SEAHAWK FOOTNOTES

Arbor Heights, December, 1995 Vol. 7, Issue 4

Published monthly by Arbor Heights PTSA, 6.15.35.
Current members:130
Arbor Heights Elementary School 
3704 SW 104th   Seattle, WA   98146  281-6230
Terry McDermott, President  -  932-6314
Roberta Post, Vice President  -  937-5613
Sue Murray, Secretary  -  243-8374
Betsy Forbes, Treasurer  -  938-8607
Donna Carreon & Karen Haines,
Fundraising Coordinators  -  938-4018 & 938-3531
Holly Guenther, Student Activities Coord.  -  935-2048
Lynn Moy, Public Relations Coordinator  -  935-9015
Laura Flannigan, Admin. Coord.  -  431-8654
Kathy Robison, Site Council Chair  -  932-4552
Gail Ballard, Newsletter Editor  -  938-0712
Carl Leatherman, Principal
Claudia Stroh, Dave Wilkie & Sapina Pele, Staff Reps

TEACHER OF THE WEEK!

By Dana
Star Radio, 101.5 came to our classroom with a $200 check & a plaque for Mrs. Crichton. She was chosen as "Teacher of the Week" after being nominated by Dana. They gave us chocolate milk, travel books & gum. There were Kent & Allen, the dairy princess, some people from Farmer's Insurance and some photographers.
Congratulations, Mrs. Crichton - YOU ARE THE BEST!

5+1=6th

TO: Carl Leatherman, Principal, Arbor Heights
FROM: John Stanford, Superintendent
RE: Program Placement Decision for K-6 Request

As you know, in June of this year a Program Placement Team was formed to consider requests for program placement for the 1996-97 school year. The Program Placement Team consisted of principals, a Seattle Education Association representative and central administrative staff. I I requested the team to make recommendations to me for my review and approval.
There have been two significant changes since the Program Placement Team submitted their recommendations to me. First, the School Board approved my request to pursue changes to the Student Assignment Plan for 1997-98 and second, our projected gap between revenues and expenditures has increased.
Since proposed changes to the Student Assignment Plan will result in significant changes in space utilization, I am not approving any changes on grade configuration this year. The success of a new Student Assignment Plan will depend on strategic placement of the appropriate programs. For these reasons, I am not approving the request for K-6 for the 1996-97 school year. However, this request will be carefully considered in the upcoming months as we develop details of the new Student Assignment Plan.

LUNCH @ BONNY'S

STUDENTS,
I'd like to think Arbor Heights kitchen is a lot like home, so if you have a problem with lunch you could come to Mrs. Shaw or myself and we'd take care of any problem. We are here to help you and make lunch a happy eating time. When you have something wrong with your lunch remember we prepare over 280 lunches everyday and mistakes sometimes happen, hamburger missing from the bun, peanut butter or jelly missing from your sandwich. We can also run out of a choice because 15 students and adults didn't let the kitchen know they were eating lunch. It's also hard to keep lunch hot and tasty when your class is late. The things I have no control over are lunch prices, the menu and loaning money. If I had my way, lunch would be free for everyone and we'd serve nachos, pizza and chicken nuggets every week. So before you find faults with the kitchen, please ask yourself, "Could I do as good a job and still smile and be friendly?"
Thanks, Bonny

PACK 799

The theme of the December Pack meeting for Cubscout Pack 799 was "Christmas is Giving." The Scouts worked like elves preparing handmade ornaments and gifts filled with treats to be given out later this month during their annual Christmas carolling to people who are in retirement or nursing homes in our community. The meeting ended by singing a few carols around a (fake) campfire. (After all, the meeting is @ Arbor Heights cafeteria!) It was a nice showing of the true spirit of the season.

ART by JAMI

Currently I am working in Room 12 with Mr. Ahlness. He is part of a rotation team. The third & fourth graders exchange: one day art, next day computers, next day science, next day health....
ART - Mr. Ahlness
SCIENCE - Ms. Luke & Ms. Sato
HEALTH - Ms. Salter
COMPUTERS - Mr. Wilke
I enjoy being in there; he has different projects for the third & the fourth - he encourages their imaginations, shows them slides of famous (and some not so famous) paintings. They work with various mediums ie: paint, pen, pastels, chalk, crayons....
Most of the children pay attention and enjoy and come away with a sense of accomplishment.

