Are you Leaving Us?
If you will be transferring to another school for the fall and will not be attending TCAPS Montessori, please notify the office at your earliest convenience. We have already begun working on classroom lists and would appreciate advanced notice.

Classroom Visits and Parent Pick-Up
As spring arrives, we appreciate the help of all families in keeping our students safe. If you need to pick up your child early from school, please allow a few extra minutes to stop by the office, sign out your student and allow us to call them down to the office for you. This allows classrooms to maintain their focus on academics and the office to maintain accurate records as to who has left the building. Thanks for your support in keeping all students safe.

Girl Scout Troop 10039 News
Thanks to our school community and friends for supporting Girl Scout Troop 10039! We sold over 5,000 boxes for delicious cookies this year.

 

 

Kindergarten Round-Up
If your child will be a kindergarten-age child this fall and you intend to enroll them in our program, please contact the office to set up an appointment for Kindergarten Round-Up. If you have not submitted all necessary registration paperwork to our office prior to that appointment, please have your remaining documents with you at Round-Up which will be on May 17th and 18th.

From The Kitchen
Just a few reminders from the kitchen. Breakfast is $1.25 and lunch is $2.10. Milk is included in the price. Milk is .40 cents if bought separately.

There are many charges way past due for students and staff. These charges need to be paid. The cut-off date for charging school lunches will be May 11. Charge slips will be going home weekly along with automatic e-mails. Thank you for another great year. Renee

Rain Garden At TCAPS Montessori

Thanks to parent volunteer Tim Werner, our school has been planting a rain garden! A rain garden is a planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from the roof to be properly absorbed. This helps keep our bay clean by keeping storm water from flooding our drains. Erosion and pollution are diminished and the garden creates a habitat for native creatures. Native plants are recommended and some of those found in our school's garden are: purple coneflower, black-eyed susan, red osier-dogwood, and New England aster. These plants take up the excess water flowing off our roof and filter it through the soil layers before allowing it to enter our groundwater system. Check it out on the northeast corner of the gym!

NMC BBQ TICKETS ON SALE NOW
This year’s NMC Barbeque is set for Saturday, May 20, from 11 :00 AM to 5:00 PM. Tickets are available in the office right now! Tickets are $6.00 each and the best thing is that every ticket you purchase from our office, earns $1.00 for our school! Tickets are $8.00 if you wait until the day of the event. Please consider asking your coworkers to buy their tickets through you. Even if you or they cannot attend the event, each ticket will earn you a chance to win a two-year general tuition to NMC and your raffle entry will give you a chance to also win gift certificates to Extended Education and College for Kids classes.

Cherry Festival Prince and Princess Chosen
This year, the TCAPS Montessori Prince and Princess have been randomly selected, and they are: Prince Tony Stevenson from Mrs. McGillivary’s classroom and Emma Nelson from Mrs. Ballmer’s classroom. Students are nominated by their parents and have agreed to build the TCAPS Montessori Cherry Festival float for this year’s Jr. Royal and Cherry Royal parades. Traditionally, those parents who help build the float will have their children ride on the float with the Prince and Princess.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Estimadas TCAPS Montessori Familias,

¡Buenos (as)! It seems amazing we are wrapping up the school year already! The students have soaked up so much Spanish it has been fun to watch.

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 Michgan State? Do you like State?

¿Cuál es tu numero de teléfono? What’s your phone number?

¿Cuál es tu color favorito? What’s your favorite color? 

¿Qué es esto? What’s this?

¿ Cuál es tu nombre? What is your name?

¿ Dónde esta…? Where is…?

The students have wrapped up their work with La entrevista (the interview) and many of them even memorized it! Upper Elementary students wrote & performed their own interviews. You can share it with your child by going to Moodle-SOL lesson #15.

Upper Elementary has also learned how to use a headset to record their voices on Moodle-SOL. Energy levels were high as they spoke into the microphones and subsequently listened to themselves speak Spanish. There is one more CAAP assessment this year in which the speaking and listening portions will be completed on the laptops, with Moodle-SOL- an exciting technology application for TCAPS Elementary World Language.

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

As always, if you have any questions regarding la clase de español, please email me ruckertr@tcaps.net or check out my classroom website at: http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com.

Happy Spring,

Señora Rucker

Read Around the World
Montessori students read 3,759 books during March for March is Reading Month. Wow what an accomplishment!!! They travelled 112,770 miles – over three times around the world. Thank you to Montessori families for supporting this effort. Keep up the great work and keep reading!!!

For all of their hard work all Montessori students enjoyed a special visit from an award winning author, Leslie Helakoski, on Tuesday, April 17th. Ask your child about this fun visit.

Scholastic Book Fair
Thanks to everyone who helped with the book fair. Some hard working upper el students including Camille Czarny, Tyler Huffman, Claire Lambert, Keaton MacDonald, Aidan Read, Ellen Selby, and Jade Turner did a great job of helping with set up. Parent volunteers Sheryl Beeman, Rosa Breneman, Barb Crosley, Elizabeth Dell, Marcy Lindberg, Stephie Luyt, Laurie Mackowiak and Amanda Saxton volunteered their time and helped to make the Scholastic Book Fair once again a huge success. Profits of over $1500 will be used for new books as well as fun and educational programs for all students. Thanks for all of your continued support.

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.

 

Girls on the Run Coming April 2!!!
Join the girls for some good runs and good times, with an exciting final race at the Bayshore Marathon series on Friday, May 25th! This is an amazing opportunity for any 3rd-6th grade girls to train and run in an actual race, all while having a blast with friends and fun coaches! GOTR meetings will begin on Monday, April 2 from 3:20 PM - 4:40 PM and are scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:20 PM -4:40 PM. Please contact Megan Hancock for further information. Email: hancockme@tcaps.net Phone: 933-7874.

Dress Guidelines
With warmer weather upon us, please keep in mind of our district’s dress guidelines in our student handbook. Students are strictly forbidden to wear any clothing or attire that creates disorder or distraction, or otherwise disrupts the learning environment. For safety, children must wear shoes at all times. No shoes with wheels, please. Appropriate footwear is required to allow for active participation in classroom/school activities, for example recess and physical education.

Spring Photos
It’s not too late to get your order forms in for Spring Pictures, brought to us by Timeless Image. This is an order form just like the ones you filled out for school pictures this past fall, but the difference is, your or your children can pick out a fun spring theme background and that kids can get these photos done with up to three friends. Extra order forms are available in the office. Our spring picture day will be Wednesday, April 18, in the morning. We will also, on this day, be doing an ALL school picture.

Kindergarten Round-Up
If your child will be a kindergarten-age child this fall and you intend to enroll them in our program, please contact the office to set up an appointment for Kindergarten Round-Up. If you have not submitted all necessary registration paperwork to our office prior to that appointment, please have your remaining documents with you at Round-Up which will be on May 17th and 18th.

The Book Fair is Coming
Montessori will be having a Scholastic Book Fair beginning Thursday, April 12, through Friday, April 20. The hours will be 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM each day. Once again there will be a great selection of books for students and families. Teachers will be filling out “Wish Lists” with books that can be purchased for their classroom libraries. Proceeds from the book fair will help fund the purchase of new books and fun and interesting programs for all students.

Volunteers are needed. If you would like to volunteer, please call Barb Funkhouser at 933-7880 or email at funkhousba@tcaps.net.

Visiting Author, Leslie Helahoski, Coming to Montessori
On Tuesday, April 17, Montessori will welcome children’s book author Leslie Helakoski. Leslie is the author of Big Chickens (the Michigan Reads Picturebook for 2007, Great Lakes Great Books Award, and a GLBA finalist) and Woolbur (a Book Sense pick for 2008, Florida Reading Assoc. Honor Book, and nominee for state book awards in 9 states). Her other books include Big Chickens Fly the Coop, The Smushy Bus, and most recently she authored and illustrated Fair Cow. Leslie will be giving three presentations throughout the day for all students. She will be talking about writing, reading, illustrating, and creating. For more information, please contact Barb Funkhouser in the Montessori Library at 933-7880 or email atfunkhousba@tcaps.net.

