Newsletter Nov 08

Etna Elementary School

Where we Think, Learn, Achieve, & Care November2008

ierantoni’s Place

On a Mission As many of you know; thanks to the help of students, staff, and stakeholders; Etna Elementary School has adopted this new Mission Statement: Etna Elementary School Where we Think, Learn, Achieve, & Care. For our mission to be successful, we need to know it and use it on a daily basis. To help with that cause, your PTO has helped purchase a new Etna Elementary

t-shirt for every student. We hope to have certain days throughout the year where we all wear our shirts and show our school pride. I am very excited for the new shirts and look forward to handing them out very soon! For a student to get a shirt, he/she will be presented with a coupon with our school mission statement printed on it. Each student will need to recite (from memory) the mission statement

to their teacher, parents, and principal and get their signatures on the coupon. A completed coupon will earn that student one shirt. It is my hope that the shirts come in the next few weeks and you will see those coupons very soon. Thank you for your support, Etna Elementary is very fortunate to have you as part of our educational community!

Calendar

11/6 Etna students attend SVHS production “Grease”. Busses leave at 8:15 a.m. Students return to Etna for lunch. 11/7 End of Trimester 1 11/11 Veterans Day 11/12-13 Parent-Teacher Conferences - 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. 11/14 No School Today 11/18,25 & 12/2,9 After-School Enrichment Classes (2nd Session) 11/21 School Picture Retakes 11/26 Early Release at 10:45 a.m. 11/27-28 Thanksgiving Break 12/11 Orchestra/Music Concert 12/23 Early Release at 10:45 a.m. 12/24-1/2/09 Holiday Break 1/5/09 1st day of school in 2009!

Introducing! We would like to introduce more of our new staff members.

Ms. Monica Weston Speech-Language Pathologist

Hi! I’m Monica Weston from Bear Lake, Utah. My family lives in Laketown and my Dad owns a cattle ranch in Randolph. (Kudos to those who know where those places are.) I got my undergrad and graduate degree from the University of Utah and specialized in Speech Pathology. I love being a speech teacher and helping students correct speech/language/social skills. I love to run, read, quilt, crochet, snowboard, mountain bike, play piano, spend time outdoors and ride horses. My main interest/hobby is Irish Dance! I’ve taken lessons for eight years and have taught for two and am excited to teach Irish Dance here in Star Valley.

Diane Robbins earned her BA in Speech Science in 2005 in Pocatello and then went on to Washington State University in Spokane for her Masters Degree. She did her clinical fellowship in Osburn, Idaho and then moved to Afton to be closer to her children and grandchildren. Diane says, “We love fishing and camping and most of all pines and mountains. We also love exploring and antiques. I love seeing my children and their children. We hope to get a four-wheeler someday and travel (especially in the Northwest)”

Mrs. Diane Robbins Speech-Language Pathologist

PTO News Thank you to EVERYONE who supported PTO’s fundraisers. Baker’s Potatoes and The Maredy Catalog Fundraisers were very successful. Money earned helps support Celebrating the Arts, Red Ribbon Week, Grandparents Day, Literacy Week, the Science Fair (in January or February), Banking Day, Accelerated Reading events, Field Day on the last day of school, and other events throughout the school year. The boys and girls who attended the potato bar were very appreciative and well behaved. It was a privilege for the PTO to serve them!

HELP!

We have an URGENT NEED for Math Game Volunteers.

You don’t have to be a “Math Wizard” to help in the classrooms. We play games like: Sorry, Skip-Bo, Bingo, Stack-um, Grids, Draw a Picture, and more to encourage addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The kids really have fun playing these games while increasing their math skills. We volunteer every Tuesday for 15 minutes in each classroom from 12:30 - 2:30. You could even trade with a friend every other week. PLEASE, WE DON’T WANT TO LOOSE THIS PRIVILEGE AND IT IS SO VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE KIDS AND TEACHERS. Please call Sharon 883-8488 if you would like to volunteer.

Don’t forget the Book Fair! November 10-17

Etna Enrichment Express! The Etna Enrichment Express is off and running. Students are busy learning about horses, playground and indoor games, line dances, cheerleading, piano keyboarding, and science not to mention the fun of Reader’s Theater.

Etna 5th grade students learned about the electoral process and a senator’s duties from Senator Mike Enzi. Senator Enzi said he really enjoyed our beautiful new school and the students’ energy and enthusiasm.

