Cooks Chronicle
April 2019
Principals Chat
The staff and I would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers who continually help with whatever is needed! Last week could not have been so successful without you~ Book Fair, VIP days, Poetry Night and Kindergarten Round Up all in one week! It definitely takes a village and we are thankful for all of you!
ILEARN Testing
Gary Webster Young Musicians Program
All About the Future Cooks Corners Garden! - By Clara Warren
Many students at Cooks surely have a garden or plant that they take care of at home, including me. That’s why I can’t wait for the brand-new Cooks Corners Garden to be created!
Even before the new building was finished, the school’s PTO and the teachers have been wanting to make a garden.
“I attended the National Title I Conference many years ago and went to a session where an author was talking about her experience at a school where she was the principal. It was a school that was in bad shape and needed a lot of love and hard work. She ended up turning the school around and made it into a wonderful hub for the community. One thing she spoke of was a community garden and how the students and their families took great pride in planting and caring for the garden. That is where the idea was born!” says Mrs. Miller, principal of Cooks.
“The hope of our garden is to develop a peaceful place where students’ minds can grow,” adds Mrs. Esola, head of Student Council. “We also hope that it will become a certified butterfly sanctuary!”
Student Council will be doing the planting on Saturday, April 20th, at 1:00 PM. They will be planting native Indiana plants. Volunteers would be greatly appreciated!
Why a Garden?
But there’s still one important question: Why bother with caring for a garden which is a big job? Cooks Corners is more than ready! One reason is that plants help the environment. Plants “inhale” CO2 (carbon dioxide), a major greenhouse gas, and “exhale” O2 (oxygen), which is what humans need to breathe.
Another reason is for the students. Teachers and their classes can easily come to the courtyard, observe the plants, and maybe even do experiments with them!
The last reason is that it makes the courtyard look much nicer. Many students think that the current courtyard is boring. The only color in it is the green of the grass. Adding plants (especially flowers) will make it prettier and nicer for kids who might go there for extra recess.
An Outside Opinion
“I think it’s a pretty good idea,” says Adam Warren, a student in Mrs. Gonzales’s class. “I like that we’re actually doing something with the courtyard so that it’s not just an empty space.” However, he also thinks that “it’s a bit too small for an actual big garden to be planted, you know?”
Adam makes a good point. Another issue with size is that clover has been growing in the grass, so that might prevent some areas of the courtyard from being used for planting.
Responsibilities For the Garden
Let’s fast-forward to the future after all the plants are planted, and the fifth graders go to middle school, and again every year after that. How will the garden survive? Plants can’t grab a drink of water like we can; they need people to do it for them.
Classes will have to take turns helping out with caring for the garden. They will have to pull weeds, and water the plants regularly. If there are some plants in pots, and they outgrow their pots, the students will have to repot them.
Caring for a garden is a big job, but Cooks Corners is more than ready for it.
Cooks Corners Variety Show
Board Game Donations
Spring into the @rts 2019 - April 11-May 19
The following Cooks Corners Students were chosen to have their artwork on display at this year's Spring into the @rts! Congratulations to our budding artists!
KINDERGARTEN
Makx Wolfe
Hayden Angle
Grace Frazier
Crystal Kwiatkowski
Kiera Edgecomb
Micah Courtney
Grady Kuanonen
Owen Burns
Edward Mason
Arianna Beruman-Owens
Madeline Menefee
Leoni Marini
Audrina Storey
1ST GRADE
Zeb Mann
Sofia Calabrese
Lillian Jobbe
Hudson Natzke
Riley Madden
Madalynn Porter
Emma Bennett
Kalli Randell
Ellie Urschel
Audrey Brown
McKayla Waters
Eryn Raphael
Kayla Garcia-Ortiz
Katelin Pace
Sarah Piech
3RD GRADE
Olivia Artis
Holly Koudelka
Violet Popovich
Isabella Todosijevic
Chase Evans
4TH GRADE
Parker Matherne
Evan Courtney
Lana O’Brien
Morgan Belcher
Maggie Pikula
Lily Puls
Jemma Adamski
Coe Krischke
Marin Anderson
Katherine Norris
Brandon Amaya
Carter Matherne
Aleciya Roberts
Jaden Dillman
5th Grade
Emily Golding
Ramsey Corrado
Kali-Grace Guerrero
Ava Burress
Ena Gilliana
Lilly Katschke
Jessica Edwards
Johanna Le
Malia Howlett
Emily Csmereka
Emily Stoltzfus
Additional Spring into the @rts information:
Please mark your calendars for ART-astic opportunities + experiences for our community April 11- May 18th! This is our 4th consecutive year celebrating the arts in our month-long, district festival, which is free to our community.
Each event is student-centered and showcases a specific art form through student exhibits and/or performances. Please read more about each event below or visit www.springintothearts.com for more information.