Sports Injury Prevention
With spring almost here, that means children will be getting outside and participating in sports. Playing sports is a lot of fun but getting hurt is not. Take these five steps to prevent injuries so you and your children can stay in the game:

• Wear protective gear, such as helmets, protective pads, and other gear.
• Warm up and cool down.
• Know the rules of the game.
• Watch out for others.
• Don’t play when you are injured.

For more great information, please out this great website: http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/out/sport_safety.html. Plan well for your sport of choice, eat a balanced diet, exercise a lot, and most of all have fun!! This spring & enjoy the changing weather.

Warm Weather – Watch their Skin
Whether we are here in Michigan or somewhere else for vacation, please keep in mind that young skin burns easily and can have lifelong damages. Children and adolescents spend most of their waking hours during the week at school. Some of that time is spent in outdoor activities, usually during the time of day when sun exposure is most damaging. Early and consistent sun safety practices can contribute to the prevention of skin cancer later in life. Preventative measures during the school day include supporting the use of wide brim hats and sunglasses, wearing light colored clothing, and applying sunscreen.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Feliz Primavera!

Happy Spring, it is hard to believe we are in our last trimester of the school year... time flies when you having fun! Before Spring Break we were working on La Entrevista (the interview) with a partner and performing it in front of the class. Students are also continuing to write in Mi Diario (my diary) on a regular basis. We are introducing new conversation starters with questions and answers like ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?) and ¿Qué necesitas? (What do you need?). It is wonderful to see the kids incorporating the Spanish words they are comfortable with into their daily routines. We finished up with the body parts. Did you get a chance to hear them sing the song? It is a lot of fun when they point to the body parts and sing along with the song.

CAAP II Scores: The second CAAP assessment was given at the end of February and this time you received a letter from the World Language Department with your children’s II CAAP scores. We will take one more CAAP assessment in May for this school year.

SOL: I encourage the children to review the Spanish learned in the classroom by accessing SOL (Spanish on Line) lessons on Moodle. SOL lessons are assigned the second meeting day of each week. Students are encouraged to review prior lessons after they have completed the assigned lesson for the week. The songs and vocabulary clips at the top of the page are a helpful review tool. If your child does not have access to the Internet at home, time is provided at school to access the site. We plan to continue to use one class per month to work on these lessons at school.

As always, if you have any questions regarding la clase de español, please email me ruckertr@tcaps.net or check out my classroom website at: http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com.

Happy Spring,

Señora Rucker

Happy Spring from the Music Room!
Thursday, April 19th, the classes of Mrs. Flaherty, Mrs. Larrea, Mrs. Socks and Mrs. Yamasaki will be having their annual music share-formances. These share-formances give us the opportunity to share with you what we have been doing and learning in the music classroom this year in a safe, low anxiety setting. Parents are welcome to join us during our regular music time Socks-9:30 AM; Yamasaki-12:20 PM; Flaherty-12:55 PM; Larrea-1:30 PM. We encourage younger siblings to come and participate with us!

During the month of April and May, our students participate in two curriculum assessments. The first is based on music reading skills or music literacy and the second on accessing the head voice and singing in tune. I often have many parents question me about "head voice." Simply put, "head voice" or "head register" is the high yoo-hoo voice we aim for all children to be singing in. It is light and resonate, healthy and more flexible than the chest register or "chest voice" or speaking voice. Though many of our pop and country stars sing in this "chest register" the range is limited and it is more taxing on the body and prone to injuries (John Mayer has just cancelled his tour due to throat issues). Many parents are concerned if their child has not yet accessed his/her headvoice. I can say from experience that after 15 years of teaching everyone can sing, and though a student may struggle, it's only a matter of time before the student "get's it."

To encourage your child's journey to "head voice" try singing yoo-hoo while waiting at a stoplight. Dads don't be afraid to talk in a high light voice to your children, especially boys! Use high voices and sing-songey voices while reading aloud to your children. Encourage your children to drink water and monitor for seasonal allergies that may make their voices sound raspy and congested. Sing together as a family, and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Holly Olszewski
TCAPS Music
olszewskho@tcaps.net

NMC BBQ Tickets
Tickets to the annual NMC BBQ are now available online. As an added incentive to buy early, advance ticket prices for the May 20th picnic are $6, $2 less than the $8 on Barbecue Day. For the fifth year in a row, all ticket holders may enter a raffle to win a scholarship good for two years of general tuition. The winner is drawn at random on Barbecue Day. Remember to choose “Buy and support your school” when ordering online. TCAPS Montessori will receive $1 for every ticket purchased in advance.

LEAP Updates
Registration for Grades 2-5 and 6-8 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.

Grades 6-8 Tennis begins Monday, April 16. Cost is $100 per student. Visit the Web site for practice information and competition dates.

There is still time to sign up for Grades 6-8 Flag Football. Registration and payment deadline is Friday, April 20. Practice begins Tuesday, May 1. Cost is $50 per student. Visit the Web site for information on practices and Jamboree.

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.

 

Cartridge World Recycling Fundraiser
Last month, you received a small yellow envelope with a plastic baggie inside and a little yellow ticket. These were intended for you to please place your used printer/ink cartridges into and send back to school. Cartridge World does all of the collecting and tabulating and gives back $1.00 for every cartridge collected to your child’s classroom! If you purchase your printer cartridges at Cartridge World Traverse City, they will give your child’s classroom $3.00! That is a very big opportunity to gather a lot of funds with very little to no work on our part. Please go through your drawers, put out the word at your work place, and tell your friends. The classroom that collects the most cartridges by April 6 will receive an additional $25.00 for their classroom supply account.

Volunteering At Our School
Our Montessori community is very rich with active parent volunteers and we thank you! TCAPS has a volunteer coordinator who has provided us with a form that needs to be filled out by ALL parents who are volunteering in our building. It is a simple form, but necessary nonetheless. This helps us from an accountability standpoint, in knowing who is in our school building, working with/among our students. Thank you for your cooperation for the safety of all our students.

Did You Know?
Dr. Maria Montessori was born in 1870 and lived until 1952. She was Italy’s first female medical doctor, the creator of the “Montessori Method,” an educational activist, a child advocate and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. The following is one of Maria’s many inspirational quotes, “Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.” There are many websites online, that site and chronicle her life and work. She was an amazing lady and worth learning more about.

Lunch Charge Overages
Our cook, Renee, has mentioned that some of our student lunch accounts are becoming terribly in arrears. Renee is the kitchen manager and therefore accountable to her superiors for outstanding balances and overages within our student accounts. If you have received a notice of an overdue lunch account for your child, or think you might be close to overdrawn, please contact Renee in the kitchen at 933-7888 or send payment in immediately. Thank you!

Family Art Night is Coming Soon
We would like you all to please be thinking about TCAPS Montessori Family Arts Night, Wednesday, March 14, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. We are inviting and encouraging you, your child, or extended family members to sign up to perform, display or share in any way, your creativity. The gym will be used for displays and demonstrations of anything from photography, ceramics, basket making, rug hooking, drawing, painting, jewelry making…you get the idea. Whatever it is that anyone would like to share is greatly encouraged and invited.

Another aspect of Family Arts Night will be the performing arts. Spoken word, poetry, songs, instrument playing, storytelling etc. is going to occur in our café. There are sign up sheets in the lobby so please sign up or call the office if you are interested. Mrs. O is going to have some of her band members perform and some Upper El children have already signed up. We’re hoping to build some excitement about this event, so please remind your child to come up with something to share!

