SAU 16 NEWSLETTER
FEBRUARY
From the Superintendents Office
I hope this newsletter finds you all eagerly anticipating some well-deserved rest and relaxation that the February vacation week can bring. The school year is full of peaks and valleys in terms of pace, and in these past few winter months we seem to be climbing more than descending. One silver lining is the knowledge that spring is on its way as evidenced by Lincoln Street School’s sap collection buckets on our campus trees, the planning for spring concerts and athletics, and March voting.
As you know, early March is when our community gathers to vote on budgets and elected officials. On March 6, Brentwood and Stratham School Districts will hold their annual School District Meetings to debate and decide upon a spending budget, while March 10 marks voting day for the five SB2 town and school warrants containing their proposed FY21 spending budget as approved by voters at their respective deliberative sessions held during the first week of February. All of our school districts will also ask for you to select school board members for the local school board as well as school board and budget committee representatives for the Exeter Region Cooperative School Board and Budget Advisory Committee.
I recommend checking your local town government website for up-to-date voter information, and feel free to our Budget/Elections website for information on each district’s proposed budget. Further, I invite you to review our 2020 State of the Schools presentation that was delivered to our Joint School Board on January 27. The report summarizes advances along the SAU strategic plan continuum and can provide you with a glimpse into the work that is being accomplished with your tax dollars in the name of all students.
Budget development is an intense and lengthy process that began last summer and involves many stakeholders and voices. As we continue to improve the quality of personalized instruction for our students and ensure that our professional staff members have the resources that are required for them to reach high expectations for their performance, we also work to minimize the cost impact to our taxpayers as best as we can.
Recently appointed to the state’s Commission to Study School Funding and working alongside elected state officials as well as practitioners, I am learning about the opportunities and challenges to improving how we finance education for the future while providing the same high quality experience for all students. I hold hope that our work, guided by the supportive recommendations and suggestions gleaned from an upcoming statewide listening tour, will provide a result that lessens the impact on our stakeholders’ budgets while stabilizing the future for our kids.
Enjoy the winter break!
Main Street School News
Paraprofessionals at MSS - We are very fortunate to have an amazingly talented group of paraprofessionals in Exeter. The value of the support that they provide both children and other staff cannot be underestimated. This year, we were excited to start a mentor program for new paraprofessionals hired to work at MSS and LSS. Three paraprofessionals from Main Street and Lincoln Street schools – Paula Gailing, Sue Quinn, and Robin Vogt – were invited to attend an Educational Support Professionals (ESP) Mentoring Conference held at the NEA National Offices in Washington, D.C. It was an opportunity for them to dive deeper into their current ESP Mentoring Program, and to learn from others from across the country. They had the pleasure of discussing mentor-ship with schools from Jackson, MI; Lexington, MA; Ogden, UT; and many other districts from across the United States.
This program is proving to be a valuable way to orient and help train new paraprofessionals in our schools.
Exeter Developmental Preschool News
We are always building literacy activity for our preschool children by surrounding them with examples and demonstrations of the skills or concepts they are being asked to learn. This includes oral, written, physical, visual, auditory, and tactile examples. The song chart is used each time we sing this song, the children take turns pointing to the text. The children become totally involved in the process of learning through frequent demonstrations and hands on experience.
Our Kindness program continues to build. Pictured here is a student wearing a little "spot of kindness" as a reminder to be kind. This project has spilled outside of our classroom and into families as the children request "spots' to bring home to share.
Newfields Elementary School News
Senator Maggie Hassan visited Newfields Elementary School on Monday, February 10 th. Greta, a grade four student from Newfields, wrote Senator Hassan a letter about her concern for the Amazon Wildfires. This compelled the Senator to respond with a visit to our school and speak with our students. Greta worked cooperatively with the Newfields Student Council to craft an outline of what the students wanted Senator Hassan to speak about on her visit to our school. Essentially, they asked Senator Hassan to address the following topics in her address: “Amazon wildfires, activism and the local issue of recycling in Newfields.” Senator Hassan spoke eloquently with our students on a number of issues surrounding climate change and wildfires. She patiently conducted a question and answer period where the students were able to ask her questions directly. We are thankful Senator Hassan took time out of her schedule to visit her hometown school!