Also! This year we are offering exclusive festival wear + gear to help support our festival, organized completely through your generous donations, business sponsorships, and grants! Any orders placed will be shipped directly to you in time for our events. You can order from our website by clicking on the merchandise images. Thank you in advance for your support!!!
Event dates:
April @ntics: Thursday, April 11-13th 7p VHS Auditorium "Theater"
VHS Honors Show: Thursday, April 18-19th 6-8p Upper Gymnasium "Visual Art"
The @rt-chitecture Walk: Saturday, April 27th Urschel Pavilion "Visual Art"
Valpo Film Festiv@l: Saturday, May 4th VHS Auditorium "Film"
Where Did V@n Gogh: Sunday, May 20th Urschel "Performance Art"
Field Day 2019
Summer Athletic Camps
https://valparaisohigh.valpo.k12.in.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1214230&type=d&pREC_ID=1450231
Student Council News
This is Cooks Corners Elementary Student Council, we are trying to beautify the outdoor learning area for the students. Student Council would like to make a relaxing, learning outdoor area for the students. We are needing some supplies including shovels, gardening tools, perennial plants, and other outdoor decorations (including benches). To celebrate Earth Day we would like to make April 20th the day we make the outdoor learning area come to life. If you would like to donate supplies please send them in before April 20th. If you are interested in volunteering on April 20th please contact Mrs. Esola at desola@valpo.k12.in.us.
Thank you for volunteering your time to help make an educational area for the students.
PTO News
Thanks to everyone who was able to come to April's meeting!
We voted to fund some equipment for outdoor spaces at the school. We also discussed putting together a Fundraising Committee that will put together ideas about how to update our fundraising activities for next year. If you are interested in being on this committee, please email me at ptocookscorners@gmail.com. We will try to get together before May in order to draft a plan! Lastly, thanks to all those who volunteered this past week with all the busy things we have had going on: VIP days, Book Fair, and Kindergarten Roundup. We couldn't do it all without you.
Hope you can make it to the May meeting, Wed., May 8th at 6pm.
If you have any questions, email ptocookscorners@gmail.com.
Jes Warren
PTO President
SHOES PIZZA NIGHT
The results are in! Cooks families came together and raised $398 by participating in our night out at Shoes Pizza! And, for the 4th year straight Cooks Corners is the contest champion!
We had the most dollars in sales on our night vs. the other participating elementary schools! Thank you Candice Natzke for organizing our night! Thank you Cooks families for coming out!
And, a great big thank you Shoe’s Pizza for this opportunity, your support and contributions you’ve made to our schools and our PTO!
BOX TOPS
Last Call! Last call for Box Tops! Please submit all Box Tops by May 29th! Keep an eye out for a special May contest! Details for this will be sent home in folders. Let's see how many Box Tops we can collet before the end of the school year!
MOM'S NIGHT OUT
Our next MNO will be a Crock Pot/Freezer Meal class by "The Well Dressed Kitchen" on Saturday May 11th. Raynelle Howlett will be hosting this event at her home. If you are interested in attending please email her at raynellehowlett@yahoo.com to be included on the invite/details email distribution. This will be a great MNO!
EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS
In honor of Earth Day 2019 our next assembly "Think Green - A Healthy Planet" has been scheduled for 4/18 at 9am. We hope the kids enjoy it!
THANK YOU
Thank you Boy-Conn Printers! Boy-Conn Printers printed and donated the pterodactyls that were used on the walls for the spring book fair decorations. The kids loved the DINOMITE theme and had so much fun attending and shopping! Thanks for contributing to the excitement!
UPCOMING DATES
Every Mon. 3/11-5/20: Chess Scholars - ends @ 4:20pm
Evert Mon. 4/08-4/29: 2nd Grade Stem Club - ends @ 4:30
Every Wed. @ 3:20pm: Drama Kids - ends @ 4:20pm
Every Wed. (starting Jan. 23) @ 7:45am: Choir
Every Fri. 3/22-5/24: Let's Build It - ends @ 4:20pm
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4/11 thru 5/12: Spring into the @rts
4/15 thru 4/18: Elementary Girls Basketball Camp @ Cooks
4/22 thru 5/17: ILearn Testing - 3rd-5th Grades
4/18: Think Green: A Healthy Planet Assembly @ 9am
4/18: Board Mtg @ 6pm
4/19: 1/2 Day for Students K-12
4/20: Cooks Corners Garden Planting @ 1pm
4/22: Traditional Weather Make-Up Day (from 1/23/19)
4/23: 1st Grade Walk to My Future at Valpo University
5/08: PTO Meeting @ 6pm
5/17: Weather Make-Up Day/Scheduled E-Learning
5/21: Cooks Corners Field Day
5/23: Cooks Corners Variety Show @ 6pm
5/24: Cooks Corners Field Day Rain Make-Up Day
5/27: No School - Memorial Day
5/30: 1/2 Day for Students - End of 4th Grading Period