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The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is here. I encourage you to take a few moments and read this newsletter to your entire family to stay informed and become involved in the daily workings of our wonderful school. Also check our monthly calendar included in your newsletter. This one promises to be filled with many holiday activities.

PTSA General Meeting

The PTSA Executive Board would like to invite you to our second PTSA General Meeting on December 11th @ 6 PM in the auditorium. Following our meeting, we will have holiday entertainment from some of Herndon’s talented students. Please make your plans to attend.

Membership

Remember our membership drive is still going. Membership is $6.00 for everyone except Herndon students. Student membership is $3.00. We encourage everyone to join (parents, siblings, grandparents, etc.). We are hoping to have 100% membership in each class. We have over 578 members at this time, which includes Mayor Cedric Glover.

PTSA Shirt Sales

We still have T-shirts and sweatshirts for sale. T-shirts are $12.50, long sleeve t-shirts are $15.00,

and sweatshirts are $17.50. These may be worn as part of our uniform on a daily basis. You may pick up an order form in the office or on the PTSA page on the Herndon website. We will not be ordering any more shirts this year. We will be limited to stock on hand, so order now to insure availability of your size. We try to fill orders within a day or two of them coming in so if you do not receive your shirts please let us know.

Grandparents Day

Once again this year we celebrated Grandparents Day with a continental breakfast and several door prizes donated by PTSA. We had grandparents who traveled near and far to celebrate with us here at Herndon. It’s always wonderful to see the smiles on our children’s faces as they share our school with their family.

Executive Board

President Monica Anderson 375-3150 Treasurer Sherry Williams Secretary Wendy Palmer 1st VP Susan Davis 2nd VP Cynthia Barker 3rd VP Tammy Plaisance 4th VP Debbie Lyons 5th VP Anna Floyd 6th VP Vacant Advisor Angie Baker Advisor Cooper Knecht

Hawk’s View Herndon Magnet PTSA Newsletter

www.herndonmagnetschool.com

December, 2007 Issue XXV, Vol. IV

Celebrating 25

Years of Excellence 1983 - 2008

Celebrating 25

Years of Excellence 1983 - 2008

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Closing Note

The PTSA Executive Board and our families would like to send you warm wishes for the holiday season and safe travel as you visit friends and family. To the ladies who have worked so hard to make this year’s PTSA a success, thank you. You have done a great job. Take a little time and rest. The second half of the year will be here before you know it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Monica Anderson

PTSA President

Box Tops

The box top winners are:

Sep – Mrs. Carol Gore – Elementary Mrs. Cindy Paul – Middle School

Oct – Mrs. Sonya Demirci – Elementary Mrs. Kathy Garner – Middle School

Reminder: Collect Box tops for Education, Campbell's Soup labels, Tyson, and Community Coffee labels (send them to your child's homeroom teacher). Use your Kroger and Target cards. Please follow instructions that were printed on handouts for each one of these programs. Make sure to label each set of labels you turn in with your students name and homeroom so they get credit for their class. The elementary and middle homerooms that have the most for the month will receive a .50 cent hawk treat coupon for all students in the class.

Important Dates:

December 7 – Hawk treats

December 10-14 – Spirit Chain

December 11 – Christmas assembly in Gym. December 11 – PTSA General Meeting @ 6 PM. Christmas program in auditorium

December 14 – Hawk treats December 21 – Hawk treats

December 21–January 6 – Holiday Break

January 22 – Spring Fundraiser kickoff - Cookie dough

Teacher of the Month

December – Mrs. Cindy Paul

January – Mrs. Claire Carlisle

Caddo District PTA

Visit the Caddo District PTA web site. This site is filled with information for you. http://www.caddodistrictpta.org

Louisiana PTA

Visit the Louisiana PTA web site at ""http://www.lapta.org/"". This site is filled with many different articles and links for parents to resource.

National PTA

Visit the National PTA web site at ""http://www.pta.org/"". This site is also filled with many resources for us as parents, teachers, and staff of our school systems.

