MERSD Elementary Curriculum Guides are a great way to stay in the loop with what your children are learning in school! These are great little "cheat sheets" for the dinner table conversations when you ask what they learned in school and you get the very typical "nothing!" These guides were developed by the teachers in both elementary schools as a resource for families. Term 2 Family Guides can be found at the link below:

https://www.mersd.org/Page/1833

Trimester 3 will be published later in the year. Thank you for your active support at home...we love having families as a partner!

Dear MMES Families,

MMES is participating in the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation process for elementary schools. Our school staff is working alongside Essex Elementary School staff in a joint accreditation process. This shared process has led to increased collaboration and alignment between the two schools so that students have a similar K-5 experience regardless of which elementary school they attend.

In preparation for the upcoming self-reflection that the Essex and Memorial schools will be completing as part of the accreditation process, all grade 5 students, families, and staff members will have the opportunity to complete surveys designed to provide our school with important feedback on our work. We hope to learn more about what is working well for our students and identify areas for growth and improvement.

Every grade 5 student will have an opportunity to complete the "Student Survey" during the school day. Parents/guardians also have an opportunity to share their experiences via the "Family Survey." We ask that every family complete one survey. You do not need to complete multiple surveys if you have more than one student in the school. The survey is mobile-ready and can be completed on a computer, tablet, or phone. Families can access the MMES Family survey at the link below. The link will be open until Friday, February 16, 2024. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us!

https://surveys.neasc.org/s3/CPS-2026-Family-Survey?id=39

Have a great weekend!

Best,

John

This week in P.E., grades K-2 embarked on an exciting adventure with the Pirate Ship game. Focused on fostering teamwork, invasion skills, quick decision-making, and fitness, the game unfolds as one team plays the role of pirates guarding their precious treasure, while others attempt to reclaim it for their ship. If tagged inside the cone area, students engage in specific fitness skills to rejoin the game. The students are thoroughly enjoying the new game and activity!

Memorial Elementary has an opening for a new recess monitor! Ms. Hersey has joined our staff in a full time position. This is great news for our staff as a whole, but now we are in search of another fantastic individual to round out our recess crew. Please spread the word. Interested candidates should contact Ms. Schmidt in the Memorial office: 978 526-1908.

Today, our 4th and 5th grade students had a virtual visit from award-winning music producer and composer, Brent Daniels! His music can be heard in movie and TV series trailers including Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, Black Widow and Hawkeye, and Disney’s A Wrinkle In Time and The Bad Batch. You can hear his most recent music in trailers for Killers Of The Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Ask your 4th and 5th grader what they learned!

2023-2024 Calendar

February

7 - Early Release, Professional Development, 11:45 Dismissal

14 - Early Release, K-8 Parent/Guardian Conferences, 11:45 Dismissal

February 19-25 - President's Day/ Mid-Winter Recess

March

6 - Early Release, Professional Development, 11:45 Dismissal

14 - Grade K to Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

20 - Grade 1 & 3 to North Shore Music Theater

21, 22, 23 - Grade 5 Musical - The Phantom Toll Booth Jr.

April

3 - Early Release, Professional Development, 11:45 Dismissal

10 – MCAS ELA G3-5 Session 1

11 – MCAS ELA G3-5 Session 2

April 15-21 - Patriots Day/Spring Recess

May

1 - Early Release, Professional Development, 11:45 Dismissal

15 – MCAS Math G3-5 Session 1

16 – MCAS Math G3-5 Session 2

20 – MCAS STE-5 Session 1

22 – MCAS STE 5 Session 2

27 - Memorial Day

31 - HS Graduation

June

5 - Early Release, Professional Development, 11:45 Dismissal

6 - Last Day Kindergarten

11 - Crossing the Bridge, Grade 5

12 - Last Day, No Snow Days

19 - Juneteenth

5k Committee Volunteers Needed!