MEDICAL BULLETIN

Arbor Heights had a flu immunization clinic for the staff last month. We now have 14 additional staff who are protected. Hopefully, we can plan a clinic to include parents & community next year.
A clinic will be offered on March 28, 1996 to immunize 5th grade students for measles, mumps & rubella #2 (MMR). A second MMR is required to enter middle school. Tetanus & polio will also be available. Additional information will be provided in future newsletters.
Joyce Iota - Nurse @ Arbor Heights

THE TOP TEN

The Bon recognized these outstanding students and treated them to pizza and a trip to the Bon for a short program. They were chosen for their extraordinary achievement in the areas of school activities, academics, community activities, attendance & Citizenship. They are:
Monica, Melissa, Robert, James, Jack. Colinl, Teresa, Sarah, Sabrina, Colin.

The PREZ SEZ..... Season's Greetings -

The countdown has begun at my house. Ryan can hardly wait for the 14th. It is his 11th birthday. The kids great grandmother is arriving from Farmington, Minnesota. We hope to get her to the afternoon performance of the Winter program. She is looking forward to seeing all the Arbor Heights children at work.

PTSA work has been very calm for me this month, it's been a nice break. I have had the opportunity to go on two field trips. One with Room 16 to the Children's Theater to see Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and the other with Room 15 to the Childrens Museum. Both outings were great and of course our children were on their best behavior as always.

If you saw the display case this last week, you might recognize the figures. I made a Christmas display for Alki Spud a few years ago, and they were gracious enough to let me borrow them for a week! One of my hobbies I haven't had time for since school started this fall. I would like to thank Terrie & Rick for the loan of the display!

In my spare time I have been baking up a storm. The poor staff have been my guinea pigs, luckily I haven't had any complaints. My family would like to extend Holiday Wishes to you all. Have a safe & happy holiday. Our next General Meeting is January 11th @ 7:00. Hope to see you there!

SPECIAL ED-4th & 5th

By Marilyn Anderson - Room 23, 4th & 5th
Room 23 is a 4th and 5th grade special education classroom. Each month we have a different theme for citizenship. The September theme was "Start Smart" and follow the rules. The October theme was "Part of the Team." We are learning how to cooperate and help each other try out best. The theme for November was "Thanks to You." We practiced giving compliments to each other for being a responsible, considerate, and caring member of our class. We made a Cornucopia of Compliments and learned that it is hard to compliment someone and especially hard to compliment ourselves. December's theme is "Giving Your Best." We are concentrating on giving our best effort to being a good friend. The class definition of a good friend is: no teasing, no hitting, and watching out for your buddy when he/she needs help on the playground or in the class.
We would like to encourage people to volunteer in our classroom the last hour of the day when we like to relax and have 1:1 reading. Please contact the school if you are interested in volunteering once a week.

KIDS CLASSIFIED ADS

WANTED: Broken electrical or mechanical devices for our take apart tables. (VCRs, clocks,...)We will collect these all year long. Also any extra handtools (screwdrivers & pliers) would be appreciated - Room 16, Mr. Femiano Grades 1, 2, 3
By Olivia

SPEAKING OF..........

Every building in the Seattle School District has a Speech-Language Pathologist. The amount of time at each facility depends on availability and need.
The general procedure involves a referral by parents or teachers. The child is then screened by an SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist). If there appears to be a need for additional evaluation - the parents are required to sign a release on what is called an FOC or Focus of Concern.
In-depth testing will determine if the child qualifies for Speech/Language therapy. There are several categories for qualification. Articulation (speech sound production), fluency (stuttering), voice disorders, as well as language disorders are common communication difficulties due to underlying pathology or developmental delays.
Feel free to contact the Speech/Language Pathologist(SLP) at your local school if you have any questions or concerns. Communication is a very important part of anyones life. We're here to help kids reach their maximum potential. As a rule, the SLP services kids 2x weekly or as needed - each case is individually evaluated.

