marlboroschool.net

Welcome back to a busy winter at MES!

Winter Workshops!  Winter Sports!  The sledding hill is open, thanks to hay bales brought in by Senait and Zinabu’s dad, Brian.

In kindergarten Ellen is tracing the students’ bodies with the help of Junior High intern Erik.  Meanwhile the students are busy in the fantasy area which has been transformed into a hospital – a great place to learn about the human body.

Primary students are delving into geometry and finding that they can learn even more when olders teach youngers a special game with shapes.

You’ll know what the 3^rd-4^th grade class has been up to as soon as you walk in the front hall.  Beautiful Winter Twig Identification posters with real twigs cover the bulletin board.

What does a lens do to light? 5^th/6^th graders Grace, Sequoia, Roshika, and Isobel generated this and other questions as they began their study of light and lasers.  After they’ve explored some light equipment, they’ll decide which of their questions will lead to the most interesting experiments and research.

In the Junior High students are beginning to learn about learning.  They will learn about the brain and different learning styles and reflect on what it means for them.  In social studies they’re working on maps of Africa.  Rose and Ethan completed a map showing religions in Africa and how they’ve changed since the 1500’s.  Fascinating!  Rose pointed out how large areas of solid color have been replaced by a fragmented mishmash.  It’s easy to see why there’s a lot of conflict in some of these places.

Several parents joined me for coffee and tea after Sing this morning.  It was great to hear what children are saying at home about what’s going on at school.  We also talked about the upcoming observance of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday and how important it is for children to explore all the ways that we are similar as well as learning about the Civil Rights movement and the life of Dr. King.  Please see the flyer attached to the print Friday Notes for information on a day of “Strengthening Peace in Our Community”.

I hope you all had wonderful holidays and are starting off the new year with as much enthusiasm and positive energy as your children bring to us.

Francie

What a wonderful turnout for a wonderful Holiday Concert!  And the students rose to the occasion, giving it their all.  As Ellen often says in kindergarten, “Practice makes progress.”  Please join me in thanking Charlene for all the patience and hard work that went into making the concert a success.

Many of you appreciated the concert’s early start (6:30) and enjoyed being home by 8:30.  The shorter time is due to moving the Band and Strings Concert to Wednesday, January 20, 6:30 in the Outback.  With this new time, David Tasgal and Michael McKinney are able to better showcase their students’ work with more pieces and smaller groupings.  They (and we) also benefit from a bit more preparation and practice time.  Please put this date on your calendar.

As we head into the vacation I encourage you to use some of the same strategies with your children at home that we’ve been using at school.  We’re finding it very useful to preview situations that we know will be challenging for the students.  Just as we talk with them before recess about what they plan to do and how they’ll handle situations that arise, you can prepare them for the exciting events of the holidays by anticipating with them.  Where are we going?  Who will be there?  What behavior is expected?  These conversations look different at different ages and we can all benefit.

And I will preview with all of you what our first day back to school on Monday, January 4^th will look like.  Winter Workshops and Winter Sports both start.  This year’s workshops include pottery, art lab, and capoeira (Brazilian martial art/movement) for the kindergarten through 3^rd graders and sculpture, drumming, and puppetry for the olders.  The workshops will run from 9 to 11 when they will eat lunch and prepare to head off to the mountain or the rink.  Please be sure that your child has all the gear s/he’ll need to stay warm and have fun.

Best Wishes for a warm and happy holiday!

Francie

The first snow of the season!  And what a difference it makes out on the playground.  Soccer and football are giving way to snowmen and the snowball field.  Forts are buried and the sledding run is open.  However, we need hay bales to place in front of trees.  Do you have any mulch hay or know where we can get some?  Please let me know.

Basketball season kicked off Tuesday when the Junior High coed team hosted Compass School.  This very exciting game ended in a tie and overtime gave the victory to Compass.  Fun was had by all!  Alumni Alex Hunter and Eli Pell did an excellent job coaching the kids!  The 5^th/6^th grade team plays its first game a week from Saturday on December 19.  At this point we do not have a coach for the 3^rd/4^th grade team.  I’ll be calling around so please think about whether this is something you can help with.

Welcome to a new Marlboro Family, Mary Greve and her son Juilan in the Primary Room.

