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tna
lementary
April 2015
Where we Think, Learn, Achieve and Care
etna.lcsd2.org
Mr. Klein’s Corral
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over”
Parents, please be assured that we are working hard to “prepare students for the next level.”
Our primary mission is just that. Some might think that PAWS testing drives our work. I
see it as a data point in the work we do with students. I have been very impressed with the vision and plans our
teachers have for your children these next forty-five or so days. Please continue to maintain school success habits
at home in spite of longer days, warmer weather, and the end nearing. The last months of school are every bit as
critical as September was in regards to next year’s success. Few children ever read enough, so please do all you
can to maintain the habit of daily reading during these critical years.
Our lost and found has been tagged and bagged for donation. This is your last chance to recover something you
can’t find in the closet. Along the same lines, we are entering the time of year when it can be shirt sleeve weather
one minute and the next minute, sleet can be coming sideways. Please help monitor your child’s preparation for
the weather each day.
Thank you to our
awesome PTO for a
fun-filled
Literacy Week!
Etna Enrichment Express!
Thank you to those parents who have completed the survey on our before and after-school programs! It gave us
some good input to evaluate what we are doing. If you did not take it and are interested in doing so, please let me
know.
We are excited to try something new for our last session of Enrichment Express this year. We will offer some classes
on April 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, and 29 and others on May 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20. All 6th graders involved in the 6th
Grade Play will need to plan on attending during both time periods. Other students may choose the session for which
they would like to register. They may take a class during both time periods if there is availability in the classes.
Watch for registration forms to come home on April 6. We are super excited about some of the new classes we are
offering and hope your children will take advantage of these opportunities!
If you have any suggestions for enrichment classes, please let me know. We would love to find someone to teach a
movie-making class using our video cameras next school year! We are always looking for volunteers to teach any
kind of class that will be of interest to our students.
Watch for Swim-N-Learn registration forms in May. We plan to offer 3 or 4 sessions again this summer as we have
done in the past. We are looking for a swim instructor to teach our Star Valley Ranch session, so let me know if you
are qualified and interested.
Our morning fitness program, that is also funded by our 21CCLC Cohort 9 grant, is continuing each morning. We are
happy to see the students exercising each morning and would like to encourage everyone to be active for at least an
hour each day, five days a week! This will not only help your body, it will also help get your brains ready to learn!
We will continue checking out Brain Bags to students each week through the month of April. These backpacks are
filled with a variety of fun educational activities that can be completed at home. When your child brings a Brain Bag
home, please take time to do some of the games and activities with your family. Please make sure they are returned
to the school on the Monday or Tuesday after your child checks it out.
Thanks so much for everything you do to support after-school learning and enrichment at home!
Christine Turner, After-School Coordinator
[email protected], 883-2583
PTO News Literacy Week was tons of fun! Thank you for encouraging your child to read! It was amazing
to see the numbers! As a school they read over 95,000 minutes in 5 days! Way to go! They
received an Ice Cream Sundae party! Congratulations Etna Readers!
JUNK IN THE TRUNK. Etna PTO’s annual Junk in the Trunk Fundraiser will be held on Saturday May 30
beginning at 9 a.m. Gather your friends and neighbors and all your “stuff” and come to the Etna Elementary Parking
Lot. Spaces are $20! Call (307) 880-8689 to save your spot!
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4th -May 8th! If you have great ideas and want to implement them to show our
teachers how much we are grateful for them, please email [email protected].
Etna PTO Committee
(307) 880-8689
School Psychologist’s Corner
Do you see what I see?
I was recently in a fairly intimidating setting, and was asked the question “How do you feel about children?” I was
somewhat taken back because the question stirred emotions within me that I rarely allow to surface. While I could
not adequately represent my feelings towards children in words, it did make me think of the many joys that are
brought to our lives because of children. One of the gifts that children hold in all of their innocence is the ability to
notice things that many of us adults do not see.
Do you see the lines? Last weekend I was busily engaged in all the “important” things in my life such as
answering text messages, e-mails, turning in a research paper, etc. In the midst of frantically moving my fingers to
communicate my thoughts and opinions, my five-year-old daughter came and sat down by me. She was fascinated
with an object she had found in the house and wanted to show it to me. I looked down and she was holding a
flattened marble, the type that are often used in vases as decoration. I quickly wrote-off the value of whatever she
was about to tell me and continued with my “important” tasks. Due to my distraction, I don’t remember much of
what she said, but I recall her asking me if I could see the lines on the back. She was fascinated with the fact that
she could feel them when rubbing the marble. She eventually gave up on me listening to her, casually stuck the
marble in my pocket, and then went off to play. Later that evening after the children were in bed, I felt something
in my pocket. When I reached in, I felt a smooth object with some slightly rough ridges on the back. As I pulled it
out I discovered the marble and noticed the lines on the back. This moment caused me to reflect on the ability that
children have to find beauty and value in the everyday items and activities around us, while most of us adults fail to
notice the subtleties that bring enjoyment, pleasure, and value to life.
