By Christine Bonci, Principal of T.C. Passios Elementary School

Who C.A.R.E.S.?  

We do, at TC Passios Elementary school!

Mrs. Susan Cavaioli, school counselor, kicked off a new initiative as part of our GEMS curriculum this month.

The goal is to have our students learn and be able to demonstrate the following characteristics: Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy and Self-control. They are learning the skills in guidance classes and through the school-wide implementation of the Responsive Classroom, our social skills curriculum.

Each time the students “catch” someone demonstrating one of the characteristics, they submit the student’s name and what they saw them do. All entries are submitted for a monthly raffle. Names are submitted by faculty and staff as well as by the students.

Teaching children to CARE is our main objective. In February there were over 150 submissions for “catching students cooperating”!

We began the month of February with two of the most popular events for the children of our school – the annual Lip Synch Performances (February 5) and the annual Spelling Bee (February 12). The children prepare for these events all year long! Both were held at Lunenburg High School.

There were approximately 24 entertaining acts this year.

New to the event this year was a live auction led by Mr. Dave Blatt! The auction raised nearly $1500 for our school.

The most popular item was “Principal for a Day” donated by yours truly! It was a fun night for all!

The Annual Spelling Bee is organized by 4th Grade Teacher, Miss Charlotte Letendre. This year’s first place winner was fifth grader Zachary “Wolf” Wernett and in second place was fourth grader Sophie Shapiro. Wolf will represent Thomas C. Passios in the regional competition on March 15 at 6 p.m. at the Four Points Hotel in Leominster.

The month of March brings lots of activity to our school community. We begin the month with our second annual Read Across America program celebrated across the country and sponsored by the National Education Association. We expect many community members to participate on March 2 in one of our 18 classrooms by reading a story selected by the teachers and students.

Our students are currently holding our Genevieve spring fundraiser. This funding will be used, in part, to support several of our field trips. Field Trips and special programs are an integral part of our curriculum and allow students to make real world connections to the content they are learning about in school. Grade 3 students will visit the Concord Museum and Grade 5 will visit Minuteman National Park.

Both trips are an integral part of the social studies curriculum.

Our Grade 4 students visited the Lowell Textile Museum in February. In addition, Grade 4 students will enjoy a program through National Discoveries called “Preys and Predators”.

Mr. Pete Money brings to us his years of experience and expertise as a Scientist. In May, Mr. Money will present a program called “Mineral Madness” to our Grade 3 students. In June our Grade 5 students visit the Seacoast Science Center.

A Nature’s Classroom information session will be held on March 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for parents of fourth grade students who would like to learn more about the October 2010 week-long experience. Parents will have the opportunity to listen to important information, ask questions of the Nature’s Classroom staff and coordinator, Mrs. Rhonda Connery, and to sign up as a parent chaperone for the trip.

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Reading Comprehension/English Language Arts begins the week of March 22. This is a state mandated program and all of our students in Grades 3, 4 and 5 will participate. Each school can design its own testing schedule; however, all 4th, 7th and 10th grade students across the commonwealth will participate in the ELA Composition Assessment on March 23.   The MCAS is designed to meet the requirements of the Education Reform Law of 1993. This law specifies that the testing program must: test all public school students in Massachusetts, including students with disabilities and limited English proficient students; measure performance based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework learning standards; report on the performance of individual students, schools, and districts.