Thank You !

Thank you for your donations to the Cutler coin drive.  The school raised $344.16 for school supplies in areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  

School Lunch Survey

School Lunch Preferences survey

Framingham State and the John Stalker Institute are working on a menu planning project and have asked for input from the students at Hamilton-Wenham.  You and your child can open this link to complete the survey.  All students who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing to win gift cards and an ipad.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SchoolLunchPreferences

Catherine A. Donovan, SNS
Director of Food Services
Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District
787 Bay Road
Hamilton, MA 01982
978-468-0398
fax 978-468-8454
c.donovan@hwschools.net  

RACHEL SIMMONS

DECEMBER 12 AT 7:00 P.M. 

GLEN URQUHART SCHOOL 

PUBLIC IS WELCOME 

Rachel Simmons, educator and leading expert in girl behavior, is the author of New York 

Times bestsellers Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls and The Curse of 

the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence. Simmons hosted the 

PBS television special, “A Girl’s Life,” and writes an advice blog for girls at TeenVogue.com. She 

has appeared on Oprah and the Today Show. Simmons is the founding director of the Girl’s 

Leadership Institute and serves as a consultant to schools and organizations all over the world.
  glen urquhart school 

74 hart street 

beverly, ma 01915      

   

YOU'RE INVITED

Please join us on Tuesday, December 17th from 9:00 to 10:30 for a book making project.  We will be making gingerbread house books as a part of our study of bookmaking.  Please let me know if you will be able come and spend some time creating, reading and playing.

Book Making Help

If you are able to fold or staple some blank books at home, send me an email and I will send home some supplies.

Toys For Tots- Caring for Others

Toys for Tots

Cutler School is collecting for Toys for Tots again this season. There is a collection box in the office. Please bring in unwrapped gifts for school age children by December 12th. The organization relies on the generosity of Cutler School.

Ed Fund Christmas Tree Sale

The annual Christmas Tree Sale is being held at Patton Park.  Many of the Cutler teachers will be selling trees this Friday, December 7th from 3:00 to 7:00 pm.  I will be there from 5:00 to 7:00. SO..if you haven't purchased a tree yet, please come down and support  the Ed Fund and watch me use the chain saw!!

Report Cards- this Tuesday

The children will be bringing home their first report card on Tuesday.  I am so proud of their progress and effort. It is amazing how much they have all grown since those beginning days in September.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  I am always available to meet with you! I continue to be a happy and content teacher surrounded by seventeen unique learners who have become a supportive learning community.

School Store-Tuesday

This week, the school store will be open each day from 8:15 to 8:30 in the dining hall on the stage.  The children are invited to choose a few items and to spend no more than $3.00. The school store is another leadership role filled by are fantastic fifth graders.  The first grade day to purchase is Tuesday, December 4th but the children are welcome to buy on a different day this week, too!

ALL SCHOOL MEETING

 We enjoyed attending all school meeting.  The 5th graders hosted the meeting.  Sinclair's sister, Adelaide, was one of the hosts.  The children enjoyed listening to the 5th grade string jam, too. We were reminded to bring in coins for the the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  We look forward to our next meeting at the end of December.

Election Day!!

Our thanks to the 5th graders who ran a school wide mock election.  We learned about the Office of the President and filled out a ballot.

T-Shirt Printing-A Huge Success

Thank you all for your help with the t-shirt printing project! The class was thrilled with their shirts and had a great time creating their unique pieces.  We will be creating gingerbread books this month,,,I hope all of you will be able to join in the fun! I so enjoy having you be a part of our day!

Curriculum Updates

Fundations- Over the next few weeks, we will be learning about the bonus letters f, l, s,-puff, still and mess are three examples. Also, we will learn 3 welded sounds..am as in ham, an as in fan and all as in ball. We will continue to review the digraphs, sh, th, wh, ch and ck. Please continue to complete the home practice components of the Unit packets. 

Think Math- In Think Math, we have been working on how to find missing addends and using cross number puzzles to practice addition and subtraction facts. Also, we have been solving word problems using the strategies of Act It Out and Draw A Picture. The next unit will focus on counting by 10's, dimes and telling time to the 1/2 hour. 

Social Studies

Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing family traditions. Also, we will be learning about the Statue Of Liberty.

Science

We will be observing and sketching a variety of pine cones and evergreen needles as we compare deciduous trees and evergreens through the winter months.

A Knock Your Socks Off Lesson

We had our last lesson for Kids And Company-Together For Safety with Mrs. McIlvaine. This week's lesson was on how to send an "I mean business" message when a child is feeling he/she is in an unsafe situation. The students practiced standing tall, looking someone straight in the eye, using a powerful voice and "no manners" to say "CUT IT OT!!" "LEAVE ME ALONE" or

THIS IS NOT MY MOM OR DAD...HELP ME" We reassured the children that most strangers are nice people we don't know but that if they felt they were in a situation where their warning bells were going off that they had many safety strategies to use. We encourage you to continually review all of the safety strategies presented. Please let me know if you have any questions about the content of this lesson or any of the previous lessons.

Paper Bags Needed

Paper Bags Needed

In December, we will be studying the work of Jan Brett. As part of our author study and our work as authors and illustrators, we will be making gingerbread house books from brown paper bags. Please send in some brown paper grocery bags for us to use. Thank you for your help! I will be asking for volunteers to prep some materials and join us for the bookmaking... I will let you know as soon as I have a set date.

Special Guest in PE Classes at Cutler, November 15th, 16th and 19th

Color Me Yoga founder and Wenham resident, Marsha Therese Danzig, will be at Cutler for three days of instruction and practice! As part of our year-long poetry theme, Marsha has created a special program for our students integrating poetry with her mindful movement based workshops for children. All grades will enjoy this program during their scheduled gym class.

Marsha is a pioneer in the field of rest and relaxation for children, receiving one of the first children's yoga certifications in the country. Her personal belief is that all children everywhere deserve to learn life affirming skills that help them maintain their joy and realize their full potential. On behalf of Cultural Enrichment program and The Friends of Cutler, we excited to have Marsha Danzig come to Cutler!

We will be the super seventeen!

We are so excited to welcome Sinclair Gordon and her family to Cutler School.  Sinclair will be joining our learning community on Tuesday.

Please R.S.V.P...A.S.A.P!!!

 This year, the school is inviting families to join their students for lunch in the cafeteria.  Our date is scheduled for Thursday, November 15th from 11:45 to 12:15.  Please return the form I shared with you at conferences or let me know via an email if you will be joining us and if you will be purchasing hot lunch.  If you are not able to join us, please let me know and I will arrange for your child to invite a special Cutler teacher as his/her guest.  Also, I would like to invite you to extend your visit and join us in the classroom from 12:15 to 1:00 to play math games, read books and enjoy your child's book making efforts.

Coin Drive for the American Red Cross-Storm Relief Fund

As a caring school community, we are participating in a coin drive for the American Red Cross.  Please send in coins with your child to add to our class donation jar or bring your coins to lunch this Thursday and add them hen. Thank you for joining us in this important community service project.

Kids And Company-Together For Safety

Last Thursday, we had a very full safety lesson that I hope you will take some time to review and discuss with your children. The lesson began with a discussion of feelings The children brainstormed happy and sad feelings such as content, comfortable, confused, worried and perplexed. Then we talked about okay touches and not okay touches and how those make you feel and remembering the strategy of NO-GO-TELL a trusted adult when our warning bells go off and we are feeling uncomfortable. This then led to a segment on private body parts (with proper terminology) for both the boys and girls. The last part of the lesson reviewed the difference between a swell secret(surprise) and a tell secret. Please let me know if you have any questions about the lesson. We shared with the children how important these topics were and how they were topics to be discussed at home and at school with trusted adults.

I Highly Recommend .........

  The school staff had the opportunity to work with Dr. Englander during our inservice day on Friday, November 9th.  She was a very engaging speaker. I hope some of you will be able to attend on Tuesday evening.

Dr. Elizabeth Englander, a nationally recognized researcher and expert in the areas of bullying, cyberbullying, and childhood causes of violence and aggression, is the founder of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State University. Dr. Englander will speak at Hamilton- Wenham Regional High School on Tuesday, November 13 at 7:00PM. The Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District is sponsoring this event as part of its district-wide anti-bullying initiative. The event is free and open to parents, community members, or anyone interested in the topic.