In the classrooms, the kindergarten is learning math and science as they plant bulbs and observe them as they grow.  The Primary is rehearsing their play for out Holiday Concert.  The 3^rd-4^th grade has been using clay boats to learn scientific concepts about volume and surface tension and, more importantly, to learn the scientific process of making hypotheses and testing them.  Greek mythology and shadow puppet are exciting topics in the 5^th/6^th class.  As the Junior High prepares to go to Costa Rica in May they are incorporating fundraising into their curriculum.  Selling Equal Exchange coffee, cocoa, chocolate bars, and tea, overseeing Tuesday pizza, and making benches to be raffled are some of the activities that bring in funds and teach real world skills at the same time.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the Holiday Concert – next Wednesday at 6:30pm at Marlboro College’s Whittemore Theater. Please send in non-perishable goods for the food drive for the Deerfield Valley Food Shelf.

100% attendance on Monday!  It’s so good to have everyone healthy again.  We know you’re pleased about this, too.  We will continue to be vigilant about handwashing and other simple preventative measures.  Hopefully, the worst is past.

Thanks to Alan Dater, David Rountree, and Jen Carr for volunteering to help with the 5^th/6^th grade basketball team!

The food drive for the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry (sponsored by the Primary students), rehearsals for the Primary play and the Holiday Concert, poetry with Ann for kindergarten and Junior High, and High School Night for the Junior High students are some of what’s making the school hum in these weeks leading up to the holiday vacation.  In addition, Aliza a Junior High student, is in the kindergarten this week for her internship, the kindergarten is working with Ellen and Linda to prepare a puppet show, and students in all classes are singing songs and practicing dialogues in Spanish.

Report cards are going home this week.  We are trying to improve communication and develop more consistency in reporting what your children are up to when they are in “specials”.  For kindergarten through 5^th/6^th you will receive a brief description of skills and activities in art, music, PE, and Rhythms (not 5^th/6^th).  At the end of the second trimester, these teachers and Elissa McLean, the new Spanish teacher, will send out reports on each child’s progress and then another general description of activities will come home with end of the year report cards.

Note from Francie

Last night parents met as a follow-up to Kim Payne’s presentation last week.  Vanessa Redfield will include an update of this meeting in our Social Inclusion Highlight.  Meanwhile, here at school we continue to implement strategies towards building a socially healthy school.  Each week at Sing there is a time for Appreciations where we recognize students and classes for ways in which they help others and for their accomplishments.  I will try to share some of these with you in my weekly note.  Last week’s Appreciations included David recognizing his class for their hard work in preparation and excellent results in presenting their Cape Cod studies my thanking Josh for helping younger students in Rhythms.  Check with your child.  S/he may remember more!  And, better yet, join us for Sing on Friday, December 4 and meet with me afterwards for coffee and conversation.

Congratulations to Jackson in 5^th/6^th grade for his intellectual and academic achievements!  If you did not see the front page article in the Weekend Reformer, check it out at http://www.reformer.com/ci_13785868?IADID=Search-www.reformer.com-www.reformer.com. Jackson and his mom gave us a nice (and well-deserved!) nod to his teacher, David Holzapfel.

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“The Storm” – I can’t tell you how many times Ellen, Tim, David, and I heard that phrase when we were in New Orleans.  Time and history are either pre-Katrina or post-Katrina.  I visited a school to observe an environmental education activity where 8th graders were teaching 4th graders about the water cycle in the Lake Ponchartrain Basin – a wonderful multiage activity.  However it was unusual in that the 4th grade students were 11 and 12 years old and 8th graders were often 15 and 16 due to a combination of factors; they may have missed out on a year or more of schooling after the storm and, then, they weren’t promoted to the next grade level because they weren’t proficient on the Louisiana state assessment (their NECAP).  Despite all this the students and teachers exuded a sense of resiliency, optimism, and forward movement.

Kudos to David and Tim for their workshops at the conference!  I attended David’s along with teachers from L.A. and Brooklyn, NY.  It was fascinating to see the connections  made as they thought about how, in their highly urban areas, they could implement David’s ideas of creating “belonging” through community history and local ecology.

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Note from Francie

Last Wednesday was a quiet hum of activity as parents and students came for conferences.  I hope you found this a valuable time for communicating about your child.  Many thanks to Junior High students Ajenai, Shawna, Taylor, Aliza, and Heather for providing childcare and to you for supporting their fundraising for the Costa Rica trip!

Yesterday we welcomed Julie Diamond, author of Welcome to the Aquarium, an inspiring book about teaching kindergarten.  Julie visited in classrooms and met with teachers after school.  She shared some of her experiences and her approach to teaching writing.  Judy then showed us some books her kids are writing and Ellen shared her students’ journals. Julie complimented them on this work and what she’d seen in their classrooms.  She said it was evidence of our recognition of how essential it is to know children well and then personalize education according to individual needs and interests.  It’s always good to have a set of outside eyes validate what we’re doing!

