Weekly Blog 4-26-15

4-26-15

Good morning!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend with your family and friends!  At Columbia Elementary, we are continuing to be impressed with the hard work of our students.  While this week has involved a lot of paperwork and management of state testing for me, I truly have enjoyed the conversations with your child/ren and the performance that I am seeing out of them in our classrooms.  I especially enjoyed some of our students educating me on Minecraft during lunch on Friday.  I had no idea how much they enjoy playing it and how detailed this game is to play...They are a true joy to listen to and learn from...While the end of this school year is going to continue to get closer, we must continue to perform at high levels daily in our classrooms. The expectation for all is that we finish the 14-15 School Year strong.

We are continuing the second round of State Testing in Grades 3-5.  It is critical that our students are well rested and focused to do well.  These tests are their opportunity to show the rest of the world how they truly are the best and the brightest students. Our students are the true "Super Bowl Champions of The World!" It is their time to shine! Our testing schedule is as follows:

End of the Year State Tests
4/27/2015	Gr 5 Math	9:15 AM
	Gr 3 Math	12:30 PM
4/28/2015	Gr 5 Math	9:15 AM
	Gr 3 Math	12:30 PM
5/5/2015	Gr 4 Soc St	9:15 AM
5/6/2015	Gr 5 Science	9:15 AM

Election Day-May 5, 2015
Our community is voting on No New Taxes on May 5th.  This levy is simply a renewal that will combine two existing levies into one.  Levies were first approved in 1982 ($1,250,000) and 1996 ($1,652,000) will appear as one issue for a total of $2,902,000.  There are ZERO ADDITIONAL TAXES.  Approval of this issue keeps Mount Vernon City School District funding at current levels.


Important: Columbia Elementary PTO-Ariel Foundation 5K Run/Fun Walk-May 8th
Be sure to sign up for our 5K Run/Fun Walk on May 8th at Ariel Foundation Park.  This exciting event is sponsored by The Ariel Foundation and The Columbia Elementary PTO.  In order to get a    t-shirt you must register by April 21st.  Otherwise you may register up until race day.  CLICK HERE to Register ONLINE.  By participating in this event, you are supporting the instruction that takes place at Columbia Elementary and The Ariel Foundation.

Class Assignments for 2015-16:
FYI-Last year we received a lot of positive feedback about having this year's class assignments to the students before they left for the summer. We are going to continue this practice this year.  The students will know before they leave for this school year who their Homeroom Teacher will be for the 15-16 school year.  I say "Homeroom Teacher" because our students are going to rotate classes in some sense as early as Second Grade.  There may be the slight chance that this class assignment may change over the course of the summer for some unforeseen reason.  At which moment, we would inform you, the parent/guardian, of that change.  This practice is an effort to maintain and improve communication with all of you.

Morning Announcements for Week of 4-27-15:
CLICK HERE

Some Upcoming important events:

4/29-Senior Citizens Luncheon at MV High School 12:00-2:00 p.m.
5/5-Election Day-Levy Renewal-No New Taxes

5/8- Columbia Elementary PTO and Ariel Foundation 5K

5/14-Tryouts for Grade 3-5 Talent Show at 3:30pm
5/20-Field Day
5/26-Field Day-Rain Date
5/27-Talent Show for Grades 3-5-Approximately 2pm
5/28-5th Grade Graduation-9:30am
5/28-Water Day in PM (1:15pm (approximately))
5/29-K-2 Awards Assembly (9:15-10am); Grades 3-5 Awards Assembly (10-10:45am)
5/29-Last Day of School for Students-Early Dismissal at 1:30pm

Thank you for your continued support of our students!

Go Tigers!
Matt