Celebrating Math Fact Power

Parents, thank you for encouraging students in grades 1 & 2 to spend time practicing math facts!! On 2/6/12, we achieved our goal of completing 140 'Math Fact Power Hours' and spun the wheel for a school wide celebration!  "Bring a stuffed animal to school day" was a huge hit!  Penguins, teddy bears, puppy dogs and other favorite friends were seen peeking out of backpacks and sitting on desks. Since the incentive program will continue until February vacation we will have an opportunity to achieve our next goal and spin the wheel again.

The hours logged in by each 1st & 2nd grade classroom are represented on a graph displayed in the cafeteria.  This has promoted many in prompt to discussions about how to interpret data.  At the end of each week, we tally up the logs and recognize the class with the most hours.

Power Hour Graph

Ms. Hitchcock's second graders logged in the most hours two weeks in a row.  Ms. Hitchcock noticed an improvement in her students' ability to master math facts once the triangle flashcards went home.  At the beginning and end of every week she does a quick timed test of math facts.  The students in her class who have been practicing with cards at home saw a noticeable improvement in their score! Proof that practicing math facts helps with mastery!

Pettengill House

During the month of February, we will be collecting personal care products for Pettengill House. Items most needed include: toilet paper, soap, shampoo and diapers (especially larger sizes).

I have known the caring staff members at Pettengill House for several years and have seen them help many area families through troubled times. The Pettengill House mission is "to support and empower children and families by providing education, extensive case management, family stabilization and basic needs." For more information visit their website at http://www.pettengillhouse.org/
Our guidance counselor, Ms. Angell, and some students decorated this bulletin board in our front lobby.

Wizards Game Blast!

On January 31st, the H.S. basketball court with filled with laughter as Donaghue and Sweetsir Families watched the Harlem Wizards play against faculty members. 
The Merrimac PTO deserves high praise for arranging this fun filled family evening!!

Check out this video of game highlights and see the amazing trick players taught a preschooler during a pre-game visit to Sweetsir!

Super Classy Gesture

This beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived today for "The Sweetsir Learning Community."  The card stated, "Looking forward to a great future together". Dr. Jeffrey Mulqueen, who was offered the Superintendent position on Tuesday evening, also sent similar arrangements to the other Pentucket Schools.

I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Mulqueen during the interview process and feel very fortunate to have such a highly qualified professional coming on board.  One of the things that most impressed me was the manner in which he interacted with both staff and students during his tour. Along with a warm smile and handshake, he greeted staff members by asking about their impressions of the district.  Even though we were at the end of a six building tour, he was personable and enthusiastic.

The School Committee Members have devoted a great deal of their personal time to select our next leader.  Along with attending many late night interviews, they traveled to site visits, performed background checks and showed candidates around all three towns.  When you see them, I hope you will join me in extending a sincere thank you for all the support they give our schools!

Lost & Found

If you recognize any of the items above, they can be retrieved from the cafeteria. Every winter, our 'Lost and Found' seems to overflow with misplaced hats, gloves and mittens.  Please encourage your child to check the lost and found if they are missing something and feel free to take a  look on your next visit.   Valuables such as eyeglasses and jewelry are kept in the front office.

Math Fact Power

On Wednesday, January 18th, students in grade 1 & 2 attended a school-wide assembly to kick off an exciting math initiative.  Two of our teachers dressed up as fact cards to amuse the audience and build excitement.  To help them master math facts, students received a set of triangle fact cards to take home and keep.  For the next month, they will be encouraged to keep track of time spent practicing with the cards.  We will tally up all the students "Math Power Hours"and tie them in with some fun school-wide celebrations!  Once we hit our first goal, 140 hours, we will spin the spinner and determine the type of celebration.  Then we will start adding up hours for the next goal.  

For tips on how to use the cards, check out these videos featuring some of second graders:

Is your child protected online?

With technology rapidly advancing, children are often more tech savvy than their parents.  On more than one occasion, I have had to call a parent and inform them their child accidentally stumbled upon an inappropriate adult site or YouTube video, and then shared explicit information with classmates.  The embarrassed parent is usually shocked and surprised to learn how easily this can happen.  Most parents I have spoken with are digitally naive.  They do not realize how accessible inappropriate information is or how easily it can be to install filter controls.

A generous relative recently gave my children an ipad.  While they were thrilled, I was a little apprehensive about loosing more control over their online activities.  While the Internet can be an amazing educational resource, like most parents, I worry about exposing them to information too advanced for their age.  Up until this point, I've been able to closely monitor their online activities by placing our desktop computer in a common area of the house.  Casually walking by, allowed me to easily monitor online activities.  I also installed parental control software to filter adult content and limit time usage.  When they were younger, I spent time exploring sites such as webkins and mooshi monsters before allowing them access.  Usually, the choices they made were fine.  However, after a few minutes on a virtual second life site, I placed a block and declared it off limits when visiting the friend who recommended the site.  Parents must decide for themselves what is within their comfort zone.


Technology continues to evolve as my children grow, making it challenging to stay a step ahead of them.  Fortunately, an Internet search allowed me to learn about parental control tools for handheld devices.  Apple has features for free on the settings tab of iphones, ipods and ipads.  Restrictions can be placed on app purchases, safari access, and media content.  My favorite discovery was the feature to ban explicit music.  However, there are limitations.  Having an avid teen reader in the house, I was disappointed to learn  ibooks do not have ratings, so the restriction setting is all or none. (If anyone has a tip for book filters, please let me know and I will update this post).  As parents, it is essential we continually explore ways to keep children safe.  Staying abreast of the latest technology is not easy, but if we share what we learn with each other we may be able to shield our children a little longer.
For more information about apple controls:  http://www.appleparentalcontrols.org/

NetSmartz is an online resource from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  The site features age appropriate games and videos along with resources for parents: http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents