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Excellence

DRIVEN!

BOND INFORMATION … YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW

Winter 2015 Voters approved a 2.95 millage for facilities, technology and transportation

Spring 2015 District sells Series 1 bonds in April

Summer 2015

New boilers installed at Jefferson and Northeast Portable classrooms removed Middle School 1:1 technology devices purchased

Fall 2015

Middle School 1:1 technology devices deployed Asbestos abatement at Central, Parkdale, Cook & Mills

Winter 2016

Demolition of Central Middle School classroom sections Central and the auditorium were separated and a new wall constructed for a stand-alone auditorium Demolition of closed buildings: Parkdale, Cook and Mills Complete design work for new STEM elementary school

Spring 2016

Central Park Elementary construction begins Resurface of Midland Community Stadium track Central’s aluminum bleachers moved to Jefferson

Summer 2016 Two new wheel chair lift school buses purchased High School 1:1 technology devices purchased

Fall 2016 High School 1:1 technology devices deployed

Winter 2017 Auditorium construction begins

Spring 2017

Adams, Chestnut Hill, Siebert secure entrance work begins Plymouth and Woodcrest full-building renovation begins

Summer 2017 Central Park Elementary construction complete Elementary School 1:1 technology devices purchased

Fall 2017

Elementary School 1:1 technology devices deployed Central Park Elementary welcomes students for 2017-18 school year Auditorium construction complete; performances begin Elementary buildings secure entrances complete

2018-2019

Plymouth and Woodcrest construction completed Adams, Chestnut Hill, Siebert remainder of building renovation completed Buses purchased as fleet updates are needed

2019-2021

Middle Schools renovation work completed High Schools renovation work completed Midland Community Stadium renovations completed Buses purchased as fleet updates are needed

2021-2024 Technology, furniture and transportation updates (as needed)

As you can see, MPS 2.95 mill Bond Dollars are working hard for Midland Public Schools’ students, staff, families and community! Thank you, MPS Voters!

A quarterly newsletter

produced by the

Midland Public Schools’

Superintendent’s Office

Fall 2016 <> Volume 4, Issue 2

The Adams garden had a lot of activity as we started the new school year! Kindergarten students enjoyed harvesting tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, and cilantro. They enjoyed touching and smelling the vegetables and then watched a short video clip of a chef making salsa. The

students then drew pictures of what was harvested and made a prediction of how the salsa would taste. Parent helpers then cut up the

vegetables to create fresh salsa for the students to enjoy.

Many thanks to former Adams student, Nathaniel Kalantar, who has chosen to update the structures in our Adams garden for his

Eagle Scout project!

It has been a wonderful start to the year at Carpenter Street School. We are celebrating the last year of Carpenter Street School serving as a school and preparing to make the shift to the new STEM School, Central Park Elementary in the Fall of 2017. These are exciting times!!

Adams Elementary (989) 923-6037 <> website: midps.org/ade <> Dr. Linda Lipsitt, Principal

Carpenter Street School (989) 923-6411 <> website: midps.org/cre <> Mr. Jeff Lauer, Principal

SVSU Students teaching

Adams students about having a

well-balanced diet and lifestyle.

Adams Elementary 1st Graders recently visited the Midland Area Farmers Market where they participated in a "treasure hunt" to encourage conversation with the farmers

and also to ensure they were looking for and learning about a variety of foods. Students purchased vegetables that they then used to make stone soup. The students were adventuresome as they tasted many new foods. The learning experience culminated in the students sharing their Stone Soup feast with their

third grade partners. Yum!

Adams recently received ten ukuleles for their music program through a grant from the Midland Kiwanis Foundation. Students in grades 2-5 will enjoy learning how to play chords and sing along with the ukuleles. Ukuleles are relatively easy to play and portable, they can play both melody and harmony, and they provide an enjoyable way to learn musical concepts. Thank you,

Kiwanis Foundation members!

Our Science Units help students develop their use of scientific processes such as making observations, asking questions, and making predictions to further their understanding. Students collect and use data as evidence to make predictions and draw conclusions. As part of the Life Science units, students learn to recognize that organisms have different structures that

serve different functions. They also learn to classify organisms on the basis of observable characteristics and identify adaptations that help organisms survive. This month, our Third Grade students are learning these through their Science Unit on the life cycle of the butterfly!

