The Pulse of the Pride

Lyme School Friends,

We have had another great couple weeks at school!

The Winter Solstice Celebration was today and it went well. This was an opportunity for students to connect across all grade levels. It is always great to see our middle schoolers run activities and engage with our younger students. These are the special parts about being a small school.

We hope you have a fantastic break. Please remember that transitions in and out of school can be challenging for students, especially our youngest. A few days before we come back from break, it is important to get back into those routines such as bedtime and getting up earlier. Starting this a few days before the end of the long break will ease the transition back to school and make the morning of January 6th that much smoother.

We have both a superintendent search and strategic plan work going on. Please see the link to the superintendent search committee survey. There is also a flyer inviting everyone to participate in providing input to the strategic planning committee. Thank you for engaging with both of these groups in this important work!

Have a fabulous weekend and wonderful winter break!

The next newsletter will hit your inbox on January 10th.

Happy New Year, 2025!

As always, please reach out if I can be of assistance.

Regards,

John P. D'Entremont, Principal

Dates:

December 23, 2024 - January 3, 2024 - School Closed/Winter Break

Hello Lyme School families!

We received the following information from Drummond Woodsum Law Associates this week. Attached is their addendum to the updated Procedural Safeguards Handbook. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Respectfully,

Geoff Tomlinson, Director of Student Services

The Lyme Middle School Yearbook Club wants your art on the cover of the new yearbook. Please submit a drawing in the provided space, which may be selected to go on the cover of the 2024-2025 yearbook. Please outline your drawing in a pen or black marker so it comes out nice and clear on the yearbook. Also, preferably add color to your drawings so they POP! After all submissions are collected by January 15, they will be reviewed by Yearbook Staff judges. While this challenge is optional, the winner whose art is chosen for the front cover, will receive a FREE YEARBOOK! So please, submit your artwork!

Please give submissions to Mrs. Waterman by January 15, 2025. Thanks!

See attachment!!!

Did you get your Cookie Order in by the end of the day on Friday? If so, we look forward to seeing you in The Lyme School Cafeteria on Monday, 12/23 between 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. for pick up!

Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

Chef Danielle and Miss Markwood

Did you know that during the summer of 2023 Lyme School received a grant from a collaboration of the American Heart Association (AHA) and Dartmouth Health and was provided a CPR in Schools Hands-Only training kit?

The goal of the AHA’s CPR in Schools program is to increase the number of bystanders trained in CPR within a community. The training kit includes materials to provide an interactive session for students to learn lifesaving skills of CPR, AED use and choking relief.

I am using this program to train middle school students during their health education time. Additionally, this class has been offered to the wider Lyme community with plans for another class in the new year.

CPR in Schools Learning Objectives:

• Describe the important differences between heart attack and cardiac arrest

• Describe the steps to perform Hands-Only CPR for an adult and child

• Perform Hand-Only CPR for an adult and child

• Demonstrate how to use an AED on an adult and child

• Describe the steps to perform CPR with breaths for an adult and child

• Discuss when and how to help a choking adult and child

• Describe how to help a choking adult or child who stops responding

Questions? Please email me at nurse@lymeschool.org

We are examining our science teaching this year as we are in the Vision and Planning stage for Science in our curriculum review cycle. As part of the curriculum review, teachers revisit the Next Generation Science Standards and assess our current curriculum against these standards.

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are a set of guidelines designed to guide science education from kindergarten through 12th grade. NGSS emphasizes not only learning scientific facts, but also developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and hands-on skills. Students explore science concepts through experiments, real-world investigations, and teamwork, allowing them to think like scientists and engineers. During our November inservice, K-5 teachers experienced a full day of inquiry-based science activities with two professional development trainers from the Vermont Energy Education program.

As a school, we are looking at what is currently being taught in science, what science topics are already embedded into our EL reading program, and where we can add more science instruction into a very full schedule. Over the next year, teachers in K-8 will pilot some new science units and materials, as well as participate in more professional development in teaching the Next Generation Science Standards.

Need a book to read? Check out an Award Book!

Each school year, all students throughout the state of New Hampshire have the opportunity to read and vote for their favorite books in one of three award categories: Ladybug (Grades K-3), Great Stone Face (Grades 4-6), and Isinglass (Grades 7-8). Links to the library catalog lists for these categories are included throughout! When browsing books on the shelves, you can easily find books nominated in each of the three categories by looking for the award icon on the book spine.

Students in grades K-3 are abuzz with excitement for many reasons this week, including voting for their favorite of the 2024 Ladybug Picture Book Award Nominees. Lyme School ballots were cast last week and this week and results will be revealed when we return in January, along with the state-wide results! You can browse the 2024 Lyme School Library Catalog List and CFL list of Previous Ladybug Award Winners.

Each year, twenty books are nominated by Children’s Librarians of the New Hampshire Library Association for the Great Stone Face Award. Grades 4-6 have until April to read Great Stone Face Award Nominees. Browse the Lyme School Library Catalog List and read now, vote in April! You can also browse the CFL list of all previous GSF Award winning books.

Nominations for Isinglass Award (Grades 7 & 8) come from teens and teachers/librarians around the state throughout the year. The 2024 Isinglass Award Nominees can be found on this Library Catalog List. Voting happens in April. Read now, vote in April! You can also browse the CFL list of all previous Isinglass Award winners.

From CFL:

• If there are any remaining Blisters for Books pledges outstanding, please send them into CFL. This year we have raised over $7,000. Thank you to all who contributed!

• Save the date! Sunday, December 22, 3-5 pm: Winter Gathering at Converse Free Library. Crafts, stories, food, and good cheer!

