Another busy week at the Marion Cross School
This seems to be a popular newsletter whether you have elementary school children or not!
Good evening Norwich,
I ask myself why this newsletter is so popular, especially since most of my 914 + readers do not have school age children and I think I have finally figured it out. It is because there always seems to be something nice happening week to week to keep the children learning what they need to know in order to become the future leaders of America. The time invested in these children by the teachers, principal and staff at the MCS School is what is going to make a difference in their lives. I see this interaction first hand everyday in my role as a crossing guard.
Enjoy the newsletter:
Important Dates
Friday, March 8 - BINGO night hosted by the PTO, MCS Multi, 6:00 - 8:00pm
Monday, March 11 - Teacher In-Service, No School For Students
Pi Day (Thursday, March 14) - Family Math Night, 5:30 to 6:30pm, MCS Gym
Friday, March 15 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, No School For Students
Friday, March 22 - PTO Mudstop, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, MCS Gym
Thursday, April 4 - Chorus Concert, 6pm - 7:00pm, Norwich Congregational Church
Monday, April 8 - Friday, April 12 - April Vacation, No School
Monday, May 6 - Teacher In-Service - No School
Monday, May 6 - Pre-K AND Kindergarten Orientation, time TBA
Thursday, May 23 - Mayfest, 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Marion Cross School Website Calendar SAU 70 All School/District Website Calendar
Message From The Principal
Thank You
On behalf of the MCS staff, I would like to send out a heartfelt thank you to Norwich voters for supporting the MCS budget. Even in a year when school funding has been a mess and the impact will raise property taxes, the school budget was overwhelmingly approved. Please know that your support of our school is much appreciated. We will now move forward with planning for next school year knowing that we have the resources needed to maintain our excellent program for all students.
Three Fantastic Student Happenings
Three, standout times this week students wowed us with their presentation skills, enthusiasm, and confidence. On Wednesday night at the Norwich School Board meeting, our newly formed Environmental Club presented about food waste at MCS. This group conducted a food audit where they collected data about food waste in our cafeteria as well as student opinions about this waste. It was impressive how articulate and passionate our students were when they presented their findings, along with recommendations. Students took the time to understand the rules involved with the National School Lunch Program and made reasonable recommendations based on those regulations. I am excited to see how the Environmental Club works to change the amount of food waste at our school.
Thursday evening the first graders wowed us with their annual Dinosaur Extravaganza. They shared poetry, songs, dances, and skillfully written reports. This is an annual MCS tradition that has been enjoyed for years. This year, not only were the children enthusiastic and talented, so were the families. During the dance off competition families really showed their stuff…and certainly matched students in their dancing skills.
Finally, Thursday afternoon Mrs. French’s class treated their families and friends to some amazing student narratives. Students took their writing pieces through the writing process and shared final products. Each student read aloud their written work and took questions and comments. The event had a sweet ending with some of Mrs. Frenchs’ delicious chocolate chip cookies!
These events all had one common factor - fantastic family representation. I continue to be amazed at how supportive MCS families are of their young scholars. Thank you for taking the time to come to school and support students. Your engagement is appreciated.
Report Cards
Report cards will go live on the Parent Portal on Wednesday, March 13th at 5PM. This gives you the opportunity to view the report cards before your conference next Friday. Please note that there will not be comments on the report cards for this trimester. Because teachers are meeting with families to talk about progress, it makes sense to us for them to put their energy into preparing for conferences and making certain that the time you have together is meaningful.
Enjoy the weekend,
Shawn
Student Services Update
Happy Friday!
It is unreal how fast the year seems to be flying by. I cannot believe it is almost time for our Spring Conferences and with that in mind, I have two important announcements.
#1 - 2024-25 Class Placement:
At the beginning of May, we will send out a form to each family in order to provide them an opportunity to give us feedback about your student’s 2024-25 classroom placement. Class Placement is a topic that sometimes pops up during March conferences. However, there are several weeks before we send out the form, so it may be best to wait knowing there is a process for this input
#2 - Save the Date:
The families of students with a place in Pre-K for the 2024-25 school year will have an orientation on May 6th from 8:30-9:30. This is for adults.
