March 2013
Whew! Snow, sleet, cold, rain and storms have certainly been the trademarks of this winter. We are finally in March and hoping that spring will be greeting us soon. Symbolically, March has always represented a period of renewal and rebirth. We are excited! Happy spring !
We began our month with a very distinctive and unique Community Meeting presented by our Specialists. The theme of the meeting was “Accepting Differences to Build Togetherness.” This meeting focused on two areas that emphasized working together. One was the “unveiling” of our incredible 8ft by 8ft mosaic designed and created by all the stakeholders of Clarke School. It is truly a piece of art! The second area that concentrated on building togetherness occurred after the Community Meeting. Students in grades K-4 were treated to a puppet program from a local group entitled, “Kids on the Block.” This group addresses children’s perceptions of disabilities. A huge thanks to the organizations of “Respect for Human Differences” and the Swampscott PAC for helping to defray the cost of this program.
Kudos to our Specialists!
This year the date for the annual regional Scripps Spelling Bee at Breed Middle School in Lynn, MA is March 15, 2013. Incredibly, both our first runner up and our winner of the Clarke School Bee were third graders. Good luck Maggie Nottingham!
March 19, 2013, signals the start of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) testing season. Our fourth graders will be working on the Long Writing Prompt followed by third and fourth grade testing in English Language Arts from March 20 through March 28. Good luck to all our students.
Also, on March 12th and March 14th, with the support and assistance of our terrific PTA Cultural Arts Committee, our youngsters will have the unique opportunity of having a parent with a black belt in karate be a part of their physical education classes.
This year we had Parent/Teacher conferences on February 28 and March 1st followed by second term report cards going home on March 22, 2013.
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