LEON'S DEN
COMING EVENTS
September 24 School Board 7 pm MMS From the Principal
September 2008
We have had a great beginning of the school year! We hope that you have smoothly fallen into your school year routine. We want to welcome the following staff to our school: Jessica Pomerleau – Jessica is our new self-contained special ed. teacher. She is new to teaching after a career as a social worker. Richard Pinette – Richard is our new ed tech in the self contained special ed room. Rit’s experience is in the business world and as a substitute teacher. Deborah Lynch – Deb is our new resource room teacher. She spent the past two years as one of our literacy ed techs. Heather Levin – Heather is our new speech and language therapist. She is contracted through Center for Communications in Springvale. Cara Sammons – Cara spent time two years ago as one of our literacy ed techs. She comes to us as our new art teacher after teaching a year in York Schools. Colleen Harris – Colleen is our new technology teacher. She joins us after teaching technology in the Kittery School Department. Emily Adams – Emily is the newest member of our literacy staff. After a year filling in as long-term sub, she will be our newest literacy ed. tech.
October 4 Pancake Breakfast @ Applebees 8:00-9:30 AM Gr. 4 Hike Fundraiser School Board 7 pm MMS Staff Workshop Day NO SCHOOL Columbus Day NO SCHOOL PTC Meeting 3:15/Library
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Tired of receiving multiple copies of newsletters and school information? Would you like to help Lyman Elementary School cut down on our use of paper? Simply complete the information on the bottom on this page and return it to your child’s teacher. We will send general information to only one of your children and cut down the number of notices you receive at home.
Please send notices home with:
Student Name Parent Name
Grade/Classroom Teacher Date
PTC Fundraiser This past Friday, students received their annual fall fundraiser packet. Please take the time to pass the fundraiser packet to friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. A few things to remember: Please remember that students cannot sell going door to door without an adult. Please pay in checks only, no cash. Orders are due back to school no later than Oct. 7. First Day Packet Please complete the forms from the first day packet as soon as possible. Much of this information is entered into our database and must be in our system by the end of this week. …And Check It Twice! Each year we ask parents to complete and return an Emergency Card for each of your children. During the school year numbers and arrangements sometimes change. If this information changes during the year, please contact the office to update your form. This includes any changes in employment, baby sitters, phone numbers, addresses, or names of people designated to pick up your child. Free/Reduced Lunch Form In the packet you received on the first day of school, you found a form to sign up for free or reduced lunch. Please be certain to complete this form if you feel you will qualify for assistance. Schools receive Title I services based upon the number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch. If you believe you will qualify, please fill this out so that we maintain our Title I status. If you don’t have the form any longer, please contact us and we will be happy to provide you with another.
Mustang 5K Lyman Elementary School has some athletes that were out showing what they could do last weekend. There were many students, parents, and staff members that took part and placed well in their divisions. Great job! Congratulations to Keilly Lynch, Kailey Daigle, Deb Lynch, Seamus Lynch, Kate Hanscom, Penny Christie, Kate Sobanik, Casey Irish, Collin Hart, Cecilia Sirianni, Amber Rollins, and Nancy Sobanik.
Odyssey of the Mind Does your child like to solve problems? Then the Odyssey of the Mind program may be for your child. Odyssey Of The Mind is a program in which teams of students work to solve a long term problem in a creative manner. There is a state competition at which the team presents its solution in a skit format to judges. MSAD 57 teams had two teams who placed first in the state last year and went on to the World Finals in Maryland. Each grade span has its own division. K -2 is primary, Grades 3 - 5 is Division 1, Grades 6 - 8 is Division 2 and High School is Division 3. An informational meeting will be held on Wednesday evening, October 1st at Lyman Elementary from 6:00 - 7:15 P.M. Mrs. Joy, the MSAD 57 Coordinator will be there to provide information and answer any questions.
