Smashing Pumpkin Walk!

This year's Pumpkin Walk was a smashing success!  There were 198 children who participated as well as parents, grandparents, and even a great grandmother.  One of the keys to the success was the ghost card in which the children needed to play each game and find specific items around the school to earn a prize.  Games in the gym included Catch a Ghost, a game similar to Duck, Duck, Goose, Musical Chairs, relay races, a pitch game, and a balance the bone on your head game.  In the cafeteria, students could decorate a pumpkin center, decorate a cookie, decorate yourself with a tattoo, and create a bookmark.  In between the gym and cafeteria, students took their pictures in the ghost photo booths!  All in all, the students and their families had a terrific time, myself included.

In addition, 80 pounds of candy was collected to donate to the New England Center for Homeless Veterans.

The Parents, Teachers, and Friends would like to thank the our custodians, Mark, Dennis, and Dan for all their extra work to make this event successful.

Below are just some of the pictures that I took at the Pumpkin Walk that feature some of the cutest goblins, ghosts, witches, and superheroes imaginable.

Family Literacy Month

Our Community Meeting on Friday kicked off our focus on Family Literacy Month.  Dr. Bates, Ms. Harrison, Ms. Barnett, Ms. Whyte, Ms. Long, and myself read aloud from the picture book, Wild About Books.  Students from each class recommended books for others to read.  Ms. Whyte's class sang a great song about reading books every day of the week.  Also, Ms. McMillan created a presentation in which she described parts of a book and the children had to guess which book it was.

To promote school unity, the faculty and I decided that it would be fun to read one picture book a month for the rest of the school year.  We are encouraging the students to talk about the books with their peers and their STARR buddies.  This month, the book is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

To encourage student reading, I will have a mailbox on my door in which students can write book recommendations to me and other students.  I am always happy to add books to my "Must Read" list!

Below are pictures of some of the students who recommended books during the meeting.  Happy Reading!

Full STEAM Ahead!

The combined areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics is known as STEM.  In reading about education, readers may come across articles on STEM standards in which the different content areas are integrated.  This summer, Mr. Dimen, Ms. LaVigne, and Ms. Barnett attended a STEAM conference in which Art was integrated with the STEM standards.  As a result of their learning, Mr. Dimen, Ms. LaVigne, and Ms. Barnett created an assignment in which the students were required to create a motorized structure that might scare the geese from the grass.  I think the results are unique and innovative and can't wait to see how they look on our lawn.