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Peter Pan!
Cheetah Chatter Published by Meridian Park School & Meridian Park PTSA
Issue Seven, 2011–2012 April 11, 2012
Peter Pan! 1
Principal’s Message 2
MP PTSA News 6
Resources for Families 8
April 12 Staff appreciation from PTSA! April 13 The Lorax Assembly, 9:30am April 18 Shoreline PTA Golden Acorn Night April 23–27 No School—Spring Break April 24–27 Spring Break Robotics Club May 7 Kindergarten Tours May 1–17 MSP testing at MP May 12 Embrace Shoreline May 17 Volunteer Appreciation Tea May 22 MP Arts Festival, 6:00pm
In This IssueIn This IssueIn This IssueIn This Issue
Upcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming Events
Visit our Web sites for complete and up-to-date calendar information:
www.meridianparkptsa.org
schools.shorelineschools.org/
meridianpark/
Follow the MP PTSA
on Facebook
Five Shoreline students received honors ranging from Awards of Excellence (2nd place) to Awards of Merit (3rd place) in the state level of Reflections judging that took place in February. Our own Christopher Combs who is currently a third grader in Mr. Lockwood’s class received an Award of Merit for his photograph depicting a fruit stand at Pike Place Market with an on looking vendor. Congratulations Christopher!
MP Student Receives Honor at WA State Reflections Ceremony
In March, Meridian Park students performed in the Drama Club performance of Peter Pan.
Meridian Park News
Page 2 Cheetah Chatter
Principal’s Letter
March and early April have been busy for students and staff at Meridian Park! First, we had some exciting school events that were well attended and fun for all involved. They included the following:
• The fabulous Peter Pan performance that involved 48 of our intermediate students! What an incredible show! See the photos on the pages of this newsletter.
• The fantastic 5th grade band concert! It was a great first performance for our new band and orchestra students. We can’t wait for the June concert with 6th graders as it will be even better!
• Camp Orkila for 6th graders! The campers have finally returned back to campus from their four-day adventure on Orcas Island. They have a renewed sense of energy and enthusiasm for their last trimester together as Meridian Park students.
• Numerous field trips including science-focused experiences as well as a 4th grade trip to Olympia. They were amazing opportunities for our students!
As we begin to plan for next year, we will have some changes to programs that are important for you to know about. The Developmental Kindergarten (DK) Program will no longer remain at Meridian Park School in the coming school year. While this feels like a huge loss for our inclusion Kindergarten program and for our school community, it will be a great gain for all of the students within that program. These students will
now attend their assigned school as Kindergarteners and will no longer have to make another transition for their first grade year. Having DK here at Meridian Park for many, many years has been a wonderful gift for us and we will miss these students and staff dearly. As we jump ahead to the end of the school year, April and May bring more field trips, our MP Arts Festival, a 5th and 6th grade band and orchestra concert, more in-depth projects at the classroom level and lots of other activities as we plan for next year (Kindergarten tours, Highly Capable Program tours and more!). We will begin the process of staffing our school for next year soon and we will also start looking at student classroom placements. Be on the lookout for student placement “parent input” cards coming soon from our office. We welcome your input as we place students for next year. Lastly, please remember that our students in grades 3–6 are gearing up for the state testing (the MSP!) in early May. Please ensure that your child does not miss school during those important testing dates. Please refer to the detailed calendar of testing dates. We appreciate your support of your child’s education. Have a wonderful April break and we will see you when you return. Happy spring to all of you!
~Amy Jessee, Principal [email protected]
Dear Meridian Park Families,
Shoreline School District #412 does not discriminate against any protected classes. For further information on notice of non-discrimination, including the address and phone number of the Title IX officer, visit: www.shorelineschools.org/info/title_ix.php.
