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H.D. Thoreau Elementary Home of the Fantastic Frogs! |
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Frog News weekly newsletter
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Frog News
H.D. Thoreau Elementary
School
8224 NE 138th 425-823-4350 FAX: 425-814-4986
Steve Roetcisoender, Principal Email: sroetcisoender@lwsd.org |
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September
30, 2005
October 3 Honor Choir start 5 Student
Bank Day 14 Ribbet Run during the school day 20 PTA General Mtg,
Library, 7:00pm 25 Student Pictures (look for info. to be sent home soon) PRINCIPAL’S
PERSPECTIVE History
101 The following thoughts come from a monthly journal
printed by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. It is
one of the many organizations that have literature available for elementary
educators. History is part of the elementary school curriculum, especially
for our intermediate students. Parents can have a huge impact on their
children’s understanding of history because they have so many opportunities
to link present day events to those in the past. The following are tips for
parents to help make history and exciting for children. Make a Family Tree One of the
easiest ways to get children interested in history is to link it with their
lives. Make a poster sized family tree and put it on the refrigerator. Add on
e new name every week and attach a photo if you have one. Discuss who the
relatives were, what they did, when they lived, and where they were from. Dust off the Photo Albums Family
photos and slides - whether they’re 10 or 100 years old are rich in history.
Mention things that were happening in the world when the photos were taken. Feed their Interest Ask your
relatives to share old family recipes. Try to use the same cooking methods
they used years ago - no microwave or food processor - and help them see the
little challenges other generations had to overcome. Plan Side Trips Whenever
you’re traveling look for quick stops that add historical depth to your
adventures. A 15 minute stop at a monument or a trip to the local museum will
pique your child’s interest. Don’t Forget the Souvenirs While some
souvenirs are costly, try to let your child bring back a little bit of
history with them when they leave a historical museum or site, such as a
tri-cornered hat or a quill pen if visiting a colonial historical site. Look for Living History demonstrations Once-a-year
festivals are wonderful ways to generate excitement about history. Hearing
cannons fire or dipping candles at an 18th century village teach
history lessons in an unforgettable way. ( Find Kid Friendly Historical Fiction Books Pick out
stories that tell about times past. While some children are fascinated with
true stories, others enjoy historical fiction, which allows them to imagine
they are living the lives of the characters in the book. Look On the Web There are
lots of kid friendly historical sites. Have a If you have
out of state family or friends, show your children where they live on the
map. When something big happens on the news, point out on the map where it is
happening. Part of learning history is understanding
where you are in the world. IMPORTANT
POLICIES REVIEW End of the
Day At the end of the school day, students either walk home, go to the Extended Day Program, attend
an after school activity, or are picked up by automobile. Please be sure your
child knows where to go after school. We realize situations happen that cause
after school plans to change. Mrs. Freni and Mrs.
Ward are happy to relay messages when unexpected events happen. We appreciate
families that utilize this courtesy only in exceptional situations and not as
a matter of routine or convenience. On the
Playground After School Students need to be supervised by a parent after
school if they are playing on school grounds or the climbing equipment. We
ask this because our Extended Day children use the grounds and they are
supervised by Extended Day staff. If students are unsupervised and are not a
part of the Extended Day Program, they often feel they do not have to follow
the rules established by Thoreau staff. This has caused problems in the past,
and therefore is the reason we ask that parents supervise children when
playing after school on the Big Toy or any part of the school grounds. The
Extended Day program operates until 6:30pm. SCHOOL
LUNCHES ****The cost for a student lunch is $2.00 and is
served with one milk or juice. If a student buys a lunch and an extra
milk or juice, OR just buys a milk or juice, the cost is $.50. If your child
is on the Free or Reduced Lunch Program, and just gets a
milk, the cost is $.50. (Students on the Free or Reduced Lunch
Program must buy lunch to benefit from the Free or Reduced status.) ****Students in grades 3-6 have the option to buy an
extra entrée (main food item only). The cost of this is $1.00. If you find
that your child is going through his/her lunch money faster than you think
he/she should be, please talk with your child and make sure he/she is not
buying an extra milk or juice and/or an extra entrée. A few of the older
students will see someone else buying extra and then they also purchase extra
items. Often parents are not aware of this. Free and reduced Students on the
Free or Reduced Lunch Program who want an extra entrée need to bring $1.00
with them to lunch unless they have money in their account. There is no free
or reduced extra entrée. ****It is our suggestion when you send money in for your
child’s lunch account that you write the amount on the day of your calendar
that you send it in. This way you will have a great idea when you need to
send more money for the account. Some families wait until they see the green
envelope before money is sent in. It is very costly to send green envelopes
home to remind families that more lunch money is needed. Please send in more
money when you feel your child has only a couple of lunches left and help
save our school the expense of extra staff time and envelope supplies. Thank
you! GIRL
SCOUTS There will be a recruitment night, September 28, at
Juanita Elementary, 7:00pm. SCHOOL
STORE Our School Store has opened today! It will be
selling school supplies during both morning recesses, every Wednesday and Friday.
