The latest announcements from the Principal and the PTO...

Memorial Spaulding T-Shirts will be on sale, tomorrow morning, 8:30ish-9:00am, in the front hall.

The shirts are 10$ each.

Thank you!

REMINDER:

Library Volunteers

past, present and future

You are invited to a
COFFEE
Tuesday January 24, 2012
8:30-9:30 in the library

Learn the fine points of library volunteering

Stay to help with projects, processing, shelving & shelf reading
for an hour afterwards, if you can!!!

Bring a friend.

Hope to see you there!

Diane

Library Volunteers

past, present and future

You are invited to a
COFFEE
Tuesday January 24, 2012
8:30-9:30 in the library

Learn the fine points of library volunteering

Stay to help with

Projects, processing, shelving & shelf reading
for an hour afterwards

Bring a friend.

Hope to see you there!

January 6, 2012

Dear Memorial Spaulding Families:

Many thanks to the families who generously donated a book to the school library at the holidays. (If I have forgotten anyone please forgive me-I know several of you donated books at other times that I did not write down—my apologies!)

People donate books in honor of a beloved grandfather, a favorite teacher, for the whole school, in honor of a child’s birthday or a first lost tooth- for any reason at all! The students select a book from the new book shelf and a special dedication nameplate is put in the book.

(By the way it is NOT TOO LATE to do this if you meant to but didn’t get around to it yet)

On behalf of everyone at Memorial Spaulding School, THANK YOU to the following students and their families:

Philip Elbert, Anna Kuo, Max and Sophie Worman, Lisa Ofir, Richa Mishra, Ben Goldblatt, Grace Morrison, Katie Lin, Kavin Chandok, Chris Mundanchery, Kyle Zhang, Madison and Tyler Wong, Zachary Rubinoff, Mackenzie Ribner, Alexandra Kuo,Eszter Gyuris, Riya Mishra, Tia Newton, Zachary Hung, Eric Steinberg and Jaden and Henry Kominik.

Mrs. Holzheimer

WHEN: This Friday, January 13th, from 8:30 – 9:00 AM and every other Friday through May in the downstairs cafe.

WHAT IS IT: It is the biggest Memorial Spaulding PTO fundraiser of the year and all the proceeds go directly to supplying our school with new and updated technology. Aside from being a money raising event it is also an evening for Memorial Spaulding parents and friends to enjoy an adult evening out with good food, good drinks and hopefully goods times. This year’s theme has yet to be determined (I hope you will help with that…)

WHY: 100% to benefit our school’s technology. In 2010 we raised almost $30,000 which went towards the fifth grade classroom digital whiteboards. In previous years funds went towards laptops, carts, Elmo projectors, classroom Macs and much more… Considering our school is among the worst outfitted elementary schools in Newton we really can use your help!!!

WHAT DO WE NEED: Good and creative ideas, 30-minutes of your time every other week (and, yes, as we get closer to the event we will need more than that…), access to various event planning resources, auction items (or those willing to “ask”) and whatever it takes to raise as much as we can for our children’s in-school technology resources.

No need to RSVP. Please just come this FRIDAY THE 13TH IN THE SCHOOL’S DOWNSTAIRS CAFE.

CO-CHAIRS: TERRY YANCEY AND KYLE TAGER (yes, the MSPTO First Men)

The new GREY Memorial Spaulding T-shirts will be on sale this Friday morning, from 8:30 – 9:15am in the front hall.

Please stop by to purchase a shirt or 2, only $10 each!

Thank you!

Sharon, Monica, Megan and Lisa

First Ever Winter Open House- Technology Now

Thursday, Jan. 12th from 7:00-8:30pm.

We really need to see everyone at the Winter Open House. We will be sharing information about the state of all the technology at the school and what we need to do to ensure Memorial Spaulding has equal technology resources to other schools in the district. Come see how we use technology now to support learning and what we could do if we had access to more technology.  Both students and teachers will be sharing their ideas with all of you.  We have also invited Leo Brehm, the Technology Director for the Newton Public Schools to join us to share his vision for technology in Newton.  This evening is the PTO’s Kick Off to the Technology Fundraising campaign.

Please plan to come to this important meeting! Bring a friend!!!

Thank you!

Sharon, Monica, Megan and Lisa McManus

Components of a High Quality Reading Program for Children with Reading Disabilities
presented by Elaine Holden

Thursday, January 12 at 7:00 PM (note earlier time)

Dr. Holden will discuss the significance of delays in the acquisition of basic reading skills and how to use current research to advocate for instruction that will be effective for children of all ages with reading challenges. She will also discuss the importance of reading fluency as a necessary skill for reading comprehension. She will discuss the higher-level language skills (vocabulary, sentence structure, and inferential thinking) that contribute to a deep understanding of text. Participants will learn about current research in fluency and reading comprehension as a means of better understanding the needs of competent readers.

Dr. Holden has worked in New England as a specialist, consultant, college professor, and supervisor in the area of reading for over thirty years. As the author of numerous articles, contributor to language texts and evaluation tools, as well as a noted speaker at educational conferences for over twenty years, Dr. Holden brings a wealth of professional knowledge to us.  Currently she directs the tutorials for The Reading Foundation, is a professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rivier College, Nashua, New Hampshire, evaluates children both privately and for school districts in the area of reading and related language disorders, sits on the governing board for the Associate of Specialists in the Assessment of Intellectual Functioning (ASAIF), is a member of the New Hampshire board of directors of The International Dyslexia Association, and is the only Orton-Gillingham Academy Fellow in the State of New Hampshire.

This free presentation will be held in Room 210 at 100 Walnut Street.  Light refreshments and networking begin at 6:45 PM.  The presentation will begin at 7:00 and end at 9:00 PM.

Please RSVP to info@newtonpac.org so that we will have enough handouts.

REMINDER!!!!

Principal/PTO meeting- Friday, January 6^th 8:30-9:30 in the Auditorium

Do you want to know what your PTO’s fundraising efforts are for?  Ever wonder just what your PTO spends the money on??  Do you want to know why the presence and effectiveness of your PTO in your school is vital??? All your questions will be answered on Friday, Jan 6th 8:30 – 9:30am, as Lisa McManus and the PTO go over the PTO Budget in detail.

This is a “must attend” meeting, as we are looking for feedback and ideas from all of you. Please come, please bring a friend.