The TES Times March

As we come to the close of another month in our school year, I find myself amazed and proud of all the wonderful learning opportunities going on here at TES. The creative ways our teachers are engaging students and providing opportunities for families to be involved in their student's educational journey is inspiring. It was nice to see families at Breakfast Over Books, the first grade Solarbration, and the third grade Research Project Presentations. A special thank you to the PTA for sponsoring our very successful Scholastic Book Fair. We are also grateful to the TEF for sponsoring so many programs that enhance our student's experience here at TES. Please read on for more exciting TES news.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy spring break.

Lisa Moore

Principal

Link to 2024-2025 Tewksbury Public Schools Schedule

Check your backpacks for the Total Eclipse envelopes! Join Mr. Strange for his live stream of the total eclipse of the sun from Old Forge, NY, on April 8th! Login to Mr. Strange's classroom at about 3:20 PM to enjoy the FULL solar eclipse and commentary by Mr. Strange! Each TES student has received special safety glasses and complete instructions for viewing from either here (91% eclipse) or with Mr. Strange (100%).

https://sites.google.com/tewksburyschools.org/mrstrange/home

Each month we are surprised and delighted by the creativity of our TES families! The hay bale was decorated this month by Kindergartener, Sam Schwendner, and his parents Lindsay and Max. The bale had a surprise feature this month that was only noticed at Family Math Night. It lights up at night!! Thank you, Schwendner Family, for this clever design that is just as beautiful at night as it is in the sunlight!

Just a gentle reminder regarding our procedures for when your child is tardy to school. This information can be found in the TES Handbook & Code of Conduct:

Tardy

The school day starts promptly at 8:45 AM. Attendance will be taken between 8:35 AM and 8:50 AM. Students are considered tardy after 8:50 AM. If your child arrives after 8:45am, please park your car and escort your child to the main entrance to sign them in.

Multiple staff members are on duty until 8:35am to monitor the doors during arrival. Please do not leave your children at the front doors unattended to let themselves in.

Please note that phone/personal device use pertains to the entirety of the school day (including bus rides). Students should not be using cell phones, smart watches, video games, etc. during school nor on bus rides to and from school. Please see below from the TES Handbook & Code of Conduct:

Phone/Personal Device Expectations: The following expectations are in effect regarding cell phones/smart watches:

● Cell phone & smart watch use is not permitted. Phones must be turned off and put away for the entirety of the school day if they are with a child in school.

● If a student feels they need to use a phone, they can let their teacher know, and the counselor or main office will provide assistance.

Your assistance in managing this is appreciated.

As our fourth graders get working on the TES portion of the OTS/TES Yearbook, please know that the yearbooks are on sale from now until April 15th. To order, please click the link below and enter the following code: 9456324. Hard and soft cover books are available. The cover will have original student artwork and name stamping on the cover will be included. These are very special student-designed yearbooks that will be distributed in June 2024.

Order Your Yearbook Here

We are creating a space for all to build, explore, imagine, cooperate, and have fun! The Tewksbury Education Association has provided us with a grant to purchase most of the materials and supplies. We need your help putting together metal raised beds, spreading mulch, installing posts and hanging fencing, digging holes for posts, gathering natural materials, etc.) We will also gladly accept additional supplies!

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!! Here are the ways to help:

1. Sign up to come help “make” the space on April 23rd from 3:30 to 5:00 PM. Sign up here.

2. Donate items for the Makerspace: We need stones, river rocks, pebbles, shells, pine cones, etc. We need sliced logs, logs, branches, splinter-free wood scraps. We need weather-proof fabric for weaving fence (rope or tarps, tents, coats, etc. cut into strips). We need outdoor Tonka-style trucks and large cable/wire spools for tables. Can you donate? Sign up here.

Please contact Amanda Kouzis (akouzis@tewksburyschools.org) and/or Karen Morrow (kmorrow@tewksburyschools.org) with questions or ideas.

Showing children what a parent or mentor does during the work day is important, but Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day also demonstrates the value of their education and helps children discover the power and possibilities of work. If you plan to take your child to work, please enter it into Pick Up Patrol at the dropdown that reads: April 25th - Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day. This will be counted as an excused absence. But please note, school will be in session for a full day if you and your child do not participate in Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day.

March has been so fun for Preschool students and staff! Preschool participated in a shared writing about how to catch a leprechaun. Because students had such creative ideas; we were able to incorporate all ideas into a group project leprechaun trap. Students worked so diligently painting, stringing rainbow cereal, and preparing for a leprechaun! They tried so hard to catch Lucky the Leprechaun! We missed our opportunity this year, but Lucky sure did leave us surprises to let us know he visited our classroom! Lucky left us leprechaun ten frames, magic letter painting and chocolate coins! The month of March also brought us Read Across America! Preschool students enjoyed reading so many Dr. Seuss books. Our favorite was The Foot Book! With the Foot Book, we learned right foot and left foot.

March has been a busy month for the Kindergarten students at TES! The children have been learning about force and motion in Science. The Tewksbury Education Foundation sponsored a fantastic program for Kindergarten students to experience the effects of force and motion firsthand. Dr. Peter Stufpak, a former Associate Professor of Engineering and Physics at Raritan Valley Community College and Founder and President of Main Engine Start visited each kindergarten class. During his visit, the children explored pushes/pulls in meaningful and fun ways. The children also got to discover the effects of friction on the speed and distance balls traveled down ramps across various surfaces. We are thankful to the TEF for helping to make this program available to our students!

Kindergarten students are also learning about our community and community helpers this month. The highlight of this unit is always "Community Helper Day". On this day, students choose a community helper to dress up as. They share information about what job their community helper does, and why it is important, and tell about a tool that particular helper uses. This year Community Helper Day is April 10th.

In our Kindergarten Aspire classes, we just finished up a 10-week author study focusing on the renowned children's author, Eric Carle. Through this study, students immersed themselves in the vibrant and imaginative world of Eric Carle's books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, and From Head to Toe.

March was a busy month in First Grade! We had a blast wrapping up our unit on the Sun, Moon, and Earth! Families were invited to our "Solarbration Breakfast". Students showcased their knowledge and all the fascinating things they learned during our unit. We also had a week long residency "Circus Minimus" with Kevin O'Keefe. This TEF sponsored residency focused on kindness, team-work, perseverance, and leadership skills. This was also attended by our parents!

Second Grade kicked off March with the school-wide Read Across America events! We read books with partners, in our dens, shared our favorites, and some of us even got to make “Oobleck” at the after school Suessabration! It was a great way to share our love of reading. Second Graders continue to be busy with their Flat Stanley project. Each classroom is getting postcards from all over the world. With each post card, students learn some facts about that place and where it is located on a world or US map. Our thanks to all our families’ relatives and friends who are participating in this project. Getting these postcards is a highlight of the day!

We have also been doing some research on a special website called “Pebble Go!” Each Second Grader has chosen an American symbol to read and learn more about. They are then taking what they learned and adding it to a poster which will be shared with the rest of the class. This process helps the students not only learn about the significance of these American treasures, but also how to take information from one source and apply it to another! So here’s to our own version of March Madness!!

Third Grade is on the move! Both our science and social studies units involved movement. In science we experimented with balanced and unbalanced forces, gravity and magnets. The students cleverly found uses for magnets to push and pull things. In social studies we looked at movement through the lens of immigration. The vocabulary words push and pull took on a whole new meaning as we studied the factors that pushed people from their homeland and pulled them to America, especially during the big waves of immigration during the Industrial Period. We even took a field trip at the beginning of the month to the MPAC to see a play called Ellis Island: Gateway to a Dream. Learning about Ellis Island and the journey to America fascinated both the students and teachers! Additionally, we had our publishing party for our informational writing unit. The third grade teachers appreciate you celebrating these wonderful writers with us!

March has been full of fantastic activities from Math Night to the 8th grade play preview. In the classroom Fourth Graders dove deep into decimals, learning how to read and write them, as well as compare, order, add, subtract, and convert them. In writing, students learned to use the RACE strategy to construct a well written paragraph in response to a short answer question. In the coming weeks, this lesson will segway into composing multi-paragraph essays in response to essay questions.

Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade students have been working on various skills including throwing, catching and striking the volleyballs with partners and in modified group play. Third and Fourth Grade students are playing various lead up games including "bumping" (forearm pass) and "setting" (overhead pass) the volleyballs.

In health education, students are learning about medicines -- what they are, how they are used, and the importance of utilizing medications properly and with adult supervision.

We are in search of empty pizza boxes for a Field Day station. Must be unused. If anyone can help, please reach out to Ms. Mukherjee at jmukherjee@tewksburyschools.org. Thank you!

We kicked off March with Read Across America Week, our school-wide celebration of books and reading! It was wonderful to see our students and families so excited about reading! In the beginning of March, our younger students learned about the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. The Geisel Award winners are engaging books that are perfect for beginner readers. We are now starting a Spring book study that focuses on fiction and nonfiction books about birds (with some fun S.T.E.A.M. activities, too)! Our older students are becoming more confident and independent library users. Through lessons that encouraged them to explore a variety of types of literature, they are getting skilled at finding books of interest to them. We are now starting our biography unit, which will continue through April. I hope everyone enjoys an exciting and/or relaxing Spring Break, with a little extra time to read for fun!

Throughout March, our music classroom has been abuzz with discussions, debates, and laughter as students engage in a musical showdown unlike any other. Instead of basketball brackets, we have crafted our very own March Madness brackets featuring none other than The Beatles' iconic songs. Classics such as "Here Comes the Sun," "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," and "Let It Be" have taken center stage, with students passionately advocating for their favorites to advance to the next round. As March draws to a close, the excitement continues to build, with anticipation running high for the ultimate winner of the March Madness Beatles Bracket. But win or lose, one thing is certain, our TES Tigers have embarked on a musical adventure they'll cherish for years to come, proving that when it comes to the power of music, the possibilities are endless.

