May 9, 2008

IMPORTANT DATES

May 11....................................................... Mother’s Day
May 12 (7:30 PM) .....................................Annual Town Meeting – here - Hall of Flags
May 12 .......................................................Picture Day
May 14 – May 16....................................... Book Fair – Hall of Flags
May 14 (7:00 PM)...................................... Board of Education Meeting
May 14........................................................ 1st & 2nd to Roaring Brook Nature Center
May 19 (10:00 AM & 6:30 PM) ...............Spring Concert - Hall of Flags
May 20........................................................ Grades : Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd to Warner Theatre
May 22........................................................ 3rd Grade to Roaring Brook Nature Center
May 23 (10:00 AM)................................... Trio Sucari – Hall of Flags – Cultural Event
May 27 ........................................................History Day – 5th Grade
May 27........................................................4th Grade to Hartford to the Theatre of Performing Arts
May 30 .......................................................5th Grade to Hartford to the Theatre of Performing Arts


SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
Come to the Buy One Book – Get One Free Scholastic Book Fair. May 14-16 in the Hall of Flags. Hours are Wednesday 8:30am-12 /1-3 pm; Thursday 9am-12/1-3pm; Friday 9am-12. Buy summer reading books at great prices! The PTO is looking for help on the book fair days. Please call Chaya Berlstein, at 542-0081 if you can help out.

PTO THANKS YOU
A heartfelt thanks to Lisa Bazzano, Jill Bumbera, Dina Shaw, Amanda Medina, Melissa Robinson and Julie Scharnberg for pulling off a wonderful Breakfast. A Big PTO thank you to all the bakers and everyone who came and enjoyed the meal.

NORFOLK LIBRARY NEWS
To celebrate Children's Book Week the Norfolk Library will host a Peter Pan Pizza Party for 4th, 5th and 6th graders please RSVP by May 9th. Come TALK about the book PETER PAN --MONDAY MAY 12- 5-8pm the film FINDING NEVERLAND will be shown. Costumes MAY be worn and PLEASE, PLEASE RSVP by MAY 9th at 542-5075
ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL Eileen Fitzgibbons at the Library.

ATTENTION BAND PARENTS
Our Norfolk Spring Concert will be held on Monday, May 19th at 10:00 and 6:30 in the Hall of Flags. All 4th, 5th and 6th grade band students will be performing on the program. Concert dress is white on the top and black or navy on the bottom.

CHILDREN’S DENTAL CLINIC
A children’s dental clinic for Winsted and area children – ages (3) three to (6) six will be held on May 14, 2008 from 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM and May 16, 2008 from 1:00PM to 5:30 PM at Foothills Visiting Nurse & Home Care, Inc., 32 Union Street, Winsted. APPOINTMENTS ARE NECESSARY and they may be made by calling 379-8561. The clinic will involve cleaning the child’s teeth and an application of luride(fluoride) administered by a registered dental hygienist. There is a suggested donation of $5.00 – but all children will be admitted regardless of ability to pay. Call 379-8561 for an appointment.

ATTENTION BAND: SUMMER MUSIC WORKSHOP
Greater Waterbury Youth Symphony is offering a summer music workshop for any students aged six through high school who have had at least six months of instrumental instruction. The workshop will be held August 4-8 & 11-15 from 9a.m. to 1p.m. at the Mattatuck Museum Performing Arts Center in Waterbury. Cost is $250.00 (150.00 for each additional sibling). Flyers with all the details and an enrollment form were sent home with your children this week. Visit www.GWYS.org or call 203-525-3939 for details.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE
Last week I attended the annual sixth grade trip to Cape Cod. It was a five day, four night learning experience having to do with maritime studies. Our group stayed at the NEED Center (a repurposed Coast Guard life-saving station) at the Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham. From that base we made daily trips to educational sites all over the Cape including visits to the Mayflower and Plimouth Plantation, the Coast Guard small boat station in Woods Hole and airbase in Falmouth, the Wellfleet shellfish beds, the Marconi radio site in Wellfleet, and Nauset light in Eastham. The experience included a whale watch from Provincetown that provided the first opportunity for many students to see these huge beautiful animals in the wild. Staff from the National Park Service provided fascinating instruction on the ecology of the salt marsh, beach erosion, and the U.S. Lifesaving Service- the predecessor of our modern Coast Guard. Our students greatly enjoyed the week and conducted themselves in a way that represented the school extremely well. I would like to recognize the individuals who made this year’s trip a success: Kim Penfield one of our grade six teachers is an experienced Cape trip group leader. She put lots of time and effort into organizing the trip and confirming all the visits. Tina Boutilier, our other grade six teacher, gave a lot of her time and herself to support the trip as a teacher and chaperone. She did much to make students calm and comfortable during- what was for many, their first extended stay away from parents. Pam Polderman, a Botelle staff member, has spent a lot of time on Cape Cod. She is a very knowledgeable guide and an extremely helpful chaperone. Special thanks go to Richard Byrne, who has been dutifully attending the Cape trip for years. His dedication to the project, his knowledge, and his patience contribute enormously to making the Cape trip a success-every year. I also want to recognize Jean Seymour of Legeyt Transportation for efficiently taking us everywhere we needed to go. Finally, many thanks go out to the Botelle PTO and the Norfolk Board of Education who generously support the Cape trip every year. The Cape Cod Maritime Studies Unit is made possible through a combination of Board of Education funds under environmental education, PTO donations and parent fees.

Parents and students please note: the last Homework Club of the 2007-2008 school year will be after school on Tuesday, May 13. The hours will be the same 3:15 to 4:00.

Two other important dates to note:
The annual Town Meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 12, 2008 in the Hall of Flags. There will be a vote of the town budget at this meeting.

The Norfolk Board of Education meets on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:00 in the cafeteria.

That’s all the news for this week. Have a great weekend.