Thank You for Filling My Bucket!

Thank you to the PTO for this
rosebush, now planted in my garden.

Thank you to the students, families, and staff members who blessed my life in so many ways during my four years as Principal.  As you can see from these blog posts, our time was filled with learning, laughter, and many celebrations!

This blog will stay online for awhile in the hopes that future readers may benefit from our experiences (i.e., follow labels on right to view videos of students sharing math tips and reading strategies).  

For my final post, I'll end with the advice I shared each day during morning announcements...

"Remember to give your best effort, and fill some buckets today!"                   

Wishing Wild Success to Superintendent Hart!

Congratulations to Dr. William Hart - the new Superintendent of Schools in Ipswich, MA!  

Dr. Hart on his last day at Pentucket.
(As usual, he blended into the crowd 
and cheered on others).

The Pentucket Community was fortunate to have Dr. Hart as an Assistant Superintendent; the district grew tremendously during his tenure.  Under his guidance, teachers received support and training to fully embrace 21st Century Skills (preparing students to meet the needs of today's world).  Dr. Hart helped institute systematic changes enabling teachers to work more collaboratively.  As a result, all PRSD educators participate in 'Professional Learning Communities', with identified 'SMART Goals' to enhance instructional skills and create 'Powerful Learning' experiences for students.  Most notably, has been the work he accomplished moving instructional practices to incorporate the five 'Habits of Learning': Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Independence, and Creative Exploration.  The progress made in these areas has been so impressive that state officials and  neighboring districts have sent teams to Pentucket for site visits.  

I had the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Hart for four years.  He was a great mentor, who facilitated many administrative meetings focused on leadership and team building.  Those who know Dr. Hart, recognize his expertise in the area of thinking and questioning.   Whenever, we approached a new task he was famous for asking the question, "If ---- was to be wildly successful, what would it look like?"  

Reflecting on my four years with Dr. Hart, and the wonderful strides the district has made, I can confidently say he was wildly successful!  

Guidance Update: Career Exploration

Post by guest blogger:  Sarah Angell Pond, Guidance Counselor

After our successful Career Day, we have continued to explore career ideas in classroom guidance lessons.  Kindergarten and grade 1 learned about Community Helpers and the tools they use.  Students were excited to have a turn picking a tool out of the career tool bag and matching it to the community helper who uses that tool in their job.  There were lots of smiles as a tape measure, a rolling pin, or a stuffed kitten was pulled out of the career tool bag!  Students made connections with what family members do and also their own experiences with community helpers in Merrimac.  We discussed what each Helper might like about their job and what skills they might need.

Career Board used in Guidance Lessons

Grades 1 and 2 read the book “How Santa Got His Job” by Stephen Krensky.  Students were very interested in hearing this “behind the scenes” story of Santa’s journey through several jobs before starting his career of delivering toys to children.  Did you know Santa was a chimney sweep and a cook at an all-night diner?  In this story we explored how interests and skills can help you learn what kind of job or career you might like.  Santa learned he was good at being neat and that he liked staying up late!  Children explored the “job” they have now as students as well as responsibilities they have at home (even if they don’t receive a paycheck for doing chores!).   Students understood that Santa’s career journey started long before he found the job he is known for today.  Just like Santa did, students are already learning about themselves and gathering experiences and knowledge that will help to shape their future career choices. 

Grade 2 took an online career interest inventory designed especially for kids.  Paws in Jobland allows students to explore many different jobs through a fun and interactive website.  Students first took a quiz that identified career areas they may be interested in.  These places lit up on the map of Jobland inviting students to click and explore.  Students were able to visit all the different areas of Jobland to learn more about specific careers.  Many careers were brand new ideas to students they had never heard of and were excited about finding.  These included jewelry maker, graphic designer and even a fish farm worker!  Paws the dog was their tour guide.  Students really enjoyed being able to navigate through this independently and were very excited to share what they learned about themselves. Here is the link to this free site! http://paws.bridges.com/cfnc1.htm

A Memorable Memorial Day

Sweetsir students singing patriotic songs.

The cafeteria was overflowing with families at our Memorial Day Ceremony on May 24th.  Ms. Ramsey, our music teacher, managed to get all k-2 students on stage waving flags as they sang moving patriotic songs. Several second graders also shared special poems they wrote to thank military men and women for their service.

We are grateful to the veterans and the active military men and women who were able to join us.  Their presence was a highlight for students who have spent the past few weeks learning about the significance of Memorial Day.  A special thank you to American Legion Commander Roger Clark, a U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam, for helping to host the ceremony. 

Special guests:  Stephen True, Dean Lischke, Roger Clark,
Paul Robbins, James Quinn, and Dudley Farquhar.

Ms. Ramsey assists Joey as he shares
a special poem for his grandfather.

Stop-Think-Stay Away!

Electric Safety Lesson at Sweetsir.

On May 20th, the Town of  Merrimac Light Department provided a special presentation on electric safety for our students in grades k-2.  Students enjoyed the opportunity to see the big trucks, safety gloves, and tools up close.

Thank you to Ray Gouley, Safety Consultant, and Francisco Frias, the new General Manager, who visited along with line men, Mr. Jennings and Mr. Saunders!  
Mr. Gouley stressed the importance of calling the Department anytime help is needed (even to retrieve kites, or spray a bees nest around power lines).  Students were encouraged to share the following safety tips with their parents:

• If you ever see power lines on the ground-"Stop- Think- Stay Away!"  Call the Electric Light Department immediately for help anytime wires are knocked over.
• Electricity can travel, so never spray water guns, silly string, or hornet/bee spray near the wires.  
• Only birds that fly can safely touch wires, hence many squirrels met their demise upon touching the ground.... The electricity in power lines is extremely dangerous, and fast moving, so never retrieve toys (such as kites or parachutes) from them. 
• During storms, stay away from tall trees and poles that could conduct electricity.
• Do not use electronics (including battery operated phones and video games) during thunder storms.  
• Call the Town to check where underground wires are located before digging any large holes.
• Always stay behind the coned area when trucks are present.  Ask workers for help if needed. 
• To ensure workers safety, remind parents to keep their eyes on the road (do not use cell phones) while driving.

CALL FOR HELP
 Mr. Saunders encouraged children to peek inside
the bucket.  The crew are happy to use it to
retrieve toys that land in the wires.

DIG SAFE

Before digging, always call the Town
to ensure no lines are present.

Mrs. Vienneau named 'Super Lunch Hero'!

Special assembly honoring Mrs. Vienneau

On May 9th, representatives from the MA School Nutrition Association surprised our Kitchen Manager, Mrs. Linda Vienneau, at  a school-wide assembly.  She is the first school nutrition employee to be recognized as "Super Lunch Hero of Massachusetts" for outstanding food service.  For more details about her nomination, view postings on this blog labeled 'kitchen' or the Daily News article:  A Show of Love.

Linda Vienneau (center)
Principal, Mary Beth Shea; Food Service Director, Bonnie Kitsakos; and
Child Nutrition Association Representatives, Janice Watt & Jane McLucas

Career Day

Fashion Designers and Runway Model

 Champion Horse Rider

Secret FBI Agent and Pro Athletes

Rancher

During recent guidance lessons, students have been learning about careers.  On April 23rd, they were invited to dress as a future career option.  As you can see, they were many creative outfits!

Veterinarian

Salon Owner

Business Manager

Doctor

Lego Engineer

Health Care Professionals

Ballerinas

Playwright and Teacher

Military Hero

Future Athletic Stars
 with Photographer (Ms. Carroll)

Gold Medalists

Our Super Lunch Hero

Posters drawn by Ms. V-No
to advertise daily specials.

