SRES Eagle Times
April 5, 2024 - Issue No. 30
Think It! Speak It! Write It!
NEWS FROM MRS. HAZARD, PRINCIPAL
Hello SRES Families!
Thank you for your support in passing the Rockingham School District budget!
Wednesday was National Paraprofessionals Day and SRES has THE BEST paras! Mrs. Harmon, Ms. Alyx, Ms. Megan, Mrs. Kelly and Ms. Alysha are a vital part of our team and we appreciate them and the work they do every day! (see photo above)
We kicked off Poetry Month this morning during All School Meeting with a few choral/partner readings of poems including: Words by Nelle Arnold, Sick by Shel Silverstein, and Jabberwocky by Lewis Carol. Poetry is great for repeated readings and then a "performance!"
Parent-Teacher Conferences
- We had 91% participation!
- Thank you for supporting your student's education.
Family Survey: WE VALUE YOUR FEEDBACK!
- LINK HERE! (and info below)
- Closes April 10th
Next week:
- Monday, April 8th: Early Release at 11:45 given the Solar Eclipse (all students will come home with an ISO pair of glasses).
- Monday, April 8th at 5:30pm: Rockingham School Board reorganizational meeting.
- Wednesday, April 10th, 6-7pm: SRES Town Hall meeting via Zoom; bring your ideas, feedback and questions! HERE is the link!
- Thursday, April 11th at 6:30pm: Reschedule SRES Music Concert and Art Show at BFMS. Details HERE!
Happy weekend!
Your partner in education,
Laura Hazard
Principal
SRES FAMILY SURVEY
Please consider filling out the parent survey that is still open until April 10th.This survey is 100 percent anonymous and your answers are not connected to you in any way. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses!
Reading with Ribby: SwampBats Reading Program
BOOKMARKS DUE APRIL 12TH
Reading with Ribby is a program designed to foster a love of reading for kids of all ages. The challenge is to read (or be read to) 18 times for 20 minutes each time. In 2023, the program runs from March 11th to April 12th.
Click on this link to watch a short video of the program! RWR 2024 Video
(This is not a school-sponsored activity, but it does look like fun AND it gets students reading!)
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL)
MRS. LAUREN ROGERS
All students have been diligently working on recognizing different emotions and have started learning skills to calm down those emotions when they become too overwhelming. We will continue this work to develop more coping skills and learn additional calm down techniques. Students are being taught to stop or take a break, name the feeling and then use a variety of age appropriate calm down strategies. Those strategies range from deep breathing, counting, pleasant place models and finding a trusted person. Part of the role of a school counselor is helping to teach students to utilize all different modalities to regulate their emotions and bodies so they can be available for learning.
In the next unit, bullying, we will be starting to review different strategies they can use to handle situations that they might encounter. We have also started doing needs assessments at different grade levels to see what skills students may need more help with at each grade level so that our school counseling program is more comprehensive and geared by the needs of the students in our building, so that they all become confident, strong individuals that know how to advocate for their needs. If you haven’t yet filled out our family surveys, please do as it's a great opportunity for us to get your input so we can work towards meeting the needs of our students. Some of our 3rd and 4th grade girls have joined Girls On The Run which is an excellent opportunity for students to come together to work on building up their self esteem and confidence.
Students can really benefit from a nightly one on one check ins, whether it's a night time book where they have an opportunity to ask questions or for a quick check in after dinner. This activity can make a big difference for students to feel heard and cared about.
HEALTH OFFICE NEWS
Girls on the Run
GOTR is still in need of snacks donations. Thank you to those families who have sent in snacks to share. It has been much appreciated. All girls are to come to practice with sneakers and a water bottle.
Solar Eclipse Safety
What to Expect During a Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse happens when the moon blocks the sun from our view. This process unfolds over a couple of hours.
Partial solar eclipse
First, there is a "partial" eclipse as the moon gradually covers the sun's bright face.
In most places, this process will take about 1 hour.
You must wear special eye protection (sunglasses are NOT enough) to directly observe the sun, during a partial eclipse or any other time.
Full solar eclipse (totality)
The full eclipse, known as totality, happens when the moon completely covers the sun.
This only lasts 1 to 2 minutes, but it is an incredible experience. The light of day gives way to a deep twilight sky. The sun’s outer atmosphere (called the solar corona) gradually appears, glowing like a halo around the moon in front of it. Bright stars and planets become more visible in the sky. The outdoor temperature may drop a few degrees.
During — and only during — this brief period, you may remove your eye protection. Put your eye protection back on before totality ends.
Partial eclipse
The eclipse then becomes "partial" again for an hour as the moon moves away.
You must wear eye protection to look at the sun, during a partial eclipse or any other time.
Watching a solar eclipse is a memorable experience, but you must do it safely to prevent serious eye injury or even blindness.
Staring at the Sun is Dangerous for Your Eyes
Looking at the sun without the right eye protection — for even a short time — can damage your retina permanently. It can even cause blindness, called solar retinopathy.
Keep in mind that ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, or homemade filters are not safe for looking at the sun.
There is only one safe way to look directly at the sun, whether during an eclipse or not: through special-purpose solar filters. These solar filters are used in “eclipse glasses” or in hand-held solar viewers. They must meet a very specific worldwide standard known as ISO 12312-2.
For information about where to get the proper eyewear or handheld viewers, check out the American Astronomical Society.
Plan Ahead to Safely Watch the Solar Eclipse:
Carefully look at your solar filter or eclipse glasses before using them. If you see any scratches or damage, do not use them.
Always read and follow all directions that come with the solar filter or eclipse glasses. Help children to be sure they use handheld solar viewers and eclipse glasses correctly.
Before looking up at the bright sun, stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse glasses or solar viewer. After glancing at the sun, turn away and remove your filter—do not remove it while looking at the sun.
The only time that you can look at the sun without a solar viewer is during a total eclipse. When the moon completely covers the sun’s bright face and it suddenly gets dark, you can remove your solar filter to watch this unique experience. Then, as soon as the bright sun begins to reappear very slightly, immediately use your solar viewer again to watch the remaining partial phase of the eclipse.
Never look at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars or other similar devices. This is important even if you are wearing eclipse glasses or holding a solar viewer at the same time. The intense solar rays coming through these devices will damage the protective filter in your solar glasses and put your eyes at risk.
Talk with an expert astronomer if you want to use a special solar filter with a camera, a telescope, binoculars or any other optical device.
New Respiratory Virus Guidance (including COVID-19)
What to know
Taking steps to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses when you are sick is a core prevention strategy to lower the risk from respiratory viruses.
Core prevention strategies are important steps you can take to protect yourself and others from respiratory viruses.
The 5 day quarantine for COVID-19 has been discontinued. Please follow the updated guidance below.
How you can help
Stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren’t explained by another cause. These symptoms include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose and headache, among others.*
You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:
Your symptoms are getting better overall, and
You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medications).
When you go back to your normal activities, take added precaution over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you are around other people indoors.
Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are less likely to be contagious at this time.
If you start to develop a fever or you start feeling worse after you have gone back to normal activities, stay home and away from others again until, for at least 24 hours, both are true: your symptoms are getting better overall, and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medications). Then take added precautions for the next 5 days.
Important Information
Please keep in mind, school nurses will use clinical judgment and discretion to determine if a student is well enough to remain in school, be tested, or be sent home. If a student or staff member is not well enough to learn or participate, regardless of whether they are tested for COVID-19, they should be sent home from school. Recommended public health guidance for schools can be seen at:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-childcare-guidance.html
A student who is being sent home due to illness may be required to wear a mask while awaiting pick-up. The decision to require masking should be made by the school nurse based on clinical decision-making.
A student may return to school if their symptoms have improved, and they meet school criteria for their illness. COVID-19 testing should not be required for students or staff to return to school.
Please reach out to the school nurse if you have any questions about whether or not you or your child should stay home and when they can return to school.
Need Health Insurance?
Visit www.vermonthealthconnect.gov or call 1-855-899-9600. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's health.
Phone: 802-869-2637 or Email: jennifer.vaughan@wnesu.com
INTERVENTIONIST NEWS
MRS. DAWN BAZIN
There are a lot of fun math games you can play with dice! This is an activity you can do at home. You will need a piece of paper, a pencil and a few dice. You can decide how many dice to use based on where your child is in their math learning.
On a piece of paper write the numbers 1-6 at the bottom, in a line. Roll one die 10 times and make a mark above the number that is rolled each time. See which number is rolled most often. Above is a picture of what happened when I rolled a die 10 times!
On a piece of paper write the numbers 2-12 at the bottom, in a line. Roll two dice 20 times, adding the numbers together each time. Make a mark above the sum that is rolled each time. See which sum is rolled most often.
On a piece of paper write the numbers 3-18 at the bottom, in a line. Roll three dice 20 times, adding the numbers together each time. Make a mark above the sum that is rolled each time. See which sum is rolled most often.
You can do this activity with any amount of dice, adjusting the amount of rolls and the numbers you write in a line!
KINDERGARTEN NEWS
MRS. APRIL PUTNAM
We are having fun learning about frogs! So many new words and understanding about how frogs grow.
In Math we are still working on adding and subtracting. We started doing the number of the day. So far it is a fun success! Students are using math materials to build and show those tricky teen numbers.
In ELA kindergarten has been working hard on reading CVC words, using letter sounds to spell words and retell the stories they are reading. We have also begun our Mother’s Day project. This is a big writing project and they are so eager to create this amazing work!
I would like to remind parents to please send your students with a snack. We have a share bin but there are not always items in it. Please also try to remember water bottles. As the weather will begin to get warmer, hard to believe after this storm, they will need more water breaks.
FIRST GRADE NEWS
MRS. JILLIAN WHITE
Literacy: We have started to read books that connect to our “Community Helpers” economics unit in social studies. The first graders are also continuing to publish their nonfiction animal stories. We can’t wait to share them with you when we are finished editing! Math: The first grade mathematicians have done an awesome job at using tools and understanding of place value to add, subtract, and compare two digit numbers! We will continue our work on addition with 100 next unit. Phonics: We are at the end of our silent e unit! We have reviewed all of the silent e patterns we have learned so far, and learned about the /_ce/ pattern. When the letter ‘c’ is followed by a silent e, it makes the sound day /s/ sound. Ask your first grader about silent e patterns they have learned or find them in books! Social Studies: We have started our “Community Helpers” economics unit! We learned about what a community helper is, and went on a walking field trip to find different jobs people do and businesses in our school neighborhood that help others. We have sent home invitations to families for our First Grade Marketplace on Wednesday, May 1st from 2-2:30pm! We hope to see you there! A Note for Families: I enjoyed meeting with you at parent-teacher conferences to share your first grader’s growth! Thank you to all who participated!
SECOND GRADE NEWS
MRS. JENNIFER HERMAN
Reading: Students are delving into new syllable types, like consonant -le and vowel-r (r-controlled). They are also exploring nonfiction text features through interactive read alouds. Ask your student to sing our Text Feature song.
Math: Second Grade Mathematicians are starting to use their knowledge about place value to help them to add and subtract 3 digit numbers.
Writing: Students are learning about the difference between fact and opinion. They are practicing writing their opinions and giving reasons.
Science: Second Graders are starting a new unit on erosion and how water can shape our land. We had Ms. Liza Lowe in to help facilitate a circle and learning outside of the classroom.
Note to Families: Please remember to bring layers for students to wear with the ever changing weather.
THIRD GRADE NEWS
MS. BETHANY WILLIAMS
Math: The third graders have been multiplying single digit numbers by two digit numbers. They have explored breaking down the two digit numbers and calculated answers by using distributive property.
Reading: The students have been focusing on words with R- controlled vowels and vowel teams that spell the long a sound. They have continued to read both fiction and nonfiction books in their small reading groups as well.
Social Studies: As the third graders continue their unit in cultural diversity, each student has chosen a country to study on a deeper level. They have created flags from their chosen countries and learned about traditional foods, traditions, and rituals as well. Mrs. Hannah Gilkenson, the mother of one of the third grade students, shared her collection of coins and paper bills that she acquired from her travels over the years. We are so grateful and appreciative for her generosity. This was a great opportunity for some hands on learning.
Writing: As the students learn more facts about their chosen countries, they have started collecting information that will eventually turn into extensive research paragraphs. They are learning about the importance of documenting the sources used to find the information. They are using online sources as well as books. Ms. Clouet, our school librarian, has shared many books with us to help with research.
FOURTH GRADE NEWS
MRS. JAIMIE DOUGLASS
Last week we completed a four-day residency with Main Street Arts and theater educator, Putnam Smith. I am so proud of how energetic, brave, and flexible every single student was! We were able to present a showcase of our learning to the entire school Friday afternoon. Everyone is still talking about what a wonderful job the fourth grade did! Ask your child about the Polaroid or Machine activities!
In math, we completed both sessions of the VT CAP-Math (Vermont Comprehensive Assessment Program). Every single student worked hard to do their best and allow for a quiet and respectful testing environment. When not testing, we continued working on algebraic patterns, multiplication using the area model, and began the first steps towards dividing multi-digit numbers.
Literacy has followed the same process as math, completing both sessions of the VT CAP-ELA. We took advantage of this short interruption to our normal schedule to focus on our science curriculum. We read passages about energy and how it is transferred, specifically collision transfer. This allowed us more time to work hands-on building mock roller coasters to test out our hypotheses.
Speaking of science. Have you ever thought of combining a roller coaster with bumper cars? What about a bumper coaster that ends in an alligator infested lake? This was the Mystery Science task presented to fourth grade this week. They had to determine height and distance needed to safely escape the hungry alligator’s mouth at the end of their ride.
→ Please remember sneakers for PE and our home to school folders. ←
☆ Next week: Monday is an early release, happy Solar Eclipse Day! ☆
LIBRARY NEWS
MS. DIANNE CLOUET
I like to keep some of the library budget uncommitted until springtime. This gives the students time to develop book passions as a group.
I then can respond to their interest by purchasing new books that can continue their book borrowing excitement. This year a group of 2nd graders are LOVING the “I Survived” book series. To help their interest in reading grow, I have ordered seven recently published books in this series:
- I Survived the Galveston Hurricane, 1900
- I Survived the Great Molasses Flood,1919
- I Survived the Wellington Avalanche, 1910
- I Survived the Attack of the Grizzlies, 1967
- I Survived the Great Alaska Hurricane, 1964
- I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863
- I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944
Other books on order include the long-awaited Book 7 of the Wings of Fire graphic novel series, called Winter Turning, three new books on community helper careers for social studies units in grades K and 1 (titles are Barbers, Bakers, and Bus Drivers), and a new graphic novel series called Katie the Catsitter.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION NEWS
MR. BENJAMIN PICKARD
Students practiced running and flipping skills today. The goal is to move from one side of the gym to the other and then flip a cone to make it stand up. Students had a great time working on this skill that requires patience and control.
MUSIC NEWS
MRS. ALISA DAIGNEAULT
All students have been practicing songs and movement for our Concert. Their energy and attentiveness has been amazing and inspiring!
We were sad that a spring snowstorm postponed our show, but we will see you next Thursday, April 11th at Bellows Falls Middle School at 6:30 for our concert! We can't wait to show you our production!
Here are our Third and Fourth Graders in a big rehearsal. It was awesome!
Mrs. Daigneault, Music Educator
ART NEWS
MR. JAY PALMISANO
Art Show and Concert
I look forward to seeing everyone at our Art show and Concert on the 11th! Unfortunately we got snowed out of the first date, but we will have it next week on Thursday, April 11th at 6:30pm at the Bellow's Falls Middle School.
2nd Grade
We have begun our Pop Art inspired super hero unit. We are exploring self portraits with how to draw ourselves, then transforming them into heroes with powers to protect a city.
Thanks,
Mr. Palmisano
COMMUNITY NEWS
SAXTONS RIVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Email: laura.hazard@wnesu.com
Website: https://sres.wnesu.org/
Location: 15 School Street, Saxtons River, VT, USA
Phone: (802) 869-2637
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sresvt