“The brain is a muscle,” educators like to say. And like other muscles, it requires mental exercise to develop and remain malleable. But new research suggests that the brain and our ability to learn benefit from physical exercise as well as mental challenges. The degree of movement and activity we experience each day impacts the amount of new information we can absorb before, during, and after periods of exercise.
This is one reason we are excited to offer a new after-school program next year we are calling our Physical Play Program (P3). Crossroads students will have the opportunity to engage in physical activities for forty-five minutes in the gym or on our playing fields and trails immediately following the school day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. P3 will also focus on cultivating team building, problem solving, and sportsmanship skills. More information about this and other after-school programs will be coming at the end of this week.
We are excited to expand our after-school options for students in the 2016-17 school year as we consider ways we can create even stronger minds and kinder hearts throughout each class day.
—Yours truly, Brad
Follow me on Twitter @CrossroadsHead
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* Head’s Note: The Brain and Physical Exercise
* Admissions Office News:
* Virtue for This Month: Honesty
* School News
– Snack Friday Thank You
– MATHCOUNTS Chapter and State Competitions
– Hats Off
– Share Your News
– National French Contest (3/10)
– Passport to Winter Fun Ending Soon (3/16)
– Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart (3/18)
– Summer Programs 2016
– Classroom Clips
* Parent Association News
– Lunch Program
– Screening of “Most Likely To Succeed” (3/13)
– NH Homebuilders Lego Build (3/19)
– Faculty and Staff Appreciation Luncheon (3/24)
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* ADMISSIONS OFFICE NEWS
Greetings from the Admissions Office! So far it has been a busy and exciting admissions season. There seems to be a buzz of excitement about Crossroads in the community right now, and we have been getting a lot of inquiries and visitors checking us out.
We are hoping that our new Crossroads viewbook will be another helpful way to spread the word about our great school and help prospective families to understand the depth and breadth of a Crossroads education. Please let me know if there are families you would like us to send the publication to, or stop by my office and pick up a few to hand out personally to those you think might be interested. Thanks so much for your help!
Reminder…
Our next Crossroads Brown Bag Café is tomorrow, Tuesday, March 8. Please bring along a friend and join us for coffee and conversation between 8:00–9:00 am in the multipurpose room in the Klee Building. I hope to see you there!
Have a wonderful week! —Warmly, Marilyn
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VIRTUE FOR THIS MONTH
* March: HONESTY
Honesty is truthfulness: loving the truth, telling the truth, and living truthfully in word and deed.
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* SCHOOL NEWS
* SNACK FRIDAY THANK YOU
Thank you to the second grade parents for the delicious snacks last Friday.
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* MATHCOUNTS CHAPTER AND STATE COMPETITIONS
Crossroads Places 1st at the Chapter and State MATHCOUNTS Competitions!
After placing 1st at the MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition in February, Crossroads placed 1st at the State Competition this past weekend for the first time in the school’s history!
Chapter Competition Results
In February, ten Crossroads students competed in the MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition: Katherine Duan (8), Andrew Huang (7), Alexander Kish (8), Jonathan Li (7), Maxine Park (6), Aidan Samwick (8), Miriam Viazmenski (7), Marian Zens (7), Zachary Zitzewitz (6), and Zoe Zitzewitz (6).
The Crossroads Team (Katherine, Andrew, Jonathan, and Maxine) came in 1st out of the participating schools. Crossroads students placed in 8 of the top 10 individual places in the competition based on the written exam and advanced to the State Competition:
Andrew (1st), Maxine (3rd), Katherine (4th), Miriam (5th), Jonathan (6th), Zoe (7th), Zachary (9th), and Aidan (10th).
The top 12 students then competed in the Live, head-to-head Countdown Round competition where Andrew placed 1st and Maxine places 2nd.
State Competition Results
The Crossroads Team (Katherine, Andrew, Jonathan, and Maxine) came in 1st at the State Competition out of the 18 schools that qualified across the state. As coach of the 1st place team, Alison Gorman will coach the New Hampshire state team at the National Competition this May in Washington, D.C.
For the first time, three Crossroads students placed in the top 12 based on their individual scores on the written exam: Andrew (6th place), Maxine (7th place), and Katherine (11th place). The three of them participated in the head-to-head Countdown Round competition with the other top 12 students in the state. Maxine placed as Runner Up.
Congratulations to all of our students for their amazing performances and hard work over these competitions! In particular, congratulations and thank you to Alison Gorman and Daryl DeFord (the Dartmouth graduate student who volunteers his time to work with our MATHCOUNTS students every week)!
