Cheetah Pride Press

Families,

Today is officially the first day of spring, (on the calendar, at least); and along with rising temperatures and longer daylight hours, our students are becoming busier than ever. MANY afterschool activities and year-end events will keep our learners excited and active; and oftentimes they may begin staying up later than usual. Keeping routines in place at home and school becomes even more important at this time of year. Consistent routines help our learners know what to expect, and help them remain engaged and regulated.

As a reminder, we will be following an early dismissal schedule on Friday, March 27th, as staff will be participating in an afternoon of professional learning.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Joey & Andrea

Our Smart Start students celebrated the letter R with a Red Carpet Readers event. They walked the red carpet in fancy clothes, and practiced reading with their book buddies.

After reading the story The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, students retold the story by using classroom objects to chronologically demonstrate all of the changes the Little House endured throughout the tale.

Memorial School would like to thank Joey Fuchs for his generous donation of a heavy bag. It is the perfect addition to the Cheetah Den! Thanks for taking care of others, Joey!

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.

Memorial Models are chosen weekly by their teacher. These students have excelled all week in taking care of themselves, others and things. The recipients will dine at a VIP table during lunch every Friday!

Meet Annabelle.

Her teacher is Ms. Lukeski.

She is special because she has an adopted sister.

Gymnastics and soccer are her favorite things.

She wanted to be on Cheetah Council to help with assemblies.

She loves math, reading, and chrome books best at school.

Congratulations to Mrs. Adams for being recognized with the Order Of The Cheetah this week. Mrs. Adams exudes positivity, and goes above and beyond to help every student and family that visits our front office. She is an asset to the Memorial School Community.

March

3/20 World Down Syndrome Awareness Day

3/23 Board of ED

3/24 District Art Show, EHHS

3/27 Early Dismissal Professional Learning

3/28 Touch a Truck

4/1 Paraprofessional/Interventionist Appreciation Day

4/3 Good Friday School is Closed

4/6 Board of ED

4/10 Cheetah Pride Day

4/13-4/17 Spring Break School Closed

Hello Memorial Families! Please find your student’s grade level below to see learning expectations for the past month in music.

Preschool: Students enjoyed vocal exploration, moving to music, and playing sticks. Students practiced following directions during stick tapping songs and also tried making letters with their sticks.

Kindergarten: This month, we continued to practice the concept of high and low. Students learned a song about an elevator and used movement to show when the music was high and when it was low. They also drew a design for their own special elevator as a connection to the song! Students are now expected to demonstrate a high or low voice when singing or speaking.

First Grade: Students finished their xylophone unit this month. While using xylophones, they are expected to demonstrate appropriate technique with mallets and to play a specific pattern as a background part to the song. They also explored songs made up of only two notes - a high and a low note and are now expected to notice the difference between a high and low note.

Second Grade: This month, students practiced reading, writing, and singing our new solfege note, Do (pronounced “doh”). They found the note in known songs like “Bluebird”, and “Rocky Mountain” as well as a new song called “Mother Mother”. They also practiced singing and reading Do with games such as Post Office and Sol-la-mi. Through the post office game, they were expected to identify the correct melodic pattern out of a selection of different ones. Now, some classes started working on a new mystery note, which can be found in between Mi and Do!

Third Grade: Third graders worked hard to prepare for the District-Wide Step-Up Concert this month, and they did an amazing job! They learned to be confident performers and they were also expected to demonstrate good audience behavior when listening to the other groups. They also continued working hard to earn “belts” in recorder karate! Students are expected to earn at least their “green belt” by the end of the school year. Starting with level 3, “orange belt”, students will be able to send in videos from home if they would rather do their recorder test that way.

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.

Literacy News

In a recent edition of the Cheetah Pride Press, the math specialists shared what fluency looks like for mathematicians. This week we would like to emphasize the importance of fluency skills in literacy. A common misconception is that reading fluently means to read fast. Fluency is the ability to read with accuracy, automaticity and prosody (expression). A fluent reader reads effortlessly and with expression. The reader sounds natural as if they are talking. A reader who has not yet developed fluency reads slowly, word by word and sounds choppy. Fluency is critical because it is the bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension. When students are automatic with word recognition they are able to focus on what the text means rather than putting the energy into decoding words.

Your student may have come home with some fluency passages from Wit and Wisdom. Here are some tips to support fluency skills at home with these passages.

Stay at Home Guidelines:

Memorial School understands that deciding when a child or family member is too sick

to go to school or work can be a difficult decision. When trying to decide, use the guidelines

below and seek the advice of your health care provider. Anyone with the following symptoms should not attend school.

Symptoms can vary, but symptoms may include:

• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fever equal to or above 100.4 degrees
• Chills
• Body aches
• Sore throat
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

If students or family members experience any of the above symptoms, please stay home and

contact your health care provider for further instructions. Sending sick children to school is not in

the best interest of the child or their classmates. Children should not be given any medications

such as: Tylenol, Motrin or Advil prior to school to reduce fever. Any child who has vomited or had diarrhea and/or a fever within 24 hours should not be sent to school.

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