Cooperative Middle School News
Winter marks two very important Bees at the Cooperative Middle School. The Spelling Bee was held in January with twelve finalists in grades six through eight representing CMS. The top three finishers are 7th grade students; placing third, Pranavi Vedula, runner up, Parker Vance and Otto Schroeter, earned the title of the 2020 CMS Spelling Bee Champion. We congratulate Pranavi, Parker, and Otto as they are indeed phenomenal spellers! We wish Otto all the best as he competes in the next level at the state competition at the Silver Center for the Arts at Plymouth State University on March 7th, 2020. The Geography Bee was also held in January, with twelve finalists in grades six through eight representing CMS. This year’s finalists certainly embraced the mission of the National Geography Bee to be informed, curious, and knowledgeable global citizens. The twelve finalists were pared down to three, 7th grade finalists. Finishing an impressive third place was Brodie Proulx, placing second with a valiant effort was Matthew Crowley, and for the second year in a row, Jacob Thomas was announced the CMS Geography Bee Champion. We wish Jacob all the best as he moves on to the next level in the state’s competition.
CMS students have been learning how to run a primary election that mirrors the one held in New Hampshire. Students on Team 6 and 10 did an excellent job learning and performing the jobs seen at polling stations. Students on Team 7 helped on Election Day. The results from Tuesday's CMS Mock Primary are the following: Democrats - Pete Buttigieg (36%), Bernie Sanders (15%), and Andrew Yang (11%). For the Republicans, Donald Trump (83%) finished first, Joe Walsh (5%) second, and Bill Weld (4%) third. Our students enjoyed the experience of being involved in civic engagement!
6th grade students in Mrs. Cuell’s health class created healthy trail mixes by following the AHA Health Dietary Guidelines. Students created their own nutrition label, following those same guidelines. In addition, they branded and marketed their trail mixes. With the help of Mrs. Garneau’s 8th grade FCS classes, students were able to choose which trail mix they were going to measure and re-create. Students learned about how to budget for their ingredients and shop online with Hannaford To Go. 6th and 8th grade students enjoyed this collaborative project!
Stratham Memorial School News
On Friday, January 24th, University of New Hampshire students worked with Stratham fourth and fifth graders as they explored the engineering and design process involved in creating an amusement park ride as well as the process for building a successful egg drop. Known as UNH STEMbassadors, the students are in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS), and are part of a team of more than 40 UNH students dedicated to providing inspiration to children across New Hampshire. SMS was incredibly fortunate to host this amazing group as they facilitated hands-on, minds-on activities geared at building interest and excitement around engineering and physical science.
The following day, fourth, fifth and sixth graders from across SAU 16 descended upon SMS for a fun-filled Saturday with the UNH STEMbassadors. Yes, you read that correctly---Saturday! Students were absolutely engaged and excited as they designed, created, tested, improved, and most of all learned through a real hands-on, minds-on approach. Comments included, “Can they stay longer?” and “Can we do this again?” “How about tomorrow?”
East Kingston Elementary School News
On February 11, East Kingston Elementary School went on a whole school field trip to the Boston Museum of Science. We loaded up students and staff and ventured out on a day's journey that brought us to Boston - “Look, that is the TD Garden!”. Students were enthusiastic from the first moment the buses left EKES all the way to the return at dismissal time. In between we had a day of scientific exploration. When asked students report their favorites were:
Lincoln Street School News
Our school district is working hard to learn and study ways to improve our understanding and practices surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Our school community has many identities and many differences that are important to recognize, celebrate, and support. These differences include racial, ethnic, socio-economic, religious, family structure, mental and physical ability, and gender identity. When the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee was formed this past summer, we wrote for ourselves the following mission statement, “The Exeter Elementary School Community is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our schools’ children. The Exeter Elementary School Community supports an anti-bias education that focuses on identity, diversity, justice, and action.”
The committee, which includes administration, staff, parents, and school board and community members, has been meeting monthly to take on this sizeable mission. We have been setting goals that focus on the four main areas of communication, school culture, professional development, and curriculum. In terms of communication, we want the work of the work of the DEI Committee to be visible to community members and will look for ways to share it on our website and in other venues. Building a strong, inclusive school culture is an ongoing goal, and we want everyone that enters our schools to feel welcome and celebrated.
