Cheetah Pride Press!

Families,

Please remember that there is no school on Friday, in observation of Good Friday, followed by spring break. We will all return to Memorial on Monday, April 17th. At that point the birds will be singing, the flowers will be in bloom, and the days will grow warmer. Our students will begin an assortment of spring sports and activities, and they will be eager to be outside. As Spring Fever hits our young learners, it is important to acknowledge their excitement; but it is also critical to maintain routines. We are confident that our cheetahs will continue to grow over the last two months of the year!

Thank you for your partnership,

Joey and Andrea

This month students are learning about perseverance. We are teaching, modeling and encouraging our Cheetahs to persevere through difficult work, learning, and situations.

On Tuesday evening, the EHPS K-12 Art Show had it’s opening reception at EHHS. The masterpieces of many young artists were proudly on display! We sure have some talented young artists at Memorial School!

On Sunday, the Memorial School parking lot was FULL of fascinating vehicles for young learners from our community to explore. There were police cars, fire trucks, rescue jet skis, an ambulance, a race car, and many more! There was even a pizza truck! Thank you to everyone who attended. A wonderful time was had by all!

Several students and staff members, led by Jen Bove (EHPS Director of Food Services), testified in support of a bill that would reinstate free school meals for all students. The Appropriations Hearing was held on Tuesday in Hartford. Ms. Bove testified in person, and two grade 1 classes testified from their classrooms via Zoom. The testimonies can be viewed through this link: https://ct-n.com/ctnplayer.asp?odID=21639 Feel free to watch the whole hearing, or look for our grade one classes at 1:29 and 1:33 marks. We are proud of our students for advocating for all learners to receive a healthy meal during the school day.

Memorial Models are chosen weekly by their teacher. These students have excelled all week in taking care of themselves, others, and things. The recipients will dine at a VIP table during lunch every Friday!

A PAWsitive office referral is submitted when a staff member recognizes a student who is going above and beyond to exemplify one of our three school rules - taking care of others, taking care of self, & taking care of things.

This week we celebrate Ms. Alessi. Ms. Alessi is an Interventionist at Memorial School. We are lucky to have Ms. Alessi at Memorial School because she is kind, caring and positive to all who she encounters.

Oftentimes your child’s teacher will talk to you about your child’s reading fluency.

What exactly is fluency?

Fluency is a child's ability to read a book or other text with accuracy, at a reasonable rate, and with appropriate expression. Reading fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. When a child can read fluently, it's easier for them to understand what they're reading. And they read aloud easily and with expression — this makes reading a lot more enjoyable!

Fluency develops gradually over time and through practice. At the earliest stage of reading development, students' oral reading is slow and labored because students are just learning to "break the code" – to attach sounds to letters and to blend letter sounds into recognizable words. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read.

Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their reading sounds natural, as if they are speaking. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding the words, they can focus their attention on what the text means. They can make connections among the ideas in the text and their background knowledge. In other words, fluent readers recognize words and comprehend at the same time.

*Adapted from ReadingRockets.org

How can you support your child at home? Follow the link for some tips from Scholastic.

6 Smart Strategies to Boost Reading Fluency

We hope you’re looking forward to a relaxing and restful April break. The Math Learning Center website (https://mathathome.mathlearningcenter.org/) offers many exciting and engaging activities, games and practice pages for mathematicians at home. All of these directly align to content and routines utilized in the classroom. Once on the website, choose your grade level and have ‘sum’ fun with math over vacation.

If you have not already done so, please take a moment to complete our annual Parent Feedback Survey. While we are incredibly proud of the work we do at Memorial, we are always looking to improve, and to establish best practices to meet the needs of every child at Memorial School. 2022-2023 Memorial School Parent Feedback Survey

Dear Families of Memorial Elementary Students,

We are asking for your assistance in helping keep our school healthy and safe. We have been experiencing an uptick in the stomach bug, pink eye and fevers. Please consider the following guidelines, provided by the school nurse, for sending students to school:

Consider keeping your child at home for an extra day of rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

• Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough

• Mild sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)

• Mild headache and/or stomachache

• Fatigue

Definitely keep your child at home for treatment and observation if he or she has any of these symptoms:

• Fever (greater than 100 degrees. May return to school after 24 hours of no fever WITHOUT fever reducing medications)

• Vomiting (Even once. Must wait 24 hours after last vomit episode to return to school)

• Diarrhea (Must wait 24 hours after last episode to return to school)

