Cherry Festival Royalty Announced
The year goes so fast that it is already time to start planning for the National Cherry Festival. Our first graders were recently chosen to represent Central Grade School in the parades and festival activities. We are pleased to announce our new royalty is Princess Kelly Gunther and Prince Logan Shananaquet. These student’s families will head up the float building committee. This year’s theme for the Junior Royale parade is “America the Beautiful.”

Congratulations, Matt Failor!
Congratulations to Matt Failor who participated in this year’s Michigan State Finals of the National Geographic Bee. Matt was one of approximately 100 students from all parts of the state that qualified earlier this year. Matt tied for 14th place. Way to go, Matt!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
We have been participating with the Mr. Earl fundraiser for several years because it is a fast and easy to earn a lot of money for our school. This year, we were even more pleased and amazed with the response from our families. So many of you filled out the booklets and bought magazines that we received four big boxes of t-shirts for our students. And then the check came – WOW - $5,868.23 – our most ever! Thank you for your participation.

Box Tops for Education
Deb Sydow will soon be sending in the last shipment of Big G Box Tops for Education for this year. If you have any labels, please send them in right away. This is another easy fundraiser that makes a lot of money for our school. Thank you.

St. Jude Math-A-Thon
Kindergarten through fifth grade students at Central Grade recently participated in the annual St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Math-A-Thon. Our school’s participation assisted in strengthening students’ math skills while providing support to an exemplary hospital and research center that helps children suffering from cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude’s is unlike other treatment facilities in that it accepts patients regardless of insurance and income. The students at Central Grade raised $4,294.17. If you are interested in further supporting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, please contact www.stjude.org.

News from the Lunchroom
The cut off date for allowing students to charge school lunches will be May 11th. Any outstanding balance on your child’s account needs to be paid in full by then. You may wish to pay ahead for a few extra lunches just in case a lunch is ever forgotten otherwise your child will be asked to call a parent for lunch money. Any remaining money at the end of the year will roll over to the next year or you can request a refund if you leave the TCAPS district. If you have any questions regarding your child’s lunch status, you can find this info under the TCAPS web site or you can call Diane Larson at 933-5603. Thank you.

Every Friday is Spirit Day
On Friday, students and staff are encouraged to wear our school colors of green and white or a Central Grade shirt. We are enjoying seeing all the students wear the new student designed “You’re a Star” t-shirts. If you would like to purchase one of these, we have student size shirts available in the office for $6.00 each.

Recycle your Batteries
When you replace your household batteries, you can send the old ones in to school. Across from the office is an orange bucket for batteries. When the bucket is full, we turn it in to Grand Traverse County for recycling.

Mrs. Havens is a Notary
If you ever need to have papers notarized, remember, Mrs. Havens is a notary public. Just come to the office and she will notarize your documents at no charge to you.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Estimadas Familias,

 

¡Buenos(as)! It seems amazing that it is already May! The students have soaked up so much Spanish; it has been fun to watch them! They have a great number of questions that they can ask and answer, such as:

¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad? What is your nationality?

 

¿Dónde vives? Where do you live?

 

¿Te gusta Michigan State? Do you like Michigan State?

 

¿Cuál es tu nombre? What is your name?

 

¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono? What is your phone number?

 

¿Cuál es tu color favorito? What is your favorite color?

 

There will be one more CAAP test this year for students in grades 3 and 4. Students should be reviewing body vocabulary, the Entrevista skit, and the following questions:

¿Cuál es tu nombre?
What is your name?

 

¿Qué necesitas?
What do you need?

 

¿Qué te duele?
What hurts?

 

¿Qué es esto?
What is this?

 

We hope to take this test on the laptops with Moodle- an exciting technological application for World Language.

 

Students have enjoyed the writing activities in “El Diario” (the journal). It has given them an opportunity to write simple sentences and to express themselves in Spanish- something they do proudly. They even had a chance to report “Nieve” (snow) as the weather in mid-April!

 

Fifth graders learned how to use a headset and record their voices on Moodle. Energy levels were high as they spoke into the microphones and subsequently listened to themselves speak Spanish. They took a proficiency test that assessed reading, writing, speaking, and listening in Spanish. Much of the information was challenging for students, but they worked hard and did their best. This test will give us a baseline to see how our students are progressing after one year of Spanish.

 

If you have any questions regarding la clase de Español, please feel free to contact us via email (baumannme@tcaps.net or derksvi@tcaps.net) or you can leave a message for us on our office phone (933-5686).

 

Saludos,

 

Señora Baumann and Señora Derks

The Bullycide Project - May 22, 6:00 PM

 

The Bullycide Project is a play based on the book Bullycide in America, written by mothers who have lost a child to suicide due to excessive bullying. The play chronicles stories of bullycide, as well as additional stories from the perspectives of the bully, the bystander, the person who stands up to bullying, and the parents.

 

The play is showing at Lars Hockstad Auditorium, Central Grade School, 301 W. 7th Street. Doors open at 5:30 PM. Show starts at 6:00 PM. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Orchard Creek Assisted Living on Cherry Bend Road, The Copy Shop on 8th Street, and Floor Covering B rokers on South Airport Road.

 

Proceeds from this event will benefit TCAPS anti-bullying initiatives. Contact Dale Chilcote at dale@orchardcreektc.com or visit www.thebullycideproject.com for more information.

Grand Slam for TCAPS – 1st Annual Wuerfel Park Fundraiser for TCAPS K-12 Sports: Saturday, July 28, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Come join the fun at Wuerfel Park on Saturday, July 28th, and help raise funds for TCAPS sports programs. Enjoy carnival games, sports clinics, and a silent auction at this rain or shine event. Tickets are only $5.00. Every ticket is an entry for the Grand Slam Grand Prize! A portion of every ticket sold will be donated to TCAPS K-12 sports as well as 100% of the silent auction proceeds. Call 231.943.0100 for more information or to order your tickets today! Click here to view event flier.

 

Central Grade School’s Daddy-Daughter Dance
Mark your calendar for Friday, May 4th, from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, for the first-ever Daddy-Daughter Dance, put on by the PTO. All grades from preschool through 5th grade are invited to attend. Please share this dance with your daddy, uncle, older brother…anyone who is special to you. A form will be sent home in April to purchase tickets.

Shoes Please
With the rapid onset of warm weather, students are coming to school with footwear that may not be appropriate for playground activity. For the safety and comfort of students, we recommend that shoes be worn outside. We have already had several foot injuries from the woodchips on the playground.

