Mustang Mail

February 20, 2001

Mr. McDaniel's Memo
"Kids Caring & Sharing"
Congratulations to our first two groups of school assistants! So far, we have raised $409 for Riley Hospital!!! There will be only one more drawing on February 23rd for two names for each position! Let's show Riley Hospital how much we care.
Mr. McDaniel's Assistant Principal - Nick Debbie
Mrs. Park's Assistant Counselor - David Kiley
Mr. Grimes' Assistant Custodian - Jimmy Kyle
Mrs. Tetrick's Assistant Librarian - Lauren Justin
Mrs. Higginbothem's Assistant Cook- Jessica Mackenzie
Mrs. Nee's Assistant Nurse - Anne Tori
Mrs. Learned's Assistant Secretary - Kyla Sarah
Mrs. White's extra gym class - Alexandra Eric
Mrs. Werbe's extra music class - Michelle Natalie e
Miss Gustafson's art class - Taylor Michelle


Stony Creek Elementary School Improvement Committee
As mentioned in previous newsletters, our school is involved in a comprehensive program for continuous school improvement. We are working on meeting rigorous standards set by both the State Department of Education and the North Central Association. State law requires schools to develop an initial three (3) year strategic and continuous school improvement and achievement plan and coordinate an annual review of the plan.

The initial plan and annual review must be made with input from a committee of persons interested in the school, including administrators, teachers, parents, and community and business leaders. We have decided to also include students in this group to seek ideas from them on ways to improve our school. The following individuals are members of the Stony Creek School Improvement Committee.
Co-chairs: Bob McDaniel and Amy Cowser; Teachers: Deb Gilliom, Susan Darling, Sandra Thomas, & Julie Pittman; Staff: Becky Harting; Students: Wilson (3rd), Ellen (4th), and Mike (5th); Parents: Emily Shoultz, Sherry Ottilie, Lisa Smith, Shelly Porter, & Anne Merrell; and Community and Business: Marianne Jacobi, Dan Skaggs, & Don Roberts.

Our first meeting will be this Thursday, February 22, at 3:45 p.m. in the media center. We will be publishing committee updates in your Mustang Mail on a regular basis. We will also be hosting a public meeting this spring and again next fall for all interested community members to hear the progress of our school improvement efforts and to seek input on ways to make our great school even better!


PTO Meetings TONIGHT - Tuesday, February 20th
6:00 p.m. - PTO Carnival Planning
6:30 p.m. - PTO Fund Raising Discussion
7:00 p.m. - PTO Meeting

Also tonight, Stony Creek will be recognized by the Noblesville School Board for being named a Four Star School by the Department of Education. Mrs. Bertling's class will be recognized for winning a writing contest (see next article.)


Congratulations to Mrs. Bertling's Class!
Mrs. Bertling's fourth grade class received word last week that they won the grand prize for their grade level in the "ClueFinders Mystery Adventure Writing Contest." An iMac computer loaded with school editions of the complete ClueFinders software line will be awarded to our school. GREAT JOB students and Mrs. Bertling!

To learn more about the contest, go to:
cluefinders.com and go to the writing contest; or try:
http://promotions2.marketsystems.net/cluefinders/default.html


Book Fair Reminder
Stony Creek will host a Scholastic Book Fair Thursday, February 22nd through Saturday, February 24th. Scholastic will again provide a wide variety of books and materials suitable for preschoolers through sixth graders. The profit made during the fair goes directly to the school library in the form of books. All classes will visit the fair on Thursday or Friday, and the fair will be available during the Science Fair set up Friday evening (6:00 - 7:00) and during the Science Fair on Saturday (9:00 - 2:30). Visa, Mastercard, and Discover will be accepted, and checks should be made payable to Stony Creek PTO. Thanks for supporting this worthwhile event.


ESL (English as a Second Language) Program
Noblesville Schools offers two ESL (English as a Second Language) programs. These programs are for individuals who do not know the English language. We are continuing to add more and more students to our school system with this language barrier and it is important that they are able to understand English so they can be successful students. This program can be their "key" to unlock the door to this barrier.
The evening ESL program is available to everyone and it's FREE. Classes are offered two evenings a week at Conner Learning Center (Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:00 - 8:30 PM). NO pre-registration is required.

