PTSA NEWSLETTER

Volume 6, Issue 9 - June, 1995


Arbor Heights Elementary Announces
New Principal:
Carl Leatherman

Carl Leatherman is excited to begin his career as Principal at Arbor Heights. He has been principal at Fairmont Park for 5 years. Prior to that he was principal at Coe Elementary for 5 years and Head Teacher there for 2 years. Carl is not new to Arbor Heights—he taught 6th grade here from 1976 to 1982, so some of you may remember him!

Carl is dad to 2 girls. One is graduating from Garfield High School this spring and the other is a junior at Western Washington University. In his spare time he likes to golf and bicycle.

Carl is very excited about being a part of a great school. He would like to emphasize three things in his career here at Arbor Heights. He wants our children to have good self esteem and want to be at school, not just feel they have to be here. He wants to provide a great atmosphere for teachers to work in. And he wants to have an Open Door policy with parents and have them feel comfortable coming into the school at any time.

Mr. Leatherman, the AHPTSA gladly welcomes you. We look forward to working with you! Welcome!


Have a great summer! Get refreshed and come back ready to dig in and work next year.
This PTSA Newsletter is intended to inform the AH community of what is going on in the school and how AHPTSA is involved in these happenings. If you have any question or would like to join the PTSA, talk to any Board of Directors Officer or Member. 94-95 PTSA Officers:
Karl Borgwardt, President     431-8913 
Bob Moffett, Vice-President     937-6078 
Jami Moffett,Vice-President     937-6078 
Roberta Post, Secretary     937-5613 
Terry Shaw, Treasurer     935-7360 
Board Members: 
Mary Wilgocki   935-9437 
Bruce Fowler  281-6230 
Claudia Stroh  281-6230 
Sapina Pele 281-6230 
Kathy Robison  235-0895  
Published monthly (9 issues) by AHPTSA 6.15.35. 
Membership:  101 
Arbor Heights Elementary School 
3701 SW 104th St. 
Seattle, WA  98146 
(206) 281-6230 
 
Carol Bracher, Editor 
937-2229 

T-Shirt News:

Weren’t the T-Shirts great this year? They sure were the icing on the cake at our Young Author’s Conference! Thank you to High Winds for their marvelous job with our design ideas. And a HUGE thank you to the Bon Marche for the generous funding of the t-shirts. If you haven’t sent in your t-shirt money yet but would like to, we will still accept it! Thanks!

Summer Project: Save Campbell’s Food Labels!

AHPTSA collects and saves Campbell’s, Pepperidge Farm, & Swanson’s food labels. In exchange for the labels we receive FREE playground & classroom equipment.

Even though we are done collecting them this year, save your labels!! Save the entire label and send keep them in a safe place until school starts in the fall. Then we’ll start filling up our Campbell’s can in the foyer again. Thanks!


Banking doesn’t end just because school does! You can do your banking at any branch of Washington Mutual. Just take your account number with you!
This month I’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of the advertisers in our newsletter by supporting us through monthly ads and through the Penny Drive. Thank you for your support. —Karl
THANK YOU to the 94-95 Board of Directors for your leadership and dedication to our children. You made it another wonderful year! Thanks!

Young Author’s Conference Thank You’s

by Dene Napolitan
This year it was my pleasure to coordinate the Young Author’s Conference. The success of this year’s conference was a real team effort. Thanks go out not only to our school community but to the larger community as well. Special thanks, however, should be extended to the following individuals and companies for their efforts:
Mrs. Cox and PTSA for the Penny drive that paid for Author Keith Baker’s visit.
Mrs. Post and Mrs. Ingerslev for T-Shirts.
Mrs. Wilgocki and Mrs. Forbes for support with packets and refreshments.

Mrs. Lindstrom, Mrs. Wilgocki, PEMCO, Washington Mutual, and Great American Bookfairs for gifts to kids .
And the biggest thanks of all go to the teachers and the students for creating all those wonderful books.


Ask your children about ORCA WHALES and see what they have learned! The PTSA has adopted a whale through the Orca Adoption Program at the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor. The funds for this project were raised through the recent Penny Drive you all contributed to. Again, thank you for participating in this fund raiser! Thanks!!

Parents with E-Mail:

Do you have an e-mail address? Would you like it to be listed on our school’s World Wide Web site? If so, send an e-mail message to Mark Ahlness at: mahlness@cks.ssd.k12.wa.us and you may start receiving messages from some of the visitors to our school’s site on the WWW:
http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/arborhts.html There have been between 1000 and 2000 visitors to our site each month.
—Mark Ahlness

Congratulations 5th Grade Graduates!


Student Poems

from Room 23 (Self Contained Special Ed.)
The Juice Machine by Francisco 

The juice machine 
Oh the juice machine 
The most perfect contraption 
That’s ever been seen. 
Just drop in a dollar 
And in the blink of an eye 
The juice is done 
As quick as can be 
 
If I Were a Flower by Sarah 
If I were a flower 
I’d live in the garden 
I’d be red and purple 
I’d grow and bloom 
I”d smell like a rose 
If I were a flower. 
 
If I Were Grass by Michael 
If I were grass 
I’d live in the ground 
I’d grow slow and slower 
I’d sit and stare and watch 
I’d play and blow around 
I’d lay down when I’m done 
And sleep the rest of the day 
If I were grass 
 
If I Were a Flower by Young 
If I were a flower 
I’d live in the backyard 
I’d have big petals 
And small leaves 
I’d bend in the wind 
I’d grow into beautiful colors 
I would smell good 
If I were a flower. 
 
The Raking Machine by Adam 
The raking machine 
Oh the raking machine 
The most perfect contraption  
That’s ever been seen. 
Just pop in a quarter 
And in an hour’s time 
The yard is all raked 
And then it is done 
As quick as can be. 

Book Exchange Returns

From now until June 14th, AH will be having a Book Exchange in the Library. Students can bring in used children’s books that are in good condition and trade them for different used books. It’s a good way to acquire some summer time reading material.
New AHPTSA Board of Directors Officers and Chairmen for the 95/96 School Year were voted at the May meeting:
President:  Terry McDermott 
Vice-President:  Roberta Post 
Secretary:  Sue Murray 
Treasurer:  Betsy Forbes 
Fund-Raising:  Donna Carreon, Karen  
	Haines, and Hazel Cox 
Administration:  Laura Flannigan 
Student Activities:  Holly Gunther 
Public Relations:  Lynn Barnicle 

Thank you to all the teachers for the wonderful Volunteer Luncheon!!

From Our Artist in Residence:

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the children of AH on the illustrations for their books for Young Author's Conference. Each Friday for several months I went into several classrooms and present whatever the teacher requested. In some rooms I demonstrated covers, in some I showed how to use certain materials, in others I showed the children how to draw basic things like trees or animals.

All the children were great listeners, and I believe most enjoyed the time spent drawing. Some were amazed by what they could actually draw. It was very enjoyable time. I hope that the teachers and children were able to apply what was presented and that they will be pleased with their books.

Artist In Residence, Jami Moffett


From the Editor:

...It is with great joy and yet reluctance that I finish and print this last newsletter for the year. Thank you for letting me serve you all in this capacity. It has been hectic at times, but mostly fun getting to know people and hunting some of you down for information over the past 5 years. I’m sorry to everyone whose name I’ve misspelled or any other boo-boos I’ve committed as editor...

...Quite a few of the 95-96 Board Members are new to the Board and PTSA activities. I hope that you will all support them and our new principal as they work to have another great year for our children. Keep volunteering for classroom and PTSA activities so that we can all carry the load and together keep Arbor Heights the great school it is...

...Carol B.


The Scholars in Room 21 have had a great year. I hope you saw our books for the Young Author’s Conference.

We are now making tessellation designs, which are wonderful and strange ways of tiling the plane. Have you seen the Escher tessellations? Come up and see ours in the hall. We are looking forward to sixth grade with a mixture of anticipation and dread.


GOLDEN ACORN RECIPIENT: BRUCE FOWLER

At the Volunteer Luncheon the AHPTSA Board of Directors surprised Principal Bruce Fowler with the Golden Acorn award. This award is given to one individual each year who has done an outstanding job of volunteering for the betterment of the education of the children at Arbor Heights Elementary. Although Bruce is of course paid by the School District, he volunteers a LOT of time, talent and energy the PTSA and our children.

