Cambridge Connection – School Newsletter

January 2013

The second semester is well underway! We continue to focus on student learning, Pirate PRIDE and principles, and overall school safety. If you ever have any questions about these initiatives or anything else related to Cambridge or your child, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher. We are very open to addressing any questions or concerns that parents may have. I would like to take this opportunity to say kudos to our students, parents and staff members for working so hard. Cambridge focuses on meeting the needs of individual students. We strive to set goals and implement strategies that help individual students be successful and grow

Principal’s Note By Michelle Biondo

***Pirate PRIDE***

Contents

Note from the Principal 1

School News 2-3

PTA News 4

Grade News 5-6

Specials & Student Gov 7

Teacher Spotlights 8

Health & Wellness 9

Kids Korner 10

Pirate Family Club 11

Box Top Sheet 12

Business Members 13

Upcoming Events

♦ 2/5 – Watch Dog Event

♦ 2/14 – Early Release

♦ 2/15 – Winter Party

♦ 2/18 – No School

♦ 2/28 – Bingo for Books

Cambridge Elementary 109 W. Cambridge Belton, MO 64012

Phone: (816) 348-1008

Fax: (816) 348-1093

E-mail: tgoodall@bsd124.org

confident with their learning and problem solving skills. In February we are stressing our Pirate Principle of “ACCOUNTABILITY”. Though we want students to practice accountability throughout the year, we are focusing on this principle this month. Accountability is “checking to make sure you do what is right”. We appreciate parents having conversations with their children about this principle. Finally, I would like to recap our new security procedures. We are now keeping doors locked at all times. Until our new “buzzer” system is installed, staff members are closely monitoring the front doors from the office. We may not always see you right away, please knock loudly or call the office if we do not see you in a timely manner. In addition, all parents and guardians must sign in at the office in the morning if they choose to walk their child to class. This allows us to know who is in the building at all times. On a related note, parents that pick up students after school must show the Cambridge’s office issued pink note to the staff members on duty before they can release students. We look forward to working closely with parents and students 2nd Semester! Every day is a great day to be a PIRATE!!!

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, remember, it’s not about the amount of money you spend on loved ones but the amount of quality time spent with loved ones!

Pirates Turn into Turtle Plungers!

December Pirates of the Month

Due to the holidays, we didn’t have a chance to report our December Pirates of the Month… until now! Chosen by their classroom teachers for showing great respect are:

• K - Caleb Dupont, Daytona Zumwalt and Ethan Hayes • 1st - Lela Boone, Brian Strawn and Connor McClain • 2nd - Landon Hostetler, Jordan Green, Jackelin Monarrez • 3rd - Audry Price, Daniel Vazquez and Brett Gerke • 4th - Kory Burch, Kira Bennett and Alyssa Reeves

Great job Kids! Pirates of the Month got to enjoy lunch with Principal, Michelle Biondo.

Pirates turned into turtle plungers? Well, yes, but it was for a good cause! Five amazing teachers took part in this year's POLAR PLUNGE....BRRRRR! Who took the plunge? Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo… oh wait! No, it was really Robbie Corder, Lauren Goddard, Kelly Hemeyer, Whitney Szczcucinski and Brandie Harvey who took the plunge and jumped right into Longview Lake on January 26th dressed like Ninja Turtles! Kowabunga dude and dudettes! That took turtle power! (We think they ate pizza afterwards!) Cambridge students and families generously donated $886.23 for Special Olympics. The class who collected the most will get extra time in the gym with Mr. Corder! We sincerely thank each of you for your warm hearts and your continued generosity! February’s Pirate Principle:

Accountability

Accountability means checking to make sure you do what is right. It’s important to teach children to be accountable for what they do. Here are tips on how to teach accountability: • Give your child age appropriate responsibilities. Provide

them with things to be accountable for, whether it's taking care of their belongings or doing certain chores.

• Establish rules in your home. Make consequences clear. • Follow through with a punishment if your child doesn't

follow your rules. If you don't enforce your rules, your child won't think he has to be accountable for his actions. Your child will recognize that he can't just do what he wants, and there are consequences for his actions.

