New Manchester Elementary School

It is hard to believe that October is here and we will be completing the first quarter of the school year at the end of this month. We have had a successful start to our school year. Students have been setting goals and working hard. Our teachers are utilizing a variety of techniques to promote academic achievement and growth for our students. Our school has also been developing goals within our School Strategic Plan. We will continue to focus on increasing reading and math achievement. We will also provide a multi-tiered system of support for all students in the area of behavior/social-emotional learning and attendance. We are very excited to be working with all of our students, families, and the community to provide a wonderful school year for all. Thank you for your continued commitment to your child's educational process. It definitely "Takes a Team to Educate a Child"!

Breakfast, Grab & Go and Lunch menus can also be found on our school website page under the tab "food service".

10/1 Fire Prevention at New Manchester Volunteer Fire Department

10/2 PTA Meeting at 6:00 p.m. with 3rd Grade Presentation

10/6 World Cerebral Palsy Day - Wear GREEN in honor of Dominic, Reagan's Journey Ambassador

10/8 ROAR Program

10/13 No School for Students - Conference Day

10/16 GSA Recognition at 6:00 p.m.

10/22 Unity Day - Wear Orange

10/23 End of the 1st 9 Weeks Grading Period

10/24 Family Read Aloud

10/28 School Pictures

10/30 Report Cards

10/31 2 Hour Early Dismissal for Staff Faculty Senate - No Pre-K

The Character Trait for our "Guidelines for Success" for October is Optimism which can be defined as hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something. It entails a positive outlook and the belief that good things will come. It is having a good attitude toward life.

Optimism is a powerful mindset that can help our students embrace growth, navigate challenges, and feel more confident. There are many activities that we can utilize at school and that you can utilize at home to help foster optimism. These include:

Modeling It: One of the best ways to inspire a positive attitude is to model positivity

Eliminating "BUT": Work to eliminate "BUT" from your vocabulary

Encouraging Words & Positive Affirmations: Bring a variety of words of affirmation to your daily conversations - At school we do Daily Affirmations on the Morning Announcements.

Vision Boards: Create vision boards to help students visualize a positive future.

Congratulations to our Bearcats for being the Student Spotlight for October!

Pre-K: Gianna

Kindergarten: Evangeline; Peyton; Jaxton

1st Grade: Briar; Ariel; Garyn

2nd Grade: Mya; Jamison; Ellie

3rd Grade: Gracyn

4th Grade: Bucky; Teagan

One student per classroom will be chosen each month by the teacher to be recognized for our "Student Spotlight". The student will have their picture posted to our front lobby bulletin board, will be recognized in our monthly newsletter, and will receive a token of appreciation for their efforts at our PTA meetings

Criteria for selecting the Crew Chiefs will include (but is not limited to) the following

• Effort
• Character through compassion, honesty, trustworthiness, optimism, and responsibility
• Behavior and self-control
• Attitude toward others/learning
• Good citizenship
• Leadership and integrity
• Demonstrates responsibility.
• Respectful to peers and teachers
• Significant progress in the classroom and/or marked improvement in grades

Cerebral Palsy is the most common lifelong physical disability, affecting a person's ability to walk, move, or communicate. It is caused by an injury to the developing brain, but every individual's experience with cerebral palsy is unique.

In honor of our Bearcat, Dominic Springer, let's color our world GREEN for Cerebral Palsy Day on October 6th by wearing anything green to school for a donation. Every donation will go to Reagan's Journey as Dominic is the 2025 Ambassador of this organization. With this organization, Dominic was able to receive a safety bed, a vest machine, an adapted tricycle, shower chair, stroller, masks for breathing treatments and small items like tooth brushes for his suction machine.

Reagan's Journey is a nonprofit organization that exists to make life better for children with special needs in 3 ways:

1. Pediatric Equipment and Supply Closet - make sure that families/caregivers have access to the right equipment to help a child reach their full potential
2. Family Events - creating an environment where each child's uniqueness is celebrated
3. Resources - operating an online resource group to share resources and information to families facing similar experiences with disability

Please consider donating on October 6th and don't forget to wear GREEN!

We have an exciting opportunity for Family Engagement occurring every Friday with Mrs. Cole and Mrs. Gamble.

Our "Fluency Fridays" will be posted to Class Dojo the first and last Friday of each month to help you understand the importance

of the Science of Reading and Math fluency. These will be activities that you can do at home to increase fluency at home. The activities that will be explored have been recommended by Hancock County's Literacy and Numeracy Teams.

The first Friday of the month will be dedicated to Reading and the last Friday of the month will be dedicated to Math.
We are hoping for this to be an "interactive family engagement community" in which we can all benefit.
You will be able to receive feedback on any comments or questions you may have.

Look for Episode 1 coming October 3rd!

Fire Safety Week is October 6 - 10th. We will be visiting the New Manchester Volunteer Fire Department on October 1st. The students will get to see the fire house, fire trucks, and participate in the interactive smoke house.

The theme for Fire Safety Month this year is "Charge Into Fire Safety". This campaign stresses the importance of how to buy, charge, and safely recycle lithium-ion batteries.