Mobile Dentists
If you have signed your child up for Mobile Dentists, please make a note that the dates have changed. They will now be here on Monday and Tuesday, April 9 and 10.

Mrs. McDonough’s Students Honored
►After winning our school level geography bee and then taking a written test, Matt Failor qualified for the state level National Geographic Bee held on March 30 at Western Michigan University. Congratulations Matt for being one of 15 students to earn a perfect score on during the preliminary round. Matt was one of only three 5th graders at the Michigan Geographic Bee which includes students from grades 5-8.

►Katia Childs entered the DAR essay competition on the War of 1812 this past fall. The local chapter chairwoman called last week to let her know that Katia’s essay had won for 5th grade. There will be an award luncheon at the Elk’s Club on April 21st and Katia and Mrs. McDonough will be invited to attend. A winner was selected from 5th, 7th and 8th grades. The winners will be reading their essays at the luncheon and their essays will be submitted to the state level for judging. Congratulations, Katia!

Kindergarten Round-Up
Central Grade School’s Kindergarten Round-Up will be held on May 10 and 11. We are now making appointments for children who will be in kindergarten in the fall. If you do not have an appointment for round-up and you have a child who will be five years old on or before December 1, 2012 and will be attending Central Grade as a kindergartener or a young fives student, please call the office so we can enroll your child. Thank you.

10K Gold Ring Found
A student found a 10K gold ring on the playground in late January. If you or your child has lost a ring, please call or stop in the office to identify.

Lost and Found
The lost and found mitten and hat line is full and even overflowing. There are many pairs of boots along with jackets, sweatshirts, sweaters, and lunch boxes. Please stop in and check out the lost and found before it all gets taken to Goodwill. There are oodles of clothing too good to lose.

Free and Reduced Lunches
We are always encouraging families to apply for free and reduced lunches if they think they may qualify. With times as they are, many families are still without jobs or with reduced hours or pay. If your work situation has changed, you may qualify and you may reapply at any time by picking up an application in the office or by applying online at http://www.lunchapp.com. Our school benefits with extra teacher help for our students, based on the number of children who get free or reduced lunches. This information is confidential. Unless you or your child tell others, no one except our food service clerk knows who receives this benefit.

SPIRITWEAR ORDERS
Help support Central Grade School by ordering your school spiritwear now. There is a variety available with prices ranging as low as $6 up to $24, depending upon what you're looking for. Also available is the student designed t-shirt for only $6 which includes funding towards a character education assembly. A t-shirt designed BY students FOR students, with an added benefit of character building...who wouldn't want that?! See the recent AlertNow and handouts sent home in your child's folder for order forms. Simply return order forms with cash or checks made payable to Central Grade PTO.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Feliz Primavera!

Happy Spring! It is hard to believe but we are in the home stretch...time flies when you are having fun!

Before Spring Break, we worked on La Entrevista (the interview) with a partner and practiced performing in front of the class. Students continue to write in their Diarios (Journals) on a regular basis. New conversation starters such as ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?) and ¿Qué necesitas? (What do you need?) have been introduced and practiced. It is great to see the children incorporating Spanish words they are comfortable with into their daily routines. We will continue to review body parts over the course of the next month since they will be featured on the third CAAP test in May. Encourage your child(ren) to sing the songs associated with these vocabulary words while pointing to the body parts. The songs can be found on the Moodle website.

The second CAAP assessment was given at the end of February and hopefully you received a letter from the World Language Department that contained the score as well as some comments generated by the students. We encourage the children to review the Spanish learned in the classroom by accessing the Spanish On Line lessons from the Moodle website. Students are encouraged to review prior lessons after they have completed the assigned lesson(s) for the week. The songs and vocabulary clips at the top of the page are a helpful review tool. We plan to continue to use one class per month to work on these lessons at school.

If you have any questions regarding la clase de Español, please feel free to contact us via email (baumannme@tcaps.net or derksvi@tcaps.net) or drop us a line (933-5686).

Saludos,

Señoras Baumann and Derks

Way to Grow Free Gym Time
Way to Grow has set the dates for the playgroups that meet here at Central Grade School. Playgroups are for children from infants to five years old. They meet on Fridays from 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM in the small gym.

Dates for 2012 are:
Friday, April 27
Friday, May 18

Way to Grow offers cost-free gym times and playgroups for all families with children from birth to five years old. Come join the fun! For more information, please call Mary Kolle at 231-360-7571 or kollema@tcaps.net.

LEAP Updates
Registration for Grades 2-5 Co-ed Spring Tennis is now open. Sign up by Friday, April 13.

Grades 2-3 Tennis will begin Friday, May 4. Cost is $25 Practices run after school on Friday afternoons for the month of May with a “City Championship” in early June. Visit the Web site for more details.

Grades 4-5 Tennis will begin Wednesday, May 2. Cost is $60. Practices run after school on Wednesday afternoons for the month of May. Matches will be held on three Fridays in May with a “City Championship” in early June. Visit the Web site for more details.

To register, pay online, or for additional information for any LEAP program, please visit www.tcaps.net/LEAP. Registration deadlines are final. No late registrations will be accepted. Scholarships are available to those with specific financial needs. For additional questions please contact the LEAP office at 231-933-1758 or 231-933-1722.

 

Mobile Dentists
Recently, your child brought home a form for Mobile Dentists. If you are needing dental services for your child, please complete and return the form to the office as soon as possible. The dentists will be here on Wednesday and Thursday, April 18 and 19.

Spring Pictures
Timeless Image will be here on Friday, March 16, for spring pictures. The forms have been sent home. For this picture opportunity, your child may wear special clothes or bring props to hold or display to show their special talents or interests. Only the students who return the picture form will have their photo taken.

Open Enrollment
If your child is open enrolled at Central Grade, be sure to stop in the office and sign a new open enrollment form for next year or call the office and we can send a form home with your child.

Caring

Mrs. Longton’s second grade class wrote this to go along with their procedure week. They recited it on the announcements Thursday, February 16.

Caring is...

Helping people who are hurt,

Talking in a nice voice,

Being nice to everyone even if you don't know them,

Inviting others to play,

Asking someone to be your friend,

Sharing your ball at recess,

Listening to others,

Giving someone the last cup of pop,

Taking care of sick people.

