Cheetah Pride Press

Families,

BRRRR! It sure has gotten cold outside. Thank you for sending your learners to school with the appropriate winter gear. I know many of you are wondering how we decide whether or not to go outside. We make every effort to get fresh air and move our bodies during the school day. However, during periods of inclement weather, in the interest of safety, two things must be considered:

• Are students dressed appropriately? This includes the need for snow gear when applicable.
• Are the conditions safe? This includes temperature, wind chill, heat index, and surfaces covered in water, mud, and/or ice.

When considering temperature, wind chill, and heat index, we use a Child Care Weather Watch chart for guidance. This tells us whether the combination of temperature and wind chill/heat index is safe. If outdoor play is not advised, we stay inside. Since New England weather changes rapidly, we encourage you to continue sending your student to school prepared for outdoor play, even if the morning forecast doesn’t sound great. We’ll go out if we can!

Stay warm,

Joey and Andrea

In celebration of the 90th day of school, which is the halfway mark of the school year, grade 3 students dressed with halfway outfits and took part in halfway activities.

She is in Mr. Evan’s room.

She is special because she does cheer.

One of her favorite things are cats.

She wanted to be on cheetah council to be a role model.

Her favorite thing about school is recess.

Today the Cheetah Council hosted the first Book Swap and Shop. PreK-grade 1 students swapped books or bought gently used books . The price is 2 books for $1.00. On 2/7 we will host the Book Swap and Shop for grades 2-3 students. On 2/21, PreK -grade 1 will get to shop again.

Today the Cheetah Council made $21.00 in sales. We are saving up to buy a “free book library” for the front of the school. The book Swap and Shop will occur every two weeks.

Memorial Models are chosen weekly by their teacher. These students have excelled all week in taking care of themselves, others, and things. The recipients will dine at a VIP table during lunch every Friday!

A PAWsitive office referral is submitted when a staff member recognizes a student who is going above and beyond to exemplify one of our three school rules - taking care of others, taking care of self, & taking care of things.

At Memorial, we believe in the power of setting goals, celebrating growth and being reflective in our learning. Our K-5 math program, Bridges in Mathematics, helps develop young mathematicians to ask thought-provoking questions, collaborate and participate in discourse with their peers, self-reflect in order to set individualized learning goals and believe in themselves as learners. Bridges offers many resources on developing this lifelong skill within your learner. Check out these great resource to find out more.

Asking Questions

Promoting a Growth Mindset

Learning from Mistakes

Preschool students have been learning about Teamwork during art class, and how we can work together to make one work of art. The students practiced cutting, gluing, taking turns, and making decisions together in order to build snowmen to decorate the Library windows, in collaboration with Mrs. Flannery for Memorial Schools’ World Read-Aloud Day, coming in February!

Kindergarten students learned about different types of SYMMETRY, including bilateral and radial symmetry. When we looked closely at snowflakes, we noticed that there are patterns that go around and out from the center/middle. We learned how to use objects like straws, cotton balls, and Unifix cubes to create copies with printmaking. Those copies of the different objects helped us to create beautiful and unique snowflakes with radial symmetry. We then learned how to add glitter by DRAWING with a glue bottle. Our snowflakes will sparkle and will look so fancy, hanging in the library windows at the lobby for a winter lodge collaborative display Mrs. Flannery!

First grade students have been learning about what a FORM is, and how forms are different from SHAPES. We explored the use of clay, and how to form clay with our hands, and turn clay into three-dimensional forms! We learned the “pinch pot” method, but then had to figure out how to make a slightly bigger or smaller pinch pot that fits inside of the other. These pinch pots make a set, called “nesting bowls”. The students were able to form the pinch pots into various shapes, like heart, star, oval, triangle forms and more. We then created carvings, lids, handles, or any other special features to add to their pinch pots. We are so excited and are waiting patiently to get them back after they are dried and fired. Then we will be ready for glazing our nesting bowls! Once they are glazed, the ceramic pinch pots will go home, and will be ready to USE! Students will be able to eat or drink out of them, use them for collecting things, or even plant flowers in them.

Second grade students have been working hard to complete their Surreal collages, learning how to layer paper images from big first, to the smallest last. We learned how to use a glue bottle carefully in order to have no blobs, and to glue very complex cut shapes without them falling off of the collage. Collages take time to create, but we learned that this unique art process is a lot of fun. We will be bringing them home soon! We will be starting a new project next week, and are going to spend the rest of January working on a new project, CLAY sculptures! We are super excited to begin those, and will be bringing them home in February.

Third grade students have just reached the ½ way point of the school year, and are now checking on their progress towards their goals. Each student has a goal to complete 6 finished works of art, in a variety of media, to represent 6 art subjects by the end of the year. Students have been celebrating their exciting discoveries, and persevering through challenges that come from taking risks with their projects. Students have begun to dive into media no other students have thought to use yet, including sewing, and printmaking! It is exciting to see as the students create their own works and travel down their own learning paths. It is also important to remember that all student work will be staying here throughout the year, and is being collected in their art portfolios. We will be hosting a 3rd grade art show in late May, so that students can all have the opportunity to display and present their works of art they spent all year creating. Third grade students who have created sculptures were instructed to photograph their 3D works, and take the actual work home. When we get closer to the date of the art show, students will be encouraged to bring in their 3D works to put on display. If students can’t, they at least will have their photograph of their sculpture to present. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Other important information:

I would like to take a moment to congratulate the Artists of the Month for December-January:

PreK: Nora Senerchia and Aidan Pilz

K: Presley Barber and Leo LaBonia

1: Hudson Cleveland and Sai Doble

2: Oliver Moyer and Emmie Pedersen

3: Victoria Kutsukos and Michael Reis

Lastly, I would like to thank all of the families who purchased from our annual Art To Remember fundraiser for your support! Your purchase helped raise $1000 for the art program at Memorial School. Those funds made it possible to order more art supplies to use during art classes for all grades for the rest of the school year! My students and I are incredibly grateful for your generosity!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Vining

January

27th- BOE Meeting 6:30pm

31st - Cheetah Pride Assembly & Spirit Day= Wear Your Cheetah Gear

February

3rd- Magical Monday in the Cafeteria

5th- World Read Aloud Day and 100th Day of School

10th- Board of Education Meeting

14th- Professional Learning Day = No School For Students

17th and 18th - Holiday Recess

The East Hampton Board of Education and the school community as a whole promote a secure and productive school climate, conducive to teaching and learning that is free from threat, harassment, and any type of bullying behavior. Therefore it shall be the policy of the Board that bullying and/or teen dating violence committed against a student by another student is prohibited. The Board believes that a school environment in which students feel safe, supported, engaged and helpfully challenged is optimal for learning and healthy development. The Board seeks an environment in which students and adults feel socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically safe; an environment that is free of harassment, intimidation, teen dating violence and bullying. Our website provides links to various policies and reporting forms including our Safe School Climate Plan. Hard copies are also available in our main office. If at any point you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to building administration for further assistance.

When considering the number of absences your student has accrued, keep in mind that a student must be present for 195 minutes in order for the day to count! When bringing your student in late, or signing them out early if they have not been in school for a 195 minutes the day will be recorded as an absence.

Memorial School Attendance email:

memorial_attendance@easthamptonct.org * there is an _ between memorial and attendance!

Please Review This Important Information Below.

Students, parents, and community members have access to an anonymous tip line on the front page of the school district website to report self-concerns, mental health concerns of a friend, or concerns of violence. Simply click here or view on the website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/.

Email: jbauer@easthamptonct.org
Website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/memorial-school
Location: 20 Smith Street, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: 860-365-4020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ehmemorialschool