Reading Elementary Rockets Report

Sunday, September 18, 2016

PRINCIPAL'S BLOG - SUN. SEPT. 18, 2016

Dear Reading Elementary "Rockets" Parents & Community Members,

Kudos and heartfelt thanks to:

All of you who have pre-paid your lunch accounts! This saves so much time and effort for our hardworking food service director!
Rick and Donna for their generous donations of time and effort to RES since our opening. This week, Rick dug out the sandbox and filled it with clean, fresh sand, and constructed a cover for it to keep animals out of it. They also donated bookshelves and a desk to the principal's office. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

Other Items of Interest:

Breakfast Served - If you'd like your child to eat breakfast at school, please have them there between 7:30 and 7:40. No breakfast will be served after that so students can get to class in time. For $1.50, children have a healthy breakfast.

Morning Meetings - We will be having our weekly "big" morning meeting THIS Wednesday at 7:45 AM and we hope you can join us for that.

PTO Meeting - Please join the PTO this MON., Sept. 19, at 7 PM, and see how you can help!

Picture Day - Picture Day has been changed to Wed., Oct. 19, so that ALL students are here that day. We have been assured that photos will be sent back to the school promptly so that pictures can be distributed during the holidays!

Back to School Night - Is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 6, 5:30 - 7 PM. More details to follow!

School Arrival Times - PLEASE do not arrive before 7:45 AM if your child is not eating school breakfast. IF this creates a dilemma for your family because of your work hours, please contact Mrs. Knight so we can work on solving it together.

Act 46 Committee Meeting - The next WCSU Act 46 Study Committee Meeting will be at 6:30 pm on September 28, 2016, at the Windsor Central Supervisory Union.

Guidance Counselor Update- We have offered the .40 Guidance Position to Shaja (pronounced Cheyenne) Lichtenstein who will be meeting the students this week during Mrs. Knight's Library Media/Tech class. The Board will be asked to officially hire her Wed. evening. She is an experienced special educator and has outstanding references and will make a great addition to our team at RES! The superintendent has said she can't start until after the Board approves her, so she will start next week.

MESSAGES FROM OUR TEACHERS -

From Mrs. Drinker:

RES Sponsors Community Yard Sale - Sat., Oct. 8 - 9 AM - 2 PM - To honor the many volunteers and neighbors in Reading who supported one another during and after Tropical Storm Irene, RES announces the creation of a RES Kids Care club at our school. RES Kids Care also honors people from across the country who sent money, supplies, and expressions of support that helped us get back to work and school five years ago. Most importantly, the goal of RES Kids Care is to inspire and instill in Reading students that same community spirit as they go forward in their lives.

The inaugural event for "Kids Care" will be a town yard sale at RES on Saturday, October 8 from 9 am - 2 pm. To further the tradition of neighbor-helping-neighbor, half the proceeds will be used to start a children-in-need fund at RES. And to pay forward the help Reading received from other communities after Irene, Kids Care will donate the remaining proceeds to schools in Louisiana that were devastated by floods just days before school started, much as happened in our state.

So start cleaning out your garage and attic and reserve a spot in our field for October 8. A 10x10 site in our field is just $20 and a 20x10 is $30. Bring your own tables and tent or rent them from us for $5 each. You keep all the proceeds from what you sell. Please call the school at 484-7230 to reserve your spot OR SIGN UP ONLINE and send in or drop by your payment!

MORE FROM OTHER TEACHERS NEXT WEEK!

OTHER WAYS TO HELP READING SCHOOL -

PTO - The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers. If you'd like to help, please go to smile.amazon.com, and choose "Reading Parent Teacher Organization Reading PTO" from the list of organizations. Every little bit helps our students!

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS - How Tools for Schools Works - Price Chopper
OUR SCHOOL CODE IS - 13970 Register your AdvantEdge Card and designate a school at the Guest Services desk at your local Price Chopper, at your school, or online at pricechopper.com. Schools can redeem accumulated points for free supplies and equipment. Tell your friends, neighbors, co-workers to register their card and designate Reading Elementary! Thanks for your support!