Suzanne Wheeler, the ESL Teacher Aide, would like parents of these children to know this is offered. She feels there are many children in our school system that could really benefit from these classes, but she feels that the parents probably are not aware of this help. For more information, please call 774-8028.


NHS Orchestra's Annual Family Concert
As part of the NHS Orchestra's educational outreach we'd like to invite you to the annual Family Concert on Sunday, February 25 at 2:00 pm. This concert is designed for younger kids and we program music that will be fun for them to listen to. Most of the music is from movies. The program lasts 45 minutes and after the concert there are refreshments and an instrument petting zoo so your kids can get their hands on instruments (no drums!).

This year's focus is the sound of the different instruments in the orchestra. Tickets are $3/person or you can buy a family tickets for $15. Tickets will be available at the door or you can buy them from an NHS Orchestra member. Money earned from this concert will be spent on spring activities and the trip to Disney. The program will include music from: Pennywhistle Jig from "The Molly McGuires", Colonel Bogey March from "Bridge over the River Kwai" (whistling encouraged), Disney (Chim Chimaree, Small World, Zip-a-dee), Mozart's Eine Kleine, Beatles (Get Back, Michelle, When I'm 64), plus a 2-cello concerto featuring professional cellist Margie Hannah and our senior cellist Rachel Becker.


Dates To Remember
- Science Fair - Friday, February 23, Set-up 6:00-7:00p.m.; Saturday, February 24, Judging 8:30 - 12:30; Exhibits open to public at 1:00 p.m.; and Awards Presentation at 1:30 p.m. Projects will be left until Monday, February 26 for all students to see.
- Early Release Day for Students - Tuesday, February 27. Students will be dismissed at 12:50 p.m. Lunch will be served that day. Students in the P.M. Kindergarten and P.M. Early Childhood classes will not attend school on that day.
- Yearbook Orders ?Due Friday, March 2. ($11.00 each ?checks payable to Stony Creek.)


February 7, 2001

Mr. McDaniel's Memo
"Have a Heart For Riley! Kids Caring & Sharing"
2000 - 2001 Projects
Critical Care Transport Program
In 2001, four specially designed ventilators for critical care transports will be purchased with Kids Caring & Sharing funds. These new ventilators will aid patients with breathing problems as they are brought to Riley Hospital from a community hospital. Operated by a dedicated team of respiratory therapists, the ventilators will be used aboard Riley's fleet of Mobile Intensive Care Units.
Family Resource Center
In 2001, funds raised by schools will purchase books and materials for the Family Resource Center. This Center has literature and equipment to connect families to information and resources on health, wellness, safety, disabilities, and advocacy. It is located in the new Riley Outpatient Center.
Six Special Medical Services
Since the 1997-98 school year, Kids Caring & Sharing funds have helped the hemophilia, immunodeficiency, sickle cell, stem cell transplant, diabetes, and endocrinology programs at Riley Hospital. For the most part, these special medical services are available in Indiana only at Riley Hospital. If Riley did not provide these services, children would have to leave the state to seek treatment. Funding through Kids Caring & Sharing helps these clinical programs continue to serve more children, expand programming, and provide better educational resources to patients and their families.
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Air Bags and Student Safety
A parent recently shared her concern over the number of Stony Creek students riding in the front seats of their cars and the dangers associated with small children (almost all of our students in grades K-4 would be in that category) and air bags. Please read the following information found on an Internet web site from the DeKalb County Police Department in Georgia ? it may save a child from serious injury or death:

Children & Air Bags
What's the Problem?
- Most new cars have air bags for front seat passengers. When used with lap/shoulder belts, air bags work very well to protect older children and adults who ride facing the front of the car.
- Air bags do not work with rear facing seats (those used with infants).
- Air bags could seriously injure or even kill an unbuckled child or adult who is sitting too close to the air bag or who is thrown toward the dash during emergency braking.
- In a crash, the air bag inflates very quickly. It could hit anything close to the dashboard with enough force to cause severe injuries or even death. Because the back of a rear-facing child sits very close to the dashboard, the seat could be struck with enough force to cause serious, or even fatal injuries to a baby.
- Even older children (who have outgrown car seats) are at risk from a deploying air bag, if they are not properly restrained with a lap/shoulder belt.
-
What Should I do?
- The rear seat is the safest place for children of any age to ride.
- An infant in a rear-facing child seat must ride in the back seat if your vehicle has a passenger side air bag (babies under 1 year and 20 lbs. should always ride in a rear-facing seat).
- Make sure that everyone in the front seat is properly buckled up and seated as far back from the air bags as is reasonably possible.
- Make sure that all young children are properly secured in a child safety seat and older children by a lap/shoulder belt. Know how to properly install your child seat in the vehicle. Read both the owners manual for the vehicle and the instructions for your child safety seat.

