The Pulse of the Pride

Book Character Pumpkins 2024 - Google Docs.pdf

Strategic Plan Committee Meeting Minutes can be found here.

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Strategic Plan Update

From The Superintendent’s Desk

Our School District is hoping to continue to improve our communication with the community. I

want to take a few minutes today to update you on the work of the Strategic Planning

Committee.

The school board contracted with the New Hampshire School Boards Association to provide a

consultant to lead us through this important process. The board met with our consultant,

Kathleen Cuddy-Egbert, for the first time at the Board Retreat on August 20 th. A plan was

developed to move the process forward, and to identify important stakeholders for inclusion.

The goal is to have the broadest possible community involvement through forums, meetings,

surveys and conversations, ensuring a Plan that will reflect the values and wishes of Lyme

residents.

On September 24th the committee met for an organizational meeting at the SAU office. The

purpose was to get organized, discuss roles, the process, meeting norms and the “Why” of

having a Strategic Plan and its importance as a guiding document for decision making. A

meeting schedule has been developed. Our next meeting is on Oct 8th at 4 o’clock at the SAU

office. We hope to keep the public informed of our progress as we go. I will continue to write

summaries of our work as it happens. We do expect to have several community forums and

opportunities for every voice to he heard.

The Strategic Planning Committee is composed of the following people: Jonathan Voegele, Judy

Brotman, Owen Wohlforth, Jennifer Wilcox, Tori Thayer, Elizabeth Glenshaw John D'Entremont,

Geoff Tomlinson, Frank Perotti and our facilitator, Kathy Cuddy-Egbert. We believe this is good

balance of community, school board and educators. Community members are always welcome

at our meetings, and we look forward to a very dynamic, inclusive and transparent process.

and product.

Respectfully,

Frank S. Perotti Jr., Ed.D.

The Chef's Corner

A Note From the Chef & Prices

Happy October! In order to balance the cost of having a hired chef instead of a contracted outside program this year and the choice not to be part of the USDA School Lunch Program, we have put in place the following price list and subtle changes. Please take note of these changes and feel free to ask either myself or the SAU if you have any questions. I always welcome your input through email at ddindo@lymeschool.org!

Adult Hot Lunch (choice A) - $5.25

Adult Cold Alternative Lunch (choice B) - $4.25

** Student lunch prices will remain the same **

Regular Lunch: $4.25

Large/Adult Lunch: $5.25

A La Carte Menu Items: $1.00

Milk $.65

** The $1.00 A La Carte option will no longer include Entree Items. The process of procuring and making high quality, wholesome, healthy dishes that are made onsite daily and that are frequently locally sourced is not an inexpensive endeavor. Charging $1.00 for such items is not an economically sound decision, unfortunately. Staff and Students are encouraged to please take advantage of the delicious, premium sides that automatically come with your entree as a meal. The large meal option for students is still available.

Please stay tuned for some exciting events that the Kitchen Crew is putting together down the road! If you have any ideas for future events, please let me know!

Wishing you all a great couple of weeks!

Sincerely,

Chef Dindo

Free & Reduced Lunch

This is another friendly reminder to families that would like to apply for free/reduced lunch.

All are encouraged to apply. Applications are past due. For questions, please contact kholmes@lymeschool.org

Free & Reduced Parent Information.pdf

Free & Reduced Application Instructions.pdf

Free & Reduced Meal Application.pdf

Menu Hot Lunch Lyme School OCTOBER 2024.pdf

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Artist in Residence Concludes for 24-25

Artist in Residence Week by Emily Girdwood

Our week is wrapping up and everyone has come through the Art room to work with Jay Ryan, our Artist in Residence. I was thrilled to see so many Lyme School families in the Art room during Open House!

We all had an inspiring week as Jay joyfully shared the magic of screen printing. Jay designed two images, for Lyme School, one for k-3 and another for 4-8. Each image was printed with two screens. Every student came through and printed with Jay. The students asked great questions and were delighted by the lifting of the screen to see the images. A HUGE shout out to James and Amy Ricker for bringing Jay to us and printing with the students all week.

I feel especially grateful for weeks like these, where we shift our routines a little and experience something new and different and collectively grow our sense of wonder and awe.

Thanks, Jay! We loved our week printing with you.

(The prints are coming home TODAY! Please check your child’s backpack for an envelope with their print!)

Student Flu Clinic

Lyme School Student Influenza Clinic 10/22

Lyme School Parents/Guardians,

We will be holding a flu shot clinic on Tuesday October 22 for Lyme students.

