Principal’s Message
Winter bus pickup reminder
As much as we try to deny the reality, winter weather is upon us and with it comes some adjustments that must be made. The Whitefield Elementary School Transportation Captains (bus drivers) have asked me to remind families of the expectation to have students out to their bus pickup point at least 10 minutes before the usual pickup time and have students aware that winter driving conditions may, at times, force buses to be slower than typical. Everyone should simply be patient in waiting for the bus to arrive and, of course, stay a safe distance from the road itself.
Having students out earlier than the standard pickup time will allow for unusual factors to take place, such as more children out of school or being transported by parents on a given day, that may lead to buses getting to your home a little earlier than usual. Winter conditions make it more dangerous to have buses sitting out in the roadway waiting for students, even when their red, flashing lights are on, and we do not want to pose a threat to students on the bus or to other motorists.
Some time flexibility is always called for in the winter for afternoon drop-offs for parents waiting at the drop-off point as well, for all of the previously mentioned reasons. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and will help us provide the safest possible transport of our students.
Kitchen
Our school district has been invited to participate in a cook-off sponsored by Farm and Sea to School and is open to middle school students. I am looking for any middle school student who would like to participate. This competition is friendly, but real. The student and myself, will be creating a recipe, or practicing one we already have, for two meals: breakfast and lunch.
The breakfast portion of the competition will have to feature fresh local eggs. This recipe, whatever we decide, should be ready to go on a school menu. We can add anything to the egg dish and add other components to the menu.
For lunch, we will have to use parsnips and our fresh fish. Again, we will work on a new recipe or build on one that we already have, and prepare a meal with these components and maybe more, for the potential to be featured on our school menu, and maybe others.
If you have a middle schooler and they are creative in the kitchen, please reach out to me. The deadline to sign up is Dec. 18. We will have a couple of months to work on a recipe, hone our skills, and make a small video showing our work before, during, and after the process. If we get enough points, we could make it to the state final competition!
Learning commons and music updates
Howard: Students really enjoyed participating in the Hour of Code. This is an opportunity to expose students to computer science. The code.org website is free and students are able to select other coding projects besides the courses that I have placed them in. Students are also working on digital safety using EverFi – when they complete these units they will receive a certificate of completion from the company.
Morgan: This week my classes earned their music fun day. Next week we will be working with paper plates and cups to create Christmas song rhythms. Students in Kindergarten through second grade will be working with paper plates and music from “The Nutcracker,” while students in third through fifth grade will be using cups to create rhythms to the song “Jingle Bells.”
