Cheetah Pride Press

Families,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a restful break, and that your holidays were filled with love and laughter. I am looking forward to a positive New Year. We have so much to be thankful for at Memorial School!

We have begun our mid-year universal assessments in grades K-3. With the exception of one day off for MLK Jr. Day, January provides a solid, uninterrupted block of instructional time. Historically, the month of January provides students with the time they need to gain momentum and experience visible growth as learners and citizens. We look forward to celebrating our student successes and recalibrating individual and grade-level goals for the months ahead.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Joey & Andrea

As we eased into 2026, students celebrated the opportunity to start anew, set personal goals, and discussed things they hope to learn in the New Year.

We are thrilled to share that two of our Cheetahs will be recognized for excellence in the arts at the annual CAS Elementary Arts Banquet in February. The banquet will be held at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville. These students were recommended by Mrs. Vining and Mrs. Maldonado for their leadership, work ethic, citizenship, and artistic achievement. Way to go, Jackson and Reygan! Here’s what Mrs. Vining and Mrs. Maldonado had to say about our amazing learners:

Reygan - Reygan excels in the visual arts and is a leader in the art room. Each year that she has attended Memorial Elementary School, she has faced every artistic concept, material, and skill with great confidence and high levels of success. She shows strengths while creating works of art, no matter what media she uses. From paint, to clay, to cut paper and glue, Reygan exceeds expectations and consistently reflects her own style, interests, and personality into everything she makes. Not only is Reygan an artist who demonstrates advanced artistic skill, but she is an incredibly kind and thoughtful student. She is always willing to lend a helping hand to her peers, and encourages others to succeed and put their best efforts in during art class. In the school community, Reygan is described by all of her teachers as such a positive role model to her peers, and demonstrates strong citizenship skills in all settings during the school day. Reygan is a pleasure to be around, and is incredibly deserving of this recognition! Congratulations, Reygan!

Jackson - Jackson demonstrates outstanding leadership and musicianship in music class. As an active participant, he approaches every activity with enthusiasm and a strong desire to do his best. Jackson shows an advanced understanding of musical concepts and applies that knowledge confidently when reading and performing music, reflecting impressive growth for a third-grade student. Beyond his musical abilities, Jackson is a kind, supportive, and respectful member of our school community. He encourages his peers to work together as a team and makes sure that everyone feels included and heard. During class meetings, he leads by example, motivating others to try their best. Teachers throughout the school describe Jackson as a positive role model and an excellent school citizen. Congratulations, Jackson, on this well-deserved recognition!

Each of the Kindergarten classes had a visit on Friday from Amanda Fee. Ms. Fee is a local children’s book author who is based in Manchester, CT. After years of reading aloud to her children, Amanda turned her love of storytelling into becoming at first an author, and now the founder of her own publishing company. With the release of her second book, she continues to share the stories that inspire connection, imagination, and heart. Our young learners enjoyed listening to Ms. Fee share her story: Frogs Have Feelings, Too.

Samantha the Calf is now 3 months old! As you can see, she has grown much bigger since our last update. Please use this link to read about a dairy farm in Wisconsin. A Farm of Many Colors - Student Booklet

A PAWsitive office referral is submitted when a staff member recognizes a student who is going above and beyond to exemplify one of our three school rules - taking care of others, taking care of self, & taking care of things.

Memorial Models are chosen weekly by their teacher. These students have excelled all week in taking care of themselves, others and things. The recipients will dine at a VIP table during lunch every Friday!

Meet Evie M

Her teacher is Mrs, Hennessey.

She is special because she skate boards.

One of her favorite things is cheeseburgers.

She wanted to be on cheetah council because she loves planning and working.

She loves education.

Cleaning out your child’s books?

The Cheetah Council is accepting gently used children’s books to donate to our book swap and shop.

We are collecting books in the month of January.

The book shop and swap will begin in February. More info on this to come.

*If you have books to donate please bring them to school and leave them in the Book donation boxes in the hallway near room 38 or in the front office.

THANK YOU for supporting the cheetah council!

Congratulations to Laurie DeGross for being recognized by our staff with the Order of The Cheetah. Laurie DeGross is an outstanding educator who is an asset to the entire Memorial School community. In addition to leading the Special Education department at Memorial, she recently served as a long-term interim Assistant Principal. Her leadership, collegiality, and professionalism are appreciated by all members of our school team. Thank you, Laurie, for all you do!

1/12 BOE Meeting at Town Hall @ 6:30

1/13 iReady Assessments Begin

1/19 MLK Jr. Day NO SCHOOL

1/26 BOE Meeting at Town Hall @ 6:30

Hi Cheetah families!

Happy New Year! January is off to a great start in the Memorial School Library!

See below for grade level classroom expectations.

• PreK students are enjoying a variety of read alouds and songs with the winter theme.

• Kindergarten is continuing observing the difference between fiction and non-fiction and discussing animal facts (caribou in December). Later in the month we will move into discussing the Caldecott Award and reading some of the past winners in advance of this month’s announcement of the 2026 winner.

• First grade has begun discussing call numbers and how the library is organized. We are learning what the Dewey Decimal System is and are practicing sorting books by their call number category. Later in the month we will move into discussing the Caldecott Award and reading some of the past winners in advance of this month’s announcement of the 2026 winner.

