Published: March 10, 2009 05:34 pm         

Across the Wabash Valley: March 11, 2009

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Consolidated

An exciting part of first grade is learning to read. Students read a variety of fiction and non-fiction materials. They are exposed to many different authors and book titles. During the year at Sugar Creek, the first grade teachers incorporate thematic reading units such as apples, penguins, weather, plants, and animal studies. A variety of lessons are integrated through these units in language arts, math, social studies, science, and health.

First graders also enjoy author studies. Throughout the year, teachers focus on different authors and read a selection of books written by a particular author. Various graphic organizers are used to compare and contrast characters, settings, plots, and conclusions. Jan Brett, Eric Carle, Alyssa Capucilli, and Ezra Jack Keats are just a few of the authors used throughout the year.

At this time, first graders are reading a variety of Dr. Seuss books. This author study was kicked off with a school wide Dr. Seuss birthday celebration on the evening of March 2. Sugar Creek Consolidated families were invited to come to school to enjoy many fun Dr. Seuss activities. Students were able to select a free book and listen to guest readers. They could also make a special “Sneech snack,” a bookmark, and a puppet. This celebration was in conjunction with “Read Across America Day” and made possible through a grant from the Vigo County Education Foundation.

Students are also using technology to improve reading skills. Many first graders are enjoying participating in Reading Counts quizzes. Students are choosing various books at their reading level and using computer quizzes to test comprehension. The Read Naturally reading program is also being utilized to improve reading fluency.

Students are discovering that these types of reading activities are not only educational but are lots of fun! Developing a love for reading in the early grades will help students have successful school experiences for years to come.

— Mrs. Carol Chestnut, Miss Shara Enyeart

and Mrs. Tammy Skinner

Davis Park

We have just begun our dance unit at Davis Park. Each grade level will have a variety of dances they will learn. I try to teach dances that will give them an appreciation for different dance forms and genres of music. Included in the unit will be square dances like Red River Valley, country line dances like Cotton Eyed Joe, folk dances like Irish Jig, popular line a party dances like the Cha Cha Slide, and we will try to do some creative dance.

Following the dance unit will be challenge and cooperative activities. The third, fourth, and fifth grades will also be doing the Physical Best Fitnessgram test. In May we will have our end of the year Field Day as a culminating activity.

— David Frisz

DeVaney

Wow! DeVaney is busy this month! We are so excited that Randy Beard was here on March 10th. Randy worked with students by taking their words and writings and puts them to original music while playing his guitar. What an exciting way to encourage reading and writing! The Literacy Fair, sponsored by the International Reading Association, is at Meadows Shopping Center on March 14th from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Come and see our students’ writing and stories at the Fair. Our fifth graders will have their state reports and some floats on display as well. On February 19th, DeVaney 4th and 5th grade students held a spelling bee. Katya Garcia-Israel is our winner. She will represent DeVaney at the annual Tribune Star, Wabash Valley Spelling Bee at Sarah Scott Middle School on March 21st at 1:00 p.m. Good luck Katya! Congratulations to our runner up, Jenna Watkins! Our other participants included Olivia Burpo, Devon Zeck, Wesley Nazimek, R.J. Wood, Anthony Keller, Ian Penwell, Rebekah Hamersley, Alexis Klug, Keegan Pohlar, Devin Orman, Madison Wagner, Dakota Jolly, Grace Personett, and Billy Glowacki.

DeVaney’s Student Council held out first “Sock Hop” after school and raised $207.00. DeVaney students bought 465 pairs of socks for the Terre Haute Women’s Club, Shoe Bus. DeVaney student council members are Morgan Boehler, Braxton Cooper, Tommy Personett, Nick Duncan, Lauren Kirchner, Samantha Hyde, Michael Dunagan, Reilly Morgan, Britany Harrison, Isabelle Holder, Lauren Schuld, Kimberly Collins, Jaden Sutliff, Olivia Burpo, Rebekah Hamersley, Cody Koerner, and Laci Hammond. Thanks for working hard for such a worthy cause. Our second graders are going on two field trips this month. The first is to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum on March 12th and the next one is to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center on March 18th and 19th. What great learning experiences for them!

If you want to see some entertainment, come to our annual DeVaney Talent Show at the end of the month. Don’t miss this special event on March 31st at 6:30 p.m. On behalf of the faculty and staff at DeVaney School, thank you to all of our students and families for their wonderful support.

— Cathy McKee

Dixie Bee

All of our first grade students have given reports about animals. They have learned about animal habitats, animal babies and animal enemies. They have learned what animals eat and how they get their food. They also found out how animals protect themselves. The students gave oral reports and they did projects such as: dioramas, posters, drawings, books or models of animals. These projects were on display during our Science Fair on February 28.

