Letter to Parents & Guardians

Surface archaeology at the mouth of Moonlit Brook

Dear Parents and Guardians of the Class of 2019 -

    As you may already know from your student, those of us not going on the trip to Washington, D.C. will be spending three exciting days exploring the town and environment of Newmarket. Most of our time will be spent outside, and we have an impressive range of activities planned. We'll be doing science at Moonlight Brook and down at the Lamprey River, exploring local history with a visit to the New Market Historical Society, dropping in at the Newmarket Mills for more history (and ice cream!), and looking into the area's natural history during a stroll in the Heron Point Woods.

    Some things that you should know:

• In order for your student to participate, they will need to bring in their copy of the permission form, signed by you, WHICH THEY ALREADY HAVE. If, perchance, you haven't seen this yet you might want to ask them. In case your student has misplaced it, you can download a copy here. 

• We will be outside much of each day. Students should wear comfortable walking shoes and weather appropriate clothing,  Having a water bottle and sunscreen will be important.

• Should you need to contact your child during the day, please call the front office as usual (793-4455). They will be able to relay any messages to us.

Academics: 

• Even though we'll be out and about most of these three days, it IS still school, and students will be responsible for completing a number of assignments for their LA, Social Studies, and Science classes. Assignments not finished during the day should be worked on as homework, and can be accessed through our class website. 

• All of our academic assignments during Newmarket Days are set up as a series of WebQuests. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented learning format where much of the information we'll be using is found in various formats on-line. Assignments will also be completed and turned in on-line. This works perfectly for Newmarket Days, since we will be out and about.Additionally, parents and guardians will be able to access our site and follow along with what we're doing and learning. YOUR CHILD IS ENCOURAGED TO BRING THEIR PHONE, TABLET, OR OTHER INTERNET-LINKING DEVICE. We'll also have school tablets available, of course.

• You can find all the information your student will be working with at our class web site, or skip to the main web-quest instructions, which are posted using an innovative application called Prezi. That link is here. You'll find all sorts of interesting information about our town's life and history, and I believe you'll be impressed with the kinds of things your student is up to. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to e-mail me here.