Vanderlyn Elementary Newsletter

May 11, 2014

In This Issue

A Look Ahead

President's Message

Co-President's Message

5th Grade Awards Ceremony

Supply Kits Available

Spirit Night

Lost and Found

Community News

A Look Ahead

May

15             Field Day, Grades PK- 2
16             Field Day, Grades 3-5
19             Awards Ceremony, Grades 3 & 4
20             Awards Ceremony, Grades 1 & 2
23             Fifth Grade Awards and Celebration
                 Last Day of School

Principal's Message

Dear Viking Families,

STEM Day was a HUGE success! Our instructional day began with school-wide STEM activities. Students in all grades were involved in learning activities that required them to engage in STEM disciplines while promoting higher-order thinking skills such as hypothesizing, critical thinking, problem-solving and synthesizing. Because metacognition plays a critical role in successful learning, activities required the students to plan how to approach the learning tasks, monitor their comprehension, and evaluate their progress towards the completion of the STEM challenges. Simply put, the learning tasks required the students to "think about thinking."

In addition to the challenging STEM Day activities, students, parents and teachers returned to STEM Science Night! We kicked the event off with science author Tommy Johns, who entertained the crowd with a super science presentation. Afterwards, the crowd dispersed into various learning stations throughout the cafeteria, STEM Lab and outdoor classroom. Activities were facilitated by Dunwoody Nature Center, our post-secondary STEM partners, Georgia Perimeter College, Vanderlyn STEM parents, and our very own STEM teachers. Again STEM Day was an unforgettable experience for our students and parents! Thank you so much for your support as we continue to provide our students with "STEMtastic" learning opportunities that will prepare them for the 21st century workforce.

As we prepare for Awards Day, please be mindful that we have very limited parking, so it is suggested that you carpool or walk if distance permits. In order to accommodate parents, we have scheduled each grade level to have its own Awards Day due to parking constraints. However, we want to solicit your support in making sure that each event goes smoothly. Because we will host two grade level programs on Monday and Tuesday, please understand that once the first program is over, parents will need to quickly leave the building so that the next group of students and parents can begin their program. After the second program, the same will be asked of parents as we will need to quickly prepare our students for lunch. There will not be an opportunity for you to visit with your child after the program, but please feel free to take pictures as they receive their awards. We want all parents to have an opportunity to see their child(ren) but to also understand that we are trying to accomplish a great deal in a small time frame. Please be reminded that all students in grades 2nd - 5th are asked to wear their lanyards on the day of their ceremony. First grade students will receive a new lanyard during their ceremony.

On behalf of the teachers and staff, I want to thank our fabulous parents for what was the BEST Teacher Appreciation Week ever! Teachers and staff were pleasantly surprised to find their doors and hallways adorned with Seussical themed letters of gratitude. In addition, teachers were provided with Suessical-themed flowers, treat bags and daily culinary surprises that were enjoyed and appreciated by all. We culminated the week with a Spirit Day with Dr. Suess t-shirts given by our wonderful PTA! This was a great display of support and gratitude for the teachers and staff who go above and beyond daily to support our students. A special thanks to the Teacher Appreciation Committee chairs, Laura Potts, Courtney Kuriger and Jennifer Cohen along with the many volunteers that made this week unforgettable. This is truly the best and busiest school ever! With the end of the year drawing near, let's finish strong!

Your Principal and Partner,

Mrs. Crenshaw

Co-President's Message

The pace at the end of the school year is a busy one! Parents and parent volunteers kick it into high gear as we support our students in wrapping up their academic, sports, scouting and extra activity lives.

The last two weeks of school are eventful. Field Days are scheduled for this week. On the same day, classes will deviate from their typical lunch routines and are permitted to take their meal picnic-style on the Vanderlyn grounds. Room parents will be communicating your student's activities, so please support your room parents as they need it.

If you are at the school as a volunteer or observer on Field Day, allow yourself a little extra time to park, and don't forget to sign in at the front office.

Also, if you have not already done so, start looking for your student's Academic Awards day medallian and lanyard. The Awards Days are a week away !

Finally, our webmaster is regularly posting information about summer camps and activities on our homepage at vanderlynpta.com. Check it out if you are looking for some ideas for the summer.

Have a great week !

Christine Kelemen and Julia LeDoyen

5th Grade Parents

The awards ceremony on Friday, May 23 will begin at 8:30 a.m.!!! Please have your child bring in their lariat (given at last year's ceremony)to wear at the ceremony. In the letter sent home, it stated the start time would be 9:00 a.m.....that is incorrect.

SchoolKidz, Inc. - Supply Kids Available.