The first grade students are now busy getting ready for the Literacy Fair. The students are writing and illustrating their own books about topics of their own choosing. When they are finished with their books, they will enjoy reading them to anyone who would like to listen!

— Barbara Redman

Farrington Grove

Various events are happening around Farrington Grove March 2-6th to celebrate Dr. Seuss and Read Across America. On Monday, March 2nd, the school cafeteria will begin our week of celebration with a funtastic Seuss Cafe menu. Breakfast and lunch will be served by our cafeteria featuring Dr. Seuss recipes from the recipe book Green Eggs and Ham. This is the first year we have put together such an event with the help of our cafeteria. Another event takes place Thursday afternoon where Blue, the Colts mascot will come with Kat Taylor his emcee to read Green Eggs and Ham. On Friday, the second grade will end the week with a special Dr. Seuss celebration that we do each year to wrap up our two week author study about Dr. Seuss.

— School staff

The Farrington Grove kindergarten classes have been busy the first week of March celebrating Dr. Seuss 105th birthday. We have been fortunate enough to have several parents come in and read their favorite book to their childs class. We even had a special visit from The Cat in the Hat!

Each of the four kindergarten classrooms has been doing many activities honoring Dr. Seuss and his many great books. Some of these activities include making oobleck from Bartholemew and the Oobleck, feasting on green eggs and ham from Green Eggs and Ham, creating our own creatures from Horton Hatches the Egg, and many writing projects.

You will be able to view some of the Dr. Seuss writing projects at the Student Literacy Showcase on Saturday, March 14th from 9 until 1 at the Meadows Shopping Center. Also on display at the Showcase will be numerous class books put together throughout the school year. Each kindergarten student has worked very hard to produce their first book, titled Me! especially for this Literacy Showcase.

— Kindergarten teachers Rita Phillips,

Erin Frazier, Heather Royal

and Debra Smith

Fayette

Two grades at Fayette have participated in two different but interesting fundraising activities in the past few weeks. The kindergarten class as a part of their 100 Days program collected cans of food. The Fayette 3rd students raised money to purchase animals for Heifer International.

One of the stories in the 3rd grade reading series was the story, BEATRICE’S GOAT by Page McBrier. From the story, the students learned that Beatrice and her family who lived in a small African village in Uganda received a goat from Heifer International. Beatrice’s family was able to have milk for themselves and to sell the extra milk which provided income for the family. The income helped Beatrice achieve her dream of attending school.

The students of Mrs. Laswell and Mrs. Leslie were amazed how important the goat was to Beatrice’s family and how much it changed their lives. They discussed how privileged they were to attend school every day and learn without being required to do the work that Beatrice’s family had to do for Beatrice to attend school.

The determined 3rd grades decided they wanted to help people who were not as fortunate as they are. On Thursday, February 26, 2009, the students held a Read to Feed Read-A-Thon in their classrooms. The students decided to bring in a dollar for each item they needed to have for their read-in. This included the sleeping bags, blankets, snacks, and pillows they brought for the day.

The Read-A-Thon was very successful. The 33 third graders raised $250 for Heifer International. With the money raised, the students selected a flock of chicks, a flock of ducks, a hive of bees, a trio of rabbits, and a sheep. While the students had fun at their Read-A-Thon, they also understood that they were helping families around the world.

The morning and afternoon kindergarten classes of Mrs. Ramsey celebrated the 100th day of school by bringing in items in groups of 100. The classes’ biggest project was to bring in enough cans of food to have 100 cans.

Between both classes they brought in 262 cans of food, more than doubling their goal of 100 cans. The cans of food were donated to Catholic Charities.

The projects of the kindergarteners and the 3rd graders helped them understand they could help other children and families both locally and in other parts of the world.

— Sally Carpenter

Library Media Specialist

Franklin

Franklin Elementary congratulates third grader Samantha Wonderling for being named the Mayor's Character Award winner for the month of February. February's character trait was compassion - investing whatever is necessary to heal the hurt of others.

Mrs. Greasor, Samantha's third grade teacher says, "Samantha is compassionate because she cares so much about other students and people. She has never intentionally hurt the feelings of anyone else and if someone else is hurt in any way, Samantha is there trying to do whatever she can to help. Samantha is cheerful and happy as she goes through life. This character trait will take her a long way."

— School staff

Fuqua

Fuqua Elementary’s Fourth Annual Arts and Academics and Title I Parent Meeting Night will be on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 from 6:00-7:30 P.M.

Our evening will begin with a short PTO meeting with the Annual Title I parent meeting following. Next, the fifth grade “strings” students will perform to kick-off an activity filled evening. Refreshments will be available in the cafeteria. Popcorn will also be available to munch on as you enjoy this fun-packed evening. In addition, our PTO will be selling Fuqua pride shirts.