Additionally, children are encouraged to share their literary arts. The entire wall outside the music room will be lined with stories, poems, and other such written masterpieces. Anything you or your child creates at home is welcome as well. Set up will begin at 5 p.m. for families/students who will be demonstrating or displaying. Also, face-painter volunteers needed!

Art night is going to celebrate all things artful. We hope you’ll participate! Call Angel Elsenheimer at 933-1783 or email her at elsenheian@tcaps.net for further information.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Estimadas Montessori Familias,

¡Buenos(as)! Isn’t it difficult to believe that March is upon us? The school year will be over before we know! 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 I feel to be on this journey with them!

If you were not able to visit with me during the March 1 conferences, please feel free to email (ruckertr@tcaps.net) or leave me a voice message (933-7894) 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 have been sent home. 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 SOL lessons: http://moodle.tcaps.net. I 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.

Think spring,

Señora Rucker

http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com

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.

District LEAP Updates
TCAPS LEAP Program is now accepting registrations for the following Spring Sports Activities:

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.

6th-8th Grade Track & Field:
Middle School Track & Field begins Monday, April 2nd. Cost is $75 for 6th grade and $100 for 7th & 8th grade students. Registration and payment deadline is Wednesday, April 4th.

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.

Science Share on February 11th
Your child is invited to participate in our Annual Science Share! They can complete science experiments, studies, projects, or anything that pertains to science! They may bring it in on Friday, February 10th. All are welcome to attend the Science Share Open House on Saturday, February 11th, from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM in the gym. These creative projects are completed at home, have fun!

Montessori Tubing At Timberlee
Thursday, February 9th, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM, TCAPS Montessori families are invited to attend the 8th annual Winterfest/snow tubing party at Timberlee Resort. Sign up forms are available in the office, will be sent home via teacher web page, and/or sent home as hard copy. Forms should be handed in at your earliest convenience. The rates are as follows:

$12.00 Children, pizza, pop, tubing
$14.00 Adults who wish to tube and eat
$5.00 Pizza & pop only, no tubing

With or without a reservation, we would love to have your family join us. If you have any further questions, you can contact Mr. Habich at habichan@tcaps.net. 

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Hola! This month students will be taking the second CAAP assessment of the school year. I encourage all students to practice the Spanish learned in the classroom by accessing Señor SOL lessons on Moodle at: http://moodle.tcaps.net SOL lessons are assigned the second meeting day of each week. Students are encouraged to review prior lessons after they have completed the assign lesson for the week. The songs and vocabulary clips at the top of the page are a helpful review tool. If your child does not have access to the Internet at home, time can be provided at school to access the site. Remember Lower Elementary now have SOL logs in the Communication Folder. Upper Elementary logs are attached in the back of the work planner notebook. Please continue to sign your initials as your child completes the weekly lessons.

I will be at TCAPS Montessori on THURSDAY, MARCH 1 from 12:15 PM to 2:15 PM and then again from 3:14 PM to 4:15 PM for parent/teacher conferences. My office is located in the back of the library. If you have any questions regarding la clase de español please email me at: ruckertr@tcaps.net or leave a message on my office phone (933-7894). You may also refer to the class website at: http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com.

¡Saludos!
Señora Rucker

TCAPS Montessori GIRL SCOUT TROOP 10039 is taking cookie orders NOW!
Help support your school’s troop and Girl Scouting! Order some delicious Girl Scout Cookies today! Order deadline is February 17th An order form is located in the Montessori Office Or Contact Kathie Cesario, 499-6294 for a Girl Scout to contact you about ordering cookies.

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, “Depression and Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents”

March 6, “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.

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.

 

MO Visitors

LEAP Updates
4th & 5th Grade co-ed Volleyball registration is now open! Practice begins Monday, February 6th. Registration and payment deadline is Friday, January 27th by 3pm. No late registrations will be accepted.

 

Early Withdrawals Count Toward Truancy
We would like to remind you, once again, that the practice of parents or childcare providers withdrawing their children before the end of the actual school day at 3:13 p.m. has dramatically increased lately. Please do not do this if not absolutely necessary! It is very easy to see that convenience becomes a factor for some families who are ‘in the area’ near the 3 o’clock hour and don’t want to wait in the car line. Please be aware that each time you pick your child up before the end of the school day and it is not for something excusable like a doctor’s appointment or family emergency (for example), it counts toward truancy in the same way that a tardy would in the morning. In an effort to curb truancy issues that are arising, we require notes from the doctor’s office for all students being withdrawn for ‘appointments’ before the end of the school day. Students withdrawn for any reason related to convenience will not be excused. We really appreciate your understanding on this matter.

New Extended Day Staff
We would like to inform you that Rebecca McGarry Costello is our new Extended Day Manager in the morning. She has taken over for Robin Heintz, who has moved into one of our classrooms. Thank you Robin for all your hard work in Extended Day and welcome Rebecca. Any schedule changes for Extended Day need to be given to Rebecca at mcgarryre@tcaps.net or fill out one the extended day change forms available at Extended Day or in the office.


From the Nursing Department:
When should I keep my child home from school?
Whenever a child complains of not feeling well on a school day, parents are faced with the decision of whether or not to send their child to school. How do you make the right choice? Generally speaking, if a child is sick, he/she should NOT come to school.

If you child is vomiting, experiencing diarrhea, has a rash, sore throat, or running a fever of 100 or greater, please keep your child home for at least twenty-four hours or until he/she is completely recovered. Should a child become ill during the school day, parents will be contacted to take him/her home.

The Communicable Disease Chart located in the TCAPS student handbook is a valuable resource for you to use in making this decision.

If a youngster is sick, but you feel he/she can come to school as long as they stay inside or don’t participate in PE, PLEASE RECONSIDER: A STUDENT WELL ENOUGH TO ATTEND SCHOOL WILL BE CONSIDERED WELL ENOUGH TO PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL RELATED ACTIVITIES.

Reporting Illness: Please report to the school when your child is out of school due to the following symptoms: chills, fatigue, FEVER (temperature over 100), sore throat, cough, or muscle aches.


TCAPS Montessori Community Gardens Update
Fall has ended and the Garden Committee is looking ahead to be ready for spring. We have a couple of opportunities that we would like to extend to our community.

1. We are in need of a wood carver to create a couple of wood plaques and posts to display our garden signs.
2. We would also like to create a “cleaning station” for the children to use to wash produce, tools, hands, etc. We are in need of a carpenter to create a two sink cleaning station. We found a neat way to use recycled materials to create a sink and counter.
3. We are also open to any creative ideas!

 

Our garden grant will provide the costs for materials and labor. Please contact Linda Gilson at gilsonli@tcaps.net; Linda Flynn at flynnli@tcaps.net; or Tracy Rucker at ruckertr@tcaps.net  if you are interested in helping our school accomplish these tasks over the winter months.


Ski Program at Crystal Mountain
You have just a few more weeks to sign up for this year’s ski program! It is an incredible deal that is worth looking into. Our ski days at Crystal Mountain Resort are on Sunday’s from 3:30 to close. Prices are very affordable for the entire ski season and ski/snowboard lessons are included every Sunday! Grab an application and return it to the office. See you on the slopes!

Coat Drive at TCAPS Montessori
Beginning Monday, December 12 through Wednesday, December 21, our school will be hosting a ‘Warm Fuzzies’ drive. There will be a cart parked right in front of the office where you or your children can bring in donations of such items as hats, gloves, mittens, coats, scarves, warm socks, snow pants, or boots. These items should be clean and free of tears, rips, or stains if used or new, and can be for children or adults. The intent of this drive is to provide needed items to our own families, and donate the remaining items to the Father Fred Foundation. Miss Liz will deliver the items to their Hastings St. location on the last day of school, prior to the holiday break, along with whatever is left unclaimed in the lost and found. We urge you to please clean out your attics, closets, and storage areas for your unwanted warm things. Last year this drive assisted a good number of our families and the remaining items were very appreciated by Father Fred, where items are given to families at no cost, no questions asked. Thank you for your participation in this event!