We have a great deal to learn about the topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural competency and are looking for ways to provide professional development for staff and the school board. Lastly, we will be working with SAU 16 to update our anti-bias school curriculum and programming. This is exciting and challenging work that we expect will support our goal to provide a high-quality learning experience for all our learners.
Lincoln Street School is in its second year of Restorative Justice (RJ) implementation. "RJ is grounded in a holistic mindset that emphasizes problem-solving approaches to discipline, attends to the social/ emotional as well as the physical/intellectual needs of students, recognizes the importance of the group to establish and practice agreed-upon norms and rules, and emphasizes prevention and early restorative intervention to create safe learning environments."
One strategy to bolster our student’s social-emotional skills and to acknowledge student leaders in Restorative Justice is throughout Peacemakers initiative.
Peacemakers are individuals that have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the growth of Restorative Justice Practices. They lead by example and show kindness, inclusion and helpfulness in their everyday acts. They are not considered peer mediators or hall monitors. They will be presented with opportunities to demonstrate these characteristics on a voluntary basis.
2020 LSS Peacemakers have been nominated and selected and permission slips have gone home. Training for the Peacemakers were on January 30 and 31. There were so many students nominated, we needed to split the group into two!
We are very excited to cultivate these important skills in our students!
Exeter Adult Education News
Exeter Adult Education is in full gear for the winter/spring 2020 semester: academic skill building, HISET prep, adult high school diploma evening and online classes, ESL, and a wide variety of community education classes including Spanish, German and Italian. A full round of HiSET testing begins February 12.
Since almost all adult education students are eligible to vote, this month there have been many class and individual discussions about this right of U.S. Citizens. Many are learning about the process and asking plenty of questions since they will be first time voters. Some are just 18 and others are new U.S. Citizens. For many election cycles, Exeter Adult Education has provided information about the process of voting – our civic duty! Folks are excited to participate in the New Hampshire Presidential Primary, the first in the nation! We look forward to hearing from first time voters about their experience on February 11.
Exeter High School News
Kensington Elementary School News
Whole School Read Aloud at KES
This month the entire school is reading The WishTree by Newbery Medal-winning author, Katherine Applegate. Every morning after we recite the Pledge of Allegiance, all the classrooms connect on Google Hangouts and Mrs. Ruel reads a few short chapters to students. (Thank you to our SAU 16 Tech Department for helping to make that happen!) The Wishtree, a beautifully written story told from the perspective of an old red oak tree, opens conversations about prejudice, immigration, the meaning of community and accepting differences amongst each other. There is rich vocabulary and figurative language which help to illustrate the book’s important, serious messages of acceptance and the power of friendship. The WishTree has been awarded numerous accolades including the 2019 Black-Eyed Susan Award, the 2018 Indian Paintbrush Award and was on The New York Times list of Notable Children’s Books in 2017. The story is a beautiful springboard for conversation and promoting cultural proficiency in our school.
Kid’s Heart Challenge
It’s February, which means our students will be participating in the annual Kids’ Heart Challenge sponsored by the American Heart Association. Through the Kids Heart Challenge our students will practice jump rope skills, learn how their heart works and raise money to help kids with special hearts. The benefits of jumping rope are amazing! It improves coordination, improves cardiovascular health, improves breathing efficiency and Mrs. Spinosa will say it makes you smarter. On February 14th, the staff and students at KES will gather in the multi-purpose room for our culminating Jump-a-thon which is an hour of jumping rope together! The Kids Heart Challenge is a well-loved tradition where we all stay healthy while making a difference in the lives of others.
Seacoast School of Technology News
First year Health Science students are building muscles out of clay to learn about the muscular system.
Members of the Seacoast School of Technology FFA Chapter spent a Saturday at Rolling Green Nursery in Greenland, educating the public on Agriculture Education and the National FFA.
On Friday, Seacoast United Sports Club spoke about the history of their organization, job shadow, internship and career opportunities as well as their community involvement on and off the field to 2nd year students. So many different career opportunities to consider!
