The Bobcat News
Bobcat News
Two Rock Union School--February 2010
Mike Simpson , Superintendent/Principal 707-762-6617
Principal’s Message
F ebruary 2 marks the 100 th day of school in the 2009-2010 school year. We are just past the mid-year point and getting closer to spring. In this issue of the Bobcat News, I direct your attention to the important information regarding events and activities which will occur in the next few months. Among the most immediate items of interest to parents are Kindergarten registration, Parent Conferences (March 24 - 26), and the TRSEF Spring Fling and Carnival on Saturday, April 17 from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (information on Spring Fling appears below.) Before we know it, we will be making plans for summer and the next school year!
In last month’s Bobcat News we discussed the importance of reading both in school and at home. At our monthly awards assemblies (to which parents are always invited) we recognize each class which has met its previous month’s reading goal. Your encouragement of at-home reading is greatly appreciated. Teachers and our school librarian are great sources of information regarding high-interest children’s books for all ages and reading abilities – we’re there for the asking!
As many of you are aware, we are able to offer our students academic elective programs in music, physical education, library, and computer science thanks to the fund raising efforts of the Two Rock School Education Foundation (TRSEF.) In this school year, TRSEF has sponsored the Walk-A-Thon and 5K Run/Walk and the Spaghetti Dinner and Silent/Live Auction. Each event netted several thousand dollars thanks to the diligence and hard work of our parents and Coast Guard volunteers.
At the last meeting of the TRESF Board, we discussed the continued funding of the music program for this year and the addition of an in-class art program to be presented by a visiting artist. Due to the success of this year’s fund raisers (TRESF has raised over $17,000 so far this school year!!!)TRESF Board members approved additional funds to be used for ten additional days of music classes and two days of in-class art for all classes this school year! A portion of these funds will be combined with the recent one-thousand dollar donation of CPO Class 163 of the Chief’s Academy. Our students continue to reap the benefits of solid elective programs thanks to the generosity and commitment of our parent and Coast Guard community.
The next major TRSEF-sponsored event will be the Spring Fling Chicken BBQ and Carnival on Saturday, April 17 from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m at our school. This will be a day for the entire family and community. We are planning to have class-sponsored game booths, an inflatable basketball game, Pitchburst (a modern and safer version of the dunk tank), a whiffle ball game, music, and many other games and carnival-like activities. The Chicken BBQ will be featured again this year. Lots of food, lots of fun, and everyone’s invited! An organizational planning meeting for Spring Fling will be on Thursday, March 4 at 3:15 in the staff room at Two Rock School. We’ll need plenty of help with this fundraiser so please plan to attend.
Help for Haiti
During the week following the earthquake in Haiti, the students in Ms. Scott’s and Mrs. Brechbill’s classes organized an effort to collect money for the earthquake victims. The entire school participated. In all, the school collected $462.76, which has been sent to relief agencies in Haiti – another example of how the collective efforts of our school can make a difference.
The Big Read
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. It is designed to bring together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. The Big Read Sonoma County will take place in April 2010, and the partners include KRCB Public Radio and Television, the Sonoma County Library, Cinnabar Theater, Sonoma County Regional Parks, Santa Rosa Junior College, and the Arts Council of Sonoma County. Inspired by the many adventures of Tom Sawyer and friends, Sonoma County regional parks will present river events, campfires, and other activities related to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer during its month-long Annual Parks Celebration in April. Two Rock School will participate through readings of Tom Sawyer in the classrooms and library. Please contact me or Mrs. Jeffries, our school librarian, if you’d like to included in the activities or readings.
Kindergarten Registration
Please note that registration for next year’s Kindergarten program has started, and is ongoing. If you are a parent of a soon-to-be Kindergartener or know of a parent with a child who will be in Kindergarten next year, please telephone our office at 762-6617 for registration information. Our office staff members will be able to answer questions and provide the necessary registration paperwork.
Each spring every new Kindergarten student meets and visits with some of our staff members as part of the Kindergarten screening process. These sessions provide us with important information regarding student’s readiness for Kindergarten. Please contact our office now to set up an appointment for your child.
Spelling Bee
On Thursday, January 27, 2010, we held our spelling bee for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. This spelling bee is held each year to determine who will represent Two Rock at the South County Regional Spelling Bee competition on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. at Corona Creek School in Petaluma. The spelling was organized by Mrs. Lisa Jeffries, our school librarian.