BALLOON CAR RACES
Mrs. Charland’s and Mrs. Kyser’s fifth grade students participated in balloon car races this past week. Students had to create a “car” out of anything they wanted as long as it fit all of the rules. The rules included: the car must be powered by a balloon, the car must have at least three wheels, the wheels have to be made out of something that was not initially used as wheels (pop bottle caps, cardboard etc.), the car may not leave the ground, and the car must travel a minimum of two yards. Balloon racers rely on Newton’s Third Law of Motion: as the air rushes backward out of the balloon it pushes the car forward.

Fifth Grade Winners

Most Creative Design of Car
Maya Howard

Fastest Car to Travel Two Yards
Jenna Robbins
(her car traveled 2 yards in1.5 seconds)

Longest Distance Traveled
Cassidy Kutten
(her car traveled 19 feet total!) 

Mrs. Longton’s Class Celebrates Chinese New Year

 

Stewardship Grand Traverse

Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Cole, and Mrs. McDonough applied for a grant through the Grand Traverse Stewardship Initiative and they received the grant funds on February 15. The money will be used to purchase video equipment and provide for bus transportation and field trips to the Brown Bridge Quiet Area. Fourth and fifth grade TAG students will begin to document changes taking place with the Boardman River prior to the dam being removed this summer and continuing to document changes next year.

Tenth Annual Teacher and Parent Education Series
On March 6, Northern Michigan Psychiatric Services will deliver a presentation on “Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children and Adolescents” from Dr. Sander Weckstein, Board Certified Child, Adolescent, and General Psychiatrist. The presentation will run from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the TC Central High School Library Media Center, 1150 Milliken Drive, All presentations are open to the public and are free of charge. Please call Northern Michigan Psychiatric Service, P.C. at 231-935-0355 for more information.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Estimadas Familias,

¡Buenos(as)! Isn’t it difficult to believe that March is upon us? The school year will be over before we know it! It has been such an honor to witness the enthusiasm the students have to further their Spanish vocabulary. How remarkable it is that for some students, Spanish is the third language they are learning to speak. It is no wonder the libraries are embracing a GO GLOBAL theme for the month of March! Whether it is their second or third language, the students’ progress to date has been impressive. How lucky we feel to be on this journey with them!

We enjoyed seeing so many of you once again at conferences as well as meeting some of you for the first time. If you weren’t able to sneak in a visit, please feel free to email (baumannme@tcaps.net or derksvi@tcaps.net) or drop us a line (933-5686) with any questions or concerns you might have.

The second CAAP test was given last month. Hopefully your child(ren) shared the results with you. If not, the blue test copy should be easy to locate inside the Spanish binder. Unlike the first test last November, this test required the students to speak and write in Spanish - a bit more challenging! If you see room for improvement, encourage your child(ren) to practice online using the Spanish On Line lessons (accessed via http://moodle.tcaps.net). We plan to continue to use one class per month to work on these lessons at school.

The students have been honing their acting skills during their work with La Entrevista (The Interview) skit over the last couple of weeks. The skit is set-up as a question/answer session between two people and conveniently includes much of the vocabulary they have learned to date. In order to prepare, they watched a DVD of the skit being performed while lip-syncing the words in the subtitles, repeated the dialogue together as a class, and practiced reading and performing it with a partner. Hollywood here they come!

The students have added Diario sheets to their binders to act as an informal writing journal. Each entry will allow them to practice writing the date in Spanish, circle an appropriate weather condition for the day, indicate how they are feeling, as well as offer space for them to respond to a teacher-prompted question. Don’t expect a novel or even a paragraph at this point! A simple sentence that allows them to express their opinion is the goal!

Be sure to check out the Spanish bulletin board located near the office! Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head need your help finding their missing body parts...better yet see if your child(ren) are able to say all the body parts in Spanish for you!

Señoras Baumann and Derks

District LEAP Updates
4th & 5th Grade Track & Field: Elementary Track & Field begins Monday, April 2nd. Cost is $50 per student. Registration and payment deadline is Thursday, March 22nd.

For all LEAP programs visit www.tcaps.net/LEAP for more information, to register, and to make online payments.

Please feel free to contact LEAP Director Scott Robertson at 231-933-1758 or 231-933-1722 for more information or questions.

 

 

Student Count Day – February 8th
Every school day is important to your child’s learning! Count Day on Wednesday, February 8th, determines funding amounts, based on student attendance, that help schools pay for many academic programs and services. Help your school by being in school on Count Day. In the event school is closed on Feb. 8th, then count day will take place on the following school day.

Box Tops for Education
Wow! The last shipment of box tops was a big one! Thanks to everyone who sent in the Big G Box Tops for Education labels, we received a check for $1,120.60! Every one of those little 10¢ labels add up to a big reward so please keep clipping and sending them in.

Target Rewards
If you shop at Target and have a REDcard, please enroll in the Take Charge of Education program. When you designate Central Grade as the school of your choice, Target will donate up to 1% of your purchases to our school. To enroll, go to Target.com/tcoe or call 1-800-316-6142. This too earns us big bucks!

Tenth Annual Teacher and Parent Education Series
Northern Michigan Psychiatric Services will deliver presentations from Dr. Sander Weckstein, Board Certified Child, Adolescent, and General Psychiatrist. Presentations will run from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the TC Central High School Library Media Center, 1150 Milliken Drive, on the following dates:

February 7, 2012    “Depression and Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents”

March 6, 2012    “Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children and Adolescents”

All presentations are open to the public and are free of charge. Please call Northern Michigan Psychiatric Service, P.C. at 231-935-0355 for more information.

Kindergarten Parent Meeting
If you have a child who will be five years old on or before December 1, 2012, and who will be attending Central Grade Kindergarten or Young Fives next year, please plan to attend our upcoming Kindergarten Parent Meeting. The meeting will be on Thursday, February 9, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Lars Hockstad Auditorium. The meeting will include information on Kindergarten and Young Fives classes, required forms will be available as well as the first chance to sign-up for kindergarten round-up.

Geography Bee
By Matt Failor
On January 10th, six contestants, two from each fifth grade homeroom class, Matt Failor, Isabel Anderson, Jackson Steele, Sofia Halleck, Drew Snyder and Pearl Lan, took the Lars Hockstad Auditorium stage with geography on their minds. Soon, only two contestants remained. All but Jackson Steele and Matt Failor were out. The final round had arrived and it was the best of three championship questions. Two questions later, Matt Failor was named champion. On January 19th, Matt took a 70-question test to see if he will go to Kalamazoo for the state level competition.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Hola Familias!
This month, we have been learning how to say different body parts in Spanish. Students have been singing cabeza, hombros, rodillas, pies (Head and shoulders, knees and toes) regularly in class. We are playing several games to review all of the vocabulary that has been introduced this year. It is important to spend time reviewing what we have learned so that students can recall the vocabulary. This can be challenging because students cannot just memorize Spanish for a test. It needs to be used over and over again so that students can build upon what they have already learned.

