Phippsburg Elementary School

Here is a preview of where our students will be learning tomorrow. PK-5th grades are on the 1st floor. Fourth grade will be in Room 204 on the 2nd floor, 1st door on the right. Students will be PICKED up at their normal time and arrive at MHS a few minutes late. Keep in mind that students will be dismissed at same from MHS, however, they may arrive home LATER than normal.

Dear Phippsburg Families, I am writing to you to follow up on the letter sent to you by Superintendent Manuel and to give you additional details on our plans for Monday, June 5th and Tuesday, June 6th. But first, let me begin by acknowledging how unsettling this entire situation must be for you and your children. As Patrick stated, decisions were made based on advice from experts in the field. Clearly, what has ensued is upsetting to say the least. To ensure we have a safe place for students to be the next few days, the following are our plans. Each class will have their own classroom at NEW Morse High School with their teacher’s name clearly displayed outside. Students will be escorted to classrooms by adults. Bathrooms in MHS will dedicated to PES students and will be accompanied to the bathroom. I will be posting pictures on the website and Facebook of each classroom for you and your child to see. Fortunately, and thanks to Mr. Varney and the MHS students and staff, we will be able to move forward with our Whalemobile presentation! The “whale” will be set up in the gym and our scheduled visits will continue as planned. Classroom activities for the day will focus around this event. For Tuesday, we have decided to move up our Field Day and have it at MHS. Because of the weather forecast we will be having our activities in the gym. RSU 1 approved volunteers are welcome to join us and help out as planned. Please remember to check in to the office for a visitor’s badge. Tomorrow and Tuesday parents of students in first through fifth grade will drop off and pick up their students at the front door. There will signage and greeters to help you find your way. Students will be escorted to classes by PES staff. Pre K and Kindgergarten will be dropped off at the side door. Please follow the signs to visitor parking, Mrs. Brockett and Mrs. Baldwin will be there to meet you. For your information the telephone number at Morse High School is (207)443-8296. Thank you all for your understanding and cooperation as we navigate this difficult time. As always, I am amazed at how supportive the PES community is. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Sandra Gorsuch-Plummer Principal

Mrs. Tardif shared photos of their field trip to Coastal ME Botanical Gardens in Boothbay on May 26th. Second and Third grade accompanied them on the trip.

Ms. McCauley & Ms. Phippen shared photos of 4th graders working with garden volunteer, Karin Balnis, in the raised garden beds here at PES this morning. They worked on weed control with cardboard and mulch between beds, watered seedlings, and observed and recorded seedling growth in the garden.

To MHS graduating Class of 2023 Phippsburg parents: You are welcome to join us, lining the halls at PES, to celebrate our former PES students Wednesday, June 7th. The Graduate Parade begins at 11AM. Hope to see you there!

CPP Movie Tonight - FREE! Hi All, With the support of Jamie Dorr, we have received a very generous anonymous donation to cover the admission costs of the CPP movie tonight. We will be showing Despicable Me 3 for free in the Morse High School Montgomery Theater at 5:30. Pizza offered 5-5:30 at $2 per slice. Hope to see you there!

As 1st graders completed reading their Mercy Watson series, they celebrated with her favorite snack: Hot Buttered Toast! They made the butter from scratch by partly filling a plastic container with heavy cream and taking turns shaking the container. At 2-1/2 minutes of shaking, they had whipped cream. After 5 minutes of shaking the container, they had butter! Thank you, Mrs. Tardif, for sharing photos of your fun classroom experiment.

Ms. McCauley shared photos of Ms. Phippen's fourth graders getting a seed-planting lesson from Karin Balnis in the raised garden beds at school.

Mrs. Polizotto shared some photos of Pre-K and Kindergarten's field trip to Noble Hill Preserve. They even took a few moments for snack, water and a story. What a beautiful day for outdoor exploration and discovery they had with their teachers, some moms, and Ms. McCauley!

Remember, PES has no late starts in May. School starts at 8:25 Monday through Friday for the month of May, and the buses will run Wednesday at the same time as they normal ly do Monday through Friday.

Thanks to Mrs. Caron and the Onion Foundation Grant, PES enjoyed a day-long visit from author Jennifer Jacobson today! Students and teachers had a great time learning about the author and writing process. Thank you, Mrs. Tardif, for the photos of grades 1, 2 & 3 listening attentively to Ms. Jacobson.

GATE Day Highlights, April 12, 2023 from Ashley Hoskins Fourth and fifth graders in the GATE program returned to BMS on April 12th to continue their investigation of ice. This workshop featured three activities. Students began with an investigation reminding them of the impact of salt on ice which segued into a conversation about where we use salt on ice in our world and making hypotheses on what problems that may cause for the environment and then learned through two separate articles about the pros and cons of the use of salt on our roadways. Following the group discussion, students formed their own opinions about whether or not the use of salt should continue and what might be some alternatives. Our second investigation took us to Indiana Dunes National Park. Students learned how the Great Lakes were formed during the glacial periods through a simulation lab. The final activity involved glacier spotting on Google Earth. Students practiced using latitude and longitude to find specific places on Google Earth. Some students were able to identify what country the glacier was spotted in as well as use tools to measure the length of a specific glacier, or find the highest point in elevation. We will meet again in May at the Bath Freight Shed for our final GATE Day of the year!

This is Eat the Rainbow Week at PES. Thank you, Mrs. Tardif, for the photos on green and white day! And thank you to our wonderful PTA members, helping to prep the fresh fruit and veggie snacks this week: Callie Wells and Shana Ferrara!

Mrs. Polizotto took some great pictures from last night's STEM City. It was a nice turnout, and there were many fun things to see and do. Thank you to all who participated! Our gift card drawing winners are: Hudson E. for the Fielder's Choice $10, Kylee W-R. for the $25 Smitty's GameLAB, and Miles T. for the $15 Island Treasure Toys.

Thank you Mrs. Snell for the Battle of the Books photos. Great job, PES teams, and congratulations to Miles, Austin, and Sam (Finn couldn't make it) whose team finished in 2nd place! Looks like much fun was had by all, and I think I see Mrs. Brann in the front row.

Mrs. Tardif provided some photos of her class creating beautiful lupines from the book, Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney.

Check out our latest touch tank inhabitants! We have an octopus for the first time!

Fourth and Fifth grade learned about maple sugaring/syrup on their March 16th field trip. Thank you Ms. Phippen and Mrs. Snell for the pictures, and Ms. McCauley for the lesson.

This a reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, March 16th 4th & 5th-grade students will be going on a maple sugaring field trip. Please make sure students are dressed to be outside including wearing boots.

Good Morning, Due to a power outage and the uncertainty of when it will be restored today, Wednesday, March 15th there will be no school at Phippsburg Elementary School ONLY.