International Dot Day at JRB!

Thank you for all of your support with our celebration of Dot Day!

It was a wonderful success and the students and staff looked great!

Read Across America Week

Staff and students were strutting their stuff for Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!

Hair was crazy for Whoville hair day!

Read Across America Day had amazing hats and Green Eggs & Ham!

Read Across America Week Info

Here is the schedule for this year's Read Across America Week:

Happy 100th Day!

We had a great time celebrating the 100th day of school on Friday!

100th Day Activities

FEBRUARY 8^TH IS THE 100^TH DAY OF SCHOOL!

HERE’S WHAT WE HAVE PLANNED:

• Students complete and hang a 100 Days Smarter Drawing.

• Students are encouraged to perform 100 Acts of Kindness. Write them down and share them with your class!

• Students will run 100-yard dash, do 100 sit-ups or push-ups, or jump rope 100 times in gym class.

• Wear 100 — either wear something that has 100 items in it (like a beaded necklace) or wear something that has the number 100 on it, or BOTH.

• Each classroom starts a “Read 100 Books” challenge. Keep track of the books you read and share when you’ve reached 100!

• We will end the day with 100 seconds of silence.

LOCAL VETERANS HELPING LOCAL CHILDREN

The holiday season is upon us. We recognize that many families face challenges as they attempt to provide a joyful holiday for their children. The Briggs School will have a toy drive sponsored by local veterans and we will have collection boxes in our lobby in December. It appears that many stores are offering great deals on toys this year, so please consider purchasing a toy for a child in need and placing it in our boxes. We are truly amazed by the endless generosity demonstrated by the JRB school community and how we demonstrate empathy and compassion to those in need. It is such a valuable lesson that we teach our students/children to think of others and how they can help make the season bright for those less fortunate!

Veteran's Day Lunch

Thank you to everyone who made this event so special ❤️

From the Gardner News:

Veteran heroes thanked 

Students at J.R. Briggs Elementary connect with soldiers over lunch

ASHBURNHAM — The John R. Briggs Student Council invited veterans to lunch on Thursday, and 61 veterans accepted the invitation to sit with their children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, or just connect at a table with kids who look up to them as heroes.

“The day was wonderful,” said Student Council adviser Kristi DiSalle. “It always is. I love how the kids look at the veterans like they are superheroes, which they kind of are.”

DiSalle said she also loved how veterans came to the luncheon and walked around to the tables of children that had no veteran to bring to lunch and simply talked to them.

There were a lot of hugs and a lot of proud smiles. One veteran’s lunch date got sick and went home, but he stayed to be with the students and hear the letters of thanks while he enjoyed lunch. Ken Haenisch is an Air Force veteran drafted out of Mount Wachusett Community Col­lege to serve in Vietnam. He is a member of the Ash­burnham Veterans of Foreign Wars post and the American Legion and shares history often with students in the local elementary and high school.

Veteran Tom Patty said that he has come to the luncheon for a couple of years, first with his granddaughter Nola, and now with his grandson Finn.

“I am retired from the Army now, but I still have all the uniforms,” he said. “When I talk about joining the Army, I stress a lot that education doesn’t stop when you leave school. I tell kids that go in the military, go in and learn a trade that is going to take you into a civilian world.”

Patty said he is a diesel automotive mechanic who works on heavy equipment.

“I worked on every piece of equipment the military had, and I worked on the civilian side on fire engines and police cars. I did all that stuff.”

DiSalle said one veteran with three sons in John R. Briggs celebrated Veterans Day with three different lunches so he could spend time with his three boys.

Children stood before their peers and guests and thanked the veterans for defending the country, calling them “heroes” for protecting and serving the United States.

The lunch was a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and the fixings, appropriate for saying thank you to all who served.