SEAHAWK FOOTNOTES

Arbor Heights, February, 1996 Vol. 7, Issue 5

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

MS. LONG IN DUNK TANK!!

Add Carol Long to the history books for suffragettes - she will become the first official woman - dunkee at the Arbor Heights Family Carnival. The dunk tank is always one of the highlights of the school carnival - who else will be stepping up to that cold splash of water? Plan on bringing the whole family to this fun-filled, action-packed event. It all begins at 5:30 - 8:30 on Friday, March 1st. It's FREE to get in and each game booth is only 25 cents. The games themselves are based on scientific principles - so the kids can learn without even trying! Of course, there will be food - pizza, pop, hot dogs, popcorn, a bake sale & an espresso cart (no need to eat at home!) Also included will be the ever popular cake walk, featuring cakes decorated by AH students, face painting, a moonwalk, balloon twisting (you know-those balloon animals!) and helium balloons. There will also be a raffle with great prizes donated by many local businesses.
Last but NOT least, the Arbor Heights Cookbook -From Ants on a Log to Zoo Salad, Arbor Heights Cooks will be making it's first appearance. Grab yours now, they won't last!!
When you see Ms. Long congratulate her on being such a good sport. Her class read over 400 books in one month & the deal was she would dress up -(see enclosed pictures.) She wore a suit backwards & a piano tie! Next she steps up to the dunk tank - brave lady - it might be snowing...

SAPINA PELE - AH PUBERTY NIGHT

MARCH 14th ! All 5th grade parents and students mark your calendar for Arbor Heights Puberty Night. It's an evening of fun and educational value for all the family. It will begin at 6:00 pm with dinner and then a very informative and educational experience for both parent and student. More information will be sent to all 5th grade families.
Southwest Family Center, 5950 Delridge Way SW (located next to Cooper School) is developing a youth group. D.Y.G. (Delridge Youth Group) will be meeting Wednesdays at 4 to 5 pm. This group will be doing community service projects and fund-raisers for the youth. It's a great way for our youth to make new friends and develop a sense of community. Please call Southwest Family Center at 763-7929 for more information. Julie Spathing is the program supervisor for D.Y.G.

PACK 799

Cubscout Pack 799's annual Blue & Gold Banquet will be on Wednesday, February 28th at Arbor Heights cafeteria. There will be fabulous food & a dessert auction; and, because it was such a hit last year, we will be entertained by a professional magician! It promises to be an action-packed, fun-filled evening; a wonderful opportunity for any boys who are not involved in scouting to come as our guests to find out more about Pack 799 and the great things happening in Cub Scouts at Arbor Heights! For more information or to receive an invitation, call Cubmaster Jay DeMers, at 938-1899 (evenings & weekends), or 441-1980, days.

$1000!!

The Penny & Pocket Change Drive will run February 14-29, with many of the students classrooms incorporating this project into their curriculum! This is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to practice their math skills!
Please support this drive by sending your donated change to school with your child, or dropping it off in the office during the 2 week period of February 14-29. If you would like to start a collection at your workplace, labeled containers are available in the school office.
THIS EVENT FUNDS OUR ANNUAL YOUNG AUTHORS CONFERENCE IN MAY!
THIS YEARS GOAL: $1,000.00!!

NUTRITIONAL TIDBITS FROM THE KITCHEN

Dear Parents,
If you are concerned about your fat and sodium intake per day, please be aware of your childrens grams per day as well. The federal recommended daily allowance of fat per day is 30 grams per child. Sodium is 1000 milligrams per day. Spend some time reading labels on the things your kids eat. Add up the fat grams, and you will be surprised what they get per day. I checked the lunchables and they were OK, if you didn't plan too many more fat grams for the rest of their day! The chips your kids bring in their sack lunches are very high for the amount served. Keep your eyes open and your kids healthy.

SCIENCE FAIR - MARCH 21st

The Science Fair is set for Thurs, March 21st from 6-8 pm. An info packet will be going home with all children on Tuesday, Feb. 20th.

MEDICAL BULLETIN

Joyce Ito - Nurse @ Arbor Heights
ATTENTION: Parents of 5th graders regarding 2nd dose of measles vaccine.
Washington state requires that children entering 6th grade must have received and have documentation of 2 doses of measles vaccine. The required immunization can be received from your private physician or community clinic.
A FREE measles clinic will be offered on Wednesday, March 27th at Arbor Heights at 9:30 am. Forms will be sent home for completion.
A donation of 1 can of tuna, vegetable, fruit, Spam or milk may be contributed for the Emergency Feeding Program. Children will still receive shots if they are unable to contribute food items. If you have questions, please contact Joyce Ito at 281-6230.

