The Adams School  
P.O. Box 29
27 School Street
Castine, Maine 04421
326-8608
www.adamsschool.com

Todd R. Nelson - Principal



ADAMS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 8, 2006
326-8608
www.adamsschool.com

 

All Aboard!

         Tuesday morning, as we dropped the lines, hoisted our mainsail, and eased off our summer mooring to begin the Adams School 2006-2007 cruise, I admired the instant flow and effortless rhythm of our crew at work. The students and teachers grasping the big orange and white parachute on the common seemed like people that knew what to expect of each other; that were glad to be standing right where they were and making a big silken jellyfish, or category 5 hurricane, or billowing spinnaker. There was joy at setting forth. The bell rang, bagpipes skirled, children clapped and laughed and cheered. Teachers strummed; everyone sang. Cameras clicked.  Imagine a ship of such capacity and tonnage leaving such a small harbor without the aid of tugboats!

         In no time we were moving out into the channel full steam ahead. There was a new climbing structure to explore, new classmates to chase, new projects to learn about, new shoes to fill. At Adams School even old stuff feels new because we and our games are constantly reinvented. As we passed through customs—the usual four square game beckoned, the usual caterpillars (only more of them!) were spinning chrysalises in the milkweed bed by the back door—it felt like a renewal of interests and curiosities that we enjoyed last year. None more so than what happened after lunch.

         At exactly 12:30, Mrs. Thomas returned from the post office with a large brown box addressed to “Jen—bottle #6,” care of Adams School. Astounding timing. Here was a special package from Doria in Florida, a young girl who had picked up one of our message bottles on Crane’s beach last June while visiting Boston.  Her note included a photo of the bottle lying next to a rock on a cold, bleak day, made memorable and bright by a kid in Maine who sent her note via sea-mail. Last spring, we learned about the discovery in an e-mail: “The five of us eagerly anticipated opening the bottle during the hour drive home, and the flavor of the event itself was not unlike the high anticipation accompanying the opening of a safe recovered from a long-sunken vessel.” She had opened the bottle, read Jen’s note, and promised a response. It happened to arrive the day we were preparing new bottles for the Argo’s trip to the Northeast channel this Sunday. There’s a chance that a NOAA drifter buoy, with satellite uplink, will go over the side at the same time and allow us to estimate our bottles’ progress. We’re still hoping for a response in a foreign language….French, or Spanish, or Arabic.

         So now it’s onward to the tropics of math, the Northwest passage of geography and social studies, the Sargasso sea of recess, and the storms of inspiration and wild capes of art and music. What straits or doldrums we’ll ply this year may not be entirely known—uncharted waters are always the most exciting—but we’re confident of our vessel and crew and provisions. We are setting forth and sending forth. On to where the wild things are! Beware the sirens. Listen for the bell buoy. Keep an eye on what charts we have, and a lookout in the main mast for those unfamiliar waters and crowded shipping lanes. Keep the able bodied seamen happy with an extra ration of…chocolate milk. All ashore that’s going ashore. Fair winds and following seas to us all.

—Todd

                                                                                                                         

Newsletter Deadline. Items for the weekly newsletter should reach us by e-mail by noon on Thursday. The newsletter is sent out to Adams Families on Friday morning, and also posted on the school Web site. Want a newsletter sent to another e-mail address? Let us know. 

 

“Fore!” Brian Earles at the Castine Golf Club has offered free lessons and play time for Adams School kids, grades 5-8. This will take place on Thursday afternoons from 2:30-4:30 on September 21, 28 and October 5 and 12. Students who would like to take advantage of this opportunity should bring the golf permission note back to school signed by a parent. Thank you Brian!

 

Listening devices and electronic games.  We don’t mind kids listening to their iPods on the school bus, but when they arrive at school they need to be stowed away. School is a social/learning experience, where kids are tuning in to one another, not tuning out.  This includes sports practices and games.

 

Soccer Practices: Soccer players now have a calendar with all games and practices for the entire season. This will also be on the school web site.  To get to practices, soccer players should ride the school bus to Fort George.  This will get practices started ASAP.

 

Pee Wee Soccer Season:  The Town of Castine’s Pee Wee Soccer season will be starting soon in September.  Kevin Griffith has volunteered to coach this season.  He will need assistants! Please contact the Town Office if you are able to help out.  Children ages K-4th grade are eligible to participate.  Please stop by the Town Office to sign up your child(ren) and to pay the $5 participation fee.  Thank you. –Sue Macomber.

