Friday Flash

Spring is in the air at Newbury Elementary School! Students and staff got out to enjoy the warmer spring weather this week. Sunshine and warm breezes helped to lift everyone's spirits. In general, everyone seemed much happier and ready to learn this week.

At this week's OUUSD Board meeting administrators of all four schools share a draft of the annual meeting presentation. In that presentation I shared that Newbury Elementary School's budget was up around $217,000 over last year. This amounts to a 6.35% increase over last year's budget. Increases were largely due to salary & benefit increases. The NES budget includes cuts to our SEL team, custodial team and supplies. However, the budget does include the addition of a full day five day a week Prekindergarten program. If you have more questions about the budget, please consider attending an upcoming community coffee at the school or community forum. The annual meeting and budget vote will be held April 28th at Oxbow.

As the close of the school year fast approaches, staff and students are working on end of the year plans and events. Six grade students are currently discussing options for their class trip. Plans are also in the works for our collaboration with BES for a day at Camp Farwell to bring our six grade students together before they enter Oxbow in the fall. Stay tuned for exciting details about our end of the year festivities.

~Loretta Cruz

PS: Spring Break Starts April 18th

Students in grades 2-4 will now be having recess together four days a week. This will allow for wider peer groups for play and the opportunity for students and teachers to prepare for next year's 3-4 grouping. Last week students and teachers gathered together to review expectations for recess. Students will be using the 3rd & 4th Grade recess expectations which were created by the Owls and Otters in the fall. The older students took on the leadership role of teaching the younger students the expectations. Both staff and students report that the new recess grouping is going well and that students are enjoying recess more.

Dear Families,

This week, our school will focus on the character strength of Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. This means noticing and valuing the world's beauty and people's skills and not taking things for granted.

Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence involves recognizing and enjoying what is admirable. Positive psychology identifies three types of goodness: physical beauty (like sunsets or music), exceptional skills or talents, and moral goodness (like character strengths). Appreciating beauty can inspire awe, skills can generate admiration, and moral goodness can elevate us. These feelings help us forget ourselves and find more joy and meaning in the world.

This strength helps individuals experience positive emotions and connect with the world around them. It is outward-facing, focusing on external beauty and excellence, often leading to deep absorption in awe or admiration, which can help alleviate anxieties. It is also linked to other strengths, such as gratitude, curiosity, love of learning, and purpose.

To practice and encourage this strength at home, please visit The Positivity Project’s mobile-friendly P2 for Families (available in English and Spanish), where you will watch a video together and discuss a quote and three questions. Below are links to this week’s P2 for Families lessons. Click on the grade level that best meets your child’s needs.

Pre-K–K

Thank you for your support!

It has been a busy year in the NES Library as it is the hub of our Year of the Book festivities! Our most recent event: Naturalist and author Susie Spikol visited NES on March 27. She is doing a 5-Day Writing Residency with our students. Our next phase: NES students will be creating their own "Seekers Guide to Magical Forest Beings." NES students will use wooden pegs and other materials like felt, roving, pipecleaners, beads, flowers, leaves, and fabric in art class to create their own magical beings. They will then use these little beings to inspire their writing: they will describe their being, as well as their being's special power, favorite friends, how and where to find them. Older students will help out younger students by being their writing buddies, too! We look forward to Susie's return April 15 & 16.

Thank you to all who contributed to our Read-a-thon to raise money to host authors. We made our $1000 goal, with $1040.Classroom winners of an autographed book and 2 tickets to St. J. theater are:

Monkeys: Evynn Magrane

Bears: Callen Thompson $200: top in school!

Otters: Charlotte Spooner

Owls: Bennett Nickles

Raccoons: Ophelia Ross

Top Classroom Average: The Bears! Everett Emerson, Callen Thompsen, Bensen Nickles, Hazel Pellegrino, Hayden Towne, and Johnny Zampieri brought in $615.

The Library also plays a big role in VTCAP state testing. Mrs. Williams is the testing coordinator, and she proctors exams in the library as well. A big thank you to staff for their flexibility when the Library is not available.

NES will be holding a Scholastic Book Fair April 13-16. Book Fair eWallets are gaining in popularity: it is an easy way for children to shop cash-free, worry-free, and independently. It’s easy to set up your child's eWallet and easy for others to contribute funds! Start here: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/newburyelementaryschool #ScholasticBookFairs

In Health class, students in grades K–2 have been learning all about their five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Through a variety of hands-on activities, discussions, and games, students explored how each sense helps us understand and interact with the world around us.

For sight, students learned about how their eyes help them see and ways to take care of them, such as not rubbing their eyes and wearing sunglasses when needed. During our hearing unit, we discussed how our ears help us listen and the importance of protecting them from loud noises.

When learning about smell and taste, students explored how their nose and tongue work together to identify different foods and scents. They also talked about hygiene habits like washing hands before eating and avoiding putting objects in their nose.

Next week, we will focus on the sense of touch, where students will learn that their skin helps them feel different textures and temperatures. We will discuss ways to take care of their skin, including keeping it clean, using lotion when needed, and being aware of hot or unsafe objects.

Throughout the unit, we emphasized healthy habits and safety, helping students understand how to take care of their bodies every day. It has been a fun and engaging way for students to learn more about themselves!

Last Friday, our 5th and 6th graders got a close-up look at compost during Microscope March, part of the Upper Valley Super Compost Project. Using microscopes, students explored the living world inside our compost piles and discovered just how much activity is happening beyond what we can see. It was a fun and eye-opening way to connect science learning with something they experience right here at school. Some students were overheard saying, “This is actually fun!”

They were especially excited to spot tiny organisms like nematodes and protozoa “swimming” through the samples, along with signs of many other helpful microbes and decomposers. These discoveries showed that our compost is full of life and doing exactly what it’s supposed to—breaking down materials and recycling nutrients.

It was great to see students so engaged and curious, and even better to know that our compost systems are thriving. All of this microbial life will go on to support healthy soil in our school gardens, helping everything we grow continue to flourish.

~Cindy Ross

Upcoming Events

• April 13th-16th Book Fair & Parent Teacher Conferences

• April 17th Inservice Day

• April 20-25th Spring Break

• May 1st Spring Fling & Green Up Day

• May 1st: Knights of the Round Table

• May 4th-May 8th: Teacher & Staff Appreciation week
• May 5th: Poetry Slam
• May 6th: Early Release
• May 15th: Community Day (Oxbow Students at NES)
• May 25th: No School Memorial Day
• May 27th or 28th: 6th Grade Class Trip
• May 29th: YOB Final Event
• May 29th: Knights of Round Table
• May 31st: Finding Our Stride Color Run

The Book Fair returns to NES April 14-17, and here's a sneak peak at the flyer. Friends and relatives can share some funds for your child to use at the fair via eWallet. For more information, visit our Fair's homepage.

Email: loretta.cruz@oesu.org
Website: https://www.nesvt.org/
Location: 214 Pulaski Street, Newbury, VT, USA
Phone: 802-866-5621
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newburyelementaryVT