In addition to visitors coming in, it’s also important for us to see what other educators are doing.  On Tuesday I visited the Westminster

Center School.  They’re working with Kim Payne, too, and had lots to share about how

they’re involving older students in the work.  I told them about the Junior High led playground games.  We were both impressed with the level of interest and support from our respective parent communities!  Several Westminster parents will be attending Kim Payne’s presentation on November 12.

Next week (Wednesday-Sunday) David, Tim, Ellen, and I are attending the Coalition of Essential Schools Fall Forum in New Orleans.  David will present a workshop on Belonging:  Connecting Kids to People and Places in the Real World and Tim will share some of the Junior High experience in a workshop titled All Those in Favor: Real Democracy in the Classroom.  We so appreciate the school board’s support in making these important professional development opportunities possible.

And now for some fun!  Rose and the After School parents are putting on the annual Halloween Dance with great music and some soaring surprises.  Hope to see you there!

Francie

Please join me in extending deepest sympathy to Ellen on the passing of her mother.  You are supporting her in many ways.  Last Friday her class, led by parent Saint Rosner, planted an apple tree in honor of Ellen’s birthday. Kelly Salasin stood in for Ellen as she took time off the beginning of this week.  Please see Ellen’s note below.

Conferences are a bit earlier this year with the idea of establishing strong communication right from the start.  School is underway, routines are established, and teachers have gotten to know students.  Teachers have initial information to share as to how students are doing.  Students can share their work in progress.  And you can let us know how it’s going for your child.  If you haven’t already, please call to schedule a conference for next Wednesday, October 21.

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Fall in Vermont!  We’ve seen at least three seasons this week – and I’m hearing that snow is in the forecast for next week.  The Primary and Kindergarten started off the week with apple picking at Scott Farm and a hike up Black Mountain.  Kindergartners expanded their friendships and increased their sense of connection with older students.  At Fall Fiesta that continued as the students divided into multi-age, K-7^th grade teams that circulated from one game to another where 8^th graders taught and led each game.  We started off with charades on the theme of transportation.  Each team worked collaboratively to portray a mode of travel – from horseback riding to spaceships!  Thank you to Chris, our P.E. teacher, and the Junior High for organizing and leading this fun event.

Part way through the week I became aware of students from the 3^rd-4^th grade moving throughout the school with clipboards – taking notes and interviewing students and staff about our management of trash, recyclables, and compost.  I look forward to hearing what they’ve discovered and what ideas they have for improving our system in ways which are friendly to our planet.

On Sunday morning the 5^th-6^th grade leaves for a week on Cape Cod.  Their week has been filled with preparations, as they research their individual topics, and complete the NECAP’s, our annual standardized assessment.

The Junior High is in full swing with academic classes, working on the NECAP

assessments, and preparing for the Cider and Pie Sale this weekend.  Please stop by the field on the big bend of Route 9 by the turnoff to South Road.  The Junior High and the Meetinghouse School will be pressing cider for sale along with pies and cheddar cheese.  Their share of the proceeds will go towards their trip to Costa Rica.

The Marlboro School Association held their annual meeting on Thursday and committed this year’s contribution of more than $6000 towards our work on Social Inclusion, the Junior High trip to Costa Rica, and projectors and presenters for classrooms.  Many thanks to this group’s dedication to enriching the education of Marlboro students.  Board members include Adrian Segar, Bruce Cole, Kate Purdie, Lauren Poster, Jen Carr, Sara Coffey, and me.

Schedules for Parent Conferences on October 21 are now in the office (except for 5^th-6^th).  Please call Gail for a time to check in with your child’s teacher.

Did you hear about Johnny Appleseed’s visit on Monday?  Steven John, our superintendent, visited several classrooms barefoot and with a pot for a hat, asking students if they’d like to have apple trees in their yards.  He was well received and I commend him for having fun and staying in touch with students in a job dominated by board meetings and phone calls.

Congratulations to Walker and Belle on the birth of baby sister, Rose!  We will add her to our list of kindergartners for 2015.

David’s class entertained and educated us this morning with a great skit about coughing and sneezing.  Costumes, music, and a well presented script made their message come alive – and stopped the germs dead in their tracks!

In other classes, the kindergarten continues to learn all about insects, the Primary is studying birds and flight, and the 3^rd-4^th grade spent a great day at Hogback combining poetry writing with Ann and painting watercolors of their special trees, (you can see lovely photographs of the day on the school web-site)  and the Junior High is learning to “read the forested landscape” through observation and study in the outdoors.

