Shutesbury

PUBLICATION INFORMATION – Please submit any submissions for the Community section to:  [email protected] by Wednesdays at 1:00.  Online attachments must be compressed (less than 500KB) and in PDF format.  Hard copies (66) must be submitted by Wednesdays at 1:00.  Call x100 with any questions.

DATES TO REMEMBER

March 27, 2015

Dear SES Community,

This is my last letter to you in March! How exciting! I am certainly ready for the milder temperatures and the hints of green that April can bring. The giant snow piles in the back of our school are slowly but surely getting smaller. We are no longer having to be concerned about the temperature at recess, and it sure is brighter out when we leave school.  These are all things that make us smile!

This week, students in grades 3-6 took their first rounds of the PARCC tests. As a whole, students and staff approached the tests with a positive mindset. Testing environments were calm and focused. Feedback from the students included: “ I liked that it was shorter”, “ The questions were a little more confusing”, and “ There’s a lot of writing”. A BIG thank you to the parents who sent in and helped to organize some snacks for our testing students. It has been greatly appreciated. Next week will be our final week of testing for this session for 3^rd-6^th grade.

The SES School Council has examined and updated our school survey. We are excited to get feedback on our school from our community. The survey will be available online on April 6^th. It will stay open until April 30^th.  We will have computers available during conferences for families to use to take the survey. We will also share the link and it can be done at home as well. We are really hoping for very strong participation in the survey from our families and our community. Keep an eye out for a letter home from me with more specific directions. We will also have the link available on our website!!

Have a fantastic weekend,

Jackie Mendonsa, Principal

SES Student Interview of the Week!

Ronan!

RD: That I get to play with blocks. I liked being able to do the Irish Dancing for the school. I liked when we had the week where we could wear funny outfits and bring in our stuffed animals. I brought in my pillow pet. It was an elephant. Did you see me carrying that? I got it for Christmas.

JM: What do you like to do in your spare time?

RD: I like to play my dragon game. I also like to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My favorite turtle is Leonardo. He has the blue mask.

JM: What do you want to be when you grow up?

RD: A person that looks for dinosaur bones. I love dinosaurs. And bones.

***SCHOOL NEWS***

The SPRING Book Fair is Coming!

Our Scholastic Book Fair brings to school an exciting selection of fun, engaging, and affordable books kids want to read. Giving kids access to good books and the opportunity to choose their own books motivates them to read more. The Book Fair provides funds for our library, too! Once again our Spring Book Fair overlaps with parent conferences.

Book Fair Dates:             Monday, April 6th to Friday, April 10th  

Shopping Hours:             8:30-4:00 (Shop before or after your parent conference!)

Family Event:                  Wednesday, April 8^th from 5:30-7:30

***PTO NEWS*** 

**Free Skate Day!  The Shutesbury and Leverett PTO will be hosting a free community ice skating event at the Mullins center Saturday, April 4th from 3-3:50.  Any and all Shutesbury Elementary School and Leverett Elementary School community members are welcome to attend.  Rentals of skates are also free at this event.  We will host a bakesale at the event, and would love your donations of baked goods as well!  Contact Ashleigh Pyecroft if you are able to bake, have questions or would like to help!  [email protected]

**The next regular PTO meeting will be Monday April 6 from 7-8pm in the school conference room.

**The PTO auction work party is scheduled for Sunday, April 26th from 3-5pm at the Shutesbury AC

**The PTO needs your help!  Please volunteer to donate baked goods for the Mullin's Center Community Skate event (Contact [email protected]); consider becoming the raffle basket coordinator for your child's classroom and/or taking 15-20 minutes of your time to make follow up calls to potential auction donors.  Please respond to our sign up genius request, or email your availability to [email protected] to help with the Silent Auction.  Thank you!**

***COMMUNITY NEWS***

*NOT SCHOOL SPONSORED*

Dear Shutesbury Residents,
It's time to bring high-speed fiber internet to Shutesbury!  We are part of the Wired West Cooperative to bring high-speed fiber optic broadband to our town and we need YOUR help to move the project forward.  At this point, you should have received a letter from our town's Select Board in cooperation with Wired West asking you to sign up as a subscriber and a second letter from the Shutesbury Broadband Committee.  If Shutesbury can get a high subscriber rate, WE WILL GET BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS YEARS SOONER than other towns in the network.

*Swim Lessons at Lake Wyola: Red Cross Swimming Lessons will be offered this summer at Lake Wyola State Park again this summer.  Sessions will run from July 6 - 17 and July 20 - 31.  Attached is the form and the contact information.  Information will also be posted on the town's web site.
Thanks Kathy

*April Vacation Week Weaving & Fiber Arts Explorations Class with Susan Loring-Wells at the Leverett Crafts & Arts Center, 13 Montague Road, Leverett, MA.

Dates: April 20-24, 2015
Time: 9-3 pm
Ages:10-14 
Cost: $250
Come and explore a world of endless possibilities of handweaving and fiber arts. Students will weave at least one project on a floor loom, try card weaving, tapestry weaving, felting, kumihimo, embroidery and band weaving.    Please email me if you are interested at:  [email protected].

*How To Do Reverse Applique On Recycled Tee Shirts: