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Mill Falls News
January 8, 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
Upcoming Activities
1/11
Drama Club
3-4:15pm

Lottery Info Session
6:30pm

1/12
Ski Club Begins!
McIntyre Ski Area
4-6pm

1/14
Winter STEM Begins!
3-4:10pm

1/15
Pizza Friday!

Read-In: Denali & Olympic
8:15-8:45am

1/18
No School
Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

1/19
Ski Club, McIntyre Ski Area
4-6pm

1/21
Winter STEM
3-4:10pm

1/22
Pizza Friday!

Upper Elementary Dance
6-8pm

Please click here for our online Google calendar.



CORPORATE SPONSORS

We gratefully acknowledge the ongoing contributions from the following corporate partners: 

 

 

 

 

Happy 2016 &  Here Comes Winter!
We hope everyone had a relaxing December break and enjoyed some fun family time! Students and staff have had a great first week of 2016 together here at school!

As we settle in to winter which arrived a bit late this year, we adjust to the weather and the reality that snow days may be around the corner. 

Please remember that if the Manchester School District cancels school, we do as well. Notice of closings can be found on WMUR on their TV channel and website. If school is cancelled, our Before, Kinder, and AfterCare programs will also be cancelled. 

When the real-feel is above 20 degrees, the children and staff go outside for recess. Please be sure to send your children in with hats, coats, and gloves so that they can enjoy the great outdoors safely. 

And here's an exciting legislative update ...Earlier this week, the New Hampshire State Senate passed legislation that will enable students enrolled in NH public charter schools to participate in the same co-curricular activities offered to children attending traditional public schools and students who are home-schooled.  The bill, which is expected to soon be signed by Governor Hassan, will go into effect 60 days later. 

This legislative change will make it possible for our students to participate in sports and other fun and enriching activities offered by their sending district. We know this is welcomed and exciting news for many of our families and we are really pleased to be able to share this update!



From the Front Office
Child Care - Space is Available!
Interested in enrolling your child in Before, Kinder or After Care? Full-time, part-time and drop in is available!  Please contact Susanne by email at  [email protected]  to register your child today! 

January School Schedule
Please be aware of these January dates in our school schedule: 

Wednesday, January 13th
Early Release at 11:15am

Monday, January 18th
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no school

Show Your School Spirit!
Now available for the first time...MFCS Car Window Clings! 

We are selling these expressions of school spirit for $5 each. If you are interested in making a purchase, please stop in at the front desk, or send an email to [email protected] .

Special thanks to MFCS parent, Amy Green for her design expertise!


Thank YOU for Sharing & Caring!

A hearty thanks to all of you who donated to our Coat Drive this winter! We collected 70 beautiful, warm coats of all shapes and sizes which will  be donated to Families in Transition (FIT) of Manchester.



Winter Volunteer Opportunities
We've got plenty of events and projects rolling out this month and through the winter and we are hoping that many of you will donate your time, energy, expertise, and humor as these happenings get underway. 

Here is a list of some of the current opportunities:

Lottery Season:
Help welcome prospective families by donating food and related items, join us as ambassadors, or help spread the word by posting Lottery 2016 fliers in key places in and around Manchester. Please click here if you can lend a hand.

Upper Elementary Student Dance: Join our Upper Elementary students as they dance the night away on January 22nd. The students are working with Laura W. to organize the event, but we will need parent chaperones on the night of. Please contact Laura W. if you can lend a hand on the 22nd. If you can donate food and decorations, please click here. See the Dance Section below for details.

Calendar Raffle 2016: Be part of the preparation of this exciting and effective fundraiser which will raise critical funds for our school. See the box below for info and contact MFCS parent, Lisa Zonfrillo, for more details.

Family Fun Night: While there are many school events and activities planned for the winter season, we would like to help parents organize a fun family/community event. Game Night? McIntyre Family Event? If you are interested in brainstorming and/or planning an outing, please contact  Meryl  so we can help you get your idea off the ground.

