Cambridge Connection – School Newsletter

December 2012

Teaching children to have a heart for giving is a year-round endeavor. Christmas, however, provides an especially opportune setting for showing kids not only what the act of giving looks like, but the reasons behind giving as well. Below are five ways to teach your children about giving this Christmas season.

1. Explain why we give gifts to one another at Christmastime. Just as the wise men gave precious gifts to Jesus to celebrate His birth, we give gifts to one another to remember His birthday. In all the excitement about presents and Santa, kids sometimes need a reminder of what Christmas is really about.

2. Let your children pick out gifts for each family member. This gets them excited about giving! Our Holiday Shoppe is a great opportunity for them

to shop for family members.

The Joy of Giving By the Cambridge Newsletter Editor-in-Chief

***Pirate PRIDE***

Contents

Note from Principal 1

School News 2

PTA News 3

Grade News 4

Grade & Specials News 5

Health & Wellness 6

Kids Korner 7

Pirate Family Club 8

Business Members 9

Upcoming Events

12/10-14 – Holiday Shoppe

12/13 – Early Dismissal

12/13 – Family Night

12/24 to 1/2 - No School

Cambridge Elementary

109 W. Cambridge

Belton, MO 64012

Phone:

(816) 348-1008

Fax:

(816) 348-1093

E-mail:

tgoodall@bsd124.org

3. Volunteering in the community. Christmas is a good time to volunteer at a local homeless shelter, soup kitchen or church. Seeing others that are less fortunate and being able to reach out and help is a good lesson for kids to learn at any age.

4. Another way to show your children the joy of giving is to allow them to help you gather gifts, food and other necessities for a family in need.

5. Collect non-perishables for local charities. This is a great way to get the kids active and show them what giving is really all about.

It is important for kids to understand that sometimes giving isn't about expensive gifts; it’s about giving time and going out of their way for others. The lesson of giving, when consistently taught, will last your child a lifetime. We’d like to wish our Cambridge family warm wishes for the holiday season!

When the first snowflakes begin to come down, And the wind whistles sharp and the branches turn brown, I won’t mind the cold, though it numbs my fingers, For it brings the time nearer, when Santa Claus lingers!

Mrs. Sullentrump is Famous!!

REMINDER!!!

4th Grade will be performing

“Positive”

at the High School Forum

December 5th 6:30 P.M.

Please join us!!

and enchanting window displays along Main Street, between 12th and 14th Streets. The decorated storefronts are festive and family-friendly, tied together with the 2012 theme: “Whimsical Winter Wonderland.”

You can check out her window in person or online at www.kcholidaywindows.com. During the first four weeks the windows are on display (November 16 – December 16, 2012), guests will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite storefront design! Prizes will be awarded to artists for 1st, 2nd and 3rtd place. The 2012 Holiday Windows will remain on display thru January 5, 2012.

PLEASE take a moment to support our very own school art hero, Mrs. Sullentrup, and vote for her window! She’s famous in our eyes!

GOOD LUCK MRS. SULLENTRUMP!

Pirate Principle:

For December, we focus on the character trait of

Respect: Treating others the way you want to be

treated. Respect is thinking and acting in a way that shows others you care about their feelings and their well-being. Examples of what respect is:

You admire (respect) a historical figure who stood up for what she believed in, even when it was hard.

You are quiet in a library to show that you care about (respect) others' need to read without interruption.

You follow your parents' rules to show them you respect how they feel about the situation.

You don't call people names because you care about their feelings.

You don't hit or hurt people because you care about their well-being.

You dress, speak, and act in a way that shows you care about what you know is right and safe, because you care about (respect) yourself and your well-being.

