Good Evening,
It's hard to believe it's the last day of April!! With spring (showers) in the air, I’ve been thinking a lot about seeds. Seemingly everywhere we look right now, things are blooming and growing. It’s so easy to sit back and appreciate all that nature and those who love to tend the gardens have accomplished. A new piece of evidence of their love, energy, commitment, and expertise, is quite literally at every turn. The bulbs planted during the 2022 Cory Taber Hat & Kite Day are blooming, the grass is growing, 2nd grade is full of seedlings soon to take root in the PES garden.
Teaching can often be like this. After much practice and instruction, our students bloom. It turns up in their smiles of accomplishment, improved test scores, and readiness for the next challenge. These are moments of pure joy and gold for teachers. After the “long winter” of planting seeds throughout the school year, it’s wonderful to reach the finish line and reflect on how much our students learned and grew this year.
Teaching (and parenting) can also require a great deal of faith, collaboration, trial, and error. Sometimes, the seeds we’re planting - whether academic seeds or the seeds of being kind to one another - don’t seem to take root. So what do we do? We talk with one another to get ideas about how to help this particular seed grow. We make adjustments in hopes of providing the right growing experiences. We sometimes get quite frustrated that efforts don’t seem to be working.
When I arrived at the DEI retreat this weekend, I dealt with a couple of disciplinary issues that had me feeling frustrated and ineffective in our efforts to become a truly welcoming and inclusive community. As we shared our individual journeys - including our understanding and beliefs about race, recognizing our own biases, and generally becoming the people we are today - it struck me that this is an ongoing process in life. It doesn’t just take time, it takes a lifetime. I left the retreat remembering that our students are on their own journey to identify their values and challenge their beliefs or what they see on social media, or hear on the bus. Mostly, I left feeling pretty thankful they have the good fortune of the collective wisdom and support of PES staff, parents, and the wider Plainfield community - at least for the first several years of their journeys!
A few reminders:
- All-School Assembly Friday, May 5th - we will have an all-school assembly Friday to recognize community achievements and to pair up with our partner classes as we begin planning for the Beaupre Community Service Day.
- 7th Grade Auction: Sunday, May 7th - 4 to 6 pm at the Plainfield Town Hall - Loads of fun items are coming in from gift certificates to your favorite local stores and establishments to AirBnB stays in Costa Rica (highly recommend bidding on these!)
- 5th Grade Bridge UP Dress Rehearsal - Monday, May 8th grades 3 to 6 will attend the Bridge UP performances for both Cornish and Plainfield. The performances will take place from 10 to 11 am on the Cornish stage (watch for field trip permission forms!)
- Teacher Appreciation Week!! Week of May 8th - Check with the PTA (plainfieldnh.pta@gmail.com) for ways you can get involved to show your child(ren)’s teacher some TLC!
- 5th Grade Bridge Up performance at Northern Stage! May 10th - at 6:45 pm.
And here are some other updates/reminders to be aware of through the coming weeks:
- Hiring Updates:
- Media Library Specialist - finalists being considered by the SAU
- PE/Health Teacher - accepting applications through School Spring until May 12th and interviews will begin shortly thereafter.
- An Elementary Teacher (K to 4) position has been posted.
- New positions:
- Curriculum Instruction and Assessment finalists will meet with Dr. Leggett this week.
- Tech Coordinator interviews are to take place this week.
- Off-site Evacuation Drill - It’s been a few years since we practiced evacuating to the KUA Art Center. We are in the process of planning a drill in early June. Watch for more information later in May as it will impact our pick-up and end-of-day transportation process.
From Counseling Office:
- Link to HACTC Summer Camp Application - https://www.hactc.com/students/summer-camp
- 504 transition meetings with LHS will take place on May 9th, 2023 - the time of day to be determined. Emails have been sent home to families who have plans to transition - please reach out with any questions!
Summer Skills Camp will run from July 10 through Thursday, August 3. You may sign up for individual, two-week, or four-week sessions. Read more and register HERE.
