Memorial Buzz
News from Manchester Memorial Elementary School!
November 6, 2015
Principals Note...
Our staff presented a problem to the group to solve this week. We have some nice, new grass that was planted in the front of the building. Unfortunately, there have been a number of people observed walking, stomping, and driving on the freshly planted grass. This troubled students and staff alike. The end result is a project that these amazing kids took on in their own time. They made signs over the weekend and then posted them outside during their recess with their advisor, Mrs. Tomaiolo and our custodian, Carlos. I am so excited to see the leadership and community service that they are showing already. The sky is the limit for this group! (See Photos Above)
Another source of pride this week was our annual spaghetti supper that took place on Thursday. This is a PTO fundraiser that helps raise funds for our scholarship fund. The MMES scholarship fund provides funds for students in need so that they can participate in field trips, before/after school programs, etc. Thank you to all who organized the event along with all of our staff and guests who joined us for a delicious meal. It is one of my favorite community events of the year!
Have a great weekend!
Best,
John
Safe Routes to School Project Ribbon Cutting With Our Student Ambassadors!
Upcoming Dates...
November
11 - Veteran's Day - No School
14- 3:00 PM - Spaulding Education Fund's "Night of Stars" at MERMHS Auditorium
16 - School Photo Re-takes
25 - Early Release - TIme TBA - (Thanksgiving Recess)
26/27 - Thanksgiving Recess
December
6 - 3:30 PM The MMES Chorus will be performing at the Manchester Tree Lighting
18 - All-school Winter Concert @ MMES - Time TBA
22- Chorus/Band Winter Concert @ MERMHS - 7pm
23 - Noon dismissal for Winter Recess
January
4 - Students return from Winter Recess
4 - Bradford Ski Program
29 - Grade 4 to Cape Ann Symphony at MERMHS Auditorium
THE SPAULDING EDUCATION FUND
The 7th Annual Night of Stars
THE SPAULDING EDUCATION FUND
PRESENTS
The 7th Annual
A Night of Stars
Sunday, November 15th
3:00pm
Manchester Essex High School Auditorium
Masters of Ceremonies: Charlie Davis and Oscar Heanue
Tickets are on sale now through our website!
From the Green Team
Clean Energy Expo at Gloucester Field House
There will be numerous speakers that will talk about certain environmental issues of sustainability, and more specifically, ways the community can be involved in helping make the community more green and aware. In addition, entertainment such as live music will be played, as well as opportunities to win door prizes and even recycle things such as scrap metal, batteries, used clothing, and books! It will surely be a wonderful time, and a terrific opportunity to learn about the green aspects in the environment, and we hope to see you there!
Bradford Ski and Snowboard Program
The Bradford Ski & Board Program is happening again this year! Please click here or see the attachment for information and share with friends!! Sign up quickly as space will run out this year!
From the Art Room
Lessons this week:
Clay is the way in the art room this week. All the classes have begun their sculpture units through the medium of clay.
This is always an exciting unit for the students and me. I love to see them light up while having fun learning. The pieces should be ready to take home for the winter holidays.
Grade 5 Painting Pals art exchange program is off and running. The students have received their first correspondent from their painting pals in Essex. The art room was a buzz as they read their letters and received art work from their Essex Painting Pals.
The students will continue to exchange art and letters to their painting pals throughout the school year and develop a friendship through their art. This spring fifth graders from both towns will have a private meet and greet reception before the art show opening on March 24 from 5pm -6pm at the Essex Ship building museum in Essex. This will be an opportunity for the students to put a face to the art and letters they will be receiving all year.
Save the date: Manchester Essex Elementary art show will be March 24 at the Essex ship building museum from 6pm-8pm. All the students in grades pre- k to grade 5 will have their best piece of artwork on display.
Wish list: Please send in any disinfecting wipes if you can. Cold season is approaching and wiping the tables down with disinfecting wipes is one of way to keep the tables germ free.
Thank you, Claudette Yutkins
from the music room
1. The chorus will be performing at the Manchester Tree Lighting on December 6th at 3:30pm
2. Mrs. Doran's website is finally up!(http://teacherweb.com/MA/ManchesterMemorial/Music/apt1.aspx ) Please check in for important information regarding performance dates, chorus rehearsals, curriculum, and more!
Thanks!
~Sarah Doran
TREATS for TROOPS!!
TREATS for TROOPS!! Please donate your extra Halloween candy! All next week, just drop the candy off in the Memorial office and we will send it off to Operation Shoebox, an organization that will distribute the sweets to the soldiers. Thank you!