Here is the link to her website:

http://elizabethenglander.com/

Our 3rd Grade Buddies

We were all excited to meet our 3rd grade buddies. This is a wonderful school wide program that builds community across grade levels.  We met with our buddies and shared our poetry journals and illustrated some seasonal pomes.  Last Friday, our buddies interviewed us and are writing a paragraph about how we are alike and different.

Sofija and Vivienne

Emmy, Lisette and Allison

Gianna and Jessie

Nate and Kevin

Paige and Jane

Sophia and Brynn

Jackson and Luke

Nicole and Peace

T-Shirts Needed

Please send in a labeled white t-shirt by Thursday, November 15th for a fun project.  The t-shirts may be long or short sleeve and your choice of size.  The students will be making leaf prints on the shirts using fabric paint. Please let me know if you have any questions about this request.

HELP WANTED!!-T-Shirt Printing

 On Thursday morning, November 15th, the children will be creating leaf print t-shirts. We will be working on the project from 8:30 to 10:30. Please let me know if you are available to come in that morning and help with this project.

Halloween

  We had a wonderful time sharing our costumes with our school community and families.  Here are some great photos from our day!!

KIDS AND COMPANY

Today, we had Kids And Company-Together For Safety and Mrs.McIlvaine reviewed the safety strategy of Check First! The students discussed why it is important to check first and who they should check with before changing a plan, activity or location. Please review some scenarios with your child and practice which safety strategy you would use and why! Also, please continue to review phone numbers and addresses.

Check First- We Learned this during Kids And Company Too

Chorus

CHECK FIRST, CHECK FIRST

It’s safer and smarter by far, by far

CHECK FIRST, CHECK FIRST

We need to know where you are.

Before we answer the door,

Before we run out to play,

Before we help someone older,

We check to make sure it’s O.K.

Chorus

Before we go for a ride,

Before we go a new way,

Before we make some new plans,

We check to make sure it’s O.K.

Chorus

Cutler Giving Tree

Cutler Giving Tree

At the request of Sophie Bellenis, Cutler School Alumnus, and orphanage volunteer, this coming November and December, the Cutler Giving Tree will be collecting shoes and boots for the children at the Rift Valley Children’s Village in Arusha, Tanzania.

The rainy season has started, and they are in desperate need of footwear.  The youngest children have already been supplied with shoes from generous donations, so what they really, really need are the following sizes:

Children’s sizes 12 and up

Adults sizes 1 – 10

The children need shoes and boots for coverage and warmth, but also to protect them from the various and many parasites that attack the soft skin of their feet and cause disease and infection.

We thank you in advance for your generous donations.  Please clean out closets with the children of the RVCV in mind! Once the donations have arrived at the village, Sophie will be sending us photographs and thanks from the children and we will, in turn, make sure that they are made available to you.

Halloween Parade Plans

Weather permitting - HALLOWEEN Parade Wednesday,October 31^st at 9:00. Parents are invited to the front driveway to cheer on their costumed children. Children in grades K-2 should come dressed in as much of their costume as possible, with the rest in a labeled bag. Since costumes will not be worn for the remainder of the day, be sure your child has an appropriate change of clothing.  Please remember to emphasize non-violent costumes, with no weapons, gore or blood. Halloween School-Wide DEAM (Drop Everything and Move) will directly follow the parade outside on the hill. There is no rain date, so if it rains there will not be a Halloween Parade.

Save The Date-Thursday , November 15th

 This year, the school is inviting families to join their students for lunch in the cafeteria.  Our date is scheduled for Thursday, November 15th from 11:45 to 12:15.  Mrs. Stephens, our cafeteria manager, will be sending home more specific information. So, save the date and please let me know if you have any questions.  If you are not able to join us, please let me know and I will arrange for your child to invite a special Cutler teacher as his/her guest.  Also, I would like to invite you to extend your visit and join us in the classroom to play math games, read books and enjoy your child's book making efforts.

Our First Big Read Experience

 On Wednesday afternoon, the students were invited to meet with Ms. Lisa Greenleaf, an author and illustrator who shared her book, The Barefoot Boy. This book, was an illustrated version of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem. Ms. Greenleaf was a wonderful example of how an author and illustrator make composition decisions.  The students enjoyed viewing her original artwork and learning more about the history of the poem.