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Hello Memorial Families! It has been an exciting month of learning in the music room. Read on below to hear about your student’s work in music this month!

Preschool: Students were expected to use music tools safely and experiment with their voices and movements. They practiced using our four voices: talking, whispering, calling, and singing. They had fun choosing a way for friends to sing and wave hello, using scarves for dancing, and reciting poems like “Here is a Beehive”.

Kindergarten: Students worked on four voices using the voice poem and responding individually with a singing voice during the singing ball game. They enjoyed singing songs like “Engine Engine” and “Here We Go Looby Loo”. They recently listened to “William Tell Overture” and enjoyed pretending to ride a horse around the music room!

First Grade: Students worked on keeping a steady beat to all sorts of music this month. They practiced by playing a drum and singing songs like “Frog in the Bucket” and “Charlie Over the Ocean”. They continued to practice making a “perfect match” when using the singing ball. They have just started to work on a game called “Pass the Pumpkin” where they must pass a pumpkin to the beat of the song!

Second Grade: Students were expected to read and identify the notes and rhythms they learned in first grade. Now, they have noticed a new mystery rhythm, which gets two heartbeats! Favorite songs and games this month included “Bluebird” and the dot game. Students enjoyed using rhythm sticks while learning a folk dance from Mexico! Students also practiced describing music they listened to, including the song “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg.

Third Grade: Third graders are expected to read and identify notes and rhythms they learned about in second grade. They have been working on discovering the names of two mystery notes on our staircase, and have found the notes in songs like “Biscuit”, “Alabama Gal”, and “Ghost of Tom”. They have even tried decoding the songs on a xylophone, while working hard on their problem solving skills! Classes also enjoyed learning a play party game/dance that goes with the song “Alabama Gal”!

Please check out the music room website for more information about the music program. Feel free to reach out at any time by emailing smaldonado@easthamptonct.org.

Mrs. Maldonado

We want to share some guidelines that are helpful for families:

Please let us know if your child is diagnosed with any illness or injury (such as strep, flu, pink eye, fracture/broken bone, lice, pneumonia, covid, etc.) as the nurse office tracks illnesses and sends notification letters home if there are 2 or more cases in a specific classroom. Please be specific with any of the symptoms your child is experiencing.

Consider keeping your child at home for an extra day of rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

• Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough

• Mild sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)

• Mild headache and/or stomachache

• Fatigue

Definitely keep your child at home for treatment and observation if he or she has any of these symptoms:

• Fever (100.4 degrees or higher. May only return to school after 24 hours of no fever WITHOUT fever reducing medications)

• Vomiting (Even once. Must wait 24 hours after last vomit episode to return to school)

• Diarrhea (may return to school after 24 hours since last episode)

• Chills

• General malaise or feelings of fatigue, discomfort, weakness, and/or muscle aches

• Frequent congested, wet, or croupy cough

• Lots of nasal congestion with frequent blowing of nose

Please remind your child(ren) about good hygiene habits:

• Wash hands frequently

• Do not touch eyes, nose, or mouth

• Cover mouth and nose when sneezing/coughing and then wash hands

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick

Often when a child awakens with vague complaints (the way colds and flu begin) it is wise to observe your child at home for an hour or two before deciding whether or not to bring them to school. Your child should be physically able to participate in all school activities on returning to school. Keeping a sick child at home will minimize the spread of infections and viruses in the classroom. Please send in a copy of the doctor’s clearance, as needed. Thank you in advance for helping to make this year at school as healthy as possible.

Medications

Every medication that is brought into school requires a “Medication Authorization” form to be signed by the student’s doctor and parent/guardian and the medication in original packaging with prescription label is to be brought in by a parent/guardian, not in the child’s backpack. No child may carry their own medications at the Elementary level. Please use a large ziplock bag for the medication plus the medication order, and label the bag with your child’s name before dropping off. Any controlled medications will need to be counted and signed off with the RN and parent so please allow for a few extra minutes at drop off.

Please note: COUGH DROPS count as medications and are not allowed in school. All over-the-counter medications also need a medication order from your provider.

Food

We have several students with severe food allergies, therefore we highly recommend non food items to share for birthday celebrations. Per our food sharing protocol, we ask for at least 48 hours advance notice to check for classroom allergies. Please inform your child’s teacher AND the nurse in order to approve food being brought in to share. A great resource for allergy free snacks is the Safe Snack guide at https://snacksafely.com/safe-snack-guide/. We appreciate your assistance in keeping our school safe.

Health Concerns

If your child has a new health concern which you would like to speak to the nurse about e-mail kwilliams@easthamptonct.org and mlemire@easthamptonct.org at any time.

If you have any specific concerns that arise during the school year (such as stitches, concussions, broken bones/fractures, etc) it is best that you send in a doctor’s note with dates, guidelines and restrictions, so we can all be on the same page and keep your child safe.

Respectfully,

Katie Williams, RN

and Ms. Michelle Lemire

kwilliams@easthamptonct.org, mlemire@easthamptonct.org

Your Health Office Team

Memorial Elementary

Phone 860-365-4020

Fax 860-365-4024