3/8/2018 North Mianus School PTA - Membership ToolKit

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Originally delivered on 10/27/2017 3:01 pm

NMS Weekly Preview 10/30/2017-11/5/2017

Upcoming Principal's Notes Events

Dear Parents, No Upcoming The weeks are quickly flying by and Halloween fast Events approaches! This week has been a whirlwind as we had a flurry of activities. We said goodbye to our Full Calendar book fair and I thank all of you for your support. Whether you bought books or volunteered to take on a shift your efforts are so appreciated. Kudos to Quick Links Val Collins and Melissa Barnett again for all their hard work and effort. Our 3rd grade team welcomed visitors from Glenville School 2nd grade along with our NMS PTA instructional coaches, our STEM Coordinator Homepage Sheila Civale and Marc D’Amico the Glenville Join the PTA! School principal. Both of our schools are phase 1 Community math schools and the second grade team Events enjoyed the opportunity to talk with our teachers Music and observe the pilot in action. The 3rd grade team Rehearsal will be visiting Glenville School in the near future so Schedules stay tuned for updates. Oct. Lunch This week our School Improvement Plan was Menu approved. Amy Coupe will be putting it on the Nov. Lunch school website so please be sure to take a few Menu minutes to read through it. Our focus will be on Easy Ways to using data based evidence to improve instruction in Fundraise for math. During our Wednesday meeting we broke NMS into grade levels and each team discussed the skills they would like to see students come to their grade level with. We will use this information to look for areas of need when we meet as a School Data Team on Friday afternoon. Our first lockdown drill went very well. The students were well prepared and we received positive feedback from the police and fire department visitors. We have another drill in January and have discussed the possibility of having an impromptu drill within the school to be sure we follow the same procedures when not prepared. Since we will not inform you of this drill later this spring we are giving you a heads up now to avoid any concern.

https://northmianuspta.membershiptoolkit.com/newsletter/01230-NL20171023141200-063103400-1043241360 1/5 3/8/2018 North Mianus School PTA - Membership ToolKit The building is fully decorated thanks to our outstanding PTA volunteers and I know the students are really looking forward to the Monster Mash. This is the first year I will be unable to attend and so we are asking that all parents are vigilant in reminding children they are expected to adhere to the school norms. Your support will help ensure a special night for all students. There will be teachers and parent volunteers in charge but your reminders to children before attending are always appreciated. Recently during a Fire Marshall visit we were informed that the lane next to the kindergarten classrooms is a designated fire lane. All of the signs indicated staff parking are being removed and so we ask your support in not parking or entering the lane even for a few minutes. Also, we have recently noted an increase in cars parked in the cross walk. This is the area designated as a pedestrian walkway so we ask that you refrain from parking in this area. Thank you! Have a great week and a Happy Halloween! Angela Schmidt Kat Brunswick

Halloween Principal Memo: Halloween is chockful of tricks and treats - a fun time of year for all, but a time that is scary to children with life threatening food allergies and their parents on a whole different level. Education and awareness during the holiday season are key to keeping all children safe and is a good time to remind our community that we are an allergen aware school. Over the next couple weeks, with candy abounding, please be mindful of what you send into school with your child for snack and lunch during and after Halloween. The most common food allergies (many found in candy) are: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, wheat, eggs, soy, fish, and shellfish. Please read labels carefully to ensure the safety of all of your children. A product that contains a “Top 8” allergen or is labeled “May Contain”, “Contains” or “Made in a facility that processes” the allergen, is not safe for a child with that particular food allergy. Additionally, please be sensitive to children who may have allergies to foods beyond the “Top 8”. We want all children to have fun, be included and feel safe this Halloween. Please click here for a list of allergy-friendly snacks.

PTA News

NMS Monster Mash - Tonight! Grades K-2 - 5:30 - 7pm (Must be accompanied by an adult!) Grades 3-5 - 7:30 - 9pm (May be dropped off with online permission granted via the order form. Indoor pickup by designated adult only.) Party is for NMS Students Only. Sorry, no siblings! Please remind your kids - they are expected to adhere to school norms while at the party!! Failure to do so will result in individual parents being asked to take home/pick up their child(ren). Teal Pumpkin Project - Food Allergy Awareness You will find a “Teal Pumpkin Project” coloring page in your child’s Friday Folder today. Your kids can color the pumpkin teal in support of this program. Putting a teal pumpkin on your doorstep or a teal pumpkin sign on your door for Halloween means you have non-food treats available, such as glow sticks or small toys. Please consider participating, https://northmianuspta.membershiptoolkit.com/newsletter/01230-NL20171023141200-063103400-1043241360 2/5 3/8/2018 North Mianus School PTA - Membership ToolKit as this simple act can make a big difference in helping trick-or-treaters with food allergies feel included. Also, look for our table from 5:30-7:00 at the Monster Mash and on Monday at dismissal to pick up additional information and to see some examples of fun non-food items Click here for more information.

