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J. R. Briggs Elementary School Briggs At Large Newsletter The Voice of John R. Briggs Elementary School October 14, 2004 Volume 23, Number 6 |
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Meet Amina Akbar… Hi, my name is Amina Akbar and I am excited to be the new kindergarten teacher at J.R. Briggs. I am so happy to be working in such a great community. The staff, students, and families have been wonderful. I received my Child Development degree and Elementary Teaching Credential in California, where I went on to teach kindergarten for three years. I am joining Briggs after taking a few years off to be at home with my two daughters. My family and I are new here to Massachusetts after spending the last three years in Florida. I am looking forward to working with your childrenSchool SafetyFor safety reasons, the main entrance will be locked at 3:45 p.m. We have a number of after-school activities occurring in our school. For your child’s safety, we are asking ALL after-school visitors to sign-in and enter through the Extended Day Entrance. Questions Parents Frequently Ask How can parents prepare children for reading instruction at home? As a parent, you can cultivate readiness for reading in many ways. The most obvious activity is reading aloud to your child. While listening to you read, your child learns that stories are enjoyable, that a book is read left to right, from front to back, and that the letters on the page are symbols of words we have in our speaking vocabularies. From the stories, your child will also gain crucial background knowledge that will give him or her confidence to speak up in class to share ideas or the imagination from which their own stories can be written. If you start reading to your child form fifteen minutes a night when he/she is 6 months old, your child will have 500 hours of reading by the time he/she is 6 years old. That is more reading time that a whole year of classroom instruction. Remember, you as the parent are your child’s first teacher. Fourth Grade NewsThis year, all fourth grade teachers will be taking part in the EIC program. In conjunction with our current Science unit on Rocks and Minerals, we have begun our EIC lessons with our coach, Mary Morro from the Nashua River Watershed Association. During a visit to the stone walls behind the school building, students took part in several activities, including observation, measurement and writing. We have also observed and sketched several sites that we will revisit in the spring to look for signs of erosion that occur during the winter months. In addition, we are beginning to work on stone walls on the hill behind the upper wing playground. These walls will help prevent further erosion and will be part of a rock garden, which is our service-learning project this year. We are happy to have several parent volunteers taking part in our EIC lessons. During the last week of October, all fourth grade classes will be participating in our annual Pumpkin Math activities. These lessons focus on collecting data, linear measurement and weight as well as constructing and interpreting various types of graphs. Our classes have been working on the first book project for this trimester. After studying the parts of a book in school, students have been making their own alphabet books based on a fiction book of their choice.
Friends
of Briggs/PTO
HELP – filling Halloween Treat Bags for all JRB students.
American Legion, So., Ashburnham
Overlook Middle School
Ashburnham Town Hall, $4 Halloween Safety with Officer AhearnStudents in Kindergarten through Grade 4 will have an opportunity to visit with School Resource Officer, Kevin Ahearn during the week of October 25th to discuss “How to Stay Safe during Halloween”. Trick or Treat – Sunday, Oct. 31st, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Title I Math TutoringBefore and After School Sessions Nov. 1- Jan. 28, Feb. 25 – May 13 (tentative dates) More information forthcoming…re: Student Identification Ski and Snowboard ProgramThird, Fourth, and Fifth Graders interested in participating in the Wachusett Mountain Ski Program must have their completed forms with payments returned to the office before October 27, 2004. Important – The first 50 students ONLY – NO EXCEPTIONS! See your classroom teachers for registration forms. For further information call Dave Gianino, Ski Coordinator (978-827-6751) after 6:00 p.m. AWRSD-PAC MeetingThursday, October 14, 2004, 7:00-9:00PM Family Health Room (#113) Overlook Middle School Robin Foley from the Federation for Children with Special Needs will present a workshop called: An IEP for MyChild Notes from Band……….Advance Band got off to a great start Friday, Oct 1! Remember, “A” Band rehearsals are held every Friday at 1:55 p.m. Anyone who is taking lessons on Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, or Drums, and who was not in Band last year, will be in the Beginner Band. Beginner Band will start on Friday, Oct 15th at 1:30 p.m., and continue every Friday. There still is room for more players! We especially need clarinets, a drummer or two, and bright independent spirits to play the trombone! Also, there are Glockenspiel (bells) parts for piano players who would like to be part of the Band. If you would like to play, please call Mrs. Chadwick at 978-827-4836. ARTIFACTS Thank You Thanks to all those of you who collected grapevines for us! The fourth and fifth graders are making Dream Catchers as part of our Native American arts unit. Some completed projects can be seen in the halls near the office. Thanks for your help! Mrs. Richard Parent ParkingJust a reminder…the Upper Wing Playground has been designated as a parking area for parents before (8:15-8:30 a.m.) and after school (2:45 – 3:00 p.m.). This is a time when the playground is not in use. Please utilize the second driveway that leads directly to the upper wing playground, drive completely into the area, and have your child disembark in the playground. Students have access to a sidewalk area that leads directly into the school. Please do not stop in the area entering the playground, as that will cause traffic to black the bus ramp. Extended Day NewsExtended Day provides before and after school care each day that school is in session, including all early-release days. A separate kindergarten program is available for those students who attend kindergarten on Team A. We also run a program during school vacation weeks, including summer. 978-827-1412 LOST AND FOUNDThe Lost and Found collection is growing daily. Please have your child check the items in the lobby and claim what belongs to him/her. Please, feel free to stop in and browse for lost items. PARENTS—the temperature changes on an hourly basis at this time of year. Please send outer clothing for recesses—marked with names. Thank you. Last updated 10-18-04 by Tiffany Davis. |
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