First Grade students took a field trip to the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library. They had a tour of the library and learned all about the many services provided at the library! We are grateful to the Friends of the Library who sponsored the trip!!

In Second Grade, as a part of their IB Primary Years Program unit entitled “Who We Are,” students are discovering the many roles that make a community work. Students get to take on many different roles, learn what the role is and why it is important in a fun activity!!

As a musician, I always appreciate when students engage in music in a variety of ways. We have student conductors at concerts, which is exciting. Mrs. Jacques is now engaging students in music composition and technology in innovative ways. In her 5th grade music class, students used an online composition website with their laptops. Mrs. Jacques modeled using the projector and

then students worked to create their own compositions using the site. The site allows them to drag note and rest values into place in common time. There is a beginner and advanced setting. The beginner setting uses basic note and rest values (whole, half, quarter and eighth), and the advanced setting uses those values and dotted values as well. Once the composition is complete, the composition can be played through the laptop speaker. This is a nice way for students to practice and apply music theory skills, which are directly connected to our curriculum.

So many exciting things to start out the school year! So many exciting things to

come! It is a great year to be a Crusader!! Jeffrey M. Lauer- Principal

CHE is an authorized

IB Primary Years Programme School!

Just before school dismissed in June, Chestnut Hill was

authorized as an IB Primary Years Programme School! We

are very proud of the hard work of our students and staff for

making this happen. We proudly display the logo in our lobby.

Upcoming Eastlawn Events:

October 20: Kindergarten students will be visiting LeCroiners Baby Farm

October 21: Wear BLUE for Anti Bullying Awareness

October 24-28: Non Violence Week

1st Wednesday of each month Eastlawn PTO meets @ 6PM in Media Center

Chestnut Hill Elementary (989) 923-6634 <> website: midps.org/che <> Ms. Tracy Renfro, Principal

Eastlawn Elementary (989) 923-7112 <> website: midps.org/ele <> Ms. Shannon Blasy, Principal

Chestnut Hill Students Observing Constitution Day!

Chipmunks celebrated Friendship Friday by wearing brightly colored clothes.

They practiced being a good friend and making friends. Some students

worked together to create Super Friends!

Chip, chip, hooray!

Staff celebrated Kelly Barrie, Physical Therapist for CHE, for her induction into

the Midland High Athletic Hall of Fame. Chipmunk pride!

Eastlawn Attendance Kick Off with The Midland Chemic Band and Cheer

Team — On September 9, the Midland High Band played the Chemic Fight

song and the Chemic cheer team entertained the Eastlawn Eagles. Eastlawn

students clapped, cheered and enjoyed the spirited performance. A select

group of MHS students then took the microphone to talk about the importance

of getting to school on time and attending school every day. Eastlawn takes

pride in their

greatly improved

attendance

record.

Thank you to the Dow Chemical, Dow Corning and

Chemical Bank business and industry leaders who

shared their love of reading with MPS students in

Grades 1-3 on Mondays in September as part of the

United Way of Midland

County “Read to Succeed” Program.

Each student received a book to enjoy and share

at home.

This was a great experience for everyone—

volunteers, teachers and especially the students!

Eastlawn visits Art Prize in Grand Rapids —

On October 3, Mrs. Greenhoe’s 2nd Grade class

took quite an adventure and traveled to Grand

Rapids to view ART PRIZE!

What an opportunity for our students to get a

view of the world around

them! Thank you, Mrs.

Greenhoe, for giving your students this opportunity and

thank you to the Eastlawn PTO who funded the busing.

Students explore nature and perspective at the Alden B. Dow Home & Studio

Students in Sarah Hechlik’s

Writing Workshop class had

a unique opportunity to explore the space

surrounding the Home and Studio through

canoeing. “It was one of the most relaxing

school experiences that truly showed

perspective instead of the typical talk in the

classroom,” according to senior Zak Srodes.

Hechlik began the educational collaboration

with the Home and Studio in 2015. Since the

Home and Studio centers around and

encourages creativity, innovation, nature, and

play, students travel twice a month to

generate new ideas and perspectives for their

own creative writing. Jessica Smith, senior,

summed it up: “It was a learning experience:

about our

peers,

about

ourselves,

and about

nature.”