Important Information for Grade 3–6 Meridian Park Families As you know, all of our students are working hard to master core skills in the area of reading, writing and mathematical thinking. Soon, students in grades 3–6 will take the Measure of Student Progress (MSP), formerly known as the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) to check their progress. All 3–6 grade students will take reading and mathematics tests, 4th graders will also take writing tests and 5th graders will take a science test. The testing window for elementary schools in our school district begins on May 2 and ends on May 17. All elementary schools in Shoreline are doing at least two tests online—the 6th grade mathematics and the 5th grade science tests. We are working hard to train our teachers on this new system and will also give our students lots of preparation time to practice this before the actual test dates. Please help us out by planning necessary appointments outside the testing days / times so students do not have to make up sections of the test. Making up tests is stressful for everybody and we typically have over 100 students testing on one day. Scheduling make-up test times is challenging and hard work for everyone involved. We thank you in advance for helping us to avoid as many make-ups as we can. If you have more questions about the MSP, there is a great deal of helpful information at The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI): www.k12.wa.us/assessment/StateTesting/MSP. At Meridian Park, we appreciate all you do to help your child and our school. Thank you!
Here Comes the MSP!
At Meridian Park, we plan to test students on the following schedule: May 2: Grade 4, Math; Grade 5, Reading May 3: Grade 4, Writing I May 4: Grade 5, Math; Grade 6, Reading May 8: Grade 3, Math; Grade 6, Math (online) May 9: Grade 4, Writing II May 10: Grade 3–4, Reading
Page 3 Issue Seven, 2011–2012
Meridian Park News
In Mrs. Loes’ classroom, where we are using the Roots of Empathy curriculum, I am regularly reminded of how helpful it is to think about children’s temperamental traits: the inborn qualities with which we all enter the world. (Reminder: Roots of Empathy is the program that includes monthly visits to a classroom from a baby and his or her parent.) Last month, I shared details about the temperament traits of Activity Level and Rhythmicity. This month, I'm summarizing Distractibility, Intensity, and Sensitivity. DISTRACTIBILITY: Imagine a baby playing with small items that could be a choking danger. Seeing this, her parent removes the items and replaces them with a squishy toy. The baby who has a high level of Distractibility will be easily redirected to the safer object. A baby who is lower on the continuum of Distractibility, however, may fuss, or cry, or even tantrum when the first item is removed. In school-age children, those who are highly distractible may find homework more challenging because the world around them provides so many distractions. A different child might stay focused on completing a complex project despite many distractions. As with any temperament trait, being highly distractible doesn't mean a student has an excuse for not completing homework. It does suggest that empathy might be needed and that they might need extra help finding the least-distracting environment possible.
INTENSITY: The baby above, the one who had a tantrum when one item was exchanged for another? The length and loudness of that tantrum is likely and indicator of the baby's intensity; the degree of energy with which a person responds to either positive or negative situations. In older people, the high intensity person perceives things as either great or horrible, there is little middle ground. On the other hand, someone very low in intensity is more subtle in their responses and may be incorrectly seen as unenthusiastic. SENSITIVITY: Babies with a high level of sensitivity are keenly aware of their surroundings, reaction to changes in noise level, temperature, texture and handling. They become the elementary school students who complain that their socks are too tight ant their shirt label itches. Or maybe they notice the emotions on people's faces and react to perceptions of approval or disapproval. Their less-sensitive peers will sleep through loud noises, and won't be bothered by changes in light, noise or sensations. By school time, they might get a scrape during recess and not really notice it, and won't notice when the emotions on people's faces. All temperament traits have elements that can be perceived as positive and helpful or negative and troublesome. In addition there is lots of middle ground between the “high” and “low” of any temperament trait.
~Annie Gage, MP Family Advocate [email protected], 206-393-1768
Friendship, Families and Feelings
The Shoreline Children’s Center and Extended Day Program offers a high quality and cost-effective summer recreational program for children 2-1/2 years old through 6th grade. The program begins right after the end of the school year and continues until several days before the start of the new school year, running from 6:30am–6:30pm each day. Registration packets can be picked up at the Children’s Center, 1900 N. 170th St. For further information contact the Shoreline Children’s Center at 206-393-4256.
Register Now for the Children's Center Summer Program
Help our students prepare for the MSP. This will be crunch time for MSP testing preparation and testing time for our usual student lunch helpers, so we're recruiting parents to help out during the K–2 lunches those weeks. If you are interested in helping out from 11:15–11:45am during these weeks, please let Annie Gage know at [email protected]. This is a fun thing to do with a couple of friends. Thanks!