You may find more safety information about children and air bags on these Internet sites:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/airbags/Airbags.html
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
http://www.highwaysafety.org/safety_facts/airbags/kids_airbags.htm




February 5, 2001

Mr. McDaniel's Memo

"Kids Caring & Sharing"
Our Student Council is sponsoring a very important project this month called "Have a Heart For Riley!" They will be raising money for Riley Hospital and the "Kids Caring & Sharing" Program, a special project of the Indiana Association of School Principals. Students will have four chances to have their name drawn to help with an adult in the school over the next three weeks. Thanks for helping Riley's kids!!!


Kindergarten Enrollment for 2001-2002
Kindergarten Enrollment for students who will be eligible to enter kindergarten next school year will be held April 16-20 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Students should enroll at the elementary school they will attend. At the present time, according to Indiana law, children must be five years of age on or before June 1, 2001 in order to enroll in kindergarten. Immunization records and original birth certificates are required! Please help us determine our enrollment for next year by sharing this information with neighbors and friends.


Scientists Wanted
We are still looking for young scientists to be a part of this year's science fair to be held on Feb. 24th. This is an excellent opportunity to have your child learn about the scientific process (which is not difficult for children to understand). It is also a good time to help your child discover new special interests as well as a great way to increase positive family time together. For more information, please contact Mrs. Goldstein or your child's teacher.


Hamilton County First Steps - TODAY
Hamilton County First Steps is offering free developmental screenings for children up to kindergarten age. Screenings will be in cognitive development, social/emotional development, gross and fine motor skills, hearing, vision, and speech/language development. The screening is on Monday, February 5th at Sandcreek Intermediate School in Fishers. Please call 776-1313 for more information.


NHS Symphony Orchestra
The NHS Symphony Orchestra is presenting its annual Family Concert on Sunday, February 25 at 3:00 in the NHS Auditorium. This is a great way to introduce your children to the orchestra because almost all of the songs come from movies and the concert lasts about 45 minutes! There is also an instrument "petting zoo" available after the concert so children can try out instruments of the orchestra. There also will be free refreshments after the concert. Tickets can be purchased from NHS Orchestra members or at the door. Tickets are $4.00 per person or $15 PER FAMILY. We hope to see you at this musically fun event!


Girl Scout Book Drive
Third grade Brownie Troops #1785 and #981 are sponsoring a Book Drive to benefit Riley Hospital's library and the Red Cross of Central Indiana. Your support would be greatly appreciated. You can help by sorting through your books at home and sending to Stony those you don't need anymore. There will be donation boxes near both stairwells now through March 1st. Books should be in good condition (no torn pages and no writing on the pages) and suitable for children ages 4 - 12. They will be used to brighten the stay of a youngster at Riley or donated to families in need by the Red Cross. What a great way for Stony kids to show they care! Please contact Kim Brinegar at 776-2045 or Karen Roberts at 776-0246 with any questions.


School Bus Drivers' Recognition Week
February 5 through February 9 is designated as "School Bus Drivers' Recognition Week." Driving a school bus is one of the toughest jobs in the world! A bus driver must not only watch out for other traffic, hazardous road conditions, and pedestrians, he or she must also worry about cars passing the bus when the stop arm is out and children are on the street. Please keep in mind the fact that 50 or more children are behind them while they are busy with everything else! (And you thought two or three kids in the back seat while you're driving were a handful!!)
We want to thank the following school bus drivers for doing a great job transporting our students to and from school:
Bus #82 Paul Snyder Bus #78 Rhonda Compton Bus #76 Jack Davis
Bus #70 Joe Baucus Bus #68 Mike Black Bus #53 Tammy Swackhamer
Bus #40 Dick Beattie Bus #24 Lisa Sloderbeck (And Subs)
Bus #31 Kathy Applegate and Marilyn Gilliland
Bus #74 Bill Gossard / Lucille Gossard


Scholastic Book fair
Mark you calendars for February 22?24. A Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Stony Creek. The fair will be held in the library on Thursday, February 22 and Friday, February 23, during school hours and Friday evening from 6:00 p.m.-7:00p.m. On Saturday the 24th, the fair will be open from 9:00 a.m.?2:30 p.m. All profit from the book fair will go directly to the Media Center to provide new materials for our children, so please try to support this worthy cause. Scholastic Book Fairs will provide a wide variety of books for children (pre-school through grade six) at very reasonable prices. If you are able to volunteer a couple of hours of your time to work during the book fair, please contact Kim Brinegar (776-2045) or Susan LeVasseur (773-3226). Thanks for your support!.


