PVE Focus
"Where A Great Beginning Lasts a Lifetime"
PTO Meeting!
PVE PTO General Meeting Tuesday, April 21st at 7 p.m.
April General PTO Meeting - Tuesday, April 21st 7:00 p.m. All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend! We will be voting on the 2015-16 board. We have three available board positions: Family Services, Student Services, and Fundraising. Please contact Ellen Bailey for more information.
FAMILY STEM (AND GAME) NIGHT!
Save the Date for Family STEM Night
May 5, 2015
Family STEM Night
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, May 5th, for PVE’s Family STEM Night. This year’s theme is “Family Challenges.” We are thrilled to be joined by Earth Explorers which will have three age-themed rooms with games to play as a family, focusing on strategy, problem-solving, and cooperation. We will have six STEM family challenges to practice the engineering design process and STEM skills. We are also excited to have food from Bub’s Burgers and Scoop’s Ice Cream. There will be lots to do, so we have planned the event as an open-house from 5-8 PM. Come and enjoy anytime between 5-8 to suite your families’ needs. In order to make the evening a great success, we would love volunteers and/or donations.
Teacher of the Year (TOY) for Pleasant View Elementary
This is one of the most difficult parts of our work....honoring each other and never leaving anyone out. The process and acceptance for Teacher of the Year always has one winner and leaves many out. Multiple perspectives and opinions go into this process. From our staff, we received over 12 nominations. Each nomination was considered and agreed with! Thus, knowing we can't have 12 plus winners, the process was worked until we had one winner emerge.
The 2015 Nominee for Teacher of the Year from Pleasant View Elementary is Julie Parks.
Julie has taught third grade for eight years at Pleasant View Elementary.
Julie has stretched herself, and in turn, allowed her students to flourish by igniting fires stirred by learning in an inquiry and project based learning environment. In her classroom and parent communications, she is always compassionate and self-sacrificing. This is evident in many ways as she spends a great deal of time with her students. For example, when two boys wanted to start and comic club, Julie led the way volunteering to help her students by organizing and starting the club from scratch.
Earlier this year I received a note from one of the parents of a student in her class. In this note, she shared:
“I am fortunate to have had many opportunities to spend with Mrs. Parks and her class. Each time, I witness not just a room full of children and their teacher but a community, a family”. This mom continued to share how Julie was able to connect with her son like “no other”.
Julie was the March 2015 Zionsville Current Teacher of the Month. She was nominated by one of her students. In his essay to the paper, he shared:
“I want to nominate my 3rd Grade teacher, Mrs. Parks. I think Mrs. Parks is a good teacher because she helps us with a lot of things. She helped me start my own Comic Club at school with my friend Joey and she is our adviser. She’s really fun because she makes up games to help us learn things. She says that our class is really good. She’s really funny and she really cares. She has a bright smile and makes class a happy place to be. This has been my favorite school year ever because of Mrs. Parks.”
Julie is an educator who leads with her heart. This is felt by each and every student and family she serves! She is completing a special year that has been recognized by several of her teaching peers and many of the families of students in her class. Great work Mrs. Parks!
Congratulations to Julie Parks, 2015 Pleasant View Teacher of the Year.
-As a sidebar, and credit to Julie, she has moved rooms five times in five years. Now, some is by her choice and some was needed, but bottom line is how much we appreciate your team and flexible attitude!
Check it out!
It builds ways we can add student voice and allow for greater reflection in the learning process. Many examples would fit nicely with the way our current rubric is built but more importantly enhance learning for students!
Jon Gailmor
We have three exciting, musical opportunities for our students happening over the next four weeks!
First, we will have singer/songwriter Jon Gailmor with us for the next two weeks. During the first week, Jon will be leading the students through the song lyric writing process. During the second week, Jon will guide the students through composing a melody. Once the students are comfortable singing their class's original song, Jon will record them. Every PVE family will receive a CD including all of our original songs! We will also be having four in-school performances where you and guests are invited in to hear the students perform their songs live! A biography for Jon and the performance schedule can be found below!
JON GAILMOR
Jon Gailmor was born in New York City and failed to grow up in Philadelphia. In 1971, he hitchhiked through 14 countries and entertained tourists in French, Italian and Greek cafes. He has sung in a tennis stadium in Lima, Peru, in theatres and on the streets of Quito, Ecuador, in schools and concert halls in the former Soviet Union and between the grapevines of southern France. Jon presents songwriting residencies and workshops for students in pre-school through college, has been honored as an “Extraordinary Vermonter” by the governor, received the Mayor’s Peace Prize in Burlington and was awarded a Silver Citation by the Vermont Arts Council. In 1996 he was chosen to carry the Olympic Torch on its way to Atlanta. He lives with his family and other creatures, among the 800 souls of Elmore, Vermont.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 23:
Kindergarten and 1st grade: 9:30-10:15
3rd grade: 2:00-2:45
Friday, April 24:
2nd grade: 9:30-10:15 (this performance will take the place of our evening music program) 4th grade: 2:00-2:45
3rd and 4th grade families keep reading!!
Our annual 4th grade music program will be taking place Thursday, April 30 at 6:00 pm in the lower gym. More details regarding this performance will be coming soon via email!
3rd grade music visitations are also quickly approaching. Below is a schedule of visitations. Please note that times are different due to an adjusted testing schedule. More information will be coming soon via email. For now, mark your calendars!
Monday, May 4:
Mrs. Drake: 12:50-1:40
Miss Kiel: 1:40-2:30
Mrs. Braun: 2:35-3:25
Wednesday, May 6:
Mrs. Stillions: 9:05-9:55
Mrs. Brandau: 10:50-11:40
Friday, May 8:
Mrs. Parks: 10:50-11:404th Grade Music Program
Our annual 4th grade music program will be taking place Thursday, April 30 at 6:00 pm in the lower gym. Hope to see you there!!