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Dear Families and Friends of the Honeybees,

Self-portraits

Gambol Project Finishing Touches

Beginning School Art Show
February 22 - March 29

Books

The Magic Nesting Doll by Jacqueline K. Ogburn

Building a Red Wooden Fire Truck

Friday's Special Guest

Enjoy the sunny weather!

Allen, Rebecca, and Chenoa

Chinese New Year Celebration in the Barn
Tuesday, February 23

NutureShock Book Discussion

Bus Alert!

Do you turn left into Catlin Gabel from Barnes Road? If so, read on!

It has been reported that a police officer has ticketed one of our parents for pulling into the left turn lane too early. Since many of us deal with this issue on a daily basis, we wanted to let you know that it could be a $271 mistake....

Model Railroad Club Open House

What has 34 wheels, generates more than 5,000 horse power, weighs 1.2 million pounds, can travel 80 miles per hour, and runs on water?

Answer: The largest steam locomotive ever built, the Alco 4-8-8-4 Big Boy.

Come see this and more than 30 other locomotives running in HO scale at the Catlin Gabel Model Railroad Club’s sixth anniversary open house. See the town lit up as well as the six- stall roundhouse. If you want to know how cool the train setup is, just ask the Beginning School Honeybees who recently visited the club.

Thursday, March 4, 3 – 6 p.m.
Friday, March 5, 3 – 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 6, 1 – 5 p.m.

Basement of the Catlin Gabel caretaker’s house at 8685 SW Barnes Rd.
Top of the hill behind the facilities building
Look for the yellow sign on the door leading to the basement.

It’s FREE, FUN and TOTALLY COOL!

Take Kindle for a Spin

Overnight checkout available through IT department.

The Information Technology department now has an Amazon Kindle available to families for overnight checkout to evaluate whether or not they might wish to purchase one. The IT office is located in the upper level of the Vollum Humanities Building. Please email IT@catlin.edu if you wish to reserve the Kindle.

At this time, we do not anticipate formal school adoption of the Kindle or other electronic book reader, but we would like to support families that are interested in them.
 

Learn more about Kindle features at http://www.catlin.edu/news/take-kindle-for-a-spin-courtesy-of-it-department

Gambol Auction News

Thank you Donors
Donations are closed. Thanks to the generosity of our donors we have fantastic auction items to offer. Look forward to more party and activity sign-ups than ever before, a full-bodied wine auction, and a live auction that will knock your socks off! Our catalog is going to print next week and we will preview the items on the website soon.

Registration
Tickets are selling fast and tables are filling up. Don’t miss out on the biggest party of the year. Buy your ticket here!

Organize a Table
If there is a specific group you would like to sit with at the Gambol, the auction office needs to know. Please fill out the Table Captain form and return to the auction office as soon as possible. Don’t have a group to sit with? No worries, we will make sure you have a great seat.

Volunteer Sign-up Open
Organizing a successful auction takes thoughtful preparation and dedication. Proceeds from the Gambol auction directly support our teachers and students. We rely on the generous volunteer support of our community to pull off this big party.

Please take a moment to review the volunteer opportunities that are available to help before, during, and after the Gambol event. Volunteer sign-up available here.
More information? Visit the website  or contact the auction office at gambol@catlin.edu

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No Friday Sing on February 12th

Dear Families and Friends of the Honeybees,

Beehive Project for the Gambol

Portrait Project

The Honeybees have been working hard on drawing their faces. They have finished noses and moved on to eyes. Keep your eyes open for the completed faces, coming soon. Please be sure to notice all the details and ask your Bee about which parts were trickier than others.

Honeybee "Reporters"

The Honeybees have become reporters and have been looking around the classroom every day to find out what’s happening. They have been using clipboards to record what they see as well as taking photographs. On the cupboards above the cubbies are some of the news that they chose to report on. Everything there comes from the Bees: words, drawings, and photos.