Our clinic is being offered in cooperation with the New Hampshire Immunization Program (Division of Public Health Services) and your Regional Public Health Network. The clinic is during the school day and trained medical staff will administer the vaccine.

Why sign your child up for this year’s flu clinic?

Your child will be less likely to get the flu and miss school.

You won’t have to miss work to take your child to get a flu vaccine from your medical provider.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services recommend a flu vaccine for everyone six months of age and older.

NEXT STEPS:

If you DO want your student to receive the flu vaccine at our school-based clinic, please complete the attached consent form and return it to me via email or print out.

If you DO NOT want your child to receive the flu vaccine at our school-based clinic, please DO NOT complete the consent form. No action is needed.

More Information:

Your child’s vaccination information is confidential and protected under state and federal law. New Hampshire’s Immunization Information System (NHIIS) securely stores immunization information from all of your healthcare providers in a single record. The NHIIS is a HIPAA compliant, web-based system that is voluntary for you/your child.

Per NH RSA 141-C:20-f sharing your/your child’s vaccine information with the NHIIS is voluntary. You will be provided an opportunity to Opt-In (to share information) or Opt-Out (to not share information) prior to vaccination. No information will be shared with the NHIIS unless you have provided explicit consent to share your/your child’s vaccine information.

When you Opt-In to the NHIIS your child’s immunization is electronically available to you and your healthcare provider wherever they are. Unlike paper records, NHIIS records are available whenever needed and can’t be misplaced. Additional information is available at https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/disease-prevention/immunizations/nh-immunization- information-system/nhiis-0

For general influenza information, visit the CDC’s website: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/index.html

Vaccine information from Immunize.org is also available to help answer your questions: Vaccine Information Statement: Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (immunize.org).

Kati Miller

Influenza Vaccine Information Statement.pdf

NHIIS Information.pdf

Influenza Consent Form 2024.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions.pdf

lymeschool.org/page/lyme-school-pto

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The Specials Spotlight

Hola from Spanish class!

In Kindergarten and 1st grade Spanish we have been learning about colors, counting, and family vocabulary. Hopefully lots of fun songs have been coming home!

In 2nd and 3rd grade Spanish, we finished our unit and story called “Me gusta la pizza.” We acted the story, used puppets to retell it, read it, and learned lots of extra food vocabulary in the process of talking about what foods we like or don’t like. Check out one of our favorite songs for this unit here.

4th and 5th grade are having Spanish in a new space and are learning new routines and expectations for the class. Students have class jobs and have created their first mini story. Can you believe that Taylor Swift and toilet paper somehow made an appearance in both class stories?!? Currently, students are studying some geography in Spanish: countries and their continents, and whether or not they are Spanish-speaking.

From the music room!

Thank you to everyone who came by the music room during Open House!

Our middle school Soundtrap Elective just finished their "Battle of the Collabs" project! Their goal was to create a 2 minute song that was graded on a rubric by their middle school teachers. The points have been tallied and the winners were All CAPS but no cap. Please give all the teams a listen!

October is country/folk music month for our 2nd and 3rd graders! Check in with your student at home to see who we learn about each week!

Being a Good Sport! by Ms. Connie

Recess is a time when kids get to choose what they want to play and do outside. This is an unstructured time that teachers supervise. During recess many kids choose to play games. It can be easy for kids to get caught up in the game and become more focused on the winning aspect opposed to playing for fun and movement. It can be hard for kids to remember that difference between playing for fun at recess and being part of a team sport. In either case, good sportsmanships is a skill that kids learn. Kids will not win every time. Therefore, kids need to learn the importance of dealing with defeat.

Before playing a game, help kids understand that there is a winner and a loser and we never know who the winner or loser will be. Winning feels good and losing can be disappointing. Remind kids that the most important part of playing games is spending time with people you care about. I always remind kids the cool thing about games is that we get to play them over and next time they could be the winner.
Focus on the things that went well in a game. Give positive feedback about taking turns, using a friendly voice, staying calm, and following the rules even when it doesn’t go our way.
Remind kids that they can use strategies like taking a few deep breaths, stepping away for a minute and then coming back when they are ready, naming their emotion, and using positive self talk.

Learning to win and lose in an expected way is a learning process. It takes time, practice, and adult help to get better at this skill. As a caregiver, it can be challenging to support your child as they learn the skills of being a good winner and loser. Gameplay is an essential part of social emotional development. In Ms. Connie’s room, we spend time working on these skills in a small group setting. If you have have questions or concerns about your child and their peer relationships, feel free to reach out to classroom teachers, Ms. Connie, or Mrs. Stanton.

