Learn about recent news and upcoming events

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 -...

Student work on display at the 2014 West High School art show Student art work will be on display in the library at West High School starting Tuesday January 20.  Members of the community are invited to attend an event on Friday January 23 from noon to 3:00 p.m. with food, music and conversations with the artists.  Our young artists look forward to meeting you and sharing their creativity and hard work!

Dear Manchester School District Employees, We, the Parker Varney 5th Graders, would like to say thank you for the support that you have given us for our project based learning unit -- a fundraiser for the Liberty House transitional shelter for Veterans. The district-wide Employee Jeans Day raised $4,000.  We presented our donations to the Director of the Liberty House at a holiday luncheon, which took place at Manchester School of Technology. The veterans who were in attendance were overwhelmed with the support and especially liked the homemade snowmen filled with daily care items.  WMUR  broadcast coverage of the celebration of our collective efforts. Thank you for showing us the strength and power that we have as part of this community. Sincerely, 5th Grade Student Leaders Parker-Varney Holiday Helpers

We asked Manchester's first grades to tell us what reading means to them and record their answers in a 45- to 60-second video. What adorable, creative and thoughtful responses we received! It was difficult to choose, but members of our staff in the superintendent's office selected one video that seemed to capture the essence of reading best. Take a look at what the boys and girls in Mrs. Fleming's class at Smyth Road Elementary School say about reading: Those students were invited to visit us for a special story time with Santa Claus, who traveled all the way from the North Pole, even though it's a very busy time of year. We have to thank the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester for making the connection for us and making sure Santa's schedule could accommodate us. Santa read "I Like Myself" to the class, while they drank juice and snacked on mini muffins. He then gave each child a copy of the book to take home. Special thanks to our friends a...

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).

New Hampshire Healthy Families, a managed care plan under New Hampshire’s Medicaid Care Management program, sponsored a special health-focused art contest through their Adopt-a-School partnership with Parker Varney Elementary School in Manchester, New Hampshire on Wednesday. More than 100 students in the third and fourth grades participated in the art contest by creating individual portraits of their health, while fifth grade students created a large canvas painting representative of New Hampshire, depicting state animals, trees, plants, insects and notable landmarks that will be displayed in the New Hampshire Healthy Families, Bedford, New Hampshire office. “New Hampshire Healthy Families is pleased to partner with Parker Varney Elementary School and proud of the third, fourth, and fifth graders who created these portraits for display in our Bedford office,” said Scott Westover, executive director of New Hampshire Healthy Families. “All of the students showed great creativity and t...

Manchester schools love opportunities to partner with community organizations to enhance students' learning. Read about Henry Wilson Elementary School's  planting project !

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 .

A free art exhibit will celebrate the work of students at Manchester High School West. Works will be on display on Wednesday, May 28 from 4-6pm. This event will feature music, refreshments and hundreds of original art pieces in several mediums to enjoy.  Support for the exhibit has been provided by West High School, the 104th chapter of the National Art Honor Society, and the New Hampshire Institute of Art. WHAT: Student art show WHERE: Manchester High School West, second floor               9 Notre Dame Avenue, Manchester WHEN: Wednesday, May 28, 2014             4:00-6:00 p.m. Contact: Aaron M. Czysz, art teacher (603) 624-6384 aczysz@mansd.org

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. 

The new logo for the Manchester School District evokes a sense of community support for education and learning opportunities in the city. That’s just one of the reasons why the senior Design Communication students at Manchester School of Technology developed the “All Hands Up!” image and tag line for schools in Manchester. “We wanted the logo to engage everyone with an interest in our schools,” said Joseph Sample, 18. “It shouldn’t just emphasize academics, teachers and students.” The image features hands reaching upward. The twelve student designers from Manchester, Londonderry and Goffstown prefer to leave it up to the viewer to decide what message the hands are communicating. “Maybe it’s ‘I have the answer’ or ‘I’m reaching my aspirations,’” said Brady Kingsbury, 18. “The hands also could be a demonstration of participation or pride. The interpretation of ‘All Hands Up!’ is in the eye of the beholder, and that was our intention.”   Under the direction of Desig...

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.

