Thank You, Mrs. Rochford!

All over the U.S.A., it was Secretary's Day (known to some as Administrative Professionals Day) on Wednesday, April 22nd.  This is a day set aside to say 'thank you' to the people who take care of so many workplace details, making the lives of others easier.

Mrs. Barbara Rochford is in her 2nd year as secretary of Horace Mann Elementary.  She does a wonderful job assisting students, staff, families and other visitors to our school.  I always appreciate her smile, the way she keeps her cool even at the busiest times of day, and her genuine care for children and adults, alike.  Mrs. Rochford is a graduate of Lakewood High School, so the district can take a little credit for her talents :-)

The photo below shows how one class chose to show their appreciation of Mrs. Rochford's work.  The poster is hanging in the main office; check it out if you stop by sometime soon.

Mrs. Rochford and Mrs. Cali's 5th Graders

Thank you, Mrs. Rochford, for being a wonderful secretary.  We hope you are here at Horace Mann for a very long time to come!

Fire Safety at Horace Mann

Horace Mann 3rd graders had quite a learning experience this week!  As is tradition in Lakewood, the Fire Department brought the Fire Safety Trailer to our school for the 3rd graders to go through.  It is another lesson--and a very hands-on one--in preparing students to know what to do in the event of a fire at home.

The trailer (new last year) has two rooms inside, including a kitchen.  The firemen talk with students about what to look for and what to do in the event of a fire.  The experience becomes quite realistic when the door gets hot, "smoke" is released, a fire alarm blares, and kids climb out a low window to be helped down stairs to the ground below.  They then go to the designated "safe spot," just as they would in their own neighborhood.

Many thanks to Fire Marshall Tim Dunphy, Fire Inspector Mike Matwijiw and the rest of the firefighters for bringing this memorable lesson to our students.  The remind us to always have two ways out!

Jungle Terry Visits Horace Mann

To celebrate all of the safe, respectful and responsible behavior we saw around Horace Mann during the 3rd quarter, the PTA invited Jungle Terry for a school-wide assembly.  From the moment he showed up in his zebra-striped Range Rover, we knew the fun was about to begin!

Students in grades PK-5 were engrossed and excited by the stories he told and the animals he showed.  As you can see in the pictures below, several students had the opportunity to hold animals, including a tarnatula, a ball python and a brown skunk.  Second grader Isaac C. even got to "surf" on an African tortoise!

As the end of the show, Jungle Terry set up a "pet and go," where he laid the 11 foot python on the table and invited each student to walk by and touch the snake on the way back to class.  Nearly all of our kids took a deep breath and did it :-)

Big thanks to our PTA for making this awesome event possible.  We would especially like to thank Carla Adamov for arranging the event and to several PTA volunteers (Federica Pasquali, Sandy Twardesky and Laura George) for helping out.