To kick off "Child Nutrition Employee Week", which begins May 6th, the MA School Nutrition Association is holding an essay contest to find a "Super Lunch Hero."  

Take a peek at the next few blog posts to discover why I am nominating the Sweetsir School Kitchen Manger, Linda Vienneau.  Her contagious sense of humor, tremendous enthusiasm, and dedication make her worthy of such an honor.  Ms. Vieneau (last name sounds like V-No) always has a super clean kitchen and goes above & beyond to promote school lunch as a healthy choice for children.

Career Day
Student inspired by Ms. V-No

In addition to the post below, Ms. Vienneau has been featured in past blog entries.  Follow the kitchen label in right column to see pictures of a brownie troop tour and a video of Mrs. Vienneau making bread.  She is our Super Lunch Hero- Bon Appetite!

Fool's Fun

First grader with Linda Vienneau, our Kitchen Manger.

On April 1st, this first grader made a "Fool's Hat" for Ms. Vienneau, he said it was "to give her a taste of her own medicine."  Throughout the day, Ms. Vienneau had played a number of April Fool's Day pranks on students and faculty.  For example, she cut up the lunch order slips and glued them on to long pieces of paper.  In the morning, when students and teachers went to fill out the order forms they had a good chuckle.

Mrs. V-No has school spirit!

She decorated pumpkins as Ernie & Bert
to decorate the kitchen for fall.

Ms. Vienneau, our Kitchen Manager, has a knack for spreading school spirit!  Her enthusiasm is a perfect fit for prek-2 school.  She even spells her name tag phonetically as V-No.  Here are some examples of the many ways Ms. V-No adds fun to our school:

• Throughout the year, she decorates the kitchen for each season with her own hand-made creations, including gingerbread houses and specially decorated pumpkins.

With students on Book Character Day.

• She randomly surprises students with stickers for eating their vegetables and trying new dishes. 

• She created 'Lucky Lunch Day', to encourage students who might not normally buy a lunch to try school food.  (Students who participate are randomly chosen for prizes she purchased).

• If there is a surplus of a particular side item, she draws funny faces on them to entice students to choose it.  (A clever way to promote white milk over chocolate).

• She not only dresses up for school theme days, i.e., "Career Day" and "Book Character Day," she also creates her own theme days.  For example, on Cinco de Mayo you will find her wearing a sombrero and mustache.

Lucky Lunch Prizes

• On her own birthday, she dons a birthday crown and gives away special pencils.

• She is also a talented cake maker who creates special cakes for staff meetings and retirement parties.

• She participates in school events on weekends and evenings-even bringing along her grown daughter to share a PTO Breakfast with Santa.

Cake she created for staff members
.

• Ms. V-No is always ready with age appropriate jokes. "What do you say if someone tries to take your cheese?....Nacho-cheese."  (Told while serving nachos).

Spending a Saturday morning with
 her daughter at a PTO event.

Posters she created to advertise
lunch menu.

The World Needs All Kinds of Minds

In honor of Autism Awareness month, I am sharing this You Tube video depicting famous people whom many believe had autism based on historical records about their life.  The range of their contributions clearly illustrate these quotes by Temple Grandin:
    

"The world needs all kinds of minds." 

"I am different, not less."

"We need to be developing kids' strengths."

  To view earlier posts about Temple Grandin and autism, 
follow the autism label link, on right, then scroll down.

"Light It Up Blue" Thanks to a gift from one of our preschoolers, the display case in our school lobby will feature blue lights during the month of April.  Blue lights are a reminder to us all to spread kindness, awareness, and understanding about autism. 

PTO Thank You

Thanks to the PTO, students are using
 Ipads to create on-line stories.

A message from the Merrimac PTO~

The PTO Board and members would like to send out a special Thank You to the families and students of Merrimac.

With the support from you throughout the year, by contributing to fundraisers and participating in events that have been held, the PTO was able to award appropriations to teachers from both schools at last month's meeting. (This was the second appropriations of the year).

