Week Ending 3/28/14
Exciting News
Next Thursday, April 3rd, Senator Jim Rubens will be visiting Polaris at 1:00pm. He has authored charter school legislation in the past and is interested in seeing the end result of this work. There will be press visiting also. At the end of this visit, he would like to sit down with some of our students to do a Q & A. We are very excited to show him the wonderful work being done at our school!
Responsibility
Did you know that March is National Nutrition month? Our discussions at morning gathering this week centered around taking responsibility for making healthy choices. The food pyramid that many of us grew up learning about has now been replaced with “My Plate.” On Monday, we talked about the five food groups and named examples of items falling into each.
On Tuesday, we listed to a song about nutrition (you can play it here) and discussed nutrients. They include vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, water and fats.
We took a little ‘quiz’ on Wednesday to review some of the things we learned. On Thursday, I just had to talk about the learning celebration the previous evening and commend the students. They showed tremendous responsibility in both their work ethic and their behavior. Students also shared some of the things that they had learned from another student’s projects.
Polaris Star Students
This week’s star students will be recognized in next week’s newsletter. Last week, Ethan was a star student but wasn’t at school to receive his award so we recognized him on Monday.
Reminder
There is no school on Monday, March 31st due to parent/teacher/student conferences. These conferences are student led so please remember to bring your child with you.
PEF News
We are raffling off a pair of Red Sox tickets again this year. The game is July 18th and tickets are $5 each. The winner will be drawn at the Pancake Brunch on May 18th. To buy tickets or for more information, go to http://polariseducationalfoundation.org/raffle/. Please send this out to as many people as you can!
Pizza
Monthly order forms for April are due Thursday, April 3. If you are unsure how far in advance you have paid, or have other questions about pizza Fridays, contact Brianna (briannaanddwayn@gmail.com) for more information. You can download the form here.
Learning Celebration
Our Intermediate students hosted a learning celebration on Thursday evening. Student presentations took place in our gathering room where we were treated to wonderful poetry, stories, songs and even a dance! Students also shared some of the ways that they have fundraised for causes such as reducing carbon monoxide in the air by planting trees and raising money for supplies for students in Chad. The body of work displayed was incredible but what was even more inspiring was the poise and excitement that students showed when sharing their work. After presentations, guests were invited upstairs to the classrooms to view many other additional projects, writings and multi-media presentations students had prepared. The evening really was a joyous learning celebration. We appreciate all of the student’s and teacher’s hard work!
Week Ending 3/21/14
House Bill 435
The House voted to send the charter school funding bill, HB 435 to interim study. The bill would have increased our per pupil funding from 40% of the state average to 50%. It came very, very close to passing. The vote was a roll call, and you can find out how your Reps voted here. If they voted YEA that means they voted to send the bill to study which basically has killed it for now. If they voted NAY it means they did not support sending it to additional study and supported the underlying bill (good). The vote ended up being very partisan. Please take a minute to view how your representative voted and remember it at election time. Also, please take a moment to contact your Reps and thank those who voted NAY.
Responsibility
At Monday’s morning gathering we reflected on how often we say or hear statements such as “Its not my fault,” “Its not my job,” or “that’s just the way I am. All of these are excuses used to deflect accountability.
Tuesday, students were shown an interview with Danny Keefe and Tommy Cooney. You might recall the true story about about how Tommy rallied his football team to Danny who was being teased for the way he dressed as well as a speech impediment caused by a brain injury. It really brought the story that we had read to life.
Wednesday we talked about making mistakes and being accountable for them. We all make mistakes and that’s OK!
On Thursday, we discussed responsible classroom behavior and how that extends into other classes like, Music, PE and Art. We read the quote “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” Students did a great job with recognizing that everyone is responsible for the actions of a group.
Polaris Star Students
Our group of star students from last week were recognized on Monday. Congratulations to: Gaby, Gus, Maria, Myleigh, Shea and Spencer!
Our star students for this week were Caedan, Darby, Mathew, Sebastian and Wren. Nice job!
Reminder
The weather has finally warmed up enough to get outside but it is still cold out. Please continue to have your child bring a coat, gloves and hat.
