2-25-17
Good evening!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend with their family and friends! It has been a very productive week at Columbia Elementary. Most of this week, I spent time in our classrooms conducting state required Teacher Observations. While I am in all classrooms on most days, it is always a great opportunity to see all of the great work that our teachers are doing with your children. This coming week, I will be meeting with all of these teachers to discuss these observations in more detail. I have to say we are truly blessed to have a great team working together for our students!
Please enjoy your weekly updates below:
Distinguished Young Women-Visit to Columbia Elementary:
On Thursday, the Ohio Distinguished Young Women visited Columbia Elementary to work with our students. These ladies are a part of a national scholarship program "that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership, and talent in young women." These young ladies were classy, intelligent, helpful, and positive role models to our students. In the morning they worked in Kindergarten to Third Grade Classrooms assisting teachers with instruction. They also met with Fifth Grade girls to have a conversations with them about leadership, good decision making, and positive opportunities available to them in their future.
FYI-Jump Rope for Heart News-Great job Students and Mr. Clinger!
I received this e-mail from the American Heart Association:
Dear Jerry Clinger:
On behalf of the American Heart Association and the millions of Americans we serve, thank you very much for your school's donation of *$2,166.00. Families and schools are critical links in providing the foundation for cardiovascular wellness in our country. By holding this event at your school each year, you raise awareness about heart-healthy living. And you help us fund more life saving scientific research and critically needed education efforts. Thank you.
Almost every family in America is touched by heart disease or stroke, and your school's contribution will significantly impact our fight against these devastating illnesses.
We hope that you, your faculty and your students found this lifesaving effort rewarding and enjoyable. You are touching so many lives — and life is why we exist as an organization. Your help and support are greatly appreciated, and we look forward to partnering again with you next year!
Please take a minute to complete our survey and give us your input.
Warm regards,
Nancy Brown
Chief Executive Officer, American Heart Association5th Grade Camp Information-May 8th-10th:
We are excited about holding our Second Annual Districtwide 5th Grade Camp at Heartland Outdoor School on May 8th-10th. This is an awesome experience for all that are involved. Personally, I have been to three different Outdoor Camps over my educational career and I have to say that Heartland does the best job out of all of these experiences. This is a MUST DO for all Fifth Graders!! One of our main goals for this camp is for every Fifth Grader to have a smoother transition into Middle School. If you were unable to attend our 5th Grade Camp Meeting on Tuesday Night at the Middle School, be sure to read THIS INFORMATION (CLICK ON THE LINK). If you still have questions, please contact either Mrs. Justice (njustice@mvcsd.us), Mrs. Ferguson (aferguson@mvcsd.us), or myself (mdill@mvcsd.us) at anytime.
Outdoor Learning Pavilion at Columbia Elementary:
Logan Kaufman is a former Columbia Elementary Student that is now in Eighth grade at Mount Vernon Middle School. Logan and his family have created an outdoor camp on their property for The Boy Scouts of America and other groups. Their camp consist of approximately nine different structures and includes several pavilions that they have built. When the Kaufman Family heard that Columbia Elementary is looking to construct an Outdoor Learning Pavilion for both school and community use, Logan and his Father, Trent, volunteered to build this pavilion for our school as a part of Logan’s Eagle Scout Project. The approximate cost of this Outdoor Learning Pavilion will be $15,839. Logan will be seeking both financial and material donations to lessen this cost. All remaining costs would be absorbed by fundraising that is currently taking place to renovate Columbia Elementary’s existing playground and construct this structure for both our students and community. With approval, this project is expected to begin during the Summer of 2017. This Outdoor Learning Pavilion will be located on the south side of the elementary school.
During this process, Logan and Trent, would work together with our school district to design a space large enough for at least two classrooms to meet. In the rear of this pavilion, they are designing an enclosed space to be used as storage and a kitchen serving area (with both water and electric) for events like community engagement events (i.e. Donuts with Parents or Movie Night), student rewards, and our Field and Water Day Cookouts. The blueprints and material list will be drafted in the upcoming week. With our focus on implementing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math into our classrooms, having an outdoor learning pavilion would add a different dimension to our classrooms. This pavilion would also give families a place to gather as they watch their children play on our newly renovated playground.
If you would be interested in donating construction supplies (i.e. concrete), equipment, or labor (i.e. staining wood) to help with this project, please contact me directly at mdill@mvcsd.us or 1-740-393-5975. It would be greatly appreciated.
Please feel free to check out the blueprints for this pavilion below:
Siemens Energy Inc and STEM at Columbia Elementary:
On Friday, Siemens Energy Incorporated came to Columbia Elementary to work with our Fifth Grade Students on developing their skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). During their time they worked with our students on problem solving, critical thinking, project design, collaboration, and many other STEM skills. We cannot thank them enough for their collaborative partnership to improve our students! We are looking forward to extending our partnership with Siemens to improve the learning experience of our students. Both Siemens and Columbia Elementary want this type of STEM integration into our curriculum to be both meaningful and intentional and not just a random event. We are very thankful that Siemens reached out to us to initiate this awesome opportunity for our students!