From the Nurse’s Office: We have been going through snacks at an alarming rate. The Town of Plainfield provides the Nurse’s Office with a selection of snacks for students who need something extra to get them through the day. Recently I’ve noticed that the older students especially come in for snacks sometimes several times a day. Please ensure that your growing students are coming to school with a decent supply of snacks and food and save the supply in the nurse's office for emergencies. Thanks! Nurse Beth
From the Facilities Crew (and all of us!!): Families, please remember we are heading into MUD season. The snow has melted off the playground and fields and made the woodchips/grass very wet and squishy. Facilities asks that your child(ren) have a pair of inside shoes to change into to save our classrooms and gym floor from the mud and debris being tracked in on 400+ feet. Thank you for your cooperation :)
Please remind your child(ren) to check Lost & Found and clean out their lockers and desks regularly. Please don’t forget you can view our Lost and Found closet online. The lost and found website is updated weekly.
Finally, since we are pushing the last day of school to June 21st, some of the end-of-year events have and/or will change. You can find an updated list below through June 21st. Please watch this space weekly. I will highlight changes each week.
Don’t forget the rain boots this week!
Audra
MAY
1 4 Winds Training at Cornish 8:30 am
2 K to 4 School Sing – 8:00 am - Lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
3 BridgeUP - 5th Grade 9:45 am
3 CANCELED - Art Club Grades 5-8 3:00 pm
4 BridgeUP - 5th Grade 9:45 am
5 Mid-term Reports Sent Home
5 BridgeUP - 5th Grade 9:45 am
8-12 Teacher Appreciation Week
8 BridgeUP In School Performance - 5th Grade 10 am at Cornish
9 K to 4 School Sing – 8:00 am - Lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
9 BridgeUP - 5th Grade 9:45 am
9 PTA Meeting – 6 pm - Library
10-12 Mother’s Day Plant Sale
10 Art Club Grades 3/4, 3:00 pm
10 BridgeUP Performance @ Northern Stage- 5th Grade 6:46pm
11 BridgeUP Close Out- 5th Grade 9:45 am
11 Field Trip to Montshire Museum - Grades 7 & 8
15 Safety Committee Meeting – 3:15 pm - Library
15 SAS Testing begins
16 K to 4 School Sing – 8:00 am - Lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
17 Early Release Day, 12:50 pm
17 Kindergarten Info Night for Parents – 5:30 pm
18 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Meeting – 6 pm - Library
18 PTA Sponsored Potluck – K to 2 Families
19 UVMC Tour Group Perform for grades K-4 1:05 pm
23 K to 4 School Sing – 8:00 am - Lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
23 Browne Center 1st Grade Parent Night
24 Professional Development Committee Meeting – 3:10 to 4:30 - Library
24 Art Club Grades 3/4 3:00 pm
26 Beaupre Community Service Day
26 All School Assembly - Beaupre Community Service Day
29 No School - Memorial Day
30 iReady Testing Begins
30 Memorial Day Ceremony, 8:10-8:30 a.m.- NO ALL SCHOOL SING
31 Art Club Grades 5-8 3:00 pm
31 Kindergarten Screenings – by appointment
31 Unified Arts Showcase, 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
31 Spring Band and Chorus Concert, 1:00 and 6:00 pm
JUNE
1 Kindergarten Screenings – by appointment
6 K to 4 School Sing – 8:00 am - Lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
7 Art Club Grades 3/4 3:00 pm
8 Lebanon High School Graduation
13 K to 4 School Sing – 8:00 am - Lobby – Parents/Guardians Welcome
14 8th Grade Celebration of Learning Luncheon 12:00 pm
14 All School Assembly 1:50 pm
15 Step Up Day
15 Upper Grades Field Day
15 Spring Fling (6th gr. sponsor) – 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
16 Field Day – Lower Grades
16 PES 8th Grade Graduation
19 Kindergarten Picnic at Coach M’s house 11:45 am
19 Spelling Bee Grades 1-4 1:00 pm
20 Kindergarten Graduation 8:30 am
21 Last Day of School Early Release Day 12:50 pm
*Dates are subject to change. Please follow the events schedule in our weekly newsletter.