Pine Grove Notes
The Pine Grove School will hold a preschool open house and information night on Monday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Parents will meet the preschool staff and tour the classroom, as well as learn about the classroom program via a PowerPoint presentation. Applications will be available for the 2010/11 school year. Children must be 3 years old before Sept. 1, 2010 in order to attend.
The Pine Grove preschool provides child-centered, developmentally appropriate classes for young children ages 3 to 5. Classes meet two, three or four half days each week. Tuition is based on the number of days/week. Financial assistance based on income is available for those who qualify.
For further information, contact Kathleen Murphy, early childhood coordinator, at kmurphy@trsd.net.
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In light of what recently transpired with students bringing guns to school at Triton Middle School and Salisbury Elementary School, Pine Grove Principal Christine Kneeland and staff outlined a plan to talk to any Pine Grove student who wanted more information about the incidents or appeared anxious or frightened by them.
On Feb. 4, the following steps were taken: in kindergarten through second grade, teachers spoke with their classes in developmentally appropriate conversations if students appeared anxious or frightened regarding the situations. For those in grades 3 through 6, teachers addressed the importance of working together to maintain a safe and secure school community, encouraging the students to speak with an adult if they felt frightened or unsafe.
"We encourage parents to speak with their child(ren) and reiterate to them the importance of speaking to an adult if they witness or experience bullying or unsafe situations," said Kneeland in a communication sent to parents. "The Pine Grove School Safety Committee, which includes both the Rowley Police and Fire Departments, will continue to review procedures and protocols for ensuring school safety and ongoing communication and information will be disseminated as necessary."
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Celebrations of the 100th day of school will take place on Tuesday. Kindergartners are already working on their homework of collecting 100 items to bring to school on that day. They will have special math activities that day that all require counting to 100.
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There will be a School Committee meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the high school. Budget discussions will continue at this meeting.
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The math league for fifth- and sixth-graders starts after school Wednesday. Math coach Leslie Blaney will lead the students in this league, which will hold intradistrict math nights over the next couple of months.
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Sixth-grade projects are in full swing in anticipation of graduation. The sixth-graders recently had their group photo taken for the cover of the yearbook. The yearbook committee is looking for candid photos of school events that the sixth-graders have participated in throughout the years. And well wishes are being sought to include in the yearbook (cost is $5)
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Many volunteering opportunities are available at the school such as organizing the Earth Day celebration, being the field day coordinator and assisting in the library with circulation, book shelving and covering new books. "Even a couple hours of time spent volunteering is very helpful and appreciated," said PTO President Liz Butler.
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Friday, Feb. 12 is the last day of the ski and board program.
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The school will be closed for February vacation from Feb. 15 through Feb. 19, with school resuming on Monday, Feb. 22.
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Michelle Pelletier Marshall covers Rowley and Merrimac elementary schools for The Daily News. She can be reached at marshallsinmass@comcast.net.
