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Kids Care Club will meet this Friday, December 18th 3:30-4:30 in the Common Room. We hope your kids can join us!
Wendy Ward will briefly discuss the new Kimochis Activity kits for Military families and how we can help raise money together, through bake sales, to send these kits to military families. Kimochis kits help children learn to express and manage their emotions in a supportive way. We will also be making a variety of seasonal cards for sick children at Stamford Hospital and sending our best wishes for the holidays. Please have your child bring in a new unused toy to the meeting for donation to David's Treasure Tree Toy Closet in the pediatric unit at Stamford Hospital. We know these words of encouragement from our Kids Care Club and an opportunity to choose a great new toy from the toy closet will help lift the children's spirits during difficult times. Please RSVP to rosiemcjordan@yahoo.com if your child is able to join us on the 18th. |
At the Board of Education (BoE) meeting on 11/24, Dr. Brenner presented his world language plan for the upcoming school year. This plan recommends significantly increasing the minutes of world language instruction for sixth graders by switching to five days of instruction per week, rather than three Other aspects of the plan include reviewing professional development and creating a shared world language vision at all school levels within the district.
Dr. Brenner's presentation can be found online here:
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ELP Open House for families interested in ELP for the 2016-2017 School Year will be held at Tokeneke School. Monday, December 21, 2015 from 7pm to 8pm. Please come learn about the program. Laura Straiton Program Director of Early Childhood, SESS
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The Early Learning Program Applications are accepted from November 1, 2015 to January 6, 2016 for students who will be turning 3 and 4 years old during the 2016-2017 school year.
At this time, ELP does not have a preschool option for children who are 5 years old or who will be turning 5 years old.
A lottery drawing will be held and parents will be notified/emailed by January 16, 2016 regarding acceptance.
To apply for the 2016-2017 School Year please click the link below:
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Please remember that as you come into the school from time to time, it's a great opportunity to check the Lost and Found tables as you go into the Common Room. There are many nice items there that should be claimed before they are donated to Person to Person after the holidays. Happy Hunting!
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Mark your calendars for Darien Day with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers!
Join fellow Holmes families to watch the Sound Tigers take on the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, January 23 at 7:30pm. A portion of each ticket sold will benefit the Holmes PTO. Tickets will be sold beginning the week after Winter Break.
The Holmes Chorus will be performing at the game, along with the choruses from all four other Darien Elementary Schools. Don't miss this great game!
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Donate to the Reiss Fund today!
For over 50 years, the Reiss Fund has generously awarded scholarships to our teachers allowing them to further their studies over the summer in an area of interest, exploration or enrichment. The learning from these incredible experiences comes back to our children's classrooms, enriching the learning that goes on and elevating the enthusiasm with which it is delivered.
Just this past summer, Holmes teachers Erin Brown attended Teacher's College Institute to build stronger reading instruction skills and Kelly Soisson attended a six week program on mindfulness, learning techniques to help students manage stress, stay focused and develop positive states of mind.
A total of 17 teachers throughout the district took classes in sciences, the arts and music and literacy thanks to your generosity.
Our ability to offer this extraordinary scholarship program to our teachers sets our district apart in Fairfield County. Our ability to continue to support our teachers through Reiss Fund grants depends on you.
Please make a secure online donation today at www.reissfund.org, where you can also print out a mail-in a donation form to send in with your check.
Please join us in supporting the Reiss Fund.
Best, Kristen Barnard & Sara Franzese Holmes PTO Co-Chairs
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Referral period: December 9th-January 9th
If you have a child in grades 2-8 that you believe may be gifted, you may refer him/her for evaluation to be placed in Darien's gifted and talented program. This referral period will identify children for placement beginning in September of the 2016-2017 school year. Before referring your child, please take a few minutes to review the following information on typical traits of gifted children here.
E-mail your child's assistant principal to begin the process and refer to the program's website for further information: www.ideaprogram.wordpress.com. |
New this winter is a video game designers, cupcake club, painting masters and more! With options to suit many interests and grades each day, we hope you can join us this winter for FUN after school. General registration is open until 1/6/16, for the winter session running 1/11 through 4/8/16. See you after school!
