Watts Happenings Newsletter – Spring 2009 Issue

Watts Happenings, Spring 2009, the PTA newsletter, is here!  Learn what the kids are doing, what are the teachers doing, what the PTA is doing, and what YOU can do, too!

Contents:

• Class Celebrates the Holidays by Giving
• New Arts Committee to Enhance Student Life
• Music: An Essential Part of Education
• Meet Mr. Keeler!
• Life After Watts: Montessori Middle School
• Peaceful Children, Peaceful Planet: Our School Logo
• Making Sense of Testing
• Teacher Awards
• Good News About the Budget!
• Get Your Popcorn Here! (SOS Committee)
• New Plantings, George Watts Botanical Resource Book (Grounds Committee)
• Fundraising Updates
• Edible Schoolyard

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Class Celebrates the Holidays by Giving

by Elizabeth Parish

Wende DaQuano wanted her 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders to learn that the holidays are not just about receiving gifts, but more importantly, about giving to others. By donating lunch money, earning money by doing chores at home, and inviting the support of other classes, Ms. DaQuano’s students raised $50 in December to help those in need around the world!

This money was used to purchase a flock of chicks and a hive of honey bees for needy villages in other countries.  The class gave these gifts through Heifer International (www.heifer.org), an organization working to end world hunger by helping people obtain a sustainable source of food and income.

The class spent several weeks researching countries less fortunate than ours, such as Ghana, Vietnam, and Nepal; discussing how they differ from the U.S.; and learning how gifts of chicks and honey bees might help the people there earn a living and  supplement their diets.

Closer to home, Ms. DaQuano’s class also found plenty of ways to give to others in our own community: they cleaned up the school yard, made holiday cards for students in the special needs class, and created gifts for family and friends using recycled light bulbs.

The class chronicled their experiences using a webcam. After each project, students recorded themselves talking about what they did and how their actions made them feel. The “video diary” will debut at Science and Technology Night on April 27, and will be posted on Teacher Tube (an online community for sharing instructional videos).

These activities all support the NC social studies standards for 1st – 3rd grade by helping students better understand people and places around the world, as well as by promoting qualities of good citizenship.  Furthermore, they fit well with the Montessori method, which strives to cultivate a child’s intrinsic motivation to help others.

This special holiday project helped students to learn how they can contribute to the global and local community by giving gifts of time, love, patience, and muscle power.

“My objective was to get kids to experience the good feelings one gets from helping others,” said Ms. DaQuano.

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New Arts Committee to Enhance Student Life

from Kisha Daniels, Arts & Culture Committee Chair

Arts and culture play a large part in every child’s life.  The Arts & Culture committee was formed to support and provide opportunities that enrich these aspects of your child’s school experience. Although we are a new committee – we’ve only been up and running since January – we’re already hard at work with enrichment events, piloting afterschool arts programming and setting objectives for next year as well as long range goals.

Our major goals for 2009-2010 are: 1) to enrich the academic curriculum with arts & culture events and activities, 2) to have 2 major events highlighting our school community’s unique diversity, 3) to showcase and collaborate with the Durham arts community, 4) to offer our students multiple opportunities to visit museums, 5) to display our students’ art work in prominent locations in and out of the school building, and 6) to offer enriching afterschool arts-inspired programming.

You may have heard of the afterschool Art Club for 1st and 2nd graders and the Black Poetry Theatre group (that performed at Baldwin Auditorium as part of a month-long Black History Month and Poetry curriculum focus).  These are some of the great activities that have come from this committee – and just imagine what we can do with more time and input from YOU!  We are already getting excited about expanded afterschool enrichment programming and Latino Heritage month for the Fall. Please consider offering your ideas, time, support, and/or monetary donation to this wonderful committee!

Contact: Kisha Daniels, kdaniels@nccu.edu, 401-9009

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Music: An Essential Part of Education

by Katherine McNulty

Spring is a busy and exciting time of year for Jennifer Suggs, George Watts music teacher.  Under her direction, Primary students will perform two concerts on April 6th:  The first is for their fellow students during the school day and the second for family and friends that evening.

On May 11th at the PTA meeting, Ms. Suggs will lead the 1st through 5th graders in performances for the entire George Watts community.

Students have already performed under her direction at the Durham Public School’s musical gala “An Evening of Entertainment” (March 1).

“I could talk about music all day,” she says with obvious passion – so much that tears come to her eyes as she talks about the value of music education.  “Music stimulates the mind, puts the soul at ease and revitalizes the spirit. The value of music goes beyond price and has been responsible for saving many.”

