MCS Newsletter for week of March 4, 2023
to keep you informed with several links available for you to review
Good afternoon Norwich,
This newsletter is being shared with my readers so that you can be informed about what is happening at MCS and in the local SAU 70 school system. Yes, MCS is a busy place with lots of activity happening day to day.
Friday, March 1, 2024
Important Dates
- Tuesday, March 5 - Voting Day in Norwich, 7:00am - 7:00pm, Tracy Hall
- Wednesday, March 6 - Norwich School Board Meeting, 6:30pm, MCS Library
- Friday, March 8 - PTO Bingo Night, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, MCS Multi
- Thursday, March 7 - PTO Meeting, 8:15am - 9:15am, MCS Multi
- 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 Mudstomp, 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
This year, the month of March is not holding true to the adage of in like a lion and out like a lamb. Well, unless you put it in the perspective of school budget votes! If there were ever a year where school board members earned their very small stipend, it would be this one.
Next Monday and Tuesday are essential days in the school budget season. On Monday, starting at 7PM at Tracy Hall, residents of Norwich will gather to hear about and discuss both the town and school budgets. This year, I strongly encourage you to attend. School funding in Vermont schools has been nothing short of a nightmare with the implementation of Act 127,which, put simply, is designed to bolster educational opportunities in rural regions by redefining pupil weights. The law is intended to direct education money toward schools and students who need it most. This redistribution of resources has left our school in a place where a budget that is very close to that of the past year is resulting in a large property tax increase. Your school board members have worked tirelessly to understand the law, communicate the impact, and still craft a budget that allows MCS to provide a quality program to our PreK-6th grade students. At Town Meeting on Monday afternoon, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and listen to immediate and expected impacts of this new law.
In addition, I encourage you to use the Australian ballot vote for the budget on Tuesday as an opportunity to teach your children about the process. When my children were younger, my wife and I took every opportunity to bring them with us when we voted. We found that our kids were interested in knowing about how decisions are made in our town. The process of voting in general is fun for children, especially the secretive nature and waiting to learn the final results!
On a positive note, if it is true that March departs like a lamb, then this school budget business will be past us and we can get back to business as usual. I do encourage you to understand Act 127 and the implications for Norwich. After that, I encourage you to reach out to your local representatives and express your opinions about how this law will impact our school. Just as your vote matters in deciding elected officials and budgets, it also matters with the people who craft our laws.
Enjoy this beautiful weekend!
Shawn
Student Services Update
Today, we had a wonderful celebration for filling up the pellet aquarium, S’Mores on the Green!! Thanks to all who came and helped.
Have a great weekend,
Greg Bagnato
Counselor's Corner
Over the last two weeks in class counsel Kindergarten through Fifth grade have been learning about Bullying Prevention and the 3 R’s: Recognize, Report, and Refuse. Students have been practicing how to recognize bullying, how to report, and how to refuse bullying. In Sixth grade we started a new unit on Emotions and the Brain. This week we explored what emotions tell us, how strong emotions affect our decisions, and what happens in our brains when we feel strong emotions.
Ms. Keel
School News and Information
PE News:
Until Next Year…The Kids Heart Challenge has come to an end.
Thank you to all of our MCS community for supporting the American Heart Association and becoming a community of life savers!
I will be submitting our totals over the weekend and can not wait to hear from Mr. Nick, our AHA friend, to find out who decided to learn Hands-Only CPR!
Another thank you goes to Ms. Kata and Mr. Nick for encouraging heart health in fun ways for all of our students throughout PE classes this month! We are so lucky to have your support!
Are you looking for fun conversation starters with your children? Try this Heart Health Quiz to see how much we have learned together during the month of February!
Thank you so much,
Melanie Farwell
Hello from Math World!
I hope you all have a wonderful February vacation! In a couple of weeks, MCS will be hosting Family Math Night. A big thank you to the PTO for all of their help with this event and for providing pizza for those that attend. If you haven’t filled out the RSVP, please do so to help us plan for food and materials. Math night will be a fun event, with games, activities and food for the whole family! Mark your calendars for MCS Family Math Night on Pi Day (March 14), from 5:30-6:30pm.
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
Dear French-loving community:
It’s been busy in our class. After the New Year’s mark we launched new learning units in all grade levels. Preschool is ever more engaged in the classroom routines and welcoming a new song/story this month. It is about escargot!
Kindergarteners and 1st graders share their beginner level with the Peanut Man! Caution to the nut-allergy prone but the story is an irresistible vehicle for descriptive and qualitative adjectives (petite, drôle, en carton, en papier). Kids learn to predict and fill out sentences with practiced key-words.
In second and third grade we followed Jean Petit and Lucille in their dramatized life stories involving language on parts of the body and specific clothing. Kids created sentences and wrote a selection of them in French by all known literacy rules.
Fourth and fifth graders learn about gender pronouns through examples: il/elle (and plural) doing various activities. They learn to name actions and feelings particular to different roles people play in life. We place an emphasis on kids learning to be able to respond to questions related to personal information by honing in sight words or speech format like name, age, telefone, domicile, place of origin, DOB.
In sixth grade it is imperative to learn how to form simple sentences made of subject, predicate, and object. We started seeing with a ‘connoisseur’ eye the verb endings in present tense and infer what is about one/many, them boys/girls or a mixed group. Also, the great numbers should be decoded more easily by now.
We are all enjoying, I hope, the French space and culture that we are creating together at MCS!
Merci beaucoup! Mihaela
PTO Bulletin Board
Special Event with Cindy Pierce
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 7th: PTO meeting, MCS Multi, 8:15 am
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