Thursday December 14, 2006

Morning Performance at 10 am

AM Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd: Lorang, Henderson, Sharkey & Winter; 3rd: Kuehn & Joyner;4th: Cox, McFaddnen & McAllister

Afternoon Performance at 1 pm

PM Kindergarten, 1st & 2nd: Dungan, Muerer, Randal, & Griel; 3rd & 4th: Petty & Weber  5th: Reeves, Ferrel, & Anderson

 The All-School Sing-a-long is Friday December 22, 2006 from 2:15-2:45. Parents are invited to participate and are welcome to bring instruments to accompany the singing. 

 

Write from the principal, Karen allen

 Dear Lewis and Clark Families:

                As we approach the Holidays it seems appropriate to consider the art of giving.  Many educators feel that by helping others children can learn responsibility, build character and citizenship, and discover the special joys of doing or giving something special.  Although you will find a variety of school projects focused on helping people in our community, kids need to see that the enthusiasm for giving is also strong at home.

 Some ideas you might like to try with your family……..

            *Start young.  Encourage even your youngest child to look for ways to help others.  There is almost always someone “littler” who needs a “big girl” or “big boy” to help or someone older who will, with a wink and a nod, be eager for a youngster to “help” them with a job.

            *Show the YOU care.  Whether you can give an hour a day or an hour a month, let your children see you volunteer your time to help those in need.  If you can, bring your children along as extra hands and let them see the smiles on the faces of the people you are helping.  Missoula has so many wonderful places where volunteers can lend a hand.

            *Go outside of your regular areas of interest.  For many families, the core of their charitable involvement is their church, temple or other place of worship.  If that’s the case in your household, look around for occasional ways that you can step in to help others as well.  Broadening your family giving to other parts of the community can help your children grow up to be even more dedicated to helping others.

            *Use the news, but in moderation.  Many children respond enthusiastically but very emotionally to crises like hurricanes and other disasters.  They hear about them on the news and feel the need to help.  Talk with your children about ways that they might be able to help—from making homemade cards to brighten a child’s day to participating in a local charity fund drive.

            *Tap into their talents.  Is your little one a budding chef?  Encourage him to bake a cake to take to the Senior Citizen’s Center.  Do you have an artist in residence?  See if she would like to deliver her paintings to a nursing home to brighten the walls for someone who doesn’t get out much anymore.  And, anyone can pick-up litter, give love to pets in the shelter, or read to children who just need some extra attention.

            *Make it a family affair.  Everyone wins when the whole household gets involved in an effort to help others.  Some families even make volunteering a part of their children’s weekly allowance requirements or family holiday celebrations. 

            *Cast-offs can be a first step.  As your children outgrow toys, games and clothes, make a big deal of how you are going to pass them on to others who need them—either younger relatives or to our Family Resource Center.  Encourage your kids to come with you to pick names off our Community Gift Board.  Shopping for something special for someone we don’t even know can be fun and very rewarding.        

            *Trade off.  Invite your friends’, relatives’ and neighbors’ children to join you when you are working on a community service project for others and then maybe they will include your children in their future giving projects. Kid’s enthusiasm is contagious!

             Finding ways for your children to focus on the needs of others is a way to help them learn how to make the world a better place.  Best Holiday Wishes for Fun Family Giving!

 Karen Allen

 

Happy Holidays from the FRC

 Hello L&C Families,

             There have been many fun activities going on this month in the FRC.  As you all have probably noticed, there have been many items seemingly in disarray in our room. Boxes of canned goods for the Food Drive, boxes of books from RIF, and winter coats hanging on the wall are all just a few examples of how the Lewis & Clark community has been so helpful in making our November activities so successful!

             RIF was definitely a big hit for the students as well as the adults who volunteered to distribute free books for every child attending Lewis & Clark.  It was fun to watch students choose their favorite amongst the collection of high quality, brand new books. Their enthusiasm was contagious and spread to our parent volunteers, who really enjoyed helping us out, and many requested that we contact them for future distributions. Our next distributions will be Jan. 22^nd-25^th and March 19^th-22^nd.

             The Potluck was scheduled during a very busy week for our families, but the turnout was still very good! The chicken and fried rice, tuna noodle casserole, linguine with clam sauce, and macaroni goulash dishes were delicious (and topped off with tasty brownies)! The kids played board games and Four Square, and drew pictures about the holiday seasons and things that were on their minds. Watch for the Family Fun Night which will be organized by Erin Lipkind and the FRC staff.

             Parent Teacher Conferences were the week of November 20^th-21^st.  We provided daycare for parents during conferences.  The kids had fun watching videos, playing games and interacting with other students while their parents were at the conferences.

             For the month of December, we will continue to collect canned goods for the Food Drive.

If you have not brought your items yet there is still time to do so.  We are half way to our 1,200lb goal and are certain that we’ll reach it.