Please take a moment to respond to the Community Survey on preschool that is attached to this note.  As we see the number of young children in Marlboro decrease, we worry about the future of our school and community.  Please share your thoughts on this important topic.

Welcome back to the Junior High!  They’ve just returned from their beginning of the year camping and community building trip.  At Sing this morning we were treated to a slide show of the trip including pictures of their climb of Mt. Chocorua.  Congratulations are in order for this accomplishment and the teamwork it took to get there.

While the Junior High was away, David’s class took on the raising and lowering of the flag.  Thanks to them and to Josh, in particular.  Belle, from kindergarten, also helped in the mornings.

The school is filled with music on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday!  Strings and band are now underway, as well as Chalrene’s Thursday music classes.  I observed David Tasgal today working with Jeremiah, Cyrus, Samantha, Jordan, Senait, and Ben as they learned a song on the very first day with their violins.  The new Rock Band is a great place for older students who take lessons elsewhere to get together and jam with Michael McKinney!

After school soccer is drawing quite a crowd!  Thanks to Forrest Holzapfel, Celena Lundsted, Julianne Mills, and Evan Wyse for helping the kids to learn soccer skills and have fun.

When you stop by school, be sure to go around the Outback to the Down Under to see the beautiful mosaic sign created by Linda, our art teacher.  If you come on Tuesday or Thursday morning, you can see Linda in action with your children.

A reminder for those of you who may need AfterSchool care for your child and find it challenging to afford.  Windham Childcare informs us that a family of two (one parent/one child) with income of less than $29,500 qualifies for the subsidy.  Starting in January, the base income will go up, allowing more families to qualify.  Applications will be available in the office.

This year the state standardized assessment known as the NECAP will be given between Oct 1-20 to 3^rd-8^th graders.  Please see the attached letter.  Your child’s teacher will let you know the schedule for his/her classroom.

I’m starting up First Friday Coffee again next week.  Of course, you are invited to join us for All School Sing every Friday at 8:40 and on the first Friday of the month, please come to my office after Sing for coffee and a chat about whatever’s on your mind.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been back only two weeks! The advantages of our multiage classrooms are particularly clear this time of year. At Sing this morning Judy offered an appreciation to the older students in the Primary for helping the youngers to learn the routines and expectations of the classroom. As I am in classrooms (or on the lake with David’s class at Woodford), I see the olders exercising their increased maturity and moving into leadership roles. It’s a very nice rhythm as one year you have the opportunity to learn from the olders and the next you become that older role model! And, of course, we all have the responsibility to nurture the kindergartners. This week Junior High student Max and kindergartner Zinabu raised the flags.

Next week will be full of more firsts! Rhythms for K-4th starts on Monday. Both Band (4thand up) and Violin (Primary and up) start on Wednesday. If your child will be bringing an instrument from home, that’s the day to do it. The newly forming 4-H club starts Monday afternoon and soccer starts Tuesday. For both of these activities, be sure to send in a note with your child so that we know s/he is participating.
And now for a quick snapshot of classroom activities:
The kindergartners are setting a record by starting their journals in their second week of school. They also know all the body parts of an insect and will share this information with you in song!
The Primary class is buddy reading with each other and with 5th/6th.
3rd/4th went to Hogback on Wednesday and each student found a tree. They will get to know their trees very well over the year.
5th/6th returns today from their Woodford overnight. When I canoed with them on Thursday, I was so impressed to see the teamwork and the ingenuity that went into figuring out how to make their canoes go in a straight line.
The Junior High has learned about different types of government so that they can decide how they will run their class meetings this year. They’re trying out a tyranny or rotating dictatorship.

Next week I will be away from school from Tuesday through the end of the week attending to the very important business of my daughter’s wedding! David will be acting principal in my absence.

As we move ahead with our work on Social Inclusion we will include a special section in each Friday Notes.

Social Inclusion Highlight

With the formation of our Social Inclusion Coordinating Group, parents are wondering what to do when they have a concern regarding their child. This is a good time to review our process for parent concerns. Your child’s teacher is often the place to start. It’s not always easy to catch them at the beginning or end of the day so a phone call or e-mail is the best way to begin the conversation. You are, of course, always welcome to contact me

What a smooth start!  Beautiful weather has helped – and we can look forward to a three day weekend and last blast of summer.  With kindergartners arriving for their first day on Thursday, we’re now all here and settling in to the comfort of routines and the excitement of new learning challenges.

