The Foote School 
E-News
October 20, 2016
In This Issue
Quick Links
City-Wide Open Studios at Foote
Saturday & Sunday     


We hope you will join us this Saturday and Sunday for Open Studios at Foote. This is the first time Foote is participating in this fantastic New Haven event and we're hoping for a great showing of support for the arts from the Foote community. 
  • Seven artists from the Foote community (parents, faculty, staff and alumni)
  • Children's art activities (1-4 p.m. each day)
  • Student musical performances

Click here for more information

 

  

Featured Artists:

Michelle Bradford (Foote parent) - Painting

Bette Donahoe (former Foote staff) - Watercolor

Owen Luckey '83 (Foote parent and alumna) - Textile

Theresa Nast (Foote parent) - Fabric

Michael Sloan (Foote parent) - Painting 

Gar Waterman (Foote guest faculty and parent) - Sculpture

Toby Welch '73 (Grade 4 teacher and alumnus) - Photography

**Parent volunteers are still needed to help supervise children's art activities. If you can donate an hour or two on Saturday or Sunday, please click here.

 

 
AllSchoolNewsALL SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Parent Volunteers Needed for Vision and Hearing Screening
 
Please note: The PTC needs additional parent volunteers for vision and hearing screening, especially on Monday and Tuesday.

On Oct. 24-26, and Nov. 7, school nurses Jodi Hodge and Heather Russo will be checking the vision and hearing of all students in Kindergarten through Grade 3, as well as Grade 6 and all new students.

The nurses need parent volunteers to chaperone students from their classes to the Sturley Room and to help during the screening. Click here to sign up to volunteer using SignUp.com. (You will not need to register an account or keep a password).

Questions? Please contact Caitlin Simon at caitlinjsimon@gmail.com, or 203-393-6449. 

MOSAIC Event: Restorative Radio - Nov. 7


Please note: This talk is appropriate for students in Grades 8 and 9.

RSVP to mosaic@footeschool.org



Reminder: Illness and Attendance Policies


Illness Policy
With cold and flu season approaching, we want to remind families about our illness and attendance policies, which can be found on page 41 of the Parent Handbook.

A child should not attend school if he or she:
  • Has a temperature over 100 degrees or has had one within the previous 24 hours
  • Has had nausea, vomiting or diarrhea within 24 hours
  • Has a rash that has not been diagnosed as non-contagious or has discharge from the eyes that is not under treatment
Giving your sick child the proper rest is important for his or her health and the health of our school community. If your child has to go home midday, please make every effort to have them picked up as soon as possible. If picking up your child midday could pose a difficulty, please be sure to make a back-up plan to ensure they can be brought home in a timely manner.

Attendance Policy
If parents plan to take their child out of school, they should, at least one week in advance of the absence, contact the classroom teacher or the advisor and the Division Head. This policy can be found on page 8 of the Parent Handbook.

Halloween Parade and Fair - Oct. 28

 
The annual Halloween Parade and Fair is Friday, Oct. 28. Below is the schedule of events. Please note: Given recent events in New Haven and elsewhere, and that we have young children, we ask that students do not dress up as clowns.
  • 12:30 p.m. - All School Dismissal. There will be no After School Program, sports practices or play rehearsal. Eighth and ninth graders will remain on campus. Parents of students in grades K-7 are responsible for their children from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m., and again after the parade. If going home between 12:30 and 1:45 will be problematic, parents are welcome to bring lunch and eat with their children at one of the picnic tables on campus.
  • 1:45 p.m. - Students in grades K-7 meet in classrooms
  • 2:00 p.m. - Halloween parade on the Middle School recess field, followed by the fair
  • 4:00 p.m. - Fair ends
  • 5:00 p.m. - Pickup for eighth and ninth graders
Kindergarten and Grades 1 & 2 students will return to classrooms after the parade to meet their parents. Parents may then take their children to the fair.

Third graders will meet their parents at the hill by the arts building after the parade.

Fourth graders will be dismissed to their parents on the Middle School recess field at the end of the parade.

Fifth, sixth and seventh graders have responsibilities at the fair and will be free to enjoy the fair with parents when their jobs are done.

Eighth and ninth graders will remain on campus after 12:30 dismissal to set up and decorate. They will need to bring a lunch, and they must stay after the fair to help as the clean up crew. The ninth grade manages the food tables and food sales. Pickup is at 5:00 p.m.

