SEPTEMBER 25, 2015
Thursday, October 1
PTO meeting/Halloween Party planning- 5:30
Sunday, October 4
Volunteer Day at LES- see schedule below
Tuesday, October 6
School Picture Day
Wednesday, October 7
Open House- 5:30-7:00
Monday, October 12
Columbus Day- NO SCHOOL
Saturday, October 17
Harvest Festival—Sign Up Sheet attached!
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IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE
Calling All Builders, Painters, Rakers, Gardeners and Helping Hands of all Kinds!
It’s almost here, and we need YOU!!
October 4th Volunteer Day
It doesn’t matter whether you can stay for half an hour or a whole day! Every little bit helps.
Projects
Gardener’s Delight!!
Gardens: The gardens around the school are need of weeding and winter preparation. We will also have a large selection of bulbs to plant. If you have a garden perennial you are dividing up, we can find a place for it!
Handyperson’s Special!!
Playground Structure: Currently, all the slats on the playground structure are 4” apart. Insurance requirements now call for those slats to be no more than 3” apart in all parts of the structure above 48”. If we have enough people, we can create teams and get this project done more quickly. Please bring power tools, if you have them.
House Beautiful Subscribers!!
Help to beautify our new Parent Room. We are hoping to find a new painting scheme, and to add to the overall décor of the room, to prepare for its Grand Opening on October 17th.
Multiple Choice!!
There will be other smaller projects to choose from, ranging from raking the Early Childhood Playground and weeding the tricycle track to pruning some small, low-hanging branches, and many other ways to help.
Work on the Playground Structure will begin at 8:30 a.m. and other projects will begin as soon as there are volunteers. While we will have some tools, rakes, and gloves, volunteers are encouraged to bring their own (well marked), as well.
Parents: We are working on a plan for some limited supervision of children. Please keep in mind that the entire mulched area of large playground will be off limits.
Ms. Lacey is offering an extra recess to the class with the largest percentage of families participating in, or contributing to, this event.
We look forward to a productive and happy day together!
-Margot Lacey
SPOTLIGHT ON . . .
A Note from the School Psychologist
Happy fall! I wanted to let all LES families know that my lunch groups will be starting up again over the next week or two. These groups offer wonderful opportunities for students to practice friendship, social, and problem-solving skills in a smaller, quieter setting. Groups take place once per week during the school’s regularly scheduled lunch periods and consist of about three or four students each. Each month, new students rotate through the groups. This year, I hope to have many more students participate in these groups; in fact, by the end of the year, I hope to have eaten lunch with each and every LES student at least once! Of course, participation is always voluntary. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me: [email protected] or 413-548-9144.
As always, thank you for your support with these kinds of activities!
All the best,
Bethany Politylo
WELLNESS COMMITTEE
The school Wellness Committee is looking for parent members! Help us create and meet goals around physical education, health and nutrition. This year we are looking forward to strengthening our Get Fit Leverett Program and updating our School Wellness Policy.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Registration forms are due by September 30! Lessons will begin the week of October 5.
COFFE TIME, DEANS BEANS IS BACK!
Please see the UPDATED Flyer (attached to last week’s Post, available on the school website leverettschool.org)!
First order due by 9/28/15.
Coffee delivery date is 10/2/15.
Plan your orders in advance, or for the full year!
Have a standing order? We can accommodate!
Want to buy in bulk? We can do that too!
Support your KIDS, our TEACHERS, and your LOCAL ECONOMY!
HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA!
Please join in on the fun at the Halloween Extravaganza and school fundraiser on Friday, October 30th from 6-8pm at LES. As a school community, this party will celebrate the students’ efforts towards making character costumes. There will be pizza and games at 6pm, followed by a character costume parade at 6:30 on the field and then a disco dance party from 6:45-7:30 in the school gym. If you have an idea for a game or would like to lead a group of students creating a game for the party, please come to the next volunteer meeting, October 1, 5:30pm in the school library. We would love an adult to organize a student group to run the pumpkin bowling game. We would also love an adult to help us gather up some hay bales and glow sticks. Note: This is a free event. The money raised form the sale of pizza and the cost of playing games will be used for the student field trips. Lastly, there will not be candy at this event.
35th!!!!! Annual
Leverett Harvest Festival
October 17, 2015
Let’s make some fun!
Contact info: Tanya at 548-8099
[email protected]
Help Build a LEGO Wall in the Computer Lab!
I need 10”x10“ (or 32X32 studs) Lego Base plates to create a LEGO wall in the computer lab. If you have any you could donate, please contact Karin Gravina at school, 548-9144 ext. 8, or email her at [email protected]
PICTURE DAY
Picture day will be Tuesday, October 6. Order forms are attached or you can order portraits now at lifetouch.com using Picture Day ID OB015585Q0.
Breakfast is served daily at LES!
Enjoy a bowl of cereal and fresh fruit. Students come to breakfast directly off of the bus.
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COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
(Items listed here are not school sponsored)
Cutting the Ribbon on 21st Century Broadband:
A_Celebration_of Leverett’s_Inaugural ‘Last_Mile’ Network
WHEN: Friday, October 2, 2015, 3-5 p.m.
WHERE: Leverett Public Safety Complex, 95 Montague Rd, Leverett, Mass. 01054
(Parking at the Leverett Elementary School, 85 Montague Road)
RSVP: Register via the Eventbrite website so that we can manage headcount.
Light refreshments will be served after the event.
