Friday, March 25, 2016

Friday, March 25, 2016

Dear PWS Families,
Please remember next Tuesday is Family Fun Night.  Each grade level team is working hard to make sure it will be a fun filled night.  Basket wrappings are happening today and the students are going to be very excited about the choices they have!


PWS Happenings
Important Announcement-  Online Report Cards for Quarter 3
We are excited to announce that beginning this quarter, we will be publishing student report cards online in the PowerSchool Parent Access Portal.  As a district, we are continuously working to improve efficiency, reduce costs and provide more timely reporting to parents.
For quarter 3, parents will receive a printed hard copy of the report card in addition to online access to the report card. The final quarter 4 report card will be published online only. You will notice that the report card format has changed. The new improved design has been simplified and you will be able to print a copy of the report card directly from the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
If you do not already have a PowerSchool Parent Portal account, we urge you to create one as soon as possible. If you already have an account, no further action is required. A letter will be sent home in the near future that provides the information needed to create your PowerSchool account and link your account to your child. Once your account is setup, you will continue to use this same account each year to access your child’s information.


No Chorus This Week
Due to Family Fun Night, chorus will be cancelled on Tuesday, March 29th. Students will need to make other arrangements for the afternoon.
We will have a quick recess rehearsal at 12:00 on Monday, March 28th to review our pieces so we don’t miss another week of rehearsal.


Scholastic Book Fair
The book fair still needs additional help from Volunteers for this year’s book fair.  Please consider volunteering.  Link below:


Spotlight on Special Education in Bedford
Are you the parent or guardian of a child who accesses special education services in Bedford?  Join us for an informational session to learn about special education services in our Bedford schools!  Meet representatives and gain insight into the different programming at each school through this panel presentation. Tuesday April 19th, 6:00-7:30 p.m. at the SAU Board Room, 103 County Road.  RSVP to Robin Palis palisr@sau25.net or 472-3755 (option 2).


Destination Imagination
Congratulations to the 7 teams who participated at the DI Regionals in Goffstown last Saturday.
Our 4 Rising Stars teams did an amazing job and our 3 competitive teams all placed, receiving certificates at the Award Ceremonies.     We are so proud of these super creative kids and are most grateful to the adult volunteers for giving of their time over the past 4 months.


OC - PWS.jpg


Community Info
BHS Student Project
Hello, my name is Maryam Abdi. I am a senior here at Bedford High School. My Senior Project deals with children, and how media affects children’s lives. I would like to ask parents with children from grades one, two and three if they may fill out the following form about their children's media habits. I am doing this survey so I can compare a small sample of students from the Bedford School District to a larger survey that was taken from my research. Thank you for reading this over.  Here is my link to the survey: http://goo.gl/forms/6WikFKx41W   


DECA Business Club-BHS
The Bedford High School DECA chapter will be hosting the magical spectacular, The Magic of Lyn. The show’s award winning illusionist, Lyn Dillies, has toured all around the country and is bringing her 85 minute act to the BHS Theatre at 7:30 PM on April 9th. Tickets will be $10 when ordered directly from a DECA student attending ICDC, $15 online at http://goo.gl/PUmYr1 and $15 at the door. We will also be offering a VIP package special for the kids which includes a light up magic wand paired with a magician’s cape customized with your child’s name on it for $15. All proceeds from the event will go toward funding DECA students to compete at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Nashville at the end of April.  We can’t wait to see you there!


Camp Invention
Does your child like to take things apart, and design, color and create? Are you interested in unlocking your child's potential this summer?  Camp Invention, EPIC (click for video) may be a great fit.  McKelvie Middle School will once again be hosting camp June 20 - 24 from 8 am - 3:30 PM. Camp Invention is the only nationally acclaimed summer enrichment day experience for children entering grades 1 - 6 led by NH certified teachers with a staff ratio of 1:8!!  Camp cost is $250, but register before3/21/16 for a $25 discount.  Click here to register online, or here to view our paper flyer.  If you have any questions, please contact the director, Courtney Cheetham at cheethac@gmail.com


Evening Enrichment Program
The Community Enrichment Program of the Bedford School District offers evening adult enrichment courses to the Bedford Community. Our Spring Courses are now listed and we are offering Conversational Italian for Beginners as well as our popular Ceramics and Photography. Click here to view our course descriptions. ​
We are always looking for new instructors! If you have a skill or interest that you would like to share please contact the program’s Coordinator, Susan Sambrano by email : sambranos@sau25.net  or by phone: 603-714-4395.


