Inside this issue:

Anti-Bullying Tip Where in NES am I?

3

News from our Classrooms

4-5

PTA News 6-7

Announcements 8-12

Important Dates & Contact Info

13

Upcoming Events & Flyers

14-16

Coffee with NES Administrators, Par-ent/Student Lunch

2

December 3, 2010 Volume 1, Issue 7

The N.E.S. Newt-paper Newbury Elementary School Newsletter

Dear NES Community, Can you believe it is December? I am excited to tell you about the great work

the NES School Council has begun. The NES School Council will meet again Thurs-day, December 9th from 4-6 P.M. in the NES library. The council discussed two school improvement areas at our first meeting that focus on the school’s climate and the social emotional well-being of our students, parents, and staff. Under this umbrella, we dis-cussed approaches to reducing stress and anxiety, strengthening a sense of a school-wide community, building connections across grade levels, identifying issues around homework and academic expectations, and committing school-wide to the Responsive Classroom program.

The other area of consideration for school improvement planning involves increasing access and integration of 21st Century technology and thinking skills into our classrooms. We are discussing what our classrooms will need in terms of hardware and software at NES and the kinds of rigorous thinking skills students will need to be successful. On that note, the NES PTA has recently voted to purchase two new Smart Boards for the school, one for the Grade 3-4 wing and another for the grade 5-6 wing which is a great start for each area of the school to have access to this interactive technology to share. Thank you PTA!

Look for our School Improvement Plan and Budget priorities coming from the Council later in December. You can find the minutes to the Council meetings on the NES website. The Council is a great group of dedicated volunteers working to make NES an even better place to learn and work!

I am looking forward to the NES Winter Concert Tuesday night, Decem-ber 7th at 7:00 P.M. to see our students performing following all of their dedicated practice for this special event! I will see you there!

Thank you to our Recycling Committee and volunteers for all of the work you have been doing to acquire an industrial dishwasher for the cafeteria and for all of your efforts to help us reduce, reuse, and recycle at NES!

Mrs. Leonard and I are very excited about two new upcoming events: Coffee and Discussion with the Principal and Assistant Principal on December 10th at 7:30 A.M. and a second event Parents’ Lunch with your Children on Decem-ber 16th. More details about these events follow on the next page.

Dr. Michael Tracy, Principal

Smartboard in Ms. Mollineaux’s classroom Photo Credit: H.Leonard

Page 2 Volume 1, Issue 7

Coffee and Conversation What? Coffee and Discussion with the NES Principal and Assis-tant Principal When? Friday, December 10, 2010 7:30 A.M.- 9:00 A.M. Where? NES Library Join Michael and Heather for coffee and conversation. Come and share your experiences, questions, and feedback, and hear from the administration about school news.

Newbury Elementary School Two Upcoming Events

Parent Recess & Lunch What? Parents Lunch with Your Children When? Thursday, December 16, 2010 During all student Recess/Lunch blocks Where? NES Cafeteria You are officially invited to come and enjoy recess and lunch with your child/children. See the new point of sale system, have fun at recess before lunch, enjoy good food, and have engaging conversations with your children and their classmates. Lunch on Thursday 12/16 will be Spaghetti with meatballs or meatless sauce, Italian Vegetables, Bread Stick, Fruit, and Milk. Our food services department is offering a special one-time only discounted lunch price of $2.25 for any parents or guardians interested in purchasing a lunch from our cafeteria. Please complete the survey below to let us know you will join us by December 8th. (The survey will help us to plan for appropriate seating and food preparation!)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VR8W2W3

Hope to see you there!

Grade Recess Lunch K 11:35-11:55 11:05-11:35

3 11-11:20 11:20-11:40

2 11:20-11:40 11:40-12:00

1 11:40-12 12:00-12:20

5 12-12:20 12:20-12:40

6 12:20-12:40 12:40-1

4 12:40-1 1-1:20

**We have a RAIN DATE of Wednesday December 22nd scheduled (as we need to consider supervision for indoor recess.) We will send an all-call phone

message on the morning of the 16th if the lunch is rescheduled.

