Monday, March 28, 2016

HOOT#25


HOWEWORK:
Tuesday: We are working with the letter Z this week. Please make a letter z or cut out words that have the letter in them and create a collage.
Wednesday: We are working on subtraction this week. Please write or draw a subtraction story problem (with numbers below 10) and bring it to school.
Please continue to read with your child every day and encourage a response piece (writing or drawing) or a reading log.

THIS WEEK
Monday -- Fabulous Bubbles with Explora! -- Playtime at Filemon Sanchez Park (1:30-2:30 on Mondays)
Tuesday -- Pizza money due
Please give your money to your teacher instead of the front office. 
On your envelope don't forget to include:
Name -- Grade -- # of Slices
Cheese or Pepperoni -- 
Amount Enclosed ($2/slice)
Wednesday: The children are rehearsing for their flamenco performance with Julia. Please join us for their exciting dance on Wednesday, April 20 from 2:30 to 2:45 in the kinder room.

DUES
Readathon money (goes towards field trip transport)
Yearbook orders due ($25 each)

PTA NEWS with a bunch of updates
Dear TISA Families - We had our monthly meeting this week and have some exciting news and updates to share with you.  

2016/2017 Committees - We are already planning for next school year and we need your help!  Next year we have plans to form a committee for each PTA event or activity.  The purpose of this is to help spread the workload and to get parents involved.  Attached you will find committee info and ideas for next year.   We appreciate any and all help! 

Pizza Day - Our next pizza day will be Thursday, March 31st.  Reminder: If your child is absent on pizza day and you prepaid, we do not offer refunds.  All sales are final and please keep in mind that this is a fundraiser.  Pizza day is organized and ran by one person with the help of teachers, and it's a very time consuming process.  We do not have time to check and see who was absent that day and then offer refunds.  Thank you for understanding. 

TISA Dragons Basketball Team - Exciting news!  Next year we are planning to form a basketball team.  The team will be open to boys and girls in 3rd-5th grade and we will compete against other Taos elementary schools.  We don't have any other details yet, but Mr. Greywolf is going to work on getting us signed up and ready for next year.  Coaches are already in place and we are going to need lots of help from parents in order to make this happen! More details to come next school year, but in the meantime...go shoot some hoops and get ready for basketball season!

Spring Yard Sale - April 9th is our yard sale and we are asking parents to sign up for time slots. Thank you to those who have already done so!  Please see the email sent out yesterday for additional details, or click on the following link to get started:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0944aaad2ca1ff2-tisa1


We know you are excited to get rid of your stuff, but please do not drop off your donations earlier than our first donation session on Wednesday April 6th.  While we greatly appreciate your donations, we simply do not have the space to store your items.  We do not want our teachers and staff to have to deal with extra boxes and bags in their classrooms, and they will get ruined sitting outside...so again, please do not drop off any donations prior to April 6th.  

Contact Mel Scully with any questions! mel@melscully.com

Growing Green Fundraiser - Next week your child be coming home with a small catalog from Growing Green.  Make sure to check backpacks and check out the catalog.  An email with more details and ordering instructions will be sent out next week.  We are very excited about trying this new fundraiser! 

Makey Makey - This month TISA PTA is purchasing a Makey Makey for our Science Club!  What is a Makey Makey?  Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0WbdwWcFQw

Summer Reading Program - Another thing to get excited about! PTA Vice President, Mel Scully, is working hard on planning a summer reading program for TISA students. The PTA is going to be giving away awesome prizes at the very beginning of the school year to our top readers of the summer!  Our goal is to help TISA become an "A" school, and we hope this will be a great way to encourage our young readers and to help reach our goal eventually.   We will be sending out a reading list before the end of the school year, so stay tuned!  