IMPORTANT Dates To Remember
Parent / Teacher Conferences - Thursday, Feb. 15, afternoon and early evening. Teachers will be contacting you regarding conference appointments.
Students in grades 1-4 will be dismissed early at 11:40 a.m. both Thursday the 15th and Friday the 16th (breakfast will be available, but no lunches served these days).
Notice: Kindergarten & Early Childhood Parents
Kindergarten & Early Childhood students will follow this schedule on Feb. 15&16:
- Kindergarten and Early Childhood students will attend class on Thursday, Feb. 15.
- Afternoon Kindergarten students must be picked-up by parents at dismissal. NO BUS TRANSPORTATION HOME FOR P.M. KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS ON THE 15TH.
- A.M. Early Childhood and A.M. Kindergarten students attend the morning of the 16th. Those A.M. Kindergarten students may ride the bus to school, but need to be picked-up by parents at 11:15 a.m.
- No P.M. Kindergarten or Early Childhood classes on Friday, 16.
Please call your child's teacher if you have any questions. Thank you!


Parents' Points to Ponder:
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong, because someday in life, you will have been all of these.
George Washington Carver



January 29, 2001

Mr. McDaniel's Memo
School Attendance Impact Information
Most people would agree that school attendance is a very important factor in a student's success in school. A child can never truly make up everything that was missed at school - even for just one day! There are obvious times when a student must be absent for cases of illness, medical appointments, death in a family, or other emergency situations.

In addition to the educational effect of absences on the individual child, accumulated days missed by all students have a direct impact on our school. The most notable effect is on a building's qualification for the Four Star Award and for School Incentive Award money. Stony Creek's achievement of being in the top 25% of all schools in Indiana would not be possible without an extremely high attendance rate. We would also not qualify for incentive money without improvement in our building's attendance percentages.

(The elementary schools cutoff numbers to qualify in 1999-2000 in the upper 25 percent were as follows: 64.9 on ISTEP+ total battery, 57 on language arts, 57 on math, and 96.83 percent attendance rate. Noblesville High School exceeded the academic qualifications for the Four Star School Award, but fell short in attendance. NHS recorded an average attendance of 95.5 percent during the last school year, short of the 96.47 percent needed by a high school to be a Four Star School).

One of the components of our School Improvement Program and NCA accreditation review process is to collect and analyze data about our school. There are two statistics that should be considered carefully by all. For this school year to date, there are 42 students who have missed 7 days or more, eight students who were absent 14 or more days, and two exceeding 20 days. The number of pre-arranged absences has been steadily increasing over the last three semesters. Trips or vacations accounted for 82% of those pre-arranged absences. For the year to date, 171 student absence days have been for pre-arranged absences. At this rate, future eligibility for state recognition and incentive awards could be in jeopardy.

We are sharing this information to help everyone understand the important impact of school attendance on both the individual child and on the entire school community. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this information. Thank you.


PTO News
(From PTO Co- Vice President Lisa Smith)
The P.T.O. has formed a committee to evaluate the school's fundraising projects. If you are interested, we will be meeting at 6:30 p.m. prior to the February 20th P.T.O. meeting. You may also put any comments in an envelope on the P.T.O. bulleting board in the teachers' lounge. If you have any questions, you can call Lisa Smith at 773-9651 or Linda Knoll at 776-3053.


School Counselor's Recognition Week
January 29 through February 2 is designated as "School Counselor's Recognition Week." We want to thank Mrs. Terri Park, our school counselor, for all she does for our students and staff. She helps make Stony Creek a great place for children!


Elks Hoop Shoot Winners
Congratulations to the Elks Hoop Shoot Contest winners from Stony Creek: Sarah, 3rd place; Jack, 2nd place; and Tanner, 1st place. Good luck to Tanner who will go on the State Hoop Shoot Contest!


