First Annual MMES Book Drive

When I was a classroom teacher, parents of former students would often come back to visit and give me  updates on how their child was doing in the upper grades.  Many of them started a tradition where they would bring gently used books that their children had outgrown for my classroom library.  This was a great resource for me as I always tried to keep my classroom library selection fresh for my students.

I was thinking about this the other day and thought that there must be many parents whose children have shelves of books at home that they have outgrown.  This led me to the concept of an annual MMES Book Drive.  If you have any gently used, age-appropriate books that your child(ren) has outgrown, would you consider donating them to MMES?  We can sort them by guided reading level and disperse them out to our classrooms to use when they are engaged in guided reading.  We can never have too many books at an elementary school!

A box is in the main lobby for book drop off.  Simply tie, bundle, box, or bag them and send them into school with your child to put into the MMES Book Drive Box.  All books will benefit students right here at our school!  Thank you for considering!

MMES Math Team is Back!

Our math team coach, Mrs. Blanchette will be on maternity leave for this year's season, but Mr. Willis heavily recruited an interim coach.  Coach Joseph McDonough will be leading our MMES Math Team into competition this year as we strive to repeat our accomplishment of performing in the top 10% of all schools in the nation!  Information is below...

Dear Parent/Guardian,

My name is Mr. McDonough, and I am a Fifth grade teacher at Memorial School.  I would like to invite your child to join the Math Team this year.  This team is a group of students who have a passion and talent in the area of mathematics.  We will be meeting in room 27 (Mr. McDonough’s room), at 7:30 AM, on Thursday mornings right before school.  Each Math Team meeting will last for 45 minutes.  The team will be starting practices and competitions on October 31st.  The team is limited to grades 3-5 due the high level of mathematics challenge the program will provide.

We will be using the Perennial Math program (www.perennialmath.com), which our team used last year.  The program includes monthly challenges that will be done by different math teams across the country.  The team is going to be limited to 30 students, so if you have an eager and determined young mathematician make sure you sign up right away.  First come, first served and subsequent members will be added to a wait list.

Last year, we had a very committed team of mathematicians.  The team did extremely well, placing in the top 10% of the entire country.  If your child is interested in joining the team, make sure that you have the time available for the next three months.  It is always tough to tell a student that the team is full and then have students drop out.  Please be sure to talk about the commitment with your child before signing him or her up.

Math is my favorite subject area, and I am super excited to be coaching the team this year.  If you love math, and love to challenge yourself, the math team might is the place for you.  Please follow this link to register for the team:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NEpgdaNHn5wsXdBdOw-XWhbzbLD3_nVIGfbmOzUAmhw/viewform

Sincerely,

Mr. McDonough

Math Team Coach

Red Sox Spirit Day!

Koji says tomorrow should be Red Sox Spirit Day at MMES!  Students are encouraged to wear their red-white-blue in support of the Red Sox as they take on The Cardinals in game one of the World Series!  Go Sox!  Please no face paint, hair color, or props...thank you!

Aquarium in Action!

Prior to the 2011-2012 school year, a partnership between our MMPTO, Spaulding Foundation, a parent volunteer (Tim Kirk), a local business, and myself resulted in MMES having the most dynamic and exciting lobby I have ever seen in an elementary school!  Since then, Tim Kirk, Joe Gugino, and the MMPTO have worked together to support this unique learning tool that has improved the feel of the building from the moment you step into the front door.  

I asked my teachers to let me know how they have used the aquarium over the past two years, and some responses are below...some really neat things are happening right in the lobby of MMES!

Thank you to the MMPTO, Spaulding Foundation, Imagine an Ocean, MMES staff, and Tim Kirk for making this available to all of us who learn from it!

Staff letters about how our aquarium is impacting our school (academics and climate):

In grade 5 last year, we used the aquarium as the backdrop for an introductory lesson on the relationships and interactions between two or more marine animals.  We read a story about symbiosis (mutualism) and then had the students create cause/effect chart to show how the animals rely on each other.  After this lesson, we moved into demonstrating our understanding of relationships between two or more people and events in a non-fiction historical text.  The students loved being in a new setting for their reading lesson and the live aquarium really helped to bring the lesson to life. 

Common Core ELA Information Text Standard:  Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

-Dina Flood

 Grade 5

This first year the tank arrived, 2011-2012, I had every class create an ocean theme lesson. The arrival of our new fish tank was the inspiration for the art show that year,"Art from under the sea". 

It was also the springboard for  the ocean mural volunteer Deb Citron Stevens made with the third students that year. 

