HDES Bulldog Bulletin

November is fast approaching and we have many things planned for the upcoming month. Students are settled into school routines and teachers are busy developing engaging and rigorous learning opportunities for all! HDES is a busy, happy place!

Thank you for your support at Parent-Teacher Conferences. When parents and teachers work together, students can achieve great things! We are always willing to meet with you if you have questions or concerns about your child's school programming.

Thank you for sharing your children with us!

K.Clark

Do you have questions relating to your child's school progress and success? Come learn about RSU 2's online reporting system, Empower, and what the scoring 1-4 scale means. It will be a night of discussion and collaboration!

Tuesday, October 30, 6:00pm

HDES cafeteria

Hope to see you!

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The men of HDES have taken on a challenge for the month of November. We are having our annual “Beard Contest”. This contest will feature the male staff members of our school and students, parents, and fellow staff members will get a chance to vote for their favorite looking beard. We are asking that anyone who would like to vote pay $0.25 for each vote. You can vote as many times throughout the month that you would like. Each week there will be a new picture to show how their beards are growing. The proceeds for this small fundraiser will go to our school food pantry to help students who need extra meals at home.

Please join in on this fun event and help us to show just how we can all make a difference.

Thank you!

Mr. Gilbert

The biggest news from the library right now is how successful the Scholastic Book Fair was last week! A big “thank you” to all the supportive Hall-Dale families who always make this such a worthwhile event. I am busy taking down student ideas for new books to buy in the coming weeks! I also appreciate all those who volunteered to help out at the fair. Thank you.

As busy as book fair week is, there is even more activity in the library every day, every week all year long. Right now kindergarten is learning about the parts of a book, how to turn pages without tearing, and getting on and off the story steps safely. They are choosing books from the genre section which has both fiction and nonfiction books perfect for pre-k to grade 2.

First graders are checking out books from picture book fiction, early readers and the 600 - 700 sections of nonfiction. Expansion into the entire nonfiction area will occur over the next couple of weeks. They are really excited about this. Read-alouds are focusing on magical creatures.

Second graders have the run of the entire library, therefore major skill work centers on how to choose an appropriate book. This is a skill that is practiced at all grade levels but becomes more important as students grow and have access to a collection that spans many different reading and content levels. We also talk about the difference between fiction and nonfiction and different literary genres.

Third grade is when the big push occurs for students to become independent users of the library. The first five weeks or so of school are spent learning about searching the OPAC (Online Patron Access Computer) and retrieving the desired book from the stacks. Using the OPAC isn’t just about “searching up” a book on the computer. An understanding of call numbers and library layout is really put to the test. The OPAC can tell you if the library has the book and if it’s in or out, but the call number tells you where the book is actually located. We do much work on getting the call number from the OPAC, reading signs on bookcases, going to the right shelf, looking at spine labels, finding the book, and checking it out. It isn’t an easy task and students work on OPAC skills in 4th and 5th grade also, and always on how to find a “good fit” book.

5th graders are enjoying the Maine Student Book Award reading program which is designed to expand literary horizons of students in grades 4-8. Almost 20 students have read at least two of the titles from this list put together by a group of librarians from school and public libraries in our state. Sadly, I will not be able to meet with the MSBA kids during lunch, as I have in previous years, due to my schedule with lunch duty and other classes. Lunch time book groups with grades 3, 4 and 5 are suspended this year also because of scheduling conflicts. Maybe next year!

In library, indeed in our school, the focus is nurturing a love of reading and improving literacy skills. A great way to reinforce this focus at home is to ask about the books your student is checking out, make sure the books are being returned every week for new selections, and read aloud!

Mrs. Taylor

HDES Food Pantry is having a craft and vendor fair fundraiser on Saturday, November 17, 2018 and we need more vendors! If you are interested in having a booth at the fair please click on the link below to sign up!

Help support food insecurity in our school community!!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6S8GXPP

Our Lost and Found table has a collection that is growing! Please have your student take a peek if you think that they may have lost something at school. We would love to see everything returned to their owner!

10/30 - PTO Information Night; 6:00pm HDES Cafeteria

10/31- Halloween! Wear black & orange day! No costumes please!

11/1- HDES Staff Coolest Beard Contest begins!

11/4 - PTO Sugar Rush 5K!

11/5- Facebook Live Read Aloud w/Mrs.Pelletier! (on the PTO FB page)

11/6- Election Day

11/9- Early Release Day

11/12-No School! Veteran's Day Holiday!

11/17- HDES Craft Fair, 9-1, to benefit our food pantry

11/21-23- No School, Thanksgiving break!

Our contact information is listed below!

Email: kputnam@kidsrsu.org
Website: http://www.kidsrsu.org/o/hdes
Location: 26 Garden Lane, Hallowell, ME, USA
Phone: 207-623-8677
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/276865780763/
Twitter: @HDESRSU2