             The Giving Tree Program applications and request forms are in the FRC for anyone who would like to give or receive gifts through this program. The Gift Box is hanging across from the office and there are tags hanging up so if you are interested in giving a gift this year to someone please pick up a tag whenever you get the chance.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS 

FROM THE FRC!

 Family Resource Staff, Sonja McCauley Zach Adam

 

Counselor Corner

By Amy Shattuck

Hello Again!!

We are heading into the holiday season.  Although this time of year can be filled with family and joy for many, some find it an extremely difficult time.  Please contact me if you need help with food, clothing, or gift (on a confidential basis).  There are a multitude of resources in our community.  Those of you who find yourselves fortunate this year, please remember the holiday food drives, donations of clothing, and helping our local families with gifts this year.  Contact me if you would like to take part in any of these programs! 

          Happy Holidays! Again, if you need health insurance for your child, please get a hold of me!  I have information on the CHIP program and there is currently NO waiting list!

          My office is at the bottom of the ramp and my phone number is:  728-2400 ext. 4379 or        avshattuck@mcps.k12.mt.us

 

 A note from the computer lab:

Hello, my name is Stephanie Carr and I am an Americorps/ Technology Corps member here at Lewis and Clark.  I wanted to take a minute to let you all know a little about the technological side of our school.  We are currently in the middle of Computer Club.  This is a six week after school program for fourth and fifth graders.  There are three sessions of Computer Club so if your child is not signed up there is still time!  Check out our website www.mcps/lewisandclark.k12.mt.us to learn more.  You can also use this site to look into upcoming events at Lewis and Clark, staff information, contact information, teacher wish lists (coming soon), Internet safety tips for you and your child, the newsletter, as well as general information about or school.  If there is something that you would like to see on the website that would benefit you as a parent or community member please feel free to contact me at 728-2400 x4393, pop into the lab anytime or email me at slcarr@mcps.k12.mt.us.

             I am always looking for volunteers to help in the lab.  If you are interested, contact me and we can work around your schedule.  You do not need to be a computer genius; you simply need to be comfortable around technology and willing to learn!

             I wanted to say a special thanks to the PTA for making it possible for me to be a part of such a wonderful school for the second year!

             Look for the website suggestion each month in the newsletter.  This month I invite you all to check out, www.yahooligans.com.  This is a great kid friendly search engine; I believe you and your child will find useful information, fun interactive programs and games without the hassle of billions of unwanted search results.

Enjoy!!

 Steph Carr

 

 Annual book fair December 14-15

 Dear Lewis and Clark Parents,

             We would like to personally invite you to the Annual Lewis and Clark Book Fair, which will be held on December 14^th and 15^th this year.  The primary hours of the book fair are December 14^th beginning at 8:00 a.m. and continuing until 8p.m. that evening.  We will also be set up for book sales between 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Friday, December 15^th. The Book Fair is a money raising event for the Lewis and Clark Library.  The school receives a percentage of the sales, which are used to purchase new books for the library.

             There will be books for beginning readers along with picture books and chapter books for older students.  Students will be coming to the library with their classes on Thursday to hear booktalks and compile a “wish list” of titles they would like to own.  The Book Fair is an excellent opportunity to purchase holiday gifts for your children!  In addition, if the book you want is not available, special orders will be taken.

             We will have a display of books available for adoption; books that you can purchase and donate to the Lewis and Clark Library.  Donors’ names will be inscribed on special bookplates and paced in the book you adopt.  Teachers will also have “wish lists” of items they would love donated to their classrooms. Your generosity supporting our school library and classroom libraries is extremely appreciated!

             December 14^th is the day of our holiday concerts, so we know most of you will be in the building that day.   Please plan to come to the Lewis and Clark Library to browse before or after your student’s holiday concert, or during the holiday family fun night beginning at 2:00 p.m.

             The theme of our holiday book fair is Holidays around the World.  Check your child’s backpack for a complete schedule of events in early December.  The tentative schedule is as follows:

  December 15th:

Parents may come in between 8am and 8pm to purchase books.

            8:30am-2:00pm: Students come with their class for  book talks and to make a wish list.

            2:00 pm-3:00pm: Parents browse for books while kids listen to stories in the core.

            3:00pm-4:00pm: Bringing light into the darkness…holiday craft activity

            4:00-5:00pm: Play dreidle, a Hanukah holiday tradition.

            5pm-6:00pm: Potluck dinner (bring a dish to share!)

            6:00pm-6:30pm: Kids watch a holiday movie while parents shop in privacy.

            6:30pm-8pm: Holidays around the world—craft activities from different countries.

 We hope to see you all there!