In addition to the art show, I continue to have art lessons the second year, 2012-2013, that were inspired from the fish tank, here are two examples.  

Painting from Life:  Students came into the lobby with art supplies and sketched the fish and other living animals in the tank.  Later  students used watercolors to complete the finished look.

Another lesson inspired from the fish tank was the Crayola Clay Ocean Sculptures.  Students made mini ocean animals and propped them up with thin wires to make it look as though their clay animals were swimming in a small coral reef. 

This year I plan on having another painting from real life lesson and using the tank as our model.

I think the fish tank is a wonderful addition to our school. I enjoy watching the new arrivals. 

-Claudette Yutkins

 Art 

  

The aquarium provides a wonderful opportunity for students to take a meaningful break from the classroom when they need it.  A few minutes spent gazing at the salt water wonders can be just the escape that they needed before returning to daily activities. Students learn new vocabulary about this unique habitat, and it amazes me how easily they can recall the names of the creatures they identify.  They grow attached to some of the animals and personify their new friends, noticing patterns of how they swim or where they tend  hide. This experience for the students is truly spectacular!

Cait Hatch

Grade K

Tim Kirk teaching my (Elizabeth Decker) students about ocean life:

We used the aquarium this morning to make an phonics lesson more engaging for second grade students.  We first had a classroom lesson on adjectives.  We then did an Aquarium Adjective Hunt and found 10 interesting adjectives.  We used our 5 best adjectives and created super sentences.  Finally we sketched the aquarium using our adjectives to help us with our sketch. I have attached a picture of us at the aquarium as well as the worksheet used in our lesson.  My students loved this lesson!
-Eileen Cellucci

 Grade 2

The preschool makes it a daily stop on the way to get milk in the cafeteria.  It has also been used as an incentive as a special treat visiting the fish.  We have had class discussions and read fish stories as a result.

-Allison Turpel
 Preschool

Exciting Times at MMES...

Thank you to all of the parents, teachers, and the PTO board for bringing an exciting enrichment schedule to us this year!  We are ALL in for a treat...

Manchester Memorial Elementary School

PTO Enrichment Calendar 2013-14

Don’t be alarmed if your child comes home talking about BMX riders zipping through the gym, or that they spotted an oversized horseshoe crab in the cafeteria, or better yet that science class left everyone’s hair standing up on end!  These may sound like some serious tall tales but they are just a few highlights of this year’s exciting Enrichment Calendar. 

With the goal of bringing to life the classroom curriculum, the PTO Enrichment Committee, with input from the teachers, has put together a diverse year-long calendar of hands-on engaging programs for the students. 

The excitement begins on Monday, October 7 when EASTERN ACTION SPORTS TEAM takes over MMES gym and their BMX riders wow the students with tricks and jumps, all while promoting anti-bullying, team work and character building themes with a bit of bike safety thrown in for good measure.  Having performed all over the East Coast and Mid West, the Eastern Action Sports Team uses the BMX bikes to engage students and help them connect with their positive messages.

Back by popular demand, each grade will paid a visit from the one and only Special Agent Scientist, Michael Bergman, the founder of Top Secret Science! His innovative programs bring to life the science students are learning in class through creative experimentation.

Building on the success of last year’s “One School, One Book Program”, MMES is excited to be partnering this year with Essex Elementary School to expand our community read! Kicking off in late November, there will be many components to this exciting program including a musical performance at the MERHS auditorium, various classroom activities as well as a global initiative. Be on the lookout for more details to come about this exciting program!  We are keeping the book under wraps for now but this is going to be BIG!

Later in the year, Kindergarteners and First graders will get the chance to explore and interact with local tide pool animals when the New England Aquarium comes for a visit with their Tidal Pools.  Second and Third graders will be transported to another time with the help of the amazing Tanglewood Marionettes who bring classic tales to life using their large, beautifully hand-crafted marionettes and colorful sets. Lastly, Fourth and Fifth graders will have the opportunity to work on their own writing in classroom workshops with award-winning children’s author Gregory Mone.  

Parent Volunteers

It takes a village...

Often times, teachers and other staff members are in need of parent volunteers to help with a project or to help MMES reach our goals as a school.  We are curious to learn about some untapped resources that may be out there in our school community.  If you have a child at MMES, please take a moment to complete the survey to let us know about your willingness and ability to volunteer to help support our staff and students.  Thank you, as always, for your support at home.

A database will be compiled and made available for all staff should a volunteer need arise throughout the school year.  Thank you, as always, for your support at home!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gLwcOuxvYVtGBfMNeXr4CA9BZnJ2t6-lzjRSqSC60ho/viewform