Book Fair Update
Once again Montessori families enthusiastically supported the Scholastic Book Fair. We were able to add over 50 new books to the library totaling over $450 in value and we earned nearly $1200 in cash. We are currently looking into bringing fun and educational programs to Montessori yet this year.

The book fair would not be possible without the help of many volunteers. Thank you to Amy McKean, Jamie Schuh, Kaitlin Cesario, Sierra Perkette, Andrew Schollett, Chloe Sniff, and Jordan and Sydney Stewart for their help in setting up the book fair. Thank you to Rosa Breneman, Amy Colligan, Barb Crosley, Elizabeth Dell, Heather Green, Marcy Lindberg and her mother, Sandy Pearsall, Stephie Luyt, and Laurie Mackowiak for their help during the book fair.

Congratulations to Bahle Belfry and Caleb Hippensteel. They both won the Children’s Book Festival Contest for their reviews of the Gary Paulsen book Hatchet. They received their awards on Saturday, November 12, at the City Opera House. Many children submitted their book reviews making it hard to choose a winner so way to go to all the children.


Drama Club Info
We have a wonderful Montessori staff member who is willing to get the Drama Club up and running but she would like to have another volunteer to help her with this. The Drama Club is usually after school on Friday’s until about 5:30 p.m. It is available to all 4th, 5th and 6th year students who have an interest in fully participating and enmeshing themselves in all things dramatic, creative, playful, artistic, and fun. They will share dramatic terms, lingo, placement, stage information, lead dramatic play skits, help children write and act out their own plays and much, much more. One of the goals is to help the children learn more about all of their inner strengths and abilities in the world of creativity. For those that are interested in volunteering, please notify the office.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Hola TCAPS Montessori Familias! We have had another busy month in Spanish class. We have finished our first unit of study by introducing shapes, emotions, and articles. Later this month, we will be discussing the Hispanic holiday of Las Posadas and studying The Legend of the Poinsettia.

CAAP ASSESSMENT: In the middle of November students completed the first CAAP for Spanish class. The children were given random colors, letters and numbers to tell a teacher. They were also asked four greeting questions. They LOVED showing off all the Spanish they know! Look for El Pasaporte (the passport) to be coming home with your child’s CAAP score. If your child scored low on an area, SOL would be a great way to gain practice!

REPORT CARDS: You will find your child’s grades for Spanish class on the Specials Report Card. Please take note, that at this early stage of second language learning, it is very common for MOST children to be at a “developing and learning” level.

MOODLE: SOL (Spanish On-Line) assignments have included lessons 1 through 10. These lessons can be done at least twice a week for extra practice. Remember that lessons will be assigned on the last day of your child's weekly Spanish class. PLEASE HELP REMIND YOUR CHILD TO BRING BINDERS HOME AND RETURN THEM TO SCHOOL BEFORE NEXT SPANISH CLASS! The binder is an important resource your child will use throughout elementary school, while learning Spanish.

UPPER ELE & MRS. OLSON’S ~ binders’ home on WEDNESDAYS and return to school by MONDAYS. LOWER ELE ~ binders home on MONDAYS and return to school on FRIDAYS.

Please check out our Elementary World Language Class Website at: http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com  here you will find weekly SOL lessons, classroom happenings, & the link to Moodle. If you have any questions regarding la clase de español please email me at: ruckertr@tcaps.net  or call voicemail at: 933-7894.
I wish your family love and peace this holiday season!
Feliz Navidad,
Señora Rucker

 

Changes In Latitude
Angel Elsenheimer, the Montessori Lead Administrative Assistant for the past several years, has taken a new position within TCAPS' Marketing and Communications Office. This change occurred just prior to the beginning of the school year. Some family members, who may not have regular opportunities to visit the school during the course of a regular school day, might not have been aware. All inquiries and questions relative to the TCAPS Montessori program can now be directed to Liz Sievers, your new lead Administrative Assistant. Angel would like to extend her thanks and gratitude for the years she's been able to spend with your children.

Circle Drive for Toddlers and Handicapped Only
In courtesy to the families of Montessori Toddlers and those with handicapped vehicle passes/plates, PLEASE refrain from using the circle drive at any time near the beginning or end of our school day. Toddler parents have to park, exit their vehicle, and walk their children into the building and likewise for picking up. Grace and courtesy are Montessori cornerstones.

Tuition Drop Box
Our lobby is now graced with a tuition payment drop box. It is located by our media rack in the lobby.  For those of you who have children that attend one of our tuition-based programs, you may put your payments in this box. We will have tuition envelopes located in the media rack for your convenience. There will still be a tuition payment drop box located in the cafeteria for the extended day families.

Cold Weather Preparation
Although our weather patterns haven’t completely stabilized and transitioned into constantly cold temperatures, it is very important that your child brings appropriate outdoor clothing for outdoor recess. We recognize that children’s internal thermostats vary greatly, but we will always encourage children to wear their outdoor clothing while at recess. Fall can be a very wet and consequently a muddy season. Because our students, especially at the younger levels, work very often on the floor, it is very advisable for your child to keep a second pair of dry/clean shoes to change into. Usually students keep their gym shoes in their locker for this reason. Indoor-only shoes help keep our classroom environments as clean as possible, and are more comfortable for a child than wet shoes throughout his/her school day. Please label all of your child’s outdoor clothing, boots, and shoes. We are able to return lost and found items if they are labeled.

Visitors
How we love visitors! If stopping by to drop something off or just coming in to have lunch with your child, we ask that you sign in at the office first and take a guest pass. Upon leaving the building, please return your guest pass and sign out. Thank you.

Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair is currently taking place in the Montessori library. Dates and hours are: Friday, November 4, 8:00 AM - 12:30 PM, Tuesday, November 8, 8:00 AM - 7:30 PM, Wednesday, November 9, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Thursday November 10, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM and Friday November 11, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Proceeds will support the library for purchasing books and bringing in programs for all students. Thank you for your continued support of the book fair. For more information or if you would like to volunteer, contact Barb Funkhouser, 933-7880 or email funkhousba@tcaps.net.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Hola TCAPS Montessori Familias! I hope that your child has enjoyed the beginning lessons in Elementary World Language class. For the first two months of school, we have introduced the Spanish language by reviewing greetings, colors, numbers, shapes, vowels, the alphabet, and the Spanish holiday El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead). Upper Elementary students have impressed me with their knowledge and are practicing conversation writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We would like to have “Spanish Club ~ SOL Time” available in the library during lunch recess two days a week to provide SOL experience for students who do not have access to the Internet at home. If you are able to come in and monitor computers any time between 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM please let me know.

WORLD LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT: Soon your child will be completing the first (of three) CAAP assessment for Spanish class. This assessment will be used to help determine grades for the upcoming report cards. The assessment is called El Passaporte (the passport). It comes from our curriculum, Risas y Sonrisas.

MOODLE: SOL assignments have included lessons 1 through 5. These lessons can be done at least twice a week for extra practice. A lesson will be assigned on the last day of your child’s weekly Spanish class. On that day they will bring their binder home to complete SOL for the week. Their Spanish binder should return to school for their next class. Please see below to know when to help your child remember to bring their Spanish to and from school:

LOWER ELEMENTARY: Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Stricker, Mr. Munn, Mrs. Girard & Mrs. Ballmer’s classes: Please take binders home on Mondays and return to school by FRIDAY.

MRS. OLSON’S CLASS: Please take binders home on Wednesday and return to school by MONDAY.

UPPER ELEMENTARY: Please take your binders home on Wednesdays and return to school by MONDAYS.

If you have any questions regarding la clase de español please email me at: ruckertr@tcaps.net.  

