March - Out Like a Lamb? Maybe Not!

Last week was certainly a tease, with temperatures in the 70's and 80's. This week is more like it, although I loved the warm weather. We still have a lot of learning to do before the end of the year, so we're all grateful to be deferring Spring Fever for a few weeks.

We celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday with many community readers visiting classrooms to read their favorite books aloud. As part of the celebration, the Wellness Committee organized a Family Fun Night, which was very well attended, with moms, dads, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles visiting with us. There were physical activities, healthy snacks, crafts, and every Dike Newell student went home with a book of his/her own, thanks to the support of our wonderful P.T.A.

We celebrated World Read-Aloud Day with a visit from local author, Wendy Ulmer. Wendy read aloud from her book A Is Not for Fox, while projecting the pages on a huge screen for the entire school to see. She explored rhythm and rhyme with the students as they read along with her. Everyone enjoyed this community activity.

The Kindergarten performance, "A Visit to the Farm," was wonderful. Kudos to Mrs. Cyr, the K students, their teachers, and to all the families for their support. The performance was SRO, with some folks having to listen from the hallway. We had a great turn out of performers and audience members.

The first reading of the budget will be at tonight's Board of Directors' meeting at Woolwich Central School (Huse) at 6:00 P.M. It's important that families attend these budget meetings, to a.) know what's going on, and b.) support programs you think are important for students. The Board welcomes your comments and concerns.

Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming right up. Please make every effort to meet with your child's teacher. I am always available to join your conference if you would like me there.

Remember our Bikes for Books challenge. Students just need to write the name of a book they read, and have parents initial the slips. The more slips, the more chances of winning a bicycle when we have the drawing in April. A boy and a girl from each classroom will win a bike and a helmet, provided by members of Solar Lodge #14. We are so excited and grateful for this opportunity for our students.

Happy Spring!

Hello 2012!

Happy New Year to all our families and friends! Staff and students came back to school focused and ready to learn. I realized we have three 4-day weeks in a row! We'll be making the most of those 4-day weeks for teaching and learning.  Our testing window for winter formative testing is from January 3-23rd, which will be time consuming as well. Please make sure your children get here every day, unless of course they are ill, and come on time. Our time is so limited and these are really important years for laying a sound foundation. We can use your help in making sure we make the most of every day. Thanks for all your support.

December Days

Our First Grade holiday concert, Sing Joy, was exceptional. Families packed the cafeteria and spilled out into the hallway to see the performance. 90 out of 93 first grade students came back to school for the evening performance! Kudos to Mrs. Cyr, all of our first grade performers, their first grade classroom teachers, and all the families who were in attendance. Mrs. Giovanni, our head custodian, went above and beyond in helping get everything set up, and we are grateful for her help. The concert was dedicated to Mrs. Buotte, who is retiring at the end of this year, after 27 years teaching in Bath. Wow, that's a lot of years. Thank you, Mrs. Buotte.

Our next big event is the Holiday Fair which will be held on Monday, December 13 and Tuesday, December 14 in the Dike Newell gym. Students from Fisher Mitchell and Dike Newell will have the opportunity to shop for gifts for their family members. All gifts are 25 cents, but no child will leave without being able to get gifts. Donations have been pouring in since the Times Record did a front page article about the Fair and all the wonderful work that Kimberly Gates is doing to make it happen. It's truly what the season is about, the joy and excitement that comes from giving.

Classrooms will be having their classroom holiday celebrations, which will include oodles of goodies to eat and drink. I appreciate how thoughtful all of our families have been in sending in food items that support our wellness policy and the well-being of our children.

These December days are truly exciting.

We Are Thankful

Bath Elementary PTA

The Bath Elementary PTA meeting is tonight at 6:30 in the Dike Newell school library. Everyone is welcome at these meetings. The members are parents/grandparents/friends who want to help the children in our elementary schools, Fisher Mitchell (Grades 3, 4, and 5) and Dike Newell (Grades Pre-K, K, 1 and 2). They are dedicated hard workers who help raise money for field trips, salt water tanks, guest speakers, technology, and any other "extras" that teachers would like to enrich the education of their students. The PTA also plans lots of fun family activities throughout the year. Some members can do a lot, some just lend support and attend meetings. Geniene Marco runs a tight meeting, and we're in and out in about an hour or a little bit more. Babysitting is provided. We would love to see some new faces at our meetings and activities! Thanks for coming if you can.

Annual Book Fair

Our Annual Book Fair will be held during the week of November 14-18. Students will be able to purchase a paperback book for $6.00 or less. If parents send in a check it should be made out to Bath Book Shop, our book supplier. Students will be able to choose a free book thanks to our wonderful PTA and the Literacy Fund. We are very fortunate to have so much support in helping our students own books, as research shows this has a huge influence in helping kids become better readers. Thanks to Candy Hernandez for all the effort and hard work she puts into organizing and implementing this book fair every year. Thanks to the Bath Book Shop, as well.

About Childhood Obesity...Is It an Epidemic?

Here is an interesting article from the Times Record about Childhood Obesity.