Sept 30
Muskrat News
Upcoming events:
October 1 Picture Day
October 1 Bookmobile 2-3:15pm
October 1 Muddy Creek 3rd Annual Fall Camp Out 6pm
October 6 Board Meeting 7:30pm
October 7 & 8 No School
October 14 Curriculum Night
October 23 Next Wildlife Steward Workshop
From our Executive Director
I talked with the 4/5 class this week about individual differences and our skills for life. It came to me to point out to them how difficult it can be to do the right thing. At our Community Meeting we were not getting active listening, so I pointed out to them that doing the right thing can be hard. This is a critical point that we want our families to know we address. How do you do the right thing when those around you choose not to? It is very hard, but very important. Next week our Life Guideline will be No Put-downs. We will work diligently with these skills and guidelines so that all of our children can avoid dangerous or harmful behaviors.
Next week is a short week – only Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday the teachers and I will work with Pat Starker to improve our literacy instruction. One of our challenges is to fit in all we would like to do with literacy, and yet have the time we need for outdoor project work. On that note – we want to thank again the many parents that went with us to Melanie Kelley’s place to climb to the top of the hill behind their home. We were all richly rewarded with a very pleasant hike through the forest and by the meadows to an outlook that overlooked the valley in which our school is located.
Classroom News
Room 1 – We had a great time on the field trip last week. This week the kids learned the difference between music and sound in music class. And today we listened to a speaker from the Historical Society talk about the history of early schools.–Miss Bridget
Room 2 –We’ve been taking advantage of the lovely weather. The students have been doing their writing outside on the grass. We also took our first Tuesday visit to the neighbor’s property by heading up to Mr. Steele’s “pond” on Inavale Way. We practiced active listening in the beautiful soundscape of the pond.-Ms. Gorman
Kindergarten – This week the class has definitely worked hard on Active Listening Skills in the classroom as well as when we move about the school to the gym, studio or outside. Learning to listen is a lifelong lesson that is never started too early in life. The classroom “Jobs Train” which changes each day is also helping the children take responsibility for their classroom. Each child has a special job that they are responsible for that makes classroom management much easier. The jobs such as line leader, calendar helper, meteorologist, table washer, floor sweeper and door holder and many more, are enjoyed by everyone. Yeah for the Kinders! Job well done! – Miss Jenny
Room 4 – Parents of 4th/5th graders, please check your email for regular updates from me – This week we started our once a week computer lab time. Also, I talked with the students quite a bit about what it means to be accountable and responsible. – Thanks, Mr. Day
School Picture Day
Thistledown Photography will be at the school tomorrow, 10/1, to take pictures of the students and staff. Make sure to wear your favorite outfit, don’t forget to comb that hair and start working on those smiles! 🙂
Milk Days
Next week school is closed Thursday 9/7 and Friday 9/8, so chocolate milk day will be on Wednesday.
PTO NEWS
Fall Campout
This Friday is also our Fall Campout. The weather is supposed to be mostly sunny with a high of 80 degrees! Please join us for a fun night of family fun. We will have a potluck dinner at 6:00pm Friday. Come for the potluck even if you can’t camp overnight. We will serve a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning for the Campers.
Some items you should bring if you are able…
A bundle of firewood – Available from Safeway for a few bucks. The more we bring the better fire we build.
Glow sticks – you can get these at the Dollar Store. They are a big hit with the kids and helps us see them in the dark!
Flashlights – also available at the Dollar Store and are fun for tag and other games
S’mores Supplies and roasting sticks
Babywipes to clean up the S’mores Mess
Water bottles – The kids get really thirsty from the running around.
Place settings for your family to limit the trash we send to the landfill.
A dish or two to share at the Potluck on Friday. No assigned categories just bring what you can share.
Please do not allow your kids to bring light sabers or any other weapons!
Muddy Creek PTO YAHOO Group – Send an email to sign up to muddycreek_pto-subscribe@yahoogroups.com . You will receive a message to confirm your request. You can visit our group website at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/muddycreek_pto/ .
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
Got Scrip?
Scrip has started! Come by the table on Fridays between 8:00 – 8:30am and 2:30 – 3:00pm and see what it’s all about! You can place your order with someone there or just drop it in the locked box in the office (order form attached to check/money order). Order forms will be in the office and posted on the bulletin board just outside the office. Orders are normally placed every other Friday (except around holidays/breaks) and are available for pick-up in the office after noon the following Friday. See the order form for a schedule. MCCS receives anywhere between 2-40% back from what you spend at participating merchants! It’s such an easy way to help our school and it doesn’t cost you anything more than what you would have already spent!
