Eagle Eye Tribune

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Dear AES Families,

As we head into our final full week of school before holiday break, I want to say thank you for the many ways you’ve supported our students and staff this season—kind notes, helping hands, and steady routines at home make a real difference. The building is buzzing with learning, creativity, and a little extra sparkle as we wrap up the year together.

Whole-School Read: Family Vote!

One exciting item we don’t want you to miss—please make sure you and your family vote for the book we will read together as a whole school community!
This shared reading experience is something our students truly look forward to, and we love including family voice in the decision.
➡️ Please see the voting link included within this newsletter and submit your vote before break.

Wishing you a calm and cozy week ahead,

Beth

Beth Gibney
Principal, Antrim Elementary School

Beth Gibney
Principal, Antrim Elementary School
bgibney@conval.edu • 603-588-6371

Long school breaks are a great time for rest—and a little routine goes a long way. A few simple ideas:

• Read together (even 10 minutes counts!)
  
  

• Let your child “write” in any form: a note, a list, a comic, a recipe
  
  

• Keep a consistent bedtime/wake-up time when you can

12/17-12/23 - Spirit days (see these days below)

12/19: Eagle Groups Cocoa & Storytime

12/23: Winter concert at 2:00 pm in the gym - families are welcome!

12/24-1/2: No school (Holiday Recess)

1/19: No school

2/23-2/27: No school (Winter Recess)

Families and community members, please join us on Tuesday, December 23rd in the AES Gymnasium for our Winter Music Concert at 2:00 PM. We look forward to celebrating the season together and enjoying the songs the students have prepared.

With One School, One Book, you select a book and each student in your school receives a copy to read at home as a family. At school, students celebrate and explore the novel with their classmates. This essential strategy reinforces reading instruction, increases parental involvement, bridges the home-school connection, and builds a true community of readers.

It is time to vote on the book we will read as a whole school community. We have narrowed down to four options and we need your help to vote for the final book. Please review these slides and then click here to vote on the book that is the most interesting to you and your family to read together.

Cold Weather Recess
We go outside whenever possible. Outdoor recess occurs unless it is below 10 degrees on the thermometer or the "feels like" temperature, including wind chill is below 10 degrees. Please send warm gear labeled with your child’s name. Along with the winter season, boots, coats, hats, gloves, and snow pants are getting lots of daily use. Please help us keep our hallways happy by routinely washing your child’s winter items. A quick refresh every week or so can make a big difference. Thank you for helping our school stay clean, comfortable, and healthy for everyone!

Helping Hands
If your family has extra winter gear (new or gently used), the school is happy to receive donations. We’ll share them with students who need them.

Across the school, students are:

• wrapping up writing pieces and sharing work with peers
  
  

• applying new reading skills and celebrating growth
  
  

• building math fluency through games, routines, and problem-solving
  
  

• reflecting on goals and progress: “What goal did you set?” and “How do you know you reached your goal?”
  
  

Ask your child: What are you proud of from this week? What was tricky? What helped you keep going?

Our class has been starting our new persuasive writing topic! Students had to come up with 4 character traits about why Santa should put them on the nice list. We learned about inside traits (the qualities a person has that's not always seen like kindness or bravery) and outside traits ( a person's hair color, eye color, and things that can be seen by others). Students came up with four inside positive character traits and are convincing or “persuading” Santa to put them on the nice list. We are starting a bigger unit on holidays around the world and learning bits of all kinds of holidays celebrated. In math we are starting to learn about analog clocks and telling time!

This week in Muzart, students have been hard at work practicing for our winter concert! All grades have been working on songs to sing as well as our Select Choir, who will sing two songs AND accompany Mrs. Sullivan’s first grade class on their song. This concert will take place on December 23rd at 2pm in the gym! All are welcome:)

3rd and 4th graders are beginning work on our portrait projects and prek-2 are working on the start of our first winter projects!

Ms. Lawler's Class: We finished Concept 2 this week. We reviewed what we've learned about about the four zones: BLUE ZONE (low energy and down feelings), GREEN ZONE (calm energy and a sense of control), YELLOW ZONE (increased energy and stronger feelings), and RED ZONE (the highest energy and strongest feelings). Students sorted a variety of emotions into the four zones.

Mrs. Phaneuf's Class: No lesson this week

Mrs. Sullivan's Class: We began Concept 4 this week - "My Signals, My Zones." In this concept we are learning about body signals- the sensations inside our body that help us figure out how we feel. Body signals are clues that help us to understand our emotions and notice if we are changing Zones. We do not all experience our Zones, emotions, or body signals the same way.

Ms. Voorhees's Class: We finished Concept 3 - All The Zones Are Okay. We reviewed the definitions of PERSPECTIVE and SITUATION and went through the four zones to discuss the strength of emotions and energy associated with each zone. Students completed a handout predicting situations that would result in them being in each of the zones.

Ms. Revaz's Class: No lesson this week

Mr. Morris's Class: We began Concept 4 this week - "My Signals, My Zones." In this concept we are learning about body signals- the sensations inside our body that help us figure out how we feel. Body signals are clues that help us to understand our emotions and notice if we are changing Zones. We do not all experience our Zones, emotions, or body signals the same way.

Ms. Del Rossi's Class: We continued Concept 3 - All the Zones are Okay with another round of Four Corners where students identified which zone they would be in when in a variety of situations. Students then worked to identify common feelings and behaviors connected to them.

Your child can express creativity and pride when you allow them to contribute to traditions or involve them in adopting new ones. We know that social and family connections are important for our mental health and wellness. The holidays are a great time to build those connections with your children, family, and friends.

Holiday family traditions are an awesome way to spend time as a family, create positive memories together, and build a sense of family identity and belonging in your child. Your family traditions can also help children feel connected to family members who are no longer around, because they are a great way to tell stories about them while sharing the history of that specific tradition.

You can also create new holiday traditions together. Your child may recognize that they’re an important part of the family and contributing to rituals they’re passionate about for future generations to enjoy.

To help your child gain a deeper sense of purpose and belonging this holiday season:

• Involve your child in holiday preparations. Let them help you bake cookies, hang decorations or set the table for a festive meal. It may take you slightly longer (and your cookies may not be picture perfect), but your child can feel proud of their contributions.
• Explain the meaning behind traditions. Share the history and the reasons why you follow certain traditions. This is especially important for children from diverse ethnic or religious backgrounds. Research has shown that when children have higher self-esteem, and they identify more strongly with their racial or ethnic identity.
• Talk about longtime family traditions. Has your family been caroling in the neighborhood or having a multi-generational, kitchen-floor dreidel competition for generations? While you’re engaged in time-honored family activities, share some highlights of previous celebrations to help your children feel connections to the past.
• Let your child put their spin on holiday traditions. Maybe that means asking them to choose which Christmas ornaments to hang on the tree, which Hanukkah menorah to light this year or what song to sing during Kwanzaa to express their creativity.
• Adopt new traditions. Did your child request the same New Year’s Eve dinner you served last year? Do you watch the same holiday movies every year? Decide together which of your child’s favorite rituals should become official family traditions. Your child may be more inspired to practice old and new traditions with you.

Remember, while the holidays may feel stressful and busy for some adults, connecting and creating memories with your children is what they will remember.

Share our Holiday Traditions download with a child to help them interview a family member about a holiday that they enjoy.

Adapted from The Kids Mental Health Foundation

10 School Street

Antrim, NH 03440

Phone: (603) 599-6371

Email: aesoffice@conval.edu

Web Page: https://aes.conval.edu/en-US

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