BAKE A CAKE And Decorate it Contest!

All cakes will be used for the Cake Walk at the Family Carnival on Friday, March 1st. Students who participate will be given one free Carnival ticket. Grades K-2, & grades 3-5 will be judged separately, and the winners of each group will receive the following awards:

1st Prize: An award & $3 in Carnival tickets.
2nd Prize: An award & $2 in Carnival tickets.
3rd Prize: An award & $1 in Carnival tickets.

Cakes must be made and decorated by the student with parent or adult supervision only. Look for more information coming home soon!

The Vice-PREZ SEZ.....

Our overworked and exhausted President is taking a well deserved rest this month, so I have the opportunity to speak to you as Vice-President.
This is my 3rd year serving on the Board of the PTSA & I've found it to be a learning experience to see how things run & how & why decisions are made that affect us all. We're currently looking for people to serve for the 1996-1997 Board. If interested, and want to make a difference in our school, please contact one of the current Board members. I'd also like to acknowledge the work this years Board has done. The vast majority are brand new to the Board & I'm so impressed with their hard work, new ideas & absolute willingness to get every job done for our children.
I've enjoyed the new format of having a speaker at each General Meeting. While the actual business portion is important, it's been especially worthwhile to attend these meetings to learn more about parenting & education. Thank you to Patty Wallace for a great presentation in February (If you want copies of her handouts, contact Terry McDermott. We've scheduled more speakers for the remaining meetings, so don't miss out.
Fun things to look forward to are the Carnival, Penny & Pocket Change Drive, Science Fair, Pancake Breakfast and the debut of the Arbor Heights Cookbook. All of it happens in the next 6 weeks!! What an amazing amount of work from our parents and staff.
Roberta Post, Vice-President

JAMI MOFFETT

Gail asked me to write about what I had been doing re: art around school. The fact is - I haven't. I had been able to go to a few classes & teach a few things, but the time I had to do that is now being utilized for tutoring (which is what I was hired for) I am still working as assistant to Mr. Ahlness' art classes for the 3rd & 4th graders. I enjoy being in there & he has some great ideas!
But after school is another story! I called or sent a flyer to anyone who turned in my art questionnaire. Most of those signed up for classes & as a result I had to add a 3rd day.
The first K-2 class, I discovered the need to have 2 separate levels of teaching - the kindergartners just don't have the same level of dexterity or comprehension as the 2nd graders, but everyone enjoyed themselves & that's what counts. The 3-5 (both classes) did well & I think we'll have a good time & learn a little about drawing in the 5 weeks we're together. Samples of my artwork are on display in the library through the end of February. My art students will be displaying their work as well.

WHAT I DO AT AH...

By Lori Boyer-Volunteer Coordinator
Besides my wonderful position as Lunchroom Warden, I also work as the Volunteer Coordinator at Arbor Heights. This job is funded by the Families & Education Levy for 3 to 5 hours per week. My duties are as follows:

1) Collect & colate volunteers and their hours. This information is sent to the district for insurance purposes. I also suppy the name of the volunteer of the month.
2) Complete Washington State Patrol forms and thumbprint volunteers, mainly for field trips.
3) Locate tutors for one on one, small groups and the Districts new Reading Campaign.
4) Maintain the Parent information area in the foyer.
5) Act as liason for the Bon Marche PIPE Partner.
6) Design and maintain a check out of math & language games & recorded stories in the library. I hope to have this ready in mid February!
7) Locate volunteers for special school projects, ie: Science Van, Young Authors Conference, Science Fair and others.
8) Help with the Volunteer Luncheon & Bon Pen Pal Tea. Oh my gosh, all this in 3 to 5 hours per week!

January Volunteer hours totalled 485.5, with 53 volunteers participating. 25 students helped with a total of 42 hours. Debbie Taylor was November's volunteer of the month - mega help in Kindergarten. Lynn Moy was the volunteer for December, due to the tons of work on the Winter Program. Terri Shaw is the volunteer queen for the month of January. Thanks Gobs to all!
Lori

MANY MANY THANKS TO ALL

We have gotten a wonderful response to our volnteer requests, and would like to thank the many (MANY!) parents and staff members that will be assisting at Carnival. We ARE still looking for a handful of people...can you help? Please remember that 5th grade and older aged students can earn free tickets by assisting on that night!
We are also working on collecting items and services for the Carnival Raffle and are getting alot of positive response from the local business community. If you have a product or service you would be willing to donate, we would like to hear from you! Please call Donna at 938-4018 or Karin at 938-3531.

