November 5 , 2013

We are an iSchool Campus! by Josh Hamlin

Tomorrow’s Learning Today!

This year in school we got new Apple computers and iPads. We have been using them a lot so far this year. The iPad has many apps that we use for educat ional purposes. We talked to

some of the students in the lower grades and they said that they are fun but they wish that they could play more games on them. The Macs have the same purpose as the iPads but they just make work more efficient.

We talked to the students in higher grades and they said that they like them because they’re easier to understand.

Overall the students of Swan Valley like the new upgrades to the school. It’s been 2 or 3 weeks with the new iPads and since then they have been part of the daily

schedule.

There is also the new TV in the main hall that has turned into the new hangout for the little kids.

!Welcome by our Editor by Tristyn Page

Bonjour, aloha, holà, hello! Hi everyone! It’s Tristyn here and this year I’m the newspaper & yearbook editor. So far my team has been great.

I love having everyone so crazy about writing. The best part about being the editor, though, is hearing about what all of you are doing! So, if you see me in the halls don’t be afraid to tell me what you guys have been up to. This year I am going to work hard, my team also, to make it be the best newspaper and yearbook. Au revoir, totsiens kwhaeri, goodbye!

Our Panther Paws staff this year is: Tristyn Page, editor ; Destri Vias, reporter ; Brayden Christiansen, reporter ; Cody Hunter, reporter ; Tayann Jorgensen, reporter ; Sadie Hicks, intern; Josh Hamlin; intern, Fran Howell, advisor.

Panther Paws

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We’ve Got Class We are one quarter of the way through the year. Read here see the progress our students have made!

Pre-School by Sadie Hicks This year the pre-schoolers are rockin’ it! They’ve already learned how to write their names, letters, and numbers. They are learning how to help their community and be good citizens.

The send week in October was Fire Prevention Week and they learned their fire escape route at home.

Mrs. Kopp has been reading them a book a day. One of the books that they've read is called “Stone Soup”. One thing that the pre-schoolers have been excited about lately is their iPads! They have been practicing patterns on IXL.

!Kindergarten by Josh Hamlin This year kindergarten students are going to have a rough year. They’re learning brand new skills that they can probably teach the students up in the other side of the hall. They’re learning on how to pronounce letters and how they blend together. They’re also learning how to summarize, compare and contrast, and predictions, some stuff that the higher grades are still working on.

In math the kindergarteners are working on addition facts zero-one, bar graphing, and writing numbers one to twenty.

In social students they’re learning to say their state, country, city, planet, and continent. They are also learning the constitution. When I was in kindergarten I didn’t learn anything like this.

In health they’re learning what your body needs to be healthy. In science the kindergarteners are learning how each animal has different characteristics and how to separate them into groups. In writing, they are writing in their journals every Thursday.

1st & 2nd Grade by Josh Hamlin The 1st & 2nd graders are learning a lot this year. The 2nd graders are learning other things than the 1st graders. The 2nd graders are learning in reading by working on chapter books but the 1st graders are working on short stories. In science the class is working on the solar system. In math the 1st graders are working on addition facts. The 2nd graders are working on fractions. As their class book, they’re reading Fugamania. Now that’s a cool sounding book!

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We’ve Got Class 3rd & 4th Grade by Cody Hunter In class 3-4 they have been studying Idaho History and learning the symbols that represent Idaho.

They are working on reading comprehension and they have finished two chapter books.

Their focus this year is reading comprehension, problem solving, and becoming better writers. They are pretty excited and having fun.

!5th & 6th Grade by Tayann Jorgensen So far, Ms. Ozburn has had a great year. First off, they have been learning about children’s rights in UNICEF. They’re learning about how there was child labor and how children used to be treated as slaves.

In reading and writing they are reading Jane Addams Book Award books. In those books, they promote peace and justice through out the entire world.

In science they’re learning about cells! I hope they’re having fun, and good luck to them!

!7th & 8th Grade by Brayden Christiansen The 7th & 8th grade class have a new teacher this year and so far some of the students say that they have learned a lot so far this year. Here are some of the things to expect from Ms. Sailer. She said, “I want students to be kind to one another and the students to start thinking deeper in work and in life.” The students have also been switching classes with Ms. Ozburn for English. Here are some of Ms. Ozburn goals for the 7th & 8th graders: to be able to write an essay at a high school level and for each student to read 25 books by the end of the year.

Art Class by Sadie Hicks

Recently, I asked Ms. Stanger what she planned to work on this quarter in art. The pre-schoolers are working on the language and kinds of lines. The kindergarteners are working with shapes. She told me that the 1st and 2nd graders are learning how lines show pattern, movement, and repetition. The 3rd & 4th graders are practicing positive and negative space. Wow! Art sure sounds fun this quarter.

