Catalina Day 2

What an amazing day! After watching a bison graze near camp after breakfast, we started with lab stations. The students explored the world of algae, learned the differences between sharks and boney fish, and became familiar with other marine life in California. After lunch, we returned to the ocean for another snorkeling activity, where many students saw Bat Rays, Garibaldi, Blacksmith, and other sea life. As we returned our gear, a baby sea lion wandered onto the beach, which brought great excitement to the students. After dinner, we hiked two miles to a hilltop for an astronomy lesson.

Everyone is exhausted and ready to come home! I will keep parents posted on our travel progress tomorrow via the phone messenger system.

Enjoy the photos at Catalina Photos.

Staffing

Based on our given staffing and personnel for next year, here is our projected staffing assignment for classroom teachers:



KDG: Ms. Ryan, Ms. Emch

1st Grade: Mrs. Loerakker, Mrs. Patinsky

2nd Grade: Mrs. Underdown, Ms. Weiss

3rd Grade: Mrs. Menard, Mrs. Waddell

4th Grade: Mrs. Clark, Ms. Speight

5th Grade: Ms. Brown, Mrs. Guckert

6th Grade: Mrs. Briceno, Mrs. Urlaub

Resource: Mrs. Greenberg

MIMR: Mrs. Shuster, Ms. Vondracek

Art: Mrs. Burns

PE: Mr. Rosenberg

Tech/Media: Ms. Murphy

ELL: Ms. Campagna

Reading: TBA



Our teachers will start preparing class lists for next year in May. While we don't have teacher requests in our process, there will be a form available for you to address the learning style and needs of your child(ren). i will announce when this form is available toward the end of April.

Catalina Update

Day 1 for our 6th grade trip to Catalina was amazing... and exhausting! We had a perfect bus ride, a rocky boat ride, a relaxing lunch, great snorkeling in brisk 58 degree water, and a fun presentation on marine mammals. I am very impressed with how much our students know and are able to contribute to discussions! Your students can fill you in on the more exciting details....



Here is a link to some photos from the day: Catalina Photos. It's not the most creative format, but it works. I will post more tomorrow night.

Mail & Events

We sent home a letter with the students today from Dr. Kriekard regarding the district's budget cuts. I encourage you to read this to get a better understanding of our situation and where we currently stand in the process. If you are unable to locate your child's copy, email me and I can send you a digital version.

Kindergarten Round-Up
We had a Kindergarten Round-Up scheduled for March 4 to help recruit new kindergarten parents to Sandpiper. This is also the night for an education rally at the state capitol, so the Kindergarten Round-Up has been rescheduled to March 9 at 6:30 p.m. We will have fliers, banners, and mailers available next week to promote the event.

Around Campus

• We had a great week with our consultant from Columbia University, who worked with our K-3 teachers to advance their use of the Columbia Writing Project. The CWP is a model for conducting writers' workshop so our students can become independent writers. Our teachers really embraced the material, and our students did an amazing job demonstrating the strategies that writers employ during the creative process.
• We had a wondeful turnout for our Spaghetti Dinner on Wednesday night. I want to thank Danielle May and the rest of the PTO for providing such great opportunities for our families to come together as a community.
• Sixth grade has been on the move! Last week they experienced the Chinese Cultural Center, this week the Rennaisance Festival, and next week they will explore island life at the Cataline Island Marine Institute.

Special Areas

Our Special Areas rotation for next year will be as follows:

1.0 PE .
5 Art
.5 Technology/Media

Obviously, nothing is ideal when we have to reduce our students' exposure to these areas. Each of our special areas offer valuable experiences that enrich the lives of our children, and it was very difficult to determine a combination that offers our students a balanced approach that reflects the values of our community. As a staff, we will explore opportunities to supplement those areas that have been reduced.

I want to thank all of the parents and teachers who took the time to express their opinion, and special thanks to the School Council members for providing input into the decision.

Specials Update

I was expecting to announce our Specials Area reduction at the end of this week, but this will be delayed until early next week. I did not receive any new information from the district that impacts our situation, so I can proceed with the decision based on input from the School Council. However, I have been at an off-campus workshop for two days and have not been able to speak with the Special Areas teachers. This is a sensitive issue for everyone, and it is important for me to inform them in person before I announce the decision to the community. I appreciate everyone's support and patience during this process.

Specials Update/Odds & Ends

• Thank you to everyone who took time to voice an opinion regarding our Specials Areas reduction. I was expecting to announce a decision this week; however, the principals have been asked to wait on these decisions until late next week after the Governing Board meets. Some questions regarding district-wide cuts need to be addressed, and the answers may (or may not)have an impact on our decision. Once these district-level clarifications have been made, we can then move forward with finalizing our Special Areas for next year. I am expecting to announce this decision by Feb. 17.

• Some of our upper-grade students were left short this week when it came time to buying a lunch. Unfortunately, our lunch count was off significantly that day: 181 students said that they would be purchasing a lunch that morning, but more than 220 tried to purchase a lunch. Either our counting was way off, some of our students forgot that they were buying a lunch, or some of the students changed their mind when they saw the cafeteria lunch (fan-favorite Chinese). I have already addressed this with the students, but please help your students understand the importance of providing an accurate count during homeroom. The district menu is available on the district website so students can get an early look at the lunch entrees.
• I offered our students popsicles if the Cardinals won the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the storybook ending did not happen. I overcame my disappointment long enough to realize that we have an opportunity to celebrate a great game and effort, which is important to emphasize in today's society. So, I will be giving out Otter Pops after lunch on Friday. Here's to next season!