Students will be taking the second CAAP test for Spanish this month. It will be helpful to review shapes, emotions, and body parts. Students should also be able to answer the following questions in complete sentences in Spanish: ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?) ¿Cuál es tu color favorito? (What is your favorite color?) ¿Te gusta...? (Do you like…?) and ¿Dónde vives? (Where do you live?)

Remember that Spanish On Line is a great way to review the lessons we have covered in class. One class period this month, time will be provided for all students to access the Spanish On Line lessons. Any additional time on Spanish On Line will be beneficial.

If you have any questions regarding la clase de español please email us at derksvi@tcaps.net or baumannme@tcaps.net or you can leave a message for us on our office phone (933-5686).

¡Saludos!

Señora Derks
Señora Baumann

District LEAP Updates
4th & 5th Grade Co-Ed Volleyball practice begins Monday, February 6th.

Baseball Pitching Clinics available for students in Grades 2-12. Clinics begin Saturday, January 28, and are offered Saturday and Sunday afternoons through March 18. Students can participate anytime throughout the clinic dates, however parents should register prior to students attending their first clinic.

For all LEAP programs visit www.tcaps.net/LEAP for more information, to register, and to make online payments.

Please feel free to contact LEAP Director Scott Robertson at 231-933-1758 or 231-933-1722 for more information or questions.

 

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Bienvenido! Welcome back!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Box Tops for Education

Below is the Bonus Box tops information for January. This is our best on-going fundraiser. Thank you, everyone, for participating!

 

Dates to Remember:

• December 5 – Report Cards Go Home
• December 22 - Half Day of School, classes dismiss at 11:22 a.m. for the Holiday Recess
• January 3 – School Resumes
• January 16 – No School – Martin Luther King Day
• March 1 – Half Day of School, classes dismiss at 11:22 a.m.
• March 2 – No School
• March 23 – No School - Spring Break
• April 2 – School Resumes
• April 6 – No School, Holiday Recess
• May 28 – No School, Memorial Day

Do You Need a Preschool?
Our Central Grade preschool has a few spaces open. If you have a child between the ages of three and five and need a preschool, please contact Dawn Smith at 933-7882.

Media Moment
Book Fair was full of great choices for students and parents again this year. Thanks to everyone who made a purchase! Our library earned over $4,700 from this fair for the purchase of books and library materials. Our Book Fair could not have been successful without the help of many hands...a SPECIAL THANK YOU to the following parents and staff for their tremendous help:

Tom Bush, Cathy Sheard, Mary Barnes, Tara Yantz, Heidi Lovy, Jane Conway

Tom’s and Oleson’s Receipts
If you shop at Tom’s or Oleson’s, please send in your receipts for October, November, and December 2011 by January 10, 2012. They must be submitted by the 15th of January to qualify for the cash back program. With this program, Central Grade earns over $150 each year. Thank you to all who send in receipts for this fundraiser.

SUB SALE NEWS!
Thanks to all of the help from students, staff, and volunteers, we were able to make over 6,600 subs in record time. Everyone worked so hard and took their jobs seriously. We were finished making subs by 1:00 PM. The delivery of the subs to the classrooms went very smoothly as well. You all did a great job and helped our school PTO make money that will be used to help teachers and students. Thank you all so much!

Box Tops for Education
Below is the Bonus Box tops information for December. This is our best on-going fundraiser. We should soon be receiving a check for $300 from last year and $812.90 from the October shipment. Of this, we thank the Mail Processing Department of Haggerty Insurance for their donation of $345 worth of box tops. Thank you, everyone, for participating!

Needed: Noon Duty Substitutes
There are times when our noon duty aides call in sick or cannot come in and we need a substitute for them. If you are available to work around the times of 10:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., please apply on WillSub at willsub.com. Under the information tab, click on substitute sign-up packets and follow the directions. Please let us know if you are interested in being a noon duty sub. Noon duty sub pay is $8.75 per hour.

Central Grade Girls’ 5th Grade Basketball
The Central Grade 5th grade girls’ basketball team had a fantastic season this year. Their development of the game was phenomenal! They learned how to make defense game adjustment against different offenses while in the game and it was really amazing to see. They were a tough defense to score against and worked as a team protecting the basket. They were able to execute fast break passing to create a quick transition into offense. And their dead ball pressure created many turnovers. On the offensive side, our girls learned how to play motion basketball and be unpredictable which created open players for scoring and improved their passing. We are extremely proud of these girls and had a fun time coaching them and watching them play. Thanks!! --Coach Roman and Coach Pampu

Mrs. McDonough’s Class Writes Pantoums
All of Mrs. McDonough’s students wrote a Pantoum (rhymes with zoom), which is a verse form composed of four lines in which the second and fourth lines are repeated as the first and third lines in the following stanza. Often the first line becomes the last in the final stanza and the third line becomes the second. The class wrote Pantoums about Thanksgiving, generosity, and gratitude. We hope you enjoy these.

Generosity
By Jessica Litchfield

Give generously
To your friends
To your neighbors
To your family

To your fiends
Be helpful and supportive
To your family
Show Love and compassion

Be helpful and supportive
To people in need
Show Love and compassion
To your pets

To people in need
To your neighbors
To your pets
Give generously

Thanksgiving
By Mossimo Vozza

Thanksgiving time
pass the gravy
time of thanks
delicious food

pass the gravy
carve the turkey
delicious food
for all ages

carve the turkey
say our prayers
for all ages
having fun

say our prayers
time of thanks
having fun
Thanksgiving time.

Thanksgiving
By Robert O’Brien

Turkey roasting
Gravy simmering
Grandma cooking
Pumpkin pie

Gravy simmering
Children waiting
Pumpkin pie
Table set

Children waiting
Grandma cooking
Table set
Turkey roasting

Thanksgiving
By Hannah Schramski

Thanksgiving is a time for celebration
A time for giving thanks,
A time for giving love,
A time for giving food.

A time for giving thanks,
A time for sharing memories,
A time for giving food,
A time for sharing laughs.

A time for sharing memories,
A time for giving love,
A time for sharing laughs,
Thanksgiving is a time for celebration.

