MEADOWLARK NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2018
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Meadowlark Families,
Thank you so much to all the families that came to our Meadowlark Open House, Art Show, and Book Fair. We had 71% of our students represented. Our change this year was designed to provide each one of our students an opportunity to share their school and to celebrate all that they do daily with their families. We were fortunate to sell 1,151 books at the book fair and a large portion of the proceeds go directly back to the Meadowlark library.
During our Read Across America Week, we had a wonderful new opportunity called a Book Swap. This was a time for students/families to clean out "old" books from home in order to bring a few "new" books homes for reading enjoyment. Kindergarten through Fifth Grade students collectively donated 1,210 books. 650 books went back into the hands of our Meadowlark students and 560 book are being donated to a needy school in Wichita.
Meadowlark Elementary, Cottonwood Elementary, Robert Martin Elementary, and Andover Central Middle School staff have decided to apply to be a Gemini II redesign school. The four schools will be applying through the Kansas State Department of Education. The 2018-2019 school year will be the planning year with the implementation year being during the 2019-2020 school year. It is an exciting time for students and for educators in the state of Kansas. If you would like to read more information about Kansas Redesign, please visit http://www.ksde.org/Agency/Fiscal-and-Administrative-Services/Communications-and-Recognition-Programs/Vision-Kansans-Can/School-Redesign. Also, I welcome anyone to come to our upcoming Site Council Meeting on Thursday, April 5th at 4:30 in the library where our focus and discussion will be on the redesign process.
Happy Spring! Dana
APRIL CALENDAR
April 1
- Easter Sunday
April 2
- 3:45 pm - STUCO - CANCELED (next meeting, April 9th)
April 3
- 9:30 am - 5th Grade State Assessment ELA Part 1
- 3:45 pm - Milers Running Club - CANCELED
- 3:45 pm - Spanish Immersion Club
April 4
- 9:00 am - 2nd Grade Skype "Amazing Animal Adaptation"
- 9:30 am - 5th Grade State Assessment ELA Part 2
April 5
- 10:15 am - 3rd Grade State Assessment MATH part 1
- 1:30 pm - Aaron Sidwell & Mollly Beaver Visit (3rd-5th)
- 2:30 pm - Aaron Sidwell & Molly Beaver Visit (K-2nd)
- 3:45 pm - After School Art with Mrs. Russo
- 4:30 pm - Site Council Meeting
April 6
- End of William Allen White Book Testing
- 7:45 am - Milers Running Club
- 8:45 am - All Star Pep Rally
- 10:15 am - 3rd Grade State Assessment MATH Part 2
- 11:00 am - 2nd Grade Skype "The Hidden Forest"
- 3:45 pm - Monart Drawing
April 9
- 1:00 pm - ACMS Counselor Visit 5th Grade Students
- 3:45 pm - STUCO
April 10
- William Allen White Voting
- 9:30 am - 5th Grade State Assessment MATH Part 1
- 3:45 pm - Milers Running Club
- 3:45 pm - Spanish Immersion Club
- 6:30 pm - PTO Meeting
April 11
- William Allen White Voting
- 9:30 am - 5th Grade State Assessment MATH Part 2
April 12
- William Allen White Voting
- 3:45 pm - After School Art with Mrs. Russo
April 13
- 7:45 am - Milers Running Club - CANCELED
- 8:45 am - All Star Pep Rally & Character Ed. Assembly - CITIZENSHIP
- 9:30 am - Circle of Friends - Tanganyika Zoo
- 3:45 pm - Monart Drawing Class
April 16
- NO SCHOOL - Professional Learning Day
April 17
- 9:15 am - 4th & 5th Grade ELP Field Trip to Andover Library
- 3:45 pm - Milers Running Club
- 3:45 pm - Spanish Immersion Club
April 18
- 10:15 am - 4th Grade State Assessment MATH Part 1
April 19
- 2nd Grade Field Trip to the Zoo
- 10:15 am - Resource Swim at YMCA
- 10:15 am - 4th Grade State Assessment MATH Part 2
- 11:15 am - William Allen White Book Challenge Pizza Party
- 3:45 pm - After School Art with Mrs. Russo
April 20
- DEADLINE TO RETURN PICTURES OR MONEY
- Fitness For Funds Donations Due
- 7:45 am - Milers Running Club
- 8:45 am - All Star Pep Rally
