Did You Say 12 Days?

We only have 12 days left to laugh and learn with our amazing students! We're trying to pack it all in before those summer days take hold.

This Friday is Arts Festival and Grandparents and Special Friends Day.

8:30–10:00 a.m. Breakfast Reception for Grandparents and Special Friends in Tayloe Gym at Hollins University
8:30-10:00a.m. Student artwork on display in Tayloe Gym
10:30 a.m. Student music and drama performances will be
in the Hollins University Theatre.
Music and drama performances in the Theatre Hollins University entrance
Williamson Road.
1:00 dismissal from Hollins

*Bring a disposable fruit break and no backpacks.


On Thursday, June 3rd we will be taking our final trip to Windsor Lake. We need one parent driver who can drive 4 kids with booster seats. We will leave school around 9:30 and return around one. Please let Lena or Katie know if you are available.

We will be going to see Junie B. Jones on Tuesday, June 8th. The play begins at 11:30, we will return around 1 pm. Thanks to parents who have agreed to drive.

Our last day of school is June 10th, which will be a day full of fun and WATER. Please make sure your child has appropriate clothes that can get wet. We dismiss at noon.
*Bring a disposable fruit break and no backpacks.

Updates from the Super Heroes

Play rehearsals have started this week. Students are being bused over to Hollins and practicing on the big stage. They are very excited.

Please be on time in the morning and try not to miss any days. Practice times vary day to day so your child could be needed at Hollins either in the morning or the afternoon.

Lena's class is going to El Rodeo on June 4th at 11:00 am.

Don't forget to read Quick Notes weekly for school wide updates.

Final Two Weather Videos from The Fantastic Fourteen

Tornadoes!



Lightning!

Fantastic Fourteen Weather Videos

Here are the first four of our seven weather videos! Kids had a great time researching and writing their reports. I think you'll agree we have some very creative kids.

Clouds!


The Thunder Girls!


Hurricanes!


Tsunami!

El Rodeo

Katie's class will be going to El Rodeo this Friday and Lena's class is going June 4th. Parents, grandparents, and/or friends are welcome! Please let your child’s
teacher know the number of guests at least two days before their trip. All
elementary and middle school students will order and pay in Spanish!
Lunches will be $7.00 in CASH (please, no checks). Send the money to
your child’s teacher. Gracias!

Friday's Field Trip

Friday’s Fabulous Farm Field Trip!

The Super Heroes are heading to Emilie’s farm on Friday. We will be leaving campus around 9:00 or 9:30 and heading back after lunch.

Please make sure your child comes in farm appropriate clothes, especially shoes.

Please pack a drink for your child. It is going to be a hot day!

You may want to apply sunscreen to your child in the morning and/or send some in their lunch bag.

We have canceled our May 18th field trip to Carvin's Cove.

Keeping You Posted on The Super Heroes

On Friday we will be walking over to Hollins for shortcakes. Thank you so much to the parents who have contributed tickets to buy shortcakes. We still need a few more tickets. If you would like to contribute please call Connie in the office, 563-5036.

On May 7th we will be going to middle school teacher Emilie Temeles' farm in Bedford. Our activity bus is out of commission and may not be back on the road by then. We would love to have 5 parent drivers help us with this trip. Please let Katie or Lena know if you will be available.

We will be going to Carvins Cove on May 18th. We leave at 9:15 and return around 1:00. We need one parent to help transport. Please let Katie or Lena know if you will be available.

Have you signed up for your Strawberry Festival shift yet? All parents are expected to contribute 12 hours of service for this amazing fundraiser that helps keep our tuition cost down.

The Fantastic Fourteen are Busy, Busy, Busy

Yesterday in science kids learned about hurricanes in Lena's room and made rain in Katie's room.

In math we have been working on fractions. We made graham cracker fractions with our buddies, and made pizza last Friday afternoon. Yum! Today we learned about symmetry and reviewed time.

Weather is the word in literacy! We have teamed up with Lelia to create a weather web cast. Kids are working in pairs, researching topics, and deciding the best way to present their information on camera.

On Friday we will be walking over to enjoys shortcakes at Hollins. Thank you so much parents who have donated so far.

Are you ready to get berried? If you haven't signed up for your shift yet, I'll be running kids games all day and would love to have your help. Face painting will be especially easy this year. We have stamps that you can use and paint over. Come join us on the hill, we'll be having a great time.

Super Update From Your Heroes

Upper and Middle Elementary classes are hosting an information session on Thursday night from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. All current parents and prospective parents are encouraged to attend. Please sign up for childcare or RSVP with Connie 563-5036.

Strawberry Festival is our largest fund raising event. It keeps tuition low, helps us provide financial aid, and provides school supplies for our classrooms. In order for the festival to run smoothly, we still need 176 volunteer slots filled. Please sign up ASAP if you haven't already done so. Do you have friends or relatives that may lend a hand?

On Friday, April 30th we will be walking over to Hollins to enjoy some kid-sized shortcakes. We are looking for sponsors for our classes. Each shortcake is $3.00. If you would like to donate, please send tickets (one ticket buys two kid shortcakes) to Connie in the office.

