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SME News December 9, 2022
Good afternoon Samuel Morey Parents and Guardians,
Our Expedition class did a fantastic job hosting community meeting today! The faculty and staff participated in an Ugly Sweater Contest, congratulations to Mr. Stevenson! Also, today Farm to School Assistant Katie Cole worked with students learning about the winter solstice. They made lanterns that students can bring home to brighten up this dark time of year.
The After The Bell program has now delivered over 200 items of food to the Fairlee/Orford Food Shelf. They want to finish strong and next Wednesday, December 14th is the final collection day. Please continue to bring in items and help them complete their goal!
The Agency of Education has announced the formation of a Family Engagement Council to advise the secretary on education policy and topics of interest to parents in Vermont. The council will have 10-15 members who are parents, guardians, or family members who are primary caregivers of a student or students enrolled in a Vermont school or Home Study program.
In the first year, the Family Engagement Council will focus on the following policy areas, among others:
- School district quality, health and safety, and school facilities
- Academic progress: What do we use to measure success and proficiency
- Interested parents, guardians and caregivers can fill out the Application for Appointment, which is designed to take ten minutes to complete. Applications are due by Dec. 18, 2022.
We were awarded $10,000 from the Byrne Foundation for our garden improvements at both SME and WES. Some of this funding will also go towards some changes at SME to start an outdoor classroom space. Many thanks to Farm to School Beth Roy for applying for and obtaining this important grant for the district.
Cara Dyke started "The Giving Tree" last year. This program helps families that may need a little extra help during the holiday season with Christmas gifts. She has a group of people who will shop for gifts for kids. The "sponsors" are provided with a first name only, sizes of the kids, what they want and what they need. The program is completely confidential. Gifts are wrapped by the sponsor, brought to Cara and then she is in touch with the parent to arrange a pickup date and time. Cara Dyke 603-236-2899.
Some Important Reminders:
- As our days are getting cooler, please send your child with appropriate attire for the weather. This can be a tough time to navigate with the changing weather patterns but always best to be prepared!
- Please send sneakers with your child on PE days. Classes are held on Monday and Tuesday.
- Next week is Spirit Week! See the attached flyer that describes what students will be doing throughout the week.
- The district has updated the guidelines for keeping children home from school. Updated guidelines attached.
I hope you have a restful weekend,
Sincerely,
Steven Lindemann
SME Principal
SME News November 18, 2022
Good afternoon Samuel Morey Parents and Guardians,
The students have been very busy with Beth Roy and Katie Cole, our Farm to School Coordinators, this week. Students helped them prepare the gardens for the winter by pruning perennials and pulling out annuals. Also, all classes made apple cider from local apples. Next week there will be taste tests of sweet potatoes in celebration of Sweet Potato Week. Beth and Katie are working with the RISD Operations Department on constructing a new compost system that will increase the level of compost that we can generate while saving the school money in reducing our hauling costs.
Yesterday our After The Bell program delivered 108 items of food to the Fairlee/Orford Food Shelf. This community service activity runs until December 14th so please continue to send in food items with your child as we strive to have a record of items to bring during this season of giving.
Some Important Reminders:
- As our days are getting cooler, please send your child with appropriate attire for the weather. This can be a tough time to navigate with the changing weather patterns but always best to be prepared!
- Please send sneakers with your child on PE days. Classes are held on Monday and Tuesday.
- Fairlee Tree Lighting December 2 3:30-6:30
I hope you have a restful and meaningful Thanksgiving break. The faculty and staff at Samuel Morey are truly grateful that we have the opportunity to work with your child.
Sincerely,
Steven Lindemann
SME News, November 10, 2022
Good afternoon Samuel Morey Parents and Guardians,
I am so excited to welcome Sarah Jones as our new Administrative Assistant. If you haven’t had a chance to meet her yet, make sure you introduce yourself the next time you stop in or call. She has been such a joy to have in our school and we are so grateful to have her with us. She has two daughters who went through Samuel Morey. Sarah’s email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you need to contact us about your child’s absence, dismissal changes or have any questions.
Come out to see many of our Samuel Morey alumni in the Rivendell Academy Players presentation of “One in A Million”! Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7pm. Students $5, Adults $12.
The French students are hosting a dinner by donation Thursday 5:00-6:30 in the Rivendell Café before the show.
Please remember that tomorrow we have no school due to Veteran’s Day. Also remember that Monday will be for parent conferences, and we hope that you have signed up for a conference with your child’s teacher. Our school is using PTCFast.com for conference signups. Please enter the following web address into your browser window and follow the prompts to sign up for your conference for your child: https://ptcfast.com/schools/Samuel_Morey. When you sign up, please be sure to indicate whether you prefer your conference to be held via Zoom or in-person with your child’s teacher. Conferences are an opportunity to hear about your child’s learning and successes. I encourage you to sign up right away. Let us know if you have any questions. If you are unable to schedule conferences online, please contact the office and we can assist you.
Our After the Bell students have organized a food drive for the local food shelf. They have placed decorated boxes around the school and each box has a list of items that can donated. You can bring in things like canned or dried food and paper towels. Items will be taken to the food shelf in November before Thanksgiving and again in December. Please help if you can and spread the word. You may also see collection boxes in some of our local stores.
