We've had a busy week this week welcoming NPR to WCS. National Public Radio toured around Vermont to interview students and staff on the effects of our free school lunch program. We were delighted that they chose WCS to stop and chat! We had a small group of very articulate students sharing their experiences with school lunch and singing the praises of our very own kitchen staff Melissa and Sarah. We hope to hear our students tonight on All Things Considered or through a print publication on Friday morning. I'll be sure to share when I know more!

Dates to Remember:)

3/31 Report Cards go Home

4/4-4/6 Ms. Sullivan's Class to Studio Y

4/4 4th Grade Field Trip to the VT State House

4/6 Egress Drill

4/10-4/14 Spring Break; No School

4/17 & 4/18 Ms. Mayo's Class to Studio Y

4/19 Early Release; 11:45 Dismissal

4/20 & 4/21 Ms. Doyon's Class to Studio Y

6/22 Last day of school for students

If you have a child who will be 5 before September 1st and you would like to send them to kindergarten, please complete THIS GOOGLE FORM. We will be organizing play nights this spring for families to meet our kindergarten team!

Check out this interactive page where families can access all sorts of resources and health information. For example, if you click on the water bottle it brings you to a page all about helping kids stay hydrated.

The Windham Northeast Supervisory Union is excited to announce our Summer Program plans for 2023! To learn more about dates, scheduling, activities, and how to be considered for a Summer Program slot, please read this Summer Programs Letter that includes the sign-up link. We will not be sending a paper form home with your child this year. Please complete this process by Friday 3/31/23. We will not accept sign-up information past this date. Completing this form indicates an interest in a Summer Programs (1st-8th) slot; placement in the Summer Programs is not guaranteed. This year there are no fees for familiies for the 2023 WNESU Summer Programs. They are funded through ESSER funds. This grant is considered a one-time funding opportunity.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Doran, Director of Summer & After-School Programs.

Are you interested in working for the WNESU Summer Programs for 5 weeks?! Please use this WNESU Summer Staff Sign Up Link. By completing this form, you are indicating that you are interested in being considered for a WNESU Summer Programs position. Employment in the Summer Programs is not guaranteed. Please complete this online application process by Monday 4/3/23. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Doran, Director of Summer & After-School Programs.

Come join a great group of teachers and parents to discuss needs of the school and plan opportunities for our students!

We meet every third Thursday at 5:00 in the library. Our next meeting is Thursday, April 20th at 5:00.

See you there!

WHEN

Friday, March 31st at 8:00am

WHERE

In the Gym entrance

MORE INFORMATION

Come join me, Mrs. Harty, for coffee. Bring questions, concerns, suggestions or just come to chat! We will meet outside and can move in between the gym lobby doors if it is too cold:)

Our kindergarteners know how to create community! Here they are showing gratitude to our custodian Heather by writing letters of appreciation. We appreciate her work so much and do all that we can to help!

At Studio Y, the First Graders shone brightly as they encountered new challenges and characters during this week's adventure. It all began with their new friend Shamus O'Shanigan, who happens to know leprechauns and lives on the other side of the rainbow. Shamus introduced the students to the Rainbow Room, where they were able to experiment with the magic of light waves. New ideas and words were discovered as they played with shadows and light beams. It was a full spectrum of color. We will not be in the dark with these adventures around. Stay tuned for more adventures at Studio Y!

Extending the growing season into the classroom is part of our WCS Farm to School Plan. In the last few weeks we have been watching this happen in this hydroponic Vegibox. Hydroponics is a method for growing plants without using soil. The nutrients that plants need to grow are put into water and then delivered to the roots of the plants. Students helped seed, water and monitor their plants and we hope to snack on these micro greens in the next few weeks.

Third grade had a restorative FTS morning this week - checking our sap buckets, breathing in the crisp morning air and observing our spring surroundings. Here we are forest bathing in the sun while enjoying the sounds of nature. We learned that by listening to the birdsongs for as little as ten seconds in the morning or evening can have a positive impact on the rest of your day.

Fourth graders have been investigating force and motion. We made models of a Bumper Coaster, and we experimented with putting the top marble (which a person would ride on) higher or lower down on the hill and also placing the lower marble, which would get bumped, in different places. Students also started creating the beginning of a chain-reaction machine--working with levers, chutes, and more.

Fifth graders created these owls using chalk pastel on black paper. After studying the traits of owls, these artists were challenged to create owls that were symmetrical and proportional, while using various chalk pastel techniques such as blending, pointillism, and feathering.

Sixth graders at WCS recently participated in an exciting science investigation funded by The Algae Foundation. During this week-long 'Algae Academy,' students learned about the many uses of algae in our everyday life, took samples, prepared slides, calculated growth rates and compared data. Ask your sixth grader about the different micro and macro algae in our lives! Although our algae did not show significant growth as hypothesized (too many snow days may have negatively affected our results), kids still got valuable time learning to use some new science tools. The audible gasps and 'yucks' as we brought algae into focus under the microscopes were so funny!