Margaret Chase Smith School

Margaret Chase Smith School Weekly Update January 3, 2021 Welcome 2021: Happy New Year! We are glad to say good bye to 2020 and to welcome a new year. We hope your child had an enjoyable break. As a reminder Group A and C students come back to school on Monday January 4th, and Group B students return on Tuesday January 5th. Mrs. Hallissey has used her time off to come up with a creative challenge for the month of January. She calls it “Snow Much Fun in January”. You will see write up later in this newsletter. You will also see that some Spirit Day activities have been planned for January 14th – 15th and January 28th – 29th. Below are some reminders. Dress for the Weather: This is just a reminder that students need to dress appropriately for the weather. If a child wants to play in the field in the snow, he/she will need to wear snow pants, jackets, hat, gloves, boots, etc. I also recommend that your child have shoes or sneakers to change into once inside the school. Boots can make your feet hot and uncomfortable if worn for the whole day. In past years we have been able to supply jackets and boots, snow pants and jackets for students to borrow when they forget theirs; however, this will not occur this year. Proof of negative test results from travelers: This is just a reminder that if your child travels out of state that Maine’s CDC expectations are that individuals quarantine for 10 days or provide a negative COVID test. The school does need proof of the test results. We appreciate all the parents who have been keeping us informed and following these guidelines. This allows us to keep everyone safe. There are a couple exceptions to these guidelines and you contact me at school so, we can discuss if your travel fits into this area. SNOW MUCH FUN IN JANUARY: Dear MCS Families: We know how long the winter can feel, so we have created a little fun for our MCS families while at home. We are asking each student to participate in our “SNOW MUCH FUN IN JANUARY” challenge. As you complete each activity, simply check off the box and add the date completed. Each completed box is worth 1 point, a completed row or column earns an additional 2 points. Once you have completed 5 activities return your menu board to the front office and add your name to our school Winter Wonderland display. If you would like to continue just ask for another board to complete more activities. Looking to earn bonus points? Make sure you send us a pic of you completing an activity to thallissey@sanford.org. Each photo is worth an additional point. The challenge will begin January 4th and will end on January 26th. Those students who participate in the challenge will receive a certificate as well as have the opportunity to win other prizes throughout the challenge. Best of luck! Pajama Day: Join us for our “Sleepover with Friends” spirit day as we wear pajamas to school on Thursday January 14th and Friday January 15th. Please leave all slippers, stuffed animals and blankets at home. Hat Day: Wear your favorite hat to school on Thursday January 28th and Friday January 29th during our “Hats off to Friendship” spirit days. The Weeks Ahead – Here are some dates and events I want to give you a heads-up about so that you can plan for them. 1. January 4th – Group A and C students return 2. January 5th – Group B students return 3. January 14th and 15th – Pajama Day 4. January 18th – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – No School 5. January 28th and 29th – Hat Day Have a great week! ~ Chuck Potter

Excited to see our A group students on January 4th and our B group students on January 5th!

Monday and Tuesday were busy days as the students were on the hunt for the Grinch. Students dressed in green or as their favorite character from this beloved Dr. Seuss holiday story.

Congratulations to all 37 of our Mighty Cool Students who were nominated for the month of December. Each month students are recognized for following our school Core Values.

Snow Much Fun in 4th grade! For the month of December, students in 4th grade were challenged with completing 95% or more of their class work. Those who participated, had a blast this afternoon in the snow.

Margaret Chase Smith School Weekly Update December 20, 2020 The Weeks Ahead – Here are some dates and events I want to give you a heads-up about so that you can plan for them. 1. December 21st – Last Day of school for Group A students 2. December 22nd - Last Day of school for Group B and C students. 3. December 21st and 22nd – Green for Grinch Day. Students should come dressed in green or as the Grinch to celebrate our Grinch for Good Campaign. 4. December 23rd-January 3rd – Winter Break. 5. January 4 - Group A and C students return to school. 6. January 5th - Group B students return to school. We have a very short 2 day school week before vacation. #Grinch For Good Campaign Thank you families! MCS had a successful Grinch for Good Campaign as our goal to collect 300 food items was surpassed with total of 330 items collected. SNOW DAY We also had our first remote snow day. We want to thank all of you for helping your child login and participate in our very first ever remote day when there is a snow storm. What a storm it was as snow fall totals far exceeded then 3-6 inches I remember seeing on the news last Monday. Enjoy these pictures Mrs. Deschambault shared of some first graders playing in the snow.

Thank you to all of our families for donating to our Grinch for Good Campaign! We have already collected over 350 items for the backpack program.

The students were able to wear their flannel shirts and jean overalls as they watched Charlotte's Web. This was a perfect closing to our month of honoring empathy.

This is a message from the Sanford School Department. We would like to remind parents that this winter we may have “traditional” or “remote” learning snow days. In the event a remote learning snow day is called, your child’s teacher will post the schedule for the morning meeting and provide further directions in either Seesaw or Google Classroom for your child to access lessons for the day. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

Just a reminder that plaid day is this Thursday and Friday in conjunction with our Charlotte's Web presentation.

Students around the building are joining in on the fun and spreading some cheer! Holiday sweaters are decorating the halls of MCS!

The students in Mrs. Paradis' fourth grade class wanted to share their appreciation for the generous gift card to Amazon from a local donor. They were able to buy much needed supplies for the classroom to support new learning.

The students in Ms. Brown's fourth grade reading class were able to become teachers this afternoon during reader's workshop. Each student informed other peers about their topic and highlighted key points.

Just a reminder that our Grinch for Good Campaign is going through next week. If you would like to donate nonperishable items to help support our backpack program we can help make the Grinch's heart grow three sizes bigger.

Masks: As I see the news about the increase in COVID-19 cases in Maine I asked around if there was anything more we could do at school to keep everyone safe. Here are then recommendations from the medical staff in district: Make sure masks fit properly - We see masks slipping down the faces of our youngest students despite best efforts of winding the straps around their ears. I know there are masks made specifically for young children. I have also seen in some stores straps that hook onto the ear straps, pulling the masks on more snuggly. Having more than one mask - Even my own mask will become wet from condensation from morning duty. This means I need to swap for a dry mask that will work more efficiently. Clean masks - Just as with any filter for our cars, appliances, our face masks, all of them work more effectively when they are clean. New masks could be great stocking stuffers. I appreciate everyone’s help in keeping our school health and safe.

The students at MCS have already started to grow their hearts three times larger by collecting goods for the Grinch for Good campaign! A fourth grader in Mrs. Paradis room was our first student to receive a heart for showing empathy.

Just a reminder that report cards will go home next week!

As our culminating activity for Kindness Month, students had the opportunity to participate in the Force Field for Good, our first virtual assembly. Barry Lane modeled for the school a practical approach to creating a kindly classroom community of students who share a passion for self-reflection and aspire to well being for every member of their class. In this interactive presentation, students were able to listen to three of his songs including "Find Your Happy Place" and "Press Pause", model the Force Field of Kindness breathing and illustrate all of our own happy places.

The students in first grade have been hard at work studying the classroom word wall. They have been investigating different words and different patterns to help recognize even more words in a snap!

Mrs. Civiello's kindergarten class has been learning about the similarities and differences of objects that both push and pull. Her students created a Venn Diagram after they went on a scavenger hunt around the classroom.