dolphin echo nov 09

8/14/2019 Dolphin Echo Nov 09

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November 2009From the Principal

SSC Families,Boosterthon is back !!! We are so excited to have the venture with the Boosterthon for a second year. This is a great op-portunity to discuss many areas in the context beyond school; it helps give purpose beyond curriculum. The event is also cru-cial to South Shades Crest financially. As you know, we received $0.00 state dollars to operate the school and provide materials. In addi-tion, our ability to draw local funds has been reduced. The only way we received any money to operate the school, provide materials andopportunities was through PTO and the Hoover Board of Education, for which we are very thankful. Needless to say, the money suppliedwas far below the amount from the Alabama State Department of Education. Boosterthon helped our PTO generate funds, which pro-vides funding for SSC and more directly, your child. The amount generated last year from Boosterthon was just less than 1/3 of the state

budget which we did not receive any state funding this year ouch! If we can match last years success with Boosterthon, combine itwith the Hoover Board funds, we would be close to providing just over 2/3 of the state funding which was $0.00 this year. The plan ac-companied with diligence and stewardship of funds will help us to provide the best education and opportunities for your child. While Iknow these are tough economic times (a portion of my household income is related to retail I feel it too!) I would like to suggest thefollowing approach as an option. Instead of going deep at home, spread the opportunity wide and keep it shallow (household giving of$4.00 per lap provides the same results as uncle for $1.00, aunt for $1.00, grandparent for $1.00, and a church member for $1.00) - justan idea.

I want to thank you for your help with carpool! The flow and the safety have really improved over the last few weeks. Please keep inmind that when it is raining you will need to allow for a little extra traveling time. Here are few helpful guidelines:

Carpool begins at 7:05Carpool slows down between 7:15 and 7:30 (this is a good time to arrive).It is not realistic to get in carpool line at 7:43 and get in the building by 7:45.

Any students after 7:45 (or when front doors are closed) need to be accompanied by their parent.Walkers walk from home.

Bus students are dropped off at the side door.Carpool students are dropped off in carpool line

Based on collaboration with Hoover Police students are not to be dropped off anywhere other than carpool line.The only time parents should be walking children into the school is:

Meetings, drop off medication, field trip, tardy, or returning a class pet

Great things are happening at South Shades Crest. We recently had two different film crews come into SSC to document and share thegreat practices at SSC.

Dell, yes - the worldwide computer giant, came to South Shades Crest to record an overview to be placed on their web site. Theyonly came to one school in the United States, which makes the visit monumental. They came to SSC to document what HooverCity Schools is doing, but also what South Shades Crest is doing. They wanted to capture a typical day with Windows 7 beingused as well as classroom integration of the Dell Latitude XT Tablets. The link is: http://content.dell.com/us/en/k-12/d/videos~en/Documents~Dell_Hoover_HD640x360.flv.aspx

Dr. Sherry Parrish was a teacher at South Shades Crest for many years. She was also a Math Coach for Hoover City Schools. She au-thored a book on math instruction and the design allowed for an accompanying DVD. Again, there were many schools that

could have been selected; however there was only one school in mind for the author and the publisher. In short, the book fo-cuses on best practices in Math instruction and it was determined SSC was the best location.

It is quite an honor that your childs school has been selected twice for such notable accomplishments. Both film crews came into theschool to capture a normal day. Their recording caught teachers of SSC in a very natural light which was deemed strong enough to sharewith others on an extremely large scale even worldwide. As I have stated many times, it is an honor to serve your childs teacher as wellas your child. We take our business very seriously at South Shades Crest and we are here for one reason your child. Thank you for thecontinued trust and flexibility to allow us to serve your child.

How you can help:Please continue to read with your child and help facilitate home work. I want to offer a resource for help on homework or in the absenceof a parents being available to help. Alabama has developed an amazing resource for students. It is an online homework helper whichconnects to a live person (certified teacher). There is no identifying component beyond a zip code required. The web site is: http://aplsnew-web.apls.state.al.us/aplsnew/patrons/homework/index.html.