October 20 – 24, 2025

"Play it Safe"

SAFE

S(Stay):

Stay at least 10 feet (five giant steps) away from the curb while you wait for the school bus.

A(Always):

Always wait for the bus to stop completely and the driver to signal it's time to get on board.

F(Face):

Face forward once you're in your seat.

E(Exit):

Exit the bus after it stops completely. Always cross in front of the bus, once the driver signals that it's safe to do so.

We understand that parenting is a challenging and oftentimes overwhelming experience. This program connects you with a free parenting coach and therapist-created content to help you navigate the ups and downs with confidence.

https://parentguidance.org/

Unity Day is Wednesday, October 22. Wear and share ORANGE to send a visible message that no child should ever experience bullying.

Mr. Taylor will be presenting Bullying Prevention presentations in the classroom throughout the month of October.

As we begin another school year and head into October, which is anti-bullying month, I want to address an important issue that can affect all schools: bullying. It can take many forms, including physical, verbal, and social aggression. Once we understand what bullying looks like, we can work together to create a safe and supportive environment for all students.

At NMES we believe that not everything that offends or hurts someone’s feelings is bullying. Some hurtful behaviors are due to the differences in home environments. What is “normal” or acceptable in one household might be considered offensive in another household. This would be completely unintentional. We sometimes refer to these behaviors as “rude.” There are then mean behaviors which are intentional but are more “in the moment” choices due to a current stressor. Usually, the offender feels remorse over losing control. Both types of behaviors are typically resolved by having the students talk it out. We call that process Restorative Justice. Bullying, on the other hand, is hurtful behavior that occurs several times and where the target is unable to make the bullying stop. This requires adult intervention.

We do NOT believe that bullying is just a phase that children go through; it can have serious consequences on a child’s emotional and academic well-being. Children who are bullied may experience anxiety, depression, and a drop in academic performance. It is crucial for us to recognize the signs of bullying early and act.

We encourage you to talk to your child about their school experiences. Ask them open-ended questions like, “How do you feel at school?” or “Have you seen anyone being treated unfairly?” This will help them feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings. It is important to listen without judgment and validate their experiences.

As partners in your child’s education, we need your support. If you suspect your child is being bullied, please contact their teacher or school counselor. Together, we can address these issues promptly and effectively. Additionally, we encourage you to model respectful behavior at home and discuss the importance of treating others with kindness.

In conclusion, it is our collective responsibility to create a safe environment for our children. By working together, we can ensure that our school is a place where every student feels valued and respected. Thank you for your commitment to this important issue.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Women living in the United States have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. Breast cancer can also affect men. Monthly checks are encouraged and scheduling a mammogram by age 40 could save your life! Know the warning signs of breast cancer by clicking this link: Warning Signs of Breast Cancer | Susan G. Komen®. Wear pink during the month of October to show your support and help bring awareness to this disease that affects 2.3 million women worldwide.

October is also the month when flu activity begins to increase. Flu signs and symptoms usually come on suddenly. People who are sick with the flu often feel some or all of these symptoms: fever (100.4 or above), cough, sore throat, runny/stuff nose, muscle/body aches, headaches, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea. Remember to practice handwashing! Please keep your child home until they are 24 hours free from a fever without fever reducing medication (such as Tylenol and Motrin). Keep your child home until they are free from vomiting and/or diarrhea for 24 hours as well. Together we can make school a happy and healthy place to be!

Try this pumpkin STEM activity at home with your child to challenge their skills of building and engineering. You will need plastic or mini pumpkins, orange playdough, paper straws, and scissors.

1. Set up the pumpkins in a container for your child to pull them from.
2. Set out paper straws. Using scissors cut some of the straws in half for the gate posts.
3. Challenge your child to put a fence up that can hold the pumpkins. Let them know that they have the playdough to use as a reinforcement for building.
4. Can your gate hold up to five pumpkins? If not, how could you make it hold five? If it can, will it hold more?
5. Read the book or sing the song of "Five Little Pumpkins".

• The opal is the birthstone of October. It is the only birthstone that isn't crystalized and can take on many shapes and colors. Did you know that the opal was a favorite of Cleopatra?
• October is known as the spookiest month on the calendar.
• October is the national month for a lot of snack food. National Pizza Month, National Pretzel Month, and National Popcorn Month are celebrated (not to mention we eat a lot of chocolate and candy corn in October).
• The World Series of Major League Baseball always starts in October. The first World Series took place on October 1, 1903, with the Boston Americans winning it all.
• Many important dates in American history have occurred during the month of October. There was Christopher Columbus landing in the Americas on October 12, 1492. The Great Chicago Fire occurred on October 8, 1871 destroying the city and leaving 100,000 people homeless. Also, in October 1886 France gifted the US the Statue of Liberty.
• Over 50% of the US population buys a pumpkin in October.

"It Takes a Team to Educate a Child"

Email: cyeater@k12.wv.us
Website: https://newmanchester.hancock.k12.wv.us/
Location: 128 Frankfort Road, New Cumberland, WV, USA
Phone: 304-564-3242
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Elementary-School/New-Manchester-Elementary-School