Daisy Daily for the Week of January 28, 2019

Daisy Staff,

Hope that everyone enjoyed the weekend! As we start off a new week of school, here are a few notes:

• Thanks to all for your flexibility last Friday, when we hosted the actors from "Grumbling Griffins" with us for the day to conduct practice workshops with our students, culminating in a school-wide performance of "The Myth of Persephone" at the end of the day.  I so appreciate everyone's involvement in this and can't thank Joe Biegaj enough for all the artwork that he completed with students in advance of that day.  Thanks to our Daisy PTO for sponsoring this cultural arts event!

• Please remember that Monday, Jan. 28, will be a "D" Day and then Tuesday, Jan. 29, will be an "A" Day.  Please note that each rotation day is marked on our Staff Google calendar.
• Please welcome Stephanie Merriman, who will join us tomorrow/Monday as a long-term substitute in Teri Paulsen's kindergarten classroom through the end of the school year. Here's a photo of Stephanie with her family...

• We are so grateful to Nancy Guindon, who substituted in kindergarten for the past few weeks.  She will return to working with students in grades K, 1 and 2 with Taylor Price.

• There will be a PTO Meeting after school on Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 3:15-4:15 pm.
• On Wednesday, Jan. 30, we have a School-based PLC from 3:15-4:15 pm in our library.  Beth Brunet of LEARN will join us to discuss EL teaching strategies.
• Our 100th Day of School is scheduled to be Monday, Feb. 4.  We will hold our culminating event for "One School, One Book" on that day.  Details of the scheduled events of the day will be released soon.  (We will skip the letter rotation for that day.)  Thanks so much to Cathy Dowler for planning this exciting event!

• Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place on Feb. 5 and 7, with early dismissal at 1 pm.  We will not hold a Faculty Meeting on Wed., Feb. 6, so that teachers may schedule conferences on that day.
• February Vacation Week will take place Feb. 18-22.  The school office will remain open during that week, except for Monday, Feb. 18, which is a holiday for Presidents' Day.

• "Light on Westbrook" Photographic Art Show at Oxford Academy will take place on Sat., March 23, 6-8 pm,  to benefit the Summer Meals Program at Daisy.  Please mark your calendars and plan to join in this fun, worthwhile event!

As always, please check our Daisy Staff Calendar for all the details of upcoming events at:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

Please also let me know about events to add to this calendar for the good of all.

Please let me know if you can help with the following:

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY TO WELCOME A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT VOLUNTEER INTO CLASSROOMS:

Marti White, of Oxford Academy,  has visited Daisy with a student from Oxford who is very interested in working with our students while using his Spanish, which is a second language for him.  He is most interested in working with EL students whose native language is Spanish and/or assisting in our Spanish classes.  He is available to come to Daisy at the following times and would be supervised by Marti White:

• Tuesdays from 10:30 am to 12 Noon

• Fridays from 9:05 to 10:00 am

Please let me know if any staff members would like to give Oxford student Bailin Pollard an opportunity to work with our students.

Thanks and let's make it a great week!

Ruth

Daisy Daily for the Week of January 21, 2019

Many, many thanks to Joe Biegaj for helping our students prepare their props and masks for the special cultural arts event: "The Myth of Persephone" to be performed this Friday in the gym.  Please refer to earlier schedule of practices for each grade level, as well as the production.

Daisy Staff,

Hope everyone enjoyed a long holiday weekend, however brutally cold.  As we start off a new week of school, here are a few notes:

• Our first week of LAS Links Testing went extremely well, due to the hard work and planning of Melissa Vasquez-McCoy and her support team.  The second (and final) week of testing will take place this week in Computer Lab 2, as per the schedule distributed in an earlier e-mail.  Melissa will facilitate this mandated testing this week and will return to her regular schedule of working with students next week. 
• Leadership Meeting and Grade-level Meetings,  as scheduled, will be held in the office this week.
• On Tuesday, Jan. 22, we will host an informal Open House in Room 8, for parents/guardians and students to meet Mrs. Stephanie Merriman, long-term substitute for Teri Paulsen.
• Friday, Jan. 25: RE-SCHEDULED PTO-Sponsored Cultural Arts Play "Myth of Persephone."  Please see the detailed earlier e-mail regarding the schedule for the day.  The all-school assembly will take place at 1:30-2:30 pm in the Gym.  IN ORDER FOR THIS RE-SCHEDULED DATE TO WORK, FRIDAY WILL BE A "E" Day and then next Monday will be a "D" day.  Please consult our Daisy Staff Google Calendar for details of the rotating A-B-C-D-E schedule.

SAVE THE DATE:

Saturday, March 23, 6-8 pm, "Light on Westbrook" Photographic Art Show at Oxford Academy to benefit the Summer Meals Program at Daisy.  Please mark your calendars and plan to join in this fun, worthwhile event!

As always, please check our Daisy Staff Calendar for all the details of upcoming events at:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

Please also let me know about events to add to this calendar for the good of all.

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY TO WELCOME A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT VOLUNTEER INTO CLASSROOMS:

Marti White, of Oxford Academy,  has visited Daisy with a student from Oxford who is very interested in working with our students while using his Spanish, which is a second language for him.  He is most interested in working with EL students whose native language is Spanish and/or assisting in our Spanish classes.  He is available to come to Daisy at the following times and would be supervised by Marti White:

• Tuesdays from 10:30 am to 12 Noon

• Fridays from 9:05 to 10:00 am

Please let me know if any staff members would like to give Oxford student Bailin Pollard an opportunity to work with our students.

Thanks and let's make it a great week!

Ruth

So true!!!

Science in Fourth Grade

Daisy Staff,

Hope everyone enjoyed a good weekend.  As we start off a new week of school, here are a few notes:

• LAS Links Testing will take place the weeks of Jan. 14 and Jan. 21 in Computer Lab 2, as per the schedule distributed in an earlier e-mail.  Melissa Vasquez-McCoy will facilitate this mandated testing during the next two weeks and will return to her regular schedule after that time.
• Our very own district "Teacher of the Year," Seana Nygard, is off on an amazing Professional Development experience Jan. 14-16 at Teachers College in NYC, working with literacy and EL strategies.  Lori Pill will substitute in Seana's classroom during these three days and families have  been informed about her honor and absence due to this PD opportunity.
• Coverage of Teri Paulsen's K Class:  Nancy Guindon will continue to work with our kindergarten students through January 25.  We are so very fortunate to have such an experienced, certified K teacher as Nancy to teach our students, along with support in the morning provided by Pat Ingham.  On January 28, we plan to welcome Stephanie Merriman, another very qualified K teacher to join us through the end of this school year.  A certified K-6 teacher, as well as a Reading Interventionist, Stephanie is currently completing an interim kindergarten teaching position in Guilford Public Schools.  She has experience in Reading and Writing Workshop, Fundations and Bridges Math.
• Grade-level Meetings, as scheduled, will be held in the office this week.
• Friday, Jan. 18: PTO-Sponsored Cultural Arts Play "Myth of Persephone."  Please see the detailed earlier e-mail regarding the schedule for the day.  The all-school assembly will take place at 1:30-2:30 pm in the Gym.
• Monday, Jan. 21: Martin Luther King, Jr., Day; School Holiday

SAVE THE DATE:

Saturday, March 23, 6-8 pm, "Light on Westbrook" Photographic Art Show at Oxford Academy to benefit the Summer Meals Program at Daisy.  Please mark your calendars and plan to join in this fun, worthwhile event!

As always, please check our Daisy Staff Calendar for all the details of upcoming events at:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

Please also let me know about events to add to this calendar for the good of all.

