Horace Mannager - March 16, 2014

Thank you so much for your participation in our Walk to School Day on Friday, 3/7. It was a huge success with a 41% reduction of cars in the parking lot. Plus, there were zero tardies to school that day! The winning class with 91% participation was Mrs. Ortloff's class. Students arrived to school on time, with their lungs full of fresh air, their hearts pumping just a little faster and their minds more alert. This event just highlights the many benefits of walking to school. I hope you will consider making this a regular habit.

A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Hartford, Mr. Cho and the Upportunity Team for planning this important event.

Megan Spaulding

Principal

Help Needed

Horace Mann International Night & Pot Luck 2014 One Family, Many Cultures Thursday, April 24th, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Thank you to all the families who have returned their forms and are going to help us with this exciting event. We still need a lot of volunteers. We need families to bring food, organize and/or run a station that represents your family's culture. For example, you could organize an art activity, a game that people could play, or bring food for the potluck. We are also looking for students and family members who would like to participate in a cultural fashion parade.

If you are interested in helping to showcase your culture or would like to participate in our fashion show, please fill out the attached form and return it to Horace Mann by March 19th. We need your help to make this event successful!

If you have an questions, please contact Lucy Davies, Trish Trotter or Colette Weber.

Horace Mann Calendar

Link to LWSD Tandem Calendar

Mon Mar 17 - Fri Mar 21: Everything Drive

Thurs Mar 20: 7:00-8:00pm PTSA Meeting -- Library

Fri Mar 21: Popcorn sales

Fri Mar 21: 6:00-8:00pm 12th Mann Seahawks Dance

Mon Mar 24 - Fri Mar 28: Staff Appreciation Week

Friday Apr 4: Popcorn sales

Mon Apr 7 - Fri Apr 11: Spring Break NO SCHOOL

Friday Apr 18: Popcorn sales

Legislative News: Building Bond Vote April 22nd

You may have heard that the Building Bond on the February ballot failed by 2%. In order for bonds to pass, they need a super majority of 60% and it came very close at a 58% approval. The new Building Bond was reduced by almost half from 755 million to 404 million and it will address our current and critical school building needs especially in the Redmond area. With the approval of this bond, Redmond will have two new elementary schools and one middle school. Without this bond approval, concerns about classroom oversize, reduction of Kindergarten classes, District- wide Reboundary will be something our district will have to contend with. "Current enrollment is nearing our total capacity," said district spokeswoman Kathryn Reith, adding that current enrollment is around 26,000 students. "We're expecting 4,000 more students in the next eight years."

You may read more about the critical needs of our district and potential plans on how to handle current and future capacity needs of our district on the Lake Washington Citizens website here:

http://vote4lwsdkids.org/?page_id=6

The Lake Washington PTSA is looking for volunteers to help get the word out about the upcoming vote on April 22nd, 2014. If you would like to help in any capacity, I can put you in touch with the appropriate organizers. Here is what is needed:

. Sign Placement

. Sign Waving

. Formal Phone Bank calling

Please contact Marco Montanez at montanezx4@gmail.com with any questions.

Everything Drive Volunteers Needed!

Please come and help the Spirit Team tally up the donations during lunch recess. Helpers are needed either from 12:10-12:35 or 12:40-1:05 M-F March 17-21.

12th Mann Seahawks Dance

Come dressed in green & blue or your favorite Seahawks gear for some fantastic fun at the dance!

Friday, March 21^st

6:00pm-8:00pm (doors open at 5:30)

$4.00 per student or $3.00 with a donation to the Spirit Team Everything Drive (adults free)

Pizza, drinks and candy will be available for purchase.

Look forward to seeing the 12^th Mann!!!

Questions, please contact Stacey Lund, the tlunds@comcast.net or Cheryl Volta, cvolta@comcast.net

If you would like to help at this fun event, please visit the Sign Up Genius link located at

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0D49A4AF2AA20-12th

Staff Appreciation Week

Staff Appreciation Week begins March 24th! It is the Hospitality Committee's biggest (and most fun) even of the year! Would you like to join our mission? Please visit our webpage for more information and to sign-up for one of our daily activities. With your help, Staff Appreciation Week will be OUT OF THIS WORLD!

http://horacemannptsa.org/Page/Hospitality/SAW

*Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week is officially recognized the week of May 5th - 9th; however, Horace Mann celebrates our teachers a bit earlier because of state testing. The events listed on the website are planned by the Hospitality Committee. It is up to the SAW classroom volunteers and room parents to coordinate more personalized surprises for their teacher during the week.

Questions?

Contact Maegan Birr - school@birrfamily.org

Yearbook!

The deadline to order a yearbook and to submit photos to be used in the yearbook is MARCH 31st!

Yearbooks are $16 and your child will receive it the last week of school. Order online at:

http://horacemannptsa.org/Packet/YearBook

Please submit photos online at:

http://sw.balfour.com/tops-services/publicupload/loginForm

Our project number is 419421 and you can leave the password blank. You will need to enter your name and email address to upload photos so we know who they came from. When uploading photos you don't need to list every child in the photo but PLEASE label the photo with the classroom teacher name.

You can also put your photos on a zipdrive or cd labeled "Yearbook" and leave it in the office PTSA box.

Questions? email yearbook@horacemannptsa.org

Becoming Drug Aware: A Parent Primer for Understanding and Preventing Adolescent Substance Use

Monday, March 31^st

7-9pm Presentation and Q&A

Lake Washington School District Resource Center Board Room

Redmond Town Center, 16250 NE 74^th Street

One of the most powerful prevention strategies is an informed parent.

In an era of increased access including the legalization of marijuana, it is more important than ever to be aware of adolescent drug and alcohol trends. Join us to hear about the physiological and developmental aspects of substance use on youth, potential for progression and addiction, legal consequences and tips for recognizing and preventing use. Our panel will help you understand the risks to our youth and provide a parenting toolbox for talking to children about substance use. This presentation is for adults who interact with youth of all ages. To submit questions for the panel in advance, please email parent.ed@lwptsa.net .

See attached flyer

Panel Speakers:

Gerald Blackburn, Community Consultant with Lakeside-Milam Recovery Centers and Bellevue College Chemical Dependency Counseling Program

Linda Penhallegon, Director of Substance Abuse Services, Youth Eastside Services

Officer R. King, School Resource Officer, Kirkland Police Department

And, mark your calendar for our future parent education lectures all to be held from 7 - 9pm at LWSD Resource Center:

April 29^th, 2014 Dr. Laura Kastner, Getting to Calm: A Parents Toolbox for Growing Happy, Healthy, Successful Kids

May 21^st, 2014 Charles Leitch, Attorney & Panel, What Parents Need to Know about Bullying, Harassment & Cyber Safety

Horace Mann Math Challenge

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All students are invited to participate. Pick up paper form in the school office or print online at: http://www.mathinaction.org/Pages/MannMC.aspx or see schedule: http://www.mathinaction.org/Documents/MC%20SCHEDULE%202013-2014.pdf
Winners are randomly chosen from submissions.
Turn in at school office, Math Challenge Box.

Math Challenge #11 is available and is due 3/20 by 3pm.

Total number of students who participated in MC #10 were: 37

MC Winners were:

Iliana P. - K

Fiori A. - K

Celeste M. - 1st

Samuel L. - 1st

Jeremiah O. - 1st

Kotaro O. - 2nd

Kyra B. - 2nd

Albert L. - 3rd

Alice M. - 3rd

Maya A. - 4th

Lucy Z. - 4th

Camille B. - 4th