Upcoming Dates
Monday, March 28th-Friday, April 1st-Smarter Balance Testing Window-Grade 3 & 4
Tuesday, March 29th-Family Fun Night-4:00 - 5:30 pm & 6:00 -7:30 pm.
Monday, April 4th & 5th-Smarter Balance Testing Window-Grades 3 & 4
Monday, April 4th-April 8th-Scholastic Book Fair
Friday, April 15th-Mother/Son Dance-more information to come!
Thursday, April 21st-Art Show-6:00 pm-7:00 pm
Monday, April 24th-April 29th-Spring Vacation Week
Friday, May 13-Grandparents' Day


Have a great weekend,


Cheryl Daley Dan Mitchell


Principal Assistant Principal

Friday, March 18, 2016

March 18, 2015

Dear PWS Families,
Hello!  We hope you are having a great Friday.  The Father/Daughter pictures have arrived. Hopefully, your daughter will be bringing them home today.  We have found a beautiful heart change purse that was left at the dance.  Please claim the purse in the front office if it is yours. The Mother/Son dance is around the corner.  We will be sending information on this home soon!  


PWS Happenings
Sandbox Toys Needed
If you have any old sand toys at home that you would like to rehome, please consider dropping them in the PWS sandbox.  Many of our toys are broken and well worn.  We would appreciate any help with this.


SBAC Testing
Smarter Balance testing began this week for our third and fourth graders.  The students will be taking a Math and an English Language Arts portion of this assessment. Please make sure that your children get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast, especially on days that they will be testing.  


Community Info
Opt in to Text Messages
If you have not signed up for text messages from the District's School Messenger system, you still can!  Just text "yes" to 68453.


​2016-17 Calendar ​
​The Bedford School Board has approved the 2016-17 School Calendar.  It can be found here.​


Our Promise to Nicholas Easter Egg Hunt


From the Border to Our Corner - A Law Enforcement Perspective on Substance Abuse
On behalf of the Bedford Police Department, we are pleased to let parents know about a
screening of a video produced jointly by FBI and DEA entitled “Chasing the Dragon” concerning the many aspects of substance abuse.  ​The screening w​ill be followed by a round table discussion and Q and A from audience.   Panelists will include Bedford Police Chief Bryfonski; NH Senator Kelly Ayotte; DEA Special Agent in Charge, Jon DeLena; FBI Special Agent in Charge, Scott O’Donnell; NH State Police Chief, Robert Quinn; and President, NH Chiefs of Police, Robert Cormier.
  • DATE:    March 24, 2016
  • TIME:    7 PM – 9 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM – space is limited)
  • PLACE:  SERESC (Southeastern Regional Education Service Center)
  • ​29 Commerce Drive, Bedford NH 03110​


Camp Invention
Does your child like to take things apart, and design, color and create? Are you interested in unlocking your child's potential this summer?  Camp Invention, EPIC (click for video) may be a great fit.  McKelvie Middle School will once again be hosting camp June 20 - 24 from 8 am - 3:30 PM. Camp Invention is the only nationally acclaimed summer enrichment day experience for children entering grades 1 - 6 led by NH certified teachers with a staff ratio of 1:8!!  Camp cost is $250, but register before3/21/16 for a $25 discount.  Click here to register online, or here to view our paper flyer.  If you have any questions, please contact the director, Courtney Cheetham at cheethac@gmail.com


Upcoming Dates
Saturday, March 19th-Destination Imagination Tournament-Goffstown High School-7:45 a.m.

Monday, March 21st-Thursday, March 24th-Smarter Balance Testing Window-Grades 3 & 4

Monday, March 28th-Friday, April 1st-Smarter Balance Testing Window-Grade 3 & 4

Tuesday, March 29th-Family Fun Night-4:00 - 5:30 pm & 6:00 -7:30 pm.

Monday, April 4th & 5th-Smarter Balance Testing Window-Grades 3 & 4

Monday, April 4th-April 8th-Scholastic Book Fair

Friday, April 15th-Mother/Son Dance-more information to come!

Thursday, April 21st-Art Show-6:00 pm-7:00 pm

Monday, April 24th-April 29th-Spring Vacation Week

Friday, May 13-Grandparents' Day


Have a great weekend,


Cheryl Daley Dan Mitchell

Principal Assistant Principal

Friday, March 11, 2016

Friday, March 11, 2016

Dear PWS Families,


Our Father/Daughter dance last week was a great success.  We had about 450 people in the gym dancing the night away.  Please check out the PWS Facebook page to get an idea of what it was like.  A special thank you to all the parents that made this evening a special event for the daughters and fathers!  As one girl  said, “This was the best night of my life.”


