October 15
Muskrat News
Upcoming events:
October 15 Bookmobile 2-3:15pm
October 21 Kinders Muddy Creek Maze Trip 9:30am
October 21 Board Meeting 7pm
October 23 Next Wildlife Steward Workshop
October 28, 29 No School, Parent/Teacher Conferences
November 1 No School, In Service Day
November 10 PTO Meeting 8:30am
November 20 Giving Thanks Celebration
From our Executive Director
I have to say how much I and all of us working here at Muddy Creek appreciate and value our parents. There are so many of you that pitch in and help whether it be the library, field trips, Scrip, bringing milk out from town, helping children learn in classes, and on and on. I think we have a great staff this year, and we all think we have great kids and parents. This is an “outstanding school” besides being recognized as outstanding by the State. The teachers and assistants last year did a wonderful job to achieve that ranking, and our parents and children are keeping up the good work this year. Last Thursday we made a minor adjustment to our schedule so that we can concentrate our assistants in classes to teach reading and writing. The shift is with the playground time from 9:45 to 10:00. Our focus at this time is certainly on literacy. However, work is going on in other academic areas as well to strengthen instruction. Place based curriculum is very important to our school. In that regard we are working to strengthen our use of the Muddy Creek watershed to enhance Science, History, and Art. Math is also on our radar screen much the same way literacy is. We are adding to our math materials and structuring instruction so that seamless skill development occurs for our students. Looking ahead – there will be parent conferences at the end of the month. During these conferences we want to establish learning goals for your child(ren). Behavioral or social goals are also possible. So you might be thinking about what you most want your child to accomplish this year. Then we will all work on the identified goals together.
-dan
Congratulations from the Board
The Board would like to say how great it is that MCCS got an “outstanding” in their State evaluation and to say thanks to all the people who made it happen… the Village it takes to make a school and a special thank you to the teachers of Muddy Creek.
Charter Renewal
As many of you know, our school is in the process of applying to renew our charter. It would be very helpful for us to have letters of support from MCCS families to present along with our application. Just a short note describing aspects of your child(ren)’s learning that you’ve found most valuable would help us to demonstrate the impact of our unique approach to education. If you would like to contribute your story, you can drop off a letter with Cedar in the office, or email your comments to admin.mccs@gmail.com and we can print them out to be included with our application. The deadline for submissions is Friday, October 22nd.
Classroom News
Room 1 -Our class is winding up our study of schools and is about to start a unit on homes and architecture. Right now we are working on a photo book of our school. We have also started learning about mosaics.–Miss Bridget
Hamster Happenings -“Hi people! I love all the great stories you have been writing. Am I invited to the Hamster party? I hope you had fun at the corn maze. Did you bring me any corn?”- Sam
Room 2 – Ants, ants, ants! We had a near disaster with the ant farm, when it fell over during our observation time! Only 2 ants got out. We caught them and put them back in the ant farm. Duct tape saved the day to fill in the gaps where the ants might escape. The 2/3 math group has been doing some in-depth investigation about ants. Today, we were practicing a song about Harvester Ants (the ants in the farm). – Ms. Gorman
Kindergarten -The Kinders really enjoyed the extra time spent in small group literature activities with the assistants and the volunteer parents. Guided reading and conversation in small groups allows time for each child to express their joy and ideas about the stories and about life. Yea for reading with friends!! This Friday the Kinders will go to Mr. Day’s 4/5th grade room to meet their Buddies. Mr. Day and I hope to make this a weekly event. – Miss Jenny
Room 4 – Starting on Friday, our class will be meeting up with Miss Jenny’s for Buddies. Our class will be reading books to the Kinders and getting to know their buddies.-Thanks, Mr. Day
First Restore Day
Next Wednesday the 20th will be our first Restore day for the year. Our activities will revolve around the theme Weeds and Seeds.
PTO NEWS
The next PTO meeting will be Wednesday Nov. 10 at 8:30am.
Our annual “Giving Thanks” Celebration will be Saturday Nov. 20th. This is a MCCS Community Social with music, potluck dinner and activities for kids. Everyone is invited including grandparents, community members and friends. We need some volunteers to help set up, clean up, and supervise activities for the kids such as face painting, and games. We are also looking for some live musical entertainment, so if anyone knows a group willing to perform please let us know.
At the meeting on October 13, Kerry Pfeil was elected our PTO’s first official President. Terina McLachlain was elected Vice President and Betsy Dasenko was elected Treasurer. We are still in need of a secretary to take minutes! It’s not a hard job at all, but it is very important, so please consider taking on this role.
We are starting a Parenting Book Shelf in the library that will have resources for parents to borrow. If you have parenting books you would like to donate, please leave them on the library desk with a note marked “Parents Library”.
If you have any questions, suggestions or would like to volunteer please contact Kerry Pfeil kerrypfeil@gmail.com /541-207-3562 or Terina McLachlain 8gr8kids@gmail.com /541-829-9847
School Pictures Are In!
A proof of your child’s school picture and the order form are in your mailbox. Please turn in your order form to the office by October 25th. Picture retake day has been scheduled for November 5th. Please let Cedar know if you want your child’s picture retaken. Class photos and the all school photo are posted on the board across from the office.
Box Tops
We want to thank Cortni Boyd (Brindyn’s mom) for volunteering to be our Box Tops Coordinator. In your mailboxes you will find a list of products you can find box tops on and a Halloween Helper sheet to collect them. Bring in your box tops and we can turn them into money for our school.
“Weaving Play Into The Day” with Landscape Surfing
Children are naturally inclined towards what their bodies need. Often times their inclination to move stretches the constraints of a family’s patience and schedule. Little bodies know that movement alone can positively impact physiology in a variety of ways. Neurological performance, increased oxygenation and heightened ability to assimilate nutrients and information are just a few. Folding movement and play into the creases of family life provides the opportunity to meet a child’s needs and bond through joy. Landscape Surfing is easy, fun and offers similar benefits for adult bodies— so doing it together is ideal. Landscape Surfing is what children do when you’re walking downtown in a hurry. It’s what they insist on anytime you’re running late. It’s walking the entirety of the curb and starting over if they fall off. It’s jumping over cracks in the sidewalks, leaping from leaf to leaf, kicking a stone ALL the way to the car…Simple acts with profound effects. Balancing on a curb is an exercise in patience that will shift a child into a more functional breathing pattern while stimulating proprioceptive cells and overall balance. Jumping over cracks aids digestion and the flow of lymph and cerebral spinal fluid. Leaping from leaf to leaf creates new neuromuscular pathways and relationships. Kicking a stone all the way to the car integrates the left and right hemispheres of the brain. There’s a method to their madness. Really. Try it- you’ll see.
– Brittany Legacy
Special thanks to:
Curt Tyler (Lazlo’s dad) for all his help connecting MCCS families for carpooling and for updating the MCCS website.
Michelle Waddell (Aidan & Jillian’s mom) for her help keeping track of milk cards and Kerry Pfeil (Casey’s mom) for getting the milk to us.
The library volunteers unending dedication to the library.
All those that pass along items and get the newsletter out each week.
The Literacy Volunteers for helping every day.
All the parents who helped on picture day!
Wish Lists
The Room 2 CD player is not working anymore. If anyone has a CD player with speakers (boom box style) that they are not using, we would appreciate it.
Ms. Gorman’s and Miss Bridget’s classrooms need a few items to help them with their outdoor activities. They are looking for donations of rakes, shovels, a wheelbarrow, kid-sized gloves, seeds, extra garden tools in general and fall bulbs (tulips, daffodils, crocuses, etc.). Anything you can spare would be greatly appreciated.