Take Note
Lower School News

Week of November 3-7, 2008

Dear Students and Families,

Ghosts, goblins and giant Jack-O-Lanterns are in the air as Lower School prepares for Halloween! Our annual parade delighted all who were on campus and Mark Binder, storyteller, provided just the right entertainment to make this a memorable occasion. Thank you to all of the parents for providing delicious treats to end the day.

Take a look at the glowing Jack-O Lantern that Mr. Crow and his second graders created to mark the occasion. And just in time to take part in all of the fun was our newest Lower Schooler, Matthew Glanville, who joined our second grade class this week. He is pictured here with his new classmates. Welcome Matthew!

The upcoming elections are on the minds of everyone and students in the Lower School are no exception. In morning assembly and in classrooms, the candidates, the electoral process and the national issues at hand, are topics of discussion. We will be conducting our own Election Day poll on Tuesday in the Lower School to give students an opportunity to cast their own votes. We will keep you posted on the outcomes. For more information to help your children learn about this historic election at home, try this site: www.timeforkids.com/TFK/election08/

Volunteers Needed! On Wednesday, November 5th faculty will be in a morning staff meeting and Early Bird volunteers are needed. If you can volunteer from 7:30-8:05 AM to monitor the playground, please contact Patti Stevick at 398-1050. Thank you!

GrandFriends' Day is fast approaching and is a treasured Lower School tradition. Each year, students invite a special grandparent or “grand friend” to school on November 25th for a morning of classroom activities and music. Our students look forward to sharing their school lives with their special friends. Invitations were mailed this week. If you have not provided addresses for your child's GrandFriend, please contact Mrs. Barbara Feingold ( bfeingold@rockyhill.org ) in the Development office ASAP. We don't want to leave anyone out!

Due to a printer's error, times were missing from the K-5 schedule on the invitation. A corrected postcard was mailed to everyone. For your information, the times for GrandFriends' Day are noted below.

Kindergarten – Grade 5

Registration & Welcome - 9:00 AM in Campbell Center

Classroom Visits & Activities - 9:20 AM in Lower School

Musical Program - 10:30 AM in Campbell Center

Dismissal - 11:30 AM

Preschool (times are circled on the invitations)

Morning GrandFriends - 8:10-9:10 AM

Mid-morning GrandFriends - 9:30-10:30 AM
Preschool GrandFriends are welcome to attend the musical program.

There's someone new in the Brick House! Welcome to our new school nurse, Mrs.Ann Durning, who joined the RHS community this week. To call Mrs. Durning, please use x112; her e-mail address is adurning@rockyhill.org .

Pictured here are students in Grade 5 performing their Day of the Dead Dance.

Mr. MacDonald sends along to all families these timely web links that can help extend learning at home: Election 2008 for Grades 3 – 5:

Run for President. Choose your platform, plan your strategy, and see how you do: http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/election2008/games/candidate/

Halloween counting practice for Grades K-2: Practice your counting sequences for:

2s at www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookycf2.html;

5s at www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookycf5.html

10s at www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/spookyseq/spookycf10.html

Did you know about Upper School Math Buddies? Beginning this November, Upper School student volunteers will be working with Lower School students on basic math concepts for 15-20 minutes on a variety of topics using games and activities that they help put together. The Upper School student volunteers are Alex Forrester, Katie Meringolo, Iona Ross, Karolyn Jackson, Anthea Weixel, Ayodele Samuel, and Sarah Taylor. We are very excited for this partnership and are eager to see the benefits of their time and effort.

Parent Conference Day is Thursday, November 6th. There are no classes scheduled for this day in order that teachers have time to confer with all parents about student progress for the first quarter. Teachers have made appointments this week. If you find you have a conflict, please contact the teacher. Special subject teachers are also available to conference with parents on this day.

What better way to conduct a Lower School morning assembly than in the amphitheater on a crisp fall day? Here, students in Grades 4 and 5 teach their schoolmates about the Spanish customs surrounding the Day of the Dead. They shared Spanish poetry and performed a traditional Day of the Dead Dance.

Veterans Day: We are in the process of organizing our Veterans Day observance for Lower and Middle Schools and would like to extend an invitation to any member of our school family who is a veteran or a current member of our country's armed forces to join us Monday, November 10th at 11:15 AM. The ceremony will last approximately 25 minutes. Please contact Mr. Ted MacDonald at tmacdonald@rockyhill.org if your child has an interested guest.

New Media Specialist/Librarian: On Monday, November 17th Ms. Larisa Badger will join the RHS faculty as our new Media Specialist/Librarian. Ms. Badger has her BA from the University of Rhode Island and her MLS from Simmons College . She is also a certified teacher in Library Media. We are pleased and eager to welcome her aboard!

DID YOU KNOW??? We are able to collect UP to $20,000 worth of Box Tops? WOW! We got off to a great start by collecting enough Box Tops to earn us $130.10 for our first submission! $63 is coming from our Target Challenge. Thanks, Target! Thank you to all you clippers out there! We have a goal of $600 this year & I know we can do it! With the help of Chris Cote, we are opening up our collection power to include the Middle & Upper Schools. Chris is heading up this process, so please let him know if you have any questions! His email is chrisc@bassettboat.com . Keep collecting those tops! But, hold on to them this time in a baggie marked with your name and grade. We are planning a contest soon. Stay tuned for details! For a complete list of participating products, visit www.boxtops4education.com or ask Tracie at tracie_seed@yahoo.com .

LS math specialist, Mrs. Sara Bogdon, will attend the New England Association of Teachers of Mathematics conference in Portland, Maine next Thursday and Friday.

From Miss Kathy in Extended Day: It was a spooky week here at Extended Day. Halloween crafts and treats were enjoyed by all. A reminder: next Thursday, November 6th there is no Extended Day due to Parent Conference Day. The final week for Chess, Chinese Culture /Conversation and Soccer is November 10 - 14. Mrs. Dumas will be contacting Karate students who were signed up for the 6-week introduction session about signing on for a full-year program. Mr. Eric Christensen, our Violin/Guitar instructor, was ill with the flu last Tuesday. We hope he is feeling better soon. I will be working on re-scheduling that lesson.

After School Activities next week (all classes 3:15-4:15 PM unless noted):

Tuesday: Karate – MS Commons, Violin lessons, Guitar Club (Music room – Campbell)

Wednesday: Soccer – Amphitheater – 3:15-4:30 PM

Chinese Culture (Blue Room)

Thursday: no clubs due to Parent Conferences

Mark your calendars for these important events:

Thursday, Nov. 6th – LS Parent Conference Day/No LS Classes

Thursday, Nov. 6th – RHS All-Divisions PTL meeting 6:00 PM, followed by Wellness Seminar speaker Richard Ryan, 7:00 PM, Flynn Lecture Hall

Monday, Nov. 10th – Veterans Day Observance, 11:15 AM

Tuesday, Nov. 11th – No School – Veterans Day

Thursday, Nov. 13th – Coffee and Conversation with Mrs. O, 8:20 AM – Campbell Conf. Room

Tuesday, Nov. 25th – LS GrandFriends' Day