Early release days will get a little easier this year for those parents who are unable to change their schedules to be home on those afternoons. This year, Pine Grove School is offering a Kid's Club for students in kindergarten through sixth grade to attend on the afternoons of an early release day. So far, there are 10 early dismissal days scheduled for the school year, the first one on Friday, Sept. 19.
The Kid's Club will run from dismissal time at 11:40 a.m. to 6 p.m. Students will be provided with a snack, though they should bring a lunch, and art supplies and games will be provided as well. Heather Ferrara, an instructional assistant at the school, will oversee the program. Cost is $4.50 per hour per child. A sibling discount reduces the hourly cost to $4 an hour for second and subsequent siblings.
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One of the school's biggest PTO fundraisers — the gift wrap sale — will begin on Sept. 12. The school is using a new company this year that brings changes with it.
First, all orders will be done online, saving paper and reducing the time needed to package, deliver and process orders. Second, the new company provides a much higher percentage of sales back to the school after the fundraiser is completed, and third, instead of the usual pizza party for the grade with the highest sales, there will be prizes, such as passes to Water Country.
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Got coins? Put them to good use by converting them to paper currency at a COINS for a C.A.U.S.E. (Coins Add Up to Support Education) location sponsored by the Institute for Savings. The bank will donate 100 percent of the 5 percent user fee to the elementary schools in Newburyport, Amesbury, Newbury, West Newbury, Salisbury, Rowley and Ipswich.
The coin-counting machines are located at 93 State St. and 68 Storey Ave. in Newburyport, at 7 Bridge Road in Salisbury, 2 Depot Square in Ipswich or the 312 Haverhill St. location in Rowley.
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There are still slots available in Pine Grove's early bird program, which provides supervision for students dropped off at the school as early at 7:10 a.m. For more information, contact Carla Collins at 978-465-2397.
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Michelle Pelletier Marshall reports on the Rowley and Merrimac elementary schools. She can be reached at marshallsinmass@comcast.net.
