The Pulse of the Pride
August 19th, 2022
Lyme School Friends,
Another great week in the books! It has been an exciting couple of weeks as the weather has certainly turned. It is always fantastic to see the joy on student faces with the first sight of flakes no matter how few. In Mr. Dayno's classroom this past week the explanation of snow versus flurries versus a few flakes was quite lively.
We have conferences coming up soon as well as the close of the first trimester. More information is in Mrs. Foxall's section of the Pulse.
We turn next week to Thanksgiving with school closed on the 23rd, 24th and 25th. We are grateful for our students and are pleased with their progress so far this year. It can be hard for students at this time of year with the weather turning, the choppiness of the year between Thanksgiving and December break, and then the long run to February. A great strategy to help your child during this time of year is keeping bed and wake up times routine and consistent.
We hope you enjoy this edition of the Pulse! Our next issue will hit your inbox on December 2nd.
Grateful for our students and staff each day!
Best,
John P. D'Entremont, Principal
Check-Ins with Ms. Connie
Lunch and snack groups are short term interventions that consist of small groups of students from the same grade level. The goal is to help students connect with peers while working on specific social-emotional skills.
In the lower school, skills are related to being a good friend and classmate, sharing ideas, sharing space, waiting for a turn, winning/losing, dealing with mistakes, being flexible, dealing with disappointment, and other topics that may come up.
In middle school, the skills are related to social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making skills, conflict resolution, goal setting, growth mindset, and other topics that may come up.
We know that kids learn best through hands-on experiences; role playing situations (actual/created), playing games, creating art and stories, and having conversations are some ways we target and practice those skills.
Lunch and snack groups are formed by teacher referrals, parent referrals, and student requests. After the interventions, kids use their skills during the school day. If more time to practice is needed, then a scheduled time is provided to work with the student. Teachers or Ms. Connie will reach out to parents about this support, if needed. As always, never hesitate to reach out if you have concerns about your student(s).
Congratulations to the Middle School Rock Band Elective (their chosen name: Return of the Band)
For an amazing performance! The group performed three songs for the school: Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N' Rose, Island in the Sun by Weezer and Drops of Jupiter by Train. They did a spectacular job with rounds of applause and approval from their schoolmates! We are very proud of them!
The Lyme Lions robotics team advances to the state championships by Mr. Betournay
Last Saturday the Lyme Lions robotics team competed at the First Lego League regional qualifying tournament held at Hypertherm in Lebanon. They started the day strong, sitting atop the leaderboard after the first of three rounds of competition. While they dropped a few spots during the day, they were excited to finish high enough in the rankings to qualify for the state championships. I’m very proud of how this team pulled it all together during the final week of preparation (robot design and coding, innovation project and presentation, and modeling of FLL core values) and VERY grateful to the other coaches and parent volunteers, Yola Bujarski, James Ricker, Matt Huyck and Caleb Butler. The state championship will be held at Windham High School on Saturday, December 3rd.
Lower School Art by Mrs. Girdwood
Photos: (starting top left): Gr. 2 Sculptures, Gr. 1 Weaving, Gr. 1 Clay Owl, K Block City, Gr. 3 Weaving, Gr. 3 Clay Leaves, Gr. 5 Monster Taxidermy, Gr. 1 Clay Owl, Gr. 3 Clay Leaf
It has been a busy few weeks in the Art Studio! This week, K kids created the most intricate Block City yet, pioneering the use of masking tape to the block building process (astonishing! I love it.). In many of the grades, we have been exploring Clay and Weaving and learning about Indigenous Art during Native American Heritage Month. We have a wonderful resource for Native Art in our community, the Hood Museum of Art. I encourage families to check it out if you can!
Art reports will go out in a few weeks with report cards. I write a short narrative of topics discussed in Art class over the trimester and comment on what we call "Habits of Mind". I am busy organizing and getting Artwork ready to go home shortly, too! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Ms. G
PE News in the Primary Grades by Mrs. Damren
The primary grades have been working on their eye-hand coordination. Their classwork involved using a balloon, which is light and moves slowly to "pop" their balloon into their air and catch it with two hands. The skill cues of "eyes up, pop, catch" were introduced to help the children with their motor planning in order to be as successful.
Students began their work independently and then moved into the task of working with a partner. One partner would "pop" the balloon into the air while the other waited to catch it. These eye-hand coordination skills, along with motor planning are developmental skills that are important to help with skill development that is age appropriate and helps the brain transfer knowledge.
The Lyme School
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