There will be a Kindergarten Orientation for all families and students that plan to attend Kindergarten for the 2024-25 school year on May 6th.
Ideally, we will have students with a last name beginning with the letters A-J come from 8:30 - 9:30 and students with a last name beginning with the letters K-Z come from 10:00 - 11:00. There will be more information coming out detailing this program.
Have a great weekend,
Greg Bagnato
Counselor's Corner
This week in class counsel Kindergarten and First grades learned about bystander power and how bystanders can help stop bullying. In Second grade students learned about refusing bullying by being assertive. In Third grade students learned about and practiced reporting bullying to a caring trusting adult. Fourth and Fifth graders reviewed what bullying is and how to recognize, report, and refuse. Then in Sixth grade students are continuing to learn about the brain, emotions, and how emotions affect your decisions.
Ms. Keel
School News and Information
Hello from Math World,
We are less than a week away from MCS Family Math Night! There are lots of fun activities planned for all age levels, so please bring the entire family. There will be grade specific games, puzzles and activities that are not grade dependent, a spatial reasoning table, as well as some opportunities to work collaboratively with other families at vertical whiteboards. If you enjoy any of the games/activities, there will be copies of directions for you to take so you can continue the math fun at home. This event should be a great way to spend an evening learning and exploring mathematics with your child(ren).
The MCS PTO has graciously offered to provide pizza and light refreshments for families, and are finalizing plans for a dessert of some sort. Thank you PTO! They are also sponsoring a free raffle, with some great prizes from the Norwich Bookstore. Everyone who comes through the doors will get a ticket!
Math Night will be held on Thursday, March 14, from 5:30pm - 6:30pm in the MCS gymnasium. You are welcome to come whenever you are able to make it, and you should feel free to stay for as long as you wish. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of MCS families at Math Night! :)
Mr. McGee
Chorus is starting!
Hi everyone, your third through sixth grade student will be working to learn music for our chorus concert, which will be held on April 4, 2024 at 6 pm. They will rehearse their music in music classes and also in some special rehearsals on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday afternoons. We hope to see you at our concert, which …. NEWS FLASH! … will be held at the Norwich Congregational Church, not at the school. We made this change because last year’s concert was so popular we couldn’t all fit in the multi! Mark your calendars for the concert, please.
MCS Spring Choral Concert
Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 6 pm
Norwich Congregational Church
New COVID Guidelines from CDC (3/4/24)
The CDC updated COVID illness/recovery guidelines to match the guidelines for flu and other respiratory illnesses.
The new guidelines:
People who test positive for Covid no longer need to be isolated for five days.
The CDC’s new guidance now matches public health advice for flu and other respiratory illnesses:
Stay home when you’re sick, but you may return to school or work once you’re feeling better and you’ve been without a fever for at least 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil).
The CDC still encourages people to play it safe for five days after they are feeling better. That includes masking around vulnerable people (including, but not limited to, those with weakened immune systems, elderly, those with heart or lung conditions, diabetes) and opening windows to improve the flow of fresh air when indoors.
As always, the SAU #70 Health Offices encourage you to stay home when you are sick!
SAU #70 Health Office RNs
What’s Happening Outside? LEEEP News
Sugaring season is here! I have had so much fun with students tapping trees and hauling sap- all while learning a lot of hands-on science! Some highlights include: 6th graders calculating force, work and energy while hauling sap, 1st graders comparing the amount of sap produced on the North vs South side of a tree, 5th graders using chemical and physical properties to determine which sample is the “real deal maple syrup” and which ones are “imposters”. Though they’re all good Vermonters and think they know which is which already– they will have to follow the Claim-Evidence- Reasoning protocol (CER) to be good Vermonters and good scientists. Lastly, the 2nd graders continued to learn about “tree superpowers”. We all learned how delicious and sweet sap is and that it is really last summer’s sunshine that we are tasting! Think about this with your kids- it is SO magical!
