10/29/09 - 11:30am
Good morning. The kids are just coming back from their morning activities. All are doing well and full of smiles. They can't believe that they only have one activity left. They will be packing most of their stuff tonight so that we will be ready to load the bus with all the luggage at 7:45am. We will eat breakfast and then leave for Natural Bridges. We should be pulling in to school by 3:00pm. If we run in to traffic, we will update the office. They will put signs on the front door to update you. I'm officially signing off for updates at Mission Springs. We'll see all of you tomorrow exhausted and ready to come home!
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10/28/09 - 9:30pm
I'm trying to stay up another 1/2 hour so that I can do bed checks.
So, I thought I would post all the kids' quotes tonight instead of tomorrow morning. I think you will enjoy them.
Wayne - I love banana slugs & all the hikes!
Chase - Can we come back next trimester?
Jose - I like the hiking & singing "99 Bottles of Sprite on the Wall."
Austin - I loved the night hike. The solo hike was a lot of fun!
Ryan - Being at Mission Springs, hiking, climbing, and putting banana slugs on my nose is a lot different than Elk Grove, but I like it.
Jennifer - I can't believe I didn't get lost on the solo walk.
Cassidy - Mission Springs is such a crazy place because they are so many clubs to join & eating the red ant was my favorite.
Andrew - Mission Springs is pretty "beasty".
Jacob - It's fun and the food is good!
Claire - Mission Springs is a blast!
Alexandra - I'm having a great time at Mission Springs & there are banana slugs everywhere.
Sarah - I never thought Mission Springs would be this fun! I loved the solo walk!!
Jamie - I'm having so much fun at Mission Springs & watching the skits that the Naturalists did for us.
JT - I like the rock wall because it was a challenge and fun at the same time.
Bridget - I liked hiking barefoot in the woods with a banana slug on my nose
& a red ant in my mouth.
Morgan - The hikes are challenging, but I wake up every morning ready for more.
Jodie - The hiking and climbing is really fun!
Peter - I love all the animals here - the deer, banana slugs, and snakes in the museum.
Nabil - I love the flat on bunk time!
Benjamin - I like all the clubs, and the banana slug club is my favorite.
Ione - Mission Springs is cool!
Natasha - The food is great, and I liked the solo walk.
Brooke - The climbing wall was a great challenge. I finally got to the top after 15 minutes!
Jack - Mission Springs is really fun and I like staying in the cabins.
Kenton - Mission Springs is a lot of fun & there is a lot of fresh air up here!
Enjoy & Good Night!
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10/28/09 - 4:15pm
Sorry for the late post today. We couldn't log in to teacherweb this morning and early afternoon.
The kids are great. They are finally tired. A lot of the kids were begging for more flat on bunk time this afternoon - A huge change from yesterday.
We have a very entertaining evening planned. All the parent chaperones get their night off and the kids will be watching a performance from a band called Zun Zun. They use recycled instruments and teach the kids how to make them as well. Only 2 days left. The kids want to stay longer! Until tomorrow...
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10/27/09 - 8:30pm
I had the chance to watch 4 groups climb the tower today. It was so exciting to watch the kids make a goal and climb as high as they could. The MSOE t-shirts were ready to be distributed today. They are doing their solo walks tonight. I am hoping that all the kids will go to bed on time. It's been pretty windy here so they are just a little wound up.
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10/27/09 - 10:30am
Good Morning Everyone! We have great weather for right now. It's starting to get a little windy. The kids all showered either last night or this morning. They were all excited and hungry this morning at lineup. The quiz question this morning was: Something that comes in 3's and humans steer away, but deers will eat it. What am I? They are trying very hard to get all their points this week. You would be shocked about how tidy your kids are keeping their rooms! The kids will be back in about an hour for lunch.
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10/26/09 - 7:30pm
Sorry for the late update.
It's been very hectic since we got here. We are sharing the camp with another elementary school from San Juan Unified. I just wanted to let everyone know that we all made it safe and sound. The kids just had a great dinner of Spaghetti, breadsticks, ceasar salad, and cheesecake. They are off to their campfire as I type. They always have a great time because the Naturalists put on an awesome show for them. They will be hiking down at about 9:00, and it will be lights out at 10:00pm. Until tomorrow...
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10/26/09 - 6:30am
I just wanted to update everyone. I've called CAL Fire to make sure that it is safe to travel and stay at Mission Springs this week because of the Loma Fire. They said that we are nowhere near the fire and should be fine. It is burning in the Santa Cruz mountains near Gilroy/Watsonville.
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10/21/09
Beginning on October 26th, this page will be updated daily from MSOE! Check often for details about our exciting adventures!! If you would like to write to your child, the address is on the 10/9/09 announcement below. If you want your child to write home, have them pack self-addressed stamped envelopes and paper.
If your child has misplaced their packing list, it's on my MSoE paperwork link.
