Reading Elementary Rockets Report

Sunday, September 16, 2018

RES PRINCIPAL'S BLOG - ROCKETS REPORT - Sun., Sept. 16, 2018

Dear Reading Elementary "Rockets" Families & Community Members:

We have such admiration for parents in this day and age - so much to do and in spite of the "conveniences" of today, there's never enough time! I'm glad the RES after school program has assisted many in a little less rushing. The students and staff of the "RAP" program are learning lots and having fun!

Kudos and heartfelt thanks to:

All of you who went online and paid for your meals in advance.
Those of you who turned in all your paperwork.
Jessica Seman for volunteering to help last Wed. with Reading Runners!

Other Items of Interest:

Reading After School Program - Payment is only needed a week in advance, even though you sign up for other days within the session. Reading Runners will be run through the After school program. Please complete the form and return.

We have over 20 students signed up for the RES licensed after school program, which is almost half of our student population! In order to keep safe staffing ratios, we ask that if parents need to add a student to a day they weren't scheduled for, they do so 24 hr. in advance by contacting Mrs. Knight.

Highlight on the Handbook - The WCUD Family/Student Handbook is full of important information and all principals will be highlighting information in our communications to families. Monday will be the 13th day of school! Just a reminder that the district handbook can be found on our website and hard copies can be obtained from RES. Over the next few weeks, we are focusing on attendance.

Extended Absence

WCSU has several scheduled school vacations throughout the year including a week off in February and April. Please consider, before you plan a trip, that missing school for several days in a row can become a source of anxiety for students, create gaps in their learning, and makes it difficult to assess their skills and assign grades. Attempting to complete work on a trip without attending the accompanying lessons or having a teacher available for guidance creates stress during what should be an enjoyable family time. Much of the work we do in school cannot be sent with students. Students return and face the stress of being behind on assignments and having missed lessons that are essential for understanding what is happening in class when they return. Teachers work very hard to support students who have been absent, but there is limited time to catch up. There is simply no substitute for being in school.

It is the expectation of the WCSU School Districts that all students will be in attendance for all scheduled school days unless the child is ill or there is an unexpected emergency. If a family chooses to go on vacation during the school year, homework will not be provided ahead of time. A folder of class work will be saved for the student to complete when he/she returns to school. Extended vacations have a detrimental effect on a child’s educational program and negatively impact the environment for the other students in the class.

We request that families inform the principal two weeks in advance of the planned vacation. If your child is going to be out of school for an extended length of time (over 3 days), it is necessary for the parents to contact both the child’s teacher and either the principal or administrative assistant. This pertains to vacations, special camps, illness, injuries, hospitalization, etc. Any student who is absent for vacation purposes will be marked with an unexcused absence if prior notice is not received. The student will be given a reasonable period of time after returning to complete all make-up work and tests/quizzes.

Message from our PE Teacher, Mr. Drost - Hello Friends &Families, FUN-DAY MONDAY is coming. Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend and the summer like weather! I am anxious to hear from students what type of exercise they got over the weekend? Monday will be an outdoors day and we will continue to revisit some cooperative challenge activities.Please remember your sneakers on Mondays!! Thank You everyone!

Back to School Open House - Wed., Sept. 26, 5:30 - 6:30 PM. We changed our date as the high school scheduled it the same night as ours. This evening is not for parent conferences, it's just a brief presentation by your child's teacher. Parent conferences will occur in November.

The PTO will have a table and are looking for volunteers. Please note there is no food provided this year.

Picture Day - Wed., Oct. 3 is the annual picture day. Forms will be coming home this week so you can plan ahead. Please send the completed forms back into school.

OTHER WAYS TO HELP READING SCHOOL

Offer to teach a course in the After School program - share your skills!
Turn in Box Tops for school! Each label is worth 10 cents!
Sign up your Price Chopper account so RES gets points!

BREAKFAST & LUNCH & MENU FOR NEXT WEEK:

Happening this Week:

Mon., Sept. 17 -

PE - Students should wear tennis shoes!
Reading Runners 2:30 - 4 PM

Tues., Sept. 18 -

Library/Tech

Wed., Sept. 19 -

Art
Reading Runners - Event- Kurn Hattin, Westminster 2:30 - 5

Thurs., Sept. 20 -

Music & Band

Fri., Sept. 21 -

Spanish

Mark Your Calendar/Upcoming Events:

Wed., Sept. 26 - Back to School Open House - 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Wed., Oct. 3 - Picture Day
Mon., Oct. 8 - NO SCHOOL
Tues.,Oct. 9 - "Web of Life" Field Trip - Gr. 6 begins
Thurs., Oct. 11 - Profile of a Graduate Dinner & Presentation

Dinner - 5:30 - 6
Presentation 6 - 7:15 PM
Childcare provided
Community members and families are welcome.

Thoughts to Ponder:

LIFE AT READING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:

LOTS of photos this week!

Kindergarten Builders

Kindergarten in the Outdoor Classroom

Kindergarten and friends!

Wow....how cool is that!

PK music time with Mrs. Morton

Add caption

PK Building!

PK Library Time with Mrs. Knight

Recent student J.D. Cross at the Tunbridge Fair!

Pretending to camp out with friends!

Afterschool Arts & Crafts Puppet Time!

Outdoor classroom time in afterschool!

PK Afterschool Nature Collage

What a beautiful school setting!

Afterschool Nature Collages!

Guidance in Gr. 5/6

Sadie at the Tunbridge Fair!

Reading in AFTERSCHOOL

Reading after lunch

Reading with buddies on Fridays after lunch

Dress Up in PK!

