SOUTH SCHOOL NEWS  

Published every Friday by Principal Mark Chitty & Secretary Cathy Fitzgerald

Vol. 3   No. 15                                    February 12, 2010

 

Core Values:  Respect, Responsibility, Love of Learning, Effective Communication, Creative Thinking Skills

Student Council News:  Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 23, at 8:00 a.m. in the Library.  

 Our February Service Project is underway to benefit the Brockton Blue Dog Shelter, which exists to ease the suffering of unwanted and unprotected animals.  Each classroom has adopted a dog from the shelter.  Students have received a picture of their adopted dog, and boxes are present in classrooms for the collection of supplies.  Letters have gone home with details about items for donation.  Thank you for your support!

 

Thanks to the generosity and dedication of parent volunteers, South School students in Grades 3-5 will once again enjoy an Afterschool Intramurals program beginning the week after Vacation!  If your child has not already signed up, you are still able to enroll them on the first day, Monday, February 22, at 3:00 p.m. in the Gym.  

Fourth Grade News:   Fourth Graders presented their Wax Museum on Thursday with a range of historical and contemporary personalities displayed in costume, oral presentations, and written reports.  This enjoyable project demonstrated students’ growth in both Language Arts and Social Studies Standards, including knowledge of influential personalities, efficient research skills, summarizing key information, and clarity in public speaking.  

 

From Miss Rosman, Technology Teacher:  South School children have been taking part in classroom lessons geared toward discussing online safety and cyberbullying.  The purposes of these lessons are to supply students with the best practices to use in order to prevent bullying and cyber security.  It is important for the students to understand the words of others can make people feel frustrated, angry, or sad. It is crucial that your child remembers to watch what they say online. Everyone has a right to be treated fairly and a responsibility to treat others fairly.  Students are being taught what to do when they encounter an uncomfortable situation.  If they witness or are the target of cyberbullying they should block the bully, get offline, and tell a trusted adult.  

Please start a conversation with your children about cyberbullying.  Talk about ways to handle these incidents.  Emphasize that when they get angry with other kids, it’s best to stop what they are doing, get offline, and calm down.  Please supervise your children when they are online.  Also, be aware that the minimum age to join Facebook is thirteen.  If you are allowing your child to join this social network it is your responsibility to supervise their pages and their actions.

Congratulations to Olivia O’Neil for a score of 100% on the Mid-Year Math Assessment.

MCAS Review Question:

Read the details in the box below.

. . . the haze hung so thick . . . It was hidden behind a rocky pinnacle . . .

The details make the setting of the selection seem

A. calm.

B. ordinary.

C. beautiful.

D. mysterious.

2009 MCAS Dates:  The state-mandated MCAS Exams are required for all students in Grades 3-5.  We ask families to be mindful of these exams when scheduling appointments and other events that may require children to be absent from school. 

Grade 3 English Language Arts: March 22 and 24

Grade 4 English Language Arts:  March 23 (Long Composition) and 31, and April 1

Grade 5 English Language Arts:  March 25 and 26

Grade 3 Math: May 17 and 18

Grade 4 Math:  May 12 and 13

Grade 5 Math:  May 10 and 11

Grade 5 Science:  May 19 and 20

The next meeting of the South School Council will be on Wednesday, March 17.  The council meets in public session several times a year from 3:00-4:00 p.m. to advise and assist the principal in the following matters:  adopting educational goals; identifying educational needs of students; reviewing the annual school budget; and formulating the School Improvement Plan.   At the January meeting, the Council discussed our school-wide commitment to health and wellness.  We will continue to develop programs within the school and individual classrooms to emphasize nutrition and exercise.

ATTENTION:  Parents of Preschool-aged Children in Stoughton!

The Stoughton Public Schools offers an integrated Preschool Program at the E.A. Jones School. The search is being opened for children to participate as peer models for the September, 2010 classes.

Your child will need to be three years old by August 31, 2010 to be eligible for this program.

Please call the Jones Early Childhood Center at 781-344-7003, ext. 7319 for further information.

Thanks to Karen Trieber and many parent volunteers, families enjoyed Movie Night last week with a viewing of Toy Story 2!

  

Important Safety Reminder:  Please remember that it is a state law that no vehicle may pass a school bus with red lights flashing.  Several violations of this law have been reported, and these violations pose a risk to the safety of our children.  Also, please remember that students who arrive or leave in cars should enter and exit vehicles only on the passenger side while the car is pulled completely to the curb.  Please do not stop in the driving lane and expect your children to walk between idling cars.  Thanks to everyone for observing these safety expectations to keep all of our students safe!

DATE CHANGE:  A Parent Coffee for parents of students in Grades 3-5 will be held on Monday, March 1, 8:35-9:15 a.m. in the Cafeteria.  Parents will have an opportunity to talk with Mark Chitty, Principal, and Anne Shute, Counselor, about academic, emotional, behavioral, and social issues of interest. Future coffees will be held according to the following schedule: March 15 (K-2); April 12 (3-5); May 17 (K-2); June 14 (3-5).   

South School families of students in Kindergarten and First Grade enjoyed Family Literacy Night on Tuesday evening!  Students played “Books for Bingo” and reviewed important literary terms, book titles, and authors’ names!   Future Family Literacy Nights will be held for Grades 4-5 on April 6 and Grades 2-3 TBA.  Information about the Battle of the Books for Grades 4 and 5 has been sent home!

Our Spring Concert for Students in Grades K-2 will be held on March 16^th at 9:00 am.  All are invited and encouraged to attend!