Noblesville Schools Board Goals 2001
Formalize, support, and continue to frame expectations to school committees to maximize school improvement plans' value and impact.
- Support school improvement committees to improve and update programming opportunities.
- Encourage the participation of leaders including administrators, teachers, parents, and community and business persons, in school improvement committees.

Inform and educate stakeholders concerning the school improvement initiative.
- Educate the community concerning the planning process and importance of the school improvement initiative.
- Use repetition - include information in every newsletter and district communication.

Continue to align academic programming to the standards and expectations necessary for our students.

Research and identify options for continuous improvement models for Noblesville Schools.

Continue to stress a culture of customer service orientation through open and continuing communications.

Continue to evaluate and formulate plans to update current facilities and plan for future needs.

Pursue opportunities to adopt and implement procedures to minimize, and long-term to eliminate, the unfunded retirement liability for the district's future.

Continue to recognize outstanding performance of the students, employees, and patrons of Noblesville Schools.

Complete and implement the athletic evaluation format identified in the 2000 Board Goals.

Encourage and support broader communication, collaboration, and cooperation between the school corporation and city officials.



January 19, 2001

Mr. McDaniel's Memo

The following is part of a letter from Dr. Suellen Reed, Supt. of Public Instruction:

"Dear Principal, Teachers and Staff, Parents, and Community Members:
It is with pleasure that I congratulate you on your school's outstanding accomplishments in being named a recipient of both a Four Star School Award and a monetary Indiana School Improvement Award in the Indiana School Incentive Award Program. In extending the best possible educational opportunities to our children, you hold the future in your hands.

Ongoing school improvement is essential in meeting the changing needs of Indiana's students; therefore, we want to give special recognition to schools making noticeable advancements. To qualify for the school improvement award, it was necessary for your school to improve in at least two of the following areas: ISTEP+ total battery score, language arts proficiency score, mathematics proficiency score, and attendance rate. (Stony Creek was recognized for ALL four areas! This was based on last year's 1999-2000 scores and attendance numbers.)

Your designation as a Four Star School in 2000-2001 indicates that your school has performed in the top 25 percent of all the schools in the state in each of the four areas of the Indiana School Incentive Award Program?

... Success is everyone's responsibility, but it comes about by one person doing one action at a time. I hope that each of you will continue this year's achievements and build upon them."

Our entire school family should be very proud of these awards. Special recognition goes to our fourth grade students whose test scores as third graders qualified us for these awards as well as their parents, current and former teachers and staff, and Mr. Harvey.

The School Improvement/NCA Committee will be making decisions on how to best spend the incentive award money to encourage continued improvement. Our school was awarded a total of $3,212.26!


Did You Know???
Science Fair Secrets for Scientists:
- Did you know that there will be a raffle for two "cool" space items in each grade?
- Did you know that FOCUS students will earn "Scholar Dollars" from Mrs. Borse if they participate in the Science Fair?
- Did you know that every Science Fair participant will receive a special "bonus" prize?
- Did you know that, starting next Tuesday, January 23, after school, that teachers will be in the media center to help students and parents on their Science Fair projects?
- Did you know you can access these Websites for cool ideas: www.stemnet.nf.ca/sciencefairs/primary.html, and
www.school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/scifairstudio/handbook/index.html
- ***BIG HINT*** Your title MUST be in the form of a question. Try to compare and contrast. FOURTH GRADERS TAKE NOTE - CATCHY TITLES WON PRIZES AT THE REGIONAL SCIENCE FAIR LAST YEAR.
Sign up will continue through January 31! Don't miss this opportunity to be part of an exciting event!


PTO News
Schwan's Information - Anyone signed up and not receiving service or still wanting to participate in this wonderful fund raiser are asked to call Jenny Horsfield at 773-8073.


PTO Reading Incentive Program - A New Track Record!
"Reading Olympics 2000" is now complete. Congratulations to everyone for a great program. The number of students involved was unbelievable! A total of 386 students earned their gold medals, 30 earned silver, and 23 will be awarded a bronze. Mrs. Laura Welklin and Mrs. Chris Turk are once again did a fantastic job of coordinating this great event for our students to help motivate them to read - read - read! Thanks for all parents and teachers for their support and assistance.


Stony Creek Yearbook Pictures
Tuesday, January 23rd is the date set for our classroom and special group pictures.


