Friday, January 30, 2015

Dear PWS Families,

It was so great to see so many of you last night at the Annual Principal's Winter Read. We had so much fun dressing up and performing as the little child and her "Idea". It was a truly special night.

40 under 40

We want to Congratulate Dan Mitchell for being selected as a UnionLeader NH 40 under 40!

The Union Leader’s 40 Under Forty program recognizes some of the state’s brightest young achievers who have a record of professional and volunteer accomplishments in New Hampshire.  See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/section/news0202#sthash.O3WqNpHz.dpuf

The staff recognized him Monday morning by having a celebration breakfast.  

Important Message

Dear Parents and Staff,

 I am writing to urge all voters in Bedford to attend t​he Bedford School District 201​5 Deliberative Session,​ (Session I​)​ on Tuesday, February ​3 at 7:00 PMin the Bedford High School Theater. 

At the Deliberative Session, voters will ​review ​the School District Warrant.  The warrant contains ​​proposals for next year's budget and increases in contracts for teachers and support staff. Voters at the Deliberative Session may ​change the warrant​ including the proposed budget.

The warrant, ​including any changes made at the Deliberative Session, is then ​voted on at ​the election (Session II).  The election is on Tuesday March 10 from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM in the Bedford High School Gymnasium.  

 If you will not be able to vote on March 10, the application for an absentee ballot is available ​here on the Town of Bedford website. The process is very simple and straight forward.

More information about the proposed budget is available here on the School District website.  Feel free to contact me with any additional questions.  I can be reached at 472-3755 or mcgeec@sau25.net.

Sincerely,

Chip McGee

​Superintendent of Schools

Tattle Tale
Due to this week's storm the release of the Tattle Tale has been delayed. We hope to get it out to you early next week. Thank you for your understanding.

Winter Weather
We were reminded, rather harshly, this past week that is indeed Winter in New Hampshire. A reminder that if the weather calls for a two hour delay then our school day will begin at 9:50 and students can be dropped off beginning at 9:30. If you are dropping off, please make every effort to be in time to drop off out back, at parent drop off. When a number of cars attempt to drop off at the front door, the conditions can become quite unsafe. We are trying to avoid this and appreciate your cooperation.

Have a Great Weekend and Enjoy the Game on Sunday,

Cheryl Daley             Dan Mitchell
Principal                    Assistant Principal

Friday, January 23, 2015

Dear PWS Families,

Hello! The students have been so excited to get outside this week.  They're enjoying the school yard but are hoping for more snow to play in.  We had lunch with the first graders this week and had an interesting conversation about the difference between food being raw and food being cold.  Then I started to hear stories of some children trying raw spaghetti.  Mixed reviews on if they liked it. Children are awesome!!!!

Text Messaging

On January 16^th, the school district activated text messaging as part of our emergency communication system. If you did not receive the text message, please check your Powerschool Parent Portal – Demographic Change link to ensure we have your correct cell phone number listed.  Your updated cell phone numbers will be processed in 24 hours and you will receive an automatic opt in message.  In addition you can opt into receiving text messages at any time by texting “Yes” to 68453 as long as your cell phone number is on file with us.  If at any time, you wish to opt out of receiving text messages, you can reply “STOP” to any message or text “STOP” to 68453.

Deliberative Session

A reminder that the Deliberative Session is on Tuesday, February 3rd at 7:00 pm.  We encourage all parents to attend.  This is a time for Bedford community members to discuss the warrant articles that will be voted on March 10, 2015.  

PTG Barnes & Noble Days

Join us February 6 and 7 at the Barnes & Noble in Manchester for a warm and delightful family outing complete with incredible artwork by Bedford Students, musical performances and story time all while you shop for books, movies, toys or even while you grab a treat! Be sure to mention BEDFORD PTG at the time of any of your purchases to help earn money for our schools!

Shop online February 6-11 by using Bookfair ID# 11534757 and the Bedford PTG will receive a percentage of the sales to be used to help support our schools! 

Don’t forget to throw your name in the hat and enter our raffle for a Nook! Visit www.bedfordptg.org and download our flyer with an attached raffle ticket form or take your chance at Principal’s Winter Reading Night event. The winner will be chosen February 8. This is a great time to stock up for vacation reading, buy a gift, and celebrate our talented students!

Tattle Tale
This year's second edition of The Tattle Tale  will be published and sent home soon. A special thank you to Theresa Dainesi, Kristi Poltronieri, and Di Gordon for all their hard work in putting this fun and informative newsletter together.


Upcoming Dates:
February 3rd          100th Day of School
February 13th        Box Tops Due
February 16th        Invention Convention (Grade 3, Volunteers Grade 4)
February 19th       Math/Literacy Night-5:45 pm - 7:00 pm

Have a Great Weekend,

Cheryl Daley           Dan Mitchell
Principal                  Assistant Principal

Friday, January 16, 2015

Hello PWS Families,

Happy Friday! We have had some exciting events taking place over the last week and we have some important things coming up as well. Please read on to find out all the important details that you need to know.

4th Grade Chorus
Thank you to Mrs. Curran and all the wonderful fourth graders who participated in the Winter Concert Wednesday of this week.  The talent we have from the 75 students who participated was impressive. We thank everyone who attended the concert.

Spelling Bee
This Wednesday fourteen fourth grade students took part in the Peter Woodbury Spelling Bee. It was an intense event and competition. After ten rounds Micah Baker was declared the winner of the Spelling Bee. He will now go on to represent PWS at the state level in Concord this February. Congratulations also to Neeshu Prabakar who was this year's runner up.

PTG-Winter Principal Read
Please see the link below about the upcoming Principal's Read.  It is a lot of FUN!!!!

http://bedfordptg.org/2015/01/14/winterreadingnight2015/

Faerie Folk Festival
Pssst. The faeries are starting to muster.... getting ready for the second fantastic PWS Faerie Folk Festival.  We will be having our first planning meeting on Thursday, January 22 at 2:40 in Room 7. Hope you can join us.

If you missed it last time, you can check out the fun at http://www.thefaeriefolkfestival.com

PTG Monarchs Night

A reminder that the PTG Night at the Monarchs is tomorrow night. The Monarchs will be taking on the Providence Bruins. More information can be found here: www.tinyurl/bedfordptg

​Text Messages​

Today, BSD ​launched​ the text messaging option of our emergency communication system. 

​By now, you should have been invited via a text m​essage to opt into receiving future text messages

​from the district.

​If your cell phone number has changed, you may update it through the Powerschool parent portal.  Follow the "demographic change" link.

Remember that there will be no school this Monday.

Enjoy the long weekend,

Cheryl Daley             Dan Mitchell
Principal                    Assistant Principal

Friday, January 9, 2015

Hello PWS Families,

Happy New Year!  It has been a great start to 2015.  Everyone came back happy and ready to learn!

This morning we appreciated everyone working together to get the children into school safely. During parent drop off, the students were so sweet as they squinted their eyes as snow fell into them.  One student said, "I do not like this weather."

We were able to get into some second grade classes to help out with Bedford Elementary Science Technicians (BEST) lessons.  Students learned the difference between weight and mass.  They love being scientists and making predictions on the mass of objects.

New Hampshire Food Bank sent PWS a thank you card for sending 3,425 pounds of food. That amount feeds 3,246 families.  Thank you so much for your generous donations.  It is great to teach children the message of giving to those in need.

As we all know, New Hampshire in the Winter is cold.  This, of course, means many indoor recesses.  This can be difficult for some students and adults:).  We work hard to bring in daily movement breaks and Rechargers so students get to exert energy with their bodies.

We want to remind parents to please continue to drop off at the back parking lot.  The front area is not supervised by an adult and can get really dangerous for children.  We have observed many students walking through cars which is concerning.

A couple messages from the Superintendent

District Text Messaging
On January 16, we will be implementing the text messaging option of our emergency communication system. Once the system is live, you will be invited via a text message to opt into receiving future text messages from the district. The invitation text message will read: “Bedford School District text messages. Reply Y for aprx 3 msgs/mo. Txt HELP 4info. Msg&data rates may apply. See schoolmessenger.com/tm"  We want to use text message services effectively so we will be implementing it carefully. 

