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Hat Day Results

$330.00

All the money collected will be donated to a Southern Indiana tornado relief program.

From the Desk of… Mrs. Hoffman

Report Cards

Report cards will be distributed on Friday, March 30th, not Friday, March 23rd. There was an error on the corporation calendar causing us to put the wrong date on our monthly activity calendar and in the last newsletter. We are sorry for the mistake. Once again, report cards will come home on Friday, March 30th. Thank you!

Book Rental There are many families that still owe book rental. These payments needed to be taken care of long ago. Please do your best to meet your obligation as soon as possible.

Riley Hospital Fundraiser Kids Caring & Sharing for Riley Hospital is a special project of the Indiana Association of School Principals which allows kids to engage in meaningful community service without the expectation of personal gain. These students learn early in life how rewarding it is to help others. If every Indiana student donated just $1, schools could give $1 million to help thousands of sick and injured children at Riley Hospital. Many of our own students have benefited from services at Riley Hospital.

Riley Hospital Fundraiser (cont.) I am proud that our school has participated in this project for many years. This year, our fundraiser for this worthy cause will be at Chuck E. Cheese Restaurant on Route 30 on Tuesday, April 10th from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Here are some of the benefits we will receive: 15% donation of all sales: food,

merchandise and tokens Stickers with 10 free tokens will

go home with students BEFORE spring break

A free meal for teachers in attendance

When you go, please tell them that you are here for John Wood School, and the cashiers will mark it down for us.

Our school will receive special recognition as a Miracle School this year if we donate $1 per student. Thank you to everyone who plans to attend on the 10th, not only for a fun evening but also for a good cause. Please note that this date is during our Spring Break—what a great way to celebrate it! Thanks again!

Recycle 4 Cash Help our school earn cash for used ink cartridges and cell phones. Boxes are located throughout the school to turn in ink cartridges, toners and cell phones. Please save these for us and help us earn extra cash. All money will be spent on student projects.

March 2012

Inside this Issue

1 From the Desk of … Mrs. Hoffman Note from the Nurse Hat Day Results Recycle 4 Cash

2 Attendance Update Attendance Chart BEST Percentages Good Citizens Book Rental

3 Jump Rope for Heart Curt Hoffman Scholarship FAME Upcoming Events

4 PTO News MEF Annual Fundraiser Gala Major Saver

John Wood Elementary School 6100 E. 73rd Ave. Merrillville, Indiana 46410 (219) 650-5305 http://merrillville.schoolwires.net/wood

The John Wood Parent Newsletter ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Note from the Nurse

Do you have clothes that your children have outgrown? We are always looking for standby clothing for the office. Occasionally children have “accidents” or slip and fall into mud or water. We try to provide clean, dry clothing for the child so that they can get back to class quickly. As you are beginning to go through the closets looking for items to put into your garage sale, try to keep us in mind. Sweatpants are always welcome, along with t-shirts, sweatshirts, and underwear. Thank you for your assistance.

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Attendance - 2011-2012

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Good Citizens February 2012

Kindergarten

Donovan Pitts – Mrs. Anderson Nikola Ivanoski – Mrs. Jones Amaya Norman – Mrs. Steele

1st Grade

Jayden Houart – Mrs. Bashore Karrington Davis – Mrs. Frink Grace Hansen – Mrs. Mahy

2nd Grade

Nijah Jones – Mrs. Grattan Aurelio Castro – Mr. Grogloth Jonas Langer – Mrs. Radivan Clarisa Perez – Mrs. Radivan

Cynthia Garcia – Miss Roszkowski

3rd Grade Katey Mahone – Mrs. Hickman

Julian Ruiz – Miss Pettineo Madeline Langer – Mrs. Walsh

4th Grade

Ahmari Petty – Mrs. McCormick Leucas Forney–

Mrs. Thanos/Miss Farver Alenah Guerrero –

Mrs. Thanos/Miss Farver

Book Rental All book rental in now due. If a full payment is not possible, payments are acceptable until the obligation is met. Please contact our office to make arrangements for a payment plan. Checks must be made out to “John Wood School” and must have your driver’s license number on the check.

ECD - $75

Half-Day Kindergarten - $111 Full-Day Kindergarten - $113

1st Grade - $140 2nd Grade - $133 3rd Grade - $122 4th Grade - $115

Thank you to all of the parents who have already paid their child’s book rental.

