Kittredge Elementary School

Congratulations to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students for successfully completing MCAS testing over the last two weeks!

Now that warm weather has arrived, please remember that students should wear comfortable clothes that are appropriate for school. Beach wear is not acceptable, including excessively tight or short clothing, bare midriffs, platform shoes or sandals. Any clothing item that is determined to interfere with learning or safety will necessitate notifying a parent and requesting a change of clothing be brought to school.

In order to ensure the safety of all of our students, please remember that cars dropping off students in the morning must remain in the line and drop off where the teacher is standing at the lower school entrance. Please do not drop your child off at or before the main school entrance.

Thanks to all the help from a very dedicated group of library volunteers, and the redesigned library space, we've had a busy and active library program this year. It's been wonderful to see how much reading our students are doing and to be able to respond to their thirst for information! I hope that all students continue to read a variety of materials throughout the summer. Please note that all books borrowed from the library this week will be due Friday, June 9th. Many thanks for your help in maintaining our library's collection!
Anne Bate, Library Media Specialist

School Committee meetings will be held every Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm in the NAHS auditorium. Can't attend? Meetings are televised on Channel 10. Current anticipated shortfall for the FY07 school budget is approximately 3.3 million dollars. Please be aware that deep cuts are expected!

A huge thank you to all who donated to the families affected by the flooding. As usual, the Kittredge families came through with flying colors. The lobby was filled several times with clothing, bed linens, and water.

Someone left a flowered plate at the refreshment table on the night of the 2nd grade play - Peter Rabbit! The plate is in the Teacher's Kitchen. Thank you.

If you have any extra time this week, please come on in and help take down the beautiful artwork on the walls of our school. Thank you.

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and the third leading cause of death in the United States. A stroke occurs when something happens to interrupt the steady flow of blood to the brain, like a blood clot or a burst of a vessel. In order to function, your brain needs a constant supply of blood. When something happens to reduce or stop that supply of blood to your brain, the problems will be serious and immediate.

There are a number of conditions that can lead to a stroke. Some stroke risk factors that can be controlled or eliminated include high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, and high cholesterol. High blood pressure is one of the biggest and most controllable risk factors for stroke.

It is important to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke and to call 9-1-1. 75% of strokes can be recognized using the Stroke Heroes Act FAST system: Face, Arm, Speech and Time to call 9-1-1. Face: Does the face look uneven? Ask the person to smile. Arm: Does one arm drift down? Ask the person to raise both arms. Speech: Does their speech sound strange? Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Time: If you observe any of these symptoms, then it's time to call 9-1-1.

Take action in you life to lower your risk for having a stroke by engaging in a healthy lifestyle. Remember the FAST system to help those around you.

The North Andover Public Schools Health Advisory Council will host an open meeting Tuesday June 6th from 3:00-4:00 pm at the Middle School library to review changes to the district's Health and Food Safety Policy adopted in February 2003. These changes address a Federal mandate that all schools have a Wellness policy in place by the start of the 2006-2007 school year. Our current policy is being revised to meet this mandate. Interested parties from the community are invited to attend this meeting and provide input into this process. For more information, contact Katie Vozeolas, Lead School Nurse at the North Andover High School: +1 978 794 1711 ext. 1054.

Please join us for our final meeting of the school year Thursday, June 1st at 7:00 PM at the Atkinson School. School nurses will hold a forum on "Allergies and Asthma: Transition into School."

All gently used sports equipment is welcomed including baseball, softball, lacrosse, basketball, hockey, soccer, football, tennis, golf, volleyball, field hockey, rollerblades, etc. Please, no skiing or snowboarding equipment. All donations will be given to the girls and boys of the Lawrence YMCA. Drive coordinated by AJ Serrano, Bubba Serrano, Mark Hanson, Sean McManus, Ryan Tepperman. Please call +1 978 794 8186 for more info.

A class for students who meet grade level expectations in writing and would like to learn specific, strategies for organizing and writing well-developed compositions. The session will be held twice weekly for four weeks in July in North Andover. The class will be taught by two experienced teachers currently working in the Andover public schools. Please contact Lisa Besen (lbesen@yahoo.com) or Karen Rudis (Karenrudis@comcast.net) for information or to register. Space is limited.

Are you starting spring cleaning or thinking about it? Save the dates June 24th and 25th, 2006, and save your stuff for a North Andover town wide yard sale sponsored by NASWAC (the North Andover recycling committee). For a $10 registration fee to cover advertising, NASWAC will advertise your address along with addresses of all the participants in town. Registration details will be given later this spring. But meanwhile, save the dates and your stuff!!

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.

In celebration of 20 years of providing quality programs for North Andover school children, the North Andover Schools Enrichment Council will hold a 20th Anniversary Town-Wide Silent Art Auction at the Joseph N. Hermann Youth Center on September 16 and 17. Mark your calendars now! The event will include artwork from professional, amateur and young artists. NASEC will split the proceeds with the artists.

Parents, please encourage your child to create something special this summer for the auction! Volunteers are also needed to make this event a success. For more information, please contact Molly Fowler at RMFowler@comcast.net.

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