The Eagle’s Eye Page 1 March 2012

Principal’s Corner Dear Parents, Thank you to all the APT representatives who coordinated and helped with the Valentines’ parties. It seemed to go very smoothly! Next,

please be sure to send in your confirmation for Family Bingo Night to be held on March 15th. Spring conferences are scheduled for March 6th thru the 8th. If you have missed the opportunity to attend and would like to schedule a conference, please contact your child’s classroom teacher to arrange a time that is convenient during the school day.

It’s time to think about the administration of PSSA tests to third and fourth grade students during the week of Monday, April 8th through Friday, April 12th. Please make sure that your children have a restful sleep each night and that they eat a good breakfast each morning. Students must also get to school promptly as no one may enter the classroom once the testing session has begun. Over the last couple of years, a snack has been provided each day of the regular assessment period.

With the approach of spring, it is often difficult for students and adults to keep focused on learning or work. . . .

March 2013

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Volunteer Needed Owatin Creek APT needs a volunteer to

take over assembly of the monthly Eagle’s Eye Newsletter.

This task is lots of fun, easy to do in your own home, and is a huge help to the APT

and school. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Sue Ann Evans

yvan2@dejazzd.com or Jeane Serrian jserrian@yahoo.com.

Mark Your Calendars... Mar 14: School Store (3rd grade) Mar 14: Gertrude Hawk Pick-up,

5-7pm cafeteria Mar 15: Family Bingo Night,

5-6:15pm and 6:45-8pm Mar 20: Deadline for Market Day

orders Mar 21: School Store (2nd grade) Mar 21: Picture Day Mar 26: Market Day Pick-up, 7-8pm

Jacksonwald Mar 28-Apr 1 SCHOOLS CLOSED

Next Month... Apr 4: School Store (1st grade) Apr 8: EAGL Meeting, 7pm Reiffton Apr 8: PSSAs (3rd and 4th grades) Apr 10: APT Meetings, 9:30am and

7pm Apr 11: School Store (4th grade) Apr 12: Report Cards Apr 18: School Store (3rd grade) Apr 22: PSSAs (4th grade) Apr 25: School Store (2nd grade) Apr 25: Elementary String Fair,

6pm Reiffton Apr 30: Market Day Pick-up, 7-8pm

The Eagle’s Eye Page 2 March 2012

PRINCIPAL’S CORNER CONTINUED FROM THE FIRST PAGE

. . . Here are some ideas to keep in mind for improved student performance and behavior:

1. Music can help relax students as they get ready for school in the morning. Play a soothing musical selection and ask them to be dressed and ready by the time it is over. Also, you can eliminate clothing choice disagreements by selecting all clothing on Sunday afternoon. Hang each outfit on hangers labeled Monday through Friday.

2. Be sure your children know that attendance is the most important part of their school responsibilities. Students should not stay home unless they have a fever or are truly sick.

3. A good breakfast increases concentration. Offer your child healthy choices!

4. Consistently show them you care about school and what they are learning by asking about projects, specific lessons and activities. Instead of asking “What did you do today?” ask them “Which multiplication table did they practice today?”

5. Try to be a positive role model by talking about the progress you made today at work or at home instead of discussing all the things that went wrong during your day. By relating all the positives about your day, you may help them feel better about their own accomplishments at school.

As always, if you have any concerns about your child’s progress, learning or behavior, please contact your child’s teacher immediately. Remember that you are always welcome to call me with questions or concerns about our school or your child.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in our “A Celebration of the Arts” on February 6th. It appears as though everyone who attended enjoyed the multiple activities. Please take an opportunity to look at the pictures posted on the library windows. Thanks so much to our teachers and students who read “The Enormous Egg” every day during that week.

Reasonably sunny weather is approaching! ~ Sincerely, Susan M. Cook

PLAY DAY! Play Day is scheduled for Thurs. May 30th (Rain Date is May 31st).

Mrs. Bainbridge has had many wonderful submissions for the design for the t-shirt and Art Show Posters! This year's theme among the specials teachers is "wild" -- wild about art, wild about music, wild about reading, and wild about fitness! Look for this theme to be carried out on the Play Day shirts as well.

Students will be measured for their play day t-shirt during Picture Day on Thurs. March 21st. These shirts are complimentary and provided by the APT. Parents who are volunteering for Play Day will be able to purchase a shirt. Order forms for these shirts will come home at a later time. Mrs. Bogust will also be sending home a separate form for volunteers to help on that day.

The Eagle’s Eye Page 3 March 2012

APT NOTES

Boxes of chocolates and pastel colored hearts are images we associate with Valentine’s Day. At Owatin Creek, our students also equate the ‘sweetest’ day with DQ ice cream. A special

thanks to Hamid Chaudhry, the owner of Dairy Queen, who has generously donated vanilla soft serve for our APT Valentine Day parties for at least a decade. Thanks to our APT Party Planners, Tracy Cloak and Lori Borja, and their volunteer brigade for filling the afternoon full of crafts, games, and a smorgasbord of sundae toppings and treats for our OC classrooms!