Lynn King, Arbor Heights' very own SLP (Speech/Language Pathologist).
Lynn can be found upstairs on Tuesday and Thursday in the little room located by the fish tank.

Literature Comes Alive

Literature comes alive, and oh what fun! After ready many comical tales from Betty MacDonald's Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series, Room 16 (Mr. Femiano's 1-2-3) went to the Childrens Theater to see a wonderful musical interpretation of these short stories. The acting and writing was superb and we were all (including Mr. Leatherman) spellbound by the props, live piano player, singing, and overall professional production. Although it's a bit pricey, we heartily recommend it to all families as a holiday gift to yourselves.

Marilyn Anderson, teacher of a 4th/5th special education classroom, would like volunteers to read with her children once a week. Call her if you can help!

ROOM 13

Our reading group discovered that there are many cultural versions of the Cinderella story when we read The Rough Face Girl by Rafe Martin and David Shannon. This is an Algonquin folktale and the children were able to pick many parallels between the traditional story and this one. It was a thrilling experience to make the discovery. Establishing a link between the known and the new is like crossing a bridge into someone else's town.

ARBOR HEIGHTS BYTES

Connect up to the Arbor Heights World Wide Web site! Over 3,000 people a month from all over the world visit it at:
http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/arborhtshtml

Mrs. Thompson has also set up a site to encourage young writers at Arbor Heights (Cool Writers' Magazine) & around the world at: http://www.halcyon.com/ahcool/home.html

Here is the URL (lingo for WWW address) for "Best of the Net": http://www.gnn.com/gnn/wic/botn/ed.best.html. There is even a reference to Cool Writers' Magazine. Stop by Room 12 or Room 22 to see the new graphic that says "top ten" on The Arbor Heights Home Page!

Maya has created a World Wide Web page on Sea Turtles, and Cordell is creating a resource page on wolves. Eric just started a page on hockey. Each student includes a poem, artwork, research on the subject and then links to other resources.

Many staff members at Arbor Heights have Internet accounts. Ask your child's teacher for their email address!

Microsoft has sent AH a server! It is currently in the process of getting set up and running. Believe me, they make life wonderful when using the computer! Everyone will soon see......

AH CALENDAR

DECEMBER
18-31 Winter Vacation

JANUARY
2 Return from vacation
11 Student Store
11 PTSA Meeting
15 NO SCHOOL - MLK Day
NO NEWSLETTER THIS MONTH! YEAH!

The BOOK REPORT

It was my pleasure to speak at the last PTSA meeting about the importance of reading to your child. I really believe it is one of the most helpful things we can do with our kids. As the holidays approach you should consider the gift of reading a book to your child. I know it's hard to set aside time during the frantic pace of this time of year, but what a wonderful gift to give your child, sharing a book together. It's also such a calming activity that kids would appreciate at bedtime, especially if it means they might stay up just a bit longer.

Read your child a book that was one of your favorites when you were young. Or read them a book that they have only known as a movie. Books like Charlotte's Web, The Indian in the Cupboard & The Wizard of Oz. A Christmas story like: Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Story of Holly & Ivy, The Polar Express, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever or The Happy Prince. Or, read them one of this years Young Reader's Choice Books. Our 4th & 5th graders will vote in March and kids can vote if they have read 2 books, or had them read aloud to them.

If you would like to buy your child a book for Christmas, there are many wonderful gift books. For example Waldo books, books by Roald Dahl, new Goosebump books are always a hit. The poetry collection Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic are books children will enjoy over and over again for many years. As always, if you would like to check out any books from our library just stop by or drop me a note.
Dene Napolitan, Arbor Heights Librarian

The MUSIC BOX

December Greeting from Mrs. Mabe!

