The Pulse of the Pride

Lyme School Friends,

It has been a busy two weeks. Students have been active and engaged in their classrooms. Our maple sugaring process has begun in the Design Lab. Our production of James & the Giant Peach, Jr. was a resounding success under the direction of Ms. O'Leary and her colleagues. We have also had a successful week of parent/teacher conferences.

On March 20th, we had a variety of staff training. As a part of the day, our staff conducted an armed assailant drill. There have been a number of emergency operations improvements that have happened since the summer. This year, we have updated our emergency operations plans, posted our emergency response actions and evacuation routes, and conducted a number of drills. An armed assailant drill is a tough topic for educators, but we persevered through it.

The NH Department of Education makes a survey titled the 603 Bright Futures Survey available to schools. It is an opportunity for anyone interested to provide feedback to help schools improve. Internally, we have asked our staff to complete the survey. Families can fill out the survey here and community members can fill out the survey here. We ask you to take time to complete this survey by April 28th. Thank you for providing your feedback!

The weather felt spring-like this week and our lion is hosting some budding flowers out front! It is hard to believe that we have already started the third trimester. This means we are in the final stretch of the school year. Just a reminder that the April break is April 10th - 14th and school will be closed.

The next newsletter will hit your inbox on April 7th. Have a great weekend!

Regards,

John P. D'Entremont, Principal

4/10 - 4/14 - April Break/School Closed

The Lost & Found is in the lobby. Please take a look over the next week! We will make it all disappear heading into April Break! Thanks for checking.

The process of putting together next year's school calendar is underway. This is a process that takes time, coordination with other districts such as Hanover and Thetford and then goes to the School Board for approval. A calendar will go to the School Board soon.

The Lyme School Apparel Store has a variety of apparel and accessories all customizable with a variety of school logos. The Lyme School PTO earns 12% of all sales. Thank you for supporting our school and go Lions! #LYMESCHOOLROCKS

A huge thank you to all who have donated to our middle school advisory “ Haven hygiene drive”.
This drive continues through April 7 , so please continue to donate if you can.

If you would like to donate, the following items are needed and can be placed in a donation bin located in the main lobby:

Shampoo

Hair conditioner

Body wash

Bar soap

Deodorant

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes -adult and child

Feminine hygiene products

Facial cleansers-liquid and wipes

Acne wash-facial and body

Moisturizing lotion

Diapers

Our collection will be held until April 7. Thank you in advance for all of your help and support for this great cause.

Congratulations Ms. Cushman on the arrival of Lainey Rae Cushman!

Lainey arrived on 3/16 at 4:26am. 7lbs 10oz, 20in.

Kati Miller RN BSN: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri

Matthew Greenway RN BSN: alternating Weds and coverage as needed

Celeste McCool RN BSN: alternating Weds and coverage as needed

Thank you for letting us know when your children are absent due to illness. If you are emailing Amanda Perry in the front office, you can also add nurse@lymeschool.org. Thanks so much!

We continue to experience fluctuations in weather. Please check the weather and ensure your children have what they need. We have some emergency clothes/boots but too many. As we get closer to mud season, it is important to remember students still need boots outside and sneakers for the gym.

Please remember when we return to school that if your child is experiencing symptoms, please test for COVID. If a person is not positive but has any symptoms, we kindly request a mask.

Thank you so much for your partnership in keeping us all healthy.

First Graders have been exploring feelings and emotions during Stanton Time. We started by thinking about how our brains and bodies might be feeling in certain situations. This is the first step in self-regulation as students have started learning about the ZONES OF REGULATION. The hope is that students are able to identify which zone they might be in, think about whether that is expected or unexpected in the context of their environment. They then identify a calming or alerting tool that helps them get back into the green zone or, learning zone. This is where they are ready to learn, calm, focused, and comfortable. You can ask your students what the blue, green, yellow, and red zone are. What feelings or emotions would we be experiencing, and what might our body be feeling in those zones? ALL feelings are ok and ALL zones are ok! We just want to make sure we are being safe with our bodies and words and taking care of our friends, classmates, and teachers while at school. We watched some video clips of people and characters in different zones, and talked about different scenarios and what zone we might be in. We’ll be focusing more on tools and strategies we can use to get back to the green zone.

2nd graders have completed their unit on Self-Control. You can ask your students about “The Chimp Brain”, “ The Professor Brain” and “STAR POWER”. They are the resident experts! They made some amazing self-control kites that highlighted all the ways they demonstrate self-control at home and in school - check them out in the hallway by the 2nd-grade classroom! We had our final lesson where students participated in the “Marshmallow Challenge”, a test from Stanford University that gave students a marshmallow saying that they could eat the marshmallow now, or, wait a certain amount of time and receive an additional marshmallow as a reward for waiting. This was a way for researchers to observe students’ ability to delay gratification. I am SO proud to announce that EVERY student in Ms. Clough’s 2nd-grade class, employing their self-control strategies, were able to resist the temptation and wait a whole five minutes with a marshmallow sitting in front of them. They each earned a 2nd marshmallow and some fun watching these hilarious videos of other students doing a slightly different marshmallow challenge video 1, video 2...Enjoy!