The total amount awarded was $4,865.86 and included items such as IPADS, Elmos, Weighted lap pads, Rocker Boards, Adventure Bouncer and Crawl Tunnel, Field Day/Relay for life shirts for all students and staff at Donaghue, Balance Balls, and T-shirts for annual bug show for first Grade.

Without the support from families in our community, the PTO would not have been able to increase the budgeted amount of $3,000 to $4,865.86 and fulfill all the requests from our teachers.

Thank You again for your support throughout the year.

-Merrimac PTO  Jen, Crissy, Rebekah, Sara, Julie and Sharon

Cure AT/RT Raffle

Win this Spring basket by donating to the spinathon for Cure AT/RT!
 

 It is filled with seasonal toys such as a butterfly net, baseball bat, frisbee, jump rope, bubbles, watering can, and shovels. The basket will be on display in the Sweetsir Lobby until the raffle on April 26th at 9:00am. 

Raffle for Cure AT/RT

To enter the raffle, make a donation to the "Sweetsir Spinners" team described below.  All proceeds will go directly to Cure AT/RT.  Any size donation is welcome and will qualify you for the raffle!  Donations can be made via the Sweetsir School office (cash or checks made payable to "Cure AT/RT").  If sent via backpack, please use an envelop labeled Cure AT/RT, and include your name for the drawing.  For more information contact Erica Wentworth at ewentworth@prsd.org.

Sweetsir Spinners for Cure AT/RT

Avalanna

As many of you know, at the beginning of this school year Merrimac lost two children to pediatric cancer.  My colleagues and I feel blessed that Emma and Avalanna attended the Sweetsir School.  They were beautiful young girls with amazing personalities.  We have many fond memories of how they, and their families, brought joy to our school community.  For this reason, participating in fundraisers to cure pediatric cancer is a cause near and dear to our hearts.                          

Avalanna's family and friends created a fund to support research and treatment at Dana Farber Cancer Institute to cure AT/RT.  The weekend of April 26th-27th, they will be hosting a second Spinathon and Spa Night fundraiser.  The goal is to have 80 teams, raise $1,000 each, and ride spin bikes for 24 hours at Latitude's in Methuen.  (For more details, visit www.cureatrt.org ).

Last year, a team made up of Sweetsir staff members and parents had a great time at the event and raised $1,675!  (Follow the cure AT/RT label on the right to see pictures).  If you would like to ride with the "Sweetsir Spinners" this year, contact our Team Captain Erica Wentworth at ewentworth@prsd.org.   The Sweetsir Spinners are collecting monetary donations at the Sweetsir School office until April 24th.

Pentucket Cares

Students have decorated posters for the lobby bulletin board
 about the soldier drive.

March 18th-22nd, we will be celebrating "Kindness Week" with theme days and special events.  Students will be encouraged to make cards and write letters of appreciation for members of our school community.  In the lobby, there will be a mailbox to 'mail' the letters in-house.  To show our support to military men and women, we will also be joining "Operation Pentucket Cares."  This High School group will be mailing donations to soldiers overseas.  A box will be placed in our lobby to collect items such as chapstick, popcorn, playing cards, and toiletries.  Students will also be decorating book markers for soldiers during art classes.  Please look for the brochure coming home this week via backpack with more details. 

High Five Fun



Students have been having a blast playing in the snow during recess and in the afterschool program! 

This winter, the weather was fantastic for climbing on mounds of snow, building forts, and creating snow people.  Please continue to send in the high five (coat; hats; mittens; boots; and snowpants) as long as it remains chilly with snow on the ground.  As you switch over to spring clothing, remember to write your child's name inside jackets and sweatshirt.  If things go missing, feel free to search lost & found in our cafeteria.  