• Holiday Hours: CLOSED Tuesday, 12/24; Wednesday, 12/25; Thursday, 12/26; and Wednesday, 1/1

• Our next after school movie is January 14, 2025

Wanted to let you know that nearly 70 warm winter greetings written and illustrated by our wonderful Lyme students will be making their way to our community member's mailboxes this week. Big thank you to Mo Chandler who helped make that happen in the lower school and to our MS advisors for coordinating the efforts upstairs. We also had some adorable Kinder/3rd grade buddy collaborative creations! We sometimes get responses from folks so here’s hoping they are moved to do so!

Hello Lyme Families,

Our third annual “Lyme School Winter Solstice Celebration” was a great success, providing a fun and meaningful way for our school community to connect and play! Led by middle school students and supported by their advisors, the event featured a variety of activities for all grade levels. The middle schoolers led the way as they planned and led activities while creating a fun and welcoming atmosphere.

Activities included reading with buddies, gym games, face painting, winter crafts, Minute-to-Win-It challenges, and marshmallow target toss. Special thanks to our middle schoolers for making the event enjoyable and ensuring that students from kindergarten to 5th grade felt comfortable and engaged. It was heartwarming to see these connections and the joy shared across age groups.

The event also gave staff the chance to connect with students and colleagues they don’t often see. This is what makes Lyme School so special! Thank you to everyone who made this day a success—we look forward to more multi-age experiences in 2025!

Happy Holidays and have a wonderful Winter Break!

Thank you for sharing your children with me. I am grateful for their bottomless wonder and the energy they bring to Art class every week. Not a week goes without moments of appreciation of what I get to witness every day.

All my best,

Ms. G

In second and third grade Spanish classes, we have been exploring emotions in Spanish. Each day, students participate in a check-in to share how they are feeling, and we use a bar graph to compare the number of students experiencing various emotions.

We also engaged in a fun activity originally created by Mrs. Stanton during the return to school following the Covid pandemic. In this activity, she displays her emotions both while masked and unmasked. Students enjoyed guessing the emotion on her face—first with the mask on, then without—before we revealed the Spanish word for the emotion she was actually demonstrating.

This activity is a wonderful example of cross-curricular learning, allowing students to practice Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills in a new context while also reinforcing math skills in another language.

Students in the primary grades have been working on the combination skills of eye-hand coordination and the manipulative skills of ball rolling and the underhand. The skill cue words of “ step, tick, tick” help students remember the pattern of the skill as students aim for a target. Having a visual, either a hula hop or a small pin, helps students gauge their eyes and hands working as a team.

Eye-hand coordination will continue to be focus throughout our upcoming units as we enter the new year.

Third grade enjoyed doing some winter caroling around the town green on Thursday!

Warm holiday wishes from the PTO!

As the holiday season fills our community with joy and togetherness, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you—our amazing Lyme School families. Your support, generosity, and kindness make everything we do possible, and we feel so fortunate to be part of such a caring and connected school community.

The holidays are a time to reflect on what truly matters: the connections we share and the ways we can uplift and support one another. Together, we’re building a nurturing environment where our children thrive, our educators feel appreciated, and our community grows stronger every day.

We’re excited to share a few special updates as we celebrate this season of giving:

Teachers and Staff Luncheon
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the Teachers and Staff Luncheon last week! The beautiful spread of food and treats brought smiles to the faces of our hardworking school team, and we are so grateful for your thoughtfulness.

If you still need to pick your serveware, they are located by the sink in the teacher's lounge. Thank you!

Giving Tree Program
We are so grateful for your incredible generosity in fulfilling all the family requests through the PTO’s Giving Tree Program. Now, we hope to complete the Teacher and Staff Wish List! Supporting our wonderful educators is a meaningful way to show appreciation for their dedication to shaping the lives of Lyme’s kids.

How to Participate:

• Visit the Teacher & Staff Wish List on Giftster to choose an item.
• You’ll be directed to a vendor site (like Amazon) to make your purchase.
• Return to Giftster to mark your item as purchased to avoid duplicates.
• Items can be shipped directly to the school or dropped off at the front office.

Shipping Address:
Lyme School Giving Tree
35 Union Street
Lyme, NH 03768

Thank you for spreading kindness and cheer this holiday season!

Kids’ Holiday Shop at Jingle & Mingle
We can’t wait to see you at the Kids’ Holiday Shop, part of Jingle & Mingle on Sunday, December 22nd, from 3-6 PM at the Lyme Congregational Church-Fellowship Hall. This beloved tradition gives kids the chance to shop for their loved ones while supporting the PTO. Thank you for donating your gently used giftable items—your contributions make this magical event possible!

Upcoming PTO Meetings
We’d love for you to join us at our next PTO meetings on Mondays at 7:30pm on February 10 and May 12.. Let’s come together to plan new ways to support our school and strengthen our community.

From all of us at the PTO, thank you for making this season so special.

Wishing you and your family a joyful holiday season filled with warmth and love.

The Lyme School PTO

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

lymeschool.org/page/lyme-school-pto

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

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.

Preventing Spread of Respiratory Viruses When You’re Sick

Testing and Respiratory Viruses

Masks and Respiratory Viruses Prevention

The Lyme School Apparel Store has a variety of apparel and accessories all customizable with a variety of school logos. The Lyme School PTO earns 12% of all sales. Thank you for supporting our school and go Lions! #LYMESCHOOLROCKS

OUR VALUES

● Fairness ● Acceptance of Others ● Integrity ● Responsibility

● Perseverance ● Individuality ● Compassion ● Courage

John P. D'Entremont, Principal

Elise Foxall, Academic Director

Geoff Tomlinson, Student Services Director