After-School Programs Update:

The last day of After-School Programs will be on Friday, June 16th for all WNESU. Please mark your calendars that we will not have ASP on the last week of school.

Summer Programs Update:

Summer Program Site Coordinators emailed acceptance letters (5/2) to families for WNESU student slots (1st -8th). Families will have received an online link in this letter that is a waiver for the Summer Programs. Please fill it out for each of your students. If you do not fill this out, the application process will be considered incomplete. If you need assistance filling out this form please contact your school rep. If you no longer need this slot, please let us know asap.

Sierra Patterson (site rep for BFMS)

Summer Programs Cell Phone:

(802) 376 - 9082

Kim Budzik (site rep for GES/WCS):

Summer Cell Phone: (802) 376 - 6278

Heather Murphy-Hicks (site rep for CES/SRES):

Summer Cell Phone: (802) 376 - 9845

Dear Parents and Families:

Get Ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way (YAY!). Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them to become Bolder, Prouder, and Stronger Readers. AND—as always—every book they buy earns rewards for our school.

Here’s what you need to know about the Fair, which will take place from May 25 & 26, 2023 at Saxtons River Elementary School.

This year, say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet—your child’s digital payment account.

Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases.

If you can’t make it to the Fair, then shop at our school’s Online Book Fair. All orders ship directly to your home, and shipping is free for book orders over $25. Your online orders will also benefit our school.

Visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and get started with eWallet and online shopping:

https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/saxtonsriverelemschool1 or scan the QR-code above.

The countdown to more Bookjoy is on! Catch you at the Fair!

Happy reading,

Principal

Saxtons River Elementary Schoo

Vermont will be issuing a final round of Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits for Summer 2023. All students at our school qualify for a Summer P-EBT benefit of $120 per student. This is because of the way that we are offering free school meals to all students this year.

The benefit will be sent to the head of household and mailing address that we have on file for your student. If you have moved or need to update the head of household, please let us know by Wednesday, May 10th. To make changes, please contact:

Sara Wunderle - sara.wunderle@wnesu.com - 802-869-2637

These benefits will be sent out by mid-August. If your student missed school for a COVID-related reason between February 2023 and May 11, 2023, you will receive benefits for those days at the same time.

Please see Frequently‐Asked Questions (FAQs) About School Pandemic EBT (P‐EBT) for more information. If you need to request a new card or have more questions about P-EBT, visit https://dcf.vermont.gov/esd/P-EBT or call 1‐800‐479‐6151, option 7.

They have also been learning how to recognize how their bodies react to strong, uncomfortable emotions. They learned that when they experience uncomfortable feelings the first thing they should do is STOP! And take a BrThRR!

Breathe (Br) + Think (Th) + Respond (R) + Review (R) = BeThRR!

When you have strong, uncomfortable emotions first you STOP, next you take 5 BREATHES, then you THINK through the choices you have, next you RESPOND, and finally you REVIEW how it went. Try it sometime, it really works.

FREE DENTAL DAY

May 12, 2023

8:00-3:00 pm

Bowman Dental is offering free dental services. Please visit their website for more information!

https://www.bowmandental.com/free-dental-day

1. PROTECT: Avoid areas where ticks live, use EPA-registered tick repellents, and cover up.

1. CHECK: Don't let ticks hitchhike inside and check your whole body.

1. REMOVE: Remove attached ticks as soon as you can.

1. WATCH: Watch for symptoms and tell your provider if you get sick.

Please visit the Vermont Department of Health for more information at:

https://www.healthvermont.gov/disease-control/tickborne-diseases/prevent-tick-bites-tickborne-diseases

Attendance:

If your child is sick and going to be absent, we ask that you notify the school by calling the main office at 802-869-2637.

Illnesses (please read)

If your child is sick (fever greater than 100.4, vomiting and/or diarrhea) it is imperative that you keep your child home. Your child can return to school 24 hours once they are fever free (without the use of fever reducing medication) and free from vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Medications:

There may be times during the year where your child needs to have medication administered at school.

Prescription medications: a note from your child’s doctor with instructions for use and parental signature are required to administer any medication during school hours. An adult must deliver the medication to the health office in the original container.

Non-prescription medications: parental signature is required to administer any “over the counter” medications. An adult must deliver the medication to the health office in the original container.

Prescription and non-prescription medication permission forms are available in the health office.

Head Lice:

Please do your part by periodically checking your child's head for head lice and treat as needed. SRES no longer excludes children from school for head lice per instructions from the American Academy of Pediatrics. If head lice is found during school hours the parent/guardian will be notified and proper treatment will need to be done before your child can return to school. Please Note: Mass head checks are no longer done in school

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's health.

Reading

• Through read alouds, second graders are learning about the earth around us and how important it is to keep it clean and safe. They have also been working on understanding the author’s purpose for writing.

Writing

• We have switched gears in writing and started working on understanding the difference between facts and opinions. Students also practiced stating their opinion and a reason to support their opinions.

Phonics

• In second grade, we are piloting a new phonics program, From Phonics to Reading. We have been learning about the different spelling patterns for long vowels a and e. We are also learning new high frequency words and practicing spelling them and using them in context.
  
  

Math

• Second Grade Mathematicians used standard units of measurement, like rulers and yardsticks to measure objects in the classroom. They also learned how to compare measurements between objects and how to represent that with a model.

