The Foote School 
E-News
February 2, 2017
In This Issue
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Reminder: School on Feb. 20  


There has been some confusion about whether we have school on Feb. 20, because the school calendar lists an incorrect date for Presidents Day.
Please be advised that Presidents Day falls on Feb. 20 this year, and we will have school that day.

School will be closed Friday, Feb. 10 and Monday, Feb. 13 for Winter Flex Weekend. Vacation Program is available both days. Click here for the registration form.
AllSchoolNewsALL SCHOOL NEWS AND INFORMATION
Donate to the Foote Fund       

 
Kindergartners acting with puppets in Drama class

Last week, we had another successful Foote Fund calling night. A BIG thank you to those families who have already contributed, and to our Foote Fund Class Captains who have been reaching out to you. We really hope to achieve our goal of 100% parent participation by the 100th day of school, Monday, Feb. 20.

There is still time to make your gift online by clicking here, or email Amy Caplan in the Development Office regarding your donation.

Remember that any NEW or INCREASED gifts will be matched as part of our $100,000 Challenge - but only until Feb. 20.

Here are the latest Foote Fund parent participation percentages: 

Grade                as of TODAY
9th Grade                   56%          
 
8th Grade                   48%  
 
7th Grade                   63% 
 
6th Grade                   63%
 
5th Grade                   73%
 
4rd Grade                   75%
 
3rd Grade                   73% 
 
2nd Grade                   81% 
 
1st Grade                    77%      
 
Kindergarten              65%
 
TOTAL                      70%


 
Traffic Flow on Loomis Place         

 
As a reminder, parents are asked to enter Loomis Place ONLY from Highland Street during drop off and pick up times.

Although Loomis Place is legally a two-way street, it is safer for traffic to flow in one direction.

Thank you for helping to ensure the safety of all Foote students.

 
Vacation Program Available in Feb. & March          

 
The Vacation Program is available during days when school is closed in February and March.

The program will be available on Feb. 10 & 13 during Winter Flex Weekend.

The program will also be available March 13-24 during the two weeks of Spring Vacation.

Click here to download the registration form.

Questions? Contact Bill Manke in the After School Program at [email protected].

 
9th Grade Play: Tickets on Sale Feb. 6         

 
Tickets for the ninth grade play, Inherit the Wind, go on sale to the general public on Feb. 6. All tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the front desk.

Performance dates are:
  • Tuesday, Feb. 28
  • Wednesday, March 1
  • Thursday, March 2
  • Friday, March 3
All performances begin at 7:00 p.m.

  
ERB Results Are Available for Review       

 
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.

  
    LSNewsLOWER SCHOOL NEWS
Valentine's Gift Cards for the Homeless   


The Lower School will be adding a service-learning approach to Valentine's Day this year. It's been a Valentine's tradition for several years in Margy and Hilary's first and second grade classes to purchase gift cards for the homeless so they can get a warm drink or a bite to eat during the cold winter months. This year, we are expanding this initiative to grades K-5. Instead of spending money on valentines, we encourage families to purchase a $5 or $10 gift card to Dunkin' Donuts or Subway. We will collect the cards and donate them to Columbus House. In years past, a Columbus House representative (former Foote parent Sheree DiMario) has visited school to collect the cards and speak with children about the causes of homelessness and the impact their contributions make.This contribution is optional. Children are encouraged to make homemade valentines for classmates. For more information about individual classroom celebrations, please speak with your child's teacher. 

   MSNewsMIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
6th Grade Math Night - Feb. 15 


6th Grade Math Night
For sixth grade students and their parents

Wednesday, February 15
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

Click here for more details.

RSVP to Erika Villa at [email protected] by Thursday, Feb. 9.

8th Grade D.C. Trip Meeting - Feb. 16   


Washington, D.C. Trip Planning Meeting
For eighth grade students and their parents

Thursday, February 16
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Twichell Room 

(Snow date: February 28)

 PTCNewsPTC NEWS
Help Plan the Annual Fundraising Auction
Feb. 8


The theme of this year's annual fundraising auction is Cirque de Foote. The evening will feature live and silent auctions, food and drinks, dancing and a DJ, and circus performers!

The auction will take place on Saturday, April 8. The PTC will hold a planning meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 8:30 a.m. in the TWICHELL ROOM (NOT THE STURLEY ROOM). If you are interested in being involved, email Auction co-chairs Amy Sudmyer, Melissa Castleman and Janice Dreier at [email protected].

The Annual Fundraising Auction is the PTC's biggest fundraiser of the year and many parent volunteers are needed to make the event a success.

And mark your calendars for a fun parents' night out!
  
Book Swap Begins Feb. 27 

   
THE BOOK SWAP IS COMING!
Time for your children to sort through their bookshelves.

The Book Swap will take place Monday, Feb. 27 through Friday, March 3 in the Sturley Room (below the Library). The swap is an opportunity for students to exchange books they've outgrown for books they want to read. It's a fun and popular event that's been a Foote tradition for decades.

All books brought in for the Swap should be appropriate for children in preschool through ninth grade. We especially need books for grades 4 and above. Leftover books will be donated to Horizons at Foote and New Haven Reads. Your unwanted books will help spread the joy of reading to others!

Parent volunteers are needed to make the Book Swap a success. Look for a sign-up in next week's E-News.
  
DayInLifeA DAY IN THE LIFE OF FOOTE
Close-Up:
Foote's After School 'Neighborhood'

 

Foote School founder Martha Babcock Foote was influenced by the great educational psychologist John Dewey, who believed that children learned best when a school "becomes the child's habitat, where he learns through directed living, instead of being only a place to learn lessons having an abstract and remote reference to some possible living to be done in the future."

Dewey's ideals are realized at Foote in countless ways, and not only during the official school day. After School Director Dawn Walsh summed it up succinctly the other day when describing her program. "It's like a neighborhood," she commented. She's right. At 3:30 on any given afternoon, our classrooms offer what "the best and wisest" of us would want for our children, to quote Dewey. When school ends, our ASP spaces offer the kitchens, living rooms, backyards and quiet nooks that children need to unwind.

Celebrating Dr. King and Civil Rights


The whole school gathered for a moving and upbeat assembly honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other heroes of the Civil Rights movement. Eighth graders and a pair of second graders led the assembly, which featured a presentation with drawings and voices of Kindergartners called "We are all alike, we are all different."

To echo the themes of diversity and inclusion, every grade came dressed in a different color so that together we made a giant rainbow on the gym floor. Members of the Chorus performed civil rights and protest songs including "We Shall Not Be Moved" and "Blowin' in the Wind."

The assembly ended with the entire eighth grade reciting a portion of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and the whole school singing "This Land is Your Land" as students and teachers exited the gym.


Celebrating Chinese New Year with a Lion Dance Parade and Kungfu





Second graders marked the Chinese Lunar New Year this week with a parade and kungfu performance that were organized by Chinese teacher Wenyan Witkowsky. Master Jack Gao and students from his Wu Dang Kungfu Academy led students in a boisterous parade from the Lower School parking lot through the Lower School, past the Milikowsky building and into the gym. There, students were treated to a gravity-defying kungfu performance by Master Gao's students.

Click below for a short clip from the parade.

 
DatesDates to Remember

Feb. 8 - PTC planning meeting for Annual Fundraising Auction, 8:30 a.m. in the Sturley Room

Feb. 10-13 - Winter Flex Weekend - NO SCHOOL on Feb. 10 or Feb. 13 (Vacation Program available.)

Feb. 27-March 3 - Book Swap

Feb. 28-March 3 - 9th Grade Play: Inherit the Wind

March 10 - Spring Assembly

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