All of the Honeybees have now visited the model train club, located in the basement of the caretakers’ house, just behind the facilities building. They were very enthusiastic about the trains. As one Bee said, “I think I’d like to stay here forever.” If you would like to share the experience of the trains with your Bee the club is hosting an "Open House" on the following dates:

Thursday, March 4, 3:00 - 6:00 pm
Friday, March 5,  3:00 - 6:00 pm
Saturday, March 6, 1:00 - 5:00 pm

Conference Sign-up

Have a great week!
Allen, Rebecca, and Chenoa
 

Childcare during Parent Conferences

• All-Day Programs:  Contact Ginny Malm or 503.297.1894 x353 ASAP to inquire.   Cost is $45/day/student.

• Drop-In Care during the time of a family’s conference only

→Siblings must be at least 3 ½ years old and “school savvy"

GAMBOL AUCTION NEWS

The Tuition raffle is back by popular demand. Don’t miss this opportunity for a chance to win $10,000 towards tuition at Catlin Gabel. You can purchase your raffle ticket at www.catlin.edu/giving/gambol. You must be 18 years and older to purchase a raffle ticket. Drawing for raffle will take place on March 13 at the Nines. Need not be present to win. For more information, please contact the auction office at gambol@catlin.edu

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Hello Honeybee Families and Friends,

Our honeybee studies continued last week as we explored flowers, pollen, and the mysteries of a bee’s tongue. The Honeybees examined the inside of a snapdragon and used a Q-tip to collect bright yellow pollen. We also squeezed the flower to feel the juicy nectar that bees love. Our honeybee mural is growing, and some of the kiddos made tissue paper flowers for their paper bees to visit. Be sure to ASK YOUR HONEYBEE: How does a bee carry pollen as it flies from flower to flower? In pollen “baskets” on it’s back legs. What is a bee’s tongue like? A straw! How did you pretend to drink like a bee? We drank berry nectar through a thin red straw.

Our Books are Complete

Trains!!

Big Boss by Anne Rockwell

Have a wonderful week!

Allen, Rebecca, and Chenoa

Garden Club Meeting Invitation

The Catlin Gabel Community Is Invited to the Next Garden Club Meeting on Wednesday, January 27, 2010, from 3:30 – 5:00 PM.

The next Garden Club meeting is an open meeting for the Catlin Gabel community. This is an invitation to parents, students, and staff to come and collaborate and plan on the next steps for the garden that is growing behind the middle school. The meeting is from 3:30 – 5:00 PM on Wednesday, January 27th, in Narnia in the Middle School building.

Our agenda is simple but ambitious: 1) How to incorporate the garden into school curricula, grades PreK – 12; and 2) the physical design of the garden, as we plan on building seven more raised beds and adding garden art this spring and summer.

If there are questions, please email Carter Latendresse. Thank you.

Re-enrollment Contracts Due February 19

Re-enrollment contracts for the 2010-11 school year are being mailed on January 27. Signed contracts must be postmarked or hand delivered to Toad Hall by February 19. This deadline is firm. We cannot guarantee a spot for your child(ren) if we do not receive the contract by February 19.

If your child is not returning, please return the enrollment decline form by February 19.

Please call Traci Jernigan Rossi ’83 in the admission office if you have questions about re-enrollment, 503-297-1894 ext. 346. Questions concerning payment options should be directed to Mary Ann Rogers in the business office at 503-203-5114

GAMBOL AUCTION NEWS

Parent of Peyton ’19 and Parker ’22

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Dear Parents and Friends of the Honeybees,

 It is not too early to start looking for tennies now! In the past, people have had good luck getting CANVAS TENNIES at the following haute couture shoe emporia:

♦TARGET
♦SEARS
♦LAND’S END
♦L.L. BEAN
♦NORDSTROM
♦J.C. PENNEY

Dress for the Weather

Please help us by making sure that your Honeybee has a coat, hat or hood, mittens, socks and boots. We know that the kids sometimes resist these things, especially a coat. We won’t let them go out without proper clothing for the weather and the kids, given the choice, would much rather wear their own things from home rather than the ones we provide. If you don’t want to argue with your child about wearing a coat, make it clear that you are in charge and just bring the coat into the classroom with you. We will take it from there.

