Cougar News 4.30.10

Bi-Monthly Newsletter

April 30, 2010

Teacher Appreciation Week From May 3–7, all the Quarry

Lane campuses will celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. The following de-

scribes the events for the upper school. On Monday, please bring some flowers to the office and we’ll create arrangements for each teacher. On Tuesday, bring a pen, pencil or stationery for your teachers…you know how they LOVE office supplies! On Wednesday, Quarry Lane families will provide a breakfast buffet for the teachers. On Thursday, the teaching staff will be receiving a special gift from the QLSPA. On Friday, QLSPA will be hosting a catered lunch for all the staff. If you have any questions about Teacher Appreciation Week, or would like to volunteer to bring a dish for the breakfast buffet, email Belinda Kershaw at [email protected].

Graduation Our inaugural high

school graduation is quickly approaching! For this momentous occasion, all QLS families are invited to join in the celebration. Graduation will be at 5 p.m. on June 11 at the Dublin campus. A dinner and dancing reception will follow at 7 p.m. at the Canyon View Club in San Ramon. Tickets are $60 for high school students and adults, and $20 for students in middle school and younger.

Washington D.C. Trip Students in grades

7 and 8 will travel to Washington D.C. June 2–8. (Finals will be before the trip.) All parents have received info about this trip via email, and you can contact Mrs. P a z - R u m o r e a t [email protected] if you have any questions. Don’t forget to turn in your deposit ASAP.

AP Testing AP Testing will be May 3–12. All

AP exams (with the exception of Spanish) will be in the upper school library. Students are excused from all classes on any day they take an AP exam.

Pizza Fridays Support our graduating seniors

and have a delicious pizza lunch! The senior class will sell pizza at lunch on Friday’s until the end of the school year (May 7, 14 and 28). Purchase a slice of Costco pizza and a bottle of water for just $5!

Optimist Speech Contest The Quarry Lane community

c o n g r a t u l a t e s e ighth grader Aman Yadav who has recently ad-vanced to the next level of the Opti-

mist International Speech Contest. He now moves on to the state level. Congrats, Aman, and best of luck this weekend!

College Fair It’s never too early to start

thinking about college! Register today for the East Bay College Fair; May 8 at St. Mary’s College. Dozens of local and out-of-state colleges will be represented.

High School Excursions Don’t miss the two exciting

overnight excursions planned for high school students in May! Freshman and Sophomores:

Students in grades 9 and 10 will go on an overnight camping and river rafting trip, May 21–23. This two-

night trip includes transportation, camping, meals and rafting gear for $330. Contact Mr. Harr at [email protected] for more info or to sign up. Juniors and Seniors: Students in

grades 11 and 12 will experience San Francisco like never before! May 21 and 22, enjoy a cultural walking tour, Chinese ban-quet, ghost tour and more for just $175! For additional info, email Mrs. Flynn at [email protected].

Yearbooks The 2009–2010 yearbook, Cata-

mount, WILL sell out so don’t delay. Order yours ASAP for only $60 in the upper or lower school offices.

Teacher Appreciation Week

Graduation

Washington D.C. Trip

Pizza Fridays

AP Testing

Optimist Speech Contest

Inside this issue: Quarry Lane Events By Kelley Foulk, Assistant to the Upper School Director

College Fair

High School Excursions

Yearbooks

Teacher Appreciation

Week May 3 - 7

April 30, 2010


SAT 10 Testing Students survived testing week.

Congratulations! We have great faith in our students and know that

they have done well. Thank you to all of the parents who

provided healthy snacks for the classrooms. Students who were absent or missed any tests this week will be scheduled for make-up tests the week of May 3–7. Student scores will be back to

Quarry Lane within 3–4 weeks of our submission. The scoring re-ports will be sent home as soon as we receive them.

Dublin Campus Book Fair Please visit the Dublin campus

book fair located in Room 5 of the lower school building. The book fair is open May 3–7 from 7:30–9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. and 2:00–4:00 p.m. every day.

imagine1day Project: Abada We are excited to announce that

Quarry Lane has already raised enough money to provide the Grade 1–4 School in Abada, Ethiopia with Active Learning Teacher

Training and a Creative Writing Program! The first graders are

so excited about the positive changes that the imagine1day Pro-

ject is going to bring to the chil-dren in Abada. We are also thrilled to announce

that an anonymous donor has of-fered to match the next $500 that we raise! Starting this week, the next $500 in donations will be doubled. We will continue collecting money through May 18. On behalf of the community in Abada, thank you for your support!

