Pelham Press Vol. 20,  No. 8    October 15, 2009 http://www.arps.org./pe/

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Saturday,  October 17                                                    ABC WALK

Monday,  October 19                                                      Picture Day

                                                                                    Principal Open Office Hour, 5 – 6 PM

Thursday,  October 22                                                    Early Release Day, school ends at 1:20 PM

                                                                                    Sixth Grade Field Trip

Friday,  October 23                                                        Genevieve/Gift Wrap Orders due

Harvest Night, 6:30 PM

Monday,  October 26                                                      Third Grade Field Trip

Tuesday,  October 27                                                     Early Release Day, school ends at 1:20 PM

Saturday,  October 31                                                    Halloween Party, 5:30 PM

From the Principal: 

On Tuesday morning Devin Clarke from the Amherst ABC house spoke to Pelham 3^rd – 6^th grade students about the ABC program and the ABC walk which helps to support the program.  The students enjoyed hearing about life in the ABC house and ARHS.  Devin shared with the students the importance of developing good study and organizational skills at the elementary level to prepare for the secondary schools.  Each year the Pelham After School Program conducts its own “ABC Walk” on the grounds of Pelham School to raise funds for the program.  Students and families can also walk on Saturday and participate in the community BBQ afterwards.  

This week we say good-bye to two Pelham School staff.  Kari Pepi Gracie has resigned from her position as physical therapist at Pelham School to take a position closer to her home and son.  We wish her all the best in this new job.  I also want to let the Pelham School Community know that Susan Kane has retired from her position as Pelham nurse. Over her years at Pelham School, she has helped Pelham students and families through bouts of the flu, chicken pox, head lice, broken bones and multiple scrapes and bruises.  We thank Susan for her years of dedicated service to the students of Pelham School, and we wish her new opportunities and joys in this next phase of her life. .   Rena Moore

 

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Savings Makes Sense happens every Wednesday morning.  Your child can still sign up.

 

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REMINDER:  Parents, please note that students will be dismissed at 1:20 PM on October 22 and October 27, so teachers can hold their fall parent-teacher conferences.  If you did not sign up for a conference at Curriculum Night, please call or send a note to your child’s teacher to schedule one.

 

 

A BETTER CHANCE FALL FOLIAGE WALK OCTOBER 17, 2009

The Amherst A Better Chance Fall Foliage Walk will return this year on Saturday, October 17h with all of the fitness fun it has provided for over 40 years.  A tradition in Amherst, the Walk is the ABC program’s most important fundraiser.  People of all ages and from all parts of the community come out to support the scholars who are seeking better educational opportunities at Amherst Regional High School.  Registration will begin at the Amherst Town Common at 9:00 AM. It’s OK if you don’t do the whole Walk; even if you can’t walk at ALL on that day you CAN still participate by seeking pledges for an alternative activity.  Pledge forms will be available to Pelham students and families from Meg Gallagher after permission slips go home.  To learn more about the A.B.C. Program, go to amherstabetterchance.org or to the national website, abetterchance.org. 

 

 

 

	Enchanted Forest Animals in Disguise
Don’t miss the Hitchcock Center’s Enchanted Forest!  This non-scary Halloween family event takes place Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24 from 5-8:30p.m.  Adults and children of all ages will enjoy meeting our magical “Animals in Disguise” as you are guided along the pumpkin-lit trail.  Walks leave the Center every 15 minutes and last 45 minutes.  Enjoy crafts, games, and snacks for sale.  Pre-registration required. Register early as this event fills fast!  Call 413-256-6006.

 

THE PELHAM PTO GENEVIEVE’S  Fundraiser HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO  OCTOBER 23^rd

 

Quinlan’s Quill

 

 

            As I write this Pelham Press, I am half way through parent conferences.  It has been a pleasure to meet with the families and talk with you about your child’s strengths and the goals for this year.  This class of fifth graders are working really hard and seem to be flourishing in the fifth grade program. 

            We will finish our literature units in the next couple of weeks.  Then, students will begin a reading skills program focusing on main idea and details.  Students will meet in groups that will meet the needs of all students.  After about three weeks, we will begin our American Revolution literature which will correspond with our social studies unit. 

            For the next writing assignment we will focus on persuasive essays.  Students will learn the format for writing a persuasive paragraph.  We will write two together in class and then students will write a paragraph on their own.  We will then graduate to a five paragraph persuasive essay.

            Students are working hard on the multiplication of whole numbers.  We are also learning the distributive property, algebraic expressions, and how to read word problems and make an algebraic expression to represent the problem.  We will have our second math test in the next couple of weeks.  After multiplication we will move onto division of whole numbers. 

            We are continuing our study of Rivers and will begin our unit on Lewis and Clark.  Last week we began cutting “rivers” and students were excited to see meanders, tributaries, source, mouth, and other vocabulary words occur on their “rivers.” 

            I am thoroughly enjoying this year and look forward to watching the students grow both academically and socially. 

            Thank you for all your support this year.

                                                                                                                                    Suzanne Quinlan

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sixth Grade News

 

We finished several units last week with various tests and projects.  You should have seen and signed the first math unit test.  Each math unit test has a “Performance Problem” at the end, which is a separate grade from the unit test.  Students can earn up to ten points for showing their work, explaining their thinking, and giving their answer in a complete sentence.  We have found that this kind of real world problem solving gives them a chance to apply their skills.  We have started our second math unit with linear measurement and will move on to finding perimeter, area, and volume.

