T.I.S. Digital Backpack December 5, 2014

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1 T.I.S. Digital Backpack December 5, 2014 FROM THE PRINCIPAL S OFFICE: Visitor Parking and Driveway Access Please do not use the main driveway in front of T.I.S. Students cross the driveway at various times throughout the day. Traffic on the driveway and in the front parking lot compromises the safety and security of our students. Please use the Recreation Drive entrance for any school related business. Before School Club Drop off Please remember that students participating in a before school club or music program must be dropped off at the upper door, adjacent to the lot in front of Parker School. Student Pick up Due to the sheer volume of activity in the office at the end of the day, it is extremely difficult for us to accommodate pick-ups in the office after 3:10 PM. Any student being picked up after 3:10 PM must be picked up in the lecture hall. Paperless Report Card Available beginning 12/17/14 As a district, Tolland Public Schools has been moving toward a paperless report card at both the secondary and elementary levels. Tolland High School and Tolland Middle School made this shift during the school year. Phase two of this change will take place at Birch Grove and Tolland Intermediate School this year. Parents and guardians will be able to access their child s final trimester grades and attendance at the close of each marking period. Such information will be available through the district s online Power School Parent Portal. Anywhere that you have Internet access, at home, at work, at the library, etc., you can view final grades and attendance on your child at any time following the close of each trimester. In order to access a child s report card, parents/guardians will be provided with a case specific user name and password. Through the use of this web-based application, parents/guardians will be able to obtain information relative to their child s current grades and attendance, simply by logging into the Power School Parent Portal and clicking on the Standards Grades tab. Paper copies of the report card will be available, upon request from the front office. Congratulations Clean Sweep Award Winning Classes! The Clean Sweep Award is an award handed out by our custodial staff. The award is presented to those classes that do their part to help keep our school looking great. Winning classes are chosen based upon the cleanliness of their classrooms over a period of time. Winning classes are given a class Hawk Card, enabling them to choose from a variety of privileges.

2 Our latest Clean Sweep Award Winning Classes: Mrs. Fischer Mrs. Bockus Mrs. Kneeland T.I.S. Fifth Grade Assembly Last week, the fifth grade team held their latest grade-level HAWK assembly. The purpose of our HAWK Community assemblies is to provide an opportunity for students and staff to come together to celebrate their community. Last week s assembly included a team building exercise called The Great Marshmallow Challenge and a game similar to rock-paper-scissors called Karate Girl. The assembly was a great deal of fun for all.

3 UPCOMING EVENTS: December 8 Grade 5 Chorus to senior Center, 9:55-11:15 10 BOE Meeting, 7:30 12 DECADES DAY 17 REPORT CARDS VIEWABLE ONLINE 22 Assembly, THS Jazz Band and Chorus here December 24-January 2 nd NO SCHOOL

4 WHAT S NEW AT TIS! Grade 3 Welcome to December and the winter season! Our third graders visited the Benton Homestead in Tolland while learning about Tolland in the 1700s. Our next unit of study shifts back to science: Matter (solids, liquids, and gases.) We are completing our writing unit on personal narratives and will soon begin fairy tales. Keep working on those multiplication and division facts. Finally, we have our first third grade PBIS assembly on Friday, December 5th. GO HAWKS! Grade 4 As we head into the holiday season, 4 th graders are finishing up our study of myths and beginning to look at non-fiction, both in our reading and our writing. Students are very eager to be writing pieces stating their opinions about issues that they care about. In math, we have been working on multi-digit multiplication and will soon be delving into division. We have also begun our study of Soggy Paper, testing which kinds of paper and which brands of paper towel are really the quicker picker upper! Grade 5 Fifth grade students just experienced their first grade level PBIS assembly. We had a terrific time as the students were able to participate in two hands- on activities. The first activity was the Spaghetti-Marshmallow Challenge. The students were put into small groups and tasked with constructing a tower using uncooked spaghetti, tape, yarn, and a marshmallow in 18 minutes. As students worked together to overcome obstacles, small towers began emerging. The final results were amazing! Our winning tower measured in at over 27 cm tall. The second activity was the Karate Girl Challenge. Students played a modified version of rock, paper, scissors using gestures that represented a karate girl, a grizzly bear, and Indiana Jones. The winners of each individual match continued on until we had only two participants left, while the entire APR was cheering them on toward victory. Fifth graders showed great enthusiasm and exhibited great teamwork in both challenges. We can t wait for the next PBIS grade level assembly.

