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STONEWALL INSIDER DECEMBER 2017 EDITION #4
EXEEEJKJKEHU
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!
Bring on the Music!
Stonewall’s chorus and orches-
tra students welcomed the
holiday season with their an-
nual concert this past Monday,
12/4th! The groups also per-
formed for the student body
on Tuesday—putting everyone
in the holiday spirit!
Under the direction of Music
Teacher Ms. Marshall and Or-
chestra Director Ms. VanFleet,
both groups performed many
songs. Parents, students, and
staff sang along to many holi-
day favorites such as Jingle
Bells, Jolly Old St. Nicholas,
and Away in a Manger—only
to name a few! Congratula-
tions on a wonderful perfor-
mance! Bravo!!!
The Stonewall Giving
Tree Has Arrived!
A giant tree is now in the
front lobby to celebrate
the spirit of giving! Fami-
lies are encouraged to
hang new mittens or hats,
along with ornaments to
represent their own cus-
toms and traditions.
Under the tree is a place
for donations of gently
used toys and books from
Stonewall students. All of
the collected items will be
donated to charitable or-
ganizations to help local
families. Ornaments will
be returned after the holi-
days. Thanks to everyone
for your contributions!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
STONEWALL FAMILIES!
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DECEMBER 2017 STONEWALL INSIDER EDITION#4
REFLECTIONS WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!!!! Stonewall Students Make a
Proud Showing at
the 2017-18 District Reflections Awards
Stonewall had eleven students participate this
year in the National PTA’s Reflections Contest.
The theme of this year’s contest was “Within
Reach”—with 6 different categories of competi-
tion: literature, musical competition, photog-
raphy, visual arts, dance choreography, and film
production. Reflections entries are judged at the
local level, district level, and state level. Judging is
conducted by outside professionals in each differ-
ent field who have no affiliation with the school or
students.
Our students submitted a total of 15 entries. En-
tries that advanced to the district level were on
display at the Lyric Theater in downtown Lexing-
ton during the Gallery Hop. The district awards
ceremony was held on December 3rd, with the top
winners advancing to state. Per Denise Bauer
(Reflections Coordinator), 29 KY schools were rep-
resented—with over 200 entries submitted. Den-
ise stated, “The competition was stiff this year.
Kentucky is one of the most competitive states in
this nationwide contest—with one of the largest
number of entries. Winning at the district or state
level is extremely difficult —the quality of work is
remarkable. These kids should be proud!”
Awards at the district level were as follows: Over-
all Winner, Award of Excellence, Award of Merit,
and Honorable Mention. All Stonewall students
received a School Award of Excellence for partici-
pating in the contest! Congratulations to Bella Tay-
lor, Evelyn Afenya, and Monzeraht Castorena Rob-
erts for participating and also earning a School
Award of Excellence!! Congratulations everyone!
The 2018 Reflections theme is “Heroes Around
Me”….it’s never too early to start creating!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO 2ND GRADER JAX THOMPSON
FOR ADVANCING TO STATE IN TWO CATEGORIES!
Jax’s photography and visual arts primary division entries
were both overall winners in the Fayette County District.
His pieces will now represent Stonewall and Fayette
County in the state level of competition! Good luck!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STONEWALL
STUDENTS WHO ALL RECEIVED HONORABLE MENTION
RIBBONS FOR ADVANCING TO DISTRICT LEVEL:
Visual Arts– Samara Gomez, Mya Phelps, Abby Taylor
Photography—Cassidy O’Meara, Katie Beth Skaggs
Film: Cassidy O’Meara
Literature: Anne Beck, Jax Thompson
Dance Choreography: Emily Beck, Katie Beth Skaggs
STONEWALL STUDENT NEWS
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TEACHER FEATURE MONTHLY PROFILES OF STONEWALL’S FINEST
DECEMBER 2017 STONEWALL INSIDER EDITION #4
MERRY KINDERGARTEN TEACHER HALEY VOLLET
Teaching History: First year teaching/First year at Stonewall
(welcome!)
Favorite Hobby: Crafting, playing with her puppies, travel &
shop!
Favorite December Holiday Movie: Elf!
Favorite Restaurant: Drakes and anywhere with sushi!!
HAPPY FIRST GRADE TEACHER JENNIFER MARCUM
Teaching History: 16 years teaching/13 years at Stonewall!!
Favorite Hobby: Crossword puzzles & watching movies with the
family!
Favorite December Holiday Movie: Christmas Vacation!
Favorite Restaurant: Chick-Fil-A!
JOLLY SECOND GRADE TEACHER HALEY WARREN
Teaching History: First year teaching/First year at Stonewall
(welcome!!)
Favorite Hobby: Going to the lake, sports, hanging out w/family
& friends!
Favorite December Holiday Movie: Elf!
Favorite Restaurant: Hacienda!