Final PTA Meeting of the Year - Our very last PTA meeting of the school year will be on Tuesday, April 19th at 4:30pm.  We will be needing a Treasurer and Secretary for next year.  The secretary will need to be available to come to every PTA meeting, the treasurer is not required attend every meeting, though it would be helpful. If you can help us with either position, please come to our final meeting or respond to this email.  This year we ran our PTA with just 2 officers, so when we say that we need and appreciate your help, we really mean it! 

One More Thank You - This month we received a $100 donation from a TISA parent.  This was such a nice surprise and we thank you! 

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sadie Acedo - TISA PTA President

Monday, March 21, 2016

HOOT#24


Welcome back to school, Wonderful Kinder Families! I am so glad most of us are healthy now!
It seems like it was a lengthy winter, but spring is definitely well on its way now! We planted a few seeds (yummy peas, radishes, radiant sunflowers) and walked to the park in the afternoon.

We were all happy to see each other after a week of siesta. The children drew some of their memorable spring break moments (Ferris wheel, giant fish, bike chain, grandma's house, Explora, apple juice with auntie, bad hotel food, and video game favorites, just to mention a few) as they shared their recent adventures this morning.

READ-A-THON
Thank you for bringing in your contribution (check or cash) for your child's Read-a-thon. If you'd like to see their record as a reference, please see me. We'll be putting the money toward our end-of-year field trip and celebrations.

TISA'S first YEARBOOK will be coming out in a few weeks. Please sign up with me if you are interested in purchasing one for your family ($25).

UPCOMING EVENTS:
April 14 (3pm) (tentative date) - Kindergarten room: African Shadow Play Stories
April 28 (3:30-4:30) - Kindergarten room: End-of-year celebration and kinder play (Five good wolves and the two bad pigs)

MAY EVENTS:
May 11 (Thursday): TISA Renaissance Fair (vagabond musicians, alchemists, jugglers, lords and ladies, sirens and rat catchers, all welcome!)
May 23 (Monday): Field Day (for the lower grades) at the park (volunteers welcome)
May 26: Last day of school

And since the first day back was as lively as ever, it's time to get some z's....
See you all tomorrow!


P.S. Homework will resume next week. Until then, happy bedtime reading!

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Hoot#23

Mascot Contest

Kinder's creative juices were hard at work in February creating entries for the TISA mascot contest.
Just in case the tell-tale facial expressions and the exquisite artwork do not speak for themselves, I will disclose that we were indulging chameleons, the quirky colorful reptilian artists of the animal world. Although we did not win the contest, we now have a herd(?) of chameleons in our class gallery.
Please visit and enjoy their full display of TISA colors.





TISA is proud to announce that we are the TISA Dragons courtesy of the hard and talented work of Hailey Chanler in 6th Grade. It was a tough choice, but Hailey was voted the overall winner of the TISA mascot contest by staff and the PTA. For her hard work Hailey will be receiving a brand new bike courtesy of the PTA. And student Otto Manley, a 3rdGrader will be receiving a 4 pack to the Storyteller Theater for his first prize coloring entry. Thanks to all who participated.

Students of the Month
Welcome to our second Student of the Month. At this March assembly, TISA will be celebrating our month's exemplars. Taos war chief, Richard Archuleta, will be our speaker this month. PTA will also be giving out prizes: 5 $20 TWIRL gift cards to our top readers from the  Read-A-Thon, 
and prizes for our Mascot Winners. 
PLEASE NOTE that all students from both campuses will dismiss at regular times (kinder at 3:30) 
from the Manzanares Campus. Aftercare will be also at the Manzanares Campus that day.
DATE: 3/7/16
LOCATION: Guadalupe Gym

Congratulations to these outstanding Kindergarten students of the month: 

Bernice O'Reilly

Vincent Brady


Dr Seuss' 112 Birthday -- In Celebration of

 Reading 

Thank you all for your whole-hearted participation!