Samuel Morey receives funding for Title 1 literacy support in grades K-5. Eligibility is based on assessments that are given three times a year. Recently, parents were notified if their child was recommended for Title 1 services. Mrs. McCrave meets with students 2 – 4 times a week for 30 minutes to support reading and writing skills. We will hold our annual Title 1 meeting at 6:30pm on December 1. A Zoom link for this meeting will be posted in our future Friday weekly emails as we get closer to December 1st.
Attached is the illness chart for guidance on sicknesses your child may have. Please refer to it if you have any questions, and, you can always call the school for guidance. We have seen an increase in student and staff absences in recent weeks because of all the germs that are circulating around our learning community. We greatly appreciate your diligence and caution in keeping your child home when they are not feeling well as this helps us keep school open.
Thursday November 17th- Covid Vaccine Clinic
There will be a Covid vaccine/booster clinic Thursday November 17th in the gym at Rivendell Academy from 2-4 for elementary students and their families. If you and your family would like to participate, please fill out and submit the attached forms to the office by Tuesday, Nov 15th. We need these early so we can make sure that we have enough vaccines to go around!
Below are the vaccines available:
Vaccine Presentations: Moderna, Pfizer and Pfizer Bivalent and very limited Moderna Bivalent
Vaccine Recipients: Adults and Children of all ages
Students will be dismissed at 1:45 and parents should plan to pick up their children, drive them to RA, and please park behind the gym. Attached you will find the consent forms needed.
The holiday season is approaching quickly. There are a couple of community organizations that we work with this time of year. If you are looking for some assistance with meeting the needs of your family this holiday season please reach out to Sarah Jones (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or our guidance counselor, Ann O’Hearn (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to learn about the different programs available and we can assist with any applications, confidentially. You can always call or stop in to speak with Sarah or Ann about the programs. Attached you will find the application for Operation Santa Claus, which is here to assist families with gifts during the holiday season. Applications are due by November 25th. Applications are also available in the school office.
Some Important Reminders:
- As our days are getting cooler, please send your child with appropriate attire for the weather. This can be a tough time to navigate with the changing weather patterns but always best to be prepared!
- There will be no school Friday, November 11, due to our observance of Veteran’s Day.
- No school Monday, November 14, due to parent teacher conferences.
- Thanksgiving Break (no school), Wednesday – Friday, November 23rd-25th
- Please send sneakers with your child on PE days. Classes are held on Monday and Tuesday.
- Library day is on Wednesday. Please help your child remember to bring the books they borrowed back.
- Rivendell Academy Players are putting on “One in A Million” Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7pm.
Sincerely,
Steven Lindemann
SME News October 7, 2022
Good afternoon,
We’ve had a great week at Samuel Morey. On Friday our Grade 5 students spent the day at Hulbert, our Grade 4 students hiked up the Palisades.
Flu Season is upon us!
We are hosting a flu clinic with UVP for students on Thursday, October 20th at their SME/WES grade school. This clinic is for Flu vaccines only.
If you would like your child to receive their flu vaccine a school please complete and return the form that is being sent home with your child today to school before October 14th!
( It was also sent electronically last week in the newsletter.)
This is a convenient way to get your child’s flu vaccine in if you want them to have it and UVP does a nice job with the kids!
Please contact me if you have any questions or want help filling out the form!
Thank you, Jessica
ALL Together is a regional coalition that takes action to reduce the impact of alcohol and drug misuse in support of the development of healthy, safe, and resilient youth and young adults in the Upper Valley. ALL Together (AT) prioritizes the implementation of evidence based programs, policies, and practices including community engagement. AT is recognized as the Substance Misuse Prevention workgroup of the Public Health Council of the Upper Valley and is nationally recognized as a Drug Free Communities Coalition.
Unfortunately, I have some sad news. Our dedicated and hard-working administrative assistant, Jane Prescott, will be moving on to a new school district. I have appreciated all that she has done for SME and the greater community during her time with us.
I hope you have a restful weekend.
Sincerely,
Steven Lindemann
SME Principal
SME News September 30, 2022
Good afternoon Samuel Morey Parents and Guardians,
As we finish out the month of September and enter October, I want to express my gratitude to students, teachers and parents for all the learning taking place in our building this year.
After the Bell – If your child needs after school care, After the Bell, our after school program, is running 5 days a week and we have openings for more students. Please direct all questions about After the Bell to Leslie Berger (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
The Samuel Morey library is looking for parent volunteers. Volunteers are needed to shelve library books. Please reach out to Courtney Wise our librarian if you would like to volunteer.
Picture make-up day is Tuesday, October 4. Please email Mrs. Prescott if you would like your child’s pictures redone. If you would still like to order pictures, please be in touch with Mrs. Prescott.
Next week, October 3-5 is our last week of Finding Our Stride.
We are hosting a flu clinic with UVP for SME students on Thursday, October 20. If you would like your child to receive their flu shot during school, please complete and return the attached form to Jane in the front office before October 10 so we have a count for UVP. If you would like a printed copy, please contact Jane in the front office. Thank you, Jessica
Please read this note from Jessica Gould, our beloved school nurse: As some of you may have already heard, I have been presented with a job opportunity outside of RISD that I am excited to pursue! My last day is October 14th. I will miss the kiddos very much and truly appreciate the opportunity that I have had to work with, and get to know, you and your children