Dear NHS Community,
We had 2 assemblies on Friday: one for students in grades K-5 and one for students in grades 6-8. We had some 5th grade helpers present a skit with Nine Nice Mice who each represented an important value to remember in being kind. They were:
Ryan the Respectful Mouse who reminded us to be polite and show consideration for others and their differences.
Keira the Kindness Mouse who reminded us to be nice and friendly to people wherever you go.
Alex the Acceptance Mouse who reminded us to appreciate and recognize people for who they are.
Tyler the Teamwork Mouse who reminded us to collaborate and work together with others.
Hannah the Honesty Mouse who said to be truthful and fair.
Riley the Responsibility Mouse who said to be helpful to others and be accountable for your actions.
Felipe the Friendship Mouse who reminded us to be a friendly companion other people want to be around.
Pria the Patience Mouse who said to be calm and understand that some things take time and endurance.
Cameron the Courageous Mouse who reminded us to be brave and dare to be nice even when it is hard.
We shared information about the collection sponsored by our Middle School Student Government. We are collecting donations for Seacoast Family Promise and for HAVEN, two local charities that provide assistance to families in need. We talked about giving to others and showing kindness. We put up a “Kindness Wall” outside the gym and students can write an act of kindness they have witnessed, been the recipient of, or done for someone else on a post it note. There are some pretty kind kids here at NHS!
Middle Schoolers talked about what we want and what we need as a frame of reference for holiday giving and the collections for HAVEN and Seacoast Family Promise. We will be collecting items on the flyer (liquid laundry detergent, individually wrapped after school snacks, juice boxes, brushes and combs) and gift cards and gas cards until Dec. 18th.
HAVEN
We are collecting donations for HAVEN during December, but I’d also like to take this opportunity to tell you a bit more about what they do for schools, in addition to how they support families. NHS has had a partnership with HAVEN for many years. Ms. Vas coordinates this partnership for us. Trained staff members from HAVEN will be visiting classes at NHS at different times during the school year to promote personal safety habits. In grades 1 and 3, they bring a puppet show in March. They visit grade 5 in March as well with a story based lesson on personal safety. In grades 7 and 8, HAVEN staff work with Ms. Vas to conduct 2 or 3 lessons. This will take place on Jan. 21, 22, 23. 7th and 8th grade parents should look for a letter from Ms. Vas in the weekly teacher notes.
Technology News from Carly Herlihy
This week is extra special in Technology because it is Computer Science Education Week! To celebrate, students are participating in the Hour of Code during their Technology classes. The Hour of Code is an introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It is a global movement in 180+ countries, presented in over 45 languages, to over 100 million students. This week in Technology, students will take part in this global movement by building on their knowledge of code, watching videos about the power of computer programming, and completing coding challenges on HourofCode.com. The coding fun continues, as the Hour of Code kicks off a coding unit where students dive into more coding vocabulary, activities, and projects!
Four NHS students traveled to UNH on Saturday for a regional CoderZ competition. 5th graders Miles Carey and Ryan Shaikh and 7th graders Eric Drouart and Max St. Pierre emerged as high scorers in a school based competition. Congratulations to them. We are proud they represented NHS at UNH! Special thanks to Ms. Carlson for coordinating this competition.
Partnership with North Hampton Police Department
As a school, we work closely with NHPD and NHFD to ensure student and school safety as well as to model the importance of working together within our community. In fact, we had a fire drill just this morning. (Everyone got out of the building in under 2 minutes!)
Officer Pops will be back at NHS on Wednesdays beginning in January. He will be teaching lessons in LEAD (Law Enforcement Against Drugs) for 6th graders. LEAD is the updated version of the old DARE curriculum. (Sixth grade parents should look for a letter to come home soon.) Additionally, he will be in the building for much of the day to interact with students at lunch and recess and help out at drop off and dismissal times. On the days Officer Poppalardo is with us at NHS, he's here for community outreach, to be a visual and welcoming presence, to forge positive relationships and to help with youth development and empowerment; as another positive adult connection. Chris is a great guest reader and you may hear from your child that he has read a story in class. He will likely be here on Mondays as well.
Athletics
Dates to remember
Dec. 10: Choral Concert at 7 PM (Gr. 5-8)
Dec. 17: Band Concert at 6 PM (Gr. 5-8) (Please note corrected time.)
Dec. 20: Early release day--12:00 dismissal
Dec. 23-Jan. 1: Winter vacation
Jan. 2: School reopens after Winter vacation
Jan. 20: No school--Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb. 5: Early Release Day--12:00 dismissal