Kindergarten News The Thanksgiving play was a huge success. We enjoyed meeting all of the grandparents and the students enjoyed having their grandparents at school. A special thanks to all of the parents who helped paint shirts, make headbands and decorate the stage. We really appreciate you! We have a lot of exciting things planned for the month of December. We will be going on two field trips! On December 6th the kindergarten classes will go to the Board Walk to see the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium! The following week we are going to have lots of fun at Acrosports. December 20th the kindergarteners will be making gingerbread houses. Parents, grandparents and other family members are welcome to help. Please continue to


check the weekly note sent by your teacher. Also, don't forget to read for Book It and return your November and December Book It forms to school. Report card testing will be December 17th - December 21st, details be sent home later. As always, the kindergarten classes want to express our thankfulness for your support!

First Grade

First graders have been very busy! Students have learned all about the first Thanksgiving. They enjoyed a feast with turkey, corn, and lots of other treats. They are practicing addition and subtraction facts. We continue to learn new words every day. It is so important for parents to have their child practice reading every night. Please read the books sent home and other books that your child may enjoy. Remember, reading is a real key success in school!

Second Grade

Our Book Parade was a huge success. Everyone looked great and had a good time. Mrs. Corbell’s homeroom winners were Emily Weddleton, dressed as Junie B. Jones, Trace Hall, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Madison Ebarb as Fancy Nancy. Mrs. Allen’s winners were Matt Stewart, as Squanto, Erin Stapleton as the Ghost in the Kitchen, and Jenna Stafford as Gigi. Harrison Boyter as Harry Potter, Yaila Davis, ballerina, and Trace Washington, as Muhammad Ali were Mrs. Gore’s homeroom winners. Students should continue reading and practicing math facts over the holidays. Thanks for all that you do!

Great Things Are Happening in Third

Grade!

Third graders have been very busy learning all about critters in our world. They made dioramas in Science class, and they did their first research paper about city critters in Language Arts. Another great project was the greening of the trees by area

students at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum. The decorating of Herndon's tree was directed by Mrs. Weddleton. Our Christmas tree has an Indian theme, and all decorations were made by our third graders. Still to come is a field trip on December 7th to a nursing home, Holy Angels home for handicap children, the Nutcracker Ballet, and the museum to see the Christmas trees--all in one day! Third graders love learning on the go! Finally candy sales are nearly finished, and of course, AR and multiplication need continual practice. Our boys and girls are having an exciting time this school year!

Fourth Grade is Fantastic!

November has been a very busy month for 4th graders! Students have been working diligently at home on their Science Fair project for Mrs. Demirci. The due date for this project is January 14th! They have also been studying the different regions of the United States, as well as Sound and Heat in Science. In Math, students have been steadily improving their multiplication facts and even received a pizza party for passing with 100% on their multiplication facts test. Reading and Language Arts classes have been reading, reading, and reading! Ms. Weidner’s classes have read the novel, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. They really enjoyed reading about the trials of being an older sibling. They have also done an extensive unit on Bats. Ms. Robinson’s classes have Shiloh and Cricket in Times Square. It is the perfect time of year for our classes to read about love and loyalty! The A.R. goal for the 2nd nine weeks is 11 points with a 76% average. Keep working hard to achieve your goal! You can do it!


Fifth Grade

5th grade recently went on a field trip to Sci-Port. They participated in many hands on activities. They were taught about the stars and constellations in the planetarium. Their favorite part of the trip was the IMAX movie, "Hurricane on the Bayou". The movie gave them interesting information on hurricane formation. They also saw amazing footage of the storm that severely damaged New Orleans. Sci-Port is always a fun, educational place to go.

Sixth Grade

We have passed the half way point of the second nine weeks and have entered the busy time of year. Please keep up with your children’s agendas and help us keep them on task. Progress reports have gone home. If you have any concerns, please call and arrange a conference so that we can address any problems before we get too close to the end of the 9 weeks. Science Fair projects have been turned in. You will be notified if your child’s project will participate in the school fair. The fair will be January 24, 2008. The country project is ongoing. This month the student’s will work on Powerpoint presentations and culture brochure. Don’t forget the next AR deadline, which is December 12 and January 23. The key to success in math is practice. Encourage your children to continue working on multiplication and division of two and three digit decimal numbers. Have a great holiday season.