Join Us for Mianus Melodies During Lunch Time - Friday, Nov. 3rd

Mianus Melodies is a music enrichment program provided by the PTA. Performers interact with the children and teach them a bit about making music. Parents are welcome to join their children for lunch and to enjoy our musical guests. It's a great way to be involved in your child's day!

The schedule is as follows: Nov. 3 - Lou Perry Trio (Jazz) Dec. 15 - LYNN Academy (Irish Dancing) Jan. 26 - Willie & Jan Nineger (Folk)

PTA Meeting Nov. 8th, 7:00 pm First NMS PTA Book Club Join us for our first NMS PTA Book Club! It will follow our PTA meeting on Nov. 8th at 7pm. Our Assistant Principal, Kat Brunswick, will lead us in a discussion about the book Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children by Michael Thompson, Ph. D. and Catherine O'Neill Grace. A copy is available in the Media Center or to purchase online. NMS Picture Retake Day is Friday, Nov. 17th Your child's school pictures were sent home last week. If your child was absent or you are displeased with the photo, please follow these simple instructions to retake the picture.

Green Schools Recycling Update The Green Schools Committee is excited to continue its recycling initiative, which started last month with students reviewing the single stream recycling process, by obtaining signatures from over 250 students who pledged to continue recycling both at home and at school. These signatures are proudly displayed on our recycling banner located in the cafeteria. Keep you eye out for more recycling initiatives throughout the school year, including the battery recycling program and the marker recycling program. Feel free to contact Cynthia DiPreta or Jessica Muir with questions. "Wild West" Book Fair - Last Call to Order Online Last chance to order a book through the online book fair! Click here to place your order through October 28th. All books purchased through this website will be shipped without cost to the school and will be delivered to your child's classroom. Remember, all purchases benefit our classrooms and school!

Any questions, please contact Val Collins or Melissa Barnett.

School News

5th Annual Fowl Shooting Contest and Food Drive This years challenge: Can all of our families at NMS donate over 3,000 pounds of fresh produce for Neighbor to Neighbor which supplies meals and other items to families in need? https://northmianuspta.membershiptoolkit.com/newsletter/01230-NL20171023141200-063103400-1043241360 3/5 3/8/2018 North Mianus School PTA - Membership ToolKit What happens if we meet our school goal? We will draw 2 names from each classroom and those boys or girls will come up on stage and a pie in the P.E. teachers faces for charity! With over 350 families (and 500 students) at NMS, we set our goal to be an average of just less than 10 pounds per family for this years food drive. Last year, NMS families exceeded our goal and donated over 1 1/2 TONS (3,183 lbs.) of fresh produce. This amount of food donated lasted Neighbor to Neighbor more than 5 months! This goal was accomplished by 123 donors. How to participate? Please use this link to donate. It is simple and quick. You can choose to donate from 6 different types of fresh produce. You will receive an email confirmation along with a receipt for your tax returns. Word Masters Challenge #1 All ALP and other students who are signed up for the WordMasters challenge will be taking the test on Wednesday, November 29th after the Thanksgiving Break. All 3rd graders will come and get a test from Ms. Ashcraft during Reading and return to their classrooms to take the test; their teachers will grade their tests and return them to me. All 4th and 5th graders will take the test in Ms. Ashcraft's room during their Reading time.

Study all the definitions, other forms, synonyms & antonyms, and relationships between and among the words! They will be tested using analogies. Good Luck!!

Safety Patrol Volunteers We are in need of a couple of responsible 4th or 5th graders who can join Safety Patrol on Friday mornings for duty. Must be able to report by 8:18am for 8:20am start. Contact Ms. Ashcraft or Mrs. Rivera for the form if you are interested.

Community News

Greg Tang Elementary Math Parent Night - Nov. 6th Save the date! Greg Tang will facilitate an Elementary Math Parent Night on Monday, November 6, 2017 at 6:30 P.M. in the auditorium at Central Middle School. The presentation will be an hour long with a question and answer period following. Please see these flyers in English and Spanish for more information.

Election Day is Less Than Two Weeks Away!

PTAC would like to remind everyone to get out to vote on November 7th! These elections will directly affect our students and their education. For the Board of Education, there are three Republican candidates on the ballot for two seats and two Democratic candidates for two seats. A person may vote for any four candidates regardless of party affiliation, however, only the two highest vote getters from each political party will be seated. That means the Republicans are competing against the other Republicans and the Democrats against the other Democrats. You may vote for fewer than four candidates if you choose. Please click here for more information.

Make It! @ Perrot Library

We provide a theme and materials, you provide your imagination! A creative crafting program with a rotating theme. Children attend independently, but parents are always welcome. https://northmianuspta.membershiptoolkit.com/newsletter/01230-NL20171023141200-063103400-1043241360 4/5 3/8/2018 North Mianus School PTA - Membership ToolKit

For students in 1st-5th grade, 4pm Wednesdays Nov. 1, 8th, and 15th. Drop-in; Limited to the first 20 children to arrive and sign in. North Mianus School PTA 309 Palmer Hill Road Riverside, CT 06878 [email protected]

North Mianus School 309 Palmer Hill Ro Riverside CT 0687

203-637-9730

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