The Pulse of the Pride
Lyme School Friends,
It has been a few weeks since the last newsletter. We try to keep it to every other week, but we do shift around holidays and breaks sometimes!
Things are going well at school! Our students are happy and healthy! Classrooms are active and engaging. I know students are looking forward to a few days off and from the many emails I have received about extending this vacation, there are many families traveling distances for this break. Please travel safely if you are heading out of town.
This is the time of year that many people reflect on what they are thankful for. As I reflect on the beginning of this year, I am proud of the start our students and staff have had. This year has begun smoothly. We head into the cold winter months with well established routines and a solid foundation. I am also grateful for how our students treat one another. Our school community cares deeply for one another and this is most evident when our older students work with our younger students. This morning, we had our first Lyme Pride morning where our Student Advisory Leadership Team (SALT) and middle schoolers facilitated activities for all students with the support of our staff. All students were in a K-8 group to start their day and the connection between students was awesome to see.
The crazy weather swings do continue. I have no idea what season it is and the warm/cold is certainly creating some cold children situations outside, so please make sure your children are prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at us with layers.
Please do not forget that school is closed November 27th through 29th. We will see students back on campus on December 2nd. School is also closed for students on December 13th where we will have parent/teacher conferences. I know some teachers have already reached out for sign-ups for those.
Have a fabulous weekend and Thanksgiving Recess. Enjoy the Pulse of the Pride! The next newsletter will hit your inbox on December 6th.
As always, please reach out if I can be of assistance.
Regards,
John P. D'Entremont, Principal
School Board Message
Dear Lyme Neighbors,
Thank you to so many members of our community who have already supported the Lyme School capital project! With your support, we have successfully met the generous match set by the Lyme Foundation and secured a total of $50,450 to fully cover the costs of upgrading siding on the upper stories of the Plain School. Stop by to see the progress taking place!
With this first milestone met, we’re continuing our fundraising efforts with the goal of raising $260,000, roughly 10% of the total project. As we embark on Phase 2 of this project, we continue to look to our community to support these health and safety improvements directly benefiting our children and teachers. We hope you’ll join us in making a gift today!
Every dollar raised helps lower the amount of the annual school budget needed to fund building-related expenses and decreases the overall project cost to taxpayers.
Please join us in supporting this important project by mailing your contribution to:
The Lyme School
Attn: Lyme School Project '24-'25
PO Box 117
Lyme, NH 03768
Checks can be made out to the Lyme School. Please include "Lyme School Project '24-'25" in the memo line. Be sure to include your name and mailing address so we may send you an acknowledgement and receipt.
Thank you!
Elizabeth Glenshaw, Kristin Roth & Stacey Summerfield
on behalf of the Lyme School
About the Project: the Lyme School is undertaking a major capital project which will improve the health, safety, and environment of the school for our children. With the support of Lyme voters, the school will remove lead on the Plain School exterior and asbestos in the Laura Barnes School. In addition, the project will include ADA-compliant bathrooms, heating and ventilation upgrades to ensure healthy air circulation, and safety enhancements.
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Lyme School Board
SAU 76 | Lyme, NH
November is American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. In addition, we have a wide assortment of Gratitude themed books available. Both links take you to the Lyme School catalog. We also have MANY new books available!
This week K-5 library classes visited Converse Free Library for book selection. We love our connection to our public library!
Overdue notices went home last week. Please help students locate and return library books.
If you are interested in a conference to discuss anything related to your child and the library or media resources, please contact me to schedule a time on December 13.
Several parents have asked about the many digital resources students can access using their Lyme School google account credentials. This can be helpful if students are interested in accessing school resources remotely for any reason.
Research resources available: PebbleGo, Gale, Ebsco, Newsela, NoodleTools, Discovery Education
Learning & Creation Tools available: Buncee, Typing Club, Sora, Canva for Education, WeVideo, Soundtrap
If your student is unsure of their Lyme School email log-in information, please feel free to contact me to access any of the above tech & media tools.
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!
Our next after school movie is December 10: Inside Out 2
8th Graders Get a "Taste of TA" at Thetford Academy
On a crisp fall morning last week, Thetford Academy (TA) hosted its annual "Taste of TA" event, giving 8th graders a glimpse of high school life on its campus. The day began with a warm welcome from TA's Head of School, Carrie Brennan followed by interactive tours of the campus and time in an ELA, Science, Design tech, and Performing Arts class. Students also connected with Scott Ellis, the Outdoor Program Coordinator, and a former Lyme student currently enrolled in the Outdoor Program who shared about their experience. We met under the pavilion that TA students built in their design technology elective! TA provided a complimentary lunch in their cafeteria while we learned about the athletics program, advisory, clubs, and other extracurriculars. We had an opportunity to tour the campus and indoor spaces like the gymnasium and the fitness center.