Seventh Grade

Hopefully, you have had a chance to visit Herndon and view our Veterans’ Board. Mrs. Schuler’s American history classes furnished names and pictures of veterans in their families. Mrs. Schuler took the information and transformed the bulletin board located on the main breezeway at Herndon into a picture-filled memorial for all those we know as veterans. We appreciate each family who

provided names and pictures to help with this amazing project. Science Fair information was due to Mrs. Riggs on November 12. From those forms, she has selected twenty students to create science fair boards to present at Herndon’s science fair on January 23. Remember students, it is an honor to have your project selected to represent the school; and we wish you good luck! Let’s take state this year! Math skills are being introduced using some everyday life skills. Your child should now be able to tell you how to find the length of one side of a square if you know the area of the whole square. We have just completed our unit on square numbers and square roots of numbers. They should also be able to share with you an interesting fact they learned as they were converting square inches to square feet, as well as square millimeters to square centimeters. They quickly discovered you could not just divide by twelve for square inches to square feet, and you could not just divide by ten to convert from square millimeters to square centimeters. Check them out. See if they can find the area, in inches, of a rectangular item in your house, and then have them convert the square inches to square feet. Students should be reading daily, and Christmas break will be a great time for students to read their non-fiction book. We may be on ‘vacation’, but we still need to read. Remember, this is a great way to relax and enjoy a cold afternoon by the fire. AR projects for the non-fiction unit will be due shortly after returning from Christmas break. Seventh grade students were treated to a great field trip on November 30. We traveled to Byrd High School to watch our very own Abbie Bumgardner in a play. She is a member of the Caddo Parish Talented Arts Program (TAP) and was chosen to act in one of their plays. We enjoyed “The Christmas Schooner” written by Rochelle M. Pennington. Congratulations, Abbie! You were great. Each of us in seventh grade wishes each of you a Merry Christmas and a blessed new year.


What’s Happening in Eighth Grade!

Bon Voyage! Our 8th grade trips are planned and payment is underway. Mr. Jennings’ NASA trip is scheduled for February 21 and 22. The bus is booked and we look forward to this fun getaway with our students. Mrs. Paul has been accepting payments for the Louisiana Trip. The first payment of $150 is due on December 3. The final payment of $125 is due no later than February 8. Students are selling candy to offset the cost of the trip. All money paid is non-refundable as we send payments throughout the year to reserve spots for tours, etc. in advance.

Elementary Gateway

The Gateway students have been very busy working and learning! The fifth grade Gateway students are on a "Genre Journey" and the fourth grade students are on a "Book Mountain Expedition". Both groups are reading books and completing activities from different genre in order to collect miles and get a stamp in their passports. The fifth graders are also building a model of a house using real miniature bricks and mortar. The fourth grade Gateway students recently designed a diorama of a Colonial home on the computer, printed it and then put it together. The fourth graders are also doing research on Michelangelo. All the students are enjoying building marble rallies. Our second and third grade class has really grown! We now have nine girls in that class. Welcome to Claudia, our newest student.

Elementary Enrichment

Art – Elementary art students have been studying symmetry and cutting on the fold to create masks

and disguises. Congratulations to Christian Smith for submitting the winning design for the Rose Center Christmas card. Thank you to all the fifth graders who worked together to get the card painted. Physical Education – During the holiday season, we all know that we will overindulge when it comes to eating. Before you head back for seconds and thirds, think about the number of calories you’re consuming and how hard it is to burn those calories. One extra cup of mashed potatoes has around 160 calories. A slice of pecan pie, depending on your recipe, has from 400 to 500 calories. For a person of about 200 pounds, it would take between 2 and 3 hours of walking at a moderate rate to burn off those mashed potatoes and pie. It would take at least one hour of high impact aerobics to burn those extra calories. Go ahead. Enjoy your holiday meals, but remember to enjoy in moderation.

