The Foote School 
E-News
January 30, 2014
In This Issue
Quick Links
New Procedures for Lost & Found



Beginning tomorrow, Fri., Jan. 31, the lost and found bins will be cleaned out once a month and their contents put into storage on campus. The bins will be emptied during the last week of every month. All lost and found items will be available for pick up at the all-school assembly on March 7.
 
If you're looking for an easy way to keep track of your child's items, the PTC is running a special fundraiser from Feb. 1-28 selling Mabel's Labels. The labels are for clothing, sports equipment, household items, shoes, etc. Labeled items get back to children before they end up in lost and found. Foote will earn 20 percent of all sales of Mabel's Labels purchased through this special website: www.footeschool.mabelslabels.com.
AllSchoolNewsALL SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Reminder About Winter Flex Weekend

  • If there are no more snow days on or before Feb. 7, there will be no school Feb. 14 and Feb. 17.
  • One more snow day by Feb. 7 would mean that school is open on Feb. 14, and closed on Feb. 17.
  • Two or more snow days by Feb. 7 would mean school is open both of those days.
  • If snow days occur after Feb. 7, Winter Flex Weekend will happen as planned and there will be no school on Feb. 14 and Feb. 17.
  • Information about the policy can be found on page 21 of the Parent Handbook.
Updated 2014-15 Vacation Calendar

The vacation calendar for the 2014-15 school year has been updated to reflect the correct date for Rosh Hashanah. Click here to download the updated version.   



Sports Are On For Next Tuesday, Feb. 4

There will be after-school sports next Tues., Feb. 4. A previously scheduled all-school faculty meeting is not happening that day, so teams will practice as normal. 
Get Ready to Show Foote Your Love!


AF logo Join Foote alumni as they shower Foote with Annual Fund gifts in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day. Current parents are also encouraged to give and will receive a special thank you treat for their support. Parent participation is currently at 64 percent. Last year we made it to over 90 percent, which means we hope to hear from many of you again!

Click here to show your love for Foote and donate today!
 
  MSNewsMIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
ERB Results Available

Individual student reports from November's ERB administration are now available. Middle school parents who would like to review their child's results - as well as his or her fall term reports - are invited to schedule an appointment with John Turner or Liam Considine. Fifth grade parents may set up a conference with Beth Mello. 
 
To schedule an appointment, contact Erika Villa at evilla@footeschool.org, or 203-777-3464 x208.
  PTCNewsPTC NEWS
All-School Bowling Social - Feb. 21

The PTC is sponsoring a bowling party at Johnson's Duckpin Lanes in Hamden on Feb. 21. Space is limited. RSVP to Lori Blank at lblank@hotmail.com. 

 

DayInLifeA DAY IN THE LIFE OF FOOTE
Students' Movie Selected for Film Festival in NYC

What if you had to make a movie based on a children's book, but only had 90 seconds to tell the story? That's the challenge presented by the 90 Second Newbery Film Festival, an annual event created by author James Kennedy in which students make short films based on Newbery Medal-winning books. This year, a film made by three Foote students is among the "90-Second Newberys" that will be screened at the New York Public Library on March 22. Jaden Stone, Sammy Hendon-Dahl and Zane Franz were selected for their adaption of Armstrong Sperry's Call It Courage. The students used computer animation in the style of Minecraft to tell the story, a creative decision that Kennedy praised as "brilliant."

Jaden, Sammy and Zane made the movie last year as fifth graders in Jim Adams' class. Jim's been doing the 90-Second Newbery project for several years, and this year's class will shoot more films in June. To watch the video and read more, click here.

Let the (Learning) Games Begin!

Foote students are participating in numerous competitions this time of year.

On Saturday, 10 students will represent Foote at the chapter competition of the national MATHCOUNTS competition at Yale. Twenty-eight students in grades 6 through 8 took part in the schoolwide contest on Jan. 14, and the top 10 finishers (pictured) will compete for a chance at the state or national finals.

On Thursday, Jan. 30, 13 eighth graders went to Yale to take part of the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad (NALCO), a nationwide contest that challenges middle and high school students to solve linguistic puzzles. This is Foote's first year participating.
New Squash Team Hits the Courts

Foote's brand new squash team played its inaugural match on Wednesday. The Falcons lost to Choate's thirds team 6 - 4 on Jan. 29, but held their own against a more established team composed of high school athletes, says coach Kelly Small. Foote's newest sports team has shown great dedication, getting up early for 7 a.m. practice at the New Haven Lawn Club before school. The team has three more matches this season, two of them next week: Mon., Feb. 3 at Hopkins and Thurs., Feb. 5 at Kingswood Oxford. The final match of the season is Feb. 18 against the Squash Haven team.
From the Faculty Blogs

Katy Botta's Kindergarteners are exploring the question of what makes a family, and enjoyed a visit from a Foote faculty family.

After reading about a remarkable Kenyan woman, Emily Buckley's MAG students braved chilly temperatures to have a fun outdoor recess (pictured.)

Sue Delaney's MAG students learned about motion by making "zoomers."

Amanda Diffley's third graders are studying the seven continents for their earth science unit, and imagined a few new ones.

Looking for the children's books that just won Newbery and Caldecott awards? The Foote library has them all.

Head of Middle School John Turner blogs about the ERB tests, and why they're more in line with Foote's philosophy than you might think.

What do the State of the Union, the Challenger disaster and a ninth grade student leadership conference all have in common? Curriculum Coordinator Lauren Goldberg finds the thread.

 

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
Feb. 24-28 - Book Swap
Feb. 25-28 - Ninth Grade Play, "The 39 Steps"