Fawns

What kinds of things are you reading about?

"Mrs. Wells is helping us learn about fawns.  They are born in the springtime."  ~Shyla
"Parents teach fawns to stay still and quiet when they leave them to look for food."  ~Xavier
"Camouflage protects fawns from enemies because the colors make them hard to see."  ~Andrew
"Fawns live in the same area where they are born for most of their lives."  ~Madison 
"Raccoons, deer, and cardinals all live in the woods around Lawrenceville."  ~Lexi
  

Peanuts

You're a good man Charlie Brown!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dS0vUbWdNxg

More fun:   http://www.peanuts.com/kids/

I'm Choosing Different Ones

What kinds of books are you reading? 
"I'm choosing different ones each time we check out.  Mrs. Irvin wants us to challenge ourselves.  Right now I am learning about dinosaurs.  Did you know that many of them were carnivores?  I wonder why they all died out?  ~Jasmine

We're Reading "The Hundred Dresses"

"We're ready for chapter three tomorrow and it's kind of early in the story.  But I can tell that what the kids are doing is bullying.  They may not have called it that, 69 years ago but mean is mean.  It doesn't need a fancy name."  ~Alexandria

Eleanor Estes’s The Hundred Dresses won a Newbery Honor in 1945 and has never been out of print since. At the heart of the story is Wanda Petronski, a Polish girl in a Connecticut school who is ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. Wanda claims she has one hundred dresses at home, but everyone knows she doesn’t and bullies her mercilessly. The class feels terrible when Wanda is pulled out of the school, but by that time it’s too late for apologies. Maddie, one of Wanda’s classmates, ultimately decides that she is “never going to stand by and say nothing again.”

Pure Logic

A teacher commented to her pupils, "Whew!  I dressed rather warmly today and these layers of clothing are too hot."  A first grader looked at her and stoically replied, "Yup, that's why they call that thing you're wearing a sweater!" 

It's Monday.........Smile!

"I'm the Greatest!"

"Thanks in advance for helping young people imagine things, and then go out and build upon their dreams.  We never know just how far that kind of determination shall take them." 

 http://m.collegehumor.com/video/3918921/im-the-greatest-hitter-in-the-world

Sunday Thought

Best Wishes Graham Morris!

When you see Mrs. Morris at Parkside, do congratulate her!

Her son Graham made history on January 25th  by accomplishing a personal
best!  While participating at The Indiana Relays on Friday with fellow runners from The
University of Illinois Track team, he clocked a time of 4:00.47 in the mile. Best wishes
to Graham upon this latest effort; dreams do come true. A senior at the University of Illinois, he
is a 2009 graduate of Lawrenceville High School.  His parents are Rusty and Cyndi Hayes-Morris.

Watch the race on YouTube; Graham is wearing orange & blue: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGbCPKclY6M&feature=player_detailpage

Our Friend, Making a Difference

We appreciate officer Seitzinger who visits school, makes time
to answer questions, and helps keep Parkside safe for everyone. 

One Hundred

Friday marks the 100th day of the school year!

"Mrs. Gray decorated our room for an exciting day,  Did you see it?"   --Ashlynn
"I am bringing a collection to surprise my teacher."  --Coy
"No way one hundred days already?"  --Dawson
"The Hundred Dresses is One of My Favorite Books."  --Mrs. Faith
"I get to see over 100 smiles each morning at the west doors."  --Mrs. Weiss
"My grandmother lived almost 100 years.....amazing."  -- Mike
"I can read 100 words.  Want to hear me?  --Brycen
"Abe Lincoln fought 100 Indians in the war."  --Justice
"We can try and do 100 sit-ups on Friday."  --Tanner
"My grandmother is always giving us 100 hugs and kisses."  --Chase
"There are hundreds of paper chains hanging in our school.  I love them."  --Lisa
"Wow, where does the time go....one hundred days in 2nd Grade."  --Dreak
"We will be doing fun, surprising things all day long."  --Mrs. Hulen.

Elevating Our School Culture

If we want our children to reach for a book, then make good literature available.
Children who do well on an assignment or meet a challenge need to know that you've noticed.
Seeing and recognizing that helpful attitude in a child is worthwhile. 
Showing empathy for others is a learned thing, so model it.

