Dear MMES Families,

Happy November! The next few weeks will fly by so hold onto your hat! I am happy to report that Pick Up Patrol has been a huge success and the transition has been quite smooth. We hope this makes things a little less hectic at home!

We are seeing an increase in the number of children across the country who are struggling with anxiety. This can make it challenging for students to perform basic life tasks including attending school and arriving to school on time. While all humans experience some level of anxiety, it can become problematic when it takes over and prevents someone from functioning properly in their day to day life. Anxiety is a good thing...we have it for a reason! It helps us in many ways, but when it interferes with daily life, we need to take a closer look at what is going on.

MERSD recently partnered with a local expert in the area of anxiety and school avoidance to put together an informational video to share with our families. Check it out in the link below!

Have a great weekend!

Best,

John

The Fall Book Fair was a huge success thanks to the hard work of Book Fair Queen Emily Snyder and her many elves, especially Leah Peavey! The Book Shop of Beverly Farms brought a great selection of fiction and not fiction books including craft books and cookbooks. All proceeds from the Book Fair go to the MMPTO to support programming in the school. Special thanks to those families who donated books from Ms. Silag's Wish List table for all to enjoy in the school library!

Pic1 - Here Mrs. Decker's Kindergarteners after enjoying their first MMES Book Fair ever.

Pic 2 - Mrs. Morgese's 3rd graders were just as pleased with their time at the Book Fair as the Kinders were!

• Next week's early release is on Friday

Happy Friday Hornets! I hope everyone who participated had a great and safe Halloween! In November we will focus on Gratitude, but for this week I wanted to wrap up with some more information around bullying and how we teach and learn about it here. At school, our teachers promote Bullying Prevention through the Second Step curriculum where they discuss what it is/isn’t, how/when to report, and how to be an upstander. Second Step calls these the 3 R’s – Recognize, Report, and Refuse! It’s important that families continue this discussion at home and support problem solving skills for the natural disagreements and conflicts that students experience. “Kids Against Bullying” by PACER Center is a great kid friendly site to support learning about bullying behavior and how kids can help.

2024-2025 Calendar

November

8 - Early Release 11:45 am

11 – Veteran’s Day, No School

18 – Author Visit Hena Khan

27 – Early Release, 11:45 am

28-29 – Thanksgiving Recess No School

December

5 - Early Release, K-8 Conferences, 11:45am

6 – K-8 Conferences, No School

11 - Early Release 11:45am

17 – Holiday Concert 9:30 am

Winter Recess December 23-January 3: No School

MCAS Testing Windows - Please be mindful when planning family absences

ELA Testing Window - March 24 - April 18

Mathematics Testing Window - April 28 - May 23

STE Testing Window -April 28 - May 23

Wednesday, November 13

For the 2024-2025 school year, the PTO has partnered with Square 1 Art for the annual art fundraiser. This new company offers a number of advantages - simple online ordering (no complicated paper forms to fill out!), free shipping directly to your home, a fun catalog featuring your students' actual artwork to choose from, and a free set of stickers of your child's artwork. Keep an eye out for order packets to come home during the week of October 28th. Ordering will be open until November 13. Please email coordinator Becky Stephenson at treasurermmpto@gmail.com with any questions!

As a valued member of our Manchester Memorial school community, we invite you to make a meaningful impact on your child's educational experience by contributing to our PTO Annual Appeal. Your donation will directly fund essential programs, events, and resources that benefit all students, from classroom materials and technology to arts and music programs. Every contribution, big or small, counts and is tax-deductible. You can donate easily via Venmo (@manchesterpto), online through our website, or by check payable to MMPTO. If you need information for company match or organizational donations, please contact us at mmptopres@gmail.com. Your support will help us continue to provide a world-class education for our students. Thank you for considering a donation to our Annual Appeal!

MERSD elementary students now have access to the iReady "My Path" program at home. This aspect of iReady is an online tool that provides students with learning activities and practice geared towards their individual skills and needs. Below you will find information regarding accessing this tool at home for extra skill practice in reading and mathematics.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qhiOnoPCkyzwb8HLql0PdEgwNC_tiKcN/view

It’s talent show time!

Every year, Spaulding Education Fund hosts a community talent show called Night of Stars. I’m delighted to report that our very own 4th grade teacher Tyler Garofalo will be Production Coordinator for the show again this year, and the show will feature a number of MMES student performers! Congratulations to:

Nora Bebee

Aada Bolen

Zoe Carrigg

Liam Cullaj

Rhea Cullaj

McKenzie Davis

Atticus Howe

Rebecca Howe

Amelia Langendorf

Benjamin Langendorf

Eila Peelle

Charlotte Ratushny

Hayden Ratushny

Tess West

The show will be held on Saturday, November 2 at 4:00 in the high school auditorium. The audience is being encouraged to dress up – a fun chance for your child to wear whatever they think feels “fancy.” There will also be a family-friendly After Party at The James restaurant in Essex, who will donate some of the proceeds to Spaulding Education Fund.

Today (Friday, October 25) is the last day to buy tickets online at a discounted price at www.spauldingeducationfund.org (use code EARLYBIRD). You can also purchase "shout-out" messages to the performers that will be printed in the program.

Thanks for supporting our school district's ed fund, and our young performers!

The Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum's Autumn Art & History Saturday morning (11 AM to 12 noon) children's workshops will be as follows: on October 5th, participants will learn about Manchester's Fishery heritage and draw and paint a sea creature. On October 19th, we will look at the museum's collection of Charles Hopkinson's portraits, and then will draw and color a portrait. On November 2nd, we will learn about the Cape Ann Sea serpent, viewed by many people in the 1800s, and then put together a sea creature assemblage. On November 16th, we will look at paintings of Singing Beach, and then adapt our own version of beach activities. These workshops are made available by The Hooper Fund.

Saturday workshops are geared toward ages 5 to 12.
To register for one or more, please visit mbtsmuseum.org/autumn-art.

Manchester-by-the-Sea Museum10 Union St. Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA 01944

• Mobile Markets will then run from 2:30-3:30pm through January on the first Wednesday of each month.
• Mobile Market will run on an early release schedule of 11am-12:15pm on the first Wednesday of each month in February, March, May, and June.