LEDYARD
CENTER SCHOOL
November 2008
Dear
Ledyard Center Families,
We
hope the information included in our school newsletter along with classroom
news helps to keep you informed about the teaching and learning at Ledyard
Center School. Please take some time to review our newsletter with your child
and family.
Classroom news: As you walk the
walls in our school, you can see several examples of student work. Here are
some highlights inside and outside classrooms.
- After going to
the opera “The Three Little Pigs”, Mrs. Masse’s first graders wrote their
own version. All year first graders practice writing stories with a
beginning, middle and end. The opera was great and so were their stories!
- Taking an Around the Town trip as part of
their social studies instruction for our second graders has led to
interesting discussions about life in Ledyard then and now.
- Ask a third
grader what they have learned about New England. They are making brochures
to encourage a visit here and how the climate and landforms influence New
Englanders.
- Fourth graders
used the Preston corn maze as a background and setting for a series of
teamwork exercises and math problem solving. They have used the wall space
outside their classrooms to post science information about states of
matter and photos from around our school to help explain fractions.
- Fifth graders
met with Frank Daly who presented a program including authentic artifacts
explaining the Revolutionary War. He also plans to return when they study
the Civil War.
- Meteorologist
Art Horn recently met with our sixth graders. His presentation helped
support concepts included in their investigation of weather. Sixth graders
are finding their current math unit very challenging especially students
who need more practice with multiplication facts and careful reading of
questions that require specific order of operations.
- Our CMT words
bulletin board adds new words each month. Ask your child what these words
mean: article, experience, people in
general and most important/most
surprising information in stories and articles. We notice our students and their teachers checking out the
new terms added each week by our Language Arts consultants.
- By now you have
had a chance to look at the artwork your child made for the Art to Remember
PTO fundraiser. Mrs. Slenker helped select grade level themes for students
and organized all their art work to send off. Parents and families can now
choose from a number of items that would display this featured artwork.
Many thanks to our art teacher and Mrs. Andrea Goodrich from our PTO for
making this a meaningful project for students and families!
- Throughout
the year in PE, our students will be participating in several getting
FIT exercise lab sessions. This is an age appropriate multi-task
exercise physiology skill based program which includes progressive
intensity levels, aerobic conditioning and it’s
fun!!
- 3rd
and 5th graders have begun using new music textbooks as part of
the revised music curriculum. This year grades 1 and 4 will present music programs.
School
improvement: Each month, teachers are sharing information
about student performance at faculty meetings. This is part of our plan toward
having 80% mastery and what we all need to do to help. Families can help our
students reach these goals by regularly reviewing the work/notes sent home. At
the beginning of December, teachers and parents will meet to discuss first
marking period progress. This year
teachers are entering their grades and comment in the Power School student
information system and all report cards will be completed using computer and
web based technology. Ask your child’s
teacher about grade level focus areas and fall assessment results when you meet
for parent/teacher conferences.
Community connections: Thanks to the Ledyard
Rotary, all of our 3rd graders have new dictionaries to use.
Representatives from the Rotary visited schools on Noah Webster’s birthday and
distributed dictionaries to all Ledyard grade 3 students. Ms. Ambrosch’s class
met with their Ledyard Elder friends to launch their yearlong friendship where
our students will share their writing and work. Our Aerospace Adventurers met
with their kindred spirits at Juliet Long and are planning an evening of
science fun in December. Our four classes involved with LEARN partnerships have
met new friends and enjoyed at least one of the many interesting learning
experiences planned for the year. We are pleased to offer each of these
opportunities to our students as they blend learning and fun.