 

Cherry Festival Royalty Announced
The year goes so fast that it is already time to start planning for the National Cherry Festival. Our first graders were recently chosen to represent Central Grade School in the parades and festival activities. We are pleased to announce our new royalty is Princess Kelly Gunther and Prince Logan Shananaquet. These student’s families will head up the float building committee. This year’s theme for the Junior Royale parade is “America the Beautiful.”

Congratulations, Matt Failor!
Congratulations to Matt Failor who participated in this year’s Michigan State Finals of the National Geographic Bee. Matt was one of approximately 100 students from all parts of the state that qualified earlier this year. Matt tied for 14th place. Way to go, Matt!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
We have been participating with the Mr. Earl fundraiser for several years because it is a fast and easy to earn a lot of money for our school. This year, we were even more pleased and amazed with the response from our families. So many of you filled out the booklets and bought magazines that we received four big boxes of t-shirts for our students. And then the check came – WOW - $5,868.23 – our most ever! Thank you for your participation.

Box Tops for Education
Deb Sydow will soon be sending in the last shipment of Big G Box Tops for Education for this year. If you have any labels, please send them in right away. This is another easy fundraiser that makes a lot of money for our school. Thank you.

St. Jude Math-A-Thon
Kindergarten through fifth grade students at Central Grade recently participated in the annual St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Math-A-Thon. Our school’s participation assisted in strengthening students’ math skills while providing support to an exemplary hospital and research center that helps children suffering from cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude’s is unlike other treatment facilities in that it accepts patients regardless of insurance and income. The students at Central Grade raised $4,294.17. If you are interested in further supporting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, please contact www.stjude.org.

News from the Lunchroom
The cut off date for allowing students to charge school lunches will be May 11th. Any outstanding balance on your child’s account needs to be paid in full by then. You may wish to pay ahead for a few extra lunches just in case a lunch is ever forgotten otherwise your child will be asked to call a parent for lunch money. Any remaining money at the end of the year will roll over to the next year or you can request a refund if you leave the TCAPS district. If you have any questions regarding your child’s lunch status, you can find this info under the TCAPS web site or you can call Diane Larson at 933-5603. Thank you.

Every Friday is Spirit Day
On Friday, students and staff are encouraged to wear our school colors of green and white or a Central Grade shirt. We are enjoying seeing all the students wear the new student designed “You’re a Star” t-shirts. If you would like to purchase one of these, we have student size shirts available in the office for $6.00 each.

Recycle your Batteries
When you replace your household batteries, you can send the old ones in to school. Across from the office is an orange bucket for batteries. When the bucket is full, we turn it in to Grand Traverse County for recycling.

Mrs. Havens is a Notary
If you ever need to have papers notarized, remember, Mrs. Havens is a notary public. Just come to the office and she will notarize your documents at no charge to you.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Estimadas Familias,

 

¡Buenos(as)! It seems amazing that it is already May! The students have soaked up so much Spanish; it has been fun to watch them! They have a great number of questions that they can ask and answer, such as:

¿Cuál es tu nacionalidad? What is your nationality?

 

¿Dónde vives? Where do you live?

 

¿Te gusta Michigan State? Do you like Michigan State?

 

¿Cuál es tu nombre? What is your name?

 

¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono? What is your phone number?

 

¿Cuál es tu color favorito? What is your favorite color?

 

There will be one more CAAP test this year for students in grades 3 and 4. Students should be reviewing body vocabulary, the Entrevista skit, and the following questions:

¿Cuál es tu nombre?
What is your name?

 

¿Qué necesitas?
What do you need?

 

¿Qué te duele?
What hurts?

 

¿Qué es esto?
What is this?

 

We hope to take this test on the laptops with Moodle- an exciting technological application for World Language.

 

Students have enjoyed the writing activities in “El Diario” (the journal). It has given them an opportunity to write simple sentences and to express themselves in Spanish- something they do proudly. They even had a chance to report “Nieve” (snow) as the weather in mid-April!

 

Fifth graders learned how to use a headset and record their voices on Moodle. Energy levels were high as they spoke into the microphones and subsequently listened to themselves speak Spanish. They took a proficiency test that assessed reading, writing, speaking, and listening in Spanish. Much of the information was challenging for students, but they worked hard and did their best. This test will give us a baseline to see how our students are progressing after one year of Spanish.

 

If you have any questions regarding la clase de Español, please feel free to contact us via email (baumannme@tcaps.net or derksvi@tcaps.net) or you can leave a message for us on our office phone (933-5686).

 

Saludos,

 

Señora Baumann and Señora Derks

The Bullycide Project - May 22, 6:00 PM

 

The Bullycide Project is a play based on the book Bullycide in America, written by mothers who have lost a child to suicide due to excessive bullying. The play chronicles stories of bullycide, as well as additional stories from the perspectives of the bully, the bystander, the person who stands up to bullying, and the parents.

 

The play is showing at Lars Hockstad Auditorium, Central Grade School, 301 W. 7th Street. Doors open at 5:30 PM. Show starts at 6:00 PM. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Orchard Creek Assisted Living on Cherry Bend Road, The Copy Shop on 8th Street, and Floor Covering B rokers on South Airport Road.

 

Proceeds from this event will benefit TCAPS anti-bullying initiatives. Contact Dale Chilcote at dale@orchardcreektc.com or visit www.thebullycideproject.com for more information.

Grand Slam for TCAPS – 1st Annual Wuerfel Park Fundraiser for TCAPS K-12 Sports: Saturday, July 28, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Come join the fun at Wuerfel Park on Saturday, July 28th, and help raise funds for TCAPS sports programs. Enjoy carnival games, sports clinics, and a silent auction at this rain or shine event. Tickets are only $5.00. Every ticket is an entry for the Grand Slam Grand Prize! A portion of every ticket sold will be donated to TCAPS K-12 sports as well as 100% of the silent auction proceeds. Call 231.943.0100 for more information or to order your tickets today! Click here to view event flier.

 

Central Grade School’s Daddy-Daughter Dance
Mark your calendar for Friday, May 4th, from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, for the first-ever Daddy-Daughter Dance, put on by the PTO. All grades from preschool through 5th grade are invited to attend. Please share this dance with your daddy, uncle, older brother…anyone who is special to you. A form will be sent home in April to purchase tickets.

Shoes Please
With the rapid onset of warm weather, students are coming to school with footwear that may not be appropriate for playground activity. For the safety and comfort of students, we recommend that shoes be worn outside. We have already had several foot injuries from the woodchips on the playground.

