Pelham School Press

Several parents have asked about the beautiful new plants and mulch in our front garden. We all have Lexi Dewey to thank for the beautiful display. Lexi’s daughter, Savannah Stuitje, is now an 8^th grade student at the middle school, but two or three times during the year, Lexi stops by to reinvigorate the garden area she designed. Please thank her for her beautiful work if you see her in the community.

Tomorrow, we will finally hold our annual “Back-to-School Assembly.” Teachers will introduce all the new students, staff, and student teachers in their classrooms. Ms. King and I will talk a little about the social skills curriculum at Pelham School. Then, in a Pelham School tradition, the entire school community will hold hands and walk all the way around the gym. The sixth grade might even lead us in The Wave. We will need all our group cooperation skills to make both the walk and the wave successful!

Mark your calendar! The Pelham Parent Curriculum Night will be on Wednesday, October 3, 2006 for all grades. We have tried to divide up the presentations to provide as few overlaps as possible for families. Physical education, music and computer teachers will be in their respective areas and feel free to visit these areas during the evening. Special education and other specialist staff will be in the classroom areas. Here is the schedule for the night:

This is a parent/guardian only event, a time when teachers share with you important information about their classrooms and their curriculum. This fall meeting gives teachers a time to discuss the units they will teach during the year, classroom routines and procedures, and general information parents need to help their children at home. If you have a question about homework, the reading program, or health units, this is the time to ask your child’s teacher about them. Also, most teachers will have a sign up sheet for parent conferences. Teachers will begin their classroom presentations promptly at the time on the above schedule. We hope to see all of you there! Our goal is 100% parent participation at this important and informative event. Please call the school office by October 1 if you will need childcare; a $5.00/child donation is suggested.

I have attached a copy of the district CORI form. We encourage all parents to volunteer in their child’s class; however, under state and federal law, you must pass a CORI check to volunteer in the classroom. If you would like to volunteer in your child’s class or drive on a field trip, you will need to fill out the CORI form. If you have to pass a CORI for another school in the district or if you filled out a CORI form at Pelham School last year, you do not have to fill out a new one. You must bring the CORI form to the school office along with a photo ID. If you have any question, please call the school office (253-3595). Rena Moore

VACANCY ON THE TOWN OF PELHAM FINANCE COMMITTEE

The Pelham Finance Committee has a vacancy and is looking for a Pelham community member with background in finance, banking, accounting, and/or math to fill it. If you are interested, please call the Pelham Town Hall (253-7129) and leave a message.

Reminder: Physical education is on Friday for grades 1 – 6 and on Wednesday for kindergarten. Please have your child come to school on those days dressed in comfortable play clothes and sneakers. They also will need a water bottle, especially for these last warm days of summer and early fall. If you have any questions about the program or your child’s physical education experience, please leave a message in my box in the school office, and I will get back to you. Mary Taylor

The Amherst A Better Chance Fall Foliage Walk will return this year on Saturday, October 13th with all of the fitness fun it has provided for the past 35 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 seven scholars who are seeking better educational opportunities at Amherst Regional High School. The 22 kilometer walk begins at the Mill River Recreation Center from 8-10 a.m. or at Amethyst Brook from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and ends with a mid-afternoon reception at the ABC House at 74 North Prospect Street in downtown Amherst. The House will be welcoming some alumni back, too. 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.

I am enjoying working with the wonderful and thoughtful students of the third grade. Each day I am impressed with the ideas they share, the courage they show in taking new risks, and the help they provide each other.

We started the year with a health unit about people with differing abilities. Through stories, film, articles, lessons, and discussions we have learned about varying disabilities from cystic fibrosis to learning differences. Students have been extremely respectful and quite thoughtful in their ideas of how we can treat everyone equally. The class has also elected to continue the work the third grade started last year in regards to raising money to purchase wheelchairs for people in need throughout the world. The students are working on this fund raising activity this week, and they will have more information to share with the Pelham School Community soon.

In addition to these activities, Eileen Daneri, the district’s teacher of the deaf, is teaching us sign language. We started with a one half hour introduction to the alphabet, and I was disappointed that I didn’t have room in the schedule for Eileen to continue with instruction weekly. Yet, Eileen had a stroke of genius and conceived a way to integrate sign language into our weekly vocabulary/spelling work on Wednesdays! The students are enthusiastic, and the combined modes of learning should result in a better grasp of the word work that we are learning each week.

Students are enmeshed in all areas of the curriculum now. Reading groups are underway, and I can already see the gains children are either making or regaining after the summer break. In writing, students are using a photo of themselves to write a descriptive paragraph that explains the facial expression in the photo. The expressions are not your average Kodak moments! Using strong word choice and standard writing conventions is our focus for this piece.