Elementary Computer Lab - Have you heard the kids talking about the Zoombini Mountain Rescue program? Well it’s an educational program made by The Learning Company that challenges one’s reasoning ability. The product features require one to: Solve 9 perplexing puzzles, such as binary addition dilemmas when playing Boolie pinball, develop skills in algebraic thinking, data analysis, logical reasoning, graphing and mapping, pattern finding, problem solving, statistical thinking, and more Learn advanced concepts like binary numbers, binary computing, networks, and permutations Puzzle reformulation gives you a new game each adventure 3 levels of difficulty This would make a great Christmas gift, is very inexpensive and can be ordered off the internet. Happy shopping! Kay Mattox

Elementary Music – The 5th grade is busy getting ready for the PTSA Christmas Program by preparing songs, routines and speaking parts. Please join us the night of December 11, 2007 in the auditorium for an evening of holiday fun!


Elementary Library - The Book Fair was a huge success thanks to our students, parents, grandparents and the wonderful HMS staff. Profits from the book fair support the Accelerated Reader program at Herndon. Discoveries - The Discoveries classes have completed a unit about FROGS. The students have read books about frogs, observed frogs up close, written poetry about frogs, and completed frog crossword puzzles. They have made a frog puppet and written a script about a pet frog. This puppet show was shared with the class. They have watched a video about the life cycle of the frog. Frog games were created and played with the students in the class. THE GATEWAY AND DISCOVERIES CLASSES WANT TO SEND OUT A GIGANTIC THANK YOU FOR ALL THE CAKES THAT WERE SENT FOR FAMILY FUN NIGHT!! I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE HELP WITH THE CAKEWALK! Thank you, Sandra McCutcheon

Middle School Enrichments

Middle School Music - Busy! Busy! Busy! The guitar students are hard at work. They are currently in song-writing mode. The guitar, piano, and band students are also busy practicing their Christmas music as we get ready for the upcoming Christmas PTSA Program.

Middle School Computer Lab - Beginning Computer Class is continuing to learn new keys with the aid of the keyboard covers. The students are doing very well.

Intermediate Computer Class is working on learning the tools of drawing and painting programs and soon will work on several projects using these tools.

Computer Literacy is finishing an on-line project on learning styles and has begun learning the tools in Excel.

Hawk Talk The second issue of Hawk Talk will be out soon, get your copy for $.75 from D-107.

FCS - The students are moving into the kitchen and will begin the cooking part of FCS between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Until that time they will be working on material that will prepare them for the cooking experience such as: how to read recipes and the names of certain kitchen utensils and how they are used. The students will also be discussing good nutrition and how to be as healthy as possible.

Art – Middle School art students are working together to combine their ideas for a Rose Center card design. They have finished some very interesting 3-D drawings of rooms and are currently weaving arm bands. Broadcast Journalism - The students are busy working on their articles and backgrounds for productions. We hope to have one production each week for the remainder of the semester. Physical Education/Life Sports - We had a very successful Red Ribbon Week activity - we designed squares of material with the themes of the week! The National Jr. Honor Society purchased the materials to make the squares and the 8th grade FCS classes sewed them together into blankets. The blankets will now be donated to charity. In the end, we made enough squares to make 10 blankets. The students did a great job in completing this task from start to finish! We will make the actual donation during the Christmas program in December. Beginning French - We have been creating family pictures using pictures of the Canadian family we have been working on. We have played new games involving numbers and the weather

French I - We closed our unit about food by playing tic-tac-toe about likes and dislikes. In our next unit we are going to talk about clothes.


French II - We are still working on a unit that involves Louisiana. After the Thanksgiving holiday we will start working on a Power Point presentation to be sent to a French school in France. The topic will be Rural Caddo. Library - DVD’s of the Miss Faded Flower Pageant are still available from the Middle School Library. The upcoming Drama class productions will also be available after the performances. All DVD’s are $10.00 each. Multicultural Studies - The students have been reading about the country of Japan. They completed research on this country and succeeded in locating the answers to a Japanese Scavenger Hunt. The students have watched a documentary about Japan. They have created a game about Japan using all the information gathered in the research, the scavenger hunt, and the documentary. Students have shared the games with the other students in the class. Thank you, Sandra McCutcheon

Middle School Gateway

Even though it seems early, Gateway teachers are already beginning the process of creating I.E.P.s for the 2008-2009 school year. Teachers will be in-serviced on the new I.E.P format. Most I.E.P. conferences are scheduled for April. Some will be earlier. As usual, parents will be notified of their scheduled conferences in advance so that they can make arrangements to attend. Parents are encouraged to make every effort to attend these very important conferences.