And speaking of clothing—will you please take a look at your Honeybee’s supply of extra clothing in the blue zip-lock bag in his or her cubby. Make sure that there are pants or leggings, a long-sleeved shirt, socks and undies. Also, would you check at home and see if you have any clothing belonging to the Honeybees—we seem to have run out of extras and really don’t want to go out and buy more. Thanks for checking!

Problem-solving Tools

Woodshop

Jennifer spent a morning meeting introducing some of the hand-tools the children will use in the shop. Yes, shop has finally begun and the children already are quite clear about their shop days: Ovals on Tuesdays; Dots on Wednesdays; and Raindrops on Thursdays. If you want to know which is your Bee’s shop day, check the list outside the classroom door or in various places about the classroom.

We also made some changes to the Blue/Green lists for specials. We did this a couple of times in the fall and will, no doubt, do it again before the end of the year. We explain to the kids that we want to make sure that everyone has a chance to get to know everyone else well before the end of the year.

Family Books

You have probably noticed the big book press on Allen’s table. We have started to apply the colorful five-family book designs that we made in the fall to the covers of our Family Books. The glue is very gooey—hard to manage, but the kids are doing a great job. They especially love putting their books in the press and turning the big wheel “with all their might.”

Take Aparts

“Take Aparts” is also a new addition to the classroom. We have the tools, the goggles, and some old machinery to take apart—an old VCR and a few other things. We will sort the nuts, bolts, wires, bit and pieces that come out of these machines and then later on we will build our own machines. This activity provides lots of opportunity for visual/spatial problem solving, cooperation, and small motor practice with the tools. It’s fun for everyone. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP: If you have any old machines that you could donate, we’d love to have ‘em. The things that work best are things with moving parts, motors, etc. Things that run on a printed circuit are not so interesting. In the past cast-offs that have worked well have been: manual typewriters, VCRs, record players, electric mixers, electric screw drivers, alarm clocks, and the like. Oh, we had a small chain-saw once that was terrific fun.

Books

Last week we read a story called Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine, written and illustrated by Evaline Ness. It is a somewhat complex story (but we’ve found none better to get at the topic) that provides a good lesson about telling the truth (real) and not telling the truth (moonshine). Most important, it helps children to distinguish between telling “nonsense” (good moonshine) and lying in a way that can be hurtful or even dangerous (bad moonshine). We will be using the terms “real” and “moonshine” with the children in the classroom. Here are some important questions to ASK YOUR HONEYBEE. Who was Sam? How did her father earn a living? Did Sam have a mother? What was Sam’s special friend’s name? What “bad” moonshine did Sam tell Thomas? Did Sam really have a baby kangaroo and a mermaid mother? What happened to Bangs, the cat? What did Sam give to her friend Thomas at the end of the story? MOST IMPORTANT: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “REAL” AND “MOONSHINE?"

And to help celebrate Allen’s birthday, she read There Are No Polar Bears Here by Catherine Simpson and illustrated by Joanne Snook. ASK YOUR HONEYBEE what kind of berries Kerry had that attracted the polar bear. This story is from Newfoundland, so the berries are partridge berries. What did Kerry say each time she saw the bear? Jumpins! How did Kerry finally prove to her little island community that there really was a polar bear?

  
BIG NEWS! 

Have a great week!

Allen, Chenoa, & Rebecca

PFA General Meeting with Kathie Masarie, M.D.

Raising our Daughters and Sons: It Really Does Take a Village

a talk by Kathy Masarie, M.D., author of Raising our Daughters and Raising our Sons

“We live in a culture that pulls families in different directions, sometimes towards influences we do not value. Plus family alone isn’t enough. Kids need to feel like their community cares about and values them, have connections to other adults, be empowered by volunteer opportunities, be inspired to learn, make good choices in friendships… all of these are built outside the family. In this seminar, learn about the evidence-based programs on how parents can create a thriving family. You’ll learn how all of us can build the connections within our neighborhoods, schools, and families to create a healthy network of support for our kids to become strong, resilient, capable, responsible, and caring young adults.”

