The Foote School 
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November 7, 2013
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Book Fair To Welcome Award-Winning Illustrator Christopher Myers

The Book Fair will take place from Tues., Nov. 19 through Thurs., Nov. 21 in the Twichell Room. This year's special guest is author and illustrator Christopher Myers, winner of a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award for his imaginative children's books. Christopher will visit Foote classrooms, a New Haven public school (Mauro-Sheridan Science, Technology and Communications School) and will be the featured speaker from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in the Hosley Gym for the Book Fair ice cream social. Click here to volunteer for the Book Fair. To help with planning, please RSVP for the ice cream social at [email protected]. Click here for video of Christopher explaining how his father, writer Walter Dean Myers, influenced his career. 


AllSchoolNewsALL SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Annual Fund Parent Calling Night - Nov. 12 

AF logo The Annual Fund parent calling night is next Tuesday evening, Nov. 12. Thank you to parents who have already contributed. If you have not yet contributed, please expect to receive a phone call from your  Annual Fund Class Captain or a Board member between 7:00 and 8:30 p.m.

The goal is to achieve over 90 percent parent participation and to help support many of the programs and classroom materials that our tuition does not cover. 

 

If you'd like to support the Annual Fund now, please click here.


Questions? Contact Director of Development Ann Baker Pepe at [email protected].
Shelter Drill Goes Smoothly

The all-school shelter drill held this past Tuesday was a success. Students followed teachers' instructions in a calm and orderly manner. After every building was determined to be secure, faculty received a text message from the school alerting them to return to classrooms. There will be additional, unannounced shelter drills later in the school year. If you have any questions or concerns about the drill, please contact Head of School Carol Maoz or Business Manager Jay Cox. 
No Minicourses or Private Music Lessons Thurs. & Fri. 

There will be no minicourses or private music lessons today and Friday due to parent-teacher conferences. Also, After School Program will not be using the normal rooms. Children can be picked up in the Jonathan Milikowsky Science and Technology Building, or parents can inquire at the front desk as to where to pick up.   
Food Drive for St. Ann's Soup Kitchen

Sixth graders are coordinating a school-wide Thanksgiving food drive for St. Ann's Soup Kitchen in Hamden. Each homeroom has a collection box that will be picked up on Nov. 18. We are asking each grade to collect a specific item toward St. Ann's goal of filling 200 bags with fixings for a Thanksgiving Day meal. We also hope to raise money to purchase 25 turkeys for the soup kitchen. That collection box will be in the main office. More information is on the flyer below.
 
MSNewsMIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Mission Skills Assessment Next Week

Next week, students in grades 6, 7 and 8 will engage in the second annual administration of the Mission Skills Assessment. The online assessment will be given during one or two regular class periods. The assessment evaluates a student's non-cognitive skills and his or her approach to different situations, so there is no real way to study for it - and no need to.

Read more about the MSA on Head of Middle School John Turner's blog, News From the Middle. 
Secondary School Recommendation Forms

Parents of eighth and ninth graders:

 

If your child intends to apply to secondary schools this year, please remember that all recommendation forms must be submitted to the proper teacher and our office by Wed., Nov. 20. On or before that date, please send an email titled "Schools Applying To" to Liam Considine [email protected] and Erika Villa at [email protected] indicating the final list of schools to which your child will be applying. 

 

Additionally, please encourage your child to carefully complete and submit the student questionnaire that Mr. Considine will be making available to them early next week.

LSNewsLOWER SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Please Give Us Your Feedback on MAG

The Foote School faculty and administration is conducting a review of the MAG program and wants your feedback. Parents who have had children in the program (past or present) are invited to share their experiences with Mixed Age Group before Nov. 18. To schedule a time with Head of School Carol Maoz or Head of Lower School Beth Mello, contact Erika Villa at 203-777-3464 x208, or [email protected]. We look forward to hearing your feedback.
PTCNewsPTC NEWS
Book Fair Projects  

Foote students aren't the only ones who benefit from the annual Book Fair. The event also raises money for the school and provides opportunities to donate books to New Haven Public School libraries and to individual Foote teachers. See the poster for more information.