​If your cell phone number has changed, you may update it through the Powerschool parent portal.  Follow the "demographic change" link.

Student Fee/ Cost Study Report
In December, the District asked parents to complete a survey on the fees and costs paid by parents to support school activities.  We want to thank all of you who completed the survey​, and we want to thank every one of you who helps support our schools and our students.  By one measure, parents provide about $1.2 million in financial  support to our schools each year.  That is a huge help!  If you want to read the full report, you can access it here.  

Have a great weekend,

Cheryl Daley           Dan Mitchell

Principal                  Assistant Principal

Friday, December 20, 2014

Dear PWS Families, 

Hello and Happy Friday!  The students and staff are all excited about the holiday vacation.  We hope that you are all staying healthy and happy during this very busy time of year!

Lockdown
On Thursday, the school had a lockdown drill.  We had this drill at 11:00 when grade 2 was in lunch and grade 1 was at recess.  The students in the cafeteria did a great job at sitting quietly.  First grade students outside went to the outdoor classroom.   All other classrooms were locked and dark.  The fire department was here to monitor this drill as well. We are pleased with how well the students responded in this drill. 

Hour of Code

The Hour of Code is an international initiative to spark the desire to learn computer science.  It's a one-hour activity that students of all ages can participate in.  Peter Woodbury participated in this initiative last week and have continued into this week.  Mrs. Cassamassino has visited many classes to introduce coding and computer science to students.  Check out the slideshow of photos and videos below to get a peak at what went on. 

INVENTION CONVENTION/SCIENCE DAY - 2015

What:   -  Invention Convention - Science Day

When:   -  Monday, February 16

Why:     -  To learn about science, to become inventors, and to have fun!!

Who:     -   All third graders (mandatory)

 Fourth graders who would like to participate (The Invention Convention is mandatory for all fourth grade Math Apps students.)

Choices of projects:

Type of Project	Partners Allowed?	Judged?	Fun and Great Learning Experience?
Invention	Yes, -  up to 2 team        members	Yes	Yes
Rube Goldberg	Yes,   1 - 4 team members	Yes	Yes
Inventor Report	No	No	Yes
Science Research  (Science Question)	No	No	Yes

All projects will be exhibited on the morning of the Convention - February.  All parents are invited to attend from 10:30 - 11:15.  Rube Goldbergs and inventions will be set up in the gym.  Inventor and science research reports will be displayed in the front hallway.

4th Grade International/Diversity Day
Starting today our 4th grade teachers are celebrating International Day. This a time to celebrate students heritage and traditions. Students have worked hard on their country reports and we want to recognize them for their accomplishment. We hope you are able to participate in this event. We went into two classrooms today and the food was fantastic. All the students were excited for us to try their favorite dishes.

Finally, we want to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season and vacation.

Take Care,

Cheryl Daley Dan Mitchell
Principal Assistant Principal

Friday, December 13, 2014

Hello PWS Families,

Happy December! I am sure you have already heard that we had a fairly exciting day today. We were without power for approximately 45 minutes today. This happened right around lunch and recess time. However, with a little extra recess for some and the flexibility and hard work of the students, staff, and kitchen crew the impact was minimal. Thanks to all for your understanding and cooperation. This week the weather has not been cooperative and students have spent most recesses indoors. Thankfully, they were able to play outside today. Our goal is to get them outside as much as possible so please remember to continue to send in boots, snow pants, warm coats, hats and mittens. We appreciate your support with this and are hoping that students get outside more next week.

STEM CLUB GRADE 3

Mrs. Beecher, Mrs. Cassamassino and Mrs. Correia will be running a six week STEM Club for 3rd graders beginning in January.  The purpose of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is to provide students with the opportunity to apply science, technology, engineering and math that make connections between school and the “real world”.  Students will be working within small groups to employ problem solving and critical thinking skills.  STEM Club will be held on the following Tuesdays from 2:30-3:30 Jan. 13th, Jan. 20th, Jan. 27th, Feb. 4th (this is a Wed.), Feb. 10th and Feb. 17th.tDismissal to parents/guardians will be at 3:30 in the main lobby. If your child will be picked up by someone other than a parent/guardian please send a note.  Any student attending after school will be dismissed to the after school program at this time.

