A Message from Mrs. Hennessey
We have been busy here at Memorial this winter! Students are just finishing up taking our winter benchmark assessment, the NWEA. We will discuss student progress at our spring conferences in March.
We are about to begin the Great Kindness Challenge! We can’t wait to see the kids go out of their way to be kind to one another. We will work hard to keep our dream of kindness alive throughout the rest of the year. We frequently remind our students that kindness is ongoing and that even the smallest acts of kindness mean so much to their recipients.
We will celebrate Read Across America from March 3rd – 7th! We will have themed dress-up days, a school-wide simultaneous reading event, and a book raffle for students!
Thank you for your continued support of Memorial School! Please feel free to contact me directly at ahennessey@sad15.org or by phone at 926-4322.
Valentine’s Day Considerations
This month, Memorial School classrooms may be hosting opportunities where Valentines will be exchanged.
A note about Valentines: We ask that families send in Valentine’s Day cards (only) or Valentine’s Day cards with trinkets (pencils, stickers, etc.) instead of candy/food treats. No homemade food items will be able to be distributed. Any store-bought food items that are attached to treats will be sent home with students to be enjoyed at home (and with their guardians’ permission).
Participating in any Valentine’s Exchange is optional. Please let your child’s teacher know if you prefer for him/her not to bring in or collect Valentines. The classroom teachers will be in touch with details about classroom exchanges and activities and will provide a list of students if an exchange will be taking place.
Read Across America Week
During the week of March 3rd – 7th! Memorial will celebrate Read Across America Week! This is an exciting week with lots of fun reading activities featuring:
-
- Book Raffle with six winners daily!
- Classroom Reading Challenges
- Kick-Off to our Patriot Parents Read-A-Thon
- Monday, March 5th – Memorial Loves Reading Day! (Wear GNG Gear or red/white/blue)
- “Read Across Memorial” Event
- Friday, March 7th – Character Day! (Dress like a favorite character from a book)
2025–2026 Kindergarten Registration & Screening
On approximately January 15th, we will begin registering students for the kindergarten class of 2025-2026! Parents of students who will be five on or before October 15, 2025, please visit the Memorial School webpage and click the link to pre-register your child for kindergarten. We can’t wait to welcome our incoming students into our Memorial community!
More information to come on the K Screening Process. If you have any questions about the registration or screening process, please contact Amanda Hennessey at 926-4322 or ahennessey@sad15.org.
iPad Care & Use
Please take the following steps to ensure the safety of your child’s school-issued iPad when it is sent home:
- When iPads are issued, please be sure to have students carry their iPads back and forth to school in their cases.
- All students have hard-backed keyboard cases. Students should keep the keyboard cases on at all times to protect the device screens.
- Students should be sure to put the iPads in the neoprene sleeve whenever the device is not in use or charging.
- Please remind children to carefully set their backpacks down when getting on or off the bus or arriving at home/school.
- Please contact the Main Office as soon as possible when damage is noticed so we can provide a loaner device and send the iPad off for repair.
Thank you for your continued support and care with district-loaned devices. Please feel free to contact Mrs. Hennessey (926-4322 or ahennessey@sad15.org) with any questions.
Calling All Pet Photographs!
We are setting up a special bulletin board in the Memorial hallway with photos of our favorite pets! Students and family members are welcome to be in the photo as well! If your child would like us to post a photo of his/her pet(s), please email one to Miss Lisa at lhaughey@sad15.org. You can also send in a printed photograph. Students can drop printed photos in the office. (However, we suggest sending a copy of the photo as they are posted in a high-traffic area.) We can’t wait to see photos of New Gloucester’s most cute & cuddly pets!
Counselor’s Corner with Ms. Michelle
This month during Guidance, we will begin talking about attitude. Students will understand that they can change their attitude. It is up to them to decide how they want to see things. By controlling their thoughts, they can control their attitude. Ask them about the “yellow – see the bright side” glasses.
The week of February 10th, we will kick off our Great Kindness Challenge. Each classroom will try to complete 100 acts of Kindness. If we lead with kindness, we will hopefully see more kindness. Kindness is a skill and like all skills, it takes practice. We will be reading “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” Ask them if they have filled any buckets lately.
We will also discuss: leading with kindness and the Golden Rule, and students will be reminded that, if we don’t have anything nice to say, we can choose to say nothing at all. Memorial School has such kind students!
After the break, we will learn about Tattling vs Telling and handling disappointment.
Hope you have a wonderful February break!
Winter Gear
Winter weather is here! Students are reminded to bring their boots, snow pants, hats, gloves, and warm jackets to school. Students will need snow pants and boots to fully enjoy the playground when there is snow on the ground. It is really helpful if students’ initials/names are written into snow gear as some items are similar and easily confused. Thank you for your assistance in keeping kids geared up for winter fun!
Memorial School Inclement Weather Plans
MSAD 15 will implement one of the several options when the forecast includes the potential for inclement weather. Those options include a two-hour delay, a remote school day, or the possibility of a complete cancellation with no school and no remote learning.
Two-Hour Delay: The day will begin two hours later than normal. Buses will pick up students two hours later than normal. Parent drop-off will begin at 10:40 AM. Breakfast will not be served.
School Cancelation: No school, no remote learning. This day will be made up at the end of the school year. This is done by adding days after the projected last day of school on the MSAD 15 calendar.
Remote Learning Day: When the forecast is worrisome, Memorial School may be sending home our district-issued iPads in anticipation of poor travel conditions and the potential of a remote school day. When devices are sent home, we will communicate this to you via email and/or Seesaw message. The iPads should stay in backpacks at home until a remote school day is officially called. If there is no remote school day, please keep the iPad, sleeve, charger, and headphones in the backpack ready to come right back to school that day.
On a remote learning day, students will follow the schedule below. Attendance is taken on a remote learning day. Students who do not attend live sessions or complete class assignments will be marked absent. If your child is sick, unable to participate, or has no internet access, please notify the main office and your child’s classroom teacher.
Should we implement a remote day we would use the following schedule:
K-2 Remote Day Plan
9:00-9:45: Live Zoom – Morning Meeting & Literacy (whole group)
9:45-10:00: Break
10:00-10:30: Live Zoom – Math (whole group)
10:30-12:00: Asynchronous work on Seesaw (including Specials) and/or small group/individual sessions with the classroom teacher, Response-To-Intervention staff, or Special Ed services
12:00 – 12:30: Lunch
12:30-2:00: As needed, small group/individual sessions with RTI or Special Education
Zoom links and assignments will be shared via Seesaw. You can also expect specific communication from Mrs. Hennessey and your child’s classroom teacher should we need to implement remote learning for any reason.
Students who participate in self-contained learning programs such as SLC or Gateway will receive information from the case manager and/or from the educational technicians who work with your child(ren).
If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher. You may also call the main office at 926-4322 or reach Principal Amanda Hennessey directly by email at ahennessey@sad15.org.
Updated February 7, 2025