MEADOWLARK NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2019
Happy Summer!
We are sad to say goodbye to some of our amazing staff members and we wish them the best in their next life adventures!
Allison Weide, 4th grade teacher, will be moving to Robert Martin Elementary to teach 2nd grade.
Ashley Witlse, 4th grade teacher, will be moving to Cottonwood Elementary to teach 4th grade.
Sanna Alfers, part time special education teacher, will be moving to Prairie Creek Elementary to teach Early Childhood Special Education.
Sarah Johnston, paraprofessional, will be moving to Cottonwood Elementary as the administrative assistant at Cottonwood.
Lindee Lee, paraprofessional, will be moving to Cottonwood Elementary as a paraprofessional.
Becky Hall, instructional aide, will be furthering her education!
Amy Buchannan, instructional aide, will be pursuing a different job opportunity!
Kamy Gorges, instructional aide, will be furthering her education!
We are also excited to welcome the following individuals to the Meadowlark family (and there will be more to come):
*Lauren Fritzler, new Kindergarten teacher, will be coming to Andover from Seltzer Elementary School in Wichita where she taught Kindergarten.
*Christine Stittsworth, special education for Butler County Co-Op, will be moving to Meadowlark and Prairie Creek Elementary's to support our special education students.
*Andrea Miller, mom of two Meadowlark students and one ACMS student, will be joining Meadowlark as an instructional aide.
*Ashley Clark, mom of two Meadowlark students, will be coming from Cottonwood Elementary where she served as an instructional aide to be an instructional aide.
Throughout this summer, many teachers will be spending some time learning more about Project Based Learning from Buck Institute for Learning out of California. Feel free to explore project based learning on the Buck Institute website at https://www.pblworks.org/.
Have a great and relaxing summer!
Dana Matheny, Principal
CALENDAR
- Online Enrollment Begins
August 13
- 5:00 - 6:30 pm - Open House (1st - 5th Grade Meet Your Teacher)
August 15
- 1st Day for 1st - 5th Grade
- Kindergarten Screening
August 16
- Kindergarten Screening
August 19
- Kindergarten Screening
- Kindergarten Meet Your Teacher
August 20
- First Day For Kindergarten
August 23
- 8:50 am - All-Star Pep Rally
August 30
- 11:20 am - August Birthday Lunch with Mrs. Matheny
Happy Birthday To Our Staff
Birthdays in June
1 - Marissa Collins (Kitchen Manager
26 - Bev Finney (Kindergarten Teacher
Birthdays in July
16 - Erin Middleton (Music Teacher)
20 - Tracy Flake (Speech Therapist)
Birthdays in August
21 - Michaila Pfaff (Librarian)
24 - Amy Buchanan (Instructional Aide)
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK, MAY 6 - 10
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Meadowlark Hero Awards
Every year, each grade level team of teachers selects one student from their grade level for the
Meadowlark Hero Award. A Meadowlark Hero is a student who exemplifies the positive character traits that will make a successful student/person in life. These traits include responsibility, respect, integrity, perseverance, etc.
We are very pleased and proud to tell you that Lillian P., Easton F., Kinsley A., Madison S., Evelyn T., Nathan C., Roman L., and Ethan A. were selected as our Meadowlark Heroes! Each student is a hard worker, a great friend to everyone and is very deserving of this recognition!
Team Schnak Assembly
Thanks to Team Schnak (Kent Schnakenberg) for coming out to share about Type 1 Diabetes. Kent is an Emporia man who is biking hundreds of miles around the country - stopping in every state, to help find a cure for type one diabetes. The auto-immune disease is where the pancreas stops making insulin. To live a healthy life, type 1 diabetics have to manually give themselves insulin through multiple injections or through a pump.
Andover students with type 1 diabetes were invited to come to the assembly and to meet Kent in person. It was fun to honor those students that live daily with the disease!
All students and staff were given a free shirt to wear at the assembly and to spread awareness.
To follow Kent on his journey and to support his team, click here.
What is Type 1 diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes, which was formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic autoimmune condition that makes the body unable to produce insulin, which is the hormone that regulates blood sugar. Without insulin, our bodies cannot use the sugar in our bloodstream as energy, causing people to experience Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
What are the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes?
There are many signs or symptoms that can be present when someone has undiagnosed or untreated diabetes. Here are a few of these symptoms:
- Unquenchable thirst
- Frequent urination
- Unexplained bedwetting
- Unwanted or unexplained weight loss
- Less energy
- Fruity smelling breath
- Blurry vision
- Stomach pain
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of consciousness
- Rapid, heavy breathing
How does Type 1 diabetes affect the body?
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition, which means that the body’s immune system attacks itself, much like celiac disease. In the case of Type 1 diabetes, the body attacks the insulin-producing beta cells. These are the cells in the body that produce insulin. Over time, people with Type 1 diabetes are left with none of these beta cells, also known as islet cells, and therefore cannot produce their own insulin. Insulin is the hormone that allows the body to use the glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream as energy – it kind of acts as a key that unlocks the body’s cells, allowing glucose to enter and be absorbed. Converting blood glucose is the body’s main way that it gets energy, so without insulin, it has to resort to breaking down bodily tissue such as muscle and fat stores. Another, potentially fatal, consequence for people with Type 1 diabetes who aren’t on insulin therapy is Diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA. DKA occurs when there is an overload of glucose in the bloodstream because there is no regulating insulin.
What causes Type 1 diabetes?
T1D is neither preventable nor curable and while its cause is unknown, studies suggest that T1D results from a genetic predisposition, typically combined with an environmental trigger.
How do you manage Type 1 diabetes?
Living with T1D is a full-time balancing act requiring constant attention to avoid acute, life-threatening hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or the long-term damage done by hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). Blood sugar levels must be monitored either with finger pricks or a continuous glucose monitor. Insulin doses must then be carefully calculated based upon activity and stress levels, food intake, illness and additional factors. These calculations are rarely perfect resulting in a tremendous emotional and mental burden for both patient and caregivers.
LIBRARY NEWS
Book Mark Contest
Winners: 2nd grade - Joshua V., 3rd grade - Caleb N., 4th grade - Madeleine K., and 5th grade - Grace L.
Every student received a copy of the winning bookmark for their own grade! Congrats to all the students who participated!
William Allen White Winners
5th Grade Wax Museum
Check out Mrs. McLain's Facebook page to find out what has been happening in the Art Room!
May is National Physical Fitness and Sports month, and our students at Meadowlark enjoyed a few fun events to help celebrate physical fitness! On May 3rd, our 3rd graders got to participate in our district's 3rd annual Kansas Kids Fitness Day. With the help of some of our ACHS and ACMS students, we were able to provide a fun day of fitness before the rain came in!
On May 7th, the Meadowlark Milers enjoyed participating in the Family Fun Run, even though we did not get to run on the Red Bud Trail due to the rain. They enjoyed having some Kona Ice following the run. On the last day of school, medals were handed out to students who reached a certain amount of miles during our running season. Students who reached 15 miles received a bronze medal, students who reached 20 miles received a silver medal, and those who reached the distance of a marathon 26.2 received a gold medal. We were super proud of ALL our Meadowlark Miler Runners for getting up early to come run in the mornings before school!
As a culminating fitness event, our school had our annual "Fun In the Sun" field day at the district stadium, and we actually got lucky and had some sun!!! Students had fun rotating around to a variety of fun stations and our older students had the opportunity to participate in some actual track and field events.
On the last day of school, we had Napoleon and Tamra Stanley come to PE to take our students through a gymnastics course and fitness class. Our students had a great time! This was a great end to a fun year of fitness!
BIG CHANGES COMING TO BOX TOPS!
ARE BOX TOPS CLIPS GOING AWAY?
Eventually, yes, the Box Tops program will become digital-only. Over the summer you’ll see some participating brands begin to change their packaging from a physical Box Tops clip to the new Box Tops icon… We’ll continue to honor all physical clips until they reach their expiration dates, as long as they are validly submitted by coordinators, so keep sending them to your school!
HOW DOES THE NEW PROGRAM WORK?
