Daisy Brook Elementary Daisy Brook Dispatch Volume 1, Issue 2 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2007 Inside this issue: A Time to Reflect MEAP Testing Finished 2 Dear Daisy Brook Friends, projects Daisy Brook Fall Book Fair 2 Portable Computer Lab 2 As we start this busy holiday sea- • A school board and adminis- son I hope that we can take the trative staff who are in it “for Portable Computer Lab Con- 3 time to reflect on the many things kids” and not for the politics Mrs. Heft’s Class 4 that we have to be thankful for. of education Halloween Party The list for each of us is different but I would like to take a minute As you continue to read through this Mrs. Hanna’s Class Trip 4 and list some of the positive influ- newsletter take note of the many Daisy Brook Marathon 5 ences that affect our educational opportunities that our students learning environment at Daisy have. It is not the same in all Daisy Brook Cross 6-9 Brook. districts. We are truly blessed. Country Run Counselor’s Corner 9 • Supportive parent group that The Daisy Brook Staff and I wish Before/After School 9 just completed a wonderful you the best of this holiday season. Traffic fund raiser for our students Sincerely, Indoor/Outdoor Recess 10 Guidelines • A great staff of teachers who are dedicated to the love of Weather Guidelines for 10 learning School Closing/Delays • A community that cares What’s Happening 11 about its kids and wants Nancy Sparks, Principal them to be successful Daisy Brook School Color Me 12 Pine Street Primary Center • Mrs. Hanna’s Class Time 13 Parents who are committed For Kids Articles to doing the best they can I Don't See You 14 for their kids The Time of Christmas 15 • A beautiful building that is conducive to a good learning About the Authors 16 environment Halloween Stories 17-18 • Opportunities and commu- Christmas word search 19 nity resources that allow for creative funding of special The Back Page 20 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 DAISY BROOK DISPATCH PAGE 2 MEAP Testing Finished The last MEAP test was finished on November 7. The 5 th grade students had to take the first part of the English Language Arts test. This is the part of the MEAP test that was compromised because the writing prompt was released to the media. Everyone is relieved that the tests are over. Students and staff worked very hard to make the testing as successful as possible. Thank you to all parents who encouraged their children to be in attendance and to do well on the tests. We all enjoyed ice cream and some extra recess time at the end of a difficult couple of weeks. The ice cream was provided by the Parent Group. MEAP test results will be delayed due to the extra testing session that had to be scheduled. We will let you know as soon as the results are available. Daisy Brook Fall Book Fair By Mrs. Greiner The Book Fair was a success. We will be able to add $1000 worth of books to the Daisy Brook Media Center. Thanks to all who attended and contributed to this result. A special thank you goes out to Michelle Lensky, Sue & Scott Binkley, Jaye Russell, Traci Rosenberg, Lori Bowen (and husband), Rachel Sherman, Donna McDowell, Fran Lensky, and Tara Flaquel (along with her sister Christy) for volunteering of their time prior, during and after the Book Fair. We really appreciate your help! Please consider helping in February, when we have our next Book Fair. Our volunteers are very important to us, as we could not do the Book Fair without you. Just supply us with a name and phone number and we will add you to the list. Thank you for this consideration! New Portable Computer Lab Daisy Brook students and staff got an early Christmas present on November 12. We received a new portable wireless laptop computer lab. This $32,000.00 lab was funded through the grant given to Newaygo County schools by The Fremont Area Community Foundation. Each school district was given a certain amount of money to help develop technology initiatives in their own district. The decision on how the money was spent was made by a technology com- mittee who knew the needs of the district. This portable wireless lab will allow up to 30 students to work independently on their own laptop computer. It can be used in many different ways and teachers are excited about using it their classrooms. We have had it less than 24 hours and it has already been in three classrooms! Daisy Brook students and staff would like to say a special thank you to The Fremont Area Community Foundation for such a wonderful learning tool. Tools and experiences like these help prepare our students for the challenges of the Twenty-First Century. VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 DAISY BROOK DISPATCH PAGE 3 Computer Lab Continued…. The students at Daisy Brook Elementary are very excited about the new mobile computer lab that just arrived this week. The