As many of you know, Spanish teacher Peter Gould had a heart attack this summer.  As he recovered and reflected on his priorities, Peter knew he needed more time to pursue his writing and to travel with Mollie, his wife.  He has decided to retire from teaching Spanish.  Please join me in thanking Peter for all he has given to MES in his six years here.  He got our Spanish program solidly on its feet.  He prepared the Junior High for their trips to Costa Rica and accompanied them, enriching the experience for us all.  We’re looking forward to keeping our connection with Peter strong as he returns for special residencies and workshops.  We will begin the process of looking for a new teacher by taking a few weeks to reflect on our program.  If you are interested in helping with the interview committee, please let me know.

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Dear MES Families,

Earlier this summer I was out of town, first in Colorado and then on a tiny island in the Adirondacks.  Both places provided the luxury of stretching my eyes with big horizons and stretching my thinking as my mind wandered, free of the day to day details and schedules.  My summer reading was directed by Pam who sent me off with several books that are favorites with your children, including Stinky, a graphic novel, and Chains, the story of the early days of the American Revolution as seen through the eyes of a slave girl.  What a treat!

When I returned I found the sunroom project coming along nicely.  Ellen and the kindergarten will have a great new space for work and play.  Both the interior and exterior of the building are also looking great.  Tim’s nurturing of new grass on the soccer field is paying off in a nice thick lawn.  Gail is here three to four days a week fielding phone calls, completing myriad reports, and keeping us all informed.  Thanks to Gail and Tim for your summer work!

We are welcoming new students in many classes.  This year’s kindergarten is almost entirely composed of children with siblings in older classes.  Althea and Zenabu have Leander and Senait in Primary.  Meroushka, Jade, and Belle have Frida, Sequoyah, and Walker in 3^rd-4^th.  Sarah has Josh in 5^th and Shawna in 7^th.  And Camilla has Marcus in 7^th.  We also welcome Hunter and Luke.  Phoenix will join the Primary and his sister, Brite, will be in 3^rd-4^th.  In 7^th grade we are happy to have Scott as a new student.

We also welcome Linda Whelihan, our new art teacher, and Emma Hallowell, co-teacher in 3^rd-4^th grade with Erica.  Linda comes to us from Annapolis, MD where she taught art in several different settings.  Since moving to Brattleboro, she has taught at the River Gallery School and volunteered at the Brattleboro Museum.  Emma is finishing up her master’s program at Antioch and has a real passion for environmental education and sharing her love and knowledge of the out of doors with kids.  Both Emma and Linda bring energy, creativity, and skill to our MES community!

Kate Morgan, Zev’s mom, will bring the Rhythms program to MES as an official part of our physical education program for kindergarten through 4^th grade.  In Kate’s words: Rhythms — a developmentally appropriate movement education program accompanied by music — is based on the idea that “each child has his/her own inner rhythm” (Doing, 1927).   Activities encourage students to develop their physical skills through creative impulse and body awareness as well as providing an arena for dramatics and social expression.  Through musicality and the sheer joy of moving children are given the opportunity to galvanize the important building blocks needed for the whole person to grow and explore. Another wonderful opportunity for your chldren!

You will have the opportunity to welcome all these folks in person at the New Year’s Eve potluck on Wednesday, August 26, 5:30-7.  P&F (our Parents and Friends organization) co-hosts this with me as an opportunity to meet and greet each other and catch up after the summer vacation.  If the weather’s good we’ll be outside on the soccer field.  Rain will send us into the Outback.  Please bring a delicious dish to share and plates and utensils for your family.  We’ll provide paper cups, napkins, and lemonade.

As the year unfolds you will hear a lot about our continued focus on creating a climate of caring and respect throughout the school.  We will work with Kim Payne and his concept of social inclusion and we will include you in this work.  Social Health is an integral part of our curriculum and supports learning in all areas.  As you read each teacher’s letter, you will see some of the academic adventures and challenges that lie ahead for your children.  The Hogback area as an outdoor classroom and as a beautiful natural setting for which we are all stewards will be another schoolwide focus.

The Afterschool program under the direction of Rose Watson, will continue to offer after school care and enrichment activities for a very reasonable and flexible price (with scholarships available).  Parent volunteers have big plans, too.  Forrest Holzapfel will offer soccer once a week for six weeks to all interested 1^st-6^th graders with Junior High students and other parents welcome as assistants.  Jess Weitz is organizing a local 4-H chapter and will use the school as a meeting place.

Looks like a busy and productive year ahead!  I hope you can use the remaining weeks of summer to rest up, stretch your eyes, and let your mind roam.

I look forward to seeing you at the New Year’s Eve potluck on August 26^th!

Francie