Tickets for games, food and other fair activities go on sale Monday, Oct. 24. Tickets cost 25 cents each and will be available at various locations on campus before 8:15 a.m. Tickets will also be sold at the fair. Buying tickets ahead of time allows you to avoid the long ticket line that day. Half of the proceeds from the fair will be donated to Columbus House, while half will go toward the Ninth Grade Class Gift.

** Please note that the city prohibits parking on the residential side of Loomis Place.

Questions? Please contact Cindy Raymond at craymond@footeschool.org.

Mark Your Calendars: Assembly Schedules


Below is a schedule of all-school assemblies and a list of grades performing at each. Musical performances at all-school assemblies are an important part of the music curriculum and support our community. We ask parents to bear this in mind when making family travel plans. Note: There may be additions to this list as ensemble schedules are finalized.

Early America Day - Nov. 23
2nd Grade
7th Grade

Winter Assembly - Dec. 16
1st Grade
3rd Grade
6th Grade
8th & 9th Grade Handbells
8th & 9th Grade Steel Pans
9th Grade World Drumming
Chorus

Spring Assembly - March 10
Kindergarten
2nd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
7th Grade
8th Grade Handbells
8th Grade Steel Pans
Chorus

May Day - May 26
All School

8th Grade Celebration - June 13
Chorus
8th Grade Handbells
8th Grade Steel Pans

9th Grade Graduation - June 14
9th Grade Steel Pans

New: Community Flyer Board


To help promote community events that may be of interest to Foote families, we have launched a community flyer board on our website. We are happy to post flyers for events that are consistent with our mission. Postings do not represent endorsements of events by The Foote School or its faculty or staff. To ensure timely posting, please submit flyers several days in advance of the advertised event to flyers@footeschool.org. We will also provide a link to the flyer board each week in Parent E-News under "Quick Links."

PTCNewsPTC NEWS
Volunteer for City-Wide Open Studios at Foote

 
The PTC is looking for parent volunteers to supervise hands-on art activities for children during City-Wide Open Studios at Foote on Oct. 22 & 23.

If you can donate an hour or two of your time, please click here to sign up.

Questions? Contact PTC co-presidents Amy Sudmyer and Melissa Castleman at ptc@footeschool.com.
 
DayInLifeA DAY IN THE LIFE OF FOOTE
Close-Up: The Language of Math


One of the most notable aspects of math at Foote is our teachers' ability to "speak math" with our students--to make the language and the concepts meaningful. Whether building vocabulary around odds and evens in first grade, or exploring abstract algebra in eighth grade, students learn and employ an array of tools as they investigate the fascinating language of math and its real-world applications.

Read more on Lauren Goldberg's blog, Curriculum Conversations.

Music Fundamentals, with Orff Instruments

In Tina Cunningham's music class, first graders learn that so and mi are high and low pitches. They learn to sing so and mi songs using musical hand signs, and learn to read them using visual icons, and then on a staff. They also practice writing so and mi using small objects and pencil and paper.

Now first graders are extending their knowledge of so and mi to Orff instruments, playing songs they know on xylophones and glockenspiels from memory. This week, they practiced the dialogue song "Lemonade" -- and spontaneously added a new ending as a class! Click below to watch a clip.

 
 


From the Faculty Blogs
Kindergartners continued their apple unit with a trip to Hickory Hill Orchards in Cheshire (pictured). Tricia Simon has photos.

Grace Peard's second graders are researching aquatic ecosystems for their table-top ponds.

Third graders experienced life in early New England on a trip to Sturbridge Village. Melissa McCormack, Ashley Schnabel and Amanda Diffley have recaps.

Heather Zetterberg, the Lower School math specialist, links to a schedule of Math Mornings happening at Yale this fall, which are geared toward parents and students in grades 7 and up.

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

Oct. 21 - Admissions Parent Tour

Oct. 22 & 23 - City Wide Open Studios at Foote. More info

Oct. 28 - Halloween Parade and Fair - 12:30 dismissal - No After School Program

Nov. 3  & 4 - ERB Testing - 12:30 All-School Dismissal
Parent-Teacher Conferences (by appointment)

Nov. 7 - MOSAIC event - "Restorative Radio: Public Airwaves in the Age of Mass Incarceration" RSVP