            Our River unit ended with a wonderful field trip on the Connecticut River, followed by our unit test, which you should have signed and returned to us.  We are beginning our next science and social studies unit, Maps and Globes this week.  It will take us several weeks to look at where we live, from our place in space to our exact location on the planet.

            We finished reading Gary Paulsen’s book, The River, and have moved on to reading books about Ancient Egypt.  We had a field trip yesterday to the Mount Holyoke Art Museum to look at their artifacts from ancient cultures, and to perform a skit.

            In writing, we are revising and editing our personal narratives.  In our first process piece, students are describing a short, humorous account of an experience they have had.  I am looking forward to showing you this, and several other pieces of your child’s work at the parent-teacher conferences, which start next week.

 Margaret Light

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Easy, On-going Pelham School Fundraisers

 

Box Tops for Education	Campbell Soup Labels	Printer Cartridges	A+Bonus Bucks at Stop and Shop	BIG Y Education Express
Found on General Mills products, please cut and send to Pelham School	Please cut and send to Pelham School office	Send your used cartridges to the Pelham School office.	Our School ID is 05202	Our school ID is 6258

 

 

 

Greetings Pelham Parents, Grandparents, and Friends,

I am writing to ask for your help for an important fundraiser we are doing on behalf of Pelham Elementary School.  One great (and easy) way for our school to fundraise to support our wonderful educational and social activities for our kids at Pelham Elementary is through the use of the School Bonus program at local grocery stores (Big Y and Stop and Shop, specifically).  Here’s how these programs work: points accrue with each purchase where the Stop & Shop Card or Big Y card is used (it even works with purchases made online with Peapod by Stop & Shop). These ‘bonus bucks’ are rounded per transaction to the nearest whole dollar amount. At the end of each month, these points determine Pelham’s cash total which is automatically credited to its account and Pelham’s totals are updated each month. (Important note: Gift cards, pharmacy, alcohol and/or cigarette purchases are excluded from accruing points.).   But, to take advantage of this program, we need you (and your family and friends) to register their Stop and Shop or Big Y cards so that Pelham Elementary School gets credit for your purchases.

Last year, we only a limited number of families signed up (35 families) we received over $1200!   Our goal this year is to get as close to 100% enrollment as possible for the Pelham School.  There are two very easy ways to do this.  The first is to go online and register your Stop and Shop Card or your Big Y card to donate points from your purchases to Pelham Elementary School.  Both websites make it very easy: all you have to do is have your Stop and Shop or Big Y card number handy when you register, and you’ll find a drop-down menu where you can pick Pelham Elementary School.  Those websites are below:

 

Big Y

 

http://www.bigy.com/education/edexp_sign_up.php

 

 

Stop and Shop

 

https://www.stopandshop.com/our_stores/bonus_bucks/designate_school.htm?execution=e2s1

 

Conversely, you can also do this by going to the customer service department at either Big Y or Stop and Shop and doing the same thing.

 

The other important thing to know is that you must re-sign up for this program EACH year.  So, even if you did participate last year, you must re-sign up this year (and again, it’s easy to do this using the websites above).

 

We would like to ask your help to reach our goal of 100% participation for Pelham elementary school.  But, please don’t stop with your own household!!  Send this letter to your children’s grandparents, as well as any friends you may have that shop at Stop and Shop or Big Y.  There is no need to live in Pelham, or even Massachusetts, to participate in this program, as long as your friends or relatives have a Big Y or Stop and Shop in which they shop.

 

Thank you, in advance, for your participation in this program.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this important fundraiser.

 

 

Kristin M. Mattocks (on behalf of the Pelham PTO)

Email:  kristinmattocks@yahoo.com

Phone:  230-3626

 

 

 

 

 

THE PELHAM PTO

GENEVIEVE’S

Fundraiser

HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO

OCTOBER 23

ORDERS WILL BE HERE BEFOR CHRISTMAS

 

Ordering Instructions

• Return all order forms with payment by:  October 23, 2009 to your childs teacher
• Make checks payable to the Pelham PTO
• No Sales Tax
• Friend and Family can shop online at www.genevieves.com (use account number A1423)
•  

Your purchase from our Genevieve’s fundraiser supports and positively impacts our students.

Thank You!

Need more info contact Diana Zahradnik 413-530-0079 or diana@castlerockcreations.net

 

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Florence Savings Bank

SAVINGS MAKES SENSE

Every Wednesday Morning outside the Gym.

To sign your child up, send them to our table or stop in at Florence Savings Bank

 and get the form you need to fill out.

Your child’s SS# is needed to open the account

Need more info contact Diana Zahradnik 413-530-0079 or diana@castlerockcreations.net

 

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE FOR THE PELHAM SCHOOL

FSB gives away $50,000 to non profit organizations. 

 

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SNACK TAXI

Ongoing fundraiser

REUSEABLE SNACK OR LUNCH BAGS

www.snacktaxi.com to see the sample patterns

THEY WILL MAKE GREAT GIFTS

Make checks Payable to PELHAM PTO and give order form to your child’s teacher

Orders will go out at the end of every month

Need more info contact or Diana Zahradnik 413-530-0079 or diana@castlerockcreations.net

 

moorer@arps.org

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