Dow High Athletics

Fall Dow High Athletics Congratulation to our Dow High fall athletic teams for their accomplishments thus far:

Boys’ Tennis 19-1-1 Ranked #1 in D2 Ranked #3 in Power rankings in

state. Won SVL for 11th consecutive

time.

Boys’ Soccer Undefeated record of 13-0-4

overall and 5-0-2 in the SVL with 4 games remaining

Dow Invitational Champions Justin Tobin named top 34

player in State by State Champs Sports Network

Boys’ Football 7-0 Record 4th Consecutive Year in the

Playoffs Ranked #4 in the State D2

Girls’ Golf Ranked #1 in State 2016 SVL Golf Champions for

the 4th Consecutive Year Set Two School Records Stephanie Carras & Alexis

Carras = Co-League MVP – 1st Team SVL

Morgan Dieters 1st team All-SVL Caroline Szabo – 2nd Team SVL Mina Fabiano & Tatum

Matthews – Honorable Mention SVL

Girls’ Swim Tri-Cities Champions for the

past 6 years Ranked #8 in State D2

Girls’ Cross Country Girls Ranked #6 in Division 1 Anna Jenson seeded 7th Overall Maija Rettelle seeded 29th

Overall Anastasia Tucker seeded 30th

Overall

H. H. Dow High School (989) 923-5382 <> website: midps.org/dhs <> Dr. Steve Poole, Principal

Presentation to City Councilwoman

JR Nosal, a Senior at H. H. Dow High School, recently presented his findings from a school project to the Midland City Council. For Mr. Jeff Richards' government class' final exam project, students were asked to improve Midland and could work with local city officials to complete this task. JR chose to examine the possibility of adding a light at the intersection of Wackerly and Sturgeon Creek. He worked with Councilwoman Diane Brown Wilhelm and City Manager Jon Lynch to gather data on the intersection. JR continued collecting data throughout the summer and enhanced his already A-receiving project for his impressive presentation at the council meeting.

Robotics Tournament — On October 8, Dow High School hosted a FIRST Robotics Competition. Approximately 22 high school teams participated in the event. One hundred and twenty pound robots in teams of three worked to breach castle defenses and launch "boulders" at the opponent's tower. It was a fun event for all ages. The competition was held in the main gym and each team had mini-garages ("the pits") to repair their robots. Event-goers were invited to wander the pits and talk to teams and learn about their robots.

Thank You, Charger Parents!

Thank you to our All Sports Booster Club for approximately $53,000 in gifts to our athletic programs. They support in various ways: supplies, training, scholarships, coaches clinics and facilities.

Thank you to our Music Boosters for their countless hours of time spent sorting, repairing & distributing uniforms; the band camp dessert party and loading & towing the band trailer for performances. Scholarships for private lessons and camps are a pretty big ticket item for the Music Boosters, who granted scholarships for music students last year in the amount of over $11,000. In addition, over $7,000 was collected from band parents to help pay for buses to transport the marching band to two football playoff games.

Wounded Warrior Project

This year, Dow High Football will partner with Dow’s volleyball team to support the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project is a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping any member of any branch of military service who is wounded in the line of duty.

Charger Musicians perform with The Piano Guys

The Piano Guys are an internet sensation. Their arrangements of modern, pop and movie tunes with classics ranging from Vivaldi to Mozart have earned them over 5 million YouTube subscribers. On Thursday, September 15, they performed at the Midland Center for the Arts and four Dow High School violinists were invited to join them on stage. Pictured on the far left is Hannah Loveless, and on the far right are Daniel Zhang, Austin Burlew, and Jacob Thomas. They performed to a sold-out crowd with cellist Steven Sharp Nelson on The Piano Guys’ arrangement of Beethoven’s 5 Secrets.

Chemic band keeps busy during fall months

The Chemic Marching Band has been busy this fall. During the Homecoming game in late September, the band was joined on the field by 74 MHS alumni traveling from as far away as Denver, Colorado. Danny Crampton, Class of 1959, was the most senior player. Twenty marriages have occurred between band members, linking students and music together forever. The band has been rehearsing to spook the crowd with a monsters themed performance at the Marching Band Showcase scheduled for October 19 at the Midland Community Stadium. The band consists of four senior drum majors - Jordan Gonder, Zach Monica, LeeAnne Rielle and Juliana Roller, along with 196 other musicians.

