Back: Gabe Merriman, Richard Przybyla, Bruce Clough, Caleb Warzocha, Liberty Spaulding, Triana Caron, Kalee Keyser, Ryan Carey, Brandon Dukette, Camryn Perkins, Ethan Fecteau, Helen Armstrong, Zealen Therrien, Ani McIntyre, Mary Clough, Elias Davis, Maggie Kellogg.
Front: Morgan Quinn, Brittney Thoroughgood, Aiden Heller, Emma Pine, Lagan Salathe, Elliott Norris, August Kiedaisch, Andrew Croteau, Jane Anderson, Olivia Glines
Photo and caption: Gretchen Hildebrand
Students in kindergarten through grade eight enthusiastically exited the building for summer vacation at 2:45 on June 18! More than a few students have come back since then offering assistance with summer cleaning and moving furniture.
Soon enough, summer will be over, and the 2013-14 school year will begin, but many changes will occur in the building before then. Classrooms are being relocated to accommodate the full-day kindergarten classes and the additional fourth grade classroom. We want to place common grade levels adjacent to each other for educational planning, sharing, and teamwork.
We also have lots of painting and cleaning to be accomplished before students return. There is tech work to be done in the building this summer to improve connectivity and efficiency. Work is underway.
If your child complains of feeling bored (or even if they don’t), please direct them to the school Web site or have them read, read, and read some more. The best way to prepare for the new school year is to read a lot during the summer and practice math facts.
The town libraries have wonderful summer reading programs to enrich the experience. If you go to the Family resource section of our school Web site, you will find games and activities for reading, phonics, math, history, science, keyboarding, Internet safety, and more. Most of these activities are free, but there are some programs like SumDog, which is an excellent program but will ask you to pay for a subscription to get the full program.
Good old-fashioned flash cards can be most effective for learning those necessary math facts. You can practice facts while on road trips or turn any daily activity into a math problem. Fourth grade and above requires automaticity with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.
Last Day of School
The last day of the year found all the students, staff, and parents together. The rainy weather stopped long enough for AE/MS students to enjoy Field Day activities outside. Ms. Young, Mrs. Pearson, and our wonderful parent volunteers grilled and served lunch for all, followed by snow cones.
Recognition and awards were shared with Mr. Hubert and our perfect attendance recipients. Boy Scouts were praised, and their CPR certification cards were given to them. Maya Haynes was officially presented with the Andover Idol trophy for her talented singing. Jacqui Morris and Cope Makechnie did an encore of the duet they had incredibly performed at eighth grade graduation.
The afternoon was capped off listening and dancing to our all-time favorite band – the Long Tail Monkeys! Sam, Max, Logan, and Carl graciously continue to entertain at AE/MS. I can’t think of a better way to start and end a school year! As always, LTM was magnificent!
The AE/MS staff members particularly enjoy LTM, as we have watched the boys grow up through the years. No longer do they wear the actual tails they sported in third grade. The boys continue to add to their repertoire, improve their craft, and dazzle us!
After the concert and some classroom reflection time, the school buses were boarded, and all AE/MS staff members lined the courtyard walkway to “send-off” the eighth graders to their next adventure. There is an excellent photo on our school Web site of the graduating classes – kindergarten and eighth grade. Check it out!
Summer, and then Fall
The school garden is flourishing! Fresh lettuce was picked and enjoyed on the last day of school to top burgers at the Field Day barbeque. We count on families to care for and enjoy the garden over the summer. The school garden can also be considered an extension of the Andover Food Pantry during the summer months. When school begins in late August, we will have more garden options to supplement our school lunch program.
Fall soccer will begin in late August for seventh and eighth grade students with Coach Amy Makechnie. There may also be some interest in a cross-country running program for fall. A few students have expressed interest in playing football for Merrimack Valley Middle School in the fall.
The end of the school year was filled with interviews. We were pleasantly overwhelmed with the enormous number of applications received for the positions we advertised.
We are very pleased to have several new staff members join our school community next year. Mr. Putnam Kidder will be teaching one of the full-day kindergarten classes. Mrs. Deana Crucitti will be teaching one of the fourth grade classes. Mrs. Anna-Kate Hattan will be our part-time reading specialist.
We are still in the process of hiring a music/band/chorus teacher but have been very happy with the strong pool of applicants. We have part-time positions still to be filled – a counselor, a tech support person, a Spanish teacher, and special education paraprofessionals.
Mr. Hubert Retires
Students and staff were sad to see Mr. Hubert retire at the end of the year. He has promised to come back and visit and has left us with music and even a video of some of his traditions that have become an important part of our school community.
Mr. Hubert will continue to be busy with his own music. Mr. Hubert and the Buskers have a busy entertainment schedule. Maybe you’ll have the fortunate opportunity to enjoy their music somewhere this summer.
Kindergarten Orientation is Monday, August 26.The first day of school for all students is Wednesday, August 28. We are already excited for the new school year, but please enjoy and make the most of those long summer days between now and then!