On Thursday, March 22nd, the faculty at Northbridge Elementary School invited NES families to participate in Family Math Night.  Parents, grandparents, and care givers arrived with children and siblings to play up to 7 various math games (Top It, Guess How Many, Copy Cat, Angry Bird Math, etc).  The event was coordinated by Principal Healy and Carolyn Mitchell and the activities were created by the following NES teachers:  Mrs. Pinheiro, Miss Cleveland, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Gosselin, Mrs. Brothers, and Mr. LaChapelle.  Assistant Superintendent,  Dr. Spitulnik was also in attendance and coordinated a Tally Attendance Graph to track children and adult participation.  Each child went home with an activity bag that contained directions to many of the math games that were presented.   Unibank also supported the event by including highlighters, rulers, and other small gifts.  Students and their families thoroughly enjoyed this annual event!!

Northbridge Elementary School Preschool and Kindergarten programs obtained NAEYC accreditation in July of 2011.  The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)has developed ten standards for early childhood programs, which can help parents and families make the right choice when they are looking for a child care center, preschool, or kindergarten.  These standards include:  relationships, curriculum, teaching, assessment of child progress, health, teachers, families, community relationships, physical environment, and leadership and management.  More than 400 related criteria are contained within these standards.  To earn NAEYC Accreditation, programs must meet all ten standards, by successfully performing at least 80 percent of the criteria related to each standard.  The Northbridge Elementary School staff employs the NAEYC standards and obtaining accreditation ensures high quality programming for all students.

The kindergarten students at NES are preparing to “travel” around the world this month (week of Dec. 12-16).  With their luggage packed and travel passports in hand, they will board an imaginary plane and learn about holiday celebrations in various countries around the world.  Through stories, music, crafts, and discussions the kindergarten children will explore a new destination each day.  Some of the traditions they will learn about include the eight nights of Hanukkah, the nine days before Christmas in Mexico called the Las Posadas, and the celebration of Kwanzaa honoring African heritage.  They will travel to Sweden, Italy, Germany, and return to the United States.  The students will learn about holiday traditions and customs while celebrating cultural diversity and raising social awareness and acceptance of others.  It is sure to be a memorable journey.

The Northbridge Elementary School holds screenings in December and March for preschool-age children living in Northbridge.  Each child is screened by a speech and language pathologist, as well as a preschool special education teacher.  The clinic is an appropriate place to have a child screened for developmental and/or speech and language concerns.  A session usually lasts about 30-45 minutes.  At the end of the screening, the family meets with the speech and language pathologist and special education teacher to review the screening results and make recommendations.  Our next clinic will take place on Wednesday, December 7th.  To make an appointment, call the Northbridge Elementary School office at 508 234-6346.

November 21, 2011 the students in grade 1 will have a special visitor from the Plimoth Plantation museum.  For one hour, students will be immersed in a Colonial classroom presented by museum teachers who dress and speak as if they are a 17^th century person.  This visit ties directly within the first grade Pilgrim unit where students learn about Native Americans, the Mayflower voyage, the settling of Plimouth plantation, and the course of the Pilgrims. 

The Northbridge Elementary School, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Children's Trust Fund, invites you to help create a foundation for lifelong learning in each family.   

Northbridge Elementary School encourages families to support literacy at home.  Some activities that have been suggested include:  set aside time for 20-30 minutes of reading and/or math related activities, make regular visits to the library, and use every day activities to incorporate literacy (i.e. develop shopping lists, read signs and labels at the grocery store, count money, and read recipes when cooking).