Principal’s Notes

Dear Parents,

As we move into spring break we look forward to the much anticipated warmer weather! We certainly have had our ups and downs with cold and warm weather this month!

As we begin to move into the last two months of school it is important to continue to encourage your children to keep their focus on learning. This can be an up and down time for them as they, at times, are thinking about spring events and summer activities. Thank you for your support on this!

We enjoyed the PTA pancake breakfast on Saturday morning April 12th! I would like to thank our hard working PTA and all the volunteers for coordinating and supporting this event to bring the community together!!

We enjoyed some outstanding musical activities this month. Our Sandown students did a great job performing in the First Year All District Elementary Concert at the Perform-ing Arts Center on April 16th!

We held our annual Arts Night on April 23rd! We recognized the PTA reflection win-ners, our Sandown chorus performed and the Art show exhibit was on display for all to see, along with Bridges and Enrichment sculptures displayed in our cafeteria and in the enrichment classroom! A Big Thank You to Mrs. Lenihan, Mrs. Yankowskas for putting this event together! We also would like to thank Mrs. Chaput PTA and Mrs. Garone for recognizing our reflection winners!

Our Sandown Student Council did their annual visit to Fox Den Retirement Home in Sandown where the residents enjoyed musical performances, comedian performances, dramatic plays, and visiting with our students! This is a great learning activity for the students about giving back to our community and to its members!

Notice to our 4th grade parents that we will be administering the Science NECAP Test in May. Please be sure to review the notice with the dates and procedures about the testing which will be sent home soon.

I’m sending a quick reminder to our car drop off parents. Please make every effort to enter the school yard at a slow rate of speed. We are always concerned for the safety in and around the school. We appreciate your cooperation.

Spring has Sprung! Enjoy!

Cordially,

Douglas E. Rolph

Principal

Sandown Central School

douglas.rolph@timberlane.net

May/June Calendar

May 7 & 8: Grade 4 Science

NECAP Practice testing.

May 7: SPARKS Program.

May 8, 7:30 PM: TRSD School Board Meeting. Superintendent’s Office, 30 Greenough Road,

Plaistow.

May 12, 9:30 AM: Practice Off Site Evacuation To Zorvino’s

Vineyard.

May 13-15: Grade 4 Science

NECAP Testing.

May 13, 7:00 PM: Grades 4-8

Orchestra Concert @ the PAC.

May 14, 6:30 PM: Sandown PTA Meeting at Sandown North

School.

May 15, 6 PM: DARE Gradua-

tion: SCS.

May 20, 9 AM: Children’s Dental

Network.

May 22, 8:30 AM: Grade 5

Field Trip to Freedom Trail.

May 22, 7:30 PM: TRSD School Board Meeting. Superintendent’s Office, 30 Greenough Road,

Plaistow.

June 5, 7:30 PM: TRSD School Board Meeting. Superintendent’s Office, 30 Greenough Road,

Plaistow.

June 12, 6:30 PM: Fifth Grade

Lip Sync SCS.

June 13, 8:30 AM: Fifth grade Move-Up Day to TRMS., return-

ing to SCS after lunch.

June 19, , 7:30 PM: TRSD School Board Meeting. Superintendent’s Office, 30 Greenough Road,

Plaistow.

June 20: Last of School, early

release 12:00 noon.

Sandown Central News April 2014

Have a safe and happy

Spring Break!!!

Spring has finally arrived! And with the arrival of spring, summer can’t be far behind. The remainder of the year will pass quickly for us all. Students have continued participat-ing in the DARE program presented by Sergeant Roy. Students will be writing essays about what they learned in DARE and how it will help them with critical decisions in the future. One student will be selected from each class to read his/her essay during the DARE gradu-ation.

Fifth graders are also beginning to think ahead to their next big adventure—Timberlane Regional Middle School! Students will be participating in some activities that will help make that transition successful. They will be participating in a panel discussion with current sixth grade students via distance learning. We will also participate in Move-Up Day in June when students will have an opportunity to visit TRMS and have many of their questions answered.

Among other end of the year activities, we will be going on a field trip to the Freedom Trail in Boston on May 22th. This is always a favorite with adults and students alike. Finally, you may have heard your child already discussing the traditional lip sync performance that is always a hit as we finish our year in June.

A calendar will be sent home with your child when dates have been determined for these events.

Although we look forward to these events, please encourage your child to continue to do his/her best in school. There is still a lot of learning time left in the year!

Happy Spring!

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Grade Five News

Sandown Central News

Our Student Council members paid their annual visit to the Fox Den Retirement Home in Sandown to entertain the residents with many acts. The students really enjoy this community service event, and the show was a delight to the Fox Den residents! (Thank you to Kerry Gannon for taking most of these pictures.)

Volume 1, Issue 1

Happy Spring! Students are excited to be back on the playground playing during recess

breaks. It seems to help their classroom concentration, so teachers are happy as well. Dress-

ing in layers is usually a good plan for our unpredictable spring weather.

Fourth graders completed Unit 5 in the Reading Street program this month. The stories

developed the concept of what makes an adventure while further developing reading strategies

including author’s purpose, compare and contrast, sequence, main idea, and drawing conclu-

sions. Students wrote fictional stories applying the Six Traits of Writing in response to the unit 4

prompt and will begin the 5th prompt soon.

During April the fourth grade classes developed their understanding and use of division,

measuring angles, and determining the area and perimeter of polygons in math. Practicing math

facts continues to be an essential component to homework. Students are more able to grasp

new concepts easily when recalling facts with speed and accuracy. Please encourage your

child to practice facts several times a week for just a few minutes a day whether listed as an

assignment or not.

