May 31
Muskrat News
Events for the week of May 31:
Monday, May 31 Memorial Day, No School
Tuesday, June 1 Deadline for Muddy Creek parent/student survey
Wednesday, June 2 Finley NWR Expedition 3, Grades 1-3, 11:45 am – 2:45 pm
Thru Friday, June 4 Chintimini Wildlife Help Drive
Friday, June 4 Inavale/Lincoln Middle School Celebration, 6 pm
Upcoming events:
Thursday, June 10 Boy Scout Organizational Meeting, 3 pm
Friday, June 11 2nd Annual Muddy Creek Spring Camp-Out
Tuesday, June 15 Deadline for Charter School survey
Thursday, June 17 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL – EARLY RELEASE 1:00 PM
From our Executive Director:
I am beginning to plan for the summer, and the things that will need to be to have our school ready to welcome families next September. If you haven’t heard, we are so fortunate to have Laura keeping our school clean with too little time each day. She and her husband are going to strip and wax our hall floors during the summer. For the classrooms we need volunteers to help us clean the carpets. Laura will assist us by being sure we have the right equipment to do a good job. If you are willing/interested, please call the school office. Laura and I will do all we can to meet you here to help you get started at a time of your choosing.
If you prefer outside activities, it would help the appearance of the school greatly to have someone do some landscape maintenance in front of the school and in our butterfly garden. I can have my pickup available to haul away leaves, pine cones, clippings, etc. I know just a little bit of effort would do a lot. Just let the school office know of your plans.
In other news, Olla-Mae in Miss Bridget’s classroom named every student at our Community meeting today. This is her first year at Muddy Creek – and she named even the kindergartners, our half time students that she
rarely sees. I have to get her to show me how she does it.
Don’t forget to complete the Muddy Creek parent and student surveys by next Tuesday. Copies are available at the school.
~Dan
Last Day of School. The last day of school is Thursday June 17th. We will have early dismissal on that day so students will need to be picked up at 1:00.
ICP Board News. The board welcomes addition of Erik Swartzendruber. Erik will be the secretary of the ICP Board and will serve as community liaison. Join us in congratulating and thanking Erik. Community involvement is essential to the success of MCCS. Thanks to all the volunteers!
Chintimini Wildlife Help Drive News from Ms Searcy. The Chintimini Wildlife Help Project is going to be extended for one more week. The new end date will be on June 4. I want to give a personal thank you to everyone who has already donated items. We are seeing more and more supplies stacking up in the halls, and it is wonderful!
Everyday sick, injured and orphaned animals come in needing care. Some animals stay with us for a very long time before they can be released back into their natural habitats and others like Flynn the American Kestrel, become permanent residents. A good example of a long term patient is “Bill” the Mallard Duck that was spray painted orange before the 2009 Civil War Game. He will not be able to be released until he completely molts and re-grows his feathers because the spray paint damaged the feather’s protective oily covering. Until then he will remain a patient at the center. He currently has a companion; a female duck who is now sitting on a clutch of 20 eggs. Way to go Bill!
Your contributions will definitely be put to good use at the wildlife center, helping animals like Bill the Mallard Duck. So please recycle some of your old items and bring them into Muddy Creek. Each child should have brought home a list of items that we are in need of. If you need another list they are available.
Room 1 News. Our class has decided they want a class pet. The students did research projects and presentations and have chosen to get a hamster. They have decided to collect cans to earn the money for the cage and supplies. Any extra money we collect will be donated to the Chintimini Wildlife Food Drive. So if you have any cans or bottles to donate please bring them to Room 1.
Room 2 News. We are working on a class culminating project for our water unit…a reader’s theater performance of a story called Itsy Bitsy and the Macroinvertebrate Cafe. Working on the set has let us make spider webs from glitter!
Finley Trips. The two 1/2/3 classes took our second trip to Finley National Wildlife Refuge. Look next week for the beautiful watercolors that were painted of the pond at Finley. We focused on identifying the colors of the pond and sky on a cloudy day. On the nature walk that followed, we saw great blue heron, geese, swallows, frogs, Downy woodpeckers, deer, brush rabbits, and more. Next week, June 2, is our final trip to Finley for the year. We need as many parent volunteers as possible because this trip is for student-designed projects. We will have a bus again, thanks to the generous support of the Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation.
Newsletter News from Kathy Brewer. I have very much enjoyed putting together this newsletter for the past two years. As well as being a way to keep our Muddy Creek families informed about happenings at the school, it is also a way for us to engage our community about the great things going on at MCCS. Kelly Bell has volunteered to take over the newsletter next school year and will be producing the last two newsletters of this school year as a test run. Thanks to Kelly for taking on this important job for the school!
Help Wanted. MCCS is looking for parents or community members that are interested in serving as substitutes at our school. The areas of need are the main office (phones, filing, general office helping), education assistants (math groups, reading groups), Afternoon Adventures (afternoon program for ages 4-6) and playground/lunchroom helpers. The positions vary in hours and times of day. Applicants would need to pass a background check to be eligible to work in the school. If you are interested and would like more information, contact Gretchen in the main office.
Calling all Box Tops! Wow, where has this year gone? If you’ve been saving Box Tops please bring them in to school before the end of the last day of school – June 17th. I’ll package them up and send them in. The check won’t be sent until this coming winter. Remember to keep clipping over the summer so we can get a head start on next year. If we all do a little, it adds up to a lot. Thanks for your support!
Raincoats and Boots. Juliana Meyner is looking for donations of raincoats and rainboots in sizes to fit Pre-K kids that she will be doing some gardening with. If you have something – please leave it in the bag in the office.