Mobile Dentists
If you have signed your child up for Mobile Dentists, please make a note that the dates have changed. They will now be here on Monday and Tuesday, April 9 and 10.

Mrs. McDonough’s Students Honored
►After winning our school level geography bee and then taking a written test, Matt Failor qualified for the state level National Geographic Bee held on March 30 at Western Michigan University. Congratulations Matt for being one of 15 students to earn a perfect score on during the preliminary round. Matt was one of only three 5th graders at the Michigan Geographic Bee which includes students from grades 5-8.

►Katia Childs entered the DAR essay competition on the War of 1812 this past fall. The local chapter chairwoman called last week to let her know that Katia’s essay had won for 5th grade. There will be an award luncheon at the Elk’s Club on April 21st and Katia and Mrs. McDonough will be invited to attend. A winner was selected from 5th, 7th and 8th grades. The winners will be reading their essays at the luncheon and their essays will be submitted to the state level for judging. Congratulations, Katia!

Kindergarten Round-Up
Central Grade School’s Kindergarten Round-Up will be held on May 10 and 11. We are now making appointments for children who will be in kindergarten in the fall. If you do not have an appointment for round-up and you have a child who will be five years old on or before December 1, 2012 and will be attending Central Grade as a kindergartener or a young fives student, please call the office so we can enroll your child. Thank you.

10K Gold Ring Found
A student found a 10K gold ring on the playground in late January. If you or your child has lost a ring, please call or stop in the office to identify.

Lost and Found
The lost and found mitten and hat line is full and even overflowing. There are many pairs of boots along with jackets, sweatshirts, sweaters, and lunch boxes. Please stop in and check out the lost and found before it all gets taken to Goodwill. There are oodles of clothing too good to lose.

Free and Reduced Lunches
We are always encouraging families to apply for free and reduced lunches if they think they may qualify. With times as they are, many families are still without jobs or with reduced hours or pay. If your work situation has changed, you may qualify and you may reapply at any time by picking up an application in the office or by applying online at http://www.lunchapp.com. Our school benefits with extra teacher help for our students, based on the number of children who get free or reduced lunches. This information is confidential. Unless you or your child tell others, no one except our food service clerk knows who receives this benefit.

SPIRITWEAR ORDERS
Help support Central Grade School by ordering your school spiritwear now. There is a variety available with prices ranging as low as $6 up to $24, depending upon what you're looking for. Also available is the student designed t-shirt for only $6 which includes funding towards a character education assembly. A t-shirt designed BY students FOR students, with an added benefit of character building...who wouldn't want that?! See the recent AlertNow and handouts sent home in your child's folder for order forms. Simply return order forms with cash or checks made payable to Central Grade PTO.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Feliz Primavera!

Happy Spring! It is hard to believe but we are in the home stretch...time flies when you are having fun!

Before Spring Break, we worked on La Entrevista (the interview) with a partner and practiced performing in front of the class. Students continue to write in their Diarios (Journals) on a regular basis. New conversation starters such as ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?) and ¿Qué necesitas? (What do you need?) have been introduced and practiced. It is great to see the children incorporating Spanish words they are comfortable with into their daily routines. We will continue to review body parts over the course of the next month since they will be featured on the third CAAP test in May. Encourage your child(ren) to sing the songs associated with these vocabulary words while pointing to the body parts. The songs can be found on the Moodle website.

The second CAAP assessment was given at the end of February and hopefully you received a letter from the World Language Department that contained the score as well as some comments generated by the students. We encourage the children to review the Spanish learned in the classroom by accessing the Spanish On Line lessons from the Moodle website. Students are encouraged to review prior lessons after they have completed the assigned lesson(s) for the week. The songs and vocabulary clips at the top of the page are a helpful review tool. We plan to continue to use one class per month to work on these lessons at school.

If you have any questions regarding la clase de Español, please feel free to contact us via email (baumannme@tcaps.net or derksvi@tcaps.net) or drop us a line (933-5686).

Saludos,

Señoras Baumann and Derks

Way to Grow Free Gym Time
Way to Grow has set the dates for the playgroups that meet here at Central Grade School. Playgroups are for children from infants to five years old. They meet on Fridays from 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM in the small gym.

Dates for 2012 are:
Friday, April 27
Friday, May 18

Way to Grow offers cost-free gym times and playgroups for all families with children from birth to five years old. Come join the fun! For more information, please call Mary Kolle at 231-360-7571 or kollema@tcaps.net.

LEAP Updates
Registration for Grades 2-5 Co-ed Spring Tennis is now open. Sign up by Friday, April 13.

Grades 2-3 Tennis will begin Friday, May 4. Cost is $25 Practices run after school on Friday afternoons for the month of May with a “City Championship” in early June. Visit the Web site for more details.

Grades 4-5 Tennis will begin Wednesday, May 2. Cost is $60. Practices run after school on Wednesday afternoons for the month of May. Matches will be held on three Fridays in May with a “City Championship” in early June. Visit the Web site for more details.

To register, pay online, or for additional information for any LEAP program, please visit www.tcaps.net/LEAP. Registration deadlines are final. No late registrations will be accepted. Scholarships are available to those with specific financial needs. For additional questions please contact the LEAP office at 231-933-1758 or 231-933-1722.

 

Mobile Dentists
Recently, your child brought home a form for Mobile Dentists. If you are needing dental services for your child, please complete and return the form to the office as soon as possible. The dentists will be here on Wednesday and Thursday, April 18 and 19.

Spring Pictures
Timeless Image will be here on Friday, March 16, for spring pictures. The forms have been sent home. For this picture opportunity, your child may wear special clothes or bring props to hold or display to show their special talents or interests. Only the students who return the picture form will have their photo taken.

Open Enrollment
If your child is open enrolled at Central Grade, be sure to stop in the office and sign a new open enrollment form for next year or call the office and we can send a form home with your child.

Caring

Mrs. Longton’s second grade class wrote this to go along with their procedure week. They recited it on the announcements Thursday, February 16.

Caring is...

Helping people who are hurt,

Talking in a nice voice,

Being nice to everyone even if you don't know them,

Inviting others to play,

Asking someone to be your friend,

Sharing your ball at recess,

Listening to others,

Giving someone the last cup of pop,

Taking care of sick people.

