Attendance Line Number - 490-3062

Jan 21, 2005

Shepardson's Home Page: http://schoolweb.psdschools.org/she/

In this issue...

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COMMENTS FROM THE COUNSELOR By Rea Kreider, Shepardson Counselor Well it's not often that I have my newsletter article appear on the front page! This is a very busy travel time for Mary Kay, and she asked that I move my comments to the lead position during her absence. My pleasure. First, I want to acknowledge the faculty at Shepardson for their professionalism and their dedication. Mary Kay has often commented that our school runs efficiently even when she is gone, and it is really true. This is due primarily to a highly skilled team of teachers, paraprofessionals and support staff working cooperatively. It is also due to an underlying philosophy that all students attending Shepardson are our students, regardless of what grade they are in or who their teacher may be. Thank you to all the adults at Shepardson for your support and continued focus on learning, even when the boss is away. The MLK Assembly and Walk for Peace was, once again, a huge success. It took a lot of planning and considerable courage for the Student Council Officers (Brian Verde, Monica Franco, Jared Miller and Aaron Fleming) and the other participating students (Arun Chandra, Edward Zhu, Collins Wang, Anna Isernia, Vianey Banda, Miranda Blas, Kimberly Scott, Ashley Brooks, the lead 5th grade singers and all of Mrs. Hopkinson's 4th graders) to speak and perform in front of such a large audience. Thanks to all of the parents who joined us for what some teachers feel was the best assembly yet, and for the brisk walk that followed. Our tree of virtues has begun to sprout new leaves. Try to encourage your children to perform an act of kindness or justice, record it on a leaf and add it to the tree sometime before the end of January. Please take a few minutes to read the attached "Report to Parents" about verbal abuse, slurs and name-calling. As you know, I visit all classrooms on a regular basis to present lessons and lead discussions centering on empathy and respect for others. During the next few weeks, the topic will be bullying. As the article mentions, it's easier to spot physical harassment than it is to notice the verbal bullying that can take place out of ear shot of teachers and other adult supervisors. When bullying happens at Shepardson, 9 times out of 10, it will be in the form of some kind of verbal abuse. All students have heard and will continue to hear the phrase "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." We have numerous discussions about what bullying looks like and sounds like and I teach multiple strategies for students to try, the most effective being 1) to stand up straight and say "I don't like that and I want you to stop!" and 2) to tell and adult. I strongly believe our students know what bullying is and that we have a very low tolerance for it here at Shepardson. But, no matter how often we discuss it, bullying behaviors are going to happen. Bullying happens in our adult lives as well. In my professional opinion, we must approach bullying from two directions. We must first help children to empathize; to feel what another person is feeling, and to use care not to purposely frighten, embarrass or hurt others. But we must also teach our children to be resilient, to use words confidently as they demand respect from others and to not wither whenever another child speaks to them unkindly. Thank you for your efforts at home to help your children learn both of these important skills. Finally, the week of February 7-11,2005, is National School Counselor Week. The Poudre School District is fortunate to have a group of highly skilled school counselors serving the needs of students at all levels and in nearly every school in the district. I am proud to be the counselor at Shepardson and I am convinced that my efforts over the last 5 years have had a significant impact on the safe learning environment in this school. As always, I am available at school everyday to assist with the needs of students, teachers and parents. Please contact me if you have questions, suggestions or concerns regarding the counseling program at Shepardson, if you would like to learn more about the role of a school counselor, or if there is any way in which I can be of assistance. - Mary Kay Sommers email: msommers@psd.k12.co.us

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CALENDAR

January 21, 2005

JANUARY 2005			FEBRUARY 2005
25	Tue	3rd grade music program 6:00 pm	1	Tue	PTO Meeting 7:00 pm
25	Tue	Kindergarten Parent Information Night 7:00-8:00 pm	2 - 3	Wed-Thu	Enrichment Registration - Media Center 7:45 - 8:30 am and 3:15-3:45 pm
26	Wed	Empty Bowls - 6:30-7:30 pm	3	Thu	Kindergarten Registration 7:00 am-6:00 pm
			4	Fri	Spelling Bee - Gym 1:30-3:00

(Table of Contents)   (Top) PSD KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Kindergarten registration for students entering school in PSD in Fall 2005 is scheduled for Thursday, February 3, 2005. Registration will be held from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at all elementary schools (schedule available at all school offices or on the PSD web page at www.psdschools.org under "School Registration"). Children who will be 5 years of age on or before September 15, 2005, are eligible to register.

