Parent Newsletter
February 2006

In this month's newsletter:

From the Family School Consultant

Dabble Day: Saturday, February 4, 2006, from 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at Spaulding High School Cafeteria. Fun, creative, and messy play for children birth-age 6. Free snacks. Every child receives a free book. Sponsored by the Barre Area Success by Six Team.

Parenting Class: "Bringing Out The Best in Your Child:" Wednesday, March 15, 2006, at New Leaf Child Care Center, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Food and childcare provided. Call Dawn Johnson at 476-1480, extension 308, to register or for more information.

CPR, First Aid, and Babysitting Classes: Available through the American Red Cross in Berlin. For information or to register, please call the American Red Cross office at 223-3701.

Stomp in the Park: Saturday, February 11, 2006, from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at Hubbard Park in Montpelier. Learn to snowshoe (loaners courtesy of Tubbs) or go on a guided hike with Bill Merrylees, PEP grant coordinator; build snow creatures, cross-country ski, or go for a walk with local birding expert Ted Allen. Hike by the light of the crescent moon or sip hot cocoa by the fire. The new shelter will be the central meeting spot. Free. All are welcome. For information call 371-4198.

Barbecue and Bonfire on Ice: Saturday, February 4, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Hamburgers, hot dogs, hot chocolate, coffee, and cookies will be available for purchase. Montpelier Recreation Department, Montpelier Pool, Elm Street. Call 225-8699 for more information.

Winter Crafternoons: Aldrich Public Library during February vacation (February 27-March 3). Free. Crafts are ongoing from 3:00-4:30 p.m. On Thursday, March 2, there will be bingo for kids in lieu of crafts. Large groups are asked to pre-register by calling 476-7550.

Ice Skating: Terrific form of exercise for people of all ages. Everyone from toddlers to seniors can gain enjoyment and health benefits from ice skating. Ice skating helps to build endurance and increase flexibility, but it is very low impact. It can be either anaerobic or aerobic depending on the intensity and length of time you’re skating. One hour of ice skating can burn 400 calories. Call your local rink to find out their prices for skating and rental ice skates and times of public sessions.

1. Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center, 10 Gallison Hill Road, Montpelier, 229-5900.
2. The Ice Center of Washington West, Inc., 546 River Road, Waterbury, 244-4040.
3. Barre Outdoor Recreation (BOR), 20 Auditorium Hill, Barre, 476-0258.
4. Montpelier Recreation Department, Pool on Elm Street (at the park), Montpelier, 223-5141.
5. The Skatium, Route 100, Waitsfield Village, 496-8909.
6. Community Recreation, Exercise and Wellness, Inc., Bridge Street, Morrisville, 888-0166,
7. Jackson Arena, Park Street, Stowe, 253-6148 or 253-3721.
8. Kreitzberg Arena, Norwich University, Northfield, 485-2509.
9. Ice Rink at Barre Town Middle and Elementary School.

Using Sign Language With Infants and Children: February 23 at Washington County Mental Health Building, Beckley Hill, Barre. Call Michele Mahaney at 476-8757, extension 113, to register and for more information on time, etc.

Health Matters
From the Barre Town Health Office

Hummus is Yummus:
On January 19, grades 1-4 had the opportunity to taste homemade hummus and to learn about the distinct healthful properties. Tabulated statistics showed that 97% of students responding to the survey had NEVER tried hummus before, and 81% did not think they would like it BEFORE they tried it. Students liking it totaled 58%. Thanks to Abbey Group, hummus will be offered at meal times in the future.

SICK Season
Barre Town nurses call the next four to eight weeks the "sick-season:” absence rates increase, school health office visits average over 120 students per day, the office thermometer NEVER shuts off, the Tylenol supply needs a re-order, the illness sign-out sheet lengthens to page two, and parents and staff STOP asking if "anything is going around" ... because they already KNOW! Please help us to keep as many of us as healthy as possible! Some tips for you: stress frequent hand washing, practice the cough in the elbow/arm technique (not the hand), insist on a timely bedtime, plan for breakfast (home or school), and enjoy sunlight/daylight exposure as much as possible! Good luck, and thanks for the help!