MHS by the Numbers

Midland High School (989) 923-5181 <> website: midps.org/mhs <> Mr. Jeff Jaster, Principal

Twenty-two students earn AP Scholar honors

The Advanced Placement (AP) Program, through the College Board, gives several AP Scholar Awards to recognize high school students who have demonstrated college-level achievement through AP courses and exams. The 2016 recipients are: AP Scholar – Students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. Seven students earned this with an average score of 3.75: Nathaniel Haut, Kelvin Kotanchek, Justin Russell, Matthew Schafer, Rebekah Walter, Katelyn Wenban and Katherine Yates. AP Scholar with Honor – Students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. Ten students earned this with an average score of 4.29: Conor Babin, Nicholas Billovits, Emma Jacob, Sidney “Hanbyul” Johnson, Allyson Kiekhaefer, Sara Knapp, Erin Murphy, Jordan Smith, Madison Tarnowski and David Waier. AP Scholar with Distinction – Students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. Four students earned this with an average score of 4.40: Zachary Church, Ryosuke Dykuizen, Scott Joffre and Charles Light. National AP Scholar – Students in the United States who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams. One student earned this with an average score of 4.78: Kosuke Dykuizen.

6

National Merit Semi-Finalists (Mary Beall, Austin Cochran, Matthew Gordon, Sidney “Hanbyul” Johnson, Brian Mealey, Marin Tarnowski)

5

National Merit Commended Students (Nicholas Billovits, Gregory Landis, Matthew Lile, Brynn Rohde, Hannah Striebel)

19

Bullock Creek students taking a class at MHS (Health Care Tech 1, CAD, Web Design, AP Chemistry, IB Visual Arts)

12 New teachers at MHS

407

Students participating in a recognized fall sport

Equestrian team advances

to State contest

For the past four years the Equestrian team has made it to Regionals. Teams make it to Regionals by being 1st or 2nd in their division. In 2015 the team was Regional Champion qualifying for the State Championship, coming in 5th Place there. This impressive team qualified to compete at the State level again this year. Team riders are: Morgan Letzkus, Madi Pfahl, Serena Fleming-Dittenber, Allie McMillan, Sophie Lewis and Ashley Siegmund. Grooms are: Brittney Duford, Josie McMillan, Elizabeth Wandor, Makenna Cummings and Hayden Purvis (Hayden is a 5th grader at Chestnut Hill). Boni Johnston, Rick Young, Lauren Johnston and Alex Garcia coach the

team. International students bring cultural diversity to MHS

Since the 2010-11 school year, Midland High has hosted 44 exchange/international

students, including four attending MHS this

year. From Asian countries like Korea, China

and Thailand; European countries such as

France, Germany and Denmark; and the South

American countries of Brazil and Bolivia,

students from virtually every corner of the world

have walked the halls of Midland High,

enriching the lives of the students who live

here.

Those staying with host families and going

to MHS this year are Le’a Bonassera from

France, Berta Sanchez from Spain, Jose’ Paz-

Vaca

from

Bolivia,

and

Vinyet

Roig

also

from

Spain.

Homecoming celebrated in style, Johnston serves as

Grand Marshal

Midland High School held its Home-

coming celebration September 23-24 with

seniors Ian Andridge and Riley Hazen being

crowned king and queen at the coronation

assembly Friday afternoon. The parade was

held at 6:00 p.m. prior to the start of the

football game. At the end of the parade route, the walking entries and

homecoming court were escorted into the stadium and announced prior to kick-

off. This year’s parade theme focused on music genres through the years.

Boni Johnston served as the Grand Marshal. Johnston graduated from

Midland High and was proud to be a Chemic. After college, she began her career

at Nouvel and then went on to teach Geoscience and Biology for 25 years at

MHS until her retirement this past spring.

Friday evening ended with the football team playing Bay City Central. The

traditional homecoming dance was held on Saturday night in the auxiliary gym

with more than 800 students attending.

Jefferson Middle School is off to a great start this year.

We have 915 students and 51 staff members.

Northeast Middle School has gotten off to a fantastic start!

We have over 925 students, 55 teaching staff and 30

support staff members.

Here are four of our 15 new teachers getting involved

with the student tailgate!