On the day of registration, parents should bring their child's birth certificate (original or certified preferred), Social Security number, immunization records, and emergency contact information.

There is no tuition for half-day kindergarten programs; full-day programs are approximately $2,100 per year, except at Livermore, Stove Prairie, and Laurel which are free. The first payment is due at time of registration; the remainder is due in nine monthly installments from August 2005 through April 2006. Full and partial scholarships may be available; check with the individual school for eligibility requirements.

One-way transportation is provided for kindergarten students attending a half-day program who live more than one mile from their neighborhood school. Round-trip transportation is provided for students in an all-day program who live more than one mile from school. Transportation is not provided for School Choice students (those who attend a school outside their attendance areas).

(Table of Contents)   (Top) SIT REPORT

The SIT committee last met 1/6/05 at 4 p.m. The minutes from the prior meeting were approved unanimously. The next meeting will be held on Feb. 17th, 2005.

The District Advisory Board is continuing work on the 2005-2006 PSD budget details. A televised, open house will be held at the Lincoln Center to meet Superintendent candidates and provide for a question and answer session.

School Accreditation Reports have been sent home with students. Once again Shepardson rated "Excellent" and received full district accreditation. Boundary reports are considering having all graduating Shepardson students going to Boltz Jr. High. This is one of several options.

Recent grant awards go to Literacy through Poetry ($1334), Read to Achieve ($162,000 over three years) and Empty Bowls ($300). Shepardson has been chosen to participate in a Timberline Church partnership volunteer program. The program will be initially managed by the school district with Sue Harbour being our school liaison.

Mary Kay and architects will meet about the upcoming remodel on 1/31/05. Shepardson is scheduled to have an addition that will allow us to have a separate lunchroom!

The next meeting will be held on Feb. 17, 2005 at 4:00 pm.

(Table of Contents)   (Top) SALLY FOSTER UPDATE

Thank you to all families who participated in the Sally Foster fundraiser. We raised a total of $9814.14, which includes a $1000 signing bonus. In addition, we were able to spend bonus points based on last spring's computer software sale, Gold-C books, and Sally Foster. With those bonus points we were able to obtain six new scooters for Mr. Neal's classes, a new die-cut machine, and six large, fun, three-dimensional die cuts. We know they will be put to good use. Thank you for helping with this valuable fundraising effort!

(Table of Contents)   (Top) FOCUS ON WORD CHOICE IN WRITING

During the month of January, the school-wide focus trait for writing is "word choice". Word choice is the use of precise, colorful and rich words to communicate. There are a variety of good books that illustrate this trait available to you. Please feel free to check with Margie Bucher, our media specialist, if you are interested in looking at the list and reading one of these to your child at home.

When a student uses good "word choice" in his/her writing, he/she will select and use clear and precise language. The language is rich, natural, and yet succinct. All the words in the paper fit. Words are colorful, snappy, vital, brisk, and fresh, with no overdone, vague, or flowery language. The piece of writing contains lots of energetic, powerful, and active verbs! Used correctly, it can make a piece of writing interesting and exciting. To help teach the trait of "word choice" have your child make a list of striking phrases or words they have found in books. Find active verbs. You may also want to discuss the different word choice techniques picture book authors use to create pictures in the mind. Have your child find examples of "everyday" words used well. Encourage your child to brainstorm the meaning of new words. Word choice is what gives an exactness to details and helps the writer paint memorable pictures in the reader's mind.

(Table of Contents)   (Top) GOING! GOING!! GONE!!!