We wrapped up the day with some former Lyme School students who are enjoying their last year at Thetford Academy. They shared about their time in high school, highlighting the positive school culture and the supportive staff they’ve found at TA. They discussed the no cell phone policy and shared that the majority of their peers appreciate more actual facetime and less screen distractions during their day. They also offered advice that might ease any nerves about the transition to high school. The overall goal was for students to have a mindful experience - to imagine if they could see themselves at TA for their next four years. We want every family and student to have all the information they might need to make this very important decision. Thank you TA for coordinating an informative and interactive day for our students! If families have any questions about TA and its programs, please reach out to Enrollment Coordinator, Sayer Wickham sayer.wickham@thet.net
After our Thanksgiving break, students will get the opportunity to tour another high school that is a part of our school choice/tuition agreement - Hanover High School - we will provide a recap of that experience as well. We are looking forward to it! If you and your students are interested in tours or visit days at other agreement high schools, please reach out to me.
Hope you all have a wonderful break and time with family and friends next week!
With gratitude,
Mrs. Stanton
Art News
Kindergarteners are amazing at making clay pinch pots! Hopefully, these special packages made it home safely. First pinch pots are an important milestone for k kids! This week, K kids also created Artopolis (aka "Block City"), one of our favorite cooperative-building activities.
1st Grade read two weaving stories, A Goat in the Rug and The Rainbow Weaver. Both of these books talk about how weaving is an important tradition in families and cultures. They warped their first looms and have been working on their weaving patterns.
2nd Grade continued working on their mixed-media collages. This week we painted over the collages and cut out our dinos. These works are “messy, but somehow still beautiful”. As they finish, 2s are starting to explore some digital drawing.
3rd Grade is weaving! This class remembers learning about Navajo weavers and the African weavers who created Kente cloth. We talked about how people have been weaving from the early times. I asked the students to think about how weaving can tell a story and we watched a short video, The Story of the Aberdeenshire Tartan. There was some drinking straw/warp string shenanigans while we built our straw looms, but the kids are off and weaving!
4th Grade students were stunned by the work of artist Andy Goldsworthy, who works with natural materials in the environment. They instantly put together that they ALSO loved being outside and that THIS was their kind of ART. I will share more Goldsworthy with them next week. I collected some grasses and they are carefully drawing from nature.
5th Grade had their second visit to the Hood Museum of Art. In the art room, we connected this idea that Artists respond to their worlds in many different ways. The world holds a lot of “information” that manifests in all the ways. We painted and drew to music, trying to respond in whatever ways felt right in the moment. This week, we worked on some reference drawing using grids, thus the amazing owl drawing in the center of the collage. Clay pies come home today!
Printmaking Elective is wrapping up next week. A group of middle school students has been working to understand the printing process. From plates to inks and brayers, proofs and editions, and understanding the layered process of a reduction print, printmaking is a different way of thinking about how images are made. It can take some tenacity to stick with the process, and I am super proud of how this group has taken responsibility for both the process and the tools.
A Special Google Meet with Spain!
Last week 3rd graders were able to connect to a school in Madrid, Spain! This was possible through a student who had been attending Lyme School for the last few months during his visit from Spain. We were able to see this student's school in Madrid, ask his class and teachers some questions we came up with, speak some Spanish, and see what their school is like. It was a great opportunity to open our students' eyes to other cultures. We plan to have another Google Meet to see our friend now that he has returned to Spain and to maintain this connection with this Spanish school community into the future.
8th Grade Health
The eighth graders have spent a majority of the trimester learning about the intricacies of the human brain, more specifically, the development of the adolescent brain. After several classes obtaining information in class, students were placed in small groups and immersed themselves in a research project that had them outlining the complexities of how portions of the brain develop. They then took their research and presented to their classmates to demonstrate what they learned.
From the limbic system, the use of substances, and even how injuries impact the developing brain, the information provided by our eighth graders proved to be both fascinating and informative.
Intramural Sports PE Elective
During the second half of the trimester, twenty students signed up for intramural sports. This elective, intended to be non- competitive yet highly active, has proven to be just that. Each week, a new team oriented activity is introduced and students maximize their time being physically active and having fun.
7th Grade PE
Seventh graders have been playing a game called “Newcomb”. This is a lead up game to volleyball, that has students being able to toss and catch a volleyball in an attempt to gain points on the serve. Students have been divided into four teams for maximum skill practice and game play. By using quick passes, students have the ability to keep this game exciting and fun while utilizing strategies to gain points.
Congrats to Grady in 7th grade who won a Veterans of Foreign Wars Essay Contest. He earned $100 for his winning essay titled My Voice in America's Democracy. Grady's essay outlined how education was essential for kids like him to have a voice. Grady was presented with his prize and certificate at a recent morning meeting.
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!
Lyme School Apparel Store
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