Deweys Diary

Draper Elementary PTA Newsletter

Vol. 8 No. 8
Program title is 'Holiday Magic'.

aper Elementary PTA Newsletter

Meet Our Teacher of the Year
Sixth-grade teacher Kami Abercrombie loves helping her students, whether they seek to mummify a chicken or learn a Shakespearean play. She prepares her students for middle school by instilling in them a sense of motivation and responsibility. She provides extracurricular opportunities for students via the Student Council, Safety Patrol, and Debate and Creative Pursuits teams, the latter of which has won two state competitions.

April 2013

April
9 Spirit Wear Day Spirit Night at Chick-fil-A, South Towne Mall, 5-7 p.m. Guest speaker Rev. France Davis, 7 p.m., Canyons District Offices School Community Council meeting, 3:30 p.m. Dads & Donuts, 8 a.m. Performance of Peter Pan, 7 p.m. Spring Pictures Presidential Fitness Testing Great Utah Shakeout Kindergarten Open House, 2 p.m. Presidential Fitness Testing

draper

10 11 12 15-18 17 19 22-25

Dads & Donuts is April 11

Dads & Donuts will be held Thursday, April 11, this month. Join us in the gym from 8 to 8:30 a.m. and read with your student(s). The PTA provides milk and donuts. The PTA will also nominate next years Executive Board and those in attendance who are members of the PTA will vote on those nominated.

April Dragon Challenge

During the month of April our Dragon Challenge will focus on incorporating more RESPECT into our lives. This will be a twopart challenge and both parts will need to be completed in order to receive the reward from the PTA. Part One: Students will be asked to complete an at home Dragon Scale where they will reflect on What Respect Means to Me. This scale will need to be returned to their teacher on or before Wednesday, May 1. Part Two: During the month of April our teachers will be recording the number of compliments the class receives from other staff, faculty and visitors in the building. Once a class has received eight (8) compliments during the month, it will have completed the second part of this months challenge.

New Playground Ready

Our students have been anxiously watching the installation of our new playground. The final touches were added during Spring Recess and include rubber tiles. The playground is open for all grades.

2013-14 Reflections Theme Announced

The theme for PTAs 201314 Reflections Program is Believe, Dream, Inspire. Entries are not due until next fall, but students can begin brainstorming about their entries. For 40 years the National PTA Reflections program has encouraged students across the nation and in American Schools overseas to explore their talents through the Arts.

Stay Informed
Like Draper Elementary on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and visit our PTA blog at draperelementary.blogspot.com

Rev. France Davis to Speak April 9

Reverend France Davis will speak to PTA leaders, volunteers and parents in the Canyons School District on April 9 at 7 p.m. at the Canyons District Offices, 9400 S. 300 E. The Region PTA is honored to have such a great pioneer in Utah civil rights address us. Anyone is welcome to attend.

Principals Message
Time is passing quickly and we are down to our final two months of the 2012-13 school year. Everyone has just returned from Spring Break hopefully feeling more relaxed and ready to finish the year strong. This time of year always feels like there is a little more focus and energy in the air as teachers are helping students learn all they can. At the end of this month, our 3-6 graders will begin the End-of-Year Assessments (CRT). As in years past, all of our CRTs will be taken online, using our computer lab or our NEW laptop mobile labs. I would like to offer a few ways you can support your student as they prepare for the assessments: Explain that the tests will show how much the student has learned. Encourage them to try their best, but dont put so much emphasis on them that they feel stressed. Practice test taking skills with your students. Have them work on a reading passage starting with the questions first. That will help them to know what to read for and how to find the answers within the passage. Limit activities the night before tests. Be sure your child gets to bed on time and sets an alarm for the next morning. On test day, provide a good breakfast before they come to school. Please check with your teachers starting next week about the specific days your student will test. We really need to have your students at school on the days they have been assigned for testing. It is so much better for everyone. Thank you for the support you constantly offer Draper Elementary. Ms. Kenna Sorensen, Principal

Presidential Fitness Testing This Month

Students in grades 1-6 will be participating in Presidential Fitness Testing during the weeks of April 15-18 and 22-25 during scheduled PE times. One of our primary goals is to encourage and promote healthy and active lifestyles among our students. Parent volunteers are needed (please look for the volunteer sign-up that will be emailed to parents) to assist the PTA coordinators and Ms. Cluff, our PE teacher with this activity. The Presidential Fitness Test measures childrens level of physical fitness (strength, agility, flexibility, and endurance) in five activities: sit-ups, shuttle run, push-ups, sit and reach, and the endurance run/walk. In order to make the fitness test run as smoothly as possible, and be enjoyable for the children, we would appreciate your help in reminding your child to wear appropriate clothing on his/her PE day. For more information visit www.presidentschallenge.org.

April 17: Great Utah ShakeOut

Draper Elementary students and faculty will once again drop, cover and hold on on April 17 at 10:15 a.m. during a statewide earthquake drill held as part of the Great Utah ShakeOut. Families can also register at http://www.shakeout.org/utah and access various resources and take part in the drill.

Thanks to Harmons, Fresh Market

Our PTA has received a donation from Harmons for our participation in its annual PTA Day. We received $35 from the principals bagging contest, $50 for winning the checkstand decorating contest, and $789.02 as our percentage of the daily sales on PTA Day last month. Fresh Market donated deodorant for the boys maturation packets this month. We appreciate their continued support of our school.

PTA Presidents Message

April showers bring May flowers! It looks like April is starting out right according to that old saying! With the warm weather approaching, I cant wait to start spending a little more time outside. We have some fun things going on at our school this month! The Kindergarten classes will be going on their annual field trip to the zoo, the fifth graders will be maturing (hopefully) at their maturation program and by visiting the symphony, Art through the Ages continues in full swing (thank you, volunteers!), the Ballroom Dance kids will have their finale and Presidential Fitness will keep us all running! Help your kids prepare for all the events at school and keep spring fever from setting in. Remind them that we need to have an equal balance between mental and physical fitness. Help them to continue working on the goals they set at the March SEPs and to try and improve their fitness testing from this fall. Small steps will accomplish many things! We look forward to seeing you at school for the many events this month! Thank you for sharing your kids and their talents with the rest of us! Join us for Spirit Day April 9th and treat your family to dinner that evening at Chick-fil-A to support our school. Our Draper Community is Spring-ing in to action this April to serve and support the students at our school. Thank you! Ashley Boyle, 2012-13 PTA President, ashboyle@hotmail.com

PTA Volunteers Needed

We express appreciation to the many volunteers who have helped with PTA activities this year and volunteered in the classrooms. We would love to get even more parents involved this next year. If you would like to help with a PTAsponsored activity, contact President-Elect Kerri Brown, kerribrown@comncast.net.