PEF News
Read-a-Thon
Read-a-Thon Packets are due Monday the 24th, sorry for any confusion.
PLEASE send in your children’s reading logs even if you didn’t raise any money. Every child who completed the reading gets a prize and the classrooms that read the most get a prize.z
We are raffling off a pair of Red Sox tickets again this year. The game is July 18th and tickets are $5 each. The winner will be drawn at the Pancake Brunch on May 18th. To buy tickets or for more information, go to http://polariseducationalfoundation.org/raffle/. Please send this out to as many people as you can!
The Spring Fling is next Friday the 28th at 6:00p,! If you didn’t get your paper RSVP in by today, please RSVP to Kathy Burtram so she knows how much food to order. This is our annual adults-only social event, and it’s at Milly’s Tavern.
Medieval Times
Miss Haynes’ class has been exploring the Medieval Times. They are creating a royal kingdom within the classroom. Each student has a role in the kingdom that they have researched so that they know how to act, what their responsibilities are, and what they need to wear. The class tailor, Georgia Schill has been working hard to create the costumes. This reenactment has required students to collaborate, plan, sketch out ideas, build/design things, and explore cartography. Soon we will be role playing and acting out different scenarios as a way to see how much we know about Medieval times!
Week Ending 3/14/14
Lottery
Lottery numbers for the 2014-2015 academic year were drawn at Polaris at 7:00pm on Friday, March 7th. A special thank to our State Representative Emily Sandblade for pulling the the numbers for us. The lottery results can be viewed here.
Responsibility
We talked more about responsibility this week. At Monday’s morning gathering we read a true story about a young girl from Maine who found a purse full of money and valuables. While it might have been tempting to keep it, instead this girl tracked down the owner and returned her items. The purse belonged to a Cambodian woman who was preparing to travel back home taking all her valuables with her.
On Tuesday, students listed and watched the video for the Responsibility Rap. You can play it here.
Wednesday we read different scenarios and discussed what actions would show responsibility. For example, what could you do if you broke a picture frame while playing ball in the house. Some of the responses that students shared were: tell your parents, apologize, offer to pay for a new frame and promise to not play ball in the house again (or at least use a softer ball :-).
Ms. Sargent’s Class Responsibility Wordles
Polaris Star Students
Our group of star students recognized for their responsible actions will be shared in next week’s newsletter. I would like to recognize Mikail for the respect award he received a couple of weeks ago. He was not present to accept his certificate.
Reminder
There is no school on Friday, March 13th. It is a teacher workshop day and we will be attending the New Hampshire Public Charter School Association “Best Practices” Conference.
PEF News
Only a few days left for our annual Read-a-Thon. Keep tracking your kid’s reading time, and keep looking for sponsors! For more info, go to the Read-a-Thon page on the PEF’s Web site http://polariseducationalfoundation.org/read/.
We are raffling off a pair of Red Sox tickets again this year. The game is July 18th and tickets are $5 each. The winner will be drawn at the Pancake Brunch on May 18th. To buy tickets or for more information, go to http://polariseducationalfoundation.org/raffle/. Please send this out to as many people as you can!
Time to get excited about our Spring Fling. This is our annual adults-only social event. This year it will be Friday March 28th at Milly’s Tavern. This was a really fun event last year, and we’re hoping it grows this year. More information will come home soon!
Finally…
Hang in there – the first day of SPRING is one week away! In spite of this winter weather, I have noticed some buds on trees and while losing an hour last weekend has been an adjustment for many of us, it is so nice to have more daylight in the evening. Everyone please enjoy your weekend!
Week Ending 3/07/14
The Polaris Staff and Board of Trustees are Proud to Announce the Election of our New Board Chairman, Kate Baker.
Kate is the Executive Director of the Network for Educational Opportunity (NEO), an education resource and scholarship organization here in New Hampshire. Improving education is her personal mission and she has worked tirelessly, for more than a decade on behalf of New Hampshire children; starting schools, supporting homeschoolers, teaching and empowering students and parents, and promoting increased options in education.