Classroom Guidance Lessons

From Guest Blogger:  Sarah (Angell) Pond

We have been having a great time in Classroom Guidance lessons so far this year!  Grades K-2 have biweekly classroom guidance lessons that focus on a variety of topics to supplement the Second Step Curriculum.  Classroom teachers and paraprofessionals do a wonderful job working on these skills every day!  Lesson topics include: respecting differences, conversation skills, self-esteem, managing feelings, handling mistakes, career awareness, community helpers, and more.  This year, lessons in Grade 1 and 2  have focused on helping students recognize, refuse, and report bullying. During Bullying Prevention lessons, students have been learning how to recognize bullying behavior and what to do if it happens to them or if they see it happen to a classmate.  The definition of bullying from Second Step is “Bullying is unfair and one-sided, it happens when someone keeps being mean to, hurting, or scaring another person or leaving someone out on purpose.”  Bullying can be an abstract topic for younger students so we often use our school bucket filling theme to help guide their understanding.   It can be difficult for students to differentiate between a one-time incident and continued mean behavior that can lead to bullying.  Students learned there are different ways kids can be bullied and some forms can be harder to recognize. Bullying is not something we can always spot across the playground.  It is often difficult to see and others may not even know it is happening.  We read several books that showed examples of different types of bullying and how the characters were supported by their families, friends, teachers, and classmates.  Students learned how, with support, the characters were able to refuse or stand up to the bullying behavior.  Students learned about the important role of bystanders or those that see bullying behavior happen.   Bystanders are the group with the most power to do something about bullying.  They can offer support, include others, encourage their friends to be kind, and report to an adult if they see bullying behavior happen.

All that being said, it can still be confusing for students to know when they need to let an adult know or when a situation is not bullying (but may still be hard to handle).  We read A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue by Julia Cook.   This is a great book that helps students recognize the difference between tattling on a classmate to get them in trouble and reporting to a teacher when someone’s body or feelings are being hurt.   Students explored how to try and solve a problem first before asking an adult to intervene and when to let a grown up know right away.  Even when students are able to figure out that it would be tattling to tell the teacher about a classmate not following directions, the need to share this information can still be strong.  That is where the Tattle Monster comes in!  This is a great idea I came across on Pinterest.  Students can quietly go up to the Tattle Monster to share these thoughts without interrupting the teacher and avoid tattling.  Each first grade classroom now has their very own Tattle Monster.  Grade 2 classrooms each have a copy of “The Tattle Rules” from A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue to help them decide whether they can handle a problem themselves or if they need to let an adult know.    Students are always encouraged to ask an adult for help if they are unsure whether they need to report.  Together we can figure out what the problem is and how to solve it.  I look forward to the second half of the school year and our upcoming lessons! 

Looking ahead:   Kindness and Appreciation Week is March 18^th through March 22^nd and Career Day is Tuesday April 23^rd.  More information coming soon!  Thanks for reading!

 Mrs. Sarah Pond is the School Guidance Counselor for both Donaghue and Sweetsir Schools.

Mastering Math Facts

Thanks to the positive feedback we received from both parents and teachers... "Math Fact Power Hours"are back!

Many parents asked us to launch a math initiative for first and second graders again this winter.  They found it motivated their children to spend more time at home practicing addition & subtraction facts.  This is so important, because research clearly indicates repeated practice with flash cards increases 'automaticity'- the ability to quickly and accurately recall answers.  Sweetsir and Donaghue teachers have noticed the students who spent time using the fact triangles last winter, developed greater automaticity.  As a result, they are more secure in their math skills and, even a year later, are demonstrating greater success.

On Thursday, January 24th, there will be a school-wide assembly for all first and second graders to kick-off this year's initiative. The six week incentive program was design to encourage children to practice with fact cards at home.  Each child will be given a math mat, set of triangle cards, and log.  For every 5 minutes spent practicing, they will record their time by coloring in a shape on the log.  After 60 minutes, the log is complete and should be brought back to school and exchange for a new log.   

