Pleasant Street School News
building a community of learners that strive for excellence
May 22, 2016
This is a busy week at Pleasant Street!
- Monday, May 23- Visit from the Athol Children's Librarian to promote summer reading
- Tuesday, May 24- Animal Adventures, Backyard Barnyard
- Wednesday, May 25- third grade field trip to Boston Aquarium
- Thursday, May 26- All School Walkathon
- Friday, May 27-spring Maps testing begins
- Friday, May 27- Memorial Day Program, 1:30, on the back courtyard, families are welcome providing there is no threat of inclement weather.
Please check dates at the end of this newsletter for more end of year school events!
Tape Diagrams: Why it is important to give students a choice of strategies for problem solving
Zoe had some stamps. She gave 2/5 to Lionel. She used 1/3 to mail thank-you notes. She had 14 stamps left. How many stamps did she have when she started?
This is a very tough problem to solve if you only know the algebraic approach. But with the use of tape diagrams, a 5th grader can solve it in under a minute. Problem-solving models like tape diagrams allow students to see challenging math more clearly. To learn more about the developmental teaching of conceptual knowledge using tape diagrams please click on an explainer linked below by Eureka Math Lead Mathematician Scott Baldridge.
http://greatminds.net/maps/documents/StudentTools-TapeDiagrams-160510.pdf
Yoga with our First Grade Friends
Students in Mrs. Coleman's class were treated to a yoga practice with Brandy Lefsyk. Mrs. Lefsyk has two children, Sawyer and Bailey, at Pleasant Street and has been teaching and practicing yoga for a number of years having previously led a Family Yoga night last school year. Thank you for coming to our school and for volunteering to share your skills with our students.
Second Grade Field Trip to Northfield Mountain
Both classes enjoyed two programs at Northfield Mountain. One program was a hike on the mountain called Signs of Spring. The group would stop periodically and learn about a sign of spring and do an activity, which included identifying flowers, learning about some local birds and learning, then practicing their bird calls in a game of hide and seek.
The other program was a pond probe. This was exciting for the students to use nets and an extracting tool (a spoon) to find inhabitants of the pond. Some amazing creatures found were bullfrogs, tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs, leeches, water striders, snails, salamanders, Cadis fly larva and scuds, just to name a few. We then took the creatures inside to identify and examine them under magnifying lenses. An amazing time was had by all!
Special thanks to our school PTO for sponsoring this field trip, to our wonderful chaperones who were able to join us, and to Mrs. Arpide, Mrs. Jones, and to Mrs. Adams for the use of their photos in our video.
Northfield Mountain Outdoor Adventures Video
Fourth Grade Field Trip to Boston
Special thanks to our PTO who generously supported bus transportation for this trip, our parent chaperones, our teachers, and to Christine Mailloux who provided pictures.
Boston Trip Video
Garden Club Week #3
Special thanks to Mrs. Nancy Berthiaume for leading this program that is generously funded with a grant from the Athol Royalston Education Fund.
Catch of the Day
Alyssa
Allie B.
Tori- Catch of the Week
Farewell to Pleasant Street ~ Community Event on June 1
Pleasant Street School Faculty and Staff cordially invite you to be our honored guest at a Community Open House at Pleasant Street School on Wednesday, June 1st from 5:00-6:30 p.m.
This event will be an opportunity for residents of Athol to visit the school one last time before it closes in June. As a former staff member of Pleasant Street School, we hope that you will attend, visit with current staff and former students, rediscover the items from the unearthed Time Capsule, and share your memories and stories from your time at Pleasant Street School.
We wish to extend this invitation to all former teachers and staff. Please help us by sharing this invitation with colleagues that we may inadvertently omit as we craft a list from memory and records of years past!
For more information and to RSVP please contact either Melissa Muzzy at the school at (978) 249-2405 or Darlene Goldthwaite via email at dgoldthwaite@arrsd.org.
We hope to see you at Pleasant Street School on Wednesday, June 1st to share reflections and more.
Free Breakfast & Lunch
As part of the 2010 Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act, Athol-Royalston Regional School District, along with other districts, now offers free meals to all students this school year.
Menus
- Breakfast menu for May
- Lunch menu for May
Check Out the Official ARRSD District Facebook Page
We encourage you to like this page so you can follow news from around the district.
Mine Craft Club
Future Minecraft Clubs:
May 13th
May 27th
June 10th
June 24th
Meeting at 4:15pm in the children’s room.
This activity is sponsored by the Athol Public Library.
Upcoming Events...Mark your Calendars!
- May 23, Visit from Athol Librarian to talk about summer reading
- May 24- Animal Adventures Program for grades prek, k, and grade 1
- May 25- third grade field trip to Boston Aquarium
- May 26- Literacy leadership committee
- May 26- all school walk-athon
- May 26 & May 27- dental program
- May 27- Memorial day program- scheduled for 1:30 pm
- May 27, May 31, June 1, & June 2- Spring MAPS testing
- May 30- Memorial day holiday
- May 31- spring concert at Athol High School, 6:00 pm (students to arrive at 5:45)
- June 1- fourth grade to visit ARMS- tentative departure 10:00 am
June 1- Farewell to Pleasant Street Community Open House, 5:30-7:00, Time capsule display
June 6, District family literacy night at ARMS and joint elementary district PTO meeting, 5:30 to 7:00
- June 7, Bank Tellers field trip to Boston Duck Boat Tours
- June 7, preschool step up ceremonies
- June 8- Volunteer appreciation breakfast 7:45 to 8:30 am
- June 8, field day, half day program, 9:30-11:30 am
- June 8- Volunteer appreciation breakfast 7:45 to 8:30 am
- June 9, Grades 3-6, grade level ELA PD, at PSS/RCS
- June 9, 4th grade Step Up Ceremony at 1:30 pm
- June 10- Kindergarten Nursery Rhymes program at 1:30
- June 13- Farewell to Pleasant Street PTO sponsored “block party” celebration and family picnic, 6:00-8:00 pm
June 14, Last day of school, half day, noon dismissal.
For your convenience our district calendar is linked below.
http://www.arrsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/CALENDARFOR2015-2016a.pdf
Community Events & Postings
Do you have news to share or want to inform members of our school community about family friendly events in our area? if so, please email or forward a flyer or link.
Thank you :)
Motor Monkeys Playgroup- 10:15-11:30, Friday mornings, beginning on March 4- May 13, 34 North Main St., Orange. For more information call Jennifer at (978) 249-8467.
Mother Goose on the Loose Playgroup-Thursdays 10am—11:30am Valuing Our Children 217 Walnut St. Athol. For more information contact: Jen: 978-249-8467 x 22
http://www.arrsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PG-and-MGOL.pdf
Petersham Playgroup- Beginning on Thursday, Sept. 17th from 10-11:30 at the Petersham Center School. For more information please call Jennifer at Valuing Our Children 978-249-8467 x22
http://www.arrsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Petersham-playgroup.pdf
For other local events, happenings, and resources in this area... you can also check the North Quabbin Community Coalition website below:
These are not school sponsored events but are posted here as a public service for families in the greater North Quabbin community.
Check back soon for more news!
News from Principal Ellis
Email: dellis@arrsd.org
Website: arrsd.org
Location: 1060 Pleasant Street., Athol, MA 01331
Phone: (978) 249-2405