Eagle Eye Tribune

"Your wings already exist. All you have to do is fly."

Let's soar together! 🪁

Dear AES Families,

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Open House last night!

It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces and to welcome new families. We are especially grateful to our community partners who participated and shared resources. From meeting Blaze the Eagle and completing Open House passports, to enjoying obstacle course races, playing chess, contributing family quilt squares, and sharing student work, I hope you had the opportunity to connect with staff, explore classrooms, and gain a meaningful glimpse into your child’s life at school.

Before Open House, we held our Annual Title I Family Meeting. If you were unable to attend, I’ve attached a link to a form for you to share your feedback on the types of events and resources you’d like offered throughout the year. Your input is essential in shaping activities that are both engaging and meaningful for families.

Today, you should have also received a separate email from me with a detailed letter outlining our elementary protocols and procedures for intruder response. This is an annual communication that explains the developmentally appropriate practices we use at school. Please take time to read it carefully, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

This morning, it was wonderful to see so many families at our Friday Community Meeting. Ms. Brett introduced this year’s school-wide reading challenge—our goal is to read 3,000 books! While that may sound ambitious, our eaglets came close last year with 2,996 books, so we know they can soar past the goal this year. Each book read (either independently or aloud) can be logged on a student’s punch card and counts toward our Bikes for Books raffle at the end of the year. Encourage your child to keep reading and bring those cards back in!

Wishing you all a joyful and restful weekend.

As always, if you have any questions or would simply like to check in, please feel free to reach out to me at bgibney@conval.edu or 603-588-6371.

Beth Gibney

Principal, Antrim Elementary School

10/7 - Lions Club vision screenings

10/9 - Fire Safety Day

10/10 - No school for students

10/13 - No school

10/31 - Eagle Groups and Halloween Parade (1:30 PM)

We loved having the chance to connect with you, share what students are learning, and celebrate the start of a new school year together. Your support and partnership mean so much, and we’re looking forward to all the growth and successes ahead!

If your child needs a new winter coat please email Sarah in the front office sedwards@conval.edu by noon on Monday, September 30th with the following information:

What a great month we have had in our classroom. We have been focusing on school expectations this month including routines, manners, and safety. The students have done a great job and have already filled the classroom pom pom and earned a special treat.

This week we also have started our unit on the new season FALL. We have been watching the leaves turn colors along with some fun art leaf projects.

Thank you so much for all that came to Open House. It was a lot of fun to see your proud Kindergartener show their work and give you a sneak peak into our classroom. We have had a busy week in Mrs. Petersen’s class. We had some painted lady butterflies emerge out of their chrysalis. It was very exciting watching them go through their life cycle in a few short weeks. The students were very excited to read and take home their very first sight word book! We welcomed fall by reading some stories and making some tissue paper suncatchers to brighten our classroom. Ask your kiddos about the math games that we have learned as well. Have a wonderful weekend!

This week in Muzart:

Fourth Grade: Our fourth graders have returned to their recorders and are practicing new songs!

Third Grade: Third graders are learning how to read the notes on the staff and designing their own fantasy island maps.

First/ Second Grade: Ms. Revaz's, Ms. Voorhees's, and Mrs. Sullivan’s classes have started the process of painting paper for our painted paper mushroom collage project.

Kindergarten: Mrs. Petersen’s and Ms. Lawler’s classes have been practicing drawing shapes and keep the steady beat!

This week we continued About Me activities during my classroom lessons. Next week we will begin lessons about the Zones of Regulation, starting with defining the word REGULATION.

What Is School Belonging?

To feel a sense of belonging at school, children should believe that they’re supported, respected, and accepted by their teachers and peers. They should feel connected to the school community and believe that their teachers care about them both as individuals and as learners.

What Are The Mental Health Benefits of School Belonging for Kids?

• Improved academic performance
• Increased engagement in schoolwork
• Increased feelings of happiness and self-confidence
• Decreased feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression
• Decreased risky behaviors like substance use or violence

How Parents Can Help

The good news is that parents, teachers and other adults can help increase the feeling of school belonging in children. Parents can help enhance school belonging by:

• Learning about the school: Take the time to learn about your child’s school environment, along with the staff. This helps model the importance of school connection to your child and it will be helpful if you become concerned about your child’s academic performance, because you will be better prepared to work together to help your child.
• Attending school events: Show up to school events when possible to help increase your family’s belonging to the school community.
• Encouraging extracurricular activities: Support your child’s participation in activities outside of school. Extracurricular activities can build relationships with peers with similar interests and help them feel like an important part of their school.
• Having daily check-ins: Talk to your child about their day and the adults and kids they interact with to show your child you care about their daily experiences. You might ask:
• What are you learning at school?
• Who do you spend time with at school? What kinds of things do you do together?
• What do you like about your teacher?
• What do you wish your teacher knew about you?

We want all children to reach their full potential academically and socially, but obstacles will happen. By helping them feel like they belong, are connected and valued, we build their resiliency for facing challenges.

(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

Social Media: AES Facebook

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