Region In Review
December 7, 2018 | K-5 Focus
Parent Visitation Day at Region 12
Elementary students across the region showed their school pride as they welcomed their parents/guardians to the annual Parent Visitation Day on November 14th during American Education Week. Parents were invited to participate side by side with their child in a variety of lessons gaining a greater understanding of their child’s social skills and academic experiences. Parents and guardians experienced what it means to be a student and to grow as a reader, writer, mathematician, scientist, musician, or artist. They not only learned about the curriculum but also observed tips that could support homework time to strengthen the home/school connection. Many smiles of appreciation were exchanged making this day extra special for the students, parents, guardians, and teachers.
Roxbury Senior Center Holiday Festival Ornament-Making at Booth Free School
On November 19th and 20th, the students at Booth Free School had the privilege of creating holiday ornaments with friends from the Roxbury Senior Center. Virginia Mavuli, along with Richard Burmann and Tori Baldwin, provided instruction and guidance to students in Grades 2-5 for making pour-painted ornaments using liquid acrylic paint, and for those students in K-1, craft assortment-filled ornaments. These beautifully finished decorations will be on display during the Senior Center’s Holiday Festival, their biggest fundraising event, on Saturday, December 1st, from 2-6 pm at the Roxbury Town Hall. Any donations during this event will help offset costs for future programs at the senior center. This fun experience of making the ornaments together and knowing their beneficial purpose, was the perfect combination for community-building for all involved.
Burnham School Harvest Gathering
A Celebration Of Giving Thanks!
Burnham School’s 10th Annual Harvest Gathering took place on Monday, November 19th. The students sang songs, shared poetry and spent time making a special craft, a beautiful “stained glass” turkey, with our wonderful local senior citizens.
The school community in collaboration with the Burnham PTO presented Big Y gift cards to the Town of Bridgewater. The Student Council sponsored a food drive and the food collected was presented to the local food pantry. Our dedicated bus drivers were also given beautiful gift baskets as thanks for keeping our children safe each and every day.
It was a very thankful and heartwarming event.
Washington Primary School Senior Luncheon
On November 19th, joyful energy filled the Washington Primary School cafeteria as the students, staff and parent community honored our senior citizens with a traditional Thanksgiving luncheon. Students and parents transformed the cafeteria into a festive dining experience. Shepaug band students welcomed our seniors with music while our Reach students opened the luncheon with our own balloon parade. Students shared songs and poems and made meaningful connections as they served our guests. Special thank you to all parents who organized this event and to the many community sponsors.
Booth Free School Is A Kind Campus
Booth Free School is committed to kindness. Students are learning about the positive impacts of intentional kindness and how to inspire people to practice kindness day by day. They are learning this through the Ben’s Bells Kind Campus initiative. Student and adult kind acts are recognized and a description of the act is displayed on a tree in our school hallway.
Spreading kindness is not limited to BFS, but throughout the entire community of Roxbury. In hopes of making kindness a permanent theme, fundraising efforts have been implemented to install a permanent kindness tree mural on the exterior of our school building.
On Tuesday, December 4th, Union Savings Bank representatives, Michele Bonvicini, Geoffrey Ball, and Dina Pereira, presented a check in the amount of $2,000.00 to Booth Free School to help us reach our goal. A special thank you to Roxbury’s First Selectman Barbara Henry for making this happen. We would also like to thank the Roxbury Shepaug Women’s Club for their generous donation.
We look forward to the ongoing support of the families of Booth Free School and the citizens of Roxbury for their commitment to our mission of kindness.
Spreading Kindness at Washington Primary School through the Ben's Bells Project
The Burnham School Shares a Message of Peace
The Burnham School Community is grateful to the PTO for bringing the World Peace Flag Ceremony to them on November 7th. A special thanks to Greg Bura and Rhei Gordon-Bura for their generosity and kindness in purchasing our Peace Pole which expresses our wishes for peace in our homes, school, community, and on earth. This program was emotional, energetic, and enlightening and the girls and boys can’t stop talking about it. The flags were amazing and it was impressive to hear some of our students making connections to specific countries. Our presenter, Jimmy Dugan, was engaging and inspirational. He inspired the children to open their minds to the world around them and beyond in spreading the message of world peace. As a school community, we wish peace to all and hope that our little school will continue to send this special message to all we encounter. Laying the foundation of a peaceful world is one of our greatest challenges. Peace always starts in the home, but if we can spread it through our school community and into the lives of others then we can help to make a difference.