HOOOOOP, Here it is!

Each 3-5 class has 2 boys & 2 girls representing them in the finals. They are previous winners of a Round Robin Tournament, used to determine who will move on to the Finals! Each finalist has a two chances to score as many baskets as possible in the allotted time.

POPCORN IS NOW LIMITED TO 2 BAGS PER PERSON!

Says Who? Says the Popcorn Lady, thats who!

ARBOR HEIGHTS BYTES

Arbor Heights World Wide Web site gets 200 to 300 visitors a day! That's 6,000 to 9,000 a month checking out our school! URL (web address) for Arbor Heights:

http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/arborhts.html

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

Each student in Room 12 (Mr. Ahlness) gets a half hour a week on the World Wide Web. Recent assignments have included:
- taking a virtual tour of the civil rights movement.
- writing notes of encouragement to the U.S. troops in Bosnia
- checking out the New "White House for Kids" web site.
Check out Bill Gates new book, "The Road Ahead" - especially page 201 - it's the Arbor Heights home page! Speaking of Microsoft, they gave us $100 worth of books & computer manuals! Thanks !

AH CALENDAR 

FEBRUARY
14         - HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
14         - Middle School Orientation 7:00pm @ AH
14 - 29    - Penny & Pocket Change Drive
15         - Bon Pen Friend Tea @ 2:00
15         - 5th Grade to Symphony
16 - 19    - Presidents' Day Vacation
27         - Ronald McDonald Ecology Assembly
1 - 29     - Kindergarten/Elementary School Registration

MARCH
1st       - Family Carnival 5:30-8:00 pm
1st       - THE DEBUT OF THE AH COOKBOOK @ THE CARNIVAL
8th       - March Newsletter Scoop due!
13th      - PTSA Meeting @ 7:00 pm
14th      - Puberty Night @ 6:00 pm
21st      - Science Fair @ 6:00 pm
27th      - 5th grade measles vaccination @ 9:30 am
30th      - Pancake Breakfast @ AH
1-30      - Middle School & High School Registration

The BOOK REPORT

Science Experiment Books -
By Ms. Napolitan, Librarian
The focus for March is Science with the Science Fair occurring March 21st. In the library we have already had many requests for Science Experiment books. For the past few years we have been adding to our science collection, so we have some really good books. However, anytime the whole school is using the same books, we have some difficulty meeting the need. So I wanted you to know there are a few core books that are on reserve in the Library. We will not checkout these books, but make them available to all students during their Library time, before school, recess and lunch times. Children can let me know if they are interested in a specific experiment and I'll help them get the information in a written form to take home. Parents, you are free to stop in and look through these books for ideas or drop me a note. You might be interested in titles of several science books that the children enjoy the most. In fact, during the school year they are checked out constantly!

1) Walpole, Brenda - 175 Science Experiments to Amaze your Friends. Random House, 1988.
2) Cash, Terry - 175 More Science Experiments. Random House, 1990
3) Harlow, Rosie - 175 Amazing Nature Experiments. Random House, 1991
4) Ardley, Neil - 101 Great Science Experiments, A step by step guide. Dorling Kindersley, 1993

HAULING

937-6078
Partial Load - $10 Full Load - $50
Bob Moffett
Prices negotiable.

MOVE OVER McDONALDS

Getting hungry? Good! The date for the Pancake Breakfast has been set for Saturday, March 30th. More details will be coming later, but mark your calendars now so it doesn't get "double booked". Also, if you're interested in helping out, Leslie Minckler is looking for volunteers. Show your support by coming to eat @ AH or by calling Leslie at 932-4561.

The MUSIC BOX

Greetings from Ms. Cronon,
P.M. Music Specialist -
Room 24 (Mr. Dorr) is working on the percussion ensemble of the Chinese New Years dragon dance! Great fun - the primary PM classes are singing songs connected with African-American history, and working on the differences between beat & rhythm! What a great bunch of kids! I love this school!