Well sort of! Mrs. Sullentrup has entered the Holiday Windows competition in the KCP&L district. The competition pairs some of the area’s most talented artists with downtown businesses to create unique

Reflections: Magic of the Moment

We had four entries for this year's Reflections program. A great big congratulations and thank you to all who participated. All of you did a fantastic job!! The entries are being processed and next month we will announce which participants are advancing to State. The theme is the Magic of a Moment. The entries are:

Visual Arts: Victoria Bestor - Mr. Gowen Lilly Smith - Mrs. Sampson

Georgia Meakins - Mrs. Sampson

Film Production: Aidan Long - Ms. Broze

Cambridge Connection School News Page 3 of 9

Update: The winning class with the

most PTA memberships is Ms. Sampson! They will be treated to a

pizza party. Mrs. Bradley’s class ended up winning 2nd place and will

enjoy a snow cone party. There is still time to join the PTA! Contact Kristin Stoebner for more information: specialk800@yahoo.com

If you would like to help out a family from the community please look at the list below and purchase an item. Then bring it to school and deliver it to your teacher by December 13th. We thank you so much for your generous hearts and compassion for others! If you have any questions please contact Susie Hostetler: (816.518.6203/luvmy4boyzs@gmail.com) or Kristin Stoebner: (913.709.7050/specialK800@yahoo.com).

Each classroom has been assigned a child and a separate flyer with the information will be sent home.

Adopt A Family This year each grade level has a family to bless with gifts for this Christmas Holiday. The PTA is asking for each grade to purchase the clothing items for each family. The clothing items we are asking for are shirts/sweatshirts, pants, socks, shoes, pajamas, and/or coat.

PTA News Page 3 of 9

Fun was had by all at Family Movie Night

The Cambridge PTA sponsored Family Movie Night on November 16th. Families came to watch Disney Pixar’s Brave and enjoyed FREE popcorn and punch provided by the PTA.

Cambridge Connection

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!

Spaghetti Dinner with Santa December 13th 5:30 to 7:00

Page 4 of 9 Cambridge Connection Grade News

What’s Fun in Grade One?

Mrs. Bradley’s class had a Thanksgiving Feast! Gobble! Gobble! Room 6 compared the story elements in three Thanksgiving stories by Steve Metzger: The Great Turkey Race, The Amazing Turkey Rescue and The Silly Turkey Party. We found the main characters and setting to be the same in all three books. Cassie, Wing and Ollie were on a wild adventure at the farm in each book. However, the problem and solution changed in each story. In the end, Cassie, Wing and Ollie did not want Farmer Joe or Farmer Kate to eat them on Thanksgiving Day. Afterwards, each student contributed a page to our class book entitled “Save a Turkey, Eat More…” Here are their great ideas: Eat more bar-b-q chicken, muffins, pie, cake, candy corn, beer can chicken, bacon, chili, chips, blueberries, apples, pizza, bananas, chicken legs, ice cream, cantaloupe, chocolate, popcorn, pepperoni, strawberries, biscuits and gravy! 1st grader made some very cleverly disguised turkeys! There was a turkey fashionista, blinged out with a pink fuzzy skirt and zebra top. There was a tropical turkey and a fireman turkey. A police turkey, clown and farmer turkey. A turkey wearing a food suit and there was even a bride-to-be turkey! I think it’s safe to say that these turkeys made it safely through the

Thanksgiving holiday! Don’t you?

Kindergarten & 2nd Grade News Second grade would like to thank all of the parents who planned and worked the Fall Party on Nov. 20. The children enjoyed the festivities, food and games. A picture of Fall Party in Mrs. Jones class is below. They made turkeys out of cups while wearing turkey headbands and eating treats that looked like turkeys.