Want to Help Serve Lunch at MP?
Meridian Park’s back yard construction is finally coming to completion. The best news is that our buses now
leave out the back entrance and turn on 170th!
Page 4
Meridian Park News
Cheetah Chatter
Meridian Park Arts FestivalMeridian Park Arts FestivalMeridian Park Arts FestivalMeridian Park Arts Festival Tuesday, May 22, 2012Tuesday, May 22, 2012Tuesday, May 22, 2012Tuesday, May 22, 2012
6:006:006:006:00––––8:00pm8:00pm8:00pm8:00pm 6:00–6:30pm: Poetry reading and chamber music in the Library 6:45–7:30pm: grades 2–5 Vocal Concert in the Gym All evening: Student Artwork displayed throughout the building Please plan to attend this wonderful event with your family! All 2–5 grade students need to attend, and as spring calendars fill up fast, please enter this on your family calendar today. This is our grand championship arts “game” so to speak—the only one! We need every student to be there as we are so eager to share our beautiful music with you, our honored guests! Most coaches are great about working with their players so the kids can be at the concert, so make necessary arrangements early; we all know that parents can move mountains in order to attend! You won’t want to miss it!
Meridian Park Arts Festival
Do you have gently-used toys, games, or books taking up space at your house? If so, we have many uses for them here at Meridian Park! Please contact Annie Gage at 206-393-1768 or [email protected] before bringing them in , just to make sure we don't end up with more than we can use. Thank You!
Are You Doing Some Spring Cleaning?
A big thank you to the anonymous donor who generously gave hundreds of dollars worth of Costco gift cards to be used for Meridian Park families in need. Many families have directly benefitted from your generosity, and would like to express gratitude for the extra help this provided them in a time of need. Thank you. Thanks also go to The Seattle Foundation who gave MP a generous donation of $2,000 from the Robert & Genevieve Watson Fund to support classroom supplies. And thank you to the Boeing Employees Credit Union who awarded MP with $2,500 to help with a variety of technology needs!
Thank You to Our Donors Off to Camp!
MP 6th graders took that grade’s annual trek to camp early in April.
Page 5 Issue Seven, 2011–2012
Meridian Park News
Great things are happening in general music! In April, Kindergarten students are linking musical concepts to stories. First grade students are further exploring rhythm in our spoken language. Sixth grade students are creating their own songs and learning some new music for their moving-up program. Additionally, students in grades 2–5 are learning farm songs for the Arts Festival concert to celebrate this International Year of Cooperatives and the National Year of the Farmer Co-op. Farm Co-ops help family farmers in financing and owning farms, growing, selling, and exporting crops. Don’t forget: Meridian Park Arts Festival Tuesday, May 22, 2012 from 6–8pm (see page 4 for details).
Notes from the Music Room a message from Shari Anderson, Music Teacher
I would like to send a big thank you to everyone who visited the Spring 2012 Scholastic Book Fair. We took in almost $9,000, of which approximately $3,000 in books and profit will be used to obtain books for all Meridian Park students and support literacy initiatives, such as the Young Readers’ Choice and Sasquatch book award programs, and authors-in-residence such as our upcoming visit with Matt Holm, co-creator of the Babymouse and Squish graphic novel series, on Thursday, May 17. I would especially like to thank, with all my heart, the volunteers who helped to make the fair the success that it was: THANK YOU! After spring break, please look for information in your students’ Boomerangs, as well as on our school Web site, about the Poetry Reading component of the MP Arts Festival, which is scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, May 22. I would love to have students from all grades participate. It is one of the highlights of the year for me.
Happy Reading!
