Chatham Elementary School

Traffic And Pickup

To be good neighbors to surrounding homes and residents, the school is reaching out to encourage local families to take advantage of bus ridership for school arrival and dismissal. The car "kiss and ride" pick up/drop off line is currently extending out of the parking lot and cars continue to line up quite a distance down Hitching Post Lane. This is causing traffic concerns due to the congestion on a small residential lane. With more bus ridership, this will significantly reduce the length of this line.

All local families have access to the bus routes and stops have been designated for each student to access this opportunity. The bus stops and pick up/drop off times are listed on the Monomoy website. School choice families may ride the bus from an existing bus stop if there is space available on the bus.

If a family does need to drop off/pick up your child/children before or after school, please be aware of that all cars should travel south on Hitching Post (toward Veteran's Field) and turn left in order to enter our parking lot. Before the time of arrival (8:45 a.m.) or dismissal (3:25 p.m.), remember to pull your car as far to the side of the road as you wait so that the community can safely use this road to travel. No parking should occur on Hitching Post Road. The police department and the school will continue to work together to observe and to make adjustments if necessary, and thank you for your consideration of this request.

CES Student Council News

CES student council members have visited all the classes at Chatham Elementary School to read to the students. CES students and teachers enjoyed the experience and praised the student council members for a job well done!

Student council members have been working on snow people to "warm up winter" and share their creations with all CES students. The beautiful snowmen and snowwomen will be on display in the lunchroom.

Spanish News-Las Noticias

Students are learning a bit about Hispanic culture regarding Navidad this month.

In kindergarten we are reading the Nine Days to Christmas by Maria Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida in which a little kindergarten girl in Mexico gets to pick out a piñata for her very first Posada. A Posada literally is an “inn” but when one refers to the “Posadas” it is a re-enactment of Mary and Joseph looking for shelter. The re-enactment finishes at a different person’s house each evening where candy and piñatas are shared.

First grade is reading “The Legend of the Poinsettia” by Tomie dePaola. They are learning that poinsettias are from southern Mexico and Central America and were brought to the U.S. by Mr. Poinsett, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico in the 1820s. In Mexico the Poinsettia is called La Flor de Nochebuena or the Flower of Holy Night.

Second grade is getting an introduction to one of my favorite Mexican foods, tamales. We are watching how tamales are made, explaining the tradition of making them during the holidays and reading the book “Too Many Tamales” by Gary Soto. A girl thinks she lost her mother’s wedding ring in the tamale dough and she and her cousins eat the entire plate of tamales in hopes of finding the ring.

Papel picado is a traditional craft form in Mexico. Students in third grade are making poinsettia papel picado.

Fourth grade is listening to a story of some Caribbean Hispanic Christmas customs that mixed together traditions and foods from the Spain, the native Taino, and the Africa. Foods including such morsels as marzipan, turrón, rice and beans, root vegetables of yam, yucca, and cassava, and pig.

We sang Feliz Navidad in class and the upper grades talked about José Feliciano being from Puerto Rico, and how the second line, “Prospero año y felicidad,” means “a prosperous year and happiness.”

Harwich Elementary School

Harwich Elementary School

Trees Donated

Mrs. Oldach received Christmas trees to be delivered to three HES families from Mr. Melanson and Mr. Heppe of the Harwich Pilgrim Masonic Lodge. Many thanks for their continued support and generosity.

Elder Services Volunteers

Elder Services Volunteer Corps are working with math students from first to fourth grade on a weekly basis. Some of our strongest math minds meet with these volunteers to enrich their math skills. These students are pulled out of their classrooms and meet in various locations throughout the building on a weekly basis in six week sessions. 

Staff Retirements

Sue Langway, special education instructional assistant, retires this month after 13 years of service to the district. Reading teacher Ginny McGeough retires this month after 25 years of service to the district.

The HES family and the Monomoy District thank you for your commitment to the success of our students and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Monomoy Regional High School

Students Certified

Harwich and Chatham Paramedics Leighanne Smith and Justin Tavano came into the health and careers class to test our students on their ability to respond to medical emergencies. All 19 of the students passed their exam in CPR/AED and first aid training. Paramedics Smith and Tavano also demonstrated some of the latest equipment available in saving lives such as the new automated CPR machine.

Experiential Learning In Boston

Forty four students and five teacher chaperones visited Faneuil Hall and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston on Dec. 12. The objective was to put into practice experiential learning at its best. Students engaged in a personal tour of the exhibits. They applied the VTS (visual thinking strategy) by looking at a painting and constructing an interpretation. As the guide explained, “By looking closely at a painting to determine what it might be saying, you are employing a transfer skill that can help you in your everyday life.”

We also learned about the famous theft in 1990 of paintings by Rembrandt, Manet, and Vermeer, which have still not been found.