NEWS AND NOTES TO PARENTS
EASTHAM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
October, 2008
Susan Glass Helman
Principal
“Wild Reads” at the Library .....
Throughout the summer many of your children spent time reading as part
of the district’s Summer Reading Program. Their task was to read either
7 books or 500 pages before the program closed in mid-September. Thanks to Mrs. Escher and Mrs. Lamb for their hard work in organizing and facilitating this yearly program which continues to be so successful.
Thank you, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, for buying books for the children you love, for reading to them and with them, for listening to them read, and for modeling that a love of books is an important part of your life.
Congratulations to each and every child who took part in this activity.
KINDERGARTEN
Chanelle Battles-Santos Kaitlin Hamaty Tika Rank
Rachel Bryant Will Loomis Shay Lyn Risk
Sara Finlay Paige McMakin Ashley Ross
Seth Finlay Rachel Mumford Lucien Seiser Kelan Warren
GRADE ONE
Krisha Adhikari Zukhra Graham Tori Richardson
Karlie Bentley Spencer Granlund Anna Stevenson
Madison Dasti Heather Hedderig Connor Still
Hannah Figur Christian Hilbig Jayda Traynor
Madelyn Fleming Lydon Johnson Rachel VanRyswood
Emily Frazier John Patrick Largey Alex Vidak
Haley Gaeta Laura Largey Shalista Ward
Gabrielle Gowans Razilee Mueller Seamus Weatherup
Toni Young
GRADE TWO
Christian Andersen Meghan Garran Maya Smith
Sydney Austin Brendan Hamaty Genevieve Spencer
Breanna Battles-Santos Therese Henault Irene Turner
Jayden Brady Ernie Largey Hailey Valverde
Samantha Cannistraro Anna Lee Allison Velie
Nate Collins Anna McMakin Kyle Ward
Taylor Fleming Callie Pierce Jackson Warren
Bobby Freeman John Purcell Hailee Wilcox
Riley Frye Aquinnah Rank Jonathan Young
GRADE THREE
Maddie Abeid Grace Fleming Maddie Nobili
Lily Anderson Michelle Francke Alex Richardson
Jackie Baron Isabella Granlund Jacob Scott
Emma Bersin Liam Handville Eli Seiser
Angel Bonilla Sam Holguin Joshua Shafer
Mattie Clements Camille Lajoie Damian Silva
Aurin Costa Tess LeConey Luther Stewart
Dakota Costa Isabella Martino Brittany Tilton
Elijah Costa James McCully Shane Ward
Tessa Culhane Lilee Merl Claire Wardlaw
Nigel Diamond Eben Morgan Carraig Weatherup
Michael Donahue Robin Moynihan Beth Whalen
Owen Farrell Parker Mumford Owen Wilcox
Harrison Field Colin Nobili
GRADE FOUR
Dylan Ambrose Abigail Frazier Michael Newton
Jordan Ayres Collin Frye Katarina Nowack
Mia Blackwell Anneliese Furlano Sam Palmer
Devin Cannistraro Lille Gaeta Cassidy Thatcher
John Collins Allison Garran Gina Trott
Hannah Cremins Ian Hamilton Emily VanRyswood
Ethan Davis Joseph Kingsbury Gina Vicente
Michaela Donlon Beau Knop Ethan Wacht
Isabelle Eastman Jacob LaBranche Grace Weikert
Christian Lynch Hayden Yakola
GRADE FIVE
Unesh Adhikari Brady Golden Jonny Montano
Sammie Abeid Tyler Hart Chickie Pierce
Molly Austin Sarah Hemmings Brittany Rose
Hanah Bryant Taylor Hughes Kali Ryan
Rachel Budnick Alexis Hunter-Johnson Mary Stetson
Michael Cabral Travis Kiklis Emma Stevens
Tyler Cremins Mitchell Lange Abbie Stockford
Natalie Cuccia Aidan Lapierre Marc Takakjian
Truro Davidoff Lizzy Loranger Corbin Thornton
Megan Donahue Hunter Magee Melissa Velie
Oscar Farrell Allegra Martin Emma Warren
Kaylee Firth Sasha McEnaney Charlotte Whitaker
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Attendance Information .....
