Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Activities Week 4 of April

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK OF
APRIL 25 - APRIL 29


* SPRING BREAK will be Friday, April 22nd and Monday, April 25th. Remember no school on these days. ENJOY!!! Happy Easter

* Reminder: April Health & Safety Challenge: Be FitSpring into action to have a fit and healthy body!
1. Be sure you are getting enough daily exercise to keep your body fit and strong.
2. Learn a fun new game or activity that will help you get some exercise.
3. Make a poster to encourage everyone to be fit and have some fun. Hang it up at home or bring it to school to display.

* Don’t forget that money and orders are due for any Bike Helmet orders on Friday, April 29th. THANKS!

* The 1st Grade Music Program will be Wednesday, April 27th at 2:00 PM in the gym. Parents, grandparents, etc. are invited to come attend.

* Bookmobile is Thursday, April 28th.

* The Box Tops Competition for APRIL & MAY is between ALL GRADES. Let’s see which class in the school can be the top collector. You can bring in the following items: Box Tops, Cream of Weber lids, Campbell’s Soup labels, empty Elmer’s glue stick tubes/glue bottles and empty Neosporin tubes. Make sure Box Tops are cut out along the dotted lines and the soup labels are just the UPC with the point value. Bring in as much as you can and give them to your teacher until MAY 20TH. THERE WILL BE A PRIZE FOR THE OVERALL WINNING CLASS! Good Luck! We are now only collecting the above listed items!!! (No more cereal bags, chip bags, etc.)

* ATTENTION ROOM PARENTS: Teacher Appreciation is the 1st week of May. PTA will provide a blank poster board for each class. You can now pick up the poster board in the office from Karma and then decorate it how you want but please keep it to the size of the poster board so each class poster will be the same size. You can come and hang them up on Friday, April 29th from 3-6 PM. We will be notifying you soon with more info on an activity we will need Room Parent help with the week of Teacher Appreciation.

* Our Book Fair is Coming! We are so excited about the amazing selection of books headed our way! Mark your calendar for our Grand Event where students can invites someone “Grand” in their life to join them for an after-school snack and some special shopping time at the Book Fair. The Book Fair will run from Tuesday, May 3rd – Friday, May 6th during lunch (11:30 – 12:30) and after school, the GRAND Event, (3:00 – 5:00 on Tuesday & Friday, 1:00 – 3:00 on Wednesday, and 3:00 – 6:00 on Thursday). More information will come home soon!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Activities Week 3 of April

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK OF
APRIL 18 - APRIL 22


* Early Out is Wednesday, April 20th! School dismissed at 12:55 PM.
AM Kindergarten: 8:25 AM – 10:25 AM, PM Kindergarten: 10:55 AM – 12:55 PM

* Kindergarten Round-Up is on Thursday, April 21st from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM at the Garland Armory. If you have any questions regarding the time you signed up for, etc. please call the office.

* SPRING BREAK will be Friday, April 22nd and Monday, April 25th. Remember no school on these days. ENJOY!!! Happy Easter!

* Congratulations to Mrs. C. Michaelis’ AM Kindergarten class for winning the Box Top Competition in March!

* The Box Tops Competition for APRIL & MAY is between ALL GRADES. Let’s see which class in the school can be the top collector. You can bring in the following items: Box Tops, Cream of Weber lids, Campbell’s Soup labels, empty Elmer’s glue stick tubes/glue bottles and empty Neosporin tubes. Make sure Box Tops are cut out along the dotted lines and the soup labels are just the UPC with the point value. Bring in as much as you can and give them to your teacher until MAY 20TH. THERE WILL BE A PRIZE FOR THE OVERALL WINNING CLASS! Good Luck! We are now only collecting the above listed items!!! (No more cereal bags, chip bags, etc.)

* Our Book Fair is Coming! We are so excited about the amazing selection of books headed our way! Mark your calendar for our Grand Event where students can invites someone “Grand” in their life to join them for an after-school snack and some special shopping time at the Book Fair. The Book Fair will run from Tuesday, May 3rd – Friday, May 6th during lunch (11:30 – 12:30) and after school, the GRAND Event, (3:00 – 5:00 on Tuesday & Friday, 1:00 – 3:00 on Wednesday, and 3:00 – 6:00 on Thursday). More information will come home soon!

* ATTENTION ROOM PARENTS: Teacher Appreciation is the 1st week of May. PTA will provide a blank poster board for each class. You can now pick up the poster board in the office from Karma and then decorate it how you want but please keep it to the size of the poster board so each class poster will be the same size. You can come and hang them up on Friday, April 29th from 3-6 PM. We will be notifying you soon with more info on an activity we will need Room Parent help with the week of Teacher Appreciation.

* Parents: Many of our teachers could use some classroom supplies. If you would be willing to donate some items for your child’s classroom, please talk to their teacher to see what items they are in need of. THANKS for your help.

* 5th Grade Parents: YES, we are aware that the night of 5th Grade Graduation (May 31st) is the same night as Seminary Graduation. That is why we moved it to 5:30 PM and plan to keep it to an hour so that those who need to go to Seminary Graduation can be on there way to make it on time. THANKS!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Activities Week 2 of April

* Note from Mr. Chadaz: During the middle of May, our grade level teams will be collaborating to prepare class lists for students’ placements for next year. We will do our very best to ensure a class assignment that will help your child be successful and happy next year. Our team will look at academic achievement, behavior, and social skills…and they’ll also consider your input, if you’d like to share any special needs, interests, or abilities to inform our decision as we assign your child to a class next year. Once the class lists are prepared, I’ll be attaching the teachers’ names to each class list.

If you have information about your child you’d like us to consider as we create class lists and teacher assignments, please complete a Class Assignment Form that can be picked up in the office. This form must be returned it to the office by May 2nd.

* Community Council Meeting – Monday, April 11th at 3:15 PM in Missy Michaelis’ Room

* PTA Board Meeting – Tuesday, April 12th at 3:10 PM in the Teacher’s Lounge

* Bookmobile will be on Thursday, April 14th

* The School Play will be performed for the school on Thursday, April 14th at 1:30 PM and for parents, etc. on Friday, April 15th at 6:00 PM. Come watch a great show!!!!

* The Box Tops Competition for APRIL & MAY is between ALL GRADES. Let’s see which class in the school can be the top collector. You can bring in the following items: Box Tops, Cream of Weber lids, Campbell’s Soup labels, empty Elmer’s glue stick tubes/glue bottles and empty Neosporin tubes. Make sure Box Tops are cut out along the dotted lines and the soup labels are just the UPC with the point value. Bring in as much as you can and give them to your teacher until MAY 20TH. THERE WILL BE A PRIZE FOR THE OVERALL WINNING CLASS! Good Luck!

* ATTENTION ROOM PARENTS: Teacher Appreciation is the 1st week of May. We are doing the door posters a little different this year. PTA will provide a poster board for each classroom. The Room Parent will be able to pick that up in the office (we will let you know when they will be available for pick-up) and then decorate it how they want but we ask that you keep it to the size of the poster board so they will all be the same size. You can come and hang them up on Friday, April 29th from 3-6 PM. We are doing a few other things different for Appreciation Week but we will notify you as it gets closer we can plan for this fun week to celebrate our great staff at McKinley. THANKS!!!

* Our Book Fair is Coming! We are so excited about the amazing selection of books headed our way! Mark your calendar for our Grand Event where students can invites someone “Grand” in their life to join them for an after-school snack and some special shopping time at the Book Fair. The Book Fair will run from Tuesday, May 3rd – Friday, May 6th during lunch (11:30 – 12:30) and after school, the GRAND Event, (3:00 – 5:00 on Tuesday & Friday, 1:00 – 3:00 on Wednesday, and 3:00 – 6:00 on Thursday). More information will come home soon!

* PLAN AHEAD: Parents of 5th Graders, please put the following on your calendars:
- Thursday, May 12th is DARE Graduation at 6:30 PM in the gym.
- Tuesday, May 31st is 5th Grade Graduation at *5:30 PM in the gym. (*We changed the time to earlier and will need to start promptly at 5:30 PM due to other community events that people may be involved in that evening. THANK YOU!)

* IMPORTANT POSSIBLE SCHOOL LUNCH CHANGES – PLEASE READ!!!The government is trying to implement changes to the school lunch program that will affect our school. It could raise lunch prices to $.86 per lunch. The program could also discontinue serving potatoes in the schools. Another downfall is that it could eliminate lunch “choices” for our children and they will not have the option to choose their lunch, it will be decided for them. To find out more about this, please visit www.regulations.gov and scroll down a little and click on the link named National Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. When this screen pulls up, you can read through the documentation and then you can Submit a Comment by pushing the orange “Submit a A Comment” button at the top of the screen. We can only voice our concerns regarding these changes until April 13th!!! You can also mail a letter to the following: Julie Brewer, Chief, Policy and Program Development Branch, Child Nutrition Division, Food and Nutrition Service, Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 640, Alexandria, Virginia 22302-1594. Another website to go to for more information is www.potatoesinschools.com. Please take the time to look into this issue and comment on the government website if you disagree with the proposed program they wants to implement!!! THANKS!!!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Activities Week 1 April

