Straight From The Lions' Mouth

February 06, 2022

Good morning!

I hope all of our families fare well the icy cold weather these last few days....

As cold, windy, and icy as it has been, our teachers do their best to provide our students with their outdoor recess knowing how important it is for children to get outside for some fresh air. With that said, please and thank you for sending them with all appropriate gear to enjoy the winter outdoors with their friends. This week I was reminded that as a parent of young children, I was not the best one to remember to label my children's belonging.... The visual of the lost and found overflowing triggered this memory! We would like to assist your family in receiving these items back, and labeling mittens/gloves, hats, coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, boots, will assist us and your child in identifying their clothing. Mr. Fetters does a great job reminding kids to look at the rack in the cafe at the end of each lunch period, but as I am sure you know, kids never find their things! (speaking from experience in my own house! LOL). As a Cashman Leadership team we planned to organize the clothing by size and have classrooms go out on a "field trip" to identify items that belongs to them. Feel free to remind your child of a missing piece of clothing or send the teacher an email to assist us in this process. Thank you!

This past week we were able to start the At Home Testing process. As mentioned before you may Opt In or Opt Out at any point in time. Test kits will be send home in your child's backpacks on Mondays, and tests should be administered on Tuesdays afternoon/evening.

Don't hesitate to call us with any questions you may have regarding this process.

Spring planning is on my next "To-Do", so stay tuned for upcoming information regarding: MCAS for Grade 3 and Grade 4, "Parent Placement Input Form" for the 2022-2023 school year, and dates for the FY'23 budget presentations at School Committee meetings.

Hope everyone have a great Sunday,

Principal Mascia

"SPOTLIGHT ON:"

Technology!!

“Good Afternoon,

I want to thank all of your children for their cards and family well wishes. It is very thoughtful. Working hand in hand with helpful staff, your children have been enjoying their tech class as they are learning and reviewing skills on a weekly basis. Most importantly, they have been safe, kind, and responsible with substitutes. Jen Macintire, our school librarian, is there to lend assistance and clarity. She has been a supportive, collaborative colleague.

K-1: ST Math on iPads/Desktops>working to meet weekly math minutes and puzzles. Literacy activities on ABCya, online stories, Typetasic for Keyboarding, and movement breaks to stay focused and engaged. We also offer free time to explore their educational interests.

Grade 2: Using Google slides, they are learning how to create a personal Valentine Card with imported online images through keyword searching, along with adding text and borders. They are encouraged to share them with classmates in the school, along with teachers. Following vacation, they will begin an introduction coding course, through Code.org. A nationally respected introduction to logic and object-embedding Programming. The children continue to work on Math Concept games, and Keyboard Zoo/Typetastic.

Grade 3 & 4: Each class begins with 20-25 minutes of keyboarding practice, if they have yet to meet their yearly goal. Third Grade goal is to reach Level 20, and Grade 4 is to reach (30-34) Practice at home is necessary to achieve these goals. I do have some hard working children who have already reached Level 20, however we have a broad range of skills. Please encourage them to practice at home. Skills learned in isolation will not get stronger or transfer.

Following typing, students explored Scratch Activity Coding Cards during November//December. During January, they worked on an integrated activity using Storyboard That and learned to work with scenery, characters, and dialogue in three selected cells. Fourth grade worked on landforms/bodies of water filling 6 cells.

Following this activity and a Google Slide Valentine ( this is a familiar exercise) Third and Fourth will begin an Express Coding Course that will build on earlier concepts: events, loops, conditional statements, debugging,and algorithms, This course is self guiding throught videos and explanations. They receive immediate feedback on their success. They will have a link to the web site, along with a login and password, which will allow them access in school and at home. A parent letter will be forthcoming. As you can see, we are productive and learning all day long. Please follow their progress, and helping them is encouraged. Coding can be a fun family activity.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. I would like to thank Bruce McBrien, for his support to make this work, along with the team of subs who are incredible.

We are in daily communication to ensure a smooth classroom environment. If you have questions, please contact me at leslie.barnaby@amesburyma.org> Please give me time to respond and find answers.

Sincerely,

Mrs.Barnaby