Ms. Suggs gets frustrated when people consider music education “optional” or even just a frill. “You can’t be whole if you neglect the arts!” she insists. Her philosophy of music fits perfectly with the Montessori method.  She considers music and the arts essential for nurturing the whole student; music is both a refuge and a means of building self-confidence and discipline.

Even during this hectic time of year, Ms. Suggs is enthusiastic about her many goals for music at George Watts.  She hopes to someday have more risers to accommodate large groups of mixed grades who perform several times a year at school concerts.  She also is eager to establish a school chorus next year.

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Meet Mr. Keeler!

by Scottee Cantrell

Lower Elementary teacher Tom Keeler is a soft spoken, gentle man who is very good at helping plants grow and children learn. He didn’t start out to be either a teacher or a gardener, nor did he envision that the computer work he began in Germany would lead him to a community where he is THE gardener and to being a teacher in a Montessori school.

Before he went to Germany to work on a computer science degree at the Technical University of Berlin, Tom received a bachelor’s degree in English from Brown University and a master’s in linguistics from Kansas University.

But it was while he was studying computer science that he found a job as a software developer for Siemens in Berlin. And he spent the next 20 years traveling from Berlin to Munich to Boca Raton, Florida, to Silicon Valley. In California  he became active in the sustainable agriculture committee of the Sierra Club, and he eventually enrolled in a six-month course in agroecology at UC-Santa Cruz.

He came to Durham six years ago with his wife, Kim, when they built a house in the Solterra co-housing neighborhood just across the street from the community’s two-acre organic garden.

He and Kim are often out working the soil morning and evening.  They became leaders in turning what was a garden for individual gardeners into a real working community garden.

While still with Siemens, he got his first introduction to Montessori programs. He would telecommute to his Silicon Valley job on California time, which left his mornings free to teach German and yoga at the Sterling Montessori Charter School in Morrisville, a school his sister-in-law founded and his step-son attended.

When his Siemens job ended, he worked to earn his Montessori certification and began to teach full-time at Sterling. He spent 5 years there not only teaching, but  also bringing his gardening skills into play. He maintained beds for herbs and for vegetables and flowers right outside his classroom. He hopes he can do the same at Watts, he says.

Tom says, “My favorite part of my job at Watts is Principal Patti Crum’s leadership and playing football with the boys at recess time.”

“It’s a great learning experience to work with such accomplished and dedicated teachers and staff.”

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Life After Watts: Montessori Middle School

by Molly Reingruber and Donna Rewalt

As you may know, Durham Public Schools (DPS) has committed to creating a Montessori Middle School in the Lakewood YMCA building.  The County bought the building from the YMCA and will renovate it for the new school, which will be a magnet school linked to George Watts and Morehead Montessori and include additional students from other DPS schools.  The YMCA will still lease part of the building.

DPS has chosen Little Diversified Architectural Consulting to design the school.  For examples of their  beautiful work with schools, see www.littleonline.com (click “Community” then “Schools”). A planning committee made up of representatives from George Watts and Morehead staff and parents, local private Montessori schools, and DPS is working with the architects.

DPS, the planning committee, and the architects want this school to reflect the needs of our community.  They want input from parents and children at both schools.  Parents of Lower El and 4th grade students at George Watts will be surveyed, and we will be hosting a couple of forums so everyone can learn more and share their ideas.

Any questions? Ask Donna Rewalt (475-3344, drewalt@earthlink.net) or Molly Reingruber  (794-3599, mreingruber@nc.rr.com).

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Peaceful Chlidren, Peaceful Planet: Our School Logo

by Sarah Holsapple

Have you taken a good look at our school logo? Have you ever wondered what it all means? I had a talk with Linda Coulter, the designer of the logo and teaching assistant in Mr. Keeler’s Lower El class, and here is what she had to say:

• The dove with the olive branch in its mouth is a symbol of peace.
• The tree stands for nature and reminds us to respect our environment.
• The peace symbol is different from the symbol we are used to seeing. It was selected to be less specific to the cause of nuclear disarmament (for which the “traditional” peace symbol was first developed).
• The circle of hands around the earth represents us all working together, uniting in peace around the world.

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Making Sense of Testing

by Karalyn Colopy

As the end of the school year approaches, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will be getting ready to take EOGs.  Ever wondered what “EOG” stands for? Or AYP or NCLB or Title I?  If so, read on!

