Friday, March 31, 2017

March 31, 2017

Dear PWS Families,
So much for March going out like a lamb! Speaking of the snow please make note of the change for the DI State Tournament below.
It has been a great week here at PWS!  In classrooms this week, we observed first graders writing directions on something they wanted their teacher to learn.  Some of our favorite topics included how to play soccer, dance ballet, swim, and be a princess. Most of our 3rd and 4th grade students have finished their Smarter Balanced Assessments.  If you have a 3rd or 4th grade child please let them know how proud they should be for giving their best on these tests!  


PWS Happenings
Yearbook Sales
The date for final yearbook payments due has been extended to Friday, April 7th.  At this time you can only order a yearbook online at www.schoolannual.com.  


Father Daughter Dance
One more week until our annual Father/Daughter dance.  We have extended the deadline for this until Wednesday, April 5th.  We are looking forward to this exciting event.  


PWS Book Fair
The PTG Book Fair will be at Peter Woodbury School April 3rd -6th. We will be open Monday & Thursday until 6:00pm and Tuesday and Wednesday until 3:30pm in the main lobby of the school.  This year’s theme is Camping, so feel free to send your children in  their best camping attire throughout the week.  We look forward to seeing you at the PWS Book Fair this year!


Please consider helping with the upcoming book fair.  This is a wonderful opportunity for children to continue to learn the love of reading.  You can contact Mindy Bator at melindabator@gmail.com if you can help with this.  


Destination Imagination State Tournament
Bedford DI welcomes New Hampshire Destination Imagination (NH-DI) State Tournament to Bedford High School on Sunday, April 2nd, 8am - 6pm.  
Please check website for up a schedule of events. www.nh-di.org

NH-DI will be hosing the event where the top scoring teams will be competing for a chance to go to Destination Imagination Global Finals in Knoxville, TN, with almost every state and 20 countries. Destination Imagination is a fun, hands-on system of learning that fosters students’ creativity, courage and curiosity through open-ended academic Challenges in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), fine arts and service learning. Participants learn patience, flexibility, persistence, ethics, respect for others and their ideas, and the collaborative problem solving process.
Good Luck to The Mind Blowers representing PWS, along with the 6 other Bedford DI teams.
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Superintendent News
2017-2018 Calendar (revised)
Please follow the link to the 2017 - 2018 School Calendar approved this week by the Bedford School Board.  2017-2018 School Calendar


From the Community
Save The Bee BHS Event
The Save the Bees club event for this evening has been cancelled.


iRules: What Every Tech-Healthy Family Needs to Know About Selfies, Sexting, Gaming and Growing Up.

The Bedford High School Counseling Department is thrilled to welcome international speaker, Janell Burley Hofmann, to campus on Thursday, April 6th! The author of the original iRules Contract will workshop with students throughout the day and will present “Parenting Generation Tech: Educate, Empower, Engage” to parents that evening. This free event will begin at 6:00pm in the BHS Theater and is open to the community. 

Janell Burley Hofmann is the author of the book, iRules: What Every Tech-Healthy Family Needs to Know About Selfies, Sexting, Gaming and Growing Up. She is also a speaker and consultant on topics like technology, media, health, relationships and personal growth. Janell Burley Hofmann engages readers, clients and audiences in relevant and meaningful conversations igniting personal empowerment, awareness and purpose. Janell serves families, schools and communities in a partnership that will positively impact the lives of children and teens. She is a two-time TEDx presenter and was a featured speaker with SxSW. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Good Morning America, USA Today, National Public Radio and thousands of international media outlets. 



From the PTG
ORK Opportunity
HELP WANTED: The PTG is looking for someone to coordinate our ORK (Opportunities Reaching Kids) program for the elementary schools. This coordinator will be responsible for all ORK programming- such as Eyes On Owls, Tanglewood Marionettes & Bat Presentations, across the three elementary schools (Memorial, Peter Woodbury, and Riddlebrook). Must have good communication and organizational skills (flexible hours & work from home). For more information please contact Sue Jennato at bedfordnhptg@gmail.com

Invite from PTG
Join us Thursday April 6th at Shorty’s in Bedford. Every first Thursday of the month Shorty’s will give the Bedford PTG 15% of all sales when patrons show this flyer or simply let your server know you support the PTG. Good on Dine-in and Take-out, all day long!