Down in the Dumps

The Roanoke Valley Resource Authority was an awesome host to The Super Heroes on Tuesday. We drove out to Smith Gap Landfill first and saw where Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and Vinton's trash ends up. Kids were amazed when they saw a train car filled with trash lifted and tipped over. We dump an average of 10 train cars EACH DAY into our landfill!!!! The Super Heroes were sad to see so many recyclable items go into the landfill. Because of the mud we were unable to drive up to the actual landfill, but kids loved seeing the amazing hydrolic lift, dump trucks, and other heavy machinery.

After Smith Gap we drove downtown to the Roanoke City Transfer Station where we were able to see train cars filled with trash, free mulch being ground, and people dropping off trash.

If you are interested in visiting the Resource Authority or have any sanitation questions go to: http://www.rvra.net/. We were very impressed with how welcoming they were.

We were starving after our big morning!!! We drove speedy quick to Alejandro's at Hollins and had a wonderful lunch. Students must have been practicing restaurant manners at home last week. Lena had a few patrons stop her on the way out and ask what school we were from. They were amazed at the kids' great behavior. Thank you to Josiah's parents, Lisa and Manuel, for having us.

Your Child's Computer Work Recognized

Students have been doing some amazing things in computer class this quarter and their hard work is being recognized. Check out the sites below to see what they've done:

http://www.aboutnewsmaker.com/

http://www.carnegiecyberacademy.com/funstuff.html

http://purple-puter-lady.blogspot.com/

We hope everyone has a happy and restful spring break! Remember there is no school on Friday.

Fantastic Fourteen Play

The Fantastic Fourteen will be performing their play "The Gingerbread Man" on March 31st at 1:40 pm. This is not a formal play, more like a staged reading. Parents are welcome to attend. If you will not be able to attend, no worries, Arts Festival will be here soon.

Don't forget, no Pizza Day or Lunch-a-Month on Wednesday, March 31st.

Barter Day Was Beautiful!

Okay, maybe beautiful isn't the word, but it was pretty fascinating. Some kids traded, once, twice, three, or more times! It was exciting to watch items change hands and see who ended up with what. Some kids slowly traded their way to their ultimate prize. Other students realized they didn't want what was being offered and took home their original objects. Overall, Barter Day was a huge success. Kids learned about value, currency, communication, and standards of trade.

Don't forget our March 30th field trip. We will be heading to the Roanoke City landfill and then onto the transfer station. After both stops we will be heading to Alejandro's near CS for lunch. Please send in $5 or a lunch for your child between now and March 26th. If your child doesn't want to eat at Alejandro's feel free to send in a lunch. On the day of the trip all students should bring fruit break in a disposable container.

Catching up with the Earth Keepers

Everyone loves money and we are no exception! In math class, we have worked on learning the value of coins and adding various amounts together. We have practiced adding tax to our purchases, and we are beginning to learn how to make change.

During Literacy, we witnessed the challenges, thrills and excitement of the Olympics! Each student researched a sport and taught the class using his/her own uniquely designed poster. Please come and view these outstanding projects - they are gold medal worthy!

Recently, we have focused on word study under the direction of our Hollins intern, Holt. We have talked about alliteration, parts of speech, and rhyme scheme, and today we began composing and illustrating our own poetry “‘big” book. We even have a “poetree” bulletin board displaying our ideas.

Every Thursday we partner with our friends from Kim’s class as well as Ruth Ann’s class. With Kim’s students, we designed our very own luge during a math Olympic measurement unit. During little buddy time, we have used our reading skills to share favorite books.

In drama we’ve been practicing our play, “Jack’s Magic”. We hope you’ll be able to attend our performance on Monday, March 22 at 1:30 p.m. in the drama room.


Reminders: (1) Scholastic book orders are due Thursday, March 18.(2) March is the last month for the Pizza Hut “Book-It” program for this year – don’t forget to turn in your completed calendar at the end of the month. Happy Reading!

Fantastic Fourteen Live Up to Their Name!

The Fantastic Fourteen have been focusing on service with our buddies in Betsy's class. Over the last three weeks we have made cards and Rice Crispie treats for staff at two non-profit organizations. Two weeks ago we dropped off cards and treats for the hard workers at Hollins Fire Station. Last week we sent cards to the staff of the Rescue Mission and made treats for some mom's who are residents. If you know some unsung heroes who need a thank you let us know and we'll put them on our list.

In math we continue to work on time. Last week we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and made sundials outside.

In science we are working on the weather. Lena used ice and water to demonstrate weather fronts and Katie used water and cups to demonstrate air pressure and atmosphere.

Barter Day is this Thursday! We have not received very many items to be bartered. Children can use toys, school supplies, books, clothes. Whatever they think is valuable.

The school has raised $300 for the Pennies for Peace organization. Please keep your donations coming.

The school store has ordered NEW items again. Students decided to spend some and save some when deciding what to do with our bake sale and store profits. We are working on marketing ideas to drum up more business.