SST is the only high school in the country to have received a pre-production Volvo courtesy of b Volvo North America due to the advocacy and support of Volvo Cars of Exeter.
Year 2 students with John Marze from Volvo of North America, Dan Enxing of Volvo of Exeter, Adam Enxing of Volvo of Exeter, Cliff Cote Volvo of Exeter and Tim Rich from Volvo of North America.Marketing Technologies students testing the games they created and marketed to the class.
Swasey Central School News
Grade 3
Third graders are working on an opinion writing performance task, which requires them to evaluate three sources and write an opinion essay. We are working on our study of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. Students are reading biographies of Black Americans, and will develop timelines on their lives and contributions. We are covering many topics in math, including fractions, elapsed time and multiplication and division facts. We enjoyed a visit from Kevin Skarupa, who talked about weather.
Grade 4
Fourth graders had a very successful wax museum culminating in our biography unit. Students visited the SEE Museum in Manchester where they learned about forms of energy and the history of the Amoskeag Mills. Fourth graders have been busy solving number stories in math. We are looking forward to all the Read Across America activities planned by the Brentwood Teachers’ Association, especially all of the community guest readers!
Grade 5
We are looking forward to a visit from the Boston Museum of Science to attend a presentation on the States of Matter, sponsored by Swasey’s Parent Faculty Group. In Social Studies, we continue to learn about explorers who ventured out into the world during the Age of Discovery. Students are working in groups to create presentations explaining the goals, accomplishments and historical impact of the explorers on the Americas. Finally, students are researching a topic of their choice and will write informational texts to share their learning. Topics students chose to research ranged Pablo Picasso to sharing the culture and food of Austria!
Art News
Kindergarten has been having lots of fun creating their very own colorful owl collage based on the book The Little White Owl by Tracey Corderoy. Visual planning of all the separate pieces that create the whole has been the focus.
Our first grade students have been experiencing how the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) mix to create the secondary colors (green, orange and violet). They have been exploring mixing colors in model magic after reading the book Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Second graders have been learning about the life and artwork of French artist Claude Monet. We created a pond with water lilies and model magic frogs based on his water lily paintings.
Our third graders have been working on symmetrical cursive name alien / monster creations. Next they will be designing robots for a collaborative project with the 9th graders at Exeter High School.
The fourth grade has been working on a unit exploring the art element of Space in a wide variety of art mediums. Soon we will be studying one of my favorite artists, Georgia O’Keeffe. We will be visiting the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in April.
Our fifth graders have been learning about the life and artwork of one of the most influential artists, the great Pablo Picasso. They created their own Picasso inspired portrait collage.
March is Youth Art Month. The Mary E. Bartlett Library will be hosting a student art show to celebrate. We hope you can stop by!
Thank you
Crystal Buswell
From the Music Room
Kindergarten and first grade continue with songs, movement, and activities that emphasize steady beat. Other concepts explored this month include improvisation in grade 1 with the ever popular Eric Carle book “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” which we set to a melody and added a glockenspiel accompaniment. Kindergarten continues their exploration of playing unpitched percussion instruments with the game of “Music Ball”.
Grade 2 has been learning about the instrument families, the orchestra, and had opportunities to sing solo with the German folk song “We Are Good Musicians”.
Grade 3 has been recognizing famous African Americans as we are now into the month of February, Black History Month. They have been learning musical symbols seen throughout musical scores as they have sung songs about Martin Luther King Jr., Booker T. Washington, and Jesse Owens.
Grade 4 has begun the traditional “Rap of the States”, which is a fusion of rap and song that teaches all 50 states and capitols! Following the score and building on their knowledge of musical symbols is a part of this unit. They have also begun to rehearse for their performance at our school district meeting on March 6th; they will be singing “This Land Is Your Land” at the beginning of the meeting!
Fifth graders have been working on reading rhythms, reviewing the staff, and identifying notes on the staff by their letter name…all in preparation for a unit of playing songs from notation on pitched percussion instruments.
…and that’s what’s new in the music room!
About Us
Website: www.sau16.org
Location: 30 Linden Street, Exeter, NH, USA
Phone: (603) 775-8400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1489948104504175/
Twitter: @sau16supt_ryan