During conferences this week, several parents asked about how to access all of the school resources for ebooks and audiobooks at home, as well as how to help students select books. In grades K-4, students have dedicated library time either in the Library Commons or at Converse Free Library. In grades 5-8, students have access to the Library Commons on a daily basis, as well as scheduled theme based book talks integrated into a variety of subject areas. Both Mrs. Neuroth and Ms. Judy LOVE to talk to students about books and make recommendations based on student interests.

You can find information on how to access Sora and all book slides shared at book talks on the Lyme School Library, Media, and Tech website. Additional resources available to students are bookmarked when they are logged into their Lyme School email account and can be accessed from anywhere (Sora, Typing Club, Newsela, etc) as well as others that require a different log-in (Learning Ally, Ebsco, Worldbook). Information about accessing these resources can also be found on this page of the Lyme School Library, Media, and Tech website.

If you have any questions about these resources or helping students select books, please reach out! bneuroth@lymeschool.org.

After a year of participating in professional development work focused on the science of reading and what researchers know now about how children best learn to read, this year our K-4 teachers have been piloting new reading materials in their classrooms. We are just about ready to choose a new program for our school! Stay tuned for more on that.

Our reading philosophy we developed in our work last year has been a guide in our discussions and decision making for our next reading program. It’s time to share this philosophy with our broader community.

Reading Instruction at the Lyme School

At the Lyme School, we believe every student can become a successful, lifelong reader. We incorporate these important foundational literacy skills in a sequential, intentional, and cumulative way: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. We believe skilled reading is the result of explicit and systematic instruction in both decoding and language comprehension.

At the Lyme School, we regularly monitor all student progress and customize instruction to differentiate and individualize.

We seek to cultivate a joyful relationship with reading. Our classrooms provide a variety of quality texts, engaging conversations about literature, and time to develop independent reading skills.

We aim to include the following in our reading instruction at the Lyme School:

• Regular assessments of student progress

• Small group instruction that targets individual skills and growth

• Decodable texts for grades K-2

• A balance of shared reading, independent reading, and guided reading

• Adequate wait time for gradual release of responsibility

• Intentional read alouds to develop vocabulary, comprehension, listening skills

• A balance of fiction and nonfiction texts in both instruction and classroom libraries

• Opportunities to make connections with texts and each other through discussions (both oral and written)

Ms. O'Leary is performing in Mexico this week with the Dartmouth Strings Ensemble as a part of her own professional development. She took the time to connect with us back at school.

Here are some photos of Spanish classes getting a virtual tour of a Mexican street by Ms. O’Leary.

As the curtain closed on last Saturday night’s performance, there was a triumphant yell from the cast and crew. They did it! The whole middle school, all 64 of them, worked in some capacity to bring this performance to the community. Theater can help young people develop a strong sense of self and build empathy for their peers. Spring is a time when we teachers reflect on student growth, and I am super proud of the growth that I was able to witness from so many these last few months. This was truly their production (with lots of love and guidance from their teachers, of course!).

Congratulations to the cast, crew, and all the lobby teams on James and the Giant Peach Jr.! All three performances were a great success and we’re very proud of all their hard work!

Many thanks to all of the families who supported the play!

Thank you to all the faculty, staff, families, and community members for your help and support and for coming out to see the show!

In this year's contest, students had to design and build a tool that could retrieve a ping pong ball from as far away as possible. The rules of the contest were specific, and the materials list was strict, but the solutions that were generated were imaginative and abundant. Photos of student designs were submitted to Science Buddies for a chance to win cash prizes for the school. Amazing and inspiring work was done by all and they persevered through the engineering design process.

With trimester 2 coming to a close, the middle schoolers chose their new electives for the first half of the trimester. This session, there are 15 students who signed up!! This elective is always so good because of the challenges the kids set forth for themselves and others.

The level of responsibility is huge and students have to really rely on one another . This is one of my favorite electives to offer because of the “ challenge by choice” that students take part in!

For more information about the Lyme School PTO, please check out our web page.

You can also join our Facebook Group: The Lyme School PTO

Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Warmly,

Brigette Cameron

Lyme School PTO Secretary

Lyme School PTO Meeting Link:

Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/hqd-ixad-cri
Or dial: ‪(US) +1 407-545-7995‬ PIN: ‪522 319 072‬#

Will be after elections take place on March 28th.

ALL Together has Elementary and Middle/High School Parent Handbooks available free of charge.

These handbooks are a practical guide for parents, guardians, and others who interact with youth and addresses today's toughest issues.

The Elementary edition: "Raising kids isn’t easy, start the journey off on the right foot. Cell phones, social media, anxiety and even issues with alcohol and drugs are starting earlier than ever. Learn how to set boundaries and keep your child safe."

The Middle/High School edition: "This edition of our Parent Handbook addresses some of the toughest issues affecting today’s parents and their teens. This resource will raise awareness immediately and educate readers on the latest trends, misconceptions and warning signs associated with each issue. This handbook is being used to help prevent issues such as addiction, violence and suicide across the United States."

Please fill out this form if you are interested in a FREE handbook.

OUR VALUES

● Fairness ● Acceptance of Others ● Integrity ● Responsibility

● Perseverance ● Individuality ● Compassion ● Courage

John P. D'Entremont, Principal

Elise Foxall, Academic Director

Geoff Tomlinson, Student Services Director