Fundraiser Fun!We have wrapped up our two fundraisers. With that – several rewards and incentives were earned by students!

For the entertainment Book sale.

Students who sold five or more Entertainment Books were given an opportunity to go inside a large Money Machine! Students had one

minute to grab as many dollar bills as they could! What they were able to grab - they got to keep! Congratulations to Bryce Phillips,

Cyrus Poindexter, Emily Wright and Thurston Rampulla who were the top sellers!

In addition - any student selling 3 or more Entertainment books were given the

opportunity to 'Duct Tape" the Principal to the wall! The students loved this!!!

Brochure Sale

For our other fundraiser we set a building goal... if we sold more than 1,400 items -20 lucky winners would get to spray Mrs. Anderson with 'Silly String". Students liked this almost as much as the duct tape! Students who got to spray silly string included:

Gracie LaPointe, Hayden Depinot, Sierra Leonard, Stephanie Clemons, Savannah Swanson, Kirsten Shaneyfelt, Coltin Byron, Jackson Hemmert, Alyssa Brock, Timothy Penkal, Hannah Palmer, Payten Neth, Alexandria Helmandollar, Isaiah Monsivias, Lucy Weiss, Jordan Slife, Patrick Hill, Zach Henne, Layla Mitchell and Isabel Delbosque.

22 Students earned a pizza lunch for selling more than twenty items. Congratulations to:

Kirsten Shaneyfelt, Gracelynn Neil, Jordan Slife, Adam Edwards, Adriana McKinney, Alexandria Helmandollar, Ethan Tucker, Adrian Zurita, Caitlin Ridge, Alyssa Brock, Savannah Swanson, Ethan Schulz, Marcus Hall, Connor Whaley, Isabel Delbosque, Patrick Hill, Lilia Haning, Trevor Lewis, Collin Wiley, Aubree Carroll, Madison Saunders and Kade Dankworth.

Springcreek NewsNovember/December 2013

Thanksgiving Pie!

Thank you to everyone who sent in donations for our special Thanksgiving Treat – on Tuesday, Nov. 26th. Thanks also to all the parents who volunteered to help serve the pie! The students had a great time!

After School Nature HourOn November 12th - 71 Students participated in the Miami County Parks District – After school nature program. Despite it being a cold, snowy day the students were eager to head out to Garbry Big Woods. While there, the students were divided into nine different groups. The focus was on energy, sources of energy, and how the earth, plants and animals use that energy to help them survive!

We had so many students sign up to participate – that we are currently working on a plan to divide the program into two days rather than one. Right now the idea is to have first grade and half of second grade go on one day and the other half of second grade and third grade go on a second day. That way the groups can be smaller, and it will be better for the Park staff since finding that many volunteers to instruct the students in one day was difficult for them! The great news is, we had a lot of students and parents who were interested in participating. For those of you who signed up – we will send more information home after the holidays about possible date changes!

K-Kids (Third Grade Kiwanis Kid’s Club)

A large group of third grade students who are in the K-Kids Club, spent a beautiful Saturday morning raking leaves and cleaning up around the outside of Green Street Church, while another group of students worked inside stuffing envelopes for a bulk mailing! Those who participated had a great time – providing a service within the community, while making things around the church look better too!

During December, the K-Kids Participated in the City of Piqua Christmas Parade.

NWEA Testing

During December students have been taking the NWEA tests. NWEA stands for Northwest Evaluation Association. These are standardized tests which the students take on the computer. These tests are given three times during the year. (Fall, Winter and Spring). These tests are given for several reasons. First, they help us measure student growth. They tell us where a student starts the school year; where they are in the middle of the year and how they complete the year. When taken in the fall, based on each individual score, a projection is made to determine what the typical growth should be for that child by the end of the year. The winter test helps us to know if we are on target or not. The end of the year tells us if the child met the desired growth for the year. The best part of these tests is that since it is computerized, the test adjusts to each child. If the child is struggling, it will give questions from a lower grade level so we can figure out exactly what skills the child has and what skills are lacking. Likewise, if a child is doing very well, it gives questions from a higher grade level so we know how to challenge the child and still get growth. The fall test results were likely shared with you at parent teacher conferences. In the spring we will be able to print a composite showing you not only results from this year, but last year too. This helps us get a good overall picture of how your child is progressing.

The winter results, when available, will be used by the teachers to help better individualize instruction for students. If you have questions about these assessments, feel free to call your child’s teacher.

Spelling Bee

On Thursday, December 12, three students from each third grade classroom participated in the Spelling Bee. These students were the top spellers from their respective homerooms. The students did an excellent job. The adults involved all said this was the most rounds they could remember going with any group! By the end the words were very challenging! Congratulations to Vivica Davis and Jordan Slife who were the winner and runner up respectively. They will represent Springcreek at the City Spelling Bee on January 14th at 7:00 PM at Piqua High School Center for Performing Arts.

Christmas Activities

Our school business partners are planning a special treat for students on Friday, December 20, in the afternoon. In addition, the Piqua High School Show Choir will be visiting Springcreek and performing some festive holiday songs for students, on Friday morning.

A reminder, Friday December 20, is our last day of school prior to Christmas break, with dismissal at our regular time! Classes resume on Monday, January 6th. We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and great times with your family and friends.

Canned Food Drive

Thank you to all the families that donated canned food items for the Salvation Army Canned Food Drive.As a school we collected 204 items to donate.

New Building Update

Our NEW school is progressing very well. Last week I toured the building. Almost all the windows are installed. The roof was being worked on as weather permitted. The doorways have been covered with temporary ‘doors’ (boards with bungee cords!) The building is mostly enclosed at this time so they can use temporary heating –which enables them to work no matter what the conditions are like outside! They have finished much of the exterior brick and were working on interior walls in the cafeteria area. The electricians and those installing ‘mechanical’ components of the building were continuing to complete their work. Pictures are posted on the Springcreek website if you would like to see pictures!

Going on a Fossil Hunt!

Students in Mrs. Redinbo’s class enjoyed a fossil dig on Friday, Dec. 13th. Mrs. Redinbo took a science class through Duke University. As a result, she received a bucket full of fossil remains from a Phosphate Mine in North Carolina. Students first learned vocabulary such as extinct, fossil and phosphate. Armed with a work mat, magnifying glass, a packet filled with pictures and information, the students received a pile of the remains to ‘dig’ into. The students found all types of cool fossils. Probably the most popular was ‘shark teeth’! Congratulations to our super scientists in Mrs. Redinbo’s room!

KUDOS:

Congratulations to first grader, Aubree Carroll, who recently got her haircut and donated her hair to Locks of Love! Congratulations on being thoughtful and generous!

Planning ahead in January:

Jan. 6 – Classes resume

Jan. 14 – City Spelling Bee -7:00 PM at Piqua High School –CPA

Jan. 16 –End of 2nd Quarter

Jan. 17 – No School – Teacher Records Day

Jan. 20 – No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Jan 23 – Board of Education Meeting

Jan. 24 – Report cards distributed

Jan. 27 - After School Nature Program. – first grade and part of second grade.

Jan. 30 – After School Nature Program – part of second and third graders.