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The Parker Lion's Tale
B.Haverkamp
Parker Elementary - The 2002 National GRAMMY® Signature Elementary School
January 2014 Volume 25 No.5
The Elementary School of Choice in HISD
2014 Suzuki Workshop“Do You HearWhat I Hear?”
Parker’s 35th annual Suzuki Work-shop will be held February 5th, 6th, and 7th. Our workshop this year will center around the theme “Do You Hear What I Hear?” This workshop will be emphasizing the importance of Listen-ing, Practicing, and Performing in the Suzuki Method. We all know that the parent/teacher/student triangle make the Suzuki Method so successful. Suzuki instructors from around the country will be coming to Parker to provide daily instruction for our cello and violin stu-dents, culminating in a Friday evening concert at Westbury Baptist Church performed by our children. The help of strings parents is essential to the success of this workshop. Look for information coming soon about parent and commit-tee planning meetings. we look forward to having your involvement in present-ing another special workshop for Parker Suzuki students!
~~ ♪♫♪♫♫♪ ~~ Stephanie Duffey
Crisa VanDenBossche2014 Suzuki Workshop
Co-Chairs
JOYOUS MUSIC FILLED THE AIR
I want to congratulate all the per-forming groups who played Holiday concerts at Parker and around the city. Everyone did a terrific job! I received wonderful comments about all the groups that went off campus. Besides the concerts at Parker, we had groups perform at The Buckingham, HISD Ad-ministration Building, Braeburn Coun-try Club and the Houston City Club. I would say we had a very successful December Concert Season. Thank you to all the music teachers for all their hard work preparing the students. (Photos on page 2)
Coming up in January will be our Celebration of School Choice so look for more information from your Magnet teachers. Carol
Kehlenbrink
PTO PRESIDENT: MID-YEAR NOTE
Welcome, 2014! Many of us think of a new calendar year as a time of renewal. We sometimes set personal goals for a new calendar year or reflect on things we’d like to do differently or better. As you’re considering your own plans for the new calendar year, remember the possibilities presented by the PTO. If the fall season was frantic and you missed opportunities to get in-volved in projects at Parker, as you were trying to settle into a school routine, we encourage you to consider jumping in as the new term begins in January. Many exciting events are on the horizon this new year, including the Suzuki Strings Workshop, the Piano Workshop and the Spring Auction just to pique your inter-est. Follow the PTO on Facebook and Twitter to get quick info and please contact me directly at any time to get more information on PTO matters. Looking forward to continuing our link between the classrooms and families at Parker in 2014!
Warmly,Regina Puccio
Parker Elementary PTO [email protected] or
WE OURVOLUNTEERS!
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the Lion's Tale via e-mail. Please visit <http://www.houstonisd.org/parker-elem> to subscribe to this service. You can also retrieve The Lion's Tale from the website. Please subscribe today and help us cut down on paper use and associated costs. Thank you for your assistance.
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Parker Performers around Town and on Campus
Parker Advanced Chorus performs for Rotary Club holiday luncheon at the Houston City Club on December 18th.
Parker Advanced Chorus and 3rd grade Chorus performed two concerts on December 12th.
Parker Advanced and Intermediate Guitars, Performing Strings and Intermediate Strings performed two concerts on campus December10th.
There were also excellent performances by the Band Department's Advanced Band, Rhythm Band, Pre-Band, and Beginning Band and recitals by all grade levels of the Piano Department throughout the month of December.
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LIBRARY LIONSIn December, library students learned about figurative
language by analyzing and talking about the song “Roar”, by Katy Perry. Older students pointed out similes, metaphors and idioms, while younger students learned about using silly expressions to describe actions or feelings. “You let the cat out of the bag,” and “I’m feeling blue” were favorites.
There was also a special visitor from France, the great Chef Shaffois, who shared some delightful cookbooks and stories about food. The Chef also demonstrated cooking technique with his famous “Fish on a Dish.”