Renew your eScrip cards online! This is an online program a little separate from Scrip but which can also benefit our school. If you have entered your Safeway or other cards in at www.escrip.com for Muddy Creek Charter School in the past, you will need to renew them this year for MCCS to continue to receive contributions. If you have never participated in this, please take the few minutes to go to www.escrip.com to sign up and put in your Safeway card number and/or any other debit/credit cards you use. You can just put in our school name for the Group Name or our Group ID is 500020320. MCCS receives contributions based on your spending using these cards.
Contact Carla Callahan at 541-929-5784 or cdcallahanz@gmail.com if you have questions about either of these programs or would like to help.
Money For Our School With Just Your Safeway Receipt!!!
Safeway, in conjunction with eScrip, is offering 10% to the school of your choice with purchases you make there. All you need to do is enter in a number that is printed at the bottom of your receipt where it says “10% Back-To-Schools.” It’s like free money for our school! After the number is entered in once, that is all you need to do… at the end of the program, 10% of money you spent at Safeway between September 18 – October 13 will go to MCCS! You can enter your number in yourself at http://backtoschools.escrip.com/ (type in Muddy Creek Charter School), you can give them to me, or you can bring the bottom part with the number to the office and I can collect them and enter them in myself before October 13. I can’t stress how easy this is! The key is getting the word out so please tell all your friends and relatives, ask for their redemptions, shop at Safeway, and spread the word!
Contact Carla at (541) 929-5784 or cdcallahanz@gmail.com with any questions.
Volunteering
All parents who would like to volunteer need to fill out a background check form. Please see Cedar in the office to get your form or email her at cedar.dunn@muddycreekcharterschool.org to let her know if your want one put in your box.
ICP Board
At the next ICP Board meeting (10/6 at 7:30pm) we will be prioritizing our goals and projects for the year. The board would love to hear from parents about what is important to you and what we should focus on. Please feel free to come to this meeting or talk to Dan or Cedar.
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.
Special thanks to:
Special thanks to everyone who came along on Mountain Day and especially to the Kelley’s for opening their property to our school.
Science Club
Last year we had a Lego/Science Club and we seem to have several families this year interested in starting it up again. This group would investigate science subjects with Legos, computers, some robotics, whatever the group agrees upon. For example, last year we started with Lego kits that had moving parts such as pulleys and moved on to looking into the insides of a computer. We would need parents to be involved, too, so that there would be a rotation of supervision. There was some interest in pursuing the Destination Imagination concept as one possibility. The first step to getting started would be to see if there is any real interest, so please contact Kelly Bell ksbirish@yahoo.com if you and your student might like to see this happen.
Brain Gym
This year Muddy Creek is implementing Brain Gym and similar disciplines into the school day experience. Brain Gym is a modality stemming from Educational Kinesiology and aligning with concepts and principles of Energy Medicine.
Brittany Legacy is a Muddy Creek parent introducing Educational Kinesiology at Muddy Creek. She is currently completing her training in Eden Energy Medicine, which is a program created from international medicinal systems and healing traditions. The proposal is that Muddy Creek students will experience improved physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being.
Brittany is seeking student volunteers for an Educational Kinesiology/Energy Medicine club and pilot study. This group of children will receive in depth instruction in a group setting on techniques and philosophies that expand health and healing. They will become more aware of their own “body messages” and kinesthetic experience while also learning how to discern what is occurring in the body and environment around them and beneficial ways to respond to these cues. The anticipated schedule is thirty minutes, three days a week, but will be finalized based on group and volunteer availability. Brittany welcomes any questions about the pilot study group or Educational Kinesiology in general via email or phone. BeLegacy@CleanerConscience.com 541-543-1549.
Chamber Music Corvallis
is a non-profit group that has been bringing world-class chamber music to Corvallis for over 50 years. Students K through 12 are admitted free to the concerts, which take place at LaSells-Stewart Hall at OSU. For more information, see www.violins.org. Parents accompanying their K-12 students are FREE for the October concert and $10 for subsequent concerts. The first concert is Thurs. Oct. 14 at 7:30 pm. Concerts to follow are Nov. 16, Jan. 20, Feb. 9, Apr. 6, and May 3. All are at 7:30 pm. What a great opportunity for our youngsters to hear professional musicians and learn about classical music!
National Wildlife Refuge Week is just around the corner
The week-long celebration runs from October 11th through the 17th. Established in 1903 when President Theodore Roosevelt designated the three-acre Pelican Island in Florida as the nation’s first Wildlife Refuge, the National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, today encompasses over 550 National Wildlife Refuges and more than 3,000 waterfowl production areas spanning nearly 100 million acres. National Wildlife Refuges are located in every state and within an hour’s drive of most major metropolitan areas. Celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week at Finley NWR on October 10th and help the Finley Flyers count and identify birds throughout the day in an event called the Big Sit! Contact Molly Monroe at (541) 757-7236 for more information or click the link below to view the flyer: http://www.fws.gov/WillametteValley/finley/recreation.html