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION - We had several pages already submitted by a 4th grade student and her family! I e-mailed out blank forms last week that can be used to attach the Box Tops to! If you don't have time to cut and paste, please send them in and our students will help us out!

VOLUNTEER - We love community members involved in our school! Perhaps you can help "count" box tops, read in a classroom, plant flowers, share one of your skills with a classroom, or any number of other things! Feel free to e-mail Cathy Knight - cknight@wcsu.net with questions or call Libbet at 802-484-7230.

LUNCH & BREAKFAST MENU FOR THIS WEEK: Have you submitted your free and reduced lunch application? Have you pre-paid your lunch account yet? If not, please send in your check for $55. to save $5.50 on your lunch account AND help keep our food costs down.

Mon., Sept. 19 - Lunch: Corn Chowder, Turkey Slices, Whole Grain Corn Chips, Oranges & Kiwis, Spinach Salad w/Shredded Carrots; Breakfast: Whole Grain Bagels/Cream Cheese - The Regulars(yogurt, whole grain cereals, assorted fresh fruits and oj or apple juice or cider.
Tues., Sept. 20 - Coconut Chicken, Whole Grain Rice, Pineapple, Peas; Breakfast: Oatmeal & Hardboiled Eggs - The Regulars
Wed., Sept. 21 - Gardeners' Pie (whole grain topping), Apples, Carrots, Assorted Vegetables; Breakfast: Pancakes & Sausage - the Regulars
Thurs., Sept. 22 - Turkey Cutlets, Whole Grain Couscous, Applesauce, Tomatoes, Iceberg Lettuce; Breakfast - Cream of Wheat & Hard Boiled Eggs - the Regulars
Fri., Sept. 23 - Taco Bake, Whole Grain Corn Chips, Pears, Mixed Green Salad; ; Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs & Whole Wheat Toast - the Regulars

Happening this Week:

Mon., Sept. 19 -

3 yr. old Pre-schoolers 7:45 AM - 11:45 AM
7 PM - RES PTO - Gr. 5/6 Classroom

Tues., Sept. 20 -

4 yr. old Preschoolers 7:45 AM - 11:45 AM

Wed., Sept. 21 -

Both 4 and 3 yr. old preschoolers 7:45 - 11:45 AM
7:45 - 8 AM - All School Morning Meeting in MPR/Cafeteria
6 PM - RES Board Meeting

Thurs., Sept. 22 -

4 year old Pre-Schoolers 7:45 AM - 11:45 AM

Fri., Sept. 23 - 3 yr. Pre-schoolers 7:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Sat., Sept. 24 -

Spring Brook Farms Open House 10 AM - 3 PM
7 PM - "Life Animated" Documentary - at Dartmouth HOP - about a family's journey dealing with Autism.

Mark Your Calendar/Upcoming Events:

Mon., Sept. 26 - Thurs., Sept. 29 -Gr. 5/6 - "Web of Life" Field Trips
Wed., Sept. 28 - WCSU Act 46 Meeting
Thurs., Oct. 6 - "Back to School" Night - 5:30 - 7 PM - more details to follow
Sat., Oct. 8 - RES Community Yard Sale Fundraiser more info. to follow
Mon., Oct. 10 - NO SCHOOL - Inservice
Wed., Oct. 19 - School Picture Day ** - This is a change!

Thoughts to Ponder:

LIFE AT READING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:

Sunday, September 11, 2016

PRINCIPAL'S BLOG - Sun., Sept. 11, 2016

Dear Reading Elementary "Rockets" Parents & Community Members,

It's hard to believe that 15 years ago, our world as we know it changed. It's a reminder to be grateful for life and freedom and for our students to be growing up in Reading, Vermont!

It's that time of year where it's beginning to be chilly in the mornings, though it's much warmer by the afternoon. Please try and dress your child in "layers" so that as the temperatures increase they can still stay cool.