lab will provide opportunities for many students to improve their writing skills. They also are able to use the internet to find facts for reports, as well as go to websites that help them master their multiplication facts. The mobile computer lab consists of a printer, 30 laptop computers, as well as headphones for each. The teachers are excited for the opportunity to challenge their students to improve his/her reading and writing skills. Many students will now have an opportunity to produce professional looking selections that they can proudly share with friends and family. VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 DAISY BROOK DISPATCH PAGE 4 Mrs. Heft’s Class Halloween Party By Jessica Springstead, Kailey McCloud, and Katie Parkhurst Mrs. Heft’s room had a blast on October 31st! The Halloween Committee planned a rockin’ party. The students got to participate in four events: bobbing for apples, Pin-the-Stem-on-the-Pumpkin, Halloween Charades, and a Dance-Off. The favorite activity was bobbing for apples. The winner of the Guessing Jar (filled with candy corn) was Sydney Mangan. The winners of the costume contests were Nick- scariest costume, Neal- funniest costume, Mason- most unique costume, Katie P.- most beautiful costume, and Alisia- over-all best costume. There were a lot of really cool costumes, too. We had Ninja Warriors to 50’s poodle skirt girls. The students in Mrs. Heft’s class all had an awesome time! Mrs. Hanna’s Class Trip Mrs. Hanna’s class traveled to the Veteran’s Memorial on Tuesday, Nov. 13. They looked for names of family and friends who served our country in military service. Some students made pencil rubbings of names or of the symbols for the branches of our military. Makayla Borgman, pictured here on the right, found Dennis Teerman’s name, her Grandpa. “He was in World War II in the Air Force. He worked in a big office and he sent money to Washington, D.C. and he kept track of sunken ships and airplanes,” Makayla said. Pictured with Makayla is Makenzie Nemcek. VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 DAISY BROOK DISPATCH PAGE 5 Daisy Brook Marathon By Mr. Lindsay Congratulations, Daisy Brook Marathon Finishers! 15 students have completed their marathon—so far In early September many Daisy Brook students began working toward the challenging goal of completing a marathon—a distance of 26.2 miles. Throughout the fall students have been re- minded to keep working. Some continued to work while others didn’t. Many students shared the experience and had fun by working with a friend during recess. 4th grade students Cassidy Shaw (Llewellyn) and Mitchell Hawkins (Matthews) were first to finish in early Oc- tober. Since then 13 others have finished. All finishers have been awarded their “Official Finisher” T-shirt in Physical Education class—to the cheers of recognition from their classmates. More finishers are expected before the comple- tion deadline of Thanksgiving break. There is still time to finish. Many parents have also participated in the Daisy Brook Marathon by moving, on foot, with their children in the evenings and on weekends. This is another way to earn tickets toward completion of your marathon. Many won- derful experiences unfold as parents participate in fitness and health enhancing exercise with their children. Good for them! Students who finished displayed what it takes to achieve a goal—steady and sustained effort with focus on the thought, “yes, I CAN!” They motivated themselves to have continued working after others have stopped. That’s determination! This experience will likely be applied to success in pursuing future challenges. Congratulations to all finishers and the parents who joined their children in anexperience that can shape their lives through developing commitment to and understanding of the benefits of regular physical activity. If you are more than half way done—don’t stop! Keep going. You can do it. Find a friend to work with or ask a parent to move with you. You CAN do it, too. Here’s the list of finishers—so far. Grade 4 Grade 5 Name Teacher Date Name Teacher Date Cassidy Shaw Llew 10-09 Samuel Dueling Mac 10-15 Mitchell Hawkins Matt 10-10 Maria Galarza Hugh 10-16 Emily Perry Mac 10-24 Austin Nicholas DeKu 10-24 Morgan Griswold Huis 10-25 Nena Carr Mac 10-28 Cheyenne Brown Mac 10-26 Katie Parkhurst Heft 10-26 Jessica Springstead Heft 10-26 Brandyn Leneski Matt 10-26 Hailey Thompson Matt 11-02 Katrinann Bullis Matt 11-02 Dylan Leneski Huis 11-02 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 DAISY BROOK DISPATCH PAGE 6 Daisy Brook Cross Country Run STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL CROSS COUNTRY RUN Friday, October 12 FITNESS AND PERSONAL CHALLENGE WERE ON DISPLAY AT DAISY BROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL The 11 th annual 2007 Daisy Brook Cross Country Run was held Friday, October 12 .