Newsletter Date Volume 2, Issue 1 SVA Leaflet Special Interest Articles: Mrs. Ross Farewell Fall Carnival Student Council 2013-2014 Individual Highlights: Monthly Awards 2 Recipes 2 Fun Facts 2 Carnival 3 School Song 4 Community Events 4 Sycamore Valley Academy (559) 622-3236 Farewell to a Great P.E. Teacher! By: Brett and Osvaldo Mrs. Ross will be greatly missed. She has been a part of SVA since August of 2012 and has worked tirelessly to get a wonderful Physical Education class together. Not only has she created the PE class, but she along with Senora Medina, have worked many hours with the Lego Robotics Club. Congratulations to Our New Student Council By: David The first part of October was been very busy with Student Council elections. SVA had 11 candidates run for an office and in the end it was narrowed down to five. We appreciate all her hard work.she will continue to be the Lego Robotics coach and work as a local real estate agent. Thank you for all you have done for SVA! The new 2013-14 SVA Student Council President is 8 th grader Adam R. who will oversee most of the events. Second in command, Vice President is Bella T. and she will help out the President. Historian this year is Adam G. and he is to document and record SVA s history as it is made. Next is Treasurer, Polly M. who will help to keep track of the money earned by the student council. Last, but not least is Secretary, Michael Anne and she will be taking notes to share out at meetings. SVA student council is planning and working hard to make this year a fun and eventful year.
September and October Students Honored By: Natalie October Students that were honored. (Some students missing) Our September Habits of the Mind and Explorer of the Month students that were honored were Georgia- Grey Dowdy,Roman Guerrero, Dylan Putzel, Madison Ramos, Alondra Salcedo, Karina Martin, Ian Iskendarian, Andrew Zachary, Annie Rose Harrison, Anne Wu, Leo Paez, Jacksen Hart, Samantha Fergueson, Rebekah Cantelmi, Kaitlyn delemos, Cadence Spencer, and Andrew Ruelas. Our October honorees are Adam McClain, Keilani Gates- Wai, Ellie Choe, Annalysia Gonzalez, Ashtyn Guitron, Sadie Newman, Michael Poggione, Thomas Plummer, Michael Poggione, Jose Chavez, Lyra Paez, Caroline Johnson, Elliana Hendrickson, Claire Johnson, Niamh O Donoghue, Sebastian Thomas, Hailey Nicholson, Thaddeus Canales, Ashley Tejeda Oliver, and Kyaunna Garrett-Salmeron. Recipes to Enjoy By: Wyatt Iced Pumpkin Cookies Original recipe makes 3 dozen To create these delicious pumpkin treats you will need the following 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour 1teaspoon of baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon ground cloves ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup of softened butter 1 ½ cups of white sugar 1 cup of canned pumpkin puree 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups of confectioners sugar 3 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon of melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency. ENJOY! Thanksgiving Day Fun Facts By: Brett While preparing for Thanksgiving we have come across many interesting facts of this special day Did you know that Americans consume more turkey on Christmas than on Thanksgiving? Over 5.2 million dollars are spent on turkeys each year. Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the U.S. 91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
2 nd Annual Fall Carnival By: David, Osvaldo, and Brett The fall carnival is a way for the school to make money, so we can have better things to use in our classes and to help fund our school field trips. The carnival was a good turnout. We made lots of money to help the school. The PTO and the teachers did a really good job making the fall carnival fun and exciting for everyone. The carnival made $2,500! We had a great band, which is named The SVA Bluegrass Band. One of the great booths was the petting zoo. They had horses, pigs, chickens, bunnies, and goats. The Chicken Drop was a big hit and we made a lot of money, and so did Joseph Ross, who won half the collection of money from the booth. Other booths that were at the carnival were the Balloon Pop, Duck Fishing game, Bean Bag Toss, Goldfish Toss, Brain Grab, Tattoos, Hair and Face Painting Booth, Cake Walk, and the bounce house. The Haunted House was a great hit too! It sent bone chilling shivers down the backs of the victims. Lots of kids went away screaming and crying, while others went away laughing. We also had great food from Tacos Galacticos. All in all, the carnival was a hit! SVA Bluegrass Band singing the SVA School Song. Thanksgiving Craft By: Teaguen and Michael Anne A great activity for families to make together is a wooden turkey. The materials needed for this fun project are paint, craft sticks/ popsicle sticks, a paint mixing stick, roughly 6 x 4 block of wood, paint brushes, glue and of course, creativity. First, break all the Popsicle sticks in half. Then use whatever paint color (preferably brown) and paint the block of wood that color. Then, break the paint mixer in half. The part of the mixing stick with the indentation on the sides, glue it onto the front of the block of the wood once the wood is dry. Then paint the paint mixer your desired color. Paint a face on the paint mixer. Once you do that, take your broken Popsicle sticks and paint whatever you want on the sticks. Then glue the Popsicle sticks on the back of the block of wood. Finally, let it dry and you can use it as a centerpiece at your table, or whatever you want. Cute Turkey Art!
Upcoming Movies By: Bella Free Birds is about two birds that don't get eaten and comes out on November 1 st. The Hunger Games Catching Fire is a movie where Katniss and Peeta are back for more adventures and comes out on November 22 nd. Thor is a movie where Thor is going to team up with Loki, his brother; because they are going to be attacked by their biggest enemy they have ever had and comes out on November 8th. Frozen is about a snow queen who s evil sister tries to take over the whole world by making everything cold and then makes it snow all the time while the snow queen is going to try to stop her sister. This movie comes out on November 27th. Check back next month for the latest new releases! SVA Has a School Song By: Lauren and Polly We are excited to announce that SVA now has a school song that was written by Eleace Zachary! Below are the lyrics As the Sycamore stands tall and strong, Explorers unite in song. We stand together firm in our noble cause to learn. This is the place where we belong. Perseverance, and honesty, kindness, integrity, helping each other every day. We do what is right, because it is right. Hooray, Explorers SVA, SVA! We will nurture curiosity, our talents, creativity, love of learning, love of life, and when we are grown we ll strive to strengthen our own communities. SVA, (SVA), SVA, (SVA) We re courageous Explorers come what may. SVA, (SVA), SVA, (SVA) Say Hey, Explorers SVA! SVA! Hey! Community Events by: Polly & Natalie Visalia Rescue Mission will host a Thanksgiving community run on November 28, 2013, 8:00 am benefiting the Visalia Emergency Aid Council. All proceeds benefit the Visalia Emergency Aid Council. Race Against Hunger provides critical funding that helps meal assistance and clothing to more than 2500 families in need each month. Race Against Hunger is one of the largest races in the Central Valley and has become a family tradition. Join them on Thanksgiving Day to help raise funds and awareness for families in need in our community. You can help reach their goal this year of 5,000 runners and walkers by participating in this great event. On November 21-23 at 7pm at the LJ Williams Theater, Theatre Company presents a great American Musical, Oklahoma! This musical is performed by Tulare County students, 1 st -12 th grades. On December 2 nd at 7pm it s that time again, Candy Cane Lane Parade! This year s 68 th annual theme is titled 12 Days of Christmas. Sounds like a great time!