The Foote School 
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January 23, 2014
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Important Reminders About Weather & Safety


With the forecast calling for extremely cold temperatures through next week, we want to remind parents about two important weather and safety concerns:

Appropriate Dress:
  • Please make sure your children are wearing warm clothing, including long pants, hat, gloves/mittens, warm socks and a winter jacket (more than just a fleece). No shorts - even though students may feel warm, exposed skin can become frostbitten very quickly in these cold temperatures. Children who are under-dressed can also have trouble engaging in class when they are trying to warm up after being outside in the cold. 
  •  Students who arrive before 8:00 a.m. will be encouraged to wait indoors. Middle School students can wait in the atrium of the  Milikowsky Building or in the main building. Students in grades 4 and 5 can wait in the main building. As always, students in grades K-3 should wait in the bus room until 8:00 a.m.

Loomis Place:

  • The snow presents an additional challenge for parking and driving on Loomis Place. As a reminder, Loomis Place is a legal two-way street but it is much safer if everyone enters from Highland Street and exits onto Canner Street.
  • Always drop off children on the school side of Loomis Place and make sure they exit from the sidewalk side of the car.
  • Parking on the neighbors' side of Loomis Place is illegal unless you have a resident permit. Parking there - especially if you are blocking a driveway - will subject you to ticketing or towing.

Thank you for observing these safety measures. 

AllSchoolNewsALL SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
No After School Next Tuesday - Jan. 28

Reminder: There will be an all-school faculty meeting next Tues., Jan. 28 from 3:15 to 5:00 p.m. As a result, there will be no After School Program, sports games or practices, or play rehearsal.
Winter Minicourses Are Still Enrolling

It's not too late to sign up for after-school minicourses for the winter term. Click here to download full course descriptions and the enrollment form.
  MSNewsMIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Mark Your Calendars: Math Night is Feb. 6

Save the Date! Sixth Grade Math Night is Thurs., Feb. 6.

Math Night is a special evening for parents of sixth graders to hear about the Middle School math curriculum, and for students to showcase homemade games they design as a culmination to their unit on probability.

RSVP by Jan. 31 to Megan Williams at  meganwilliams@footeschool.org. Thank you!


 LSNewsLOWER SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Fifth Grade Parent Meeting - Jan. 29

A meeting will be held for parents of fifth graders on Wed., Jan. 29, at 8:15 a.m. in the Twichell Room. Consulting psychiatrist Michael Kaplan will join Head of Lower School Beth Mello to discuss three aspects of the fifth grade experience: Education Research Bureau standardized tests (ERBs); math placement decisions for grade 6; and the joys and challenges of pre-adolescence and adolescence. RSVP to Erika Villa at evilla@footeschool.org.

DayInLifeA DAY IN THE LIFE OF FOOTE
Honoring the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Foote celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at an all-school assembly last Friday with poems, songs and a recitation of the slain civil rights leader's "I Have a Dream" speech. Heroism was a theme of the assembly, and MAG students produced a video in which they talk about the big and small things they do to feel like heroes. Click the still frames to watch videos. And click here for more photos from the assembly.
Foote School 8th Graders Recite Martin Luther King Jr.'s
Foote School 8th Graders Recite Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech
Foote School Heroes Big and Small
Foote School Heroes Big and Small

MOSAIC Talk Explores World-Changing Events in India and Pakistan



A significant chapter of world history came alive last Thursday when two members of the Foote community presented a talk about the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Dr. Fasih Q. Zaman (pictured above), a Foote grandparent who grew up in Pakistan, and Dr. Steven Wilkinson (pictured below), a Foote parent and Yale professor, spoke to a rapt audience in the Twichell Room. Click here to read more.

From the Faculty Blogs

Looking for activities for your child for the next snow day (or any day)? Katy Botta, Alexandra Wittner , Emily Buckley, Sue Delaney and Hilary Pearson have you covered.

Margy Lamere's MAG students are learning about oral traditions from parents who are visiting the classroom to tell the stories of how they ended up in New Haven (pictured).

MAG students are creating stories with digital animation. Lower School Technology Coordinator Julianne Ross-Kleinmann explains how.

Lely Evans' Chinese students are learning the animals of the Zodiac, and Lely posted an audio clip of the chants and rhymes they're using to memorize them.

Michael Milburn's ninth grade English students are reading short pieces of writing - and watching film clips - on the theme of survival, including the groundbreaking New York Times piece "Snow Fall: Avalanche at Tunnel Creek."

 

To read more, check out the Lower School blogs and Middle School blogs.  
DatesDates to Remember
Feb. 3 - 6 - Middle School Parent Adviser Conferences (by appointment)
Feb. 12 - Parent Teacher Council Meeting, 8: 30 a.m. in the Sturley Room
Feb. 14-17 - Winter Flex Weekend - NO SCHOOL (Vacation Program Available)
Feb. 24-28 - Book Swap
Feb. 25-28 - Ninth Grade Play, "The 39 Steps"