Learn about recent news and upcoming events

Please take a moment to vote!   Students were given the task of creating a new logo for the Manchester School District.  Two finalists were selected from the twenty-two entries that were received.    VOTE NOW: Visit  http://www.mansd.org/msd-logo-contest-2013 to submit your vote!

December 18, 2013 Dear Manchester Family, Happy Holidays!   One of the most rewarding things about being a Superintendent is the opportunity to visit schools and attend special events. This time of year is always entertaining and exciting with presentations, special meals, and concerts.  If you have ever attended one these events, it is pure joy.  Gymnasiums and auditoriums are packed with family and friends abuzz with excitement.  Kids are nervous about being on stage and it’s easy to see that wearing a tie or special dress is just a little uncomfortable. Students who have cooked a special meal are so proud to share their culinary talents and soak in every compliment.  Every academic presentation by students is learning on display.  Students’ voices shake; there is an occasional nervous giggle.  And yet, their learning is so evident.  Let’s just say, the “cuteness factor is off the charts.” Who can help but smile? Recently students from Weston and Hillside with their volunte

Sue Hannan Hillside Language Arts Teacher, Mrs. Sue Hannan has been named a State Winner in the 2014 Samsung  Solve for Tomorrow  contest. Her entry was chosen for its innovative approach to advancing interest in STEM among her students as well as making an impact in the Manchester community. In response to Samsung’s award notification, Mrs. Hannan, stated, “This is a unique opportunity for a Manchester school. We will be collaborating with students, colleagues, parents, community members and the media to create a project that spotlights the salmon release project, and will spotlight the health of the Merrimack River as well. While this will be a very involved project, it will assist students in concentrating their writing efforts into producing data analysis, integrating all subjects, and including many local and state standards for education. Students and community members will be involved in a service project that serves everyone.” As a state winner, Ms. Hannan has already ea

2013-2014 Make the Grade One lucky junior or senior will receive a brand new 2013 Ford Focus, an iPad Mini, and a $250 NBT Bank Gift Card! All 11 remaining finalists will receive an iPad Mini and a $100 Gift Card. Better grades mean better odds of winning!  Visit  http://www.autofair.com/makethegrade.htm  for contest instructions and rules.

Please join the Beech Street School Community on Thursday December 5 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM. A festival of crafts, games, music and fun activities will take place for the whole family in the Beech Street School cafeteria and gym.

Manchester, NH  -- Community leaders in Manchester, NH tonight announced a new way of helping students learn the skills that will land them jobs after graduation, including an agreement that provides up to a year or more of college credit for participating high school students. STEAM Ahead NH  is a collaboration between higher education, the Manchester School District and the local business community that – pending formal approval of the city’s Board of School Committee – will launch in the fall of 2014 at Manchester High School West. “We are very excited about the partnerships being formed through STEAM Ahead NH,” said Christopher Motika, Principal of West High School. “West is a great place with great kids and we are happy to see the Manchester business community, the higher education community, and the West side of Manchester working together to help our students succeed both in and beyond high school. Most importantly, the work that is being done focuses on finding different wa

The Manchester Barnes and Noble book store at 1741 South Willow Street has chosen the Manchester School District to be the recipient of its 2013 Holiday Book Drive. Look for displays at the front of the store in the check out area for "wish list" books as well as suggested items for local schools. Making a donation is as easy as picking up a book and bringing it to the register and Barnes and Noble will deliver purchased books to schools. The holiday drive is taking place from now through December 24. School Book Fairs at Barnes and Noble Several schools are also holding Barnes and Nobles Book Fairs throughout the month of December. Barnes and Noble will donate a percentage of the day's cash register receipts to participating schools. Join your community schools for after school and evening events at the Barnes and Noble book store! The Book Fair schedule:  DATE School(s)  Bookfair ID   Notes Thursday, December 5   Webster Elementary   111473

On October 10, 2013  Dr. Debra Livingston presented a proposal for Manchester Academic Standards to the Manchester School District Board of School Committee. The purpose of this presentation was to: Listen  and hear  comments, questions, and concerns Defer standardized assessments decision Provide clarity about “Informational Text” Propose a shift to Manchester Academic Standards This document can be found on the district web site at www.mansd.org . Look in the upper left for Quick Links > Manchester Academic Standards.