Vanderlyn PTA will once again offer the service of purchasing school supply kits online! This year, we will be using the convenient services of SchoolKidz, Inc. and their Teacher Tailored® back-to-school supply kit program. Why fight long lines trying to find every single requested item on your child's supply list? Let SchoolKidz do the shopping for you!

SchoolKidz, Inc. offers brand name items, such as Crayola®, Fiskars® and Elmer's® and Staples. Each kit is assembled with exactly what is on your child's supply list. Best of all, the entire package comes in a reusable personalized kit.

This program will save you time, making "back-to-school time" less hectic and more enjoyable for both students and parents. We believe you will find the pricing to be very reasonable. All kits will be delivered to the school and will be available for pick up at Meet and Greet in August.

The sale will run from May 1 through May 31, and no orders can be accepted after that date.

Go to www.shopttkits.com and enter account #84234 to place your order!

If you have any questions, please contact Jodi Rosenberg.

*This is not a fundraiser.

Spirit Night - Yogli Mogli

Plan to attend the FINAL SPIRIT NIGHT of the 2013-2014 school year at Yogli Mogli on the LAST DAY of SCHOOL! It will begin when school lets out and continue until 9 p.m. A percentage of the sales made by Vanderlyn families will be donated to the school. Yogli Mogli is located in the Kroger shopping center off Dunwoody Club Drive. Don't miss this chance to kick off the summer, enjoy time with friends, & support the school!

Check LOST and FOUND!

Parents, please check the Vanderlyn Lost & Found. The Citizenship Committee will process unclaimed items on May 9. Any items remaining in Lost & Found will be donated to the DeKalb International School.

We need help sorting and laundering these items!

If you have any questions, or would like to help clean out the Lost & Found, please contact Suzanne Baisier.

Thank you very much!

Science Olympiad

Congratulations to the following Science Olympiad winners. We have a great group of awesome scientists who were able to think on their feet, to stay flexible/adapt, to keep a chin up and to give their best!

A BIG congratulations to the award winners:


Circuit Wizardry	Spencer Hopkins and Caden Smith	1st place
Circuit Wizardry	Alex Sims and Ian Hopkins	3rd place
Crime Busters	Ashvij Hosdurg and Jiya Bastawade	2nd place
Disease Detectives	Vishaal Ram and Zain Salim	3rd place
Paddleboat Const	Vishaal Ram and Zain Salim	2nd place
Rock Hound	Keira Doody and Drew Bomar	2nd place
Straw Tower	Aira Dani and Spencer Hopkins	2nd place
Water Rocket	Eric Baker and Matt Mowrer	2nd place
Metric Mastery with Grab a Gram	Vishaal Ram and Gauri Danganakal	1st place
	Aira Dani and Caden Smith	3rd place
Starry, Starry Night	Neathan Aresh and Lyla Briggs	2nd place

Quote of the Week

Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.

--Henry David Thoreau

Unsubscribe

Click here to unsubscribe from Viking Views or see the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page.

Facebook

"Like" us on Facebook for quick reminders on calendar events, activities and announcements.

Be sure to find the page

Vanderlyn Elementary PTA

Community News

Be sure to check out Vanderlynpta.com website to discover opportunities in the area. You find fun family activities, fundraisers and sports activities! These items are posted regularly to our website as we reserve Viking Views for school-specific news.

Highlights:

Summer Camps, Sports Camps such as gymnastics and basketball and more!

Check out Dunwoody High's No Show Ball.

Be sure to check here to support our community!

Quick Links

Annual Fund

Thank you Vanderlyn Families! Our Annual Fund is at 70% family participation! Let's get to 100% participation.

Have you made your donation to Vanderlyn's Annual Fund?

Click here to donate today!

Keep current

To stay current on all information throughout the school year, please consult the
Vanderlyn School website, http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/vanderlyn/,
and the Vanderlyn PTA website, www.vanderlynpta.org.

Suggestions

If you have a suggestion, comment, question or idea for the Viking Views, please send it to vikingviews@yahoo.com.

Viking Views' deadline is 12 NOON on MONDAY for the same week's issue. When there is no school on Monday, submissions must be sent the Friday before by noon. All articles must be brief and in writing as an email or and email attachment (.doc file). Please send to

VikingViews@yahoo.com. Photos must be in JPEG format and have parental approval or release.

Non-Vanderlyn Community Events may be included on the Vanderlyn PTA website.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Nail

Volunteer Viking Views Editor

Share the News

Please forward your Viking Views using the forward email at the bottom of the newsletter to any new families you know. They can join the distribution list by using the yellow "Join the Mailing List" button.

Thank you!