Eagle Eye Tribune

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

Let's soar together! 🪁

October 3, 2025

Week of October 3rd

Dear AES Families,

Happy October! Our Eagles are soaring into fall with curiosity, laughter, and hard work each day. As the season shifts, here’s what’s happening this week and what’s ahead.

Dressing for New England Weather

This time of year in New England, mornings can start in the 30s and afternoons can feel like summer. Because of these big swings in temperature, please send your child to school dressed in layers. Students go outside every day for recess and outdoor learning, and when the temperature drops below 50°F, a coat or heavy sweatshirt is recommended. If your child needs additional layers or a warm coat, please don’t hesitate to reach out—we are here to help. You can contact Sarah Edwards (sedwards@conval.edu) or Beth Gibney (bgibney@conval.edu).

Next Week at a Glance

Tuesday, October 7
Lions Club Vision Screening – Annual screenings support student health by helping families connect to follow-up care when needed.
Thursday, October 9
Fire Safety Day – Antrim Fire & Rescue will teach fire safety, show students equipment, let them explore a fire truck, and hold a raffle for one lucky student to ride to school on a fire truck!

ConVal High School Day of Service – Fifteen ConVal High School students will join AES to participate in service-learning activities, help beautify our school, and model stewardship for younger students.
Friday, October 10
No School – Teacher Inservice Day – Students will have the day off while staff engage in professional learning.
Monday, October 13

No School - Holiday

💙 Thank You, Families & Community Partners

Your partnership makes AES truly special. From volunteering to cheering our students on, your support helps our Eagles soar.

Quick Reminders

Label jackets, sweatshirts, hats, and water bottles.
Call the main office or add to Pick-Up-Patrol if your child will be absent, late or has a change in dismissal.
Interested in volunteering? Contact the office for fingerprinting and next steps.

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.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend filled with warmth, learning, and a little October sunshine.

Warm wishes,
Beth Gibney
Principal, Antrim Elementary School
bgibney@conval.edu • 603-588-6371

10/7 - Lions Club vision screenings

10/9 - Fire Safety Day

10/9 - CVHS day of service

10/10: No school for students

10/13: Columbus Day (no school)

10/31: Eagle Groups (9:15-12:00) and Halloween Parade (1:30)

11/4: Picture retakes

11/10: Conference Day (no school for students)

11/11: Veteran's Day (no school)

11/26-11/28: Thanksgiving Recess (no school)

Miss Starr's First Friends

This week we went on a nature walk to see the changes that are happening for the fall season. The children also made their own nature bracelets with things they had found on their walk.

In class we are working on learning how to make patterns.

Mrs. Sullivan's First Grade Class

Grade 1 has been working hard in literacy with short vowel review. They are also considered “Lexia Superstars” when they pass a level. They get to wear special “Superstar” sunglasses for the day and they earn a spot on our classroom display. In math, we’ve been learning different games to add and subtract. The pictures show partners playing 5-in-a-Row.

Mr. Morris's Third Grade Class

Last Friday third grade had our first lesson with Kara from the Harris Center. She brought us outside for some exciting activities all about RAPTORS! We even simulated a broad-winged hawk’s migration from New Hampshire to South America, facing challenges just like the birds do along the way. This week, we kept exploring raptors by comparing different hawks’ wingspans, diets, and sizes. We also used real tracking data from Hawk Mountain to see how hawks in our area have been migrating back and forth over the past several years. Next week, we’ll be looking at data from the Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory to find out how many of each kind of raptor are soaring over us every day. We’re becoming true raptor scientists!

Ms. Del Rossi's Fourth Grade Class

Fourth graders had a blast exploring different genres this week during our “Books and Bites” book tasting! Our classroom transformed into a cozy book café where students sampled a variety of books (and snacks)—including Newbery and Caldecott winners, fantasy, science fiction, and biographies. Readers ranked each selection, wrote one-word summaries, and voted on their favorites. The event sparked excitement, with many students eager to try genres they hadn’t considered before!