• Second grade and third graders are starting their coding unit; they will be using a program called Code Monkey. Each student will have their own account which can be used at home if they wish. Our goal is to practice at least an hour of coding in January, which will be broken up over a few class periods.

Questions, please contact Mrs. Flannery at rflannery@easthamptonct.org.

Mrs. Flannery

Library Media Specialist

Welcome back and happy 2026! We are so excited our Memorial mathematicians are back and ready to learn. As we prepare for our winter assessment window, this time of year provides a great opportunity for you to work with your mathematician on developing their growth mindset as they prepare to develop new learning throughout the second half of the school year. At Memorial, we believe in the power of setting goals, celebrating growth and being reflective in our learning. Our new K-5 math program, Bridges in Mathematics, helps develop young mathematicians to ask thought-provoking questions, collaborate and participate in discourse with their peers, self-reflect in order to set individualized learning goals and believe in themselves as learners. Bridges offers many resources on developing this lifelong skill within your learner. Check out these great resource to find out more.

Asking Questions.pdf

Growth Mindset.pdf

Learning from Mistakes.pdf

New School Nurse:

My name is Krista Kardys and I am the new school nurse at Memorial School. I have been a registered nurse for over 30 years and have worked in various health care settings including as a school nurse. I look forward to getting to know the students and continue the high standards for nursing care here at Memorial School.

**Change of Clothing**

Between accidents, spills, puddles and mud, there are many ways student’s clothing can become soiled. The nurses office does not routinely keep extra clothing. Every student should have a full change of clothes (underwear, pants, shirt) in their backpack to be kept at school. If your child requires a change of clothes and they do not have any in their bag, a parent will be asked to come to the school to bring it in.

Nurse office reminders

We want to share some guidelines that are helpful for families:

Please let us know if your child is diagnosed with any illness or injury (such as strep, flu, pink eye, fracture/broken bone, lice, pneumonia, covid, etc.) as the nurse office tracks illnesses and sends notification letters home if there are 2 or more cases in a specific classroom. Please be specific with any of the symptoms your child is experiencing.

Consider keeping your child at home for an extra day of rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

• Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough

• Mild sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)

• Mild headache and/or stomachache

• Fatigue

Definitely keep your child at home for treatment and observation if he or she has any of these symptoms:

• Fever (100.4 degrees or higher. May only return to school after 24 hours of no fever WITHOUT fever reducing medications)

• Vomiting (Even once. Must wait 24 hours after last vomit episode to return to school)

• Diarrhea (may return to school after 24 hours since last episode)

• Chills

• General malaise or feelings of fatigue, discomfort, weakness, and/or muscle aches

• Frequent congested, wet, or croupy cough

• Lots of nasal congestion with frequent blowing of nose

Please remind your child(ren) about good hygiene habits:

• Wash hands frequently

• Do not touch eyes, nose, or mouth

• Cover mouth and nose when sneezing/coughing and then wash hands

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick

Often when a child awakens with vague complaints (the way colds and flu begin) it is wise to observe your child at home for an hour or two before deciding whether or not to bring them to school. Your child should be physically able to participate in all school activities on returning to school. Keeping a sick child at home will minimize the spread of infections and viruses in the classroom. Please send in a copy of the doctor’s clearance, as needed. Thank you in advance for helping to make this year at school as healthy as possible.

Medications

Every medication that is brought into school requires a “Medication Authorization” form to be signed by the student’s doctor and parent/guardian and the medication in original packaging with prescription label is to be brought in by a parent/guardian, not in the child’s backpack. No child may carry their own medications at the Elementary level. Please use a large ziplock bag for the medication plus the medication order, and label the bag with your child’s name before dropping off. Any controlled medications will need to be counted and signed off with the RN and parent so please allow for a few extra minutes at drop off.

Please note: COUGH DROPS count as medications and are not allowed in school. All over-the-counter medications also need a medication order from your provider.

Food

We have several students with severe food allergies, therefore we highly recommend non food items to share for birthday celebrations. Per our food sharing protocol, we ask for at least 48 hours advance notice to check for classroom allergies. Please inform your child’s teacher AND the nurse in order to approve food being brought in to share. A great resource for allergy free snacks is the Safe Snack guide at https://snacksafely.com/safe-snack-guide/. We appreciate your assistance in keeping our school safe.

Respectfully,

Krista Kardys RN

and Ms. Michelle Lemire

When considering the number of absences your student has accrued, keep in mind that a student must be present for 195 minutes in order for the day to count! When bringing your student in late, or signing them out early if they have not been in school for a 195 minutes the day will be recorded as an absence.

Memorial School Attendance email:

memorial_attendance@easthamptonct.org * there is an _ between memorial and attendance!

Please Review This Important Information Below.

Students, parents, and community members have access to an anonymous tip line on the front page of the school district website to report self-concerns, mental health concerns of a friend, or concerns of violence. Simply click here or view on the website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/.

Email: jbauer@easthamptonct.org
Website: https://www.easthamptonps.org/o/memorial-school
Location: 20 Smith Street, East Hampton, CT, USA
Phone: 860-365-4020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ehmemorialschool