For the 3rd and 4th grade string students, the celebration continued throughout the evening. Elementary music instructor, Ms. Emily Holleman and her young scholars joined the rest of the district’s orchestra performers for the 5th Annual String Jam. Over 300 Exeter string

students from 3rd through 12th grades filled Exeter’s High School gymnasium to play classical scores from Bach to Mozart. The Jam’s final selection was a moving overture composed by Tchaikovsky. With the joint musical talents from all the schools, the evening concluded with a dynamic rendition of “March Slave” in B-flat.

Another moving piece was played in the OC cafetorium a few weeks later in the form of an animated movie. On Dr. Seuss’s 109th birthday, OC students arrived in their PJs with

blankets and family members in tow. The newest of our APT events aired the Seuss’ classical tale, The Lorax. A standing ovation goes to Family Movie Night Chair, Marcy Strauss, her husband Joe, and her crew of volunteers. A five star rating goes to Knight’s Rental owner, Greg Miller, for donating the popcorn machine that evening. Because of everyone’s stellar performance, our 1st Family Movie Night got rave reviews!

A number of events were offered to our students and our families in the past month - including the Celebration of the Arts, the Technology Fair, and the 4th Grade Strings Kimmel Center Field Trip. All of them provided wonderful opportunities for our children, whether it was educational or just down-right fun! We hope you were able to take time out of your busy schedule and take advantage of what Owatin Creek and the Exeter School District has to offer. The rest of the year is packed full of activities! Check out the OC APT activities on Facebook, in our newsletter and bulletin, and on the OC calendar. Better yet . . . come to our next meeting on April 10th.

Co-presidents Jeane Serrian, jserrian@yahoo.com

and Sue Ann Evans yvan2@dejazzd.com

Thank you to the combined efforts of our APT volunteers, teachers, administrators, and staff for helping with all of these events! Without all of you, none of this would have been possible!!

The Eagle’s Eye Page 4 March 2012

MUSIC NEWS

STRING JAM:

Congratulations to all the third and fourth grade string students who participated in the 2013 String Jam on Valentine's Day! Combined with the Reiffton, Junior High School, and Senior High School orchestra students, over 400 string students participated in this year's concert! Students performed Brahm's Academic Festival Overture and Samba la Bamba. All the third through twelfth grade orchestra members performed Tchaikovsky's Marche Slav together for the finale. One of the highlights of the concert is hearing each school perform individual selections, allowing students to hear how they will develop with their music as they grow. Keep practicing!)

FIELD TRIP:

On March 5th, fourth grade string students from Owatin Creek, Jacksonwald, and Lorane Elementary Schools traveled to the Kimmel Center to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra perform

Beethoven Lives Upstairs. Our students were very excited to hear a world-class orchestra in person, as well as learn about the life of Beethoven. After the performance, students participated in a question-and-answer session with Robert Cafaro, a cellist in the orchestra. Mr. Cafaro shared that he began learning the cello in third grade, like many of our students! Afterwards, students toured the Kimmel Center and learned why Verizon Hall is shaped like a cello and how the turn-table stage is used in the Perelman Theater.

We were extremely fortunate to have been able to go on this trip and we would like to thank all those who participated in the t-shirt fundraiser, parents, chaperones, fourth grade teachers, office staff, and Mrs. Susan Cook for her support of this endeavor. We would not have been able to do this without you!

Emily Holleman, Elementary Instrumental Music Instructor

The Eagle’s Eye Page 5 March 2012

A Wonderful Time Was Had By All…. Thank you to all the parents who donated goodies for the Valentine’s parties and

for those who shared their time as party helpers! You all helped make the day mem-orable for the kids. We would also like to extend a thank you to Mrs. Cook, Michelle and Andrea, the teachers, and staff for helping the events of the day run smoothly.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO HAMID AT EXETER DAIRY QUEEN WHO

GENEROUSLY DONATED THE ICE CREAM FOR THE PARTIES!

Happy Valentines Day The Party and Parade Planners Committee

Lori Borja, Tracy Cloak, Erin Bollinger, Colette Gabriel, Kathryn Marr, Melanie Smith, and Jen Young

BOX TOPS Over 9,000 box tops were submitted this month. We receive 10 cents for every valid box top. This covered our Fall Fun Day expenses for this year. Keep on sending them in! We will submit them again before the end of the year to avoid any that may expire over the summer. Thank you!!

4th Grade Battle of the Books

Just a reminder from Mrs. Lamm that our 1st ever Battle of the Books is quickly approaching. Teams will be announced after the spring break.

4th grade students have until March 27th to read a book on the Book Battle list and to turn in a summary sheet to Mrs. Lamm. Keep reading!

PICTURE DAY ...is Thursday, March 21st.

Spring and group photos will be taken.

The Eagle’s Eye Page 6 March 2012

The more desser s

you purchase, the

more profits for

Owatin Creek!