- 9:30 am - 5th Grade Stem Carousel Skate Trip
- 3:45 pm - Monart Drawing Classes
April 23
- 6:00 - 8:00 pm - Skate Night
April 24
- 3:45 pm - Milers Running Club
- 6:00 pm - District Site Council Meeting
April 25
- 3rd & 4th Grade Music Program Rehearsal @ ACHS
- 9:20 am - Thinking Cap Quiz Bowl
April 26
- 3rd & 4th Grade Music Program Rehearsal @ ACHS
- Box Top Pick Up
- 10:45 am - 5th Grade ELP Students Tour ACMS
- 3:45 pm - After School Art with Mrs. Russo
- 7:00 pm - 3rd & 4th Grade Music Program Performance @ ACHS
April 27
- 7:45 am - Milers Running Club - CANCELED
- 8:45 am - All Star Pep Rally
- 9:00 am - Fitness For Funds Event & Volunteer Appreciation
- 3:45 pm - Monart Drawing Class
April 30
- 11:30 am - April Birthday Lunch with Mrs. Matheny
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR STAFF
7 - Kaylene Allison (Kindergarten Teacher)
9 - Shelley Vanderhoofven (Paraprofessional)
21 - Sheree Segraves (3rd Grade Teacher)
25 - Kourtney Thompson (1st Grade Teacher)
27 - Alexander McMahon - (Band Teacher)
29 - Alicia Moss (5th Grade Teacher)
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
Library News
"Students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade were invited to participate in the William Allen White book challenge. Each year there are 10 books for 3-5th and 10 books for 6-8th grades that are selected to potentially be a William Allen White Award winner. Students across Kansas are eligible to vote if they read at least 2 of the books off of the list for their grade area. Then the winner of the book has a special award ceremony in Emporia, KS. We have added a challenge for students to read extra books from the list. If a student meets the goal for their grade level, they will be invited to a special pizza party celebration! Please check with your child to see if they are participating in the William Allen White book challenge and encourage them to keep reading. All AR tests over the books are due by April 6th!"
Author Visit
I am so excited to let you know we have author Aaron Sidwell coming on Thursday, April 5th to share his book, "When You Dream Big" which is based on Molly Beaver's song. Molly will be coming as well. Fliers for his book will be sent home.
For more information visit their website at: https://whenyoudreambig.weebly.com/ .
The sessions will be in the cafetorium during the following times:
Grades 3-5: 1:30-2:00 Session 1 with a book signing session from 2-2:30
Grades K-2: 2:30-3:00 Session 2 with a book signing session from 3-3:30.
Spring Book Fair
The Meadowlark Spring Book Fair was a HUGE success! Thanks to everyone who purchased books and volunteered! A special thanks to Mrs. Collinsworth for her FABULOUS decorations. The "Paws for Books" theme was really fun for all the kids. We had a few games for students to play throughout the week. The first game was to guess which pet went with the correct staff member. The winners of that contest were Isabella from Mrs. Moss' class and Grace from Ms. August's class. Congratulations girls for getting the most matches! A second contest we had was to guess how many goldfish or scooby snacks were in the container. The K-2 winner was Jace from Mrs. Loy's class and the 3-5 winner was Ayden from Mrs. Moss class! We had $5800.00 in sales which translates to $1200 in cash for our library. We collected $278 for the All For Books promotion where students purchased lollipops for 50 cents for a chance to win a poster or book prize. The money we collect is matched by Scholastic and donated to a school in need in America and we get to use the money to purchase books from the book fair for our own library. We got some great new titles that Mrs. Collinsworth has already processed and put out for students to check out. The kids are always excited about new books! Thanks again for helping make our book fair so successful. Getting new books in the hands of our Meadowlark kids promotes literacy and reading enjoyment for a lifetime.
