Friday Flash
January 26th, 2024
Notes from the Principal's Office
What an outstanding week it's been here at Newbury Elementary School! The old saying a picture is worth a thousand words should be changed to a smile is worth a thousand words. All through this newsletter you will see smiles on the faces of our students and staff, as they taking on learning both inside and outside of the classroom.
It's sometimes is difficult to venture outside of my office as I know that when I step away dozens of emails and mountains of paperwork will pile up. Heading out to Ticklenaked Pond to spend some time ice fishing with our students was worth spending time during the weekend to catch up on the work I left behind. I'm so glad I was there when an excited cry went up from all of the students, moments after setting their first tip up and catching a nice chain pickerel. The trip out of the office also allowed me to finally present our Honorary Newbury Knight Award to Corey Hart and the VT Dept. of Fish & Wildlife. Corey has supported our efforts to bring more outdoor education here to the school. He trained our whole staff in Let's Go Fishing, leads our ice fishing trips and connected us to the Trout in the Classroom program. We appreciate all he and the department does to help our students get outdoors!
I'd be lying if I said the FY 25 budget process was going smoothly and we were looking better than all the other schools in Vermont. It might be a tough year for budgets, that being said I encourage community members to attend the February Committee Coffee on Wednesday February 21st, so they can better understand our needs and current situation. All community members are welcome to attend.
~Loretta
PS: 6th Grade Carnation Sales were extended into this week. If you haven't got your Sweetie some flowers for Valentine's Day there's still time. Contact the main office or Lottie Page to order.
Pictures from Around the School
Positivity Project: Other People Mindset-Cheer Successes
“We rise by lifting others.”
~ American Author & Lawyer Robert Ingersoll
Dear Families,
This week our school community will be focusing on the Other People Mindset of Cheering Others’ Successes. This means when other people succeed, I am happy for them and cheer them on.
Being happy for other people when they succeed isn’t always everyone’s initial reaction. Often, it’s easy to become jealous or envious of others’ victories -- or even to experience schadenfreude, which is deriving pleasure from witnessing (or learning about) another person’s misfortune. People who have these reactions to the success or misfortune of others are colloquially known as “haters.” It’s important to note that these are natural emotions and in small doses can be helpful in allowing us to see what we care about -- and motivate us to pursue those goals.
But making a commitment towards cheering on other people’s successes can be a great way to improve our own health, happiness, and relationships. People can take active steps to be more genuinely happy for the achievements of others. Ways to do this include; telling others about the success of your modest friend; noticing when your reaction to a sibling’s success is envy or jealousy -- and asking yourself why that is; reminding yourself that appreciating the excellence in another is a character strength; asking your successful teammates and classmates what they do to prepare for games or tests.
Being supportive of people who succeed is good for our mental, physical, and emotional well-being and when people cheer each other on it begins a reciprocal process that forges stronger relationships. Those relationships are the foundation for a strong culture in teams, schools, and businesses.
To practice and encourage the character strength of perspective with your child, please visit the Positivity Project’s P2 for Families (password: P2), where together you will watch a video, read a quote, and talk about the answers to three questions.
Have a wonderful week!
Why is it sometimes hard to be happy for others when they do well?
Music Notes from Charlotte LaBonte
The students of Newbury Elementary have been exploring in music class! Every grade has been exploring different areas of music, including how many different sounds can be made on different drums with four different objects. Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students have been learning about instrument families and creating their own songs to storybooks. 3rd and 4th graders are learning about the classification of instruments to start their unit about sound and using their imaginations to create a story from songs. 5th and 6th graders are in the planning stage of building their own instruments. Later in the year, 3rd and 4th graders will be building their own instruments, 5th and 6th graders will be learning about copyright law pertaining to music, and kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders will be learning about the Beatles and the art style of Heinz Edelmann, the animator of the Yellow Submarine movie.
Picture 1: The Sea Turtles experimenting with drums
Picture 2 : The Monkeys experimenting with drums
Picture 3: the Owls imagining Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Staff Spotlight: Catlyn Beck
Kindergarten Assistant & Aspiring Teacher
Catlyn Beck recently made the move from NES building based substitute to kindergarten assistant. It was the perfect opportunity for her to get experience teaching and for us to get additional support in helping our seventeen kindergarteners learn and grow this year. Catlyn a local girl, having grown up in Bradford. She has attended River Valley Community College and Community College of Vermont. She will soon graduate with a degree in elementary education! When she was a building based sub she loved being able to be in all the different classrooms. It makes me happy when I walk into a classroom and I get greeted with excited and happy faces to have me as their teacher for the day! :) I love being able to help the students achieve their goals. I also have some pretty amazing coworkers I get to work with every single day! Outside of school she loves spending time with her family and friends! Family time is very important to her, and she tries to soak it up as much as she can. She enjoy going for walks, a good hot cup of coffee, sewing for her small business, shopping, a good book and a cozy day! This is what Ms. Beck wants her students to know, "I want students to believe in themselves and work hard this school year. Never give up, and keep trying! The more you try the better you get at something. I want students to know that I will always be here to help, and cheer them on when they accomplish small or big achievements!! One more thing… always be kind! :)"
Arts Summer Camp Infromation
Registration for New England School of the Arts summer camp is open! They will be running 6 unique, 1 week performance focused camps for grades K-4 and 5-8 at their homebase in Lebanon, NH. Camp starts July 1st and runs through August 9th. Learn more here: https://www.nesarts.org/about-summer-camp
More Winter Activities Pictures!
Important Dates
February 9th: Winter Program (Burke Mountain & Bowling)
February 15th: 4th Grade NAEP testing
February 16th: Winter Program (Burke Mountain & Carnival)
February 21st: Community Coffee (Topic FY 25 Budget)
Principal Loretta Cruz
Email: loretta.cruz@oesu.org
Website: https://www.nesvt.org/
Location: 214 Pulaski Street, Newbury, VT, USA
Phone: 802-866-5621
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newburyelementaryVT