• Lead by example and your child will likely adopt those good habits.

Cambridge Connection School News Page 2 of 13

Each month a student from each class is chosen by their classroom teacher as Pirate of the Month. Students are chosen on whom best exhibits the current month’s character trait. January's character trait is Caring, "showing love to others." The following students from Cambridge were chosen: Janeth Monarrez, Brittany Beemer and Michelle Sanchez from Kindergarten, Tessa Raedeke, Linzie Bullington and Sydney Weilert from first grade, Nicole Anderson, Tori Reeves and Nicholas Schroeder from 2nd grade, Landon Borntreger, Caleb Kormanec and Braden Gerke from 3rd grade and Liz Chevalier, Kayleigh Gilchrist and Korrine Price from 4th grade. Congratulations on being Pirates of the Month!!

January Pirates of the Month

No other school has TURTLE PLUNGERS!

School News Page 3 of 13 Cambridge Connection

Brothers Landon and Christian Williams of Cambridge Elementary exchange Pirate Pride Points for a photograph together. Landon, younger brother of Christian, saved 50 Pride Points which are earned for being respectful, in control of their bodies and doing the right thing. Students are allowed to shop from a points menu every other week and buy menu items with their Pride Points. At 50 points students can opt for a photo with a friend which will be displayed on the school TV in the foyer. Landon chose a photo with his brother over a photo with a friend!

Due to the holidays, we did not put out a January newsletter. But we just had to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who helped support the holiday food drive!! Our Student Government organized the drive that went from Nov. 26 to Dec. 5. The food collected benefited families in need. Student Government wishes to thank everyone who contributed for your warm hearts and generosity.

Theresa & Terri sporting 100! glasses. Lookin’ good ladies!

Pirate Pride & Brotherly Love!

January 24 marked the 100th Day of School!

Kindergarten students at Cambridge Elementary celebrated the 100th day of school in style. They each wore 100 glasses, 100th day crowns and made necklaces from beads. Students practiced writing to 100, stringing 100 beads on a necklace, read a few books about the number 100.

Keep those Box Tops coming!!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!!

Bingo for books

February 28th

5:30 to 7:00

Reflections: Magic of the Moment

We are so pleased with the participation for the Reflections Program. This year’s theme is the Magic of the Moment and all of the students that turned in an entry did a fantastic job at portraying their interpretation of that theme. We had eight participants this year, which is several more than last year!! There were six projects submitted for Visual Arts, one for Literature and one for Film Production. Each student who participated will receive a ribbon at the end of the year awards assembly. Only three pieces per age group and category are allowed to advance to the State level. For Cambridge, those students whose piece was sent on to State were: Aidan Long for Film Production, Marissa Velencia for Literature, Lilly Smith, Georgia Meakins and Angela Chavez for Visual Arts. Good luck to all of them!! Thank you again to everyone who participated and to all of the teachers and parents that helped bring out their student’s creative side and in making this year’s Reflections Program so successful!!

PTA News Page 4 of 13 Cambridge Connection

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Kindergarten News

On Dec. 5, our kindergarten teachers had the opportunity to attend the Dr. Jean Conference which focused on building better bodies and brains through music and movement. Teachers who attended the conference were: Martha Rodgers, Laurie Fievet and Sarah Jackson. The teachers have already started implementing Dr. Jean's strategies in their classrooms and look forward to continuing to build better bodies and brains.

Sarah Jackson's Kindergarten class showed their support for Belton's hometown hero and X-Factor winner, Tate Stevens. Students created small posters and compiled them onto a large poster to show their support! Their poster was featured at the X-Factor watch party on Dec. 19.

Way to go Tate!!!

1st Grade News

Sharing the LOVE in Kindergarten: Wouldn’t you love to receive a Valentine like these?!

