Peterborough Elementary School

I hope this newsletter finds you well.

Last night (Thursday), I attended the monthly PES PTO meeting. What a group of parents! Kind, thoughtful, student-centered are the best ways to describe them. They are always thinking of ways to improve and enrich the school experience for students and families. If you are looking for ways to contribute, get involved, or have ideas that would make PES better for all, please consider attending a meeting, sharing ideas with a PTO member, or joining more formally. You could be involved as much or as little as you would like. If you would like more information, please check out the PES PTO webpage at PES PTO (google.com). Next week the PTO is hosting the Scholastic Book Fair at PES. Students will have the opportunity to preview books during the school day. Sales will start Thursday evening and continue through the school day on Friday. Each student is receiving a $5.00 coupon so all students should be able to purchase something. Be on the lookout for information (and the coupon) going home. PTO is looking for volunteers to support this effort. Please take a look at their sign up HERE if you are able and willing to help.

A huge thank you goes out to the PTO for their support and efforts to make our staff feel appreciated this week during Teacher Appreciation Week. They provided snacks, a pizza lunch, sweets, and dozens of prizes. Thank you!

As a reminder, next week, 3rd and 4th graders will be participating in the math and reading state assessments known as the NHSAS. For more information, please see below. Students in grades K-4 will be taking the NWEA-MAP Growth assessments in the coming days and weeks ahead. Please reach out to your child's teacher for more details (or see below).

Happy Mother's Day!

Larry Pimental

May 13- Fourth Graders visit to the State Capitol

May 13-17- NHSAS for 3rd and 4th Graders

May 15-17- PES PTO Book Fair

May 18- Children and the Arts (not a Conval/school event)

May 24- No School- Professional Development Day

May 27- No School- Memorial Day

June 7- Field Day- 9:15-11:30

June 13- 4th Grader Celebration (1:00).

June 14- Last day of school- Dismissal 12:15

English Language Arts/Reading: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Mathematics: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Please reach out to me with any questions.

In the coming days and weeks, students in grades K-4 will start the spring NWEA MAP assessments. These assessments are not state required, however as a school (and district) we use them to assess our students’ learning growth throughout the year. Students take them in reading and math three times a year (fall, winter, and spring). These assessments are not meant to be stressful or “high stakes”, rather an opportunity for students to show what they know and allows us to assess our teaching and instruction. For more information on the assessment please click HERE. If you have additional questions, please contact your child's teacher.

This week several classes went on field trips to extend and enrich their learning.

• Kindergarten went to the Harris Center to learn about birds, play some bird themed games, and went on a bird viewing walk before having lunch at the Center.
• Third graders went to the MacDowell Lake and Dam to continue with their bird unit.
• And today, 4th graders walked along the Contoocook River watershed to learn some Peterborough history and how the river has played a part in it, before having a picnic lunch in Putnam Park.

The Children and the Arts Festival is happening on Saturday, May 18th. This is a great family event sponsored by the Children and the Arts. It is NOT a school event, however.

If your children are attending this event, it is important for parents to know that they are responsible for their children, the school is not. There is a parade that children are invited to participate in that starts at PES at 12:00 and ends at Putnam Park. The festival attracts large numbers of visitors, so if your child is walking in the parade, we ask that you are responsible for walking with them and/or have eyes on them at all times. There is no parking at PES on this day, and this is not a “drop your children off” type of event. Some teachers and school staff may be attending, but they are not required to. The school and school staff are not responsible for your children on this day. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Hello PES Artists and Families,

What an art-filled past few months we have had in the Art Room, most notably our current work for Children and the Arts, which is happening on May 18th, in downtown Peterborough. Each class has been creating parade props which can be carried in the parade that happens at 12:00 pm and starts in the PES parking lot.

Kindergarteners made birds in bird cages, first graders make 3D cardboard birds, second graders made large wearable birds which look like the bird is sitting on their arm. The third graders made paper mâché replicas of a bird that they studied in their classrooms with the help of the Harris Center, and the fourth graders created wearable wings. Overall, we had a great time creating this work. All of these projects will be picked up at PES on the morning of the parade.

Some of the classes have also been working on some larger parade puppets and our school mug board. We have been so busy and there is more work to be done.

If you are interested in volunteering some time to help us finalize all of the work for Children and the Arts, please feel free to reach out to me (ashultz@conval.edu) and let me know when you would like to come in and help.

I hope to see you at Children and the Arts and have a great weekend.

It is time to register your child for our free Summer Learning. Please use the following link to sign your elementary child(dren) up. An early registration will ensure that we have the staff and resources to host a robust summer learning program. A separate email will be sent later in the month to register middle and high school students for Summer Academy.

Explore and Expand (all schools) and Title 1 (for AES, PES, Pierce and GES) will begin on July 9th and run through August 1st. The daily schedule for each program is 9 - 12 Tuesday through Thursday. Middle School Summer Academy (for all rising 5th graders) begins on July 8th and runs through August 1st. MS Summer Academy is four days a week from 8am - 12:15pm.

A more detailed description of summer learning opportunities can be found in the registration.

If you have questions, please reach out to:

Title 1: Kathie Morrocco kmorrocco@conval.edu

Explore and Expand & Summer Academy: Amy Janoch ajanoch@conval.edu

PES has created a student directory. It includes class lists, student and parent/guardian names, and parent/guardian email information. If you are interested in getting one, please let us know by emailing cbell@conval.edu.

Email: lpimental@conval.edu
Website: https://pes.conval.edu
Location: 17 High Street, Peterborough, NH, USA
Phone: 603-924-3828
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peterboroughelementaryschool
Twitter: @WeAreConVal