Fall Tennis Clinic with Mollie Domian
For beginners ages 5-7
Saturdays from 10:30-11:30, October 3, 10, 17, 24 at Amherst Regional Middle School
Cost: $80 due at fist clinic
Young Musician’s Class
The Amherst Red Barn Music School’s Rhythm Ready Music and Movement program is offering a Young Musician’s class for kids ages 4-6 .
When: Thursdays 4:00-4:45 pm
Where: Immanuel Lutheran Church, 867 N. Pleasant St., Amherst
What: This class offers an opportunity for older preschoolers and kindergarteners to develop their musical skills through singing, movement and the opportunity to play high quality, age appropriate musical instruments. They will learn through play and exploration while enjoying different styles of music, games, puppets, stories and fun props.
Who: Taught by certified music teacher Nancy Nesheim.
How: Call Nancy at 413-687-0582 or e-mail her at [email protected] to reserve a spot
Cost: The first class is free!
More info: go to nnesheimmusic.smtwk.com for details about class tuition and instruments, plus find out about piano lessons and Rhythm Ready classes for 2 -4 year olds.
Yoga for Healthy Aging
New tools to make your yoga practice safer, effective and more pleasurable throughout the aging process. Master better balance; improve bone strength for fall and fracture prevention; increase flexibility, muscle tone and vitality to help you manage the tasks of daily living with more ease. Key poses will be presented in varying levels of modifications.
Saturdays, September 26 & October 3, 9am-12pm
Bangs Center, Amherst
Cost: $80 for both workshops or $45 for one
Teaching Kids to Play Guitar: I have taught children, teens, adults and older folks to play the guitar, anyone with a desire to learn the magic of music. I have over 50 years of experience performing thousands of shows both solo and with several local bands. I will be teaching at my house on Dudleyville Rd, Leverett,
The cost will be $20.00 a week for a 1/2 hour lesson. (If a parent or guardian wishes to learn along with their child there will be only a 5.00 charge per lesson. The only requirements are a guitar and a desire to learn) I will provide enough material to cover a week so it will not be boring for the kids. My time is flexible (I am home with my 90 year old mom in law) I am limiting enrollment to 16-20 students so I can provide quality lessons and not get beyond the time I can commit.
-Mark Snow, Home phone is 413-367-2666
Caterpillar Collection Inspection with the Caterpillar Lab from Keene, New Hampshire, at the HITCHCOCK CENTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT in Amherst,
Tuesday, October 13 2:30 – 5:30 pm
Join the folks from the Caterpillar Lab and see their collection of butterfly and moth caterpillars. They’ll display them on tables in our classroom for all to see up close. You’ll observe cool camouflage, warning coloration, spikey spines, horns and false eyes! And you might even smell some new smells! The variety of adaptations will inspire you about the diversity of our natural world. Each larva will be eating its specific host food plant. And you’ll see photos of the butterflies and moths that emerge from these curious beauties! You’ll delve more deeply into the world of butterflies and moths. Members $5 / Non-members $8, under 5 are free.
The Enchanted Forest: A Non-scary Halloween Event “Nature’s Myth Busters ”
Friday & Saturday, October 23 & 24 , 5pm-8pm each night
Come to the Enchanted Forest for a magical treat. You will be led along our pumpkin lit forest trails where creatures will emerge to share their stories. This year, learn fact from fiction from some of your favorite local critters. Fun for all ages!
Adult: Members $10/ Non-members $12
Children: Members $5/ Non-members $6
Under 3 years free
Registration required, please call to sign up for a walk time, space is limited.
Call: 256-6006, Hitchcock Center for the Environment
Notes from the Greenhouse:
Wanted:
Pumpkins, Gourds, Squash, Corn stalks, Hay Bales, & Flowering Mums!
Are all wanted to help decorate for fall season around the greenhouse. All these ornamental items cost money but if several folks donated one or two items- it will be affordable and feel more like a community project, the goal is to make the greenhouse area beautiful to all who pass by. Items can be dropped off anytime near the greenhouse.
Thank Yous:
I want to give a great big thank you to the Seeger Family (Case & Alina’s family) for donating seedlings for the cafeteria beds. As well as Andrew’s Greenhouse in S. Amherst; I spoke with them about our program and they sent me back to school w/ LOTS of plants for FREE to use for an Herb Garden and cafeteria greens! I encourage folks to do business with Andrew’s for plants and their gift shop has an amazing assortment of items to create enchanted/fairy gardens! (now, I just have to get everything planted before too late!!) J
Oct. 4 Workday:
On this school work day- there will be some gardening tasks to help out with as well.
So, save the date. Time is still TBA.
Other donations:
Large flat sheets! I use them on the white work tables inside the greenhouse to cut down on the solar glare. So colored is better than white but…
An old push lawn mower to keep so we can mow our little side area that we are creating. As we fill that space w/ more gardens and projects- the town will not be able to get a big riding mower in there. So…
Thanks again for all your support and assistance in this “growing” project.
Dawn Marvin Ward – Greenhouse Program Manager / Educator
Piano Studio of Daphne Bye
Daphne teaches piano out of her home in Montague Center. She specializes in helping children learn quickly which, in turn, feeds their momentum and joy of learning. Ask her about her integrative approach to Suzuki education that creates strong musicians who love the process, read well, and play beautifully. Ages five and up.
DESE and Suzuki certified, with degrees in both piano and music education from McGill University, Daphne has over 30 years of joyful experience teaching piano.
Two or three spots still available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Reserve a spot now for this coming school year: [email protected] 413-834-0597
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.