In December, second grade will be discussing and learning about questioning during Readers’ Workshop. Our writing skill for December will be persuasive writing, so parents, be prepared to be persuaded to purchase that special gift! Addition with regrouping is the next unit in math. It is very important that students know their basic addition facts as a solid foundation for this skill. Flash cards make a wonderful holiday gift! Mrs. Jones’s Treasure Time students performed a Thanksgiving play about team work for the students in all three first grades. For extra practice before the official performances, the students also gave a dress rehearsal for their fellow second graders. Mrs. Smith’s Second Grade and Ms. Jackson’s Kindergarten classes teamed up for “Little Buddies and Big Buddies.” Mrs. Smith’s students read Thanksgiving books to their “Little Buddies” and Ms. Jackson’s student practiced and preformed a counting song for their “Big Buddies.” Ms. Jackson’s students also wrote very nice thank you notes for their buddies. The Buddies will be doing a winter craft together in December (picture below).

Page 3 of 4 Grade Level News

Art By Samantha Sullentrump

Page 5 of 9 Cambridge Connection Grade & Specials News

Respect Effort Responsibility

DON’T FORGET!

The 4th graders show is on

Dec. 5th at the Belton High

Sschool.

3rd grade has been very active the last few weeks! We visited the Missouri Conservation Discovery Center on November 16th. Students expanded their knowledge of nature by learning about habitats in prairies, wetlands and forests. Following a nature walk the students worked in groups to create a poster for one of the three ecosystems. The students enjoyed visiting each habitat and the animals that live in them. In science we began our Heat and Light unit. Students are learning about our main light source and how we use it around our world. In math we finished up our money unit and we have begun our fractions unit. We’ll also get into probability and will be working with graphing. In reading we have begun our questioning unit. This allows students to question a text to encourage higher level thinking. Finally, students will continue to work with narrative writing. Another major focus we will have over the next week or two is our Acuity Predictive B testing. This test is designed to help us have a better understanding of where students will score on the MAP testing later on this year. Needless to say things will continue to stay busy in our classrooms, but we wouldn’t have it any other

way!

What’s The Word in 3rd

?

Music By Mrs. McDonald

December is a fun month in the music room. Along with our regular learning activities, students spend time singing holiday songs. Most of the songs are newly composed songs with great instrumental back-up tracks. We sing all different styles of music. These songs are often the student favorites of the entire_year. First grade has been learning how to play the xylophones. Our xylophones are high quality wooden bar instruments. The 1st graders have been working on holding the mallets correctly, playing the correct letter name notes on the middle of the bars, and keeping the beat. These are important foundational skills the 1st graders will expand on over the next few years. They are all holding the mallets correctly at this point! We will continue to work on matching the steady beat_when_playing. Don't forget the 4th grade show is Dec. 5 at the High School. The theme is 'Positive.' I hope to see every 4th grade student at the evening_performance.

PIET MONDRIAN Kindergarteners have been learning about color. What better artist to start with than Piet Mondrian? Piet Mondrian is a non-objective painter whose art is full of thick black lines making primary colored squared and rectangles. The students used these same elements when making their own artwork. These stacked boxes can be seen right outside the art room! Stop by and enjoy!

Our Children’s Hands

Page 10 of 17 Cambridge Connection Student Art Work

Respect Effort Responsibility

Page 6 of 9 Cambridge Connection Health and Wellness

Respect Effort Responsibility

Eating foods rich in Magnesium, such as artichokes. Magnesium is critical in over 300 functions of the body, including boosting our energy.

Black, green, and white teas all contain the energizing amino acid L-theanine. Taking L-theanine plus caffeine can increase your brain functions and make you feel less tired. Coffee alone does not contain L-theanine.

Getting to the point where you're just starting to feel thirsty -- a mere 2.6% drop in hydration levels -- can double your feelings of fatigue. It makes studying twice as hard than if you’re fully hydrated.

Simple exercise can make a world of difference in our moods, and energy levels. Just some simple morning stretches can really help to get the blood flowing first thing in the morning.

Believe it or not, colors in our lives can make even the smallest amount of difference. Looking at blue, can calm, orange can energize; and even smelling an orange can be a great energizer.

St.John's Wort can lighten your mood. Herbalists warn not to take this herb too close to bedtime as it can interfere with your sleep and rest patterns.

Vitamin B-12 will give you some great energy and lift your mood. Again, don't take this too close to bedtime or you won't be able to sleep.

Also, you can try this fragrant potpourri recipe: Add 2 cups of water to a small saucepan. Add some orange and lemon slices with cinnamon sticks, allspice. Bring them to a simmer. Let the potpourri simmer and fill the air with mood lifting fragrance. Also lavender and vanilla scents are smile makers.

Exercise is a great mood lifter.

Turn on your favorite disco song

and dance from beginning to

end! Total 3 minute workout

plus fun mood lift!

How to limit holiday goodies or avoid temptations: Portion control is a great place to start. Never arrive hungry, don't look at the party as a food event, set a limit and stick to it, use a small plate and don't stack your food, consider bringing a low-calorie treat that you know you'll enjoy, get away from rigid thinking about what holiday food has to be; people love fruit.

Bagel Gone Banana's - Great for Diabetics, Low-Calorie, High Fiber and Low-Fat Ingredients: 2 Tbs natural nut butter, such as almond, cashew or peanut 1 tsp honey Pinch of salt 1 whole-wheat bagel, split and toasted 1 small banana, sliced Directions: Stir together nut butter, honey and salt in a small bowl. Divide the mixture between bagel halves and top with banana slices. Serves 2 284 calories per serving

Seasonal Depression/Seasonal Laziness/Energy Boosters Many people suffer from Seasonal Depression and if you happen to be one of them, here are a few tips and tricks to put a little jingle in your bells:

Get out in the cold for FUN & Exercise:

Go ice-skating.

Build a winter bonfire and make s’mores.

Go sledding.

Build a fort and have a snowball fight with your kids (or your spouse/partner).

Feed the birds or go bird watching.

Make your own birdfeeders out of pine cones, peanut butter, and birdseed.

Go ice-fishing.

Head out on a photo expedition to take pictures of the winter landscape.

Make snow paint. Simply add food coloring to water and put in a spray bottle, then go out and paint your yard!

These activities are sure to boost your mood and increase your family fun!

Kids Korner

Page 11 of 11 Cambridge Connection Health & Wellness

Kids don’t make up 100% of our population, but they do make up 100% of our future!

~Zig Ziglar

Page 7 of 9

Have you written your letter to Santa Claus yet? If not, you better get on it! There’s no time to lose! Here’s an easy fill-in-the-blank one for you to clip, fill in, and send. Don’t forget to leave cookies for Santa and carrot bites for the reindeer. And don’t forget… you must be tucked in your bed and fast asleep before he will come. We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy

New Year!

PIRATE FAMILY CLUB Student Name: ______________________ Grade: ______ Teacher: _____________________________

Show your pirate spirit and work together as a family! Complete at least 8

activities and earn a prize!

Please return this form to the office by December 21, 2012.

Pirate Family Activity Parent Signature Did you and your family read a book out loud and take turns reading, or, rent a book on tape from the library and listen to it instead of watching television?

Did your family attend Cambridge PTA Holiday Shop? Did you and your family make dinner together? Cold weather keeping you inside –Try to work a puzzle together as a family.

Did your family visit a museum or children’s museum? The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art or Kaleidoscope at Crown Center and Children’s Peace Pavilion are just a few to check out with FREE ADMISSION!!!

Did your family take a scenic drive or drive around and look at Christmas lights this holiday season?

Did your family attend Cambridge PTA Spaghetti Dinner on December 13, 2012?

Did you write a family newsletter about what your family is doing or has done this year and send it to all of your relatives?

Did your family have a “Make Your Own Pizza” Night? Did you and your family bake a cake or delicious desert from scratch?

Have your parent/guardian sign any 6 activities accomplished during November/December and return this form to the office by December 21, 2012 and you will receive a bag of goodies.

Date received in office: _____________________

Page 8 of 9

We would like to extend a BIG THANK YOU to our PTA business supporters:

Like us at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cambridge-Elementary-

PTA/131293620241357

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