BALLOON CAR RACES
Mrs. Charland’s and Mrs. Kyser’s fifth grade students participated in balloon car races this past week. Students had to create a “car” out of anything they wanted as long as it fit all of the rules. The rules included: the car must be powered by a balloon, the car must have at least three wheels, the wheels have to be made out of something that was not initially used as wheels (pop bottle caps, cardboard etc.), the car may not leave the ground, and the car must travel a minimum of two yards. Balloon racers rely on Newton’s Third Law of Motion: as the air rushes backward out of the balloon it pushes the car forward.

Fifth Grade Winners

Most Creative Design of Car
Maya Howard

Fastest Car to Travel Two Yards
Jenna Robbins
(her car traveled 2 yards in1.5 seconds)

Longest Distance Traveled
Cassidy Kutten
(her car traveled 19 feet total!) 

Mrs. Longton’s Class Celebrates Chinese New Year

 

Stewardship Grand Traverse

Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Cole, and Mrs. McDonough applied for a grant through the Grand Traverse Stewardship Initiative and they received the grant funds on February 15. The money will be used to purchase video equipment and provide for bus transportation and field trips to the Brown Bridge Quiet Area. Fourth and fifth grade TAG students will begin to document changes taking place with the Boardman River prior to the dam being removed this summer and continuing to document changes next year.

Tenth Annual Teacher and Parent Education Series
On March 6, Northern Michigan Psychiatric Services will deliver a presentation on “Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children and Adolescents” from Dr. Sander Weckstein, Board Certified Child, Adolescent, and General Psychiatrist. The presentation will run from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the TC Central High School Library Media Center, 1150 Milliken Drive, All presentations are open to the public and are free of charge. Please call Northern Michigan Psychiatric Service, P.C. at 231-935-0355 for more information.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Estimadas Familias,

¡Buenos(as)! Isn’t it difficult to believe that March is upon us? The school year will be over before we know it! It has been such an honor to witness the enthusiasm the students have to further their Spanish vocabulary. How remarkable it is that for some students, Spanish is the third language they are learning to speak. It is no wonder the libraries are embracing a GO GLOBAL theme for the month of March! Whether it is their second or third language, the students’ progress to date has been impressive. How lucky we feel to be on this journey with them!

We enjoyed seeing so many of you once again at conferences as well as meeting some of you for the first time. If you weren’t able to sneak in a visit, please feel free to email (baumannme@tcaps.net or derksvi@tcaps.net) or drop us a line (933-5686) with any questions or concerns you might have.

The second CAAP test was given last month. Hopefully your child(ren) shared the results with you. If not, the blue test copy should be easy to locate inside the Spanish binder. Unlike the first test last November, this test required the students to speak and write in Spanish - a bit more challenging! If you see room for improvement, encourage your child(ren) to practice online using the Spanish On Line lessons (accessed via http://moodle.tcaps.net). We plan to continue to use one class per month to work on these lessons at school.

The students have been honing their acting skills during their work with La Entrevista (The Interview) skit over the last couple of weeks. The skit is set-up as a question/answer session between two people and conveniently includes much of the vocabulary they have learned to date. In order to prepare, they watched a DVD of the skit being performed while lip-syncing the words in the subtitles, repeated the dialogue together as a class, and practiced reading and performing it with a partner. Hollywood here they come!

The students have added Diario sheets to their binders to act as an informal writing journal. Each entry will allow them to practice writing the date in Spanish, circle an appropriate weather condition for the day, indicate how they are feeling, as well as offer space for them to respond to a teacher-prompted question. Don’t expect a novel or even a paragraph at this point! A simple sentence that allows them to express their opinion is the goal!

Be sure to check out the Spanish bulletin board located near the office! Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head need your help finding their missing body parts...better yet see if your child(ren) are able to say all the body parts in Spanish for you!

Señoras Baumann and Derks

District LEAP Updates
4th & 5th Grade Track & Field: Elementary Track & Field begins Monday, April 2nd. Cost is $50 per student. Registration and payment deadline is Thursday, March 22nd.

For all LEAP programs visit www.tcaps.net/LEAP for more information, to register, and to make online payments.

Please feel free to contact LEAP Director Scott Robertson at 231-933-1758 or 231-933-1722 for more information or questions.

 

 

Student Count Day – February 8th
Every school day is important to your child’s learning! Count Day on Wednesday, February 8th, determines funding amounts, based on student attendance, that help schools pay for many academic programs and services. Help your school by being in school on Count Day. In the event school is closed on Feb. 8th, then count day will take place on the following school day.

Box Tops for Education
Wow! The last shipment of box tops was a big one! Thanks to everyone who sent in the Big G Box Tops for Education labels, we received a check for $1,120.60! Every one of those little 10¢ labels add up to a big reward so please keep clipping and sending them in.

Target Rewards
If you shop at Target and have a REDcard, please enroll in the Take Charge of Education program. When you designate Central Grade as the school of your choice, Target will donate up to 1% of your purchases to our school. To enroll, go to Target.com/tcoe or call 1-800-316-6142. This too earns us big bucks!

Tenth Annual Teacher and Parent Education Series
Northern Michigan Psychiatric Services will deliver presentations from Dr. Sander Weckstein, Board Certified Child, Adolescent, and General Psychiatrist. Presentations will run from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the TC Central High School Library Media Center, 1150 Milliken Drive, on the following dates:

February 7, 2012    “Depression and Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents”

March 6, 2012    “Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children and Adolescents”

All presentations are open to the public and are free of charge. Please call Northern Michigan Psychiatric Service, P.C. at 231-935-0355 for more information.

Kindergarten Parent Meeting
If you have a child who will be five years old on or before December 1, 2012, and who will be attending Central Grade Kindergarten or Young Fives next year, please plan to attend our upcoming Kindergarten Parent Meeting. The meeting will be on Thursday, February 9, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Lars Hockstad Auditorium. The meeting will include information on Kindergarten and Young Fives classes, required forms will be available as well as the first chance to sign-up for kindergarten round-up.

Geography Bee
By Matt Failor
On January 10th, six contestants, two from each fifth grade homeroom class, Matt Failor, Isabel Anderson, Jackson Steele, Sofia Halleck, Drew Snyder and Pearl Lan, took the Lars Hockstad Auditorium stage with geography on their minds. Soon, only two contestants remained. All but Jackson Steele and Matt Failor were out. The final round had arrived and it was the best of three championship questions. Two questions later, Matt Failor was named champion. On January 19th, Matt took a 70-question test to see if he will go to Kalamazoo for the state level competition.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Hola Familias!
This month, we have been learning how to say different body parts in Spanish. Students have been singing cabeza, hombros, rodillas, pies (Head and shoulders, knees and toes) regularly in class. We are playing several games to review all of the vocabulary that has been introduced this year. It is important to spend time reviewing what we have learned so that students can recall the vocabulary. This can be challenging because students cannot just memorize Spanish for a test. It needs to be used over and over again so that students can build upon what they have already learned.