Research continues to show that students who are in school on time each day do better in their daily work, as well as on tests and assessments. We closely monitor student attendance on a regular basis and offer to assist in those cases where a child’s attendance or tardiness becomes an issue.
We have started this school year at a new all-time high percentage for student attendance. Through the end of September our overall student attendance was 97% - this is outstanding!
Grade level percentages were as follows:
Kindergarten ..95.79% Grade Three ....98.1%
Grade One ......97.21% Grade Four ........97.1%
Grade Two ....97.38% Grade Five ........ 96.32%
These percentages are excellent - thank you, parents, for helping to get your child to school on time each day. Keep up the great effort!
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Monday, October 13th ..... NO SCHOOL ..... Columbus Day
Monday, October 20th ..... School Improvement Council ..... 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Monday, October, 20th ..... Parents’ Group Meeting ..... 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 21st ..... School Committee Meeting ..... 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 30th ..... Joint School Committee Meeting ..... 7:00 p.m.
Nauset Regional Middle School Cafeteria
Cape Cod Children’s Place .....
Cape Cod Children’s Place Roadshows are taking place in the following communities during the month of October:
Thursdays, October 2, 9, 16: “Positive Discipline and Effective Communication,” 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.,, Eldredge Public Library, Chatham.
Saturday, October 4: Dads’ Group: “How Understanding My Child’s Temperament Makes My Job Easier,” 8:00-10:00 a.m., at the Cape Cod Children’s Place in Eastham.
Wednesday, October 8: Parent Chat with Cindy Horgan, 8:30-10:00 a.m., at Stony Brook Elementary School, 384 Underpass Road, Brewster.
Saturday, October 11: Father-child activity: Cape Cod Gymnastics, 8:00-10:00 a.m., 334B Hokum Rock Road, Dennis.
Saturday, October 18: Dads’ Group: “Dad as Teacher: Understanding Your Important Role in Positive Discipline,” 8:00 - 10:00 a.m., at the Cape Cod Children’s Place in Eastham.
Saturday, October 25: Father-child activity: Elements, Etc. - “Science and Nature Program Featuring Turtles and Snakes” at the Cape Cod Children’s Place in Eastham.
Monday, October 27: Single Moms Group, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m., at the Cape Cod Children’s Place in Eastham.
See the Cape Cod Children’s Place newsletter online at:
Www.capecodchildrensplace.org or call 508 240-3310.
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Problem of the Month .....
At our September All-School meeting, Mrs, Deegan, our Math subject coordinator, greeted the children and provided the Math Problem of the Month for October. The children have the entire month of October to work on these problems and provide their written answers in an envelope in the cafeteria. At the October All-School meeting children with the correct answers will be recognized.
Please feel free to help your child with these problems:
K/1: Pam and Penny went trick-or-treating. Pam got 18 pieces of candy. Penny got 13 pieces of candy. How much more candy did Pam get than Penny?
2-5: Juan’s pumpkin has 698 seeds. Callie’s pumpkin has 569 seeds. Tonya’s pumpkin has 55 seeds more than 3 times the difference between Juan and Callie’s pumpkins. How many seeds does Tonya’s pumpkin have?
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No Child Left Inside .....
The week of October 12th - 18th is “Celebrate Earth Science Week.” In the past several years, children have had less exposure to the outdoors than ever before. When children used to ride bikes, play games, and explore their natural environment, they now spend a great deal of time on the computer, in front of the television, or using hand-held games. These activities, while beneficial to some degree, are primarily done indoors and by themselves with little interaction with others.
The goal of this week is to understand that most of our children have a nature-deficit and to take some proactive steps to address their need for outdoor experiences. As the American Geological Institute states: “Tune out the TV. Log off the Internet. Quit the video game. Hang up the phone and unplug the MP3 player. Earth Science Week 2008 is about giving the natural world your undivided attention.” Rather than electronic distractions, the focus should be on our atmosphere, our flowing rivers, our shifting landscapes - and to consider how humans interact with and impact their natural environment.
This is such a beautiful time of year on Cape Cod, and the natural world is available and uncrowded. Your child may be interested in rocks, marshes, vernal pools, weather patterns, birds, animals, national parks, or some other aspect of nature. The beauty is that most of this is free - it just takes time together to make it an important learning experience.
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Classroom Happenings .....