Kate is passionate about gifted education, innovative teaching and learning, and was the business administrator and a teacher at a New Hampshire performing arts school for almost a decade, before taking on the leadership role at NEO. She is a parent of a current Polaris Charter School student and was a founder of the Greater Manchester Alliance for the Gifted, the Academy for Science and Design Educational Foundation, the Polaris Educational Foundation and was a member of the Gifted and Talented Advisory Committee of the Manchester School District.
For her work in education, Kate was honored to be recognized by the New Hampshire Union Leader & the Business and Industry Association as a “40 Under Forty″, the state’s brightest young achievers, and by the Peace Islands Institute of New Hampshire from whom she received their 2013 Education Award. She is proud to serve as our new Board Chairman and we are fortunate to have her skills to lead us.
We would also like to take this time to thank our outgoing Board Chairman Susan Hartford. We are so grateful for Susan’s many years of effort on behalf of Polaris Charter School and we know that Susan, as one of our school founders and a parent of Polaris students, is looking forward to having the opportunity to spend more flexible time volunteering and working with the Polaris Educational Foundation. Again, thank you Susan for your conscientious leadership and years of dedication. We are so grateful for your service to Polaris Charter School.
Lottery
Prospective Polaris families have received their randomly assigned numbers for the 2014-2015 admissions lottery. The lottery will take place at Polaris at 7:00pm on Friday, March 7th. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Responsibility
The Core Value we will be focusing on during the month of March is responsibility. At Monday’s morning gathering everyone closed their eyes and “pictured” what responsibility looks like. Some of the pictures students shared were picking up our messes, recycling and listening to others.
Tuesday we did the “Responsibility Exercise.” Students were split into two groups. Group one would stand to say their line and then sit and then group two would stand and say their and then sit. This went back and forth and then students did it again switching groups.
Wednesday we discussed the different types of responsibility. In addition to personal responsibility, we have community responsibilities, family responsibilities, legal responsibilities and moral responsibilities.
Thursday we read a true story about about a group of boys in Bridgewater, MA who stepped up to support a young boy named Danny Keefe who was being teased for the way he dressed as well as a speech impediment caused by a brain injury. Tommy Cooney rallied his 40 football teammates and they all wore a suit like Danny’s and held a “Danny Appreciation Day.” It was a great story about how one person can take on the responsibility to make the world a better place.
Polaris Star Students
The star students who really showed responsibility this week were: Calvin, Connor, Giuli, Julie, Madison, Maru and Talia. Nice job!
Reminder
There is no school on Friday, March 13th. It is a teacher workshop day and we will be attending the New Hampshire Public Charter School Association “Best Practices” Conference.
Carpool Safety
A recent news story brought a renewed focus on the issue of carpool safety. An Arlington, Virginia mother was hit and killed while buckling her child into a car seat on the drivers side of the car (story link). While we understand the challenges of getting children into and out of cars, especially in the cold weather, we want to be sure that everyone in our community stays safe. With this in mind, we want to remind families to use the curb side to load children in and out of the cars. We also appreciate all of your efforts to be patient and watchful as you move into and out of the drop-off zone.
PEF News
We’re almost halfway through our annual Read-a-Thon. Keep tracking your kid’s reading time, and keep looking for sponsors! For more info, go to the Read-a-Thon page on the PEF’s Web site http://polariseducationalfoundation.org/read/.
We are raffling off a pair of Red Sox tickets again this year. The game is July 18th and tickets are $5 each. The winner will be drawn at the Pancake Brunch on May 18th. To buy tickets or for more information, go to http://polariseducationalfoundation.org/raffle/. Please send this out to as many people as you can!
Time to get excited about our Spring Fling. This is our annual adults-only social event. This year it will be Friday March 28th at Milly’s Tavern. This was a really fun event last year, and we’re hoping it grows this year. More information will come home soon!
Engineering and Math
Mrs. Dudley’s class raced marbles down ramps that they built using paper towel and toilet paper tubes. The purpose of this activity was to work together to design and create a ramp that would have a marble travel as far possible. We then measured how far the marble traveled using inches, feet, and yards. We also used nonstandard units by using the tiles on the ground which we learned were a foot long!
Polaris Charter School 