Hasta Luego,
Señora Rucker

 

Are you Leaving Us?
If you will be transferring to another school for the fall and will not be attending TCAPS Montessori, please notify the office at your earliest convenience. We have already begun working on classroom lists and would appreciate advanced notice.

Classroom Visits and Parent Pick-Up
As spring arrives, we appreciate the help of all families in keeping our students safe. If you need to pick up your child early from school, please allow a few extra minutes to stop by the office, sign out your student and allow us to call them down to the office for you. This allows classrooms to maintain their focus on academics and the office to maintain accurate records as to who has left the building. Thanks for your support in keeping all students safe.

Girl Scout Troop 10039 News
Thanks to our school community and friends for supporting Girl Scout Troop 10039! We sold over 5,000 boxes for delicious cookies this year.

 

 

Kindergarten Round-Up
If your child will be a kindergarten-age child this fall and you intend to enroll them in our program, please contact the office to set up an appointment for Kindergarten Round-Up. If you have not submitted all necessary registration paperwork to our office prior to that appointment, please have your remaining documents with you at Round-Up which will be on May 17th and 18th.

From The Kitchen
Just a few reminders from the kitchen. Breakfast is $1.25 and lunch is $2.10. Milk is included in the price. Milk is .40 cents if bought separately.

There are many charges way past due for students and staff. These charges need to be paid. The cut-off date for charging school lunches will be May 11. Charge slips will be going home weekly along with automatic e-mails. Thank you for another great year. Renee

Rain Garden At TCAPS Montessori

Thanks to parent volunteer Tim Werner, our school has been planting a rain garden! A rain garden is a planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from the roof to be properly absorbed. This helps keep our bay clean by keeping storm water from flooding our drains. Erosion and pollution are diminished and the garden creates a habitat for native creatures. Native plants are recommended and some of those found in our school's garden are: purple coneflower, black-eyed susan, red osier-dogwood, and New England aster. These plants take up the excess water flowing off our roof and filter it through the soil layers before allowing it to enter our groundwater system. Check it out on the northeast corner of the gym!

NMC BBQ TICKETS ON SALE NOW
This year’s NMC Barbeque is set for Saturday, May 20, from 11 :00 AM to 5:00 PM. Tickets are available in the office right now! Tickets are $6.00 each and the best thing is that every ticket you purchase from our office, earns $1.00 for our school! Tickets are $8.00 if you wait until the day of the event. Please consider asking your coworkers to buy their tickets through you. Even if you or they cannot attend the event, each ticket will earn you a chance to win a two-year general tuition to NMC and your raffle entry will give you a chance to also win gift certificates to Extended Education and College for Kids classes.

Cherry Festival Prince and Princess Chosen
This year, the TCAPS Montessori Prince and Princess have been randomly selected, and they are: Prince Tony Stevenson from Mrs. McGillivary’s classroom and Emma Nelson from Mrs. Ballmer’s classroom. Students are nominated by their parents and have agreed to build the TCAPS Montessori Cherry Festival float for this year’s Jr. Royal and Cherry Royal parades. Traditionally, those parents who help build the float will have their children ride on the float with the Prince and Princess.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Estimadas TCAPS Montessori Familias,

¡Buenos (as)! It seems amazing we are wrapping up the school year already! The students have soaked up so much Spanish it has been fun to watch.

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 Michgan State? Do you like State?

¿Cuál es tu numero de teléfono? What’s your phone number?

¿Cuál es tu color favorito? What’s your favorite color? 

¿Qué es esto? What’s this?

¿ Cuál es tu nombre? What is your name?

¿ Dónde esta…? Where is…?

The students have wrapped up their work with La entrevista (the interview) and many of them even memorized it! Upper Elementary students wrote & performed their own interviews. You can share it with your child by going to Moodle-SOL lesson #15.

Upper Elementary has also learned how to use a headset to record their voices on Moodle-SOL. Energy levels were high as they spoke into the microphones and subsequently listened to themselves speak Spanish. There is one more CAAP assessment this year in which the speaking and listening portions will be completed on the laptops, with Moodle-SOL- an exciting technology application for TCAPS Elementary World Language.

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

As always, if you have any questions regarding la clase de español, please email me ruckertr@tcaps.net or check out my classroom website at: http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com.

Happy Spring,

Señora Rucker

Read Around the World
Montessori students read 3,759 books during March for March is Reading Month. Wow what an accomplishment!!! They travelled 112,770 miles – over three times around the world. Thank you to Montessori families for supporting this effort. Keep up the great work and keep reading!!!

For all of their hard work all Montessori students enjoyed a special visit from an award winning author, Leslie Helakoski, on Tuesday, April 17th. Ask your child about this fun visit.

Scholastic Book Fair
Thanks to everyone who helped with the book fair. Some hard working upper el students including Camille Czarny, Tyler Huffman, Claire Lambert, Keaton MacDonald, Aidan Read, Ellen Selby, and Jade Turner did a great job of helping with set up. Parent volunteers Sheryl Beeman, Rosa Breneman, Barb Crosley, Elizabeth Dell, Marcy Lindberg, Stephie Luyt, Laurie Mackowiak and Amanda Saxton volunteered their time and helped to make the Scholastic Book Fair once again a huge success. Profits of over $1500 will be used for new books as well as fun and educational programs for all students. Thanks for all of your continued support.

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.

 

Girls on the Run Coming April 2!!!
Join the girls for some good runs and good times, with an exciting final race at the Bayshore Marathon series on Friday, May 25th! This is an amazing opportunity for any 3rd-6th grade girls to train and run in an actual race, all while having a blast with friends and fun coaches! GOTR meetings will begin on Monday, April 2 from 3:20 PM - 4:40 PM and are scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:20 PM -4:40 PM. Please contact Megan Hancock for further information. Email: hancockme@tcaps.net Phone: 933-7874.

Dress Guidelines
With warmer weather upon us, please keep in mind of our district’s dress guidelines in our student handbook. Students are strictly forbidden to wear any clothing or attire that creates disorder or distraction, or otherwise disrupts the learning environment. For safety, children must wear shoes at all times. No shoes with wheels, please. Appropriate footwear is required to allow for active participation in classroom/school activities, for example recess and physical education.

Spring Photos
It’s not too late to get your order forms in for Spring Pictures, brought to us by Timeless Image. This is an order form just like the ones you filled out for school pictures this past fall, but the difference is, your or your children can pick out a fun spring theme background and that kids can get these photos done with up to three friends. Extra order forms are available in the office. Our spring picture day will be Wednesday, April 18, in the morning. We will also, on this day, be doing an ALL school picture.

Kindergarten Round-Up
If your child will be a kindergarten-age child this fall and you intend to enroll them in our program, please contact the office to set up an appointment for Kindergarten Round-Up. If you have not submitted all necessary registration paperwork to our office prior to that appointment, please have your remaining documents with you at Round-Up which will be on May 17th and 18th.

The Book Fair is Coming
Montessori will be having a Scholastic Book Fair beginning Thursday, April 12, through Friday, April 20. The hours will be 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM each day. Once again there will be a great selection of books for students and families. Teachers will be filling out “Wish Lists” with books that can be purchased for their classroom libraries. Proceeds from the book fair will help fund the purchase of new books and fun and interesting programs for all students.

Volunteers are needed. If you would like to volunteer, please call Barb Funkhouser at 933-7880 or email at funkhousba@tcaps.net.

Visiting Author, Leslie Helahoski, Coming to Montessori
On Tuesday, April 17, Montessori will welcome children’s book author Leslie Helakoski. Leslie is the author of Big Chickens (the Michigan Reads Picturebook for 2007, Great Lakes Great Books Award, and a GLBA finalist) and Woolbur (a Book Sense pick for 2008, Florida Reading Assoc. Honor Book, and nominee for state book awards in 9 states). Her other books include Big Chickens Fly the Coop, The Smushy Bus, and most recently she authored and illustrated Fair Cow. Leslie will be giving three presentations throughout the day for all students. She will be talking about writing, reading, illustrating, and creating. For more information, please contact Barb Funkhouser in the Montessori Library at 933-7880 or email atfunkhousba@tcaps.net.

