MHS/WES Newsletter

February 21-25 No School~February Break

Second graders have been learning about animal habitats. Winter has been a perfect time for us to explore Arctic animals and their habitats. By the end of February children will be able to tell you which Arctic animal is their favorite and what kind of adaptations that animal has made in order to survive the harsh climate. Some of the many animals the children will investigate are penguins, polar bears, the arctic fox, the snowy owl, the arctic hare, and the arctic wolf. We encourage everyone to go explore outside during February vacation to look for other winter animal tracks. We look forward to hearing all about what children discover.

Students are discovering the close relations between fractions and decimals. Many are now realizing there is a more efficient way to compute numbers, the standard algorithm. This is a major milestone and goal in the Bridges Math Program. Over the next few weeks and months there will be more transitions to the standard algorithm for addition, subtraction and multiplication.

Fifth Grade Student Council members finished their Fall / Winter term with a final Kindness Week send off. Both Meetinghouse and Westminster Elementary have a tree built from the acts of kindness seen by others. It is a magnificent sight! In a few weeks, classrooms will be looking for new representatives for the Spring Term. Watch for notices soon!

Nature’s Classroom is starting to be a topic of conversation with students. It’s only 4 months away! We will be deciding on chaperones in the near future. If any questions arise please direct them to your child’s teacher. We want to make sure every family is informed and comfortable about their choices for Nature’s Classroom.

January was CLAY MONTH! It was a huge success. To celebrate and dedicate the new kiln, ALL students in grades 2-5 used kiln-fired clay for special projects: Grade 2 students made pinch pots, Grade 3 students made clay coil hearts, Grade 4 students made coil pots, and Grade 5 students made small bowls. The new kiln needs to be test-fired without pieces in it first, then I will need to do a second test firing with practice pieces in it. The final test-firing will be a glaze-test-firing and THEN it will be ready for me to fire the children's pieces. There are approximately 400 pieces to fire, so I will need to do multiple firings over the next few months. Once the pieces are out of the first firing I will teach the children how to glaze. After the glazing is done, then I will need to do multiple glaze firings before everything is ready to take home. I expect the final "take-home date" will be close to Easter/springtime. Phew!!!!! Lots of fun was had by all!

A HUGE SHOUT OUT to the following people for help prepping the clay, working with the kids each morning, setting up the art studio with clay tools AND helping me figure out the new kiln: Michelle Robichaud, Tracy Connell, Amy Bodurtha and Chrissy Stanton!!!!!!

Moving forward, the "clay schedule" in my curriculum will be as follows: Grades K and 1 will create with Model Magic, Grades 2 and 3 will work with Crayola air dry clay and Grades 4 and 5 will use the kiln-fired clay. ( I am hoping to schedule clay projects for winter/early spring in the future) It is important for children to experience multiple forms of modeling and, thanks to our generous PTO, (AND to families for donating to the "Fun Run" fundraiser 3 years ago!!!!!!) I now have the opportunity to offer the experience of kiln-fired clay again. (My kiln broke 8 years ago!) Pottery is one of my expertise areas and I am delighted to be able to develop that area of the art curriculum.

Next, I am looking for donations of the following items: empty tissue boxes, toilet paper tubes, and baby wipes. If you are able to donate please send to the WES or MHS office in a bag with my name on it. THANK YOU!!!!!

Westminster Youth Playhouse NEWS:

Unfortunately I am not able to offer full sessions of the Westminster Youth Playhouse this year. However, I WILL be offering one-day workshops.

SAVE THE DATES:

TUESDAY, MARCH 1 3:00-5:00 Grades K and 1

TUESDAY, MARCH 22 3:00-5:00 Grades 2 and 3

TUESDAY, APRIL 12 3:00-5:00 Grades 4 and 5

**ALL workshops will take place at the MHS Cafeteria and activities will include: puppetry, costume/dress-up and drama games.

REGISTRATION FORMS FOR GRADES K AND 1 WILL GO HOME SOON!!!!!

I am hoping to resume multiple week sessions again next school year! :-)

Please help your child charge their Chromebook and have them ready in their backpacks for school. We do have loaner Chromebooks if your child forgets, however, there are only 12 and seem to go through them everyday.

If you write a dismissal note with changes for your child, please include their first and last name on the note. All notes come down to the office and it can be confusing if there isn't a last name written. As you may already know, if your children are pick ups, WES kids are walked to MHS to be picked up with their siblings at dismissal. If you need to do this, please specify this in writing to their teachers and school offices.

Additionally, if you email your child's teacher regarding dismissal changes, or absent/tardy notifications, please include wesoffice@awrsd.org or mhsoffice@awrsd.org.

And lastly, please call the office if your child is going to be ABSENT or TARDY. This saves you a phone call from the school or a visit from our SRO officers to ensure your child is safe. Thank you!!

If you have a sign that we made for you for pick ups, please place it in your window daily. This is especially important as different staff members may be at dismissal on any given day. If you do not have a sign and need one. Please let a staff member know.

The Westminster PTO purchased these Imagination Blocks for our students. Grades 2-5 enjoyed them for the first time last week. Grades K and 1 will be introduced to them soon. Stay tuned. Thank you PTO and our wonderful community that supports our schools.

This resource https://everykidsports.org/every-kid-sports-pass/

helps families who receive WIC, Medicaid, or SNAP benefits can qualify to receive funds to help offset the cost of sports registration. For ages 4-18.