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Principal’s

CornerWhere doesthe time go?It is amazingto think it isalready De-cember! I

hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanks-giving and for those of you celebrating… Happy Hanukkah! 

This is a very busy month. Please besure to attend the Columbus WinterCraft Fair on 12/7 from 11:00am-3:00pm to begin your holiday shopping AND support our school. You can alsopick up your citrus items from the Indi-an River Fruit Fundraiser on the day ofthe Fair. We thank you for your contin-

ued, generous support.Starting the week of December 9th, youshould have been invited to meet withyour child’s teacher(s) to learn abouthis/her progress thus far in school.Please note that we are using a newStandards Based Report Card. Therewas a meeting for all parents on No-vember 12th which aimed to explainthis new reporting system. If afterviewing your child’s report card youhave questions about its composition,

please complete the RVSP found on thesecond page of this newsletter and re-turn it to my office. Based on requests,I will schedule a meeting to explain thecards in January.

Please be sure to accept your teacherinvitation to attend Parent/Teacher Con-ferences as this is how and when reportcards will be distributed. Report cardswill not be given to your child, unlessyou participated in a face to face or tel-ephone conference with your child’ steacher. If there is a special teacher youwould like to visit, please be sure toreach out and request an appoint-ment with that specific person. Allteachers can be reached via emailby using the teacher’s first initial,last name @medford.k12.ma.us. You can prepare for this importanttime by checking out tips on thePrincipal’s Page on the Columbus

website. Please be on time as teachersappointments are very tightly sched-uled. We look forward to seeing you atconferences. Please be sure to checkthe Lost & Fond items in the cafeteriatoo.

This year Medford’s very own BestSellers Cafe will help to enrich the lives

of our students by sponsoring our firstPTO book fair. Children will previewbooks on 12/4 and 12/5 during theschool day and may make purchases on12/6 or at the Craft Fair on 12/7. Fundsraised will be used to bring enrichmentperformances to the Columbus, allowclasses to take field trips, and purchaseneeded equipment for the playgroundand/or classroom.

Special thanks to the PTO for organizingand managing all of our exceptionalevents.

December 17th, from 10:00am-11:00am, you are invited to attend ourWinter Music Festival in the gymnasium.Due to limited spacing and fire safetylaws only two members per family areinvited. We could use the help of vol-unteers to sign families in at the cafete-ria. Volunteers will receive first row, re-served seating. Please email the PTO ifyou are interested in offering your time

before the Winter Music Festival.

I would also like to take this time towish you a joyous holiday season andhappy, healthy new year. Thank you aswell for the kindnesses you have sentmy way. I have enjoyed beginning mysecond year at the Columbus Elemen-tary School and continue to relish ingetting to know you and your children.

Wishing each Columbus family a

 joyous, healthy, & relaxing holiday

season. Happy 2014! ~ Kathleen Kay  

* IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS

* TELEPHONE : 781.393.2177

* FAX : 781.393.2187

* NURSE : 781.393.2175

* ABSENCE LINE: 781.393.3503

   C   o   l  u

   m   b  u   s   N   e  w   s

 

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    E   L   E   M   E   N   T   A   R

   Y 

   S   C   H   O   O   L

   3   7

    H   I   C   K

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   A   V   E   N   U   E ,

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   E   D   F   O   R   D ,

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DECEMBER

2013

VOLUME 4

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Standards Based Report Cards — RSVP

NAME ________________________________________

STUDENT’S NAME ______________________________  

GRADE _____________________

Telephone # ___________________________________

 _____ I am interested in attending a session in January to learn more about the new report card

Please choose the time that is better for you: ______ 9:00am ________ 6:30pm

I would need child care. _____ YES _____ NO

DECEMBER

December 2  Conduct & Citizenship

Luncheon 

December 4  Early Release Day, 1:30am Dismissal

December 4-7 Best Sellers Book Fair, Preview and Sale 

December 7  Columbus Winter Craft Fair,

11:00am-3:00pm, Columbus Cafeteria &

Gymnasium 

December 11  Early Release Day, 1:30am Dismissal

Parent/Teacher Conference Evening, by appointment, 5:30pm-7:30pm

December 17 Winter Music Festival, 10:00am-11:00am. ONLY TW members per family are

invited to the performance due to Fire Safety Laws. Thank you. 

