AES Weekly Blast

2/28/2025

Email: agapp@nmrsd.org
Website: https://www.nmrsd.org/Domain/11
Location: 911 Main Street, Ashby, MA, USA
Phone: 978-743-1005

Dear AES Patriot Families,

Thank you for all of those who spoke up at the school committee meeting. Thank you for your kind words.

I know my sections are getting longer and longer, so please use the left side to find sections that might be of interest to you.

March is Almost Here!

With spring right around the corner, just a friendly reminder that our playground tends to get quite muddy as the snow melts. Be sure to send your child with appropriate footwear to handle the wet conditions!

Exciting News!
Want to know a secret? Be sure to tune into American Idol this season! Why? Because former AES student, Kamryn R., is a contestant! We are all cheering her on and hoping she makes it far in the competition. Who knows—if she advances, maybe we’ll even get a hometown visit! Let’s support her journey and put Ashby on the map!

Kindergarten Information Night
Don't forget! This coming Monday is our annual Kindergarten Information Night, starting promptly at 6 PM. If you or someone you know has an incoming kindergartener, be sure to attend to get all the details for the upcoming school year.

Scholastic Book Fair
A big thank you to Mrs. Haigh, who will be running the Scholastic Book Fair during our March conferences. We also appreciate Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Dancause, from our AES School Council for volunteering to help at the register. Your support makes this event possible! And don't forget to mark your calendars to attend our first NMRSD Family Literacy Night to be held on Thursday, March 27th at 5 PM. See flyer below for more details.

Subs Needed

Once again AES is looking for subs. Mrs. C puts in the effort to hire subs, then they sub at the other schools and not AES. If you are interested please apply on School Spring.

4th Grade Digital Yearbook:

Mrs. Webb and I are starting work on our annual 4th Grade Digital Yearbook, a beloved AES tradition since 2005. We kindly request that you send in a baby photo of your child (before their first birthday) to include in this special keepsake. You can either email the photo or send in a physical copy, which we will scan and return promptly. Thank you for helping make this tradition special!

Kindergarten 2025-2026 Enrollment: (TAKING PLACE AT ASHBY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL)

If you have a child who will turn five by August 31, 2025, please email me so I can confirm they are on the incoming list for Kindergarten. There will be a Kindergarten Information Night on March 3, 2025, from 6:00-7:00 PM.

AES Website:

For more information, visit our website at: https://aes.nmrsd.org/

We look forward to an exciting March ahead! If you have any concerns, questions, or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out at agapp@nmrsd.org.

Grade 1

Ms. Francis Click here for the sign up link

Mrs. Rollo is sending home a notice.

Grade 2

Mrs. Sheridan Click here for the sign up link

Grade 3

Mrs. Cote - will be available next week

Grade 4

Mrs. Rixford Click here for the sign up link

Ms. Walsh Click here for the sign up link

On March 6th at AES I will be introducing the Kids Heart Challenge for students grades K-4. This is a voluntary fundraiser that is conducted 100% online. I will spend part of physical education class on March 6th explaining the fundraiser and passing out registration instruction forms that your student will take home to you. If interested, simply follow the instructions on the form and create a profile and from there you would either email or text the provided link to friends and family and the donations will go right to your students account. There will be “thank you gifts” provided at the conclusion of the fundraiser to those students that were able to participate. The official dates of the fundraiser will be 3/10 - 4/4.

At SMS we concluded our Kids Heart Challenge fundraiser the Friday before February vacation. We raised almost $5000.00 for children with special hearts! The American Heart Association is in the process of getting the “thank you gifts” (prizes) shipped out to the school for those students who were able to participate. Due to the fact that February and March are when many of these fundraisers are typically performed there are a lot of prizes that are getting sent out to many of the participating schools around the nation. I expect the “thank you gifts” (prizes) in about 3 to 4 weeks.

Please send me an email if you have any questions at cturner@nmrsd.org

Kindergarten students are beginning work on making a pair of mittens. They are being introduced to the word symmetrical and will be talking about how to make the colors and patterns match each other. 1st grade have started their unit on color. They are learning about the artist Piet Mondrian and the importance of primary colors.

2nd grade will begin learning about Ohio artist Charlie Harper. We will be creating a picture of a raccoon in his modern realistic style.

3rd grade is also reintroduced to Ohio artist Charlie Harper. They will be creating fawns and creating a landscape that places them in their natural habitat. They will begin a new lesson on the Canadian artist Sandra Silzberweig. They will be introduced to analogous colors and taught how to blend them.

4th grade is continuing work on a lesson in which they use pictures to illustrate their names. The pictures will each be a subject or object they like that expresses their personality. They need to think creatively to turn these objects into letters. They will learn how to center a name by using measurement and spacing.

To close out the year, we took part in the annual Computer Science Education Week, often called the Hour of Code. Students had a chance to choose activities on various topics to learn about block based coding. Many 3rd and 4th grade students enjoyed using the app titled “Music Lab” which takes popular songs into a coding environment to create their own remix. Younger students enjoyed playing a coding game titled “Rodocodo” as they guided a cat to the finish block in a more simplified interface. Any students interested in continuing coding activities over Winter break may go to Hour of code by going to the following link https://hourofcode.com/us/learn

2nd, 3rd and 4th graders continued to practice their typing skills with new sticker adorned keyboards to help learn the keys and limit peaking. Typing will resume when we return and any students who wish to practice their typing skills at home over break are encouraged to do so. They may log in to www.typing.com with their student username and password (or their own at-home account) to practice.