Greetings from Ms. Mabe- A.M. Music Specialist
Throughout second semester morning music classes will be continuing to explore music from the United States and around the world, not only in English but other languages from Spanish and Chinese to Latin. The fifth grade morning classes are busily putting together Latin-American Salsa-style instrumental groups, using our many wonderful classroom drums (thanks to the PTSA), xylophones and percussion music, with drums, wood blocks, & a variety of gongs, and will be working in stations playing Luogu, or gong-and drum ensembles. Third grades and Room 17 are immersed in a variety of American music, from Hawaiian to traditional American and African American folk music, and have spent some time working on Chinese percussion as well. All of the classes are progressing well in reading, writing, and performing rhythms and short melodies with voice and instruments. It is interesting to note that developing these music skills have proven to raise the level of children's reading and math skills in their regular classroom. I am excited that the students approach their learning so seriously, and I am very pleased with the level of interest and cooperation my Arbor Heights students are showing in Music! Keep up the good work!

BANKING MAKES CENTS!

Bankers still needed! The Washington Mutual School Savings program is currently happening every Wednesday morning at 8:45 in the cafeteria. New bankers are able to open accounts by picking up information packets during banking times from our 2 great "Banking Mom's" - Tish Hesse & Teri Hudson. Washington Mutual often has fun incentives to save Introduce your child to the concept of saving - a lesson that will last a lifetime.
Special THANKS to Robert Thompson for donating time and effort on the flag football belts for our kids in P.E. WOW - what a job!

BON PEN FRIEND TEA

On February 15, we will host a Tea for the Bon Marche Pen Friends. 75 adult volunteers from the Bon participate in a pen friend program, writing to a student each week. Rooms 21, 23, 24 and 25 are involved. Lori Boyer is the coordinator.

JOB OPENINGS

No pay - high job satisfaction!
All PTSA positions are open. President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Student Activities, Administrative, Public Relations, & Fund-raising Coordinators. If interested or need more info, call the office.

CHILDREN'S AFTER SCHOOL ART/ACTIVITIES PROGRAM

This program was developed for children 5 & older to provide more than "just somewhere to go" after school. It is run by Veronica Egidio, who, although has her degree in graphic design, specializes in fine art such as painting and sculpting. These are the kind of projects the children work on. Yet on a sunny day, when the children's attention begins to wander, outside activities are incorporated into the program. Fun & flexibility are the keys to success!
Monday thru Friday - 3:00 to 6:00 pm Transportation from schools provided. All day school vacation & summer art/activities program also available.
Veronica Egidio, Director
Seaview Church
4620 SW Graham St.
932-7609 (days)
935-1668 (evenings)

From our Children....

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.

You like me,
and I like you too.

I'm glad you're my friend,
and I never want Valentines Day to end!

By Markell, Rm 15-Ms.Long, 2nd Grade
Dear Mr. Femiano,
You are the best teacher ever, even though I have not gone to the rest of the classes, only to Mrs. Broomes class. But you are still the best teacher ever. Mrs. Broome is too. Happy Valentine's Day!
From your student,
Catlin, Rm 16-Mr.Femiano, 3rd Grade
February 14th is Valentine's Day. All the classes will be having parties. Our class will be having treats, exchanging Valentines, and doing some Valentine math. Happy Valentine's Day!
By Stephanie, Rm 9-Ms. Sato, 4th Grade
Dear Teachers & Staff,
Thank you for all your help so far. By your helping, I have gotten good grades. I now get division because of some teachers and staff. Again, thank you! Happy Valentine's Day!
By Eric, Rm 24-Mr. Dorr, 4th Grade
Valentine's Day is a time for love and care and to get chocolate boxes."YUM" I like Valentine's Day because I see people being nice to each other. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!
By Shawn, Rm 8-Ms. Luke, 4th Grade
Dear Mr. Pharis,
You are a great teacher. I am glad I am in your class. I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day.
Your student,
Taylor, Rm 17-Mr. Pharis, 2nd Grade
We are going to have a Valentine's Day party. We'll make a sack to hold the valentines. We'll eat treats at the party. We made Valentine book markers.
By Olivia, Rm 19-Ms. Ballard, 1st Grade
Valentine's Day is a special day to tell them you love them. To show your sweetheart you love them, you give them cards, candy and flowers.
By Cale, Rm 12-Mr.Ahlness, 3rd Grade
We are making something for our parents. It's something made out of clay. They're pretty. Valentine's Day is one of our spelling words.
By Justin & Dustin, Rm 14-Ms. Marckx, 2nd Grade
So like Dusin & Justin said "We are making something for our parents." They are cool too. If you want to know how to make them ask Ms. Marckx. She's good with clay.
By Danielle, Rm 14-Ms. Marckx, 2nd Grade
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