RAY SCHOOL NEWS FOR PARENTS
www.RaySchool.org

September 14, 2007

A. Bruce Williams, Principal
Sarah Curtis, Assistant Principal

Physical Education News
Students in grades 3, 4, and 5, have begun to train for the health-related fitness assessments that will take place the week of October 22nd. As part of that test we will be practicing the PACER, a shuttle type run in the gym, and running outside on the Ray School track. Please make sure that children who use inhalers know when they have PE and where their inhalers are kept if they need them. As always, if you have questions, please contact your child's PE teacher and/or the school nurse.

From the Health Office
We will be screening all students for vision, hearing, height, weight, and blood pressure during the week of September 24 and into the week of October 1. I am actively seeking volunteers to help with this program. We are successful in completing the screening with little disruption to classroom activities and in an efficient manner only with the help of many volunteers. (It’s also a great way to meet new people!) PLEASE, Contact me ASAP if you can help! No experience is necessary, I’m happy to train willing volunteers. You can sign up to volunteer for as little or as much as you are available, many hands make light work.

Classes are going out on field trips, locally and away from the school grounds. Please plan ahead with your child so that he/she is prepared with the necessary and appropriate dress, equipment, and supplies for the trip. If medications will need to accompany your child please confirm with me and/or the teacher that they will be available.

We always hear more about head lice after the summer months when children return to school after vacations and camps. While there is nothing to report in our school, I encourage families to be on the look out. Take a moment once a week (or more often if you notice frequent head scratching) to do a quick check of your child’s head for the presence of lice or nits. Lice are difficult to spot but the nits are readily visible. Nits are small, oval shaped, grayish-white and ‘glued’ to the hair shaft. Lice are spread through direct contact and are a public nuisance. Please contact me if you have questions or discover the presence of lice or nits on your child’s hair/scalp to help contain any outbreak. Confidentiality will be maintained.

A reminder that children should come to school with appropriate footwear for recess and physical education. Also hoods should not have strings in them as they can get caught and present a hazard to children.

School Picture Day
School Picture Day has been scheduled for Thursday, September 27. Prepay picture envelopes were sent home this week. If you did not receive one, please contact the school office.

Calendar
The Fall Calendar, which was sent out last Friday, had a misprint. The Holiday Break should read School Closed FRIDAY, December 21.

PTO News
There will be a coffee to welcome new families to the Ray School on Thursday, September 20, from 8:15 to 10:00 a.m., in the Staff Lounge. Everyone is welcome. For more information, see www.Rayschool.org/pto or send an email to carmensedlacek@verizon.net or Sam Westelman at sam@shelleyandsam.com.

The PTO weekly email is sent out every Monday. If you would like to receive this email, please go to the PTO web site (www.rayschool.org/pto) and click the "Join the PTO Email List" link, and enter your email address.
The PTO Fall Family Picnic and Dance is on Friday, September 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ray School. The Universal Playground III dedication will begin at 5:30. Bring your own picnic and nut-free dessert to share, and then take the party inside to dance to the music of The Flames, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., in the Ray School Gym. Please note that all children must be accompanied by an adult. Please contact Ann Malenka at 643-0134 or ann.malenka@dartmouth.edu with any questions.

Local Activities
The Sleeping Beauty - A magical ballet performed by the City Center Ballet with apprentices of the Lebanon Ballet School. Performances are Saturday, October, 13, at 4:00 p.m., and Sunday, October 14, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Lebanon Opera House 448-0400. Vouchers for 4th graders to receive a discounted ticket will be available at the box office. Questions call Pam Aman 643-1899.

Hanover Parks & Recreation has many new offerings for all ages. For Kindergartners and siblings: Come to KinderPlay on Monday's and Thursday's, from 12:30 to 2:30 and enjoy the gym and the bounce house! $3 per child. For boys & girls in grades 2 - 4: Flag football is a new offering. Come learn the game in a non contact environment. Please check the fall brochure or website at http://www.hanovernh.org/stories/story.