We are revising our Dress Code to be more current and it is addressed in the Student-Parent Handbook coming out this week. The basic guideline is that no clothing should be a "distraction" to learning - so no inappropriate sayings or pictures is a big no no.

Thank you to those who have sent in the survey from last week. If you haven't already done so, please send them back as soon as possible. They will be sent home in your student's folders tomorrow. Thanks!

Other Items of Interest:

Medications - A reminder from Nurse Chick, for safety sake, NO medications, over the counter or prescription can be transported on the bus. Please deliver these to school in person.

Not Feeling Well? - If your child is not feeling well in the morning, AND they don't have a fever, then feel free to send them to school. But please HELP by calling and letting US know, but try and avoid telling your child that they can call and you will come and get them. Instead, please tell them to tell their teacher if they are not feeling well later in the day. If your child tells a staff member they don't feel well, we take it seriously, but our standard procedure is to check for a temperature, if there isn't one, then we make sure they've drank water, rest in the nurses' office for 5 min. and then send them back to class. Sometimes students come to school tired from a late night the night before and it's hard to focus so they want to come and sleep in the nurse's office. Sometimes students develop avoidance of certain subjects, and one way to do that is to "be ill" when it's time for a certain subject to be taught. We weed through all possibilities while making sure that if a student IS ill, that the parent is notified immediately and proper steps are taken to treat them. Thanks for your help with this!

PLEASE Keep Us Informed - Life is often crazy busy. If something unusual is going on in your family - goldfish died, car accident, grandma fell, etc. please let your child's teacher or Teacher Libbet know. If the staff are aware of reasons that your child is having rough day, it makes it easier for your child's teacher to help your student focus and learn. We're not nosy, we just want to be able to put supports in place to help you and your child get the most from their daily educational experience. Life happens and we're here to help.

Late=Tardy? - If a student arrives after 7:55 AM, the student is marked as "tardy" in the attendance records. A certain number of tardies equals an absence. We know how busy mornings are for families, so thanks to all those who arrive on time! A calm start to a child's day helps anchor learning!

Morning Meetings - We will be having our weekly "big" morning meeting THIS Wednesday at 7:45 AM and we hope you can join us for that.

PTO Meeting - Please join the PTO this MON., Sept. 19, at 7 PM for the Reading School PTO, and see how you can help! (Correction.)

Picture Day - Picture Day has been changed to Wed., Oct. 19, so that ALL students are here that day. We have been assured that photos will be sent back to the school promptly so that pictures can be distributed during the holidays!

2016-17 Student-Parent Handbook - This will be published on the website THIS week and the new website link will be sent home in the Blog. In order to promote "sustainability" and save trees, we are not providing copies for each family. If you would like a hard copy of the handbook, please call and request one. Otherwise, they will be on-line as a reference THIS week.

Safety Drills - This Wed. we will be having a Lockdown Drill. If there is ever a serious concern, we will send you a BLACKBOARD message on your phone and your e-mail. If you arrive to the school during a drill, please allow us to complete it.

Terrific Opportunity for Boys. The Lebanon Ballet School (Lebanon, NH) has established a Boys' Scholarship Program that will provide one full academic year of tuition-free ballet training for boys, ages 6 to 18. No previous dance experience is required. From the LBS website: "This program offers an extraordinary opportunity for boys to be introduced to the athleticism and art of ballet. Ballet training has the added benefit of enhancing athletic skills, flexibility, and strength. Boys, ages 8 and up, will also be eligible for performance opportunities with City Center Ballet. As a first year program, boys will be integrated into the existing classes. If enough boys enroll, separate boys classes will be added and taught by professional male teachers." If your son or any boy you know is interested in ballet, contact Linda Copp, Director, at linda@lebanonballetschool.com.

Good Neighbor Health Clinic & Red Logal Dental Clinic - Provide free medical and dental care to people who are uninsured or under-insured who live in the Upper Valley. For more information, please contact them at 802-295-1868 or stop by the office for one of their information cards.

Back to School Night - Is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 6, 5:30 - 7 PM. More details to follow!