School Nurse Appreciation Week, January 22-26.
Thanks Mrs. Nee for all you do for the students and staff at Stony Creek!


Elks Hoop Shoot Winners
Congratulations to the following students who will represent Stony Creek this Friday at the Elks Hoop Shoot Contest held at the Boys and Girls Club. This is a basketball free throw shooting contest
Ages 10-11: Jack and;
Ages 8-9: Sarah and Sam. GOOD LUCK!!!





January 12, 2001

Mr. McDaniel's Memo
Report cards will be sent home today with all students. Third grade students will also be bringing home two ISTEP test report pages and fourth grade students have their CTBS test results included with their report card. Please contact your child's teacher next week if you have any questions. As a reminder, Parent - Teacher conferences for second semester are scheduled for February 15. Please review the suggestions for report cards in Mustang Mail #24 to discuss with your child his or her progress in school.

NOTE: Due to computer software problems, some physical education grades may contain errors. When it was discovered, Mrs. White was out for medical reasons this week and was unavailable to help make those corrections. If you have a question about your child's grade, please contact her next week. We apologize for the situation.

We would like to welcome Miss Kelly Gustafson as Mrs. Glynn's substitute teacher in art for the remainder of the school year. Miss Gustafson recently graduated with a degree from IU in English and art. Her mother is the art teacher at North Elementary. Please welcome her to our Stony Creek family.


IMPORTANT - Address or Telephone Number Changes?
Have you had a change of telephone number, change of address, or change of employment since the beginning of this school year? Did you notify the school office of that change? We have had situations already this year when a child became ill, injured, or missed a bus, and the telephone numbers on your child's enrollment form were either disconnected or changed. For us to contact you in emergency situations, you must provide the school with any changes that would affect our ability to contact you. Please send a note with any changes immediately to the office so that we can update our records. Thanks for your assistance!


Did You Know???
State Superintendent, Dr. Suellen Reed recently announced over two pages of accomplishments of Indiana schools. A sample of those accomplishments include:
- Academic Honors Diploma recipients nearly doubled between 1994 and 99 to 12,500 students.
- Core 40 Diploma recipients increased by 2,200 students from 1998 to 1999 alone.
- Indiana SAT scores increased 5 points this year while national average SAT scores increased 3 points.
- Indiana's graduation rate reached 89.4% -- the highest in our history despite higher graduation requirements.


Parents' Points to Ponder:
BLOOD DRIVE TUESDAY AT STONY CREEK: 3:30 ? 7:30 p.m.
A critical shortage of blood has forced the cancellation of elective surgeries across the country this year according to the American Red Cross. Just one liver transplant can use 120 units of donated blood. Both the Red Cross and America's Blood Centers (ABC), which together represent virtually all U.S. blood banks, have reported severe shortages. Despite the fact that giving blood is safe and easy, only about 5 percent of eligible Americans donate blood. To be a blood donor, you must be at least 17 years old, weigh 110 or more pounds and be in good health. Donors can give blood as often as once every 56 days. There is a free cholesterol screening for each donor.


January 10, 2001

Mr. McDaniel's Memo
If we only make one New Year's resolution, let's set our goal to make 2001 the best year ever at Stony Creek Elementary School. With our school improvement program in high gear and success for every student as our primary focus, we ask for your continued support and cooperation in making your school the best it can be. Parent and family involvement is the key to a great school. Have a GREAT Year in 2001!


Foreign Language Grant
Stony Creek has been notified that we have been awarded a $6,000 grant from the Cristel DeHaan Family Foundation to start a Foreign Language Pilot Program. Thanks to the hard work of the following parents, Angie Parrish, Susan LeVasseur, Karen Roberts, Anne Merrell, and Linda Haywood, we will be able to offer students before and/or after school enrichment classes in basic Spanish this year and next. More information will be sent out in the near future. A special thank you goes to Sandi Bittner, Stony parent and Vice President of the DeHaan Foundation, for her support and assistance.


Science Fair
REMINDER: This year's Science Fair will be held on Saturday, February 24th. Packets are available at school from your child?s teacher. Science Fair boards for your display will be $4.00 this year and are available from Mrs. Goldstein. If you want additional information, please contact any of the following: Mrs. Goldstein, Mrs. Griffin, Mrs. Long, Mrs. Borse, Miss Wagoner, or Mrs. Crosley.

