Upcoming Events

Math-A-Thon Donations Due Friday!

Math Enthusiasts Compete for Top Honors Last Thusday

We're Taking Your PIE Nominations Now!

After an extremely successful year, the time has come for us to solicit officer nominations for next year's Partner's in Education Board.  Nominations need to be submitted over the course of the next three weeks (deadline is Tuesday, March 29th) in time for the elections which will be held during the next General Assembly PIE meeting on Tuesday, April 12th. 

If you know of anyone who possesses strong leadership skills and can bring passion and dedication to the PIE Board as President, Vice President, Treasurer or Secretary, please submit their name via the online nomination form TODAY!  If you have any questions, please email the PIE Nomination's Committee  or speak with Ruxsana Shibley in the front office.  We are looking forward to another amazing year!

Welcome Back National Conference Attendees

We welcome back the four Amana educators who attended the National Expeditionary Learning Conference in Portland, Oregon on March 17-19th.  Ms. Natasha Spring (3rd grade), Ms. Lori Casal (2nd grade), Ms. Merry Herdt (4th grade), and Mr. Jean-Jacques Credi (Instructional Guide) came back with rave reviews of the conference and the learnings they will share with our entire staff.  They also came away with the realization that Amana has it within it to become a leading EL school. 

The National Conference was attended by 800 educators from across the United States.  Participants engaged in workshops and exchange best practices being applied in other localities that can benefit their own students.  

Next year's conference is in Denver, CO; where we hope to feature some of our great student produced work.  Many thanks to these four individuals for representing us so well!

Wearing Jeans Raises Aid Assistance for Japan Tragedy

When 7th grade girls saw the tragic events unfold in the aftermath of epic earthquake and tsunami events in Japan's north they immediately said, "We have to do something to help".  They brainstormed the "Jeans for Japan" campaign, which raised over $400 in one day on March 24th by offering students a chance to wear jeans instead of their uniform pants to school in exchange for a $2 donation. 

Other grades got involved by promoting the event to their classmates.  One 7th grade girl said, "Today was fun! I loved helping people!" Students want to repeat the event, so don't be surprised if your child asks to wear jeans to school. Proceeds from the fund raiser will be administered through the Red Cross.

We are excited to announced that the Scholastic Book Fair launched this Thursday, March 24th!   The fair is set up in the Multipurpose Room and is themed Books for Break as it ties in with the upcoming spring break in April. 

Students will be previewing the Fair on Friday, March 25th and Monday, March 28th.  They will then bring home their catalogs along with their teacher's Wish List for review.  Parents are encouraged to send in cash with their child to school on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week to purchase their books.  Parents, family members and friends are also encouraged to stop by next week to make purchases.

We are very fortunate to announce the Verizon Fun Walk on March 26th at 11am. This is an excellent health-promoting fundraising opportunity for our school, as Verizon will match up to $10,000 in donations made on the day of the event. 

We now ask that you invite your friends and family to make a pledge and participate by filling out the sign up form.   Depending on the amount you donate, you can get a T-shirt and other gifts - even Principal for a Day for your child!  All of the money that is collected for this event will support our future science, technology, engineering and math STEM Education initiatives.  

Your support in this endeavor in getting as many people signed up as possible will be greatly appreciated!  To sign up, please click here.

Be sure to visit the classroom website and check your child's communication folder on a regular basis for the latest information on your child is learning...

Fifth grade visited the Chattahoochee Nature Center Friday, March 11, 2011 to explore the world of macro-vertebrates.  Our students conducted a pond water investigation in which they examined many species including diving beetles, dragonfly nymphs, and scuds.  Students were to find the organisms in the pond, identify, and classify each according to their traits.  Students then researched and presented their information to the rest of the class.  This experience provided valuable hands on instruction for our Spring Expedition.

The middle school Arabic classes hosted Ms. Aliya Naim, a young American college graduate who lived the culture of three Arabic countries in order to learn Modern Standard Arabic and the dialect of Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.

She took our middle school students on a fascinating cultural journey around Yemen first, telling them in details about the delicious food,  describing the "stained glass " buildings and talking about the traditional clothes of the Yemeni people.  She then compared her visit to the one she took to Syria, where people dress differently, eat different traditional dishes, and live in authentic, courtyard-style houses.  After Syria, she described her visit to Beirut, Lebanon, which is described as the Paris of the East, where modernity and tradition meet, and where the political conflicts of the past have left their traces on many of the buildings. 

According to Aliya, despite the differences that these countries have, the main thing in common is the great hospitality that speaks to all foreigners.  Students were very interested and had a lot of questions that were gracefully answered by Ms. Aliya.  The presentation was very successful and brought these respective cultures alive for our students due to the connection with what the students are now learning in their Arabic classes.  We would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to Aliya Naim for sharing her delightful and unpredictable personal experiences with our students and for stepping up with such energetic and interactive first-hand accounts to support the importance of learning Arabic at an early age.

High Touch High Tech Hands- On Science visited our fourth grade classes for the second time in two weeks!  The first program was called Vibes©, and offered our students the opportunity to catch sound waves as they learned about pitch, intensity, and frequency.  Students made sound travel through different states of matter and investigated the composition of the human ear to gain a better understanding of  how we hear.  Then this past week, High Touch High Tech Hands-On Science visited the fourth grade AGAIN!  This time presenting Power of Light©!  Fourth graders explored the world of light, mirrors, and prisms and explored the electromagnetic spectrum in depth.  Students experimented with refraction using convex and concave
lenses and enjoyed a laser light show featuring the use of mirrors and motion to create different images. 

To learn more about the benefits of Amana's High Tough High Tech partnership, visit their web site.

Here is a number trick for you courtesy of Mrs. Ansari's seventh grade accelerated math class student - Amir Afani:

1. Write down a number (this is your start number)
2. Add twice your start number to it
3. Add 10
4. Divide by 3
5. Subtract your start number

What number did you get?  Wait, don't tell me... you got 4 ! 
Am I right?  How did I know?

It's based on algebra!  

Here's how it works:

1. Let N = your start number
2. Adding twice your start number = N + 2N = 3N
3. Adding 12 = 3N + 12
4. Dividing by 3 = 3N + 12 = N + 4
                          ------------
                               2
5. Subtracting your start number = N + 4 - N = 4  

See?  No matter what number you choose, you always get 4!  Neat, huh?  Tune in next week for another student created number trick.