October Schoolwide News

Fall is finally here in all its splendor! We are off to a wonderful start, helped in no small measure by the string of beautiful fall days we enjoyed in September. Preparations are well underway for our annual Harvest Fest on October 24th. We have some fun activities planned for the students and invite you all to come and join us for this first community gathering of the year. You will be receiving a letter in the mail with your tickets and a schedule of events. Look for sign up sheets for volunteers on the bulletin board in the main entrance to the school soon.

Environmental Day at Tuckernuck is this Thursday October 2nd. Be sure your child comes dressed for a day of outdoor activities. The Preschool will be celebrating the beginning of fall with an Apple Fest on Friday October 3rd. Look on your child’s class page for more information on both of these special events.

On October 10th the Preschool teachers will participate in the first of three professional development workshops that will introduce them to the early education philosophy and practices of Reggio Emilia. RE is very similar to the Multiple Intelligence pedagogy used in the upper grades. We hope that this will provide an even more fluid transition for students between our preschool and upper school programs. A special Preschool Parent Teacher Forum has been planned for October 14th at 3:00pm. Childcare will be available. This will be a time for teachers to share some of what they have learned about the Reggio Emilia approach to early education and for parents to ask questions and become involved in this exciting learning venture. If you have questions feel free to contact one of our Parent Teacher Forum ambassadors this year:
Petra Shaw, Emily Hacker, Nicole and
Ian Hoffman, and Mary Catherine Jones.

Our first Upper School Parent Teacher Forum will meet on Thursday October 30th at 4:00pm. Parents are invited to meet with teachers to reflect on the upper school curriculum and discuss any changes or modifications that we can institute going forward. The Upper School Parent Teacher Forum ambassadors are Joe Brancato, Francoise Bishop, Jill Stagner, and
Kate Vattes. Please contact them for information, questions, or concerns.

Thank you to all of the mentor parents who reached out to our new families at Back to School Night. New families should feel free to contact their mentor families with any questions or concerns.

Over the summer we cleaned out and painted the Library in an effort to create a more student centered space for quiet reading and reflection. Lisa Whipps has started a literacy program with the Preschool, Kindergarten, and Early Elementary classes there one day a week. See attached flyer (Literacy with Ms. Lisa) and look on our website for more pictures and descriptions of what the students are doing with Lisa.

In an effort to encourage and promote reading school wide, (and to help us sort through and clean out the plethora of paper backs we have) we will also be piloting a “Ladder to the Library” program for the upper school students. Students who read to each rung of their classroom ladder, will earn a special “Library Lunches” and be given the chance to choose a book from the library to take home. Look for details in your child’s upcoming class pages.

As part of their Responsive Classroom practices, teachers spend time in the beginning of the year working with students to come up with rules that will guide their social education throughout the course of the year. These classroom rules were shared and discussed at one of our early school wide meetings. Because the students will be studying the history of New England in their classes this fall, we used stonewalls as a metaphor for our discussion about our school wide rules. Just as stonewalls were built by early farmers to define their property and to keep animals and crops safe and protected, so our school rules are human made boundaries designed to keep us safe and to allow everyone in the school community to grow and flourish in a safe and clearly defined learning environment.

In order to keep us all mindful of our rules, we are building a stonewall together in the front hallway. Anytime anyone in the upper grades is witnessed doing something that exemplifies one of our school rules—their name and their action will be added as a “stone” in our wall. By publicly affirming our social curriculum in this way, we hope to inspire students towards positive actions and choices in their interactions with each other. We welcome any positive observations you have about teachers or students as well.

The school recently joined New Hampshire’s School Recycling Club. The students have been learning about composting and helping out with recycling paper, plastic, and glass. A reminder to try to limit the amount of non-recyclable waste in your children’s lunches by using reusable containers and water bottles.

We will have a Halloween parade and festivities in the preschool and a contest this year in the upper school. Prizes will be awarded to students who use the most recycled materials. The theme for the contest is “fruits of the season.”

On display soon in the front hall you will see a collection of our students’ Visions of Peace. This artwork is part of a statewide community art project sponsored by NH Peace Action and will be on display at a to be determined location in December. Bethany Reed, the coordinator of this project came to our school in celebration of International Peace Day on September 21st and explained the purpose and importance of the initiative. The school is also participating in an international community service project called Pennies for Peace. The program, which was established by Greg Mortenston, author of Three Cups of Tea and founder of the Central Asia Institute, collects pennies from schools across America to help raise funds for school children (especially girls) in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The children have already collected many pennies! Thank you for your help.

Michelle Leuci’s lovely portraits and class photos of the children are now up on her website and will stay there through end of the month. You can order the photographs and sizes you want and she will ship them to you directly. Michelle’s website is http://www.michelleleuci.com/. Ask your child’s teacher if you need the password.

Starting on October 6th you will also need a password to access your child’s classroom page on our website. As was announced at Back to School Night, this is simply a proactive safety measure we have initiated in response to some parent’s concerns. More information will follow in your child’s class news.

Many of you have commented on Lisa Dean’s new “window on the world.” Not only does this afford her a bit of fresh air and a chance to greet students and parents as they enter and leave, it is another one of our safety initiatives this year. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Safety Committee or if you have safety ideas or concerns you would like addressed please contact Sara Duval. Our next meeting is October 17th at 3:15 and all are welcome. Childcare is available.

As the days get chillier, we ask that you remember to send your child with warmer outside clothing. The lost and found in the front office already has several items—be sure to check there for any stray hats or cover-ups.

Warmly,

Heather Harwood