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!

Safety First & Rocky the Puggle

Although most Horace Mann students do not ride a yellow bus to and from school each day, they sometimes take a bus when enjoying field trips.  Because riding a bus is a possibility, students in grades K-3 are required to to bus safety training.  Our kids' sessions took place last week.  In the picture, they are practicing emergency evacuation, showing that safety drills are not limited to the four walls of our school!

Bradon gets a smooch!

While we love having 1st grade teacher Mrs Cramer's therapy dog Stanley at school several days each week, we just can't get enough contact with our canine reading buddy.  So, this week (and hopefully in weeks to come), Rocky the Wonder Puggle visited with Mrs. Finnegan's 3rd graders. Reading to dogs is known to boost students' confidence and makes reading a enjoyable activity.  We appreciate the time and effort of everyone who makes these experiences possible for the students of Horace Mann :-)

Mrs. Finnegan and her class pose with Rocky and his owner, Charlotte.

Donuts, Dads, and "Dear Family,"

What a super week at Horace Mann!  On Thursday, we joined in the county-wide initiative for Fathers Walk: adult men walking their kids to school to show support for their education.  We had a great turnout for this event, as well as for the PTA's annual Donuts with Dad gathering.  The last two days of this week started with smiles and laughter as kids and parents enjoyed glazed, sprinkled and custard-filled donuts along with juice and coffee from The Root here in Lakewood.









Thank you to the parents who came to school with their kids and a big thank you to PTA event chair Mrs. Katie Stallbaum and her crew of helpers.

Mrs. Diemert knows how to note!

Another blog-worthy event occurred in Mrs. Rolfe's 4th grade classroom on Friday morning.  Mrs. Melissa Diemert, parent of three Horace Mann students, provided a lovely lesson on writing thank you notes.  Not only did she explain the reasons why a person might write a thank you,  the most important content of these notes, but she also guided students through the process.  In the end, the students had thank you notes for the special adults in their lives who provided them with school supplies for this year, written on stationary from Paper Trails in Rocky River.  Thank you, Mrs. Diemert, for sharing your expertise with us!

Sweet Fun at The Mann

There were lots of sweet treats this week at Horace Mann.  The big event was the annual PTA Ice Cream Social on Thursday evening.  Everything worked out right for an excellent party!  Thank you to the Horace Mann PTA for the Mitchell's ice cream (yes, Mitchell's!) and raffle for t-shirts and a Mitchell's gift card.  Special thanks to Sandy Najarian for organizing the social, as well as to her crew of volunteers.   Here are a few pictures to give you the "flavor" of the event:

Mrs. Lynch's third grade class capped off the sweet week with making s'mores at Camp Learn-A-Lot (also known as Room 201).  To celebrate their completion of Patricia Reiley Giff's book entitled Ronald Morgan Goes To Camp, the children set up a tent, sang and had a realistic campfire right in the classroom.  Mrs. Lynch shared a great PowerPoint with the parents of her students and some of the kids brought an extra s'more down for me to enjoy.  Here is one picture that captures the scene:

Boom Chicka Boom!

Cool Critters at The Mann!

 

We discovered some interesting critters in and around Horace Mann this week.  First, we had the return of a favorite furry friend: Stanley is back!  As you may know, Stan (named after book character Flat Stanley) is the therapy dog who comes to school with teacher Mrs. Cramer a few days each week.  Stan is pictured here with a new 1st grade friend, and he is ready to be read to and otherwise provide support for our students and staff.








The next guest was quite unexpected...but very interesting!  Right outside the office doors on Wednesday, a hungry praying mantis was discovered.  It was a great lesson in our local ecosystem, and a reminder about predator and prey.












Finally, Rupert the Frog joined Mr. Fakan's Frog-tastic class for the week.  After Rupert secretly stowed away in Mr. Fakan's kayak during a weekend paddle on the Cuyahoga, he also made a trip to Horace Mann.  Mr. Fakan and his students did a successful scavenger hunt right on our school's grounds to furnish Rupert's tank, making him feel right at home.  He looks relaxed and happy, doesn't he?

Critters are a wonderful and important part of the world we live in, and we are lucky to have opportunities to learn about them in school and in our community every day.  The more we know, the better caretakers we can be of nature and our world.

The Gang's All Here!

After enrollments, orientations, tours, screenings, and meeting the teacher (whew!), all of our students in grades Preschool - 5 are attending daily here at Horace Mann.  The halls are alive with the sound of children!

Teachers and support staff have been working diligently to get to know their new students.  For their part, students have been doing their very best to learn the expectations in their new grade.  Even after just a week or so, it is plain to see that most are getting the hang of how things work around here pretty quickly.

That said, sometimes it takes children a little more time and/or a little more guidance to learn routines and procedures.  In those situations, please partner patiently with your child's teacher.  If you have any questions or would like additional assistance, please contact me or our Family Resource Coordinator, Mrs. Chris Bringman, at 216-529-4257.

Growing the Garden at Horace Mann

Dear Horace Mann Community,

     It has been simply wonderful welcoming staff, students, and families back to Horace Mann for the beginning of the 2015-16 school year.  Although our summer break was short according to the calendar, I've been happy to hear about all the fun so many of us were able to squeeze into those weeks.
     This year, I've been thinking about how our school is like a healthy garden.  We have many well-established healthy "anchor plants," such as the majority of our teaching staff, our well-maintained building, and strong parent support.  There are also some "perennials" that are putting down roots, including building leadership (can you believe it is my 3rd year?), Writer's Workshop (also in year 3), returning students, and our Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS or Star program) in year 2.
    We are also happy about our "seedlings" that will come into their own this year, including our new students, family and staff members, Eureka Math  and Reading Workshop.  For certain, there will be lots more information to come about all of our new "planting" as we get into the growth cycle of the year.
     In this gardening metaphor, I also want to emphasize the elements of effort and results.  We--staff, students, and families--will all do the best we know how how to do.  Sometimes, the fruits of our labor will come readily, while in other areas we may need to learn from what did not turn out as we hoped and try again.  Through it all, we will work together, valuing each and every person.
     I look forward to collaborating with you this year, and I welcome you to contact me anytime with suggestions, comments or questions at (216) 529-4257 or merritt.waters@lakewoodcityschools.org. I hope you will follow this blog for weekly updates on what has been happening at our school! 

     Below, check out some of the early harvest in our Horace Mann "garden."  As you can see, the early focus is on acceptance and understanding the expectations at our school. 

We may all be different, but in this class we all swim together!