Finally, students talked about fact an opinion using the topic of aliens as the focus. Older students participated in spirited discussions about the existence (or non-existence) of aliens and a surprising number stated the lack of scientific proof, while others considered the possibility of life on other planets. Students looked at non-fiction books about alien sightings and were encouraged to form their own conclusions. Students in the younger grades read fictional alien stories.
Join us in January for more library adventures.S. Shafer
THE SUZUKI WORKSHOPWhat is the annual Parker Suzuki Violin and Cello
Workshop and Concert?The annual Parker Suzuki Violin and Cello Workshop
takes place from February 5 - February 7, 2014. For this event, distinguished Suzuki-trained clinicians from across the country converge on Parker to work with our strings stu-dents. Each student will have a daily 20-minute private or small group lesson with a guest clinician and also a magnet class with a guest clinician. All Parker strings students ben-efit and participate in this 3-day workshop. THERE IS NO CHARGE. The three days of instruction will end with the Suzuki Workshop Concert on Friday evening, February 7th. All strings students perform, from the most advanced to the beginning students playing the “Twinkles.”
Why do we have the Suzuki Workshop?The purpose of the Workshop is to motivate and energize
our students, parents and strings faculty. Everyone occasion-ally needs some extra stimulation to work a little harder and strive to be a little better. The Workshop is a real motivating factor in the musical lives of all those involved.
Who are the clinicians?The guest clinicians are all Suzuki-trained instructors.
Most of them have private strings studios, although a few are public school instructors. Many of them choose to come to our workshop because it is one of the very few public school Suzuki workshops in the nation. These clinicians are acquainted with Parker’s fine strings instructors and magnet program and want to see first hand how our program works! The Workshop clinicians come from all over the United States and reside in the homes of our students and faculty during the Workshop.
How is the workshop funded?Workshops of this caliber typically cost from $600-
1000.00 and more per student. Parker’s Suzuki Violin and Cello Workshop is free to Parker students. There is no better music value anywhere! The total budget for the workshop typically runs about $18,000.00. The biggest expense is the clinician’s honorariums and travel expenses. There is an al-location for food, although much of the food is donated by Suzuki parents. The expenses for the workshop are funded three ways: through strings magnet program fees, contribu-tions from underwriters and income from ads placed in the Concert Program. Suzuki parents may purchase ads of various sizes in the Concert Program. The ads are a way for parents to congratulate their children on their Workshop participation and achievement. Various businesses can also advertise in the Concert Program.
How can parents help?There are many, many ways parents are able to help
with the Suzuki Workshop. A packet will be going home with
your child on January 7th, their first day back at school, with all the details about the workshop and a breakdown of all the volunteer opportunities for you.
One of the reasons for the continued success of these Suzuki Workshops is our parental support. I know that we will continue this wonderful tradition with the 35th Workshop!
Carol Kehlenbrink, Magnet Coordinator
Ms. Kolb's 5th graders pose for photo at end of holiday party on school-wide Pajama Day on December 20th, the last day of school before winter break.
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PAINLESS FUNDRAISING
P a r k e r E l e m e n t a r y participates in all of these fundraising programs. Please continue to save box tops, bottle caps, UPCs, etc., for Parker. Thank you.
Getting information about the parent happenings and opportunities at Parker Elementary has never been easier! Simply "Friend" us on Face-book by searching for "Parker Pto". Note: "Parker Pto" is case sensitive.
^< Spanish Club meeting: Let the crafting begin!
The Code of CooperationMake bright decisionsUse good judgmentSpeak with respectInteract with others positivelyControl your own behavior.
Music Quote“Music is what feelings sound like” – Author Unknown Courtesy Robin Gibson
basis of age, color, handicap or disability, ancestry, national origin, marital status, race, religion, sex, veteran status, or political affiliation in its educa-tional or employment programs and activities.
It is the policy of the Houston Independent School District not to discrimi-nate on the
SPANISH CLUBThe Spanish Club held its
traditional end of the year celebra-tion during the December meeting. Parents brought homemade dishes and drinks to share. The meeting began with Christmas crafts and ideas for parents to work with their children during the winter break. To end this wonderful celebration, Mr. Bardin and some of his students played a couple of Christmas songs. We would like to give a special
thanks to the Spanish club committee for coordinating this event as well as the par-ents, teachers and staff for all your support.