Sports Injury Prevention
With spring almost here, that means children will be getting outside and participating in sports. Playing sports is a lot of fun but getting hurt is not. Take these five steps to prevent injuries so you and your children can stay in the game:

• Wear protective gear, such as helmets, protective pads, and other gear.
• Warm up and cool down.
• Know the rules of the game.
• Watch out for others.
• Don’t play when you are injured.

For more great information, please out this great website: http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/out/sport_safety.html. Plan well for your sport of choice, eat a balanced diet, exercise a lot, and most of all have fun!! This spring & enjoy the changing weather.

Warm Weather – Watch their Skin
Whether we are here in Michigan or somewhere else for vacation, please keep in mind that young skin burns easily and can have lifelong damages. Children and adolescents spend most of their waking hours during the week at school. Some of that time is spent in outdoor activities, usually during the time of day when sun exposure is most damaging. Early and consistent sun safety practices can contribute to the prevention of skin cancer later in life. Preventative measures during the school day include supporting the use of wide brim hats and sunglasses, wearing light colored clothing, and applying sunscreen.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Feliz Primavera!

Happy Spring, it is hard to believe we are in our last trimester of the school year... time flies when you having fun! Before Spring Break we were working on La Entrevista (the interview) with a partner and performing it in front of the class. Students are also continuing to write in Mi Diario (my diary) on a regular basis. We are introducing new conversation starters with questions and answers like ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?) and ¿Qué necesitas? (What do you need?). It is wonderful to see the kids incorporating the Spanish words they are comfortable with into their daily routines. We finished up with the body parts. Did you get a chance to hear them sing the song? It is a lot of fun when they point to the body parts and sing along with the song.

CAAP II Scores: The second CAAP assessment was given at the end of February and this time you received a letter from the World Language Department with your children’s II CAAP scores. We will take one more CAAP assessment in May for this school year.

SOL: I encourage the children to review the Spanish learned in the classroom by accessing SOL (Spanish on Line) lessons on Moodle. SOL lessons are assigned the second meeting day of each week. Students are encouraged to review prior lessons after they have completed the assigned lesson for the week. The songs and vocabulary clips at the top of the page are a helpful review tool. If your child does not have access to the Internet at home, time is provided at school to access the site. We plan to continue to use one class per month to work on these lessons at school.

As always, if you have any questions regarding la clase de español, please email me ruckertr@tcaps.net or check out my classroom website at: http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com.

Happy Spring,

Señora Rucker

Happy Spring from the Music Room!
Thursday, April 19th, the classes of Mrs. Flaherty, Mrs. Larrea, Mrs. Socks and Mrs. Yamasaki will be having their annual music share-formances. These share-formances give us the opportunity to share with you what we have been doing and learning in the music classroom this year in a safe, low anxiety setting. Parents are welcome to join us during our regular music time Socks-9:30 AM; Yamasaki-12:20 PM; Flaherty-12:55 PM; Larrea-1:30 PM. We encourage younger siblings to come and participate with us!

During the month of April and May, our students participate in two curriculum assessments. The first is based on music reading skills or music literacy and the second on accessing the head voice and singing in tune. I often have many parents question me about "head voice." Simply put, "head voice" or "head register" is the high yoo-hoo voice we aim for all children to be singing in. It is light and resonate, healthy and more flexible than the chest register or "chest voice" or speaking voice. Though many of our pop and country stars sing in this "chest register" the range is limited and it is more taxing on the body and prone to injuries (John Mayer has just cancelled his tour due to throat issues). Many parents are concerned if their child has not yet accessed his/her headvoice. I can say from experience that after 15 years of teaching everyone can sing, and though a student may struggle, it's only a matter of time before the student "get's it."

To encourage your child's journey to "head voice" try singing yoo-hoo while waiting at a stoplight. Dads don't be afraid to talk in a high light voice to your children, especially boys! Use high voices and sing-songey voices while reading aloud to your children. Encourage your children to drink water and monitor for seasonal allergies that may make their voices sound raspy and congested. Sing together as a family, and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Holly Olszewski
TCAPS Music
olszewskho@tcaps.net

NMC BBQ Tickets
Tickets to the annual NMC BBQ are now available online. As an added incentive to buy early, advance ticket prices for the May 20th picnic are $6, $2 less than the $8 on Barbecue Day. For the fifth year in a row, all ticket holders may enter a raffle to win a scholarship good for two years of general tuition. The winner is drawn at random on Barbecue Day. Remember to choose “Buy and support your school” when ordering online. TCAPS Montessori will receive $1 for every ticket purchased in advance.

LEAP Updates
Registration for Grades 2-5 and 6-8 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.

Grades 6-8 Tennis begins Monday, April 16. Cost is $100 per student. Visit the Web site for practice information and competition dates.

There is still time to sign up for Grades 6-8 Flag Football. Registration and payment deadline is Friday, April 20. Practice begins Tuesday, May 1. Cost is $50 per student. Visit the Web site for information on practices and Jamboree.

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.

 

Cartridge World Recycling Fundraiser
Last month, you received a small yellow envelope with a plastic baggie inside and a little yellow ticket. These were intended for you to please place your used printer/ink cartridges into and send back to school. Cartridge World does all of the collecting and tabulating and gives back $1.00 for every cartridge collected to your child’s classroom! If you purchase your printer cartridges at Cartridge World Traverse City, they will give your child’s classroom $3.00! That is a very big opportunity to gather a lot of funds with very little to no work on our part. Please go through your drawers, put out the word at your work place, and tell your friends. The classroom that collects the most cartridges by April 6 will receive an additional $25.00 for their classroom supply account.

Volunteering At Our School
Our Montessori community is very rich with active parent volunteers and we thank you! TCAPS has a volunteer coordinator who has provided us with a form that needs to be filled out by ALL parents who are volunteering in our building. It is a simple form, but necessary nonetheless. This helps us from an accountability standpoint, in knowing who is in our school building, working with/among our students. Thank you for your cooperation for the safety of all our students.

Did You Know?
Dr. Maria Montessori was born in 1870 and lived until 1952. She was Italy’s first female medical doctor, the creator of the “Montessori Method,” an educational activist, a child advocate and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. The following is one of Maria’s many inspirational quotes, “Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.” There are many websites online, that site and chronicle her life and work. She was an amazing lady and worth learning more about.

Lunch Charge Overages
Our cook, Renee, has mentioned that some of our student lunch accounts are becoming terribly in arrears. Renee is the kitchen manager and therefore accountable to her superiors for outstanding balances and overages within our student accounts. If you have received a notice of an overdue lunch account for your child, or think you might be close to overdrawn, please contact Renee in the kitchen at 933-7888 or send payment in immediately. Thank you!

Family Art Night is Coming Soon
We would like you all to please be thinking about TCAPS Montessori Family Arts Night, Wednesday, March 14, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. We are inviting and encouraging you, your child, or extended family members to sign up to perform, display or share in any way, your creativity. The gym will be used for displays and demonstrations of anything from photography, ceramics, basket making, rug hooking, drawing, painting, jewelry making…you get the idea. Whatever it is that anyone would like to share is greatly encouraged and invited.

Another aspect of Family Arts Night will be the performing arts. Spoken word, poetry, songs, instrument playing, storytelling etc. is going to occur in our café. There are sign up sheets in the lobby so please sign up or call the office if you are interested. Mrs. O is going to have some of her band members perform and some Upper El children have already signed up. We’re hoping to build some excitement about this event, so please remind your child to come up with something to share!