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 7

Where in NES am I???

Look at the picture to the right—Can you find where I am in NES? Keep your eyes open to spot me—and check the next newsletter for the answer!

Addressing Anti-Bullying themes with your children A great way to talk about bullying issues with your chil-dren is through high quality literature. There are many won-derful examples of literature that can be a starting point for good discussions. One great book to start with is included be-low. Oliver Button Is a Sissy by Tomie DePaola—This story is based on a boy named Oliver who stands up to bullies by not fighting and continuing to pursue to his interests and passions. If you’re looking for more ideas, please see Ms. Collins at the Newbury Town Li-brary or Ms. Valentine at the Newbury Elementary School Library!

The sky's the limit! In fourth grade, the students are busy ob-serving the lunar phases. They are recording their observations in their Lunar Journals while excitedly awaiting the arrival of the Moon Guy, Scott Negley, next week. Mr. Negley's visit was gen-erously provided to our students by the NES PTA. Fourth graders are also exploring multiplication and division with larger num-bers. They are investigating the connection between these two operations and are learning multiple strategies of how to solve

the problems. Our next major writing piece will focus on the 6+1 Writing Trait of Voice. This trait helps to express the children's personalities through writing.

News from our Classrooms

Page 4 Volume 1, Issue 7

High-flying 4th graders

Our third graders were Rock De-tectives this week when the Mu-seum of Science came for an in-house field trip. This was a fabu-lous culminating activity for our Rocks and Minerals Science unit as students had investigative stations to test and observe properties of rocks. Using these observations, students had to identify what type of rock they had (sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic) plus what the name of the rock was. We want to send a huge thank you to the PTA for organizing and funding this experience for our children. As mathematicians, students are combining 2- and 3-digit numbers and are learning the traditional algorithm of "regrouping" for addition and subtraction. Students are also learning about estimating and rounding to the nearest ten and hundred.

Third Grade Detectives!

Students from 3P and 3W explore their rocks! Photo Credit: H.Leonard

Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 7

News from our Classrooms

Students in 5 F-S had area author Donna Seim visit with them to read and discuss pas-sages from her first children’s novel “Hurricane Mia.” Check out the summary of the book below! In Hurricane Mia, Mia’s world is falling apart. First she learns that her mom is sick. Then she and her younger brother are whisked away to their grandparents’ home in the Caribbean for the summer. Mia is furious until she meets Neisha, an island girl, who tells her about “the tea that cures everything.” Will Mia find the tea? Will it cure her mom? An incredible adventure follows, taking Mia and friends on the high seas where they meet barracudas, explore uninhabited islands and search for a magical tea.

We are wrapping up our mathematics unit called Shapes, Blocks, and Symme-try. In the unit students learned to identify two- and three-dimensional shapes, focus on the properties of rectangles and rectangular prisms, identify and create symmetrical designs, and work on doubles combinations. Throughout our reading and writing the students have been identifying text-to-text connections. They have loved this unit and have been making wonderful connections. We

are looking ahead to starting our fossils unit, including a visit from paleontologist, Phoebe Cohen. For social studies they have been learning the seven continents! To go along with their worn in Social Studies, students have been reflecting on their global address. The second graders are gear-ing up for the study of their ancestry including country of origin. They will be exploring their fami-lies’ cultural heritage. The holidays are a great time to highlight the diversity of family traditions and their roots.

Second Grade Update

Jen Lapham's NES third grade class just received a grant donation of two digital Flip Video Cameras through DigitalWish.com! International Cars, Ltd. in Danvers granted our wish this past week and the cam-eras have just arrived. We are thrilled to receive such fun technology to our grade level and we're planning on using the cameras for activities such as: Reader's Theater, "documentaries" about Rocks and Minerals and Plant Life, theater productions about colonial life in Massachusetts, reading fluency practice, and so much more! The students have just completed friendly letters to Mr. Donachie, CEO of International Cars, to thank him for his generosity and let him know what they are looking forward to using the cameras for. We hope to upload videos to our class website so that parents and classmates can view our creativity--stay tuned!

