PHT Paws-itively News

Dear Page Hilltop Families:

This past Wednesday our Page Hilltop School Chorus, under the direction of Mrs. Arielle Richter, put on two amazing performances! The morning performance involved an audience of all PH students. The evening performance invited all of our families and community members. All of the songs performed had a focus on a winter wonderland and cultural diversity. There was also a special reading of the poem, Winter Solstice, by Mason C., Isabel J. & Martin M. Victoriya G. shared a reading on the winter traditions in Ukraine where her family comes from.

Thanks to Mr. Richter for playing piano on some of the songs.

Thanks to second grader Maia L. who played the role of Cindy Lou Who during the Grinch song.

Thanks to Mrs. Cowley and the Panther Power student leaders for all of the stage decorations.

Congratulations to all of the chorus members for their wonderful performance: Vincent A., David A., Daya A., Sebastian B., Mason C., Kethan F., Tucker F., Madison G., Autumn H., Isabel J., Ava L., Evelyn M., Demi M., Martin M., Shayla P., Marissa R., Katelyn R., Jaxen R., Bentley S., Hannah S., Livia T., and Bailey V.

Thanks, as always, for sharing your children with us!

Fred Deppe, Principal

Matt Lutinski, Assistant Principal

We are still looking for school substitutes and/or volunteers. There are a variety of opportunities for you to consider and they are all very rewarding experiences. Please contact Mr. Deppe (fdeppe@asrsd.org) for additional information or fill out this application and drop it off at our main office.

December 23rd - 1/2 Day

December 26th - 30th - Vacation

January 3rd -- Welcome Back!

January 11th -- 90 Minute Early Release (Lunch Served)

January 16th -- MLK Jr. Day -- No School

January 20th -- 1/2 Day (Dismissal @ 12:15)

DECEMBER LUNCH MENU -- CLICK HERE

BREAKFAST MENU -- CLICK HERE

Please use this link to order a lunch for the half day on Friday, December 23rd. Students will have a bagged lunch delivered to their classroom to take home and eat. ORDER LUNCH

Our weekly Snack Pack Program has been running for several years now. It provides students with food insecurities with nutritious snacks each Friday for consumption over the weekend. We are looking for your support to help keep this program running. If you are able, please consider donating to our Snack Pack Program by purchasing something for the program using our Amazon Wishlist. All purchases will be delivered directly to our school and will be used to continue helping Page Hilltop students.

Over the past few months, we have collected dozens of clothing items left behind at school (sweatshirts, hats, jackets, etc.). If your student is missing any clothing items, the last call to check the lost and found will be Friday, December 23rd. Over the vacation, all items left in the lost and found will be donated to local charities. Please let your student's teacher know if they need to check the lost and found, located in the Cultural Arts Center. Parents may also stop by school any day next week, between 7:00am - 4:00pm to check for lost items.

Students in Mrs. Godin and Mrs. Colello's homerooms enjoyed popcorn on Friday, compliments of O'Neil Cinemas in Littleton, MA. These two homerooms were our Golden Paws Winners from the month of November. Students enjoyed their popcorn while watching the Polar Express on "Polar Express Day".

CONGRATULATIONS to Sebastian E. (Mrs. Godinś Class) & Bradley H. (Mrs. Colelloś class) for earning the November Golden Paws!

On Friday, December 16th our friends from the Ayer Police Department stopped by our cafe to help serve lunch to all of our students. Students were thrilled to see our town's officers behind the line. Thanks to the Ayer PD for helping to serve lunches to PH students: Chief Brian Gill, Deputy Chief Jen Bigelow, SRO Mike Nicolo, Ptl Brent Davis, Ptl Jake Minear & Ptl Alexia Surprenant!

On December 11, four teams from PH competed at the First Lego League Robotics Competition held at WPI. Students programmed small Lego robots to perform tasks on a map of Lego constructions. For instance; collecting a power cell / putting it into a dinosaur toy / then using the robot to transport the dinosaur toy to the other side of the map. The robots had 2 ½ minutes to complete 3-10 tasks and earn points for the team. Teams had five matches with their robots, and some time in between matches to fix coding errors or robot attachments that needed perfecting. Students also researched an energy related problem. They brainstormed ideas and came up with solutions. These projects were presented to the judges. The teams were very creative in their solutions, one team designed a fish ferris wheel to get fish through hydroelectric dams, another changed the blade shape and added color to a blade on wind turbines to make them more efficient and less harmful to birds, the third team designed a fish elevator to replace fish ladders on dams and the last team designed solar panels to be installed on public buildings, thereby preserving the animal habitats.

Mrs. Godin's Class: Students in Mrs. Godin's class work on food chains for their unit on Ecosystems in Science.

Congratulations to fifth grader Katelyn R. who guessed the exact day of the first snowfall - December 12th! There were lots of other students who submitted good guesses.

SNOW CONTEST CONTINUES! All students are encouraged to join in the following contests:

1. Submit your guess as to the last day that all winter snow has disappeared from the grounds of Page Hilltop.

2. Submit your guess as to the total amount of snow that we will have in Ayer this winter.

Send all your guesses to Mr. Deppe.

Kethan F., a fourth grader in Mrs. Berry's class, was recently selected as a writing contest winner by Storyworks Magazine which is part of Scholastic, Inc. Kethan wrote a response prompt on the article The Definition of Cool. Kethan was selected from hundreds of entries. We are very proud of him!

Kethan received a copy of the book Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson along with his award certificate.

Members of our student leadership club spent an afternoon making holiday cheer cards for the residents of the Nashoba Assisted Living Center. They will be delivering these cards, along with snowflake & candy cane decorations to the Center next Tuesday.

SAVE THE DATE! Next Meeting - Thursday, January 12th @ 7:00 pm.

Please plan to join us for our next PTO meeting on Thursday, January 12th when our special guest speakers will be members of the Ayer Police Department. Chief Brian Gill, Deputy Chief Jennifer Bigelow & School Resource Officer Michael Nicolo will be here to share information & answer questions regarding an important topic to all of us - school & student safety.

PTO Website -- LINK

PTO Facebook Page -- Link

Are you an Amazon shopper?

Did you know just by shopping with smileamazon.com you can help support PH!?

Create a FREE SMILE ACCOUNT and link it to Page Hilltop.

Share with family and friends so they can help support PH too!

BOX TOPS
YES, Page Hilltop can still earn with Box Tops! CLICK HERE to learn more about Box Tops for Education.

Mrs. Godinś fifth graders came up with a periodic table that lists the elements of a successful student.

This week's fun facts:

• Poinsettias can grow up to 15 feet tall.
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• On December 15, 1877, Thomas Edison patented the phonograph (the precursor to the record player.) Do your children know what a record player is?