Dear IRS Families,

It is hard to believe that the first quarter of school is almost complete and we are three weeks shy of Thanksgiving. We have many activities going on and a lot of info for this newsletter. I hope you enjoy it.

A few highlights from the principal's desk.

• We welcomed our new 7th grade science teacher, Mrs. Rysewyk, into our team on 10/30/2023

• Fall sports are winding down and our kids performed very well all season.

• Our fall drama production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was a resounding success and was well attended.

• Our math team, headed by Keli Green, finished third in their first big meet last week.

• Destination of Imagination is preparing their teams for their competition later this fall.

On Monday November 13th we will be visited by a three member team from the New England League of Middle Schools (NELMS) to observe our schools progress on becoming a NELMS Spotlight School.

“This program identifies schools that have a record of powerful and research-based learning for young adolescents and consistently observe middle level best practices. A NELMS Spotlight School is a center of learning and strong effective programs that reflect concepts contained in "The Successful Middle School: This We Believe.”

We have made significant progress towards our school improvement plan to be a Spotlight school and welcome the NELMS leadership team.

Enjoy our newsletter and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Warmest Regards,

Kevin Towle
Principal

The Indian River Math Team competed in Math Meet #1 of the Twin State Math League on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at Windsor High School in Vermont. Four competitors competed mightily against teams with many more individual competitors and finished third overall, out of the nine teams at the Meet. Some teams had full rosters of 8 ‘mathletes’ competing, so a top 3 finish from only 4 competitors demonstrates their strength as individual scorers.

There were 4 categories of competition at the first meet: Arithmetic Fractions, Order of Operations, Decimals and Percents, and Word Problems. Two of our competitors were recognized as Top 3 individual scorers: August Abbott came in second out of approximately 50 competitors with 25 points, and Carter Goodness scored 22 points to tie for third place individually. Amelia Furbish and Hunter McCarthy rounded out the team with outstanding performances, propelling Indian River to our Third Place Finish! All of our competitors were ‘first timers’ at Meet 1, so congratulations to each of you for a great day!

The Math Team competes in Four Meets each year and select individuals qualify for an All-Star Meet in the spring. Our next meet is at Mascoma High School on December 7th, 2023. New competitors from 5th through 8th grades are welcome to join the Indian River Math Team to prepare for this next competition; please see Mrs. Green or email her at kgreen@mvrsd.org for more information. The Twin State Math League competes students from 5th grade through high school in three divisions: Junior (Middle School), Intermediate (9th/10th grades), and Senior (11th/12th grades) and is recognized by colleges as a desirable extra curricular activity.

Vaping is an everyday presence in many of our middle schoolers' lives. Whether it’s an ad on social media, social media creators actively using vapes online, through their friends, or the easy accessibility to the products, our students hear these messages an ads about vaping all the time.

As parents, you want to make sure that your students have the right information about the effects vaping has on your model. You also want them to come talk to you about what they are seeing or hearing. If you are struggle to come up with how to have the tough conversation the American Lung Association has created this website about vaping. (https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/helping-teens-quit/talk-about-vaping/conversation-guide)

Our grade 7th and 8th grade School Counselor, Laura Donica, has limited copies of the Parent Handbook from Operation Parent. These handbooks can help you speak with your child about vaping, social media, dating, and other important topics. They are also available, both paperback, Spanish, and digital copy, through their website https://www.operationparent.org/store

Here at school we try to intervene as much as possible. However, we know this is happening with more students than we are able to help. It is important to know your student has access to resources that can help them quit vaping if they have already started.

The state also has an anonymous website called My Life, My Quit. This program is free to kids in New Hampshire that are under the age of 18. The website can be found at https://nh.mylifemyquit.org/index.

Vape 101 Presentation - Tuesday November 7 - Auditorium in MVRHS. Babysitting available - 6:00pm

It's that time of year to think about signing your students up for winter sports!

We are offering:

• Boys Basketball - Grades 7 & 8
• Girls Basketball - Grades 7 & 8
• Wrestling - Boys & Girls - Grades 5, 6, 7, & 8

You can sign up by visiting the website below:

https://students.arbitersports.com/indian-river-school/indian-river-winter-athletics-2023-24

If there are any questions about INDIAN RIVER SCHOOL SPORTS you can email the Athletic Director at maignacio@mvrsd.org

*** If your student is interested in basketball but is not in grades 7 or 8 please go through MYSL - Your 5th and 6th grade students should have brought home a flyer last week. You can sign up by going to Welcome | Basketball 2023 - 2024 | Mascoma Youth Sports League (sportngin.com) ***

October's Student of the Month assembly happened to fall on the same day as "Dress Up Day." We were able to award a 5th Grade student before he was carried away by an alien and handed out one to an 8th grade hot dog!

We have had a great start to our OLE program for this school year, and have had several students ask about joining. Our next session will beginning mid-January, and we will start to collect applications after December 1st - Please be on the look out for the application form.

If your family is in need of some groceries and personal hygiene items to help get through please reach out to either of our guidance counselors Ted Kilton (tkilton@mvrsd.org) or Laura Donica (ldonica@mvrsd.org). We have the availability to send home three days worth of food once a week, as well as anything as needed. The program is free and requires no application.

If your child is missing any items we have a lost and found table outside the gym doors in the amphitheater. Any items not picked up in the lost and found after 30 days will be donated to the Care Closet we have in the building.