Music Class by Tristyn Page

I said a Boom Chicka Boom! I said a Boom Chicka Boom! Ah, the sound of music. Sadly we aren’t learning this type of music but we are still learning great music. The Pre-k - 4th know a lot about this. They have been learning to play the recorders, the guitars, and the keyboards. By the time they are all in 8th grade we are going to have little Beethovens! In the older grades we have been learning to play the violins. Soon we will be getting new instruments: cellos, violins, violas, and more. Soon we can have our own marching band! Mrs. Allison is excited for this year and so are the students. Let’s play our way through the school year!! ���3

Let’s Volley! by Tayann Jorgensen

The Girls Volleyball team has been progressing well through the years. They worked very hard and did very well. Their best game was against the staff with a

25-23 score. We would like to thank the other school for participating with us, and the PTO for new uniforms! We are soon going to start girls basketball and we are hoping all goes well! Much luck, girls!

Class Awarded Grant! by Josh Hamlin

Ms. Ozburn, the 5th & 6th grade teacher, just got a book grant that is worth $778.00. That’s the biggest grant that she has ever received! The books that she is going to buy are going to be about the research of the Jane Adams Book Award. She bought the books so students can learn how to recognize peace and justice. They are also learning how to see the criteria of the book like overcoming prejudice, conveying compassion, or promoting equality.

!So, if you would like to send Ms Ozburn a grant, just go to

www.donorschoose.org/ozburn, and press “Give”

Congratulations to Ms. Ozburn and her class!

!This years school lunch week was spectacular! Give Joanne a round of applause of her great effort for making it great! Did you have fun watching everyone, cause I know I did. This year every class had an area of America: Southwest, West, Northeast, and Southeast. !

Speeding on over to the West we learned a lot about our home that we didn't even know from the kindergarten class. Did you know that's blackberries can make you look younger? I sure didn't! !Passing over to the East we learned a lot about their favorite foods, like what was in clam chowder and about Johnny cakes. !Salsa-ing over to the 3 and 4th we learned about salsa from the Southwest. Arriba! !Jumping over to the 5th and 6th we jumped to the beat of food rhymes! I didn't know that you could jump to food rhymes! !Finally skipping over the pond to the Southeast we learned about many different foods from there. !Of course Mr. Keck gave us a story how he saw people sucking

the brains out of crawfish. Yuck. I hope you had a lot of fun reading and learning about the nations favorite foods. See ya!

It Was a Fantastic School Nutrition Week! by Tristyn Page

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Who’s New in Our School? by Tristyn Page & Cody Hunter

This year we have one new student and two new teachers. The new student, Porschea Russell, moved here from Great Falls, Montana. Her favorite color is purple. Her favorite animal is the tiger, and her favorite subject is reading. Let’s all give Porschea a warm welcome!

!Ms Hammon, our 3rd & 4th grade teacher, was born in Idaho Falls and grew up in Blackfoot, Idaho. For the last 25 years she lived in Spokane, Washington, and for 15 years she taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade in Post Falls, Idaho. Her favorite colors are blue and green, and her favorite activity is to travel to beautiful places.

!Ms. Sailer is the new 7th & 8th grade teacher. She is from Durango, Colorado. She taught 5th grade in Aztec, New Mexico. Her favorite color is turquoise, and her favorite sport is soccer. She has two dogs and one cat.

Matthew Urrutia is 6 years old and is in first grade. His favorite color is green. His least favorite subject in school is math. An outstanding fact about Matthew is he won the Rookie of the Year Award while riding mini-bulls! Don’t mess with this little cowboy.

Spotlight On...Matthew Urrutia! by Brayden Christiansen

by Destri Vias by Sadie Hicks

Cartoon Corner

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Halloween Carnival by Destri Vias & Josh Hamlin

The Halloween Carnival was the 26th of October and from 6:00-9:30 was the dance. The Spook Alley turned out great and people said it was really scary. Matthew Urrutia said his favorite game at the carnival was the Balloon Pop. Millie Zohner and and Oakley Pruett’s favorite thing was the Spook Alley. There was a new thing we introduced this year. It was the horse rides which were really f un. This year all of our school pumpkins sold for $1100.00 total. All together, the Halloween Carnival was awesome! We would also like to thank the PTO for putting this on for us. It was great, and we can’t wait for next year!

Talent

Corner

Tayann Jorgensen submitted this free-hand

drawing

The games were so much fun!

Everyone loved the horse ride

The baked food sale was yummy!

BINGO! Go Mario!

A Joke from Lyle Mayberry: !Q. What object is King of the classroom? A. The ruler

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Would You Buy These?Panther Paws Staff Fake Ads Classified Page

The Great Mascot Debate!