There will be an informational meeting TONIGHT, Wednesday, January 10th at 7 p.m. This is for any parents and students in kindergarten through fourth grade who would like more information on Science Fair projects. There will be handouts and judging information.

We will again have HELP sessions after school. THESE ARE FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS. Sessions will be held on Tuesdays, from 3:30 till 4:15. The dates for these sessions are on January 23 and 30, and February 6 and 13.


Dates To Remember
- Report Cards - Distributed Friday, January 12.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Monday, January 15, No School for Students.
- Stony Creek Blood Drive - Tuesday, January. 16, 3:30 - 7:30 p.m. - Horse Shoe Cafe.
- PTO Meeting - Tuesday, January 16, 7:00 p.m.
- Kindergarten Family Language Arts Night - (Rescheduled) Thursday, January 18, 6:30 - 8:00p.m. in the cafeteria.
- Early Release Day for Students - Wednesday, January 24. Students will be dismissed at 12:50 p.m. Lunch will be served that day. Students in the P.M. Kindergarten and P.M. Early Childhood classes will not attend school on that day. (Note: The January calendar was incorrect for this day. The information above is correct for the dismissal time.)
*****Make-up day for December 19 will be on Monday, March 19, 2001. *****


PTO News
(From PTO Co-President Emily Shoultz)
Belated Thank-You Notes to: Our Movie Night Committee: Angie Parrish, Kim Small, and Deb Willman for the last movie night, and to all the parents who volunteered their help. For a very successful poinsettia sale, thanks to Beth Murphy and Jeanine Pottridge as well as all who helped with the delivery and distribution. And for another great holiday party for the classrooms: Leslie Feeney and Mary Timperman, and to all the parents who helped. Thanks to Karen Roberts, Susan LeVesseur, Angie Parrish and to all who have worked so hard to make the Foreign Language Proposal a reality. Watch for upcoming news.

Thank you also for the ongoing work of Terry Root (Third Phase Liason) and to Third Phase for their numerous donations to Stony Creek. Thanks goes to Jeanne Fagan and her work with Mrs. Tetrick for the Muffins with Mom program. We really appreciate everyone's hard work and dedication to our school. (We apologize if we have left anyone out.)

WANTED: We only need a few more chair people for the Carnival which is scheduled for March 23. The positions open are: Games, Raffle, Silent Auction, Classroom Baskets, Decorations, and Publicity/Booklet. If you would like to volunteer (grab a friend and be co-chairs!), please call Emily Shoultz, 773-2606, or Sherry Ottilie, 770-0554. The more people we get, the easier it is and will make for another successful Carnival!

If you have not paid for your fundraiser items, please do so immediately (you received a notice before break.) We will also be forming a committee to pick out more new playground equipment - but we need all the money!!!

Next PTO meeting is Tuesday, January 16, at 7:00 p.m. in the Media Center. As always, free babysitting!!

Parents' Points to Ponder:
The gift of blood is one that has the power to save a life. If you have never given blood before or haven't for some time, please consider helping others this month by attending the Stony Creek Blood Drive on Tuesday, January 16. It takes just a few minutes and can make the difference for someone needing blood for a serious illness, accident, surgery, or other medical emergency. Thank you for your consideration of making a donation.


Report Card Suggestions
Your child will be bringing home a report card this Friday. This is a good time for you and your child to talk about how he or she is doing in school and set goals for the remainder of the school year. It is important to focus your discussion on the following items:

- What has the child learned?
- What can the student do now that he or she couldn't do when school began?
- What areas were most enjoyable?
- Which subject or things were most difficult?
- Where does the child need your assistance and more from the teacher?
- What will the student do differently next time to do better?
- How would both of you rate his or her effort?
- Did your child's behavior in school meet your expectations and those of the teacher? If not, how will things improve this next semester?

If grades have dropped or are not where you would like them to be, some suggestions for supporting your child include staying positive and continuing to have high expectations. Parents should place responsibility on the child and not except excuses for him or her not doing his or her best. Let your child know you value what they can do and encourage your child in other non-academic activities. Remember a report card is just one measure of your child's progress in school. Good grades should be rewarded with praise and acknowledgment of the child's hard work. The best reward is not money or material presents, but the gift of your time and additional personal attention. Plan a special activity just to spend more time being involved with your child. (Some suggestions taken from ideas from The Parent Institute.)))