• Chills

• General malaise or feelings of fatigue, discomfort, weakness, and/or muscle aches

• Frequent congested, wet, or croupy cough

• Lots of nasal congestion with frequent blowing of nose

• redness and discharge from one or both eyes

To help prevent the flu and other colds, please remind your child(ren) about good hygiene habits:

• Wash hands frequently

• Do not touch eyes, nose, or mouth

• Cover mouth and nose when sneezing/coughing and then wash hands

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick

Often when a child awakens with vague complaints (the way colds and flu begin) it is wise to observe your child at home for an hour or two before deciding whether or not to bring them to school. Your child should be physically able to participate in all school activities on returning to school. Keeping a sick child at home will minimize the spread of infections and viruses in the classroom. We use our nursing assessment and judgment when students come into the nurse's office and make calls home as we deem necessary. Thank you in advance for helping to make this year at school as healthy as possible.

Please also update emergency contact information! In case of an emergency or in instances where your child needs to be dismissed from school, it is extremely important that we be able to reach someone on the contact list. We have also been having trouble with parent voicemail boxes that are full and we are unable to leave a message.

Celebrations are an important part of childhood. We strongly encourage non-food items to share with classes when celebrating birthdays. Many students are living with life threatening allergies (i.e. nut/tree nut/dairy/egg/soy/fruit) and we do our best to limit their exposure to anything that may negatively impact their health and want to keep all of our students safe. We appreciate your assistance.

Kindly,

The Health Office Team,

Nurse Katie and Miss Michelle

Please contact your child’s pediatrician first. If unable to be seen, here is a list of

local walk in/urgent care locations if unable to be seen by pediatrician:

CVS Minute Clinic, East Hampton 866-389-2727

ProHealth Extended Hours, Glastonbury 657-5940

Middlesex Health Urgent Care, Middletown 860-358-4170

Colchester Urgent Care 860-531-9749

4/3- Board Of Education Meeting

4/7- No school Good Friday

4/7-4/16- April Vacation

4/17- 4/21 Autism Awareness Week

4/21- Bus Driver Appreciation Day

4/26- Administrative Assistant Appreication Day

4/28 Cheetah Pride Assembly

The East Hampton Board of Education and the school community as a whole promote a secure and productive school climate, conducive to teaching and learning that is free from threat, harassment, and any type of bullying behavior. Therefore it shall be the policy of the Board that bullying and/or teen dating violence committed against a student by another student is prohibited. The Board believes that a school environment in which students feel safe, supported, engaged and helpfully challenged is optimal for learning and healthy development. The Board seeks an environment in which students and adults feel socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically safe; an environment that is free of harassment, intimidation, teen dating violence and bullying. Our website provides links to various policies and reporting forms including our Safe School Climate Plan. Hard copies are also available in our main office. If at any point you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to building administration for further assistance.

When considering the number of absences your student has accrued, keep in mind that a student must be present for 195 minutes in order for the day to count! When bringing your student in late, or signing them out early if they have not been in school for a 195 minutes the day will be recorded as an absence.

The East Hampton Board of Education is committed to a safe and secure learning environment that honors and celebrates the diversity of our students, our community, and our nation. The Board of Education in partnership with the school community will not tolerate any threat of violence in the schools or any hate speech that targets any race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Each student is held to the highest standards of responsible decision making within a culture that is expected to foster compassion, caring, and empathy.

The school community of East Hampton is committed to the mission of honoring and celebrating the diversity of our students, our community, and our nation. We strive to guide our students to conscious, deliberate, individual and collective actions that cultivate the respect of all races, religions, and social backgrounds. Our school community endeavors to produce graduates who are equipped with a greater understanding of the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The East Hampton Board of Education, in compliance with federal and state law, affirms its policy of equal educational opportunity for all students and equal employment opportunity for all persons. It is the policy of the District to promote nondiscrimination and an environment free of harassment regardless of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, disability (including but not limited to, intellectual disability, past or present history of mental disorder, physical disability, or learning disability), genetic information, marital status, or age or because of the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, genetic information, marital status, or age of any persons with whom the individual associates. The District shall provide to all students without discrimination, course offerings, counseling, assistance, employment, athletics, and extracurricular activities. The District shall provide equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The District shall make reasonable accommodations for identified physical and mental impairments that constitute disabilities, consistent with federal and state statutes and regulations.

Email: jbauer@easthamptonct.org
Website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/memorial-school
Location: 20 Smith Street, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: 860-365-4020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ehmemorialschool