1st grade students have created a slideshow on Google Slides and learned how to title their slideshow, pick a slide template, select and delete slides from their deck and edit text boxes. Coming up students will be learning how to find pictures to use on their slideshow, save them, locate the file, and insert into their slideshow. We will learn about resizing, layering, and moving a picture on our slideshow as well as adding text and titles.

Kindergarten students continue to learn new games which test their dexterity and motor skills using a mouse. We continue to practice logging in to the computer, fixing errors in our log in/password using the arrow keys and backspace, as well as close out windows, switching tabs, and troubleshooting pop-ups or errant clicking.

We’ve been busy singing, dancing and exploring all sorts of music in the music room.

In Kindergarten, we’ve been singing some fun echo songs like I Am a Pizza and Purple Light. We’ve also been talking about the difference between our singing voice and our speaking voice while singing these and other songs like Lucy Rabbit. We’re also playing musical games like On the Mountain and London Bridge which keep us making music and having fun!

In 1st Grade, we’ve been singing about the legend of Princess Pat and making up crazy food clothing for Aiken Drum, a magical man who lives on the moon. We’ve also been hearing the story of Abiyoyo, a fearsome giant, and the boy who figured out how to save his town from Abiyoyo’s huge appetite.

In 2nd Grade, we’re playing different games to work on our singing voices and sense of rhythm. We’ve also been singing game songs like You’re Wanted on the Telephone and Sailor Sailor. We’re still singing rounds as well, such as Ah Poor Bird and Mister Moon which is a return to a classic song from kindergarten.

3rd Graders have done a fantastic job playing for their yellow belts and are already working on performing for their next belt, the orange belt. Their newest tune, Merrily We Roll Along, is very similar to a famous

In 4th Grade, students have done a great job mastering the dance Troika. We had a bit of a rocky start with its tricky turns and twists, but they’ve persevered and done a great job learning and perfecting it. We’ve also been singing some of our favorite winter songs and learning about the Boston Pops classic Sleigh Ride

Mrs. C wears many hats and if need be a hairnet...

Artwork created by the students in Mrs. Rollo’s class

Come support the class of 2025 on Saturday March 1st at the Chipotle located at 225 Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua NH from 5-9pm.

The class of 2025 will receive 25% of all sales for all who present this flyer!

We are excited to invite you to North Middlesex Regional High School’s Annual Polar Plunge for Inclusion! This fun and meaningful event brings our school community together to Unite, Support, and Celebrate with Special Olympics.

Date: Friday, March 7, 2025
Location: North Middlesex Regional High School
Time: Registration begins at 3:00 PM | Opening Activities start at 3:30 PM

This year, we’re taking the plunge to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics, a global nonprofit that empowers individuals with intellectual disabilities through sports, health, and education programs. Whether you jump in the cold water, cheer on the participants, or donate to the cause, your support makes a difference!

Why Participate?

✅ Make a real impact by supporting Special Olympics
✅Show your Patriots Pride and stand up for inclusion

✅Enjoy food trucks, a bake sale, and community spirit!

✅Take on the challenge with your friends, teachers, and classmates!

Register today and take the plunge for a great cause!
https://fundraise.specialolympicsma.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=864

We hope to see as many of you braving the cold for inclusion! Thank you for being so supportive.

Dear Families,
We are excited to invite you to Literacy Night on March 27th, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm at NMRHS! This event is a wonderful opportunity for families to explore engaging literacy activities, discover ways to support reading at home, and learn more about how we build strong readers and writers in our schools.

📖 What to Expect:

Interactive read-alouds & storytelling
Hands-on literacy games and activities
Tips for supporting your child’s reading at home
Free book giveaways & resources

📆Date: March 27, 2025

⏰Time: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

📍Location: North Middlesex Regional High School

🔗 Register Here: LINK

We look forward to seeing you there for a fun and enriching evening celebrating the joy of reading! If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Comeau, Director of Title I & Early Literacy, lcomeau@nmrsd.org.
Happy Reading!

• Every Tuesday 3rd Grade students will need their Recorders for Music.

• Every Wednesday 4th grade band students will need their instruments.

• Our newsletters can be translated into your language of choice by clicking the "Translate" option located at the top of the newsletter.

• Dismissal changes - Changes to dismissal procedures should be sent in a note to school with your child.

🚨Do Not Pass a Bus in the parking lot when the STOP sign is extended. As soon as the arm is extended - STOP were you are.

🚨If a school bus or a school pupil transport vehicle has its red lights flashing and a stop sign extended, you must come to a complete stop. It is the law.

🚨Parents, please remind your students that the bus expectation is to remain seated with their hands to themselves.

🚨Also, please remember that changes to students' dismissal procedures should be sent with your child to school. If you need to remember to send a note and email the school, make sure it arrives before 2 pm. If a note was not sent into the school, the email must include your child's homeroom teacher, secretary, and principal.

Extended Day Pricing

2024-2025 School District Calendar