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Despite snowy weather and the excitement of the holidays there’s lots of work going on in each classroom.~ Jodi’s class is learning collaboration and teamwork along with math facts.~ David’s students are deep into Greek mythology and a sign above the door announces that you are entering “Olympus, Home of the Gods”!~ Judy’s class is putting the final touches on their play for the Holiday Concert.~~ Kindergartners have been reading different versions of favorite folktales.~ Today they spent the morning following clues as they hunted for the runaway Gingerbread Man.~ Junior High students are honing their writing skills as they polish final drafts of fundraising letters for their Costa Rica trip.

Have you checked out the January Healthy Snack menu? I can’t wait for the scent of those blueberry muffins to waft through the halls of the school. Not only has Celena been busy planning nutritious and tasty meals, she’s also been cleaning out the kitchen shelves and cabinets and creating a healthy environment for preparing these meals. As you look at the information attached, please consider applying for the free or reduced price snack. This is a new program at Marlboro School and it’s one that can benefit the school as well as your children. Think of it this way…federal tax dollars, paid by all of us, reimburse the school for these free and reduced price meals. We’ve already sent this money to the government and now we’re getting it back as the school receives a subsidy in addition to what you pay. Please help us to take advantage of this.

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Construction of meaning; active engagement.
Less is more; depth over coverage.

These are two of the guiding principles of our elementary progressive educators group (part of the Coalition of Essential Schools) and they were demonstrated beautifully at MES yesterday.

After attending Liz’s Junior High conference, Jodi noted that Liz really seems to understand our Learning Realms. She was able to choose work that demonstrates each Realm and speak about it with clarity and confidence.

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Ellen, David, Tim, and I packed in a lot at the Coalition of Essential Schools Fall Forum. We visited the Odyssey School where students and teachers talk about “learning targets” and discuss their progress towards these targets at the beginning and end of each lesson. We attended workshops on math assessment, the importance of play, classroom video work, school newsletters, and more. We also presented workshops to other educators from all over the country. And we’re glad to be home!

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Have you checked out the Sugarbush Farms catalog yet? As I begin to think about holiday gifts I love the convenience of ordering Vermont goodies to send to family and friends – and, of course, supporting the school as well.

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What fun to see all of the witches, bats, princesses, monsters, and other inventive characters at our Halloween All School Sing yesterday! After singing the Monster Mash, we all danced our way out of the Outback. The younger classes then welcomed a parade of costumed visitors from the Meetinghouse Preschool and the older classes went to the New England Youth Theatre to see “A Night at the Opera”. If you didn’t make it to school, you can check out wonderful pictures on the website. Thanks, Pam!

Kids in the Primary Room are hard at work studying about insects. Judy organized a group of wonderful parent volunteers to work with groups of two to three students as they pored through books to find out about their insects. We all learned a lot! Did you know that a fly’s sense of smell is in its feet?!

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I’m delighted to report on a very healthy week! Several classes have had 100% attendance. There’s no doubt that we may still see some cases of pertussis but we think the worst is over. We will continue to be vigilant about cleanliness. Handwashing is clearly critical to fighting germs.

Have you signed up for your parent conference? Gail has schedules for Ellen, Judy, and Jodi. Please call or drop by the front office. David, Tim, and Rachel will be holding conferences at a later date.

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These past two weeks have been the most challenging I can remember – for me and, I’m sure, for all of you. We’ve all had difficult decisions to make – made all the more difficult because we’ve gotten different information from different people and changing information from the same people as the pertussis has spread. I know that each one of you has thought long and hard about the medical treatment your child should get and whether or not s/he should be in school. Please read Susan’s update below. Thank you for being thoughtful, for seeking answers, and for supporting each other and the school as we get through this – and we will get through it. The four day weekend will help. Our vigilance will continue when school starts again on Monday.

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Congratulations to the spelling teams from David’s room and the Junior High! Each group worked with me over several weeks honing their spelling skills and trying to remember which words have double consonants and which vowel is correct. Steven John, the principal of Leland and Gray Middle School, and the announcer at the Junior High spelling bee, told us that English speaking countries are the only ones to hold spelling competitions. In many other languages, spelling is much simpler and words are spelled the way they sound. The 5th-6th grade team made a very respectable showing as they competed against seven other schools on Tuesday. The Junior High team won their bee and will go on the regional competition on November 3.

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This morning the holes for the support posts for our new playground structure were dug and Saturday morning, 9-12, we’ll get the posts in place. Strong backs needed!

Don’t miss the P&F meeting and speakers on Monday evening! We’ll conduct P&F business at 6:30, then hear Wendy Webber and Richard Dror speak about parenting and communication within families. Their talk will also be an introduction to the class they’ll be teaching which starts the following Monday. Last week’s Notes included a detailed flyer about the class. Please call school on Monday if you’d like more information. To make it easier for you to come, the Junior High Rent-a-Kid program is going into high gear as they raise money for this year’s field research trip to Costa Rica. The following students will provide babysitting in your home: Mandy, 254-2246; Zoe, 368-7621; Ashleigh, 254-3832; Emma, 254-9736; Maddie, 464-2174; Starcie, 254-2739; and Ferne, 579-4762.

Fall Fiesta was a blast. Chris and the 8th graders chose great new cooperative games. Ask your child about the Hula Hoop game, Circle Toss, and the Sheet Game and check out the pictures Pam has posted on the website.

Many thanks to Matt Dricker, Alice’s dad, for coming into school on the weekend to help with our computer network.

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Welcome home to the Junior High who had a very successful camping and climbing trip to Mt. Chocorua at the beginning of the week. Parent chaperone Jen Carr commented to me how impressed she was by the many ways in which the kids supported each other during the challenging hike. They demonstrated compassion, empathy, and self awareness with such remarks as “Come on, I know you can do it!” and “When it feels hard for me, I picture myself at the top” and, as we all tell ourselves, “Take one step at a time”.

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Marlboro’s Volunteer Hall of Fame adds a new honoree! Hearty thanks to Tim Racine, father of Aliza and Tim, for cutting down dead trees in the wooded area of the playground. The woods are now safer and, as a bonus, the kids have lots of new materials to use for forts.

This past Wednesday teachers met with other teachers from all over southeastern Vermont in “networking” meetings set up by the Vermont Department of Education. Literacy, social studies, English as a second language, and differentiated instruction were some of the workshops attended by MES teachers. These in-service days can be a challenge for parents’ schedules. Please know that we appreciate your support of teachers’ furthering their own learning and learning from each other.

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All school hike around Grout Pond on Monday! Remember to send your child with good walking shoes and a portable lunch.

At the beginning of every school year David’s class goes to Woodford State Park and takes a giant step towards coming together as a classroom community. I joined them for an hour of canoeing on Thursday afternoon. The trees are already showing signs of fall with a few patches of brilliant orange and red on the banks of Adams Reservoir. While we were out in canoes, David called for a “sensory break” and asked students to use their peripheral vision and write down all they saw around them. “Reflections”, “moss on a log”, and “David’s goatee” were some of the observations they shared.

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Welcome back! School is off to a smooth start with perfect attendance on Tuesday, except for the kindergartners who arrived in full force on Thursday. Thanks for all you’ve done to smooth the transition for your children, helping them to arrive at school on time and ready to learn.

At our first All School Sing today we welcomed our kindergartners, sang about all the states we visited this summer, and shared some of what we learned – which was everything from how to tie shoes, to bike riding and body surfing. Please join us for Sing whenever you can and join me afterwards for conversation and a cup of coffee or tea.

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