Marion Cross School updates
This weeks Cross words 3-28-22 for you to review
Important Dates
April 8 - Teacher in-service, No School for Students
April 11-17 - Spring Break
June ? - Last student day of school
Message From the Principal
Sparked by students with big hearts and care for others around the world, MCS is embarking on an effort to raise funds for Ukrainian people who have been displaced. Led by Lindsay Putnam, Katie Cormier, Michael Janerico, Ross McGee, Ginny Moore, and Leslie Dustin we invite you to join us in this effort.
This week we will be starting a "coin drive" to raise money. The funds will be split between two different organizations: one is a group called Operation Backpacks4Kids which is putting together child sized backpacks of helpful items for children who are arriving as immigrants into countries such as Poland and Germany. They have handed out many hundreds of backpacks already and the children are very happy to receive them. The other organization we will donate to is the International Red Cross which is working directly in Ukraine helping with medical supplies and services, and other extremely critical needs.
Your child will receive some information created by the 6th grade class describing the fundraiser. Your family can participate at any level - bringing in a few coins to add to the classroom jar; hopefully with children even doing chores at home to earn some coins to donate.
Please be assured that we are cognizant of what is appropriate information for different age children regarding this situation. We thought that the idea of raising money to create backpacks full of fun things for Ukrainian children could be a nice idea for our younger students to work towards.
Please also know that if your family would like to donate more than just a few coins, it will be possible for you to write a check to the Norwich School District (preferred) or send cash. Participation is, of course, completely voluntary. There will be a collection jar in each classroom for students to drop coins into as they wish, but this is not a contest; nor will children be recognized for the amount they bring or don't bring. We will all be celebrating Ukraine on a "Spirit Day" soon where everyone can show support without it being part of the fundraiser.
If you have not already done so, please take a look at the information that Guidance Counselor Katie Cormier has put together later in this newsletter. The topic of Ukraine has the potential to be upsetting, confusing, and troubling to all of us, but especially to children. If ever you need support or guidance about how to approach this topic with your child, please feel free to contact Katie or your classroom teacher for advice.
Have a lovely week,
Shawn
School News and Information
Supporting social success and talking about Ukraine
This week brought about new mask guidelines and with this big change, it now feels safer to gather in groups for social events. Although every family may have slightly different rules around gathering in groups, we are seeing and hearing more and more about gatherings outside of school. These social gatherings are a great opportunity for students to practice their social skills; something that has been missing over the past two years. I hope you can get out with your kids to the MCS playground and Hutley Meadow as a way to practice social skills: reading facial expressions, listening for tone of voice and body language as communication indicators, and just having fun!
If you are looking for a way to continue to engage your child in an age appropriate discussion about what’s happening in Ukraine, listen to this podcast put out by NPR’s But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids, Why is Russia Invading Ukraine? The host, Jane Lindholm talks with Erin Hutchinson, Assistant Professor of Russian History at the University of Colorado Boulder, about some history to help understand what’s happening in an age appropriate way. This blog post put out by the Crisis Management Institute is also a great resource.
Katie Cormier
School Counselor
We are beginning to see some of the common yearly illnesses in school again. Please be aware that before Covid there were guidelines for keeping kids home if ill. Sick children should stay home and rest until they are well enough to participate in daily school activities without exacerbating their symptoms. Covid guidelines add an additional set of requirements in order to return to school (2 negative antigen tests). Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. janeglick@hanovernorwichschools.org
Nurse Jane
Sugaring Season is On!
Sugaring at MCS has begun. It is one of our favorite times of the year. Steam has started to come out of our wonderful sugarhouse on days when we get a good run. Students are tapping, collecting, taste testing, smelling the sweet syrup cooking, and observing the boiling process. Sugaring is also an integral part of the curriculum. We are learning about Abenaki legends and what their stories can teach us about the environment and about life. Through sugaring we experience tree identification (one part botany, two parts gestalt), structures and processes of a tree, the photosynthesis process, properties of gases, density, and the unique properties of maple trees. We measure sugar content and analyze our data from different trees. We hope to measure density of syrup soon, using two different types of tools. First, we have to make some. It has been a slow start to the season. Fingers crossed for some good runs now!
Ms. Lindsay
PAL( Peer Adventure Learning) and PE - On the move to physical and social success!!!
This week our focus was on planning and patience. Students had to patiently wait while their classmates unwrapped a gift and then played “jumping beans” as a way to practice self-regulation. To work on planning skills, kids had to make a plan to try and beat their partner to the endline and also played a game that required them to plan a route as a whole class to cross the gym without falling into the “lava pit”.
PTO News
The PTO is seeking a co-chair for the 2022-2023 school year. How do you become a PTO officer?
Our by-laws require that we hold officer elections at our April Annual Meeting. If you would like to be considered for nomination or have any questions please contact marioncrosspto@gmail.com
The only qualification for the position is a willingness to work for our mission:
To strengthen the relationship between home and school so that parents, teachers, school administrators, and the community can participate in the whole-child education of the students of Marion Cross.
To encourage timely and productive communication between parents, teachers, and school administration.
To enhance the whole-child educational experience of the students of our school by providing volunteer and financial support for resources, programs, and enrichment activities."
As mentioned above, we will have officer elections on our Tuesday April 5th, meeting, which is in person at the Fire Pit on Girard way.
Nominations for next years’ PTO officers are as follows:
Co-Chairs: Rebecca Reed, Molly Riordan, (we need one more)
Treasure: Christina Aquila
Secretary: Leah Fosco
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