BLACKHAWKS BULLETIN

Lucie Marsh - 2025 Claude Sutherland Civics Award Recipient

Good Afternoon,

We had a strong turnout for yesterday's District Meeting where 8th graders Lucie Marsh and Kaleigh Ferri received the Claude Sutherland Civics Award and Beth Houde ELA Award respectively. Congratulations to both Lucie and Kaleigh for this well-deserved recognition from the School Board. Your hard work and dedication to our school community does not go unnoticed!

Speaking of commitment to community, I'd like to give a shout out to the Classes of 2025 and 2026, including PARENTS, for providing concessions and babysitting. Meeting attendees appreciate the service you provide that allows them to attend to District and Town business with a full belly and knowing the kids are being well-cared for.

Finally, I am feeling very grateful for our community and the anonymous donor who together will be funding a STEAM lab and upgrades to the pod (grade 3/4 area) that will serve to provide interdisciplinary, hands-on, collaborative learning opportunities along with developmentally appropriate educational spaces and an ADA compliant entrance for our middle school students. I am both humbled and excited to be part of this next chapter here at Plainfield School. It was 25 years ago that the front wing was added with a vision of supporting Kindergarten and Arts (music and visual arts spaces.) Since then, our arts and music offerings have contributed greatly to the Plainfield educational experience. Watch this space for updates and opportunities to get involved in the project. We have many talented engineers, scientists, artists, and educators out there. Your input will be very important to implement and enhance the vision for STEAM education at PES.

As we gear up for the week ahead, please be sure the following are on your radar:

• Scholastic Book Fair - this Tuesday through Thursday with public shopping hours on Thursday evening (see below for more details and to add money to your child's account.)
• Get your tickets to our spring play on Friday, March 28 or Saturday, March 29 at the Town Hall (in Plainfield Village) - The students have been working hard to bring you "Hydrangea Albright, Comedy or Tragedy" (Link to ticket form in Drama section below)
• Grades 3 & 4 Project Sleuth this Thursday, March 20th at 6 pm. The students have been working so hard on their projects and look forward to sharing them with parents and friends.

I almost forgot! This past Friday (3/14) was "Pi Day." It has become our tradition for Ms. Mellow and Mrs. Harrington to hold a lighthearted "Pi Day" competition to see which student can remember the most digits of pi. This year's award - once again - goes to Madison Surrette who remembered 119 digits!

Audra

"In diversity, there is beauty and there is strength." ~Maya Angelou

Audra Bucklin, Principal

603.469.3250, ext 223

abucklin@plainfieldschool.org

Kaleigh Ferri - 2025 Beth Houde ELA Award Recipient

March

17 - Drama Rehearsal, 3:00-5:30 Town Hall

18 to 21 - Scholastic Book Fair

19 - Early dismissal, 12:50

20 - Grades 3/4 Project Sleuth, 6 pm

20 - Scholastic Book Fair Evening Drop-in Hours

• 3 to 5:30 pm - Kindergarten shopping hours
• 5:30 pm to 7 pm - Family Shopping

20 - Drama Rehearsal, 3:00-5:30 Town Hall

20 - Math team, 2:50

21 - World Down Syndrome Day - Wear mismatched socks (See Office Updates below)

21 - Drama Rehearsal, 3:00-5:30 Town Hall

Upcoming Events

24 - Drama Rehearsal, 3-5:30, Town Hall

25 - School sing, K-4, parents/guardians welcome

25 - Drama Rehearsal, 3-5:30, Town Hall

26 - Drama Rehearsal, 3-5:30, Town Hall

27 - Drama Rehearsal, 3-5:30, Town Hall

27 - Math Meet, Woodstock 3:45

27 - Class of 2028 Parent Meeting, 6:30 pm

28 - Drama Production of “Hydrangea Albright” , 7:00 pm Plainfield Town Hall

29 - Drama Production of “Hydrangea Albright” , 7:00 pm Plainfield Town Hall

31 - K-2 Field Trip, Lebanon Opera House, 9:15am

April

1 - School sing, K-4, parents/guardians welcome

3 - Early Release, 12:50 (Parent/Teacher Conferences)

4 - Early Release, 12:50 (Parent/Teacher Conferences)

8 - School sing, K-4, parents/guardians welcome

10 - Math team practice, 2:50

14-18 - April Spring Break

22 - Beaupre Community Service Day

"COLD" Options: (offered daily)

Assorted Pre-made Deli Sandwiches, ham and turkey. Sunbutter/Jelly sandwiches

Yogurt Parfait with Fruit and Granola

Fresh Fruit and Veggie Bar with Dinner Roll

See Abbey Group Website for full details and to upload funds.

We have a student who has lost a pair of snowboarding pants and would love for them to be returned. Can parents and students please check at home, and in backpacks and return them if found to the office.

Black in Color. Brand- From Golf and Ski- 686 snowboarding pants- Bibs.

Size Large/XL.

Every year on March 21, people all around the world come together to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by wearing brightly colored, mismatched socks. March 21 is symbolic because people with Down syndrome have 3 copies of their 21st chromosome. Socks were chosen because the karyotype of Down syndrome chromosomes actually looks like mismatched socks! Join Plainfield in ROCKING YOUR SOCKS!

