September 1st and three days of the new school year are already hist= ory

To: Parents, Guardians and Students

From: Dr. G.

Re: Happy New Year

Date: January 4, 2008

In the December 14^th= memo, I asked that families consider sending in some holiday/vacation pictures that might be used on a school-wide bulletin board. Please send i= n one photo per pupil and be sure your name is spelled out on the back. Have children give the photos to th= eir classroom teachers. We will s= hoot for a final collection day of Friday, January 11^th.

The sixth grade students at AES have been working with Mr. Ames to design and construct large animal puppets that will be used in the performance of two segments of the Winter Concert at RHAM Middle School<= /st1:PlaceType>. The concert will be held on J= anuary 24^th at 7:00 p.m.= and all are invited to attend. The two segments will be first on the performance schedule. The sixth gra= de classes have been working in teams to create the dozen creatures and many students have helped from other grades to meet the performance deadline (de= spite the challenges of winter weather). <= /span>Included in the puppet collection are a lion, a scorpion, an elephant, a penguin, an eagle, a cobra, and more. The puppets are constructed of paper maché, cardboard, chicken wire, wooden rods, and other found materials (ping pong balls are great eyes!). The students have been working very= hard together, using their own time during a few recesses. The puppets are coming together! <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> What a great segue into their next learning environment!

The ninth annual Elementary Celebration of the Arts award recipients were announced yesterday. This year’s award winners wer= e Patrik Miazga and Charlene Bissell. This award is sponso= red by the Connecticut Association of Schools. Recipients are recognized for outst= anding citizenship qualities, cooperative skills, and artistic ability in the performing or visual arts at the elementary level. The students need to be in the las= t year of their elementary school. <= span class=3DSpellE>Patrik and Charlene will receive their awards at the = Aqua Turf in Southington on February 4^th.= Patrik = was nominated for the art award by Mr. Ames and Charlene was nominated for the music award by Ms. Krinjak.

Please note that there has been a change in the preschool screening dates that were originally posted on the sc= hool calendar. There will no longe= r be a January screening as the instrument that is being used to assess students i= ndicates that the growth children make at that age in four months is indeed signific= ant and, what may seem a deficiency in January, is age appropriate by April. In order to better plan instructio= n for the students, it has been decided that there will be three afternoon screen= ings on the first three Fridays in April and one screening on the second Thursda= y in April. The actual dates are <= u>April 4^th, 10^th, 11^th and 18^th. <= o:p>

During the month of January, on Fridays, the cafeteria will hold a drawing for each grade level and = the winning student will win a prize that is yet to be determined. The students will be given a slip = to fill out every day they purchase a hot lunch. So, if a child buys five lunches in= the course of the week, they have five chances to win the prize that will be awarded on Friday. This will = be in addition to the Wednesday lucky sticker on the bottom of the tray. You are also invited to send in any suggestions that you feel might improve the lunch program. Mrs. Folsom has done an outstandin= g job in an attempt to foster nutritious and inviting meals for our students!

A couple of dates to put on your calendar for upcoming PTA functions include: Friday, February 1^st, w= hich will be the fourth annual Family Bingo = Night. Tickets may not be sold in ad= vance so plan on arriving around = 5:30 p.m. to purchase your tickets and to peruse the merchandise that the vendors that will be selling prior to the beginning of the bingo and also at the conclus= ion of the bingo. This activity h= as proved to be an outstanding, fun, family event. Almost everybody goes home a winner. Throughout the evenin= g, numerous grab bags are awarded, so please put the February 1^st d= ate on your calendar and plan to have a night of fun with your family and our scho= ol community. Another event that children might want to get started on at this point is Young Authors Night, which is scheduled for April 30^{th. Students, start thinking about a st=
ory
line that just might be your first of many published works. I bet there is a John Steinbeck or =
a J.
K. Rowling just waiting to emerge, and what a great way to start! Each student who submits a story wi=
ll
have it typed, just as it is presented, so you need to edit your work befor=
e it
is submitted. PTA volunteers will type the manuscript, put =
the
book together along with the dedication page and the biographical page about
the author, and put it into a nicely bound cover that will be a great keeps=
ake.
Start those imaginations gene=
rating
a story or a poem that you will have for years to come. Again, the date is April 30^{th<=
/sup>.
The last day for submission w=
ill be
mid-April. On the evening of =
the 30^th,
you will be invited with your family to give a formal reading of your story=
. If you choose not to be part of the
actual reading, you can still submit a story to be published. Give it some thought and let’=
s make
this as well attended and participated in as our summer reading program!}}

____________= ______

<= /o:p>

Students work on puppets for the upcoming RHAM Middle School<= /st1:PlaceType> concert. The bottom right pho= to is of Ms. Schardt’s class as they regroup af= ter stuffing Trooper Reed’s cruiser.