PRINCIPAL JOHNDROW’S MESSAGE

Spring is upon us and summer is following closely behind. Perhaps it was the lack of February vacation and the “thank goodness we didn’t lose April vacation that seems to make the arrival of May and the end of school right on our door step. For this reason this newsletter will combine both May and June. We have several field trips to Boston, Hartford, and Mystic for our elementary and middle school teachers and just around town for our very young students.

We do know that baseball and days being longer make it harder for our students to get their homework done, but school needs to be a first priority in all households. Keep your homework times consistent as we still have a lot of work to do.

Ashford School will again provide students with summer packets in both language arts (reading) and science. The math packets will be changed and the summer requirements will be done on line. For those without Internet access math packets will be available. The students got off to a wonderful start last September as a result of finishing the summer work.

 

FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEALS AND FREE MILK

 

A reminder that Ashford School continues to participate in the free and reduced price meals and free milk program.  You may sign up at any time during the school year. Mrs. Barsaleau in the Superintendent’s office has the forms. Just for your information many grants   and monies for supplies and equipment are based on number of free and reduced meals and free milk data.

 

ASHFORD TEACHERS FEATURED AT

NEW ENGLAND MIDDLE LEVEL CONFERENCE

 

 Two Ashford School teachers, David E. LaPorte, Special Education teacher, and Jennifer W. Lindsay, eighth grade language arts teacher, presented a session entitled Using Technology to Meet the Needs of All Learners at the New England League of Middle School's Annual Conference in Rhode Island on April 7, 2011. The goal of their presentation was to provide educators with exciting and engaging Web 2.0 technology applications for use in their own classrooms.

LaPorte and Lindsay were among approximately 2,000 people attending the New England League of Middle Schools (NELMS) 30th Annual Conference, April 7 - 9, 2011 in Providence, RI. The conference focused on improving student learning for young adolescents.  Resources from the presentation are available by 

contacting Mr. LaPorte and Mrs. Lindsay at LindsayLaporte2011@gmail.com.

The NELMS conference brought together teachers, principals, assistant principals, college and university professors, and other educators from throughout the nation.  More than 100 sessions were held on such topics as what makes excellent schools, middle level school leadership, student motivation, effectively educating 10- to 14-year-olds, parent/community partnerships and involvement in the middle school, technology, and developing relevant curriculum.

Brenda Needham, NELMS Executive Director said “Today’s students must receive the best possible education so they can assume their role as tomorrow’s leaders, and that requires outstanding teachers in the middle level. Events such as this conference provide educators with strategies and ideas that help them build powerful programs for the young adolescents that will increase learning. The conference continues to be successful because those involved come to learn, solve problems and share best practices.”

The New England League of Middle Schools is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the educational experience for young adolescents. To learn more, please visit www.nelms.org or call the League office at 978-557-9311

 

 

MRS. HARDISTY RECIPIENT OF THE CONNECTICUT EDUCATION ASSOCIATION’S MAHATMA GANDHI, MARTIN LUTHER KING PEACE AWARD.

Ashford teacher, Martha Hardisty, has received the Connecticut Education Association's Mahatma Gandhi Martin Luther King Peace Award.  Mrs. Hardisty is being honored with this prestigious statewide award for her lifelong work teaching health classes and developing an exemplary curriculum that promotes the understanding of differences among community members and the 

importance of supporting one another.  Her unique program begins in early elementary grades and develops until it culminates in the eighth grade with several activities that include a high ropes challenge, an overnight visit to Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, and a class called Flight.  All of these activities are designed to prepare children to become responsible, understanding, and positive role models as they enter adulthood.  Mrs. Hardisty has been a strong advocate and a supportive leader for children for over 25 years.  She will receive her award at the CEA's Summer Leadership Conference being held in August.

SCIENCE NIGHT

The seventh grade has just completed Science Night 2011.  What a fantastic event with over 45 seventh grade contributions and hundreds of people attending to see all of the hard work on display!  Projects this year included a wide variety of styles, ranging from the traditional 3-fold display to high-tech Power Point presentations.  Regardless of the type of project, all students had to base them on research done in class over the past eight weeks.  The process started in early February when each student submitted a research proposal based on a favorite science topic.  Then over the next six weeks, students were directed in good research techniques as well as organizational skills that helped them find and take ownership of accurate information.

The final leg of the project involved Science Night.  While everyone had a choice of project type, most everyone chose to create something that could be displayed at the event. In addition all of the amazing displays, there were also a handful of students who decided to write research papers or publish pamphlets.  Even though these students chose not to display their work at the event, they were further examples of the high quality research done by the seventh grade this year.           

 

FIFTH GRADE TRIP TO HARTFORD

5^TH Grade Team

On Friday, June 3rd, the three fifth grade classes will journey to Hartford, Connecticut for a field trip.  During their visit, we will take part in a workshop entitled "The Three Branches of Government - Who Makes the Rules?"  We will also tour the Capitol building.  In preparation for this visit, students have studied the three branches of government at both the state and federal level, how these branches check and balance each other, and Connecticut history.  We are really looking forward to our journey!!

EXXONMOBIL EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCE GRANT

Ashford School is fortunate to be recipients of the ExxonMobil grant, which allow our science, and math teachers to purchase much needed supplies and equipment. For example we purchased a stereo microscope, blood pressure monitors, mirrors, magnets, hand lenses and AIMS Science books.

SPRING CONCERT

You are all invited to enjoy a wonderful evening of music from both our instrumental and choral students. Each year our musical directors, Mrs. Porri and Ms. Dotson outdo themselves and this year will be no exception. It will be spectacular.

Thursday, May 26, at 7 p.m.

 

DRESS CODE REMINDER

As we get into warmer weather it is time to review the Dress Code with you child on pages 6 and 7 in the Student Parent Handbook.

 

PERMISSION TO STAY FOR GAMES

Written permission to stay after school for baseball games must be brought to the office before school on game days.

VARIETY SHOW

Live from Ashford:  It’s Friday night!  On Friday, May 6, 2011, teachers and staff will entertain a full audience at the bi-annual Ashford School Variety Show.  Every other year, the staff at Ashford School takes to the stage to showcase their talents as singers, dancers, comedians, and actors.  This year promises to be one of the best!  Watch your child’s teacher perform in various skits dressed in crazy costumes.  Be amazed as staff transforms themselves into characters you may recognize from popular TV shows.  The Ashford School Variety is a must see; don’t miss night out!  Doors open at 6:00 pm.  The show begins at 7:00 pm in the Ashford 

School Cafeteria.  Refreshments will be sold before and after the show.  We hope to see you there

PTO

Monday, May 2, 2011 and Monday June 6

Meetings are held in the library at 7 p.m.

Book Fair   May 9-12

THEME BASKETS

Money raised will go to supporting the summer on line math program.

Baskets will be on display and tickets sold at the Variety Show and during the Book Fair.           

 

Eighth Grade Update

 It’s a wild and wonderful time in the eighth grade as we begin the last marking period and prepare our students for high school.   Spirits soar as we begin discussing the events that make commencement an exciting time of year.

 This year, eighth graders will participate in many field trips and events to celebrate the end of their time together at Ashford School.   These trips include a visit to UCONN to see the Co-generation Power Plant, a trip to Boston to see To Kill a Mockingbird performed at the Boston Children’s Theatre, a visit to the Harvard Museum of Natural History (where they have THREE full-sized whale skeletons and more!), and a fun-filled picnic at Holiday Hill in Mansfield.  Our days will be full of graduation rehearsals, year-end assessments, and the beginning stages of “goodbye.”

 As the year comes to a close, academic work includes the final stages of an immigration project in social studies and Shakespeare in language arts. In music, eighth graders have completed Power Point biographies on famous Jazz Artists. They will be creating performance pieces that incorporate original rhythms and choreography using everyday objects(such as push brooms) patterned after the STOMP group.   It’s clay time in the art room and students are fashioning clay heads complete with hair if they choose!  Keep an eye out for the many interesting and creative things eighth graders do at the end of the year. 

The Class of 2011 is full of great leaders and thinkers and we feel they are well prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow.   They are avid users of technology and enjoy putting their creative minds together to solve problems.   We know the future is bright for this group and wish them much success!

 

BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETINGS

May 5, 19 and June 2

Meetings are held in the library at 7 p.m.