Only a few days left until the Empty Bowls Silent Auction,

Wednesday, January 26! Students are excited to show off their bowls and see what price their bowl will bring!!

Student and staff bowls will be on display in the gym from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Each classroom will have their own table of student bowls to make it easier for you to find your child's bowl. Next to each student's bowl will be a bid sheet where you can write in your bid. At the end of the bidding hour, you can take your bowl(s) and bid sheet(s) to cashiers in the gym who will be ready to check you out.

Checks need to be made payable to 'Shepardson Elementary'.

If you are unable to attend the silent auction, you can call in your bid to the office or send a note with your bid money to me. I will make sure your child gets his/her bowl to bring home.

Minimum bid on bowls is $1 with increments, thereafter, of 50 cents. For every dollar the Food Bank receives from Shepardson Elementary, they distribute $10.20 worth of food. So our event could provide nearly $5,100 worth of food to needy families in Fort Collins.

Some of our own staff members have graciously donated their homemade bowls to be auctioned off that same night!! Be sure to check out their unique bowls on display around the gym.

Thank you, again, for supporting the student's involvement in this community project. Please call me if you have any questions. Otherwise, I will see you Wednesday, January 26!!

(Table of Contents)   (Top) PTO CORNER

The next PTO meeting will be held Tuesday, February 1, 2005 7:00 p.m. (committee work) 7:15 p.m. (Board Meeting) in the Shepardson Library NEW FACES AND INPUT ARE WELCOME SO PLEASE JOIN US AND LEARN ABOUT WHAT GOES ON AT SHEPARDSON! Thank you EVERYONE for participating in the Gingerbread Social! What a great event! Special thanks to those who worked so hard to bring this event about! Thanks to the committee: Becky Kissler, Stacey Fox, Maryann Michels, Jennifer Pond, Leslie Witzak, Cathy Hager, Claudia Wilson, Carolina Hoffman, Jana Anderson, Sonia VanZyl, Patty Martell, Bobette Slawson, Linda and Libby Herndon, Dian Dahm, Christine Voneida, Becky and Fred Haberecht, and JoAnn Cadoo! We all appreciate the valuable time and effort you put into making this such a wonderful holiday treat! Thank you! Target and Albertsons Reminder... Remember you can use your Target and Albertsons' cards to support our school at no cost to you! Through the community support programs each has set up, Shepardson will receive monetary support based on the amount of purchases made by Shepardson supporters. If you have a Target Guest or credit card, or an Albertsons Preferred Savings card, make sure to list Shepardson as the school you'd like to recieve benefits from these programs. It's a great way to raise money for our school because it doesn't cost anything to participate. Thanks! For more information, please contact, Jennifer Burkhart at burkys@aol.com or 225-1873 Snapshots! Remember to keep clicking pictures for the yearbook! Pictures due in by the end of January. Questions? Contact Marcie Dietrich @ 282-9336 or Michelle Murray @ 226-6224 PTO Nominations Committee has formed and will begin interview and nomination process shortly. Thanks to Jennifer Kelly, Chuck Hubbeling, and Tia Oblender for participating on this committee. We will accept nominations for any of the following positions: PTO Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Member at Large An excellent way to explore the opportunities available through PTO is to come to the meeting or contact, Jennifer Burkhart at 225-1873, or Burkys@aol.com. Hewlett Packard Matching Employee Donations to Shepardson! HP matches funds for donations at the elementary school level! In fact, Shepardson is already listed as a recipient on the corporate web site! On the HP web sit, employees can make a donation (must be more than $25). The donation is given as a payroll deduction and can be made one-time or even as a monthly donation! The donation can be made anonymously and checks are mailed to the school from HP quarterly. If you are an HP employee and would like your donation to go a bit further - this is a great way to do it. If you have questions, please contact Jennifer Burkhart, 225-1873. Thanks! SHEPARDSON VOLUNTEERS ARE THE GREATEST! Based on the hours calculated from the volunteer sign-in sheet, Shepardson volunteers gave 3908.5 hours to our school! These hours would equal nearly $22,000 worth of service at today's minimum wage rate. But it goes without saying that these volunteers and their service are PRICELESS! THANK YOU! REACH WEEK IS ALMOST HERE! We are very excited to bring back "R.E.A.C.H. Week" this year! This was a great campaign for Shepardson last year, which helped us reinforce the value of reading with our students, while offering a positive approach to fundraising. We received contributions from sponsors all over the country as well as some from Europe. The monies raised went to the PTO budget, which paid for so many fantastic things at our school last year such as Paras' time for Literacy and Media, Enrichment Coordinator salary, Scholarships, Staff Development, Assemblies, Classroom requests, etcetera. This year's Reach Week will be Saturday February 26th - Friday, March 4th. The letter-writing portion will take place prior to the reading week from Friday, February 11th - Friday February 18th. Reach Week Dates: February 11th- February 18th: The program will be presented to our children at school and a sponsor letter packet will be sent home with them. This week our students will complete their letters and return them to school. February 18th, Friday: Due date for returning sponsor letters. Please don't forget to include your child's price choice slip. February 26th-March 4th, REACH WEEK. This week the reading takes place, and our children fill out their yellow home reading cards. Our goal is 300 minutes over a 7 day period. March 4th, Friday: Home reading cards are due back to your child's teacher. We encourage you to participate if possible. It's a great program that promotes a great thing-reading! If you have any questions, feel free to call Maria Smailes at 223-3756. Thanks for your support!