Attendance Update As part of our PL 221 School Improvement Plan, each month we recognize the classrooms with the best attendance. These classes receive a traveling trophy to place in their room to recognize their accomplishment. Best attendance for the month of February was: Grade K – Mrs. Jones (96.46%) Grade 3 – Mrs. Walsh (97.19%) Grade 1 – Mrs. Bashore (97.42%) Grade 4 – Mrs. McCormick (96.64%) Grade 2 – Miss Roszkowski (95.55%) Grade 4 – Mrs. Thanos/Farver (96.64%) Monthly attendance for John Wood School is shown in the graph below. Thank you and let’s stay healthy!

Our BEST Behavior! % of students not receiving a misbehavior slip

outside of the classroom Grade Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Kdg 98% 92% 92% 94% 91% 92%

1 95% 92% 98% 94% 100% 97% 2 97% 93% 94% 96% 94% 99% 3 95% 100% 96% 96% 98% 100% 4 96% 89% 91% 97% 98% 95%

Reminder It is the

parent/guardian’s responsibility to call and let the school

office know why a child is not in school. Make sure you call 650-5305

then press 2 before 9 AM if your child will

not be in school.

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On March 29, 2012, students at John Wood School will participate in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart. This will be the 20th year our school has been a part of this annual event. Students have been learning about fitness and ways to stay healthy in gym class. Information is being sent home from Mrs. Warren during the week of March 12th, so if you haven’t seen it yet, please ask your child. Mrs. Warren is asking for each student to raise at least $15 to be able to participate in this event. Please ask your friends, neighbors and family members to sponsor you! Remember that all money raised goes to the American Heart Association to help others with heart problems or disease. Donations can also be made online by visiting www.heart.org/jump. Participating students will be jumping during school hours, so a permission slip is not required. Collected money will need to be turned in by April 17, 2012.

Curt Hoffman Scholarship

A $500 scholarship will be awarded to a graduating senior from MHS who also attended John Wood Elementary School for a minimum of three years. Students who were in the Honors Program are eligible provided they lived in the John Wood School district during those years. Interested students can pick up an application form in the MHS guidance office. Applications should be completed and returned with two letters of recommendations (not Wood teachers) by Friday, April 20, 2012. This scholarship was created in memory of Mr. Curt Hoffman. Mr. Hoffman was principal of John Wood School from 1989-1998, when he lost his battle with cancer.

FAME

Recently, our second grade students had the opportunity to perform on the MHS stage during the FAME Festival. Also, several of our students had artwork on display. Students who had artwork on display were recognized on stage and presented with a certificate. Their artwork is currently hanging in the hallway outside the Art room. Congratulations to all of these students on a job well done.

FAME Artists 1st Grade

Ryan Abram, Noah Collins, Karra Davis, Bruno Gil, Sania Jones,

Kayla Kraus, Ava Minchuk, Vincent Velasquez

2nd Grade

Jalen Cooper, Miguel Estrada, Kendall Karpen, Josh Krause,

Lauren Molenda, Clarissa Perez, Mackenzie Peters, Emily Rodriguez,

Kailey Terpstra, Mariana Velasco

3rd Grade Angelina Aponte, Brianna Baeza,

Juliet Dinkins, Abby Donovan, Alex Hurtado, Madeline Langer,

Iysis Perez, Bailey Smith, Evelyn Ulloa, Miriam Velasco

4th Grade

Gabriela Aponte, Kelly Bartek, Brook Burbridge, Alex Gholson,

Citlali Gomez, Austin LeMar, Victor Loza-Del Toro, Chris Morris,

Olivia Razo, Jaskiran Sandhu, Nathan Woods

Our school also had a special visitor in association with the FAME Festival. We had a school-wide assembly with artist Mark Kistler. Mr. Kistler has written and illustrated many popular children’s drawing books as well as played Commander Mark and Captain Mark in the hit children’s public television series The Secret City, The Draw Squad, and The New Secret City Adventures. Mr. Kistler taught the students some fundamentals of 3-D drawing. We were very fortunate to be able to have this artist visit our school.

Upcoming Events March 20 Spring Pictures Photographers will be at John Wood this morning to take fun and casual portraits. All students will have their picture taken. A proof will be sent home with an order form, so you can preview the pose(s) before you purchase. March 20 PTO Meeting 6:00 PM, Cafeteria Come find out what we have planned for this spring. We have begun working on the annual Fun Fair; however, we cannot have this popular event without the help of many, many volunteers. We welcome any help you can give in this family favorite event. (See PTO article on page 4) March 21 End of 3rd Grading Period Today is the last day of the 3rd grading period. Report cards will come home on Friday, March 30th. Please note that the report card distribution date is different than previously announced. March 22 Early Dismissal – 1:25 PM

Please plan for your child to be home approximately one hour

earlier on that day. March 29 Jump Rope for Heart Students will participate during school hours. See the article from Mrs. Warren on this page. March 29 Early Dismissal – 1:25 PM

