As always, the Georgetown Kiwanis’ Judges had a difficult time choosing the top four entries. Without further ado…. Sophie was our top “Setting” entry. She was caught in the kitchen. She was reading a cupcake recipe book. Elise was our top “Character” entry for her detailed portrayal of Calpurnia Tate! Ava was our top “Caught” entry. She was caught reading a book about cats, while snuggling with her cat. Finally, Khalil was awarded “Honorable Mention” for his entry. Did you know that this is his third year as a “Caught Reading” winner? This year he chose to read a book about the Buffalo Soldiers, at The Buffalo Soldiers Monument. Congratulations!

Again, we would like to thank the Georgetown Kiwanis Club for the time and resources they put into this event. They donated personal and financial resources that we greatly appreciate!  Also, special thanks to all of the teachers and staff who allowed Mrs. Bruce to catch them reading for our display!

Dr. Cuthbert thanked the PTA for funding the Scholastic Reading program. She reminded everyone that report card day is Nov. 12 and although she has led smaller tours of the school lately, the official Open House for prospective families will be on Nov. 18 from 9:30a-11:00a.m. The current student count at Stoddert is 326, representing 22 nations. Grades 3, 4, and 5 have completed their most recent round of testing and teachers will begin tutoring. Students had their “Walk for the Homeless” in the new gym due to the rain last week. The Hardy principal is scheduled to visit Stoddert Nov 10, at 6:30p, to meet with parents of 4th and 5th graders. Make up day for student school pictures will be Nov 23. The Lost and Found is overflowing with jackets, lunchboxes, and other miscellaneous items. Please claim yours soon.

Ms. Choi thanked the PTA for the teacher stipends which have been spent on items for each classroom such as: picture books, leveled readers, math games, software, nonfiction science books, and other supplies.

Kevin Youel-Page explained the need for a grant writer and some PTA members to help with the grant process. As an alternate source of income, it will provide new funding for school community priorities such as a dedicated science program. He received some volunteers and if you are interested in joining the Grant Committee please contact him.

Rick Schneider presented the playground update. He summarized why the school needs some different equipment for outdoor play, how the process started and has come this far. His architectural plans/drawings derived from the planning meeting last month incorporate all of the ideas and useful suggestions by those who participated in the meeting as well as the surveys distributed at the back-to-school picnic. Using natural materials, the additions to the existing play space will include bridges and platforms for climbing and imaginative play. The next step is to meet with teachers to get their input.

Lauren Biel and Ginger Jacobs spoke about the curriculum garden that’s in the works for the yard just east of the new gym. As head of DC Greens, Lauren is not only donating money for the Stoddert Garden, but instrumental in planning and getting it off the ground. There will be a 5% day at Whole Foods in February when 5% of the proceeds from grocery sales will benefit DCGreens and indirectly, Stoddert Garden. More details to come.

Erik Warga spoke about a 75-80% response rate of directory participation—the directory is almost ready for layout. There is still time to get in your directory form either online or in paper but time is quickly running out. The website is kept up to date so it is a source of current school information for parents.

Eve-Lyn Turmail, our PTA Treasurer, presented the balance sheet as of Oct. 31 and general ledger information. A motion was made to move money from a CD to a money market account, seconded, and passed. That discussion led to new ideas of fundraising, tiers of giving, and planning for social events for the school community.

Beth Mailley spoke about the school library, the boxes of lost books, the ordering of new books and requested volunteers to help in the library. Some parents have already volunteered and if you’re interested in helping in the library please contact Beth or Ginger Jacobs, or Ms. Bruce the librarian.

The next general PTA meeting will be January 6 at 6:30p in the multipurpose room.

To access the Stoddert Library Lending Agreement click here or paste the following web address into your browser bar:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&authkey=CLnSpI4I&formkey=dEwzTGk4VmlDWTcwT3MtMGNveUc5eFE6MQ#gid=0.

Would you like to apply for a District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) card? It is free and your library card will allow you and your child to access a plethora of resources (both in-branch and online through DCLIBRARY.org)! Simply fill out the DCPL Library Card Application that your child/children received today and return it to your child’s classroom teacher. Parents, please fill these forms out with your child, they require a parent/guardian’s signature. Signing up for a Stoddert library card is quick and easy, too. Access the virtual application through the Stoddert website here or paste this web address into your browser bar:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&authkey=CLnSpI4I&formkey=dEwzTGk4VmlDWTcwT3MtMGNveUc5eFE6MQ#gid=0.

Olivia gets caught reading Animal Farm. (Images and characters from the Olivia books by Ian Falconer)

In May we will celebrate Get Caught Reading Month at Stoddert. In honor of the program (and Stoddert’s tenth year of participation) we will once again hold our annual Get Caught Reading contest. The Georgetown Kiwanis Club will provide judges for the contest and ice cream coupons for all participants. The top four entrants will receive award certificates and a $10 prize.