Page 6 Volume 1, Issue 7

PTA News

Need a good idea for a Holiday gift, how about a NES PTA Coupon Book! There are over $200 worth of coupons – ALL from local shops and businesses. The NES PTA coupon book is a win / win – supporting our local shops, businesses and our students. 100% of proceeds directly support NES students. You can purchase your coupon book by filling out the order form and sending it in to the school office, or at JL Coombs, MK Winston Jewelers, or The Book Rack, all located on State Street in Newburyport. Coupon Books will also be on sale at the Holiday Express on December 4th. An order form is attached at the end of the newsletter for your convenience.

Don’t forget to sell those Bruins Raffle tickets which were sent home with your child. If you have sold all of your tickets and need more to sell please contact Michelle Walsh at mwalsh9@msn.com. There are three great prizes to be won; 1st prize: 4 loft seat tickets at

Boston’s TD Garden January 26th, Bruins vs. Florida. Parking pass and dinner included. 2nd prize: Apple iPad and 3rd prize: $100 gift certificate to the Newburyport Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are $1 each and will also be on sale at the Holiday Express, Dec 4th and at all performances of The Wood-bridge Carol, Dec 10 -12. The winners will be drawn on December 21st.

Mark your calendars for some fun upcoming PTA events! Friday January 21st is the annual Pizza Dance from 5:30 to 7:30 P.M. Saturday March 12th is the 2nd annual Pub Quiz Night at Governors Academy – keep your eye on the newsletter for more details on these events. The next PTA meetings are scheduled for Monday, December 6th at 6:30pm and Tuesday, January 4th at 6:30pm. The meetings will be held in the school library.

Page 7 Volume 1, Issue 7

PTA News

Congratulations to Mrs. Mackinney’s Kindergarten class for having the highest percentage of student participation in the Genevieve’s gift wrap sale. This class is the lucky winner of the ice cream party. Also congratulations to kindergartner Joey Tucker for being the grand prize win-ner of an overnight stay for four to the Coco Keys Resort. Thank you to all who helped support this fundraiser, we raised over $5000 for our school.

Thank you to all the NES students, parents, staff and teachers for your help with the 1st annual Turkey Drive. The PTA and the Student Council were overwhelmed by the generosity of our school community. With your

support we put together 51 complete Thanksgiving meals for families receiving services from the Pettengill House and 20 Newbury seniors who were in need this Thanksgiving. Each meal was placed in a beautiful box decorated by our stu-dents, parents and teachers. We also received a wonderful donation of 14 extra Turkeys from Greencore USA that were passed along to the Pettengill House. Thank you so much for your help -- we couldn’t have done it without all the support we received, and we look forward to making it an annual event!

Page 8 Volume 1, Issue 7

THEATER WORKSHOP AND NES-PTA PRESENT.........

The Woodbridge Carol Join us while we celebrate the holiday season with a tribute to New-bury’s 375 Anniversary! Delight in highly spirited performances, cos-tumes, scenic surprises and dances. The Woodbridge Carol is both heartwarming and historic, it puts a very unique, local twist on Charles Dickens' famous tale.

Written and directed by Stacey April Fix, this adaptation of the classic story illustrates the life and times in anhistoric New England setting, and of it's characters in an old colonial school. The Wood-bridge Carol remains true to the story with a sour and stingy Scrooge that experiences emotional transformation after the ghostly visitations.

“The play begins with the Spirit of the Woodbridge School who visits Scrooge to warn him that he must embrace life and change his miserly ways” explains Gwynnethe Glickman, a 6th grader who plays the wise Woodbridge Spirit. Scrooge, played by 4th grade teacher Mr. Williams, is visited by the 3 ghosts who show him his wrong doings. Mr. Williams, a native of Scotland says “ I am so delighted to have the opportunity to play Scrooge, have the chance to be extremely grumpy and cranky, and have fun doing it too!”.