Teacher Appreciation Week Teacher Appreciation Week will

be celebrated May 3–7 . This is a great time for our students to show their appreciation to their t e a c h e r s . O n Wednesday, April 28, a packet from the QLSPA went home with your child explaining the events for the coming week at the lower school and outlining their participation. On Monday, students are asked

to bring 1 flower to the lower school office for their homeroom teacher. On Tuesday, students are asked to bring 1 pad of Post-It notes directly to their home-room teacher. On Wednesday, the QLSPA will provide a small gift to the staff on behalf of all QLS stu-dents and families. On Thursday, the QLSPA will provide a large gift to all staff on behalf of the QLS students and families. On Friday, students will to create a piece of “artwork” for their teachers; this

SAT 10 Testing

Dublin Book Fair

imagine1day Project

Teacher Appreciation Week

Inside this issue:


Week May 3 - 7

Quarry Lane Events By Gabrielle Denton, Lower School Director

may be a letter, drawing or card. Please bring your piece of art to the lower school upper hallway and place in the file folder for your specific teacher.

Cheer Clinic The middle and high school

cheerleaders are offering a Cheer Camp for boys and girls in kinder-

garten through second grade on Friday, May 14 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Come to the upper school gym and learn how to show your school spirit with cheers! We’ll start with warm up exercises for our bodies and voices! There will be snacks and a whole lot of fun for only $5. Please sign up in the lower school office by May 10. Space is limited, so don’t miss out!

Cheer Clinic

and…

in downtown Pleasanton

on Wednesday, May 5

Come see us…

in downtown Livermore

on Saturday, May 1 and

Sunday, May 2


April 30, 2010

Recently, my 10 year old son has taken it upon himself to make his own breakfast. He has gotten really good at mixing waffle or pancake mix on his own and fol-lowing the recipe. Last week, he made breakfast for his brother and sister and set the table for the three of them to eat. His menu con-sisted of pancakes and bowls of Cap-tain Crunch cereal. He insisted on waiting until all three of them were present before he started eating. I am so proud of his independence and success in this new task! By teaching children independence

at an early age you are preparing them to succeed in a world apart from mom and dad. Who wants to be a parent of a 20 year old who brings you his laundry to do or still expects an allowance? I know it’s not always easy on a busy morning to let your three year old put on their own shoes or pick out their own clothes, but how excited and proud is your child when they crack an egg while helping you make cookies or tie their shoes for the first time?!

Start Now Beginning in their toddler years,

kids should be encouraged to make choices about their lives. It could be as simple as picking out a pair of shoes or a sweater, but kids should be

encouraged to develop opinions for themselves. Parents can help to structure the

choices so that all options are satis-factory to them. Too many choices can also be overwhelming, so limit choices to a couple of selections for very young children.

Let Him Experience Consequences As children mature, parents should

help them understand the impact of their choices, and that they must face the consequence of their decisions. Sometimes, you might just have to look the other way if he pairs mis-matched clothing or picks shoes that don't look right. The key is that if a child is safe and comfortable, it is okay.

Avoid Being Over-Controlling Parents should help to nurture

creative thoughts and guide good decision making—not be a dictator. Give your kids room to think for them-selves. Avoid making up for bad deci-sions you made or regrets you've experienced through your kids. If your child absolutely hates taking dance and every week is a battle, perhaps ballet lessons are not the answer. Your kids have opinions and ideas. Let them experience them for themselves under your guidance.

Avoid "Buying" Good Deeds Most parents treat their kids to

occasional rewards for good actions or smart decisions. But, be careful about going overboard, so that kids are not motivated to make good deci-sions without a treat at the end. Kids should learn that the best reward of being self-motivated is the positive feeling or success that results.

Independent of Mom and Dad

Inside this issue:

Becoming Independent By Katie Warren, Director - Pleasanton West

Don't Over-Heap the Praise Compliments and praise are a part

of positive parenting and build a child's self-esteem. But some parents take it too far, turning every action and deci-sion made by a child into a spectacle. If your child does a great job, say so! But, if your child doesn't do his best—

and par-ents al-w a y s know—he n e e d s g e n t l e

encouragement to be self-motivated to try harder and do better.

Ask What She Wants, and Listen Parents often "assume" they know

what a child wants, and may be sur-prised at what kids really do want. Maybe your child really doesn't want to spend the afternoon at the park and instead she just wants to curl up with a good book in your lap. By pro-viding reasonable choices, and then going with a child's decision, parents are encouraging children to think for themselves and become more independent. It isn’t always easy to ask your

child to be independent, but the payoff of having a confident,, independent child is enormous. When children are equipped to tackle new challenges—from trying new foods to the first day of soccer practice—they’re less likely to rely on others and more likely to experiment with different problem solving skills, a tendency that will serve them well throughout their lives.


Week May 3 - 7

Documents

Cougar News 4.30.10