Inavale Middle School………………………………………..Lincoln Environmental School
A Celebration of What Was
June 4, 2010, 6:00 pm
Muddy Creek School Gym
Potluck
Award winning students, teachers, parents, community members, sun, rain, mud, journals, hard work, restoration, observation, perspiration, science, art, outreach, grants, diversity, community, friends, family, loved ones, birth, growth, transformation, nurturing, memories, images, direction, excellence, awards, support, volunteers, buddies, celebrations….
All current/past students, parents, teachers, student teachers, administrators, family members, and community supporters are invited to celebrate the excellence of a wonderful middle school program. Come and see your old friends. Find out what our students are up to. The first class of 8th grade students from the Inavale program will graduate from high school this year.
Please honor our theme of sustainability and bring a place setting for yourself. Also bring your favorite school friendly beverage.
Go by the first letter of your last name for what to bring:
A through J Main Dish
K through O Salad or Side dish
P through Z Desert
If you have a specialty food recipe that you really want to bring it’s okay to cheat a bit (i.e., if you make the best bread in the world but your last name starts with a B go ahead and bring the bread).
Also bring mementos and memories to share. Be warned that other people may call on you to share stories. And be ready to have someone say really nice things about you in front of other people. Lawn games and equipment will be appreciated by our more active members.
Do any of you have old slideshows, pictures, or video of our school activities? Bring them! Contact Paul so he can secure the proper media to display our memories. Paul.bradley@corvallis.k12.or.us, 541-609-0995
Boy Scout Organizational Meeting. There will be a meeting after school on Thursday, June 10 to discuss forming a Boy Scout troop at the school. Look for more information next week.
PTO News:
Upcoming Events…
Field Day: Plan on staying for 5th grade graduation and field day festivities on the last day of school (it’s an early release day). Graduation will be first in the morning with field day coming next followed by lunch. Students will be released at 1:00 pm to begin their summer break. Many hands will be needed to supervise and facilitate fun activities and games. Contact Kerry Pfeil kerrypfeil@gmail.com for more information on how you can help.
2nd Annual Muddy Creek Spring Campout, Friday, June 11 — Join us for a family event of epic proportions! The fun begins with a potluck dinner at 6:00pm followed by flashlight tag, singing around the campfire, s’mores, crafts, and more. Don’t have a tent? Let us know and we will try to find a spare. If you can’t camp out then stop by for the fun and the good food. Children do need to be supervised and cannot attend without a parent. Check your mailbox or attached flyer for more details and an RSVP slip.
We need help with the following tasks:
1. Setting up tables and chairs on Friday.
2. Camp musicians who can put together a small songbook and lead us.
3. Bonfire set up and supervision.
4. Breakfast production crew (set up and cook).
5. Craft supervision and clean up (we intend to use the crafts the children make for our Footwise window display in July).
6. Clean up Saturday morning.
Signup sheets will be inside the front door of the school. Please RSVP to 8gr8kids@gmail.com or drop your RSVP card in the box by the front door so we know how much to prepare for breakfast and crafts. Don’t forget to tell us what task you are taking on to make this event a success!
4th of July parade – Anyone interested in walking/riding in the 4th of July parade? If we have enough interest we could make a float or a banner that we can carry.
DaVinci Days – We have been invited to host a booth in the Children’s Village. This is a great opportunity for the children to serve the community in a fun way as well as being a public relations effort for the school. Our booth theme is “Picture This”. We will have a display about the life and work of Leonardo DaVinci. (that’s the educational part) There will be a large reproduction of the Mona Lisa with the face cut out. Children can have their digital photos taken inside the Mona Lisa and have it emailed to themselves.(that’s the technology part). The children will also be able to decorate a picture frame and create a picture that can go inside it or use it for their Mona Lisa Smile photo. (that’s the art part!)
It will take lots of help to make this happen. We will need families to man the booth for one to two hour shifts and lots of prep work to be done. Volunteers will get one free day pass bracelet that can be converted to a weekend pass for just $5.00.
Here are other jobs that need to be done:
1. Build the frame and base for the Mona Lisa
2. Are you an artist who can replicate the Mona Lisa? We need you!
3. Design and produce the display panels about Leonardo.
4. Set up on Friday evening.
5. Take down on Sunday evening.
Don’t Forget – Charter School Survey. The Oregon Department of Education has asked all Oregon charter schools to participate in on-line surveys for staff, parents, and students. The surveys can be accessed at the following website: http://www.ode.state.or.us/surveys/default.aspx . The parent survey will take about 10 minutes and the student survey (with assistance from parents) will probably take about the same amount of time. Be sure to mark “Muddy Creek Charter School “ at the beginning of the survey. The surveys are open until June 15. Your participation will be greatly appreciated as it will help to show we have an involved parent community. If you do not have access to the internet at home, we can provide access to the survey on one of the school’s computers – just check with Dan or Gretchen.
Annual Muddy Creek
Spring Camp Out
Friday, June 11, 2010
Potluck Dinner 6:00pm
(Pancake Breakfast provided on Saturday Morning)
Bonfire – Singing – Crafts – Games
Please RSVP to 8gr8kids@gmail.com or leave the slip below in the container by the mailboxes at MCCS
RSVP for the _____________________________ family
No of Campers: ______________________
We would like to camp but we need a tent: YES NO
We have an extra tent we can offer to another family: YES NO
We would like to help with: (circle as many as you would like)
1. Set up at 5:00pm Friday 2. Bonfire preparation and Supervision 3. Lead songs
4. Craft Supervision and Clean up 5. Set up for Breakfast Saturday Morning
6. Breakfast Cook 7. Clean Up on Saturday Morning 8. Other ( We have a talent or activity we would like to share)________________________________________________________
Phone:________________________________Email__________________________________