Last week we had beautiful weather and a great run, collecting almost 80 gallons of sap! Ask your student how much syrup that will be…
The alchemy of turning sap into syrup is a matter of heat, patience, and time and I am grateful to our wonderful community as many have you have generously offered your time to help boil. Unfortunately, over break I discovered that the propane line to Lindsay’s Sugar House had been broken off at ground level. The good news is that, as I write this, the line is being replaced and our very own Ms. Lindsay will be helping me fire up the arch for the first time this afternoon! I will keep you posted but please do reach out if you are interested in helping! We should be boiling next week.
christiannamorley@hanovernorwichschools.org
In other news, the newly formed 5th grade MCS Environmental Club did a truly stellar job presenting the findings of our Food Waste Audit and making suggestions about how to move forward to the Norwich School Board. These devoted students were applauded for their efforts by Superintendent Badams and we’ve already seen changes taking place in the cafeteria! We are going to build on this momentum and begin working with classes at MCS and the Hanover High Environmental Club to reduce food waste and the environmental problems it causes. Bravo, team!
Lastly, and on a more personal note, I am truly grateful to our community and School Board for voting to support the work of the LEEEP program and make this position a full-time teaching position for the 1st time in its 25 year history! I am honored to get to work with your children and am grateful to be entrusted with this important role. I promise that I will continue to try my best for our kids and our planet everyday.
With gratitude,
Chrissy
Free Trees for Kids @ NPL! Sign up by 3/15
NPL is partnering with Neighborhood Forest to bring FREE trees to local families. Trees provided through this program are native to our area so that they have the best chance of thriving in our climate. Sign ups are running through March 15th, and the trees will be delivered to the library for distribution around Earth Day, April 24th.
Parents/guardians, don’t delay! Click to register here by Friday, March 15th, and we’ll notify you when you can come and pick up your tree.
PE News
Field Day T-Shirt Design Contest
This year's field day theme is “Everything Sports Day”!
For the second year in a row our 6th grade students have had the chance to vote on which theme they enjoy the most. This growing tradition is a special way to celebrate their last field day with us at MCS.
A big thank you goes out to Archer Dental for sponsoring our field day t-shirts this year! The field day committee along with Archer Dental would like to invite our MCS artists to help us design the Everything Sports Day logo for our t-shirts! What does Everything Sports Day look like to you? All students who wish to enter the contest simply need to create a design with this theme in mind to fit on a 11 x 8.5 paper. Students are welcome to create independently or with a group of friends. All entries will be handed to Mrs. Farwell by April 5th (before April break begins).
Let the fun begin,
Melanie Farwell
PTO Bulletin Board
Investing in the Long Game: Proactive Conversations to Help Kids Navigate Social Pressures Online and Off. Sunday, March 17th from 5-7 pm
Are you thinking about the social and emotional health and well-being of your child(ren) and wondering how to feel better prepared to support them?
Join fellow parents, caregivers, educators, and community members to hear local educator, storyteller, and author Cindy Pierce talk about strategies for supporting kids as they navigate the transition to adolescence. Cindy believes building a strong foundation of open and courageous communication early and often is an integral investment in the long-term social and emotional health and well-being of children. Combining her comic storytelling skills and years of research, Cindy will provide guidance and helpful strategies for parents and caregivers to support kids in navigating some of the social and emotional dynamics around age-related topics. Learn more about Cindy’s work here.
This event is supported by a grant from the Marion Cross School PTO and co-sponsored by the Norwich Recreation Department. This event is FREE and open to all caregivers and educators in the Upper Valley. Free childcare and dinner for registered children (PreK and above) will be provided while the adults listen, learn, and engage.
** Registration is required due to space and childcare capacity **
Sock Collection
Nurse Jane is looking for clean socks of all sizes to give to kiddos after wet 'n wild outdoor adventures during the school day. Drop off in the front office.
Winter Grant Cycle
The PTO is collecting grant proposals from any member of the MCS community now through March 22nd. Grant proposals from students, parents, and caregivers are most successful when submitted in partnership with the teachers and/or staff who would utilize the funds.
To submit a grant request, please fill out this Google Form. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and awarded based on available funds.
Upcoming PTO Events - Save the Date!
March 8th: Bingo Night, MCS Multi, 6-8 pm
March 22nd: Mud Stomp, MCS Gym, 6-8 pm
Courtesy Community Interest Posts
22 Church Street
Norwich, Vermont
802-649-1703
