Volunteers Needed for the Book Fair

The Book Fair runs December 1st-5th and volunteers are needed to help us make this event as successful as possible. It's a great fundraiser for Frenchtown and kids love seeing their parents and their friends parents at the school.

You can sign up to volunteer here. If you'd like to choose a shift where your child will be at the book fair, here's a peek at the schedule.

A Thanksgiving Message From Mrs. Vaughn

This Thanksgiving, I'd like to take a moment to thank all of the people who work tirelessly to make Frenchtown a safe and joyful place for children.

To Mrs. Kehoe and our office assistants, thank you for greeting students with a reassuring smile when they're confused about their schedule or they need a snack.

To Mrs. Simmons, thank you for being the consoler and healer of "ouchies".

To our teachers, paraprofessionals, specialists and itinerants, thank you for leading children on the path to viewing themselves as successful, lifelong learners.

To Miss Trish, thank you for the tempting scents emanating from the kitchen and your unending patience as our little ones make their choices.

To our custodians, thank you for understanding that a clean school is a healthy school!

To our many School Improvement Team Subcommittee family partners, thank you for joining us in each of our school improvement efforts. You help us to continuously move forward in creating the best academic, social and emotional early learning environment we can be!

To our PTG, thank you for enhancing the school experience for each of our students. To our many parent volunteers, words cannot begin to express gratitude for all you do!

To our bus drivers and aides, thank you for watching over each of our "Frenchtown Friends".

To my fellow colleagues at Central office as well as throughout the district, thank you for your leadership, collaboration and inspiration. Your influence has an impact beyond what is recognized and makes a difference in the lives of many!

Wishing you each a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I hope that you are surrounded by the love and warmth of your family.

Academic Newsletter for Week of 11/24

From Mrs. Vaughn:

Wishing you and yours a very safe, happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

• Have you had a chance to use Razz Kids and IXL Math with your student?  This is a paid subscription for each of our students.  As we begin to prepare our budget for the next school year (Yes, it is that time again!), I'd love to know your thoughts on whether or not to renew these products.
• Indoor recess will be taking place very soon.  What is indoor recess?  In inclement weather, naturally students need to have recess inside.  This takes place in the individual classrooms or pods.  Students play board games or participate in educational games provided by the classroom teacher.  While we can all agree on the impact of physical activity on our health, I have been working with our SIT Wellness Liaison to explore other forms of physical activity which might soon be incorporated into this recess time.  If you have any thoughts or suggestions to share, please let me know.
• What does Morning Supervision look like in inclement weather?  When the weather prohibits students from participating in morning supervision outside, Kindergarten students are supervised in the cafeteria by Mrs. Kasparian.  Mrs. Marasco and Mrs. Hoffman supervise students in the gym.
• Would you like quick, up to the minute updates on teaching and learning at Frenchtown?  Please follow me on Twitter @CherylBVaughn

This Week In the Classrooms:

Kindergarten:

	Instructional Focus
Math	Counting to 20 Representing numbers to 10
E/LA	Goal: L.K.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. A. Print many upper- and lowercase letters
Theme	Giving Thanks Native Americans Pilgrims Thanksgiving
Instructional Focus	RI.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding

Grade 1:

	Instructional Focus
Math	We are working on collecting data, measuring and telling time to the hour. Unit 2 newsletter:
E/LA	We will begin working on instruction of narrative writing.  We will be focusing on writing about small moments in their lives.
Science/Social Studies	The children are being treated to a visit from Smith’s Castle to reinforce our colonial studies.

Grade 2:

	Instructional Focus
Math	Second graders are learning to add two and three- digit numbers with carrying. They will also begin to subtract two and three-digit numbers. Students will be exposed to a variety of addition and subtraction strategies, including using number lines and place value models.
E/LA	Students will begin to write personal narratives based on “small moments” in their own lives. In may be beneficial to discuss some of your child’s experiences outside of school to “jog” his or her memory.
S.S.	We will be discussing the history of Thanksgiving and sharing different types of family celebrations.
Other:	We are looking forward to our classroom celebrations. Thanks to all of your generous donations. We wish you and your families a Happy Holiday.

Frenchtown Winter Fundraisers

Your child will be bringing home a packet today with two great ways to get some holiday shopping done early and help the PTG while you're at it!