Don't forget Monday is a day that your child can bring in a book to share with the class. Students are happy to show off classwork too, so don't feel like a book has to be brought. This Monday I had a few moans of, "Oh, I forgot my book from home!" I promised to post a note on the blog as a reminder.

Reminders

Please make sure your child arrives on time tomorrow. We will be loading up around 8:45 for "The Boxcar Children".

Scholastic has not made online ordering available for the flyers that were sent out last week. You can turn in mail in orders by Thursday, March 18th.

On Wednesday, March 31st there is neither a pizza day nor lunch-a-month scheduled. Please make sure you pack a lunch.

Bartering Begins!

This morning we kicked off our barter lesson in the computer lab. We watched an episode of PBS' Cyberchase and discussed bartering, value, and standards of exchange. If you would like to watch the episode you can watch the videos posted below.







In computers students have been working on creating their own videos with Lelia. To see these videos visit the site below:

http://cs-student-work.blogspot.com/

Corrections

The play, "Boxcar Children" is on March 16th and we will be leaving campus at 9:00 am. We will not need any parent drivers for this trip. Because space is limited and we have already purchased tickets we will not be able to have parents come with us to this play. If you have any questions, let us know.

Super Heroes Updates

This week the Super Heroes will be teaming up with Betsy and Kim's classes to learn about bartering. This month long project will culminate with a Barter Day on March 18th. Students will learn about bartering systems over the next two weeks. Starting March 1st students will bring in a toy that they no longer want and trade it for something of equal or lesser value.

We have two upcoming field trips. We will need drivers for both. On Wednesday, March 16th we will be leaving campus at 9:o0 to see "The Boxcar Children" at the Taubman Museum. On Tuesday, March 30th we will be leaving campus at 9:15 to visit the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority's landfill in Salem. We will then venture to the transfer station near downtown Roanoke. For lunch we will be dining at Alejandro's on Peters Creek Road. Stay tuned for more details.

Fantastic Fourteen Updates

This Wednesday we will be hosting a bake sale. Please send in a dozen items we can sell for 50 cents. All profits will go toward inventory for the school store.

In math we have just finished up units on place value and greater than and less than. Students had a great time coming up with amazingly large numbers and comparing them. This week we are starting our unit on time.

Keep your eyes peeled for an updated slide show on the blog showing students working out of their literacy folders. Each child is working independently at their own pace on literacy projects. Today when I offered to stop folder work after 45 minutes to play a literacy game I was voted down! The majority of the class requested that we continue working quietly.

We have also started visiting the computer lab twice weekly to work on books from the RAZ kids website. Kids love completing activities and decorating their RAZ rocket. This is an activity your child can do at home. I will be sending home information about how to log on this week.

Last week we learned about similes. The fantastic fourteen worked with their buddies to come up with interesting, funny and descriptive snow similes.

Weather is the word for science. This week we will be starting a study of weather. We have wanted to start this unit for the past three weeks, but kept getting snowed out. How appropriate.

Sales at the Cool Stuff Store have slowed considerably. The Fantastic Fourteen have been brainstorming ideas about how to drum up more business. Hopefully, new inventory brought in by our bake sale will help our sales improve.

We are still collecting Pennies for Peace and are planning to give a percentage of our profits to this wonderful organization. http://www.penniesforpeace.org/2009/08/01/nea-aug-01-09/

Our Lake Study Continues

Students are sad to see mud where there once was snow. They had such a great time sledding on the playground. It was fascinating watching them discover which materials were fun to sledd on and which didn't work so well. We had plastic lids, cookie sheets and pizza boxes flying by with kids giggling all the way down the slope. Students also started creating their own "ice skates" using tape and shiny cardboard pieces from the recyling bin.

Yesterday we went to Windsor Lake for the winter part of our year long observation. Students were amazed at the change in the lake over the past few months. Trees were bare and the lake was covered with ice. After completing their journal entries everyone had a great time throwing sand, rocks, sticks and leaves on the ice to see what would go through, what would coast across and what just stayed put.

In the afternoon students learned about animals and bugs that populates lakes. Students then made their own creative lakes using paper plates and scrap paper. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and sat by Tinker Creek to compare and contrast Tinker Creek with Windsor Lake.

This Friday we are walking over to Hollins to see "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile".

Drivers Wanted

We are planning our second observation of Windsor Lake next Tuesday, January 19th. We will be leaving campus at 9:00 and returning around noon. We need a parent driver to transport three students and another parent to help chaperon. If you are able to do either please let Katie or Lena know.

Happy New Year!

The Super Heroes have done a super job of getting back into the swing of things at Community School. They have been working hard and playing hard. Thank goodness we have gotten a little break in the temperatures. Kids are enjoying sledding and playing in the snow left on the ground.

This week we have the Local Hero Award ceremony on Friday at 1:30. Students will be walking over at 1:00. We will dismiss from Community School at the regular time.

On January 22 we will be the test audience for Hollins Theater's performance of "Lyle, Lyle Crocodile."

Thank you so much to the families who were able to complete their shoebox games. We played some last week and will play the others this Thursday.