Children-authored books will be on display for family and friends to enjoy as part of the Literacy Fair. Science Fair projects will line the hallways for all to see. Fourth Grade Indian Village will be set up in the lobby to catch the attention of everyone as each person walks in the building. The Scholastic Book Fair will also be held in the media center. This is a buy one get one free sale!

Parents and guests will be able to play Everyday Math games with their children in several classrooms. Mrs. Laska will have many art activities in the Art room for students to enjoy. There will be several contests being held in the gym. Students will be able to participate in an egg drop contest. They can also test their skills on a paper airplane contest.

Our Kindergarten classes will have their famous “video” on display for all to admire and enjoy. There will also be story time going on in the building. Students will have books read to them. They will go to the computer lab and take reading counts quizzes over these books.

There will also be a health and wellness station. You can have your blood pressure checked and track your child’s growth on a growth chart.

The evening will conclude with the drawing of door prizes donated by area businesses. Who will win the grand prize?

— Arts and Academics Committee

February caught Fuqua kindergartners thinking red, white, and blue! All three classes have been studying important facts about our country. We have had stories about our first and sixteenth president and have learned what coins and bills their pictures are on. We have been excited to learn interesting facts about our new president and his family. We have learned how many stars and stripes are on our country’s flag and what they represent.

Classes have enjoyed listening, singing, and marching to songs about our country. We have done rubbings, counted how many drops of water will fit on a coin, colored flags and created many “crafty” items such as log cabins and coins with heads and tails.

Students in Mrs. Evans’ class wrote in their journals about what they would do if they were the president. Miss Margason shared the story of Lincoln carrying things in his top hat with her class. Then the children wrote about what they would carry in their hat for a class book. Mrs. Bennett’s class wrote a book about facts that they have learned about our country, flag, and money.

Our activities have helped us to learn and to be proud of our country.

— Mona Bennett, Kindergarten

Lost Creek

Lost Creek second grades held their eighth annual Family Game Night on Thursday, February 26, 2009. What a crowd! We had fifty-one second grade families with over one hundred eight-one second graders and parents! It was an exciting evening and each child received a game bag with everything needed to play 19 math games and 9 language arts games. Each child also received a free book. The students and their families enjoyed playing the games. They also had refreshments and were entered for door prizes. A huge thank you to the Vigo County

Education Foundation for making this night possible with a grant we received. If the students were unable to attend on Family Game Night they received a game bag and book in class to take home. A tremendous thank you to the wonderful parents who helped us cut apart games and prepare the bags for this night. They are invaluable to us!

— Mrs.Ann Bartley

Lost Creek 2nd grade students have been very busy the past few weeks. First, they made autobiographies in their computer lab. They drew pictures on the computer, took pictures with a digital camera and inserted them on the computer, wrote a story and combined all information onto their computer. This was with the help of Ms. Wells, our librarian and the 2nd grade teachers. They also made a “magic book” with a hidden picture. These will be displayed at the annual Literacy Book Fair in March.

We're happy to report that students received a fantastic presentation given by the Dental Health Team of Terre Haute on Dental Health Care. Volunteers modeled the proper way to brush and floss our teeth, proper diet was discussed, and an informational video was shared with the students. Everyone also received a free toothbrush, floss, and toothpaste afterwards.

Kindergarten and First grade students recently celebrated our "100th" day of school. Many creative activities about 100 took place.

Just a few of these are as follows: finding 100 different names for 100 using addition and subtraction facts, projects were made using

100 things collected at home, counting 100 pieces of cereal, and just bringing in 100 items of something to the classroom to share.

— School staff

Ouabache

The Covered Bridge Special Education Preschool at Ouabache was fortunate to receive a grant from the Success By Six program through United Way this year. We received many wonderful books for the classroom as well as several books to send home with children during the year. All of the children received a copy of Snow Bears by Martin Waddell last Fall. We worked on activities related to the book during classroom time. We also sent home a list of activities to complete at home. This Spring two more books will be added to the children's book collection at home. We are very appreciative of this opportunity to encourage literacy at home and school.

Our class has taken one field trip this year and we plan to take another trip in the Spring. Our first trip was to the White Violet Center at St. Mary of the Woods. There were many things to do and see on this field trip including: viewing and touching worms in a compost pile; viewing a vegetable patch; and getting close up to see, touch and feed alpacas. There were also horses to see on our way back to the bus. Pictures from our trip were displayed and some were sent home.