MESSAGES FROM OUR TEACHERS -

From Mrs. Boyer-Shelden - Kindergarten

Rainbow Chaser Kindergarten is learning by exploring! We learn about each other when we communicate with our words and bodies in safe ways. Our class is using their senses to investigate the world around them. Just like our garden we start out as a seed that relies on our world to nourish us. Over time we will flourish and become the best that we can be. We are looking forward to many adventures in the year ahead.

From Mrs. Mayo/Grade 3/4:

The Stargazers are learning classroom expectations and practicing routines that will serve them throughout the year. We have started our narrative writing unit by writing down small moments from our everyday lives and expanding them with description and details. We are performing a class story we wrote together titled ‘Enjoying the Outdoor Classroom’ during All School Meeting, on Wednesday, September 14th. Feel free to join us and hear us read lines aloud!

From Mrs. Knight - Library/Media Specialist & Tech Integrationist Pre-K through 6 - This will be our first "Monday" of classes together. We will be starting on library skills and doing a tech survey to determine the skill sets of the older students. I am excited about working with your students and staff to support their media & tech learning!

MORE FROM OTHER TEACHERS NEXT WEEK!

OTHER WAYS TO HELP READING SCHOOL -

PRE-K - There are some things we could really use in the classroom; if anyone has these items we can have, it will enhance our play and learning and be very appreciated. Doll clothes, diaper bag(s), doll bed/cradle, doll strollers, baby blankets,, purses, or wallets.

PTO - AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when customers shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers. If you'd like to help, please go to smile.amazon.com and choose "Reading Parent Teacher Organization Reading P T O" from the list of organizations. Every little bit helps our students!

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS - How Tools for Schools Works - Price Chopper
OUR SCHOOL CODE IS - 13970

1 - Register your AdvantEdge Card and designate a school at the Guest Services desk at your local Price Chopper, at your school, or online at pricechopper.com.

2 - The program runs until Saturday, March 25, 2017.

3 - All purchases using your AdvantEdge Card will be automatically credited to your selected school.

4 - Every dollar spent at Price Chopper earns you one point. Purchase Price Chopper or Central Market Classics brands and receive double points!

5 - Schools can redeem accumulated points for free supplies and equipment.

6 - Tell your friends, neighbors, co-workers to register their card and designate Reading Elementary! Thanks for your support!

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION - It's those adorable little coupons on certain food products, yet each one of those gives $.10 to our school. Those dimes really add up! To to make it easier, please consider downloading the app - check this out: BOX TOPS APP. Otherwise, please clip, collect and send them in! There is a collection jar in the front lobby! Please have your friends and neighbors collec them! Thanks for your support of RES!

LUNCH MENU FOR THIS WEEK: Have you submitted your free and reduced lunch application? Have you pre-paid your lunch account yet? If not, please send in your check for $55. to save $5.50 on your lunch account AND help keep our food costs down.

Mon., Sept. 12 - Korean Shredded Beef On Whole Grain Roll Pineapple, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes
Tues., Sept. 13 - Chicken Fingers Quinoa Oranges, Mixed Greens Baked Potato
Wed., Sept. 14 - Peanut Butter Apple Wraps (whole grain tortillas) (apples), Iceberg Lettuce, Avocados
Thurs., Sept. 15 - Hot Dogs in Whole Grain Bun, Watermelon, Spinach, Baked Beans
Fri., Sept. 16 - Whole Grain English Muffin Pizzas, Grapes, Caesar Salad

Happening this Week:

Mon., Sept. 12 - 3 yr. old Pre-schoolers 7:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Tues., Sept. 13 -

4 yr. old Preschoolers 7:45 AM - 11:45 AM

Wed., Sept. 14 -

Both 4 and 3 yr. old preschoolers 7:45 - 11:45 AM
7:45 - 8 AM - All School Morning Meeting in MPR/Cafeteria

Thurs., Sept. 15 -

4 year old Pre-Schoolers 7:45 AM - 11:45 AM

Fri., Sept. 16 - 3 yr. Pre-schoolers 7:45 AM - 11:45 AM

Mark Your Calendar/Upcoming Events:

Mon., Sept. 19 - RES PTO 7 PM
Wed., Sept. 21 - RES Board Meeting 6 PM
Sat., Sept. 24 -

Spring Brook Farms Open House 10 - 3
7 PM - "Life Animated" Documentary - at Dartmouth HOP - about a child and family's journey with Autism.

