Austinville Elementary
January 19 - 30
Martin Luther King, Jr. Studies
Incorporating the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr and the 7 Habits, third graders came up with dreams of their own this week. This group of students shared their dreams of college, future jobs, and hopes for a better world. Martin Luther King, Jr. would definitely have approved of following the 7 Habits in a peaceful pursuit of his dream.
Celebrating the 100th Day of School
It's a little different in middle school. There's no celebration of the one hundredth day of school. In fact, he had never heard of the 100th Day of School. But hey, he's in elementary school now. This year, Coach Darrell Allbright was the voice on the intercom counting off those 100 exercises. As usual the day was celebrated in several fun ways at Austinville.
EL Team Attends Conference
EL Teachers, Mrs. Jennifer Fernandez and Mrs. Susan Batchelder, along with third grade teacher, Ms. Mary Alice Cagle recently attended an all day conference (SAMUEL II) in Birmingham on EL Learning and Teaching Strategies. These veteran teachers were excited to find that Austinville has been implementing these strategies.
Outdoor Classroom Work Continues
With the help of Rodriguez Brothers Landscaping, Austinville's Outdoor Classroom is receiving some much needed winter attention. Cecilio Altamirano, father of one of our kindergarteners, sent assistance to rescue the trees on the patio. During the week, these men braved the cold temperatures to accomplish this task. Two of the four Japanese Yoshino Cherry trees found a new home on the playground. Students were in awe as they watched the process from classrooms and the cafeteria windows. Everyone is excited to see what will be the next change in our Outdoor Classroom.
A Few Warm Days Allows Science Outdoors
Mrs. Hamilton's Science classes were happy to spend a few warm days in the Outdoor Classroom studying plants.
Mrs. Cagle's Class Receives Grant for New Rugs, Beanbags and Pillows!
This year, third grade teacher, Ms. Mary Alice Cagle wanted soft and cuddly places for her students to curl up and read books. She found the website "donorschoose.org" and set about writing requests to make her room an inviting place to be. On this website, interested parties read wish lists and make donations to purchase teachers' requests. When enough money is collected, the item is purchased and shipped to the school. Teachers are never bothered with making the purchase. donorschoose.org does it all. In this case, Ms. Cagle's donors contributed toward the purchase of rugs, pillows, and beanbags. One donor had attended Austinville many years ago and felt compelled to give back to her school. This website offers help for teachers and gives persons interested in supporting education a valid place to donate their money. Several weeks ago, big packages arrived to the delight of the entire class. During free time now, you can find Ms. Cagle's students listening to stories, and snuggled up with a good book on soft rugs and pillows - thanks to "donorschoose.org".
New Baby Leopard Geckos Join Austinville's Indoor Studies
Austinville students returned to school on January 20 to find baby leopard geckos had moved into the large tank in the south hallway. What an exciting find! The tank was previously home to aquatic turtles. Students enjoy studying reptiles and amphibians indoors when the weather is too cold to study in the Outdoor Classroom. The geckos are located down the hall from a tank of fire-bellied toads.
Hurrah for Mrs. Young's $20,000 ART Grant!
Mrs. Beth Young certainly had something to shout about Monday as her grant entitled "Heritage of Hope" was awarded in the amount of $20,000 dollars. Her intent is for students to find focus for their futures by reflecting on art forms from our treasured past. Some of these projects include learning about the Native American heritage of our area. Students will work on a mural under the guidance of Markus Tracy, a Native American muralist. During his stay in Decatur, Tracy plans to assist teachers on ways to incorporate common core standards with art. In addition, the quilting circle of Gee's Bend, Alabama will share their civil rights experiences with the schools and community as they teach simple sewing stitches. The group will teach African American heritage in the form of spirituals and making something from nothing as they quilt. Children will enjoy art from the past as Burritt on the Mountain comes to visit the schools. Their hands on exhibits will teach children about crafts of the past as they learn to sew, weave and even card wool. Finally, under the guidance of Nancy Raia, of the Eastern Shore Arts Center, children will partner with senior citizens at the USA Retirement home. This will provide an opportunity to do art together learning more about each other's lives and their places in the community. She will also provide professional development for teachers showing art and the emotional and cognitive connections. Austinville principal, Ms. Beth Hales and the school faculty are extremely proud of Mrs. Young's foresight in bringing these cultural experiences to our students.
Extended Learning for Austinville Students
Sixty Austinville students are counting on two extra hours of learning a week to boost their daily work. In fact, some of them are already seeing results. These students have attended Extended Learning, a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon class each week since November. Students in grades one through five have worked diligently for an extra hour each of those days in hopes of improving Reading and Math skills. The classes will continue through May.
Appreciating Our Own
Whether a member of our staff for a short time or many years, we appreciate each member for their job responsibilities, the positive smile on their faces, and the love each one possesses for our students and their families. In the following newsletters, we would like to spotlight some of our staff members so you may appreciate their work even more. Each deserves a pat on the back for the job they do at Austinville.
Karen Maples joined the Decatur City Schools working at Austin High School cafeteria staff in 2003 as an assistant manager. She joined the Austinville family this year as the Cafeteria Coordinator. She and her husband Jeff enjoy weekend getaways and finding new restaurants. They are the parents of two boys. Jeremiah is a US Marine and Dakota is a computer science major at UAH. Austinville is happy to have Karen with us!