Canterbury Elementary School
February Newsletter
Congratulations to our Spelling Bee Winners!
CES held classroom spelling bees throughout the month, culminating with the 5th grade school-wide bee. Kudos to all students for their efforts and focus in learning new words, and congratulations to our champions! Photos will be shared in next month's Smore newsletter.
Grade 5 Winner: Liam Treadway
Grade 5 Runner Up: Penelope Lemay
Grade 4: Jamie Taylor
Grade 3: Tim Slayton
Grade 2: Charlotte Archer
Grade 1 (McCauley): Madeline Treadway
Grade 1 (Perlet): Gigi Allen
Fisher Cats Reading Challenge
The Fisher Cats Reading Challenge encourages students to read five books during the school year. Any student who completes the challenge will earn two FREE tickets to a 2024 New Hampshire Fisher Cats game at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester!
There's a reading log that parents/guardians can help their student(s) to complete and submit to the Fisher Cats by mailing it in, or by scanning the QR code on the log. You can also send the completed form to the CES office and we will mail it in on your behalf.
Additionally, the five schools with the highest percentage of participation will have a chance to win a cash prize up to $1,000 for their school. Thank you in advance for supporting our young readers!
Dressing for the Weather
Living in New Hampshire requires adaptability to frequent weather changes. We will go outside for recess every day that we can. Watch/Listen to local weather reports and help your child dress according to our guidelines (see attached letter). It is recommended that you post these in a visible place at home!
If your student is not dressed for the weather, they will report to the nurse’s office and make a phone call home during their recess time. Thank you for your support as we work to ensure a safe, fun recess time for all students!
Important Dates
February 1-23: I Love to Read Month
February 2: 4th and 5th grades field trip to BMS (School Play, "Channeling Grimm")
February 5-9: National School Counseling Week
February 7: Deliberative Session for 24-25 Budget - BHS 6 PM
February 8: PTO Meeting - 6 PM
February 13: School Board Meeting - CES 6 PM
February 14: Valentine's Day
February 16: Winter Sports Day - More Details to Come
February 19 or 22: Kids Heart Challenge Event (during P.E. classes)
February 22: NAEP Testing (Grade 4)
February 26 - March 1: Winter Vacation Week - NO SCHOOL
March 12: Voting Day (School Budget) - Old Town Hall
March 12: Teacher Workshop Day - NO SCHOOL
Kids Heart Challenge - Update From Mr. McWhinnie
We are excited to announce that our school will again be participating in the American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge (formerly known as Jump Rope For Heart) program in P.E. classes through February 23rd, 2024.
This year we will end the program with a Kids Heart Challenge event, which will take place during your child’s regular scheduled P.E. day (on February 19th or the 22nd).
This is always a fun and exciting program for our entire school as we work together to raise awareness for our nation’s #1 cause of death, heart disease. We will be doing online donations only this year! We have found this to be an easier way for us to monitor donations safely and accurately.
More information was sent home with your student. Please reach out with any questions: ymcwhinnie@sau80.org. Thank you for helping us support the AHA, and this life-saving educational event!
Update from Nurse Decker-Gendron
In the event that your child borrows an article of clothing or footwear from our school inventory, please be sure to launder the item and return it as soon as possible. Our supply of items is limited and we want to ensure that future students can benefit from a provision of clothing if needed. In addition, if you find that your student frequently needs a change of clothes, please send in an extra set to keep at school. Thank you!
Car Drop Off & Pick Up Reminders
After the buses have departed, those in private vehicles may enter the school driveway and proceed to the playground entrance for car rider pick up. A staff member will escort each child safely to their ride. If folks arrive too early, the cars get backed up into the road. Please adhere to the 3:20 arrival time in order to mitigate this issue.
It is also essential that private vehicles do not drive around other vehicles (whether they are school buses or other private vehicles) while students are loading or unloading. Please wait until the vehicle in front of you begins to move.
Thank you for your help in ensuring that our routines are efficient and safe.
Valentine's Day
Ready, the Prepared Puppy Visited Us!
Absences
Regular attendance at school is critical for a student's success. The interactive nature of lessons at school today make it challenging to provide students with the same learning experiences when they return from an absence.
If a student reaches 10 half days (or 5 full days) of unexcused absences in a school year, the State of NH considers that student habitually truant. Our protocols require that we follow a process with families to ensure that the importance of attendance is understood and that unexcused absences are to be avoided.
The digital version of the CES Smore Newsletter includes a PDF of our attendance policy, as well as RSA 193:1 (Duty of a Parent - Compulsory Attendance) and RSA 189:35-a (Truancy defined).
Absences are excused in the event of sickness, a death in the family, or medical appointments. Other absences are considered unexcused and should be avoided.
Please note: SRSD School Board Policy JH states that for absences other than illness, parents must provide a written notice to the principal 10 days prior to the absence: the reason for the absence and how long the student will be absent.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for partnering with CES to support the success of all students.
PTO Update from Emily Perlet, PTO chair
The CES PTO meets the second Thursday of every month. We held our January meeting at Canterbury Woods Country Club in order to review our December events and plan new activities for February. We are excited to report that the Christmas Tree Sales went great! We also had a wonderful time with the CES community at the annual PTO Family Fun Night! The kids loved hanging out and being merry, while parents definitely loved the raffle! We are also happy to report that we raised $1,800 through the CWCC Halloween fundraiser, the Un-fundraiser, and the Change Challenge. Those funds will go towards the Junk 2 Funk Artist in Residence program for the school. Thank you to everyone for supporting these fundraisers and helping to make this wonderful programing a reality for our students!
Our next meeting is on February 8, 2024 at 6PM in the library at CES. Please come and join us as we plan upcoming events and fundraisers! If you have any questions please email Emily Perlet, PTO Chair, at emilyperlet@gmail.com.
The CES PTO is teaming up with Canterbury Woods Country Club to host a Kids’ Activity Night and Taco Buffet on Friday February 16, 2024 from 5-7 PM. There will be activity bags for all the kids that attend and some entertaining activities to keep the kids busy throughout the evening. The buffet will include some of your favorite dishes such as tacos, chips, and dips. The cost of the buffet is $18 for adults and $10 for children. Please mark your calendar and join us for some fun!
Remote Learning at CES
In the event of poor weather, Mr. Tursi may call for a traditional snow day, or he may call for a remote learning day.
The digital version of the CES Smore Newsletter includes a PDF of two documents, the CES Remote Learning Schedule, and our Remote Learning Expectations. Please review them, and reach out to me or your student's teacher if you have any questions.
Classroom teachers have sent additional details out as well. Thank you for your support!