Dear South School Community,

The first week of October at South Elementary is shaping up to be a very exciting one! The children have settled nicely into their classroom routines, and we are enjoying lots of special events. We're sure your children would love to tell you more about all of the following happenings:

Famous Artist Visits South Elementary: Thanks to the PTO, the children enjoyed a presentation by Bren Bataclan, a famous artist, on Friday, September 27^th! All of the children and adults got a chance to draw the characters that this artist is famous for! Everyone really loved tapping into their creative artistic intelligence!

Our New Playground and Games:Thanks to a Hingham Education Foundation grant, Dr. Curt Hinson Ph.D. of "Trouble Free Playgrounds" visited South Elementary one year ago. Dr. Hinson is an expert on children's fitness. He trained all of us in some new games for the playground. These games are designed to involve as many children as possible in different activities and small groups playing simultaneously which fits nicely into our ongoing goal of getting more children involved and moving at recess. This year, Mr. Buczynski  has done some excellent follow up as he has worked hard to provide the equipment needed to play the games and done a refresher course about  them during gym class. Of course all of this is further enhanced by the fact that the playground was refinished and designed to have special spaces for these games.  Many of the games can be played at home with very little equipment.  You may want to ask your child about: "Hoop Koosh,"  Hoop Ball, "Catch 5," "Guard the Cookie Jar,"  and "Man in the Middle"...just to name a few.

Tuesday, October 1 -David Coffin, Recorder Player Visited Third Grade! Thanks to the PTO Cultural Committee, David Coffin, a recorder player, put on a wonderful demonstration for the third grade classes. Learning to play the recorder is part of the third grade music program this year.  Seeing this professional player was inspirational to all!

First Beehive, Wednesday, October 2! The first Beehive was held on October 2 from 9:30-10:00. This was the first of four beehive meetings for this year.  Small groups of children from grades 1-5 met with a member of the staff to hear that staff member's favorite childhood story and do some "getting to know you activities." Each group is made up of children from every grade level. Some very nice relationships develop from these meetings over the years!

Act of Kindness In keeping with our "Bee Kinder than Necessary" theme, the fifth graders are spearheading a Red Cross collection this week. All proceeds will be sent in aid of the recent flood victims in Colorado and Mexico. We are asking the children at all grade levels for voluntary donations. It would be wonderful if this money could be "earned" doing some chore or act of kindness. This collection will take place every day this week.

First Buzz Assembly: Our first Buzz Assembly will be at 2:30 on Friday, October 11. The entire school will gather in the cafeteria to celebrate "Beeing" Respectful, "Beeing" Responsible, "Beeing" Ready to learn, and " Beeing" Kinder than Necessary. They will also hear about a new reading incentive program. Fourth graders will be presenting a beautiful performance for all to hear! Other grade levels will present at future Buzz Assemblies! At the end of the assembly 25 Buzz Awards will be pulled from the "hive." These representatives will be able to choose an extra gym or art class. Children receive Buzz Awards throughout the year from staff members to compliment good behavior and acts of kindness.

BOKS Program: A huge thank you goes out to the PTO for bringing us the BOKS (AM exercise program). Participating families were chosen in a random lottery to participate in this six week program. It will begin on Tuesday, October 8^th. 

Harvest Party:  The PTO will sponsor the Harvest Party on Friday, October 25^th  from 5:30-7:30.  This party is extremely well run and organized by the PTO volunteers. Please be aware that all children must be accompanied by an adult as this is not a "drop-off" event. Please make sure to follow all parking regulations on Independence Lane and Loring Hill Rd. and follow safety rules when crossing Main St. on that evening as it can be quite dark and many drivers do not stop at the crosswalk when they see pedestrians even though it is a state law. It might be a great idea to bring a flashlight along!

Room Parent Thank you! A huge thank you goes out to all of the parents who volunteered to be room parents. Room parents organize volunteers from each class for various events. It is very helpful for the teachers to know they have the help of all parents!

Lunch Accounts - Please remember tokeep all lunch accounts current.