Our daily routine includes preschool and kindergarten readiness activities such as circle/calendar time; work time; language; gross and fine motor activities and free choice time. Our weekly routine includes visiting the school library every Friday. The children enjoy listening to stories and looking at picture books. The children also have the opportunity to use computers in our classroom and are learning basic computer skills along with pre-reading and pre-math skills.

— Ms. Ann Wehrmeister,

preschool teacher

Riley

The winter months have not kept the second graders at Riley from having fun learning experiences. In February the students traveled to Indianapolis to ice skate at the Pan Am Center. We will continue our studies on health and fitness as we learn about our amazing bodies with a trip to see the musical, Slim Goodbody in March. The teachers have also been focusing on a teach/ reteach method that correlates with the Indiana Academic Standards in the area of Language Arts. Children are engaged in learning activites that enforce the skills and then they are tested at the end of each month. Those students with at least 80% mastery of each skill will attend an enrichment course. Any child needing more practice, will take a remediation course for those skills. Mrs. Jarvis and Mrs. Pell had to say goodbye to their student teachers a few weeks ago. All of the second graders wish Miss Mitchell and Miss Mascari continued success in their teaching career.

— School staff

St. Patrick's

Five teachers from St Pat did the Polar Plunge. St Pat also had their Noodles 'n Doodles on February 27th. There were lots of beautiful chairs that were auctioned and raffled to lucky winners. Our fitness test will be in April. The whole school will do shuttle runs, pull ups and sit ups. First through eighth graders will do lots of hard work on this test. Many wonderful second graders will be having their first communion very soon. All the teachers are going to decorate their classrooms for St Patrick's Day with all different sizes of green sparkly clovers. They will have a good party!

— Caroline Davies,

first-grader in Mrs. Plant’s class

Mark your calendars for St. Patrick's annual run, parade and party. Saturday, March 14 marks our annual Saint Patrick Day celebrations. The day begins at 10 AM with the 5K Irish Dash run/walk with age division awards, overall awards for male and female, and awards for the most Irish-looking costume and the most green worn! If you would like a shorter length race, there is also a 1 mile fun run/walk with medals to the top finishers that also starts at 10 AM. Following the Irish Dash and fun run, we will have our annual Saint Patrick Parade where the students will be showing their Irish pride with lots of green, candy tossing and fun. The day finishes with the annual St. Patrick's Day Party in the school gym. The SPS Athletic Booster Club will be sponsoring it's annual Silent Auction in conjunction with the party. This is the Athletic Booster Club's main fundraiser. Please contact Becky Klingele, athletic director at 249-3920 for anyone wishing to volunteer their time or make a donation to the auction.

The party begins at 6 PM with a traditional Irish dinner and then continues with bands, dancing and traditional Irish libations. One must be 21 years of age to attend the party. It is a fun-filled day and evening you do not want to miss! For more information, contact the school office at 232-2157.

— School staff

Sugar Grove

Sugar Grove Elementary held their first Winter Luau on Friday, January 23, 2009. All activities were totally free to all attendees. There were 12 games offered that included Hula Practice, Take a Dip Trivia, Book Walk, Lay on the Leis, Coconut Bowling, Flip Flop Matching, Fish Bowl Toss, Tiki Toss, Swim Along a Coral Reef, Make a Lei, How Many Shells? and Do the Limbo. A dinner of hot dogs, chips, pasta salad and chips was served in the cafeteria at a small cost. Drinks were sold by the fifth grade students to raise money for their end-of-year trip. Students were invited to wear shorts, tank tops, flip flops or sandals and sunglasses to the luau! Everyone enjoyed a great evening of fun in the sun including the numerous Indiana State University students who helped with various games. We wish to thank Dr. Lisa Cutter for enlisting their help.

— Mrs. Knierim,

Media Specialist

Terre Town

The halls of Terre Town are abuzz with a flurry of activities. Celebrations of Presidents’ Day are wrapping up with a Patriotic Parade. First grade students wear three-corner hats and wave flags as they march through the halls leading the entire student body in singing songs of America. Students throughout the school have been researching and writing about Abraham Lincoln to honor his 200th birthday. Many of these writings will be on display at the Literacy Fair on March 14th.

March is a time to ‘cut loose’ with Dr. Seuss! Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2nd. This day is celebrated as Read Across America Day. Terre Town Tigers will be engaged in special reading activities throughout the week. Guest readers will be visiting each day to read to various classes. Art projects, cooking projects, music and movement will all be related to literature studies in the classrooms. Over 700 children and adults will simultaneously drop everything and read for a period of time on March 2nd.

Terre Town grandparents are the best! We will honor our grandparents during the week of March 16th. Grandparents will visit classrooms followed by refreshments and pictures in the cafeteria. Each grandparent will receive a bookmark and inkpen as a special gift. Our students can’t wait to show their grandparents how much they care about them!

— School staff