WOW!

Our school year is off to a great start!! Our school looks great, our teachers are ready, and our students are excited to be back at school. Our school motto this year is:

Every Child, Every Day, in Every Classroom

This will play out in personalized quality learning that ensures success for each student.

We look forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on Wednesday, September 17th and again on September 19th for the PTSA's Bite of Stillwater as we kick off this exciting year!

Stay tuned for further updates!

Looking Forward to a New School Year!

It's been a busy summer at Stillwater Elementary! The building has gone through a huge facelift, receiving new flooring throughout and a fresh coat of paint. It looks great. We can't wait to show it off at our Meet the Teacher event on Friday, August 29th. Classes begin on Tuesday, September 2.

We are very excited about new staff members joining our faculty and custidial staff. It is going to be a great year.

Our office is open daily between now and the start of school from 8:00a.m -4:00p.m. Class assignment letters will be sent out early in the week of August 18th. Please see the link on the school website regarding class assignment change requests.

I can't wait to see you all and hear about your summer adventures! See you on August 29th!

Gearing Up for the Final Month!

It's hard to believe that the end of the school year is on the horizon but without a doubt, these last few weeks will fly by! As we prepare to close a school year, we are also looking ahead to next year with great anticipation of another wonderful year at Stillwater Elementary School. Here are a few things to keep you updated on what's going on:

• The staff is in the process of roster development for the 2008-09 school year. This is an extensive process that we take very seriously. There are many factors that we consider in developing balanced classrooms. You will recieve a letter in late August from your child's new teacher welcoming him or her to their classroom with details about our annual Meet Your Teacher event.
• Stillwater Elementary will get a much-needed facelift this summer with the installation of new flooring throughout the building. All hallway and classroom carpet will be replaced along with all tiled flooring in the storage and workrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and stage. The gym flooring is the only flooring that will remain. We are very excited about this project. The inside of the building will get a new coat of paint as well! We will look forward to showing it off at the Meet Your Teacher event.
• We are looking ahead a bit, but still have four more weeks of fun and learning ahead of us. I hope to see you at the school picnic and Walk-a-thon on May 29th!

A huge thank you to all of the students, families, staff and community artists who made our first annual Arts Night...Symphony of the Arts, a success. A great time was had by all! Here are some photos!

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun!

We have been busy at Stillwater! Over the past few weeks we have had so many exciting things happening. Here are a few highlights:

• We celebrated Classified Employee Week, a great time to say thank you to all of the important people who support teaching and learning and keep our school running smoothly.
• PTSA sponsored Missoula Children's Theater. Students auditioned, and then worked very hard to pull together a fabulous play, Robinson Crusoe, and performed it the next weekend!
• The fifth graders spent a week at Camp Waskowitz in North Bend participating in Outdoor School. It was a week of learning and making lifelong memories.
• Kindergarten orientation took place on March 26th. We welcomed next year's kindergarten parents to an evening of information and registration.

As we look ahead to the week following Spring Break, we are ready for Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) testing. Third, fourth and fifth graders will be participating in the testing. This is an important time for students to "show what they know." Consistent attendance, sleep and a healthy breakfast are crucial for testing days. Thanks for your support at home!

I am thrilled as I look ahead to the next two months of school. We have much more excitement ahead!

Open for Business!

Our ASB Leadership Team has opened a Student Store! Every Wednesday, at afternoon recess,the store is open selling pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers and other school supplies. Most items cost .25 to .50. The fancy pencil sharpeners are $1.00 and $2.50.

The ASB Leadership Team, made up of fourth and fifth graders, has worked on inventory, pricing, and scheduling. So far the profits have been used to purchase more inventory. Be looking in the weeks after mid-winter break for Hannah Montana pencils (.50 each) and several different types of fun pencil sharpeners too.

This expereince is a win-win for everyone as our student leaders are gaining important skills and everyone can purchase the school supplies they use daily. Stay tuned for pictures!

Camp Super Friend

Today we welcomed two PTSA-sponsored assemblies with Taproot Theater's Camp Super Friend for all students K-5. The play was about Marvel, who has just returned to Earth from his family's intergalactic mission, and finds himself at Super Hero Camp trying to make friends. His efforts are complicated when he sees Jet, one of the other campers, making friends by putting others down and showing off. After failing in his own attempts to emulate Jet, Marvel is given some friendly advice and a second chance to connect with the other campers by Cosma, one of the teachers at camp. Meanwhile Professor Nemesis, who wants everyone to be the same, has concocted an evil plan to drain the campers of their superpowers through tainting the camp's supply of Lunar Candy Bars. Marvel and his new found friends discover the plot before they are drained of their powers and work together to catch Professor N and distribute an antidote to the rest of the camp. By the conclusion of the play, Marvel and his friend have discovered and practiced practical skills in conversation starting, self-control, acceptance, teamwork and bullying prevention.

This is another key component in our building's behavior plan to promote positive behavior and make Stillwater a place where everyone belongs. After the play, teachers conducted discussions in their classrooms about the play and it's message. Here are some questions to talk over with your child to further apply today's learning and get their impression of the play's message:

1. What parts of the play did you like best? Were there parts that made you think more than others? Were there things in the play that surprised you?

2.What characters did you like best, and why? Who did you most identify with?

3. What can you do to make and keep friends?

4. Can you define what bullying is?

5. In the play, Parker and Dalia were really good allies when other were being bullied. What is an ally? What things can you do to be a good ally?

6. How can we stop bullying at our school?

Some helpful bullying definitions:

Bullying: Bullying is one-sided and unfair. It happens when someone who is more powerful, physically or socially, repeatedly hurts, scares, threatens or leaves out another student.

Bystander: Someone who witnesses bullying behavior.

Ally: Someone who witnesses bullying behavior and helps the student being bullied, either by intervening on the situation or by reporting the behavior to a teacher.
Tattling: Telling on someone just to get them in trouble or to get revenge.

Recognize, Refuse, Report: When faced with a bullying situation, it is important to recognize that the behavior is a bullying behavior, refuse the behavior by staying calm and confident when asking them to stop, and by reporting the behaviors by telling and adult you trust in order to keep someone or yourself from getting hurt.

From Steps to Respect, our district's anti-bullying curriculum, by the Committee for Children. For more information, visit www.cfchildren.org