High School and Elementary Spanish Connection

 

Nick Pezzote is a Spanish teacher at Nipmuc High School. His students from his Spanish III Honors and Immersion classes  wrote Children’s Christmas and winter short stories in Spanish. He brought his students to  Clough today to read their children’s stories to Sra Lopez's 28 Kindergarten Spanish Immersion students. Not only did they read to the students but they spent time chatting with them in Spanish. This was a fantastic activity that brought together students of different grade levels within the district. Having the high school Spanish students reading with the little kindergarteners and talking with them in Spanish was beyond precious. 

I had the wonderful pleasure on December 12th to hold a special luncheon for eight students. I don't know who had more fun ~ me ~ or the students.  The "Lunch with the Principal" was  a direct result of very generous parents who participated in the raffle at the Monster Mash event sponsored by the PTO. Eight students won the raffle and I had the opportunity to have lunch with them. It was so much fun spending over an hour with them getting to know them and them having an opportunity to get to know me better. They asked me some great questions! Can I just say how much I love my job?  I wish I could spend every day like this.

Talk about Kind, Caring, and Compassionate People

Mrs. St. Pierre, one of our second grade teachers, spearheaded a drive at our elementary school to collect  non-perishable items for the Mendon Food Pantry.  Thanks to all who so generously participated in this worthwhile cause.   All donations went to the Mendon Food Pantry which is housed at the Mendon Senior  center.  http://www.mendonma.gov/TownGovernment/FoodPantry.aspx    

The picture below was taken after we already loaded many many bags into Mrs. St. Pierre's truck.

 

State Representative visits Clough School

The students in Mrs. Brigham’s third grade class had a very important guest. They had the pleasure of Representative Fernandes visiting their class. Mr. Fernandes talked with the students about what his job entails and took a great deal of time to answer all of their well thought out questions about his job, what he likes, and what his hopes are for the future.  I was extremely impressed with the students inquisitive minds. It was wonderful to see someone as busy as Representative Fernandes make time for the students at Clough. He promised he will back to read during our Dr. Seuss celebration. We look forward to having him back in our school.

At this time of the year when many people are thinking about family, friends, and what they are thankful for, I would like to say a fond Thank You to each of you who have helped us in so many ways. Some of the specific things that I am thankful for at Henry P. Clough Elementary are:

v  I am thankful for students who eagerly come to school to learn as much as is possible each day.

v  I am thankful for a beautiful school where students can come to learn and grow.

v  I am thankful for teachers and staff who give many hours of their days to provide students with the instruction and guidance needed to help students succeed.

v  I am thankful for parents who support the efforts of our school.

v  I am thankful for the community for their support.

It is gratifying to be involved with such a caring, supportive, and effective group of people working together for our children. One team, one goal, no limits!  Thank you for all you do to help Clough be the best school it can be.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Most Sincerely,

Janice Gallagher

Teddy Bear Drive

In honor of a former Mendon student and resident, Jill Carboni, who lost her life in a car accident at the young age of 21, one of our first grade teachers, Lauren Poxon, is spearheading a Teddy Bear Drive. She is looking to collect new teddy bears and stuffed animals. All items collected will go to local charities such as hospitals, police and fire departments, doctor's offices and childcare facilities for underprivileged children. If you would like to make a donation, you may drop off your items in the labeled box in the Clough lobby. Thank you!

Superintendent’s Meet & Greet

Community Coffee Time with Parents and Residents

Please join us on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 Clough at 9:30a.m.  in the Media Center for an opportunity to talk with Dr. Maruszczak.

Important Upcoming Dates

November 10 -  Professional Development Day  -  No School   
    
November 11- Veteran’s Day- No School

November 16 & 17- Early Release ~   No school for Pre-K and Kindergarten      

                              Parent/Teacher Conferences

November 23 - Early Release

November 24 & 25 - Thanksgiving Break

Halloween Parade

What a fantastic Halloween Parade we had this morning! I would like to thank all the parents who came to view the children in their costumes this morning as they paraded around the gym. It was ssooooooo much fun!

We are excited to have our students come to school dressed in Halloween costumes this year on October 31st. We will also be having a Halloween Parade outside around the field at 9:30 so parents and students can have an opportunity to see all the different costumes.

Rock 'n Roll for Education

Please join us for the Rock 'n Roll Cocktail Party and Silent Auction

Sponsored by the Mendon-Upton Education Foundation (MUEF)
Tickets: $25 per person

                 Date: Friday, November 4, 2011
                 Time: 7:30 pm
                 Location: Imperial Ford Showcase Room 

Purchase tickets online at www.muedfoundation.org or by visiting Charles River Bank at 1 Hastings St. Mendon.

“When parents and teachers collaborate on behalf of children,

they create windows of light for the generations that follow.”

Book Drive

Chenoa Tracy Stone is a junior at Nipmuc High School and is conducting a book drive. All the books collected will be donated to Rosie’s Place, a charity that provides refuge for women and their children who are victims of domestic violence and abuse. Books and toys help children in these families provide comfort and entertainment and help them cope with the upheaval in their lives.

A collection box has been placed in the lobby of our school for books appropriate for any age child or teenager. Used books are great. If your child enjoyed a book, so will some child in need. Please help Chenoa improve the quality of life for these abused women and children. Thank you for your time and donations.