WONDERFUL THIRD GRADE TEACHER CALLIE REICHENBACH
Teaching History: 3 years teaching/All 3 years at Stonewall!
Favorite Hobby: Playing with her two Border Collies—Cash and
June!
Favorite December Holiday Movie: The Santa Claus!
Favorite Restaurant: Harry’s!
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DECEMBER 2017 STONEWALL INSIDER EDITION #4
WONDROUS FOURTH GRADE TEACHER AMANDA LEE
Teaching History: 7 years teaching/All 7 years at
Stonewall!!
Favorite Hobby: Reading and spending time with family!
Favorite December Holiday Movie: The Santa Claus!
Favorite Restaurant: Asuka!
MAGICAL FIFTH GRADE TEACHER BETSY RUTHERFORD
Teaching History: 29 years teaching with the last 10 years as a
principal at Russel
Cave Elementary/Retired in 2015 but returned to teaching—2 years
at Stonewall!
Favorite Hobby: Cooking with granddaughters—teaching them family
recipes!
Favorite December Holiday Movie: It’s A Wonderful Life &
Home Alone (“I still
laugh out loud at this movie”)...loves them both because of
family themes!
Favorite Restaurant: Jalapenos & Chuy’s—Mexican food!!!
JOYFUL TECHNOLOGY TEACHER TRACY HAYES
Teaching History: 19 years teaching/8 years at Stonewall!
Favorite Hobby: Crocheting!
Favorite December Holiday Movie: A Charlie Brown Christmas!
Favorite Restaurant: Taco Tico!
SPARKLY SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER MELISSA ZINCK
Teaching History: 6 years teaching/4 years at Stonewall!
Melissa started the Moderate to Severe Disability Program at
Stonewall in 2013!
Favorite Hobby: Decorating and organizing! If she ever stopped
teaching she
would like to be a professional organizer!
Favorite December Holiday Movie: Home Alone 1 & 2!
Favorite Restaurant: Chuy’s & Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen!
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DECEMBER 2017 STONEWALL INSIDER EDITION#4
CLASSROOM INSIDER WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE CLASSROOM!
KINDERGARTEN
Units on Holiday Traditions Around the World
FIRST GRADE
Text Studies: Character, setting & plot, sequencing,
cause & effect/continued vocabulary studies
Wonders Benchmark Assessments taken
Math: Number sense to 20/solving word problems
Counting strategies using the base ten system
SECOND GRADE
Reading & responding to non-fiction texts
Math: Addition & Subtraction
THIRD GRADE
Reading: Summarizing & finding the main idea,
verbs in grammar, writing opinion pieces
Math: Multiplication & division
Third grade will finish 2017 with a bang!!
FOURTH GRADE
Unit on Plant & Animal Adaptations
Fourth graders will showcase projects at the
Science Fair this month!
FIFTH GRADE
Social Studies: American Revolution War Unit
JA Bizz Town Instruction
Reading/Writing: Book reviews & opinion essays
SPECIAL EDUCATION
Community Service Project: Students will visit a
local nursing home to sing holiday carols—
delivering baked goods & homemade ornaments
TECHNOLOGY
Grades K&1— Chromebook login
Grades 2-5– Typing and Lexia
THE STONEWALL SCIENCE FAIR IS THIS THURSDAY, 12/14!!!
This Thursday, 12/14th, Stonewall will hold its Science Fair for
4th & 5th grade students! Judging will
take place in the morning, with the parent walk-through and
awards presentation in the evening at 6:30
p.m. Participating students are eligible for awards within their
grades, and top ten overall projects will
advance to the Fayette County District Science Fair on Saturday,
Feb. 3rd, at Bryan Station High School!
Please come out to support our Science Fair participants!! Good
luck to everyone!!
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A Message From Our PTA President, Amy Recktenwald
Happy December, Stonewall families! It is almost impossible to
believe that another year is com-
ing to an end. As we look toward 2018, I wanted to thank all of
you for your support of our school
and our PTA. We have had a wonderful first half of our school
year – a very successful fundraiser,
growing memberships, a great literacy night and numerous spirit
nights, celebrating our students
at Kentucky Kids Day, Walk to School Day, and Champs night, many
fun popcorn Fridays, and a
variety of service projects to give back to our community. In
addition, we have a revamped PTA
website, www.stonewallpta.org, (as well as a new school website)
and a completely redesigned
newsletter, to let families know about all the awesome things we
have planned. It is an exciting
year to be a Stonewall Stallion!
And we have SO many more activities ahead! If you haven’t had a
chance to experience or volun-teer for events thus far, no problem
– we have many opportunities in 2018. We will have our an-
nual movie night in January, Love for the Arts night in
February, Stonewall Talent Show in March, Science Night in April,
Field Day in May and many other activities throughout the coming
months. If you would like to volunteer for the remainder of the
year, please email your contact info to
[email protected]. No amount of help is too small
-it is a great way to get involved with our school community!
