Updates from the Principal

Dear families and community,

I am very excited about our Veteran’s Day Celebration on Tuesday, Nov 6! We are encouraging all students, visitors and faculty to wear red, white and blue to this special occasion. I would like to express my gratitude for the patience and support parents showed last week as we worked to ensure students had safe water during the Boil Notice. A huge thanks to every parent who donated multiple cases of water- we appreciate you!

PYP 101

This portion of Ms. Page’s news letter is contributed by Ms. Vance, our PYP Coordinator

 

“Through small actions, everyone can make a difference.”– Gandhi

The IB program encourages students to explore issues, perspectives and ideas both locally and globally. In 5th grade, the students watch CNN 10 for Kids daily, learning more about current events happening here in the United States, but also around the world. These ten minute daily videos spark classroom discussions, debates and often student action. This week, we’re sharing how a small group of students were motivated to do something about the issues they saw, we’re confident you’ll be inspired by their action and want to do something yourself!

Students leading the charge!–Nghi, Leah, Morgan

What inspired you to take action?

One day we were watching CNN 10 and saw the effects of Hurricane Michael and Hurricane Florence. People had no homes and food. I knew I just didn’t want to “just sit there”. There was so much suffering we had to do something about it.

What made you decide to take action and put together a food drive?

Last year, in fourth grade, I started a food drive in my classroom. I learned a lot from doing that food drive like how to convince people to contribute to your drive and how to organize and deliver materials. 

Can you share more about your process for letting people know about your food drive?

At first we just started the food drive in our classroom. Our teacher, Ms. Schuster, helped us get a box and set it up in the classroom. We weren’t getting many donations from my classmates (we were the only ones who had donated anything) so we thought that if we could make it a grade level food drive we would be able to collect more. We made a signs to put up in the 5th grade portable and also made a video. In our video we used a green screen and also made it a little funny to get students engaged and interested in the food drive. We wanted our video to make people feel good and be peaceful. After that video showed on broadcast, we started to get a lot more donations! The box was so heavy we had to bring the donations home little by little. I loved how much support we got with our food drive!

What do you think you learned because of the experience?

We learned that friends can be a support to you and how to convince people to take action. “Taking action is actually really easy, you just need to put your mind and heart into it. We also learned that if you choose to do something you need to stick with it. We used an open mind to think about how we could get more donations and it worked. 

Why do you think it’s important for students to take action?

It’s important for students to take action because students can “spark change”. Kids inspire each other because they listen to what each other as to say.

What message do you have for our community?

We want people to know that even doing something little it still makes a difference. It may not feel like it at first, but it really does do something. We’d also like people to think about ways they can help and donate to people who need food. The Central Texas Food Bank accepts donations all of the time. Think about the people who are suffering and how fortunate you are. How can we help them? We’ll probably be having another food drive later, maybe near the holidays, so that people can have food and enjoy that time of year with their families. 

Thank you ladies for continuing to inspire and remind us the importance of taking action with our learning, and as we move into a new week, we hope that these three girls inspire YOU to do your small part to make the world a better place!

THIS WEEK’S NEWS

Nurse’s Note For Outdoor School
Nurse Sam is now accepting medication for 5th grade students who will require medication at Outdoor School. All the medication with proper forms are due by Tuesday, November 13th. It will be less stressful it you bring medication your child must take while at Outdoor School now versus waiting until the last minute. Any medication which doesn’t comply with the protocol will be returned.

Outdoor School Medication Administration Policy: The Medication Administration Policy only apply students who take medications at home not at school. For the students who take medication at school, the nurse will pack all the medication and send it to Outdoor School along with students. Those parents don’t need to do anything.
You can find general Medication Procedures from the back of the request to administer medication form.

Medication Procedures: If your child requires a daily medication that is a prescription, please fill out the top portion of ” Request to Administer Medication” and have the child’s prescribing physician sign. You can find the form from the nurse’s office or download it from Spicewood Nurse’s website. If your child needs as needed medication such as Motrin, please fill out the bottom portion of the previous form. For the as needed medication, no doctor’s signature required but parents’ signature required. Herbal substances, anabolic steroids or dietary supplements won’t be accepted.