EOGs are standardized tests.
EOGs, or End of Grade tests, are created by the State of North Carolina to determine whether students in public schools are learning the skills and information set out for their grade level in the NC Standard Course of Study.  The Standard Course of Study lists what a student should know and be able to do for every grade level in every subject area.  All students in grades 3-8 take a Math EOG and a Reading EOG at the end of each school year.  There’s also a Science EOG for 5th grade, a writing assessment for 4th grade, and Reading and Math pre-tests given to 3rd graders at the beginning of the year. “Benchmark” or practice tests are also given to students throughout the year to help them get ready for the EOGs.

Students can score a 1, 2, 3, or 4.
A score of 1 or 2 means the student is below grade level.  A score of 3 or 4 means the student is at or above grade level.  Students who score a 1 or 2 receive extra support and can take the test again.  The goal is to help them improve and score a 3 or 4.  In 3rd and 5th grades, students are required by the state to score at least a 3 to be promoted to the next grade level.  If a student does not pass, there is a review process to determine whether the student should be retained or promoted.  Parents can participate in this process. Please talk with your child’s teacher to learn more about what your child’s EOG scores mean or to find out what you can do to help your child improve.

The school is evaluated on how well the students perform.
The State of North Carolina calls its testing and school improvement program “The ABCs of Public Education.”  Under this program, the state holds schools accountable for how well their students do on EOGs.  Schools can receive recognition and teachers may receive a bonus for good performance.  The state looks at the percentage of students who score 3 or 4, AND whether and how much the scores have improved over last year – called “making expected growth.”  Depending on the school’s progress toward its expected growth target, it earns a label, based on the percentage of students passing.  You may have seen the labels: School of Excellence, School of Distinction, School of Progress, Priority School or Low Performing.  School assistance teams are assigned to the lowest-performing schools.  George Watts is currently considered a Priority School that has achieved “High Growth,” which means that, based on test scores from the 2007-2008 school year, our students did better than our goal last year.

“No Child Left Behind” sets an “all or nothing” goal.
In addition to state standards, the federal law called No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires every school to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) each year.  AYP is a goal for the percentage of students that score 3 or 4, and it applies to all student “subgroups.”  A “subgroup” is 40 or more students of the same race, ethnicity, economic status, disability, or English proficiency. “All students” is also a subgroup. The larger and more diverse a school is, the more subgroups it will have. In Durham, the number of subgroups in a school ranges from 9 to 33. At George Watts we have 17 subgroups. If every subgroup meets the goal for the percentage scoring 3 or 4, then the school “makes AYP” for that year.  If just one subgroup has a lower percentage scoring 3 or 4 than the goal, the NCLB law considers the school as “failing” for that year.  Because of this, some describe NCLB as an “all or nothing” law.

George Watts is a Title I school.
This means that we get money from the federal Title I program.  The largest federal source of funds for education, Title I gives out more than $12 billion a year across the U.S.  It aims to ensure that all children have the opportunity to get a high-quality education and meet state standards. Whether or not a school is Title I and how much money it gets is determined by the number of students on free or reduced lunch.  Schools must plan how to spend Title I funds to support the School Improvement Plan (SIP), which is created with the help of the parents and staff on the Site Based Decision Making Team (SBDM).  The funds can be used for hiring more teachers to reduce class size, tutoring, computer labs, parent involvement activities, and more. About half of all public schools in North Carolina are Title I schools.  Nearly all elementary schools in Durham are Title I schools.

If a Title I school doesn’t make AYP, it must take action.
If a school doesn’t make AYP, it means that one or more student groups are having trouble meeting learning expectations and that the school is trying to find the right support to offer those students.  For example, at George Watts, students who scored 1 or 2 are invited to participate in afterschool academic support programs.

If a Title I school fails to make AYP for two years or more, it is subject to “Title I School Improvement.”  This means:  1) the school must offer students the option of transferring to another public school, 2) it must offer tutoring services to economically disadvantaged students, and 3) if failing to make AYP continues for 3 years or more, it must take more serious corrective actions, such as replacing school staff, implementing a new curriculum or changing the school’s internal organizational structure.

You can learn more online and through PFAST training.
Every year, each school gets a School Report Card, showing information about test scores, teacher qualifications, school safety, class size, and more.  Check out www.ncreportcards.org.