5 From the Music Department: Attendance for All Ensembles Everyone is doing a great job in band and chorus!! Attendance at all morning ensembles, both chorus or band is mandatory. If you are sick, or unable to make it to morning band or chorus please let us know, (via ) so that we know where your children are when taking attendance. We do this for safety reasons so we know where you children are. If your child is unable to attend the morning ensemble that they are in for any reason, but will still be attending school that day, they need to come to the recess ensemble time for that day. For example, if your child is unable to make it to 4 th grade morning band, then he/she would come to the 4 th grade recess band time. We learn so much in the ensembles and we do not want your children to miss anything important. Thank you so much for all of your support in our music program!!! Judy Baker (jbaker@tolland.k12.ct.us) Rebekah Bazzano (rbattersby@tolland.k12.ct.us

6 The Birch Grove book fair starts this Saturday, December 6th and runs through the next week. Little Shoppers will also take place this Saturday, December 6th at Birch Grove from 10am to 2pm. Flyers and envelopes will go home this week! We look forward to seeing everyone!!

7 Once again Tolland Junior Women has partnered with From the Heart to collect new or gently used hats, mittens, scarves and Slippers. From The Heart will work with DCF to distribute these items to area children in need this winter season. Each Grade has a marked box that has been placed in the front office at TIS. Donations will be accepted through the next few weeks until the winter break. The class that brings in the most items will win a Pajama day to celebrate their generosity, to be announced upon returning to school after the holidays. Thank you in advance, Tolland Community Women

8 Tolland Little League 2015 Winter ClinicsTolland Little League will be offering 4 winter clinics that will be run by Tolland High School s Baseball/Softball Staff in February & March. Registration is now open for the 2015 Winter Clinics. Clinic #1: Infield/Outfield Fundamentals: Baseball: 8-12 year olds Sundays in February: 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/22 TIME: 6:15-8:00 Tolland High School Cost: $85.00 This program is designed to help improve all around defensive baseball skills from throwing and catching the ball properly, to improving footwork for infield/outfielder s, and attacking the baseball. Fielding drills will stress the importance of creeping on every pitch, anticipation/reaction, ground balls/fly balls, double plays, cutoff drills, communication, and basic game situations. Limited to 40 players ran by Todd Euliano (Coaching Coordinator/Director of Training and Development) Clinic #2: Softball Clinic: (Hitting/Fielding): Softball: 8-12 year olds Wednesdays in February: 2/4, 2/11, 2/18, 2/25 TIME: 6:30pm - Tolland High School Cost: $85.00 Players will learn the correct swing plane, proper grip and stance through tee work and soft toss. Also, players will learn the art of bunting from both sides of the plate. We will focus on good throwing mechanics from a ready position, fielding position (while moving) along with cut off and ground ball drills. This clinic will also cover catching with 2 hands with and without gloves, communicating and base running techniques. Limited to 40 players ran by Bill Pompa (Head Coach Varsity Softball) Clinic #3: Offensive Clinic (Hitting/Bunting/Base Running):

