The Pulse of the Pride - 6.22.2026

Lyme School Friends,

This is our final newsletter of the 2025-2026 school year.

What a great year it has been! Our students worked hard and had fun! Looking back, there is much to be proud of. Every child has made gains in some way.

Although our last day of school was a rainy one, we were able to have fun with our indoor field day activities. There were also a number of classroom parties. In a weather break in the afternoon, we were able to get our bell ringing outside with some sunshine. This is always a fun tradition, and we look forward to our 8th graders ringing in the 26-27 school year soon!

Graduation last Thursday was a great success! We wished 28 students well as they head off on their high school journey next year. About 50% of them got up behind the microphone and shared some of their memories and gratitude. It is always amazing to hear our 8th graders speak about what they valued, learned and who impacted them. They are phenomenal ambassadors for our school, and their words demonstrate the meeting of our school's mission day in and day out. All the best to the class of 2026!

Over the summer months, we ready our school for the coming school year. Due to last summer's construction project, this summer looks to be much quieter around the building. We have some much smaller projects happening such as some bathroom renovations and some painting. Each summer, our facilities staff does a great job fitting in as much as they can and this summer will be the same.

If you need to reach an administrator or someone at school over the summer, our schedules tend to be different in the summer without students in the building. The best way to connect is through email: Superintendent (mbanios@lymeschool.org), Principal (jdentremont@lymeschool.org), Student Services Director (gtomlinson@lymeschool.org), Academic Director (efoxall@lymeschool.org), Main Office (aperry@lymeschool.org). If there is an emergency and you need to speak to an administrator over the phone, please call 802-359-7048.

Have a wonderful summer!

The next newsletter will hit your inbox early August with opening details for the new year.

Thank you for your partnership and please reach out if you have questions.

Regards,

John P. D'Entremont, Principal

Dates:

• Third Trimester Report Cards Distributed - June 26, 2026

• First Day of School - August 26, 2026 (Bell Ringing)

• School Closed for Holiday - September 7, 2026

Teachers are currently finishing up and we will send report cards via email when they are finished soon! Please reach out if you have any questions.

Over the summer, the school will alert you to log-in to ALMA and update your student registration. You will update contact information if needed as well as sign-off on various required forms. Please be on the lookout for this important email sometime over the summer! Thank you!

On June 9th, Dr. Bill Hudenko have a presentation to interested parents on screen time and offered practical strategies for parents.

If you didn't know, Bill Hudenko, Ph.D. is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, an Adjunct Assistant Professor of clinical psychology at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, and the Chief Clinical Officer of Jimini Health Inc., a New York-based company that is pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to enhance psychotherapy. Dr. Hudenko is a licensed psychologist who has extensive clinical experience working with children and families. Currently, his research is focused on understanding the use of technology to improve the delivery of mental healthcare with an emphasis on creating decision support for mental health clinicians.

Dr. Hudenko did a great job sharing research and answering questions. If you need help or guidance on screen time or settling limits, please reach out to the school. Here is an article with 6 tips on reducing children's screen time. Here is also another article specifically about screen time and summer.

The school would like to thank Dr. Hudenko for spending time with us and sharing with interested parents. Thank you!

Congrats, class of 2026!

We will hold Kindergarten Orientation on Wednesday, June 24 at 10:15 AM. If you know of any child in the community turning 5 by September 30, 2026, please have the family reach out to Amanda Perry-Waterman, aperry@lymeschool.org.

In the past few weeks, grades 3-8 students completed the annual state assessments (NHSAS). All students completed tests in Reading, Writing, and Math. 5th and 8th graders also completed a Science test. Our school typically scores markedly above the state averages, and this year is no exception. The New York Times recently ran an article about state test scores that included a feature where you can type in your local district and see how it compares with other states, your own state, and other districts in your state. Lyme’s results are impressive.

Parents can access their student’s test results through the parent portal in ALMA, our student information system. Once you log into ALMA, you will see a “test results” tab. Click on this tab and you will see a green button that takes you to the test results in the New Hampshire Department of Education Family Portal.

Hello Lyme School families!

As we’ve approached full summer mode, we want to wish everyone a season filled with sunshine, fun, and relaxation! Whether your plans include travel, camps, or time at home, here are some simple tips to help keep the fun going safely all summer long.

Water Awareness

• Always supervise children near pools, ponds, lakes, or the ocean (even if they can swim).

