May 6 - Mitchell Elementary School

Artwork by Maylin Carr and Anna McShane
May 6, 2016! !
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Mike Schwinden, Principal
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Heidi Meagher, Editor
Dear Mitchell Families,
MCAS—round 2
Next week we begin the second round of MCAS tests; this time Math tests for grades 3-5 and a
Science, Technology, and Engineering test for grade 5 only. As the Commonwealth moves towards
MCAS 2.0, the Math MCAS test will be augmented with some PARCC-like items that are imbedded
in the test (unlike the ELA test which had a separate, non-counting, session). While the questions
will be integrated into the two math sessions, scores for those items will not be factored into
studentsʼ MCAS scores. Although parents will not see the results of their childʼs performance in the
PARCC-like questions, we will have some information as a school about those questions in order to
inform our instruction. Both the PARCC-like items and the MCAS items are aligned to the Common
Core State Standards (aka State Frameworks) and the eight Mathematics Teaching Practices.
There are three types of PARCC-like items. Type 1 items are multiple choice with one or more
answers, and/or fill in the blank. Type 2 items are “constructed response” items where students
may be asked to provide written arguments related to the mathematics in a
problem. Type 3 items are “constructed response” questions, which
involve modeling and applying concepts to a real world context (more
like the open response questions of old).
Congratulations to Mitchell Spellers
Itʼs a pleasure to announce the winning team members of our 12th
Annual Spelling Bee: “The Dragons” (Roger Blake, Jonathan Ochalla
and Leo Frail). This team also won the event last year as 4th graders!
They won on the word “magnificent.” (Itʼs amazing how many teams
made it through “buoyant.”) The winning 4th grade team (Mighty Tighty
Whities) Jack Curran, Gabe Yuan, and James Young will represent
Mitchell next year, as 5th graders, at the NEF Town-wide Spelling Bee!
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There were 35 teams—brave souls and excellent spellers all! The other “round” winners were:
Dylan Levine, Ruby Mesnik, and Aaron Spiegel (The Panthers) as well as Maggie Dubil and Chloe
Shigueta (#The Bees).
The large turnout of teams and family members on a cool spring night is yet another indicator of
the support that scholarship and excellence has in the Mitchell community. We had our largest
participation ever: over 90 students. Thanks to Mitchell parents, Lisa Maira and Kathryn Mortimer
for organizing the event and coming up with the words, sentences, and prizes. Also, thanks to
Mitchell teachers Lynn Gotwals, Erin Santos, Kaley Haskell and Emily Dreifus for serving as judges
once again this year. I truly appreciate when teachers come out on their own time, year after year,
to support student events!
Many, many thanks
A shout out to Kate and Caroline Barrett (kgers) who came to Mitchell over the weekend and
picked up two full bags of trash from the fields and playground in recognition of Earth Day.
Speaking of Earth Day, thank you to Patty Deroian, Sarah Ledbury, Alison Leschinski, and Jess
Rice for raking and filling bags and bags of grass and leaves from the OLC. Also, our thanks to
Jess Rice who organized our annual Wake Up the Earth Celebration on Thursday. Finally, once
again, parents provided the Mitchell staff with a sumptuous lunch in an elegant setting after the
early release yesterday. Thanks to Kristen Collins, Kathleen Burns and all their helpers.
Last Friday, the grade 2 students amazed us with a colorful and musical assembly celebrating
Earth Day. Also, thank you to Ryan Martin and his parent volunteers for another successful grade 3
bike rodeo. Also, thank you to Alicia Herman, Lisa Tabachnick and Marie Nunes for organizing a
fun and well-attended METCO Family Friends event on Thursday. Finally, thanks to the Grade 3
students for preparing an excellent all-school assembly with a Memorial Day theme.
Happy Mothers Day to all you incredible “moms”.
Mike Schwinden
Principal
MITCHELL NEWS
MITCHELL STUDENT COUNCIL
The Mitchell Student Councilʼs donation supply drive for MSPCA/Angell
Adoption Center will be held between May 9 and 20. There will be a
collection box in the lobby. Please see the flyer at the back of this
newsletter.