Come one come all - Join Cub Scouts on Thursday, September 20, in the K-1 POD Commons Area, at 4:00 p.m. Call Mike at 643-0527 for more information.

Razziatazz® in French, for Grades 1-3, is back beginning on October 2, with a slightly new format! Classes will meet two days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays), at the Ray School, from 7:20 to 8:00 a.m., for 8 weeks. Two levels of language proficiency and two continuous sessions will be offered. The cost will be $245 for the first 8 week session. (After a winter break classes will resume until the end of May.) For more information or to register: please stop by our OPEN HOUSE at Dartmouth Hall room 102, on Wednesday, September 19, anytime between 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., or e-mail rassias.foundation@dartmouth.edu.

French Tutoring Available Bonjour tout le monde!--Hello everyone! I am new to the Ray School as an educational assistant in the 5th grade. I love learning and sharing my enthusiasm for foreign languages with others. I am fluent in French and I would like to offer private French tutoring lessons, focusing mainly on conversational French, vocabulary building, and support for beginner students, or students who would like to dive more into the French language. Please contact me via email at: sarahaudsley@hotmail.com or phone at: 802-299-6269 Merci beaucoup--Thank you very much. Sarah Audsley

Will your child be 3 by December 31, 2007? Hampshire Cooperative Nursery School in Hanover has openings in its 2-day class. Class meets Tuesdays and Fridays from 8:30 am -11:30 am. For more information, please call Bruch Lehmann at 643-4757. Limited openings available in our 4-day class as well (child must be eligible for kindergarten in their own school district for the '08-'09 school year).

The UVMC children's and youth choruses are up and running! Children's chorus (Grades 1-3) meets on Thursdays from 3:30 - 4:30 and Youth Chorus (grades 4 and up, unchanged voices) meets on Fridays from 3:45 - 5:15. Both groups meet in the Ray School music room. To register, please call the Upper Valley Music Center at 603-448-1642.

Brownie Girls Scout Troop 209 will continue again this year. Girls in Grades 1-3 who are interested in joining should contact Kim Estes at 643-4274 or kimestes@valley.net. Depending on the number of new girls joining the troop, we may be required to have additional troop leaders - if interested please let us know. Currently the leaders are Anne Downey, Chris Hall, and Kim Estes. Registration for ALL girls, old and new, will be on September 16, at the Howe Library, from 1:00 to 3:00. Fees are $10 registration and $20 dues for the year.

Fall Soccer for children 3-5 years old! Hampshire Cooperative Nursery School Fall Soccer Program begins September 15th. Sign-up for either of two five week sessions. The first starts Saturday, September 15th (9:30-10:15). The second begins Wednesday, September 19th (12:30 - 1:15). Contact Gayle Aspinwall at 643- 1551 or HCNS (Linda) at 643 4640 to register.

Upcoming programs and events at the Upper Valley Events Center include: Music Together (for ages birth to K), Beginning and Intermediate Level Fiddle Classes, Kumon Math & Reading, SAT Preparation Classes, Math & Science Enrichment Group (for motivated 5th, 6th and 7th graders), Rock School Music Ensemble Classes (for individuals and existing bands in a purpose-built performance hall and sound studio), Kids Spanish (for ages 3-4, 5-6, and 6-7.) For more information contact the center at bruce@uvevents.org or (802) 649-2772.

2007-2008 HopStop Family Series - HopStops are FREE, entertaining, hands-on programs designed to introduce young audiences to the wonders of the performing arts. These hour-long performances highlight music, theater, and dance in ways that are interactive, engaging, and exciting for young children and their families. At each HopStop you can chat with the performers, meet other Upper Valley families, and enjoy a family-friendly show in a relaxing environment. HopStops are offered one Saturday each month throughout the school year in Alumni Hall, at 11:00 a.m. On Saturday, September 29, Tamasha la (Celebrate!) African Dance will be the presentation. For more information on this and other events go to http://www.hop.dartmouth.edu/outreach.

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