• Make sure kids wear life jackets when boating or near deep water. HOT TIP: State law in NH requires one wearable life preserver for each person in a boat. All children age 12 or under must wear an approved vest or jacket at all times.

• Teach children basic water rules: no running near pools, no diving in shallow water, and always swim with a buddy.

Sun & Heat Safety

• Use sunscreen with SPF 30+ and reapply every 2 hours (or after swimming).

• Encourage hats, sunglasses, and light clothing for extra protection.

• Keep kids hydrated - water is best!

• Take breaks in the shade or indoors during peak heat (10am–4pm).

Outdoor Play & Safety

• Make sure helmets are worn when biking, skateboarding, roller skating or scootering.

• Choose safe play areas away from traffic and always review road safety.

• Insect repellent can help avoid mosquito and tick bites when hiking or playing in wooded areas.

• Do regular tick checks nightly!

Screen Time & Digital Safety

• Create and empower your kids to have a healthy balance between screen time and outdoor time.

• Keep an open dialogue about internet safety - especially on social media or games with chat features.

• Set screen-free times, like during meals or 1 hour before bed, to support good sleep habits.

Mental Wellness & Rest

• Summer is a great time to slow down and recharge- don’t overschedule!

• Encourage journaling, reading, puzzles, building, or quiet hobbies for calm moments if your family needs it.

• Stay connected with friends or family to support emotional health.

Keep the Brain Active

• Visit the Converse Free Library for free events and jump in to the summer reading program!

• Try fun learning activities: cooking, puzzles, stargazing, writing stories, or time in nature.

• Just 15–20 minutes of reading a day helps keep young minds sharp for the new school year!

We hope this summer brings your family joy, adventure, and rest. Thank you for being part of our Lyme School Community and making the 2025-2026 school year one of learning, fun connection, and growth! If you are interested in Pearl Dimick camp grants, please reach out to Tara McGovern - taradaktyl1@gmail.com.

With gusto,

Mrs. Stanton

In the final weeks of school, there were many celebrations of learning created using technology integrated in classrooms. Enjoy the following:

Kindergarten books about trees

First grade books about birds

Fourth grade podcasts about women trailblazers

Summer Reading information is available on the school website under library and media. The slides contain information for grades K-8, including lists of recommended titles from various organizations. For rising K-5th grade students, focus on maintaining an active habit of daily reading. For students in rising grades 6-8, there are assigned books and work to complete for ELA for Ms. Fox.

There are many summer reading program events for families at Converse Free Library! Check them out here: Upcoming CFL Events for Families

It’s been a great year in the Design Lab! Over the past ten months, students have been busy acting as engineers, artists, problem-solvers, and collaborators.

In the Design Lab, our goal is to move from consumers of technology and products to creators. We use the Engineering Design Process and Design Thinking Process to tackle real-world problems: empathy (understanding a user's needs), ideation (brainstorming), prototyping (building), and testing (refining based on failure).

Through our various design challenges, I also remind students that a challenge is a chance to grow. Challenges stretch our minds to solve problems creatively, and through reflection, we grow our minds and our skills.

A key takeaway (I hope!?): Embracing "Beautiful Failures." If you ask the students what the most important tool in the lab was this year, they might tell you the hot glue gun, the 3D pens, or the SPIKE robots. But the real answer is resilience. True design means failing forward. When a prototype broke or a robot turned right instead of turning left, our kiddos didn't give up—they iterated. That mindset is something they will take with them far beyond the design lab.

Thank you so much for your support, for donating recycled materials, and for listening to your children talk through their design ideas at the dinner table this year.

Please encourage them to keep looking at the world with a designer’s eye this summer and find the growth opportunities in every challenge.

Warmly,

Mr. Brian Betournay

Design and Engineering Lab teacher

• Kindergarten: We read the story, The Curious Garden, and created vibrant garden landscapes using oil pastel and watercolor resist.

• Grade 1: Finalized their flower paintings with a focus on color mixing and patterns.

• Grade 2: Studied Claude Monet and Impressionism, practicing loose brushstrokes and color blending to paint their pond scenes.

• Grade 3: Sewing! Students learned the whip stitch and constructed small emoji pillows.

• Grade 4: Concluded a stop-motion animation unit using cut-paper animations.

• Grade 5: Completed a science-integrated unit on animal adaptations, ending the year with their favorite: "Block City".