Bedford PTG Presentation-Ed Gerety
The Bedford PTG is proud to co-sponsor an upcoming community presentation featuring professional speaker Ed Gerety.  Ed Gerety, one of the top professional youth speakers in the country, will be doing a 60 minute program for parents and their child(ren) focusing on how you can work together in your family to help your child reach his/her full potential, have the right mindset, and achieve his/her goals.  Ed has been a part of the Lurgio Middle School Stand By Me program from its beginning, and his programs have always received rave reviews.  This program, geared toward middle school families, will take place on April 11th in the BHS Theater 6:30 - 7:30PM.  Save the date for this energetic and inspiring program!  


Upcoming Dates
April 2nd-Destination Imagination Tournament-BHS-8:00am-6:00pm
April 3rd -April 7th-Scholastic Book Fair
April 7th-Father/Daughter Dance 6:00pm-8:00pm
April 20th-PWS Art Show 6:00pm-7:30pm
April 24th-April 28th-Spring Vacation-No School for students


Have a great weekend,


Cheryl Daley Dan Mitchell
Principal Assistant Principal


Repeated Messages
Box Tops for Education (BTFE) Update
The numbers are in:  We have raised $2,960 for the 2016-2017 School Year, which is almost $700 over the 2015-2016 school year.  Thank you to the students, parents, teachers and friends who have continued to clip these pesky little pink rectangles!  We will soon be posting fun graphs and charts to the bulletin board (near the PWS office) so that you can see how the teachers and grades matchup in collection totals.  Although the BTFE Program’s year is closed, we ask for everyone’s support to continue clipping.  There will be an additional collection mid-May to ensure that we don’t lose money from expiring Box Tops.  Did you know that every month we have a chance to win free Box Top?  Visit www.BTFE.com and select ‘Earn Box Tops’ and then ‘Sweepstakes.’ Who knows?  Maybe we will win a Million Box Tops for PWS! You can also download the Box Tops Bonus App to win more Box Tops.  


Art News
Save the date! Our PWS Art Show will be held Thursday, April 20 from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
If you are interested in volunteering please email Mrs. Piantedosi at piantedosia@sau25.net and join the fun!
Congratulations to the following students whose work is displayed in the district office:
Grade Two
Jackson Andree
Sophie Baker
Sofie Kashiwabara
Dave Purcell


Grade Four
Rebekah Bennett
Gen Boucher
Brody Cassidy
Ivy Dickson
Preston Quinones
Alexa Silvia


Smarter Balanced-3rd and 4th Grade Parents
Please read the link below:  Smarter Balanced Testing 3rd/4th


Art Supplies Donation
A student at Bedford High School is accepting donations for new/lightly used art supplies.  These supplies will be donated to the Elliot Hospital to be used as Art Therapy.  There will be a donation box located in the main lobby.  For more information, click here.


Bedford High School ​Graduation set for June 10th
We are proud to announce that the students in the class of 2017 at Bedford High School will be graduating on June 10, 2017.


PTG Sponsored ColorBlast
ColorBlast 5k Run/Walk – Sunday, June 4th @ 10:00 AM                                      The PTG is excited to announce that registration for our first annual ColorBlast 5K Run/Walk is open!  Register today and mark your calendar for a super-fun, family event!  Not a runner?  That’s OK.  You can walk, skip, hop, twirl, dance or stroll your way through six color stations along the 5K route that starts at Lurgio Middle school on the BHS/RAL campus.  Be sure to wear white for maximum color affect (you will be blasted with food safe colorful powder).  All funds raised from this event will go back into our schools!

Friday, March 24, 2017

March 24, 2017

Dear PWS Families,
Guess what won the Kids Vote????   Extra recess!!!!!!!  The extra time happened today with K, Gr. 1 and Gr. 2 in the morning and Gr. 3 and Gr. 4 in the afternoon. The students loved it especially in the afternoon because it was snowing!  
Spring officially began this week, but you couldn’t tell by the temperature outside. As you know we make every effort to get the children outside for recess, so thank you for continuing to send them with the appropriate outdoor gear.   Please make sure you read below about our upcoming Father/Daughter dance.  Believe it or not, this fun event is only two weeks away!

PWS Happenings
Father Daughter Dance
Please see the attached flyer about the Father/Daughter dance!

PWS Book Fair
The PTG Book Fair will be at Peter Woodbury School April 3rd -6th. We will be open Monday & Thursday until 6:00pm and Tuesday and Wednesday until 3:30pm in the main lobby of the school.  This year’s theme is Camping, so feel free to send your children in in their best camping attire throughout the week.  We look forward to seeing you at the PWS Book Fair this year!

Please consider helping with the upcoming book fair.  This is a wonderful opportunity for children to continue to learn the love of reading.  You can contact Mindy Bator at melindabator@gmail.com if you can help with this.  

