Black Cat Bulletin
Keeping it R.E.A.L! Respect + Effort + Attitude= Leadership
December 2017
From Our Principal...
Focus and Fun!
The chill is in the air, and the holidays are around the corner! Holiday decorations are sprouting up everywhere as families in our area begin their thinking about holiday shopping, vacation plans, and dinner menus. Holiday music is playing on the loud speakers down Franklin Street, and store fronts are festive downtown. Many of our evenings and weekends will soon be spent getting ready for holiday celebrations. While visions of sugar plums, reindeer and peppermint mocha may arise at times, our Black Cats still continue to have math facts, essays, favorite books and science experiments dancing through their heads. Please help us encourage our students to stay as focused possible and include homework and study time in your holiday plans....at least until December 20th! Please remember that students should continue to read, write and practice their math facts over winter vacation. Reading and writing can be about topics they enjoy and shared with parents and siblings alike. Students can also write some resolutions to ring into 2018!
The Best Gift of All!
Looking for the most memorable gift ideas, especially ones that don’t cost a lot of money? This holiday season give your child and family the gift of time. This is the most precious gift of all. Relax at a park for a day and have a picnic. Take a nature walk at a local preserve. Visit the local library. Enjoy a meal together as a family. Have a night in with the family and play a favorite board game. The most important things in life are family and friends, so this holiday season make an effort to spend quality time with both. As parents, you are extremely important to your children. This month, make it a goal to spend an evening, day or weekend with them. Remember, bigger is not necessarily better. The time you spend with them does not have to be at a theme park or fancy resort!! It can be reading a book together, playing catch, decorating cookies, or telling stories together. This is the time to provide your child with the memories he/she will never forget. Think about your childhood--what is it that someone did with you that you'll never forget? Consider making that a tradition in your family! The holiday season is all about giving, and the quality time you spend together can be better than anything wrapped up in a bow under the tree!
Half Way Mark
Our school year is almost half the way over. It's so hard to believe how quickly time goes, but the evidence is there when you see the skills children are gaining! Our kindergarteners are reading and writing sentences. Our fifth graders are working on their Wax Museum research projects. Everyone in between is working hard to learn the skills they have to learn. While walking through classrooms this week, it has been evident how hard teachers are working to encourage students to listen for the main idea and to locate supporting details in every text they read. In every grade this is an important skill. While it seems somewhat simple once we graduate to writing and reading as adults, it takes learning the skill to understand those concepts to a child.
Read/Write/Think
As your partner, we can't do this work without your support. As we approach our Winter Break, remember how important it is to spend time at home each day reading. At West Terrace, we make sure that students spend a significant portion of their school day reading both informational and literary text. When responding to questions in class, we require our students to go back into the text and locate evidence that supports their responses. Would you believe, this starts in KINDERGARTEN?!? In doing so, we are able to recognize whether or not the child truly understands what he read. At WT, we recognize how important reading is in a child’s life and understand that the only way to improve as a reader is to practice reading.
Challenge: 30 Minutes a Day
In addition to the time that children spend reading in school, it is so important that children spend time reading outside of school every day, as well. You can encourage this in your household by reading a book together as a family, setting aside a specific time each evening to read, and asking your child questions about the book he is currently reading. Turning reading into a regular family event can be a great way to spend a cold, winter evening together as a family. This break, I encourage everyone in our WT learning community to join me in spending at least thirty minutes every day reading. I look forward to hearing all about the great books that our students read over the next month!
Giving Back
There are so many great ways you can help our community, and can help our school in the process. Please be sure you scroll all the way down to see some of the great ways that PTA has organized to do FUNdraising this year. Ornament exchange, scrips, escrips, Schnuck's bags, Santa Shop, and so much more that will be coming. They are constantly looking for ways to bring families together and to raise a little money in the process.
To all of our WT families, warmest holiday wishes and here’s to a prosperous new year for all!
Your Partner in Education,
Katie White
From Our Principal Intern...
This past month, our staff has continued to learn about Social Emotional Learning and how it impacts our work with students. We were able to see how stress behaviors differ from misbehavior and what our best response should be in these instances. Stress behaviors can stem from many stressors in a child's life, such as a lack of sleep or change in a routine. These then impact behavior as the child has limited capacity to respond in the moment. Dr. Stuart Shanker, the author of Self-Reg, suggests these five ways to help with problematic behavior or anxiety in your child's life:
1. Recognize when your children are over-stressed.
Take a minute to reflect on what behaviors you typically see when your child is over-stressed. Do you see certain behaviors when your child is hungry or tired?
2. Identify the stressors in your child's life.
Consider what could be causing some of the behaviors you see. Do they happen consistently at a certain time in the day? Some common stressors can include relationships with peers, hunger, or a lack of sleep. Even a noise or light can be a stressor for students.
3. Reduce those stressors.
Look at the stressor to see what can be done to assist children. This could be as simple as moving dinner to an earlier hour. Role modeling can also help children manage these stressors.
4. Help your children find calming strategies that work for them.
Think about relaxation techniques which will work for your child. Some ideas include taking a walk as a family, yoga, or even working on an activity together.