Bullying - and cyberbullying - hurt! Common Sense Media provides free resources for administrators, teachers, parents and kids and teens. Please visit http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators  for professional development, digital citizenship, and family resources. Cyberbullying Toolkit: Teachers can download a free toolkit to help students learn how to standup when they see cyberbullying occur. Age appropraite resources are provided for elementary, middle and high school!   http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/cyberbullying-toolkit?utm_source=2013_10_Newsletter_2&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly

Southern New Hampshire Services, Manchester's newest education and job training program for 18-24 year old students who are looking to complete their high school diploma, is now taking applications for their innovative, paid training/education program in Manchester. YouthBuild specializes in transferring skills in the construction trades to students who work together to build affordable housing in the community, and students earn high school credit while doing it. Students in YouthBuild also receive a small stipend while participating. The program is funded though a U.S. Department of Labor grant and partnered with the City of Manchester, Manchester Community College, Manchester Housing & Redevelopment Authority, Manchester Community Resource Center, the Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and local developer Anagnost Companies. For more information call 935-7463 or email  cfrederick@snhs.org . Visit  Southern New Hampshire Services on the web:  http://www.snhs.org/

EPSOM NH:   On Tuesday, September 3 rd , 2013, while schools were bustling with activity getting ready for the first day back, the NRRA School Recycling CLUB staff, NH the Beautiful (NHtB) board members, and City of Manchester and school employees were adding to the hubbub by placing 400 brand new recycling bins in every classroom at Central High School, Hillside Middle School and Weston Elementary School. Having brand new blue recycling bins in every classroom and office area, to coincide with blue toters now being used by the city for recycling, is just the first step of several in this pilot recycling program.    Central, Hillside and Weston volunteered to be part of the pilot program that will be conducted over the next school year.  The overall goal is to help implement a more efficient and sustainable recycling program in each school.  This program will help increase recycling and reduce waste, thereby decreasing disposal costs for the school district.  It will also increase

David Ryan returns to Manchester as its next Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction after serving as principal of Nashua High School North since 2006 where he was recognized as the 2012 Charles A.Napoli New Hampshire State Principal of the Year and one of three 2013 NASSP/MetLife National Principal of the Year Finalists. As a 2009 Phi Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Ryan led his school through its first New England Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation, reduced it failure and drop out rates significantly, and increased the number of students enrolling in two and four year colleges upon graduation. Ryan served as an assistant principal at Manchester High School Central from 2000-2006, is a member of the National Principals Advisory Panel for the College Board and sits on the Advisory Board of the School of Education at Southern New Hampshire University. He holds the Ed.S. in Education Administration from the University of New Hampshire, the M.Ed. in School Leade

Manchester Public Schools Welcome Students Back on Wednesday, September 4, 2013. Please note school hours for preschool, elementary and middle school students have changed. Our school calendar has also changed from a 180 day school year to a 175 day school year. School calendars will be distributed to all students. Should you not receive a school calendar please visit the District website at  www.mansd.org/calendar  or request one from your child’s school. For your child’s safety please ensure that your child does not arrive at school prior to the arrival time indicated below: Elementary Schools  8:10 a.m.  Arrival Time  8:20 a.m.  Instruction Begins/Late Bell  2:50 p.m.    Dismissal AM Kindergarten  8:10 a.m.   Arrival Time  8:20 a.m.   Instruction Begins/Late Bell  11:05 a.m.  Dismissal PM Kindergarten  11:55 p.m.  Arrival Time  12:05 p.m.  Instruction Begins/Late Bell  2:50 p.m.   Dismissal Half-day Preschool  8:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

The new Student Accident Medical Insurance Protection brochure can be found online. This brochure contains the enrollment form and instructions for completion and submission. It will also contain a claim form so that parents who enroll their child can access the form at any time. Please direct all inquiries in regard to insurance coverage directly to the insurance provider.  The brochure can be found in the "Quick Links" "For Parents" or "For Students" on the left side bar of the school district web site at www.mansd.org . Look for  Student Accident Medical Insurance .

With the support of the Manchester Community, Hillside Middle  School, and Hooksett Kiwanis ther Builders Club will be hosting the second annual Luke  Capistran 5K Road Race / Fun Walk and Kids Run.  Builders Club is a Service/Student Leadership  Organization that mentors and encourages students to become leaders in  their community.  The Builders Club is sponsored by the Hooksett Kiwanis  Foundation. This year  a discounted rate is offered for educators in the Manchester School District:  $10 pre-registration.  The Builders Club would like to make this a grand community event an d is asking for your support in regard to advertisement/sponsorship  for the Luke 5K. The club would like the opportunity to meet with you to further  discuss their needs and provide you with any other information you  might need to promote the extraordinary event.  Thank you for your c onsideration! Please direct all inquiries to : Tara Lindh, Manchester Educator, Hillside Middle School:  tlin

Driver Education registrations at Memorial High School will take place on  Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from  8 - 8:30 AM  in the cafeteria until school starts.  After the start of the school year, one can register in  the cafe from  7:15 - 7:30 AM every Friday .  PLEASE do not bring your  registrations to the main office.