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10/9/09
Thank you so much for accomodating our crazy dance schedule this past week. Your kids were phenomenal last night. I had tears when I watched them perform last night. I was so proud of them. I have watched them get better and better each time they performed the routine.
We had some great guest speakers this week. A huge "Thank YOu!" to Mr. Rodgerson and Mrs. Constantinou. Mr. Rogderson came in to talk about his career as an ER Physician and what it takes to succeed in school. He shared some awesome test taking strategies with the kids and important reasons to think ahead of time before making big decisions! Mrs. Constantinou came in to teach the kids about banking; how to write a check, how to create and maintain a budget, and best of all - how to become a millionaire at 55 by saving $5 a week starting when you are a teen. Check out the flyer your child received from her and the cool stuff donated by Wells Fargo.
I've updated more grades today. If you need your child's ID number, just email me.
If you would like to write to your child at Mission Springs (We leave in 2 weeks!), their address is 1050 Lockhart Gulch Road, Scotts Valley, CA 95066. You need to address it to your child along with "Sims Camper" so that they'll know what school when they do mail call. I will also have updates on my webpage while we are there. If you are on the newsletter email list, you will get an email when I post something new.
Thank you again for all of your support this week!!
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10/2/09
Hello Everyone,
Wow! Time is flying by. I can't believe that we will be leaving in 3 weeks for our Mission Springs trip!
I wanted to let everyone know that I've updated our grades page. I will try to do this weekly until grades lock so that you can see your child's progress.
A HUGE thank you to Ms. Ouchida for purchasing all of our "Jackson 5" gloves. The kids have added the sparkle this week.
Thank you to all of the parents who donated $4 for their child's t-shirt as well. I think you will like our costumes. The kids had a "make-up" lesson from Ms. Goodnow yesterday so even their faces will look like robots. Please don't forget our performance night next week. It is October 8th in the multi. Please drop your child off by 6:15pm so that they can get ready. I will be in the classroom waiting for them.
I am still waiting for final numbers for Cookie Dough sales. I will get the final MSOE payment forms out to you as soon as possible. Cookie dough and product delivery is on October 15th. Please be sure to arrange adult pick-up that day if your child sold. An adult has to sign for the cookie dough.
Have a great weekend!
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9/15/09
We need your help to purchase our dance t-shirts and face paint for our performance. We are hoping to get a $4 donation from every student by Friday so that we can purchase the items. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Thank you so much for your assistance with this!! The kids are doing a fabulous job learning all the steps. I know you will be impressed with their performance on October 8th!!!
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9/10/2009
I wanted to thank Mr. Rodgerson for helping to make all of our CD's - You Rock!!
I also wanted to let everyone know that I've put the Ice Cream Social Basket List on my "Classroom Docs" page. I thought that some families would like to know ahead of time what #'d baskets that they would be interested in. Just a heads up... We have over $300 in restaurant gift cards for our basket. Thank you so much to the families that donated!!! A special thank you to Mrs. Leonard who went around Elk Grove and purchased various gift cards with the cash donations!!
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9/7/09
Save the Date!!
We have a dance performance date - October 8th - 7pm.
We will be performing with 5 other classes. The students have picked a Jackson 5 remix of Dancing Machine. We will be the last group to perform before our group finale. Please encourage your child to practice his/her dance steps. Everyone should have a copy of the music to borrow by midweek.
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8/25/2009
I hope everyone receives our first newsletter. If you don't, please sign up by clicking the button below to be added to the list.
Here are a few dates to calendar:
Wednesday, August 26th - PTO fundraiser kick-off - sell the cookie dough. 4th, 5th, & 6th grade students get 40% of the tub price to go towards their science camp trip.
Thursday, August 27th - Fall picture day - Uniforms please. These will be the pictures they use for the 6th grade yearbook pages.
Monday, August 31st - Could have Jury Duty
Monday, August 31st - We've been picked to participate in Dance - Yay!! We will practice with Mrs. Goodnow for 40 minutes 4 days a week (M-Th). Everyone needs to be in tennis shoes and clothes that they can comfortably move around in. I will let you know when I get the performance date. It looks like early October right now.
Tuesday, September 15th - Mission Springs Information Night - 6:30pm in the multi
Friday, October 9th - All Mission Springs paperwork is due
October 26th - 30th - We're off to Mission Springs!! Be sure to check my webpage for MSOE Updates. I will update the page daily.
Thank you to all of the parents who came to Back to School Night. I really appreciate all of the support. This is also the first year that I have received all the paperwork back on the due date. Great Job!!
I forgot to mention joining the PTO during our meeting. There is a contest at school - "which class can get the most PTO memberships". We win a spin on the Wheel of Wow! I've sweetened the deal by giving the kids a 10% increase on any one test this trimester if you join. We need all families to join to win. A "D" track class already has 26 memberships. I plan on joining so that will give us 27 memberships.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. We are going to have a phenomenal year!! We have already had a great first week. I've noticed a lot of growth (maturity) in your children since last school year. I hope you are as proud of them as I am.
Their CST scores were awesome too!!!