Thursday, November 3, 2016
News from the Principal
Last weekend I took advantage of the new “early voting” available in Massachusetts for the first time. It was very cool
to be in line with only five people in front of me! But now that I am done with my civic duty, I am a little worried about
the after effects of this particular presidential election. When it comes to politics, I consider myself well read and informed. And I have truly appreciated listening to both sides of the issues when it comes to our presidential candidates. However, I feel as though the process leading up to November 8th has been at times both fascinating and
foolish. I’m hopeful that regardless of the results next week, Americans will consider that our kids are always watching and listening. This is what matters most to me. I came across a recently composed Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul
and Mary fame) folk song that I think summarizes my underlying concerns quite well. I promise not to sing it at an
upcoming school event, as long as you consider taking a few minutes to read and ponder it. And I apologize to those
that may be put off by its length! This isn’t a typical newsletter article from me...just like this isn’t a typical election!
The children are listening
The children are listening
If we say something cruel and harsh,
They will do the same
The children are listening,
The children are listening
If they grow up to be bullies,
We have ourselves to blame…
Miracles can happen even on the darkest days
When we fear that all is lost, that hope has gone astray
Sometimes we drop our weapons when the price we pays too great,
When the damage to the ones we love is greater than the hate,
Well it’s time to come together across the dividing lines,
For our children who are suffering from the pain of these hard times
It’s not just ridicule and taunts or bullying by their peers
Grownups rage and hate filled words are ringing in their ears
Bigotry and hatred still hang heavy in the air
They poison children’s’ hearts and minds and leave them in despair
But if we can beat these demons that have kept us so far apart
Love and true forgiveness will begin to heal our hearts
Well the healing won’t be easy because the pain we caused runs deep
The injury that we have sowed, we fear one day will reap
But if we plant the seeds of peace and with one voice at last
We join our hearts in peace and love, this painful time will pass
There’s no doubt that increasingly the world has grown unfair
And for some just plain survival takes more than one can bear
But when we attack each other we play the enemies game
And fail to see that ‘cross the line the sufferings much the same
Well we can defeat the enemy if we recognize its face
Let the hatred that divides us finally be erased
Let’s finally stand together with our voices loud and clear
And let our song of healing be the one that children hear
The children are listening
The children are listening
If we say something cruel and harsh,
They will do the same
The children are listening,
The children are listening
If they grow up to be bullies,
We have ourselves to blame…
REMEMBER -- NO SCHOOL ON TUESDAY NOV. 8TH - NATIONAL ELECTION DAY
NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY NOV. 11TH - VETERANS' DAY
Upcoming Dates for
MHS & WES
No School ~Tuesday, November 8th~ Election Day
No School~Friday, November 11th ~ Veteran’s Day
1/2 day~Wednesday, November 23rd ~ Thanksgiving Holiday
No School~Thursday & Friday~November 24th &
25th~Thanksgiving Holiday
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please remember to visit our websites wes.awrsd.org and/or
mhs.awrsd.org for info on Community Events
Relay For Life: 2016 Holiday Plant Order Form
Shop With Script
Second graders have been busily working on poetry while
learning about parts of speech and figures of speech!
Each class created a poem using only nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs telling about “Our School.” We are also
covering similes (Crazy like a fox), Alliteration (Peter Piper
picked a peck of pickled peppers) and Onomatopoeia
(which refers to words that copy the sounds they are describing, such as ZIP! or Grrr!). The children will be creating projects to show their newfound knowledge.
SAVE THOSE BOXTOPS! Did you
know that last year the PTO received
$1,734.85 from your boxtops? Playground equipment has been bought
for both MHS & WES with these
funds. Keep sending them in,
marked with your child’s name and
teacher in a baggie or go to boxtops.com and print out a flyer and attach them on the paper.
Stay tuned for a contest for most boxtops in your child’s classroom!!
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Save the Date!
The Westminster PTO will be holding our Annual Holiday Workshop on the morning of Saturday, December 3rd. Be on the
look out for registration information to come home in back-
Fifth grade is a
fun place to be
in the fall! Last
week we took
part in our
Fourth Annual Vocabulary Parade at Westminster Elementary School. The costumes were so creative! It was so fun
to watch students figure out meanings to these unknown
words by looking at each other’s costumes! Third graders
had a blast at guessing the meanings by our costumes and
super sentences when we visited them! That wasn’t all for
the fun going on in fifth grade, as we all took part in STEM
apple-themed activities including weighing, charting data,
building structures to hold our apples and even carving
them! Busy is an understatement in fifth grade and will
continue to be!
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is
Joseph Goguen and I am student teaching with Mr. Lucander, the music teacher at Westminster Elementary and Meetinghouse School. I am
from Gardner, MA and am attending the University of Massachusetts
Amherst, majoring in Music Education and Trumpet Performance. I
will be student teaching with Mr. Lucander until the middle of December. Before coming to work with Mr. Lucander, I student taught at
Oakmont Regional High School with Mr. DeMoura.
