After School Enrichment Program

Thank you to everyone who completed the surveys regarding the enrichment program opportunities. The Junior Engineering and Knitting Programs will be scheduled because the number of interested students were sufficient. The older engineering program did not have enough interested students; therefore, that program will not be planned.

All families that sent in forms, will receive, via mail, an officially sign-up form which will require payment to be sent to the school prior to their child being able to participate in the enrichment program.

The school is excited to offer these new programs:

Junior Engineering Program:

• This program has seven interested students.

• It will begin on March 1, the Thursday after vacation from 3:15-5:15.

• Parents/guardians are expected to pick up their child promptly at 5:15.

• If there is a cancellation to this scheduled time, parents/guardians will be contacted by the school.

Knitting Program:

• The Knitting Program has 19 interested students.

• Ms. Harrington will be offering two different sessions to accommodate all the knitters.

• If your child is participating from 3:30-4:30, parents/guardians will need to be available for pick up at that time.

• The younger knitters will come from 4-4:30 and again will need to be picked up by 4:30.

• The first session Knitting Program will begin on Monday, March 5. The second session will be

Knitting parents/guardians may want to take an opportunity to sign their child up for the regular After School Program that runs from 3:15 to 5:30 every day. A knitting student could go to the regular After School Program until 4 PM. Then that child goes to knitting and will be able to return to the regular After School Program. If knitting parents/guardians are interested, they need to complete the official regular after school program forms and give payment before they begin this program.

THE OFFICIAL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM FORMS WILL BE SENT IN THE MAIL TO ALL PARENTS/GUARDIANS WHO SHOWED AN INTEREST. PAYMENT MUST BE SENT TO THE SCHOOL PRIOR TO A CHILD BEGINNING THE PROGRAM AFTER VACATION.

Thank you.
Charlene Galenski, Principal

After School Reminder

Erving Elementary School has an After School Program and a Green Team Program scheduled during each week of school. These programs often times use the playground areas. The school respectfully asks students and families to come to use the playground after 5:30 PM if they so wish. The reason involves safety. The adults responsible for their programs must only be working with the students that parents/guardians have enrolled in these programs. Thank you for reading this note.

Exciting Sixth Grade Program Announcement

Parents/ guardians of sixth graders will learn about a wonderful opportunity that their child may experience at Nature’s Classroom in Hancock, New Hampshire. Mrs. Galenski has met with Larry Chambers, the School Program Coordinator from Nature’s Classroom at the Sargent Center. There is a possibility that our sixth grade students could spend from April 2 though April 6 an outdoor classroom experience on 700 acres of forest, pond, meadow, bog, and river communities. This adventure in learning offers scientific field investigations, adventure activities, and outdoor skills. This innovative educational program is an experience that most children cherish for many years.

Mrs. Galenski will be sending letters to each sixth grade student’s family explaining the process and program. In addition, there will be a meeting on the Tuesday after vacation at 6 PM to answer questions regarding this program. At that meeting sixth grade parents/guardians will be asked to state whether they would like their child to participate in the program. That date is February 28. The hope is that all sixth grade parents/guardians attend this important meeting.

This wonderful program hopes to be the beginning of a special annual experience for Erving sixth grade students.

SIXTH GRADE PARENTS/GUARDIANS AND STUDENTS, PLEASE SAVE THE DATE OF FEBRUARY 28 AT 6:OO PM TO MEET TO LEARN ABOUT THE NATURE’S CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE.

Lights, action, camera, and SONG!

Sporting their brand new blue chorus t-shirts, our 5^th and 6^th Grade Chorus showed poise, focus, and superior musicality as they sang their way into the “Together in Song” series for Channel 57 in Springfield. They were allowed only one run through as rehearsal, and then two times to tape. Our students performed professionally, as if they were old hands at being in a TV studio. While the studio was being readied, several singers were interviewed, and each spoke eloquently about being in a chorus, working for a common goal with friends, and feeling good about hard work resulting in a fine product. All of us, Ms. Samuels, Mr. Hines, Ms. Bridgewater, Ms. Mathey, and Ms. Galenski, were tremendously impressed! Many thanks to the parents for their support, and much praise to our EES musicians for all their hard work!

We should know soon when we will be broadcast, and possibly know by April 11^th if we made it into the next round of the competition.

Erving Elementary School’s Proposed After School Enrichment Program

Dear parents and guardians,

For a few years, the Erving Elementary School has been interested in offering an enrichment program during the after school hours for our students. This program can only exist if there is enough interest from families to participate. Therefore, if you are willing to commit to any of these programs, please fill out the form and return it to the school by February 14. Once all the forms are returned, interested families will be contacted if the programs are “A GO”. Please ONLY sign up if you are interested and willing to make the commitment.

