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    6:00 p.m. - Anticipated Executive Session

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    Katonah - Lewisboro School District

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  • Martin Luther King Day - Schools Closed

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  • BOE Meeting

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  • BOE Meeting

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  • Presidents' Day Recess

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  • Presidents' Day - Schools Closed

    Katonah - Lewisboro School District

  • IMES STREAM Convention Gr. K-5 (Snow Date 2/28)

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Message from the Principal, Kerry Ford

November 24, 2021 

Dear IM Families, 

November has been a very busy month at Increase Miller!   Parent-teacher conferences, the PTO Book Fair, and Bus Safety conversations with our bus drivers today were just a few of the happenings that took place around the school.  Most recently, our first graders also celebrated our 50th day of school in their 50s attire!  Now more than ever we recognize how fortunate we all are to have 50 consecutive days of school as a school community.   

Thanksgiving 
In our classrooms, Thanksgiving conversations about traditions and gratitude were discussed this month, and students read and listened to diverse books about giving thanks, origins of the holiday, and Native Americans.  As a school, we also enjoyed listening to our recorded first graders sing songs about the holiday.  Thank you to our music teachers, Mrs. Higgins and Mrs. Linden, for teaching them the songs and movements.   

In library classes, Mrs. Hoffman shared the book Balloons over Broadway with 3rd graders. This book is the true story of puppeteer Tony Sarg, who was responsible for inventing the first balloons of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade almost 100 years ago. Students compared photographs of the original balloons to those from more recent parades and watched behind the scenes footage of how the balloons go from conception to finished product. Then the students designed and built their own balloon floats for our 1st annual 3rd grade IMES Thanksgiving Day Parade with the whole school! 

Social Emotional Learning 
We are continuing to focus on reconnecting and rebuilding our Increase Miller School Community! To kick off our building relationship theme, each classroom engaged in discussion about friendships using a tree metaphor, and students wrote friendship words on leaves during their lunch periods. This collaborative display welcomes us as we enter the school each morning, and signifies the importance of our Kind, Responsible, Safe school.  

In Early November, students viewed a recorded read aloud by Mrs. Ford and Dr. Weschler of “A Friend Like You” by Frank Murphy and Charnaie Gordon. We asked students to reflect on the meaning of friendship, and to think about the kind of friend they are and want to be. 

Recently, many of our staff members participated in a professional development session facilitated by one of our teachers, focused on teaching and practicing gratitude. Our fifth-grade students, along with the artistic vision of Mr. Eldridge, helped to create a gratitude display, including handmade snowflakes and words of gratitude to frame our Thanksgiving and upcoming holiday season.  

Our School Community Wellness Committee is continuing to promote our building relationships theme until the New Year. This will provide the opportunity to explore themes of empathy and compassion before transitioning to the next SEL area of focus.  

As a reminder, our schools are closed tomorrow, Thursday, November 25, and Friday, November 26 for the Thanksgiving holiday.   

We would like to wish you and your families a very happy & healthy Thanksgiving!        

Sincerely,
Kerry Ford & Michael Weschler