Destination ImagiNation
Congratulations to all the Bedford DI teams who participated in the Goffstown Regional Tournament last weekend.  PWS had eight teams and the Mind Blowers took 1st place in their technical challenge.  We are thrilled to have a team from Peter Woodbury School at the State Tournament, in Bedford High School, on April 1st, along with 6 other teams from Bedford DI.   We are so proud of all of these kids and would like to thank the Team Managers who worked so hard coaching this season. For more information on what DI is all about, please check out www.nh-di.org.

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Superintendent News
2017-2018 Calendar (revised)
Please follow the link to the 2017 - 2018 School Calendar approved this week by the Bedford School Board.  2017-2018 School Calendar

From the Community
Educational Opportunity
The Save the Bees club at Bedford High School is bringing an educational opportunity for the elementary school students of Bedford! On Friday, March 31st at 4 p.m. in the Bedford High School library the Bee Movie will be shown. Admission is free, but we do accept donations! All students must be accompanied by an adult to attend as the goal is to educate as much of the Bedford community on the importance of bees in our ecosystem and getting them off the endangered species list as soon as possible.

From the PTG
PTG Scholastic Happy Camper Book Fair
The PTG Book Fair will be at Peter Woodbury School April 3rd - 6th. We will be open Monday/Wednesday until 3:30pm and Tuesday/Thursday until 6pm in the main lobby of the school.   Students will all have an opportunity to preview the book fair during this week with their class and create a "wish list" of books they like.  Parents are welcome any time during fair hours to come and shop for great books.
There will also be a staff "wish list" display at the fair.  If a parent/student wants to purchase and donate a book to a teacher’s classroom or staff member they can do so at the fair.  We look forward to seeing you at the Fair!

Manchester Monarchs
Our final community night at the Manchester Monarchs is Saturday, April 1st as the Monarchs take on the Elmira Jackals at 6PM.  Enjoy discounted ticket prices and a family friendly night out.  Students can participate in the High-5 tunnel as the Monarchs take the ice.  Click here to download an order form and return to the school office by Monday, March 27th.
Bedford PTG Presentation-Ed Gerety
The Bedford PTG is proud to co-sponsor an upcoming community presentation featuring professional speaker Ed Gerety.  Ed Gerety, one of the top professional youth speakers in the country, will be doing a 60 minute program for parents and their child(ren) focusing on how you can work together in your family to help your child reach his/her full potential, have the right mindset, and achieve his/her goals.  Ed has been a part of the Lurgio Middle School Stand By Me program from its beginning, and his programs have always received rave reviews.  This program, geared toward middle school families, will take place on April 11th in the BHS Theater 6:30 - 7:30PM.  Save the date for this energetic and inspiring program!  

Upcoming Dates
April 3rd -April 7th-Scholastic Book Fair
April 7th-Father/Daughter Dance 6:00pm-8:00pm
April 20th-PWS Art Show 6:00pm-7:30pm
April 24th-April 28th-Spring Vacation-No School for students

Have a great weekend,

Cheryl Daley Dan Mitchell
Principal Assistant Principal

Repeated Messages

Box Tops for Education (BTFE) Update
The numbers are in:  We have raised $2,960 for the 2016-2017 School Year, which is almost $700 over the 2015-2016 school year.  Thank you to the students, parents, teachers and friends who have continued to clip these pesky little pink rectangles!  We will soon be posting fun graphs and charts to the bulletin board (near the PWS office) so that you can see how the teachers and grades matchup in collection totals.  Although the BTFE Program’s year is closed, we ask for everyone’s support to continue clipping.  There will be an additional collection mid-May to ensure that we don’t lose money from expiring Box Tops.  Did you know that every month we have a chance to win free Box Top?  Visit www.BTFE.com and select ‘Earn Box Tops’ and then ‘Sweepstakes.’ Who knows?  Maybe we will win a Million Box Tops for PWS! You can also download the Box Tops Bonus App to win more Box Tops.  

Art News
Save the date! Our PWS Art Show will be held Thursday, April 20 from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
If you are interested in volunteering please email Mrs. Piantedosi at piantedosia@sau25.net and join the fun!
Congratulations to the following students whose work is displayed in the district office:
Grade Two
Jackson Andree
Sophie Baker
Sofie Kashiwabara
Dave Purcell

Grade Four
Rebekah Bennett
Gen Boucher
Brody Cassidy
Ivy Dickson
Preston Quinones
Alexa Silvia

Smarter Balanced-3rd and 4th Grade Parents
Please read the link below:  Smarter Balanced Testing 3rd/4th

Art Supplies Donation
A student at Bedford High School is accepting donations for new/lightly used art supplies.  These supplies will be donated to the Elliot Hospital to be used as Art Therapy.  There will be a donation box located in the main lobby.  For more information, click here.