The store is located on the lower level by the elevator. Prices will range
from $.05 to $2.00. Items include pencils, folders, markers, erasers,
notebook paper, rulers, and lots of other fun school items. Please stop by
and check us out! |
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Check out our
website for the latest information! ANNUAL RIBBET RUN FUNDRAISER This is the
most important fundraiser our school does!! This is the only time, as a whole
school, that we ask students to “sell” something, and we would like to keep
it this way. So please encourage and support your children with this event.
This fundraiser provides classroom teachers and specialty teachers with money
to individualize and supplement their classrooms. It rents the busses for
field trips for every grade, pays for enrichment of math, reading, writing,
science, art, and music for all grades, and more!! Give as much as you can, ask employers to match, ask
family, and neighbors…our school goal this year is $18,000 (last year we made
$19,000). Together we can do it!!! Questions contact our PTA President, Polly
Blanchard at 820-8909 or polly@mccarthygmac.com. It is time
to start turning in money collected so you can get prizes! This fundraiser is month long and you can turn in money
collected on every Tuesday in October and prizes are awarded every
Thursday in October. You can turn in money collected before and after the
actual day of the Ribbet Run, Oct. 14. Prizes are accumulative so we will
send back your pledge form, if you like, so you can keep earning prizes!
Packets have been sent home. Check out the Ribbet Run video and get
additional info on the website at schools.lwsd.org/Thoreau. WEDNESDAYS ARE STUDENT
BANK DAYS Every Wednesday during lunch your child may bank
at school, through the Washington Mutual Student Bank Day Program. PTA needs
a few more volunteers to help work this program. If you are interested in
helping, please call Nancy Holden, 425 823-2815. NEW WAY TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL Thoreau
is now registered at Safeway for their 10% Back To Schools Reward
Program. When you make purchases with the school bus logo on them,
please take your receipt home and go online to claim the reward! Our
school id # is 5000002143
(that's 5 zeros). Thanks for helping our
school! Helen Garcia KUDOS Thank you to the many, many parents for turning in their
volunteer form and finding ways to support PTA and Thoreau. Your support
enables our school to offer the many enrichment programs, after school
programs, and fun family events that are necessary to create a healthy local
school and community! Enjoy taking time to participate at school. It is fun!
And we need you! SLIME
TIME FOR PRINCIPAL ROETCISOENDER!! If nothing else…do it for the slime!
Collect pledges and donations and win great prizes! Yes! You heard your kids correctly.
Principal Roetcisoender has challenged the students to raise a total of
$18,000 by October 27, and if they do, he will have a date with the slime
machine (we are borrowing from Rush El.)! ewwwww! JOIN
THE BIRTHDAY BOOK CLUB See
Ms. Everitt for details or have your child pick up a form explaining the program.
Or visit the website at schools.lwsd.org/Thoreau! ART DOCENT AND ART
SUPPLIES Thank you to all the parents who have donated
various fabrics. In the future we will
only need cottons (others are too hard for the kids to cut.) We can use scraps that are 2x2 inches or
1x4 inches or larger, preferably brighter colors as they will be used for
framing art and creating art. Thanks so much for all your participation! -Suzanne Morris, Art Docent Chair CHESS CLUB (new info on this) We just found out, and are very pleased, that Mr. Vladimir Vlaimirov will be our new Chess coach. He is a Thanks to parents feedback, we have
improved the Homework Club, offering help on specific subjects or homework!
They will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30pm until 4:30pm, for a total
of 3 sessions (16 weeks each). The first session will begin Oct. 18 and the
last session will end May 4. Each 16 class session will cost $10.00. You can
sign up for one session and then continue or stop there. This was very
valuable for the students last year. Mrs. Guthrie will be the supervising
teacher and has a real commitment to the success of students. Please contact
Helen Garcia at helen@planetgarcia.com
or 821-4442 to register. Karate will start the month of October. This club is run by the
Wash. Shotokan Association. 6-10 year olds are
welcome, and is a one month at a time sign up program. It meets on
Thursday’s, from 3:45pm to 4:30pm, in the Thoreau Gym. See flyer coming home
or visit www.washotokan.com Or contact Sensei
Andre Dulce at adsensei@esc.com. Join
PTA by October 14 and your name will be entered to win one of 5
prizes. Drawing will be held on Oct. 20 at the first General Meeting.
(You do not have to be present to win.) The cost is $10.00 for
individual membership and $16.00 for a family membership. Make checks payable
to Thoreau PTA and submit with your name and address to your child's teacher
or the office. |
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