Kittredge Elementary School

Dear Kittredge families,

Last week I explained that each week for the next few weeks I would be putting an excerpt about Bullying in the Newslink. This is part of an attempt to raise the level of awareness about what Bullying is and what we can do as a community to help prevent it. Remember, please contact the school if you think your child is a victim of bullying.

Sincerely,
Nancy Jukins

Typical bullying behavior includes:

• Frequently hits, kicks, pushes, or chokes other kids.
• Has been observed name-calling, threatening, taunting, malicious teasing, spreading rumors, or otherwise verbally attacking other kids.
• Intentionally excludes other kids or manipulates friendships.
• Makes faces or obscene gestures.

• Make it clear to your child that you take bullying seriously and do not tolerate such behavior in the future.
• Develop a consistent family rules system. When they follow the rules use praise and reinforcement. When they break the rules then use consistent, non-hostile, negative consequences.
• Set a good example for your child. If your child observes aggressive behavior by you, they are more likely to act aggressively toward other kids.
• Spend more time with your child. Monitor and supervise your child's activities. Know your child's friends, where they spend their free time, and what they do with that free time.
• Help your child develop less aggressive and more appropriate behavior. When you see improved behavior, recognize and reward your child.
• Maintain contact with your child's school. Support the school's efforts to modify your child's behavior. Frequent communication with teachers and administrators is important to find out how your child is doing in changing their behavior.
• Seek help from a mental health professional. Take bullying seriously. Children who bully increase their risk for engaging in other forms of antisocial behavior, such as juvenile delinquency, criminality, and substance abuse. Bullying behavior should be taken seriously.

Recognition ads are a great way for you to send a personalized message to your child, friend or teacher in the Memory Book. For $5.00 you can place a personalized message in the Memory Book. Your message will fill approximately the space of an address label. Look for the order forms in your backpack this week!

I am looking for any pictures taken in the Kindergarten and 2nd grade classes. They can be either print or digital pictures. Just send them via backpack Mackenzie Keough 2A or email me at mackeough@netzero.com. Remember these pictures will not be returned. Thank you!

Parents: this is the last chance to order this year's Memory Book for $19.00. You have until February 10th to place your order. DON'T BE LEFT OUT. WE ORDER ONLY THE AMOUNT THAT WE GET PAID FOR, IF YOU WANT A MEMORY BOOK ORDER NOW!

Watch for more info on our exciting new fundraiser. The students can get sponsored for doing fun worksheets around February vacation. It's a fun, easy program that can make great money for the kids!

At this time of the year we start to see an increase in illnesses such as coughs and colds and flu. At Kittredge, we have had very few students with the vomiting/gastrointestinal virus that has been prevalent in the area.

This is a good time to remind your children about the importance of hand-washing, which is the single most effective way to prevent infection. It is important to review hand-washing technique with your children as well as the appropriate times to wash hands. Hands should be wet before applying soap and the hands should be rubbed together for 10 to 20 seconds prior to rinsing and drying thoroughly. Please reinforce with your children that hands need to be washed before eating, after using the bathroom, and after coughing, sneezing or using a tissue. Though this information seems basic, children need review and reminders.

In a second grade classroom this week, we talked about germs on various surfaces. A research study found that student's desktops contained the highest level of contamination by Influenza virus when compared to sink faucet handles, doorknobs, and paper towel levers. Students were taught to try to refrain from rubbing their eyes and noses or from putting their hands in their mouths to prevent germs from being introduced into the body. The importance of cleaning desk surfaces was discussed at staff meeting. Thank you to all the families who have sent in hand sanitizer products for the classroom or an individual supply for their child. Hopefully, we will all work together to promote a healthy school environment. Thank you for your assistance with this important health issue.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 12th at 4:00p.m. All of North Andover's elementary schools as well as the Middle School will be participating! Flyers will be distributed in near future. Come enjoy a great night of hockey!!

Are you missing a platter/basket from Kids Go Shopping / Snowflake Cafe? If so, please call Christine Karelas at +1 978 794 2191.

A portion of the food sales are donated to North Andover Music Association. Win what? Enter the drawing to win two all-day lift tickets at Ski Bradford!! Also enter to win our separate DOOR PRIZE for the evening (Fuddruckers Gift Certificates & two passes for Lawrence Showcase Cinemas!) Please come!

The FY-07 Budget cycle has begun and things are looking very grim. In order to maintain the current level of services being provided, the School Department needs an additional $2.9 million dollars over last years budget. It is unlikely that the schools will receive any increase. The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for 6:30pm Tuesday, January 24th at the High School Lecture Hall. We encourage all those interested or concerned to attend and become more informed. We are also including the names and numbers of the current School Committee members so that you may contact them if you wish.

We are seeking parents and community members in all occupations to share their professional experiences with students at the North Andover High School Career Day on Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006. In order to offer a wide variety of sessions for students to choose from, we are looking for 75 - 100 speakers. Volunteer speakers can choose from one of the following three session times: 8:20 am to 9:20 am, 9:25 am to 10:25 am, or 11:55 am to 12:55 pm. Some sessions will have more than one speaker from related fields. Discussion topics will include educational and skill requirements, job responsibilities, working conditions, and future growth in the field. If you are interested in participating, please contact the Career Day Committee at picc@northandover.k12.ma.us or Pam Mesquita, NAHS Career Counselor at +1 978 794 8051l mesquitap@northandover.k12.ma.us by Tuesday, January 31st, 2006.

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.

You may register for the Volleyball Program and/or the April Vacation Camp on Tuesday, January 31st, Atkinson School, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

You may also register for the Spring Camp through Community Programs' Spring Sessions' Excel Programs. Registration for the Spring Camp is limited to the first 30 players to sign up. The registration fee for the NABC program is $60 per player and for the Spring Camp $110 per player. All registration fees must be paid at the time of registration. Please download the registration form from the Handout link and bring to registration.

Classes begin at Kittredge Wednesday, February 1st, 2006. Watch for registration forms being sent home with your child. Registrations are due by January 16th, 2006. Did you miss out on Global Child classes this fall? Contact Regional Coordinator Stacia Tagliaferro at +1 978 447 1862 to find out how you can catch up and join a class starting soon!

$Id: newslink-2006-01-23.html,v 1.1 2006/01/23 20:08:57 carlsonj Exp $