We are so excited to bring back Hit the Street for Little Feet 5k, and we are looking for volunteers to help plan out the festival portion of the event. Reach out to mmptopres@gmail.com if you are interested in helping out!

Save the Date!

Fun-a-thon - March 6, 2024

Hit the Street 5k - May 17, 2024

Field Day - June 3, 2024

Be on the lookout...

Enrichment Event Berkshire Hills Music Academy on January 25th! The pto sponsored event is always a crowd favorite.

Last week our Memorial School Hornets participated in the Great Kindness Challenge. It started in the beginning of the week with a School Wide Meeting led by our fantastic 5th grade student ambassadors and continued with spirit days highlighting kindness, read aloud stories, and filling each other’s buckets with snowballs of kindness. While the week itself was meant to bring attention and excitement around using our ability to be kind to lift others up, our message is to always be kind! Check out these pictures and ask your kids about their favorite parts!

Talking points:

“What did you enjoy most from the Great Kindness Challenge week?”

“Did you notice if it was easy or hard to be kind? When it was hard, why do you think that is?”

“How do you feel when you were kind to others? How about when someone is kind to you?”

“What items from the checklist do you think you’ll continue to do to keep this going year round?”

-Ms.X

Schedule of Monthly PTO Meetings:

The following are dates for the 2023-2024 PTO Meetings:
• Wednesday, February 28
• Friday, March 29
• Friday, April 26
• Wednesday, May 22
All meetings will begin at 9 am, and will be located in the Project room on the first floor of the school. All are welcome...we hope to see you there!

Reminder - No phones or smart watches during school day: Please note that there are no phones permitted during the school day.

CORI requirements - We love having volunteers and mystery readers back in the building. Please note that all adults must have a completed CORI on file before filling volunteer or mystery reader positions and will not be admitted without one. Please plan to come in at least one week before your scheduled volunteer time to complete your paperwork. CORIs are good for 3 years. Please contact the office to see if yours is valid.

Absence, Late Arrival, and Early Dismissal:

Please plan to email your student's teacher, Nurse Seaman (seamanj@mersd.org), and the office (schmidtm@mersd.org) with all attendance updates: Absence, Late Arrival, Early dismissal. This will allow us to coordinate with your teachers.

Students who need to be dismissed early, must be released to a parent or guardian from the main office. When possible, please notify the office and your child's teacher ahead of time. When you arrive for early dismissal, your student will be called from the classroom. Please be prepared to show your ID if we are not familiar with you.

Physicals:

Current physical and immunization records are due for grades 1 and 4. Please do not make a new appointment. Send me the most current and then send me a copy of the new physical when it is completed.

Extra Clothing: ALL GRADE LEVELS

It is officially getting colder outside. Just a reminder we are out for recess unless the real feel temperature is below 20.

Occasionally a spilled drink, a fall in a puddle or even a ride down a wet slide occurs, if each child could have a change of clothing (head to toe) that would be great.

Just a few reminders:

1. If your child is going to be absent or arriving late, please call either 526-1909 or 526-1908 to let us know.

2. If your child has a temperature of 100. F or over, they need to be temperature free for 24 hours (without relying on Tylenol or Motrin) before re-entering the school.

3. If your child is experiencing diarrhea or vomiting, we recommend that they are symptom free for 24 hours and can tolerate solid food before they return

4. If your child has a contagious illness such as conjunctivitis or strep throat, it is the school policy that they are on medicine for 24 hours before re-entering the building.

5. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ALL CLASSROOMS ARE PEANUT/NUT FREE

Thank you for your co-operation and continuing support.

Any questions or concerns please call or email

Joanne Seaman, R.N.

978-526-1909 Fax 978-526-5209

seamanj@mersd

• Mobile Markets will then run from 2:30-3:30pm in October and November on the first Wednesday of each month.
• Mobile Market will run on an early release schedule of 11am-12:15pm on the first Wednesday of each month starting in December for the balance of the school year.