Isabella St.Arnault who plays Emily Thurlow, Ebenezer's girlfriend from his younger days says. “My favorite scene is part where I break up with him!”. The young Scrooge, played by 6th grader Peter Mor-rison adds, “I like that scene too, Scrooge is not a very nice person and I don't blame her!”. Maggie Gilbert, who plays Fanny, the sister of little boy Scrooge (portrayed by 5th grade student Parker Hoo-ver) notes her favorite dance in the play. “I like the Peppermint Twist. It's such fun, lots of rock and roll and it puts you in the holiday mood!”.

The set was designed to replicate the original Woodbridge School, located on High Road, Newbury, from scenes past, to the year 1950. The production features over 70 NES students ranging from 1st grader Morgan Hall and 2nd grader Sasha Burgess, to even an 11th grade student Zachary Hall, who plays Spirit Future (very spooky!) and several teachers, including TWS veteran Mrs. Langendorfer, and Mr. Labella.

Additional members of the TWS family are 30 Triton Middle and High School interns who help put the production together. These invaluable Triton Students are all TWS Alumni who have continued their passion for the performing arts.

Children of ages 5 and up will be enchanted by this production, from the amazing projections depicting the time the ghosts will appear to Scrooge, to the ominous grave yard scene and amazingly designed costumes, to playful dances that will bring a delight to all. Come and be enchanted with an intriguing spin on a classic tale of merriment and festivity.

Performances are December 10, 7:00pm, December 11, 3:00 and 7:00pm, December 12, 1pm. For ticket information, contact Sharon Savage at sharonlsavage@comcast.net. *Please be advised that certain scenes may be too dramatic and scary for children under the age of 5.

Page 9 Volume 1, Issue 7

Parents & Guardians, I will be sending the results of the BMI findings next week and some of the results were very surprising We had about 30% of our students who fell into the “overweight” category although many of those students I would never consider to be overweight at all. I am concerned that this information may be misinterpreted. Please be reminded that that BMI results do not take into consideration the musculature of a child and many of our students who have fallen into the “overweight” category are very solid and muscular children. There was an article on the news last week that put both Paul Pierce from the Celtics and Tom Brady of the Patriots in the “overweight” category on the BMI screening because of their height to weight ratio.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/25800226/detail.html I ask you to please take in all of your child’s considerations if he or she happens to fall into the “overweight” category. Perhaps you could consider asking your pediatrician’s advice if you have questions about your child’s BMI results. Some of you may choose not to share the information with your child if you feel it may be unhelpful to them on a personal level, especially if you think the numbers just don’t take all things into considera-tion. I think the goal of the DPH’s effort to measure BMI’s in the state is to do their part to help conquer obesity in this country and to begin to help children and parents make healthier choices when it comes to diet and exercise. I believe the information to be valuable but what is done with the information is more important. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mary Goldsmith, RN School Nurse

Nurse Notes

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Page 10 Volume 1, Issue 7

From the 

Sixth grade parents: Please pick up any medication that went to camp with your child in the Health Office. Medication must go home with a parent and cannot be transported by your child. Thanks for your understanding.

 Fourth grade parents: I would like to remind the 4th Grade parents to make sure to get a copy of their child’s physical to me for their school health record. It is a Massa-chusetts school health requirement that fourth grade students must have an updated physical on file at school. Thanks!

Mary Goldsmith, RN

The NES Recycling Committee is thrilled to announce that we have been given a $10,000 matching grant from the Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank to-wards the cost of a dishwasher for the cafeteria. If we raise $10,000 then they will give us another $10,000. So far we have over $2,500 so less than $7,500 to go! Many thanks to Mr. Richard Eaton, President and CEO, and the folks at the Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank for their support.

Parent and committee member, Jen Wright, will soon be offering another session of the after school recycling club. Last year the club created posters encouraging recycling and participated in an assembly talking about the benefits of recycling and introducing single-stream recycling. Also, five sixth graders are working with the committee on a math project based on the amount of waste and recycling going on at NES. Their results will be presented at Family Math Night. Stay tuned to learn more about these and other efforts.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, November 29, 10:30 AM, at NES. All welcome. For more information or to get involved, contact Tammy Cotter (tammycotter@comcast.net) or Sally Mil-liken (MillDoo@comcast.net). Thanks!

