The Pulse of the Pride
Lyme School Friends,
Happy Groundhog Day! Looks like an early spring!
We have had another great two weeks! They have flown right by. As always, there is a lot going on at our school. For example, we have a new ice slide by the playground thanks to Mr. Betournay and support of the PTO. Our smallest children have really enjoyed this new seasonal playground attraction. This morning our second grade productions of Peter and the Wolf were a resounding success! It was great to have so many families come to see the performances.
There have been a number of tours through the building to help inform the public about the abatement project that is being put forward by the School Board. The next tour is Saturday, February 3rd at 10AM if you are interested in learning more about the project. Details are below in the School Board section or on the school website.
February break is in the not so distant future and we will be heading into the break from our February Fun Fest and Winter Carnivals. These are exciting opportunities for our students to play together and celebrate.
The next newsletter will hit your inbox on February 16th as we head into February Break!
Have a wonderful weekend! As always, please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.
Regards,
John P. D'Entremont, Principal
ALMA - Latest Updates
If you are having trouble, please reach out to Amanda Perry or John D'Entremont.
So far, you should have:
- Gotten yourself logged in.
- Received an emergency alert.
- Double checked your contact information.
- Completed ALMA Start Registration for this year.
- Been given instructions to opt in to the Directory. [To opt in to the directory, you can click on the link for “my info” or get there through your profile icon in the top-right corner. You can toggle your visibility in the directory.]
- Received preliminary information about the standards based report cards.
- Received a first trimester report card via email on December 4th.
Lyme School Apparel Store
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
Respiratory and Gastrointestinal viruses continue to circulate in the school this winter season. Maintaining a good sleep schedule, staying hydrated and eating healthy foods can help boost our body’s immune system.
Don't forget...when your student is ill:
1. Please notify the Main Office and/or Nurse at nurse@lymeschool.org
2. Students should stay home from school if they have a temperature of 100.4 F or higher and can only return when they have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
3. Students should stay home from school when experiencing nausea/vomiting or diarrhea.
4. It is recommended to test for COVID-19 if your student has a fever, sore throat, significant coughing and congestion or runny nose.
Please review the provided links regarding COVID-19 recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC):
- Individuals who are experiencing symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19 should isolate at home and follow CDC's recommendations
- Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19
The Health Office has a supply of rapid antigen COVID-19 tests if needed.
Thank you for your cooperation in helping to keep our Lyme School community healthy during this winter season.
8th Grade High School Choice
Hello Lyme Families and Happy February!
Whether you are a current 8th grade parent/guardian going through the steps with your student, have a kindergartener, or somewhere in between, you might be interested in Lyme’s high school choice process. In Lyme, Students have choice for their high school experience - we have tuition agreements with the following schools:
Rivendell Academy - Orford, NH
Lebanon High School - Lebanon, NH
St. Johnsbury Academy - St. Johnsbury, VT
Hanover High - Hanover, NH
Thetford Academy - Thetford, VT
Students can also choose to attend independent/private schools.
Here is a website that I maintain to update and inform families about upcoming events, school options/profiles, timeline of the process, and contact information for each institution. There is a decent amount of information in there, so feel free to peruse and reach out if you have any questions!
Our 8th grade students enter their last year of Lyme School somewhere along the spectrum of: “I know exactly where I am going to high school next year” and “I have no idea and I need help figuring it out!” Regardless of where they might be, we coordinate with counselors at our tuition-agreement high schools to provide visit days, family information sessions, and shadowing opportunities to help every student and family with the process. A lot of those events take place in the fall and early winter. I also work with students and talk about their own values, interests, worries, as well as things that excite them about high school. Area high schools all do a great job of helping with student transitions to make them as smooth as possible for the fall. Students typically have a plan for where they will be next year in the early to mid spring - some last minute changes are also possible for families and that’s ok, too! We want to ensure that families and students have all the information to make the choice that is best for them. For some students, it is hard to imagine not being with kids you have been in class with for possibly more than nine years. Some students feel more ready for the change than others. It is a special and unique situation for our families and we are here to help with whatever questions about the process they might have.
To our 8th grade families - Reminder that Hanover high school has their curriculum information night on Monday, February 5th at 5:30pm in the auditorium.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine 🌞!
Mrs. Stanton
Fairness
That’s not fair is a familiar phrase heard in every classroom. Children often think everything should always be fair. Fairness can be a tricky topic for children to grasp. The idea that fair does not always mean equal is challenging for children to conceptualize. Children often think of fair and equal as the same thing. Fair is everyone gets what they need to be successful. Equality is everyone gets the same thing regardless of what they need to be successful. Fair and equal can be abstract thoughts for children.
Helping children understand fairness is an important part of growing up and practicing empathy. When we understand what others need and perhaps what we don’t, we recognize our differences and think a little beyond ourselves. We get to step into someone else’s shoes for a moment and consider their life (Samantha Song, 2020).
Fairness is one of the Lyme School values. We work on fairness in the classroom, during Stanton time, in small groups and individually with Ms. Connie, and when it comes up during the day.
Fairness also includes
Playing by the rules
Taking turns
Sharing
Treating others the way you want to be treated
Taking responsibility when you have made a mistake
Listening to the ideas of others
Compromising
Giving others a chance to participate
Being mindful of other people’s feelings
Books about fairness
Fair is Fair by Sonny Varela
Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
It’s Mine! by Leo Lionni
- In It Together: A Story of Fairness by Kristin Johnson and Mike Byrne
Grade 7 Health Education
Students in grade 7 have been discussing stress and anxiety. These two recognized mental health issues often go hand in hand and can pose challenges for individuals experiencing one or the other or perhaps even both.
As we identified what a stressor is, distress, and its impact on the body and mind, and the correlation and definition of anxiety, we also discussed coping mechanisms. Coping mechanisms are ways of managing stress and anxiety. Once we identify our triggers, we can better move through and manage our issues and feel confident that we can get through them.
Recently, we asked students to lead their classmates through coping strategies that are healthy, unhealthy, or maybe fall into both categories. Oliver, Eila, Jacob, and Eoin did a fantastic job taking their classmates through these mechanisms of coping and identifying which ones may be helpful or not.
Placing students in a leadership role gives them confidence and allows them to display their strengths. This can also make students feel more comfortable sharing their knowledge in front of their classmates and peers.
I could not be more proud of how these students carried themselves and displayed their maturity during this lesson. Well done!!
Movietalk!
One of the activities that we do during K-5 Spanish is “watch videos”. While we watch, Señor Harkins pauses the videos to describe what’s happening, ask questions, ask for predictions, etc. Students are invited to share thoughts and questions in Spanish, and often do so (especially in the upper grades). After watching, we often do other activities to reinforce the structures and phrases that we practiced in our discussions. This week, 4th graders “watched” the Pixar short “Feast”, and shown below are pictures of them doing some of those follow-up activities. This whole process is called “Movietalk” and it’s always a favorite of the students.
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