5. Take a long-term perspective
Misbehavior will occur with any child. Providing strategies for children now can help lead to a more productive life in the future.
Adapted From:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_ways_to_help_misbehaving_kids
Nurse's Notes
Tis’ the season AND we are already starting to see early onset of cold, flu and other viral illnesses!!! Does your child need an over-the-counter (OTC) medication such as ibuprofen or prescription medication like an inhaler or cough medicine during the winter months? If so, be sure to pick up a medication form at the Nurses office.
Too ill for school?
Children Sick at School: When we consider when to send a child home, we utilize the guidelines:
Fever (temprature 100 or higher)
Diarrhea
vomiting
Fever: Fever is a common symptom of viral infections If your child's temperature is over 100, keep them at home.
Diarrhea or Vomiting: Keep at home until illness appears to be over (24 hours after last episode without medicine).
Mild Cough, Runny Noseor Congestion: If there's no fever and the child feels fairly good, school is fine.
Bad Cough: Children with bad coughs may need evaluation for bronchitis or other concern. When the cough improves and the child is feeling better, then it's back to school. A cough can take a week or longer to resolve!
Sore Throat: A severe sore throat could be strep even without fever. Symptoms are headache, stomach pain and patches in the throat. If present, contact a doctor. If it is strep throat, they can return to school 24 hours after antibiotics start.
Earache: The recommendation is to consult or visit the pediatrician or other health provider to rule out infection.
Congratulations
Thank you Rotary/PEF/Love Foundation
A huge THANK YOU goes out to the Rotary/PEF/Love Foundation Grant for their funds to purchase equipment for our computer lab! We were able to purchase adaptive mice for several computer stations. These mice allow the primary grades and Life Skills classes to improve their abilities to manage a mouse independently. Students have shown tremendous improvement since we received the mice earlier this year! We appreciate the support for our students!!!
Grant for their funds to purchase equipment for our computer lab! We were able to purchase adaptive mice for several computer stations. These mice allow the primary grades and Life Skills classes to improve their abilities to manage a mouse independently. Students have shown tremendous improvement since we received the mice earlier this year! We appreciate the support for our students!!!
Substitutes Needed!!!
Click here for more information!
Teacher Subs:
Non-teach Subs:
Come join us!!
News You Can Use
YEARBOOK
Group pictures for yearbook will be held on Tuesday, December 19th in the gym from 8:30 to 11:30. Group pictures will include all West Terrace sports teams, band, orchestra, Spark, student council, walking club, cheerleaders, 5th grade jobs (safety patrol, recycling, etc), boys and girls boy scouts.
Please click on the link and enter code 23118y to order your child's yearbook The homeroom in each grade level that purchases the most yearbooks will win a pizza party.
Online Great American Fundraiser Store OPEN!!
DATES to Remember
Tue Dec 5 9:00am – 10:30am Spelling Bee – Cafeteria
Sat Dec 9 9:00am – 10:30am Choir Performance - Barnes & Noble
Mon Dec 11-15 SANTA SHOP
Tue Dec 12 6:00pm – 7:30pm SPARK & Choir Program – Gym
Tue Dec 19 8:30am – 12:00pm Group Picture Day – Gym
Wed Dec 20 5:30pm – 6:30pm West Terrace PTA Meeting - Media Center
Thu Dec 21- Jan 2 – NO SCHOOL WINTER BREAK
CHOIR NEWS
The choir students have been working hard and are ready to perform for the Holidays. There are two opportunities for you to see them perform.
Saturday December 9, 2017 @ 9 am. They will be performing at Barnes and Noble for the Philharmonic Women’s Guild Christmas Celebration.
Tuesday December 12, 2017 @ 6 pm. They will be performing in the West Terrace gym.
We hope you are able to come and enjoy some beautiful music.
Anne Woodruff
SPARK Concert
Student Council Canned Yam Collection Results
The winners of this year's Canned Yams Food Drive are...
1. Ms. Murphy Homeroom with 246 CANS!!!
2. Mrs. Strawn's Homeroom with 153 CANS!!!
3. Mrs. DeWeese's Homeroom with 137 CANS!!!
(Remember that the prize is your choice of ... some sort of reward day! Sorry the Student Council Fundraising Funds for prizes or rewards are limited! and )
WE COLLECTED 1645 CANS OF CANNED YAMS!
THIS WILL FEED 822 FAMILIES!!!!
Thank you for all of your support and enthusiasm! That is what has made this canned drive a success!
Recycling News
Please remember that you can recycle aluminum cans here at West Terrace!! The aluminum recycle cage is parked in the east parking lot right next to the recycle dumpster. We ask that you put only cans in the cage. Every penny we earn from the cans comes right back to our school!
PAWS ON PARADE
We have quite a few new walkers; ask your child if they are walking and how many laps or miles they have. We also have students trying really hard to meet their goals. If your child is walking, they deserve to know how proud we are of them. So, Congratulate all of our Paws On Parade walkers when you see them!