Minimalist Art Show

January 12 – February 22
Cabell Center foyer

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Dear Parents and Friends of the Honeybees—

More Information about the
Family Heritage Potluck

Each family brings a dish that comes from their heritage. It’s really fun (and instructional) if it can be a special recipe that represents your family’s cultural and/or ethnic background. It’s always fun if you can write out a little card describing the dish, where it came from, and what it means to your family. We don’t worry about nutritional balance—there’s always enough from all the food groups, and believe you me, no one ever goes away hungry. We want to expand the palettes of our Honeybees!

Our wonderful PFA folks will provide something to drink, plates, cutlery, cups, napkins, and so forth. Karen, Donna, and Julia will probably be looking for helpers to setup and cleanup before long, if they haven’t already. 

REMEMBER—the Family Heritage Potluck is at 11:45 sharp, on Friday, December 18th.   It is important to be on time—we will begin the festivities promptly.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE no school age siblings at the Family Heritage Potluck… there’s not enough room for them and they will be involved in special goings-on in their own classrooms for sure. THANKS for helping with this.

TWO IMPORTANT REMINDERS...

1. Children who go to the Village, even just occasionally, really MUST HAVE A BACKPACK!
    
2. All Honeybees MUST have a HAT & MITTENS EVERYDAY!

Honeybee Art Portfolios

HUGE THANKS to Nance Leonhardt and Donna Avedesian for sorting the art work and creating your Honeybee’s art portfolio. The sorting is a big task and we are so grateful for the help. We hope that you have taken the time to look at the contents of your Bee’s portfolio with your Bee. Be sure to ask lots of questions. How did you do that? How did you make that color? Did you use the Five Families to help you with this drawing? Is that a painting or a print? What makes it shiny? Did you make this art after you read a story? Did you have fun when you made this art? Did you do this by yourself or did you do it with a partner? There are lots and lots of questions that you can ask your Honeybee that will extend their learning way beyond responding to “Isn’t that great? Or that’s pretty.” The children put a great deal of time and effort into their art work, no matter whether it is an assigned project or a piece that your child has made because the spirit moved him or her. They deserve to be the recipients of your excited curiosity.

Family Sharing

Birthdays

Emperor Penguin

Books

To help provide foundation for our hive of busy-ness, we have read some wonderful stories. Be sure to ASK YOUR HONEYBEE about the character, Dorrie, in Ann McGovern’s meaningful story called The Lady in the Box. The illustrations by Marni Backer are gorgeous. Where did Dorrie live? Why was it hard on Dorrie when the restaurant owner told her to take her box and leave? How did the two children get to know Dorrie? What happened when the children told their mother about Dorrie? What do you do to help others who are in need?

The next story is one that we always like to read after Thanksgiving. The Paper Crane by Molly Bang is her take on one of the many classic Japanese fairy tales about cranes and their magical abilities. ASK YOUR HONEYBEE why the restaurant was having trouble making enough money. What happened when the old man arrived? What did the people of the town do when they heard about the dancing crane? What did the boy do with his flute?

Friday's Surprise!

Allen's Knee Surgery

            Allen, Chenoa & Rebecca

Dates for May Conferences in the Beginning School

The dates for Preschool and Kindergarten conferences have recently been corrected on the school website.  Please check your calendars to be sure you have the following dates:

May 24 - 26, Preschool parent-teacher conferences, classes in session
May 25 - 26, K parent-teacher conferences (optional), classes in session.

Food Drive Donations Accepted through Wednesday!

Many thank yous to everyone who has generously donated to the Food Drive.  If you haven't had a chance to donate, we're collecting through Wednesday, December 16th

CG Logo Sale at the Book Store - One stop shopping solution for the holidays!

A Reminder about Calendar Year-End Giving

Thank you for sustaining and strengthening Catlin Gabel.

Annual Fund Raised as of 12.04.09