Support Foote With Your Purchases

Did you know you can earn FREE MONEY for Foote by participating in these retail give-back programs?
  • Target: If you have a Target credit card, Target will donate 1 percent of your purchases to the school of your choice through its Take Charge of Education program. Sign up here.
  • One Cause: Planning to shop online this holiday season? Start your purchases at the OneCause portal, and various merchants will donate fixed percentages of your purchases to Foote.
  • Big Y: Sign up your Big Y card to earn Education Express points for Foote. Ask the clerk at any register to link The Foote School to your card. 
Stop & Shop Update:
Thank you to the 208 Foote families and friends who have registered a Stop & Shop card with the A+ School Rewards Program this year. Your purchases have earned $712.58 for Foote during the first month of the program. If you have not yet registered your card (or a grandparent's), it is not too late: Sign up here.
Also, please try using Stop & Shop "Cash for Causes" gift cards for all of your grocery shopping. Buy a $100 gift card at the front desk, and you will get $100 of groceries or gas, and Foote will earn $5. It's an easy way to give much-needed support to Foote at no cost to you.
DayInLifeA DAY IN THE LIFE OF FOOTE
Kindergartners Read a Book About Emotions - With a Live Soundtrack
Yaira Matyakubora Plays for Foote School Kindergartners
Yaira Matyakubora Plays for Foote School Kindergartners
Kindergartners in Jess McNell's class welcomed a very special guest this week: Yaira Matyakubora and her violin. A mother of two Foote students, Yaira is a resident violinist for Music Haven and a tenured member of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. On Monday, she provided an improvised soundtrack to Jess' reading of the children's book "When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry..." As the book's character Sophie careened through a range of emotions - anger, fury, sadness and ultimately happiness - Yaira bowed and plucked her violin to match the moods, as wide-eyed kids looked on. Asked afterward how the music made her feel, one student said, "When Sophie was happy, it sounded like the flying of birds. When she was angry it sounded like the stomping of giants." Click the still frame above to watch video of the performance.   
MAG Students Write to U.S. Troops in Afghanistan 

Next Monday is Veterans Day, and MAG students in Margy Lamere and Hilary Pearson's classes have been corresponding with two U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan. MAG students are learning about proper letter form. On Oct. 1, they mailed hand-written letters and drawings to service members Randy Mello (Air Force) and Ryan Anderson (Army) asking about life in Afghanistan and their favorite things. Randy sent back a postcard (pictured), telling students, "The weather is hot in the summer, 114 degrees and cold in the winter, -22 degrees. My favorite color is red and my favorite food is peanut butter and jelly." Ryan emailed back telling students about his favorite color (green), his favorite football team (the Seahawks) and about his dog Ttitan, a Belgian Malinois trained to patrol the base perimeter. "Thanks so much for the letters and drawings," Ryan wrote. "Believe it or not I am going to keep these letters forever. When I am old and gray I plan on showing them to my grandchildren."   
Ninth Graders Don Togas for "Roman Dinner"

Toga-wearing ninth graders feasted like ancient Romans in Latin class this week during a "Roman Dinner" in the Twichell Room. Students brought in food ancient Romans might eat: grapes, breads, cheeses, ham, chicken, chickpea salad and walnut-stuffed figs. Afterward, each student stood up for a Roman-inspired performance. There was juggling, a Latin poetry reading, an original poem about Rome, retelling of ancient Roman myths (Romulus and Remus, Pandora's Box, Odysseus vs. the Cyclops), and recitation of the lyrics to "American Pie" - in Latin, of course. Click here for more photos
 
From the Faculty Blogs

Alexandra Wittner posted video of Chinese guest teacher Huang "Hannah" Qiong teaching Kindergartners to sing the "Tiger Song" in Chinese.

Margy Lamere posted video of her bewitched MAG students performing a scene from MacBeth (pictured).

Jim Adams' fifth graders used time-lapse photography and SAM Animation to make a video of classroom plants growing super fast.

Students are taking ERB tests today and tomorrow, and Head of Middle School John Turner explains why on his News From the Middle blog.

And Curriculum Coordinator Lauren Goldberg reclaims the education buzzword "core" for Foote's mission.

To read more, check out the Lower School blogs and Middle School blogs
DatesDates to Remember
Nov. 7 & 8 - ERB Testing - All School Dismissal 12:30 (After School available)
Nov. 7 & 8 - MS and LS Parent Conferences (by appt) - Ninth grade school visits
Nov. 12 - Annual Fund Parent Calling Night
Nov. 14 - Parent Conferences for MS, 5:00-8:00 p.m. (by appointment)
Nov. 19-21 - Book Fair
Nov. 21 - Book Fair Ice Cream Social, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Nov. 27 - Thanksgiving Assembly, 11 a.m.
Nov. 28-29 - Thanksgiving Recess