Parents often have additional questions about testing, NCLB, the NC ABCs, and the NC Standard Course of Study.  This site can help: www.ncpublicschools.org.  Also, there’s a free training course for Durham parents called Parent & Family Advocacy and Support Training (PFAST).  It is offered through Durham Cooperative Extension and happens to be coordinated by George Watts parent Donna Rewalt. It covers testing and many other topics to help you navigate the public schools and help your child get the most out of his or her education.  For more information, contact Donna at 560-0538 or drewalt@co.durham.nc.us.

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Teacher Awards

Congratulations to Ramona Jones, George Watts Teacher of the Year, and to David Cantwell, George Watts Assistant Teacher of the Year!  Both are part of the Lower Elementary team.

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Good News About the Budget!

from Rashid Curtis, PTA Treasurer

In these challenging times, it is a pleasure to inform you that we have met many of our financial goals for the 2008-09 school year. This is a direct result of your commitment, time, and financial support.  For example:

• Our goal for Fall Festival was $1,500.  We actually raised $1,900.
• Our goal for the Book Fair was $3,000.  We actually raised $4,000.
• Our goal for SOS was $2,000.  We actually raised $4,000.
• Our goal for general fundraising campaigns was $10,000.  We actually raised $8,000.

In addition, in recognition of your efforts, the community contributed $3,000 – funds we had not planned on – to support school initiatives.

All these funds go to support classroom activities, subsidize field trips, replenish books and materials, aid our teachers and administration, and provide refreshments and childcare during meetings. And don’t forget the countless hours, meals, and other non-monetary gifts that go a long way to making our dollars last.

Thank you. Together we are making a big difference!

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Get Your Popcorn Here!

from Angie Douglas, SOS Committee Chair

SOS or “Support Our Schools” is a major fundraiser for George Watts.  Through this program, parents and teachers work the concession stand at Duke games, and the PTA receives a portion of the proceeds.  We really count on a lot of people to volunteer so that we can cover all the games.  It’s fun work!

We had our ups and downs this past football season. We had a hard time finding volunteers for some of the games, but many teachers really came through for us.  Thank you, teachers!  Because of the hard work of all the volunteers, Duke football brought our school $2075!  Now that’s a lot of popcorn!

Duke basketball season was also a big money-maker for us, though the numbers aren’t in yet.  In the meantime, a big thank you to all who helped at the many basketball games!

Duke football starts up again in the fall.  Get ready for fun!

Thank You to Our Dedicated SOS Volunteers!

Football: teachers Rosemarie Baker & spouse Dean, Coach B, Ramona Jones & daughters, Kristen Snyder & spouse Josh; parents Nathan Penkowski and Kellianne White; and recent graduate Marcus Roberts and mother Rhonda.

Basketball: Alpha Epsilon Omega Alumni Chapter (IOTA PHI THETA Fraternity), Rosemarie & Dean Baker, Coach B, Kyra Brogden, Tremel Brown & Giovanni Mayfield, Judi Calle, Amanda Garcia, Katherine Gill, Mark Hayes, Deborah Horvitz, Tom Keeler, Damian Makarushka, Katherine McNulty, Julio Olmos, Seth Parfitt, Edgar Proano, Donna Rewalt & Jeff Pitts, Rhonda & Marcus Roberts, Kristen & Josh Snyder, Eli Stein & friends, Lauren Vejvoda

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New Plantings, George Watts Botanical Resource Book

from Sabrina Lamar, Grounds Committee Chair

New Landscaping in Front Yard
Having had a good rainy winter and spring, we can now finally go ahead with our long-awaited front yard landscape project.  Due to our prolonged drought, this project (funded by a large grant from Durham County as well as your donations) had been on hold for almost two years! The project involves planting new bushes, trees, and ground cover, plus re-grading and installing pathways.

For the new plantings the Grounds Committee selected several native species that are both beautiful and drought tolerant.  Other plants were selected for their flowers or fruits (attracting wildlife and humans!), or to provide year- round interest.

I’m Soooo Thirsty!!
All the new plantings will require some care until they are established.  If you can help water the new plants over the summer, please contact Sabrina Lamar (contact info below).  Your help is greatly appreciated!

New Blooms
Watch for the spring blooms on the dozens of azaleas our students and teachers planted last fall!

Sponsored Flower Bed
We’re looking for a group or individual to sponsor the flower bed in front of our school sign at the end of the summer.  Classrooms, school groups, families, or even neighborhood groups are encouraged to participate.  The cost is about $30 – the money pays for pansies and other annuals that bring color and beauty to the front of the school.  A great way to support and enjoy the school at the same time!