First graders celebrated the 100th day of school with several different activities focusing on the number 100. The students wrote 100 words, collected 100 objects, and counted to 100 by either linking together 100 cubes or stamping 100 dots. They also made their snack by counting ten groups of ten different food items. And they created pictures of what they would look like when they are 100 years old. Ms. Rodgers kindergarten class invited the first graders to sing, dance and count to 100. It was a fun day learning about 100. First graders sure are 100 days smarter! Some responses to “When I am 100 years old, I hope I can…” were really cute:

- still move my arms - still eat food at restaurants - ride my bike - grow a 7 foot beard - tie my shoes - NOT break my leg - drive a car

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Respect Effort Responsibility

4th Grade News

Second Graders at Cambridge Elementary explored how using each of their five senses helps them to create a mental picture in their mind. This thinking strategy is called Visualizing and we use it while we read to help us understand what we are reading. Pictured above is Ms. Szczucinski’s class putting these lessons into action.

2nd Grade News

Students in Mrs. Smith's second grade class made posters to demonstrate what they learned about Force, Motion and Magnets. Students worked in cooperative groups. They were required to have all seven vocabulary words on their posters along with a picture and explanation. Students then presented to their classmates. The poster will be hung outside the room for all to view.

Students in Kelly Hemeyer's 4th grade class created snow globes as part of their descriptive writing unit. Each student designed, created, and described a snow globe for a particular audience. The snow globes and descriptive writings are displayed in their hallway as part of the Snow globe Smithsonian Museum for Cambridge students and teachers to admire.

Page 10 of 17 Cambridge Connection Student Art Work

Respect Effort Responsibility Respect Effort Responsibility

Music Notes By Mrs. McDonald

It’s finally here! Recorders! The 4th graders are very excited to begin recorder lessons in music. Good luck parents. I know the first few weeks the sounds are not always pleasing to the ear. Please encourage your child to practice a few days a week at home. Students learn songs and earn ‘recorder belts’ (like in karate) for each song they master. 3rd graders are learning about the instruments of the orchestra. On February 13th all 3rd graders will go on a field trip to hear the Kansas City Symphony play. We are learning about the composers and songs we will hear at the concert during music class. 2nd graders are starting to learn songs for their show on March 21 at 6:30pm at the HS. The theme is “food.” We will be singing some very entertaining songs. I’m sure parents will get a sneak peek at home while your children are practicing. 1st graders are learning the names of music notes and beginning to learn to read simple music patterns on the staff. These skills are being taught through stories. Note names are taught through characters from the Land of Music and pitch reading is taught using the story of Pitch Hill. We also continue to practice playing a steady beat on the xylophones. Kindergarteners have begun learning the letter songs in music. I have a phonics song, story, and character song for each letter of the alphabet. So far we have learned “Alligator Al,” “Be Bop the Bear,” and “Cool Cat.” These students also continue to work on developing their singing voices through solo singing during the Name Game.

Student Government at Cambridge made a large tree near the front entrance. They gave each class in the school different colored leaves. Students in each class wrote on their leaves, the thing they loved most that they had learned during the first 100 days. Each class then visited the tree and filled it with their leaves! What a great way to share their favorites from the first 100 days!

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First graders have been studying texture in Samantha Sullentrup's Art Class. The students created artwork using visual textures to make their polar bears look furry!

Polar Bear Artwork

Student Government News

Page 9 of 13 Cambridge Connection Health and Wellness

Berry Bliss Smoothie Here is a great recipe for those of you worried about those few extra pounds you gained over the holidays and for our young people still growing. It offers you 60 percent of your daily value of fiber and up to 88 percent of you daily value of manganese; whose health benefits ensure healthy bone structure, bone metabolism and helping in building essential enzymes for building bones. Manganese is also a powerful antioxidant.

Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

DID YOU KNOW… Children need healthy foods because their bodies require the nutrients to grow. A child who is given healthy foods will receive a lifetime bonus of a stronger mind and body. A child who is deprived of healthy foods or given too many unhealthy foods can face decades of physical and mental health problems.

