Thursday Notes                    

                        September 22, 2011                    

                                               School Website: www.townshend.windham.vt.us                        

 

 

Dear Parents & Students,

           Next week is the last week of September, believe it or not!  We have completed one set of testing (MAP, which stands for Measure of Academic Performance).  October is more testing with the NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program)

          Our OPEN HOUSE is Thursday, October 6 from 6:30-7:30PM.  We are so eager to see you all in our classrooms and hope that you discover the many wonderful things your children do with us every day.  It is truly a joy to work with every student.  Our slogan for students achieving success is “All Means All” and our skilled teachers embrace the belief that every student can grow and learn.  Open House is not for parent conferences but rather a chance for you to experience life in the classroom by looking at student work.  Parent conferences will officially take place on the afternoon of November 10^th.  Your child’s teacher will invite you to sign up for a conference closer to the date.  

          Please note NO SCHOOL on Sept 28^th for teacher inservice.    Take care and have a great FALL weekend.                     

                                                                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                     Deborah M. Leggott, Principal

                             It’s Academic: Still More Reading tips!

 Tip #7: Relax Your family’s bedtime rules occasionally.  It is hard to put away a good book just   because it is bedtime.  Let your child know that once a week (preferably on the weekend)  he/she can stay up late as long as he/she’s reading in bed.  You might even want to plan a special bedtime snack and encourage the discovery that reading is really fun.

Tip #8: Have a family contest to determine “The Most Unusual Place I Ever Read”.  Take pictures  of family members in their favorite reading hideaways.  (These make great holiday greeting cards.)

Tip #9: Schedule time to read.  In some families, when everyone says, “Oh DEAR”, that means they’ve agreed to Drop Everything And Read.  During DEAR time, the TV goes off, the phone goes unanswered, and everyone sits down for some uninterrupted reading time.  Make sure everyone has something to read.  Schedule DEAR time in advance and write it on the family calendar.  This let’s your child see that reading time is just as important as basketball practice! 

Tip #10: Start a family library.  Buy paperback books and make them last by covering them with clear contact paper.  Encourage your child to swap books with friends.  Look for a used-book store or a library having a sale.  Give books for gifts: establish a family tradition of giving books for holiday gifts.  Giving gift certificates to book stores is another way to give books if uncertain which book to choose.

Tip #11: Invite a “guest reader” to read to your child.  Encourage siblings to read to each other.  Ask friends, neighbors or other relatives to share a story with your child. 

Tip #12: Limit your child’s TV time.  Studies show that kids who spend more than 10 hours a week watching TV  do worse in reading than kids whose parents set limits on TV viewing.  Some families give their children “TV Tickets”, each good for 30 minutes of television time.  When the tickets are gone the TV is turned off for the week.  The same idea works for video games and computer time. 

            Get into the “reading habit”…last tips next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/22/11

 

 

Band News - Instrumental Music Night

 The instrument rental night is scheduled for Monday, September 26th, at 6:30 pm, at the Dutton gym. The parents and students who have submitted their instrument surveys will be met by Michael McKinney, Instrumental Music Teacher and representatives from Ellis Music Company of Bethel, VT, to sign contracts and pick up their rental instrument.  Students will receive their first choice unless there has been notification from Mr. McKinney. After introductory remarks, instruments will be handed out in the order of the parent’s arrival, "first come, first serve".

 

Our Art teacher has a request for donations of older t-shirts, button shirts or aprons for use in her Art Class.  The current ones are really worn out and should be replaced.  The shirts should be larger sizes so that any of our students can put them over whatever they are wearing.

 

Soccer practice for Pre-K, Kindergarten & First Graders starts on Saturday mornings this weekend from 9-10 a.m.  Jenna Ackerson will be the coach and would love help from any parent interested.  There is a small box of some cleats and shinguards in the lobby of the school, if anyone is in need of some.  Also, at this point, no other schools in our district have shown an interest in having games for this age group so these students will be practicing drills, etc. on Saturday mornings.

 

For your information – School pictures are scheduled for Thursday, October 6^th.  Order forms are enclosed and should be returned to school no later than Friday, October 30th.  If any parents of Pre-Kindergarten students would like to bring in their child at 8:15 a.m., we can have those Pre-Kindergareten students’ pictures taken at that time before we start with the rest of the classes.

 

Reminder that there is no school next Wednesday, September 28^th.  This is a teacher inservice day.

 

For anyone who has suffered damage due by Hurricane Irene, FEMA will be at the Farmer’s Market today and next Thursday to answer any questions.