Mon., Sept. 26 - Thurs., Sept. 29 -Gr. 5/6 - "Web of Life" Field Trips
Thurs., Oct. 6 - "Back to School" Night - 5:30 - 7 PMmore details to follow
Sat., Oct. 8 - RES Community Yard Sale Fundraiser - more info. to follow
Mon., Oct. 10 - NO SCHOOL - Inservice
Wed., Oct. 19 - School Picture Day ** - This is a change!

Thoughts to Ponder:

LIFE AT READING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:

Pre-School Lunchtime!

1st Grade Math!

Math Fun!

Kindergarten Learning!

HANDS ON MATH!

Learning in Gr. 3/4!

LEARNING WITH MS. MAYO!

Learning in Gr. 5/6 classroom!

Sunday, September 4, 2016

PRINCIPAL'S BLOG - SUN., SEPT. 4, 2016

Dear Reading Elementary "Rockets" Parents & Community Members,

We had a successful mini-week for our first week "Back to School!"

Big thanks to the PTO for sponsoring the "1st Day Back" Breakfast for the school community! Several parents came the night before to do prep. and came in early to get it on the table!

Vermont State Police Officer French stopped by Reading Elementary School on Friday to introduce himself. We toured the school and he had lots of great conversations with our students!

I'm enclosing an important survey in this week's e-mail to each family. Please print it out and send in with your child on Tuesday if you can. Otherwise, we will send them home in your child's family folders.

Other Items of Interest:

Pre-School - We are happy to announce that the Pre-School times have changed to better meet the needs of working parents while staying within our budget requirements. Thank you for your understanding and patience while we investigated our options!

****Starting Tues., Sept. 6, Pre-School will start at 7:45 AM, and students should be picked up between 11:30 and no later than 11:45 AM. **

Morning Meetings - We will be having our weekly "big" morning meeting THIS Wednesday at 7:45 AM and we hope you can join us for that.

2016-17 Student-Parent Handbook - This will be published on the website soon and the new website link will be sent home in this blog. In order to promote "sustainability" and save trees, we are not providing copies for each family. If you would like a hard copy of the handbook, please call and request one. Otherwise, they will be on-line as a reference as soon as possible.

Safety Drills - Practice make perfect - for safety's sake! This Wed., we will practice our first fire drill so all Pre-K students can practice. The second full Wed. we will be having a Lockdown Drill. If there is ever a serious concern, we will send you a BLACKBOARD message on your phone and your e-mail. If you arrive to the school during a drill, please allow us to complete it.

Emergency Forms - 60% of Reading families have turned their forms in already! Thank you! Please get these in as soon as possible as it is truly for safety sake!

Afterschool - We are attaching a survey to this blog. Please print, complete, and send in as we gather data to find out who needs before/after childcare and what our options are. We will keep you informed!

Lunch Program - We've had three incredible school lunches, snacks and breakfasts! We are so very blessed to have Ms. Heather Evans as our Food Service Director.

Food prices have continued to rise, but there has not been a lunch price increase in many years. This year breakfast will be $1.50; and lunch will be $2.75. We will offer a pre-paid option - if your student lunch account is pre-paid in advance by a month, then the rate will continue at $2.50 per lunch. There are 22 possible days to purchase lunch between now and the end of September, for a total of $60.50. IF you pre-pay, you will only pay $55. If your child chooses not to eat every day, then the remaining lunch balance will simply "roll-over" to the next month. The State will reimburse us at the higher rate for those students who are eligible for free and reduced meals. Therefore, we are receiving MORE from the State. This was discussed and approved at the Board meeting.

