Dear Sprague Community—December 22, 2014 On Monday, our 4th graders participated in a program called Origamido (with Micheal La Fosse) thanks to the PTO Creative Arts committee. This program engaged students in mathematical topics related to geometry by teaching origami. Michael has been coming to Sprague for several years – I sat in on one class and was very impressed. Here is a link to his website: http://origamido.com/what-we-do/teach.html Our Buddy Bench has arrived! The Buddy Bench is a simple idea that originated with a boy named Christian at Roundtown Elementary School in York, PA. He wanted to eliminate lonliness and foster friendships on the playground and had an idea. The Buddy Bench is a place to go sit to let others know if you would like to be included or just need a friend at that moment. Christian made a video with his principal, Mr. Miller, to show how the bench is used. This idea has caught on at many schools around the country. You can check out the website at www.buddybench.org We talked about the Buddy Bench at our school gathering on Friday. We also recognized the wonderful career and service to Sprague of retiring Friday nurse, Marianne Maclean. All students wrote a memory on a large band-aid shaped paper. Our clever art teacher, Ms. Stabnick, designed the band-aid paper and found a very large jar in which they ALL fit! A group of fifth graders read their memories and presented the jar along with a gift. Students in 3JB wrote and read an acrostic poem using the word, NURSE. We wish Nurse Maclean all the best in her retirement. Nancy Falb will be our new Friday nurse and she will start here in January. When we return in January, you will be greeted by 5th grade volunteer Morning Greeters in car line. They will be wearing yellow safety vests and will be helping students out of cars. They take this leadership opportunity seriously and want to help other students get to school on time and alleviate some of the traffic back ups by making drop off time more efficient. Drivers should always stay in their vehicles in car line. Our Morning Greeters really want to make a difference, so PLEASE allow them to open the doors and help your child exit your vehicle. There should be 6 or 7 Morning Greeters along with the teachers on duty. We hope this will make a positive difference in the New Year. We have also purchased some additional traffic cones for safety reasons. I have included the MCAS testing schedule for parents of students in grades 3, 4, and 5. Please mark your calendars with these dates. Lastly, I hope you all enjoy the winter break. We will see you in 2015! Other upcoming dates: Dec. 24th-No school Dec. 24-Jan. 4- Winter break Jan. 5-Classes resume Jan. 9-Walk to School Day Jan. 9-PTO meeting @ 9:00 Jan. 16-Winter Concert @ 9:00 2014-2015 Sprague School MCAS Schedule
| March 23 Monday | March 24 Tuesday | March 25 Wednesday | March 26 Thursday | March 27 Friday |
| Grade 3 ELA | Grade 4 Long Comp. – State mandated day | Grade 3 ELA | Grade 5 ELA | Grade 5 ELA |
| March 30 Monday | March 31 Tuesday | April 1 Wednesday | April 2 Thursday | April 3 Friday |
| Grade 4 ELA | Grade 4 ELA | No Testing Scheduled – Make ups | Grade 4 Long Comp. make-up day – state mandated day | No Testing Scheduled – Make ups |
| April 6 Monday | ||||
| Last Day to test – Make ups | ||||
| May 4 Monday | May 5 Tuesday | May 6 Wednesday | May 7 Thursday | May 8 Friday |
| Grade 3 Math | Grade 3 Math | No Testing Scheduled | Grade 5 Math | Grade 5 Math |
| May 11 Monday | May 12 Tuesday | May 13 Wednesday | May 14 Thursday | May 15 Friday |
| Grade 4 Math | Grade 4 Math | No Testing Scheduled | Grade 5 Science | Grade 5 Science |
| May 18 Monday | May 19 Tuesday | |||
| No Testing Scheduled – Make ups | Last day to test – Make ups | |||
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