Additionally, children are encouraged to share their literary arts. The entire wall outside the music room will be lined with stories, poems, and other such written masterpieces. Anything you or your child creates at home is welcome as well. Set up will begin at 5 p.m. for families/students who will be demonstrating or displaying. Also, face-painter volunteers needed!

Art night is going to celebrate all things artful. We hope you’ll participate! Call Angel Elsenheimer at 933-1783 or email her at elsenheian@tcaps.net for further information.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
Estimadas Montessori Familias,

¡Buenos(as)! Isn’t it difficult to believe that March is upon us? The school year will be over before we know! 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 I feel to be on this journey with them!

If you were not able to visit with me during the March 1 conferences, please feel free to email (ruckertr@tcaps.net) or leave me a voice message (933-7894) 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 have been sent home. 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 SOL lessons: http://moodle.tcaps.net. I 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.

Think spring,

Señora Rucker

http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com

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.

District LEAP Updates
TCAPS LEAP Program is now accepting registrations for the following Spring Sports Activities:

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.

6th-8th Grade Track & Field:
Middle School Track & Field begins Monday, April 2nd. Cost is $75 for 6th grade and $100 for 7th & 8th grade students. Registration and payment deadline is Wednesday, April 4th.

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.

Science Share on February 11th
Your child is invited to participate in our Annual Science Share! They can complete science experiments, studies, projects, or anything that pertains to science! They may bring it in on Friday, February 10th. All are welcome to attend the Science Share Open House on Saturday, February 11th, from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM in the gym. These creative projects are completed at home, have fun!

Montessori Tubing At Timberlee
Thursday, February 9th, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM, TCAPS Montessori families are invited to attend the 8th annual Winterfest/snow tubing party at Timberlee Resort. Sign up forms are available in the office, will be sent home via teacher web page, and/or sent home as hard copy. Forms should be handed in at your earliest convenience. The rates are as follows:

$12.00 Children, pizza, pop, tubing
$14.00 Adults who wish to tube and eat
$5.00 Pizza & pop only, no tubing

With or without a reservation, we would love to have your family join us. If you have any further questions, you can contact Mr. Habich at habichan@tcaps.net. 

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Hola! This month students will be taking the second CAAP assessment of the school year. I encourage all students to practice the Spanish learned in the classroom by accessing Señor SOL lessons on Moodle at: http://moodle.tcaps.net SOL lessons are assigned the second meeting day of each week. Students are encouraged to review prior lessons after they have completed the assign lesson for the week. The songs and vocabulary clips at the top of the page are a helpful review tool. If your child does not have access to the Internet at home, time can be provided at school to access the site. Remember Lower Elementary now have SOL logs in the Communication Folder. Upper Elementary logs are attached in the back of the work planner notebook. Please continue to sign your initials as your child completes the weekly lessons.

I will be at TCAPS Montessori on THURSDAY, MARCH 1 from 12:15 PM to 2:15 PM and then again from 3:14 PM to 4:15 PM for parent/teacher conferences. My office is located in the back of the library. If you have any questions regarding la clase de español please email me at: ruckertr@tcaps.net or leave a message on my office phone (933-7894). You may also refer to the class website at: http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com.

¡Saludos!
Señora Rucker

TCAPS Montessori GIRL SCOUT TROOP 10039 is taking cookie orders NOW!
Help support your school’s troop and Girl Scouting! Order some delicious Girl Scout Cookies today! Order deadline is February 17th An order form is located in the Montessori Office Or Contact Kathie Cesario, 499-6294 for a Girl Scout to contact you about ordering cookies.

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, “Depression and Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescents”

March 6, “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.

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.

 

MO Visitors

LEAP Updates
4th & 5th Grade co-ed Volleyball registration is now open! Practice begins Monday, February 6th. Registration and payment deadline is Friday, January 27th by 3pm. No late registrations will be accepted.

 

Early Withdrawals Count Toward Truancy
We would like to remind you, once again, that the practice of parents or childcare providers withdrawing their children before the end of the actual school day at 3:13 p.m. has dramatically increased lately. Please do not do this if not absolutely necessary! It is very easy to see that convenience becomes a factor for some families who are ‘in the area’ near the 3 o’clock hour and don’t want to wait in the car line. Please be aware that each time you pick your child up before the end of the school day and it is not for something excusable like a doctor’s appointment or family emergency (for example), it counts toward truancy in the same way that a tardy would in the morning. In an effort to curb truancy issues that are arising, we require notes from the doctor’s office for all students being withdrawn for ‘appointments’ before the end of the school day. Students withdrawn for any reason related to convenience will not be excused. We really appreciate your understanding on this matter.

New Extended Day Staff
We would like to inform you that Rebecca McGarry Costello is our new Extended Day Manager in the morning. She has taken over for Robin Heintz, who has moved into one of our classrooms. Thank you Robin for all your hard work in Extended Day and welcome Rebecca. Any schedule changes for Extended Day need to be given to Rebecca at mcgarryre@tcaps.net or fill out one the extended day change forms available at Extended Day or in the office.


From the Nursing Department:
When should I keep my child home from school?
Whenever a child complains of not feeling well on a school day, parents are faced with the decision of whether or not to send their child to school. How do you make the right choice? Generally speaking, if a child is sick, he/she should NOT come to school.

If you child is vomiting, experiencing diarrhea, has a rash, sore throat, or running a fever of 100 or greater, please keep your child home for at least twenty-four hours or until he/she is completely recovered. Should a child become ill during the school day, parents will be contacted to take him/her home.

The Communicable Disease Chart located in the TCAPS student handbook is a valuable resource for you to use in making this decision.

If a youngster is sick, but you feel he/she can come to school as long as they stay inside or don’t participate in PE, PLEASE RECONSIDER: A STUDENT WELL ENOUGH TO ATTEND SCHOOL WILL BE CONSIDERED WELL ENOUGH TO PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL RELATED ACTIVITIES.

Reporting Illness: Please report to the school when your child is out of school due to the following symptoms: chills, fatigue, FEVER (temperature over 100), sore throat, cough, or muscle aches.


TCAPS Montessori Community Gardens Update
Fall has ended and the Garden Committee is looking ahead to be ready for spring. We have a couple of opportunities that we would like to extend to our community.

1. We are in need of a wood carver to create a couple of wood plaques and posts to display our garden signs.
2. We would also like to create a “cleaning station” for the children to use to wash produce, tools, hands, etc. We are in need of a carpenter to create a two sink cleaning station. We found a neat way to use recycled materials to create a sink and counter.
3. We are also open to any creative ideas!

 

Our garden grant will provide the costs for materials and labor. Please contact Linda Gilson at gilsonli@tcaps.net; Linda Flynn at flynnli@tcaps.net; or Tracy Rucker at ruckertr@tcaps.net  if you are interested in helping our school accomplish these tasks over the winter months.


Ski Program at Crystal Mountain
You have just a few more weeks to sign up for this year’s ski program! It is an incredible deal that is worth looking into. Our ski days at Crystal Mountain Resort are on Sunday’s from 3:30 to close. Prices are very affordable for the entire ski season and ski/snowboard lessons are included every Sunday! Grab an application and return it to the office. See you on the slopes!

Coat Drive at TCAPS Montessori
Beginning Monday, December 12 through Wednesday, December 21, our school will be hosting a ‘Warm Fuzzies’ drive. There will be a cart parked right in front of the office where you or your children can bring in donations of such items as hats, gloves, mittens, coats, scarves, warm socks, snow pants, or boots. These items should be clean and free of tears, rips, or stains if used or new, and can be for children or adults. The intent of this drive is to provide needed items to our own families, and donate the remaining items to the Father Fred Foundation. Miss Liz will deliver the items to their Hastings St. location on the last day of school, prior to the holiday break, along with whatever is left unclaimed in the lost and found. We urge you to please clean out your attics, closets, and storage areas for your unwanted warm things. Last year this drive assisted a good number of our families and the remaining items were very appreciated by Father Fred, where items are given to families at no cost, no questions asked. Thank you for your participation in this event!