CAN I STILL SEND IN REGULAR BOX TOPS CLIPS?
Mrs. Thompson's 1st Grade Class collected the most Box Tops in May!
Thank You
Amber Kear
Jessica Cicora
MEADOWLARK COLLEGE
Pie In the Face
THANK YOU to all the students for making Fitness 4 Funds 2019 a HUGE success! We exceeded our goal and raised $23,235! Way to go All Stars!
A big thank you to Krystal Crumley and Gaylene Alderson for all the hours they put into making this fundraiser a great success!
5th Grade Sidewalk Send-Off
PEACHJAR
Peachjar is simple and fun to use- you'll start to receive emails from us with flyers in them!
You never have to log in! But you can to manage your account preferences. Login information is sent to you. You will regularly receive emails with the latest flyers. They can also be viewed on the Meadowlark website. Simply look for the Peachjar logo! If you aren't receiving emails, create an account.
HOW TO EARN CASH FOR OUR SCHOOL
Dillons Community Rewards Program
Dillon's makes fundraising easy---all you have to do is shop at Dillon's and swipe your Plus Shopper's Card! Go to Dillons.com and sign in or create an account to enroll. This enrollment must be updated every year. Once signed in, update your Community Rewards under your Account Settings. Search for Meadowlark to earn extra $$$ for our school!
Shoparoo
Every photo of a grocery receipt earns money for our school! Free to download, free to use. Nothing to buy or sell. Help us raise thousands of dollars a year!
- Download the Free Shoparoo App in the App Store & Play Store http://www.shoparoo.com/
- Select Meadowlark
- Take pictures of Receipts!
- Watch Meadowlark earn money!
EXERCISE KIDS' MINDS DURING THE SUMMER
If students laze away the days of summer without using their minds, they can lose up to a month of learning - especially in reading and math. Stem the summer slide and keep your child engaged with these fun, brain-friendly activities.
Devise a plan. Tell your child that reading and learning activities will be an important part of their summer. Assure them that they’ll still have lots of time for play.
Teach mini-lessons. Transform everyday activities into learning opportunities. Children can count change, read directions for a trip, write a shopping list, or calculate a recipe’s measurements.
Gather activity books. Give children their own activity book with crossword puzzles or number games customized for their specific age group. Set a “due date” to keep them on track, but let them work at their own pace.
Initiate a writing project. Have your child keep a summer journal, write letters to family members or friends, or craft a play to perform with siblings or neighbors. Or, start a family cookbook with your favorite recipes, instructions, and shopping lists.
Strategize screen time. Educational computer games or apps can engage students’ minds, but make sure your child is spending enough time away from the screen. Assign a daily block of time for family members to turn off phones, computers, and the TV, and instead play a board game or read together.
Designate daily reading blocks. Set aside at least 15 minutes a day for your entire family to read. (That means parents, too!) Find reading recommendations by grade level on the American Library Association’s book lists (see Web Resources). Organize a summer read-a-thon with goals for each family member, or sign your child up for your library’s summer book club.
Go global. Set aside several nights during the summer to have an international evening. Together, cook a meal with recipes from a different nation. Learn basic words in that country’s language. Find the country on a map, and together examine a book or article with information on what life is like there.
Sneak learning into family trips. If your family is able to take a vacation during the summer, include stops at zoos, children’s museums, or historic sites. Have your child help you plot out the journey using maps and keep a journal along the way. Older children can tally up miles, keep track of expenses, or compute gas mileage.
Get moving. Build physical activity into your child’s summer days. Even if he or she can’t participate in a local sports league or community-based team, encourage activities such as jumping rope, playing catch, and taking family walks.
Report to Parents, written to serve elementary and middle-level principals, may be reproduced by National Association of Elementary School Principals members without permission. It can be posted to school websites, blogs, or sent via email. Back issues are available to members at naesp.org.
Meadowlark Elementary School
Email: harveyr@usd385.org
Website: http://meadowlark.usd385.org/
Location: 1411 N Main St, Andover, KS, United States
Phone: 316-218-4630
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meadowlarkelementary