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY TO WELCOME A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT VOLUNTEER INTO CLASSROOMS:

Marti White, of Oxford Academy,  has visited Daisy with a student from Oxford who is very interested in working with our students while using his Spanish, which is a second language for him.  He is most interested in working with EL students whose native language is Spanish or assisting in our Spanish classes.  He is available to come to Daisy at the following times and would be supervised by Marti White:

• Tuesdays from 10:30 am to 12 Noon

• Fridays from 9:05 to 10:00 am

Please let me know if any staff members would like to give Oxford student Bailin Pollard an opportunity to work with our students.

Thanks and let's make it a great week!

Ruth

"Daisy Daily" for the Week of January 7, 2019

Daisy Staff,

We kicked off our "One School, One Book" last Friday, sending home copies of the book, "The Invisible Boy" to each family.  On Monday, we will send home the first weekly activity for families.  Classroom teachers, please check your mailboxes for this information to send home on Monday.  Thanks to ALL for your support with this important project.  There are extra copies of the book in the office for all staff members to enjoy.

A few notes about the week/s ahead:

• Tuesday, Jan. 8: Board of Education Meeting in WHS Library, 7 pm.
• Wednesday, Jan. 9: Department-Based PLC Meetings, 3:15-4:15 pm.
• Grade-level Meetings, as scheduled, in the office this week.
• Friday, Jan. 18: PTO-Sponsored Cultural Arts Play "Myth of Persephone."
• Monday, Jan. 21: Martin Luther King, Jr., Day; School Holiday

SAVE THE DATE:

Saturday, March 23, 6-8 pm, "Light on Westbrook" Photographic Art Show at Oxford Academy to benefit the Summer Meals Program at Daisy.  Please mark your calendars and plan to join in this fun, worthwhile event!

As always, please check our Daisy Staff Calendar for all the details of upcoming events at:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

Please also let me know about events to add to this calendar for the good of all.

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY TO WELCOME A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT VOLUNTEER INTO CLASSROOMS:
Marti White, of Oxford Academy,  has visited Daisy with a student from Oxford who is very interested in working with our students while using his Spanish, which is a second language for him.  He is most interested in working with EL students whose native language is Spanish or assisting in our Spanish classes.  He is available to come to Daisy at the following times and would be supervised by Marti White:

• Tuesdays from 10:30-12 Noon

• Fridays from 9:05 to 10:00 am

Please let me know if any staff members would like to give Oxford student Bailin Pollard an opportunity to work with our students.

Thanks and let's make it a great week!

Ruth

Daisy Daily for the Week of December 31, 2018

"Five Golden Rings" from our Daisy Annual Holiday Sing-a-long

January 1, 2019

Daisy Staff,

I sincerely hope that you enjoyed a wonderful, safe holiday break with family and friends.  This first week back will be a very quick, three-day week, I'm sure.

As always, please consult our Daisy Staff Google Calendar for everything you need to know about upcoming events, etc., at:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

A few updates about the week/s ahead:

• We have a Faculty Meeting on Wed., Jan. 2, from 3:15-4:15 pm in the Library.  Agendas were sent out under separate e-mail.
• Grade-Level Meetings this week will take place in grade-level classrooms, instead of the office.  Teachers, please use this time for team planning.
• We will kick off "One School, One Book" on Friday, Jan. 4.  Details will be forthcoming at Wed.'s Faculty Meeting.  A copy of "The Invisible Boy" will be sent home to each family in grades Preschool through Grade 4 (via the oldest child in each family) on Friday.
• Over the holiday break, we completed a few outstanding Fire Code compliance issues and I have contacted individual teachers re: these updates.  We also conducted additional testing of fire alarm audible/visual alerts.
• We will welcome three new students to Daisy on our first day back, in preschool, kindergarten and second grade.  We expect another new kindergarten student before the week is over.  Specific data has been shared with teachers working with our new students.
• Please welcome new paraprofessional, Cristina Lugo, who will join us in Preschool on Jan. 2.
• Over the holiday break, our custodial staff completed some deeper cleaning in classrooms and common areas, as well as a newly polished front entryway.

Looking forward to welcoming everyone back!

As always, please let me know your concerns.

Warmly,

Ruth

Annual Pajama Day before the Holiday Break