Contact Info: Sabrina Lamar: 286-6654, sabrina.lamar@gmail.com

Check it out!
We’re really excited about the new front yard!  To help kids get excited too, we’ve created the first ever George Watts Botanical Resource Book describing all the new species recently planted on the school grounds. Teachers & parents:  We’d love for you to borrow it!

Flip through the pages, then take a stroll with your students around the front yard.  You’ll have fun figuring out… What tree blooms in winter?  What’s the difference between deciduous versus evergreen holly bushes?  What plants attract butterflies, and why?  And much more!  Contact Sabrina (see info above) to check it out!

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Fundraising Updates

from Alice Bumgarner, Fundraising Committee Chair

Team George Watts Completes the Great Human Race!
On March 21 our team walked 5k around downtown Durham, raising $800 through donations from our friends, families, and neighbors. We were joined by employees from Burt’s Bees, who graciously donated the $1400 they raised to our school!

BIG thanks to Coach B for organizing, Claudia Curtis for goodie-bagging, and Angie Douglas for handing out the goodies at the finish line!

Neighborhood Makes Big Technology Gift
Thanks to a $1,000 donation from Trinity Park Neigh-borhood Association, each classroom now has a digital recorder for literacy projects! I’ve heard from Ms. Vejvoda that teachers are using their new recorders in several ways:

•    Recording guided reading books so students can listen to a book and recognize how to read it fluently.
•    Recording read-aloud books so if a student misses a day of school they can listen to the part they missed.
•    Having students record themselves reading poetry to help with fluency.
•    Recording discussions during reading groups so the students can listen to it the next day and continue the discussion from where they left off.

Edible Schoolyard Update
Walk past the main office and toward the Wellness Center, and you’ll see drawings of a potential Edible Schoolyard for George Watts. The drawings represent the ideas of several groups of parents, teachers and students. (Guess which ones our creative kids came up with!) Soon we’ll have a unified design and a plan to start digging. In the meantime, please take a look at what we’ve started.

While we pursue big funding for the garden, please let me know if YOU are interested in gardening and landscaping.  I could use some help in planning the installation of the garden, rainwater catchment system, gathering space and tool shed. Contact me at alice.b@earthlink.net or 680-8674

I’d also like to give a big thanks to Gennifer Weisenfeld, Karalyn Colopy and Natasha Nazareth-Phelps for helping me write the grant application. Nice work, ladies!

Thanks to Team George Watts Great Human Racers!
Rosemarie & Dean Baker; Joy Brewster, Steve, Olivia, & Van Fugikawa; Kyra Brogden; Judi Calle; Karalyn, Xiomara, & Xalvador Colopy; Meneca & Brian Davis; Alyssa, Avery, & Rowan Perz-Edwards; Deborah Horvitz; Ramona, Billie, Simona, & Robin Jones; Mary McClain; Stephanie Brennan and nephew; Alice Bumgarner & Annabel Todd; Jazmin Varela, Carl & Raquel Stearns (congrats to Jazmin who ran the 5K and came in 2nd in her age group!); Avi Stein; and Jo, Laurence & Stephanie Wells

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Edible Schoolyard

by Sarah Holsapple

What is an Edible Schoolyard?
An Edible Schoolyard is an outdoor learning environment, focused around gardens planted on the grounds by students, teachers and community members.  Students learn while growing fresh fruits and vegetables and beautiful flowers and herbs. The first Edible Schoolyard was started by Alice Waters at Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School in Berkeley, CA, in 1994.  Since then many schools have been inspired to create their own.

What are the benefits of an Edible Schoolyard?
The benefits are great and reach even beyond the school.  In an Edible Schoolyard students learn about healthy food, possibly improve their eating habits, get reinforcement of academic concepts, and gain practical skills. The students learn where food really comes from (not just from a package at the grocery store). The gardens can be incorporated into math, science, and language.  Lessons about ecology, life cycles, and much more – like the value of hard work, responsibility, patience, and beauty – are all around. Because gardening is a hands-on, sensory educational experience, it fits perfectly with the Montessori method. The Edible Schoolyard can also bring the community together.

Edible Schoolyard at George Watts?
We are in the early planning stages of creating an Edible Garden at our school. In January we held a design workshop led by the Durham Area Designers (D.A.D) and attended by parents, teachers, students and community members. We have submitted an application for a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield and are waiting to hear if we win it. If we do, we will continue with plans for a big garden.  If we don’t we will scale back and keep looking for money.

So stay tuned!  If you’d like to be part of the group to help get the project started, contact Alice Bumgarner, alice.b@earthlink.net, 680-8674.

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