Library

This week in the library the Kindergarteners learned about the parts of a book. First and Second grade learned about book care and call numbers. Third grade worked on using the library catalog to find books independently. Fourth grade finally discovered their genre personalities and they were pretty accurate. First Friends learned all about using materials responsibly and the parts of a book.

We also started our reading challenge. When students read a library book and return it they get to add a sticker to our secret picture in the hallway. Also, we are doing Books for Bikes again this year so keep filling in those punch cards to earn raffle tickets. If your child needs a new card they can come and see me in the library to get one!

Classroom Counseling Lessons

This week we began lessons about the Zones of Regulation, starting with defining the word REGULATION. Students deepened their understanding through activities where they identified how to regulate the temperature of water, the speed of a car, and they practiced regulating the speed of their bodies.

Let's Talk - Anxiety in Children: What Is “Normal”?

Feeling anxious is one of the body’s alarm systems – it alerts us to danger. For some people, their alarm system is more sensitive, and goes off even when there is little to no danger. In many cases, anxiety is healthy and keeps us safe and motivated:

The anxiety I feel about passing a test at school motivates me to study.
The anxiety I experience when someone asks me to do something dangerous prevents me from going through with it.

Feelings of Anxiety to Expect During Development

Feeling anxious, nervous or afraid is common throughout child development and tends to occur in stages or phases.

During infancy, “stranger danger” is common among infants as they can differentiate faces of familiar and unfamiliar people.
As toddlers, close bonds with caregivers intensify and separating from them becomes difficult. This usually lasts from about ages 1 to 4 but can last longer for some children.
For school-aged children, they become more aware of real dangers in the world. They focus on these dangers without understanding how often these issues actually occur. Those include:

Storms
Fires
Accidents
Burglars
Illnesses, etc.

Adolescents become increasingly focused on social acceptance, personal success and issues in society, and may experience anxiety about changes in these areas. Anxiety around experiences at school, such as grades, peers, and dating are common concerns for adolescents.

How Do We Know When Kids Are Feeling Anxious?

There are both mental and physical signs of anxiety, nerves, or fear. Some common signs in children include:

Expressing worry in the days, weeks or months ahead of a planned event.
Wish to avoid an activity.
Frequent "what if" questions about potential danger.
Need for constant reassurance from parent.
Physical symptoms (for example: tummy aches, headache, or nausea)
Irritability.
Difficulty sleeping.

Many times, anxiety is a temporary feeling that passes once a situation changes. Children can also learn ways to manage daily anxiety effectively over time.

Anxiety Disorder Warning Signs

Feelings of anxiety, fear and even short-lived panic are all normal emotions for children to go through, and usually don't influence their daily functioning. Anxiety as a feeling can become an anxiety disorder when it stops a person from doing things they want and need to do. Signs include:

Distress and constant worry that is out of proportion with the situation (such as crying, anger, hopelessness or sadness).
Consistent avoidance of typical activities or refusing to participate in social activities.
Physical symptoms (such as headaches, stomach pain or shaking/trembling), which interfere with normal activity.
Persistent sleep problems, nightmares or refusal to sleep alone.
Consoling or reasoning with a child is repeatedly needed for ordinary situations.

If you are noticing these patterns, it might signal the need to seek guidance from their pediatrician, school staff or a mental health professional. Learn more about common anxiety disorders in children.

Adapted from https://www.kidsmentalhealthfoundation.org/mental-health-resources/anxiety/kids-anxiety-whats-normal

NAMI Basics - Virtual Course for Parents and Caregivers

NAMI Basics is a free, six-session program designed for parents and other family caregivers of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral difficulties. NAMI Basics helps parents and other family caregivers of children to understand the illnesses that are causing those behavioral difficulties and the critical role families play in the treatment of those illnesses. The program is taught by NAMI Basics Education Program Leaders who are also the parents or family caregivers of individuals who experienced emotional or behavioral difficulties prior to age 13.

This NAMI Basics class is being offered online. Please register here. For more information, contact Deb Jurkoic at djurkoic@NAMINH.org or 603-568-3583