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK OF
APRIL 4 - APRIL 8


* Note from Mr. Chadaz: During the middle of May, our grade level teams will be collaborating to prepare class lists for students’ placements for next year. We will do our very best to ensure a class assignment that will help your child be successful and happy next year. Our team will look at academic achievement, behavior, and social skills…and they’ll also consider your input, if you’d like to share any special needs, interests, or abilities to inform our decision as we assign your child to a class next year. Once the class lists are prepared, I’ll be attaching the teachers’ names to each class list.

If you have information about your child you’d like us to consider as we create class lists and teacher assignments, please complete a Class Assignment Form that can be picked up in the office. This form must be returned it to the office by May 2nd.

* Early Out is Wednesday, April 6th! School dismissed at 12:55 PM. AM Kindergarten: 8:25 AM – 10:25 AM, PM Kindergarten: 10:55 AM – 12:55 PM

* The Box Tops Competition for APRIL & MAY is between ALL GRADES. Let’s see which class in the school can be the top collector. You can bring in the following items: Box Tops, Cream of Weber lids, Campbell’s Soup labels, empty Elmer’s glue stick tubes/glue bottles and empty Neosporin tubes. Make sure Box Tops are cut out along the dotted lines and the soup labels are just the UPC with the point value. Bring in as much as you can and give them to your teacher until MAY 20TH. THERE WILL BE A PRIZE FOR THE OVERALL WINNING CLASS! Good Luck!

* PLAN AHEAD: Parents of 5th Graders, please put the following on your calendars:
- Thursday, May 12th is DARE Graduation at 6:30 PM in the gym.
- Tuesday, May 31st is 5th Grade Graduation at 5:30 PM in the gym.

April Health & Safety Challenge

Each month there will be a personal challenge to help you be healthy and safe this year. If you discuss and accept this challenge with your parents, you can bring back a slip to be entered in a drawing for monthly rewards. You can also do your part to earn a “Blow Up Toy” Activity Day for the whole school at the end of the year. We are excited to see the fantastic students and staff at McKinley Elementary get fit and have fun this year!

April Challenge: Be Fit!
Spring into action to have a fit and healthy body!

1. Be sure you are getting enough daily exercise to keep your body fit and strong.
2. Learn a fun new game or activity that will help you get some exercise.
3. Make a poster to encourage everyone to be fit and have fun. Hang it up a home or bring it to school to display.

April Calendars

Please click on images to view larger.


April Principal's Message

I recently read a book, “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson, M.D. It’s a quick read but makes some really good points that I’d like to highlight.

The story is a parable about dealing with change. “Cheese” is a metaphor for what you want in life – whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money, a possession, health or spiritual peace of mind.

In the story, the characters are faced with unexpected change as their “cheese is moved.” By the end of the story, the characters realize the following:

Change happens – The cheese keeps moving.

Anticipate change – Get ready for the cheese to move.

Monitor change – Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.

Adapt to change quickly – The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese.

Change – Move with the cheese.

Enjoy change – Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese!

I think that we can all agree that change happens. And though change is a constant, we often times choose to ignore change or deny change is happening. Part of why we do this is because we are afraid of what’s on the other side of change.

One of the parts I like in the book is that, at the end, a group sits around discussing the parable, bringing it home to their own lives and identifying themselves with the different characters.

One person shares that they are having marital problems and the group identifies that the change needed is not necessarily divorce. The change is the need to stop old behaviors and attitudes and to take on new behaviors and attitudes that will strengthen the marriage.

Another person in the group asks the question, “Who is afraid of change?” and only one person raises his hand. The person asking the question states, “At least we have one honest person.” Then she asked, “Who thinks others are afraid of change?” and everyone raised their hands.

It’s not always comfortable admitting we feel fear but all of us do at one point or another. Perhaps we don’t identify it as fear initially, but when we get really honest, fear is often at the root of emotional and relational issues and fear can be the cause of many failures and missed adventures.

As we all approach change in the future let’s lean on each other’s strengths and look for the positive in the future. Just like the door in our front entrance reads “Whenever one door closes, another door opens!” We’re all in this together so let’s all work a little harder to be a little better.

Thanks for your continued help and support. Mr. Chadaz