Barre Town Nurses

Physical Education Department News

	On Friday, January 27, over 25 families of third and fourth graders came to dance with Al Monty and the Central Vermont Squares. Mrs. Thygesen's third and fourth graders just finished square dancing and were invited to join Al Monty's group. Mr. Monty "called" as families danced. On March 24, all are invited to join this group from 7:00-9:00 p.m. for more square dance instruction for beginners.
	Library News Check us out on the Barre Town website. You can read news about mural projects with grades one and two and grades two and three with photos. There are great links to websites for research and fun! Heather Herzig

Vermont’s Animals Need Your Help!

Our names are Zach Baldwin and Karri Benoir; we are eighth graders at Barre Town School. For our Community Service Learning (CSL) project, we are helping the Central Vermont Humane Society to procure some essential items for the shelter. We are asking the Barre Town community to help us do this! There will be boxes set up in the school lobby from Monday, February 6, through Friday, February 17, to receive the donated items.

If you could donate one item on the list, think of how many animals in the community could be helped! Won’t you please donate something from this list?

Dry dog and cat food, canned kitten food, clay cat litter, hard plastic cat toys, leashes and collars (You can get these for $1 at Yankee Dollar!), litter boxes, push brooms, paper towels, trash bags, collapsible step stools, office supplies (copier paper, pens, pencils, etc.), first-class postage stamps, duct tape, masking tape, and, of course, people to adopt the animals at the shelter.

We thank you in advance for supporting our CSL project. The animals and the Humane Society employees will be thrilled with anything you can donate.

Other

BYSA Lacrosse – Boys and Girls:
Grades 3 & 4 clinics and grades 5-8 full teams. Register at Barre City Elementary and Middle School on February 15, 16, 21, or 22, 5:30-7:00 p.m. If you have questions or need more information, call Heather Slayton, director of BYSA Lacrosse, at 476-3379.

                       PTO News                      

The PTO fundraiser wrapped up in November. A little over $10,000 was raised this year. This fundraiser would not be possible without the support of the parents, students, and staff. We would like to thank all of you for your support. If anyone has any ideas for other fundraisers, please let us know, or come to a monthly PTO meeting. Thank you again for all your support.

Did you know……that money raised by the PTO has been used so far this year to help with requests such as school logo wear (t-shirts, etc.), for various school clubs, third grade field trip to see a play about Pocahontas, recess equipment for various grades, wildlife presenter for third graders, and a field trip to St. Johnsbury museum for first/second graders. Please continue to support your Barre Town PTO!!!

The PTO Bookstore will be held on February 21 in the lobby.

R.I.F. dates for this month are February 13 and 14!

CSL students want to raise money through a bingo night to aid the Vermont Foodbank. They are looking for PTO volunteers to help plan the project and serve as chaperones the night of the bingo game. If you can be of assistance to them, please contact Kerry at 476-0406.

To date we have 4,195 Campbells labels banked!!! Please keep sending in your soup labels!!!

POPCORN REMINDER! Bags of popcorn are available to students every Thursday for 50 cents per bag.

To date, we have collected 4,059 box tops this school year!! The school received a check in December in the amount of $405.90 for all your efforts in clipping and sending in box tops. The next submission deadline for box tops is February 28. In 2005, we earned $902.50 from box tops and in 2004 we earned $1,071.64. In order to meet (and hopefully exceed!) 2004, we need to send in 6,657 labels at the next deadline. Please clip and turn in all box tops as soon as possible. Thanks! We will continue to collect them during the remainder of the school year as well.

Watch for details about new colors for the Barre Town Bobcats logo wear in our next newsletter!

The next PTO meeting will take place in the school library on Tuesday, February 21, at 7:00 p.m. We hope to see you there!