Bedford High School ​Graduation set for June 10th
We are proud to announce that the students in the class of 2017 at Bedford High School will be graduating on June 10, 2017.

PTG Sponsored ColorBlast
The Colorblast 5k Run/Walk – Sunday, June 4th @ 10:00 AM
The PTG is excited to announce that registration for our first annual ColorBlast 5K Run/Walk is open!  Register today and mark your calendar for a super-fun, family event!  Not a runner?  That’s OK.  You can walk, skip, hop, twirl, dance or stroll your way through six color stations along the 5K route that starts at Lurgio Middle school on the BHS/RAL campus.  Be sure to wear white for maximum color affect (you will be blasted with food safe colorful powder).  All funds raised from this event will go back into our schools!

We are looking for volunteers and sponsors for this great event. If you or your business are interested in sponsoring the event or volunteering, please contact us at bedfordcolorblast@gmail.com, or for more information please visit www.bedfordptg.org.  This event is presented by Derry Medical Center.

Friday, March 17, 2017

March 17, 2017

Dear PWS Families,
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It was great to see so much green today. This week we were able to enjoy an All School Meeting on Monday to talk about the importance of voting. Yesterday, our third grade classes enjoyed the “Eyes on Owls” Presentation. Their faces and chatter after the presentation told us that it was an enjoyable event for all.


We want to thank everyone who took the opportunity to vote this week. Our students even had a Kids Vote on Thursday and Friday. The choices were, pajama day, board game day, extra recess or pie in Mr. Mitchell’s or Mrs. Daley’s face.  Which one do you think won?  We will let you know next week when we get the final results!


PWS Happenings
Destination Imagination
Due to the snowstorm this past week, the DI regional tournament has been moved to Sunday at Goffstown High School. Bedford DI is sending 19 teams to the Goffstown Regional this weekend.  Good luck to all the teams and their team managers, who have been working hard problem solving and creating solutions since last Fall. For a full schedule of the day, check out the Goffstown Regional at www.NH-DI.org.


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Best of luck to our PWS students who are participating!


PTG Scholastic Happy Camper Book Fair:
The PTG Book Fair will be at Peter Woodbury School April 3rd -6th. We will be open Monday/Wednesday until 3:30pm and Tuesday/Thursday until 6pm in the main lobby of the school.  This year’s theme is Camping, so feel free to send your children in in their best camping attire throughout the week.  We look forward to seeing you at the PWS Book Fair this year!


Box Tops for Education (BTFE) Update
The numbers are in:  We have raised $2,960 for the 2016-2017 School Year, which is almost $700 over the 2015-2016 school year.  Thank you to the students, parents, teachers and friends who have continued to clip these pesky little pink rectangles!  We will soon be posting fun graphs and charts to the bulletin board (near the PWS office) so that you can see how the teachers and grades matchup in collection totals.  Although the BTFE Program’s year is closed, we ask for everyone’s support to continue clipping.  There will be an additional collection mid-May to ensure that we don’t lose money from expiring Box Tops.  Did you know that every month we have a chance to win free Box Top?  Visit www.BTFE.com and select ‘Earn Box Tops’ and then ‘Sweepstakes.’ Who knows?  Maybe we will win a Million Box Tops for PWS! You can also download the Box Tops Bonus App to win more Box Tops.  


Art News
Save the date! Our PWS Art Show will be held Thursday, April 20 from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
If you are interested in volunteering please email Mrs. Piantedosi at piantedosia@sau25.net and join the fun!
Congratulations to the following students whose work is displayed in the district office:
Grade Two
Jackson Andree
Sophie Baker
Sofie Kashiwabara
Dave Purcell


Grade Four
Rebekah Bennett
Gen Boucher
Brody Cassidy
Ivy Dickson
Preston Quinones
Alexa Silvia


Smarter Balanced-3rd and 4th Grade Parents
Please read the link below:  Smarter Balanced Testing 3rd/4th


Art Supplies Donation
A student at Bedford High School is accepting donations for new/lightly used art supplies.  These supplies will be donated to the Elliot Hospital to be used as Art Therapy.  There will be a donation box located in the main office.  For more information, click here.


From the Community

Screening of Screenagers at BHS

As the Counseling dept. and Tech team aim to make us a more social media savvy community this year, we will present the film Screenagers this Tuesday the 21st at 6:00 pm in the BHS Theater. In an age where technology is everywhere, how do we best support adolescents as they learn how to responsibly use these tools?





ABOUT THE FILM

Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well.

