Throughout the year, the third-grade students at the elementary schools in the Pentucket district — Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury — have corresponded with one another. On Tuesday, June 10, they will finally meet at a pen pal picnic, where they will enjoy lunch together.

Three third-grade classes from the Donaghue School will head over to the Bagnall School in Groveland from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., while the other two third-grade classes will head to the Page School in West Newbury.

The yearlong letter-sharing project has proven valuable in helping students articulate their thoughts in writing and get to know some of the children they will be classmates with when they get to the middle school.

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Sweetsir School first-graders head to Ordiorne Point State Park in Rye, N.H., for the day on Monday to get a closer look at the organisms that flourish in the coastal tide pools.

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Kindergarten students will set out on Tuesday on the annual walk to the police and fire stations to learn more about the town's officers who protect and serve the area. The students are even escorted on their walk by a policeman on his bike.

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Donaghue School's sixth-graders will have their end-of-year celebration on Tuesday, June 10, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the school's cafeteria. Pizza and music will highlight the event, while sixth-grade teachers will serve as chaperones. Parents must provide transportation after the celebration.

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Parents of kindergarteners need to charge up their video cameras to catch the end-of-the-year musical and dance performance by the kindergarteners on Wednesday. Two performances will be held, at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., to accommodate both morning and afternoon classes.

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The annual PTO ice cream social will be held on Thursday, June 12, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Sweetsir School. Families of Sweetsir and Donaghue students are invited to come and enjoy free ice cream, courtesy of the PTO, to mark the coming of summer and the end of the school year.

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An awards ceremony for Donaghue School sixth-graders and their families will be held on Friday, June 13, at 10 a.m. Students will be recognized for academic achievements, as well as those in the "special" areas of arts, music, computers and physical education.

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The last day of school for Merrimac students is Monday, June 16. It will be an early release day with Donaghue students getting out at 11:50 a.m. and Sweetsir students being dismissed at noon. The last day of afternoon kindergarten classes will be Friday, June 13.

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The first day of school for the 2008-09 school year will be on Tuesday, Aug. 26, for those in first through sixth grade. Kindergarteners will start on Wednesday, Aug. 27, and preschool classes begin after Labor Day.

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Michelle Pelletier Marshall is a correspondent who covers Rowley and Merrimac. She can be reached at marshallsinmass@comcast.net

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