Spring at FES

As students spend increasing amounts of time outdoors this spring, we would like to send out a

reminder that we recommend that insect repellent and sunscreen be applied to students prior to

coming to school. They should not bring repellent or sunscreen to be applied during the school day.

Students may keep these items in their backpacks for after school activities if needed. Students are

permitted to wear a hat for sun protection while outside for recess.  Please also consider sending your

child with a water bottle so they can stay hydrated during the school day. Helpful information on insect

repellent can be found on the EPA's website at Using Insect Repellents Safely and Effectively

The school nurses also recommend that parents be vigilant about doing daily tick checks on their

children.  We are seeing an increasing number of ticks in the health office. There is additional

information on ticks and Lyme disease on the Falmouth Health Services website.

Pint Size Hero Blood Drive

We ended the month of March with a Pint Size Hero Blood Drive at FES. The drive was held on an Early Release conference afternoon. The Red Cross collected 40 pints of blood. Children were able to watch their parents donate blood and learned about the importance of blood donation. Thanks to the staff, parents and students who donated blood or volunteered to help give the gift of life. 

Snacks at the canteen

A future blood donor cheering on his Dad

Food service director is a happy donor

Parent donation 

Blood drives are exhausting!

High School students volunteered at child care

Power Red Donation 

Red Cross Style

Certificates for students who got donors

School Nurses at Registration

Week One Nutrition Month

Letter from K student about hoop house fun!

During week one we focused on the 5 of 5210 Let's Go. Throughout the school kids learned about the importance of eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables daily. Redy, the Let's Go Mascot was all around school encouraging kids to eat fruits and vegetables. Teachers encouraged healthy snacks and many students went to the hoop house to learn about growing vegetables. The pictures below show how we celebrate March Nutrition Month at FES!

K students went to the hoop house during PE to learn about growing vegetables

Mrs. Mosca and Farmer Justing helping students plant vegetable seeds

School nurses and students setting up Nutrition display

Front Lobby Display

Mrs. Guerra's students make a fruit smoothie

Taste testing!

Redy the 5210 Let's Go Mascot comes to FES.

March Nutrition Month 2017

MARCH IS NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH 2017

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

Once again FES will be celebrating National Nutrition Month school-wide. We have been recognized by Let’s Go as a Gold Site School for committing to excellence in healthy eating and active living for children and families. During the month of March we will focus on the 5-2-1-0 message through the morning announcements, our wellness blog and by sending health information handouts/links to teachers and parents. Specialists in PE, music, library, art, computer, health and Spanish will integrate nutrition information in their classes. Our front hallway will be decorated with Giant Fruits and Vegetables to set the theme as you walk into school.

K-4 students will participate in Read Maine Agriculture  during the week of March 20. The 2017 book ”What’s in the Garden” is by award winning children’s author, Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Chris Arbo. The interactive rhyme and riddle format will lead to many discussions of fruits and vegetables grown in our state from apples to pumpkins. We are fortunate in Falmouth to have a very active Farm to School program. You can follow our garden program on  Falmouth School Garden Facebook Page .

More information on healthy eating, interactive games, and children’s recipes are available at Let's Go , My Plate Kids and Eat Right for Kids We hope you join us at home to celebrate Nutrition Month.

The Great Pumpkin Contest, year 3!

For the third year in a row we grew pumpkins in the learning garden and sponsored the Roly-Poly pumpkin contest. Classes were encouraged to visit the garden and estimate the weight and seed count for Roly and Poly.

Teachers used math, science and writing lessons to determine their class estimate.

This year Roly weighed 16.6 pounds and had a record 948 seeds! Poly was our smaller pumpkin
at 8.6 pounds with 303 seeds. See the pictures below for more information on classroom activities
and winning estimates.

Pumpkin books on display in the library

Mrs. Bacon's class estimated 8.5 pounds for Poly

Mrs. Walsh's class estimated 16.5 pounds for Roly

Classroom Estimates on Display

Counting Roly's seeds  with Mrs. Bacon

Pumpkin Seed Recipe

Mr. Olins class counted seeds by 10s and 100s

Counting pumpkin seeds in Mr. Olins class was a big job!

Mrs. Meserves' class estimated 303 seeds for Poly

Mrs. Tierney's class estimated 720 seeds for Roly.

Finding Roly and Poly

We love pumpkins!

Fabulous Fall school garden

It has been a beautiful fall in Maine this year.  Many teachers and students have taken advantage of this amazing weather by spending time outside in the learning garden, the hoop house site and the high school orchard. The pictures below show some of these fabulous fall school garden events.

1st graders apple picking

Making apple salsa!

2nd graders picking flowers to decorate the cafeteria

K students exploring the garden for the first time

1st graders in the orchard with Farmer Deri

1st graders making curly potatoes

Testing and rating potato samples

1st graders picking potatoes at the hoop house site

Mrs. MacKinnon's students 

1st grade pizza garden

A rainbow of garden color

5th graders at the hoop house site

Panoramic view of the hoop house site.

Monarch wonder!