Library Notes a message from Jenny Hillger, Library Media Specialist
Congratulations again to all the dance participants at Family Fitness Night. Ms. Willoughby is so proud of all the hard work you put into your two performances. The amazing MP J.U.M.P. Circus Arts team did an amazing job also. Thank you to Mark Yamane and Marina Edney for being captains of the team. Bravo! Volleyball Advanced Volleyball for 6th graders is before school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Soon, 6th graders will be playing the staff soon in their annual bout—watch for more information about this fun filled game. What’s Happening in PE? Volleyball, parachute games, fitness testing, tag games and more. We have had PE in the gym all year long, and Ms. W is looking forward to taking classes outside to the new fields. On June 1, Field Day will be include the new Baseball Field! Volunteers Thank all of the parents who have volunteered in Circus Arts and other PE events to make them successful—you are appreciated and amazing. We are now looking for volunteers to help out on Friday June 1 for Field Day. This fun day is an amazing experience for both students and parents. To find out more about getting involved, contact Ms. W at [email protected]. No experience necessary! Kindergarten–3rd grade will have their events in the morning, and 4th–6th grade will be in the afternoon.
The Cheetah Gym a message from Pamela Willoughby, P.E. Teacher
Page 6
PTSA News
Cheetah Chatter
Happy Spring Meridian Park Families! What an incredible last couple of weeks! I couldn’t be prouder of the Drama Club performances that took place at the Shoreline Center Auditorium. Those 48 actors really showed our community the outstanding professionalism and talent at Meridian Park. Many, many thanks to Melani Lyons, Rob Jones and Symphony Canady of Dandylyon Drama for taking our kids on an adventure in theater. It was a thrill to join Peter Pan, Wendy, John & Michael as they flew out of the nursery into Neverland where we imagined what it was like to play with Mermaids, Pirates, Indians and Lost Boys. A truly magical experience! I think we can call April the “breather” month especially after an event-filled March. While you all prep for Spring Break and get some much-needed rest the PTSA will be thinking about some final events of the year. The MP PTSA Mariner Night is scheduled for May 4! This is a great opportunity to come out to the ballpark, eat some cotton candy, cheer for our home team while supporting the PTSA. It’s a
great night with MP friends and with a little luck the weather will surprise us. Keep your eyes out for more information in the boomerang. Coming up this summer, the PTSA will host a classic car show in the MP Parking Lot. Do not miss this amazing event on August 5 from 10:00m–3:00pm. Rumor has it there will be a film crew capturing “footage” for the Vintage Vehicle Show. Be part of the action! We need lots of volunteers to make this show a success. Watch for sign up lists or contact our awesome chair, Martin DeGrazia at [email protected]. There will be lots of cool cars, good food and live music. As always, we appreciate you support as we keep to our mission of providing enriching, learning experiences for our kids. Have a wonderful Spring Break and we’ll see you in May!
~Kathy Henderson MP PTSA President. 2010–2012
MP PTSA President’s Message
The first Tuesday of each month, YOUR Meridian Park PTSA assembles to discuss ways to assist teachers in their classrooms with volunteers or programs to help supplement the student learning experience. We welcome any and all Meridian Park parents to become active PTSA members and to join us and share your ideas.
Monthly Meetings
Get your order in for the 2011–2012 MP Yearbook. Grab the order form from your Boomerang or download one from the MP PTSA Web site: www.meridianparkptsa.org. Books are $17, and need to be ordered by April 20.
Yearbook Club
MP PTSA Mariners Game on Friday, May 4, 2012! Look for the ticket order forms in Boomerang Folders or pick up one in the lobby. Cost of the tickets are $14.00 per person.
MP Baseball Outing
This year's Seafair Shoreline Classic Car Show will be held Sunday August 5, 2012 from 10:00am–3:00pm at Meridian Park Elementary. This wonderful community event benefits our school, will feature live music, and will be filmed for televising on The Vintage Vehicle Show. We may even get to see some vintage fire trucks from the Last Resort Fire Department. We would love to have some adult volunteers the day of show at the registration booth. And if you're someone who attends auto shows around the area, please contact Martin DeGrazia to get some flyers to take with you.
This is a great opportunities for local businesses as well—sign up today to be a sponsor. Contact Martin for more information at [email protected].
Our 7 weeks at loom and knit club produced amazing knit hats for the 7 kids that joined us every Monday. A good time was had by all as we learned a new skill and they got to know fellow students better.