Like last year, we will tally up all the power hours and graph each classrooms' results on our cafeteria wall.  Each week, the class with the most hours documented will be honored with a certificate and will have a group picture taken for our "Power Hour Wall of Fame."  This year, students who turn in logs will have an opportunity to enter a raffle and win games.  The more logs they complete, the better chance they have of winning!  Several names will be drawn each Monday for the next six weeks.   Highly motivated students could win more than once.

On the right is a picture of our prize table.  We selected games as a reminder to families that most board games are an excellent way to practice math skills (counting, sorting, 1:1 correspondence, etc.).  Funding for the prizes and triangle cards came from the company that takes our school pictures.  As a thank you, they give us a percentage of their profits each year.  That money goes into our activity fund, which is used for field trips and other fun events.  The prizes and fact cards are a gift for students to keep (first graders are encouraged to hold on to them for next year).

Parents of 1st and 2nd graders are encouraged to watch this video!

Last year, some of our students helped create the above video to give parents an overview of how to use the fact triangles and mat. Family members are encouraged to help their children practice.  To view blog postings with additional information, click on the 'math' label in the right hand column.  You will find another math video, photos of last year's gigantic graph on the cafeteria wall, and snapshots of students and teachers wearing crazy costumes. 

I hope to capture more special moments during this year's event, so be sure to check this blog again soon.

Wash, Wash, Wash Your Hands...

Our school nurse, Ann Brady-Lozier, recently updated the Sweetsir website with information about the flu (link: Health Information).  She recommends thorough hand washing as the best defense.  Since children tend to skip soap or rinse too quickly, they need adults to remind them of proper washing techniques.  Mrs. Lozier has been visiting classrooms to stress the importance of these five steps:

          1)   Wet hands;

             2)   Add soap;
             3)   Thoroughly wash*;
             4)   Rinse;
             5)   Dry hands with a towel.

*Step 3 should last as long as it takes to sing two verses of Row, Row, Row Your Boat.  Ask your children if they know the catchy lyrics Mrs. Lozier made up to go with that popular tune: 

                   'Wash, wash, wash your hands

                          thoroughly and clean.

                   Spreading your germs to other kids 

                         is really very mean.'

Germ squirt  (aka hand sanitizer)
is available throughout the building.

Lost & Found

Parents, feel free to check the 'Lost & Found' barrel located in our cafeteria. At this time of year, there tends to be a collection of sweatshirts, hats, and mittens.  Unclaimed items are donated to charity during school breaks, so please try to label lunch boxes and outer clothing.  Lost jewelry, eye glasses, phones, and other valuables are kept in the front office.

These purple eye glasses are waiting to be claimed.

(They were left on a school bus, so they could belong to an older student).

Goals for the New Year

Second graders, in Mrs. Rowley's class, created this cool display for our lobby bulletin board.  Following a discussion about New Year's resolutions, they each wrote a goal for the upcoming year.  If you happen to stop by in January, take a moment to view their hopes for 2013.  Below are a few examples of their resolutions.

January Bulletin Board

                  

              

In 2013, I will try to...

"help one of my friends get more friends."

"ete more veges."

"do my best work and... best writeting."

"be nicer to my brother and sister."

"read more."

"do the dishes for my mom and dad."

"do beder in school bye working harder."

"eat wey heltther and get more exersize."

"go to bed on time"

"be a better listener at home and class."
"play less vidio games."

Several students wrote about getting more sleep 

and following a consistent bedtime routine. 

Making a goal to get enough sleep is great advice for all of us.  Research indicates sleep is a key factor influencing work and school performance.  For both children and adults, lack of sleep can impair thinking, memory and attention.  Even one night without adequate rest can also negatively impact a person's mood and energy level.  Although individual sleep needs may vary, 11-12 hours each night is recommended for elementary students.  If your child has difficulty waking up or is easily irritated, it may be a sign they need an earlier bedtime.  Pediatricians and school counselors are a good resource for families whose children are struggling with sleep issues.