Jefferson Middle School (989) 923-5873 <> website: midps.org/jms <> Mr. Ted Davis, Principal

Northeast Middle School (989) 923-5772 <> website: midps.org/nms <> Mr. Dirk DeBoer, Principal

Some News from Northeast’s Academia …

The World of Technology

and Computer Design Tech

classes attended an exciting

STEM program at Delta

The Science department has been

busy exploring

physics

properties and

some

chemistry with rocket launchers, pop and candy.

Students also saw presentations from the Plastivan.

Northeast sports are in full swing—Girls’ Basketball, Football,

Cross Country, Cheer and Pom. Go Vikings!

Mr Attard’s 8th Grade

Band marched at halftime

and played throughout the

Northeast vs Jefferson

football game.

Approximately 75 students from 6th-8th grade attended the Great Lakes Bay STEM Festival on Friday, September 23. Students were able to learn about science, technology, engineering and math careers. Students enjoyed many STEM

demonstrations and experiments.

Jefferson Middle School is working together to collect Change for Change. The Huskies will be passing a cup around each of our 3rd hour classes to collect extra change to be donated to the United Way. Last year the Huskies collected over $1,500 for the United Way. This year is off

to a great start as well.

The Jefferson Husky Pack will be participating in

Socktober. The Husky Pack will be holding a sock

drive to collect new socks which will be delivered to

our local neighborhood shelters. The drive will start

on October 11 and end on Friday October 28.

Jefferson’s 8th Grade Band recently performed at a Jefferson football

game. The

band has 98

members and

is directed by

Steve DeRees.

The Jefferson sports and activities are in full swing—Girls’ Basketball,

Football, Cross Country, Cheer and Pom. Go Huskies!

International Day of Peace

Siebert students celebrated International Day of Peace, by creating pinwheels for peace. The United Nations voted in 1981 to observe The International Day of Peace on

September 21 every year. Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two Art teachers in Florida, which now has participants worldwide. In art class, students used the elements of art to create colorful designs on pinwheels. The students reflected on what peace means to them. Thank you to Lowe’s for their donation of wood to help us create our peace sign. Thank you to the Midland Recyclers for Styrofoam to display pinwheels throughout the school. There were

over 600 pinwheels on display!

Plymouth Elementary (989) 923-7616 <> website: midps.org/pme <> Ms. Margaret Doan, Principal

Siebert Elementary (989) 923-7835 <> website: midps.org/sbe <> Mr. Paul Schroll, Principal

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day Celebration–September 16, 2016

Since 2004, Constitution and Citizenship Day is observed in September. This has not always been the case. In 1940, the third Sunday in May was set aside for recognizing those who had attained the status of American citizenship. This day was called: “I Am an American Day.” Twelve years later, in 1952, Congress moved this day of recognition to September 17 (the date of the signing

of the U.S. Constitution) and called it Citizenship Day. In 2004, the name changed to Constitution and Citizenship Day to observe both. Public schools all across America recognize this day. Teachers do various patriotic activities and projects. This third grade class chose to do readers’ theaters. This connected to the PYP theme of “How we Organize Ourselves.” Students

learned how the founding fathers organized the government. These dramas allowed for fluency, vocabulary, and speaking skills to be practiced.

In honor of Constitution Day, Siebert third graders in Ms.

Andrews class brought history alive. They performed three

readers’ theaters to learn about this historic event.

Great 2016-17 Moments in Time for Plymouth Pioneers

Kindergarten After going out to watch the Re/Max hot air balloon

presentation, Mrs. Lange’s kindergarten class took

an opportunity to reflect on the experience and

discuss the science of how hot air balloons work.

1st grade

First graders have been diving

into literacy instruction. Students

are working together during word

work and also individually to build

reading stamina!

2nd grade

Second grade students test out the new music

manipulatives purchased by Plymouth PTO.

3rd grade

Making connections has been a goal for Mrs.

Greskowiak’s third grade students. In order

to get to know one another, students made a

web to demonstrate the things they have in

common.

4th grade

Fourth graders took their first field trip to Laurenz Farm.

They explored how a farm functions and responsibilities of

farmers in Michigan.

5th grade

Fifth graders constructed

Essential Agreements in order

to build a community of learners.

These agreements, created by

the students, help everyone

understand expectations for

learning.