**ALL medications, either prescription or over the counter, must be in their original bottle/box/bag. If it is a prescription medication, it MUST have a current prescription label with your child’s name attached to the medication.** Medication without proper label, expired medication won’t be accepted. For the ADHD medication, please count pills and put them in the original bottle, only necessary amounts. Don’t bring whole bottle.

ASTHMA ACTION PLAN
If your child has been diagnosed with Asthma, and requires a rescue inhaler any time during the field trip, please have the Asthma Action Plan filled out and signed by the child’s physician.**ALL medication must be in it’s original bottle/box and have a current prescription label with your child’s name on it**

INHALER SELF CARRY PERMISSION: If your child has been diagnosed with Asthma, and requires a rescue inhaler any time during the school year, and you and the child’s physician feel that the child is capable of carrying his/her own inhaler, please fill out the Medication Self Administer Form by the physician and parents. School Nurse and the principal’s signature is required for the form.

**ALL medication must be in it’s original bottle/box and have a current prescription label with your child’s name on it** All the inhalers without proper label or expired won’t be accepted.

ANAPHYLAXIS ACTION PLAN: If your child has severe allergies that require an Epi-Pen or Benadryl, please filled out the Anaphylaxis Action Plan and signed by the child’s physician and return it to the school nurse.

**ALL medication must be in it’s original bottle/box and have a current prescription label with your child’s name on it. All the Epi-Pen and Benadryl should be proper dose based on children’s weight and non-expired. Stock, emergency Epi-Pen stays at clinic. Only students’ own Epi-Pen will be sent to field trip.

If you have any more questions, please contact Nurse Sam. Thank you so much for your compliance in advance.

Veterans Day Celebration
 Please invite any Veterans you know to attend our Spicewood Elementary Veterans Day celebration on November 6th. There will be two assemblies, one at 8:00, and one at 8:30. We have a wonderful speaker that will make it a morning of celebration where our students can reflect on what the men and women in the military sacrifice for our freedom. The Cub Choir and Panther Choir will be performing too. Students are asked to wear red, white and blue to celebrate this occasion.

Spicewood Auction – Friday, Nov. 9th GET YOUR TICKETS!
Spicewood PTA’s Annual Gala & Auction is Friday, November 9th from 6pm – midnight at Balcones Country Club. Limited tickets are still available! General admission/individual tickets for $40 each, and reserved tables for $550 each (which seat 10 people per table). All tickets include hors d’oeuvres, one hour beer/wine open bar, full dinner buffet, and local desserts. Secure your spot and a chance to win a Big Green Egg, Vacation Homes, Summer Camps and more! Questions – please contact Nicole Giannetta at niknick1@yahoo.com! If you still need to purchase your tickets and tables click here.

Join PTA (Parent Teacher Association)!
Thank you for your tremendous support! Spicewood Elementary PTA currently has 707 Members (84% representation of our student body). Help us reach our goal of 100% representation and join today. Together we CAN back the future!! Thank you for supporting Spicewood PTA.

Spelling Bee
The registration deadline for the Spicewood Spelling Bee has been extended to midnight Nov-6-2018. Please sign up here. The classroom grade-level is on Nov-8-2018. The date for the school-level Spelling Bee will be announced later.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Tuesday, November 6
8:00AM-8:20AM – Veteran’s Day Program (K-2nd)
8:30AM-8:50AM – Veteran’s Day Program (3rd-5th)

Thursday, November 8
6:00PM-7:00PM  TAG Referral Parent Meeting

Friday, November 9
6:00PM- Midnight  Spicewood Auction at Balcones Country Club

Wednesday, November 14 – Friday, November 16
5th Grade Students at Outdoor School

Monday, November 19 – Friday, November 23
No School – Fall Break

Thursday, November 29
6:00PM-7:00PM  3rd grade Music Program

Tuesday, December 4
5:00PM – 8:00PM Spirit Night at Chipotle (11301 Lakeline Blvd, #230)
6:30pM-7:30PM   School Spelling Bee (Spicewood Cafeteria)

Wednesday, December 5
Picture Retakes

Monday, December 17
8:00AM – 8:30AM Principals’ Pride (K-2)

Tuesday, December 18
8:00AM – 8:30AM Principals’ Pride (3-5)

Wednesday, December 19
Classroom Winter Parties – Last day for students

Thursday, December 20 – Monday, January 7
No School – Winter Break

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Teyan Page

Dedicated Principal