9 Baseball 8-12 year olds March: 3/2, 3/3, 3/4, 3/5 TIME: 6:30-8:00 Tolland High School Cost: $85.00 This program is designed to help improve your child's ability and confidence on the offensive side of the baseball. They will get 4 sessions of pure offensive instruction where they will learn the importance of balance and timing throughout their swing, how to bunt a ball properly, and aggressive base running skills. In addition, they will learn the importance of pitch counts and pitch selection. Limited to 50 players ran by Scott Czerwinski (Head Coach Varsity Baseball) Clinic #4: Pitchers/Catchers: Baseball 8-12 year olds March: 3/10, 3/12/ 3/17, 3/19 TIME: 6:30-8:00 Tolland High School Cost: $85 This program is designed to help improve players who want to have a focus on pitching/catching. The clinic will be led by Tolland High School baseball coaching staff and current players who will focus on all areas of importance for each position. Pitchers will work on arm circle, grips, balance drills, pitching delivery, follow thru and completion of motion. Clinic will cover drills and techniques to improve consistency and velocity on the mound. Catchers will work on stance set up, proper receiving of pitches, blocking, fielding their position, proper technique for catching pop-ups, and throwing to bases. Clinic will cover drills and techniques for young catchers to improve defensively in all aspects of the position. Seven coaches from the high school staff and numerous players will allow each camp member plenty of instruction and attention over the course of the clinic. Limited to 50 players ran by Scott Czerwinski (Head Coach Varsity Baseball)

10 Hear ye, hear ye, one and all. Come and be merry at Tolland Hall! Start the holiday season off right. Reserve your seats now for the annual Tolland High School Madrigal Dinner, to be held on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13 at 6:00 p.m. (snow date: Sunday, December 14) in the Tolland High School Cafeteria, One Eagle Hill, Tolland. Dine on a 3-course roast turkey dinner (a vegetarian option is available) while enjoying music of the Renaissance performed by the THS Madrigal Singers, Women s Chorus, Flute Trio, and Renaissance Brass Trio. Tickets are $20. To receive a ticket order form via , please contact Linda Tracy, choral director, at ltracy@tolland.k12.ct.us or call ext. 129 to receive information through the mail. All ticket orders must be received by Dec. 3. Reserved seating only. No tickets will be sold at the door.

11 December 2014 President s Report Sarah Poulin, spoulin03@gmail.com Happy Holidays to everyone!!! The holidays are well underway at this point!! It is have been busy with the schools and PTO as well. The book fair at Tolland Intermediate School took place at the end of October and was a success. Now it comes to Birch Grove this coming weekend. As well as the ever popular Little Shoppers from last year. There were so many kids who thought it was so awesome to pick out their own gifts. We had the Lyman pies pickup and it was successful with only a handful of pies left. We thank everyone for coming to get the pies on time and for the volunteers who made sure the pies were put together by orders. There is also a Art to Remember pickup next week as well too. They will be ready to pick up in the library. We are also trying to decide on a family event for the winter months and would love your input. Please contact me if you have any ideas. Treasurer s Report Kelly Euliano, keuliano914@yahoo.com Financial Activity through Nov 30, /15 Budget remaining ($58000 start) $45, Funds raised to date for 15/16 budget $16, (This includes completed fundraisers only) TEPTO Funds Allocated: - Reading Room (BG) $180 - Laminating Supplies (TIS) $ Art (TIS) $ Misc (BG) $ In-house/Off-Site Field Trips - 3rd grade (TIS) $2,000

12 Birch Grove Book Fair Tricia Byam, Kim Schwarz: The book fair is coming to Birch Grove in early December. Come visit Sir Readalot's Castle and enter the kingdom of books! First and second graders will have a chance to preview the fair with their class. The fair will be open before and after school hours and even on Saturday so everyone can have the opportunity to visit and shop! Birch Gove Fair Hours: Saturday 12/6: 10am-2pm Monday 12/8: 8:30am-6pm Tuesday 12/9: 8:30am-6pm Wednesday 12/10: 8:30am-7pm Thursday 12/11: 8:30am-7pm Friday 12/12: 8:30am-3:30pm Volunteer information will be coming home in the digital backpack. If interested in helping out, please contact Tricia Byam or Kim Schwarz. Box Tops for Education Congratulations to the following winners of the latest Box Tops for Education contest: Grade 5: Jade Gagnon Grade 4: Blake Alexander Grade 3: Alaina Spadjinske Grade 2: Madison Dombek Grade 1: Noah Corso Grade K: Lauren Lockward Remember to keep collecting those box tops every little bit helps! Also, consider visiting to learn about products containing box tops as well as coupons for those items!

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