2018-2019 School Supply Sale
Do you hate going from store to store looking for specific school supply items? Do you want a sturdy box to store memories from each school year? If so, then we have the answer for you!
The ACHS Booster Club will be selling prepackaged school supplies again for the 2018-2019 school year. For each kit sold, $1.00 will go towards your school’s PTO. The remaining proceeds will benefit activities at ACHS.
How does the Booster Club know what my child needs? The District Office provides us with the list of school supplies needed for the following school year.
Are these quality supplies? Each school supply package will be filled with teacher requested brand names such as Crayola, Fiskars, and Elmer’s. Quality is guaranteed.
How do I order a school supply package for my child?
Option 1: For your convenience, orders may be placed online no later than April 27th at www.shopttkits.com. Use ID number 27372. If you order online, you will still need to pick up the supplies at ACHS on Thursday, August 9th. Links are on the District and your school’s websites.
Option 2: Order forms for the supplies will be distributed through school offices, Peachjar, and on the District website. The orders are due in your child’s school office with payment of cash or check made out to ACBC no later than April 27.
As in the past, required items including ear buds, flash drives, and calculators are available for purchase as optional items.
When will my child receive their school supply package? School supplies will be available for pick up at Andover Central High School, 603 E Central from 11am-2pm and 4-7pm on THURSDAY, August 9th. Online orders will also need to be picked up then as well.
Can I buy these prepackaged supplies in August? Unfortunately, NO. To provide the lowest possible price, we can only offer this opportunity until April 27th.
How do I help a child in need of school supplies? Simply add the amount you would like to donate on the order form or online form where “DONATION” is indicated. These funds will help purchase supplies for students in our district.
For questions, please contact the ACHS Booster Club School Supply Committee:
Desiree Shellenberger
shellend@usd385.org
316-706-5729
ART NEWS
We have really hit our stride creating and thinking through the creative process together! 25 Meadowlark students were displayed in the annual Andover Elementary Art Show at the Andover Public Library for the month of March! What a beautiful, vivid display of student artwork and ideas. We also had our second-annual Meadowlark Elementary Art Show on March 1st! Thank you parents for showing your love and support of your student artwork. These students are tremendously brave and courageous to create something to be displayed for all to see, and your support means so much!
Fitness for Funds Update
The letters we sent out are rolling back in with love for Meadowlark. There is still time to send in donations before the deadline. REMEMBER, every donation goes directly to Meadowlark!
Donation can be made online. Go to www.fitnessforfunds.com. All donations are fully tax deductible and some companies will match donations for their employees!
Students will go to the Andover District Stadium for one hour on Friday, April 27. During this hour, your children will walk/jog around the track, participate in other fun physical activities and enjoy a light snack.
America Answers Competition
Selected Meadowlark fifth grade students will be competing on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 in the America Answers 5th/6th Grade academic competition. The competition is designed to be a scholastic team competition that is a self-scoring, computer contest of 100 multiple-choice questions, with the point totals being compared across the state. Areas that will be covered include math, geography, government, sports, spelling, science, literature, English, history, general information and just plain fun trivia. The students will gather to answer the computer generated questions. The quiz offers the participants two chances to answer correctly. The points will be awarded based on how fast the answer the questions as a group, as well as how accurately they answer. No adult assistance will be given, however team practices will be run prior to the competition.
The 2018 America Answers Challenge team members include: Bryson P., Jerry C., Grant F., Akil S., Addi D., Ava C., Elia U., Caleb C., Goldie L., Ayden E., Andrew B., and John H.
ALL-STAR CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM
Friday, April 13 - Character Education Assembly - Citizenship
These students were all recognized for showing the Character Trait
CARING!
These students were all recognized for showing the Character Trait
FAIRNESS!
February Box Top Winner
Miss August's 2nd grade class turned in the most Box Tops in February.
Congratulations!
March BoX Top Winner
Mrs. Segraves 3rd grade class turned in the most Box Tops in March.
Congratulations!
ALL STAR Summer Camps
2018-2019 DISTRICT CALENDAR
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