Monstricola's Message

THE FALL BALL IS TONIGHT! We would love to see you here!

Have a great weekend!

Take care,

Kathleen Ortega and Michelle Romein

The week of October 28th-30th, the Merrimack Lions Club will be assisting our school nurse in conducting annual vision screenings on all students with their Welch Allyn’s Spot Vision Screener. Results will be viewed only by our school nurse and then sent home. If your child wears glasses, please make sure they have them for the screening. If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Webster, JMES School Nurse, at 424-6218 or Michelle.Webster@sau26.org

Calling All Veterans!

Veteran’s Day is November 11th and JMES would like to say thank you to all our veterans. If you have a veteran in your life, please consider sending in a picture of them. The pictures will be used as

part of a video montage for our school website. Please label any pictures with your child’s name, teacher and how this person is related to your child. If you would like the photo returned, please

make a note and I will scan it and send it back home. Please have photos in no later than November 7th .

Calling All Students!

There are many ways to show gratitude towards our veterans. One way is to make a poster thanking them for their brave service. Make a poster showing your thanks, take a picture and have a family

member email it to Mrs. Pearson or bring it to school and give it to your teacher. If you are interested in being a part of the Veteran’s Day video please send in your posters by November 7th .

I look forward to honoring our JMES veterans.

- Mrs. Pearson

meghan.pearson@sau26.org

We are looking for gently used games and toys for indoor recess. If you have any items you would be interested in donating, we would love to have them! Please bring them to the front office.

Thank you in advance!

The MES Halloween Parade will be held Thursday, October 31st at 1:30 on O'Neil Field. Families are invited to attend the parade. If there is inclement weather, the parade will be cancelled. Please note, only room parents will be allowed into the building following the parade.

● Guardians are welcome to join your child at their assigned browsing time. If you aren’t able to join your child please return the permission slip coming home shortly and payment to the school with your student on the day of their book fair visit. We will let you know the day of the visit.

● You can also visit us during parent teacher conferences on

o November 4th and 7th from 3:30pm-7:00pm

● Please see the attached Scholastic flier for a sample of the books available, or visit our book fair website at https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/mastricola

o MES still gets credit if you decide to shop online for the holidays.

● If you would like to donate to your child’s classroom library, donation bins will be available at the fair by the library. As an alternative you can purchase a gift certificate to allow your teacher to shop the fair for the class!

● As always cash, checks, debit/credit cards, and ewallet will be accepted at the fair.

o Checks should be payable to JMES PATT.

o Ewallet gives you the ability to put money into a scholastic account for each of your kids to use at the bookfair. Any balances will carry over.

▪ To set-up ewallet go to: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/content/fairs/ewallet.html

▪ Ewallet also allows grandparents and family members from far away to contribute once set-up.

If you have any questions please email Katelynn & Meg at bookfair@jmespatt.com.

• No School October 14th Columbus Day
• No School November 5th Election Day
• No School November 111th Veterans' Day
• Thanksgiving Break: November 27th-November 29th

Our fall conferences will be held November 4th and 7th this year. You will receive a Sign Up Genius from your child's teacher to sign up for a time.

Gotchas are given out when staff members notice students exemplifying The Big Three (safety, respect and responsibility). These are the bright orange tickets that you may have seen. When a child receives a Gotcha, they are entered into a drawing of the week and of the month. Their name is also placed on our Gotcha Wall near the front lobby.

Congratulations to all of our Gotcha Winners this week!

We understand the importance of education and the role that school plays in your children's development. However, we also believe that family trips offer opportunities for connection, exploration, and making lasting memories together. These experiences can enrich your child's understanding of the world, providing lessons that go beyond the classroom. Balancing school commitments with quality time spent as a family is essential for fostering strong relationships and creating cherished moments.

Please note the excerpt from the district's Attendance Policy below when taking family trips:

Family Trips/Educational Opportunities

The school Principal or his/her designee may also grant an excused absence for family trips, under the following conditions:

1. Parents are required to provide, in writing, a note to the Principal at least two weeks prior to the trip explaining the reason for the absence, including why and for how long the student will be absent due to the trip.
2. The Principal must make a determination and will provide written notification of his/her decision to the parent in advance of the trip.

At MES, we are our best selves when...

1) We are kind to ourselves, each other and our school.

2) We are ready for learning and try our best.

3) We include everyone and celebrate differences.

Help us show appreciation for our dedicated teachers this November 4th and 7th by signing up to assist with dinners during their parent conferences. Your support in food preparation or setup/cleanup will make a meaningful difference!

Click the link for more details.

We need your help to make our book fair a success! Volunteer to assist children while they shop and work the registers—no experience necessary, and training will be provided.

Click the link for more details and to sign up!

We’re excited to share that the 4th Grade Student Council will be distributing popcorn to each grade throughout the school year! We need your help to pop and prep the popcorn on Thursdays. Whether you can volunteer weekly, monthly, or occasionally, please check out the full sign-up details below. Popcorn popping is easy and can be done during the school day or after school!

Click this link to sign up!

Looking to volunteer this school year and want to see what’s available? Click below sign up to get notifications when there are opportunities. There is no pressure this just gives you the option to know when there are opportunities.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1M2a1RXlwbwlCtCgrYMyQTXsQFWBv0vVBvmjT-211UNQ/viewform?edit_requested=true

To volunteer, volunteers must be fingerprinted AND complete the following online trainings:

• Bullying: Recognition and Response (~60 minutes)
• Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting (~30 minutes)
• Sexual Harassment: Student Issues and Response (~30 minutes)

To access the courses, go to: https://sau26nonemp-nh.safeschools.com/login

Enter your log in credentials, and you should see three courses assigned to you. If you do not see them, please try searching for them. If you still cannot find them, please reach out to melissa.fazlic@sau26.org.

Any questions about the volunteer process, email the volunteer coordinators at volunteercoordinator@jmespatt.com.

You can reach Kat Knauer to coordinate fingerprinting at (603)424-6200 or
Kathleen.Knauer@Sau26.org.

Thank you for your investment in our schools!

October 18th: Harvest Ball 6:30

October 23rd: Title One and Multi Language Learner Evening: 6:00-7:00

November 1st: Grade Four Field Trip

November 4th and November 7th: Parent Conferences

November 5th: NO SCHOOL: Election Day

November 11th: NO SCHOOL: Veterans' Day

November 14th: Picture Retakes Day