Our Month of Many Dates and Activities


Dear Parents,

Now that we are finished testing, the weeks seem to be speeding by a little too quickly.  Please take careful note of the following upcoming activities and changes to some of them. Also, we have transferred the important dates to the enclosed calendar.

Luau Change
Due to a schedule change with the people performing at our Upper Elementary Luau, we had to change the Luau to:

Friday, May 18th 2018 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.

We will need help with set-up and tear-down and clean-up. Also, we still need people to volunteer to help organize and participate in committees such as, table committee, mayonnaise and condiments committee, people to help serve, people to help take tickets and a few other labor-type committees are needed. I will be working with Marlene to create an online sign up sheet for these items. We are happy to issue refunds for those who have purchased tickets and unable to make the new date.

Student-led Conferences
This is our favorite time of the year, where students get to show off their work during the year. Our parent conference sign in sheet is in the office.  Conferences begin on Wednesday, April 18 and conclude Friday, May 4, where classes are canceled for conferences.  Childcare is free for siblings in conference or for students whose conferences are on that day. We are also holding late conferences on Thursday, April 19th.  Let us know if you need an alternate time or date.  


Author Visit 
TM Holladay talked with us last month about the writing process and developing the characters in her books. She is planning to visit the students who ordered signed copies of her books during lunch next week.  If your child wanted a copy of either of the books in her series, please let us know as soon as possible, so they won't miss out.


Camp Surf Packing List, etc
Please see this link for packing list to camp surf (page 14):   https://www.ymca.org/sites/default/files/assets/branch/camp-surf/Surf_OE_Docs/Schl_PlanningG_2018.pdf
Also, please note that payment for camp surf is due Monday, April 16th. We need to have the student health forms filled out completely by Wednesday.  Also, if you wish for your child to take any medications, you must fill out the medication permission slip in the office and give your child's medication to me by the day we leave.  Drop off for camp surf will be at 5am at Main campus (on Southern and Lindsay) on Monday, April 23rd. If you are chaperoning, consider carpooling with others because parking at main campus is limited.  Also, if you are a chaperone planning to drive, let us know so that we can calculate our final numbers on the bus. We must have current background check paperwork for all chaperones.



Publishing Projects
Our class is busy finishing their novel and poetry collections as well as formatting their own yearbook page for our 80 page, full-color class yearbook. They have been informed about the deadlines involved in both publishing ventures.  I will send a separate, more detailed email about the steps involved.  The final selections for the yearbook pages and rough drafts for their books are due the day before Mercado, Wednesday, May 2nd.  Timely completion of both writing projects are necessary for Mercado participation.

6th grade Class Trip
Our sixth graders have been busy with fundraising plans to pay for a trip to Flagstaff with visits to Meteor Crater and Lowell observatory as well as the historic area.  They have solicited a variety of lovely and valuable donations for a raffle and two of our students are in the final publishing phases of a school-wide cookbook.  There will be an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets at the MEC luncheon next week and cookbooks at Mercado.  The trip will take place May 15-17. Please stay tuned for more details about both fundraisers.  

Snack Calendar 
Please take a look at our final calendar for the months of April and May.  Normally, the children make the calendar and choose the snacks, but testing has disrupted our usual routine.  We are allowing families to choose what to bring for snack these last few weeks of school. We also included the most important dates on the calendar as well.

Personal Care Announcement
With the warm weather approaching quickly, we have noticed that the smell of sweat has become more pervasive in our room. We had a talk with our students about the importance of using clean clothes and deodorant.

We thank you for all that everyone has done for our school and classroom community to make this school year one of the best ever.  While many in our community have encountered some extreme challenges this year, it has enlarged our hearts to watch our group come together and independently solve problems in such loving and novel ways. If you have any questions or concerns, please know that our doors are always open!  We hope to see everyone at conferences soon!

Sincerely,


Ms. Liza, Adrienne, and Kathy



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