Why should I see the lines? Since this event, I have kept that marble in my pocket for a full week. Throughout
the day, when I put my hands in my pocket, I feel the lines on the back which reminds me to see the subtle details
around me. It has been amazing how that reminder has helped me to see and appreciate things around me. On one
particularly frustrating day, I was supervising in the cafeteria. Finding myself more irritable than normal I seemed
to notice every loud sound, movement, etc., and was letting it get on my nerves. After feeling the marble in my
pocket, I started seeing kids smiling and having fun. I noticed the beauty of the room we were in and the great staff
working around me. When working with students that struggle emotionally, I often compare emotions to a wave.
Our emotions constantly fluctuate up and down, but when things get scary or when we have a down that lasts too
long or from which we struggle to start climbing up again; one tool that will help us climb out of these dips is to
look at the world through the eyes of a child. If we make a conscious effort to appreciate the subtleties, and see
what they see, we will soon find appreciation and value in the little things around us. It may take a physical object
(like a marble in our pocket) to remind us to look for the subtleties. I have noticed the value of this concept in my
own life this week as I have remembered to see the lines.
If you have any questions or would like to offer suggestions, please contact Tyler Jack at (307) 885-2472 or via
email at [email protected].
tna
lementary
Congratulations!
Staying Healthy with Nurse B
Peyton Andrews
has earned the
Indian Paintbrush Award
It’s Spring!!
and
•
Honors Reader Awards!
•
Lilly Fisher
has earned the
•
Honors Reader
•
•
award. She met this goal by earning 100
Accelerated Reader points from reading and
testing on books from a specific list of
quality literature.
Great Job!
•
•
Start an Edible Garden with your Child:
Have your child help you create the garden. Children will experience more enjoyment and spend more time with their
garden if they feel part of the entire process.
Start with a small garden (remember, you don’t need a lot of space – people in New York City have gardens). Locate
it close to the house but with some privacy, so kids can feel like this is their own space. Find a spot that gets full sun,
is close to a water supply, and has well drained soil.
Once your raised bed is set in place, add soil. Plant! Teach your children about proper spacing of seeds (you can
learn from the back of the seed packet).
Start with veggies that are easy to grow, like beans, carrots, lettuce, beets, peas, and kale.
Once your plants are established, mulch the spaces between your plants with straw to reduce the need for constant
watering and weeding.
Let your child decorate their garden! Maybe they want an “Outer Space” themed garden or a “Princess Castle”
garden. Watch their imaginations soar!
Creating a garden will not only give them nutritious food and exercise, but will also give them a feeling of pride from
their accomplishments!!!
Thank You,
Heather Blazejewski, School Nurse
Calendar
Spring Break
3/30 - 4/3
After-School Enrichment Classes 2:37 - 3:50 p.m.
4/14,15, 21,22,28,29
Tdap Immunizations for 6th Grade Students at 1:30 p.m.
4/29
Field Trip to SVHS “Alice in Wonderland”
5/1
After-School Enrichment Classes 2:37 - 3:50 p.m.
5/5,6,12,13,19,20
Native American Day
5/8
Band Concert at SVMS at 6:30 p.m.
5/14
Memorial Day - No School
5/25
4th Grade General Music Concert at 6:00 p.m.
5/28
5th-6th Grade General Music Concert at 7:00 p.m.
5/28
AR Celebration
6/2
Awards Cermony at 1:00 p.m.
6/3
Last Day of School - Early Release
6/4
Indian Paintbrush Award
Every year the state of Wyoming puts out a list of 15 books that are nominated by students to be on a
reading list for the Indian Paintbrush Award. Students in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade; who have read at
least three of the nominated books; can vote in March for the one they liked the best.
Etna students have voted! From the really great books on the list this year, these are our very favorites:
1st Place - “The Boy on the Wooden Box”
2nd Place - “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon”
3rd Place - “Search for Wondla” and “Prairie Evers”