HTS Newsletter of March 5, 2010
Principal’s Corner
With apologies to those who love “Green Eggs and Ham”:
I cannot seem to find my muse.
I cannot write like Dr. Seuss.
My mind seems to be all a-clutter;
Nothing clear; it’s all a-mutter.
I write a line and then erase.
It really seems to be the case.
The weeks since February break
Really seem to “take the cake”.
Filled with fun, tinged with sadness -
A baby lion and Seussical madness...
Hurtful words, and then some kindness,
Angry fists and actions mindless.
I would offer one small thought.
I would suggest one thing be taught-
In your house and in our school -
KINDNESS, KINDNESS is the rule!
Kindness will not hit another -
Not a friend or those who bother.
Kindness will not let you say
Ugly words when you’re at play.
Kindness will not push and shove,
Nor let you think you are above
The others in your school or class.
Kindness lets the anger pass.
I do not like this unkind stuff.
I really have had quite enough!
So, now’s the time to tell your mind
You are determined to be KIND.
Do what you know is right to do.
And kindness will come back to you!
Donna McGibney
Dates to Remember
March
5th: End of second trimester
7th: Last day to vote for your favorite Kid Correspondent at wgme.com
8th: After School Enrichment sign-ups due
8th - 12th: School Breakfast Week (Reservations must be made in advance)
9th: PTA meeting, 6:30
10th & 12th: Chewonki presents “Owls” at HTS
12th: Deadline to pre-pay for Spaghetti Supper
14th: Spring ahead! Daylight Savings Time begins
15th - 19th: Cabin Fever Week - More info in this newsletter and on our school lunch menu!
17th: Early Release
19th: PTA Spaghetti Supper
23rd: Spring Concert, grades 3-5, 6:30 in HTS gym
April
9th: Katie Latimer, Family Storyteller, 7:00, HTS gym
13th: PTA meeting, 6:30
14th: All-Chorus concert in GAHS gym, 7:00 pm
16th: Workshop Day, no school for students
19th - 23rd: Spring vacation - Enjoy!
Important Attendance Note
If your child will not be coming to school,
please call us at 724-3930. All student absences are considered unexcused until parental contact has been made with the office.
Vote for Your Favorite Kid Correspondent
Visit wgme.com and click on “Kid Correspondents” to see two of our students describing the things they love about HTS. Their Kid Correspondent segment aired on WGME-13 and is now available to view online, where you can see segments from other schools, and vote for your favorite Kid Correspondents. The school with the most votes will receive a trophy and a banner, and the two correspondents will receive personal trophies as well. You can cast as many votes as you’d like through Sunday, March 7th at
http://www.wgme.com/news...
Cabin Fever Week
Join us for Cabin Fever Week at HTS, March 15th - 19th. Chase the winter blues away, wear your favorite “theme” clothing to school, and enjoy a “theme” lunch each day. Check out the school lunch menu for more inspiration!
Monday: Hat day
Tuesday: Teddy bear and slippers day
Wednesday: St. Patrick's Day -- wear green
Thursday: Western day -- wear jeans, boots, bandanas
Friday: Tropical day -- wear sunglasses, tropical shirts
Let’s have a fun week to chase the winter blues away!
News from Your PTA
Thank you to all participated and volunteered in our Reflections program. From the first piece of work to the last bite of ice cream, this program is one of the many feel-good things our PTA does.
Did you hear the one about the lion cub? No, really! Our PTA funded a visit from the D.E.W. Animal kingdom. You probably didn't even need to ask your child, "What did you do in school today?"
We are also organizing after school enrichment programs. These activities come to your child as a result of volunteers willing to instruct a class. From cooking to geo caching, these programs are fun and educational to our HTS students.
Now we are making the medicine to cure "cabin fever". Turns out the main ingredient is SPAGHETTI! Please plan on being "out" March 19th and "in" the cafeteria eating. We also will raffle some lovely baskets. Each class is asked to fill a basket with items of a certain theme -- cooking, art supplies, etc. If you don't know the theme of your child's basket or if you have any questions about the spaghetti supper, please call Cindy VanDenBossche at 582-2022.
It won't be long before we will proudly host our 60th annual Peter Pan Fair. This fun family event takes lots of hands to be successful. We hope to see yours!
Our next meeting is Tuesday, March 9th at 6:30 in the library. Please join us. And, again, thank-you for all you do for our PTA.
Reflections
Congratulations to all of the students who participated in the Reflections Program. A special thank you to our volunteer judges: Kay Morris, Margaret Peacock and Barbara Evan judged visual arts. Tracy Wright judged music. Aurele Gorneau judged photography and Jan Wood judged literature. It's easy for them to write positive comments to each child, but so hard to pick the winners. I hope you had a chance to come into the school to see how the students creatively interpreted, "Beauty is..." this year. Everyone was treated as winners at the ice cream social celebration this week. A big thank you to Friendly's for their donation of ice cream and serving help and thanks to the PTA for support throughout the program.
Pennies for Peace Update
We are up to $342.44, collecting $104.86 in February alone!!!
March's slogan is "We are ‘Marching’ to our goal, bring in a penny!" Thank you all so much!
Box Tops for Education News
This has been a banner year for Box Tops for Education at Helen Thompson School. So far this school year, we have collected a record $935.00 in BoxTops and bonuses, which means $935.00 in cash for our school! Thank you to everyone who has been clipping these valuable logos and sending them in to school. A special thank you to our volunteer, Mrs. Bossie, who has been collecting, trimming, and packaging our Box Tops as well as our Campbell's Labels for Education for more than a decade!
Remember to keep sending in your empty printer cartridges, Box Tops for Education, soda can pull tabs, Campbell’s logos, and Pennies for Peace!
Early Release Day
Please note that Wednesday, March 17th is an Early Release Day. 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, March 19th instead.
Did You Know...You don’t have to be a Girl Scout to go to Girl Scout camp???
Summer camp is open to all girls ages 8 -17, and every girl who goes to Girl Scout camp has the opportunity to be outdoors, discover her natural leadership abilities, participate in swimming and boating, learn new skills, make new friends, and build memories. Please see the complete Camp Guide available online at www.girlscoutsofmaine.org. (This is not an RSU #11 sponsored activity.)
Gardiner Cal Ripkin Baseball Sign-ups
Sign up at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Gardiner on
Monday, March 8th or Wednesday, March 10th, 6:00 - 7:30 pm.
For details, please see the form that was sent home with your student last week, or pick up a new form in the HTS lobby.
Kids Online: What's Going On?
Sponsored by MSAD 11 Adult Education
Wednesday, March 10th at GAHS, 6:00-8:00 pm, $12.00.
What's up with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and other social networking sites that are dominating kids' lives today? This two-hour session will expose you to a multitude of websites and will address internet safety . Kids are connected with their cell phones, ipods, and laptop computers. What are they doing? Where are they going? How are they communicating with the outside world? This fun and fast paced session will be hands-on and will help you have the information needed to initiate important discussions with your child. Register at 582-3774 or online at www.msad11.maineadulted.org. You can also visit our website to learn about a wide variety of upcoming Family Friendly Adult Education classes!
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
"A cake and a big party for a guy who writes books?" exclaimed a 4-year-old upon hearing the news of a birthday party for Dr. Seuss. There was a lot of excitement on Tuesday, March 2nd, around reading, rhymes and a man whose real name was Theodor Geisel. Many of us wore special socks (including Mahala, our "therapy dog") in honor of the book, Fox in Socks.
But it wasn't just about cake and socks ---Ms. Wise reported that her 5th grade class had a great discussion about the illustrations and the "king's attitude" after she read Bartholomew and the Oobleck aloud. Mrs. Brann's 1st graders created their own rhymes based on Green Eggs and Ham and Mrs. Sias-Nickerson's 4th graders made important observations about greed and selfishness after hearing Yertle the Turtle. Every classroom had special activities happening, building excitement and interest around books.
We took a poll at our school this week to find out which book written by Dr. Seuss was the most popular among our students. Children signed their names on a large chart, indicating their favorite. Green Eggs and Ham was the hands-down, undeniable winner. It was hard for many of us to decide, because he wrote SO many, and there were crossed out names as children pondered just which ONE to pick. During all this decision-making, though, it was nice to hear all the book-related chatter and know that there were a lot of youngsters thinking about stories this week, through the process. Some even chose a NEW favorite that they had not heard of before this event.
Coming up in April: Katie Latimer, master storyteller, will be coming to Helen Thompson for a family performance. Watch for more on this in the next newsletter...
Wendy Oakley
Title I Literacy Specialist
Gardiner Youth Art Month
Celebrate Youth Art Month in Gardiner, March 1st - 31st! Students from each school were chosen to have their art work exhibited in the windows of Water Street businesses in Gardiner all this month. Our students' work can be found in the windows of R & B Dance. Check it out!