Cheetah Pride Press

Families,

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you are feeling rested and ready for the holiday season ahead. This edition of the Cheetah Pride Press is chock full of many activities that took place over the past two weeks.

Don’t forget that the PTO will be hosting an evening Holiday Shop on Tuesday evening! This is a great opportunity to teach your children about how to select gifts for others. Thank you to the PTO for providing this opportunity, and to the EHHS Interact Club for sending several volunteers to help our young learners shop.

Have a great weekend!

Joey

After five wonderful years at Memorial School, Mrs. Ana Biancardi has moved on to a new position at Central Office. While we are so sad to see her go, and are going to miss her very much, we know that she’ll now be able to share her expertise with the entire school district. Congratulations, Ana! We know the Central Office Team will love you as much as we do!

With that said… Please welcome Mrs. Heather Bear to Memorial School. She will now serve as the Administrative Assistant to the principal’s office. Mrs. Bear is coming to Memorial School from East Hampton Middle School, where she served as the Support Services Secretary. Mrs. Bear’s previous experience and positive personality make her a perfect fit for our front office. Welcome, Heather! We’re thrilled to have you on our team.

Our “turkeys” did their best to disguise themselves so that the farmers couldn’t find them before Thanksgiving. We think they did a pretty great job!

The Smart Start class got ready for Thanksgiving with a celebration, where they sang three songs for their visiting grownups, dressed as turkeys, and shared projects that showed what they’re grateful for.

Mrs. Evans’s class took some time to complete a STEM activity where they had to build a table using only five pieces of paper and one strip of tape. Once the table was made, they were challenged to test the table’s strength by balancing a can of food on top. It was much harder than it looks, and students had to persevere through many failures before finding success!!

Are you wondering who makes up Samantha’s team? If so, here’s some information about all of the people who are keeping Samantha healthy!

Dairy farmers know a healthy cow is a happy cow! That’s why they work with veterinarians to provide their cows routine checkups, vaccinations and speedy treatment of illness. Farmers work with their veterinarian to provide medicines to cows when they are sick— just like you may work with your doctor. However, if a cow receives medicine, her milk is disposed of until the medication is fully out of her system and safe to re-enter the food supply.

Specially formulated diets help cows stay at the top of their game to produce a wholesome and nutritious product – milk. Professional animal nutritionists help dairy farmers develop a balanced and nutritious diet for their cows. They periodically visit the farm to assess the animals and make dietary adjustments for growth, development, milk production and health changes such as pregnancy.

Did you know cows get pedicures? It’s true, and it’s not just for looks! Regular hoof care is essential for maintaining cow comfort and mobility. Hoof care specialists assess cows’ hooves and cater to their individual needs, ranging from preventive maintenance to corrective measures.

Our preschool students have been collecting soap to donate to the East Hampton Food Bank, and we’re proud to report that they collected 366 bars of soap! Way to take care of others, preschool!!

A PAWsitive office referral is submitted when a staff member recognizes a student who is going above and beyond to exemplify one of our three school rules - taking care of others, taking care of self, & taking care of things.

This is Lennon.

Her teacher is Ms. Lukeski.

She is really good at cheer.

Her family is one of her favorite things.

She wanted to be on cheetah council to help people and to spread kindness.

She loves school because she loves to learn different things.

12/8 Board of Ed. Meeting, 6:30 pm

12/9 PTO Evening Holiday Shop, 5:30-7:00

12/12 Pajama Day for CCMC

12/15 PTO at Center School, 5:30

12/19 Cheetah Pride Day/Assembly

12/23 Early Release

12/24-1/2 Winter Break

1/5 Return to School

Hello Memorial Families! It has been an exciting month of learning in the music room. Read on below to find out what we’ve been up to.

Preschool: Students enjoyed moving to music using various tools, including our stretchy band! We sang some fun turkey-themed songs for Thanksgiving, including one called “Turkey Tango”!