 

School start/drop off time.  The new playground opportunities are surely the cause of so many early arrivals this week…but we’d like to have a little more off-duty room in the schedule before school. There is no playground or classroom supervision here before 7:00am. The school bus arrives at 7:15; school begins at 7:25 with morning meeting. Arriving at 7:00 is okay, but students should plan on staying in the lobby (watch the daily slide show!) or use the playground. Classrooms are not yet open.

 

Cougar Cub youth cheer classes will be available to students grades K-4 and older students who are not playing soccer on the school team. This very important new program will help to keep the competitive cheer team going for years to come. Please contact coach Jennifer Henderson at aescougarcheer@yahoo.com or 326-4615 with the preferred days of the week to hold class so that we can avoid conflicts with other popular after-school and weekend activities.

         Cheer team sign-ups for grades K-8 will be on Saturday Sept. 16 from 9-11am at Emerson Hall. Please wear a tee shirt, stretchy shorts, and sneakers. (NO jewelry, thank you.) Bring a snack and drink, a spiral-bound pocket notebook, and your signed permission slip.

 

Recycling at School: We now recycle our office paper! Thanks to Alex Spinazola and Meredith Houghton for their effort and persistence in making this happen.                  

 

African Drumming with Kevin Campbell: September 25 & 27. Kevin visited last June with his Liberty School drum class to give us an introduction. Now it’s time for us to make some noise!

 

Photo Day: Friday, September 15th—not the 22nd as originally publicized—will be our day for class, individual, and all-school photos with Rosemary, Lisa…and Chompy. Photo package choices and pricing information will be forthcoming.

 

Big Brothers/Big Sisters: Would your son or daughter like a “Big” from MMA, to do activities with them once a week at school? Let me know and I’ll give you an application form and contact info for Bernice Palumbo, who is the coordinator of the program with Adams and the academy. It may be possible to schedule during the school day, as opposed to after school when there are conflicts with sports.

 

Parent Teacher Community Committee: The PTC will begin meeting again shortly. If you’d like to be involved, please give Karen Koos a call! A PTC work day is scheduled for Saturday, September 23th to clean up the playground and work on the nature center—time for windows, doors, shingles!

 

After-school Technology Studio: To support the aspirations and talents of our 4-8th grade students, we’re going to inaugurate an after-school technology studio on a regular basis. Bernie Kolysher, our tech coordinator, will help students with their projects in Garage Band, iMovie, iPhoto, pod-casting, etc. The schedule will be posted in advance, and will not conflict with sports.

 

Contra Dance! Bring the whole family for a night of good old fashioned Maine fun! Music will be supplied by the “Reversing Falls Dance Band”. The band consist of a Banjo, Cello, Guitar, Violin, Mandolin, Cello, Piano and of course, a caller. All dances will be taught! Dances early in the evening will be geared to encourage young children and the shy dancer. The dancing will evolve as the evening goes on, to the abilities of those dancing. No experience is needed!  Refreshments will be available. Suggested donation of $5 per person, or $10 per family. Students are $3. We ask that all children come supervised. This dance will benefit The Otter House day care center, and the capitol campaign fund of the Trinitarian Congregational Church, both of Castine. Come and join the multi-generational fun! 7-10 p.m. Friday September 15 at Emerson Hall, Court St. Castine. For more information Call Carolyn Brouillard @ 326-9520.

 

Second language instruction: We have not had any luck finding applicants for our foreign language job. The search continues. In the meanwhile, we will be using the time for extra laptop training in grades 4-8.

 

Smorgs! Three times a year, at the end of each trimester, we hold an afternoon of special activities called Smorgs. Would you like to offer a smorg for a small group of kids?  Past activities have ranged from knot-tying to cooking to musical instrument instruction. Open to the imagination! This year’s dates are: December 1, March 16, and June 13.             

 

ADAMS SCHOOL MENU     September 11th – 15th

 
Monday – Chicken Quesadillas with Salsa & Sour Cream, Biscuit, Pears, Salad, Milk

Tuesday – Beef Lasagna, Roll, Salad, Pineapple, Milk

Weds. – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Cornbread, Milk

Thursday – Pizza, Salad, Peaches, Cookie, Milk

Friday – Fish Sticks, Tater Tots, Fruit, Biscuit, Milk