MHS/WES Newsletter

Our MHS/WES School Improvement Council is very interested in your feelings about our schools. Please take a moment to give us your valued feedback. The responses from this survey will be used to develop our school improvement plan for next year. Only one form is needed for each family. However, if you have children in multiple grades, you are welcome to complete more than one form or please feel free to comment on a specific grade level.

January 24: Half Day (NOON Dismissal)

February 9: PTO Meeting @ 6:30 PM

February 21-25: No School, February Vacation

MHS & WES are participating in The Great Kindness Challenge, a week-long program dedicated to creating a culture of kindness and compassion in communities worldwide. Students will be bringing home more information in their backpacks today. Thank you to Mrs. Litalien and our 5th grade student council members for organizing this event!

1/25 Tuesday: Kindness Through Sports Day!

Wear your favorite sports attire

1/26 Wednesday: Kindness Rocks!

Wear your favorite rock-n-roll clothes and show your kindness spirit

1/27 Thursday: Round Up for Kindness!

Wear your boots, flannels, and hats.. Yee-ha!

1/28 Friday: Kindness Shows at MHS/WES!

Wear your grade level color to show our school spirit!

• Kindergarten: ORANGE
• 1st Grade: PURPLE
• 2nd Grade: RED
• 3rd Grade: GREEN
• 4th Grade: YELLOW
• 5th Grade: BLUE

Please remember to dress your kids for winter weather! Outdoor recess takes place daily unless the temperatures fall below 20 degrees. Coats, hats, mittens/gloves are a must. Snow pants are great too if your child would like to play in the snow!

Greetings to all musicians at WES and MHS! As we enter our new year all kinds of exciting things will be happening. This article will briefly tell you what is going in in the general music classroom and all the ensembles at WES. I am so happy to be able to teach all these great students. Music makes you smarter, so stay involved. I’m looking forward to a great 2nd half of the year!

At MHS, both grades will continue with singing and rhythm work. Ask your kids to teach you songs, I’m sure they would like you to share in some of the fun! The 1st graders will soon be learning how to play xylophones!

AT WES:

Grade 2 has entered a unit using pitched tubes called Boomwhackers!

3rd graders are now learning how to start playing piano. For organizational purposes, please supply your 3rd grader a 3 ring binder (with perhaps plastic sleeves) to protect their keyboard packet, which they will need at each music class.

Grade 4 and 5 will be not only playing piano, but learning through the use of notation. Soon in the spring, grade 4 and 5 will be working with ukuleles!

Chorus - Sign ups are past for all students in grades 4 and 5 as we have already had our 1st rehearsal. Music was passed out this Friday, and will include popular hits as well as more challenging 2 part pieces. See the schedule below for upcoming dates.

B Band- Practices have resumed on Fridays from 3-4pm as we transition the students into A Band. Be sure to keep your child practicing and aware of what they need to do from their lesson instructor to advance to A Band. B Band will stop rehearsing on February 18, and at that point they will still take lessons only until they are accepted into A Band. See the schedule below for upcoming dates.

A Band- Rehearsals are running on Thursdays already. Students should have all of their music by now in plastic sleeves placed inside a 3 ring folder for organization purposes. Percussion assignments have been passed out, so your student knows what parts they need to prepare with their lesson instructor. See the schedule below for upcoming dates.

Jazz Band- Auditions have been held and the roster is set. Other students may be added later by invitation in the spring upon the director’s approval based on need. These kids have to practice at home much more as not only do they need to learn jazz music but their A Band music as well, making it a challenge to learn all the material. See the schedule below for upcoming dates.

In the past before Covid, we were able to develop a Select Choir, a Wind Ensemble (high end concert band), a Bell Choir, and even a Ukulele Club! If time permits, and if needed skill levels have developed enough, our music department will hopefully be able to add some of these extra fun activities to help develop our students' musicianship. Fingers crossed!

IMPORTANT MUSIC DATES

2/18 B Band Last Friday rehearsal

3/17 A Band -District Band Night at ORHS 6:30pm (also rehearsal in the afternoon)

3/24 Chorus -District Chorus Night at ORHS 6:30pm (also rehearsal in the afternoon)

4/14 Jazz Band -District Jazz Night at ORHS 6:30pm (short rehearsal before concert)

5/5 WES Celebration Creation Night -Possible Jazz Band performance at 6pm-6:30pm

4/27 MHS Grade K/1 -MHS Memorial Day Program TBD

4/27 A Band -WES Memorial Day Program TBD

5/30 A Band -Memorial Day Parade (March/perform at program at Academy Hill)

6/7 Spring Concert -A Band/Chorus/Jazz Band

-Concert 1 at WES 9am

-Concert 2 at Location either ORHS or Monty Tech (TBD) at 6:30pm

*NOTE – Spring Concert Date may change to a later date if the school year extends enough due to snow days.