Preschool Screenings for the Mendon-Upton School District

The Mendon-Upton School District will be providing free screening for all children in the District who are between 3 to 5 years of age. Screenings will take place the week of October 17th-21st. The children will be screened by the PreK Special Education Team in the areas of cognition, speech/language, fine and gross motor skills. If you feel your child is having difficulty in any of these areas, please call Carol Suffredini at 508-529-1020 and set up a time for your child’s screening. The screening takes about 30 minutes.

 Henry P. Clough Elementary School is fortunate to partner with Charles River Bank to offer a banking program for students in grades 1-4.  It’s a terrific opportunity for children to develop savings habits and reinforce the math skills they learn in class by counting money and keeping track of their account balance in their register.
 Beginning in October, each Friday morning Emily Niss from the Charles River Bank and a few Clough parent volunteers and will set up a banking table in the lobby of the Clough School to collect cash, coins or checks from students to deposit into their very own School Savings Account. Students will help fill out their own deposit receipt and maintain their very own transaction register, tracking all deposits, interest payments or withdrawals.  This process will help children develop strong math and money management skills.

At the Clough School Open House in September, Charles River Bank set up a table in the lobby to answer any questions. If you did not sign up your child that evening and would like to or have any specific questions regarding the banking program you may email Ann Gonyea at Agonyea@charlesriverbank.com.

Special thanks to Ann Gonyea and Emily Niss for working with me to provide this wonderful opportunity for our students.

Important Dates To Remember

 •  October 6th ~ Rachel's Challenge Presentation for Kindergarten through Grade 4 @ 10:00

•   October 6th ~ Rachel's Challenge Presentation at Memorial School at 7:00. Please note that this presentation is for adults only due to the content of the presentation.

•   October 7th ~ Full Professional Development Day

•   October 10th ~ Columbus Day ~ no school

•   October 11th ~ Student pictures 

•   October 11th ~ PTO Meeting at 7:00 in the Media Room

•   October 20th ~ First Grade Southwick's Zoomobile Presentation

Service Project

Selena Gavin is a junior at Nipmuc High School who lives here in Mendon. She is currently developing her leadership project to gain entrance into the National Honors Society. Selena is working with the Medway Family Shelter to collect hygiene products and will be placing a donation box in the lobby of Clough Elementary School this week. Her goal is to collect regular or travel size health and beauty aids such as: toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, hand sanitizer, shaving cream, deodorant, cotton balls, etc. Selena will be retrieving the box by October 28th. If you would like to contribute to this worthwhile project please drop off any donations to the box in the lobby.  Thank you for your support with this valuable service project.

Taft Library

I had the opportunity to meet with Andrew Jenrich from the Taft Library today. Talk about an incredible meeting! We discussed how we can work together to provide our students with supplemental resources to assist them with their school work as well as keep them excited about reading and learning.  It was a productive meeting and more importantly it was great to hear firsthand all that the Mendon Library has to offer. Andrew’s willingness and eagerness to build collaboration with our school and staff is commendable. He had many wonderful ideas and was open to listening to my thoughts and ideas as well. Andrew will be attending our upcoming faculty meeting to talk to the staff about assisting them in finding appropriate resources and making them available for our students when they are learning about specific topics or working on projects.

Another idea being considered is having our first graders sign up for a library card at school and taking a trip to the library. How cool is that? I look forward to building this partnership with Andrew and the Taft Library. 

Who else is out there in Mendon who wants to work with us. I would love to tap into other people in the community who are willing to share their time and areas of expertise with us. Policeman, fireman, florists, seniors, story tellers, car dealers, restaurant owners, history buffs….. If you are interested in volunteering on a regular basis or even coming in one time to talk with students, read to them, or help with projects, please e-mail me @ jgallagher@mursd.org  or call me at 508-634-1580.

 

Rachel's Challenge

We will also be holding a Rachel's Challenge full content presentation (this will include footage and discussion on Columbine) at Memorial School at 7:00 pm on October 6th for parents of Clough and Memorial Parents as well as for any community members who wish to attend. This emotional presentation is for ADULTS only; absolutely no students/children will be allowed to see the presentation. Please make every attempt to see this program! I promise you, it will be worth getting a babysitter so you can see this presentation. Words just can’t explain what you will take away with you from this presentation. I have already seen the adult program twice and plan on attending next week’s presentation as well. The presentation and positive message is powerful and inspirational.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our two Physical Education teachers, Chrissy Horn and Dan Hayes who wrote the grant to bring Rachel’s Challenge to the elementary schools. Additionally, I can’t thank the Mendon Upton Education Foundation enough for approving to fund this grant and for supporting this huge event for our students.
  
If you want to learn more about who Rachel is and what the Kind and Compassion Program is all about check out the link below.

http://www.rachelschallenge.org/

Open House

I was like a kid myself waiting for the two Open House nights. I spent the past several weeks getting to know the students at Clough and now I was going to have the opportunity to meet their parents. As excited as I was to meet everyone I must admit I was a little nervous meeting the parents of 497 students! The two nights couldn’t have gone any better. The turn out was amazing. The sense of enthusiasm and excitement from students, parents, and teachers was felt everywhere.  Looking around and seeing the parents who showed up just reassured me of how lucky I am to be at Clough.