Please plan for your child to be home approximately one hour

earlier on that day. March 30 Report Cards Students will bring home their report cards today for the third grading period. April 5 Early Dismissal – 1:25 PM

Please plan for your child to be home approximately one hour

earlier on that day. April 6-13 Spring Break No school for all students. School will resume on Monday, April 16th. April 10 Riley Hospital Fundraiser Chuck E. Cheese, 3-9 PM See Mrs. Hoffman’s article on page 1 for more information. April 18 Market Day Pick-Up 2:30-3:30 PM, Cafeteria Volunteers are welcome to come help sort and distribute the orders. For more information, call Mrs. Mercer at 947-3170.

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PTO News

Our next PTO meeting will be on Tuesday, March 20th at 6:00 PM. We are diligently working on our next big event, which happens to be the biggest event of the year, the annual Fun Fair!! Watch for a volunteer note to come home next month. Remember, this event can only be successful if we have help from many, many volunteers. We hope you will consider donating at least one hour of your time.

Book Fair We are currently in the middle of our annual Scholastic Book Fair. Hopefully your child has brought home information about the Family Night and you are planning to attend this fun event. Your child will have the opportunity to do activities, you will be able to visit the book fair yourself, and there is even a raffle!

Thursday, March 15 5-7 PM

Market Day Thank you to everyone who ordered Market Day for March pick-up. Our total sales earned was $139.83 with 20 customers ordering. Our total for this school year so far is $940.53. Our April sale pick-up is on Wednesday, April 18th. Due to the spring break, order forms will need to be turned in to the school no later than Thursday, April 5th, however, you can still order online until 11 PM on April 14th. Mrs. Mercer is always looking for volunteers to come help sort the orders before pickup. The truck arrives around 1:30 and the driver unloads the truck. Volunteers then just sort the orders so that they are “pre-packed” and ready for customer pick up. This usually takes less than an hour and if you help, you get to pick up your order early! If you have any questions or would like to help at our next pick up, please call Mrs. Mercer at 947-3170.

Box Tops/Campbell’s Labels Box tops and labels are all in and counted. The winner of the pizza party is….drum roll….Mrs. Thanos/ Miss Farver’s 4th grade class. They collected a total of 872 labels. We

had total of 127 students participate in our snowball challenge! Awesome job! We collected a total of 6426 box tops and 2402 labels from this challenge. That was almost 900 snowballs! Mrs. Pagan will be collecting the sheets outside of all the classrooms and will tally up who had the most snowballs thrown at them and that class will receive a “Spirit Trophy”. We are $66 away from our goal of $2,000 this year for Box Tops! Watch for information to be coming home soon about our next challenge, Cubs vs. Sox, which will start after spring break!!! Who do you think will win?

Merrillville Education Foundation

Annual Fundraising Gala

“Escape to Pirate’s Cove”

The Merrillville Education Foundation will be hosting the 10th Annual Spring Fundraiser. This year will have a tropical island theme: “Escape to Pirate’s Cove” and in honor of this 10 year anniversary and theme, ticket prices have been reduced!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Radisson Star Plaza

7-11 PM

$25 per person Tickets can be purchased at all

Merrillville schools or visit www.merrillvilleeducationfoundation.org.

Wine and Craft Beer Tasting,

Food Stations, Baskets,

Friendship & Fun

All proceeds will benefit Merrillville Community School Corporation

students in grades K-12.

Celebrating 10 years of Making a Difference

Major Saver We will once again this year be participating in a corporation-wide fundraiser. Students in all of the Merrillville schools will be selling these cards. Money collected by this fundraiser will go to the Merrillville Education Foundation, which funds many grants for classrooms throughout the year. A portion of the profit will also be returned to our school. The Major Saver campaign will be kicking off this week in our school.

Thursday, March 15th Campaign Kick Off and

Packet Delivery There will be a 10-15 minute Kick-Off Assembly for all students. A Major Saver staff member will inform the students of campaign details, dates, incentives and safe selling techniques. Student sales flyers will come home on Thursday or Friday.

Monday, March 19th – Monday, March 26th

Daily Collections A Major Saver staff member will handle daily money collections and card/prize distribution at each school.

New this year! Major Saver cards can also be purchased online. Customers can choose to utilize credit or debit cards to make their purchase. Buyers simply log onto www.majorsaver.com to select their card. Customers will even have the opportunity online to select cards from other areas while still crediting our school district. The sale can even be credited back to a particular student. All cards purchased online will be mailed directly to the customer. Prizes and credit to the student will be done typically the next school day or by the end of the campaign.

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