Becoming a Columbian Tiger Night-3/27 @6:30pm
Do you have a friend or family member that is wondering what it is like to be a Columbian Tiger? If so, be sure to encourage them to attend the all new "Becoming a Columbian Tiger Night" on March 27th from 6:30 to 7:30pm at Columbia Elementary. This gathering is to address the needs of any student in Kindergarten to Fifth Grades. There will be a range of different perspectives discussed with tons of information. We want the world to know that it is awesome being a Columbian Tiger!
FYI-BIG ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON;)In the upcoming month, I will be meeting with our students about a very positive announcement that will affect them. Stay tuned:)
General Needs/Information/ Important Dates Below:
Student Headphones Needed:
Please make sure your child has TWO PAIRS of headphones for classroom use. We are finding ourselves falling short of ensuring all students have headphones for school use. These headphones are important for when students are working on individualized projects and/or tasks on a computer.
Columbia Champions Webpage:
We are in the process of creating a Columbia Champions Webpage linked to our school website. Our desire is to highlight the accomplishments of our current/alumni Columbia Elementary Students in and outside of school. If you have a great picture and story of a success of your current/alumni Columbia Elementary Student, we want to hear it. Alumni Columbia Elementary Students' success stories could include both the professional and collegiate levels. Please submit this story to Mrs. Darcy Miller at:dmiller@mvcsd.us or in person in our main office.
Columbia Cares-Tabs Needed
You may remember a project we started last year called “Columbia Elementary Cares.” This project was inspired by two of our own Columbia Elementary Tigers, who simply wanted to help other kids. Last year, we collected donations and made care packages for cancer patients at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. This project is such an amazing experience for our students to participate in as they get the opportunity to “pay it forward” to others in need. Our desire is to continue with this project every school year.
This year, we’d like to keep “paying it forward” to others. Instead of asking for donations of money or other items, we’re asking you to save pop tabs. The Ronald McDonald house in Columbus, Ohio collects pop tabs. Each year, they recycle the tabs and get to keep the money. You may not think a pop tab adds up to much, but they depend on these tabs. We have the potential of collecting enough tabs to make a lot of money to help support these families during their challenging times!
You may be wondering, what is the Ronald McDonald House? It is affiliated with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Any family who has a child staying at the hospital, lives far away, and needs a place to stay can register with the Ronald McDonald house. They provide a free stay, some meals, and a bit of stability during challenging times. The House is able to provide these things through donations and volunteers. That’s why they need our help!
To help out the Ronald McDonald House and all of the families who stay there, Columbia Elementary is going to collect as many pop tabs as we possibly can! Thanks to the new convenient way of life, there are tabs on more than just pop cans. You can also collect the tabs from soup cans, vegetable cans, pet food cans, etc. Any aluminum can tab will work. Please ask your friends, neighbors, and family members to join us in collecting these tabs.
As an incentive, we are going to make this a friendly competition. The class who brings in the most tabs will win a root beer float party! As you bring in your tabs, mark how many tabs you brought in. This will make it easier to count the tabs later. We would like to get a count of the total number of tabs we give to the Ronald McDonald House.
You may start sending in your tabs immediately. Or you may continue to collect them until you have a larger amount. We will be collecting tabs until May 12th. This should give us plenty of time to collect as many tabs as possible!
Thank you in advance for your help in making this a truly amazing experience and touching the lives of families who certainly could use a little encouragement in their lives right now!
Do you have an old Smart Phone or know someone that has an old Smart Phone that they would be able donate to our school?
I am currently looking for Old Smart Phones that people would be willing to donate to our school for permanent use. These phone would be completely reset to factory settings for classroom instruction. If you have any connections to old Smart Phones that are just in storage somewhere that you or other folks do not want, please let me know and bring them in to our office. My end goal is to bring virtual reality to our students to all them to see the world and even inside of the human body for instructional purposes.
Important Upcoming Dates:
3/3-Student of The Month Pizza Party
3/7-PTO Meeting-6pm in Library
3/8- Tiger Up Time-Job Exploration Stations-1:30-3:30pm
3/9-End of 3rd Nine Weeks
3/12-Daylight Savings Time Starts
3/13-Start of 4th Nine Weeks
3/17-Grade Cards Go Home with All Students
3/22-4/3/17-PTO Flower Sale
4/4-McTeacher Night (Newark Road)-5-7pm
4/4-McTeacher Night (Newark Road)-5-7pm
4/26/17-PTO Flower Delivery
5/18-Field Day (AM) and Water Day (PM)
5/22-KDG Registration at Columbia Elementary
Columbia Elementary State Testing Dates 2016-17 Thank you for allowing us to serve your children!
Tiger Up!
Matt
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