Crossroads Elementary 10453 Klein Road Gulfport, MS 39503 (228)832-6711 Message from the Principal December 2013, Issue 1 Written by Maisie Carey and Daniel Drody Welcome to the first edition of the CROC Bytes monthly newsletter! Mrs. Williams is the principal of Crossroads Elementary School and knew she wanted to be a principal after having the opportunity to teach and serve as a lead teacher. When asked her favorite part about being a principal, she responded, “having the opportunity to interact with children daily, to visit classrooms, to see active teaching and learning, and leading by example.” Mrs. Williams’ favorite subject when she was a child was Reading. She stated, “I still absolutely love reading.” She wants to encourage everyone to read!! Dates to Remember Kindergarten’s Thanksgiving Feast Written by Rajanae Fairley and Paul Williams Kindergaruen stwdents and teachers celebrated Thanksgixing on Friday, Noxember 22nd by haxing a feast and dressing as Pilgrims and Indians. They learned abovt how life today is different from life hvndreds of years ago. The stwdents enjoyed a traditional meal with exura treats svch as rice crispy treats, cvpcakes, and frwit. Ms. Hargroxe, a teacher assistant, stated that “dinner teaches the stwdents abovt the celebration of Thanksgixing” with a hands-on approach. The children, parents, and teachers enjoyed their celebration xerz mvch.  December 1-7—National Hand-Washing Awareness Week (see Nurse’s newsletter for more information)  December 5th—2nd and 3rd grade Spelling Bee  December 6th—4th thru 6th grade Spelling Bee  December 10th—K-3 Christmas program 6 pm  December 12th—4-6 Christmas Program 6 pm  December 18th-20th—9 Weeks Exams  December 20th—60% day  December 23rd —January 6th Christmas Break  January 7th—Students return to school  January 7th—NWEA Testing begins Rainbow Loom Bracelets Written by: Carson Webb and Aubrey Olds Crazy loom bracelets are sweeping the CRE students and staff! Crazy-loom bracelets come in many different patterns such as fishtail, single, starburst, and many more. Each bracelet is different for every student in CRE! The bracelets help students express their individuality with color and pattern. The bracelets are a good way to express yourself so choose or make one that expresses you for who you are! 2013-2014 Crossroads Elementary School Reading Fair All Reading Fair projects are due by Wednesday, December 4! Please make sure you attach the student identification handout to the back of the board. Storyboards will be judged on Friday, December 6. Good luck to all students entering the Reading Fair! It's That Time Again! Scholastic Book Fair The Scholastic Book Fair will be at Crossroads Elementary beginning Monday, December 9 and ending on Friday, December 13. Students will be allowed to make purchases during their scheduled library time. Additional shopping time will be allowed on Friday, December 13. Students will receive a flyer advertising the types of items available during Library this week. We will also have a Teacher's Wish List display where you can make purchases for your child's classroom! You are welcome to come and shop with or for your child. We need you to help make this Book Fair a success! Mrs. William participated in a principal’s challenge to read to every classroom on November 13, 2013. Pickle Day Written by Ariel Haddon and Courtney Vick Last pickle day, we raised money for our sixth grade activities. We hung out with our friends. It was a blast! We helped the teachers by doing some orders. We are looking forward to the next pickle day, so bring your money! Written by Micheala Adams and Nydia Goodwin CRE is really excited about one of our new additions this year! That new addition is the Art Teacher, Ms. August. She loves being the art teacher at CRE, and she has always wanted to be a teacher or a judge. She used to play both with her siblings when she was little. She finds being an art teacher a challenge because she is trying things she has never done. Ms. August told us that she found she “is creative in ways she didn’t know.” She has something big planned for the months of December and January, so students be ready!! We at CRE are very glad to have Ms. August join our staff this year and look forward to the great things to come in ART. **ALLEN BEVERAGES hosted a celebration party at their facilities on November 14th to recognize the winners of the WLOX - Color the Coast Red, White and Blue and give away prizes. The winners from Crossroads were: Grayson Nicolaisen 1ST place (2nd grade) Ilana Sharp 2ND place (2nd grade) Kiana Tanner 2ND place (5th grade) Anaya Vaugh 3RD place (5th grade) **Beta Club is sponsoring a Food Drive from November 18th to December 10th. The class that collects the most non-perishable items will receive a pizza party at lunch on December 19th! **Congratulations to all the participants of the ACE (Academic Competition for Excellence) on Saturday, November 16, 2013. They represented CRE very well in this competition. The 2013-2014 ACE Team is from 5th Grade: Christopher Williams, Amareeon Carter, Anaya Vaughn, Sade Holloway, Kahlil Thomas Ward, Zimyria Boler, and 6th Grade: Maisie Cary, Dustin Cottrell, Isjah Cooper, Ja’lah Tenner, Daniel Drody, and Rejanae Fairley. The team sponsors this year are Ms. Natasha Mays and Mrs. Jerri Turan. We would like to thank the team for the hard work they put in the last two months preparing for the competition. We look forward to next year’s competition. Congratulations ACE Team!!!