THANK YOU FOR THE NHS SECURE THE CURE CLUB
I just wanted to reach out to express my gratitude in regards to the toy
drive for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Because today was
the last day of the fundraiser, I stopped by and picked up the box. We
collected a grand total of almost 100 toys, books, games, and art
supplies, all of which will be shipped to the hospital within the next week for patients to enjoy during
treatment periods and overnight stays. On behalf of the entire Secure the Cure club, I thank you for
the contributions, time, and effort you put into participating and hosting this month-long event. All of
the donations that you and your community members put into our boxes will surely make a
difference in the lives of those less fortunate than us and are, hopefully, one step closer to "securing
the cure" for pediatric cancer. Again, thank you very much for taking part in our fundraiser!
Isabel Barnet
Needham High School Secure the Cure Club
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DATES TO REMEMBER
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Fri., May 6!
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May 9 - 20!
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May 10 & 11! !
May 12 & 13! !
Fri., May 13!
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Tues., May 17! !
May 17 & 18! !
May 19 & 20! !
Tues., May 24! !
Wed., May 25! !
Mon., May 30! !
Wed., June 1! !
Wed., June 1! !
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Wed., June 1! !
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Thurs, June 2! !
Thurs., June 2! !
Fri., June 3!
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Tues., June 7! !
Tues., June 7! !
Tues., June 14! !
Wed., June 15! !
Thurs., June 16!!
Fri., June 17! !
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Mitchell vs Broadmeadow Basketball Game, 7 p.m., NHS Gym
Mitchell Student Council!!
Donation supply Drive (see flyer)
5th grade MCAS - Science
3rd grade MCAS - Math!!
during school
PTC Meeting! !
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8:30 a.m., Cafeteria
Food Pantry Collection! !
PM KG pls bring day before
5th grade MCAS - Math
4th grade MCAS - Math
5th Grade Visits High Rock!
During school
5th Grade Writers Celebration! 6:45 p.m., Cafeteria/Classrooms
No School!
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Memorial Day!
Early Release Day!
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12:15 p.m. dismissal
Kindergarten Conferences!
No Kindergarten all day
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AM KASE in session; no PM KASE
Mitchell Art Show!
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5 to 7 p.m., hallways
Use Book Fair! !
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5 to 7 p.m., Media Center
PTC Meeting & Brunch! !
Home of Amy Simeone
Grade 3 & 5 Spring Concert!
7 p.m., Cafeteria
Mitchell Family Picnic! !
6:30 - 8 p.m., Playground
Food Pantry Collection! !
PM KG please bring day before
Grade 4 Spring Concert!!
7 p.m., Cafeteria
Incoming KGer Jump-up Day! 9:15-9:30 for AM, 1:15-1:30 PM
Jump Up Day current K - 4!
During School
5th Grade Graduation! !
1 p.m., Gym
Last Day of School !
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12:15 p.m. dismissal
PTC NEWS
9 Monday
CAFETERIA VOLUNTEERS – May 2016
HOURS: 11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
10 Tuesday
11 Wednesday
12 Thursday
Kathy Cooper
Kathleen Burns
Ann-Marie MacDonnell Kristen Collins
Trisha Ticktin
Kristen Rozman
Erin Reilly
Lisa Bonasia
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Friday
Karen Morales
Hande Sangar
MEDIA CENTER
Monday, May 9 through Friday, May 13 - B week for media volunteers.
MITCHELL SPELLING BEE
Congratulations to all of the courageous, creative and fabulous spellers in the annual Mitchell
Spelling Bee! All of the contestants should be proud of themselves for taking a risk and learning
some new words. Page 3
Here are the winners:
Round 1: The Mighty Tighty Whities: Jack Curran, Gabriel Yuan, and James Young
Round 2: The Panthers: Dylan Levine, Ruby Mesnik, Aaron Spiegel
Round 3: #The Bees: Maggie Dubil, Chloe, Shigueta
Round 4: The Dragons: Roger Blake, Leo Frail, Jonathan Ochalla
Congratulations to The Dragons for being the overall winners for the second year in a row! Further
congratulations also go to The Mighty Tighty Whities who will represent Mitchell next year at the
NEF Spelling Bee. PTC HELP WANTED!