Guidance News Welcome Back to School. I hope you all had a great summer with your children. I think they’ve all grown several inches since I last saw them in June. My own summer was filled with transitions. I sent my oldest off to his Freshman year in college and my youngest to his first year of high school. Seems like yesterday that I was getting them off the yellow school bus from where I greet your children every morning. Lunches have begun in the Guidance Office. As I write I believe I’ve had the opportunity to meet with all of the students that are new to Lyman Elementary this fall. Students were invited with their new classmates (at the same grade level) to meet and have an opportunity to share a little about themselves in the Guidance office during their lunchtime. Students who have been here previously can tell you that we have a great time at lunch. The way it works is that on my door are notes to sign up for lunch with a friend, first come first served. The students seem to enjoy having a different environment other than the lunch room to talk about their day and visit with other students and myself. For me it’s an opportunity to get to know the students in a more individual way and work on solutions for differences they might be having with their peers. The comments I hear are that it’s often quieter than the lunch room and it’s fun to be with friends without the same rules that usually apply at lunch. I will be beginning some of my groups in the near future. Starting with the topic of Family Change. This group functions as an opportunity for students to support each other through transitions that can occur in a family. Whether it be divorce or separation as well as the blending of two families. This enables the children to know that they are not alone in their experiences as well as receive information about what is “normal” to be feeling during these changes. Other groups will follow later in the school year for different grade levels. Please look for permission slips in your children’s backpacks to participate in any Guidance group you might feel is appropriate. I hope all of your transitions from the more tranquil summer to hectic fall go smoothly. However should those inevitable bumps in the road continue to occur please feel free to call so that I may be of support to you and your child. Enjoy all the wonderful things that fall will soon bring us, Marianne Tozier Guidance Counselor
Parent Resources As a staff, we learn new techniques and stay up-to-date on child development research. We want to also offer ideas for you to get better at what you do: be the best parent you can be! Having said this, here are a few different resources we have available for you:
You will find copies of Parent & Child magazine in our lobby for you to read while you wait. Our school library has a parent resource section that houses books on varied parenting and child
issues.
Our staff (guidance, nurse, literacy coach, principal, teachers) is always available to answer your
questions.
What do I do? I broke my shoe! By Emilie Harris What do I do? I broke my shoe at school And it is so not cool I don't know what I will do I think I use glue But, Oh no, that won't do I guess I will buy another shoe But now I broke my new shoe So now I'll buy another shoe What am I going to do? I broke my Shoe! By Rebecca Malloy What do I do? I broke my shoe The heel fell off the bottom, I tried to glue it But it wouldn't stick to it Oh what am I going to do? Notes From The Nurse
Early Arrival Some students are being dropped off before 8:30. We realize that the timing for drop off may be tough for some parents while still trying to get to work on time, but please make every attempt to be here no earlier than 8:30. If however, you have difficulty with the dropoff time, please call Mr. Perkins. We can work out a solution to almost any problem. We will find an answer to early arrival also. Thank you for your help.
Welcome back students and parents to a new school year! Hopefully, your summer was enjoyable and restful. First, I need to let everyone know that we already have a couple of cases of head lice. It is very important for you to check your child’s head at least weekly for the presence of lice or their eggs (nits). They usually congregate behind the ears and along the hairline, close to the scalp. You can tell the difference between a nit and a flake of dandruff because dandruff can easily be brushed away and nits must be pulled off the hair shaft. Please call if you find anything, and we can work together to get rid of them! For parents of Kindergarten students, if you have not yet turned in your child’s immunization record and physical form, I need these as soon as possible. You have until December 1st to provide the school with this information, but the sooner the better. Please be sure to dress your child in appropriate, layered clothing for the changing weather conditions of Fall! Lastly, a reminder to help minimize the spread of germs around the school by keeping your child home if he or she has had a fever, has vomited during the night or is coughing a lot. We want to keep everyone as healthy as possible. Be assured that any information you share with me about your child will be kept in confidence and only shared with those who have a need to know for the safety and well-being of the student. As always, please call or stop by anytime with any questions or concerns. Let’s have a great year! Nancy diPretoro RN