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 (29) must be submitted by Wednesdays at 1:00.  Call x100 with any questions.

DATES TO REMEMBER
Wednesday, November 23 - Friday, November 25:  NO SCHOOL.  Thanksgiving Break!
Thursday, December 1:  PTO Meeting, 6:30-7:30pm
Friday, December 2:  All School Assembly, 2:30-3:00pm
Monday, December 5:  Safety Committee Meeting, 8:15-8:45am

November 18, 2016

Dear Moose,

I hope you are all able to relax this weekend. We have been having some illness cycle through the staff and students. Here's wishing that the weekend brings a break from the germs and much rest. 

Attached to the Roadtown is some information from our 6th grade. They are involved in an important project to fight hunger in the Valley. They are collecting food items and are fundraising for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Please read the information included, and consider donating food or funds if you are able. We are very proud of the 6th grade students for their hard work on this important project. They will be marching on Tuesday in Monte's March to benefit the Food Bank.

As we get closer to December I want to remind families about sending in warm hats, gloves and coats with students for outdoor play. We play outside everyday unless it is heavily raining or under 10-12 degrees. Students will not be permitted to play outside if they do not have appropriate gear.  We have some lend-able items if students forget gloves and hats etc. Older students will be required to wear a coat during recess (even when playing sports), as the weather gets colder. If you need assistance with coats, hats or mittens, please let us know and we can work to assist you in getting them.

Next week we are only in school for 2 days. We have Wednesday the 23rd through Friday the 25th off for a Thanksgiving break. We wish you a wonderful and delicious Thanksgiving filled with laughter, happiness and gratitude for the wonderful things in our lives. 

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”~ Albert Schweitzer

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Jackie

***SCHOOL NEWS***

Dear Afterschool Families,

Afterschool now has a special doorbell! Please ring the special doorbell in the foyer (it is labeled) if you are picking up your children after office staff leaves.  This change has been done to ensure the safety of our Afterschool students and staff.

Thank you,

SES Afterschool Program

SES Moose Sightings!! 

Wendell Road in Shutesbury!!

Mike’s Maze in Sunderland!! 

If anyone has photos of their ‘moose sightings’ please send them to Ms. Mendonsa at [email protected] or to [email protected] to be published in the Roadtown News!

6^th Grade Food Drive and March for Hunger! 

For the past two weeks, the sixth grade has been immersed in a cross-curricular unit about hunger and food resources that has been part of our daily language arts and math instruction. Part of this unit has been pulled from the elementary & middle school portions of the “Youth Against Hunger” curriculum provided by the Food Bank of Western MA, and is being supplemented with current information as well as discussions around the movie “A Place At the Table.” The curriculum involves statistics, surveys, hands-on activities, and real-world connections to issues of economic disparity and hunger in Massachusetts and beyond. We have also been blogging about what we have learned, and have had very rich classroom discussions around these important issues. 

Our class has been very motivated and engaged with this topic, and has been heading up a school-wide food drive to benefit the Food Bank of Western MA. They have also chosen to participate in part of Monte’s March, the fundraising event sponsored by the food bank and local radio station 93.9, The River. Students have researched hunger statistics in Massachusetts and beyond, have organized committees for managing the food drive and information related to it, and are currently creating a multi-media presentation for Friday’s Assembly. Our class has also created a fundraising page for the March, which can be found at the following link: 

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/andrea-hermans/montes-march-2016

***MOOSE INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK***

Jordan from 5th Grade!

JCB:  What do you like to do at school?
JG:  I like drawing animals particularly cats.

JCB:  What do you like to do in your spare time at home?
JG:  I like drawing and I read a lot.

JCB:  What are you reading right now?
JG:  A Tale Dark and Grimm.  It’s a really good MCBA book. 

JCB:  If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
JG:  Probably smoothies because I could put anything I want in a smoothie.

JCB:  What do you think you’d like to be when you grow up?
JG:  I would like to work at an animal shelter.

JCB:  If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?
JG:  Make more windmills and solar panels.