PLEASE HELP KEEP OUR GREEN COMMITTEE GOING NEXT YEAR
The Green Committee needs two environmentally conscious leaders to take over for next year. Share your "green" lifestyle approach to teach the Mitchell community how to minimize their
footprint on this earth! Plan one event/project or a few- the time commitment is up to you. Jess Rice
needs to step down, and will look forward to working with new PTC chairs who take her place! Email Marcy Hirschen at [email protected] if you are able to help. Thank you!
MITCHELL SCHOOL AT THE PAW SOX
Take me out to the PAW SOX
Take me out to the Crowd!
Sign up to reserve your seats with your Mitchell friends for the
Sunday, June 12, 2016 1:05
p.m. game vs. Louisville. $12.00 per person for reserved box seats
together. Click here for more details.
RECESS ROCKS IS BACK!
The ever so popular parent volunteer run recess program is back! Want to see what your child is doing during recess? Want to be a part of running a game during
their recess? We are outside every Friday during lunch recess for 1st-5th grades for the next 6
weeks. We began last Friday the 29th and the last one of the year will be June 3rd.
Come volunteer for 20 minutes during your child's recess time...or longer! Bring your younger kids
with you, they can play too! Swing a jump rope, run a kickball game or create an obstacle course
for the kids! Please contact Debbie Berger at: [email protected] with any questions, comments or to let us
know that you want to volunteer!
USED BOOK SALE JUNE 1ST: DONATE OR VOLUNTEER
We are now collecting books for the Stock-Up-for-Summer Used Book Sale on Wednesday, June
1st. A bin is in the Mitchell front hall. Children's and adult books welcome.
If you would like to volunteer to sort or sell, please visit http://www.signupgenius.com/go/
8050e48aea9229-used.
All proceeds from the sale will benefit the Media Center, and unsold books will be donated to the
non-profit, More Than Words. Questions? Email Alison at [email protected].
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NEEDHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS
VOCAL SUPPORT CONCERT TO BENEFIT ALZHEIMERʼS ASSOCIATION
SAVE THE DATE! Sat., May 14 at 7:30 p.m. Vocal Support Concert to benefit the Alzheimerʼs
Association at NHS. Featuring NHS a capella groups the Subway Dwarves, Treble Rebels, and
Fermata Nowhere. Special guests: award-winning, Boston-based group Sound Off! Info and
tickets: www.nhsfriendsofmusic.org
NEEDHAM SCHOOL COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING ON FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN
The Needham School Committee will hold a presentation and public hearing on Full-Day
Kindergarten at its meeting on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Broadmeadow School
Committee Room. The Full-Day Kindergarten Study and Planning Committee Report is the
culmination of research and analysis the Committee has undertaken since it convened in November
2014. All interested parties are invited to attend and share ideas.
SEPAC AWARDS CEREMONY 2016
The Needham SEPAC group invites you to attend the 2015-2016 Sepac awards ceremony on
Thursday, May 19th from 7pm – 9 pm in the Eliot Performance Center.Each year, SEPAC
recognizes Needham Public School employees who are truly exceptional, and have gone above
and beyond in their work with students with special needs. Award winners include teachers,
specialists, administrators, and staff members who have been nominated by SEPAC members. We
are excited to announce that one of our own Mitchell staff members will be receiving an award on
May 19th.
What is SEPAC? The Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is a parent organization
that provides information and support to the families of special education students, and meets
regularly with school administrators to give input on policies and programs. For more information,
please visit www.NeedhamSEPAC.org or contact Mitchell Parent Liaisons Alisa Skatrud,
[email protected]; Nancy Bradham, [email protected].
LOOKING FOR SUMMER HOMES FOR SCIENCE CENTER ANIMALS
Enrich your summer with a temporary adoption (June through mid September) of a Needham
Science Center animal. We will give you written care instructions and starter food. Animals include
fish, chinchilla, snake, birds, geckos, turtle, and degus. Don't delay - animals get adopted quickly!
Contact the Science Center at 781-455-0475. Thank you.
OTHER
PACK 8 NEEDHAM CUB SCOUTS ROCKET DAY
Pack 8 Needham Cub Scouts invites boys entering 1st to 5th grade in September to Rocket Day on
Saturday, May 7th, 9-11:30am at Olin College, off Great Plain Ave, parking lot C. (rain date: May
21st) Try launching one of our rockets or bring along your own rocket to launch. For questions
about scouts or Rocket Day contact us at [email protected] or visit
www.pack8needham.com .
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