Now some election news: After a week of campaigning, hard fought battles, tough debates, and even a little electioneering, the people have spoken. The turnout was high but the result was resounding. Mr. Mitchell will be dressing up as a FLAMINGO. No details have been set for when this may happen, but rest assured there will certainly be pictures.


PWS Happenings
Jump Rope for Heart
This week in Physical Education class Mrs. Ferenc discussed heart disease to help students understand why they are raising money for the American Heart Association.  Collection envelopes are going home this week March 1-4 and must be returned by Friday March 25.  Online fundraising is much easier and more efficient.  The students don't have to deal with handing in money.  We are  encouraging the students to make web pages by visiting heart.org/jump and search for Peter Woodbury School using city and state.  Join our school's team and set up your own Web page to email family and friends.  
Last year PWS raised $13,087  Please help us beat our new goal of 13,200!


The Scholastic Book Fair is coming….
This is an exciting time for students to buy new books to read.  Here are the details:
The fair runs Monday 4/64- Thursday 4/7
Monday and Thursday 8am-6pm
Tuesday and Wednesday 8am-5pm


The theme this year is Book Fair Groovy!


Students will all have an opportunity to preview the book fair during the week with their class and create a "wish list" of books they like.  Parents are welcome any time during fair hours to come to shop for great books.
There will also be a "classroom wish list" for each teacher on display at the fair.  If a parent wants to purchase and donate a book in their child's name to a teacher they can do so at the fair.
We will also have the program "All-For-Books" again this year.  For every dollar donated at the PWS Book Fair, Scholastic will donate a book to a child in need and the monies raised will be used to purchase more books for PWS classrooms.


Community Info

Opt in to Text Messages
If you have not signed up for text messages from the District's School Messenger system, you still can!  Just text "yes" to 68453.


2016-17 Calendar ​
​The Bedford School Board has approved the 2016-17 School Calendar.  It can be found here.​


From the Border to Our Corner - A Law Enforcement Perspective on Substance Abuse

On behalf of the Bedford Police Department, we are pleased to let parents know about a
screening of a video produced jointly by FBI and DEA entitled “Chasing the Dragon” concerning the many aspects of substance abuse.  
​The screening w​ill be followed by a round table discussion and Q and A from audience.   Panelists will include Bedford Police Chief Bryfonski; NH Senator Kelly Ayotte; DEA Special Agent in Charge, Jon DeLena; FBI Special Agent in Charge, Scott O’Donnell; NH State Police Chief, Robert Quinn; and President, NH Chiefs of Police, Robert Cormier.
  • DATE:    March 24, 2016
  • TIME:    7 PM – 9 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM – space is limited)
  • PLACE:  SERESC (Southeastern Regional Education Service Center)
  • 29 Commerce Drive, Bedford NH 03110​


BEEP 2016-2017 OPEN ENROLLMENT!
Bedford Early Education Program  (BEEP) is now accepting registrations for the 2016-2017 School Year.  We have space available in many of our 3 and 4 year old classrooms.  Please contact Roberta Keane, BEEP Coordinator at (603) 627-1776 x3216 or keaner@sau25.net.


Evening Enrichment Program
The Community Enrichment Program of the Bedford School District offers evening adult enrichment courses to the Bedford Community. Our Spring Courses are now listed and we are offering Conversational Italian for Beginners as well as our popular Ceramics and Photography. Click here to view our course descriptions.
We are always looking for new instructors! If you have a skill or interest that you would like to share please contact the program’s Coordinator, Susan Sambrano by email : sambranos@sau25.net  or by phone: 603-714-4395.


Upcoming Dates
Saturday, March 12 PTG Monarchs Family Night

Tuesday, March 29th-Family Fun Night 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm

Monday, April 4th- Friday, April 8th PWS Bookfair


Have a great weekend,


Cheryl Daley Dan Mitchell

Principal Assistant Principal

Friday, March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

Dear PWS Families,


Dear PWS Families,
Our reading challenge month has begun.  There has been so much positive feedback. Children have shared they are going home and choosing to read for an hour or more!  Please make sure to fill out the reading logs in your passbooks. Take good care of them and when they are completed you can turn them in on March 31 for a Seussical Surprise! On Wednesday, we celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday.  Many students wore Dr. Seuss items or dressed as  Dr. Seuss characters. Please see Cindy Lou Who below..                                                       


We are looking forward to the Father/ Daughter Dance this evening from 6:00-8:00. We can’t wait to see all our girls, dressed in their finest, enjoy some very special time with their fathers.


PWS Happenings
IT TAKES HEART TO BE A HERO!  
Our Jump Rope for Heart event kicked off this week with a visit from the Jump Rope for Heart demo team, The Hip Hoppin' Hawks. In Physical Education class students watched a video about a Heart Hero, Bran, who is 11 years old and was born with a heart condition called Pulmonary Atresia.  Thanks to the children who have raised donations for the American Heart Association in the past Bran was able to have surgery to help his heart.  Mrs. Ferenc also discussed heart disease with each class to help students understand why they are raising money for the American Heart Association.  Collection envelopes are going home this week (March 1-4) and must be returned by Friday, March 25.  Students can fundraise online if they wish, which is much easier and more efficient.  We are encouraging the students to make web pages by visiting heart.org/jump and search for Peter Woodbury School using city and state.  Join our schools's team and set up your own Web page to email family and friends.  


Last year PWS raised $13,087  Please help us beat our new goal of 13,200!


In the past, students were able to earn duckies from their donations. This year they will be able to earn doggies as displayed by our lovely model below:




BoxTops Rewards Program Update
The spring collection numbers are in! PWS raised an additional $620, bringing our school year total to $2,290. Thank you to everyone for supporting our school by clipping your box tops.  We will continue to collect Box Tops (and Labels for Education UPC symbols) throughout the school year, so please keep clipping!  In addition, the program holds many raffles throughout the year, so be sure to visit www.BTFE.com and enter for a chance to win our school free Box Tops!


Family Fun Night T-Shirts
For Family Fun Night this year, t-shirts will be available to purchase to wear on the night of the event. Our t-shirt will feature a design created by one of our 4th grade students.
If you wish to purchase a shirt, please fill out the form that went home with your child this week or click on the link below to print out a form.  All orders are due by Wednesday, March 9th. Once the shirts arrive, they will be sent home with your child before Family Fun Night. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing many of you wearing your shirts that night. If you have any questions, please contact, Mrs. West at  westc@sau25.net




Here is the winning design:




Community Info
BEEP 2016-2017 OPEN ENROLLMENT!
Bedford Early Education Program  (BEEP) is now accepting registrations for the 2016-2017 School Year.  We have space available in many of our 3 and 4 year old classrooms.  Please contact Roberta Keane, BEEP Coordinator at (603) 627-1776 x3216 or keaner@sau25.net.


Evening Enrichment Program
The Community Enrichment Program of the Bedford School District offers evening adult enrichment courses to the Bedford Community. Our Spring Courses are now listed and we are offering Conversational Italian for Beginners as well as our popular Ceramics and Photography. Click here to view our course descriptions.
We are always looking for new instructors! If you have a skill or interest that you would like to share please contact the program’s Coordinator, Susan Sambrano by email : sambranos@sau25.net  or by phone: 603-714-4395.


Make A Wish
Come support Make-A-Wish Foundation® at Amanda Lee's Senior Project: a Sing-A-Long Benefit Concert! Kids of all ages are welcome to sing along to favorites such as "Part of Your World" and "Let It Go" this Saturday, March 5th, from 1-3 pm in the Bedford High School Commons (Cafeteria). Enjoy a few fun activities and meet a couple of special guests! The suggested donation for kids is $5 and for adults $10, but any and all donations are welcome! Click the link for the poster made by Taylor Hoople: https://drive.google.com/a/bedfordnhk12.net/file/d/0B_oHDWHd-3ZMejl4RjF5cFpkSEk/view
Feel free to contact Amanda Lee with any questions at 9955627@bedfordnhk12.net!


Bedford ​School District Vote on Tuesday March 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
All voters in Bedford are urged to vote on Tuesday, March 8 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m at the Bedford High School gymnasium​
.  These are the key issues to be decided:
  • OPERATING BUDGET: The proposed operating budget is $68.3M, a 3.9% increase over this year. The increase is primarily due to personnel, health insurance benefits, and significant building maintenance.  If the proposed budget is voted down, the default budget would be $2.3M lower.  
  • SIDEWALK: There is separate article to fund the construction of a sidewalk along Nashua Road from the Bedford High School lower parking lot to the Department of Public Works parking lot. The cost would be $234,000.
  • CAPITAL RESERVES: There are two separate articles about our unused capital reserve funds.  One article would discontinue them.  The other would re-purpose those same funds for a building maintenance reserve. The total amount as of June 30, 2015 was $478,518. Together these two article would have no tax impact.
  • Additional information​ ​can be found here.​
​The total estimated tax impact of a "yes" vote on all articles would be $0.66 per thousand, which would be an increase of $198 for the year on a $300,000 home. ​


Upcoming Dates
TONIGHT Father Daughter Dance 6:00-8:00 pm

Tuesday, March 8, No School, Voting BHS

Saturday, March 12 PTG Monarchs Family Night


Have a great weekend,


Cheryl Daley Dan Mitchell

Principal Assistant Principal