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CONGRATULATIONS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE FINALISTS! We're proud of all of you! Special congratulations to the winners! 1st Place ~ Paul Groene 2nd Place ~ Gretchen Carow 3rd Place ~ Ann Haas

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LUCKY STARS AT SHEPARDSON! Rotary Read Week that Shepardson students participate in during a week in November is like a four-leaf clover. The first part recognizes their reading participation by awarding each of the participants a rainbow Rotary Reads pencil. The second part recognizes those students who are lucky on the day a drawing is held. Each of those students receives $10.00 gift certificates from Rotary to be used at a local bookstore. The third part is winning the visit from an author. That is still to be announced as the author visits Poudre School District in April. The fourth part is the reading that students do at Shepardson, and READING is really the goal of the Rotary Read program. Our Rotary Read representative presented the following LUCKY STARS students with their certificates during morning announcements before the holiday break: Kindergarten: Elia Betschen Eric Bockhaus Colby Carlson Kayla Christensen Coleen Hubbeling Jack McDonnell Taber Slayden Amelia Stewart 1st Graders: Evan Bode Sam Bostak Bradley Brown Brian Brown Mitchell Carlson Makaela Humphrey Cierra LeClayse 2nd Graders: Tess Baker Elizabeth Hirn Tess Hubbeling Trinity Vigil   3rd Graders: Austen Adams Rachel Carlson Jennifer Casanova Antonio Franco Danielle Lawson Griffin Nelson 4th Graders: Andy Brown Timothy Chesson Sarah Gloor Madelyn Groene Wesley Hager Louis LaFontaine Kate McDonnell Nick Mason Nicole Perry Jessica Puckett Ashlyn Stults Kaelyn Taylor Evelyn Von Nieda   5th Graders: Carina Chvatal Mitchell Dilley Erin Dowdy Monica Franco Joseph Gutierrez Michael Hurley T.J. Jobe Nichol Ngo Tait Rutherford Lexi Schroeder Trey Seale Steven Tang 6th Graders: Anthony Belling Anne Haas Earlier this year, representatives of Poudre School District and Rotary Read representatives visited Shepardson to gather ideas about why Rotary Read is so successful at Shepardson. Congratulations to all Shepardson Stars, not just the lucky ones!

(Table of Contents)   (Top) PICTURES NEEDED!!

If you have any pictures from field trips, class parties, special programs, etc., we would love to include them in the yearbook. Please get them to your child's teacher by January 28th. Group pictures with 2-5 kids are ideal. Please call Marcie Dietrich at 282-9336 or Michelle Murray at 226-6224 with any questions. Thanks!

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