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

To: Parents, Guardians and Students

From: Dr. G.

Re: Veterans Day

Date: November 9, 2007

It is important that we, = as a school and as a community, take a moment to recognize the sacrifices of all= the men and women who have served our country in the various armed services so = that “we” as a people and “we” as a nation might live fr= ee. Freedom comes at an expense. We all are well aware of that fact= . So, on Sunday, November 11^{th<=
/sup>,
spend some quiet moments reflecting on those who gave and continue to give =
selflessly
so that we, our children, and our children’s children may long enjoy =
the
freedoms that many countries do not afford their people. Thank you, Veteran=
s! You are all heroes. Please
remember that Monday is a holiday in commemoration of our veterans.}

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on November 19^{th
and November 20^th beginning at 1:30 p.m. Check
your calendars and please be on time as teachers are running on tight
timelines. Many parents have =
more
than one conference scheduled so teachers will be asked to adhere to the
allotted time for each conference. If you have not made the call to schedul=
e a conference,
please do so as soon as possible. The
office is closed on Monday so Tuesday morning, bright and early, will be yo=
ur
next opportunity. The Book Fair will coordinately run f=
rom November
19^th through the 21^st. The last day also happens to be
Intergenerational Day.}

Please look at the follow= ing schedule for Intergenerational Day= . Last year, we had some visitors sh= ow up before 8:30 a.m. = but the continental breakfast did not start until 9:00 a.m. Please do not plan to arrive before <= st1:time Hour=3D"9" Minute=3D"0" w:st=3D"on">9:00 a.m. There will be coffee and some good= ies thanks to the PTA and, at th= is writing, we are working on some music for entertainment until 9:30 a.m. w= hen guests will be invited down to the classrooms.&nb= sp; The program will end at 10:30 a.m. Kindergarten and preschool wi= ll entertain their guests from = 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. fo= r a.m. students and from 12:15 p.m= . to 12:45 p.m. fo= r p.m. students. Guests may enter th= rough the café entrance and there will be personnel there to help with the sign-in process and distribution of guest badges. If at all possible, it is requested= that students stay until dismissal at 1:00 p.m.

On Wednesday morning, the= temperature was 28 degrees F and the number= of times I asked students where their jackets were as they got off the bus was more than I care to say. The mornings are hectic I am sure, but the cold weather necessitates that the children have jackets and wear them – inside a backpack does not count! A t-shirt is anything but appropri= ate outerwear for this time of year. Again, I ask that you put your child’s name on the label so when he/she leav= es the jacket on the playground or on the bus, it can be returned. When you go snow boot shopping, do = the same for the boots – write your child’s name inside.

Sixth grade students brou= ght home letters on Wednesday regarding the D.A.R.E. program. Parents and students are asked to read the letter, sign it, and return it to school as soon as possible.&n= bsp; The program will run for nine weeks, beginning the Thursday after Thanksgiving, November 29^th, and will conclude on February 7th. Kevin Reed, Andover Resident Troop= er, will be the instructor. In the letter, he invites parents of sixth graders who have questions or concerns = to call him. Please see the lett= er for details.

Third grade students are = working on elaboration in their writing. In one class this week, the students were sharing with their teacher some figurative language that they used to embellish their writing. Simile and personification were two= devices mentioned by the third graders as they dictated a description to their teac= her, who wrote it on chart paper. = Below are a couple of individual descriptions of a crown that the children submit= ted after their group lesson.

Crown

By Ashley

The crown was breathtaking! The crown had an opal that was= as big as an eraser. Outlini= ng the opal was a silver dragon. Below the opal were two fire opals. The crown was made out of shimmering mystic opal. Five-inch long diamonds were circling the shiny opal. = Its texture felt like paper. Outlining the crown was pure gold, shimmering like a sunset. There was a pointy triangle ab= ove the opal that was gold and silver mixed together. On its sides were two crystals= as bright as the sun. Outlin= ing the bottom were tiny diamonds and some rubies. It was about one foot.

Crown

By Heather

The crown was breathtaking! The crown was very rough and m= ade out of pure gold. It had = silver lining around it. Two jew= els hung down from each side and wobbled.&= nbsp; When I picked it up and put it in front of my eyes and turned the crown around, I saw glitter sparkling everywhere on it. It fit me just right. It was the size of a Halloween mask. On the couch, I saw= a pillow. I picked it up and dropped it on the pillow. I looked at the tag that hung on the pillow and crown. $17.00 dollars total to get them. I only had $17.00 dollars, so I got it. I p= ut it in the lady’s hands and she gave me the crown. I was so happy!