In science, students were able to experience Erosion Unit lessons from each of the fourth

grade teachers. Through various means such as observation, experimentation, reading, and

discussion, the students learned a great deal about how the earth’s surface is constantly

changing. At home, you can ask your child to point out examples of erosion you see while

walking, driving and even in your own backyard! Connecting what children experience in the

classroom to the real world helps to make the learning relevant. Fourth graders will also partici-

pate in the Science NECAPS testing the beginning of May.

We wish all our Sandown Central School families an enjoyable and restful April vacation

April 28-May 2 so they can return energized for learning!

Fourth Grade Team

Grade Four News

Page 3

In addition to performing at Fox Den, our Student Council members had the opportunity to chat with the residents.

Attention 2nd, 3rd & 4th Grade Parents

If your child is interested in learning to play a band or string instrument NEXT YEAR, he or she must

sign up this June. Let us help you start thinking about it now.

The instruments being offered to current 3rd & 4th graders are oboe, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone,

trumpet, French horn, trombone, percussion, violin, viola or cello.

Instruments being offered to current 2nd graders are violin, viola and cello.

(Sorry--no piano or guitar)

The students will be seeing an instrument demonstration in school at the end of May or beginning of

June to introduce them to the instruments, so get your child thinking about an instrument now.

On the 5th, 7th, or 9th of June, the children will have a chance to try the instruments listed above. After

making an instrument choice, you may rent an instrument or use one that is in good working condition

that you may already have.

Please look for futher information & dates in the school mail envelope near the end of May or contact

Mrs.Kathleen Giacobbe at Kathleen.giacobbe@timberlane.net.

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From Mr. Mainella and Mrs. Yankowskas:

Sandown Central News

The 1st Year All-District Elementary Band put on a wonderful performance at the PAC on April 16th. Our first year band

students joined with the 1st year band students from Atkinson, Danville and Pollard Schools for part of the evening’s

entertainment.

March and April have been very busy months for our Sandown Central performance ensembles! Our chorus combined

with the Atkinson and Pollard choruses for the annual District Choral Concert on Wednesday, March 12 at the PAC. Addi-

tionally, our school was well represented at the Elementary Band Concert (2nd year players) on Tuesday, March 25. Many

Sandown Central string players participated in the New Hampshire Stringfest on Saturday, March 29 at the Mountain View

Middle School in Goffstown. Students who attended the festival are: Olivia Allaire, Christopher Beyrent, Julianna Double,

Ryla Fedas, Daniel Guzman, Liam Hill, Faith Lucier, Riley Militello, Zoe Olkovikas, and Josie West Geary. Mackenzie Byron-

Chaput, Lexi Hubley, Jacy LeCain, and Mia Ryder were also selected for this honor.

Our beginning band and string students had a chance to shine at the Beginner Instrumental Concert on Wednesday, April

16 at the PAC. It is amazing to hear how much all of our musicians—particularly the beginners—have progressed his year!

Speaking of honors, Jacy LeCain earned a 2nd place award at the recent ATAM Music Festival in Newton, MA. Jacy, a pri-

vate violin student of Jay Latulippe at Let’s Play Music in Derry, prepared a movement of a concert by Seitz. Congratula-

tions, Jacy!

Upcoming events for our Sandown Central musicians:

Chorus performance at Arts Night: Wednesday, April 23, 6:00 PM at Sandown Central

Elementary Orchestra rehearsal (2nd and 3rd year strings): Monday, May 12, 7:00 PM at the PAC

Elementary and Middle School Orchestra Concert: Tuesday, May 13, 7:00 PM at the PAC In general music, the students have been learning various West African drumming techniques and rhythm patterns. Additionally, the students have practiced improvising rhythms based on question and answer phrases. During the month of May, the classes will be learning about in-strument families as a lead in to instrument lesson sign-ups this spring. Please see the separate article in this newsletter with information about this exciting opportunity! As always, please contact me if you have any questions. Musically yours, Mrs. Alison Yankowskas Alison.Yankowskas@timberlane.net

Page 5

Music News

Sandown Central News

Jacy LeCain, shown here with Jay Latulippe,

her violin teacher, earned a second place

award at the ATAM Music Festival.

Sandown Central School was also well-represented in the orchestra at the 1st Year All-District Elementary Concert. The orchestra played all their songs beautifully!

From the PTA Hello Parents!

The parents of the Sandown PTA are planning our Annual Teacher Appreciation Celebration.

Every year we honor our schools’ hardworking, dedicated teachers and their outstanding support

staff. This year we are dedicating Friday, May 9th to all Sandown Central staff. We have a few

things planned and will end the day with a luncheon.

This is a great opportunity to show the teachers our appreciation for all their hard work and

devotion to our children. Your support is needed to make it a success. There are many ways

that YOU can help! We are looking for any monetary donations, donating a dessert, or volun-

teering to help out during the day to help make our teachers feel special.

With your continued help, we can show our teachers how much we appreciate all their hard work

with our children. Your child should have brought home a form already about this celebration,

but we have included it in the newsletter again for your convenience. Please return the form to

school ASAP if you are able to help in any way with our celebration. Thank you for your support.

Please feel free to give me a call at 887-6230 or email norine.gerhard@gmail.com if you need

anything.

Thank you,

Norine Gerhard, Sandown PTA

Here is my donation to help with the luncheon at Central.

$2 _____, $5 _____, $10 _____, Other ______

Please make checks payable to Sandown PTA. Please send money in by May 8th.

I would like to donate a dessert at central.

Name:____________________________

Dessert __________________________

Email or phone number _______________________________________

I would like to help the day of the luncheon at Central (Friday, May 9th).

Name: ___________________________

Phone Number _____________________

Email address ______________________________________________