Canterbury Elementary School
December Newsletter
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
December 8: PTO Meeting (6 PM)
December 9: Trimester 1 Grades Close
December 9: PTO Holiday Family Fun Night (5-7 PM)
December 13: School Board Meeting at CES (6 PM)
December 14: School Spirit Day (wear cougar apparel or blue and white)
December 15: Holiday Concert (6 PM) - please wear holiday attire
December 16: Progress Reports sent home
December 21: PJ Day!
December 21: Mrs. Morrison visits to read The Night Before Christmas
December 22: Class Holiday Parties
December 23-January 2: Holiday Break
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.
Veterans Assembly
Our students honored veterans in our community this morning with a special assembly. We would like to thank: Dale Caswell, Chris Duquette, Rhonda Houston (one of our classroom assistants), Wayne Mann, Edgar Rivera, and Mark Stevens for their service and for attending our program. Each class prepared either a song, poem or a letter to a veteran. The students did a wonderful job and it was touching to listen to all of the reasons that they were thankful for the veterans as well as those currently serving in the military. Mr. Bailey's class created haiku poems that they mounted on rocks for the veterans to take; students in Mrs. Gosselin's class read a poem and named their family members that had served or are currently serving in the military; Mrs. Briggs' class wrote heartfelt letters that each student read out loud; Mrs. Wieck, Ms. Hebert, Mrs. McCauley and Mrs. Whitney's classes all performed patriotic songs. At the end of the presentation, Wayne Mann thanked everyone at CES for all of their efforts and the entire school saluted the veterans in attendance. Our guests were welcomed to the library for coffee, cider, breakfast pastries and some delicious homemade breads and cookies. Thank you to all who have served and are serving our country.
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.
Below I have attached 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, required quarantine, 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 News by Jessie Heath
The CES PTO meets the second Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is December 8,
2022 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 Jessie Heath, PTO Chair, at
The PTO is pleased to announce the Holiday Family Fun Night is back! It will take place on
Friday, December 9th from 5-7 PM at Canterbury Elementary School. We have made some
changes to this event in hopes that we can increase the fun for all! This year we will have an
indoor snowball fight and a holiday movie screening towards the end of our event. All are
welcome to join us! It costs $5.00 per person with a maximum of $20 for a family. This price
includes a pizza dinner, dessert, crafts, the indoor snowball fight and a holiday movie. Santa will be in attendance so that you can take pictures with him! We will also have the Holiday Raffle, which has many excellent items up for grabs! We hope to see you there!
Do you still need your Christmas tree? PTO can help with that as well! Swing down to the town
center. PTO is selling fresh NH Christmas trees until we run out. Trees are on sale for $60.00.