Unfortunately many children were sick and could not attend on the day of the Read-a-thon. If the children who were absent are interested in taking a "rain check" for the event, I'd be happy to have them either read at home with family or in school with a volunteer (Megan O., would you be interested?). The PTA is presenting each class with a $20 gift certificate for their participation. 
In kinder the recipient of the gift card will be pulled out  of a hat. 
I will include all absent children with a reading log signed by a grown-up.

You also asked about your pledges for the Read-a-thon. We'll be using the money we raise 
to pay for transportation for the end-of-the-year kinder field trip 
and for kinder's end-of-year celebration (April 28).
You are welcome to write a check for TISA in the next week or two.









This week in kinder:
TUESDAY:
Kinder music performance: SOUNDS OF AFRICA
at 3:00pm in the kindergarten room
costuming for the presentation: bandana (if you have any extra please send them to school + solid color T-shirt)
Hakuna matata! Will see you there!
THURSDAY
Explora is returning for a third session with kindergarten on Thursday

HEALTH UPDATE
There are a few cases of ringworm in the lower grades. Children with ringworm are to attend school. To treat ringwormthe most frequently used meds are tolnaftate, miconazole, and clotrimazole. A small amount is applied two or three times a day for at least a week, during which time some clearing should begin. 
If your child has any skin concerns please visit a medical professional to determine the cause of the condition. 
Some informative links BUT please go to Dr. for assessment.

HOMEWORK
Do on Monday (due on Tuesday): We are working on an interactive display with an African theme. Please search around your home for items that might qualify (jeep? stuffed animals? fossils? coconut shell? map? book?) Or feel free to create your own African-inspired piece (draw/paint/cut out an African animal/puppet, make a beaded bracelet, or a shaker).
Do on Tuesday (due on Wednesday): Write your own number story (e.g. Quintin saw 4 chameleons in the tree and 5 chameleons on the ground. How many chameleons did he see in all?) Please draw one way you would show how to solve your math problem.
Do on Wednesday (due on Thursday): Bring clippings/artwork/your own paint/color mix that show your favorite colors. Label your items as best you can.



Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Hoot SPECIAL EDITION!

   HOOT!         Kinder News        Special Edition     3-1-2016                                        

CAMPUS NEWS!
 
Next year TISA’s lower grades will be housed on the Manzanares campus
with a fun playground
and an array of outdoor musical instruments!

Support TISA with Testimonials please!
Wednesday night is kindergarten fair for preschool families.
Some of you might remember attending last year to meet many of Taos’ passionate kindergarten teachers and hear about each school’s approach to kindergarten.
This year I ask that you support TISA’s presence in the kindergarten fair with a few lines that attest to your child’s joyful education here.
What is it that your son/daughter
loves about TISA?
Why would you recommend this school to another family?
How does TISA support you?
What is it that you value about
learning at TISA?
What are your hopes for our school and your child here?
Any anecdotes that your child shared about school at home?

Please email me a few kind lines (even a couple words of cheer would be great) and I will be happy to include your words (anonymously, if you wish).

Please spread the information
to families:
Kindergarten night
Taos Charter School (gym)
Wednesday, March 2, 6pm




Kinder Readathon is TOMORROW (Wednesday)!
Come or send a friend to read with your child from 8:30-10:00.
Dress cozy (hint: jamies)
Bring:
A pillow
a snack/drink/fruit/popcorn to share
AND
LOTS OF YOUR FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOKS!
Update about our upcoming kinder performance
Date and time: 3pm, March 8 (next Tuesday)
Place: kinder room
Since there has been a strong pull towards exploring music and movement that goes with the African story-telling theme, we will focus on the musical pieces during next Tuesday’s performance. Stay tuned! The African shadow puppet stories will be presented at a later date after spring break.
Students of the month
will be celebrated next Monday afternoon on the Manzanares campus.
Kinder is excited to visit Miss Naomi’s 8th grade that day as well. Since the 8th graders have been working on an African heritage unit, the two grades will be collaborating on an African project that day.