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Get the latest news about our district in this month's newsletter !

Dear Colleagues and Manchester Families: I would like to update everyone on the recent district report card delay and offer some clarification on what has happened as there seems to be a fair amount of mis-information “on the street”. In a May report published by the Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, author Julia Freeland writes: "In 2005, the New Hampshire Department of Education mandated that all high schools measure credit in terms of mastery of locally selected competencies, rather than by time-based metrics.  Removing seat-time from state regulations opened up more opportunities for students to advance upon mastery and for educators to measure student progress in terms of authentic learning, rather than in hours and minutes.  Under the 2005 regulations, New Hampshire school districts were required to create competencies and begin measuring credit in these terms by the start of the 2008–09 school year " (Policy to Practice, Clayton Christensen In...

Due to a technical issue with the system teachers use to input and calculate grades, first quarter report cards will be delayed until Monday, November 24.  The date was pushed back to ensure that teachers have the extra time they need to post grades based on the Manchester School District competency grading system, which measures both skills and academics and shows the truest indication of mastery and understanding of the material.  We are sorry for the delay but want to make sure that the issue is resolved and grades reflect the correct level of each student's performance in every class. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Manchester School District is one of 547 school districts in the U.S. and Canada honored by being named to the College Board’s 5th Annual Advanced Placement ® District Honor Roll for increasing access to advanced placement course work while simultaneously maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams. Only six districts in New Hampshire have achieved this objective this year. Along with Manchester, the Exeter, Goffstown, Lebanon, Oyster River and Windham school districts are on the honor roll. Reaching these goals indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for the opportunity of AP. Since 2012, Manchester School District has increased the number of students participating in AP while improving the number of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or highe r. “We are extremely proud of our high school teachers and counselors for encouraging students to challen...

T he  Great NH Restaurants' Charitable Trust drive to raise funds for local non-profit organizations is  ending November 16 : T ​he​   Thanks for Giving  fundraiser  has chosen  FeedNH.org  as the beneficiary for this year's campaign.  The  Manchester School of Technology Culinary Arts Program  is one of four local non-profit organizations that will share the proceeds of this fundraising effort. ​ MST students provide many hours of community service and this is a great way to support and thank them for their efforts!​ How does it work? Give $5 get $10! ​S top in at the Manchester School of Technology's main office or send an email to Virginia Stephen at  vstephen@mansd.org   ​to purchase  certificates.   For every $5 you donate you will receive a certificate for $10 off your next visit. (Certificates are valid through December 2015  -  yes, 2015 !) ​​ ​You can also v isit any ...

McDonough Elementary School teacher DeLorie Belanger has regularly purchased shoes, boots and other clothing essentials for her students in need throughout the years. Then one day, not even a month into the school year, she noticed one boy who was wearing a pair of shoes that were falling apart. Belanger gave the boy her own son’s sneakers to replace them. “After that experience, I felt like I should do something more,” said Belanger. “Many of the teachers I know purchase items for students, and the cost adds up quickly. If there were a way to collect donations, we could help more children.” Belanger asked her husband if she could use his office as a drop-off site and then went to Facebook for help, posting a request for gently used coats and shoes on a yard sale page. The response was immediate. “Within an hour, dozens of people were offering to give and sharing my post to help spread the word,” said Belanger. Soon, donations were being dropped off daily, and Belanger spent ...

Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive Once again the Barnes & Noble Annual Holiday Book Drive will benefit the Manchester School District! Last year Barnes & Noble collected and distributed over 3500 books to schools in the district. This year they'd like to expand that number to 4200 books! Please consider adding a requested book to your basket when making your book purchases at Barnes & Noble. A table will be set up in the cash wrap line near the registers with bookmarks designating books that schools have selected. The books will be collected and distributed weekly. Printed wish lists can also be found at Customer Service and in the Children's Department.

Schools in Manchester work every day to develop new ways for students to engage and learn. Technology can play a big role, and now Parker-Varney Elementary School wants to show the community its new Innovation Learning Lab, where students receive personalized instruction according to individual strengths and needs. There are 85 computers, a projector and screen.   In addition to daily reading and math enrichment, the lab offers even more opportunities for enhancing students’ learning. In the coming months, they will learn computer coding, build their own computers, and work on projects with a 3D printer. Today was the official ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the new lab. The event was conceived, planned and executed entirely by the fifth grade.  After the ribbon cutting, students in all grades showcased the work they've been able to do with the technology now available.

Our series of videos to help families learn more about the first year of school continues with the addition of two segments focused on math skills. Check out those and others on the  "Ready, Set. . .Kindergarten!"  page.

West Steam S cience T echnology E ngineering A Rts M ath Open House For Future Steamers Engineering the future! Higher Learning Opportunities Earn early College Credits    All Current 8th graders and their families are welcome! 6:00-7:30pm Thursday, November 13th Location: Cafeteria    Student presentations                    tour of the school & Meeting the teachers!

Granite State Driving School has been selected to begin operations of the driver education program in the Manchester School District. GSDS will begin classes during the week of November 10 and is in the process of contacting all of the students who had originally signed up with the district program for this session. The cost is the same as the previous price, $525 per student.

The Verizon Foundation and Technology Student Association are looking for middle and high school students that have great mobile app ideas that could solve problems in their schools and communities as part of the Third Annual Verizon Innovative App Challenge . Teams of five to seven students and a faculty advisor have until  November 24  to enter their app concepts for a chance to be one of eight teams named 'Best in nation'.   Each winning team will receive up to $20,000 in cash and a Samsung tablet for each team member. Teams are judged on whether their ideas solve challenges in their communities, include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) principles and are creative, unique and innovative. No coding experience or mobile devices are required to enter.