Volume 38, Issue 3 www.wilsoncreek.org November 2014 Wilson Creek School News Sharing your vision for student success Dr. Mike Riggs, Superintendent H Sally Nelson, Principal From the Superintendent ow is my child doing in your classroom?” By Dr. Mike Riggs is the frequent question teachers hear at this Superintendent time of year. Formal conference times are being planned during the week of November 10 – 14, 2014. To accommodate the need to have individual conferences, students will be released early on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of that week. Tuesday, November 11th is the Veteran’s Day holiday and school will not be in session. The parent-teacher conference is an opportunity to learn more about your child’s learning style and progress. This is also an opportunity to learn about the academic goals and learning activities planned for the current school year. Teachers also can learn a great deal about your child from you. Communicate about concerns, or observations you have regarding school work. The formation of a true partnership between home and school requires your input and participation. Please know that teachers have prepared conference materials and information for each student. Your participation is important. Tips for effective parent-teacher conferences:  Make and keep appointment time(s) with each teacher involved  Bring questions and concerns to the conference. Write your questions or concerns down prior to the conference so that you and the teacher take time to address them.  Follow up with your child. Implement suggestions from the teacher for improvement in study environment or schedule at home.  Demonstrate to your child the importance of homework and school related activities outside of school.  Don’t let problems grow! When you have a question or concern feel free to contact your child’s teacher. Direct communications can do wonders to resolve issues related to school work.  Monitor your child’s progress. Speak frequently with your child about school work and activities. Show your interest and support for academic success. Parents often want to know about the Washington State Learning goals and assessments for each grade level. A complete set of grade by grade descriptions are available on-line at www.YourChildsProgress.com from the Office of Public Instruction. Thank you in advance for trusting your children to our school. We want each student to know that they are safe, supported, and valued as a member of our school. We also want each student to know that our job here is learning, so we ask that all students follow directions, do quality work, be respectful, and be responsible. Sincerely, Dr. Mike Riggs Jessica Herron, Editor November Events 4: FBLA Leadership Conference October Board Regular Meeting 6:00 pm 10-14: Parent-Teacher Conferences EARLY RELEASE Students dismissed at 12:30 11: Washington State turns 125! NO SCHOOL—Veteran’s Day Holiday 17-21: American Education Week 25: Board Regular Meeting 6:00 pm 26: EARLY RELEASE Students dismissed at 12:30 27-28: NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Holiday What’s inside?  From the Principal ...........................................2  From the Kitchen. ...........................................2  GEAR UP News. ..............................................3  Scholarship Information. ................................3  November Menu..............................................4  November Calendar .......................................5  Yearbook Information. ...................................6  Bus Zone Changes...........................................6  Box Tops Collection Sheet ..........................7  From the Library..............................................8 ItisthepolicyoftheWilsonCreekSchoolDistricttoprovideafreeandappropriateeducationtostudentsidenti iedunderSection504oftheRehabilitationAct of1973.CoordinatorofSection504activitiesisthedistrictSpecialEducationDirector. D ear Parents, Guardians, and Community members, From the Principal As the summer continues to die out and the fall welcomes some down time, Wilson Creek School is doing just the opposite. We are working toward an outstanding year and By Ms. Sally Nelson Principal having fun while doing it. The first piece of exciting news that I have to share with th you is that our art teacher, Dorris Cronrath, has announced that our students in 7 grade art have been chosen to create Christmas Ornaments for the Governor’s Christmas tree! Only 6 art classes in the state are chosen each year. This is so exciting as it is a time to really celebrate our students’ creativity as well as the amazing education that our kids receive here at Wilson Creek. Congrats Dorris! And thank you for all you do for our students. Also, our Gear Up program and our Human Growth and Child Development class are teaming up with our Health/Fitness teacher, Dorris Cronrath, to provide both a CPR and a First Aid class to 7th through 12th graders on November 13th and 14th. Finally, on a volunteer aspect, Rebecca Pederson, a parent and volunteer has been working with me to make my office brighter and more appealing to kids. We have decided to create and install a chalkboard area for students to stop in and draw or leave me messages. In addition, she is and has been working with one of our juniors, Kayla Cobb, to create a plywood sized mural that will go into my office on the wall. Finally, she will also be painting school buses in my office as well to trim out the top. I am very excited and extremely appreciative of her commitment to our positive move forward. Thank you again, Rebecca. In closing, I want to thank all my staff for their hard work in the classrooms. Our children are so lucky to have them as they give 120 percent to our kiddos. Several staff have met with me already to discuss alignment of our curriculum and innovative ideas to help better support our kids on the new state assessments. In addition, all of our math teachers will be attending training in Wenatchee throughout the year to work on gaining a better understanding of the new requirements for math under the Common Core Standards. They are then working together using what they’ve learned to align and discuss the best strategies to support our kids. I look forward to seeing all of you here for conferences in mid-November. Thank you again for all of the support. I also appreciate your calls and emails on issues in which you have a concern. Enjoy the fall…it is such a beautiful time of year…and yes…so are the deer…we all just have to be very careful driving. Warmly, Ms. Nelson New Charge for Second Servings Recently, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) instituted some new dietary restrictions, based on new