Kittredge Elementary School

April 18th-22nd, 2005
Curriculum Day, April 27th, 2005: students released at 11:40 am.

Dear Kittredge Families,

The placement teams will be meeting before the end of June to create class assignments for the next school year. The placement procedure is a very involved and thoughtful process. Factors we consider for placement include academic performance, achievement, gender, as well as social and personality factors. Written input from parents regarding placement for students in the fall of 2005 will be welcomed until Friday, April 15th. Please include in your comments what you see as the learning style of your child and the class environment in which you believe he or she learns best. A request for a particular teacher cannot be accepted. Our goal is to create classes balanced academically and socially to meet each learner's needs. Any letter stating the name of a particular teacher is disregarded and not considered for placement. Please send your letters directly to Nancy Jukins, Principal, for careful consideration. Thank you in advance.

Students are not allowed to bring skateboards or roller blades to school. Also, wheeled sneakers are not allowed. Thank you for your cooperation regarding these safety concerns.

In an attempt to build community, we conduct opening exercises on the playground when the first bell rings at 8:15 a.m. Students are marked tardy if they arrive after 8:25 a.m. We encourage your children to be at school when the first bell rings at 8:15 a.m.

The bus company has requested that parents who are picking up students at the end of the day please stay to the left of the driveway in the pick up line. The buses need to be able to enter the driveway in front of the school.

Congratulations to the students in grades 3, 4 and 5 for their diligent work on the MCAS test last week!

Report cards go home on Friday. The Kittredge School "No Child Left Behind" report card will be included with your child's report card.

Spring vacation begins at the end of the day on April 15th. Have a good vacation!

The PTO recently purchased a new basketball hoop, a new backboard, hula hoops, jump ropes, chalk, nerf balls, soccer balls and new basketballs for our kids! Recess has never been so much fun!

The PTO will hold its annual spring book fair on Wednesday April 27th and Thursday April 28th. Each classroom will have the opportunity to visit the book fair to purchase paperbacks during the school day, and the bookfair will remain open during the evening of Thursday April 28th during the Learning Fair. Annie's Book Stop is working with us to provide a generous selection of high quality, age appropriate literature for our kids (including summer reading authors). If you are interested in volunteering during the 1/2 day on Wednesday or anytime of the day Thursday, please contact Maureen Sakakeeny (+1 978 699 0437, sakfamily@comcast.net) or Amy Stavros (+1 978 689 3297).

Every May we, as parents, get the opportunity to show our Kittredge teachers and staff how much we appreciate everything they do for our children every day. We get to give them five days off from their non-teaching responsibilities!! Volunteers will be needed for early morning drop-off and playground duty, lunch and recess supervision, afternoon pick-up and bus line organization, etc. We will also need some bakers during the week for delicious goodies. Sign-up sheets will be coming home right after spring break. If you have any questions, please call either Eleanor Cox (+1 978 682 7969), or Tina Shumway (+1 978 687 8580).

Just a reminder for all those that had their portraits taken at the dance: they are ready for viewing online. They look AWESOME! Just go online at www.KingstonStudios.com/Jammin to view and order. If you have any problems seeing the images or would just like to ask a question, please contact Kingston Studios at +1 978 683 9549.

The 65 Roses Spring Boutique and Craft Fair will be Sunday, May 1st, 12-4 pm at the Stevens Estate Carriage House in North Andover. There will be unique vendors and gifts for women and children, as well as fabulous raffles and a silent auction. All vendors will be donating a generous portion of their proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For more information or directions contact Jodie Leibowitz +1 978 688 7477 or jodie.leibowitz@comcast.net.

1. The Friends of Memorial Park have scheduled a cleanup of the Park for Saturday, May 7th, 2005 beginning at 9:00 AM. Memorial Park is located across from the Library on Middlesex/Greene Streets. Please consider dropping by for an hour or two. Bring rakes, shovels, saws and gloves and wheelbarrows. We will be removing trash which has accumulated over the winter as well as replenishing the mulch. We will also be utilizing a new way of edging the beds. Why not come and learn this innovative new way of edging your beds while beautifying the Park at the same time. For more information, please contact Phila Slade at +1 978 683 9282. The friends also wish to acknowledge the support of Peter Breen who has supplied mulch for the spring and fall cleanups for he past few years and for the local Boys Scouts and many volunteers who have supported the cleanup efforts in the past.
   
   
2. The Friends of Memorial Park, a subcommittee of the North Andover Improvement Society would like to remind all friends and citizens of the Town that the gift of trees and shrubs is a wonderful way to beautify our Town. Gifts of this nature by citizens and civic groups to celebrate special occasions help compensate limited budgets and beautify our neighborhoods. A tradition based upon even one of the following examples can place hundreds of trees and shrubs in Town over several years. Why not consider donating a tree or shrub in honor of your own special occasion; the birth of a child; a special birthday; the death of a loved one; a milestone wedding anniversary: 25, 50, 75, for example; a gift by friends of children of honorees; retirement a gift by an employer; coworkers; professional organization; family or friends; a resident who reflected glory on the Town, for example; middle or high school graduation; an annual civic contribution of a garden club or other service club; as a drive by a youth group such as Boy/Girl Scouts, Campfire, 4-H, et cetera.
   
   The Park is in need of replenishing its stock of spring flowering forsythia, rhododendrons; azaleas; roses, lilacs and holly.
   
   Why not join the over 300 friends and neighbors who have already donated? For more information, please contact Phila Slade at +1 978 683 9282. All donations should be mailed to the North Andover Improvement Society, PO Box 212, North Andover, MA 01845.

Visit our Kittredge website at http://www.northandover.k12.ma.us/Kittredge/.

Please send via email to kathy.eastwood@comcast.net (please put Newslink in the subject line) or call Kathy Eastwood at +1 978 794 3025 by Friday at noon.

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