Student Council

Student Council has had a very busy month. Six members were able to attend the Southern Association of Student Councils in Panama City, Florida and our representatives competed in several

events. Also, student council has had three suggestion boxes installed around the school. Students or teachers can use these boxes to submit ideas or make requests for student council. The boxes can be found outside the cafeteria entrance, beside the staff entrance to the office, and outside the middle school library. We hope that this will make it easier for student council to serve our school.

4-H

What a great time we had on our field trip to the Louisiana State Fair! Thank you to all of the parents and to the C.E. Byrd 4-H club that went with us to help chaperone. We looked really nice with our matching Herndon 4-H t-shirts too! Thanks again to the Ciaro Plantation, John, Pam and Sawyer Sloan for donating sod that was auctioned off at the Herndon auction held earlier this month. Thanks to Marty Wooldridge for not only his donation of a tool set for the auction, but for purchasing the sod at a top dollar price. We were able to purchase our shirts because of your much appreciated generosity. We would also like to give a big thank you to F.J. Burnell, Inc. and Sheriff Steve Prator for their contributions given toward the purchase of the Caddo Parish kids livestock. The Herndon 4-H livestock club had 5 of its members make the Louisiana State Fair sale with their animals. This was a record year for money received for them as well. Abbie McMillon received $2,100 for her lamb, Sawyer Sloan received $2,300 for each of his 2 pigs, Jessica West received $1,800 for her goat, Breanne Saulsbury received $1,850 for her goat and Jacob Gipson received $2,400 for his goat. That’s a total of $12,750 just for HERNDON KIDS!!! WOW! We are now preparing for the spring shows. Animal possession deadlines are:

Southern University Ag Center 2008 State Livestock & Poultry Show

Animal Possession and Entry Form Due Dates Division Possession Date Entry Due Dates

Market Steers October 1, 2007 November 1, 2007*


Market Lambs November 30, 2007 December 15, 2007* Market Goats November 30, 2007 December 15, 2007* Market Hogs December 15, 2007 December 30, 2007* Beef Breeding November 30, 2007 December 30, 2007* Dairy November 30, 2007 December 30, 2007*

This show is held Feb. 28 – March 1st at Southern University in Baton Rouge.

There is also a show at LSU in Baton Rouge that some of the livestock members in the parish attend. If you are interested in showing and need help finding an animal for this show…….don’t waste any time and please call Johnny Levasseur at the Caddo Extension Office 226-6805. Our November community service was to collect canned foods for the Salvation Army. We have 2 days left and have already collected 5 barrels of food items. The class in elementary and the class in middle school that collects the most cans will receive a donut and juice party the day we leave for Thanksgiving Break. Our December community service is to decorate (Christmas theme) and fill large cans with toiletry items for the nursing home in Vivian. Anyone may participate by bringing items such as hand lotion, perfume/cologne, brushes, combs, lap blankets, socks, rubber soled slippers, dominos, shampoo/conditioner etc. We will deliver these holiday cans after school on December 20, 2007. We will entertain the residents with dancing and singing. For those patients that can’t make it to our celebration, we will personally deliver their “Santa can” to their room. This is a heart warming experience for our 4-H members and a wonderful way to begin the Christmas holidays. The 4-H club wishes you all a wonderful Holiday

Season! Thanks, Kay Mattox

National Junior Honor Society

We participated in the “We Care” contest. The objective of the contest is to show the good side of people: someone picking up trash, helping somebody else, etc. 196 times over a two-week period students were caught doing something nice! Keep up the good work.

Coordinator’s Corner

Grandparents' Day was a huge success at Herndon this year. Our guests commented about what a wonderful program the K-5 students performed, under the direction of Mr. Keane, our music teacher. The Veterans in our audience were recognized, as well as our Grandparents that traveled the longest distance, the oldest, the youngest, the one with the most grandchildren, the one with the most great grandchildren, and the one that has attended the most number of years at Herndon for Grandparents’ Day. We really appreciate all of our Grandparents and hope they felt a warm welcome on their special day! We are currently accepting applications for the 2008-2009 school year and setting up testing dates. Testing will begin on Friday, January 25th for Kindergarten students and for students entering 6th grade at schools with 15 or more students. Testing will continue on Saturday, January 26th for Kindergarten through 8th grade at all magnet schools. The next testing date will be Friday, February 1st for Kindergarten at all elementary magnet schools and for students entering 8th grade at schools with 15 or more students. Testing will continue on Saturday, February 2nd for Kindergarten through 8th grade at all magnet schools. So, get your applications in early and I hope to see you there! Betty Swain, Instructional Coordinator