Knitting Club
The WORKS is collecting items for "Prom Shop." They are looking for dresses, pants, shirts and accessories for the teens. Donate on Wednesdays from 6:00–8:00pm at The WORKS portable or contact Lisa at 206-369-5548 to figure out a different time. Thank you!
Donate Your Prom Outfits
Seafair Shoreline Classic Car Show
Page 7 Issue Seven, 2011–2012
PTSA News
Grant Hugh, Julie Zhou, Spencer Lu and James Qiu represented Meridian Park at the MATHCOUNTS state competition on March 24rd at the Microsoft campus. Our team 12th in the team event. Grant placed 21st in the individual components of the contest and made the top 25% list. All our mathletes have two more years of eligibility left to compete in MATHCOUNTS. We expect to see more of them in the top 25% list in the next two years, an expectation that they can meet if they continue to enjoy practicing competition math as much as they have so far.
Meridian Park was represented at the Shoreline Math Olympiad by Logan Gnanapragasam, Brandon Mochizuki, Emmie Wang, Jonathan Zhou, Fred Liu, Genevieve Trimbell, Imran Majeed, Aditya Nair, Ashley Mochizuki, Karina Jhingan, Soliana Hassen, Franklin Zheng, Samuel Nguyen, Ray Li and Julien Goldstick competing at the fourth grade level; Jamie Forschmiedt, Christopher Lawson, Lucas Kleyn, Emily Nguyen, Lola Wagoner, Maria Babcock, Mark Polyakov, Evelynn Li, Athena Pentcholov, Evan Zverev, Kevin Lee and Romha Bereket at the fifth grade level and by Grant Hugh, Spencer Lu, Julie Zhou, James Qiu, Ardelle Ning, Michelle Wang, Aenea Towns-von Stauber, Raleigh Thissen, Mahad Adams, Bella Goodell and Sarah Jhingan at the sixth grade level. The team of Fred, Genevieve, Imran and Aditya won first place at the fouth grade level. Two teams, one consisting of Logan, Brandon, Jonathan and Ashley and the other of Emmie, Soliana, Franklin and Samuel, won second place. In the individual contest Logan, Brandon, Emmie, Jonathan, Fred, Genevieve and Imran placed first; Aditya and Ashley placed second; Karina and Soliana placed third; Franklin and Samuel placed fourth and Ray placed sixth. The team of Christopher, Lucas, Maria and Athena won first place at the fifth grade level. Two teams, one consisting of Jamie, Emily, Lola and Evelynn and the other of Mark, Evan, Kevin and Romha, won third place. In the individual contest Jamie placed first; Christopher, Lucas and Emily placed second; Lola, Maria and Mark placed third, Evelynn placed fifth with Athena and Evan in seventh place. Two teams, one consisting of Grant, Spencer, James and Mahad and the other of Julie, James, Ardelle, Michelle, and Bella, won first place at the sixth grade level. In the individual contest Grant, Spencer, Julie, and James placed first; Ardelle and Michelle placed second; Aenea placed third; Raleigh placed fourth and Mahad placed seventh. Thanks to all those who volunteered to proctor, score, chaperon, set up, clean up, monitor the walkways around the contest rooms, staff the concessions stands and also those who stepped in to help when the need arose. Thanks especially to all the parents who answered my call to be there on time.
Shoreline Math Olympiad
MATHCOUNTS State Contest
News from the Meridian Park Math Club
Grant Hugh, Spencer Lu, Julie Zhou, Ardelle Ning, James Qiu, Michelle Wang, Nathaniel Poole, Anna Tinoco, Bella Goodell, Raleigh Thissen, and Aenea Towns-von Stauber competed in the sixth grade Math is Cool Championship on February 3rd at Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines. Meridian Park earned third place behind Odle and Samantha Smith, their best finish in three years. Grant won the 5th place trophy in the individual portion of the contest. Meridian Park was third and has accepted the invitation to the 6th grade Elite Masters in Moses Lake on May 19th 2012. Grant, Spencer, Julie, and Ardelle will be representing Meridian Park at the Masters. Seven of the teams that were invited to the Elite division were from Seattle; the other is Lincoln MS, the 6th placed team in the overall list. The Meridian Park team knows what it will be up against at the Masters and is practicing diligently.
