LER Newsletter for February, 2010
Principal’s Notes
Dear Families,
We have some big literacy plans coming right up! My favorite is happening tonight! Our GEPTA is sponsoring a book swap at River View Community School from 6:00-7:30. This is my favorite event, as it doesn’t cost any money and families share resources. Books that your child has already read or doesn’t want anymore can be exchanged at the Book Swap. I hope you will be able to join us tonight.
Next, the Read-a-thon Kickoff Assembly was held this afternoon. For the next two weeks, students will be encouraged to rev up the amount of reading they do at home! Be looking for additional information about the Read-a-thon coming home with your child.
March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Every year we celebrate his contributions to children’s literacy by having a special healthy red and white snack…strawberry shortcake!!! Mmm!!! We also have special guests from our school community visit to read to our students.
Parent Teacher conferences are scheduled for the weeks of March 22nd through April 2nd. Our common night will be Thursday, March 25th. Your child’s teacher will be contacting you to set up a conference time.
Finally, I want to thank all the families who have allowed their children to donate to our Haiti coin drive. The jar is filling up!! Children donating have beamed as the drop their coins in. We will continue this fundraiser through to the end of February. We will have Hat Day for Haiti on February 12th as well. Students may pay a $1.00 to wear a hat for the day. All the monies will be sent directly to the Red Cross to help the people of Haiti. Again, thank you!
As always, if you ever have a question or concern, please feel free to call or visit!
Yours in the service of children,
Karen Moody
Upcoming Events
February
5th: Pre-K Family Fun Day, 9:00-11:00
5th: GEPTA Book Swap & Family Fun Night at River View, 6:00 - 7:30
8th: Second Graders to Henry & Mudge, 8:30 - 12:30
9th: GEPTA meeting at RVCS, 6:00
12th: Hats for Haiti
15th - 19th: Winter vacation
26th: Coin drive ends
March
2nd: Dr. Seuss’ birthday
5th: Trimester ends
9th: GEPTA meeting at LER, 6:00
13th: GETPA Family Fun Indoor Carnival, 3:00 - 5:00
17th: Early Release Day
19th: Spring pictures
April
13th: GEPTA meeting at RVCS, 6:00
16th: No school -workshop day
19th - 23rd: Spring vacation
27th: Spring Valley Puppet Theater presents “Jack and the Beanstalk” at LER
30th: GEPTA Family Fun Night “Beach Night,” at River View
May
6th: LER Spring Concert, 10:00 & 2:00
11th: GEPTA meeting at LER, 6:00
19th: Early Release Day
21st: GEPTA Family Fun Movie Night at LER, 6:00
28th: No school - workshop day
31st: No school - Memorial Day
June
8th: GEPTA meeting at RVCS, 6:00
A Reminder of District Policy Regarding Pets on School Grounds
Please remember that no animals are allowed on RSU #11 property without first getting permission in writing from the building administrator.
It’s Cold Outside!
Please help your student remember to dress appropriately for the cold weather!
Visit the LER School Store
Our school store is open before school on Mondays and Fridays in the office. Students can buy pencils, erasers, and other small school supplies. We also have LER Lions T-shirts.
GEPTA NEWS
Our next monthly meeting will be held February 9th at the River View Community School in South Gardiner at 6:00 pm. Childcare will be provided and we might even have a door prize! We hope to see you there!
Please keep remember, even if you aren’t able to attend our monthly evening meeting, you are still welcome to join GEPTA! Perhaps you are interested in serving on one of our sub-committees? We have groups who work separately on our Family Fun Nights, Fundraising, Book Fairs/Reading Incentive, Scholarships, and more! Contact geptanews@gmail.com, Katherine at 582-8250, or Ellen at 582-9467 if you would like more information!
Our annual Read-A-Thon will start on February 6th and run for two weeks. Any and all reading counts toward your reading goal! And remember, everyone returning their Reading Log will get 10 free tickets to our Indoor Carnival on March 13th! So be sure and keep track of your reading time!
We will need many volunteers for the Indoor Carnival so please mark your calendars for the afternoon of March 21st! More information and sign up sheets will be coming home soon with your child!
Wear Your Hats for Haiti
The LER School and the GEPTA are coordinating a “Hats for Haiti” Day to help toward the school’s effort to raise money for the earthquake victims of Haiti. Your child’s donation of $1.00 will earn him/her the right to wear his/her favorite hat to school all day on Friday, February 12. The money earned will go toward the schools fundraising efforts and benefit the Red Cross’ Haiti Fund.
Coin Drive to Benefit the American Red Cross
You are invited to contribute to LER’s Coin Drive to benefit the American Red Cross’ relief efforts in Haiti. Bring your donations to the jar in the LER office through Friday, February 26th.