The session is limited in the number of students able to participate, so registration will be first come first served.  STEM is a fun extra-curricular activity with the same behavior expectations as the regular school day.  Students are required to participate with appropriate behavior or they may be asked to leave the STEM Club. After registering you will receive an email from Mrs. Cassamassino stating whether or not your child will be able to participate in this session of STEM.   

Click here to register by December 22nd.

Lost and Found
Our Lost and Found is still very full. We encourage you to take a peek and see if any of the items may belong to your family. Over our December vacation we will donate any items still remaining. Please take a look next time you are in the building.

Traffic Reminders
In messy weather we realize how easy it is to drop off your students at the front of the building, however student drop off should take place in the rear of the building until the red flag and barrier is displayed.  The concern with this is that there is no adult out there to monitor traffic.  We have observed students walking in between cars. This can be very dangerous.  A reminder that you need to walk your child in if they are coming in at the front of the building.  After 8:00 we ask that you sign your children in. Thank you for you help with this and keeping our students safe.  

BEF Grant
The Bedford Education Foundation (BEF) is conducting an on-line fundraising auction with some great holiday gift items, including a live SAT prep course, a baseball autographed by former St. Louis Cardinals picture and Bedford resident Chris Carpenter, and a five-day bear hunting trip with Jay Miller, a former Boston Bruin.  The on-line auction will end at 9 PM on Monday, December 15 and is accessible at www.32auctions.com/BEFholidays.  If you are not interested in these auction items but would like to make a donation to BEF, please visit http://www.befnh.org/?nd=donate.

The BEF is also requesting community input regarding fundraising events.  Please click here to respond to a quick 7-question survey.

Food Drive
We want to thank all of you for the support in this week's food drive.  It was heart warming to see all the students so excited about giving to others.  What a great message to give to our students that giving to others less fortunate is so important and feels great we well.   In the end we collected over 4,000 items and we know there are still a few more donations out there as well. GREAT JOB!

Have a great weekend,

Cheryl Daley        Dan Mitchell
Principal              Assistant Principal

Friday, December 5, 2014

Dear PWS Families,

Hello!  We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving even if your power was out.  The students were excited to be back at school and have started to show some Holiday Happiness!

The Bedford Education Foundation

The Bedford Education Foundation (BEF) is conducting an on-line fundraising auction with some great holiday gift items, including: a live SAT prep course, a baseball autographed by former St. Louis Cardinals picture and Bedford resident Chris Carpenter, and a five-day bear hunting trip with Jay Miller, a former Boston Bruin.  The on-line auction will end at 9 PM on Monday, December 15 and is accessible at www.32auctions.com/BEFholidays.  If you are not interested in these auction items but would like to make a donation to BEF, please visit http://www.befnh.org/?nd=donate.

The BEF is also requesting community input regarding fundraising events.  Please click here to respond to a quick 7-question survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mWuZokoyFsQVvvoBN4kv3IPGY078XQJ4VyaDiBEHImI/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=mail_form_link.

Lost and Found

Our Lost and Found is still very full. We encourage you to take a peek and see if any of the items may belong to your family. Over our December vacation we will donate any items still remaining. Please take a look next time you are in the building.

Message from the School Nurse

Please remember to pack extra socks for your children.  During the Winter, socks get very wet in the snow. Also, if your child wears/brings boots to play in the snow please also send in other shoes to wear in the building. Wearing heavy boots in school all day is hard for their feet and legs.  Finally, the cold and flu season has arrived.  Please remember to not send your child to school if they have a fever.  Children need to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school.  We appreciate your help with this.  We like to keep PWS a healthy environment.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Cheryl Daley         Dan Mitchell
Principal                Assistant Principal