Friday Flash
March 22nd, 2024
Principal's Message
This week marked the beginning of spring, with the vernal equinox on Thursday. However, it appears that mother nature has something else in mind. I guess we can count ourselves lucky that one of the winter's largest storms is coming in on a Friday night. I heard staff and students discussing stocking up on supplies, hunkering down and watching the snow fall as part of their weekend plans. It'll be nice to sit back and watch the snow fall and then promptly melt as rain and warm weather move in next week.
Thank you to everyone who attended our first math and literacy night. It was really nice to see the staff and family participate in games and learning activities. This was a fun way for community members to learn a little more about some of the fun ways we engage our students in learning. 302 Cares also provided a tasty lasagna dinner for those in attendance. This was a great opportunity to partner with the 302 community organization, whom we hope to partner with again in the future.
Lots of exciting things continue to happen in our outdoor classroom and as spring sets in, we invite you to take a walk up into our space to see all over the improvements we have made over the last year. If you're lucky you might come across some of our classes boiling the last sap of winter!
~Loretta
Reminders report cards went home on Friday March 22nd.
Positivity Project: Fairness
“It is not fair to ask others to do what you are not willing to do yourself.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Dear Families,
This week our school community will be focusing on the character strength of Fairness. Fairness means you believe that all people have value. You approach situations with an unbiased mindset and treat everyone with respect.
Fairness is the product of moral judgement — the process by which people determine what is morally right and what is morally wrong. Moral reasoning has been explored and analyzed in two main traditions: the justice reasoning approach and the care reasoning approach.
For individuals, cultivating the character strength of fairness is correlated with highly desirable developmental outcomes. It helps people to become trustworthy friends, responsible citizens, and generally moral people.
To practice and encourage the character strength of fairness with your child, please visit the Positivity Project’s P2 for Families (password: P2) where together you will watch a video, read a quote and talk about the answers to three questions.
Have a wonderful week!
What can you do if you witness something happening that is unfair?
Newbury Students Written Work Selected for Young Writer's Project Book
During the month of October Mrs. Houde offered a writing challenge to the 3rd and 4th grade class through Young Writers. The challenge was to write an original spooky story that was about 100 words in length.
March 20th Math & Literacy Night
Math Buddies
News from the Nurse
Music Minutes from Ms. LaBonte
Things are getting busy in music class! Spring Concert preparations have started! The name of the show is Springtime, Sunshine and will be on May 30th. Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade have just finished learning about instrument families. Next, they will be learning about the Beatles and then pop art style with Ms. MacMillian in Art. 3rd and 4th graders will be learning to play ukuleles. They will be learning different chords and several simple songs. 5th and 6th graders have just finished working on a project where they have learned about the different classifications of instruments and building their own instruments. Next, they will be learning about copyright law through the musical lens and will study various cases.
Picture 1: The Otters experiment with soundscapes
The Sea Turtles building their instruments
The Sea Turtles building their instruments
The Bovines building their instruments
The Bovines building their instruments
Important Dates
March 27th: Early Release Day
April 3rd: Food Service Advisory Council 10:00am in the cafeteria community members welcome
April 6th: OUUSD Annual Budget Meeting Oxbow
April 8th: Early Release Solar Eclipse Day
April 17th: Community Coffee 9:00-10:00
April 19th: No School Inservice Day
April 22nd: Spring Break Begins
April 29th: School Resumes
May 1st: Early Release
May 6th: Annual Budget Meeting (Tentative Date)
Back Flaps for Passport to Winter Fun are due on Wednesday March 27th
Many great grand prizes available: 24-25 Season pass to Whaleback or Dartmouth Skiway, Snowshoes from Farmway, 2 passes to VINS, 2 passes to Montshire, Private Party at Trail Breaks Taps & Tacos, Passes to Polar Caves and many more!
Mark Your Calendars Now! Spring Concert & Art Show May 30th in the Evening
West Newbury Pancake Breakfast March 23rd
WEST NEWBURY STRAWBERRY PANCAKE BREAKFAST 7:30-10:30, Saturday, March 23. On the menu: fluffy pancakes decked out with fresh strawberries, real whipped cream, and maple syrup. Alongside are locally sourced sausage patties, bacon, Upper Valley Coffee Roasters coffee, tea, OJ, cider, and milk. $12; kids 10 and under, $6. Brought to you by the West Newbury Hall Committee to benefit the Hall. 219 Tyler Farm Road, West Newbury VT. For directions or accessibility, call 802 505-5281 or visit westnewburyhall.org
Tucker Mountain Maple Farm Sugar House Open House March 30th
The Newbury Historical Society and Harold Carleton invite you to celebrate our heritage of maple sugaring with an Open House at the Tucker Mountain Maple Farm Sugar House. Harold, a 6th generation sugarmaker, will explain and demonstrate the traditional method for turning maple sap into luscious maple syrup on Saturday, March 30th. Stop by anytime from 1:00 - 4:00. There will be a display of historical photos and memorabilia. Doughnuts to dunk in samples of maple syrup will be offered up to sweeten the tooth. And jugs of freshly boiled maple syrup will be available for purchase.
This is a family-friendly event.
Tucker Mountain Maple Farm is located in West Newbury just beyond the terminus of Snake Road — which is paved! It is at the junction of Tucker Mountain Road and North Road with a physical address of 294 Tucker Mountain Road. There will be signs showing where to park. Those needing ADA accessibility are invited to park directly in front of the sugar house.
Principal Loretta Cruz
Email: loretta.cruz@oesu.org
Website: https://www.nesvt.org/
Location: 214 Pulaski Street, Newbury, VT, USA
Phone: 802-866-5621
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newburyelementaryVT