Library Upkeep: Help continue the organization and upkeep of our lending library. Contact Laura W. if you are interested. 

Student Art Displays/Beautification Projects: Interested in helping to display our student art and beautify our school environment? Please contact Meryl  for more information. 

Ski Club: If your child is participating in our After School Ski Club at McIntyre, please consider helping parent organizer Craig Johnson on ski days. He can be reached by email at [email protected] . And reminder, chaperones ski for free on Club days and get free rentals, too! 

Classroom Needs: Please touch base with your teachers as they may have individual needs. 

Have an idea you'd like to work on? Please be in touch with Meryl.

We are so appreciative for all you share 
with our school community!
 
Veronika Hombs during a recent handwriting session.
2016 Calendar Raffle ... Join the Team!
MFCS Parent, Lisa Zonfrillo our Calendar Raffle Chairperson, is already hard at work collecting raffle items for this year's Calendar Raffle Fundraiser. Last year this project brought in over $8000! This year's goal is AT LEAST $12,000!

Be a part of this incredibly effective,
parent-driven fundraising project team!

Our annual Calendar Raffle raises critical funds for Mill Falls, and is a great way to share fun prizes AND information about our public Montessori with friends, neighbors, relatives and colleagues. 

Here's how it works: The raffle calendar will feature 30 fun-filled raffle items donated by local businesses. People who buy the calendars (at $10 each) will be supporting our school AND be entered in the daily drawing during the month of April.  Each year the team creates materials for MFCS families to make participation fun and easy. Lisa and her team will depend on all of us to get involved and support this effort!

If you can join Lisa in the calendar preparation, please send her an email: Lisa Zonfrillo.
MFCS 2016 Enrollment Lottery
This week marked the start of our 2016 Lottery Enrollment Period. Our application is available on-line (with paper applications available by request). Between now and mid-March we will hold several information sessions and strongly suggest that all interested families attend.

For those of you interested in enrolling siblings of current Mill Falls in the 2016/17 School year, please be aware you MUST enroll them in the 2016 Lottery.

If you speak with anyone who would like to apply, 

  Thank you for helping us spread the word!
2nd Annual Upper Elementary Dance!
The Student Dance Committee is busy planning for their winter dance on 
Friday, January 22, 2015, 6:00-8:00pm which is just a few weeks away!

Please note, the start-time of the event has been changed to 6pm to accommodate dinner at the dance! 

We still need some parent volunteers, as well as food and decorations which the students have planned out.
After School Activities 
Our new After School Activities will be starting this week! 

McIntyre Ski Club 
Programs for all students, K-6.  Tuesdays beginning January 12th (5 weeks). 
Register online at McIntryeSkiArea.com
Click here for the flyer. 

STEM
For grades 3-6. Thursdays beginning January 14th (6 weeks).


Get in the Zone on January 13th!
Join the Mill Falls First Lego League on Wednesday, January 13th immediately following our Early Release Day, as they celebrate the end of their 2015 League Season with a trip to Sky Zone - the world's first indoor trampoline park. Mill Falls students, sibling & friends welcome!


The generous folks at Sky Zone will be donating 20% of ticket sales to Mill Falls. Please contact Swati Gohel if you have any questions. 
We Have a Winner!
Thanks to all those who are participating in our Family & Friends Monthly Giving Program.

As part of the Program, the names of Monthly Giving participants are drawn for a small gift raffle each month. The winner of this month's raffle prize is the Neidzwiecki Family! The prize this month is a $25 Gift Certificate to Shorty's!

Please click here for more information about our Monthly Giving Program.  

Welcome to the World, Eloise! 
In our last newsletter, we said goodbye to Ms. Jo who was moving on in preparation for the arrival her baby. Ms. Jo and her husband welcomed their daughter, Eloise, into the world a few days earlier than expected. In fact, some of you may have seen the local news stories...it seems Eloise arrived just after midnight on New Year's Eve, making her one of the first NH babies born in the state in 2016! Please join us in congratulating Ms. Jo. Mom and baby are healthy and home with dad adjusting to their new life together.