The Foote School 
E-News
September 15, 2016
In This Issue
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Parents Night & Fall Dinner
Sept. 22


 Dear Parents,

We are excited to welcome you next Thursday, September 22 for Parents Night and Fall Dinner. Parents Night is an opportunity to hear from your child's classroom and specials teachers about our curriculum and to come together as a community to share a delicious meal. As the year moves ahead, there will be opportunities to meet with your child's teachers to discuss his or her progress, and you should always feel free to make appointments to discuss your thoughts and questions with teachers, division heads or me. We are grateful to the Parent Teacher Council for organizing the dinner and look forward to seeing you next week.

Sincerely,

Carol Maoz
Head of School 

AllSchoolNewsALL SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Parents Night & Fall Dinner Schedule


Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 22 for Parents Night & Fall Dinner, from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. Highlights include:
  • Classroom presentations
  • Presentations by specials teachers (click here for a schedule)
  • Catered buffet dinner from L'Orcio, sponsored by the PTC (click here to preview the menu)
  • Dinner address by Head of School Carol Maoz
  • Homemade dessert buffet provided by parents
See below for the general schedule. Click here for Grades 6-9 schedules.  

Click here to RSVP for the dinner. 

  
Join the Foote School Orchestra



Students in grades 3 - 9 who play an orchestral instrument are invited to join the Foote School Orchestra for the 2016-2017 season. If your child would like to participate, please fill out and sign the registration form.

Orchestra meets after school on Wednesdays from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. in the Twichell Room. The first meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 21.

To learn more, please email orchestra director Yaira Matyakubova (yaira@musichavenct.org) or After School Music Coordinator Deadra Hart (dhart@footeschool.org).


Important Information About Grandparents Day


Grandparents Day is Friday, Oct. 7. Invitations have been mailed to Foote grandparents and special friends, who are invited from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to visit grandchildren's classes, participate in a minicourse or school tour, and enjoy an all-school assembly.

Invitations
If your child plans to bring a special friend in place of a grandparent, let us know so that we can send an invitation. Please email the special friend's name and mailing address to Amy Sudmyer in the Development Office, at asudmyer@footeschool.org.

Grandparents or special friends can also register from our homepage or by clicking here.

Please Volunteer
Grandparents Day volunteers are still needed! If you can donate a few hours of your time - either on Thursday, Oct. 6 from 12:00-3:00 p.m., or Friday, Oct. 7  from 8:30-12:30 p.m. - please contact Amy Sudmyer at asudmyer@footeschool.org.

Room Assignments for After School Program


Students enrolled in the After School Program will be in the following rooms until Thanksgiving break:

Kindergarten: K3  
Grades 1 & 2: Chester Sharp & Kim Yap (L-5)
Grade 3: Melissa McCormack (L-8)
Grades 4-6: Jim Adams (M-5) and Adam Solomon (M-4) 
Grades 7-9: Tina Hansen (M-22)
 
Questions? Contact Dawn Walsh (dwalsh@footeschool.org) or Bill Manke (bmanke@footeschool.org) in the After School Program.

LSNewsLOWER SCHOOL NEWS
Kindergarten Parent Coffee - Sept. 20

 
Kindergarten Parent Coffee

Tuesday, Sept. 20 
8:15 - 9:45 a.m. 
Twichell Room

After drop-off, join Head of Lower School Beth Mello for coffee, conversation and a presentation by Dr. Michael Kaplan, Foote's consulting pediatric psychiatrist.

RSVP to Erika Villa at evilla@footeschool.org.

 
Grade 5 Parent Meeting - Sept. 29

 
Grade 5 Parent Meeting

Thursday, Sept. 29  
8:15 a.m. 
Sandine Theater

To discuss important details of the Deer Lake trip (Oct. 19-21). It is important that at least one parent from each family attend. RSVP to Erika Villa at evilla@footeschool.org.

 
 MSNewsMIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
Grade 8 Parent Meeting - Oct. 5


Grade 8 Parent Meeting

Wednesday, Oct. 5 
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. 
Sandine Theater

To discuss the unique benefits and opportunities of The Foote School's ninth-grade program and provide an overview of the secondary school placement process. We will be joined by recent ninth grade graduates and their parents, who will share their perspectives on the ninth-grade experience at Foote.

Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to Erika Villa at evilla@footeschool.org.


PTCNewsPTC NEWS
Family Fun Day - Sept. 18

 
Find Great Foote Gear at the School Store


Support Foote with Your Grocery Purchases

 

 
Volunteer with the PTC

 
Each year, members of the Foote community are asked to select the PTC committees that they would like to join for the upcoming year. Participation levels and time commitments vary.Volunteers are always needed and appreciated. Please review the committee descriptions and select any you would like to join. We will contact you as the events you have selected approach. Thank you!

Amy Sudmyer & Melissa Castleman
PTC Co-Presidents
 
DayInLifeA DAY IN THE LIFE OF FOOTE
Growing Vegetables for Math and Food


Last spring, Margy Lamere's second graders and Hilary Pearson's first graders planted potatoes and carrots in the community garden. Last week, Hilary's class (now second graders) returned to the garden with Margy's new first-grade class to harvest the bounty.




Next, they worked in groups to count the veggies after estimating how many were in the crate. Students first had to devise a strategy before counting. Some counted by 2s, while others made a straight line and counted by ones. One group formed a potato square.



Finally, they counted by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s and found they had harvested an incredible 235 potatoes and 188 carrots!

Next up: sketching some of the misshapen potatoes and strangely-shaped carrots, after which the students will wash, cut, boil, roast and eat their bounty.


Phys Ed at Foote: Challenge By Choice


As part of a new series on Foote's curriculum, Curriculum Coordinator Lauren Goldberg writes about the goals of the physical education program (which is undergoing curriculum review this year) and how it differs from her own "gym class" experience in the 1970s.

Walking through the Foote School gym today, I couldn't help but think how wonderfully different our students' experience is in Physical Education than mine was 40 years ago. All of our boys and girls participate together, wearing whatever is comfortable for their own movement. Lessons include skills for specific sports with a focus on fun, confidence, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Another important element of our curriculum is that most classes include opportunities for personal choice.

"We used to think about teaching based on the sports that our teams play," Physical Education teacher Colleen Murphy told me. "That meant in the spring, boys played baseball and girls played softball. Then we started talking about how we can bring all the kids together. Now spring classes take the form of a 'stick sport clinic.'"

Another big difference: students can now decide whether to participate in a competitive or non-competitive group. 
 
Continue reading on Lauren's blog.

From the Faculty Blogs
Cara Hames' first graders continued their exploration of identity with a conversation about gender.

Meanwhile, Grace Peard's second graders are delving into identity by creating "outside and inside identity self-portraits" (pictured).

Similarly, Amanda Diffley's third graders painted life-size self-portraits to help get to know one another. They also created a classroom constitution to foster a safe and comfortable classroom environment.


To read more, check out the Lower School blogs and Middle School blogs.
DatesDates to Remember

Sept. 18 - Fall Family Fun Day - 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.
 
Sept. 22 - Parents' Night & Fall Dinner - 5:30 - 9:00 p.m. RSVP for the dinner. 
 
Sept. 27 - Oct. 1 - 9th Grade hosts Yali delegation

Oct. 7 - Grandparents Day

Oct. 10 - Fall Weekend - NO SCHOOL - No Vacation Program