federal Child Nutrition rules, that school lunch programs are now mandated to enforce, such as calorie, sodium, and fat limits. There are no restrictions for condiments like ranch dressing and ketchup, but they do count toward the calorie, sodium and fat totals. Second meals count toward the totals for meals, while paid a la carte items do not. At the September board meeting, the School Board of Directors voted unanimously to start charging an a la carte charge of 5¢ per second serving. This change will start on December 1, 2014. Seconds will only be served to the students after everyone is served, and if there is enough food available. Second milk is still 30¢. If you have any questions, please contact the office or Kathy in the Kitchen. GEAR UP November will be a busy month for GEAR UP students, with lots of activities planned. We are By Anne Garrett Gear Up Coordinator excited to have Brandon Foote, a motivational speaker coming to speak to our students on Wednesday, November 12th. Also, on the 12th, the 8th grade students will be taking the EXPLORE Test and the 10th grade will be taking the PLAN Test. These are pre-ACT Tests and will give our students an opportunity to practice, see their results and plan for the future. On the 13th and 14th of November GEAR UP students will have the opportunity to receive their First-Aid and CPR certification. This will not only be a great life skill but also make our students more employable. All of these activities will be in conjunction with the half day of ParentTeacher Conferences. Ten Reasons Why You Should Apply for Scholarships 10 The cost of tuition and housing is expensive and your financial resources are limited. 9 You have studied many long hours to get great grades. 8 Scholarships are investments in assisting you to pay for your educational expenses. 7 Not all scholarships are based on need, some are based on academic or personal achievements. 6 Scholarships are a great way to pay for school - it is funding that you don't have to pay back! 5 You are unique in all that you do and it is about time that you tell someone else about it, why not in a scholarship application personal essay? 4 Asking for letters of recommendation gives you a chance to connect with your teachers. 3 There are many scholarships that were established for students with your interests and talents. 2 Writing an essay about yourself may not be an easy task, but is good practice for writing cover letters, resumes and personal statements. 1 Women in Engineering The number one reason to apply for a scholarship is you might get one! Four young ladies, Roz Dowers, Kelsey Kane, Jordan James and Gloria Trumble ventured to the University of Idaho on October 24th, for Women in Engineering Day. This gave these young ladies a firsthand look at the engineering program, the opportunities for careers in engineering, hands-on activities and a tour of the campus. Seniors, it’s never too early to start working on your college scholarships! Check out our website www.wilsoncreek.org for some of the scholarships that we have available. Come on by the office for information on some more. And if you know about one that we don’t, tell us about it so we can add it to our list! We are in the early stages of doing a year book this year and we need your help! Start gathering photos of the kids at games, events, being silly, etc. Parents, relatives, and friends are often the best source for these since they especially eager to capture these moments on film. PLEASE send us your photos, along with any helpful information to explain the photos, to our new yearbook email address: [email protected]. Help us tell the story of this year in pictures! Your help is very much appreciated. Bus Loading and Unloading Zones Have Changed Due to an increase in concern of too many vehicles mixed in with the buses, as well as icy conditions on the steep roads, we will be moving our bus loading and unloading zone to the area in front of the old building. We are asking cars refrain from passing through the area during these times of loading and unloading. Students can be dropped off and picked up in the upper parking lot. We are also asking staff to park in the upper levels if they will be entering or exiting campus during loading and unloading times. Buses usually unload in the mornings between 7:40 and 8:00. At the end of the day they will be parked in front of the building at 2:55 and leave the campus at 3:20. Thank you for respecting our changes and helping us keep our children safe! PUMPKIN SPICE HOT COCOA 6 cups of milk 6 packets of powdered hot chocolate OR ½ lb. of dark chocolate bits 1 1/2 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice Lots of whipped cream Cinnamon Heat milk to almost boiling. Place hot chocolate mix into mugs and thoroughly mix in ¼ T of pumpkin pie spice in each cup. Pour in hot milk and stir well. Load on the whip cream. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Serves 6. Pooh’s Hunny Holiday Tarts Frozen puff pastry (1 sheet, defrosted and ready to use) 1 or 2 apples (peeled, cored, and sliced very thin) Cinnamon sugar Honey Heat the over to 400 degrees F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a round cookie cutter (about 2.75 inches) to cut rounds of pastry, and arrange them on a baking sheet. Have your child place three apple slices on each pastry circle. When he's done, ask him to sprinkle each tart with a pinch of cinnamon sugar. Bake the tarts until the pastry turns golden brown and the apples become slightly tender (about 12 minutes or so). Drizzle honey on the baked tarts and then transfer them to a cooling rack. ByCarolO’Callaghan WilsonCreekSchoolLi- From the Library WILSON CREEK SCHOOL DISTRICT PO BOX 46 WILSON CREEK, WA 98860 NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID WILSON CREEK, WA 98860 PERMIT NO. 1 Wilson Creek School wants to say a big thank you to Shannon Rickert, who went out of her way to help bring a little color to the library recently with a gift of curtains she made herself. The bright blue curtains have made a huge difference in making the library an inviting place to spend time. Pictured are (l-r) third-graders Nolan Willis, Zane McMillan, Aleena Gilley, Izzy Hochstatter, Tania Puente, Alena Speed, and librarian Carol O’Callaghan. If you are interested in helping revitalize the library, consider becoming a Friend of the Library. Ideas and creativity in many areas are needed and welcome. Please contact Carol at the school. POSTAL PATRON CITY (Photo by Kellie Ribail) May your stuffing be tasty, May your turkey be plump. May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious, May your pies take the prize, May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs.