Monstricola's Message

Dear MES Families:

Have a great long weekend!

Take care,

Kathleen Ortega and Michelle Romein

JMES PATT presents The Great Pumpkin Family Bingo Night on October 22, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy a night of bingo, pizza, prizes, and fun!

Presale items are available until October 15, 2026.

Prices are 10 bingo card games for $5, popcorn for $2, a whole cheese pizza for $12, and a whole pepperoni pizza for $12. Pizza is available only through presale.

Scan the QR code on the flyer to place your order.

Snacks, drinks, craft kits, and bingo cards will also be available for purchase at the event.

Parent conferences are coming up! You should have received an email from Sign Up Genius to sign up for a conference. Some fourth grade families will have received an invite through Google Appointment. We are piloting this new way and will evaluated its ease and convenience after this round of conferences. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have not received an email.

IReady Inform results are in students' folders today. Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have questions.

October 28th: Early Release Parent Conferences

November 3rd: No School Elections

Our annual Halloween Parade (weather permitting) will be held on October 30th at 1:30 on O'Neil Field. Families are invited to attend the parade! We will parade around the field in costumes and then students only will re-enter the building for their Halloween party.

Costume Guidelines

• Students should bring their costumes to school. (Consider a back-up costume if your child's costume has a lot of parts or is complicated!)
• Any face paint/make-up needs to be put on before arriving at school.
• Scary costumes are not permitted. We will be parading with our preschoolers and kindergarteners. If you are unsure about the costume, err on the side of caution and choose a different costume for school.
• NO WEAPONS or fake blood will be allowed.

Thank you for helping us to continue to have this years-long tradition by following the above guidelines.

We have had a great start to the year in the computer lab! Problem solving is still one of our main focuses and I’m seeing amazing problem solvers so far. Grades 1st-4th are navigating in Google Classroom to find links, activities, and assignments this year.

• Kindergarteners have learned how to sign into school iPads. This includes pressing the home button, finding the ClassLink app (single sign-on platform), and showing the camera their Quick Card (QR code).

• Once they are in ClassLink, they find an app, such as ABCya or Wixie. Then they are able to navigate within ClassLink with the ‘back arrow’ or ‘X’ to find what they need.

• We are starting to have fun in Wixie (digital creativity platform)! Ask your student what they drew this week.

• First grade students have reviewed signing into Chromebooks with their Quick Card, using the mouse, and trackpad skills.

• More recently, they have been practicing the tools learned last year in Wixie (digital creativity platform). This included listening to the instructions on each page and completing the activity using the correct tool.

• Second graders have been busy learning how to sign in to their accounts with username and password. This includes typing their whole email address and using shift for a capital letter in their passwords.

• They are currently reviewing the keyboard while typing in Dance Mat Typing. At this point, students are using their left hand on the left side of the keyboard and the same for their right hand. Finger placement will come in the spring, but many students are already typing with proper finger placement!

• Third graders started the year reviewing the sign in process and created a LEGO figure representing themselves using pixel art.

• Currently, students are exploring the oceans using a web quest. After their explorations they are using the tools in Google Slides to recreate a scene they observed. Ask about your child’s project.

• Fourth graders have jumped right into utilizing Google Classroom to find assignments.

• Students reviewed and learned new tools in Google Slides while completing an ‘All about Me’ activity. New skills included, replacing an image, using the camera, and cropping a photo.

• This week, students are using keyboard shortcuts to design a journal cover in Book Creator.

We are excited to welcome our veteran family members to MES for a special Veterans Day Parade on Monday, November 9th at 2:00 PM! Students who have a veteran family member attending will participate in this special celebration as we come together to honor and thank our veterans for their service.

Planning to attend? Please use the link below to sign up by Wednesday, November 4th. Be sure to submit one form for each student with a veteran family member attending so we can plan accordingly. This event is only for veterans of MES students.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIcnEjU44MJdiITuDoEpGzWErQQIkmA6X8y94fZnzXZFpgfQ/viewform?usp=header

Calling All Veterans!

Veterans Day is Wednesday, November 11th, and we want to celebrate the heroes in our MES families! Students absolutely love seeing familiar faces on screen, so we're creating a tribute video to share with our MES community.

Please send a photo of your family’s veteran by Monday, November 1st. You can send a physical photo to school with your child or email a digital photo directly to Miss Wygant at colby.wygant@sau26.org.

Along with the photo, please include:

• Your child’s name and teacher

• The veteran’s relationship to your student

• The military branch they served in

Thank you for helping us honor our military families!

Due to shortened Unified Arts times during an early release, we have a Day 0. During this time, students are offered access to various items and stations to create whatever it is they would like to create! Here are some pictures from today's Day Zero!

1) To help families stay connected with the school and what your children are up to while they are here, classroom teachers will share a classroom update with you every other week through email. Keep an eye out for it and be sure to reach out to them if you have questions. You will be amazed by all that they do!

2) Monstricola's Message will be shared weekly and contains information about upcoming events. pictures. snippets from our school days and information for parents. Please let the office know if you need a paper copy. Please note Monstricola's Message can be translated into a number of language!

3) Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: It is a goal of ours to share information regularly with all of you, so you can see the amazing things happening every day at MES!

Did you know that filling out the Free and Reduced Lunch Form may help provide:

• After School Academic & Enrichment Programs?
• Free/Reduces meal 30-day rollover for the next school year?
• State and Federal funding for school budgets?
• Fund computers and technology at home and for your school?
• Fee waivers for college applications and admission tests?

Click here for information and application.

The Merrimack School District (SAU #26) has elected to use the Vector Training program to provide school-related safety trainings. Vector Training offers trainings in all facets of school safety issues, and its compliance management system tracks all the training for the district, allowing us to easily demonstrate compliance with safety mandates.

To take the required trainings, you will need to create an account with Vector.

NEW Users: Use the “quick link” registration URL: https://sau26nonemp-nh.safeschools.com/register/7efa4566. When you create your username, PLEASE use your personal email address

Existing Users,: Log in to your account here: https://sau26nonemp-nh.safeschools.com/login.

The courses you must take annually, are:

• Bullying: Recognition and Response (~50 minutes)

• Child Abuse: Mandatory Reporting (~30 minutes)

• Sexual Harassment: Student Issues and Response (~30 minutes)

• Sexual Harassment: Staff to Staff (~30 minutes)

• Suicide Prevention (2 hours)

You can find these courses by clicking on “View Library”, and search for the course in the top left search bar. Once complete, you will be issued a certificate of completion, we will also receive notification that you have completed the course. Your participation will help to make SAU #26 a safer place to work and learn!

If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Fazlic, Director of Human Resources, at Melissa.Fazlic@sau26.org or 603-424-6200, option 1.

October 12th: No School

October 20th: PATT Meeting

October 22nd:The Great Pumpkin: Family BINGO Night

October 28th: Early Release (Parent Conferences)

October 30th: Halloween Parade and Parties

November 3rd: No School: Election Day

November 4th: Title One Open House 5:30-6:30

November 9th: Parent Conferences

November 11th: No School