Math can be a challenge for many students. We are currently working on place value, addition, and subtraction. Using cubes, stickers, number lines, the 100 chart, grids, and the standard algorithm, students are expanding their knowledge of these concepts. The Wizards program is reinforcing these skills, as well as introducing students to new areas we will cover more fully as the year progresses.

Homework has been getting done regularly, and I am so happy to see this! Thank you for supporting your child in the important study skills we are trying to develop.

Lastly, I wish to thank families for using unscented or fragrance free products. This is so helpful to not only for myself, but many others in the building as well.

The Festival raises money for the Amherst Family Center. This year we will also have guests artisans from Katrina ravaged, Bay St Louis, Mississippi. The Children's Festival will include games, crafts, a jumpy castle, pony rides, a petting zoo and Hayrides (in the afternoon)!! For more information contact, Randa Nachbar, Amherst Family Center

The year is off to a great start. The students have already shown me that they are very capable. We have settled in with our first two units. In social studies the children have been reading about Native American culture. They have now chosen a topic to study more closely and are finding information for a project. The project will include a written portion and a visual hands-on presentation. Children have chosen topics such as pottery, beads, weaving, and the ubiquitous hunting and trapping. We may be ready by curriculum night to have a display for you.

In science they have been exploring electricity. They have built many things that demonstrate an understanding of a complete circuit. They have also investigated items that permit the passage of electricity (conductors) and inhibit the passage of electricity (insulators). Who would have guessed that electricity can pass through the graphite core of a pencil? They have just completed a large project called a question and answer board, and they are ready to be tried. Using a circuit tester, students connect a question to the correct answer and a bulb lights up. The secret is on the back of the board; wires complete the path electricity must travel.

In math we are starting the year off with arrays, as they hold the key to studying multiplication in many ways. Students have selected different numbers and, using graph paper, have cut out all possible arrays with that total. The dimensions of the array are factors of the product. Next we will examine the posters to learn about prime and composite numbers.

At the beginning of the year, we take time in the classroom to familiarize students with their homework responsibilities. We have to do a little practice in spelling this week and next Monday, but expect spelling homework next week. They already have been doing vocabulary, math, and reading homework. I sent home homework club slips to some families. Let me know if you need your child in homework club for support.

The Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, Amherst Public Schools and Pelham Public School have been certified by the Criminal History Systems Board for access to conviction and pending criminal case data. As an applicant/employee/volunteer for the position of ______________________ at ________________ school. I understand that a criminal record check will be conducted for all conviction and pending criminal case information and dismissed cases as well including useful offender cases every three years. Results of the CORI will not necessarily disqualify me for a position. The information below is correct to the best of my knowledge. In addition, I understand that while I am an employee, volunteer, student intern or otherwise classified worker and maintain this continuous status, I am subject to a subsequent criminal record check every three years.

Applicant /Employee/Volunteer Signature				Date
Your LAST Name
Your FIRST Name
Your MIDDLE Name
Your Maiden Name or Alias
Your Telephone Number
Mother’s Maiden Name
Your Date of Birth
Your Place of Birth [City, State or Country]
Your Social Security Number [Requested but not required]
Your State Driver’s License #
SEX	M____F____	HT	____FT.____IN.		WEIGHT	EYE COLOR
Your CURENT Address Your FORMER ADDRESSES

***STAFF PERSON VERIFYING INFO: PLEASE CHECK THAT THIS FORM IS FILLED OUT COMPLETELY BY APPLICANT AND COMPLETE THE SECTION BELOW BEFORE SENDING THE CORI FORM TO THE CENTRAL OFFICE***

Printed Name of Staff Person Verifying Information Signature of Staff Person Verifying Info.

Applicant provides his/her position, location of assignment, signature and date

**Staff person signing this form must check that ALL the above information has been provided**

“Please list, in the right hand box, the government issued photographic identification presented that was used to verify the above information.”

Provide description of government issued photo ID that was presented in person - for example – “MA Driver’s License”, “NJ Driver’s License”, “US Passport”, etc.

Print name of staff person who verified ID. This same person needs to verify ALL info on ID that is included on this form. For example: if a driver’s license is presented, verify applicant’s signature, name, date of birth, state driver’s license number, sex, height. This same staff person also needs to “eyeball” that the personal characteristics like sex, height, weight, and eye color are correct.

Staff person who verified ID and personal information provides his/her signature

Applicant /Employee/Volunteer Signature

Date