Students will be taking the second CAAP test for Spanish this month. It will be helpful to review shapes, emotions, and body parts. Students should also be able to answer the following questions in complete sentences in Spanish: ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?) ¿Cuál es tu color favorito? (What is your favorite color?) ¿Te gusta...? (Do you like…?) and ¿Dónde vives? (Where do you live?)

Remember that Spanish On Line is a great way to review the lessons we have covered in class. One class period this month, time will be provided for all students to access the Spanish On Line lessons. Any additional time on Spanish On Line will be beneficial.

If you have any questions regarding la clase de español please email us at derksvi@tcaps.net or baumannme@tcaps.net or you can leave a message for us on our office phone (933-5686).

¡Saludos!

Señora Derks
Señora Baumann

District LEAP Updates
4th & 5th Grade Co-Ed Volleyball practice begins Monday, February 6th.

Baseball Pitching Clinics available for students in Grades 2-12. Clinics begin Saturday, January 28, and are offered Saturday and Sunday afternoons through March 18. Students can participate anytime throughout the clinic dates, however parents should register prior to students attending their first clinic.

For all LEAP programs visit www.tcaps.net/LEAP for more information, to register, and to make online payments.

Please feel free to contact LEAP Director Scott Robertson at 231-933-1758 or 231-933-1722 for more information or questions.

 

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Bienvenido! Welcome back!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Box Tops for Education

Below is the Bonus Box tops information for January. This is our best on-going fundraiser. Thank you, everyone, for participating!

 

Dates to Remember:

• December 5 – Report Cards Go Home
• December 22 - Half Day of School, classes dismiss at 11:22 a.m. for the Holiday Recess
• January 3 – School Resumes
• January 16 – No School – Martin Luther King Day
• March 1 – Half Day of School, classes dismiss at 11:22 a.m.
• March 2 – No School
• March 23 – No School - Spring Break
• April 2 – School Resumes
• April 6 – No School, Holiday Recess
• May 28 – No School, Memorial Day

Do You Need a Preschool?
Our Central Grade preschool has a few spaces open. If you have a child between the ages of three and five and need a preschool, please contact Dawn Smith at 933-7882.

Media Moment
Book Fair was full of great choices for students and parents again this year. Thanks to everyone who made a purchase! Our library earned over $4,700 from this fair for the purchase of books and library materials. Our Book Fair could not have been successful without the help of many hands...a SPECIAL THANK YOU to the following parents and staff for their tremendous help:

Tom Bush, Cathy Sheard, Mary Barnes, Tara Yantz, Heidi Lovy, Jane Conway

Tom’s and Oleson’s Receipts
If you shop at Tom’s or Oleson’s, please send in your receipts for October, November, and December 2011 by January 10, 2012. They must be submitted by the 15th of January to qualify for the cash back program. With this program, Central Grade earns over $150 each year. Thank you to all who send in receipts for this fundraiser.

SUB SALE NEWS!
Thanks to all of the help from students, staff, and volunteers, we were able to make over 6,600 subs in record time. Everyone worked so hard and took their jobs seriously. We were finished making subs by 1:00 PM. The delivery of the subs to the classrooms went very smoothly as well. You all did a great job and helped our school PTO make money that will be used to help teachers and students. Thank you all so much!

Box Tops for Education
Below is the Bonus Box tops information for December. This is our best on-going fundraiser. We should soon be receiving a check for $300 from last year and $812.90 from the October shipment. Of this, we thank the Mail Processing Department of Haggerty Insurance for their donation of $345 worth of box tops. Thank you, everyone, for participating!

Needed: Noon Duty Substitutes
There are times when our noon duty aides call in sick or cannot come in and we need a substitute for them. If you are available to work around the times of 10:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m., please apply on WillSub at willsub.com. Under the information tab, click on substitute sign-up packets and follow the directions. Please let us know if you are interested in being a noon duty sub. Noon duty sub pay is $8.75 per hour.

Central Grade Girls’ 5th Grade Basketball
The Central Grade 5th grade girls’ basketball team had a fantastic season this year. Their development of the game was phenomenal! They learned how to make defense game adjustment against different offenses while in the game and it was really amazing to see. They were a tough defense to score against and worked as a team protecting the basket. They were able to execute fast break passing to create a quick transition into offense. And their dead ball pressure created many turnovers. On the offensive side, our girls learned how to play motion basketball and be unpredictable which created open players for scoring and improved their passing. We are extremely proud of these girls and had a fun time coaching them and watching them play. Thanks!! --Coach Roman and Coach Pampu

Mrs. McDonough’s Class Writes Pantoums
All of Mrs. McDonough’s students wrote a Pantoum (rhymes with zoom), which is a verse form composed of four lines in which the second and fourth lines are repeated as the first and third lines in the following stanza. Often the first line becomes the last in the final stanza and the third line becomes the second. The class wrote Pantoums about Thanksgiving, generosity, and gratitude. We hope you enjoy these.

Generosity
By Jessica Litchfield

Give generously
To your friends
To your neighbors
To your family

To your fiends
Be helpful and supportive
To your family
Show Love and compassion

Be helpful and supportive
To people in need
Show Love and compassion
To your pets

To people in need
To your neighbors
To your pets
Give generously

Thanksgiving
By Mossimo Vozza

Thanksgiving time
pass the gravy
time of thanks
delicious food

pass the gravy
carve the turkey
delicious food
for all ages

carve the turkey
say our prayers
for all ages
having fun

say our prayers
time of thanks
having fun
Thanksgiving time.

Thanksgiving
By Robert O’Brien

Turkey roasting
Gravy simmering
Grandma cooking
Pumpkin pie

Gravy simmering
Children waiting
Pumpkin pie
Table set

Children waiting
Grandma cooking
Table set
Turkey roasting

Thanksgiving
By Hannah Schramski

Thanksgiving is a time for celebration
A time for giving thanks,
A time for giving love,
A time for giving food.

A time for giving thanks,
A time for sharing memories,
A time for giving food,
A time for sharing laughs.

A time for sharing memories,
A time for giving love,
A time for sharing laughs,
Thanksgiving is a time for celebration.