5^th Grade Colonial Museum

  On April 7^{th ,}  the 5^th grade held a Colonial Museum. In groups of three, students presented information on one of the Thirteen Original Colonies. Informative poster boards, artifacts, and colonial journals were displayed. A special thank you to the 3^rd grade teachers and students, who made time in their busy schedules to attend. Many thanks go out to Mrs. Pinsoneault and Mrs. Davis, who assisted 5^th graders in their research. Thank you to all staff members who stopped by to support the great students in 5B, 5F, 5J and 5R!

POSTCARD CHALLENGE is Complete!

  Since the first day of school this year, Social Studies students in 5B and 5R have been collecting postcards from all fifty states. With the help of family and friends, we finally did it! Nebraska was the final state postcard to be collected. Nick Roger (5R) contacted the Lincoln, Nebraska Visitor’s Center online and they graciously sent a postcard our way. Thank you to all the families who supported our effort. We will be celebrating with a special state cake!!!

On Placement Next Year

  It is that time of year again; we will begin the process of constructing classes for the following school year during the next month.  We regard the task of student placement as one of the most important things that we do to ensure what we hope to be a quality learning program for every child. 

  In constructing a class, we strive to balance many factors to achieve an ideal classroom for your child.  Some of the factors are the following: girl-boy ratio, active students with passive ones, leaders with followers, quiet students with talkers, students who do well in groups, and independent workers with those requiring more direction.  We also strive to have all levels of performance and development represented.  We recognize that some children contribute to their friend’s learning while others may inhibit it.  Hence, some children should be together, while others need to be separated.

  Your child’s present teacher has a year’s worth of current, rich information and insight that is very important to this process.  The teachers at your child’s grade level, the remedial and support service personnel and a grade level, and specialist team, compile all the information we have about each child and make recommendations about placement.

  While we feel that we are in the position to know your child’s learning needs, we recognize that parents may have additional insights that may help us in this process.  If you have information about your child’s learning needs beyond what we’ve described above, please share it personally with your child’s teacher, or in a letter to the grade level placement team, and the office by May 19, 2006.

  Please understand this is not an invitation to choose your child’s teacher, and therefore, we ask that you do not specify a teacher in your letter.   We are interested in comments like:  “John needs to establish more self discipline.”  “Kathy no longer enjoys reading and we don’t want that to become a pattern.”  “Michael really enjoys science and may enjoy a classroom with stronger emphasis on science.”

  We are continually looking for ways to work with parents as true partners in the education of their children.  We want to make parents aware of the depth of thought that goes into planning a sound learning program for every child.  Whether you write to us or not, you can be sure that your child will be placed in a classroom in which he/she can grow academically, emotionally and socially.

  Again, we remind you that the deadline for the placement letter is May 19, 2006.  Please call if you have any questions, 978-827-5750.

Briggs Talent Show!

  The date and time will be Friday night, May 19^th, at 6:30 p.m., here at the school.  This will be an opportunity for the young aspiring performing artists at Briggs to shine as bright as the evening spring stars.

If you have any questions you can email Mr. Seager at kjseager@juno.com.

School Council Openings

Please consider serving a 2-year term on the JRB School Council.  We have a number of parent openings on our council…meet once a month.

Kindergarten Orientation

News for 5^Th Grade Parents

Red Sox Ticket Raffle

Raffle tickets were sent home and additional tickets are available from the Briggs office.

Bake Sale – April 29^th  & 30th

   St. Denis Church, Main St. Ashburnham will hold bake sales on April 29^nd after the 4:30 p.m. Mass and April 30^th after the 8 and 11 a.m. Masses.

Car Wash

St. Denis Church will be hosting a car wash in the parking lot on May 20^th 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

All proceeds collected will be used for the 5^th grade barbeque.

Overlook PTO

Become involved at Overlook Middle School…one year term for PTO Secretary.  If interested, please contact Kim Brillon, 978-874-1857.

Flip Flops and Sandals

From Mrs. Lawrence…

  To ensure the safety of our students, we discourage the wearing of flip-flops and sandals for recess and physical education activities.  Please be sure your child has a pair of sneakers for these activities. 

PTO Meeting…date change

Please note…the May PTO meeting has been changed from May 18^th to May 11^th, 6:30 p.m.

Guess speaker…from Channel 8 – Local Access

The FOB/PTO wants to thank everyone who came to this year’s bunny Breakfast.  We also want to say a special tank you to all of this year’s volunteers.  Without all of your hard work we would not have been able to have such a great event.

Tracy Mei Children’s Trust Fund…

Please consider remembering Tracy in the form of a memorial tribute to the Tracy L. Mei children’s Trust fund, c/o GFA Federal Credit Union, 299 Parker Street, Gardner, MA  01440.

Briggs Web Page        

You can find the Briggs At Large newsletter, PTO meeting minutes, and other important school announcements at the school's web site. Our address is: www.awrsd.org/jrb