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A Community Fund initiative: Let's Get Talking - Thriving Youth.
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December
18 Kids Care Event
23 Early Dismissal 1:25PM
24-1 Holiday Break
January
4 Students/Staff Return
7-8 Grade 2 High Touch
High Tech
11 PTO Meeting 9:15-10am CR
13 PTO Executive Board Meeting
9:15-10:15am CR
18 MLK - No School
19 Grade 5 High Touch
High Tech
21 Coffee w/Principal 9:15-10am
CR
21 Grade 3 Animal Embassy
27 K High Touch High Tech
in class
29 K High Touch High Tech
in class
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Getting ready to pack lunches? Reusable food containers save the Earth, and they save you money! Please pack waste-free lunches!
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Community News
Darien Arts Centers - Scenes From The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker comes to life as the DAC's dance companies join together to enchant audiences of all ages at their annual production, 'Scenes from the Nutcracker'. This holiday classic is abbreviated to an hour-long narrated show, specifically geared for young audiences. Children get to sit up close & are invited to meet and greet the characters after the performance. Performances are
12/18 at 6pm, 12/19 at 11am, 2pm, & 5pm and 12/20 at 12pm & 3pm. Reservations are highly recommended, as performances sell out quickly. Call the DAC at (203) 655-8683 or email Bonnie@darienarts.org for reservations. The Darien Arts Center is located at 2 Renshaw Road, behind Darien Town Hall.
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Darien Little League Registration is Now Open!
Give your child a meaningful gift this holiday season. Give them the gift of Darien Little League. DLL is open to all boys and girls (born after April 30, 2003) in Kindergarten through Middle School. Players of all abilities are encouraged to join one of our exciting programs this spring. Early bird registration ends: Thursday, December 31 (baseball and softball) and Sunday, January 31 (baseball grades K &1). Register now and save! www.dybs.org. For questions, contact darienll@yahoo.com.
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Darien Nature Center 2016 Program
Bundle up your 3-8 year old and join us outside as we spend the afternoons going where ever curiosity takes us. Rosy Red Cheeks and huge smiles are guaranteed. Join us for our Sticks and Stones program at the Darien Nature Center-Wednesdays ages 3-5 year old from 1:30-2:30pm, Tuesdays ages 5-8(K-2nd grade) 4:00-5:00 pm. January 12 -February 10 (5 weeks) $150 and membership is required. Go to www.dariennaturecenter.org to register, call us at 203-655-7459 or email tory@dariennaturecenter.org.
Noroton Fire Department's Annual Toys 4 Tots Collection:
Noroton Fire Department is an official drop off location for the US Marine Corps Reserve Toys For Tots Foundation. With the community's help we collected over 2,000 toys last year. We're asking for you to join us again this year to help us achieve our goal of collecting 2,300 new, unwrapped toys for Toys For Tots. So please stop by Noroton FD anytime and leave a donation in the Toys for Tots bin in the back parking lot. We're located at 1873 Post Road across from St. Luke's Church. Or better yet, get together with your friends, neighbors or organizations and start your own collection. Then give us a call and we'll come to your neighborhood with a fire truck to pick up your donations. We're available on weekends (and some weekdays too) rom November 28th through December 20th from 10am - 3pm. This is a great cause and giving back is what the holiday season is all about. Please consider donating a new, unwrapped toy to a child in need.
We have had the pleasure of working with Boy/Girls Scout Troops, and Kids Care Clubs. We would love to partner with you again this year and either come to your meeting with a fire truck or offer a tour of the fire house.
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Submission Guidelines:
Please send your submission in the text of your e-mail, single spaced and left adjusted, with "HTH Submission" in the subject line to holmes2home@gmail.com. Make sure you include a contact name and email or website in the text of your submission for questions.
We do not accept files or formatted text.
Please limit your submission to one paragraph. All text may be edited. Submission does not guarantee publication.
Community submissions must be local, 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organizations and parent or child-related. We will not include advertisements for businesses. Submissions will run for two weeks.
The deadline for submission is Monday by 4pm; H2H is normally distributed on Wednesdays.
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For recently distributed newsletters please visit our archive. Holmes to Home / Holmes School / Darien, Connecticut 06820 / (203) 353-4371
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