Help Wanted...Volunteers!
Mathematics Corner
Everyday Mathematics – EM4: The NEW Edition!
Grade 4 Teacher
This year students at Memorial School are using the newest edition of Everyday Mathematics!
What is the Same?
Everyday Mathematics and the Common Core State Standards remain closely aligned. They both aim at developing all students’ mathematical power –their ability to reason, communicate, and solve problems. They both also aim at fostering productive dispositions in students – a belief that mathematics is worthwhile, an inclination to use the mathematics they know to solve problems they face, and confidence in their own mathematical abilities.
Everyday Mathematics continues to bring rigor to school mathematics by building procedural skill, conceptual understanding, and application. Knowing efficient procedures affords mathematical power. Mathematical power allows children to solve a variety of problems by drawing upon their collective mathematical knowledge to solve a variety of real-world problems.
Conceptual understanding is very important. Students need to not only understand how to solve a problem but also why their procedure works. Procedural skill without understanding is inflexible, unreliable, and nontransferable. The mutual dependence of conceptual understanding and procedural skill has been widely recognized for many decades. What has not been so widely recognized is that applying mathematics is equally important. Knowing concepts and procedures is of little value if that knowledge cannot be put to use. The balance of these three aspects of procedural skill knowledge, conceptual understanding, and application has always been fundamental to Everyday Mathematics.
The spiral curriculum, another key feature of Everyday Mathematics, remains strong. Students K-5 develop depth of knowledge by repeatedly returning to topics over time, making connections and going deeper with each return.
What is Different?
A key feature of the Common Core is its call for a more focused curriculum that is narrower so that is can be deeper. This edition of Everyday Mathematics has been rebuilt from the ground up so that it achieves focus by adhering closely to the Common Core’s Content Standard as well as the Standards for Mathematical Practice. The finely grained tracking of the standards has made it easier for teachers to accurately assess and follow students’ learning trajectories in order to provide effective instruction and differentiation.
The new edition of Everyday Mathematics also now includes open response lessons. Open response problems are tasks that have multiple solution paths and often have more than one solution. They offer students rich opportunities to solve engaging problems using their own strategies and reasoning. These two-day lessons include a day for students to solve a challenging problem, followed by a day for students to analyze and learn from the solution of others and then revise their own work from the first day. Kindergarten students are introduced to the process of analyzing and learning from others’ work, but they are not expected to revise their initial responses.
Parent Link
Would you like quick, easy access to home links and family letters? Would you like to understand Everyday Mathematics better? Below is a link for just for parents. When you navigate to this page, click on your child’s grade in the left menu bar. Then be sure to click EM4 at home, so you are using the correct edition. Also be sure to check out “Understanding Everyday Mathematics.” There are some great resources here.
THE NURSE'S ROOM
Health Room Headlines
1. If your child is going to be absent or arriving late, please call either 526-1909 or 526-1908 to let us know.
2. If your child has a temperature of 100. F or over, they need to be temperature free for 24 hours (without relying on Tylenol or Motrin) before re-entering the school.
3. If your child is experiencing diarrhea or vomiting, we recommend that they are symptom free for 24 hours and are able to tolerate solid food before they return
4. If your child has a contagious illness such as conjunctivitis or strep throat, it is the school policy that they are on medicine for 24 hours before re-entering the building.
5. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ALL CLASSROOMS ARE PEANUT/NUT FREE
Physicals:
Updated physicals and immunization records are due for grades one, four and for all new students in grades 1-5. An updated physical is one that is not older than one year. Any physical completed or to be completed on your child since June 2015 and June 2016 is acceptable. Please do not go and make a new appointment. Just send me a copy of the physical when it is completed
Extra Clothing: ALL GRADE LEVELS
Occasionally a spilled drink, a fall in a puddle or even a ride down a wet slide occurs, if each child could have a change of clothing (head to toe) that would be great.
Thank you for your co-operation and continuing support.
Joanne Seaman, R.N.
Announcements from our Friends
PTO: Tapes for Education
Do you ever shop at Crosby's? We sure do! Please join us, as Manchester Memorial once again participates in the "Tapes for Education" program with Crosby's Market! Simply bring or send your Crosby's register receipts in to school. There is a red Crosby's bin by the office. The PTO will collect and submit them for FREE equipment, such as computers, printers, AV and athletic equipment, for Memorial School. Thank you for participating in this great, easy program!