Grade 6 send off!

Grade 6 departs on a learning adventure on Hurricane Island.   Thanks to the NPTO and a grant from the people at Hurricane Island for helping to make this opportunity possible!

Trimester 3, aka Springtime, at NCS

4th grade 

This week 6th grade students will be off on an educational adventure at Hurricane Island, thanks to grant funding from Hurricane Island and matching funds, thanks to our NPTO. 

Students in grades 2 and 3 are looking forward to presenting their spring play, U.S. Geography, on Friday, May 29 with three performances: 9:00, 10:15 and 12:30 in the Music Room.   Parents, look for details about the play through your classroom teachers. One of my new favorite songs:  "Heave Away! We're Sailing to the Grade Lakes Today."

It's hard to believe that we are nearing the end of the spring sports season.   The last regular season game is Monday, June 1 and the playoff season begins Thursday, June 4.   Keep an eye on the family or sports calendar on our web site for details.

Fifth grade students will complete DARE. They will celebrate the milestone on Thursday, June 4th by attending a Sea Dogs game.

Earth Worms Make America Great!   (Didn't you know that?)   Kindergarten and first grade students will give you their opinion on the subject when they present their spring play on Friday morning, June 5th in the Music Room.  That same day, Grade 2 heads to the Darling Center for an educationally-fun field trip.  Parents, look for information on those events from your classroom teacher. 

On Monday, June 8th, grade 6-8 students throughout the AOS 93 district will participate in Lincoln Academy's field day.   Students participate in a variety of track and field events.

The spring concert and book fair are on the calendar for June 8-12.  (See blog article below.)   

Grade 6 will attend the Gulf of Maine Institute Tuesday, June 16th.   

Several 8th grade students are preparing for one of two outing club events. They have also raised funds for a class trip to The Forks on Monday, June 15th.   The 8th grade's end of year promotion celebration is on Thursday, June 18th.   

Library

Liffetouch spring pictures are still available in the office. The packages will be here until Friday, June 12.  If you have not had an opportunity to stop in to view your child(ren)'s package, you're welcome to take a look at them on the evening of the concert. 

Amidst all of these extra classroom events, our work remains focused on student learning!  

Enjoy your week!  

4th grade at FARMS kitchen

Concert, Book Fair, Talent Show

The NCS Spring Concert is Thursday, June 11 at 6:30 pm.

Students have been preparing for the annual spring concert. We look forward to sharing music and art with families and friends of NCS that evening. All students in grades K-5 perform in this concert, as well as Jr. Band, Sr. Band, and Sr. Chorus. This is a “dress-up” concert, so students are encouraged to wear their best clothes. (Reminder: both bands and Sr. Chorus have a special dress code as described in the band and chorus handbooks.

Students should arrive at 6:15 and go to their regular classroom. Jr. Band, Sr. Band, and Sr. Chorus students should report to the music room to warm up at 6:00. We look forward to seeing you there!

The NPTO Spring book fair is June 8-12th in the library immediately before and after school. The book fair will also be open the evening of the concert.  This is the buy-one-get-one-free spring sale. Stock up on summer reading!

Traditionally, the last day of school highlights special student activities, and the NCS talent show is part of that fun. AUDITIONS for the talent show will be held Tuesday, June 9 after school from 2:35-4:15. Students interested in auditioning should sign up by the music room ahead of time.

May, continued . . . Highlights & Reminders to Parents

On Friday, May 15, 3rd and 4th grade students headed to Augusta. They visited both the Maine State Museum and the State House (pictured).

Baseball and softball games this week:  The boys baseball team plays Oceanside today, May 18 @ 3:45. On Wednesday, May 20, both softball and baseball teams play at Bristol. Families and fans are reminded to check the NCS web page regularly for updated sports practices and events. This information changes occasionally, and it appears on our family calendar.

Guest reader Mark Ferrero (Skidompha) has been reading The Cricket in Times Square to interested 4th and 5th grade students during Literary Lunch.

Seventh grade students will attend a special literary program at Lincoln Academy with local author Lea Wait. Our students recently completed Uncertain Glory in preparation for Wednesday's get-together.This happens Wednesday, May 20th. 

On Thursday, May 21, grade 4 will have time in the FARMS kitchen at Rising Tide. Later that day the Kindergarten will be at the FARMS kitchen for an age-appropriate cooking experience.

Hopefully all parents know that children DO HAVE SCHOOL FRIDAY, MAY 22.   This was originally a teacher's workshop day, but it was changed to a student day in order to make up for lost time during the winter.   Monday is the Memorial Day holiday.   We hope families will enjoy the long weekend! 

Later this month Grade 6 students will be heading to the Hurricane Island. This educational opportunity and outdoor experience is new to our students and was made possible thanks to a generous grant relating to the Hurricane Island Foundation Leadership and Physical Science program.

Grades 2 and 3 have been cooperatively rehearsing for their spring play, which will be presented in the Music Room on Friday, May 29.  See the family calendar on our website for the morning show times.

Looking ahead to June, you'll want to make note of the NPTO 2-for-1 book fair June 8-12 in the library, including the evening of the Spring Concert, Thursday, June 11 @ 6:30.  More information will be sent home about these events.  Finally, parents, please see below for information on the NCS Summer Institute.