Saturday, September 8, 2018

RES PRINCIPAL'S BLOG - ROCKETS REPORT - Sun., Sept. 9, 2018

Dear Reading Elementary "Rockets" Families & Community Members:

We've now had seven days of school, so we're still settling into routines! It's so wonderful to have five days this week to really settle in and hopefully without the high temperatures of the last few weeks! We look forward to seeing your student at 7:30 AM Monday!

Kudos and heartfelt thanks to:

PTO members who attended the PTO meeting Wed. night.
All of you who have sent in your forms!

Other Items of Interest:

1st Day Forms - Please send in any forms that came down the first day! They contain important safety information that we need! Thanks!

Reading Runners - The “Reading Runners” is an elementary cross-country running team which is part of the Reading After School Program. Any interested grade K-6 students are welcome to join the team. We practice twice each week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:45-4:00 pm. We will start practice on Monday, September 10. We will compete in four regional events, two at Kurn Hattin Homes in Westminster, VT and two in Putney, VT sponsored by The Grammar School. The dates are as follows:

Wednesday, Sept. 19—Kurn Hattin Homes, Westminster; Wednesday, Sept. 26—Green Mtn, Orchards, Putney; Wednesday, Oct. 3—Kurn Hattin Homes, Westminster; Wednesday, Oct. 17, The Grammar School, Putney Grammar School, Putney. We will definitely need parent volunteers to provide snacks for practices and to drive to running competitions. Runners need sneakers, shorts, water bootle and snack! Please read this flier regarding Reading Runners. Students will need to have completed the after school program form to participate.

Soccer Opportunity - Message from nearby Cavendish Recreation Director, Terry O'Brien: I am reaching out today to all Reading residents interested in their children participating in the Cavendish Recreation soccer program.

We offer:

K/pre K co-ed instructional team with some competition included on Wed-Sat at Greven Field.
Gr. 1/2(likely co-ed) on Tuesday-Thursday and some Saturday games at Greven Field, including a league wide jamboree on Oct. 13.
Gr. 3/4 Girls and boys teams, generally Tues-Thur and some Saturdays. Home field is Fletcher Field.
Gr. 5/6 Girls and boys teams, generally Mon-Wed and some Saturdays, also at Fletcher Field.
Practice times will vary according to our volunteer coaches and field availability. Games are normally at 5:00 and 6:00 during the week and Saturday mornings.
If your child chooses to participate, there will be no shortage of playing time and excellent qualified coaching. Though we always will take players from other towns without a program, we especially welcome them this year as our own enrollment is a bit lower than normal , and we want to ensure a viable team for each level.
If you have any questions, please contact me through any means stated on the Registration Form. Once registered,you will also be given a medical waiver form to fill out. Sign up form HERE.

♪ Happy New School Year from the Music Department ♪

How exciting it is to announce that instrument lessons for grades 4, 5, and 6 begin on Thursday September 13, 2018. Please have your child ready for their lessons. This includes their instrument, Essential Element Book, and a pencil. Please email me at cmorton@wcsu.net if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Christine Morton

Music Teacher

Staff Bios - So we will highlighting various staff members each week so you can get to know who your child's education team is. Please see below:

A Message from Mr. Drost

Hello Friends & Families, I would like to introduce myself as your child's Physical Education teacher. My goal is to teach your child about the importance of physical activity on there growing bodies. I use exercises,aerobic conditioning, flexibility,gross motor development and cooperative games in each of my classes. This years P.E. day will be on Mondays. Please have your child come to class with the appropriate clothing and foot wear (sneakers). I love to be outdoors as often as possible (suns out we are out) conditions allowing. If your child has outgrown there older sneakers, I wish to create a sneaker box to store those sneakers in so kids may borrow them on days when they may have forgotten to bring in there proper foot wear. So if you have older and clean sneakers you can donate them to the sneaker box.I look forward to getting to know your child and I promise you they will have fun in every class. If you have any questions or concerns this school year please contact me. Have a great year! Coach Glenn PS due to the Holiday this past week I was in on Tuesday for our first day of PE.

A Message from Ms. Curran

Hello. My name is Libby Curran and this is my second year at Reading. I am the Special Education teacher and also do intervention with children from Kindergarten up to 6th grade. I have taught for more than 25 years in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, but Reading School really feels like home. I love reading, gardening, kayaking and skiing. I live in Wilmot, New Hampshire, with my husband, Tim, and our dog Cassidy. We have two grown children and are expecting our first grand daughter in October.

A Message from Mrs. Kaija

One of the best parts of each week for me is Wednesday, when I work with the thoughtful, creative and enthusiastic students at RES. I started teaching as a “volunteer” Integrated Visual Arts Teacher at RES in 2004 when a former principal decided that Art and Music did not require dedicated teachers. The two positions were eventually reinstated. All five of my children attended Reading Elementary School, so I am invested in its sustainability and success.

I especially enjoy working with the classroom teachers to design art projects that enhance and enrich the math, literacy, science and social studies units they are teaching. Here’s an idea of how we’ll start the year in Visual Arts:

Pre-K—Process, not product! (painting, scissor skills, introduction to clay, etc.)

Grades K/1—Using different media (pastels, tempera, watercolor pencils, clay, papier mache)

Grades 2/3/4—“Weather Art”--painted images of various types of weather

Grades 5/6—Introduction to Nature Photography (observation skills, “Rule of Thirds”, focus, perspective)

I wholeheartedly welcome volunteers in art classes on Wednesdays! Please contact me with questions, concerns and your ideas at lkaija@wcsu.net.

OTHER WAYS TO HELP READING SCHOOL