FROM THE DESK OF STEVE LORENZ

March 18th Inservice Day

Faculty and staff will be focusing on two areas of importance. All math teachers will be reviewing, rating, and discussing our current math program, as well as several others, in order to make a decision about which program will serve our students the best. The Middle School teachers and specialists will focus on many topics and points of discussion relating to the current middle school program, with an eye towards improving our delivery of subjects, curriculum, and much more.

A progress report will be forthcoming the week after the Inservice Day.

Sign in at the Desk Please (A Reminder)

When parents or other guests are visiting the school, it is mandatory that they sign in at the main office (Tammy's desk). We do not expect parents to sign in during drop off or at pick up, but any other time please report to the office so we know who is in the building.

This is obviously an important safety measure for all.

Enrollment Forms

Enrollment forms were due to us on March 1, 2011. In order to secure a place for your child for next school year we need your contract.

Please call Head of School, Steve Lorenz, if you have questions or concerns about your child being at TGS for the next school year. I will also be reaching out via phone and email.

Steve

Steve Lorenz

Head of School  

5th graders found midwinter ski conditions last week.

Dear Parents of Students in Preschool-5th grade,

Late in March, you will receive a Progress Assessment letter from your child's homeroom teacher. This letter is intended to be a component of an ongoing dialogue and a record of your child's approach to learning and academic development. This is an opportunity for the homeroom teacher to highlight your child's individual strengths and to address any issues that may be pertinent to his or her transition to the next grade level.

The Progress Assessment letter is a component of our conference and narrative report schedule for grades pre-K through five. It is our hope that it will add continuity to parent and teacher communication.

Yours in conscious partnership,

Ken, Libby, Tracy, Eve, Linda, Darcy, and Charlie

ART NEWS!

MARCH IS STUDENT ART MONTH! Fifteen students from The Grammar School have their art displayed at The Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro for the month of March. I hope you will stop in and see our students' work, as well as works from other area schools. The students whose art is exhibited are: Frances Cornick, Ona Hauert, Tyler Silbey, Luke Cuerdon, Willa Dana, Jack Rockefeller, Ethan Cameron, Garrett Weil, Hannah Sardinas, Isabel Hopkins, Kemp Wagenbach, and Tea Sweeney. 

7th & 8th Grade Art Opening at TGS! - Seventh and eighth graders have completed their art electives and would like to share their art with you. The entire TGS community is invited to see sculpture, photography, silk-screened images, and music videos on Thursday, March 24 from 6:30-7:30 pm in the auditorium and Dorothy Richardson Gallery. Refreshments will be served and will benefit a needy cause (to be selected). We hope to see you there.

William Chambers  

Another "WASTE-FREE LUNCH" is coming! TGS students and staff will be celebrating waste-free lunches, (e.g. reusable containers vs. single-use packaging) on Thursday, March 10.

The idea behind the waste-free lunch is to eliminate all the disposable food packaging for that day's lunch as a way of reducing what we send to the landfill each week. TGS throws away about 12 pounds of non-recyclable, non-compostable trash at workjobs each day. The majority of this waste is food packaging from snacks and lunches. Our composting partnership allows us to reduce our landfill waste by composting paper products and food waste, among other items.

The topic of packaging and waste-free lunch will be  

discussed in classrooms. For more information, please visit www.wastefreelunch. 

Please help us to celebrate a truly waste-free lunch on March 10! Thank you for your support. 

Hop checks out an exhibit at the science fair last Friday. (See more pictures of the science fair.)

Exploration at TGS - Science Fair and Sundials

Upper School students hosted a science fair last Friday, the culmination of weeks of research and experiments. 6th graders also had a chance to construct working sundials under the guidance of Mac Oglesby, former TGS teacher and head of school.

6th graders display their sundials. (See more pictures of the sundial project.)

IN OUR THANK YOU TO OUR CLASS PARENTS LAST WEEK - We missed our Kindergarten class parents Madeline and "Hop" Hopkins. Thank you very much for all you do!

YELLOW BARN RESIDENCY & CONCERT - On Tuesday and Wednesday, March 22 and 23, Yellow Barn is delighted to expand its residency program to The Grammar School with free performances, educational workshops and open discussions. Featuring The Canoro String Quartet from New England Conservatory, this special residency program provides students and staff curriculum-based opportunities to work with Yellow Barn musicians. Music workshops are planned for all grade levels, including the playing of several of our students' Opus compositions from past and present. The culmination will be a TGS performance at All School Meeting on Wednesday, March 23, from 2:15-2:55. Parents are welcome!

Thank you to the Yellow Barn musicians for making this opportunity available to us.

Alli Lubin 

PUTNEY FOOD SHELF - Hop and his 7th graders are collecting for the month of March. There is a box outside Tammy's office as well. Many thanks to all who give!

HEALTH FORMS - Health forms for 2011-12 school year will be coming home this month. If you received a letter in the mail recently stating that we are still missing your child's health records for THIS school year, you will be receiving a phone call from our on-call school nurse, Sara Dunbar. Please call your doctor immediately and have them fax your forms to Tammy's office at 387-4744. Thank you.  

HEALTHY SNACKS UPDATE FROM THE STUDENT COUNCIL - We would just like to give you an update on the school's new healthier food store. We are lowering the price of all food items to $1 each, except for fruit leathers, which are two for $1. We hope this decrease in price will increase sales and help earn more profits, so we can work on making the main bathrooms handicap accessible.  

Thank you for your support,

The Grammar School Student Council   

SCHOOL STORE SALE!  

Items available in Tammy's office
NEW! 50th Anniversary Mugs $10 

Water Bottles $2

Winter Hats $5

Pens 50 cents

Pencils 25 cents

 Personalized T-Shirts and Sweatshirts (order form online)

COMMUNITY NEWS

NEYT presents Hecuba, directed by Eric Bass, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 11-13. Fri & Sat evenings at 7 pm, Sat & Sun matinees at 2 pm. Tickets: Adults $10, Seniors $8 and Students $6.

NEYT's Theatre Adventure Adult Troupe presents its second original show, "Imagine That: Our Stories Take Flight!" with performances at NEYT on Thursday, March 24 at 10:30 am, tickets $6 at the door; and Friday, March 25 at 7 pm, tickets $10 at the door. The shows will be interpreted with ASL. The theater is wheelchair accessible.  

PUTNEY SCHOOL Community Service - In order to raise money for Kurn Hattin Homes, Putney School students are hiring themselves out to work in the community on Saturday April 16. They can clean up the gravel the plows left on lawns, paint barns, clean garages, clear land, move hay- whatever is needed to welcome the spring. It may be hard to imagine spring will come, but we are confident!
 
Students can work for you, your neighbors, your business, or for non-profits you wish to support. You will pay $8 per hour, and all of your payment will go directly to Kurn Hattin. If interested, please complete and submit the form at this link (or call 387 6384) to reserve your work force.

Thanks!

Emily Jones

Director, The Putney School