RAY SCHOOL NEWS FOR PARENTS
www.RaySchool.org

April 4, 2008           
A. Bruce Williams, Principal
Sarah Curtis, Assistant Principal

Ray School Staff email
As of April 1, the Ray School is no longer using Valleynet as their service provider.  You can email Ray School staff by using the following format:  firstname.lastname@rayschool.org

NH Department of Education Surveys
This week the NH DOE has sent surveys to parents of Ray School children with special education needs.  If you receive a survey, please fill it out and return it in the self-addressed envelope.

School-Wide Earth Week Celebration---April 21-25
The week after vacation we will have an Earth Week celebration and awareness time.  Children and teachers will discuss the many ways we can conserve energy. Last year, in celebration of Earth Day the Ray School focused on the theme of reducing waste.  We all did a great job of really making a difference by generating less waste at the Ray School!  This year, in celebration of Earth Day, the Ray School will focus on reducing our energy waste.  Each day of the week, we'll take a minute to think about the different kinds of energy our school community uses, and how we can work together to use less. One way is to walk, ride a bike, or take a bus to work or to do errands.
 
Walk to School Day 
On Tuesday, April 22, Earth Day, we will have a walk-to-school day.  (For safety, police request NO bikes, please.) Details about this walk are forthcoming.    

Transportation Survey
Our Hope for Earth Day is to find a safe and environmentally responsible way to get our children to and from school.  Can you help??  The PTO is sponsoring an online transportation survey attached to your weekly email newsletter. You may also access this survey at http://www.rayschool.org/pto/   We need to hear from as many parents as possible.  It would be very helpful to find out why children are not taking the bus, or walking, biking, or carpooling to school. We plan to present our finding to the school board and the SAU in hopes of creating workable solutions.  Thank you for spending a few minutes of your time taking this important survey!  If you would like a paper copy of the survey, please contact Karen Wahrenberger at 643-3145.

Ray School Walking Club
The Ray School Walking Club will start up again on Thursday, April 24th before school at 8:45 and will continue each Tuesday and Thursday morning until the end of school. The Ray School Walking Club is open to all students, staff, and parents. We walk the 1/3 mile loop around the sidewalks in front of the school and finish when the bell sounds at 8:00. Please feel free to join in whenever you arrive at school. This is just one more opportunity for all to add a few more minutes of activity to the day. Remember every minute counts!

Ray School Visitor
Author / Illustrator, Jim Arnosky will be visiting the Ray School on Monday, April 21st. He will provide three presentations for Ray School students during the school day. Between each of those sessions there may be time for brief book signings. If your child owns one of Jim's books and would like to have it signed please make sure they bring it to school that day (4/21). Books will not be on sale at school. Questions? Please call Hatsy McGraw in the Ray School library.

From the Health Office
Bike, Ski, Skateboard Helmet & Car Seat Spring 2008 Order  The PTO and the Ray School Health Office are once again joining efforts to sponsor a special order program for bike, ski and skateboard helmets; protective gear, which includes wrist guards, knee and elbow pads and children’s booster car seats.  Anyone who has previously ordered will tell you that the price & quality of these items make this an attractive way to keep kids (and adults) safe.  Order forms will be located in the front lobby near the PTO bulletin board.  You can also download an order form from www.prorider.com.  The deadline for ordering during this special program will be Friday, April 11, 2008. Completed order forms should be submitted to Debbie Shields, Ray School Nurse. For questions email Sam Westelman at sam@shelleyandsam.com

Pop Quiz in Nutrition
1.  Fish is a good source of (a.)vitamin C, (b.) protein, (c.)beta carotene, (d.) omega-3 fats.
2.  Rank the following foods for potassium, from most to least: (a) a cup of orange juice, (b) a cup of yogurt, (c) 3 ounces of halibut, (d) a medium banana, (e) a cup of broccoli
3.  True or False:  Free-range chicken is more healthful and guaranteed to be produced more humanely than other chicken.
4.  True or False: Butter has fewer calories than olive oil.
5.  True or False:  Honey and brown sugar are more healthful than table sugar.

ANSWERS
1.  (b and d)  Fish has about 20 grams of protein in 3 ounces, cooked; fatty fish (such as salmon, sardines, halibut, black cod) also provide omega-3-fats, which may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
2.  Yogurt (530 milligrams), orange juice (500 mg), halibut (490 mg), broccoli (460 mg) and bananas (420 mg).  Other potassium rich foods are tomatoes, apricots, spinach, beets, prune juice, potatoes, lentils, soybeans, nuts and sunflower seeds.
3.  False and false:  Free-range chicken is neither more nutritious nor safer from Salmonella than conventional chicken.  “Free-range” means only that the birds have access to an outdoor pen, not that they necessarily ‘go’ outside.
4.  True:  Olive oil has 120 calories, butter has 100 calories.  Butterfat is highly saturated whereas olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat and is a healthier choice.
5.  False: Sugar is sugar, and no form of it offers significant nutritional advantages.  Brown sugar is white sugar with a little molasses for coloring.  Honey is sweeter than table sugar, but any additional nutrients in it are insignificant.

Ray Writers
4th grade Ray Writers will meet on 4/7, 4/21, 5/5 and 5/19, from 2:45 to 4:15, in the Library. If you have questions, please feel free to call either Hatsy McGraw or Sherrie Greeley.