Substitute Teachers Needed for 2024-2025 school year

The Plainfield School is seeking individuals who would be comfortable working with K-8th grade students in our building during the 2023-2024 school year. Applicants must be able to follow teacher substitute plans, be dependable, and enjoy working with children. If you are interested in applying, please contact Katie Lowery in the office at (603) 469-3250.

LOST & FOUND

2024-2025 Lost and Found…please take a look at our lost and found site and see if your children are missing anything. We already have some clothing hanging up. Please take a look and if anything looks familiar to your family, have your child stop and take it home.

Lost and Found Link

Come see the PES Middle School play, Hydrangea Albright: Comedy or Tragedy? by Jeff Fluharty! It is a hilarious comedy with a lot of heart and a positive message. Our performances will be on March 28th and 29th at the Plainfield Village Town Hall (1079 Route 12A.) Doors open at 6:30pm, and the performance will begin at 7:00pm. Reserve your tickets by using this LINK or coming to our table in the PES lobby at the Annual School Meeting on Saturday, 3/15. Suggested ticket donation = $10/adult, $5/child.

Families of cast and crew members will receive an email on Sunday with important information about upcoming rehearsals.

Please reach out to Melinda Russo (mrusso@plainfieldschool.org) and Amanda Lighthiser (dramaclubadvisor@plainfieldschool.org) with any questions.

I hope you are doing well and enjoying the warmer weather we've been having!

We are wrapping up another awesome season of the Passport to Winter Fun program and it has been a great year - we distributed a record breaking amount of booklets (more than 6100) and owe our success to all of you.

I just wanted to send out a reminder that with Spring, the Passport program is wrapping up - last day to cash in prizes is 03/31 and the deadline for Passport Back Flaps is 03/28. We will be drawing names for Grand Prize Winners the first week of April and we would like to include as many kids as possible in the raffle so please be sure to get the back flaps to us ASAP!

If you would like to send a reminder to parents in your school newsletter, we have these copy+paste announcement paragraphs for your use here: https://www.uvtrails.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Passport-School-Announcements-2025.pdf

Please let me know if you have any questions and THANK YOU again for a great season!

All the best,

Kaitie

On Friday, March 14, the 6-8 students celebrated Pi Day! Each grade celebrated in a different way. The sixth graders scaled up a recipe and made pie during class. They enjoyed their pie at the end of the day. Seventh graders are doing a circle unit right now and they measured Oreos and Fudge Stripe cookies to calculate the circumference and area. Eighth graders studied various types of Oreos and calculated the volume of creme in different types! A yummy day for all! At the end of the day, we had our 3rd Annual Pi Challenge for students to recite digits of pi from memory and 13 students participated. Maddie Surrette won by reciting 119 digits. Second place went to Nola Jordan and Courtney Friedman who recited 100 each and third place went to Zoe Rodriguez for 81 digits.

For the third year in a row, Plainfield School students welcomed Kimball Union Academy (KUA) Spanish classes during their March Project Week. Students sang songs, danced, and played games all while practicing their Spanish skills and learning new vocabulary along the way. This year, students began by introducing themselves and playing “¿Quieres a tu vecino?” (Do you love your neighbor?), a variation of musical chairs in which students name a characteristic about a peer that they do not like (eye color, shoe color, clothing color, birthplace, family size, etc.) and those to whom the description applies must get out of their chair to find a new one. The last person standing creates a new phrase, students to whom the phrase applies find a new chair, and so on and so forth. The students also sang “Juanito cuando baila” (When Juanito dances) which served as a nice introduction to the parts of the body and Roberto Carlos’ “Un millon de amigos,” a feel-good song about friendship, family, and stewardship of the environment and its creatures. Furthermore, KUA students performed skits for the students, which was an especially rewarding exercise for the Plainfield students, who were able to listen to fellow Spanish learners speaking the target language. Finally, Sr. Hunnewell and Sr. Ponnefz, who hails from Colombia, taught the students a little bit about his hometown, Cartagena, and the rich geographic and cultural diversity found in his native country. Overall, it was a wonderful experience, one we hope to replicate in the years ahead.

Thank you to all who attended the PTA meeting this past week! We approved our bylaws, approved three classroom funding requests from teachers and started planning for spring events.

Scholastic Book Fair: This week!

Beaupre Community Service Day: April 22nd. Mark your calendars! This will be a day of community service projects at PES and is an incredible opportunity for caregivers to take some time off work if you are able and volunteer side-by-side with our kids. One project the PTA is spearheading is a rejuvenation of the PES garden: new fence and raised beds.

4 Winds is a K-4th grade program; if you are interested or know of a family or community member who would like to volunteer, please contact Michelle Whitaker. mo.whitaker@yahoo.com or 585-690-3472

Basketball has finished for 5/6 girls and 7/8 Boys. PLEASE HAVE YOUR STUDENT RETURN THEIR WASHED UNIFORMS TO AMANDA IN THE OFFICE ASAP.

Plainfield 3rd/4th Recreation Basketball Team with coaches Stacey and Dan Dameron.