PTO news: Many thanks to the
parents and teachers who helped with trick or treating. Close to 300 costumed children visited school
for this fun and safe tradition! Minutes from last week’s meeting will be
posted on the PTO link of the Ledyard Center web page, here are some
highlights:
§
Approved
a new bench using box top funds – we’ve raised close
to 50% of this year’s goal. Please keep sending these in and check out www.btfe.com for special bonus ideas to benefit
LCS
§
Explained
the benefits and trade offs when district food service program comes to our
school
§
Exploring
alternate fund raising including the scrip
program that pays a % to the PTO for all gift card sold
§
Decided
on the big goal project: to update and outfit a school kitchen space and
continue support for classroom audio enhancements
§
Plan
to apply for grant funding to bring “smart
boards” to classrooms
§
Cooperate
with town committees to improve outdoor spaces for learning and play
§
Looking
for a power post hole digger to install our new basketball hoop
§
Shared
information about our Ledyard Center Green Team
As
you can see, this was a busy meeting. We are so fortunate to have dedicated and
talented parents and faculty working together to enhance the education of our
students.
Improv club: This district wide club is available for upper
grade students. Families can check the link on our Ledyard Center web page for
information about this creative opportunity. Improv is not just for actors. Now
in its third year, students participate in a variety of improv games and
activities culminating in a “show” open to the public.
LCS
Green Team: Twenty of our upper
grade students have been selected to get our daily collection of recyclables
started next week. Each of them wrote an essay to apply for this volunteer
effort. At last week’s all school meeting, we announced that there were 115
entries for the Green Team Logo Contest. Congratulations to Haley Hinton for
her winning design. Haley and her whole class received a bag full of recycle prizes
to enjoy. Along with recycling paper, bottles/cans/plastic, we will start
recycling milk cartons!! We’ll also have bins available for parents to recycle
batteries and cell phones. Go Green!
Book Fair: The Scholastic Book Fair
will be at LCS the first week in December, perfect for holiday shopping!
This will be a full price sale and the spring book fair will feature a
half-price sale. Our book fair opens on December 3rd with extended
hours and will be open during school through December 11th.
Food
Play: Thanks to our PTO, we are very pleased to
welcome back the Food Play program on Thursday, 11/13 at 1:30 PM. Parents are
invited and AM Kindergarten students are welcome to join in. We expect our
students will have plenty to talk about after this exciting presentation.
Library Ambassadors: Congratulations to the following
students: Cassie Coates, Chloe Hespeler,
Olivia Holubecki, Anna Hammar, Rebecca Ahlborn,
Samantha Barnes, Dustin Bussolotti, Gianni Jannke DeMuzzio, Angelique Matthews,
Lexie Vetrano, Catherine Rousseau, Alyssa Lovdahl,
Corrina McKelvey, Aly Monroe, Haley Hinton , Aaron Macklin, Josh Worst, Madison
Canestrari, Tia Kelly, Mikayla Nixie, Hannah Collins,
Emme Cronin, Haley Lane, Ellie Phetteplace, Al Zinno, Jocelyn Santiago, Rachel
Phelps, Bailey Ryan. These students will help in our library throughout the
week with shelving, collecting books from classrooms and selecting featured
books to display - another great example of ways students help around our
school.
Building a School Community, one brick at a
time: Our wall is growing every day displaying “bricks” from all grade
levels. At last week’s all school meeting, we recognized everyone whose name is
on the wall and 5th grade presented a terrific program to explain how
everyone can “Respect your Classroom Climate”. Congratulations to Cameron
Morse, Kate Decker, and Julio Oquendo who will have lunch with the principal.
Recess: We try to have
everyone get outside for recess, so coming to school dressed for colder weather
is important. Labeling coats and jackets with student names would be helpful
especially since we already have many items in our Lost and Found.
From our school
nurse:
The season has arrived for colds and flu. Viruses
cause colds and flu. Those viral infections are usually spread by direct or
indirect contact of an infected person. The virus can live for several hours on
a variety of surfaces. This is why it is important to have good hygiene habits.