Get Caught Reading is a national campaign to promote the joys of recreational reading, and to “encourage people of all ages to enjoy books and magazines and to share that pleasure with the young children in their lives.” Visit the Get Caught Reading website at http://www.getcaughtreading.org for more information about this fun literacy event. You’ll find free desktop wallpaper for download, featuring authors, sports stars, celebrities, and members of Congress in their own “caught reading” poses (http://www.getcaughtreading.org/celebrityposters.htm).

Please help us make our tenth anniversary special! Contact Ms Bruce for more information.

Samer and Joel, victorious after round 2 of the Scripps Spelling Bee

After being out of school for over a week, Samer Chiaviello (the winner of the Stoddert Spelling Bee) and Joel Clark (the runner up) came to the Cluster II Bee ready to spell words. Clusters I–IV sent their winning representatives to the Cluster Level Bee. Each of the four Cluster Bees was held on different days this week. Stoddert’s Cluster II Bee was held Tuesday, February 16th at the Logan School auditorium. Samer’s mom and dad attended, as did Joel’s dad and sister. It was exciting when we found out that Joel—our second place winner at Stoddert—could also participate in the Cluster Bee.

Each student selected a card with a number on the reverse side. This number determined their spelling position in the bee. Samer had #4 (the lowest number selected and therefore the first to spell in each round—a little added pressure). Students from Leckie, Key, and Stoddert spelled one word from the Scripps Spelling List in each round. By the fouth round, four students remained. At the 8th round only Samer and Joel were left to battle it out for first and second place. Joel sat down on “agricultural” and Samer went on to spell the winning word (“scholarship”) in the 13th round.

We are all very proud to have both winners continue on to the the District-Wide Spelling Bee, which will be held on Saturday, March 20th at the WRC-TV Studios on Nebraska Avenue.

Submitted by Myrilyn Barr

My Clone Tri-Fighter

By Henry Mahnke

For Christmas I got the Lego Clone Tri-Fighter.

The first time I tried to build it I had to bend the rules (as in change them a little) at least five times. One night I could not go on because I had bent the rules so many times.

That night my Dad said that I could redo the ship with him, and this time we would go slower so we could get it right!

One afternoon was the perfect time to redo the ship. My sister was napping and my brother was watching Alvin and the Chipmunks at his friend’s, so my Dad and I were alone to build the ship.

So we built and built and built. Suddenly, we heard my sister wake from her nap! I was on the last wing. My Dad said, “Hurry! I’ll go get her—you finish the ship.” I finished right in time. I tried it out and it worked, and I was happy.

After we finished, we went to Whole Foods to get dinner. Luckily, we got home before my brother, so that was good. Soon my Mom came home. I flew the ship in front of my house with the Star Wars theme song. My Mom was amazed. I think it was a great time for my Dad and me.

I am working with Stoddert’s Executive PTA Board to gauge your interest in adding a collection of electronic books (“eBooks”) and audiobooks to complement the Stoddert library’s physical collection. We would also establish online access to the e- and audiobook collection. Students would be able to access the Stoddert library resources from a home or public computer, and would be able to check out more than the current limit of two resources per week.

Please take a moment to fill out the survey (http://bit.ly/9RfAH). We’ll publish the results soon and incorporate them into our development process. The survey is brief — it should only take you about two or three minutes to complete. We are hoping to get at least 100 responses, so feel free to share the URL with family and friends in the neighborhood. The survey will be active until December 4, 2009.

(Need more information? Not sure what an eBook or audiobook is? I put together a video to explain what we’re working on. Take a look! http://www.screencast.com/t/SnrT1Xg6kp)

Thank you,

Denea Bruce
Library Media Specialist
crista15555@yahoo.com

This means welcome in Arabic (certain dialects may use Merhaba or variations thereof). This week we welcomed the first graders back to the library media center with a whole host of challenging questions. We asked them to answer the following essential questions: “Do you remember the procedures for checkout?” “What username do we select to log into the laptop computers?” “How do we gain access to the computers?” Fortunately, they were up to the challenge of answering all of these questions and more!

Thereafter, the first graders were put through the paces. Their performance tasks included: Using the steps we have learned to checkout library books, logging into the laptops, launching the web browser Firefox and opening the bookmark for the Googame educational games. Then, they were directed to click on “Monkey Business,” which launched a program designed to teach students how to properly construct a sentence. After a brief introduction the students were allowed to progress, at their own pace, through a set of sentence construction challenges. In this manner students were able to use the Web to reinforce classroom learning!

Feel free to visit the website with your child and help him or her practice this important concept.