Milk will be .50 at snack time or at lunch if a student is not eating school lunch.

PLEASE fill out the free/reduced lunch applications and return them to school. It is vital that every family fill this out as we as a school can qualify for extra funding if we have enough qualified families.

School Arrival Times -

Bussers ONLY arrive at 7:15 AM and will go the Cafeteria.
Breakfast served - 7:30 - 7:45 AM
All other students should arrive at 7:45 AM, UNLESS you are purchasing breakfast.
Class Starts - 7:45 AM

PLEASE do not arrive before 7:45 AM if your child is not eating school breakfast. IF this creates a dilemma for your family because of your work hours, please contact Mrs. Knight so we can work on solving it together.

School Dismissal - Learning goes on until the last possible minute. Consistency in the classroom's end-of-day routine is very important to students and staff.

2:35 PM - Walkers/students being picked up are dismissed by teachers .
2:40 PM - Bussers dismissed.
2:45 PM - Bus departs RES

MESSAGES FROM OUR TEACHERS -

From Mrs. Faulkner - I am very pleased to be the new pre-k teacher at RES. I have over twenty years’ experience teaching young children and find them fascinating and incredibly fun to be with. I thank you very much for trusting in me to guide your child through their first school years. Please don't hesitate to contact me at kfaulkner@wcsu.net.

From Mrs. Drinker (Gr. 1/2) - The Trailblazers are off to a great start this fall. Our beginning theme is “Me in Time and Space”. We are learning about the special places we hold in our family, school, and town as well as marking important dates and times in our lives. One of the places I hope will become important to your child is their “sit spot” in the woods behind our school. At the end of this week we will have our first “Forest Friday” during which we will head out to those woods to find our own individual sit spots. Throughout the year, we will return to these special places to inspire our work in writing, drawing, and science.

“I took a walk in the woods, and I came out taller than the trees.”—Henry David Thoreau

From Mrs. Morton - ♪ Happy New Year from the Music Department ♪

How exciting it is to announce that we will be offering instrumental lessons again this year. Please stay tuned…

Thanks you,

Christine Morton

Music Teacher

From Mrs. Collins (Gr. 5/6) - As the Explorers set goals, share, play, work, and dream: possibilities unfold. We engage daily in an act of creation. As we begin our journey together the Explorers will set out to analyze the foundation of our nation, and the positive and negative effects of conflict on society. We will engineer, build, and destruct bridges; visit the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park to investigate the Web of Life; master concepts of number theory; and memorize many pieces of poetry. Throughout it all students will reflect on how individuals have the ability to effect change. We begin our journey together one step at a time honoring the skills, knowledge and ability that each person brings to the community.

MORE FROM THE OTHER TEACHERS NEXT WEEK!

OTHER WAYS TO HELP READING SCHOOL -

SUBSTITUTES - Occasionally teachers have to be out to take care of their families or themselves, and sometimes they have to go to professional development. When this happens, we need substitutes who really love students and learning, and are willing to follow the teacher's sub plans to the letter. READING School district pays $90. per day for a 7.5 hr. day! You can sub in any school in our district at other rates, but we are looking for some local folks willing to spend time at Reading. Please go to Schoolspring.com and apply to be a substitute for our district or contact Rayna Bishop at the supervisory union to apply. THANKS!

LUNCH MENU FOR THIS WEEK: Have you pre-paid your lunch account yet? If not, please send in your check for $55. to save $5.50 on your lunch account AND help keep our food costs down.

Tues., Sept. 6 - Chicken & Broccoli, Whole Grain Rice, Pineapple

Wed., Sept. 7 - Vegetable Frittata, Whole Grain English Muffin, Melon, Carrots, Green Beans, Potato Wedges

Thurs., Sept. 8 - Turkey Reuben Melts on Whole Grain Pitas, Apples, Rainbow Pepeprs, Cherry Tomatoes, Coleslaw

Fri., Sept. 9 - Whole Grain Pasta w/Broccoli & Sausage, Stone Fruits, Cucumbers

Happening this Week: