Dear Day School Community,

It is that time of year to connect with teachers to celebrate the progress your child has made so far this term. To prepare for parent teacher conferences, here are some tips from the National Education Association (article reprinted from http://www.nea.org/home/60103.htm).

Show up, please!

“We know parents are busy, but it is important to carve out time to invest in your child’s education and ensure success at school,” said National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel. “To get the most out of parent-teacher conferences, parents need to take an active role in their child’s education year-round and come prepared to discuss how their child can reach their full potential.”

Get Ready

Do your homework prior to parent-teacher conferences. Prepare by writing notes to yourself concerning:

• Any questions about the school’s programs or policies.

• Things you can share with the teacher about your child and his life at home.

• Questions about your child’s progress.

Ask Important Questions

Don’t be afraid to engage in a frank conversation with your child’s teacher. Your goal is to develop an action plan for your child’s success at school. Good questions to ask the teacher include:

• What are my child’s strengths and weaknesses?

• How does my child get along with classmates?

• Is my child working up to her ability? Where could she use improvement?

• What can we do at home to support what you are doing in the classroom?

Initiate the Action Plan

Start immediately on the action plan you and the teacher put together. Discuss the plan with your child and track his progress. Stay in touch with your child’s teacher throughout the year with regularly scheduled “report card” conferences that can keep the communication lines open.

“Parents are the best resource for a child to make the grade,” said Van Roekel. “When teachers and parents work together, we can help a child have a successful school year.”

Sincerely,

Chris Louis Sardella, Principal

Chrissy Michaud, Assistant Principal

Norman E. Day Elementary School

Students in Ms. Rebilas' third grade class participated in a fossil dig on Thursday afternoon.

Recycle Sneakers and Raise Money for Day School

• Did you know that in the U.S., roughly 200 million pairs of shoes and sneakers end up in landfills each year?

• Did you know that more than 600 million people worldwide don’t even own a pair of shoes?

The GotSneakers recycling organization will help us to recycle our sneakers! We will ONLY accept athletic sneakers and sports related footwear. Ideally, unused and gently used sneakers will raise the most money for our school. But, if you have sneakers with holes, mold/mildew or detached soles, GotSneakers will take them as well. By participating, you’ll help keep sneakers out of landfills while also putting shoes on the feet of people living in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, West Africa, and Europe. Some of the unusable sneakers will even be made into new athletic surfaces! Your old sneakers will make a huge difference; reducing what we throw away and raising money for our school is a win-win!

Please drop off all donations to the box outside near the Day School’s main entrance doors. We encourage you to bring all non-athletic shoes/boots to the drop-off bin in the St. Catherine’s Church parking lot, to Savers in Nashua, or to other local thrift shops for resale. Thanks so much for your support!