Saturday, October 31, 2015

Visit to Hale Farm & Village

In conjunction with their unit of study on the settling of Ohio's Western Reserve, the third graders of Horace Mann enjoyed a special field trip last week.  Looking at the picture, you may be able to tell that the children visited Hale Farm & Village, in Bath, Ohio.

They had many wonderful, hands-on learning opportunities during the field trip, and the memories created are sure to last a lifetime.  For my part, I distinctly remember visiting Hale Farm when I was a third grader at Hopkins Elementary in Mentor, Ohio.  I can still taste the maple sap!

If you can't make it out to this local treasure of our heritage, here is a link to a very nice virtual tour:
http://westernreservepublicmedia.org/halefarm/.

Thank you to our third grade teachers, Mrs. Finnegan and Mrs. Lynch, for planning this beneficial--and fun--field trip.  Thanks, too, to parents for providing the fee necessary to learn in the real world.  We hope everyone feels it is well worth it :-)

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Dancing Wheels - Amazing!

The Horace Mann community celebrated the end of the first quarter with a spectacularly good assembly:  A performance by The Dancing Wheels Company.  Four dancers (two stand up and two "sit down" [as they call the dancers in wheelchairs])--Kelly, Kristin, Kevin and DeMarco performed several numbers for the entire student body of Horace Mann, as well as the faculty and many family members, too.

The songs ranged from contemporary to classical, and students "oooh'd and aaaah'd" each time one of the dancers was lifted into the air.  Most kids' favorite part (based on the informal exit poll I took) was the silly song where the whole crowd learned animal-themed movements to go along with the song.  Our September Star Students of the Month did a terrific job helping the dancers teach the crowd the choregraphy!

Many thanks to the Lakewood Ranger Education Foundation for a generous grant that funded most of the cost of this assembly.  Special kudos to three Horace Mann staff members who wrote the grant: Mrs. Maureen Crane, Mrs. Jen Frank, and Mrs. Ellen McCafferty. We'd also like to thank the Horace Mann PTA for picking up the remaining cost to bring this program--perfect for our integrated student body here at Horace Mann--here to celebrate kids safe, respectful and responsible behavior all quarter.

If you'd like to learn more, here is a link to the Dancing Wheels website:  http://dancingwheels.org/about-us.asp

...and pictures from the performance, of course!





Friday, October 16, 2015

Horace Mann...ALL IN, ALL THE TIME!

If you've visited the main office at Horace Mann in the last week, you may have noticed some new artwork on the wall behind Mrs. Rochford's desk.  In case you haven't stopped by, I've included a smaller version just so you have an idea what we're talking about :-)


Through staff meetings and casual conversations, we've formed our vision for Horace Mann.  We've also talked about the things we need to do and the attitudes we need to hold in order to make our dreams a reality.  A shared vision is a big thing, and it helps to have a snappy saying--or theme--to help keep it in the forefront of our minds as we work.

In choosing Horace Mann...ALL IN, ALL THE TIME! as our theme, we identified that it applies not only to staff, but also to students and families.  We love the positive energy it portrays, and we thank Shawn at Erie DeSign for helping to bring it to life in Ranger purple and gold!

We hope you will partner with us in being "all in, all the time" for the wonderful students we share.  On a fun note, the PTA hopes to offer spirit wear with the logo on it in an upcoming sale.  Wouldn't this look great on a t-shirt?

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Keeping Horace Mann Safe!

On Thursday, we focused on safety and had help from both  the Lakewood Fire and Police Departments.

First, as part of Fire Prevention Week, Fire Marshall Dunphy led a presentation about smoke detectors.  Hopefully kids came home talking about changing the batteries to be sure the detectors are functioning properly.  Horace Mann is honored to have two 5th grade students bring home honors in the citywide essay contest (which also includes a fire safety test):  Helen Hylton:  Jr. Captain and Madison Ryback:  Jr Assistant Chief.  The culmination of the event is a fireman climbing to the top of the fire truck ladder with kids watching and cheering him on.  I had another reason to be proud of our school when Fire Marshall Dunphy confided that he always enjoys doing this program at Horace Mann because we have a great school.  I agree!

Then, we had a very special swearing in ceremony for our 5th grade Safety Patrol members.  Our DARE Officer, Patrolman Acklin, led the students in the Safety Patrol Pledge.  We count on these responsible 5th grade students for helping to keep their peers safe.  Please reinforce with your own child(ren) that Safety Patrol members are good people to go to with a concern and that they are there to help students follow the rules.  This year's Horace Mann Safety Patrol roster includes:

Addy Andregg, Rinesa Beqiri, Isaiah Blackshear, Kasey Darnell, Jonas Evans, Samantha Facaros, Helen Hylton, Jeremiah Johnson, Rachel Johnson, Erin Lavelle, Danny Lavelle, Ceci Miller, Lily Monahan, Cameron Robertson (Captain), Maddy Ryback, Joice Salloum, Megan Sulak and Mya Stewart.

Thank you to Mrs. JoAnn Cali for being the advisor for these role model students helping uphold the high standards of Horace Mann!

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Star Students for September 2015

It was a big week at Horace Mann, with a 3-day Book Fair, Friday night Family Dance and vision/hearing screenings for several grade levels.  I'd like to thank our PTA--especially Book Fair Chair Debbie Baker and Family Dance Chair Amy Lardi--for all the hours spent on making the events awesome for kids and their families!  Please check the Horace Mann PTA Facebook page for more about the dance.
September Star Students!
In this week's blog, I'd like to recognize the Horace Mann students selected as Student of the Month for September.  Students selected earn several rewards to celebrate their accomplishment:

* Bring a special person to school for lunch
* I'm a Star pencil topper
* Free junior pizza coupon for Hungry Howie's
                                                       * Certificate posted by the gym

September's Star Students are:
Kindergarten:   Julie Salloum, Emma O'Toole
1st Grade:  Jayla Birmingham, Jannah Jacobs
2nd Grade:  Ruby Fraunfelder, Greydon Rosser, Lily Halan
3rd Grade:  Layler Paw, Lucas Irwin, Jasmin Thompson
4th Grade:  Hutch Reed, Akram Ali
5th Grade:  Isaiah Blackshear, Corey Kidd

Keep up the great work, Star Students!