By Michelle Pelletier Marshall
The third-graders in Marion Jones' class should be very excited to have classmate David Smith in their room. That's because Smith won a certificate for a karate birthday party at a local fundraiser and he is going to share it with all his classmates on Wednesday, May 21. All the students in his class will head to Mark Warner's Professional Martial Arts Academy in Ipswich for the morning to enjoy a karate class and instruction, as well as a little party fun.
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MCAS testing continues next week at the Pine Grove School. Fourth-graders will work on math tests early in the week, while grade-five students will take science and technology and history and social studies exams on Wednesday and Friday.
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Town Meeting will be at Pine Grove School on Monday beginning at 7 p.m.
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Pine Grove's school nurse Debbie Blanchette was named PTO's Woman of the Year at the recent annual school Fashion Show. PTO President Hilary Odoy said of Blanchette's achievement, "In her eight years at the school, Debbie has quickly become one of the school's most valuable assets, as she exemplifies the highest level of service to our student body and is a consistent constant in the students' lives, providing a caring and comfortable haven to retreat to when they need special attention."
As part of receiving this award, the PTO will donate $100 to the charity of Blanchette's choice.
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There will be no preschool classes on Wednesday or Thursday to allow for teacher conferences.
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The second-graders will head to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., on Tuesday. They will divide up into three groups and explore either artful tales, animals in art or take a self-guided tour of the museum's art and nature exhibit.
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Mallory Bagwell of The Movement Company will guide Pine Grove sixth-graders through the construction and flying of a hot air balloon during her Hot Air Hype visit to the school on Thursday, May 22.
In the morning, teams of students will construct a balloon that is one-fifteenth the size of a regular hot air balloon and then head outdoors after lunch to launch their creations of 4-foot-tall tissue balloons that will be flown to heights of 40 to 300 feet.
This program, sponsored by Rowley Public Education Fund, demonstrates the elements of flight — pressure, gravity, drag and lift — in a memorable way.
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The student body and staff will mark Memorial Day with an all-school assembly on Friday, May 23. Patriotic songs and words will be shared to help all learn and remember the importance of Memorial Day.
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There will be no school on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day.
Michelle Pelletier Marshall is a correspondent who lives in Rowley. She can be reached at marshallsinmass@comcast.net
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