WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Rutherford Elementary SEPTEMBER 20, 2013 MAIN OFFICE 651-351-6400 Attendance Line 651-351-6401 Health Office 651-351-6402 Adventure Club 651-351-6410 Principal 651-351-6406 District Office 651-351-8340 Thursday, Sept. 26 - Peace On Assembly Friday, Sept. 27 - Watch Me Draw Class 3:15-4:15 Monday, Sept. 30 - First Grade to Crystal Caves Tuesday, Oct. 1 - Yehlik and Skaj/ Simcik to Teddy Bear Clnic Friday, Oct. 4 - All Kindergarten to Old Gem Theater - Johnny Appleseed Sunday, Oct. 6 - 5/6 Choir Lullaby Concert at Boutwell Landing Monday, Oct. 7 - Stillwater Fire Department visits Rutherford Tuesday, Oct. 8 - Taverna and Terhark to Teddy Bear Clinic Wednesday, Oct. 9 - WALK-A-THON Friday, Oct. 11 - No School Parent/Guardian/Teacher Conferences Monday, Oct. 14 - Parent/ Guardian/Teacher Conferences 3:45-7:45 Tuesday, Oct. 15 - Parent/Guardian/Teacher Conferences 3:45-7:45 Culver’s Night Out 5:00-7:00 Oct. 17-18 - No School MEA Tuesday, Oct. 22 - PTA Meeting 6:30-8:00 pm STUDENT HOURS 8:40 AM TO 3:10 PM UPCOMING EVENTS Please view the school’s website for additional information. Click here for the Staff Directory. Our school calendar. . Rutherford PTA website.
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTERRutherford Elementary
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 3
M A I N O F F I C E 6 5 1 - 3 5 1 - 6 4 0 0
Attendance Line 651-351-6401" " Health Office 651-351-6402Adventure Club 651-351-6410" " Principal 651-351-6406
" " District Office 651-351-8340
Thursday, Sept. 26 - Peace On Assembly
Friday, Sept. 27 - Watch Me Draw Class 3:15-4:15
Monday, Sept. 30 - First Grade to Crystal Caves
Tuesday, Oct. 1 - Yehlik and Skaj/Simcik to Teddy Bear Clnic
Friday, Oct. 4 - All Kindergarten to Old Gem Theater - Johnny Appleseed
I hope you are all doing well. The past two weeks have gone by fast as I have been recovering after my surgery. The healing process has been slower than I thought. In my naiveté, I thought I would bounce back and be ready to resume all the activities I did before my surgery within a week. Well, I have learned that the body will heal on its own time.
My plan is to return to work on Monday starting with ½ days until I meet with my surgeon on Wednesday afternoon. At that time we will assess if I am able to return to work full time. Keep your fingers crossed!
We have been very lucky to have Ginny Kruse take over for me in my absence. She has allowed me to focus on my recovery and feel comfortable knowing someone was there to support Rutherford. With the Rutherford staff so amazing, you probably wouldn’t have even known I was gone.
At the end of last year, I shared with you some exciting activities that we were going to do with our students around Peace. Next week, Thursday, staff and students will be gathering to celebrate our Peace On kick off.
Students will be participating in monthly Peace Buddy activities. Each peace group is made up of one adult peace leader and 16 students that include kindergarten through 6th grade. Students will be involved in peace activities or service learning projects that help support our community and one will focus on a global community.
Here is a brief outline of activities and service learning projects that your children will be involved in:
September: Celebrating our theme for the year “Only One You” – this book celebrates our unique qualities. Students will be decorating a fish that will represent them; these will be displayed in the building. Students will be also be painting rocks with their classroom teachers. The rocks will be decorated as fish and will again celebrate their unique qualities.
October: All About Me Posters – students will be creating posters in their classrooms to share with their peace buddies. This is an activity to help the buddies get to know each other as they begin their time together.