December 18 Early Release Day, Dismissal at 2:35pm

5th Grade DARE Graduation, 10:00am. See distributed flyer for more detailed

information.

December 20  Columbus School Spirit Day, Top Hat & Tiara Day. Wear your finest attire to

school in honor of the upcoming holidays. Also bring

a canned good for the Food Pantry.

DISMISSAL at NOON

December 23-January 1  NO SCHOOL  –  Holiday Break 

January 2  School Resumes

P

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Red Sled by Lita Judge. In this almost wordless picture book, a host ofwoodland creatures take a child's sled for a nighttime joy ride. Their whim-sical ride is gorgeously depicted in bold watercolor, complemented by hu-morous expressions and pitch-perfect sound effects. With a timeless tone

and classic characters, RED SLED will become a wintertime favorite. ~Excerpt from Bookworm.com. Why not have some fun as a family andwrite your own words to go along with the illustrations?  

Stay Where You Are and Then Leave, by John Boyne. The day the First WorldWar broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't knowwhere his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission.  Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees hisfather's name - on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered

and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by- a hospital treating

soldiers with an unusual condition. Alfie is determined to rescue his father fromthis strange, unnerving place . . . 

Page 3

OOK REVIEWS

Wring the First Dra 

Tackling the rst dra of a wring assignment even with valuable prewring ideas in hand can feel like the

author is standing at the edge of a lake before diving into ice cold water. Writers hesitate, having to con-

vince themselves to take the plunge. It seems there is so much riding on the results of the rst dra - the

grade, the deadline, and self -esteem.

The expectaon of perfecon can make wring the rst dra dicult. Thus, it can help to convince our

young writers that it is rare for a rst dra to be perfect. Let them know that it is the norm for even famous

writers to have to reorganize and revise the rst dra…oen many mes! Write rst dras with your chil-

dren; model the necessary abandon it takes to get started. Share all the changes you have made to a rst

dra in order to reach the nal piece of wring.

To lessen our children’s trepidaon about wring rst dras, coach students to: 

* Lower the expectaon of perfecon; 

* Tell their inner cric to take a walk; 

* Write something, anything, just to get started; 

* Allow room for mistakes; 

* Stay open to new ideas and direcons; 

* Be willing to start over;

* Begin in plenty of me before a deadline; 

* Expect to have to revise and reorganize more than once. 

There are dierent approaches to wring the rst dra. Some writers like to dive in and write like mad unl

they reach the end of what they have to say. Other writers prefer to work over each secon slowly and me-

culously. Encourage children to honor their preferred style when wring the rst dra.

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One of the things scientists

and doctors studying hu-

man behavior have foundis that it takes 28 days to

physically and mentally

break a habit. Emotional

and psychological con-

nections to habits last

longer than that, but re-

search shows that 28 days

in a controlled environ-

ment helps people

change habits. 

If we accept that a habit

can be broken in 28 days,

it also must mean that we

can learn a new habit in

that same period. With

New Year’s Resolution

“Season” quickly ap-

proaching, now would

be the time to test this

theory for yourself. If youwant to gain a new habit

such as daily walking,

you just have to do it

every day for 28 days.

This amounts to tricking

your brain to believe that

it has to do something

because you have done

it so often. 

Setting new habits re-

quires a strong commit-

ment. Even if you really

want to develop the

habit of daily exercise,

the first week is going to

be tough, particularly if

the weather doesn’t co-

operate or other factors

get in the way. But if you

can get through thosefirst few days, you will find

it easier as you move

along, and at the end of

28 days, you will have a

new habit. It’s easier

than your mind wants

you to believe.

Good Luck!

One day we built a snowman,We built him out of snow; You should have seen how finehe was,

 All white from top to toe.

We poured some water overhim,To freeze his legs and ears;

I Have the Answer...Giveme the Question

Start with the answer provid- 

ed and try to list 5 questions

which could only be linked

with that answer.

1. Midnight

2. The finish line

3. Extinction

4. A computer

5. A recipe

Thinking Activities forKids (and Adults)

PLANNING TO MAKE A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION?

CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 28 DAYS

The Snow Man

 And when we went indoors tobed,We thought he'd last for years.

But, in the night a warmer kindOf wind began to blow;

 And Jack Frost cried and ranaway,

 And with him went the snow.

When we went out next morn-ingTo bid our friend "Good Day",There wasn't any snowmanthere...He'd melted right away!