All of my 3rd, 4th & 5th grade and multiage classes have been working on our instrumental and vocal numbers for the Holiday Program. Many 4th & 5th grade percussion and xylophone players have put in extra practice time before school, coming in several times a week to play congas and xylophones to polish their technique. A group of 5th graders from Rooms 21 & 25 have also come in several times in the morning to sing in a small choral group, and performed during one of the 5th grade songs in the Program. I am also proud of the hard work Fourth graders in Rooms 7 & 8 have put in on a special holiday project, in cooperation with some studio musicians in Los Angeles. It is important to me that kids understand there are many, many different forms that music can take. Arbor Heights students seem eager for the opportunity to learn about them. My Kindergarten students continue to excel at following directions, doing patterning with fun rhymes and songs, body percussion, and rhythm patterns and treating each other with appreciation and respect during music time. I am impressed by the level of responsibility and cooperation I see in all my music students.

HO! HO! HO! We love and enjoy our congas so much. Thank you parents! Of course, it's Winter Holiday Program time, and we've had fun getting ready for the concert. There was dance, song and drumming - very festive. Simone Welsh was the guest artist drumming with our students at the program.

WINTER PROGRAM '95 - PEACE ON EARTH

THE HALLS WERE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC

The Winter Program was a wonderful combination of song, drums, instruments & fun! Ms. Cronon & Ms. Mabe can feel proud of a job well done. Their excitement and enthusiasm was evident and showed with the various skills demonstrated by the children.

Mr. Leatherman can be congratulated on his idea of splitting the evening program - for the first time in a long time it wasn't overcrowded, hot & stuffy! All in all, things seemed to run smoothly. Lynn Moy was responsible for the set design on stage & also acted as stage crew with her student assistant, Jason Corbon. The grouping of the various classes together was a great idea! And last, but not least, Simone Welsh as a guest artist drumming with the children was an inspiration! The drums were a great investment! Almost forgot to mention the appearance of Santa Claus - after the show my three year old daughter wanted to find "Santa", but he had already left for the North Pole.

Ms. Mabe & Ms. Cronon are the 2 new music teachers who have really shown the kids how to enjoy music & have fun!

DEAR SANTA...

By Ryan, Rm 21 - Ms.Crichton, 5th Grade
There is a myth of a fat man in a red suit who comes every year to every good kid all over the country. If you are bad you get coal. This man's name is Santa Clause (aka Kris Kringle). Says he is a saint, he has a reindeer sled team who fly him on his route to all good kids all over the country. "My advice to you is be good, don't be bad!"

By Eric, Rm 24 - Mr. Dorr, 4th Grade
I like Christmas because you get presents and if you are good you get what you want and if you are bad he gives you a bag of coal. On Christmas you bake cookies.

By Catlin, Rm 16 - Mr.Femiano, 3rd Grade
Why I like Christmas is because that is the day Jesus was born. The three wise men came to the shed and gave them presents and worshiped them. Three angels also came.

By Taylor, Rm 17 - Mr. Pharis, 2nd Grade
Dear Santa,
I hope you get enough sleep for Christmas Eve. What I want for Christmas is a "Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego" game. I like decorating the Christmas tree. It is fun putting on the ornaments. I like seeing what's in my stocking and opening presents with my family. I also like eating the candy canes off the tree. I hope everyone in the world has a great Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Taylor

By Olivia, Rm 19 - Ms. Ballard, 1st Grade
Dear Santa,
I've been a good girl. I would like to have a toy car.
Love, Olivia

By Cale, Rm 12 - Mr. Ahlness, 3rd Grade
Dear Santa,
What I want for Christmas is.........spending time with my family and GOD. That's all I want for Christmas.

By Markell, Rm 15 - Ms. Long, 2nd Grade
What Christmas means to me: presents, happy & joyful times, Church, family, friends, Christmas carols, snow, hot chocolate, cocoa, ice, celebrating, no school, Christmas trees, decorations & lights.

By Shawn, Rm 8 - Ms. Luke, 4th Grade
This month in our class we made gingerbread houses. They are really neat. We had to bring in the stuff, then build them and let them dry, then decorate them and finally bring them home or eat them.

Return to the PTSA Page
Return to Arbor Heights Elementary School