Clockwise from top:

♥ Key Lime Pie ♥ Mint Brownie Blast Pie ♥ Raspberry Lemonade Pie ♥ French Silk Pie ♥ Fruit Medley Deep Dish Pie ♥ Classic Apple Pie ♥ Peanut Butter Cup Pie ♥ Decadent Chocolate Cake ♥ Turtle Cheesecake ♥ Lemon Cake ♥ Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

The Raspberry Lemonade Pie was sampled at Market Day pickup and it is wonderful!

DESSERT BONUS DAYS ARE HERE!!

♥ Want a chance to get $25 off a future Market Day purchase? Order two of the desserts below and email me at mmgarvin21@yahoo.com. I will announce the winner after this month’s deadline. ♥ $5 new customer discount off a $25 purchase! Enter promo code NEWFIVE at checkout

HOW TO ORDER YOUR DESSERTS:

1)  Choose your desserts from the list below 

2)  Place your order online at www.marketday.com and pay be credit card or by check at pickup 

3)  MAKE SURE to email me with your name, child’s name and classroom, which desserts you ordered and the amount (when you order two or more desserts you are also entered into a drawing to win a free magazine subscrip on) 

Dessert Sale Contact Informa on: Michele Garvin—MMGarvin21@yahoo.com (preferred) or  610‐823‐2639. 

Please remember that the deadline to order is Wed, March 20th by 11pm.

www.marketday

The Eagle’s Eye Page 7 March 2012

Fourth Grade T-shirt Design Contest A big thank you to all fourth graders who participated in the contest. There were many wonderful, creative entries! Congratulations to Jade Arevalo in 4-C who is this year's winner! We will see Jade’s design on our Play Day t-shirts.

Women’s Club Congratulations to Enalia Paniagua (4-M), Ryssa Staudt (3-M), Meghan Snelling (4-H), and Evan Bohn (3-M) as Woman's Club winners for this year's Festival of the Arts. Their artwork will travel on to compete at the county level on March 9. Other students representing Owatin Creek included Sydney Meck (MA-1) and Xavier Pienarr (2-B).

~ Mrs. Bainbridge

FROM THE ART DEPARTMENT...

Exeter Advocates for Gifted Learning

(EAGL)

EAGL Meetings are held on the first Monday of every month, in the library of Reiffton Middle School.

Do you have questions about gifted programs in the Exeter Township School District? Or perhaps about parenting a gifted child and finding activities and opportunities outside of school? We cover many topics of interest and provide a great opportunity to meet other parents.

Please join us at our next meeting, Mon Apr 8th. If you have questions about EAGL or would like to be placed on the email list for future meetings, please send an email to exetergps@gmail.com.

Upcoming School Store days:

March 7 - 4th grade

March 14- 3rd grade

March 21 - 2nd grade

April 4 - 1st grade

April 11 - 4th grade

April 18 - 3rd grade

April 25 - 2nd grade

Parents, please note that we appreciate all the help we received from volunteers this year; however, we do not need any more volunteers at this time.

Co-Chairs: Deb Goodman dkgood@ptd.net 610-898-1144 Melanie Smith jsmithmwd69@msn.com 610-370-9249

The Eagle’s Eye Page 8 March 2012

Gertrude Hawk Sale Hopefully you’ve picked up your chocolate on Thursday evening, March 14, and received your mystery prize at the check-out table. This sale generated over $4,000 for our school. Thank you to all who participated!

AND THE WINNERS ARE... 1st Place - Brooke Petit from Ms. Clark's class with over $800 in sales. SPECTACULAR!! 2nd Place - Rachelle Toaldo from Mrs. Warchol's class with over $600 in sales. OUTSTANDING! 3rd Place - Blake Gill from Ms. Marburger's class with over $400 in sales. FANTASTIC! 4th Place - Adrianna Pinkasavage from Mrs. Daniels' class with over $300 in sales. WOW!

The winning classrooms with the highest participation are... 4th Grade - Mr. Diamond's class 3rd Grade - Mrs. Moyer's class 2nd Grade - Mrs. Stoudt's class 1st Grade - Mrs. Bush's class K - Mrs. Macrina's PM class

The APT Eagle’s Eye newsletter and APT meeting minutes are available online at Owatin Creek

Elementary School’s website… Go to the District website: http://www.exeter.k12.pa.us, select Owatin Creek, then APT, and then Owatin Creek APT Newsletters.

Parents, caregivers, teachers, and staff—have some school news to share? Send it to

owatincreeknewsletter@yahoo.com for inclusion in the newsletter.

Mrs. Macrina and her students receiving their chocolate prize for GH fundraiser participation!

Congratulations to you all! Robyn Berger, Spring Fundraiser Chair

Next Year's APT -- Committee chairpersons are needed for the APT for 2013 - 2014. There are also open positions for the Executive Board. In particular: Fall Fun Day, Memory Book, Newsletter, and Membership to name a few. Discussions will be held during the, April, and May APT meetings: Apr 10 and May 1, 9:30am and 7:00pm.