PTO News
Make-A-Plate - a long standing Ray School tradition - Thursday, April 24th and Friday, May 2nd - 2:45 to 4:30 p.m.  Parent Volunteers needed for the event and to Chair future Make-A-Plate events.  Contact Pattie Fried, pattiefried1@yahoo.com if interested in helping out with this creative and fun traditional PTO event.
Local Activities
Flavors of the Valley will be held on Tuesday, April 15, from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m., at Hartford High School in White River Junction, VT  This event is the greater Upper Valley region's premier tasting, informational, and buying event for locally grown foods.  Costs will be: $7 single admission, free for children 6 and under and family max of $25.  (All children must be accompanied by an adult)  Savor samples, buy local food products that your kids will like, and attend interesting workshops. Visit www.vitalcommunities.org <http://www.vitalcommunities.org/> for a list of vendors, schedule of workshops, and directions, or call (802) 291-9100 x104. Brought to you by Valley Food & Farm, a program of Vital Communities.

CINDERELLA - An enchanting new full-length ballet production performed by The City Center Ballet with apprentices from the Lebanon Ballet School and music by Sergei Prokofiev.  The production will take place at the Lebanon Opera House on Friday April 4 at 7:00 p.m.,, Saturday April 5 at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday April 6 at 2:30 p.m.   For more information please visit www.CityCenterBallet.org.  To order tickets call the Lebanon Opera House 448-0400.

Hampshire Cooperative Nursery School's Spring Soccer for children 3-5 years old begins April 23rd. Sign-up for either of two five week sessions. The first starts Wednesday, April 23rd (12:30 - 1:15). The second begins Saturday, April 26th (9:30 -10:15).  Contact Gayle at 643-1551 or Linda at HCNS
643-4640 to register.

Tridelta Sorority is offering babysitting, as a fundraiser for The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, for children ages 3 and up on Saturday, April 12th.  Babysitting will take place at 1 Occom Ridge  (Tridelta Sorority) from 4:00 to 11:00 p.m.  Events will include games, kid-friendly dinner, stories, and a movie for all ages! There is a suggested donation from the family of $10/hr.  Children are not required to attend the entire time period.  Please contact Hillary Wolcott at hillary.wolcott@dartmouth.edu with questions or to register your child(ren) with child's name, hours of attendance and any allergies.

Howe Library will present Martha Dana, puppeteer, on Friday, April 18 at 10:30 a.m.  This is a family program for ages 3 and up.

Dartmouth Riding Center Horsemanship Clinics:  Dartmouth Riding Center in Etna will offer weekly summer horsemanship clinics for children ages 6-14 for all riding abilities.  Weekly clinics will be offered each week starting June 23rd and ending August 15th.  Go to www.dartmouth.edu/~drc/ and click on Summer Camps or call 603-643-1808 and leave your name and address to receive a clinic flyer.

League of NH Craftsmen in Hanover, NH offers after-school, spring and summer vacation classes to children aged 5-18 in pottery, metalsmithing, jewelry making and various other media. Visit their website www.nhcrafts.org/localsites/hanover/children.html to see a full list. They have
classes for adults and pre-schoolers, too! Call 643-5384 or email craftstudies@valley.net for a brochure or more information.

Upper Valley Events Center Spring 2008 Programs include: Kumon Math & Reading, Music Together Spring Break Day Camp April 14-18, Math & Science Enrichment Group, Upper Valley Rock School Music ensemble classes, and Kids Spanish. For more information contact (802) 649-2772 or www.uvEVENTS.org.   Upper Valley Events Center is an indoor and outdoor facility for events, meetings, classes, parties, and special events. 

The Hanover High School Girls basketball program will be conducting its 6th Annual Basketball Skills Camp, for players entering grades four to nine, July 14 to July 17.  To register visit: http://eteamz.active.com/hhsgirlsbball/, or pick up a flyer in the Ray School foyer.

DAYDREAMER DAY CAMP for children ages five to twelve, will be held June 30 to August 1. DAYDREAMER is an all day outdoor day camp at Storrs Pond recreation area in Hanover NH.   Activities include: swimming lessons, tennis lessons, canoeing, fishing, archery, arts and crafts, field games, and much more.  For more information please check out HTTP://DAYDREAMERDAYCAMP.GOOGLEPAGES.COM or email Chris.Hamilton@Dartmouth.edu.

Offerings from the Rassias Foundation
Razziatazz® in French for Grades 1-3 has evolved for a Spring offering!  Beginning April 9 and ending June 4, classes will meet on Wednesdays, once a week, from 7:20 to 8:00 a.m., with 2 levels of language proficiency offered.

Et, an offering to sing en français with a cultural focus!  From 7:30 to 8:00 a.m., beginning April 8 and ending June 3 "Chansons, part 2"  will explore the Francophone world.  "April in Paris....Montreal...Tunis...Dakar...Fort-de-France...." "Chansons, Part 1" took the participants through 5 weeks of French folk songs.  At the end of the program, the children were given a CD that they helped record.   (This class is open to all grades.)

It is possible to register for both Razziatazz and Chansons, part 2. Razziatzz is open to children in grades 1-3 only - no prior experience in French needed.  Chansons, part 2 is open to all grades. Registrations will not be accepted after 3:00 p.m., on April 4.  Final class notifications will be given on April 7.  Please email rassias.foundation@dartmouth.edu for applications.

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