Angel Tree Students
Dear Parents, Students, & Staff,
Each year our school does a project called Angel Tree which attempts to help out needy Washington Twp. families during the holidays. Each classroom "adopts" two students from these families who attend our school (the names of the students are kept anonymous) and purchases Christmas presents for them, as well as donates nonperishable food items.
I can tell from the thank-you notes I receive, these gifts are deeply appreciated and much needed. Won't you consider giving generously? All the money collected goes directly to buy clothes and toys for these children. Perhaps you could arrange for your children to earn the money by doing extra chores around the house. Or perhaps you work for a company that lets its employees adopt a child or you'd even like to adopt a student yourselves. We always have students we can't find sponsors for, so let us know if you can help us out that way as well.
And if you can help out in one of the other ways please contact Mr. lhssen. We are also usually in need of parents who would be willing to be shoppers for children our classes have adopted.
Checks made out tot he school or cash may be brought in until Friday, December 10th to your child's teacher. Thank you, in advance, for helping out with some of our neighbors in need.
Sincerely, Rik Ihssen
MATH BOWL TEAM TRY-OUTS
Calling out all 4th/5th grade mathletes: If you're interested in joining the school's Math Bowl Team, come and take the qualifying test in the Large Group Room during lunch/recess on Thursday, December 9. Team members will usually practice twice a week; once during lunch on Tuesday and after-school on Thursdays until the competition March 10th.
BORDERS OFFERING GIFT CARDS TO SCHOOLS
Borders Book Stores just announced that it will be donating $15 gift cards to schools for any purchase made at their stores December 4 & 5. So, if you were planning on shopping at Southlake Mall and wanted to buy some books from Borders, ask about the Education Gift Card program which would go towards purchasing books for our library.
3rd Graders Visit Museum of Science and Industry
On Monday, the third grade classes took a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. The students visited the 55 different Christmas trees decorated with ornaments depicting countries from around the world. The students also visited the "You" exhibit to learn more about the human body. Next the students toured the Space Center to learn more about our planets and space travel throughout the years. After visiting those exhibits, small groups of students with parent chaperones were allowed to tour areas of their choice before they headed back to school.
SECRET SANTA SHOP THIS WEEK!
Secret Santa Shop starts next week! The shopping schedule for the classrooms is listed below. It's a great opportunity for the kids to do some "secret" shopping for the family while learning to budget and spend wisely. Gifts range from picket change to $7, with most items under $4. We are inviting parents and teachers to shop our "inventory blowout' at the conclusion of student shopping on Thursday, 12/9, at 1:00 p.m.
Families Living in Doubled-up Households May Qualify for Benefits
If you are a family living in a "Doubled-Up" situation where the home you live in is not your own (i.e. parents are living with grandparents or other relatives or friends) you may qualify for Freel/Reduced Lunch benefits and textbook assistance under the government's definition of "homeless," regardless of the income of the people you are living with. (The key parts are that you are living with another household and you do not own the home.) If you feel this applies to you contact Mr. Ihssen at school for a Free/Reduced Lunch form to apply. An added benefit to this program is that, if you qualify for Free/Reduced Lunch as a middle school student (grades 6-8), your child may also be eligible for the 21st Scholars Program which basically pays tuition for Indiana colleges when they graduate from high school. So, if this applies to you, or someone you know, take advantage of it now.