If our school mascot ever changed, have you wondered what it should be? Should we change it? Our staff came up with a few ideas. Read here to see some ideas, but no, we aren’t changing from being the Mighty Panthers! We are merely debating.

Sadie Hicks states “ I think that Swan Valley should be the Polar Bears instead of the Panthers. I picked the Polar Bears because they are cool, strong, fast, and smart. Panthers don’t live in Swan Valley. Duh. In Swan Valley it gets very cold like where polar bears live. So I think we should be the Polar Bears....brrrrrrrr!”

!Tristyn Page states “Why can’t we be the Swan Valley Swans? Swans are mean and determined. If they see you anywhere near their eggs, you are losing a piece of your pants. So watch out because the Swan Valley Swans are out to get you!”

Cody Hunter and Destri Vias have a rebuttal. They say, ‘In our opinion we should not change our school mascot “The Black Panther’. It has always been our mascot and it should stay that way. Swan Valley Elementary is the Home of the Black Panthers!”

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A Message from Mr. Keck !Parents  and  Patrons,  !What   a   great   profession   we   have   as   educators.   We   are   already  through  the  9irst  quarter  of  the  school  year.  I  am  not  sure  where  the  time  goes,   but   it   is   going  very   fast.  We  have  had  a  wonderful   9irst  quarter  with  a  lot  of  change  and  transition.  As  is  customary  at  any  school,  we  have  had  a  lot  of  ups  and  downs.  I  dare  say  that  this  year  has  been  mostly  ups  however.  Some  of  the  high  points  of  the  year  so  far   have   come   as   the   teachers   and   staff   has   focused   on   student  learning   and   achievement.   We   have   a   very   energetic   and  

enthusiastic  group  of  teachers  who  have  spent  many  more  hours  preparing  for  the  students  than  they  are  paid  for.  What  a  gift  for  this  school  to  have  such  a  committed,  competent,  dedicated  staff.  The  students  will  be  the  bene9iciaries  of  the  work  they  are  doing.      !We  started  out  with  6  in-­‐service/teacher  workdays.  The  teachers  focused  on  implementing  Idaho  Core  Standards  and  building  their  9irst  lessons  of  instruction  for  their  classes.  Technology  was  also  a  focus  and  we  partnered  with  iSchool  Campus  to  bring  all  new  technology  into  our  school.  This  was  a  1  to  1  deployment  of  technology  devices.  This  means  every  student  in  our  school  will  have  a  device   to  help   them   learn   the  curriculum.   I  would   invite  all  parents  and  patrons   to  come   to   the  school  to  see  the  teachers  and  students  in  action  with  this  new  technology.  It  is  very  engaging,  and  the  students  are  looking  at  the  curriculum  in  a  different  way.  The  School  Board  asked  that  we  look  at  a  more  secure  entrance  to  our  building.  So  for  those  of  you  who  have  come  to  the  school,  you  have   had   to   get   “buzzed”   to   get   in   the   school.   The   PTO   put   together   two   very   successful  fundraisers,  the  Square  Scoot  Fun  Run,  and  the  Fall  Festival.  We  appreciate  all  their  efforts  and  all  those  who  are  helping  them.  I  hope  they  will  get  a  small  break  from  duty  the  next  little  while.  !We   are   looking   forward   to   the   next   three   quarters   of   the   school   year   and   the   potential   for   the  students.  They  will  be   involved   in  many  activities   in  and  out  of   the  classroom.  Basketball   is   just  around   the   corner.   The   teachers   and   staff   will   continue   to  work   on   their   preparation  with   the  Idaho  Core  Standards  and  preparing  the  students  for  the  Smarter  Balanced  Assessment  (replaces  the  ISAT)  in  April.  This  will  only  be  a  statewide  trial  this  year  for  us  to  get  a  feel  for  next  year  when  the  test  is  for  real.    !I  want  to  personally   thank  all   the  parents   for  your  commitment  to  your  child’s  education.   Just  a  reminder  to  you  as  parents  that  we  need  you  to  get  your  students  here  to  school  everyday.  Their  attendance  has  a  direct  correlation  to  their  growth  and  achievement.  Make  good  nutrition,  plenty  of   sleep,   and  healthy   family   time  priorities   for   each   of   your   children.  One   of  my   goals   is   to   see  every  student  at  Swan  Valley  have  the  opportunity  to  attend  college  or  some  vocational  school  if  they  choose.  As  we  work  together,  each  child  will  have  the  skills  to  be  able  to  do  so.  !If  you  get  the  chance  in  the  near  future,  thank  your  student’s  teacher  and  other  staff   for  all  they  are  doing.  Your  children  are  learning  and  growing.  Again,  we  invite  you  to  come  to  the  school  and  see  what  is  happening.  I  know  you  will  be  impressed.  

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