Grades 5 to 8

Go to the Lebanon Middle School webpage, and click on the Athletics/Co-Curricular tab, and follow the registration process to sign up.

Grades K to 4

2025 Plainfield Recreation Baseball Registration is OPEN!!

**NOTE** Registration closes on Wednesday March, 26th.

For the most up to date schedule, please visit the co-curricular calendar.

Don’t forget to check the website under Athletics for the most up-to-date practice and game schedules!

We hope you will join us for this year's Beaupre Community Service Day. Teams of teachers, students, parents, and community members will work on a variety of projects including our community garden (we're adding fencing and raised beds!), trail maintenance, grounds cleanup, and much more.

Attention PES and CES Families

Registration for MCC Camp's 2025 Season is open and off to a roaring start! Come join us for crafts, games, hiking, and old-fashioned fun! Camp runs June 30th-August 15, 2025 from 8am-4pm, early drop off and late pick up is available. Weekly rate: $275, early drop off/late pick up fees extra. Visit our website at https://www.meridenucc.org/summer-camp or contact Rosa Sousa at camp@meridenucc.org with any questions.

MCC Camp Registration Link [docs.google.com]

• Campers in PK-rising 7th graders welcome!
• Butterflies (PK-K): maximum 10 campers per week
• Bumblebees (1-2gr): maximum 10 campers per week - Week 4 CLOSED! All other weeks Limited
• Pandas (3-4gr): maximum 15 campers per week - Week 2 CLOSED! & Weeks 1, 3, 4 Limited
• Tigers (5-7th gr): maximum 15 campers per week - Weeks 2, 3, 4, & 6 CLOSED! All other weeks Limited

JAM is pleased to offer JAM Gaming Club, a new after-school club to build community for kids with an interest in e-sports and video gaming, this spring starting Monday 3/17. We still have a few spots available! This club is designed for grades 5-9.

We recognize the growing field of esports and gaming as an important space where kids are engaging, and we'd like to create an in-person social space both to play games, develop critical thinking skills, and engage in the game design process with experienced JAM mentors. This is a pilot program. Tuition assistance or waiver available upon request, thanks to grant funders (no questions asked).

Please share the attached flyer with students and colleagues who may know kids who have an interest, and reach out to us with questions or suggestions!

Many thanks!

Kind regards- Samantha

1st Thursday & 3rd Friday & Saturday of each month at the Christ Community Church; Route 12A Plainfield. Nutritious pre-packaged bags of nonperishable food items, frozen meat, bread, eggs, milk and fresh veggies & fruit. This is a drive thru pantry for Plainfield & Cornish residents. Free Cat & Dog food on the 3rd Friday & Saturday provided by the Upper Valley Humane Society. Please stop by between 9-10:30 a.m. to help stretch your grocery budget.

WHAT: FREE Clothing for all ages, Home goods, Toys etc.

WHERE: Christ Community Church; 1259 Route 12A Plainfield - 1-603-675-5673

WHEN: Tuesdays 9-11 a.m. Everyone is Welcome!

A box of nutritious food is delivered to your home each Wednesday afternoon to help fight hunger. The box contains a variety of foods for the entire family to help stretch your grocery budget.

FREE Fresh veggies, fruit, milk, eggs, bread & proteins Every Wednesday from 11:45-12:15 p.m. Cornish Town Hall is located on the fairgrounds. Everyone is welcome!

Providing Heating Fuel & Electrical Assistance. They also have Rental or Mortgage Assistance programs. Completed applications for eligibility are needed. These programs are open to all Sullivan County Residents please call 542-9528 for more information.

Providing Plainfield Residents with the following:

• Heating & Electrical Assistance
• Food Pantry resources
• Holiday Gift Baskets
• School Supplies Drive
• Community Dinners
• Housing Helper Grants
• Summer Camp Scholarships
• Thrift Store Vouchers for clothing & furniture.

Located at 60 Hanover Street, Lebanon

Call for an appointment to discuss individual needs: 1-603-448-4553

Any Plainfield or Meriden resident requiring assistance for housing, heating fuel assistance, electricity assistance, medication assistance and or nutritional support from the Town should contact the Community Resource Director, Stephanie Schell. Contact information: 603-469-3201 or email sschell@plainfieldschool.org. All information is confidential.

Food Pantry

Residents of the Town of Plainfield can access the following local services.
Note: The food pantry and clothing swap rooms are located in the Christ Community Church on Route 12A (across from the Plainfield Fire Department). The Food Pantry is open the 1st Thursday and the 3rd Friday and Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and warmly welcomes all Town residents.

Free Clothing Rooms

The Christ Community Church has (2) very well organized rooms that contain FREE clothing for adults and children. All clothing is donated and in great condition. In addition to clothing there are also Free household items, toys & books as well. These rooms are open to the Public each Tuesday morning from 9-11 a.m.

Free Fresh Veggies & Fruit

Free fresh produce provided by Willing Hands: please check the Town calendar for dates and times.

Go to the Lebanon Middle School webpage, and click on the Athletics/Co-Curricular tab, and follow the registration process to sign up.