In SCREENAGERS, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health, Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.



From the Superintendent
Election Results
Thank you to all the Bedford citizens who voted on Thursday.  The school district budget passed and the contracts for our teachers, support staff, and custodians passed. This will make the district's pay scale more competitive and help get health insurance costs under control. The positive results will allow the whole district to continue to focus on our core mission, teaching and learning. Thank you!


A Survey of the Superintendent
Every year around this time, I ask the community for feedback through this survey. The survey takes about five minutes. I would appreciate your feedback so I can continue to improve.  I will keep it open through the next three weeks.


2017-2018 Calendar
Please follow the link to the 2017 - 2018 School Calendar approved this week by the Bedford School Board. 2017 - 2018 Calendar


Bedford High School ​Graduation set for June 10
We are proud to announce that the students in the class of 2017 at Bedford High School will be graduating on June 10, 2017.


From the PTG
Monarchs Night
Join the PTG at FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT as the Manchester Monarchs take on the Elmira Jackals on Saturday, April 1st at 6p.m.. Students can high-five the Monarchs players as they enter the ice. Click here to download your order form and return to your school office by March 27th. This is a great night for groups, teams and families to get discounted ticket prices and enjoy the end of the hockey season.


ColorBlast 5K Run/Walk
The PTG is excited to announce that registration for our first annual ColorBlast 5K Run/Walk is open! Register today and mark your calendar for a super-fun, family event on Sunday, June 4th @ 10:00a.m.! Not a runner? That’s OK. You can walk, skip, hop, twirl, dance or stroll your way through six color stations along the 5K route that starts at Lurgio Middle school on the BHS/RAL campus. Be sure to wear white for maximum color effect (you will be blasted with food safe colorful powder). All funds raised from this event will go back into our schools!


We are looking for volunteers and sponsors for this great event. If you or your business are interested in sponsoring the event or volunteering, please contact us at bedfordcolorblast@gmail.com, or for more information please visit www.bedfordptg.org. This event is presented by Derry Medical Center.


Upcoming Dates
March 19th-DI Competition-7:00am-5:00pm-Goffstown High School
April 3rd -April 7th-Scholastic Book Fair
April 7th-Father/Daughter Dance 6:00pm-8:00pm
April 20th-PWS Art Show 6:00pm-7:30pm


Have a great weekend,


Cheryl Daley Dan Mitchell
Principal Assistant Principal


Repeated Messages
Headphones for Third and Fourth Grade
We received a few questions regarding yesterday's email about headphones. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused and hope the following language helps clarify the message.


In preparation for the upcoming Smarter Balanced Assessments, we are asking that each third and fourth grade student bring in their own pair of basic headphones (they can not be wireless or connect via bluetooth) to be left at school for the duration of the school year.  Please send the headphones to school in a Ziploc bag labeled with your child’s name. If you are unable to provide headphones for your child, please let Mrs. Daley or Mr. Mitchell know.


Bedford Food Pantry – Items Needed for Children
Food Insecurity is a growing concern across the nation and right here in our own backyard.  Nearly 350 adults and children in Bedford qualify for food stamps and more than 167 families in Bedford meet the income standards for the government’s free school lunch program.
In light of these numbers, the Bedford Food Pantry has started a new program, School Lunch Plus, to provide students in Bedford who face food insecurity two lunches each weekend (with complete privacy/anonymity).  In order to provide two lunches for each student in need, the Food Pantry is looking for donations of these specific items.  
If you are able to donate these items (these are ongoing donations), please bring them by the Bedford Food Pantry at the Bedford Presbyterian Church, 4 Church Road, Bedford, NH.
Parents/guardians, please contact the school guidance counselor or school nurse if you would like your child to participate in this program.


Calling ALL Parents!                                                                                                                       We are looking for substitutes to work in Food Service. It’s a great way to get a little physical activity, earn a little cash, and interact with these great students we have, all while helping to support some wonderful ladies with prepping and serving healthy meals to the students of Bedford School District!     
If you are interested at all, please contact CHRIS GABRIEL at 310-9000 x.33418
Ecosmith Recycle Bins for Destination Imagination
Did you know that every school in the district has an Ecosmith Recycle Bin?  This is a great way to donate/recycle old clothes, while helping raise funds for our teams who advance to Global Finals each year.  You can put any kind of fabrics in these bins, towels and stuffed animals too.  Ripped shirts and pants with holes are fine, as well as well worn shoes.  Bedford DI greatly appreciates your continued participation in this program.n or dining out, please let your server know that you support the PTG or show them this flyer and we will receive a portion of the total sales (including beverages), good all day long.