PLEASE ALSO NOTE: A complete and detailed schedule of performance dates, times, locations, as well as rehearsal schedules with any date changes will be soon sent out to your child/musician through a paper copy and an email. Please contact Mrs. Popik or myself if you are not getting any music newsletter/emails. Thank you.

It is hard to believe we are almost half way through the school year. TIme flies when you are having fun! Now that kids are acclimated to our routine, we are expecting kids to use the routines and strategies we have taught them independently. There are a few things we need your help practicing at home!

Getting on and off boots also means getting on and off shoes. Many kids are still struggling with tying their own shoes and sadly, we just don’t have time to tie everyones’ shoes after recess. At this point your child should be able to independently tie and double knot his/her shoes. If your child can not tie/double knot please practice this at home. If your child is watching TV, have your child hold their shoe in their lap and practice tying. There are many great videos online to help teach tying.

It is finally time to bring in snow clothes! Putting on and off snow gear can be difficult for many children. Also, storing the snow clothes can be tough. Please have your child practice putting on and taking off their snow clothes independently at home. Please pack the snow clothes in a separate bag. The snow clothes get wet outside so putting them in a backpack with school papers isn’t a good idea. It’s also tough to squeeze everything into a backpack. Please put your child’s name on everything! Things get easily mixed up in the mad dash of putting on and taking off snow clothes. We don’t want anyone going home without the things they need to enjoy the snow at home!

Thanks for all of your help!

We are gathering information on students who will be joining us for Kindergarten in the fall of 2022. Please fill out the survey form below if you have a student that will be coming to Meetinghouse School for Kindergarten next fall.

Dear Families of Students in Grades K-3:

As social learning continues to be vital for promoting student development, children in Grades K-3 have been actively brainstorming, engaging in positive self-reflection, utilizing reciprocal communication skills & appreciating differences, etc. The aforementioned skills have been utilized by students in Social Learning Class and the expectation is that students will generalize the skills learned in Class to other real-life environments (i.e., recess, lunch & home, etc).

Students have been actively engaged in the following Social Learning Classes that occurred over the last two (2) months:

>> Creating a paper chain link of drawings that displayed personal examples of empathy and being thankful.

>> Making a paper 3-D gift (prior to Christmas) that consisted of people and items that students considered important, or “presents” in their personal lives.

>> Videos, stories and interactive formats promoting awareness and respect for different cultures, individual perspectives & interests, etc.

>> For Grades K & 1: Students practicing adhering to personal space boundaries, such as by walking in the hallway with hula hoops around their waists.

David Weinberg, M.Ed.

Guidance Counselor

Westminster & Meetinghouse Schools

Office: Room 133 (WES)

Email: dweinberg@awrsd.org

Phone: (978) 874-2043 X133

Our supply of extra clothing is rapidly diminishing! We are more than happy to take any clothing you may be giving away to add to our closet. MHS is in need of the following clothing items:

• Pants/bottoms for both boys and girls, especially in sizes 6-8. Leggings & sweatpants are a great option for children to change into if they have an accident!

• Boys underwear sizes 6-8

• Girls underwear sizes 6-7

• Long sleeve tops in all sizes for both boys and girls

• With Winter now here, there have been lots of wet feet. Socks of all sizes are also needed.

Donations of Kleenex, Paper Towels, Disinfectant Wipes and Baby Wipes are always greatly appreciated!

Please continue to send in COVID and Flu shot documentation so we can update your child’s medical records here at school. Also, please note that Pool Testing samples are collected first thing Tuesday mornings. If you bring in a sample later than 10 am, it may not be sent out to be tested.

Finally, please continue to routinely check our website for the most current information related to COVID 19 protocols COVID 19 Health Services Page If you have any questions about quarantine and isolation, please reach out to us for guidance.

Thank you from your School Nurses,

Jessica Heffernan, BSN, RN & Bridget Hurley, BSN, RN