The Foote School 
E-News
November 17, 2016
In This Issue
Quick Links
A New Affinity Group for
Foote Parents  

 
Dear Families,

We wanted to share the news that we are starting an affinity group for parents of Foote students of color. Affinity groups provide an opportunity for individuals with similar backgrounds and experiences to gather in a safe space where they can share pieces of their backgrounds and build a common connection to their community.

You may recall that last year we invited parents to share with us their experiences with diversity at Foote. Valuable information and perspectives were gleaned from those meetings and have guided ongoing discussions among our faculty. One outgrowth was the idea to create a dedicated affinity group for parents of students of color.

It is our hope that we can find a meeting time that works for as many parents as possible. If you are interested in attending, please email Silvia Gee (sgee@footeschool.org) and indicate which of these times would be best for you: 8:15 a.m., 12:00 noon, or 3:15 p.m. (After-school care is available for children of parents attending the affinity group).

We would like to have our first meeting before the end of the calendar year.

We are dedicated to supporting each of our students and families in order to create a unified and thriving school community in which all individuals are valued for their contributions. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either one of us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Carol Maoz
Head of School

Kossouth Bradford
School Counselor
AllSchoolNewsALL SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Tonight: Book Fair Social & Musical Performance

  
Book Fair Social 
Pizza and Ice Cream
Special performance by Grammy-winning artist Bill Harley

Thursday, Nov. 17
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Hosley Gym

Note to parents: Chairs will be set up assembly-style and we ask that parents sit with their children while Bill performs. Pizza will be served at 5:30 p.m. (before the concert) and ice cream sundaes will be served afterwards. Thank you for helping to make this a fun and enjoyable evening for the entire Foote School community.  

Also, this Saturday, Nov. 19, is Foote Day at R.J. Julia Booksellers
in Madison. Mention Foote at checkout and 20 percent of all purchases made will be donated to the school. 
 
 
Remember Assembly Dress Next Week



The Thanksgiving Assembly is next Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 11:30 a.m. in the Hosley Gym.
The assembly will feature seventh graders performing musical selections and introducing themselves as Early American historical figures, and second graders singing "Over the River and Through the Wood."

Reminder: There is a 12:30 p.m. all-school dismissal.

Please remember assembly dress:
  • Long pants (no jeans, sweatpants or warm-up pants)
  • Dress/skirt of an appropriate length (no shorts, jeans or sweat pants)
  • Collared shirt (button-down, golf or polo)
  • No T-shirts or sweatshirts, no writing on shirts
  • No flip-flops
Photo Retake Day is Tomorrow - Nov. 18


Photo Retake Day
Friday, Nov. 18
9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Sturley Room

Students received their photo packages on Monday, Nov. 14. If you are not happy with the photos, students may have a new photo taken tomorrow. There is a $10 retake fee and you must return the original photo package (you may keep the class photo.)

Questions? Contact Sandra Curran at shelena2002@yahoo.com.

School Store Open at Thanksgiving Assembly


The school store will be open at the Thanksgiving Assembly (Wednesday, Nov. 23) and will offer a special "Black Wednesday" sale.

All sweatshirts $25

Start your holiday shopping early and help support the Foote PTC.

Click here to shop the school store online.

New Policy on Over-the-Counter Medication

From School Nurses Jodi Hodge and Heather Russo:

As a result of a periodic review of our school policies, we are making the following changes to our current policy regarding the administration of over-the-counter (OTC) medication:

1) Beginning January 3, 2017, we will no longer administer OTC medications without the written consent of a medical doctor (in addition to the parent's consent).

 

2) The only OTC medications that Foote will provide are Tylenol, Advil/Motrin, and Benadryl.

 

If you would like the nurses to administer any of the above mentioned OTC medications to your child as needed, please have your doctor complete and sign the Authorization for the Administration of Medication form. (This form can also be found on the Parents page of the school website.)

If you would like the Nurses to administer any other medication (prescription OR over-the-counter) to your child as needed, please have your doctor complete and sign the Authorization for the Administration of Medication form mentioned above, and bring in the medication in its original packaging.

If you have any questions, please contact School Nurses Jodi Hodge (jhodge@footeschool.org) or Heather Russo (hrusso@footeschool.org). 

Tickets for 7th/8th Grade Plays are Now on Sale


Tickets for the winter theater production are now on sale. This year, 7th and 8th graders will perform three one-act comedies: The Ugly Duckling by A.A. Milne, The Flying Doctor by Moliere and The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang.

Performance dates are:
Thursday, Dec. 1 - 7:00 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 2 - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 3 - 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 4 - 1:00 p.m.

All tickets are $12 and may be purchased at the front desk.

EAG Movie Event - Tomorrow, Nov. 18


Foote's Environmental Action Group (EAG) is hosting a movie event for all students in grades 4 through 9.

Friday, Nov. 18 at 2:20 p.m.
Twichell Room
Pick up at 4:15 p.m.

Fly Away Home is about a father and daughter trying to lead a flock of geese south for the winter. Rated PG. Click here to watch the trailer.

Admission is FREE! Centennial water bottles ($5) and snacks ($.50-1.00) will be available for purchase, so we recommend bringing a few dollars.

Students are invited to gather as a community to learn more about nature and planet Earth, and support EAG projects and initiatives.