Kindergarten: Students have made great progress making a “perfect match” when singing after the teacher! They began to explore the musical opposites loud and soft, while experiencing movement and singing. They are expected to identify the musical opposites fast vs. slow and loud vs. soft when listening or singing! Students also got to take turns being a music conductor! They experimented with fast and slow movements with a baton, in order to get the class to perform a song in various ways.

First Grade: Students continued to practice making a “perfect match” when singing. They also learned the names of two rhythms: quarter note (“Ta”) and eighth notes (“Ti Ti”). They have practiced reading and writing these new rhythms on worksheets and in games. They are now expected to read and write “ta” and “ti-ti” in patterns and songs! A favorite recent activity was designing four-beat rhythm patterns on a “rhythm turkey”!

Second Grade: This month, students focused on their new two-beat rhythm, the half note. They practiced this rhythm throughout the month and are now expected to identify and read patterns using the half note. They enjoyed playing games like “Poison Pattern” and “Post Office” to sharpen their rhythm reading skills.

Third Grade: This month was all about music literacy skills to prepare students for their recorder unit! We practiced reading rhythms in a different way by counting with numbers, even playing a fun game called “Rhythm Football”! We also \worked to identify notes on the treble clef staff using letter names. We especially focused on B, A, and G, the first three notes they’ll learn on recorder. Throughout the week, third graders started to play recorders in music class. They’ll take them home in a couple of weeks!

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

What are the Mathematical Practices?

The eight mathematical practices are standards we use to describe student behaviors, ensure an understanding of math, and focus on developing reasoning and building mathematical communication. As educators, we help students to develop these practices to become effective mathematicians. The eight mathematical practices are as follows:

• MP.1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

• MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

• MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

• MP.4 Model with mathematics.

• MP.5 Use appropriate tools strategically.

• MP.6 Attend to precision.

• MP.7 Look for and make use of structure.

• MP.8 Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

The Mathematical Practice Cards are a set of four two-sided cards that can be used as a quick reference when working with your mathematician at home. The front of the card introduces a Math Practice Standard in the form of a question and offers some tips for supporting mathematical thinking. The back of each card includes a set of questions that align with the standard. By asking one or two questions each time you work with your child at home, it helps build their confidence and encourages a habit of justifying their reasoning.

Dear Families of Memorial Elementary Students,

We are asking for your assistance in helping keep our school healthy and safe. We have been experiencing an uptick in lots of confirmed cases of both flu and strep throat. Please consider the following guidelines, provided by the school nurse, for sending students to school:

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 (equal to or greater than 100.4 degrees. May 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 (Must wait 24 hours after last episode to return to school)

• 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

• redness and discharge from one or both eyes

To help prevent the flu and other colds, 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. We use our nursing assessment and judgment when students come into the nurse office and make calls home as we deem necessary. Thank you in advance for helping to make this year at school as healthy as possible.

Please also update emergency contact information! In case of an emergency or in instances where your child needs to be dismissed from school, it is extremely important that we be able to reach someone on the contact list. We have also been having trouble with parent voicemail boxes that are full and we are unable to leave a message.

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

Kindly,

The Health Office Team,

Nurse Katie and Miss Michelle

When considering the number of absences your student has accrued, keep in mind that a student must be present for 195 minutes in order for the day to count! When bringing your student in late, or signing them out early if they have not been in school for a 195 minutes the day will be recorded as an absence.

Memorial School Attendance email:

memorial_attendance@easthamptonct.org * there is an _ between memorial and attendance!

Please Review This Important Information Below.

Students, parents, and community members have access to an anonymous tip line on the front page of the school district website to report self-concerns, mental health concerns of a friend, or concerns of violence. Simply click here or view on the website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/.

Email: jbauer@easthamptonct.org
Website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/memorial-school
Location: 20 Smith Street, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: 860-365-4020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ehmemorialschool