Bancroft Bulletin

Hello Bancroft -

Wow—what a lot of snow! ❄️ Thanks to the recent storms, we ended up with two snow days, and I want to send a huge thank-you to our amazing custodial team and the town DPW for working so hard to clear our school and make it safe for everyone to return.

With all this snow, we do need to share a few important reminders. Please talk with your children about not throwing snow during recess or in the parent pick-up line—snow should never be thrown at people or cars. Students must wear boots to walk in the snow, and snowpants are required to play in it. Please note that the field is closed during before-school recess for now, as the snowbanks are too high for us to safely supervise that area.

A quick lunch reminder: if your child would like seconds (which are especially popular on pizza day!), they need to have money available in their lunch account. Please check balances and add funds if you wish for your child to be able to get seconds. You can also add notes to their account if there are any restrictions you’d like us to follow.

It has been extremely cold this week, and the weekend looks even colder. The good news is that next week is shaping up to be much better for outdoor play, which we are all looking forward to!

And finally—as many of you know, I am a huge Patriots fan and very excited to be back in the Super Bowl! 🏈 Please see below for information about our Spirit Week. Participation is optional, and while the Patriots are certainly part of the fun, Spirit Week is really about Super Bowl fun for everyone.

Finally, as we wrap up January, please enjoy some pictures below to highlight events from this month.

Have a great weekend,

Beth & Kim

Beth Leavitt, Principal

Kim Rabold, Assistant Principal

beth.leavitt@andoverma.us or kimberly.rabold@andoverma.us

Monday, February 2: Otto Night for Bancroft - eat in or take out to support our PTO and thus support your kids!

Wednesday, February 4: Walk, Ride, Roll to School Day

Wednesday, February 11: Bingo for Books with Mrs. Leavitt 6:00 - 7:00

February 16 - 20: Winter Break - NO SCHOOL

February 26: Science Fair 6:00 - 7:30

Andover Public Schools 2025 - 2026 Calendar

Andover Public School 2026-2027 Calendar

MCAS dates

Grade 3

ELA - April 6 and April 7

Math - May 11 and May 12

Grade 4

ELA - March 31 and April 1

Math - May 13 and May 15

Grade 5

ELA - April 13 and April 14

Math - May 4 and May 5

Science - May 18 and May 19

ENROLLING FOR KINDERGARTEN!!

January 2026

Dear Families of Incoming Kindergarten students:

We share in your excitement for your child to enroll in Kindergarten for the 2026-2027 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 2, 2026 to Monday, March 2, 2026. Please access the Kindergarten Registration link here or on our website at www.aps1.net/o/aps/page/kindergarten-registration.

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:

A student must actually reside in Andover, unless one of the exceptions set forth in Policy JF applies. The residence of a minor child is ordinarily presumed to be the legal residence of the child´s parent or legal guardian.

Kindergarten:

As per School Committee Policy, children must be 5 years old on or before August 31, 2026 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, 2026, and enrolling in the Andover Public Schools for the first time or transferring from another school district school.

The first day of school for Pre-K and Kindergarten students is Tuesday, September 8, 2026!

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

Sincerely,

Beth Leavitt

Week of Jan 26th

Due to the short week, students were excited to revisit last week’s activities. Rolling skills in grades K–2 and overhand throwing, defending, and teamwork in grades 3–5.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MUSIC CLASS 1/28/26-1/30/26

Students in grades K,1, and 2 are performing the fun, playful, humorous children’s story by Jonathan London called “Froggy Gets Dressed.” In this musical adventure, students discuss all the different ways we can enjoy being playful in the snow. We use our skipping feet as we sing the “Snow, Snow” song. The final step is to put all the “clothing sounds” on unpitched percussion instruments and have an in class performance for each other. First and second graders are introduced to how to play the steady beat on the xylophones, and metallophones.

Students in grades 3-5 are pulling out all the stops with their creativity in songmaker- Chrome Music Lab. In this experience, students are first introduced to the specific notes and scale we use: C pentatonic which means 5 notes: C, D, E, G, A. Students listen to different examples of a “song” written in C pentatonic, encouraging them to focus on how many beats are in the song, and be sure to use repetition. Students then explore how their song sounds on a barred instrument like a xylophone or metallophone. We set aside some time at the end of our class to share some “songmaker” songs composed by our students.