10626 AtwellPhone no. 713-726-3634
Website address:<http://www.houstonisd.org/parkerelem>
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The Spirit of GivingThe first grade classes took up a special collection for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines in No-
vember. They collected almost one hundred dollars which will be donated to the American Red Cross. Way to go first graders! Ms. Lee-Dean
CARPOOL LINE PARENT ASSIST PROGRAMJanuary 2014 Schedule
Carpool Volunteer Class
Carpool Dates
Ms. Quinn 1/7 - 1/10/2014
Ms. Yesefu 1/13 - 1/17/2014
Ms. Quiocho 1/21 - 1/24/2014
Ms. Hoyt 1/27 -1/31/2014
General Guidelines for Parent Volunteers:
Car Pool Line Assistance Car Pool Drop off is from 7:20 to 7:45 am. We are requesting one parent (more is helpful) at each of the 3 drop off gates. We have two gates on Stillbrooke and one on Willowbend that need coverage. We request that you encourage cars to move up to the gates for drop off and assist children in getting out of their vehicles. There will be a Parker faculty member at each gate to monitor entrance and exits. Our safety patrol students are also stationed to assist arriving students; they may need your encouragement to know how to help. Faculty members will be responsible for closing the gate at 7:45. Faculty and safety patrol need to be in classromms at 7:45. Any student arrivals after 7:45 should be directed to the front school entrance on Atwell. General Guidelines
Drop-offs should be as close to the gate as possible to encourage a “moving car pool lane”. • At the Stillbrooke gates If you see older children getting out of their cars early ask them to wait until they are at the gate next time.At the Willowbend gates the older students who generally need less assistance can be encouraged to get out of the vehicles sooner.Open as many doors as possible to encourage everyone to wait their turn and avoid backups into the intersections • and crosswalks. Also watch for cars standing in the drop off areas. Should you see any cars stopped by the yellow lines kindly re-• mind them that these are moving car pool lanes and there is no parking by the yellow lines during morning drops and afternoon pickups.Assist children out of vehicles particularly those with instruments and heavy baggage. •
Reminder: Student arrivals after 7:45 should be directed to the front school entrance on Atwell.
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Health BeatDear Parker Parents,
My name is Sonia Garcia. I am the new nurse at Parker. I have been reviewing health inventories and other health forms that parents submitted at the beginning of the school year to get familiarized with the children. I’ve noticed that there are children who have asthma but there is no asthma medication in the clinic. If your child has asthma and uses his/her rescue inhaler on an “as needed basis”, please contact me. One of the triggers of asthma is cold weather and now is the time to have rescue inhalers at school since it seems that we will have a cold winter. A current HISD medication order from the physician and co-signed by parent is required in order to have asthma medication at school. Don’t forget to check the expiration date on the inhaler before bringing it to school. The HISD Asthma Action Plan (medication order for asthma inhalers) can be downloaded from the HISD website, under Health and Medical Services Department website: http://www.houstonisd.org/Page/69303 HISD will also accept your child’s physician Asthma Action Plan, just don’t forget to sign it at the bottom. Look forward to working with you to keep your child safe and healthy!
M. Sonia Garcia, RN, BSN, [email protected]
Have you heard the BUZZZZZZZZZZ?Parker Elementary will showcase
the best of the best spellers from grades 3-5 on January 10, 2014, at 8:15 a.m. in the Parker Auditorium. Six contestants (the top two students per each grade level Bees held early December), will study the words in hopes of becoming the Parker Spell-ing Bee Champion!
The contestants are as follows:Carnegie Mims 3rd Grade WinnerJohnny Shirley 3rd Grade Runner-UpHannah Jung 4th Grade WinnerSamson Colburn 4th Grade Runner-UpEric Rosen 5th Grade WinnerCharles Chu Bowyer 5th Grade Runner-UpGood Luck and congratulations to these dedicated
champions. We are Parker Proud of their fantastic ac-complishments. They are already winners!