From the Elementary Counselor MAKE THE HOLIDAYS ABOUT SPENDING

TIME TOGETHER Rather than allowing the hustle and bustle of the holidays to keep you from taking time out for your children you should make the holidays about spending time together.

Enjoy the times together by doing things with your children that are fun, as well as educational.

A part of that is to pick activities that are appropriate for your children’s age.

DRAW A PICTURE: Write or draw together a picture of the family doing what they like to do together. Decide where to hang the picture.

DRAW/MAKE A LIST: Make a list in words or pictures of three great things you like about each other.

WRITE A STORY TOGETHER. Illustrate it and fasten it all together into a book for a family library.

CREATE A FLAG: Make a family flag that shows each family member and a favorite activity.

GIVE THANKS: Make each day a day of giving thanks and giving of each other.

Judi Gaharan, Counselor, NCC, NCSC

Middle School Counselor

Your Middle School Counselor is Mr. Moore. I have an open door policy and am always happy to talk with the students or parents.

Character Education program, conducted by the middle school counselor is a continuing program at Herndon Magnet. The counselor visits advisory classes and talk to the students, stressing the seven pillars of character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship and Decision-Making.

Parents please talk with your child about pillars of character.

The Explore Test results are back. Your 8th grade students should have received their copy. The results are self explanatory but if you have questions please contact me.

8th Grade students have started to work on their computerized online Career Five (5) Year plan; this plan will assist the students through high school and college. Questions can be directed to me. M. Moore, Herndon Middle School Counselor

Think Positive!

At Herndon Magnet School we are always looking for ways to have a positive impact on our students. It is our goal to provide an environment that will produce caring, responsible, productive, and creative individuals who will be successful in life. To accomplish this goal, we start with looking at our students’ needs and tailoring a “school-wide” plan that will result in positive results. School-Wide Positive Behavior Support provides the framework for accomplishing our goal, which is to provide a safe, positive learning environment. SWPBS (School-Wide Positive Behavior Support) is a state mandated initiative that sets a standard for dealing with problematic behavior by teaching a desired, more acceptable behavior to replace the undesired behavior. Because this is a school-wide approach, everyone involved with our students’ education becomes a part of the SWPBS team, teachers and other staff members, administrators, parents and bus drivers. The faculty and staff have created a list of school-wide expectations that are character based. Our school-wide expectations are easy to remember because they go along with our school mascot, the hawk:

Honesty and courtesy are our rules of conduct Accept responsibility Work to succeed Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself Show respect for yourself and others


Our teachers spend the first few days of school teaching our school-wide expectations. Teachers provide classroom instruction where lessons in character building are taught, modeled, role played, and reinforced. Every week our faculty and staff select students who exhibit positive behavior and good character. These students’ names are posted on our positive behavior boards on our school breezeway. Our students always look forward to checking out the positive behavior boards. Herndon Magnet School has achieved a great deal in its efforts to provide a healthy, safe, and positive learning environment for its students. This school year, we were visited by a team of state evaluators from Caddo Parish and the Louisiana Department of Education. The Louisiana Department of Education and Louisiana State University have recognized Herndon Magnet as an exemplary school and a “Demonstration Site” for School-Wide Positive Behavior Support. As we continue to focus on positive behavior, we will never lose sight of our main purpose here at Herndon Magnet, to provide an environment where every student can “develop to his or her fullest potential” both emotionally and academically.