Please complete the following information and circle which program your child is interested in attending:

Child’s name:

Parent/Guardian’s name:

Contact phone number:

PLEASE CIRCLE WHICH PROGRAM YOUR CHILD IS INTERESTED IN ATTENDING:

It is very important to note that these programs will only happen if there is enough interest in Erving families having their child participate. Payment is due prior to the beginning of the program. Parents/guardians also would be expected to pick up their child at the conclusion of each day’s program.

If you are interested in participating, please complete the following form and return it to the office in an envelope marked “AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM”. Shortly after February 14, parents/guardians will be informed if the program is “A GO”. At that time, payment will be necessary to secure a place in a program. If too many children have an interest, a lottery will be held to select the children for those programs that have more students than spaces.

Parent/Guardian Signature:

Winter Outerwear

As the cold weather has arrived, many adults have noticed some children are arriving to school with sweatshirts and/or no outer coats. The determination of how the students dress for the colder weather is truly a parental/guardian decision. If it becomes very cold, the school nurse gives students warm coats to wear when a light long sleeved shirt is serving as a jacket and is not enough for warmth. This notice is informational only to let families know that some students are not wearing warm coats at this time.

Congratulations to the Erving Elementary School Choir for being selected to participate in the upcoming TV series Together in Song: A Celebration of Choral Music in Western New England. The next part to this program involves the students traveling to Springfield to perform and be taped in the WGBY 57 television studio. Selections not to exceed four minutes of time will be performed by our group. The final phase of this project involves a Together in Song Festival and Finale which will feature 4 semi-finalists from each category performing in a concert which will be broadcast live from the Paramount Theater in Springfield. That concert will either be held on April 21 or April 22. Congratulations to our EES choir for making it through the first step in this wonderful adventure.

Erving Elementary School prides itself in keeping the lines of communication open between families and the school. There often are questions regarding chaperoning of field trips at each grade level. It is important to maintain a strong communication system for all involved. This week, each grade will have a notice attached to Inside Erving explaining the chaperone protocol your child’s teacher will use for this year. This notice will assist families in knowing how your child’s classroom will utilize chaperones for field trips. Hopefully, this information being presented early in the school year will allow parents/guardians to understand the process for chaperoning.

Reverse 911 System Update

Sharing of School Event Photos or Videos

Our world has changed dramatically with the addition of computers, cell phones, iPads, Blackberries, etc. These communication devices have become an essential tool to many people both in their workplace and in their personal lives. With this change comes the accessibility for people to share different pictures and videos with others with general ease. How wonderful it is to be able to view an event that may occur halfway around the world in a matter of seconds!

There is a concern that has been discussed with the Erving staff regarding precautions that families need to consider regarding the privacy of others. When families take photos or videos during school events, it would be greatly appreciated that these pictures not be placed on YouTube or the web. The reason being that at our school, there are some families who do not want their children’s pictures available to others on the web. Your serious consideration to respect the privacy of others would be appreciated by the Erving staff.

Exciting Erving Website News!!!!!!

Tom Smith, Erving’s Technology Coordinator, has entered a new link of various school videos about Erving Elementary School events. Please take a minute to look at our school website and “click” on “EES Videos”, the second green button from the bottom, to view any of the four posted videos. What a wonderful addition to our website!!! Thank you, Tom Smith, for adding this new feature to our site.

Would You Like to Offer Your Talents to Erving Elementary School????

The Erving School Council would like to offer two enrichment programs for the students during the After School Program. The Council is asking community members to consider being a part of this enrichment program. If you have a special talent or hobby that you would like to teach young children, the Council would truly appreciate hearing from you. Please complete the following form and send it to the school or call the school at 4232-3326 if you are interested in becoming a part of the enrichment program. The following thoughts have been suggested regarding this program:

1. Offer the program for eight weeks.

2. The program would be held on one day each of those eight weeks.

3. Provide a stipend to the instructors. This would be contingent on enough participation.

4. Materials would need to be discussed as to payment for the supplies.

The following activities have been discussed:

• Drama coach

• Dance lessons

• Robotics

• Lego Building

• Science Club

• Voice Lessons

• Arts/Crafts Projects

• Chess Tournament

• Knitting/Crocheting

• Macramé

• Athletic activities

Certainly other talents may be considered. Please complete the form and return it to the school as soon as possible if you are interested in being an instructor.

Name: ____________________   Phone Number:____________________

Activity to be offered: ____________________   Address:____________________

EES Weather Station

We are pleased to announce that our Weather Station is back up and running. We have had some glitches with it, but we believe most of them are ironed out at this point. We are going to relink our Weather navigation button on the Erving Elementary School's web site to a new page that will have gauges from the Weather Station displayed. These guages are set to update every ten minutes. There will still be a link to the NOAA web page and the Erving area for those still wanting a quick link to NOAA's current forecast. We hope everyone will enjoy it.