Theme

• Students planted their own seeds that were donated from Food Connects and provided the plants with what they need to grow and survive. Then they took them home to plant in their own gardens. We also learned through our experiment that a plant will grow without sun, but it will not survive without it.

REMINDERS

• PLEASE REMEMBER WATER BOTTLES!

Math: The third graders have continued to explore fractions. They have learned that when the numerator is larger than the denominator, the fraction is larger than one. They have learned to draw models for fractions and mixed numbers and how to find them on a number line.

Reading: The third graders have continued to study literal meanings vs figurative expressions. Collectively, they created a book of idioms where students explained what different idioms actually meant and illustrated how idioms sounded at face value.

Writing: The students have started to work on their skills in describing places by using the five senses. They described the sounds, smells, and tastes of an amusement park and from there, chose their own places to describe.

• Another busy week for our fourth graders! We have had two opportunities to practice expectations while interacting with the community and we nailed both times!

• In math we have been reviewing key math terms and strategies before the VT CAP (state test). We will begin testing next Tuesday and wrap up the math portion Thursday. Once testing is complete we will dive into a data collection unit.

• In our reader’s workshop we have practiced listening to texts and replying in written and/or speaking form. We are finding the main idea and supporting details, making predictions, inferences, connections, and summarizing. As in math, we have also spent time practicing skills for the ELA section of the VT CAP.

• In writing we were finally able to share our Wax Museum Project! Thank you to all who were able to attend. As a fun reward for all of our hard work we have enjoyed free creative writing this week. Many students have partnered up to create short stories using Google Docs/Slides. Other students have enjoyed using a Roll and Write strategy, rolling a die to determine the “Good vs. Evil” characters as well as the setting. Next up will be writing in connection with our life science unit.

• Wednesday we enjoyed our first field trip to Montpelier. At the State House we followed the path that a Bill takes to become a law. We learned that the building being used today is the third one on the property. We even got to see senators and representatives in action! At the Vermont History Museum we explored an 1800s farm while acting as archeologists. Our trip ended with a scavenger hunt through the museum. We are now working on learning about Vermont Geography. Our final thematic unit will be life science.

Upcoming Date(s):

• Tuesday, 5/11 and Thursday, 5/13: Math - VT CAP test

• Tuesday, 5/16 and Thursday, 5/18: ELA - VT CAP test

• Tuesday, 5/23: BFMS visit

• Thursday, 5/25: Book Bingo/Book Fair evening!

A syllable is a part of a word that can be said with one push of air. Every syllable has just one vowel sound, and there are only 6 syllable types. The ability to divide words into syllables is syllabication (aka syllabification), and it is a very important skill for both reading and spelling.

1. Closed syllables have a single vowel letter closed in by at least one consonant. The vowel is typically short. Ex. cat, nap-kin, in-hab-it, stu-dent
   
   

2. Open syllables have a single vowel letter at the end of the syllable (it’s not closed in by consonants). The vowel is typically long. Ex. me, si-lo, ro-de-o, stu-dent
   
   

3. VCe syllables (aka silent e, magic e) have a vowel-consonant-e spelling pattern. The e is silent and the other vowel sound is usually long. Ex. take, like-wise, com-bine, il-lus-trate
   
   

4. Vowel team syllables have a single vowel sound spelled with 2, 3, or 4 letters. Ex. team, row-boat, em-ploy-ee, eigh-teen, daugh-ter
   
   

5. R-controlled syllables have an r-controlled vowel sound spelled with a vowel letter followed by r. Ex. car, cop-per, thir-sty, nur-ser-y
   
   

6. Consonant-le syllables have a consonant followed by le and occur at the end of words. Ex. ta-ble, top-ple, puz-zle

Fourth Graders are wrapping up their works with Camouflage! We were tasked with disguising an animal in the background. Artists designed their backgrounds, then drew an animal to match the background and begin to disappear.

Kindergarten artists have begun their classroom totem pole project! We learned what a totem pole is and inspired by them we are creating our own for the art room! Each artist will create their own animal they choose and we will stack them up at our door when completed.

ASP News:

Session 5 is off to a great start! We had lots of fun exploring our new clubs.

Looking forward: If possible please send in mud boots for Mondays Garden Club. Our garden is a little wet due to all the rain.

Monday: Gardening Club: This week we started our gardening journals. We will be writing in our journals each week. We familiarized ourselves with the tools we will be using in our garden. We checked out the garden plot to see what we will be working in. Next week we will be starting some seeds indoors and also planting some early crops in the garden.

Tuesday: Woodworking Club: Meghan Greene from Trullywooden started our woodworking club out with some videos of the machinery used to create the project we will be completing over the next several weeks. We were also able to view an example of the finished project. The finished project is so cute!!

Wednesday: Keeping Memories Club: We started by learning about all the paper, stickers and tools we will be using to create our memory books. Then each student was able to start working on their cover page.

Thursday: The Grafton Nature Museum Club: Sam from The Grafton Nature Museum joined us.

Friday: Board Games / Outdoor Games Club: Tonight we will play Sorry, Uno, cars and kickball!

Last day of ASP: Friday Jun 16, 2023.

Please note our ASP cell phone number for contact between 3pm - 5pm is now 802-376-6209.