Direct and to the Point

Ask our students to describe our wintry weather and they'll tell you like it is:

     "Oh it's freezing out there."
     "I can't feel my face."
     "Cold, cold, cold."
     "Do we have to go out for recess?"
     "Numb, my body is numb!"
     "Tell Mr. Baum to turn up the furnace."
     "Ahh, I lost my glove!"
     "Had to wear long underwear today...."
     "The temperature feels like the North Pole."
     "Water in my dog's bowl is an ice cube."

Guest Artist at Parkside

Mr. Ben Brashear, a 1998 Lawrenceville High School graduate, played the guitar and sang to music classes at Parkside Elementary School last Friday, January 18th.  Brashear lives in Indianapolis and opens for bands there, in addition to song writing.  He was in Mrs. Robin LeGrand’s class as a pupil and has been back to visit her several times, teaching youngsters about music and the guitar. His grandmother, the late Mary Umfleet taught
him to play and he's continued doing so for over 25 years.  Brashear said his step-grandmother, Mary Brashear, also influenced his life greatly.

Shhhhhhh!

Upon leaving the room, the teacher remarked, "We're going into the hallway; no talking please."  Upon hearing this one Kindergartener responded "What, they don't want to hear our beautiful voices?" 

What a Class Act!

"We mentioned to the coach of the Parkside fifth grade basketball team that our PreK Fun Night coming up on Monday January 28th would be taking place in the gym, and the players wouldn't be able to practice as usual.  He was so gracious about dealing with the conflict between the two events.  What a class act!  We appreciate his understanding; dealing with parents,volunteers, and busy families is the norm at Parkside Elementary." 

First Daughters Over the Past Four Years

Dad is president!  Sasha during his first term:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2013/01/10/natpkg-sasha-obama-in-four-years-timelapse.cnn

Malia during her father's first term in the Oval Office:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2013/01/10/natpkg-malia-obama-in-four-years-timelapse.cnn

Sunday Thought

The Constitution mandates that the President takes the oath of office on January 20th. Since that fell on a Sunday, the public inauguration takes place tomorrow, January 21, 2013. 

Watch the Obama family together at the moment:  

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2013/01/20/obama-oath.cnn

President Obama took the oath, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts, in the Blue Room of the White House, using a bible that belonged to First Lady Michelle Obama’s paternal grandparents.

Vice President Biden was sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor in front of family and friends in a ceremony at the Naval Observatory. Vice President Biden took the oath using the Biden family bible. 

The King Center, Since 1968

The King Center

 http://www.thekingcenter.org/

About Mrs. King   http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-mrs-king

About Dr. King    http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-dr-king

"She's Always Smiling!"

While working with a fifth grader Friday the child offered these words:  "I wish I could go back
to 4th grade and have Mrs. Atteberry be my teacher." To my knowledge this youngster has had
very little interaction with her so I questioned him about knowing her and what impression
she'd made on him.   "Why? You don't really know her, do you?" He responded, "No, but she just always looks happy. She's ALWAYS smiling!" What did I learn from this conversation? Never underestimate your ability to influence the life of a child who's NOT in your classroom! I'm proud to be part of a great team of teachers at Parkside Elementary! Have a good weekend all.

Dance, Dance, Dance!

What do you get when you have a school-wide P.B.I.S. celebration?

"Whew, I got so hot in the gym following the steps.  But it was fun!"  ~Jade
"Cool music and balloons everywhere."  ~Grayson
"I needed that bottle of water after all the moving around."  ~Henry
"When are we going to do this again?"  ~Lexi
"I wore something special for today.  How do I look?"  ~Cindel
"We had lots of helpers teaching us the steps."  ~Rachel
"Just one surprise after another."  ~Dawson

Sunday Thought

Congratulations to these Parkside 5th Graders!   
They have earned a first place finish

in a basketball tournament last week.
Best wishes to our players, coaches, and families.