• Grade 6: Wrapped up a technical drawing unit, utilizing value and line weight to create realistic, observational shoe illustrations.

• Monster Stuffy Elective: Students worked so hard to translate 2D drawings from their Kindergarten buddies into a custom 3D stuffy! Middle school students had to become proficient in both machine and hand-sewing. We returned to the kindergarten classroom and read the story, The Monster Returns. The students then surprised their buddy with their handmade stuffy and special note with care instructions.

Wishing you all a safe, restful, and art-filled summer break!

Sincerely,

Emily Girdwood ("Ms. G")

Our Spanish classrooms have been buzzing with excitement as students wrapped up the school year with an immersive unit on the World Cup! Students dived into authentic Spanish infographics to explore participating Spanish-speaking nations, practiced their geography by learning about most of the 48 competing countries, and brushed up on their numbers, dates, and times by analyzing the tournament schedules. We also explored the rich culture of the games through reading about soccer’s global popularity, watching official FIFA videos to learn about the host countries and mascots, and dancing along to the tournament's official songs from both past and present.

It has been a spectacular, high-energy end to the school year! The absolute highlight for our fourth and fifth graders was getting to live-stream the Spain vs. Cabo Verde match right in class! This unit beautifully connected language learning with a massive global event, and we are so proud of how much our students achieved.

Definitely check out this video that classes loved of children in Uganda dancing to Shakira's official World Cup song this year - Dai Dai Have a wonderful summer!

Ah, the primary school years. Such a wonderful first onset of learning and being a member of our Lyme School Community. PE extends exploring our students' learning styles and school experiences. This week in PE, students in grades 1 and 2 were given a pool noodle and a small colored polyspot. They were asked to balance the polyspot on top of their pool noodle while moving around the room. This is a lot if work and it takes a lot of focus.

Anytime we can use creative ways to reinforce units studied earlier in the year, is to the students' benefit. To the children, it looked like a meatball on top of a spaghetti noodle, to me, it reinforced eye-hand coordination and dynamic balance, essential developmental skills. Education is a balance of learning skills in different ways to build and enhance their learning.

I have a feeling that pool noodles will serve a different and water filled role this summer. 😊

From face painting, a bag relay race, and even solving a rubik's cube, both the lower school and middle school spent the last day of school participating in many events. The rain did not stop us and we had a total blast spending the last day of school participating in a variety of activities.

Field day is a always a great day of celebration and it brings our student body together to enjoy one another in mixed groups and to remind us all that our Lyme School community is strong. This annual event is a wonderful way to step into summer as we close out the year in a fun and positive way. Huge thanks to our fabulous PTO who brought popsicles to share with everyone. Happy Summer!!!

As a culminating activity in health, the eighth graders spent their last two health classes creating mental health messages, reminding us all that we are not alone when we struggle, that there are resources for help, that it is ok to not be ok, that reaching out for help is a strength, and that talking about things with friends, a trusted adult, or a counselor are all healthy ways of taking care of ourselves when life throws us curveballs. Mental Health matters!!!!

Last week, four of our Lyme School alumni visited our eighth graders to talk about high school from the students' perspective. All four are freshmen this year and shared their first year experiences in regard to academic courses, extracurricular activities, athletics, honors classes, and the social scene. They fielded questions about homework load, being a student athlete, staying connected to their student counselor, and branching out and meeting new people from their own grade and the grades above. They were very honest and candid about their transition to high school and were mature and well spoken.

I am grateful for the time they took to come and speak to our eight graders as they get ready to launch into their own high school experiences and adventures.

Happy Summer, Lyme School Families!

As another school year comes to a close, we'd like to take a moment to thank the entire Lyme School community for your incredible support, generosity, and enthusiasm throughout the year.

The PTO's mission has always been simple: to help build community, support our teachers and staff, and create meaningful experiences for our students. Thanks to all of you, this year was filled with opportunities to do just that.

Together, we helped organize and support:

• The Back-to-School Potluck Picnic & Ice Cream Social
• The BooHoo/WooHoo Breakfast
• The Giving Tree
• The Kids Holiday Shop at CCL's Jingle & Mingle
• The Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheons
• The Lyme School Garden
• Walk/Bike to School Day
• The Student Art Show & Silent Auction

In addition to these community-building events and projects, PTO funding helped support the VINS program for First Grade, staff holiday party giveaways, popsicles and snacks at the End-of-School Post Pond Potluck, and appreciation gifts for our wonderful administrators, nurses, teachers, educational assistants, and staff.