Erin Lipkind/Librarian   

Zach Adam+Sonja McCauley/Family Resource Center Coordinators

 

ECOS NEWS:

Weather Station 

The weather finally broke long enough Tuesday, November 14^th for the ECOS Team to dig and anchor the beam for the weather station at Lewis and Clark.  The Weather House will be in place by next week.  Students will then start collecting daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, and cloud cover.  This information will be entered on the GLOBE Site. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based education and science program (supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation). For Students, GLOBE provides the opportunity to learn by:

Taking scientifically valid measurements in the fields of atmosphere, hydrology, soils, and land cover/phenology - depending upon their local curricula

Reporting their data through the Internet

Publishing their projects based on GLOBE data and protocols

Collaborating with scientists and other GLOBE students around the world

As soon as we get this project off the ground, we will keep you up to date with our data and publish the web site address for you to obtain more information.  A BIG thank you to Alison Perkins and Nathan Gordon our ECOS partners who dug the hole, mixed cement, and ordered all our equipment. We will also be placing temperature “buttons” in the ODC to monitor our plots next month!

 

News From Mrs. Sharkey’s Class    

Plot Studies:

            As part of our Native American studies, students have learned this fall about “Traditional Ecological Knowledge.” Traditional Ecological Knowledge being knowledge obtained by careful, critical observation of nature. Students have been actively recording their observations from the ODC this fall in Mrs. Sharkey’s 1 / 2 Multiage. In September, students were assigned to one of five “plots” in the ODC.  The five plots included the Hummingbird Garden, Butterfly Garden, the Riparian Area, Grassy Hill, and the area under the large spruce tree.  With journals in hand, students have sketched, written, and photographed even the subtlest changes in their plots. These young scientists have noted color transformations, berries, animal behaviors (squirrels preparing for winter!), and ice on the pond to mention a few. Students will continue to document these events (and more!) throughout the school year  Please watch for their sketches and observations in future publications.

 

Mrs. Sharkey  and Mrs. Meurer’s Classes Take Field Trip to Milltown Dam  

Our classes have been studying pebbles, sand, and silt.   We first developed our basic understanding in our classroom .  Then our ECOS partners actually built a model of a river and we looked at how water travels along the riverbed, size of rocks etc. The next step was to add  some pink sand (as silt or a pollutant) to the model to see how it was carried down the river. Then we dammed the river, and did it all over again to see where the pink sand ended up (behind the dam!).   

On Tuesday, November 14^th, we traveled to the Milltown Dam and met David Schmetterling (a fish biologist with FWP) to get an idea of the "bigger" picture.  We were able to "see" the dam and powerhouse and understand what has to be done to remove it (where the water will go etc). David also discussed the history of the dam (built in 1907), his research  spanning over the last 7 years (i.e. tracking migrating Cutthroat and Bull Trout), the possible impact (good and bad) with the  dam’s removal for the fish, their habitat, and  how he hopes to monitor the fish during this transition period.  

Bill Scarborough, the powerhouse manager, also joined us to answer many questions about the operation of the dam and powerhouse.  The trip and tour were awesome!  Especially considering that our students may be the last to visit this historic site since construction will soon prohibit any future visits by the public.  

A huge thank you to David Schmetterling and Bill Scarborough for making this experience possible!

 

The PTA paraphrased by Dorrie Beach

 Lewis & Clark Families & Friends,

                As 2006 is wrapping up, I want to thank everyone for making the first half of the school year a success.  The PTA has sponsored and conducted several projects this fall – the ice cream social, vision screening, gift wrap fundraiser, PTA membership drive and individual portrait day to name a few.  Without the many volunteer hours donated by parents, families, and students, these projects would not have been so successful.  So again, thank you everyone for your time and effort.

                The PTA’s next events are the Used Book Sale and Sock Hop.  The used book sale will be in February sometime in conjunction with a Family Fun Night.  We are looking for a chairperson and assistants for this event.  It’s a relatively easy event to run and a great opportunity to get new books for kids and adults.  Please contact me if you are interested in chairing this events or just helping out.

                The Sock Hop will be March 2^nd.  Pam Harrington and Teresa Waldorf will be chairing this event.  Rumor has it that the theme may change a little this year.  Please volunteer to help with this event by calling Pam at 728-2665 or Teresa at 721-6722.

                Remember the holiday programs on Thursday, December 14^th at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.  Check the times for when your child will be performing.  Also, the book fair will be taking place all day Thursday and on Friday, December 15^th in the morning.  A portion of the book sales proceeds benefit the Lewis & Clark library and the sale usually has great holiday ideas.

    In October and November, PTA funds were used for:

Supplies for Classroom Parties

Child care during parent/teacherconferences

Educational supplies in the classrooms

National PTA membership and director insurance

29 WOODEN CUBBIES FOR VARIOUS CLASSROOMS

 

There will no PTA meeting in December.  The next meeting will be January 4^th.Happy Holidays to everyone at Lewis & Clark Elementary.  See you next year!! 

Dorrie Beach

PTA Co-President

370-8401