Welcome to the Rays of Sunshine. Our weekly newsletter will be posted here. It will include the Principal's message, important updates, and fun things happening around our school.
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Rays of Sunshine, Sept. 09, 2024
Rays of Sunshine
September 6, 2024
Dear Families,
Another fabulous four days in the books! Across the school, students are practicing routines and expectations in their learning spaces, sharing their hopes and dreams for the school year, and learning about their classmates and the adults that teach and support their classrooms.
One of the many ways we build our school community is through a school-wide designated Responsive Classroom Morning Meeting block. For kindergarten and first, second, third, and fifth grades, this block is the first part of the day, 8:00-8:30am. For our fourth graders who start the day with specials, Morning Meeting occurs right after their specials time.
The goals of Morning Meeting include:
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Set a tone for respectful and engaged learning in a climate of trust
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Create a positive community by creating a designated time and space for students to belong, make connections, feel significant, and have fun
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Model and practice social and emotional skills
These goals are accomplished through four Morning Meeting components:
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Greeting: Students and adults greet each other by name, often including a handshake, singing, movement, or another activity.
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Sharing: Students and adults share some news or information about themselves and respond to each other, making connections and creating opportunities for other discussions during the day.
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Group Activity: The whole class does a short activity that builds class connection through active participation and movement.
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Morning Message: This is a warm up for the day where the adults in the room write a daily note that often includes information about the schedule and plan for the day.
All adults and students in the building participate in a Ray School Morning Meeting. Whether assigned to a classroom for the year or supporting various classrooms, we start our days together in an active, inclusive, positive way. This is one of the many reasons why arriving at school on time each morning is important.
We are in our third year of implementing the Responsive Classroom approach school-wide, which includes a set of specific practices and components. Throughout the year, we will share more about the Responsive Classroom approach and the RAY Way!
Have a wonderful weekend, we will see you on Monday!
Sincerely,
Lauren Amrhein
Principal
Important Dates:
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September 11th- Patterson/Phillips-Whitehair Curriculum Nights @5:00
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September 11th- Hanover School Board Meeting @7pm
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September 12th - 5th Grade Curriculum Night @ 5:00
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September 17th - PTO Newcomer’s Event @ 5:00
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September 19th- Smith Curriculum Night @5:00
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September 26th - 2nd Grade Curriculum Night @ 5:00
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October 2nd - 3rd Grade Curriculum Night @ 5:30
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October 2nd - Student Flu Clinic - More details coming soon
Phonak Systems in Learning Spaces
You may have noticed our teachers wearing a new “accessory” around their necks! We are excited to share that we have been able to update our classroom amplification systems this year, and those accessories are the microphones that make this amplification possible.
The systems that are now in place optimize a person's volume and voice quality so that speech remains loud and clear for ALL students and adults, giving them the best possible opportunity to hear and understand verbal communication.
Evacuation Drills
The state of New Hampshire mandates that we do at least 10 emergency drills each school year, including at least 6 evacuation drills. This week, we worked with the Hanover Fire Department to conduct our first successful evacuation drill of the 2024-25 school year. We will conduct additional evacuation drills in the upcoming weeks.
Our Hanover Police Department and Hanover Fire Department often visit our school as community friends. They read in classrooms, visit learning spaces, participate in recess and special events, and more. If we have an active incident (not a drill) that requires a response from our emergency responders, we will send out a memo to families with pertinent information. It is common to see our community helpers at Ray, but please reach out if you have any questions.
Student Registration/Permissions
With upcoming benchmarking, students will be using an iPad or computer to complete some assessments that help us plan instruction and intervention. We need parent permission for students to use technology. If you haven’t done so already, as soon as possible please complete the annual registration that includes this.
4th Grade Strings Opportunity
This is Nic Zannoni, the Orchestra Director at the Ray School. I am excited to announce that our string program is up and running! During their String Introduction Session this week,, your child will get to experience what it is like to learn to play a string instrument. If your child is interested in participating, just click this link to complete the registration form!