Week of January 26

Kindergarteners will be starting a painted paper collage project inspired by American author and illustrator, Eric Carle.

First graders are beginning a colorful line design drawing and painting project inspired by American artist, Rachel Hayes.

Second graders are creating Personal Pizzas! Students are reflecting on their personal identities to create a drawing of their own slice. They will then make their slice out of clay. We are going to save these sculptures to exhibit at the spring art show!

Third graders are creating a 5 x 5 artwork inspired by the theme of interdependence for a district-wide installation.

Fourth graders are putting the final touches on their Lunar New Year paper mache sculptures.

Fifth graders will be working on a project inspired by IMAGINE (aka Sneha Shrestha) a Nepali - American artist and muralist based in Boston. Students will experiment with stamping sponges to make a colorful brick wall, and learning to make bubble letters to create their own “Identity Wall.”

Week of January 26

Kindergarten classes are continuing to read their way through the alphabet. This week's letter was “M.” After reading Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin! By Llyod Moss, students listened to music from an orchestra and drew their favorite musical instrument.

First grade students read Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather by Bruce Koscielniak and then voted on whether or not Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow on Groundhog Day. Students tallied up the votes and created a graph of their class predictions.

Second grade students began working on their creative writing unit. Students discussed internal and external character traits and read Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood. After a class discussion on the character traits of Interstellar Cinderella, students began brainstorming the main character in their own story.

Third grade students continued to work on their Narrative writing unit through an author study of Patricia Polacco. Students learned that personal narratives are like the seeds in a watermelon. Each narrative is based on a small moment pulled from personal experience. Students then listed small moments they could use in their writing.

Fourth grade students dove back into their American Revolution research project. This week students listened to and analyzed a podcast about the Boston Tea Party.

Fifth grade students focused on creating research questions that will help guide them through their research unit. Students learned what research is and how to formulate a good research question.

School librarian: Tiffany Hutchins

Librarian email: tiffany.legare@andoverma.us

Bobcat to Bobcat is a committee in our school of staff members who work to support families who may need assistance with various needs throughout the year. This includes helping with scholarships for events, holidays, and more. Our work is confidential and financially supported by our PTO as well as our staff and families who donate when needed.

All donations are given anonymously and recipients’ information will be kept in strict confidence.

We have an amazing community here at Bancroft and know that when there is a need, everyone pitches in. We will reach out throughout the year!

If you are a family wanting to be on our list needing support, please email our social worker, Nancy Modlish at nancyjo.modlish@andoverma.us or me, Beth Leavitt at beth.leavitt@andoverma.us.

As we enter the cooler weather leading into winter, we want students to have a consistent outdoor experience between grades and classrooms. To support this, we have set guidelines for temperature/weather type when deciding outdoor vs. indoor recess for all classrooms. Below are guidelines for outdoor recess.

• Students will be outdoors if the temperature (including wind chill) is 20 degrees or warmer and it’s not raining, sleeting, hailing, or blizzarding. We use Weatherbug.com to determine the temperature.

• On questionable, cold days the office will make an announcement before the first recess announcing outdoor or indoor recess. If no announcement is made then it is outdoor recess.

• If students want to play in snow, they must be wearing snow pants, boots, jackets, and gloves/mittens. If students do not wish to play in the snow, they will remain on the blacktop.

• With a large amount of students out on the playground at each recess, we need to be extra vigilant about safety. There is no throwing of snowballs or ice.

• Label each article of clothing so that if something is misplaced, it can be returned to you as quickly as possible.

Please be aware that all students go outside when the weather meets these conditions.

Please send your child to school wearing appropriate outdoor clothing for the weather. We highly encourage you to practice getting dressed in the snow gear as quickly as possible- make a game of it and time it! The expectation is, if your child is well enough to come to school, they are well enough to go outdoors.

Thanks for taking the time to remind students of the winter expectations. Snow play is beloved by many and we want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to safely enjoy their recess time during these months.

