Learn about recent news and upcoming events

The 2016 Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference invites parents and teenagers to join them for a FREE showing of the award-winning documentary Screenagers , followed by questions and answers with a panel of educators and administrators. Screenagers is an hour-long documentary by physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston, who probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics, and internet addiction. The average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well. Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, Screenagers reveals how tech time impacts kids...

Manchester School District wants to better understand how effectively it is communicating higher level learning opportunities to high school students and their families. A higher level learning opportunity is defined as an experience such as a course or program that rises in levels of complexity and demand through accelerated learning. Courses and programs that meet the criteria for higher level learning opportunities include high school honors (Level 3), Advanced Placement (Level 4), Manchester Community College’s Running Start program, and Southern New Hampshire University’s Dual Enrollment Program (a/k/a College in the High School). We invite parents and students to take a survey that will help us collect important information about your experiences. The links for each are below. Thank you for your time! Parent survey : www.mansd.org/2016-opportunity-parents The parent survey is also available in Arabic, Bosnian, Nepali, Spanish and Vietnamese. Students in grades 8 -...

A message from the Superintendent of Schools: As you may know, the Manchester School District is currently planning to redistrict at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. A special committee of the Board of School Committee has been appointed to alleviate overcrowding in some of our schools. What does this mean for your family and child(ren)? The special committee’s goal is to finalize a redistricting plan by October 1, 2016. We don’t know yet how many students or schools will be affected. Right now the committee is gathering facts and community input. The special committee is committed to keeping the public informed about the process and welcomes your input. Information is available at our website www.mansd.org under the  Redistricting tab at the top of the page. We also invite you to participate in a survey . It is available on our website. If you do not have access to a computer, you may ask for a paper survey from your child’s scho...

A free forum designed for parents and community partners is being offered as part of this year's Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference here in Manchester! The presentation will provide a broad overview of adolescent technological concerns, including cyberbullying and social networking sites.  This informational session is presented by Dr. Sameer Hinduja, Co-Director of the  Cyberbullying Research Center  and Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University. The presentation takes place on Monday, November 30 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. For more information and to register please visit:  http://nhcmtc.org/cms/program/special-events .

This survey will help the Manchester School District better understand how effectively it is communicating higher level learning opportunities to high school students and their families. Your time is greatly appreciated! The survey can be found at  www.mansd.org/learning-opportunity-survey . This survey is also available in Arabic, Bosnian, Nepali, Spanish and Vietnamese. A higher level learning opportunity is defined as an experience such as a course or program that rises in levels of complexity and demand through accelerated learning. Courses and programs that meet the criteria for higher level learning opportunities include high school honors level (Level 3), Advanced Placement (Level 4), the Manchester Community College’s Running Start program, and Southern New Hampshire University’s Dual Enrollment Program (a/k/a College in the High School).

MSD is proud to be a sponsoring organization of The Incredible Years training series for parents. The 14-week program is FREE and open to caregivers of children ages 5-12. Parents will learn about parent-child relationship building, positive discipline and rewards, as well as social, emotional and academic development.  CLASSES WILL BE HELD EVERY TUESDAY AT BEECH STREET SCHOOL, STARTING JULY 8, 8:30 am-11:00 am. To register, call Erin at 666-5982 ext. 16

The Manchester School District, in order to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is convening its annual meeting with representatives of private schools located within the district and with parents of students enrolled in private schools.    The meeting will take place on Thursday, June 19, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the District Offices, located on the second floor at 195 McGregor St. The purpose of the meeting is to consider the needs of students with disabilities who are enrolled in private schools. “Although federal law states that children placed by their parents in private schools have no individual right to special education and related services, the district is required to consult with representatives of all private schools located in the district and with representatives of parents of children with disabilities enrolled in these schools before making final decisions about services that may be offered,” said Karen Burkush, assistan...

Read books, come to programs, win prizes!  Summer reading and activity programs for the Manchester City Library and the West Manchester Community Library will be taking place this summer! Elementary Programs include Family Matinees, Story Time, Make & Take Crafts and much more.  Teen programs include Teen Movie Nights, Minecraft, Wii, and Craft Activities. Dates and times with program activity locations please view or download full program fliers at  http://www.mansd.org/summer-reading-2014 .

Through a partnership between the Digital Opportunity Consortium and myON, all educators, librarians, students and parents in the Granite State have free access to over 4,000 enhanced digital books from myON through September 30th. There is a wealth of fiction and non-fiction e-books and graphic novels for readers from kindergarten through grade 9.  For more information and for the NH username and password please visit:  http://thefutureinreading.myon.com/digital-opportunity-consortium-brings-myon-magic-nh This information has been provided by the New Hampshire Department of Education. 

A new series of videos produced by the Manchester School District and Manchester Public Television will help ensure the youngest students are prepared when the new school year starts in September.  “Ready, Set…Kindergarten!”  covers a variety of topics that parents can view for tips and advice on some of the expectations of children in a classroom. “Every child coming to school should feel comfortable and already possess certain skills to ease the transition to a new classroom,” said superintendent of schools Debra Livingston. “It’s especially important for parents and children to know what to expect if they haven’t been in an educational environment before kindergarten.” Each of the videos is narrated by kindergarten teachers from schools across the city. They cover academic subjects, such as reading and writing, as well as themes around fine motor skills, social behavior and independence. “Encouraging self-help skills is a critical step to preparing children f...

The students at Parker-Varney jumped with all their heart to raise nearly $4,500 for the American Heart Association. Classes learned about heart health for several weeks leading up to the AHA's Jump for Heart event on April 22.  More than 450 students and staff in grades pre-k through five participated in various jump rope activities led by Parker-Varney's City Year volunteers. Students collected donations from family and friends in exchange for jumping during the hour-long event. In the end, the students raised $4,485! Each student took home a jump rope from the Parker-Varney PTG.

The district's Middle School Innovation Team is seeking input from students, teachers, parents and community members about the middle school education experience in Manchester.  Please take the  online survey  for the opportunity to provide your thoughts and perspective on middle school priorities.  Middle school students across the city will take the survey in school this month.  The deadline for submitting your response is March 31.  Thank you for your participation!

Manchester's elementary schools will be accepting new student registrations next month. The enrollment form and other documents required for registration are available to be downloaded  online .  Children and parents may come in person on the dates below. No appointment necessary.  The daytime hours for each school are 8:30-11:30 am and 12:00-3:00 pm .   Parker-Varney Elementary School  will host evening registration hours for the whole district on April 9 from 5:00-7:00 pm.  Bakersville - April 8 Beech Street School - April 2 Gossler Park - April 9 Green Acres - April 4 Hallsville - April 11 Highland-Goffe's Falls - April 4 Jewett Street - April 10 McDonough - April 4 Northwest - April 11 Parker-Varney - April 3 Smyth Road - April 10 Webster - April 2 Weston - April 10 Wilson - April 3

Registration forms  for the 2014-15 school year are available to be downloaded. Dates and times for kindergarten and first grade registration at all of the city's elementary schools will be announced this week.  Students must be 5 years old by SEPTEMBER 30 in order to register for kindergarten. Your child will also need to have a complete physical exam, or an appointment to have one, before starting school.