Registration is due no later than Monday, September 9th. Students will be asked to pick 1st and 2nd choice instruments. Please do not rent an instrument until next week when I confirm what instrument your student will be playing this year. Here is some more detailed information about the program, its benefits, my expectations, and how to rent your child an instrument. Please read this information carefully!
All future emails from me will come from nicholaszannoni@
5th Grade Strings Opportunity
This is Nic Zannoni, the Orchestra Director at the Ray School. I am excited to announce that our string program is up and running! 5th graders have a few choices regarding their musical education this year:
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Continue to learn the same string instrument (one or two cellos can choose to switch to bass, please let me know who is interested!)
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Join our advanced ensemble (if studying privately)
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Learn a band instrument instead
Students must choose between Band or Strings, they can not do both.
If your child is interested in participating in the string program, just click this link to complete the registration form! This year will be an exciting year to continue strings, as we will be focusing on ensemble skills in large groups. Registration is due no later than Monday, September 9th. Here is some more detailed information about the program, its benefits, my expectations, and how to rent your child an instrument. Please read this information carefully!
All future emails from me will come from nicholaszannoni@
5th Grade Band Opportunity
This is Faith Goodness, the Band Instructor at the Ray School. I am excited to lead the Ray School Band Program again this year! Fifth graders have a few choices regarding their musical education this year.
For students who took strings in fourth grade, they can continue on their same instrument. Please see the information above from Nic Zannoni, our Orchestra Director, for details.
We are asking students to choose between participating in strings or band. If you have questions or would like to discuss, please contact Nic and me.
If your child is interested in participating in the band program, just click this link to complete the registration form! Registration is due no later than Monday, September 9th.
For instrument rentals, we are working with Ellis Music and their flyer is attached to this email. Please note that some instruments have higher monthly rental fees than others! Here is some more detailed information about the program, its benefits, and my expectations. Please read this information carefully!
Please be sure to add my email (faithgoodness@
Picture Day
Whipple Studios will be here October 16 for picture day. Classroom teachers will be sending order forms home.
Lunch/Milk
The lunch menu can be found by using this link.
Please be sure to speak with your student about their lunch plans before school each day. Students sign up for lunch daily in the classroom each morning. Students have the option to order double lunch, so it's a great idea to check on your student’s account to make sure the family plan is being followed.
If you would like to set up an online payment account, you can do so at MyMealTime. You can find your student(s) ID# in the top right hand corner of their page in your parent portal.
Volunteer Opportunities
We have a wide-range of volunteer opportunities available both during and outside of school hours throughout the district. Please take a minute to fill out this brief questionnaire to let us know what activities you would be interested in learning more about for the 2024-25 school year. Teal Parker, our Coordinator of Volunteers, will be in touch with more details as events/activities arise.
In addition, if you are interested in volunteering but have not yet gone through the background check process, please fill out this form and we will be in touch to get the process started for you.
PTO Information
Please consider joining the Ray School PTO this year! Membership contributions support staff appreciation lunches, teacher grants, library books, services and events for all families. You can join by signing up at our new website www.rayschoolpto.org/
You can use the same website based form to have your family's information printed in the PTO's Ray School Directory. The directory is a great way for classmates to connect with each other, particularly for newcomers to Hanover. This information is not provided by the school and, since your children have new teachers, does not carry over from year to year. The deadline to submit your information for inclusion in the directory is September 15th. All PTO members will receive a printed directory later this fall.
Lost & Found
We already have some unclaimed and unlabeled items for the Lost and Found. Please be sure to label your student’s items so we can return them!
Archived Posts:
Important Links
- Ray Cafe
- Ray Calendar
- Community Interest
- District Transportation
- District Calendar
- Hanover Board Meetings On Demand
- BOARDDOCS: Remember to select “Hanover School Board” in upper right hand corner after you click “Public Access”
