Students put so much time and effort in the assessments, and we are confident that they did amazing work. Thank you for all of your support at home.

As the year begins to wrap up, fourth graders have many fun events to look forward to! All classes will be going on a field trip to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire. On this trip, students will be venturing out into the tide pool with a naturalist and looking at how the creatures have adapted to the harsh environment. Students will also experience the touch tank, and will have sit down sessions with the naturalists. It would be a good idea to pack extra dry clothing for your children. Cross your fingers for nice weather!

The fourth grade classes will also be hosting state fairs in May and June. Students have been assigned specific states to research and present on. We appreciate your support with these at home projects.

Congratulations to Brendan Wages, the 5th grade winner of the UMass Lowell NAfME Youth Composition Contest. Brendan will perform his original trumpet piece, "Newest Rag Tune." at the festival concert at UMass Lowell on May 19th.

Ryan Mc Cann & Bria Dox and (and alternates Dan Buckley, Jack Miller & Nick Limone)  have been chosen to represent Spofford Pond by playing Taps at the assembly and Memorial Day weekend events.

MARCHING BAND rehearsals for all 5th & 6th Grade Band members continue! Check the new Rehearsal calendar webpage for the exact days of morning rehearsals.

IMPORTANT BAND EVENTS COMING UP:

The 6th Grade Concert Band will perform at the Memorial Day Assembly at Spofford on FRIDAY, MAY 25th at 9:30am. Band members must wear khaki pants and blue Band shirt.

On MONDAY, MAY 28th, the 5th & 6th Grade Marching Band will perform in West Boxford at the Memorial Day Parade. All Band members must arrive behind the West Boxford library no later than 8:27AM,  attired in khaki PANTS and Band shirt.

On TUESDAY, JUNE 5th, the 6th Grade CONCERT & JAZZ BANDS will travel to the Proctor School  perform in the first ever Boxford-Topsfield Band exchange.  Band members must wear khaki pants and the Band shirt.

The 6th Grade CONCERT & JAZZ BANDS will host the annual Senior Citizens' Concert & Luncheon on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6th at 9:30AM at Spofford Pond School. Interested seniors should call the Boxford Council on Aging by May 30th to make a reservation for this free event.  Band members must be in formal dress!

The BEGINNING BAND Spring Concert will be held on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6th at 6:30PM in the Spofford cafeteria. Dress is formal.

RECITAL NIGHT will be held on THURSDAY, JUNE 7th at 6:15PM. You are invited to be part of the audience for the 6th Grade Jazz Band and musicians from the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. Students interested in taking part in this small ensemble event should already be preparing the music assigned for their ensemble. An onstage rehearsal will be held that week.

On SUNDAY, JUNE 10th, the 5th & 6th Grade Bands will perform a 20 minute musical set and the STAR SPANGLED BANNER on the field at McCoy Stadium in Rhode Island for a AAA Pawtucket Red Sox game. Khaki PANTS & Band shirts must be worn.

The Spofford "All School Concert Assembly" will be held at 9:15AM on TUESDAY, JUNE 12th at 9:15AM. This concert will feature the 5th and 6th Grade Concert and Jazz Bands.

The 6th Grade JAZZ BAND will present a full concert at the Cole School on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13th. Morning rehearsal will be held AT COLE SCHOOL prior to the concert.

The Online Math League will celebrate a year of hard work and learning on Friday, May 18th from 9-9:30 in the Spofford Cafeteria.  This is for math league members in grades 3-6.   Parents of these participants are invited and encouraged to attend!

The Math Olympiad Teams will be having a celebration on Tuesday, May 22 from

 2-2:30 in the Spofford Cafeteria.  These children have challenged themselves with difficult problem solving activities throughout the year and will be recognized for their efforts.  Parents of these students in grades 4-6 are invited and encouraged to please join us!

