NOVEMBER 14, 2014
Tuesday, November 18
Picture Re-Take Day
Wednesday & Thursday, November 19 & 20
Book Swap
Friday, November 21
All-School Assembly – 2:15 pm
Wednesday-Friday, November 26-28
Thanksgiving Break – NO SCHOOL
~~~~~~~~~~
IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE
A Salute to Molly
Cheerful. Unflappable. Stalwart. And a wonderful cook!
By now, I’m sure most of you will know that I am speaking of Molly Snedden, our fabulous cook. Molly is closing in on her maternity leave, and her colleagues celebrated and thanked her at a gathering this week. But I think I speak for everyone at LES when I say that Molly deserves to be celebrated and thanked every day for all that she does for us.
Think about Molly’s day. As soon as she arrives, she begins to prepare breakfast, and the minute those children are off to class, lunch preparation begins in earnest. When the children begin to come through the line, Molly greets each one by name, often offers a joke, and remembers who has special dietary requirements. “Molly is epic,” said a fourth grader. She’s very kind and she makes good food.” “She’s a hard worker,” remarked a first grader. All of the children echoed huge enthusiasm for Molly’s completely homemade pizza. When I talked to kindergartners about chef Molly, they all complimented her great pizza, but went on to say, “Her cookies are good, and so is her lettuce!” Isn’t it nice to see a school cafeteria where children appreciate the fresh vegetables served by the cook?!!
Even though lunch is over around 1 o’clock, Molly’s day still has a ways to go. She needs to think about food orders, and to balance the books on lunch payments. In between, there are the final preparations for the next day’s meals. One youngster admitted that he was baffled about how Molly knew how to make such good food. “She’s a good cooker, but I don’t know if she has a cookbook.”
We are fortunate that Molly has written down those recipes, and that her wonderful assistant, Tab McLellan, will be filling in while she is away, with Deb Fritz as the substitute assistant. They have already practiced running the kitchen themselves, under Molly’s watchful eye. We know we’ll be in good hands.
Thank you, Molly, for everything you do to keep us well-fed and healthy. We wish you all the best, and we can’t wait to meet your best concoction ever!!
-Margot Lacey
SPOTLIGHT ON . . .
Winter Clothing for Kids
Now that colder weather has arrived, please send your child/children to school dressed warmly for outdoor recess. This includes wearing socks, a hat, gloves and a winter weight jacket.
If your family is having financial difficulty keeping up with the clothing needs of growing children, the Kimball Trust Fund is available to help you buy basic, protective clothing for your children. The Fund was established in 1909 by Catherine Kimball to help purchase warm clothing for low-income Leverett families with children under the age of 18. Please contact Nurse Jill at 548-9144 ext. 3 to apply for financial assistance through the Kimball Trust to purchase winter clothing and boots for school aged Leverett children. If your family benefited from Kimball Trust funds in the past, please consider passing this year, in order to give new families the opportunity to apply.
Thank you.
Nurse Jill
PICTURE RE-TAKE DAY HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR NEXT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18th. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A RE-TAKE, PLEASE KEEP THE CLASS PICTURE FROM YOUR CHILD’S PICTURE PACKET AND RETURN THE REST TO SCHOOL BY TUESDAY.
NEWS FROM THE LEVERETT LIBRARY
Ph: 548-9220
[email protected]
Put it on your calendar now, on Sunday, November 16th at 1:30: free family movie, DisneyNature’s Bears on the big screen.
PTO SPOTLIGHT ON . . .
Leverett Community Interview of the Week
PTO Spotlight On…
Reese Donachie , grade 1
What do you like most about Leverett School?
I really like playing at choice time because it’s fun. I like the Lincoln Logs because there’s Indians and Lincoln Logs.
What do you like doing outside of school?
I like playing Legos at home. Playing outside or climbing on our climbing wall is fun too. We go to the climbing wall at Northampton Athletic Club. I also really like blocks because you can build anything with them.
PTO News
Our next event will be a Talent Show/Games Night on January 30th. The evening will open with a talent show and will be followed by games and a dessert bar. We can use your help. Are you a great show organizer? Maybe you can help with the dessert bar? Help with some active games for the children? We need you! Let Jo-Ann know if you’re available [email protected]
This year we are introducing the PTO Holiday Giving option. You can choose to acknowledge a Leverett teacher or staff member by giving to the PTO in their honor. Look for the details in next week’s Post.
Next month (December 11th) is the PTO Holiday celebration meeting. This is a great time to join our group! More details in the weeks to come.
~~~~~~~~~~
COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
(Items listed here are not school sponsored)
CRAIGIEBURN OPEN FARM DAYS - 10:00am to 3pm
Saturday, Nov. 29th; Sunday, Nov. 30th; Saturday Dec. 6th; and Sunday Dec. 7th.
Once again, it’s time for the annual Open Farm and Holiday Sale at Craigieburn Farm alpacas. This is our final year for hosting our annual holiday event. The support we have received from Shutesbury and our neighboring communities has been heart-warming. Our decade as alpaca farmers has connected us to the earth in inspirational ways. We are deeply grateful for this experience in our journey. So please come one last time. Visit our farm, sip cider, enjoy some holiday shopping and meet the whimsical creatures that provide us with soft and insulating fiber. Our selection of products includes yarn, roving, sweaters, shawls, jackets, throws, hat, socks, gloves, and soft, cuddly teddy bears. We are located at 243 W. Pelham Rd (Shutesbury), across from Leonard Rd. Visit our website (Alpacas4u.com) for more details or call us (413-253-4485).
Happy Valley Children’s Chorus , including five children from Leverett, will be performing a collection of Pete Seeger-inspired songs on Dec. 7th, at 1:30, at the First congregational Church of Amherst, 165 Main Street, Amherst. Eighteen children in grades K-6th come together from area towns to sing for the fun of it. Almost all of them have chosen to do solos. The first half of the program will be songs we learned together. The second half of the program will be a variety of songs the kids have chosen and worked on outside of chorus, so that is the surprise portion of the show! A 10-week spring session will be offered from March 2nd - May 11th, with a concert on May 17th. Call Dorothy Cresswell, 413-323-9383, if you have any questions.
CRAFT FAIR, TAG SALE, BAKE SALE & LUNCHEON.
Saturday, November 22, 9 am to 3 pm, Leverett Town Hall. Handmade one-of-a-kind crafts, homemade baked goods. Light café style luncheon for purchase. Sponsored by the Leverett Congregational Church (LCC).
Thanks for Treats in Montague!
Once again this year the citizens of the town of Leverett would like to extend our warm thanks to the people of Montague Center, who host many of us each year with Halloween hospitality!!! Leverett Elementary School's fifth grade teacher, Mr. Stewart is collecting donations to send to the Montague Center Library's children's room as a way of saying thanks. If you would like to contribute to that fund, please contact Mr. Stewart either in person, through his school mailbox, or via email:
[email protected]
Checks should be made payable to The Montague Public Library, and cash donations will also be accepted. Thanks!
If you would like to put a notice in the Community Bulletin Board section of the Friday Post, please submit notices to be published no later than Thursday at noon. The easiest way to do that is by e-mail to [email protected]. Flyers for non-school sponsored events can be attached to the Post. They must contain a disclaimer “This is not a school-sponsored event” and a sufficient number of copies (125) should be provided to the office by the end of the school day on Thursday.