www.hoover.k12.al.us/ssces

South Shades Crest Elementary

Dolphin EchoLearning for Life
http://content.dell.com/us/en/k-12/d/videos~en/Documents~Dell_Hoover_HD640x360.flv.aspxhttp://content.dell.com/us/en/k-12/d/videos~en/Documents~Dell_Hoover_HD640x360.flv.aspxhttp://content.dell.com/us/en/k-12/d/videos~en/Documents~Dell_Hoover_HD640x360.flv.aspxhttp://aplsnew-web.apls.state.al.us/aplsnew/patrons/homework/index.htmlhttp://aplsnew-web.apls.state.al.us/aplsnew/patrons/homework/index.htmlhttp://aplsnew-web.apls.state.al.us/aplsnew/patrons/homework/index.htmlhttp://aplsnew-web.apls.state.al.us/aplsnew/patrons/homework/index.htmlhttp://content.dell.com/us/en/k-12/d/videos~en/Documents~Dell_Hoover_HD640x360.flv.aspxhttp://content.dell.com/us/en/k-12/d/videos~en/Documents~Dell_Hoover_HD640x360.flv.aspx


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South Shades Crest Elementary School

PTO - Did you know..

73 PTO parent volunteers do-

nated their time in August and

September helping out with kin-

dergarten orientation, vision and

hearing screening and pictures.Thanks to all of you who helped!!!

It is not too late to join the PTO.

Your time and support is needed

to make SSC the best school pos-sible for our children. Please con-

tact Debbie Beckmann, dbeck-

[email protected] or Shannon

Berg, shannon-

[email protected], if you would

like to become a member of

PTO.


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Classroom ConnectionItis apple picking

time on the QuestHall! We started the

month with a start-to

-finish unit learning

about how peanuts are

made into peanut but-

ter, tomatoes are

made into ketchup,

and milk is made into

icecream, etc. Some

groups made ice-cream, some made

bubblegum, and oth-

ers made their own

butter. Then our fo-

cus shifted to apples

and apple prod-

ucts. We studied the

lifecycle of an apple

and read about theseasonal changes ap-

pletrees experi-

ence. We went on a

great fieldtrip to

Steele Orchard in

Cullman and sampled

some great Fuji apples

as well as fresh apple

cider. We learned

how important beesare to the orchard,

and we discovered

how apples are

graded. We brought

some apples back to

school with us and

made strudel, pies,

and applesauce. Yum!

The first

graders havebeen studying

about bats, spi-

ders and pump-

kins. They also

celebrated the

50th day of

school. Theydressed in their

50s attire and

went to a Sox

Hop.

Classes in the Third Grade have just finished units

of study on Maps and Globes for Social Studies and

Space for Science. We attended a performance by

the Alabama Symphony at the Alabama Theater to

celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first walk on the moon.

The all-around favorite selection from the performance was

the theme from Star Wars!

We began a unit of study on the Human Body this week that

includes the muscular system and the skeletal system. We will

know lots of cool information about these body parts and

functions just in time for Halloween!


Thank You To SSCFaculty and Staff

For All You Do Each DayFor Our Children!!As We Give Thanks This Month,

Know That We Are ThankfulFor You!!!!

Dont forget your pop tabs for RMHRonald McDonald House of

Birmingham: The tab of an aluminum can is pure aluminum unlike the

rest of the can, which contains paint and other residue.

Recycling the tabs generates proceeds to donate to a local

Ronald McDonald House. The tabs do not pay for treat-

ment or night stays only house operations.

Pop tabs are small and convenient to collect. Hundreds of

thousands of pop tabs have been collected to benefit

Ronald McDonald Houses.


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Our Boosterthon Fun Run is quickly drawing near,

And we want all parents to come shout and cheer.

The kids will be excited this much we know,

Looking for special signs reading Go Team Go.

We know Thursday, November 5th will be rowdy and wild,

But we still need you to come out and support your child.

Bring your sign board, enthusiasm and your megaphone too!So that we can hear you loudly when you shout Yahoo!!!!

More details to follow as the need arises

Like letting you know how they will earn their prizes.

Prearranged Absence RequestsRequests for prearranged absences are to be submitted to Bob Lawry [email protected] one week prior to the absence.During the absence, the student will keep a daily journal reflecting experiences relating to his/her course of study. A nightlyreading assignment will also be given to the student. If you should have questions concerning prearranged absence requests,

please contact the registrar, Margie Nelson, at 439-3000.

Important Dates to Remember

November 6- Bumpus Choir visits SSC, 8:00 a.m.

November 9- Veterans Day Program, Grades 3,4,5 at 8:30 a.m. Students only

November 11 NO SCHOOLVeterans Day

November 23-27 NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS Thanksgiving HolidaysDecember 10- Choir Program for Parents, 9:00 a.m.