Booth Free School Spelling Bee & Pie Feast Celebration
The 43rd Annual Booth Free Spelling Bee and Pie Feast was held on Tuesday, November 20th. It was a wonderful event filled with competition, songs, and treats. Following the Spelling Bee, students, staff, and special guests enjoyed delicious pies, cider donuts and apple cider at beautifully decorated tables. The Festive table decorations were made by our very own first-grade class. The Booth Free School community extends a huge thank you to our judges: Superintendent of Schools Mrs. Megan Bennett, Roxbury’s Town Clerk Mr. Peter Hurlbut, as proxy for First Selectman Mrs. Barbara Henry, and Reverend David Peters of the Roxbury Congregational Church.
This year the students in Grade 2 participated in a separate Spelling Bee prior to the 43rd Annual Bee. All students participated and our proud winner was William Hodge.
The 43rd Annual Spelling Bee participants are recognized for their participation and they are the following:
Grade 3: Ryan Bonomo, Frank Mariano, and Brianna Johnson
Grade 4: Rose Baker, Jane Light, and Jacob McCauley
Grade 5: Wyatt Ongley, Wylden Abraham, and Antonia Kearney
Booth Free School congratulates the winner, Jane Light.
Washington Primary School Spelling Bee
Is it “buisness or business?” Spelling can be tricky. On November 30th, several super spellers in third, fourth and fifth grade eagerly participated in the annual Spelling Bee at WPS. Students impressed the audience with their word knowledge, and all celebrated Isabella Saharek who earned first place and Robbie Donaldson who earned Spelling Bee Champion.
Booth Free Student Council Presents: "Roxy Recycles"
WPS Shared Experiences at REACH
REACH Teachers, Mrs. Horan, Mrs. Wescott and Mr. Weymouth, teamed together to plan a rotational learning opportunity that blended students from each classroom to engage in interesting topics. All students rotated through the classrooms over a three month period. Children enjoyed exploring the different classrooms, playing with friends and sharing new learning.
The students in Mrs. Horan’s group learned self-regulation and mindfulness strategies as part of their shared experiences. They talked about feelings using picture/word cards and then read “When Sophie Gets Angry...Really Really Angry” by Molly Bang. They noticed that Sophie roared like a lion when she got angry. After reading the story, they made lion masks and sang a Daniel Tiger song with their classmates. "When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to 4...1, 2, 3, 4."
Mrs. Wescott’s group implemented skills of science, technology, engineering and math to complete their experiment to create fizzing rainbows. Using new and familiar tools, they were able to make predictions, observe, and share information about their discoveries. Thinking like scientists helped students learn about how the world all around them works.
Mr. Weymouth’s group explored literature and used their knowledge of print to tell a story, “The Three Little Kittens” by Paul Galdone. They practiced identifying parts of a book and looked for familiar letters and words. They used pictures to help them make predictions and to understand the sequence of the story. To culminate the experience, students role-played the characters and events making the story come alive. Reach students love to read books, chant rhymes and act out storylines.
All of these learning experiences provide opportunities for students to develop their creativity, sense of wonder, expand their friendship skills, and open their minds to the excitement of learning.
Fliers & Upcoming Community Events
Region 12 Calendar
Dec 7th - Bridgewater Tree Lighting, 7pm
Dec 10th - BS PTO Meeting, 6pm
Dec 11th - SVS Senior Pictures, 8:30-2:00pm
Dec 12th - BFS PTO Meeting, 6:30pm
Dec 13th - WPS Winter Sing Along, 3:30-5:00pm
Dec 14th - WPS Holiday In The Depot, 6pm
Dec 14th - Elementary School Report Card Distribution
Dec 14th - SVS Play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile", SVS Auditorium, 7:30pm
Dec 15th - SVS Play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile", SVS Auditorium, 7:30pm
Dec 16th - SVS Play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile", SVS Auditorium, 2:00pm
Dec 17th - BOE Policies & Bylaws Committee Meeting, SVS Library, 6pm
Dec 17th - BOE Facilities Committee Meeting, SVS Library, 6pm
Dec 17th - Board of Education Meeting, SVS Library, 7pm
Dec 17th - SVS Internet Safety Night for Parents, SVS Auditorium, 7pm
Follow Region 12 on our social media channels for all updates!
The Region 12 community educates, challenges, and inspires all learners to become compassionate, creative, and courageous individuals who are empowered by the knowledge, character, and perseverance to achieve their greatest potential within the global society.
Email: rir@region-12.org
Website: https://www.region-12.org/
Location: 11A School Street, PO Box 386 Washington Depot, CT 06794
Phone: 860-868-6100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shepaug-Regional-School-District-12-153899298123985/
Twitter: @ShepaugRSD12