Five students from each of the classes participated in the spelling bee. Those students were:
4 th grade: Hunter Anderson, Kendra Anderson, Tyler Bludworth, Kelsey Martin, Ben McCaskey, Estrella Rojas, and Annika Schmid
5th grade: Maria Perez, Moises Perez, and Ashley Weir
6 th grade: Jared Anacleto, Kelly D’Ambrogia, Erin Martin, Natalia Silva, and Albert Wells,
When the competition was over, Kelly D’Ambrogia and Erin Martin were the top spellers and Natalia Silva and Kendra Anderson were the first and second alternates. We congratulate all the participants for their great preparation and effort and extend our best wishes to Kelly and Erin in the next round of competition!
Parent Conferences
Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled for the afternoons of Wednesday, March 24 thru Friday, March 26, 2010. These are minimum days for students with dismissal at noon on those three days for grades first thru fifth. Our kindergarten classes will be dismissed at noon the whole week of March 22 nd. Sixth grade will be at Outdoor Ed during that week and their conferences will be held by request or on an as- needed basis. We will be offering after-school daycare for families on an hourly basis.
The conference will be an opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, address any concerns, and answer questions. Second trimester Report Cards will be reviewed at the conference.
If your child is meeting or exceeding standards and you do not feel a conference is necessary, it is not necessary to schedule one. Needless to say, if you wish to discuss your child’s progress we will schedule a time to meet.
Information will go home with students on February 26. Please return requests for conferences by Wednesday, March 3.
ELAC News
The next ELAC meeting will be on Friday, February 12 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 13. Mrs. Beddow and Mrs. Jeffries will be sharing information about reading and access to library books. We hope to see you there.
Word of the Week
We continue to challenge our students with the “Word of the Week.” The words are chosen from the Academic Word List consisting of 570 word families which occur frequently over a wide range of academic texts. The words featured in the past few weeks include: locate, correspond, institute, function, and reasonable. We welcome your suggestions for new words as we strive to emphasize one or more related word forms while improving student’s vocabulary.
Sports Corner
Our 4 th -6 th grade students are currently participating in the third sports activity of this school year. With very successful softball and flag football seasons behind us, we have begun playing basketball and will be playing against some of the other small schools which include Wilson, Dunham, Cinnabar, Harvest Christian, and Corona Creek. We played Dunham School in our season opener on January 28 and we’ll play Harvest Christian School at Two Rock on our home court on Thursday, February 4 at 3:30 p.m. Our next games will be with Wilson School at Two Rock on Friday, February 12 at 3:30 p.m., Two Rock at Meadow School on Monday, February 22 at 3:30 p.m., and an end-of-season Jamboree at Petaluma Junior High School with all schools on Tuesday, February 23 from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. We love to see parents and fans at our games so come on out and help cheer-on the Two Rock Bobcats!
Future interscholastic sports for this year will include Volleyball in March and Soccer in April and May. Volunteer coaches, timers, and referees are always welcome – please call Mike Simpson if interested. Go Bobcats!
Bicycle Safety
Many of our students ride their bikes to school when the weather permits. Bike riding is wonderful exercise, is faster than walking, and is fun. Here are a few guidelines adapted from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National SAFE KIDS Campaign:
- Adjust your bicycle for your height. You can easily lose control of a bike that is too big for you. Your feet should touch the ground when you are sitting on the seat.
- Check the brakes. Make sure you can stop quickly if you need to. Stopping in wet weather requires greater distance.
- Wear visible clothing. Light, bright colors make you easier to see.
- Go with the flow - stay on the right. Kids under 10 should not ride in the street. Older kids must stay on the right, ride in a straight line and ride single file, not side by side, if they are with another cyclist.
- Take advantage of special routes for cyclists (like the Coast Guard bike path!) Whenever possible, use marked bike lanes and off-road bike paths.
- Learn the rules of the road. Bicyclists must obey the same laws as motorists. Stop at red lights and stop signs. Use appropriate hand signals.
- Stop and look before entering a roadway. Make sure you look left, right, and then left for a second time before leaving your sidewalk or driveway.
- Wear a sturdy, well-adjusted helmet. You should not be able to move your helmet more than an inch when you push it from the front. Fit it to your head by using the sponge pads that come with your helmet.
Parking Lot Safety
The safety of our students is our highest priority at Two Rock School and we do everything possible to ensure that all students feel safe and secure in order to reach their maximum learning capacity. I need to focus attention on concerns regarding afternoon dismissal and the lower parking lot because there are times when the safety of students, parents, and staff is being compromised.
The following rules and guidelines are in effect:
- Students will remain in the waiting area and may not walk unattended to waiting cars
- The crossing guard will control the flow of traffic and usher people across the crosswalk
- Drivers are asked to park in the parking lot if they have to come into school to pick up their children
We’ll all do our part in keeping our kids safe. Many thanks!