  

The 2015 Handprint Calendar is comprised of artwork created by Frenchtown students using their handprints and fingerprints. Each class represents a month of the year and every child's handprint is featured in the class painting. Every calendar sold gives the PTG a "hand" with funding events like field trips and assemblies planned for this year. One calendar is $12.00 or you can get two for $20.00 and they're 18 inches high by 12 inches wide. Here are some examples of the great work the kids have done!

The SaveAround Coupon Book is a joint fundraiser between Frenchtown and Eldridge schools and includes 115 local deals and 30 pages of national savings! Inside, you'll find BOGO deals to fun activities like Biomes, bowling, RockSpot, and LazerGate, restaurants like Piezonis and Orange Leaf, events like Disney on Ice, shopping at stores including Children's Place and Dick's Sporting Goods and much much more.  Each book is $20.00 and if you buy five, you get one free!

You can download the forms to place your orders below, and they're due by Friday, December 5th to ensure holiday delivery.  

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Quigg (for calendars) or Betsy Aulisio (for coupon books), and we'll be sharing pictures from the coupon book here soon.

Thank you in advance for your support!

If you have any problem downloading the embedded documents, you can also find the calendar form here and the coupon form here.

The Frenchtown Student Directory Is Out

The 2014-2015 student directories were sent home with every student this week.  They're a great resource for playdates, birthday parties, etc.

A HUGE thank you to Cindy Speranza for putting it together!  You're "Paw-some"!

Fun Fridays Are Starting

Fun Fridays are once-a-month activities for each grade, facilitated by parent volunteers.  The kids really enjoy them and we hope you will too.

Each grade has parent liaisons who plan and coordinate the events - for kindergarten, the liaisons are Jen Dronzek and Nikki Berte; for first grade, Howard Faunce and Linda Settipane; and for second grade, Judy Hart, Donnah Matthews Plante and Denise Lopez.

Our first Fun Friday will be holiday-themed and take place on December 19th.  For AM kindergarten, it will be from 10:30-11:05 am, and for PM kindergarten, first and second grades, from 1:00-2:00 pm.

If you'd like to volunteer to help, you can do so via Sign Up Genius here.

Please note that in order to remain compliant with School Committee policies and laws related to visitors to the building, we ask that each volunteer has a recent BCI check and Statement of Confidentiality in place.

Stay tuned for announcements on January's Fun Friday theme and volunteer opportunities in the next few weeks!

Look "Whooo" Came to Visit

Today, the second graders enjoyed a special PTG sponsored assembly featuring Miss Tina of the Audubon Society and her owl pal, Webster.  The kids learned lots about owls in the area.  It was a hoot!

Thanks to Denise Lopez for the photos!

  

Paw Shop Items Are Now Available

Do your kids want to show their Frenchtown pride? We've got some adorable new apparel items for sale, and if you order by November 14th, you'll receive them by December 10th - perfect for the holidays!

If you're having issues with the embedded document, you can also download the order form here.

Looking for Event Chairs

We are currently looking for people willing to act the the chairperson for some upcoming events:

• Math Night:  This an evening event for the family.  The chair(s) work with volunteers to create fun activities that incorporate age-appropriate math skills.

• Art Night:  This is an evening event for the family.  The chair(s) would work with Mrs. Melmed to obtain an completed art project from each Frenchtown Student that would be labeled and prepared for display.

• Green Week:  Two or three co-chairs would be ideal.  This is a week-long event dedicated to enriching the science curriculum, centered on an environmental theme.  In the past, this week has included components that take place during the school day (in the past we’ve had assemblies, students wearing a “color of the day,” and a used book swap) as well as some after school programs (such as Biomes and POW Science).  

Event Chairs are responsible for:

• Planning the activities for the event
• Meeting with the PTG board to review planned events
• Working with the Volunteer Coordinators to secure needed volunteers for the event 
• Ensuring all volunteers have a current BCI check on file
• Securing approval from Mrs. Vaughn for all planned activities
• Staying within the pre-approved spending budget and tracking all incoming payments to submit to the PTG treasurer

Those interested in acting as a chair for any of the above events, or if you have any questions, please contact Sarah Quigg at squigg99@gmail.com.

Big Thanks!

Many thanks to the hospitality team led by Donnah Plante, all the parents who donated and the Corner Bakery Cafe for providing the "grab and go" goodies for today's teacher conference lunch sponsored by the PTG. The teachers and staff were thrilled!