STANTON TIME ROUND-UP

Hello Lyme Families and Happy FALL!

Hope you are enjoying the colors starting to POP as we transition to autumn in the Upper Valley! I wanted to take a moment to share what has been happening during Stanton Time in lower school.

Kindergarten - What a wonderful group of kiddos joining our Lyme School Community! These students are wrapping up their LISTENING Unit. These K-Kids discovered that we listen for three important reasons:

To LEARN (we listen to get new information!)
To Stay SAFE (we listen to know instructions and important information)
To show people we CARE (we need to listen to help people feel supported and cared for)

Students continue to practice whole-body listening each day - we check in with our eyes, ears, mouths, and body in order to stay engaged in our learning and take care of each other and ourselves! We also learned a new game that involves supersonic listening called “Elf on the Shelf”. Check in with your K-Kiddo to learn how to play! Next week we’ll be learning about Expected and Unexpected Behaviors as well as Green Thoughts and Red Thoughts! (Ms. Kilduff already uses this curriculum in her class which is AWESOME so it will be more like a review for students).

First Grade - These Bucket Filling friends learned all about how what we do and say in our school, home, and community, matters! We did some centers and played some fun games as we explored what it means to be a Bucket Filler and Bucket Dipper - This week we spent reviewing expected and unexpected behaviors with a Jeopardy game.

Second Grade - These folks are also rounding out their Bucket Filling unit and will carry out a TOP SECRET Bucket Filling mission - they will work on filling personal buckets for staff members in our building - truly a day-maker! Shhhh!

Third Grade - MISTAKES ARE…”important, helpful to learn from, proof that we are working hard and trying new things!” This is how 3rd graders finished this sentence starter. We have been learning about GROWTH MINDSET and a big part of that is understanding that we are always learning and should expect to make them. Not only in our academic world, but our social world, too! In our classrooms, sports arenas, and homes, we can model how WE recover from mistakes. We all agreed that making mistakes isn’t the best feeling and can be hard when it happens sometimes. We also agreed that the feeling changes and feels less BIG - having compassion for ourselves and others is so important. Only then can we make space to learn from the experience and move forward in our new experiences. Turns out, WE NEED MISTAKES - ask your students about their aMAZE-ing team challenge.

Fourth Grade - Fourth Graders do a lot of team-building initiatives during Stanton Time. We are focusing on the ACTS of the LEADERSHIP through our team challenges. We are exploring what being a “Leader” truly means and how that looks in our everyday actions. As Fourth graders are emerging as the leaders of the lower school, we want to empower them to see themselves as leaders, perhaps with different styles, strengths, and areas of growth. We learned that a major part of leadership is thinking about others and doing the right thing even when others might not be. When it comes to leadership - self-reflection and self-awareness are really helpful tools to develop the type of leader someone wants to be.

Our Fifth Grade friends have finished up their 2024-2025 Lyme School Year #GOALS. They created motivational goal posters with actions steps and support systems - focusing on one academic and one non-academic goal. Additionally they spent time on reflecting on and selecting ONE WORD to help focus their intention for the year. Some examples included: Focus, Persistence, Kindness, Industrious, Progress, Determined, Imagination, Determination, Active, Balance, and Success. They decorated these and laminated them to be placed in lockers as reminders. We wish them well in their intentional journey this year and will be checking in throughout the year!

It’s been a great month of exploring and fun during Stanton Time!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

With Gusto,

Mrs. Stanton

Lyme School Library & Media Update

Lyme School students can access books in a variety of ways. Over the past month, students in grades K-5 have taken a trip across the street to Converse Free Library to check out books. All students in grades 2-8 have been introduced to how to access the Lyme Library Catalog to search for and put books on hold that are at CFL. Many books have been requested and delivered! We have also been requesting inter-library loans. All students also have access to eBooks and audio books through SORA. Our library catalog will let students know if a book is available online through SORA with the categories of eBook/Kindle and audiobook. Students can access the catalog and SORA at home.

In library classes with grades K-4, we started discussing Hispanic Heritage month and read books written by and about Hispanic people. Grade K-3 have started reading the pictures books nominated for the Ladybug Picture Book Award, which they will vote on in December. We started with The Mermaid with no Tail, written by paralympic swimmer Jessica Long. It was exciting to also watch a video of the 400m freestyle race from early September to see Jessica win her 30th Olympic medal.

BLISTERS FOR BOOKS, the annual fundraiser for children's library materials, is all set for Friday, October 11.

Here is the schedule:

Grades 6-8 9:15-9:45

Grades 4/5 9:45-10:15

Grades K/1 10:15-10:45

Grades 2/3 10:45-11:15

Students will complete laps and the final ten minutes of each time slot will be reserved for snacks. More info: https://lymenhlibrary.org/kids/blisters-2024/

Upcoming CFL Events:

Tuesday, October 8, 3-5 p.m. After School Movie: The Garfield Movie

PE in the Primary Grades by Mrs. Damren

Students in the primary grades have recently concluded a unit on locomotor movements. As defined, locomotor movements take us from place to place and space to space. Movements include walking, jogging, running, hopping, jumping, skipping, and galloping.

By practicing these skills, students learn motor planning, spatial awareness , and the difference in speed and body control. This type of unit is taught early on in the primary grades to allow students to become proficient movers, as outlined in the physical education national standards.

Intermediate Level PE by Mrs. Damren

Students at the intermediate level have been engaged in a skill based and eventually game play soccer unit. Small teams have purposefully been created to allow for skill utilization and team play execution during the last several weeks in PE.

Positions of offense and defense have been described and students have been required to change positions to allow them to get experience playing different in different places with different roles. The emphasis has been on skill work and team play, which has proven to be successful and matches the national standards in physical education.

Team Tournament Play by Mrs. Damren

Another championship was held and team blue comes from behind to earn their championship win in ultimate frisbee.

Coming into the semifinal with no wins, team blue battled hard to gain a spot in the championship game after a hard fought battle in their semifinal game and then again in the final.

Team tournament play continues to be highly competitive. Stay tuned for more results in the near future!

Curriculum Corner by Mrs. Foxall

Traditional Spelling and Vocabulary Studies vs. Morphology

This year we have made some changes in our English Language Arts classes In Grades 4-8. Traditionally, we have had students learn and practice spelling by studying word lists with similar spelling patterns and students acquired new vocabulary through a program called Wordly Wise. In the 2024-25 school year, we are piloting a different approach in Grades 4-8 that focuses on morphology-the study of word structure.

Morphology teaches students about roots, prefixes, and suffixes. It helps them understand how words are formed and how they are related to one another. By learning how these parts work together, students can figure out unfamiliar words and improve both their spelling and vocabulary. Rather than relying on rote memorization, they gain skills that help them decode and spell a much wider range of words. Students in Grades 4 and 5 are working with the Spellography program and students in middle school are learning through a program called Morpheme Magic.

As students learn the building blocks of language, they can apply this knowledge to unfamiliar words across other subjects like science, and even math. We want students to become better equipped to tackle the increasingly complex texts they’ll encounter in higher grades. Additionally, morphology nurtures a curiosity about words and encourages lifelong learning. Morphology study is a meaningful shift that supports recent research in the science of reading and prepares students for academic success.

We surveyed the spelling skills of all of our Grade 3-8 students at the beginning and end of the 23-24 school year and have done so again this fall. We will survey the students’ spelling once again in June. This spelling data will help us see if our morphological approach is improving the spelling skills of our Lyme students. I look forward to seeing the results.

Universal Screener for Number Sense K-5

Our K-5 teachers have recently finished giving our Universal Screener for Number Sense to their students and have individual results to share with you in a letter coming home with your child.

Number sense is the ability to understand numbers and use them effectively to solve problems. It involves a range of skills, including being able to estimate, compare, and manipulate numbers mentally. Good number sense helps children to make calculations easier, and it gives them the confidence to be flexible in their approach to solving problems.

The letter summarizes individual student results in terms of your child's number sense strengths and the areas that could benefit from more practice. There are also suggestions for at-home practice and parent resources in the letter.

Our teachers review this data three times a year with Kate Cook, our math support teacher, and together they plan lessons that address the number sense skills in the classroom.

If you have any questions about number sense skills and your student's results, please reach out to me, Kate Cook, or your child's classroom teacher.

Elise Foxall, Academic Director

PTO NEWS

Lyme School PTO News

Dear Lyme School Community,

On behalf of the PTO, I want to send a huge thank you to Jay Ryan for spending the week with us as our Artist-in-Residence. Jay met with each class, introducing the students to the art of printmaking. It was such a unique and fun experience, giving everyone a peek behind the curtain into this amazing art form. Who knew pulling a print could feel so satisfying? I think some of us might even have future printmakers in the making!

