A Real Hero & Star Students for March

Although Horace Mann staff members do wonderful things for students every day, there was an actual act of heroism here at school last week.  One of our students who uses a wheelchair--and various straps to keep his body upright--began choking on his lunch.  The staff member closest to him attempted to help him dislodge the food, but did not succeed.  Mr. Phil Hilty, a veteran Lakewood Schools paraprofessional, saw what was happening, quickly crossed the lunchroom, pulled the straps aside and did the Heimlich to clear the student's airway.  In spite of the dramatic event, the student then was able to breathe normally and continued his school day. This was a very big week for Mr. Hilty, as a new grandchild was also born into his family!  Thank you, Mr. Hilty!

Also, since it was the end of the month, we drew our Star Students  randomly from the pile of stars created by students cashing them in for various rewards.  Here are the winners for March:

Ms. Sessin:  Ben Anderson          Mrs. Sloan:  Aylish Radke
Mrs. Cramer:  Peter Humphreys  Mrs. Harkness:  Declan Ziegler
Mrs. Carney:  Olivia Baker          Mrs. Wynne:  Amelia Diemert
Mrs. Finnegan:  Isaac Craciun     Mrs. Lynch:  Brooke Gardner
Mrs. Kehn:  Hannah O'Toole       Mrs. Rolfe:  Grace Bratko
Mrs. Cali:  Kaylin Ehase              Mrs. Robinson:  Helen Hylton
Mrs. Smolen:  Jack Milanich       Mrs. Smith:  James Smoot

Congratulations, Star Students--Keep being safe, respectful and responsible!

Amazing Spirit Week!

Mismatch Monday

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it:  Hair can be made to look like a doughnut, a plate of spaghetti or a bottle of Coke pouring into a cup--on Crazy Hair Day, that is!  School spirit was running high at Horace Mann this week as both students and staff had fun with theme days and celebration of reading.
Thanks to the leadership of first grade teacher Mrs. Cramer, we had a lively spirit week plan, with Mismatch Monday, Superhero Tuesday, Dress as a Book Character Wednesday, Team Thursday and Crazy Hair/Hat Friday.  I've included a few pictures, but there were just too many awesome outfits to include here in the blog.

  Each day, we enjoyed 15 minutes of sustained silent reading across the whole school, with Drop Everything and Read (DEAR).  I don't think the school has ever been so quiet with all the children here!

 Our  PTA also played a big role in the fun this week, with a very successful "groovy" Book Fair  and fantastic Spring Dance on Friday night.  Much peace and love to Book Fair chair Debbie Baker, and Spring Party chair Beth Bratko (along with ALL the other parents who volunteered--including DJ Mikey Rad) for the great events!  Thanks, too, PTA for the donated "hot pick" books for each classroom's winner for best book character costume.

Be sure to check out the Horace Mann PTA Facebook page for lots of great pictures from the dance.  As the dance was ending, a parent shared with me that she felt a real sense of community here at Horace Mann.  I know I feel it, and I hope others do, too!  

Playhouse Square & Dr. Seuss

Kindergarten and 2nd grade Horace Mann students rode yellow school buses to Playhouse Square this week to see a production of Moon Mouse:  A Space Odyssey.  The Story:  Marvin the mouse wants to be popular. Constantly bullied and picked on by the “cool” rats, he is labeled as a loser and a geek. To get away from the continuous badgering, he retreats into his science books and a world of fantasy. He longs to have adventures, to be the hero. Join Marvin on the space adventure of a lifetime: a trip to the surface of the moon on his homemade rocket where he meets a strange cast of misfit creatures, learns of infinite peril and awesome beauty. Will Marvin make his dreams come true and find the glory and acceptance he craves?
     According to all the informal interviews I conducted, everyone enjoyed the play AND the bus ride!

     Kindergarten students joined the fun again--this time with our preschool friends--in celebrating the birthday of author Dr. Seuss.  You can just imagine the fun things the children and their teachers made, watched, wore, and read about this week!