On behalf of the Stonewall PTA, I would like to wish all of you
a joyful holiday season and a relaxing winter break.
Happy New Year!
Amy Recktenwald, [email protected]
DECEMBER 2017 STONEWALL INSIDER EDITION #4
FOND FAREWELL TO RETIRING TEACHER DONNA LANSDEN
I celebrated my latest milestone with my Stonewall Family,
friends, and my stu-
dents. On Friday, December 1, 2017 I began a new chapter in my
life;
Retirement. For the past 28+ years I’ve committed my life to
teaching young chil-
dren within the Fayette County Public School System. I’m so very
thankful for the
opportunity to teach so many promising young people throughout
this experience.
My husband Winston and I appreciate the Stonewall Teachers &
Staff who gave our
three children a wonderful introduction to their formal
education.
A few of you may remember our daughter Brianna? Many of you
remember our two
sons Zion and Josiah who began here in Kindergarten. They are
now a Sophomore
and Junior. During my retirement I hope to travel and spend
quality time with my
husband, boys, my grandchildren A’Naya and Joelle, and my
family.
One of my favorite scriptures is found in Jeremiah 29:11 (The
Holy Bible). It reads;
For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord,” plans
to prosper you and
not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I’m looking forward to the next chapter and the many experiences
it will bring.
I wish each of you a Blessed Holiday Season,
Donna B Lansden
THANKS TO MOORE CUSTOM FLOORING FOR CONTRIBUTING TO SPROUT!
Their business name was mistakenly left off the vendor list
provided to Amy Recktenwald
(by Emily Stuart, Sprout Rep) for inclusion in last month’s
newsletter publication.
mailto:[email protected]
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DECEMBER 2017 STONEWALL INSIDER EDITION#4
We now rank #2 in our area, #14 in the state, and #755 in the
nation (out of 97,080 schools). The bi-annual check in De-cember
will be for $2,635.10. Our school’s lifetime BTFE earn-ings to date
are now $33,055.28. The collection contest theme for November was
“We Go Wild For Box Tops”. Mrs. Erwin’s 1st grade class was the
winner of the Grimaldi’s Pizzeria Par-ty. The winner of the monthly
Box Tops staff contest for Oc-tober was Mrs. Dick, once again. She
received tickets for The Holiday Market and Food and Treats Show
for four in down-town Cincinnati. Thanks for all that you continue
to do helping us do so well with our Box Tops! Bruce
BOX TOPS COLLECTING ROCKS INTO THE NEW YEAR!!!
THE ELVES ARE HARD AT WORK ON THE
2017-18 STONEWALL YEARBOOK!!!
DON’T MISS THE FEBRUARY 16TH DEADLINE!!
BUY ONE TODAY!!!
$30!!!
VISIT JOSTENSYEARBOOKS.COM OR SEND IN PAYMENT
WITH A YEARBOOK ORDER FORM
**FORMS ON PTA WEBSITE OR IN SCHOOL LOBBY**
IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR CLASS WINTER PARTIES!
All class parties are Monday, 12/18th at the times listed
below:
1st Grade: 11:00 a.m. 2nd Grade: 9:30 a.m. 3rd Grade: 1:30
p.m.
4th Grade: 1:05 p.m. 5th Grade: 1:00 p.m.
**Should the 18th be a snow day all parties will be on the
19th**
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DECEMBER 2017 STONEWALL INSIDER EDITION#4
In our final 2017 newsletter, we would like to take the
opportunity to thank our entire
Stonewall Elementary School extended family of parents,
teachers, and students for all
your wonderful support and encouragement regarding our work on
the newsletter,
website and yearbook! Nothing brightens our day more than having
a parent or teacher
tell us how much they look forward to reading the newsletter
each month! We look
forward to an amazing, spectacular, inspiring, incredible,
outrageous 2018!!
Happy New Year!!! Happy Everything!!!
-Rebecca & Adam Thompson, PTA Communications
DECEMBER 2017 PTA CALENDAR Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2
3
Reflections Award Ceremony
4 Chorus/Orchestra Concert 6:30 pm
5 Spirit Day @ Blaze Pizza (The Summit) 11am-8pm
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Lafayette Area Band Concert
14
Science Fair
15
16
17
18
Classroom Win-ter parties
19 Winter Party Make-up Day
20 Winter Break (No School)
21
Winter Break
(No School)
22
Winter Break
(No School)
23
24
25 Winter Break
(No School)
26 Winter Break
(No School)
27 Winter Break
(No School)
28 Winter Break
(No School)
29 Winter Break
(No School)
30
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December 1-19 Toy Drive
Volunteers needed – Science Fair (December 14) (contact
[email protected])
Volunteers needed – Arts Night committee (contact
[email protected])
January 3, 2018 – School Resumes – HAPPY NEW YEAR!
