Bulldog Bulletin

On Friday, I met with students in grades three, four, and five to talk about the upcoming MCAS assessments, which begin next week. Third grade students will take the ELA MCAS on Monday and Tuesday. Fourth and fifth grade students will take their ELA MCAS on Thursday and Friday.

During our meetings, we focused on a few key areas—but most importantly, we talked about how all of the learning is already done! Now it’s time for students to focus on the things they can control: getting a good night’s sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, arriving at school on time, using calming strategies, and maintaining a positive mindset. It was also a wonderful opportunity for students to label and share their emotions using their grade-level vocabulary.

This week, fourth grade also enjoyed a Techsplorations program on Electricity, and first grade participated in a Discovery Museum presentation on Light and Lasers. These enrichments were made possible by the PTO and your Fun Run dollars!

Next week, on Tuesday 5th Grade will have there panoramic picture taken. Students should wear their Sanborn Fun Run T-shirt. Also, there is a half day on Wednesday 12:15 dismissal.

Mood Meter Update

We continue to explore the Mood Meter at Sanborn School. We are returning to words in the Red Zone, which represents high energy and low pleasantness. You can practice these words at home together!

• Kindergarten – Confused

• First Grade – Worried

• Second Grade – Tense

• Third Grade – Aggravated

• Fourth Grade – Insulted

• Fifth Grade – Passionate

April’s Theme of the Month: Fairness and Following Rules

During morning announcements this week, we posed fairness scenarios. Students did a great job discussing ways to fairly solve a problem.

At home, you can support your child’s growth in these skills with some fun, hands-on strategies:

Talk About Fairness in Real-Life Situations:

• Discuss situations they see on TV or at school where fairness or rule-following comes into play. Ask, “What would have been a fair way to handle that?”

• Board games and sports are great for teaching fairness. Emphasize good sportsmanship, following the rules, and congratulating others when they win.

• Books like “The Berenstain Bears and the Truth” or “The Little Red Hen” help kids understand the value of fairness and working together.

• Acknowledge when your child demonstrates fairness or follows a rule, even in small situations. Positive reinforcement builds habits.

The Sanborn administrative team will soon begin placing students for the 2025-2026 school year. Student placement is a thoughtful process that incorporates input from your child's current teacher, support staff, and administration to ensure balanced and compatible classrooms. We carefully consider many factors, including all available student data, to create the best possible learning environments.

Our placement process is designed to support both academic success and social-emotional well-being.

Please note: We do not accept parental requests for specific classroom assignments or teachers.

However, we value your insights and welcome any information that you feel is important for us to know, such as your child's learning style, academic needs, or compatibility with peers. Your input will be carefully considered as we make placement decisions.

To share your thoughts, please email placementsanborn@gmail.com no later than Wednesday, April 30th.

Monday April 7: Grade 3 (ELA)

Tuesday April 8: Grade 3 (ELA)

Wednesday April 9: Early Release day - dismissal at 12:15

Thursday April 10: Grade 4 & 5 (ELA)

Friday April 11: Grade 4 & 5 (ELA)

Thursday April 17: Around the World

April 21-25 - Spring Break - No school

Tuesday May 6: Grade 3 (Math)

Thursday May 8: Grade 3 (Math)

Tuesday May 13: Grade 4 & 5 (Math)

Thursday May 15: Grade 4 & 5 (Math)

Monday May 19: Grade 5 (Science)

Monday May 19: Grade 5 (Science)

Please mark your calendars . . .

Thursday, May 15 Kindergarten Play “Magic Forest” Performance 5:30pm

Wednesday, May 21 3rd grade Strings/Recorder Performance 10:15 am

Wednesday, May 28 Sanborn Spring Concert (Band/Strings/Orff/Chorus) 7:00pm

Also, our 4th graders have just begun bucket drumming and 5th graders will soon begin Ukulele. If they want to practice at home they can use www.musicplayonline.com and use the code D654018

Sanborn Bulldogs continues to be in 3rd place for the number of registrations we added a few more this week 94! I can not believe that we have almost 100 people registered! Way to go Sanborn!!!! We are only 7 registrations behind the 2nd place team. We have definitely hit our goal to have the largest team yet. If you have not yet join the Sanborn Bulldogs Team!

We share in your excitement for your child to enroll in Kindergarten for the 2025-2026 school year and look forward to them being a part of the Andover Public School community in September.

Kindergarten registration will begin on Monday, February 3 to Monday, March 3, 2025. Please access the Kindergarten Registration Link on our website.

To find which school your child will attend, review our district map at this link. Following your registration, please contact your school directly to make an appointment to submit your registration paperwork.

For your reference, student eligibility requirements are as follows:

Kindergarten:

As per School Committee Policy (Policy JF: Residency, School Admission, Entrance Age), children must be 5 years old on or before August 31, 2025 and entering Kindergarten in the Andover Public Schools for the first time.

First Grade: (New to Andover /Andover Public Schools)

Children must be age 6 on or before August 31, 2025 and enrolling in the Andover Public Schools for the first time or transferring from another school district or private school.

The first day of school for Pre-K and Kindergarten students is Tuesday, September 2, 2025.

We look forward to meeting all our incoming students and families in the new school year!

The students are with the conductor Eric Williamson from Brooklyn, NY. We are so proud of them.

• Sanborn's Around the World event is coming up on April 17th and we're looking for families who want to showcase their culture or volunteer to bring the event to life. Sign up today!

• Dine for Dollars with Bertucci's! On April 9th, our friends at Bertucci's have offered the Sanborn Community a chance to raise funds for the PTO while also enjoying their delicious pizza (and let's be honest, the bread rolls, too)! Just bring the flyer (or use code FUNDRAISER when ordering online) to any Bertucci's restaurant in order to donate 15% of the proceeds to the Sanborn PTO.

• All Sanborn 5th graders are invited to attend 'Sanborn Under the Stars,' our annual 5th Grade Social on April 11th at 6:00 PM at Sanborn. No RSVP required.

• Sign Up for the Annual Step Up for Colleen 5K! Join us on Sunday, May 4th as we honor Colleen's memory with a Sanborn Bulldogs team at the Step Up for Colleen 5K! Colleen and her siblings attended Sanborn, and each year, we come together as a community to celebrate her legacy. When you register, choose "Sanborn Bulldogs" as your team!

• There are still a couple of open positions on the Board, as well as non-Board volunteer opportunities. Two key roles are Treasurer and volunteers to manage the signboard outside the school. If these could be a fit for you, please email pto@sanbornpto.net.

• A few ways to stay up to date on the latest news and offerings from the PTO:
• The Bulldog Spirit is the monthly newsletter from the Sanborn PTO where they communicate about our school events, fundraisers, enrichment activities, etc. Sign up here.
• Bookmark the PTO website!
• For real-time updates during the school year, follow the Sanborn Community on social media: Facebook, Instagram
• Join your child's grade-level Facebook group - this group is just for kids in your child’s grade. Here you can connect, ask grade-specific questions, etc.