As of November 17th our top 5 walkers are…
2nd grader Lleyton King 21 miles 0 laps in Mrs. Kavanaugh's class
2nd grader Kensleigh Jackson 20 miles 0 laps in Mrs. Nau's class
4th grader Lida Wayne 12 miles 6 laps in Mrs. DeWeese's class
2nd grader Cheston Anderson 11 miles 5 laps in Mrs. Kavanaugh's class
1st grader Emma Brown 11 miles 2 laps in Mrs. Roberts class
Total miles of all students per grade walking...
1st graders 133.3 miles
2nd graders 187.1 miles
3rd graders 62.3 miles
4th graders 42.9 miles
5th graders 00.1 miles
Tammy Jewell
POP Coordinator
Calendar Link--click below for calendar
JOIN THE WEST TERRACE PTA!
President: Co Chairs Jenny Fuquay and Sandi Davis
Vice-President of Events: Stephanie Yellig
Vice-President of Fundraising: Open
Secretary: Tera Babb
Treasurer: Co Chairs April Coughlin and April Weyer
PTA MEETING DATES:
Wednesday, November 29 @ 5:30pm
Wednesday, December 20 @ 5:30pm
Wednesday, January 24 @ 5:30pm
Wednesday, February 28 @ 5:30 pm
Wednesday, March 21 @ 5:30 pm
Wednesday, April 25 @ 5:30pm
West Terrace Holiday Shop
Our school will be hosting a Santa Shop where children will experience the joy of picking their own gifts for family and friends. We have sent home budget envelopes with the kids. There are many gifts available for all! There are opportunities to volunteer and work the shifts. Also, we will gladly accept any donations that anyone has to give towards the Holiday Shop. Small gifts unwrapped are being accepted now thru Monday Dec. 11th. Gifts under $15 that we can sell in the shop can be sent into school and given to their children’s teacher or they can be dropped off at the main office anytime during school hours. All proceeds from donations is straight profit for our school. Lastly, click on the link that directs you to a flyer that shows a few examples of gifts that will be available for sale in the Holiday Shop.
Link to show examples of items in our holiday shop.
http://crownvariety.com/westterrace
Link to sign up for volunteer shifts at the holiday shop that will be set up in the school library.
http://www.volunteersignup.org/77DAL
*If anyone has any questions please contact the Holiday shop coordinator Holly Wildt at
812-453-8876 or email Hwildt82@gmail.com
Extended Care
Happy December everyone. Wow how time flies when you’re having fun!
We have been so thankful for the mild temperatures thus far this season
and have been taking full use of this time on our new and improved play-
ground. A big thank you to our wonderful PTA. That being said, please send
your child to school with a jacket as we will require them to wear it if the temperature dips below 60. Also, please put your child’s name in it just in
case it is left at school.
Reminder – We need all fees for this semester paid by December 8th which is the
last day we can accept checks. We can however accept cash up to the 19th.
We schedule a daily homework time for all classes. If they do not have
homework, they are encouraged to read from our book selection at school or
one from home to be kept in their backpack. Please encourage your student
to complete it during this time so it frees them up at home. (and you J )
Looking Ahead – We will have a sign-up sheet for those of you needing a
payment account for the calendar year to file with your taxes. Our Tax ID #
35-1071682.
Community Outreach
Jenna Hancock-Wargel Berkshire Hathaway Home Services (Click here for more information)
THIS YEAR'S STAFF
Please help us welcome the following staff members to our teams.
Here are the specific grade level assignments:
Kindergarten:
Wendy Brunson, rm 30
Lisa Gooch, rm 33
Angela Hayes, rm 34
Tara Kolb, rm 32
Christine Mattingly, rm 21
First Grade
Brooke Corressell, rm 3
Cindy Evans, rm 5
Kitten McClain, rm 6
Amanda Woods, rm 1
Second Grade
Vera Emmons, rm 9
Nicholas Iaccarino, rm 23
Trisha Kavanaugh, rm 15
Carie Kingery, rm 10
Amy Nau, rm 12
Third Grade
Robin Bass, rm 19/ Denise Strawn, rm 18
Courtney Rueger, rm 16/ Stephanie Scheu, rm 11
Fourth Grade
Shelly DeWeese, rm 22/ Nikki Paul, rm 17
Megan Murphy, rm 24/Lindsey Stine, rm 29
Fifth Grade
Renee Schefer, rm 27/Simone Nance, rm 25
Trish Toelle, rm 26/Cassie Curl, rm 28
Special Ed
LIfeskills:
Jennifer Bennett, rm 4
Sarah Walls, rm 2
Resource:
Renae Jackson, rm 14
Shelley Patton, rm 21
Elizabeth Ray, media center
Rotation
Peggy Davis, Gym
Susan Kemper, Art, rm 8
Nadine Risley, Technology
Anne Woodruff, Music, rm 7
Office
Katie White, Principal
Bethany Lynch, Principal Intern
April Coughlin, Counselor
Sheri Moore, Principal's Secretary
Nicole Smith, Secretary/Receptionist
Christine Hamilton, Nurse
Kim Sitzman, Media Aide