Bruce came to AH seven years ago as Principal. We were a small school with almost no community involvement. The Parent Teacher Organization was minimal. Under his leadership, a PTSA was established that now boasts of a membership over 100. We also have PIPE partner, gained through his efforts on our behalf.

Through creative financing and wise use of grant monies Bruce has established a very successful computer lab, the Artist in Residence Program and a comprehensive way of meeting our children’s special needs.

Bruce has also been instrumental in establishing our playscape, the winter carnival, HUGS and so much more that is often behind the scenes.

No matter where you are, Bruce, you will always have a special place in each of our hearts.


If I Were a Leaf by Michael L., room 23 

If I were a leaf 
I;d live in the forest 
I’d be small and flat 
Then I’d glide away 
If I were a leaf. 

Classroom News


Rooms 7 & 8 by Michell, Geoff, and Jason: Rooms 7 and 8 are going to the Arbor Heights Pool, bringing treats and swimming. We really had fun at the Young Author’s Conference. Room 8 is going to the Bon with their pen friends to an ice cream social. Room 7is finishing their math tests. Have a great summer this year! Mr. Folwer we hope you can come visit us next year. Have a great summer, Arbor Heights!!

Room 17 (Ms. Ballard, grade 1):

The best day I every had was the time I went skating. I went with my dad. We fell down a lot of times. By Omar.

The best day I ever had was the day I got a bike. It was a red bike. I got it for my birthday. It is a lot of fun. By Chantha

The best day I ever had was when it was my birthday because I had my favorite character. It was on the cake. Her name is Princess Jasmine. My baby cousin Markcus came over to my house and he played with us. By Tiffany

The best day I ever had was the day that I went to Vancouver. I saw my Aunt Sinit. She played with me. We went to JC Penney. By Sisen

The Most Memorable Moments in Room #24 this year:

Swimming 
Young Author’s Conference 
The Aquarium 
Raising salmon 
The carnival 
When we buried “I can’t” 
Friends 
Doing all my work in cursive 
Collecting Pennies 
Art 
Making Candle holders 
Thank you slips 
Spelling auctions 
Homework 
Game Day 
Treats 
Writing 
Substitutes & earning bonus 20 
A Wonderful Prize 
Class Afloat 
Helping hands 
Alki Beach 
Cooking Fish 
Springbrook Trout Farm 
Bon Pen Friends 
Letting the salmon go 
Going to the hatchery 
Learning how to draw 
Sitting in Tribes 
Spending a day without speaking 
The room being painted 
Familiar faces 
Meeting new people 
Science 
Class Interviews 
Pen Friend Luncheon 
Math 
Sealth H.S. Students 
Health 
Having President Clinton in the room 
Mood indicator 
Ms. Thompson 
Computer Lab 
Ms. Zavala 
Mr. Musa 

Room 3 (Ms. Stroh’s Kindergartners) A.M.:

We’ve been in School 163 days.—Colin
Mr. Wilkie’s car was full of balloons at the Ice Cream Social.—Lauren
Just before school is out Junstin’s dad will launch his Saturn 5 on the playground at lunch recess.—Justin
We watched the Magic School Bus.—Miranda
I’m going to New York and Hancock to visit Grandma and family.—Jeffrey
I’m going to Enchanted Village. - Caryna
I went to Enchanted Village.—Joshua
Lots of Kindergartners are losing teeth.—Heather

Last week we went on a field trip to Camp Long and got bugs out of the pond.—Hillary
We caught tadpoles and salamanders at Camp Long.—Sara

PM Class:
I moved to Federal Way.—Sam
The 25th of May was the Young Author’s Conference. We all had t-shirts and books to have autographed.—Kaitlin
Evelyn is teaching us to count in Japanese.—Evelyn
I went to Africa.—Russell
Ms. Stroh gave our shirts to us.—Johnny
I like being at school.—Henok
On Wednesday we did our Y puppet, Yodeling Yak.—Micah
At AH School we need to be nice; don’t hurt others on the inside or outside.—Thao
On Tuesday & Thursday Hanna will be gone camping.—Hanna
We’ve been in school 165 days.—Jessica


Have a Great Summer!!


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