Kindergarten
If your child is in kindergarten, he/she has probably brought home the first of many pre-decodable books. The purpose of these books is to familiarize children with the printed form of a set of high frequency words such as: the, and, see, here, said, was and have, words which are part of all meaningful stories. Identifying these words in print quickly, accurately, and effortlessly is critical to their development as fluent, independent readers.
These books will give your child a chance to practice handling books and to demonstrate their awareness of book conventions such as directionality, book parts, and the connection between pictures and text.
Inside the back cover of each pre-decodable book is a list of high-frequency words that are introduced or reviewed in the book.
Children should keep their readers in their literacy box at home and read them as often as possible.
All Grades
Ask your child about his/her Morning Meeting. This 15-20 minute activity takes place in every classroom at the beginning of the day and includes a greeting, sharing, an activity, and discussion of news and information. As part of the Responsive Classroom philosophy, the purpose of this meeting is to set the tone for respectful learning and to establish a climate of trust. It also allows children to feel a sense of importance and belonging as well as to have fun. Morning Meeting requires respectful interaction and brings together social, emotional, and academic learning. The expectation is that such respectful interaction extends throughout the school day.
As part of Morning Meeting, the children and staff greet one another. Again, the purpose is to set a positive tone, to provide a sense of recognition and belonging, to help young children learn names, and to give practice using eye contact and clear voices. Ask your child what special greetings his/her class has used recently. Perhaps it is a pinky greeting, a sunflower greeting, a high five greeting, a whisper greeting, a pattern greeting, or hickety-pickety bumble bee greeting.
Grades 4 and 5
Grades 4 and 5 enjoyed a spirited and informative visit from Barry Burbank recently. Mr Burbank, of WBZ Channel 4, came to share his knowledge and love of weather and weather forecasting. Being a weatherman for 31 years, he explained a great deal about weather and the skills needed for predicting it.
The children watched two short videos and had a chance to ask questions about forecasting and specific weather occurrences. The students presented Mr. Burbank with an Eastham sweatshirt signed by everyone.
Weather is a curricular aspect studied by this age student and is enhanced by the WeatherNet weather station on the roof of the school. I the front lobby there is a digital display of several weather factors including date and time, temperature, humidity, wind chill and heat index, barometer, dew point, rainfall per month, and wind speed and direction. Fifth grade students check this information daily online and provide a weather report as part of morning announcements.
Open House
Our recent Open House was a huge success. The halls were filled with parents, grandparents, friends, and former students who were being guided through the building by our current students. We hope that every parent had an opportunity to sign up for a November parent-teacher conference - if you did not sign up, please contact your child’s teacher to do so. Conferences are held on two afternoons (early release of students) and one evening.
Warning .....
The local police departments have issued a warning to all schools, and I am passing it on to you. There is a new drug known as “strawberry quick.” It is a type of crystal meth which looks like strawberry pop rocks (the candy that sizzles and pops in your mouth). It also smells like strawberry and is being handed out to children. Children ingesting this substance think it is candy but become very ill. It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape, and orange.
At this time of year when children go out trick-or-treating, please be aware of this issue. Accompany your children when they go out for Halloween and encourage them not to eat anything until you have checked it first.
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ECEC .....
ECEC stands for “Eastham Committee on Early Childhood.” This program began in 1989 when it served half-day kindergarten students needing afternoon child care following their school day. Currently, ECEC serves Children i kindergarten through grade 5. A licensed after-school child care program, ECEC offers a variety of activities each day, including snack, homework time, and outdoor play.
If you are interested in considering ECEC for your child, please call Program Director Patricia Beaulieu at (508) 240-6900.
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PRINCIPAL’S THOUGHTS .....
During the first six weeks of school we work diligently and deliberately to establish the tone and expectations for the entire school year. We thoughtfully take our time during these weeks to build a solid foundation of rules, expectations, and logical consequences with the children. We feel strongly that taking our time to do this work pays off all year long with increased student motivation, cooperation, responsibility, and self-control.
One of our tasks during the first weeks of school is to establish school rules which we do through a constitutional convention format. For this school year the following rules were agreed upon by the students and staff:
WORK YOUR HARDEST.
THINK ABOUT YOUR CHOICES BEFORE YOU ACT.
BE KIND AND RESPECTFUL TO EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE.
We look forward to your partnership with us on behalf of your child!