Kindergarteners are learning a song about farm animals in Colombia and the sounds the animals make! First Graders are beginning a unit on our community and will make a map of Tewksbury labeling places in Spanish. Second Graders have created surveys to find their classmates' opinion about various topics and are also singing a fun song about the weather. Students in Third Grade finished up the Mi Casa unit by making foldable houses. Fourth Grade students finished up the La Ropa unit with some dramatic and hilarious skits taking place in a clothing store.

This past week many classes observed El Día Mundial del Agua (World Water Day) by reading a book about access to clean water in Cuba. We are very grateful to have clean water when we need it here in Tewksbury! All grades enjoy playing the calendar game in each class, where we look for stickers that are hiding behind the numbers on the calendar. They decorated their notebooks with them and are excited to count how many they have found!

Also, this is a reminder that all families have access to the songs and games on Rockalingua to practice Spanish vocabulary at home! It is a great website and kids love to play the games there but I prefer not to spend precious class time on screens. Log in with username and password: holatewks.

Our Kindergarten, and First Grade students are delving into the fascinating world of research using PebbleGo. This interactive platform empowers young learners to explore a wide range of topics from animals and science to social studies and biographies. Through engaging multimedia content and age-appropriate tools, students are honing their research skills, discovering new information, and developing a love for learning. PebbleGo is a fun online tool; it's a gateway to a world of knowledge waiting to be explored by our curious and enthusiastic students.

Our Second,Third and Fourth grade students are brushing up on their Google Docs skills. They are learning the toolbar features and how to create, edit, and collaborate on documents seamlessly using this powerful digital tool. Google Docs empowers students to express their ideas creatively and work together efficiently. Through hands-on activities and guided lessons, students are mastering the art of digital writing and collaboration, preparing them for success in the modern digital age. In addition, students are practicing using the Qwerty keyboard and working on improving their typing skills.

Just like in nature, Spring is often a great time of growth for our students in all areas. Academic growth is cruising in the classroom and every where you look around school kids and classes seem to be working together and making great strides. Outdoor recess on our newly warm and sunny days always has some extra energy and excitement.

It is a great time to remind all our students of the enormous power they have when it comes to treating their classmates kindly. A friendly and caring community is one our teachers and staff strive every day to create and instill the capability of negotiating in our students with their peers. In the younger grades, sharing friends can be tough. In the older grades, friendships become established and then sometimes change. It is challenging.

Fun games at recess can quickly become competitive and lead to more negotiation of peer relationships. We know that these issues are important growing moments for our kids and we are always here to help support them.

Spring has arrived!!! The trees and plants are beginning to bloom…..and so are Spring pollen

allergies. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1 in 5 of children have seasonal

allergies.

Symptoms of Spring allergies may include:

Sneezing

Nasal congestion

Runny nose

Watery eyes

Itching in the nose, eyes or the roof of the mouth.

If your child has asthma triggered by allergies, your child may experience asthma symptoms

when pollen counts are high.

Ways to manage Spring allergies include consulting your child’s doctor and starting allergy

medication before the allergies actually flare. Other recommendations from the Asthma and

Allergy Foundation of America ( AAFA) include:

● Keep windows closed.

● Use central air conditioning with a CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® HVAC

filter, if possible.

● Remove your shoes before entering your home.

● Take a shower and shampoo your hair before bed.

● Change and wash your clothes after being outdoors.

● Dry laundry in a clothes dryer or on an indoor rack, not on an outdoor line.

● Clean pollen off pets with a towel before they come into your home.

● Wash bedding in hot, soapy water once a week.

● Use a nasal rinse to flush out inhaled pollen out of your nose.

Fruit rich in vitamin-C, anti-inflammatories, and fish high in omega-3s can also be helpful in

reducing allergies.

The Tewksbury and Lebanon Police Departments are joining together for the 18th annual Fishing Derby on May 4th from 8:00 AM to Noon.

Kindergarten: Push and Pull - Engineering with Mr. Stupak

First Grade: Pearl Observatory Sun, Moon, and Earth Skylab

First Grade: Circus Minimus Residency

Save the Date and join the Tewksbury Education Foundation down the rabbit hole at our Wonderland-themed Barn Dance on May 18th from 7 to 11pm at LifeCamp in Pottersville! Dance the night away with cocktails, tapas-style food, an enchanting basket auction, and a live auction including student-made items! Accessories and costumes encouraged. All funds raised will go to support TEF-sponsored TES and OTS enrichment programs! Tickets on sale NOW at www.tewksburytef.org.

Maschio's Food Services, Inc. is the contracted lunch provider at TES. See the following links for more information about the lunch service provided by Maschio's as well as PaySchools, our point of sale service system. You can find their menu on our school website at the following link:

https://tewksburyschools.nutrislice.com/menu/tewksbury-elementary/lunch