'Whistling Vivaldi' Book Discussion - Dec. 7
 
Over the summer, the entire Foote faculty and staff read Whistling Vivaldi by social psychologist Claude Steele as professional development. The book "sheds new light on how pervasive stereotypes can actually influence behavior and performance and how these stereotypes, if left unexamined, perpetuate themselves." We are using the book this year in our ongoing efforts to achieve an inclusive, supportive, nurturing environment for children, families and teachers. (Read more about our efforts on our Curriculum Conversations blog).
 
In June, we invited parents to read the book along with us. We will host a diversity and book discussion on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 8:30 a.m. in the Sturley Room as part of our monthly PTC meeting. All parents are welcome. Curriculum Coordinator Lauren Goldberg, school counselor Kossouth Bradford and Head of Lower School Beth Mello will facilitate the discussion. Please do not feel you need to read the book in its entirety to participate. Should you wish to read the book, several copies are available for checkout in the Perrine Library.
 MSNewsMIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
Winter Sports Begin Nov. 28



From Athletics Director Brad McGuire:

Winter sports will begin on Monday, Nov. 28. Our first day will consist of a whole group meeting, individual team meetings, uniform hand-out for basketball and squash teams and uniform fitting/ordering for swim team. All teams will begin practices on the court or in the pool on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

I look forward to seeing many of you at our competitions and I am excited to partner with you to help all of our student athletes get the best out of their athletic experience this winter. Each team's schedule will soon be posted on the Foote School website. Keep an eye on the announcement section of the homepage for practices or games that are postponed or canceled. Below you will find a list of equipment needed for each sport this winter.
 
Boys/Girls Basketball: properly fitting sneakers (basketball sneakers preferred for appropriate ankle support), shorts and t-shirt

Reversible practice jerseys will be handed out with uniforms. If a student would like to order a practice jersey to keep, they can bring in $20 and we will order it.
 
Squash: squash sneakers (no black on the sole of the sneaker), squash racket, protective eye glasses, shorts and t-shirt.
 
Swimming: practice swimsuit, competition swimsuit and towel. Swim cap will be provided. Click here to download the swimsuit order form. All forms should be brought to our opening meeting on 11/28 as there will be a representative from Metro Swim Shop to assist with uniform fitting and ordering.
 
If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at bmcguire@footeschool.org or (860) 866-8175.
 
Secondary School Recommendation Forms

 
To Parents of 8th and 9th 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 the Registrar's office by Wednesday, Nov. 23. (Please include stamped envelopes for the teacher recommendations only. All transcripts and school recommendations will be sent in Foote School envelopes).

On or before November 23, please send an email with the subject line "Schools Applying To" to Liam Considine (lconsidine@footeschool.org) and Erika Villa (evilla@footeschool.org) 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 has made available.

DayInLifeA DAY IN THE LIFE OF FOOTE
Close-Up:
Understanding the Immigrant Experience

 

"I think it would have been really hectic. There were so many people to feed, so maybe even at a young age, you might have been trying to get a job to help your family."

This is the observation of a fourth grader, the day after her class returned from a visit to the Tenement Museum in New York. For the past several months, our 9- and 10-year-old students have been immersed in the stories of people who came to the United States from other places to begin new lives. The learning trip to the Lower East Side is one of many experiences that the teachers incorporate into the curriculum in an effort to build understanding and connection between our students and the people they are studying.
New Haven (and Yale) as a Learning Lab
First and second graders are currently exploring aquatic habitats in science. This week, Cara Hames' first grade class and was invited to a Yale genetics fish lab by the father of one of her students. At the lab, the class learned about not just fish and their life cycle, but about genes and mutations. Among other things, the children observed the fish lab, fed sea monkeys to the zebrafish, used microscopes, and even got to cut DNA to create a mutated gene which would result in a one-eyed (cyclopean) fish.



On Wednesday, Cara's class joined their second grade friends in Grace Peard's class and ventured into New Haven to interview restaurant owners. The students have been exploring their own identities and school community, and the interviews were a way to learn more about the New Haven community and people who are part of it. First graders visited State Street to hear about L'Orcio, Jordan's Hot Dogs & Mac, and Modern Apizza. Second graders stopped downtown to discover Zaroka, Soul de Cuba, and Claire's Corner Copia. The information they gathered will help them make connections between New Haven "now" and New Haven "then" as they learn about the community of indigenous people who once lived here hundreds of years ago. 
 

Fall Sports Recap
Foote's sports teams had a great fall season, scoring hard-earned victories, learning from losses and growing as individuals and as teams through every practice and game. A total of 91 students in grades 6-9 participated in soccer, field hockey and cross country. Click here for a team-by-team season recap. 
 
From the Faculty Blogs

Melissa McCormack's third graders learned about procedural writing and practiced the style by describing how they eat an Oreo cookie.

Adam Solomon's fifth graders documented 30 animal species living in the Foote woods and used their findings to create graphic food webs (pictured).

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

Nov. 17 - Performance by Bill Harley, Grammy-winning musicial, storyteller and author of books for middle school students. 5:30 p.m. in the gym.

Nov. 18 - Photo Retake Day, 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Nov. 23 - Thanksgiving Assembly 11:30 a.m. - All School Dismissal 12:30 p.m. - No After School Program

Dec. 1-4 - 7th/8th Grade Plays - "Telling Tales" - Tickets available at front desk