Healthy Eating on a budget

The Three P's - Plan, Purchase, Prepare 1. Plan - Plan meals and snacks for the week according to an established budget & then make a list. Include meals like stews, casseroles, or stir-fries, which “stretch” expensive items into more portions. 2. Purchase - Buy groceries when you are not hungry and when you are not too rushed. Find and compare unit prices listed on shelves to get the best price. 3. Prepare - Some meal items can be prepared in advance; pre-cook on days when you have time. Double or triple up on recipes and freeze meal-sized containers of soups and Casseroles or divide into individual portions

Exercise: It is so very important to encourage our children to be active. Lead by example; show your child that exercise is important by regularly exercising yourself. The more you encourage them to be active the more likely it is they are going to enjoy it and the more they are going to want to do it on a regular basis. Here are a few frugal activities you can try indoors, since it is still so cold outdoors:

Indoor Beach Party — Play tropical music on the stereo, wear grass skirts, and teach your kids how to hula! Have Balloon Battles – see box at the left.

1 cup of blackberries 1 cup of raspberries 1 frozen banana 1/2 cup of almond milk 1/4 cup orange juice

Indoor Ice Skating — Make boots for each child with sheets of wax paper and use rubber bands around the ankles. Play waltz music on the stereo, and let your child “skate” on the carpet. Careful, it is slippery, but also a lot of fun!

Balloons aren’t just party decorations! They can be a source of frugal fun and games (as seen here). And best of all, balloons won’t break things the way balls can!

Volleyball Bat it back-n-forth Keep it airborne using

your feet.

Kids Korner

Page 11 of 11 Cambridge Connection Health & Wellness

Kids don’t make up 100% of our population, but they do make up 100% of our future! ~Zig Ziglar

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Fun Facts about Valentine's Day

• Around 190 million cards are sent on this day making it the second most popular holiday to send cards after Christmas.

• If you include cards given at school and handmade cards, the number of Valentine's exchanged is estimated to be nearly 1 billion. Because so many students give cards, teachers receive the most cards of any profession.

• Around 85% of Valentine's cards are purchased by women. 73% of flowers are purchased by men.

• Around 36 million heart shaped boxes of chocolate will be given as gifts on Valentine's Day.

PIRATE FAMILY CLUB Student Name: ________________________ Grade: ______________________________ Teacher: _____________________________

**NEW FOR 2013**

Complete at least 6 activities and return your form no later than February 25, 2013 and you will be entered into a drawing for a $25.00 Applebee’s or $25.00

Papa John’s Gift Card!! We will be giving away gift cards to a different restaurant each month but for Jan./Feb. kick-off, we are drawing for 2!!!

Pirate Family Activity Parent

Signature SNOW OUTSIDE ?? – Unleash your inner Van Gogh – Fill a few spray bottles with water and various shades of food coloring, then bundle up and head outside to create a masterpiece in the snow.

Did you and your family participate in Papa John’s Night on January 31st ? Make paper airplanes – Have an award for the airplane that flies the furthest.

Learn about the animal kingdom. Check out a book on animals or look up some information on the internet.

Did your family have a scavenger hunt? Try putting together a scavenger hunt with items from your home and see who finds everything on the list the fastest!

GO GORILLA – Commit random, anonymous acts of kindness as a family, like shoveling your neighbor’s driveway after a hard snow, cleaning up a park trail, or sending letters to our troops overseas.

Did you have breakfast for dinner? Did you make a snow angel or snowman? Did you go to dinner on a kid’s eat free night? For a list, check out http://kansascity.about.com/od/restaurants/a/KidsEatFreeKC.htm or http://www.kidsmealdeals.com/search/kidseatfree/Belton+Missouri/any/

Have a family discussion about money management. Parents, it’s a good idea to teach kids about budgeting so they learn money management skills early.

Have your parent/guardian sign any 6 activities accomplished during January/February and return this form to the office by February 25, 2013 and you will be entered into a drawing to receive a $25.00 Applebee’s or $25.00 Papa John’s Gift Card. Date received in office: _____________________

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Show your school you care with a bouquet of Box Tops. Thank you for helping! Every Box Top you collect is worth 10¢ for your school. Name Grade Teacher’s Name 1 3 2 4 7 9 6 8 5 10

We would like to extend a BIG THANK YOU to our PTA business supporters:

Like us at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-Elementary-

PTA/131293620241357

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