Bicycles:  Many of the children have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather by biking to school. The child does need to have a note to be able to do this as it is a change in dismissal. Please be aware that only children in grades 3-5 are allowed to ride to school without a parent/guardian along.  Bike riders who live in Liberty Pole are asked to walk their bikes to the end of the sidewalk by the fire station, and then they can start to ride. All other children are asked to walk their bikes down to the crossing guard near the bus loop. If they live on the school side of the street, they can ride from there. If they live on the other side, they are crossed by the guard and then they ride either north or south on Main St. depending where they live. Please also remind children to say "passing on the right" when they encounter another biker, jogger or walker.  This procedure will also apply on the way to school. Please go over this with your child. Main Street may be one of the prettiest streets in America, but it is also very busy. So, it will take our whole village to keep our children safe. Thank you for your help with this.

ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL

Thank you very much for helping to make the arrival and dismissal process go smoothly each and every day. Please continue to display a sign with your child's last name in the car window at Special Dismissal and the Liberty Pole Car Loop all year as duty teachers sometimes rotate. Thank you also for refraining from cell phone use when you are in line. Please also be sure that the children who are being dropped off/picked up at the Liberty Pole/Playground drop off are using the passenger side door as cars pass on the left to get through. All of this really helps to move things along and keeps everyone safe. Another problem we have encountered lately is a large growth in the number of dogs that come with parents to pick children up from school. This can add difficulty in certain areas like Special Dismissal and Liberty Pole/Walker/Biker dismissal because many other children are attracted to go see the dogs and this causes some issues with these dismissal procedures. It would be very helpful if dogs are kept back from the large groups when they are at school at dismissal time. Thank you so much!

After School Activities :To further insure safety, if you are picking your child up from any afternoon activities, like Fly South, Homework Heroes , etc...please park in a spot, if available. If not, please wait by the curb and only allow children to get in the car through the passenger side door.  Be very careful when pulling out as this can be a very busy time. Thank you so much!!!!

Title One and Lexia Soon to Begin! We are so fortunate to have these two wonderful programs to help us fulfill our goal of creating happy, successful readers and mathematicians here at South Elementary.  Just as a child may go to extra athletic or music lessons and practices to enhance their skills, these programs help to enhance the reading and math skills. Please watch your child's backpacks for invitations to join these programs!

Voluntary Reading Incentive Program Coming to South Elementary! Student will win Nooks!

This program will have a soft beginning on Monday, October 7. We will announce it on Friday, October 11, at the Buzz Assembly.  This program is being sponsored by Barnes and Noble as well as the Horace Mann Insurance Company. It will be a year- long program which involves a weekly parent sign- off sheet. Children are being asked to read twenty minutes beyond what is already being expected by the classroom teachers each night. For each sign-off sheet they send to the office, children will be given a chance ticket to win a Nook.  At the end of each term, two NOOKS will be given away at awards ceremonies (end of each term) at Barnes and Noble.  If we have great participation, the number of Nooks could go up! The school also receives 5% of the sales at Barnes and Noble on the evening of the ceremonies. The first ceremony is set for December 10, 2013 @ 6:00 p.m.

Electrical Safety: Electrical Safety (Thank you Electric Company) will be offered on October 8, 9, and 10 during the school day.

Mary Eastwood and Lori Jacobs (: 

Facts to Know and Special Dates:

• Please remember that children should not arrive at school prior to 8:30 am as we want to make sure they have proper supervision.
• Please make sure to send in notes to the classroom teacher for absences, dismissals, and any change in a child's departure from school. We also need a note if a child rides their bike to school. Be sure to include the child's name, class and your name.
• Thank you from refraining from cell phone use in dismissal car lines.
• The third grade will visit Plimoth Plantation as part of their study of Massachusetts History on Friday, October  11.
• Thanks also to the PTO,the first grade will enjoy a visit from some of the Pilgrims of Plimoth Plantation on November 12.
• South Skull's Haunted Harvest Party is set for October 25 from 5:30-7:30. Please be aware that this will not be a drop off event and all school rules will apply...  (:
• South School Parent/Guardian Social is set for Saturday, November 2, in the evening...more information to follow...
• The Annual Thanksgiving Feast is set for November 22 during the school day.