Ms. Pikett
Teacher’s Appreciation LuncheonMany thanks to all the parents who helped out
with the 2nd Annual Chili Cook-off Teacher’s Ap-preciation Luncheon on December 9th! We had 21 different kinds of chili, along with delicious salads, cornbread, fritos, and wonderful desserts. So many of you contributed chili, toppings, sides, salads and desserts. it was an overwhelming response, and an indication of how much we love our teachers and staff at Parker. The clear winner was Christine Ellery’s chicken chili. Congratulations, Christine! Mark Ellis’ traditional chili, and the Vandenbossche Yardbird Chili were runners up. Honorable mention goes to Shannon Houlihan, whose dragon-breath chili wasn’t quite as scary as it sounded, and came in fourth place, and Julie Schwartz who made vegetar-ians proud with a fifth place spot. Many thanks to all who helped feed the teachers and staff with their contributions, and a special thank you to those of you who helped set up and clean up.
Sarah Costello, Teacher Appreciation Chair
MUSIC LIFE AFTER PARKERJohnston Middle School’s Sinfonia orchestra, which has
a large number of past-Parker strings students in its ranks, will be heading to Carnegie Hall (NYC) to perform in April 2014. Last May, the Sinfonia had submitted recordings of two of its performances to the National Orchestra Honors Competition. It was judged one of three national winners in the “middle school strings” category of the competition.
One of the National Orchestra Honors competition’s ad-judicators was Larry Livingston, a highly respected conductor who also serves as a professor of music at the University of Southern California. He suggested that Sinfonia submit its recordings to the National Band and Orchestra Festival and, even though that event is not geared towards middle school ensembles. The festival organizers were so impressed that they extended an invitation to the JMS orchestra to perform at Carnegie Hall.
If Sinfonia can raise the $46,000 required to make the trip, Johnston will be the first middle school from the Houston area to perform in Carnegie Hall as a part of the festival.
“I am very proud of these amazing students,” said Sin-fonia director Dr. José Rocha. “Sinfonia was selected as a national winner from among 178 of the finest ensembles in the country. It is a wonderful achievement for the students.”
To make a donation, please contact Dr. José Rocha or Jennifer Martin, president of the JMS Orchestra Parents Asso-ciation, at [email protected]. There is also a Fa-cebook page at www.facebook.com/jmsorchestra with fund
raising activities including restaurant night outs and Amazon Smile. Martin can also be reached at 713-392-4129.
PARKER CALENDARJanuary 2014 6 Teacher Prep Day7 Students Return9 SDMC Meeting – 3:30 PM10 School-wide Spelling Bee13 PTO Meeting - 6 PM15 & 16 4th grades to Taste of Texas – 3 classes/day 20 Holiday28 Pollo Bravo Night30 Celebration of School Choice Event – 6:30 PMFebruary5-7 Suzuki Workshop5 Clinicians Matinee Concert – 3 PM6 SDMC Meeting – 3:30 PM7 Suzuki Workshop Concert at Westbury Baptist - 6:30 PM10 PTO Meeting - 8:15 AM11 New Zoned-Kindergarten Registration Day
Items on the calendar are accurate as of press time. For questions regarding possible cancellations and new times,
please call the main office at 713-726-3634.
The PARKER LION’S TALE is pub-lished each month by the Parker PTO. The deadline to submit articles for the February 2014 issue will be January 24, 2014. Please drop your news in the PTO file box or e-mail me at [email protected]. Contact me at 713-729-3505 to let me know where to find your article.
Barbara Haverkamp Editor & Layout
The Parker Elementary PTO tweet-ings Twitter! To access, go to “Twitter Search” on your phone or computer, then type “Parker PTO”. A long list of “Parker” results will appear. Find “Parker PTO” and click.
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Parker Elementary presents:The 35th Annual Suzuki Workshop Concert
“Do You Hear What I Hear?”Friday - February 7th
6:30 PMat
Westbury Baptist Church
Admission free