Other reminders include:
- Cough or sneeze
into the clothing on your arm to avoid contaminating your hands
- Throw away used
tissue and wash hands frequently
- Don't share
food or drinks
- Encourage
plenty of sleep, fluid and a balanced diet
Another topic to consider at this time of
the year is head lice. As some of you may already know, head
lice is a troublesome, contagious problem. Millions of school children
contract head lice each year. When found, most cases
of head lice are already more than a month old. The school nurse is available
for assistance with dealing with head lice, and providing additional
information as needed. The following is a brief summary of some head
lice information:
- Schools are not
the most common places where head lice are spread
- Sleep-overs
among friends and relatives are thought to be a common way they are passed
from home to home
- Encourage your
child not to share personal items with others
- Cases should be
treated promptly to prevent spread-call your pediatrician for treatment
advisement
- Inform your
school nurse-she will assist you in re-checking as you work to remove the
lice and nits
- Examine your
child's head periodically, and be on the watch for common signs: intense
itching of the back of the head/neck and behind the ears, and/or
a red rash in the same areas, and/or nits (eggs)
- Head lice are
clear to a reddish-brown, six-legged, crawling insect. They do not hop,
jump or fly
- Nits are small,
yellowish or greyish-white, oval-shaped eggs that are "glued" at
an angle to the side of the hair shaft
- All nits must
be removed to control head lice
One of the biggest challenges in
eliminating head lice is parents' discomfort in communicating about the problem
with other parents and school nurses when they find head lice, so they are
more easily passed back and forth among close friends and relatives. Head lice
are not a sign of uncleanliness, nor are they a source of infection or disease;
they are simply a nuisance.
Good news: We heard that
Rebecca Baron won a 3rd place ribbon for baking and her older sister
Sarah won 1st place at the Ledyard Fair.
Around the Town:
- November is
National Adoption Month. Free informational sessions for anyone interested
in finding out more about adoption are held monthly at Border’s Bookstore
in Waterford.
- Ledyard Youth
League Cheerleaders has collected 250 wonderful recipes from its league
parents and friends for a cookbook fundraiser. If you would like to purchase one,
please e-mail Jen Egan at jenle27@hotmail.com
or call 464-2734. Each cookbook
costs $10, and this offer is valid until December 31, 2008. Any person ordering a cookbook will
receive their cookbook via U.S. postal service (free shipping); if you
prefer, someone will deliver the purchase to your home or to the
school. With each cookbook paid for
by December 31, LYLC will enter the buyer into a raffle for $25. The winner will be notified via e-mail
by January 3.
- The DNA EpiCenter at
33 Gallows Lane in New London will be holding vacation camps during the
December and February vacation periods.
For further information go to their website at
www.dnaepicenter.org.
Our school newsletter is included in the LCS section
of the
Ledyard Public Schools Web site www.ledyard.net
Upcoming dates for
your calendar:
Tuesday, November 4 Election Day, no school
Wednesday, November 5 PTO meeting, 6 – 7:30 PM
Thursday, November 6 Grade 3 trip to Mystic Seaport
Grade
4 trip to Lyman Allen Museum
Friday, November 7 All
school meeting hosted by gr 5 featuring
Respecting your Classroom Climate
LCS “favorite hat”
spirit day
Monday, November 10 5/Rode, LEARN partners visit
Tuesday, November 11 No school, Veteran’s Day
Thursday, November 13 Food Play program, 1:30 PM,
parents and AM
Kindergarten students
are welcome to join us
Friday, November 14 Grade 1 dinner, 5:30 – 8 PM
Grade
3 trip to Lyman Allen Museum
Tuesday, November 18 2/Motzko LEARN partner trip
Wednesday, November 19 Early dismissal for students
Professional
development for teachers
Friday, November 21 PTO family bingo
Monday, November 24 5/Wheeler, LEARN partner trip
Wednesday, November 26 No school, Thanksgiving Day 11/27
Tuesday, December 2 K – 6 report cards home
Wednesday, December 3 Early dismissal for students
Parent/teacher
conferences, 1:30–4:30 PM
PTO
fundraiser pick up
Book
fair opens
Thursday, December 4 Early dismissal for students
Parent/teacher
conferences, 4:30–7:30 PM
Friday, December 5 Early dismissal for students
Parent/teacher
conferences, 1:30-4:30 PM
Friday, December 12 PTO Holiday Basket Bash