Moore*Mart , the non-profit organization that provides personal supplies to U.S. troops serving in the Middle East, is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a fun contest for school children. Students can submit their personally designed patriotic drawings and cards that will be sent to military service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. Three winning entries will be featured in Moore*Mart's tenth anniversary packing celebration this summer. More than 40,000 troops remain deployed in the Middle East, and the organization wants to collect as many cards and letters as possible so that every service member gets one!  "Salute the Soldiers" contest details: Artwork must be of a Patriotic Theme (no graphic subject matter, please) and no larger than 8 ½” x 11”  Participants must be under the age of 15, with parent/ guardian consent.  • If you are a teacher submitting your students’ work, please include school name, grade, and classroom, along with the student’s first n...

Green Acres Elementary School was recognized today as having the largest participation in this year's Winning With Wellness program. Fourth and fifth graders in seven of Manchester's elementary schools took part in the program, sponsored by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation and the Manchester Monarchs. Students used logbooks to track their healthy eating and physical activity progress over four weeks this winter. They learned about the importance of good nutrition, which includes restricting sugary beverages, exercising, and limiting screen time. Two hundred and fifty-six students in Manchester completed logbooks, with Green Acres at 67% participation out of 194 eligible students. To celebrate, Max the Monarch and representatives from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and the city's Health Department pres ented Green Acres health teacher Mrs. Gula with a trophy. Two fifth grade students, Sam Smith and Colin Brodeur, were the school's individual winners. Cit...

Registration for the 2014 Driver Education Summer Session opens on April 10. Classes begin on June 18 and will tentatively end on July 30.  Click here for more details .   All students must be at  least 16 years of age before the last scheduled classroom lesson. Be aware that classes require extra time and students must commit to additional reading and homework, behind the wheel instruction, and directed practice driving under adult supervision. Parents must attend an informational night.  TO REGISTER:  bring the completed application, $525 fee (at least $100 deposit), and a photocopy of the birth certificate to the appropriate person. At Central and West bring it to the main office, at Memorial bring it to Mr. Dubisz in the cafe on Friday mornings from 7:15 - 7:45 AM. All classes are held Monday through Friday and are 1 hour long. Questions and/or concerns should be directed to Mr. Dubisz:361-2537 or  mdubisz@mansd.org Please visit  http://ww...

The nomination deadline for outstanding elementary, grades K-6, mathematics and science (including computer science) teachers has been extended to  April 15, 2014 . The PAEMST are the nation's highest honors for K-12 teachers of mathematics and science.  Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in the improvement of mathematics and science education.  Since 1983, more than 4,200 teachers have been recognized for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession.  If you know great teachers, nominate them to join this prestigious network of professionals.  The nomination form should be completed early enough to ensure that the nominated teacher is given enough time to thoroughly prepare an application that reflects exemplary teaching prior to the application deadline. Applications are due by May 15, 2014 . For more information, visit  www.education.nh.gov  or contact Jiffi Rainie at (603)...

The UNH STEM Discovery Lab was created in response to the growing need for STEM educated graduates. The STEM Discovery Lab is a challenging, hands-on learning community where K-12 students and their teachers engage in the authentic integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and language arts through a research-based curriculum. READ MORE!

Students from the Manchester School of Technology are celebrating their medal-worthy accomplishments at the SkillsUSA New Hampshire Leadership competition this month. MST received three gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals in the categories of customer service, esthetics, job interview, job skills demonstration, and prepared speech. SkillsUSA is a national organization serving high school and college students who are enrolled in vocational training programs. MST sent a team to the state contest on  March 14 at the Seacoast School of Technology. The gold medal winners who earned the privilege of representing New Hampshire at the SkillsUSA National Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Missouri are: Cosmetology: Lemsy Esquivel Memorial High School/MST         Manchester Esthetics Team: Kendra Gahara Central High School/MST Manchester Katharine Zaremba Central High School/MST Candia Customer Service: Ashle...

The world's largest anti-bullying sign was created and displayed in the Las Vegas desert this past weekend -- and Manchester was part of it! Thousands of our students proudly sent their messages of encouragement on pieces of red paper that were included in the giant X constructed by volunteers rallied by New Hampshire's own Justin Spencer and his Legacy X organization. Watch the video  HERE .