Our first session has been a real whistle blower! The next session will be coming up in November. Look for more news coming soon!

Students learn how to exit a bus safely during a mock drill sponsored by the LCSD2 Transportation Department to celebrate School Bus Safety Week.

Benefit Dinner for the Kenner Johnson Fund The benefit dinner will be Sat. Nov. 8 from 5-8 PM at the Thayne Senior Center. The dinner will be a chili supper with cornbread, salad, and brownies. There will also be hot dogs. Adults $10, Children (6-14) $5, Kids (5 & under) FREE. A dessert auction will start at 6:30 PM. There will be a bounce house set up for kids. Donations can also be made to the Kenner Johnson Fund at 1st Bank in Alpine at 654-3629. Two-year-old Kenner Johnson is recovering from severe head trauma after falling from a 2nd story window.

Etna Elementary Shows Off!

Please enjoy the following writings by our wonderful Etna students.

Going to Strawberry! ( A Dog’s Point of View) by Bailey Hodges Everyone piled into the new Chevy truck - cousins and all! I was so excited I started whining. Oh, ya, I almost forgot - my name is Jackson. I am a yellow lab. I’m about 6 years old. Well, everybody was laughing and pointing the whole way there. Bailey kept telling me to be quiet, but I couldn’t help it, I was so excited, because we were all together! When we finally got there to the river, some tall, slim, almost bald guy opened the tailgate! I jumped but I didn’t land. Instead I swung around to the side of the truck, my hind feet barely touching. I was terrified! I started thinking, “Come get me! Am I going to die here?” While I was thinking; the tall, slim, almost bald guy and Bailey’s dad jumped out of the truck and saved me! When they unlatched me from the truck I ran around as fast as I could, glad that I was OK! Bailey’s dad called for me, so I came. He threw a stick in the water. I jumped into the cold icy water, it felt good against my warm furry body. I love to swim and go in the water; it is always so much fun, but tiring. As I was still having fun, I could hear the moans and cries of the worn-out young children. Coldness was creeping up arms and legs like a cat creeps up on a mouse in the field. We decided to leave, so we all piled back into the truck. I got tied again and this time I knew I did. Dump Truck by Lindi Moore “Want to play.” Wyatt kept demanding. “Okay, Okay” I finally gave in. I walked with him up the stairs. I got my shoes on and helped Wyatt get his on. We walked outside onto the deck. Clomp! Clomp! Wyatt’s shoes thumped on the deck as he bounded like a deer over to his dump truck. He hopped on and started pushing himself around. I sat on the white lawn chair that was beside me. “Wyatt, No!” I screamed. Wyatt was heading straight for the stairs but it was too late, he started going down! The yellow and black dump truck front-flipped down the stairs and Wyatt was tossed off like a rag doll. His head hit the first stair and his back hit the second. The bloodcurdling scream that followed cut through the air like a knife. My brother lay there, like a piece of crumpled paper. I rushed down to him, my heart aching, knowing I was responsible for him. “Mom” I screamed, my words came out splotchy and spluttery. I was so worried. “Oh where are they when I need them” I muttered to myself. I ran as fast as I could up the stairs and into the kitchen. I grabbed some paper towels and ran as fast as a speeding bullet to him. I dabbed as gently as a lamb at the wounds. His body lay there, he was breathing heavily and slowly. I carried him up the stairs and gently laid him down. At that moment my mom came up the stairs. . . she gasped at the bloody, crumpled heap that lay before her. She gingerly picked him up supporting his head and legs. She carried him in . . . To this day I still remember that earpiercing, bloodcurdling scream that came from his fragile body when he hit the stairs. The noise will always stab like knives through my head. Clomp! Clomp! came Wyatt’s shoes on the deck after he felt better. He came to where I was sitting. “That was a dumb idea.” He said. His voice had a hint of laughter and his eyes had a sharp, sparkling gleam in them. “Yes” I returned his half question. “You will not be riding your dump truck for awhile.” He laughed and got up on the chair beside me.

5th Grade Candidates Give Speeches Fifth grade students running for student council representatives gave their campaign speeches to the student body during their mock National Convention last month. Fifth graders have been learning about the U.S. election process as they themselves register to vote and become involved in their political parties (Interested or Concerned). On election day (Tuesday, November 4th) student council representatives will be elected from each fifth grade class.