We also want to extend our sincere thanks to the Ricker family, not only for connecting us with Jay but also for helping out in the classroom throughout the week. And a big thank you to Ms. Girdwood, our incredible art teacher, for facilitating the entire experience. Your support made the week even more special for our students!

The Lyme School PTO is proud to fund the Artist-in-Residence program because we know how much these creative, hands-on experiences mean to our kids. Watching them learn and create something new is exactly why we love supporting programs like this! If your child(ren) enjoyed this program and you’d like to help us bring more creative opportunities like this to the school, we’d love to have you involved. Whether that means joining the PTO or supporting our fundraising efforts, every bit of support makes a difference and helps keep these opportunities going.

We meet quarterly on the following Mondays @ 7:30 pm:

November 18th

February 10th

May 12th

Feel free to reach out at pto@lymeschool.org of you'd like to join us!

Have a beautiful weekend!

Cheers,

Fauve Dela Cruz (she, her, hers)

Chair

Lyme School PTO

pto@lymeschool.org

THE LYME SCHOOL PTO MISSION STATEMENT:

To support the school community through engaged involvement and raise funds for programs that enrich the student experience in a way that remains fun and sustainable for all involved

Photos from Around the Lyme School Community

* OLD NEWS BUT STILL INCLUDED IN NEWSLETTER *

Snap Photos?

We do collect photos for our newsletter as well as the yearbook. If you have a photo from a school event such as the first day of school, please feel free to send to aperry@lymeschool.org or jdentremont@lymeschool.org. We have a place to store these electronically for those that work on these important celebrations! Thank You!

News from the Health Office

Lyme School Community,

Welcome returning and new students and families to the 2024-2025 school year. Please

refer to the following information from the Nursing Health Office.

Additional School Nurse information can be found on the Lyme School website under

the Student Support tab.

Staffing:

The Nurse's office is staffed Monday-Friday by a Registered Nurse. Please email

nurse@lymeschool.org and/or call the Main Office 795-2125 if your child is absent from

school due to illness or injury.

Duties include Nursing care, Health Screening, Medication administration, First

Aid, Emergency care, Individualized Health Planning, Health Education, and

collaborative work with families, teachers, special education services, our

guidance counselor and behavioral coach.

Kati Miller RN BSN: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri

Matthew Greenway RN BSN: Wednesday/as needed coverage

Celeste McCool RN BSN: Wednesday/as needed coverage

Medication Administration:

If your child requires emergency medications (epipen, inhaler, etc.) to be kept securely

in the Nurse's office, please contact nurse@lymeschool.org to set up a time to deliver

the medication along with an updated allergy or asthma action plan from your child's

Healthcare Provider.

Returning students need an updated allergy or asthma action plan at the start of each

school year.

For daily medication administration, please complete and return the forms below with

your child's Healthcare provider.

All medications need to be dropped off before the first day of school.

Authorization for RX Medication Administration

Medication or Procedure Order Form

Student Influenza Vaccine Clinic:

The Flu Clinic for students will be held this year at Lyme School on October 22 2024

during the school day. Registration forms will be provided as we get closer to this date.

COVID-19 Information:

Please review the provided link regarding COVID-19 recommendations from the Center

for Disease Control (CDC) if your child is experiencing respiratory illness symptoms or

has tested positive for COVID-19.

CDC Guidelines

The Lyme School Nurse's office is here to support you and your child and to promote

healthy outcomes for students and staff.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns you or your student may have

regarding the upcoming school year.

We look forward to a new school year and appreciate your cooperation.

Kati Miller RN BSN

Lyme School

As of March, 1 2024 The Center for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance to provide "practical recommendations and information to help people lower risk from a range of common respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, flu and RSV."

We follow these guidelines. Please review the following links from the CDC for more information and reach out to me with any questions/concerns.

Thank you for your efforts in keeping our Lyme School students, staff, and families healthy.

Resources:

Preventing Spread of Respiratory Viruses When You’re Sick

Testing and Respiratory Viruses

Masks and Respiratory Viruses Prevention

schoolcalendar2024-25.pdf

24-25 PDF of School Calendar

If you are having trouble logging into ALMA, please reach out to Amanda Perry.

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ALMA - Open for 2024-2025

Please complete the required forms for 2024-2025 in ALMA for all returning students. You will see this on the main page when you log-in to ALMA under your student(s) name.

In ALMA, you will find your child's teacher(s) and schedule, a way to message teachers directly, and paperwork that needs to be completed for this school year.

Accessing-Alma-Instructions.pdf