NES Recycling Committee Corner

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Page 11 Volume 1, Issue 7

Website of the Week

http://www.ala.org/greatsites

This website is hosted by the American Library Association. It is a master list of great websites for children, sorted by a variety of topics.

NES Yearbook

Due to the low response for the Yearbook Cover contest, this years year-book cover will be chosen by the yearbook staff. See the attached flyer at the end of the newsletter to get more information about ordering your child’s yearbook Thank you Tina Kennedy

Dear Families, In the next few weeks, we will be coordinating the fourth annual holiday greeting card drive to benefit the senior citizens in the Newbury-Byfield area. There are 1,100 sen-ior citizens in this community, a large portion of which are considered “shut-ins” or are in assisted living situations. As a community service, it is an honor to delight these

“seniors” with some holiday cheer from Newbury’s younger population. We are requesting that as a part of this effort, each family donate two 44 cent stamps to use on the Christmas and Valentine’s Day card drives. We appreciate your generosity and thanks in advance!

Holiday Greeting Card Drive

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Page 12 Volume 1, Issue 7

Once again, the Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! The NES parents are gener-ous, the kids are readers, and the volunteers are wonderful. The support of Margot Ryan, as well as Dr. Tracy and Ms. Leonard was unbelievable. Overall sales were over $12,000, making this our most profitable book fair yet. The library will receive over $3000 in cash profits to purchase new books and resources for our students. The Teacher Wish List board was a success as well. Our teachers received over $1100 in books due to donations from parents, students, and the PTA. Thank you to all who supported this wonderful program for our valuable teachers. Our "Unmask the Hero" contest had students guessing the "Hero" staff member behind the mask. All enjoyed playing this tough but fun contest. Lauren Kwaitkowski was the grand prize winner, receiving over $35 in books. In addition, 7 honorable mention students (one from each grade) received a book of their choice. Family night attendees were treated to students reading their “Everyday Hero” essays. It was so wonderful to hear the stu-dents recite their work. They made many people proud. Thank you to the teachers who supported this project in their class-rooms. Thank you to Belen Wieler for coordinating all of our volunteers. A special thank you to all our book fair volunteers. Without your help none of this would have been possible. They are: Sharon Slater, Wendy Wood, Lisa Powis, Debra Cooper, Linda Rivera, Beth van Duzer, Michelle Lorenzo, Kelly Yesair, Dale Jolivet, Pam Murray, Franni Orlandi, Michelle Walsh, Betsy Carter, Tina Kennedy, Lauren Carr, Marla Taylor, Margie Frew, Michelle Hall, Maureen Heffernan, Erica Jacobsen, Liz Zukowski, Johanna True, Elizabeth Peck, Jeanne Blanchard, Holly Garand, Anne Walsh, Carol Norton, Krista Yablin, and Jen Lapham. Also, thank you to the custodians who made sure the little gym was the perfect place for the fair!

Thank you! Lisa Proctor, Patty Olson, Tammy Cotter - co-chairs of the NES Bookfair

Scholastic Book Fair

We are inviting you to become a sponsor in an advocacy project entitled "Helping Hands.” The collaborative will be an on-going tradition of Newbury Elementary School to reach out into the area commu-nity. We would like to present our advocacy project as an opportunity for you to extend your goodwill by help-ing families in need attending Newbury Elementary School. We are starting the program off by accepting gift cards from local merchants. Recommended local area store

include; Market Basket, Shaws, CVS, K-Mart, Marshalls, TJ Max, Walmart, and Target as well as gasoline stations such as Mobil, Sunoco and Shell. The gift cards will be distributed by the school to those families in need. Gift cards can be dropped off or mailed to the main office of Newbury Elementary School Should you express interest in making this vision a reality, please do not hesitate to email Louisa Simboli at LSimboli@comcast.net