K. Cross/Assistant Principal of Administration

Once again, we’ve had a very busy month at Herndon Magnet School! We began the month with our CiCi’s pizza trip for the students who had a 4.0 for the first nine weeks, followed by the Honors BINGO parties for our 3.5-3.9 students. We then kicked off the fall Book Fair which was very successful. Another fun activity that we really enjoy in November is Grandparents Day! I always love visiting with our students grandparents! This month Mrs. Cross, Mrs. McCutcheon, Mrs. Maranto and I were given the opportunity to attend the National Middle School Association Conference in Houston, Texas. We attended work sessions each day of the conference and got lots of great ideas for our school. Mrs. Maranto and I then attended a Literacy Conference that gave us great ideas for working in a differentiated classroom. The premise behind this

initiative is that all students are different and learn differently, so they should be taught in a variety of ways. Before the Thanksgiving holidays, we had the eighth grade drama classes’ presentation, which was fantastic. Who knew the Wild West could be so much fun? We ended the month with our Diabetes Walk which is coordinated by Mariah Corbell and her mother, Mrs. Corbell. This is such a worthwhile cause and we really appreciate all of the donations that were made. I want you to all know that I am so thankful to have the opportunity to work with such wonderful, students, parents and staff each day. I feel truly blessed to be able to work with the Herndon Magnet School family. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday!

Brenda McDonald, API

Christmas “Pre-Cycling” Practice "pre-cycling" by taking recycling or reuse into consideration when you buy. How do you do this? Simple. Consider an artificial tree that does not have to be discarded or recycled and is not a fire hazard. You can buy a live tree and plant it in your yard after the holidays. If you buy a cut tree, plan your decorations to minimize flocking, tinsel, and decorations that will have to be removed before recycling. Check with your local solid waste officials, recycler, or waste company to determine local requirements. Trees that have lights, ornaments, excessive tensile, spray or flocking or include stands or plastic bags simply add to the garbage collection. Most Louisiana municipal and parish tree collections are held during the first two weeks of January. Trees are collected for use in coastal restoration projects or used in compost projects.


KNECHT’S KEYNOTES Dear Herndon Families, It’s hard to believe, but we are almost halfway through the school year. The second nine weeks ends on December 21, 2007. We continue to encourage all of our parents to maintain positive communication with our teachers and staff. We appreciate that you share and support our belief that we must work closely together to provide the best learning environment for our students. With this in mind, I offer some suggestions to make parent/teacher conferences as positive and productive as possible:

• Talk to your child before the conferences. Ask him/her how it’s going, whether there is a particular subject with which he/she is having trouble, and whether there is anything, you should know before the conference.

• When you talk to the teacher, ask about what he/she sees with your child, and whether he/she has any ideas that can help you support your child.

• If there is a problem, do bring it up. State what you see from your point of view, and what you think the problem is, and then listen to the teacher’s point of view on the issue. Focus on your child -- what is working and what is not working for him/her -- and work together to develop a good solution for your child.

• Don’t forget that educational methods have changed since you were in school, and that teachers have a wealth of professional knowledge about teaching and learning. Also, be aware that there is no one right way to teach anything; many different methods can be successful. If a particular method is not working well for your child, definitely say that, but don’t conclude that a teacher is not doing a good job just because his/her methods are different or unfamiliar. A specific focus on improving the experience for your child should result in a good solution.

• If I can help to make the conference more productive, please do let me know. If we all work together, I believe that we can solve any problem!

The holiday season is rapidly approaching. Please consider adding books to your shopping list. If you give a book, you’ve given more than just a present; you’ve given an adventure! Take time to read this winter. There’s nothing like curling up with a good book on a cold winter’s day. One of the best gifts you can give your child is the gift of reading. Take time to read with your child everyday. As always, thank you for your partnership and work with us to make Herndon the best it can be! If you have ideas, comments, questions, or thoughts you want to share, please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time via phone (318-221-7676) or e-mail [email protected]. Your partner in education, Cooper L. Knecht Principal


Hawk’s View Herndon PTSA Newsletter Herndon Magnet School 11845 Gamm Road Belcher, LA 71004 Monica Anderson, President Margaret Crane, Editor

Herndon Magnet: Where Excellence is our Minimum Standard

Caddo Parish School Board Mission Statement

In the Caddo Parish Public School System our mission is to improve the academic achievement of students and overall district effectiveness. We have high expectations for everyone – students, teachers, administrators, parents, community volunteers and support groups.

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. Postage PAID Gilliam, LA 71029 Permit No. 1


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