Mrs. Frazier’s second grade class is working with Mrs. Hechlik’s HH Dow

High creative writing class and Mr. Francisco’s art students to create a

special writing project. Our DHS friends visited Siebert on October 6th to

get to know each other (including sharing a snack and some recess time!)

DHS students will use the information they gathered to create a fun book to

present to their partner that incorporates

many of the things the second grade buddy

shared with them. The second graders will

also be writing a fiction story about their high

school friend and give it to them when Siebert

travels to Dow High in December.

WOODCREST SCHOOL-WIDE ARTIST STUDY OF KANDINSKY

To kick off the 2016-2017 school year at Woodcrest Elementary, all artists in Kindergarten through fifth grade inquired into the life and works of Russian artist, Wassily Kandinsky. This was an excellent opportunity to become more knowledgeable about an artist from another country and learn more about how to be open-minded when viewing and

creating art. Additionally, Mrs. Hall and the students investigated how artwork is displayed in a museum. Each class created their own Kandinsky composition for the “Woodcrest Museum,” which was a source of conversation and questioning as students and adults strolled through the colorful, impressive museum walls.

STEM – SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATH

Midland Public Schools’

STEM Strategic Plan …

Excellence in Action!

Midland Public Schools recognizes the need in the community, country and world for its students to have access to quality STEM learning opportunities throughout their K-12 learning experience. STEM education shapes the innovators, creators and designers of today and tomorrow.

Thanks to the passage of the bond by MPS voters in February 2015 to update/innovate our facilities and with the extremely generous combined support of over $3 million in grants over the next three years by our local foundation partners—Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, Charles J. Strosacker Foundation, and The Dow Chemical Foundation—the MPS STEM Strategic Plan is a major initiative for our District going forward.

Here are just a few of the measurable outcomes for our students we expect as a result of the implementation of the MPS STEM Strategic Plan: increase student interest in STEM subjects; improve performance on math and science assessments; increase enrollment in advanced science and mathematics courses; increase enrollment in STEM-related CTE (Career Technical Education)

courses; increase college/post-secondary enrollment rates; increase enrollment in post-secondary STEM majors.

We anticipate full K-12 implementation of our STEM Strategic Plan with the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.

An exciting component of the MPS STEM Strategic Plan is a state-of-the-art STEM elementary school on the site of the former Central Middle School. This facility is on target to open for student learning the fall of 2017.

Midland Public Schools is committed to continuing our standard of Excellence into 21st Century learning initiatives! The MPS Stem Strategic Plan is an exciting initiative of our District’s commitment to the community’s scientific heritage—A City of Modern Explorers.

Thank you to our voters and local foundation partners for making this STEM Strategic Plan a reality for the future of MPS students!

Woodcrest Elementary (989) 923-7940 <> website: midps.org/wce <> Mr. Jeff Pennex, Principal

Midland Public Schools 2016 Board of Education: Administration:

Angela Brandstadt, President Michael Sharrow, Superintendent

Pam Singer, Vice President Bob Cooper, Associate Superintendent

Scott McFarland, Secretary Brian Brutyn, Associate Superintendent

Gerald Wasserman, Treasurer

Lynn Baker, Trustee

Patrick Frazee, Trustee

Yvonne Gorton, Trustee

Midland Public Schools

600 E. Carpenter, Midland, MI 48640 <> www.midlandps.org <> (989) 923-5001

The Woodcrest Run Club was open for business during a four week period in the early fall. Thanks to the efforts of physical education teacher Wendy LaCourt, 200 first through fifth grade students voluntarily participated in the Run Club during their lunch recess. Students who chose to participate in the Run Club received a straw as they completed each lap on the course that was set up on the Woodcrest playground. At the end of each session, students used the straws to determine the mileage accumulated during that particular session. Students also had the opportunity to add to the mileage accumulated during recess by accumulating mileage under the supervision of their parents while at home Thanks to the hard work of all involved, this year’s Run Club participants accumulated

more than 800 miles of running, jogging, and/or walking!

Clifford the Big Red Dog was introduced,

explored, and celebrated by Woodcrest

Kindergartners. The children showed a great

deal of enthusiasm and appreciation for this

popular book

character by

wearing red

floppy ears and a black nose. Themes of

friendship, kindness, tolerance, creativity, and

working together were just some of the big

ideas explored in these timeless books!