Spicewood Elementary School Dear families and community,
I would like to thank our wonderful parents for their time spent volunteering at the Book Fair and KISS Cookout last week. Your help made each of these events a wonderful and positive experience. Student Led Conferences are October 9th. If you haven’t already, please be sure to schedule a time with your child’s teacher.
CELEBRATIONS
Spicewood Students Model Lessons at Conference
The Texas Art Education Association requested Spicewood Elementary students for a demo spot at the TASA/TASB fall conference! This past Friday our amazing art teacher Mrs Raybourn, took over 20 of our talented Art Club students to model lessons in the TAEA Gallery. Students demonstrated lessons for sculpture building, animation, origami, weaving and sketching. We are so proud of them!
Mrs. Raybourn and Art Club Students model lessons at the TASA/TASB fall conference
Chess Club
This past weekend, our Chess Club students did an amazing job at the Meridian Tournament. Roughly 300 students total attended and it was about a 12 hour day. Our students rose to the top and won a first place trophy, two second place trophies, a third and a fourth. Kindergarten and 1st graders won 1st place! This is truly incredible as they have only been playing chess for two months. Way to go!
IB PYP 101
(This portion of Ms. Page’s newsletter this week is contributed by Mrs. Vance, PYP Coordinator)
On Tuesday, October 9th, our campus will once again host our fall Student Led Conferences. During these conferences, students are in the “drivers seat” sharing and discussing their goals for the new school year with their parents and teacher. Students reflect on the Learner Profile attributes using a reflection tool. Students use this to evaluate where they think they currently stand and share their strengths and areas for improvement in relation to the Learner Profile (the heart of the IB program). The development of these attributes is a shared effort of students, parents, and school community collectively working together to help students meet their goals and grow as internationally minded people.
We’re sharing a helpful tool to support ways that you can take action at home and best support your child the PYP program. The resource breaks down each attribute providing ideas for what you can do at home, suggested books to read with your child, and helpful questions and sentence stems you can use to start conversations with your child. We encourage you to print it out and keep it handy throughout the year as you debrief with your child at the end of the day, support with projects and other inquiry based assignments. (**Parents Tip: Books are a GREAT way to discuss and address the Learner Profile attributes)
We look forward to having you come to listen and learn more about your child’s goals during their student led conferences session!
THIS WEEK’S NEWS
Bond 2018
Visit the RRISD Bond 2018 website to learn more about the Bond election on November 6, 2018. Here is the list of projects specific to Spicewood Elementary.
Destination Imagination
Destination Imagination (DI) is an International K-12 STEM based learning and innovation program, student participant tournaments based on the challenge topic they choose. Destination Imagination Club 2018-2019 registration opens now till October 5th Friday 5 pm. Register here. Please visit club home page or reach out to DI Chair Ziyu Huang with any questions.
Math Information Night for Parents
Parents/guardians of elementary students from Laurel Mountain, Caraway, and Spicewood are invited to attend a Math Night on October 15th at Canyon Vista Middle to learn about the math continuum from elementary school, to middle school, to high school. There will be a presentation from Canyon Vista & Westwood math teachers and counselors to explain the variety of math pathways available to meet the needs of all students.
Spicewood Auction
Mark your calendars! Spicewood PTA’s annual Gala Night and Auction is taking place on Friday, November 9th from 6pm – midnight at Balcones Country Club. Tickets and tables will go on sale on Monday, October 15th at 6am.
Spicewood Auction – Class Baskets
As part of the event, there are baskets created by parents that will be included in the silent auction portion of the evening. We are asking parents to consider donating a small monetary amount or a new item (with receipt, for tax purposes) that coordinates with a basket theme. This year’s basket themes are Legos, Artistic Adventures, Sports, Family Game Night, Fashion Fun, The Great Outdoors, Kids Cooking, Science Discoveries, and Star Wars.
Donating is completely optional. You can make a donation online here or submit your monetary donations or donated items to your child’s teacher by Friday, Oct. 12th. Checks can be made out to Spicewood PTA. As always, we thank you for your generous support of our amazing school!
Join PTA (Parent Teacher Association)!
Thank you for your tremendous support!! Spicewood Elementary PTA currently has 647
Members, which means that 76.6% of our student body is represented. Help us represent 100% of our students and join today!
REFLECTIONS Creativity Contest
This PTA-sponsored program allows your child to come up with her or his own way to express this year’s theme: Heroes Around Me. Children can enter as many pieces as they’d like across six categories (literature, visual arts, photography, film production, dance choreography, and musical composition). Your child does not have to be an accomplished artist or expert writer to enter. It’s all about a child’s interpretation and expression of the theme. The deadline for submitting entries is Friday, October 26, 2018. For more information, including rules and entry forms, check out the Spicewood PTA Reflections website. Please email Sharon Gu with any questions.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday, October 8
No School – Student Holiday
Tuesday, October 9
No School – Student Led Conferences (Be sure to schedule a time with your child’s teacher)
Wednesday, October 10
Fall Picture Day
Saturday, October 13
8:00AM – 11:00AM Fall Garden Work Day
Monday, October 15
8:00AM – 8:30AM Principal’s Pride (K-2)
6:00PM – 6:30PM Math Night at Canyon Vista Middle School
Tuesday, October 16
8:00AM – 8:30AM Principal’s Pride (3-5)
Thursday, October 18
5:00PM-5:30PM – 2018 Bond Informational Presentation
5:30PM-6:00PM – IB information Night (Play Based Learning)
6:00PM -7:00PM – PTA General Meeting #2
Thursday, October 25
6:00PM-7:00PM 4th grade Music Program
Friday, November 9
6:00PM- Midnight Spicewood Auction
Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
Teyan Page