Think About "Failure"

Just a Room

The teacher IS the most important thing in the room. 
You can follow Melinda Gates on Twitter and Facebook

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melinda-gates/without-teachers-the-clas_b_2442284.html

MLK on National Geographic Kids

Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. at National Geographic Kids:  

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/photos/gallery/martin-luther-king-jr/#/10-martin-king-010909_14104_600x450.jpg

Dr. King's Life in Pictures

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/photos/article/Dr-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-His-life-in-pictures-956071.php#photo-516648

MLK

Learning about Dr. Martin Luther King yields thoughtful conversations.

"It was unfair to have blacks
have to give up seats on a bus or ride in the back."  ~Joseph

"In his day there were two kinds of schools. 
The ones for white kids were clean, had better books, and were nicer. 
African American kids were not as lucky.  That was really wrong."  ~Matthew

"He was a minister but traveled around, making speeches.
 Lots of people both black and white agreed with Martin Luther King.  ~Abigail

"His children lost a dad when he was shot."  ~Cody

"Why would someone kill him?  That's not right.  ~Xavier

"Some white people agreed with him and some did not.  It's the same today."  ~Diego



Happy Birthday Elvis

We all know whose birthday it was on Tuesday January 8th.  Imagine my excitement when the word 'shook' was on the 2nd grade spelling list. Naturally, I had to sing an example; it went something like this:  "I'm all shook up, hmm yea yea, I'm all shook up." The kids just looked at me......nobody got it!  

 

True Story

With January temperatures dipping below 30 degrees, it seemed appropriate to have the vehicle warm so that the ride home from school would be comfortable for everyone in the car.  Did we say "everyone?"  That's three:  dad, daughter, and the dog.  Leaving the pooch in the warm car while the engine is running sounds uneventful.  Once at school, you'd simply leave the car just long enough to walk toward the sidewalk, take your child's hand, and return to the car.  Just make sure the dog does not place its paw on the door lock while you're away from the car. 

"Sigh."  It helps however if you have a cell phone in your pocket, someone can bring that second set of keys to the car, and the dog is irresistibly cute.  

Happy, Happy!

Remember all our friends who have birthdays this time of the year,
like Dioji!  He's celebrating today on Sunday January 6th.  Cheers and let's
all remember to smile throughout the week........practice, practice, practice! 

Sunday Thought

 One day a five-year-old asked her big brother "What is love?" 
He smiled and replied, "Love is when you steal chocolate from my
backpack everyday.........but I still put it in the same exact spot." 

Here's hoping you have a sweet week. 

Back in School

How was your break?

"Great!  It's cold out but I love the snow."  ~Josh
"Wonderful!"  ~Madison
"Guess what?  Santa got me a bow-and-arrow because I'm responsible."  ~Gregory
"Good; now it's a new year!"  ~Emily
"It was quiet because we were snowed in.  I am glad we're here."  ~Emily
"It was very noisy with lots of family at my house."  ~Jerry
"Nice but when are we going to have our reading group?"  ~Christopher
"Good because guess why?  I have a new baby brother!"  ~Matthew
"Kind of different because Santa brought me lots of clothes."  ~Haley
"I had fun.  By the way did you notice anything different?  Like my new hair?"  ~Justice
"Busy!"  ~Sydney
"Too long; I am happy to be back."  ~Ryan
"Neat because we got new books from Santa."  ~Paige
"Full of fun!"  ~Roman
"So good; thanks for asking."  ~Tessa
"Nice because Christmas was special."  ~Katelyn

Let's Have Fun!

"Isn't this great, a masterpiece! We love to create and
have fun, both inside and out."   ~Proud Staff Member

Here's our chance to play.....play.....play:  http://www.howdoyouplay.net/

Tuesday January First

Spirit, wonder, beauty, companionship, trust and a true sense of accomplishment.
May 2013 hold an abundance of these things for you and yours!

We all head back to class soon.

What did break look like?

 The Museum of Science and Industry was decked out.

 Our very own L.H.S. Cheerleaders went caroling.

 Icy but friendly visitors, we enjoyed. 

A healthy share of snow......

.....that kept coming!

"Serious Lego building, yes indeed."  

A trip or two to L.H.S. for sledding on "The Hill."

The end of 2012 with the start of a brand new year.

Getting in some hockey game "merriment."

And sharing wonderful times with those that we love.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/31/new-years-2013-world-celebrations_n_2389941.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Of course, celebrations around the world ushered in January 1, 2013.