ANNOUNCING! ! ! The 2015 Summer Learning Institute

• All K - 8 students are invited to participate in summer learning experiences.
  

• There are several ways to do this. Read on!

• Also, there will be a celebration and NCS Book Bucks rewards for participants in summer learning opportunities listed below:

1. ALL Kindergarten - 7th grade NCS students are invited to participate in our annual NCS Summer Reading Challenge. It’s easy! Students will set a summer reading goal with their teachers, and record their progress through the summer. When they return to school in September, they’ll turn in the record sheet to Ms. Harriman, our librarian. If they’ve met their goal, they win an invitation to a celebration and $10 in NCS Book Bucks at the book fair.

2. A number of NCS students will be nominated by their teachers to join our NCS Online Learning Institute. Students will be able to use Aleks or IXL for math practice and/or Lexia for reading. They can practice anytime and anywhere as long as they have access to a digital device and the Internet. Parents and/or teachers can nominate students for online learning. NCS staff will be monitoring the nominated students’ progress all through the summer. As with the Summer Reading Challenge, students who participate regularly and make progress in online learning through the summer will get an invitation to a celebration and $10 in NCS Book Bucks at the book fair.

3. Some NCS students will be nominated by their teachers to join our NCS Summer School. Summer school will be running again this year at NCS for students who are currently in grades 2 - 7. The sessions will take place here at school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 8 am to 11 am from June 29th through July 22nd. Teachers will recommend students for summer school, and parents may also make a request by contacting their child’s teacher or the office.

Look for more information in the coming weeks.

May is REALLY here!

Some of our students went to Boston today, and we've been anxious to know how the trip is going.  Here's a picture!

Grade 6 families have a brief meeting this evening 5:30-6:00 to go over information relating to an upcoming science adventure to Hurricane Island. Josie Gates and Alice Andersa, representatives from the program visited the 6th grade this afternoon and answered many student questions.

Mark Ferraro from Skidompha will visit and read aloud The Cricket in Times Square. Grade 4 and 5 students have been invited to sign up for "Literary Lunch."   

The spring sports season is upon us.   Our junior high baseball and softball teams will play a home game tomorrow, Tuesday, May 12 at 3:45 vs. Bristol.  This spring Jefferson and Nobleboro students are playing together on the team.  Thursday's game is an away game vs. Medomak.   GO LIONS!

On Friday, Grades 3 and 4 will be going to the Maine State Museum and State House.  

MEA reading/math assessments are successfully completed for students in grades 3-8. We'll be working on Science just for grades 5-8 in the coming week or two.  

May is a busy, interesting time for students at NCS!

Scenes from Grade 7's Leadership School 2015 (Kieve)

This week: May 4-May 8

Hasn't it been a lovely weekend?  Sunshine=Happiness!  Briefly, here is what will be going on at NCS this week:

• Grade 7 students will be at Kieve Monday-Thursday.
• Grades 3,4,5,6 will spend some time working on MEA's.  Rest and a healthy breakfast are two great ways to be prepared for school this week.  (One thing no one seems to complain about during MEA's--extra recess breaks!)
• Thursday afternoon @ 3:45:   NCS/JVS here vs. GSB  GO LIONS!
• Friday, May 8:  Kindergarten Registration.   This means no school for Mrs. Powell's current kindergarten class.

Did you have a chance to see/hear 8th grade Be-a-Learner inventions? They have shared some of their reports in a new format within this blog. See Friday's Be-a-Learner post and try following the instructions. Very interesting!   

Coming up, on May 11th, 8th grade and CAL students visit Boston Museum of Science. Other classrooms have been or will be visiting the NHS.  We are fortunate to have that resource so close to this school, and we all appreciate the time historical society members volunteer to share their rich knowledge with students.  Other trips this month include Maine State Museum (gr. 3 & 4), Hurricane Island (gr. 6), and another class will visit the FARMS kitchen. The 7th grade will attend a literary brunch with author Lea Wait to discuss her historical novel Uncertain Glory.  May is a busy and exciting month at school.  Please visit the family calendar on our web page regularly to stay informed.

Second grade at NHS

 

The fifth graders "win with cooperation" in a scavenger hunt/word scramble to wrap up a unit in guidance.

 Junior high students at the Farms Kitchen located at Rising Tide.

Grade 8 BE A LEARNER Project

How tech savvy are you? Student BAL projects are available to you using Augmented Reality! Students researched 3 inventions from different time periods. Their final assignment was to create a new invention and sell their idea to classmates. Follow the instructions below to view the video presentations created by the students.

Step 1 - Download the free LayAR app for the iPad, iPhone from the App Store, or from GooglePlay for Android phones and tablets.

Step 2 - Open the LayAR app. Hold your tablet or smartphone in front of the computer screen to center the class picture. Next, tap the screen with the guides framing the image. After a moment or two you will see the students faces come to life on your device!

Step 3 - Once scanned, tapping a student's face will bring up a video presentation of that student's invention.

Step 4 - When finished viewing a video, tap the close button in the upper left corner and you can hold your device over the image and try another.  Sit back and enjoy the shows!