KNIGHTLY NEWS
Volume 8 - Issue 8 April, 2023
SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE
Dear NAPS Community,
Spring is in the air, and I hope all our inclement weather is in the past as we all look forward to April vacation and plan for the end-of-school-year activities.
The annual town meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:30 pm at North Andover High School. There are several articles on the 2023 warrant of particular importance to the schools including funding approval for the school projects and the FY24 operating budget. An affirmative vote will keep the projects moving forward in a timely manner, and I hope you will be able to attend this important event for the town.
Senior Week for the class of 2023 starts May 29, and graduation ceremonies will be held on Friday, June 2. The last day of school will be Friday, June 16, barring
additional school cancellations for any reason. The calendar for the 2023-2024 school year is available on the school website in both English and Spanish. Registration for the 2023-2024 school year is now open for grades K-12. You may access the portal here via our website.
Also available on the website are the spring and summer programs offered by Community Programs. Families may enroll here. An impressive array of adult education classes and seminars are being offered by Community Programs. All are taught online and include both personal and professional topics.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to Dave Brown and Alissa Koenig, the newest members of the North Andover School Committee. They both bring unique skills and knowledge to the group, and I am confident that they will make significant contributions toward the betterment of our schools.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
2023 Town Elections - Please click on this link for complete voter information. Annual Town Meeting Last Day to Register to Vote
Please see the date for North Andover's 2023 Town Meeting and last day to register to vote at Tuesday, May 16, 2023 Saturday, May 6, 2023
Town Meeting
2023 Anne Bradstreet Poetry Contest
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS APRIL 15, 2023
Open to all who either live, work or go to school in North Andover
Submit in one of 5 age categories: Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5, Middle School, High School, Adult
The poems can be any style. They can be rhyming or free verse. Write a poem however the theme speaks to you.
Email to: annebradstreetpoetrycontest@gmail.com
Please click this link for complete contest rules.
The contest and poetry celebration is sponsored by the North Andover Poet Laureate Committee
Karen M. Kline, Chair
Mark Bohrer, Poet Laureate
Office Hours for Parents
With
Michelle O’Leary, Interim Director of Social & Emotional Learning
North Andover Public Schools
Please join me for an informal meet and greet and to talk about all things SEL
Mondays from 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
April 24, and May 15
In the Community Meeting Room at Stevens Memorial Library
DID YOU KNOW?
Green Schools Program
Did you know that the North Andover Green Schools Program has now officially rolled out across all school cafeterias? NA Green Schools is a waste reduction program that encourages students and faculty to compost all food and other organic matter generated at lunchtime that would otherwise go into the trash.
This includes all food scraps that are left after a student is done eating their lunch, as well as the tray or container the food comes in. No longer does the district use styrofoam trays; they are now made from paper and breakdown within months. The recycling of bottles, cans, and paper is also happening throughout the schools. The purpose of the program is to teach our students the importance of waste reduction and soil regeneration for a sustainable future. As a district, students are saving upwards of 65 trash bags per day from going to a landfill or incinerator and over 2,000 pounds of food waste and food containers/trays per week.
Hundreds of students across all the schools in our Town have become part of student Green Teams who help guide their peers to sort their compostable material and trash at lunch. They have been so excited to be a part of this, learning the importance of reducing the amount
of trash we produce here on the
planet. Green Team faculty leaders at each school have been pivotal in helping kids learn about this important endeavor.
This material is sent to a Massachusetts farm, where it biodegrades within a year’s time and turns into nutrient-rich compost. To come full circle, our compost haulers, Bootstrap and Black Earth, give us some of our very own food scraps that have been turned into compost back to us in the fall and the spring. Students then use the compost to plant potted flowers and vegetables throughout our schools and in our school gardens with the help of their Green Team teacher at their school.
We are grateful to our custodians for getting on board with these changes and to our food service staff for their help and willingness to divert their own food scraps when preparing the day’s lunches for all schools including NAMS and NAHS.
Please talk about the Green Schools Program with your child and help us continue to make this a successful program for the Town of North Andover! When we all work together, what a difference we can make!
Field of Honor
For the last four years, the Exchange Club of Lawrence and the Andovers has sponsored a beautiful “Field of Honor” by displaying 500 American flags on the North Andover Common from Memorial Day to Flag Day.
To commemorate our fifth year, we are inviting students from our three towns to participate by honoring the flag and those who have served our communities and our nation with an uplifting display of patriotic poetry. The deadline for submission is May 15, 2023.
Please see the attached flyer for more information and an entry form.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND ENDEAVORS
NAHS Science Team Scores Winning Season
Paul Vigeant and Jane Hogeland are very proud NAHS Science Team Coaches. With 15 teams competing in the last NE Massachusetts Science Competition of the year at Masconomet High School, North Andover finished in first place. This amazing accomplishment is a testament to the curiosity and hard work of our students as well as the wonderful teaching of our entire staff. A special shout out to the biology teachers as the team also earned an award for being the "Best in Biology" for the year as well!
Congratulations to the participating students listed below:
Ben Abbott, Makenna Dube, Joshitha Gopalakrishnan, Peter Sciaudone, Dan Agosto, Caden Bickel, Maya Dubman, Sri Lakshmi, Aaron Hawley, Suhas Karri, Nick Kissel, Soham Makkena, Jasmin Mittleman, Nicholas Moraes, Jacob Nuttall, Jack Rached, Nikhail Reddy-Glover, Seunghwan Shin, Tom Sistek, Tram Van, and Patricia Vo.
DISTRICT SPOTLIGHT - by Tiffany Goddard, Principal of Anne Bradstreet Early Childhood Center
ABECC
The ABECC is thrilled to be featured in the April edition of the Knightly News. I feel honored to be part of the ABECC staff, all of whom work tirelessly to ensure that they are providing the best education to all of our kiddos. As the place where most students begin their education, we believe in living and celebrating the RAISE values each day. Social/Emotional learning is at the forefront of our work, and it’s embedded throughout the school day. Throughout the year, we’ve had many school-wide events to help bring the ABECC community together. The PTO has been an incredible partner in providing the ABECC with whatever is needed - from a puppet show, to breakfast, to a local author’s visit - we couldn’t do it without them. We are excited to give a glimpse into the hard work and fun that is happening within our school community throughout the year!
SEL Focus
This year we have had a big focus on the social emotional needs of students. The SEL focus is woven into all parts of our school day. We have spent time reading We Are Bucket Fillers and talking about what it means to be a bucket filler. Each classroom has their own bucket with special slips to fill out whenever they’re filling someone’s bucket. We’ve also used the We Are Social Thinkers curriculum throughout the building with a focus on “the group plan” and whole body listening.” In addition, we have several social groups, lunch groups, and lessons within the classroom with our school counselor, Ms. Ahlquist.
Curriculum
In PreK we’ve continued to use our PreK On My Way curriculum while incorporating Fundations for phonics and the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Program. Students have really enjoyed the themes, stories, vocabulary, and group activities involved. Kindergarten has started to implement Wit & Wisdom for reading and writing. The students have learned about their senses, farming, and life then and now. In kindergarten math, students are playing ST Math with Jiji throughout the week. They’ve really embraced our challenge of completing 80 percent of the puzzles by the end of the school year.
School Assemblies
We’ve had several school assemblies so far this year. Students sang our school song Bradstreet Bulldogs, written by our own music teacher, Mary Jacobs. Each assembly focuses on one of our RAISE values. We share pictures of students displaying their value. We also share out several “Bucket Fillers” at each assembly, and those friends get to have their picture taken with our mascot, Bob the Bulldog.
Spirit Days
We celebrated several different spirit days this year, including the 100th day of school, Halloween, fancy day and sports day. These themed days help us build community and have some fun throughout the school year.
What's Happening at Stevens Memorial Library
Greetings,
Thank you to all our Elementary and Middle School artists for creating displays for the North Andover Reads: Food with Family and Friends! exhibit at the Library. Visit the exhibit in person; it will be up through April vacation until April 23 . You also can see photos of the art exhibit on our website.
Join us on Saturday, April 22 at 2 pm for Pokémon Club! This newly formed club meets on the fourth Saturday of every month and will meet weekly in the summer.
Are you ready to join a book group? We have book groups for all readers. Check out our calendar to find one that’s right for you.
Let Stevens help!
Email: SmlRefServices@NorthAndoverMA.gov
Phone: 978-688-9505, for Children’s ext. 42010, Teens ext. 42032, Reference Desk ext. 42016
Have a library card question or a problem? call 978-688-9505 ext. 42017, or email Stevens-Circulation@NorthAndoverMA.gov
The Library’s hours are: Monday through Thursday 10 am – 9 pm, Friday 10 am – 6 pm, Saturday 10 am – 5 pm, Sunday 1-5 pm.
Don’t miss any of the fun. Sign up for Library News – scroll to and click on “Stevens Memorial Library News.” Follow the Library on Twitter @StevensMemLib, Facebook, or the Library’s website www.StevensMemLib.org
Tweets of the Month
School Committee
Meeting Dates
District Calendar
Central Office Conference Room
566 Main Street
7:00 pm
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Thursday, April 27, 2023