Pre-School & Kindergarten Registration
The Four Year Old Program is currently accepting applications for the 2010 - 2011 school year. Children must be four years of age on or before October 15, 2010. If you are interested, please call 582-5346 for more information and for an application. Space is limited.
It’s also kindergarten registration time! If you have a child who will be five years of age on or before October 15, 2010, or if you know of one, please contact the school at 582-3612.
Recycling Helps Our Students in Art Class
Mrs. Marquis is in need of empty egg cartons and clean styrofoam meat trays for use in art classes. Please “recycle” by sending these in to school.
Star Students
Each week, we recognize a Star Student from each classroom. Teachers choose a student who has demonstrated the character skill of the month. Each Star Student receives a certificate, a special pencil, and has his or her picture taken! The character skill for the month of January was teamwork, and February’s is pursuit of quality. Congratulations to our Star Students!
Early Release Days
Please note the remaining Early Release days for this school year:
March 17th
May 19th
Elementary school students are dismissed at 12:30. There is no Pre-K on Early Release Days. Pre-K students will attend school on Friday instead.
BoxTops and Campbell’s Update
During the months of February and March, we will be competing by grade level, rather than by classroom, to see who can collect the most BoxTops for Education! This will take TEAMWORK, which was January’s character skill of the month! Be sure to read our April newsletter to find out if Pre-K, kindergarten, grade one, or grade two will be the winners for February and March.
Because of all of your hard work in collecting BoxTops, we are able to invite the The Spring Valley Puppet Theater to visit LER in April. They will be performing “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
Congratulations and thank you to the following classrooms who collected the most BoxTops during December and January:
Pre-K: Mrs. Ellis’ morning class
Kindergarten: Mrs. Carey’s class
First grade: Miss Whitman’s class
Second grade: Mrs. Murphy’s class
We have also collected a total of 367 Campbell’s points during the month of December, and 494 during January!
Please see the article in this newsletter for a reminder of the ongoing fundraisers that we participate in, which directly benefit all of our students.
No School Announcements
In the event that schools are unable to open due to inclement weather, announcements will be broadcast on TV stations channel 6, 8, & 13 and by radio stations WABK and WMME as early as possible. Cancellations are also posted on WABI’s StormWatch at www.wabi.tv. Please listen for the announcements and do not call the schools, principals, superintendent, or teachers. Occasionally, school is dismissed early during the day, which would also be announced on these radio and television stations. Please make sure that we have current contact information in case we need to call you for early dismissals.
Highly Qualified Teacher Information for Parents of Title I Students
Your child is attending a school receiving Title I federal funds through the No Child Left Behind Act (referred to as NCLB). This Federal law requires that parents be notified of their right to know the professional qualifications of their child's teacher(s) in core academic subject areas, including the following:
1. The type of state credential or license that the teacher holds. Some teachers will have a credential in a particular subject area, such as English or mathematics, and others will have a multiple subject credential, which allows them to teach a variety of subjects, such as in elementary schools.
2. The education level and subject area of the teacher’s college degree(s). All teachers have a bachelor’s degree, and many teachers have graduate degrees beyond the bachelor’s, such as a masters or doctoral degree.
In addition to the qualifications of the teacher, if a paraprofessional (Educational Technician) provides your child services, you may also request information about his or her qualifications. Many paraprofessionals have two years of college, and others have passed a test that verifies their qualifications. If you would like this information, please contact Mrs. Moody
at 582-3612.
Classroom Visits
While we encourage parents to visit our school, please note that unannounced visits can be disruptive and may interfere with learning time. Please contact your child’s teacher in advance to schedule classroom visits.
Extra Clothing at School
Each student should have a complete change of clothing to be kept at school or in his/her backpack. Be sure to label all of your child’s belongings.
New Phone Numbers?
Please be sure that we have up-to-date contact information at all times in case we need to reach you during the school day.
Ongoing Fundraisers
LER & GEPTA continue to participate in these ongoing programs which will help us to raise funds or supplies that benefit all of our students -
Box Tops for Education - BoxTops are a great fundraiser for our school. Each label is worth 10 cents, which goes directly towards purchasing items for our school. Please take a moment to clip these valuable BoxTop logos and send them in to school.
Printer cartridges - We participate in a program in which we collect printer cartridges of all types and sizes, which are redeemed for cash. Please send your empty cartridges to school.
Campbell's Labels for Education - Collect UPC codes and logos (instead of front labels) from Campbell's products as well as many other products with the “Labels for Education” logo. Please note that Campbell’s is now accepting only the UPC code and logo for redemption, and no longer accepts the front label.
Shaw’s Community Rewards Program - Visit www.shaws.com, click on Community Rewards, register your Shaw’s Rewards Card, click “Sign me up,” and choose GEPTA. Our kids will benefit from a percentage of your Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday Shaw’s purchases!