The Foote School 
E-News
January 12, 2017
In This Issue
Quick Links
Basketball For Foote - Jan. 19  



AllSchoolNewsALL SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Reminder: No School on January 16      

 

As a reminder, 
school will be closed on Monday, January 16 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. There is no Vacation Program. Enjoy the long weekend.
  
Reminder: Safety Protocols for Daily Pickup 

 
The safety of our community is our foremost priority. As part of our regular safety planning, we want to remind families of safety protocols for daily pickup. We appreciate your partnership in helping to keep our school community safe.  
  • Daily Dismissal: Students not in the After School Program (or participating in other supervised activities) who remain on campus after 3:20 p.m. must wait for pickup in the main office.

  • After School Program: Students in the After School Program (including Middle School students) need to be signed out and picked up from their After School room. Students may not wait to be picked up on Loomis Place. After 5:30 p.m., all ASP students (K-9) must be picked up from the After School office in the Kindergarten building
  • Sports: Sports teams returning from games or practices before 6:00 p.m. should wait for pickup on the Middle School steps on Loomis Place under the supervision of the Physical Education Department.
  • Theater: Students participating in a play must be picked up in the theater lobby by a parent during all after-school hours.
  • If activities require students to be on campus after 6:00 p.m., they must wait to be picked up by parents in the main office under staff supervision.
  • The traffic circle by the Milikowsky Building will be closed to pickups beginning at 4:00 p.m. No students should wait there for pickup after that time.
  • Please note that from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., our security guard will be on Loomis Place by the Middle School steps.  
ERB Results are Now Available      

 
Individual student reports from November's ERB administration are now available. Middle School parents who would like to review their child's results are invited to schedule an appointment with John Turner or Liam Considine. Fifth grade parents may set up an appointment with Beth Mello.

To schedule an appointment, please contact Erika Villa at [email protected], or 203-777-3464 x208.

  
New Date for Annual Fundraising Auction     

 

Mark your calendars...

The Annual Fundraising Auction has been rescheduled to Saturday, April 8 .

The auction is the PTC's biggest fundraiser of the year. All proceeds directly support the education of students at Foote School through field trips, assemblies, faculty development and other important school programs.

Many parent volunteers are needed to make the auction a success. There will be an organizational meeting at the next PTC meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 8:30 a.m. in the Sturley Room. If you are interested in becoming involved, email Auction co-chairs Amy Sudmyer, Melissa Castleman and Janice Dreier at [email protected].
  
After School Minicourses Begin Jan. 17 


After School minicourses kick off on January 17. Courses being offered include Yoga, Little Scientists, Chess (beginners and advanced), Exploratory Art, Terrain and Navigation, Math Enrichment and Basket Making.

Students may participate in a minicourse even if they are not enrolled in the After School Program.

PLEASE NOTE: The Baking course is full. Also, the Thursday Winter Art course is for grades K-2 (the form incorrectly listed it as only for grades 1 & 2).
Questions? Contact Dawn Walsh ([email protected]) or Bill Manke ([email protected]) in the After School Program.

  LSNewsLOWER SCHOOL NEWS
5th Grade Parent Meeting -  Jan. 24      

 

Grade 5 Parent Meeting
Tuesday, January 24
8:15 a.m. in the Twichell Room

Join Head of Lower School Beth Mello and Michael Kaplan, Foote's consulting psychiatrist, for a discussion about three aspects of the fifth grade experience:
  • The Educational Records Bureau standardized tests (the ERBs)
  • Math placement decisions for Grade 6
  • The joys and challenges of pre-adolescence and adolescence

 

RSVP to Erika Villa at [email protected].

  
   MSNewsMIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
A Note About Fall Term Reports         

 
Fall term reports for Middle School students will be mailed on Friday, January 13. In reading the reports, parents and students should be aware that a glitch in the report-writing system is affecting the way that teachers are able to format text in their Curriculum Statements.  Specifically, the system does not allow for the use of bold, italicized, or underlined type in that section, and as such teachers have not been able to properly italicize the titles of books or other works that they use in their courses.  It's something that we hope to fix before the spring interim reports. We appreciate everyone's understanding at this time.
  
National Geographic Bee - Register by Jan. 25 

 
Foote School will again be participating in the National Geographic Bee. The school bee will be held Friday, January 27 from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. Students in grades 4 through 8 are welcome to participate. Please have your child check in with Mrs. Rosenthal in M-30 by Wednesday, January 25 to register for participation. The final round for the top scorers will be held on Monday, January 30 from 2:15 to 3:00 p.m. The top scorer will then complete a written test which will be sent to National Geographic for grading. The top 100 scorers in the state will move on to the state competition. The one state winner then goes on to the national competition. Questions should be directed to Trevor Rosenthal at [email protected].

DayInLifeA DAY IN THE LIFE OF FOOTE
Close-Up
The Building Blocks of Science



Kindergartners in Alexandra Wittner and Lynne Banta's class have some thoughts about physics, chemistry and fluid dynamics. Using wood blocks, paper clips and tubs of water, they can demonstrate knowledge about absorption, cohesion, adhesion, density and absolute pressure.

No kidding.

The K1 class is in the midst of an exploratory science unit involving wood and paper. On Wednesday, Alexandra explained two investigations involving wood and water. In the first activity, children used eyedroppers (which one child aptly referred to as a "squeezer") to see how many drops of water they could place on one face of a small wooden block. In the second activity, students predicted, then determined, the number of paper clips needed to sink a wooden block in a tub of water.

Here's the thing: the number of drops, or the number of paper clips, is the least important result of these explorations. Much more significant to the children's learning were the observations and questions that emerged during the process -- methods that form the building blocks of science at Foote.

Fourth Graders Celebrate D�a de Los
Reyes Magos

 


To celebrate D�a de Los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) on January 6, fourth grade students in Sally Nunnally's Spanish class wrote letters en espa�ol and received a sweet reward. Each student penned a letter to the 'three kings' asking for something special for themselves and their family members, then brought in a shoe to be filled with goodies like candy and bubbles. The project presented students with a chance to hone their letter writing skills, Sally says, and experience an exciting holiday celebrated in many Spanish-speaking cultures.


DatesDates to Remember

Jan. 16 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL - No Vacation Program

Jan. 19 - Basketball for Foote fundraiser. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Hosley Gym. More info

Jan. 27 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day Assembly (rescheduled from Jan. 13)

Feb. 10-13 - Winter Flex Weekend (dependent on number of snow days)

April 8 - Annual Fundraising Auction (rescheduled from April 22)