We are all working to manage the age of technology and are looking for support between school and home. Many children have new smart devices and the elementary schools have some guidance.

A kind reminder to our families that cell phones must be turned off and in students’ backpacks at the start of the school day. Smartwatches may be worn as regular watches, however, students are not allowed to text, communicate with others, use applications, take pictures or videos, or access social media services and websites.

Should parents/guardians urgently need to reach their child during the school day, we ask that you call the main office. Students are also allowed to come to the main office if they need to contact someone at home. If a cell phone or watch becomes a significant distraction, school administrators will reach out to parents/guardians. The Andover Public Schools is not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged, or broken devices.

To promote healthy digital habits during the school day, the resources below may be helpful to use. We appreciate your partnership as we work to keep interruptions to the school day at a minimum.

Resource for Apple Watches:

How to set a School Time schedule

• Open the Watch app on your iPhone. Tap All Watches, then tap your child's watch.

• Tap Done, then tap Schooltime.

• Turn on Schooltime, then tap Edit Schedule.

• Choose the days and times when you want Schooltime to be active.

• Tap Add Time if you want to set up more than one schedule in a day.

Resource for Gizmo Watches:

How to set up School mode

• Open the. Gizmo Hub app.

• Tap the. School mode switch. turn on or off. If necessary, set up a School Mode schedule.

All students are able to receive 1 free breakfast and 1 free lunch daily during the 2025 - 2026 school year. Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria from 8:45 - 9:00 and does not need to be ordered ahead of time.

Lunches will need be preordered. It is very important that our cafeteria has an accurate lunch count each day. Please review with your children each morning what you have ordered for them.

Please click below for the monthly menu and more information about Andover's Nutrition Program including how to sign up.

Every year the lost & found racks become quite full of clothes, water bottles, shoes, etc. and you can help by LABELING EVERYTHING!!

PLEASE write your last name on items and this will help us to return things to your child.

Thank you!!

APPEL - These are in-person classes held at High Plain Elementary start on October 7 from 9:30-11am. No sign up necessary.

ESOL - Classes meet virtually on Monday evenings from 6:00-7:00pm starting on October 6. Participants need to sign up to receive a Google Meeting link. Limit 25 participants.

MOST IMPORTANT - CARS DO NOT TRAVEL FROM THE BANCROFT ROAD SIDE OF THE SCHOOL. YOU ENTER THE CAR LANE FROM WEST KNOLL.

OUR BUSES MUST USE BANCROFT ROAD AND IT IS NOT WIDE ENOUGH FOR CARS AND BUSES. YOUR COOPERATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL!

When cars are waiting prior to 8:45 and prior to 3:30, they must be TURNED OFF.

This is a NO IDLING ZONE as the SIGNAGE INDICATES.

DROP OFF: ALL CARS MUST DRIVE UP WEST KNOLL TO DROP OFF STUDENTS. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not get out of the car in the morning to help your child. We have staff on duty to assist and this will hold up the line quite a bit. We know many have to rush off and we want to help in any way we can. This is a way we can help one another!

There is a staff member there to direct traffic and it is a single lane so you may not pass even if your child has exited your car.

PARENT PICK-UP: ALL CARS MUST DRIVE UP WEST KNOLL TO PICK UP STUDENTS. NO CARS WILL BE PERMITTED TO ENTER FROM BANCROFT ROAD.

In order to help expedite the pick-up procedure, please write your last name ONLY in LARGE, BLACK, BOLD print on a piece of tag board/paper and have it prominently displayed when you arrive to pick up your child. This will expedite the process. If someone else is picking up your child, please have them follow the same protocol.

AGAIN . . . DO NOT EXIT YOUR CAR DURING THIS TIME OR PASS CARS! Every car stays in a single line and waits for the car in front of you to drive off.

Thank you very much!

• Bancroft School
• Bancroft PTO

Important Links (APS):

• Andover Public Schools
• Handbook
  
• Elementary School Libraries
• Bullying Incident Report Form
• Menu
• LINQ Ordering System

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Email: beth.leavitt@andoverma.us
Website: Bancroft School
Location: 15 Bancroft Rd, Andover, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 247-9500

X: @BancroftAPS