JMUES NEWS Sept 25, 2026

10/9: Early Release

10/12: No School

10/23: Picture Make-Up Day

https://mues.sau26.org/calendar-3

https://www.sau26.org/msd-calendar

If you haven't filled out the form yet, please click below...

https://forms.gle/A9F7wB8V2AFsjYbD6

Join us for our first JMUES Parent Faculty Association (PFA) general meeting! Here’s the Google Meet link to join remotely: https://meet.google.com/spv-yzah-qxo

Please consider volunteering to sell ice cream during lunches on Friday. Here’s the link to sign up to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44A9AD2BA0FFC07-44588569-icecream

Use the link below to sign up for popcorn for the year. Popcorn is only available for pre-buy and will not be sold week-by-week. https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/pop-in-for-a-good-cause

We are also in need of weekly popcorn volunteers. Sign up here to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44A9AD2BA0FFC07-44588622-popcorn

We extend our gratitude to the PFA for sponsoring the 2026 Artist in Residence Program. During the month of June, master woodworker and multimedia artist Mark Ragonese collaborated with our fifth and sixth graders over a two-week period.

Under his guidance, students worked collaboratively to construct a wooden puzzle mural designed as a rainbow to represent the JMUES color teams. Each ray of the rainbow features words chosen by the respective color teams to reflect our school. Each student had the opportunity to design their own piece of the puzzle using unique colors and patterns. This all school collaborative artwork has been installed outside of the library for all to admire.

General Meeting Meet Link: https://meet.google.com/spv-yzah-qxo

Sign Up Genius - Popcorn: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44A9AD2BA0FFC07-44588622-popcorn

Zeffy Registration - Popcorn: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/pop-in-for-a-good-cause

Sign Up Genius - Ice Cream: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44A9AD2BA0FFC07-44588569-icecream

Dear Families,

As we partner with you this school year, we want to share our approach to homework and set clear expectations for time spent on assignments at home.

Nightly Homework Guidelines

• 5th Grade: Up to 50 minutes per night

• 6th Grade: Up to 60 minutes per night

While homework is an important part of the learning experience, we strongly value family time, extracurricular activities, and restful evenings. Homework should support student learning, not replace these valuable after-school experiences.

What to Do If Homework Takes Longer If your child is consistently spending more than the expected time on their assignments, please reach out directly to their teacher. Additionally, if your child works productively for the designated time (50 minutes for 5th grade, 60 minutes for 6th grade) but cannot complete the assignment, you may simply sign the top of the paper to indicate they met the time limit.

Thank you for your continued support in creating a balanced and positive learning environment for our students. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Parent/Family Survey

As part of the leadership transtion, I am also inviting Merrimack families to complete a brief stakeholder survey. Your feedback will help me better understand what our community values most about Merrimack schools, where families see opportunities for growth, and how I can best support our students, staff, and community as superintendent. A link to the survey can be found here.

The survey is voluntary, and responses will help identify themes, strengths, and opportunities as I develop my entry-plan findings.

Student Privacy and Directory Information

Protecting student privacy is an important responsibility of the Merrimack School District. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and New Hampshire law, school districts may disclose certain information designated as Directory Information without prior consent, unless a parent or legal guardian has exercised the right to opt out.

Directory Information may include:

• Student name and address
• Field of study
• Weight and height of student-athletes
• Most recent previous school attended
• Date and place of birth
• Participation in officially recognized activities and sports
• Dates of attendance, degrees, and awards

Directory Information is commonly used for purposes such as school yearbooks, student directories, graduation programs, honor rolls, athletic rosters, school newsletters, recognition of student accomplishments, school websites and social media, photographs, and press releases. It may also be shared with organizations or individuals for legitimate school-related purposes, unless a parent or legal guardian has exercised the right to opt out. Parents also have the right to opt out of disclosing certain pieces of directory information.

Parents and legal guardians have the right to refuse the disclosure of their student's Directory Information to third parties. If you wish to exercise this right, please email the Superintendent's Office stating that you do not want your student's Directory Information disclosed to third parties. Parents and legal guardians may also choose to opt out of specific uses or categories of Directory Information instead of opting out of all Directory Information.

Please send your request to: directoryinformation@sau26.org

Thank you for your continued partnership and for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. The strongest schools are built through strong relationships among students, staff, families, and the broader community. I look forward to listening, learning, and working alongside you throughout the year.

Sincerely,

Bob Thompson

Merrimack Superintendent of Schools

We’d love to invite all of our JMUES Jaguars to join us for National Walk & Roll to School Day on Wednesday, October 7th!

It’s always a high-energy morning for our students and staff as we walk and roll to school together. Beyond just being a fun start to the day, it’s a great way to highlight some big wins for our school community:

• Happy, active kids: Moving in the morning helps students burn off energy, focus better in class, and build healthy habits.

• Cleaner air & safer streets: Fewer cars in the drop-off line means less neighborhood traffic, lower emissions, and safer roads for everyone.

• Stronger community: Walking together gives parents, neighbors, and staff a chance to connect outside the classroom

We'll meet our students in the SAU parking lot at 8AM, then we'll walk to JMUES together along McElwain street rain or shine.

Here at JMUES we use School Dismissal Manager to make changes to student's dismissals and to mark them as absent. SDM will go live on Wednesday, August 26th. You will receive an email from "James Mastricola Upper Elementary" that will include information on how to access your account. (Make sure to check your junk mail!)

Once you log in, set your student's "default dismissal". This is how your student will get home on a regular basis. Default dismissals can be set differently for each day of the week is needed.

If/when you ever need to make a change to your student's dismissal you can do so by creating an "exception". This will change your student's dismissal for the selected day and then return to the "default".

If you have any issues logging in or have any questions, please do not hesitate to give us a call in the main office: 603-424-6221

Apply Here:

https://www.applitrack.com/merrimack/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Part-time&AppliTrackJobId=1797&AppliTrackLayoutMode=detail&AppliTrackViewPosting=1

All volunteers must be fingerprinted per RSA 189:13-a and per our volunteer policy.

*If you have been fingerprinted in the district and have worked or volunteered in the Merrimack School District in the last 365 days, you do NOT need to be re-printed.

*If you have NOT worked or volunteered in the Merrimack School District in the last 365 days, you will need to have a new set of fingerprints done.

*If you have been fingerprinted in the last 365 days, but have NOT volunteered or worked in the Merrimack School District, you do NOT need to get a new set of fingerprints done (unless you go a full 365 days without working/volunteering)

If you are in need of fingerprints, please contact Kat Knauer, Administrative Assistant, at 603-424-6200, or email her at Kathleen.Knauer@sau26.org

Keep in mind, the volunteer process can take 3-5 weeks, so please plan ahead.

Thank you to all of our volunteers for taking time out of your busy schedule to volunteer in our schools!

Please fill out the Volunteer Intake Form if you intend to volunteer at JMUES.
Volunteer Intake Form

www.muespfa.com