The 2013-14 Driver Education Schedule is now available for viewing. Registration begins on Tuesday, August 20 and is ongoing until the class is full and on a first come, first served basis. Class begins on Sept.12 and tentatively ends on Oct. 24.  Click here for more details and a full schedule.

The City of Manchester will be hosting its 37th Annual Employees Golf Tournament on Saturday September 14th at Derryfield Country Club. This tournament will begin with an 8:00 am "shotgun" start and finish with a BBQ lunch and raffle starting at 1:30 pm at McIntyre Ski area. Please consider participating in this fun filled event and share fellowship with other City employees. Attached are the following golf tournament documents: 1.  Registration form  (due by Friday September 6th) 2.  Sponsorship form We encourage you to distribute the sponsorship form to friends of the  City.Tournament sponsorship is the key to the success of this event. Please ask our friends of the City to support the employees that educate their children, patrol our streets, fight our fires, and create the clean and safe environment that makes Manchester such a desirable city to live and work in. QUESTIONS : If you have any questions, or require any additional information,  please direct all inquiri

We are looking forward to a new school year!  The Manchester School District is committed to creating a healthy environment that enhances the development of lifelong wellness practices, promotes healthy eating and physical activities that support student achievement, and complies with federal mandates regulating school food and nutrition before, during, and after school. The updated  Safety 128 Wellness and Nutrition Policy  is available for viewing. All Manchester School District policies can be found under the Board of School Committee web pages at  bosc.mansd.org/policies . 

All Manchester School District summer programs are canceled for Wednesday,  July 17, 2013 due to predicted high temperatures.

The 2012-13 school year has ended and the Family Portal will be closing for the summer as we prepare for the 2013-14 year. It will become available again when school re-opens in September. Please visit the Family Portal information located under  'For Parents'  under the  Quick Links  section of this website for more details about the Family Portal. You can also bookmark  http://aspenportal.mansd.org/  for convenient access to Family Portal information at all times.

Please find the audit report link at the bottom of this announcement from CMSi, which was presented by  Dr. Judy Birmingham to the Curriculum & Instruction and Strategic Planning  committees on June 26. For helpful background on how to read and  understand the report, we would recommend reviewing either the tv coverage  of the meeting, or the minutes from the meeting which will be forthcoming. In reviewing the document, please note that this audit was structured like  a financial audit, in that the auditors evaluated the Manchester School  District against five standards, and evaluated our performance against  those standards, using multiple criteria for each standard.  As Dr. Birmingham noted last night, the auditors were not engaged in comparing us  to other districts, but rather in measuring the district against  established objective criteria. The report has been forwarded to the full Board of School Committee, and  will most likely be discussed at the  August 12th  meeti

This morning in a special meeting of the Board of School Committee Superintendent Search Committee Chairman Ted Rokas announced Dr. Debra Livingston was chosen as the next Superintendent for the Manchester School District – SAU 37. “We are pleased with the success of this search and believe that the extensive vetting and interview process led us to the right candidate for the job. By a unanimous vote of the Board of School Committee Dr. Debra Livingston was chosen to lead our district,” began Rokas. Dr. Livingston is the current Superintendent of the Fall Mountain Regional School District (SAU 60 – Alstead, Charlestown area schools). Prior to her tenure at Fall Mountain she was the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction in Socorro Independent School District in El Paso Texas with over 37,000 students. Manchester Mayor, and School Board Chairman Ted Gatsas added, “I have total confidence that Dr. Livingston’s experience and skill set makes her the right leader for the Manche

The Manchester School District announced on Monday, April 8 that the 2013-14 school calendar has been set after the Manchester Board of School Committee approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the school district and the Manchester Education Association (MEA). Under the new hours-based calendar, the amount of time that a student spends in the classroom will increase to 1050 hours per year. Under  the old calendar a student spent 990 hours per year in the classroom. The 2013-14 school year will begin on Wednesday, September 4, 2013. The last day of class is scheduled for Thursday, June 12, 2014. The normal February and April vacations remain in place under the new calendar. The number of professional development days for teachers will also increase under the new calendar. Currently teachers have 3 full professional development days. Under the new calendar they will have 6 full professional development days. The full 2013-14 calendar and the new start and end t