Helping Hands of Newbury Elementary School

Photo Credit: H.Leonard

Newbury Elementary Triton Regional School

District 63 Hanover Street Newbury 01951

Phone: (978) 465-5353

Fax: (978) 463-3070

E-mail: mtracy@trsd.net

hleonard@trsd.net

PTA Officers President Maureen Heffernan, maureen.heffernan@comcast.net Co-VP Michelle Walsh,mwalsh9@msn.com Co-VP Patty Olson, patricianeil@comcast.net Treasurer Wendy Wood, wendywood17@comcast.net Secretary Betsy Carter, betsycarter21@gmail.com School Committee

Dina Sullivan, Chair, dsullivan@trsd.net Deborah Choate, Vice Chair, dchoate@trsd.net Suzanne Densmore, Secretary,suzannedensmore@trsd.net Lane Bourn, lbourn@trsd.net Linda Litcofsky, llitcofsky@trsd.net Holly Janvrin, hjanvrin@trsd.net Mary Murphy, mmurphy@trsd.net Paul Lees, plees@trsd.net Robin Williams, rwilliams@trsd.net

December 12/4—PTA Holiday Express, 8:00-11:30

A.M. 12/6—PTA mtg., 6:30 P.M. 12/7—Winter Concert, 7:00 P.M. 12/8—Classroom Event—Moon Guy,

grade 4 12/8— School Committee 7 P.M., NES

Cafeteria 12/9—School Council 4-6 P.M., NES

Library 12/10—Parent/Administrator Coffee &

Conversation 7:30—9 A.M, NES Library

12/10-12/12—TWS Performances 12/16—Parent Lunch with Children,

during all lunch blocks 12/17—Classroom Event—Dinosaur

Lady, grade 2

Upcoming Events

We’re on the Web! www.trsd.net/newbury

School Community The NES Newt-paper is published on a bi-weekly basis. If you would like to submit something to be included in the NES Newt-paper, please email your information to hleonard@trsd.net by the Tuesday be-fore the newsletter is published.

Plus Coupons for:10% off at :

DRAGONS NEST, MODERN MILLIE, PINK HEARTS/BLUE SOLES, JUST DOGS, LORETTA RESTAURANT, LIVELY KIDS, MK WINSTON JEWELERS, FLIPPIN OUT, DENISE’S FLOWER SHOP, & THE CUCKOOS NEST

20% off CHILDRENS ORCHARD, BOOK RACK, & KATWALK

15% off PARTIDGE IN A BEAR TREE, VALERIE’S GALLERY, & JL COOMBS

PLEASE FILL OUT THE ORDER FORM BELOW AND RETURN TO SCHOOL - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Please give me _______ coupon book(s) at $25 each to be sent home with my child

in their TAKE HOME folder. I have enclosed a check/cash for $___________

(PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO NES PTA)

STUDENT NAME: _____________________ GRADE/TEACHER: _____________________

BUY YOUR NEWBURY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUPON BOOK TODAY!

Filled with great coupons for local shops you love and patronize – this book has been cus-tom designed to save you hundreds of dollars – all while helping the children at NES! -

Books cost $25 and all proceeds go directly to the NES PTA

$5.00 off purchase of $50 at Valentines Free large thin crust Pizza when you buy a large thin crust pizza at Rowley House of Pizza $10 off a purchase of $30 or more at A SHORE THING $10 off a $35 oil change at state street MOBIL $40 off a $139.95 car detailing at FRASER AUTOMOTIVE 20% off TAMARA handbags Free $3.00 cupcake when you buy one cupcake at EAT CAKE Save $2.00 on a $20.00 purchase at GRAND TRUNK Save $5,00 on any $20 order from UPPER CRUST 15% off any catered party from 2 – 100 people GOT THYME PERSONAL CHEF Half price beverage at SOUFFLES

Order forms will be sent home with students soon! Please contact Tina Kennedy (Newburyyearbook@yahoo.com) with any questions