Thanks to the support of our families, community members, staff, the Lyme Foundation, our amazing teachers, and our dedicated PTO volunteers, the PTO raised nearly $9,300 this year.

One of our final projects of the year was the Thanks A Lounge! campaign. What began as a simple idea to say "thank you" to our teachers and staff quickly became a true community effort. Together, Lyme School families contributed $2,457, which, combined with the Lyme Foundation's generous $3,550 grant, will help us update the Teacher & Staff Lounges with a new refrigerator, microwave, water dispenser, updated tables, comfortable seating, and other improvements requested by staff. We are so grateful to everyone who contributed and helped us show our appreciation in such a meaningful way.

As many of you know, this year also marks a transition in PTO leadership. After three years as PTO Chair, I will be passing on the baton to Lindsay Mendyka, mom to a rising first grader. Our wonderful Treasurer, Trisha Gautreau, will also be stepping down, with Amy Gubbins, mom to rising fourth and sixth graders, taking on the role.

Serving as PTO Chair these past three years has been an honor and a privilege. I've had the opportunity to work alongside an incredible group of parents, teachers, staff, administrators, and community members who care deeply about our school and our children. Time and again, I have been amazed by this community's willingness to step up, lend a hand, share ideas, donate supplies, volunteer time, and support one another.

Whether you were a class parent, organized an event, baked treats, purchased spirit wear, donated to a fundraiser, volunteered your time, helped in a classroom, or simply showed up to cheer on our students, you helped make the Lyme School a stronger, more connected, and more joyful place.

Thank you for your partnership, your trust, and your support over these past three years. I know the PTO is in wonderful hands, and I can't wait to see all that Lindsay, Amy, and future volunteers accomplish in the years ahead.

Wishing you all a summer filled with adventure, laughter, rest, and time with the people you love.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Fauve Dela Cruz

Chair, The Lyme School PTO

pto@lymeschool.org

THE LYME SCHOOL PTO MISSION STATEMENT:

To support the school community through engaged involvement and raise funds for programs that enrich the student experience in a way that remains fun and sustainable for all involved

lymeschool.org/page/lyme-school-pto

• Small-group classes for students in grades 1-2, 3-4

• Weekly lessons after school. Two-month exploratory to determine interest, with no-penalty instrument rental return

• The violin is very accessible to young players with the Suzuki-method approach. Students learn using rhythm patterns, familiar songs, strengthening group interactions and developing a love of music through play and playing.

• Ninth year of Violin program starts this fall.

• Please contact Damaris Tyler for more information.

djeantyler@gmail.com

We shared the following articles this year. You can always find more at middle school.org. We hope this was a beneficial addition to the newsletter this year.

FROM AMLE - A quick disclaimer: This site explores topics involving typical behaviors of young adolescents. Remember that the ideas shared here are suggestions. Every child is unique and you know them best. If you pick up signals that your child is acting outside the typical range, seek help from your school counselor, family doctor, or other specialists.

Older Shared Articles from Previous Newsletters:

Mega Mood Swings? Don’t Let Them Overwhelm the Home and Family

Did They Really Just Do That? Risk-Taking and Failure

Can you Repeat that? Forgetfulness and Disorganization

New High Score? The Young Adolescent Brain on Gaming

Not Clicking with the Clique? Fluctuating Friendships in Middle School

You Can Do This! Hope and Optimism for Middle Schoolers and their Families

Puberty Strikes? Awkward Growth and Development Discussions

Ready for Routine? Teens' Need for Consistency and Balance

Digital Drama? Supporting Healthy Smartphone Habits

Young Love? Likes, Crushes, and Other Teen Attractions

Reaching and Raising Generation Alpha in Middle School

How to Support Your Middle Schooler's Mental Health

Use One Sentence

The Lyme School Apparel Store has a variety of apparel and accessories all customizable with a variety of school logos. The Lyme School PTO earns 12% of all sales. Thank you for supporting our school and go Lions! #LYMESCHOOLROCKS

OUR VALUES

● Fairness ● Acceptance of Others ● Integrity ● Responsibility

● Perseverance ● Individuality ● Compassion ● Courage

John P. D'Entremont, Principal

Elise Foxall, Academic Director

Geoff Tomlinson, Student Services Director