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* HATS OFF…
This weekend, all three Hanover Wild girls hockey teams swept the state championships. Congratulations to fourth graders Grace Adams and Rory Seelig on the U-10 team and sixth grader Lily Seelig on the U-12 team for their state championship wins!
* SHARE YOUR NEWS…
We would love to share all of the great things that our students are involved in both inside and outside of school with the Crossroads community. Please don’t be shy and share any news that you might have about your child, or any news about classmates, with Marion Frazer at marion.frazer@crossroadsacademy.org.
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* NATIONAL FRENCH CONTEST (3/8)
Crossroads Academy French 7 and 8 students will participate in the National French Contest known as Le Grand Concours, “The Big Contest,” on Tuesday, March 8. (The snow date for the contest is Thursday, March 10.) Le Grand Concours is an annual competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Students of French in grades 1-12, in all fifty states and abroad, take a written test, which includes listening, reading, and grammar sections. Students compete against others with similar educational backgrounds (i.e., the length of time studying the language and hours of exposure to the language each week).
We wish all the French students in grades seven and eight bonne chance et bon courage as they participate in this year’s Grand Concours.
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* PASSPORT TO WINTER FUN ENDING SOON
Passport to Winter Fun is coming to an end. Please remind your student(s) to return the grand prize entry form to Mrs. Grenier by March 16 (back flap of the passport). Be sure it is filled out completely and includes how many Family Stars were completed. I hope everyone enjoyed the program! —Mrs. Grenier
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* JUMP ROPE AND HOOPS FOR HEART (3/18)
Save the Date for Jump Rope and Hoops for Heart! Friday, March 18, 12:30-2:55 pm (an early release day). More information and specific details about the event will be available soon. Please sign your child up to join in the fun. —Mrs. Grenier
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* SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE…PLEASE JOIN US FOR A GREAT SUMMER AT CROSSROADS!
We are delighted to share course descriptions and registration information for the 2016 Crossroads Summer Programs. Taught by Crossroads faculty, other local teachers, or in collaboration with educational organizations in the Upper Valley, all of our programs are designed to be both engaging and fun. Most programs run from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm daily with a free extended-day option from 3:00-5:00 pm, but please see the program descriptions for the exact times. All programs are open to both Crossroads students and others in the area. Please click here to sign up.
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* CLASSROOM CLIPS
Classroom Clips is a weekly space for students and teachers to share their writing with the Crossroads community. There are two entries today; one by Zoe Zitzewitz and one by Eleanor Press. Sixth grade history students illustrated the “Great Chain of Being,” a key idea in Medieval and Renaissance cosmology. Please click here to read Zoe’s and here to read Eleanor’s.
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* PARENT ASSOCIATION NEWS
* LUNCH PROGRAM
This week follows the “Week A” menu. Please be sure you are following the correct week. In addition, please consider sending in a set of silverware for your child to keep in his/her cubby; we are trying to avoid the waste of disposable silverware.
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* SCREENING OF “MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED” (3/13)
Please join us for a screening of the film “Most Likely to Succeed” on Sunday, March 13, at 4:00 pm in the Bancroft Campus Center gym. This is one of the most compelling films ever done on the topic of school, directed by one of America’s top documentarians. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and it continued on to be selected by numerous exceptional film festivals as the opening night feature at top education conferences. For more information and to watch the trailer, click here. There will be a panel discussion following the film featuring educators and administrators from some of the best schools in the Upper Valley, including our own.
Our eighth graders will offer babysitting during the event. It is open to children ages 3 and over, for $10/child, $20/family. They will be in the library, watching a kid-friendly movie complete with popcorn!
Please contact Gwen Martin with any questions.
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* NH HOMEBUILDERS LEGO BUILD (3/19)
Would you like a fun opportunity to build houses with LEGOS? The NH Homebuilders Association, in association with FLL, is sponsoring a competition for 5-12 year olds. The event is Saturday, March 19, at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester; ages 5-8 participate from 10:30 am-1:00 pm and ages 9-12 from 2:00-4:30 pm. All materials are provided, and first, second, and third prizes will be awarded. For more information and a contest entry form, click here.
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* FACULTY AND STAFF APPRECIATION LUNCHEON (3/24)
The Crossroads Faculty and Staff Appreciation Lunch will take place on Thursday, March 24, from 11:30 am-12:30 pm. This is a very special event at Crossroads that honors our children’s wonderful teachers and school staff. We will need volunteers to assist with food, beverages, appreciation cards, set-up, clean-up, and classroom coverage. You will be receiving more details and a link to the Google Doc sign-up sheet shortly. Your support will help make this a successful event. Please contact Claudia Adami or Maggie Hanson with any questions. —Thank you very much!
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KEY LINKS: http://www.crossroadsacademy.org/
