text: The Northwood Congregational Church, UCC will be having A Service of Hope; For Those Who Have Suffered a Loss. We know how hard it is to experience a death, the end of a marriage, or transition in job or family situation and in this service we offer you the opportunity to come with your need and be offered understanding, a place to honestly sit in your grief, and to be offered the hope which God can provide. There will be silence, candles, prayer, an opportunity to remember, and the comfort of a community who cares.
  The service will be held on Sunday, January 25 at 4:00 at the Northwood Congregational Church, UCC 881 First NH Turnpike (Route 4 - The church is located just east of Coe Brown Academy).
  Anyone is welcome to attend. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Gayle Murphy at the Northwood Congregational Church, UCC 942-7116 or [email protected]
  Northwood School Participates In
  The Northwood School Food Service Department is pleased to announce our participation in the National School Lunch Program. Meals will be available to all children at our school. Meals meet nutritional standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Our school participates in the National School Lunch Program, and the School Breakfast Program.
  If your income is less than or equal to the following guidelines you are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. These guidelines are effective July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015. If you have children who approved for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) formerly known as Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Native Family Assistance Program (NFAP), they are automatically able to receive free meals by filing an application that includes their assistance number from one of those programs. Students who are migrant, homeless, or runaways are automatically eligible and do not need to fill out an application. Foster children receive free meals regardless of the income of the household with which they reside. Note: Medicaid and Denali Kid Care case numbers do not qualify for eligibility.
  For more information, or to get an application for free or reduced-price school meals, contact us at: Northwood School Food Service Department, 511 First NH Turnpike, Northwood, NH 03261 or Phone: 942-5488. You can find more information on our website at: http://www.northwood.k12.nh.us
  We all need a reality check now and then to bring things into perspective. Those of us that attended the NHSBA annual meeting (60 out of close to a 1000 members) got one Saturday. Berlin was selected as the School Board of the year. They deserve it. While I hear so much discontent, whining, complaining and the grass is so much greener over there, just think about some of this.
  Berlin has lost half its population and nearly half of its student count. They have reduced from 6 school buildings to 4, all of which are over 100 years old. Think of the maintenance costs. Think 30 below 0. They start out with 4K less per student than us while their maintenance cost are proportionally much larger than ours. They have a higher % of special needs students than us. They have the highest tax rate in the state because their property values are so low. It gets worse, but that is not the story. Defeated, angry, no hope, not on your life.
  Berlin is accomplishing miracles. To the Superintendent, to the Board, to the Staff, to the parents, to the community, to the students, I am in awe, my hat is off to you. With a can do attitude, incredible innovation and with a mighty will, the complete Berlin Community is moving forward to give their students the very best education that they can. That is what it is all about, nothing more and certainly nothing less.
  Northwood Family Dental Center Under New Ownership
  We would like to welcome Dr. Alison Gomes and Dr. Anthony Pasquale to the community. Dr. Gomes and Dr. Pasquale have recently acquired Northwood Family Dental Center, lakeside, on Route 4 in Northwood.
  Alison is a pediatric dentist and Anthony is a general dentist. The couple met in dental school at Tufts University in Boston and they are settling down locally to start a family.
  Dr. Jacqueline Cash is also on staff, she has advanced training in Periodontics including dental implants.
  With their combined areas of expertise, the team can provide a wide array of dental services all in one cozy lakeside setting. Their goal is to provide as many dental services as possible in one office to make dental care convenient for the busy modern day family. They are located at 1505 1st NH Turnpike in Northwood and can be reached by phone at 942–5541. A website will be up soon for your convenience.
  Time for All-day Kindergarten
  Alexander Pope wrote in 1732, "'Tis education forms the mind. Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined."
  It's time for all-day kindergarten in Northwood. The current half-day program is not adequate for meeting the learning needs of our children.
  As we have seen since the Bush initiative, No Child Left Behind, the expectations for educational achievement have increased. Here in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Jan. 13, the Task Force on STEM Education presented a report to Governor Hassan that "outlines eight recommendations for curriculum changes in kindergarten through fourth grade, middle school and high school." (Concord Monitor, 1/14/15)
  To meet these expectations, our children need more education sooner.
  The School Board has presented warrant articles twice in the last three years to fund all-day kindergarten. Although unanimously supported by the Budget Committee in both years, the articles failed by narrow (52-48%) margins. When the School Board did not resubmit this article this year, I easily gathered the required signatures to bring it before the voters again.
  To prepare our children for first grade and beyond, the teachers need a full day that will allow for both formal learning (A-B-C's), as well as group activities and unstructured play.
  Especially important will be time for one-on-one teacher-student contact to assess progress and help as needed. Just remember, from a dollar standpoint, one child "left behind" and needing special education to keep up could prove way more costly than the additional teacher needed to implement all-day.
  As Aristotle wrote three centuries BCE, "The legislator should direct his(her) attention above all to the education of youth; for the neglect of education does harm to the constitution."