7 Ways to Fix Challenging Tween Behaviors: (Parenting Magazine: Written by Julie Tisner. )

1. Maintain Your Parental Status This is not the time to try to be your child's friend. Despite appearances to the contrary, "he's looking to you to help him get through this confusing stage," says Linda Sonna, Ph.D., author of The Everything Tween Book. "Ultimately, he'll take his cues for how to behave from the way that you deal with a given situation."

2. Draw Clear Lines in the Sand You'll need to come up with some new rules as your tween exercises his growing independence. Start by figuring out what's most important to you, like right and wrong, honesty, and grades, and let go of stuff that doesn't matter in the long run-keeping his room neat or wearing clean socks.

3. Choose a Tween-Appropriate Punishment for Infractions When your child was a toddler or preschooler -- or maybe even as recently as a year ago -- you could pretty much get her to do what you wanted with positive reinforcement (praising her for being good, showering her with stickers) and the occasional time-out. With a tween, however, most parents find they have to bring out the big guns; very few older kids are likely to change their behavior based on, say, the promise of an ice cream cone if they can go a week without stomping around the house.

"I find that taking away a favorite activity, like their Xbox or cell phone, is the best punishment when my kids talk back or mumble something rude under their breath," says San Diego mom Dana Hess, who has a 10- and a 14-year-old. Whatever you do decide, she warns, follow through. "Once you don't do what you say, they'll take total advantage, and you'll lose your upper hand again."

4. Reciprocate Respect It's essential that you remind your child that you're a person, too. "I've told my daughter that it hurts when she screams at me or says she hates me," says Susan North-Tanaka, a mom of three in Long Beach, CA. "I tell her, 'I don't hate you, but it really hurts me to hear you say that to me.'?"

At the same time, remember that respect is a two-way street-especially when you start to get caught up in an emotionally charged argument. "I do sometimes apologize, " says Wade. "If I start to speak to my daughter before she finishes her sentence, for example, I'll say I'm sorry. I realize she's looking to be treated with respect, too, and I have to hold my own feet to the fire."

5. Let Her Stew When a "discussion" between you and your tween leads to screaming or hysterics (on the part of your kid, of course!), step back and wait for things to calm down. Encouraging your child to take a break from a situation is a good way to defuse high emotions all around.

6. Set Aside Some Face Time Take your tween out for breakfast or invite him along to walk the dog, just the two of you. Don't push an agenda, but do let your child lead the conversation, even if he just wants to chatter on about that DS game he's jonesing for. You never know where the conversation might lead -- and even if it goes nowhere, you'll get points for listening.

7. Fan the Home Fires As much as your child wants (and needs) to begin separating from Mom and Dad, he's still a kid and wants (and needs) to have a safety net. So provide one, as Hess did. When she felt extracurricular activities were pulling her kids too far out of the family fold, she designated Tuesdays as "Family Night, " meaning no friends, no activities, no computers, no texting, no video games. "The entire family hangs out and cooks together and plays games, with no outside influence," she says. "It reminds them that they're part of a family where they're okay just as themselves. They don't have to be anything else."

General Music Information:

Grade 3 ~  Third grade students will continue playing the recorder until June. In Fourth Grade we will continue playing the recorder as students advance into more difficult music, so please make sure your child hangs on to their instrument over the summer. They should put it in a safe (and easily remembered) spot!  Replacement recorders cost $5.

Grade 4 ~ Fourth Graders will continue with American folk music study, text study and tonal/rhythm patterns. Our final project for our Lollipop Tree song will be planting our very own lollipop tree! 

Grade 5 ~ Our study of Sea Shanties will continue through June, including ostinato compositions, harmonic accompaniment performances and improvisation study.

Grade 6 ~ Our world studies unit is slowly coming to an end. Our final project will be teaching our third grade music buddies about a specific country learned this year. The focus will be interesting facts, notation, singing games, play parties and instruments particular to the chosen country. As the weather gets warmer many of these activities may take place outside!