The VIEW Shadeville Elementary School News May 2005

“Reading Takes You Everywhere” and that is just exactly what happed at Shadeville as we celebrated the 5th annual Read Across America Day in honor of Dr. Seuss’ 101st  birthday.  This celebration would not have been possible without the support of our administration, faculty, staff, and community (including special materials donated by Wakulla Bank).  The celebration was a real treat and a day of relaxation for our students following the completion of FCAT.

The office staff set the stage for a fun filled day as they dressed up as Dr. Seuss’ characters.  Janet Allen became the Cat in the Hat, Julie Evans was Thing I, joined by Joanna McCown as Thing II.  Throughout the school stovepipe hats were worn to set the mood for the day.  The students enjoyed special treats in the lunchroom, made their own stovepipe hats, and were delighted by a video on the life of Dr. Seuss titled “In Search of Dr. Seuss."

The excitement for reading could be felt throughout the school day as students eagerly awaited the arrival of the many guest readers to their classrooms.  The parade of readers included community, business and church leaders, various other civic organizations, volunteers from the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, and many students representing Wakulla High School.  Hats off to our volunteers, as well as, Mrs. Payne, Mrs. Hernandez, and Mrs. Lucas for all of their time and talents putting the Read Across America’s activities together.

Thanks to the excellent coordination of Sharon Wolfe classes were a “buzz “ lately with activities relating to the annual Literary Fair’s theme.  This year’s theme was “The World Beneath Our Feet."  New books were ordered for library check out, ant farms and root – vue kits were purchased for classrooms and a trip down the halls was worth every step as the bulletin boards became alive with butterflies, ants, turtles, grasshoppers, inchworms, and flowers.  Mrs. Gregory’s third graders created hand painted tee-shirts to go along with this year’s theme.  The lunchroom staff made a bucket load of dirt dessert, complete with gummy worms, which was enjoyed by the entire school.  If it was wiggly, squiggly or squirmed beneath your toes, our students drew it, read about it, wrote about it or created it.

“Feel the Energy” was the theme of Shadeville’s “ Project Learning Tree” week. Thanks to the hard work and energy of Michelle Hunter and Amanda Betz our students experienced a variety of speakers and activities that increased their knowledge of energy’s importance to us.  The five-day extravaganza included a visit from the local power company, Casanova Nurse from the Channel 2 weather group, a chalk artist who created a beautiful mural depicting a lightning storm, a hot air balloon demonstration, the “The Energy of Hurricanes” assembly, “Solar Energy” by the Challenger Learning Center, and the “Power of Planes” demonstrated by Dr. Michael Atkinson.  Teachers each received a resource packet that provided them with additional activities to be used in their classrooms.  More S’Mores than you can imagine were baked in solar ovens made from cardboard and tinfoil.  A yummy finish to a great week of  PLT activities.

Shadeville’s kindergarten moms will be treated to a special Mother’s Day Tea on May 6th. Cookbooks with secret family recipes will be published, lovely corsages will be created, and beautiful placemats will mark each parent’s special spot to enjoy some tea and cookies with their child.  There will be entertainment provided by the kindergarten students and a special video produced by the teachers highlighting each class.  Don’t forget to have some tissue available for the traditional reading of   I’ll Love You Forever.

First grade students recently enjoyed their fieldtrip to the IMAX Challenger Center for a lesson on space.  Students got to experience space up close as they traveled through space via video.  The children enjoyed creating their own rockets to bring back to school.

Second grade students are having fun with energy through their art lessons.  They are creating solar – paper pictures.  It’s almost magic when they place their shape on the solar paper, set it outside in the sun for a few minutes, and then rinse their paper in clean water. Magically a beautiful picture appears.
 
Ms. Wilson’s second grade class is having a checkers championship this month. They are learning how to play checkers, about problem solving, planning strategies, sportsmanship and how a play off works.

The third grade classes had a unique opportunity for an outside fieldtrip experience with The Science Eye program and Mr. Jeff Hugo (husband of Shadeville’s Sally Hugo).  Students became paleontologists and searched for real fossils on our school campus.  Following “the dig” fossils were identified and students made necklaces from real sharks teeth.
 
Mrs. Traweek’s class is involved in a WebQuest to discover “Does fresh water hold heat longer than salt water?”  They will use the scientific method to prepare their class project for the upcoming science fair.

The fourth grade had a fabulous time on their annual trip to St. Augustine.  The visited the old fort, Fountain of Youth, and the lighthouse.  One hundred and one students along with seventy-one chaperones enjoyed the trip.
 
For those following the progress of 65 Amp.  (Mrs. Harvey’s son’s band) they will be performing at Floyd’s on May 20th at 10:00 p.m.  The band (and some mom’s) are very excited.

Shadeville’s Brain Brawl Teams, under the direction of DeeAnn Hughes, competed on April 30th.  Team A was represented by Daniel Burse (captain), Cory Jackson, Peyton Wade, Josh Hawkins, and Kody Justiss.  Team B was represented by Cora Atkinson (captain), Adam Evans, Aubrey Fordham, Eva Colona, and Jared Stoltz
The high scorer for Team A was Daniel Burse and for Team B was Cora Atkinson.
The overall high scorer was the incredible Daniel Burse.
 
Fifth grade teachers are busily preparing for their students graduation on May 20th. With proud parents watching each student will proceed across the stage to receive their 5th grade diploma, awards and congratulatory handshake from the Principal and our Superintendent.  This is a time of celebration and heart felt best wishes for teachers and students.
 
The Shadeville family will say farewell to three special colleagues and friends at the end of the school year.  Our principal, Karen Wells, will be leaving to fill a position at the district level.  Amanda Betz, a third grade teacher, will be returning home to Fort Lauderdale to teach.  Also, the call to return to her hometown of Port St. Joe was answered by Krystal Tharpe, a first grade teacher.  We have been lucky to get to know and work with each of them.  Our lives are richer for the experience.  They will always have a special place in the book of  “Shadeville Memories” and we wish them happiness and success in their futures.

by Susan Brazier, Assistant Principal

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