While at Westminster Elementary and Meetinghouse School, I will be
observing and teaching all of the General Music classes (K-5). I will
also be assisting Mr. Lucander with the Advanced Band, Beginning
Band, and Choir. I am eager to get to know you and your child over the
next few months.
I look forward to working in partnership with you while I am at Westminster Elementary and Meetinghouse School. If you have any questions now or at anytime in the future, you are able to contact me
through Mr. Lucander’s email: [email protected].
Sincerely, Joseph Goguen
MHS Library Volunteers needed for Kindergarten
We are still in need of volunteers for our MHS Library.
Kindergarten classes will visit the MHS Library on
Thursdays beginning November 10th. Volunteers
are needed from about 8:40 to 11:00. If you are
interested in volunteering during this time please
email Mrs. Taylor at [email protected].
Music News - November 2016
It is my pleasure to say that our schools are filled with music activity from the classroom to after school activities. Here is what is
going on!
Student Teacher- I have taken on another student teacher from UMASS-Amherst this fall. Mr. Goguen is from Gardner and just
finished working at Oakmont. Be sure to look for his welcome letter in this newsletter. I am looking forward to show him the
ropes in making music both fun and challenging for our children. He has already begun to work with our students and will make
a great addition to our classrooms this fall up until vacation in December.
Grades K and 1- They have been learning and reviewing songs as they develop good singing voices! Twinkle, ABC’s, Animal Fair,
Apples and Bananas, Alphabet Soup, the Columbus Day song, 5 Little Pumpkins and 1 Little Skeleton are some of the songs we
have been enjoying. Also, we will soon set a date for the grade K holiday sing along in later December where parents can come
sing with children for a fun afternoon.
Grades 2-5- They have been working heavily on a rhythm unit where each grade works on appropriate reading, performing,
writing and improvising alone and with others. They also had some fun singing songs from our Halloween activities which also
include learning about famous pieces of classical music depending on the grade level, like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Peter and
the Wolf, Danse Macabre, and In the Hall of the Mountain King.
B Band- Rehearsals are Fridays 3-4pm. Our goal is to learn #1-53 for the Holiday concert. Tips to give your child success include
consistent daily practice, encouraging them to read the notes to parents, say and finger notes at the same time, reviewing all
learned/checked off material each day so they don’t forget what they have learned, and playing along with the CD in the method
book. Keep those kids practicing routinely each day, and attending weekly lessons, this is a very important stage right now.
A Band- Rehearsals are Thursdays 3-4pm. The Band Night at ORHS has been rescheduled for 11/10, please look for our email for
details. A Band kids also have another performance on 11/20 at the Lion’s pancake breakfast. Students who have completed
checks on the concert orders, should start working on being a “Cool Yule Kid”, getting the play along method books and paper
instruction of songs so they can play at extra performances.
Chorus- Rehearsals are mostly Wednesdays 3-4pm, check your child’s concert order for exact dates and times. Please be sure
they always bring their music folder and a pencil. Any solos will be announced at the 11/9 rehearsal. Their 1 st performance is at
the Lions Pancake breakfast on 11/20. Students should be working to memorize music for the holiday concert.
Bell Choir- Rehearsals are Mondays 4:30-5:30pm with Miss Justine Popik, and be sure that they make every effort to make all
rehearsals as each student is needed to play their individual part.
Holiday Concert- Details will come soon in our music newsletter about the 2 performances on 12/14. It is for A and B Band, Bell
Choir and Chorus.
To everyone- Music is a universal language that will bring great joy to us all through our entire lives, be sure to give your child
the highest quality exposure you can. If everyone could play and sing music, I know the world would be a better place. It is my
honor to be your school’s music teacher. Thank you believing in the incredible gifts that music brings.
Sincerely,
Mr. Lucander
We have a subscription to TumbleBooks! This is a wonderful online library for families! The TumbleBooks website has
over 1000 titles. "It includes animated talking picture books,
chapter books, videos, non-fiction titles, playlists, books in
languages other than English such as French and Spanish,
graphic novels and math stories."
To take advantage of this wonderful resource, click on the
links below. You may also access TumbleBooks anytime
from our MHS & WES websites. You can find the link to
TumbleBooks under the "Quick Links" tab on our homepage.
MHS TumbleBooks
WES TumbleBooks
That’s My Pan Nature’s Classroom Fundraiser for
4th and 5th graders .
If you are interested in purchasing these excellent
quality items please go to:
www.thatsmypan.biz/naturesclassroom.
Don’t forget to include the seller's name so they get
credit on their account. Any questions please call
978-874-2043 and ask for Ina or Liz.
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag
Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is
acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving
celebrations in the colonies. For more than two
centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by
individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863,
in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving
Day to be held each November.