6th Grade Math Team Qualifies for Elite Division in Math is Cool
Page 8
Resources for Families
Cheetah Chatter
The Cheetah Chatter is Published Monthly by
Meridian Park School and the Meridian Park PTSA
17077 Meridian Avenue N :: Shoreline, WA 98133 :: 206-361-4251
Meridian Park Elementary
schools.shorelineschools.org/ meridianpark/
Amy Jessee, Principal
email: [email protected]
Hillery Clark, Early Childhood
Program Manager
Roxanne Brendible, Office Manager
Jill Gwazdauskas, Registrar
Janet Boyett, School Nurse
Annie Gage, Family Advocate
2011–12 MP PTSA Executive Committee
www.MeridianParkPTSA.org Kathy Henderson, President
email: [email protected]
Rachel Ariss, VP Program
Reneé Smith, VP Events
Open, VP Fundraising
Janina Pacunski, Secretary
Brian Heagler & Tracey Poole, Co-Treasurers
Adrienne Thompson, Legislative Chair
Mary Crandell, Cheetah Chatter Editor
Providing clothing support to Shoreline School District Families.
North City Portables
west end of North City Elementary 816 NE 190th Street, Shoreline Wednesdays 6:30–8:00pm
206-393-4916
The WORKS is a Shoreline PTA Council Family Resource
information on these resources is offered as a service to families—these are not always MP or MP PTSA events or workshops
Dandylyon Drama presents: ORPHANS: A Musical Revue During camp each student will have the opportunity to choose a monologue and song from Annie, Oliver, or Newsies and receive personal drama directing and voice lessons. We will weave them together into a delightful final presentation on Friday, April 27 at 7:00pm. Registration is limited. Instructors: Director Melani Lyons & Musical Director Rob Jones. Registration information: [email protected]. Grades 6–9; Monday 4/23–Friday 4/27; 10:00am–3:00pm; Tuition $200
Spring Break Drama Camp
Who: 5th & 6th grades only Date: Saturday, April 14, 2012 Location: Richmond Highlands Recreation Center, 16544 Fremont Avenue N
More info: 206-801-2600 or www.facebook.com/ShorelineTeenProgram
Spring Break Tween Night
The Northwest Boychoir will hold open auditions for new members on Saturday, June 2, 2012 for fall enrollment at its offices at the University Heights Community Center. Auditions are about 15 minutes long and are private and low-key. For more information regarding auditions or the Northwest Boychoir, call 206-524-3234 or visit www.nwchoirs.org.
NW Boychoir Open Auditions
Seattle Girls' Choir is where girls ages 6–18 come to gain serious music skills, while having serious fun. The lessons learned from making great music in a group flow into the rest of life: teamwork, discipline and confidence help our girls accomplish anything they set their minds to. Summer Music Day Camp will have session the week of July 19 and July 23. Visit the camp page of their Web site for more information: www.seattlegirlschoir.org.
Serious Singing…Serious Fun! Save the Dates: Sunday, April 15: 1:00–3:00pm Work Party at Meridian Park. Meet at the front of the School. Saturday, May 12: 9:00am–12:00pm Annual Embrace Meridian Park Work Party Water and treats will be served. The Rock School Band will play at 12:00pm. Contact Gretchen at 206-364-2821 for additional information. Sunday, June 2: 9:00am–4:00pm 2nd Annual All Neighborhood Garage Sale Wednesday, July 18: 5:00–7:00pm Annual Neighborhood Book Sale and Concert at Cromwell Park
MP Neighborhood Association
Who: Ages 5–12 years Date: April 25–27, 2012, 9:00am–1:00pm Location: Shorecrest High School Gym, 15343 25th Ave NE More info: [email protected] All levels welcome, snacks provided, arts & crafts time included, appropriate music used, taught by Dance Team members, parent performance on Friday.
Kids Dance Camp