Book Fair Update
Once again Montessori families enthusiastically supported the Scholastic Book Fair. We were able to add over 50 new books to the library totaling over $450 in value and we earned nearly $1200 in cash. We are currently looking into bringing fun and educational programs to Montessori yet this year.

The book fair would not be possible without the help of many volunteers. Thank you to Amy McKean, Jamie Schuh, Kaitlin Cesario, Sierra Perkette, Andrew Schollett, Chloe Sniff, and Jordan and Sydney Stewart for their help in setting up the book fair. Thank you to Rosa Breneman, Amy Colligan, Barb Crosley, Elizabeth Dell, Heather Green, Marcy Lindberg and her mother, Sandy Pearsall, Stephie Luyt, and Laurie Mackowiak for their help during the book fair.

Congratulations to Bahle Belfry and Caleb Hippensteel. They both won the Children’s Book Festival Contest for their reviews of the Gary Paulsen book Hatchet. They received their awards on Saturday, November 12, at the City Opera House. Many children submitted their book reviews making it hard to choose a winner so way to go to all the children.


Drama Club Info
We have a wonderful Montessori staff member who is willing to get the Drama Club up and running but she would like to have another volunteer to help her with this. The Drama Club is usually after school on Friday’s until about 5:30 p.m. It is available to all 4th, 5th and 6th year students who have an interest in fully participating and enmeshing themselves in all things dramatic, creative, playful, artistic, and fun. They will share dramatic terms, lingo, placement, stage information, lead dramatic play skits, help children write and act out their own plays and much, much more. One of the goals is to help the children learn more about all of their inner strengths and abilities in the world of creativity. For those that are interested in volunteering, please notify the office.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Hola TCAPS Montessori Familias! We have had another busy month in Spanish class. We have finished our first unit of study by introducing shapes, emotions, and articles. Later this month, we will be discussing the Hispanic holiday of Las Posadas and studying The Legend of the Poinsettia.

CAAP ASSESSMENT: In the middle of November students completed the first CAAP for Spanish class. The children were given random colors, letters and numbers to tell a teacher. They were also asked four greeting questions. They LOVED showing off all the Spanish they know! Look for El Pasaporte (the passport) to be coming home with your child’s CAAP score. If your child scored low on an area, SOL would be a great way to gain practice!

REPORT CARDS: You will find your child’s grades for Spanish class on the Specials Report Card. Please take note, that at this early stage of second language learning, it is very common for MOST children to be at a “developing and learning” level.

MOODLE: SOL (Spanish On-Line) assignments have included lessons 1 through 10. These lessons can be done at least twice a week for extra practice. Remember that lessons will be assigned on the last day of your child's weekly Spanish class. PLEASE HELP REMIND YOUR CHILD TO BRING BINDERS HOME AND RETURN THEM TO SCHOOL BEFORE NEXT SPANISH CLASS! The binder is an important resource your child will use throughout elementary school, while learning Spanish.

UPPER ELE & MRS. OLSON’S ~ binders’ home on WEDNESDAYS and return to school by MONDAYS. LOWER ELE ~ binders home on MONDAYS and return to school on FRIDAYS.

Please check out our Elementary World Language Class Website at: http://senoraruckerspanishclass.weebly.com  here you will find weekly SOL lessons, classroom happenings, & the link to Moodle. If you have any questions regarding la clase de español please email me at: ruckertr@tcaps.net  or call voicemail at: 933-7894.
I wish your family love and peace this holiday season!
Feliz Navidad,
Señora Rucker

 

Changes In Latitude
Angel Elsenheimer, the Montessori Lead Administrative Assistant for the past several years, has taken a new position within TCAPS' Marketing and Communications Office. This change occurred just prior to the beginning of the school year. Some family members, who may not have regular opportunities to visit the school during the course of a regular school day, might not have been aware. All inquiries and questions relative to the TCAPS Montessori program can now be directed to Liz Sievers, your new lead Administrative Assistant. Angel would like to extend her thanks and gratitude for the years she's been able to spend with your children.

Circle Drive for Toddlers and Handicapped Only
In courtesy to the families of Montessori Toddlers and those with handicapped vehicle passes/plates, PLEASE refrain from using the circle drive at any time near the beginning or end of our school day. Toddler parents have to park, exit their vehicle, and walk their children into the building and likewise for picking up. Grace and courtesy are Montessori cornerstones.

Tuition Drop Box
Our lobby is now graced with a tuition payment drop box. It is located by our media rack in the lobby.  For those of you who have children that attend one of our tuition-based programs, you may put your payments in this box. We will have tuition envelopes located in the media rack for your convenience. There will still be a tuition payment drop box located in the cafeteria for the extended day families.

Cold Weather Preparation
Although our weather patterns haven’t completely stabilized and transitioned into constantly cold temperatures, it is very important that your child brings appropriate outdoor clothing for outdoor recess. We recognize that children’s internal thermostats vary greatly, but we will always encourage children to wear their outdoor clothing while at recess. Fall can be a very wet and consequently a muddy season. Because our students, especially at the younger levels, work very often on the floor, it is very advisable for your child to keep a second pair of dry/clean shoes to change into. Usually students keep their gym shoes in their locker for this reason. Indoor-only shoes help keep our classroom environments as clean as possible, and are more comfortable for a child than wet shoes throughout his/her school day. Please label all of your child’s outdoor clothing, boots, and shoes. We are able to return lost and found items if they are labeled.

Visitors
How we love visitors! If stopping by to drop something off or just coming in to have lunch with your child, we ask that you sign in at the office first and take a guest pass. Upon leaving the building, please return your guest pass and sign out. Thank you.

Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair is currently taking place in the Montessori library. Dates and hours are: Friday, November 4, 8:00 AM - 12:30 PM, Tuesday, November 8, 8:00 AM - 7:30 PM, Wednesday, November 9, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Thursday November 10, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM and Friday November 11, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Proceeds will support the library for purchasing books and bringing in programs for all students. Thank you for your continued support of the book fair. For more information or if you would like to volunteer, contact Barb Funkhouser, 933-7880 or email funkhousba@tcaps.net.

WORLD LANGUAGE NEWS
¡Hola TCAPS Montessori Familias! I hope that your child has enjoyed the beginning lessons in Elementary World Language class. For the first two months of school, we have introduced the Spanish language by reviewing greetings, colors, numbers, shapes, vowels, the alphabet, and the Spanish holiday El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead). Upper Elementary students have impressed me with their knowledge and are practicing conversation writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We would like to have “Spanish Club ~ SOL Time” available in the library during lunch recess two days a week to provide SOL experience for students who do not have access to the Internet at home. If you are able to come in and monitor computers any time between 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM please let me know.

WORLD LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT: Soon your child will be completing the first (of three) CAAP assessment for Spanish class. This assessment will be used to help determine grades for the upcoming report cards. The assessment is called El Passaporte (the passport). It comes from our curriculum, Risas y Sonrisas.

MOODLE: SOL assignments have included lessons 1 through 5. These lessons can be done at least twice a week for extra practice. A lesson will be assigned on the last day of your child’s weekly Spanish class. On that day they will bring their binder home to complete SOL for the week. Their Spanish binder should return to school for their next class. Please see below to know when to help your child remember to bring their Spanish to and from school:

LOWER ELEMENTARY: Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Stricker, Mr. Munn, Mrs. Girard & Mrs. Ballmer’s classes: Please take binders home on Mondays and return to school by FRIDAY.

MRS. OLSON’S CLASS: Please take binders home on Wednesday and return to school by MONDAY.

UPPER ELEMENTARY: Please take your binders home on Wednesdays and return to school by MONDAYS.

If you have any questions regarding la clase de español please email me at: ruckertr@tcaps.net.  

Hasta Luego,
Señora Rucker