November: Service Learning Project – felt tie scarves and blankets – Students will be reading Have You Filled a Bucket Today? They will then work together to fill the Community Thread bucket by making felt tie scarves and blankets for families in need.
December: Special cards for local seniors. Students will be working together to create special cards to be given to our local senior citizen centers.
I will share more as the year progresses.
Thank you and have a wonderful weekend.
Warmest Regards,
Heather
Investing in Excellence: Levy 2013Mark your calendar for November 5
What does the levy mean for students at Rutherford Elementary?
Over the past 18 months community members and district staff have worked hard to create a new vision for our schools. This new plan is all about bridging our strong traditions of the past with the changing needs of today’s students. Work has already begun to implement this new plan, and if the levy is approved in November, students at Rutherford Elementry would have many new opportunities through the new Bridge to Excellence plan, which include:
- Engaging in learning around cultures and world language. - Expanding STEM to STEAM by adding art design. - Improving communication with parents about their child’s growth. - Expanding safety and security of our schools.
You can learn more about Bridge to Excellence and view the more than 300 action steps included in the plan online at www.stillwaterschools.org/vision. Remember to vote on November 5! Learn more at www.stillwaterschools.org/levy2013.
Additional Conference Information
To get to the Family Access site you must go to the Rutherford Elementary School website at http://rutherford.stillwater.k12.mn.us/. There you will find a link on the left side of the main page called: Skyward Family Access. Follow this link and then click on the words Family Access. This will connect you to the Skyward Family Access login page.
Student attendance at Fall Conference: Grades 3-6, students are expected to attend; Grades K-2 - teacher discretion.
Conference Length: 15 minutes; five minutes between conferences. Please adhere to the schedule to ensure all families have their allotted time.
At our May PTA meeting last year, we voted on changing the Fall Fundraiser to a Walkathon. Many elementary schools in our district have incorporated the Walkathon as part of their fundraising and have had great success! We are hoping to continue this at our school.
Students will be collecting pledges from friends, neighbors and relatives for participating in the walkathon and all the money earned will support the PTA 2013-‐2014 budget. Listed below are just some of the activities supported through our PTA :
• Monies for needed classroom supplies,• funds for the music program (choir, band, orchestra),• funds for phy-‐ed programs, including Music In Motion and Coach Johnny,• partial sponsorship of the new Rutherford tradition of the 6th grade Uield trip to Camp St. Croix,• money to repair library books.
The Walkathon is a great way to involve the Rutherford community in supporting our school, to involve our students and staff in a fundraiser that focuses on healthy activity, and to involve companies by giving them the opportunity to match pledges for a great cause. The goal for this fundraiser is to have each student raise $25.00! For safety reasons we do not recommend door-‐to-‐door selling.
Pledge sheets and envelopes will be sent home with students next week. The money should be collected at the time of the pledge and turned in to their teacher on or before Monday October 7th, 2012.
Walkathon will be Wednesday, October 9th with a rain date of Wednesday October 16th. The walking schedule will be as follows: Grades K-‐3 are assigned a 30-‐minute walk and grades 4-‐6 are assigned 45 minutes.
Students will follow a speciUic course on the school property. Teachers and support staff will accompany the students the entire time. Grade levels will be walking together to build a team environment. If you would like to join your student during their walk time, please feel free to do so. There will be a place to sign-‐in at the beginning of the walk, so plan to meet your child there. Due to allergies and “accidents” pets are not to be on school grounds for this event. Thank you in advance for you cooperation in this matter.
The fun stations around the walkathon path will be led by our very own 6th graders!! We are very proud that the 6th grade students have volunteered their time and leadership skills.
Prizes will be announced next week – so check next week’s information for the details. As students turn in their pledge sheets (regardless of the amount) they will get a prize for their efforts!
On behalf of the Rutherford PTA, we thank you in advance for your support and involvement in this fundraiser. We are looking forward to a great year!!
