The mission of Huntsville Elementary School is to create a safe and nurturing community where students grow as readers, writers, and solvers of real-life problems.  By respecting each other and developing individual responsibility, students, parents, and staff will succeed together.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2005

NEW EMPLOYEE: On Monday, January 24th, we welcome Ms. Elizabeth McClure to our faculty!  Ms. McClure will be our Pre-Kindergarten teacher.  She recently graduated from UNC-G with a Master’s Degree and a major area of study in children ages birth to Kindergarten.  Ms. McClure brings a wealth of experience to the classroom and to our school community.  Please join me in extending a hearty Huntsville welcome to Ms. McClure!
ACCELERATED READER SUCCESS:  Mrs. Kirkpatrick’s and Mrs. Southard’s first grades were recognized as  Model Classrooms earlier this week.  They each received a balloon bouquet and a challenge to “keep up the good work in reading” and earn Master Classroom too!  Congratulations, readers! Also, Mrs. Harris’s 5th graders attained Master Classroom status yesterday!  These 5th graders are invited to the Principal’s end of year cookout!  Excellent work! We now have 21 Model Classrooms and 15 Master Classrooms!  Way to go, hounds!
PTO NEWS:  Many thanks go to our fabulous PTO for helping us celebrate the 100th day of school on Wednesday.  Students were asked to bring in 100 rolled pennies to contribute to victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia.  Contributions equaled $490.54!  This money will be donated to the American Red Cross to specifically be used to help people affected by the tsunami.  Great job!  Also, thanks to everyone who purchased drinks in our recent PTO sponsored Coke Sale.  Our profit was $530.  Thank you for helping!
INCLEMENT WEATHER:  Remember to refer to your “Inclement Weather Procedures” purple sheet that was sent home earlier this year, or call the Rockingham County Schools weather line at 623-1385 in case of bad weather.

CLASSROOM INFORMATION ON BACK

Dear Parents,

		Please keep in mind that reading nightly is essential to your child's development.  I have really been impressed with the improvements I've seen in their reading abilities.  We were very excited about earning "Model Classroom" yesterday.  The kids' excitement just proves how much they love reading.  Just knowing that makes my job worth it.  In first grade we not only teach students how to read, but we also teach them to form a love for reading as well.  We appreciate all the hard work you do with your children at home.  I can really tell they've been reading at home.
	Next week begins our "Red, White, and Blue" unit where we will be studying various famous Americans.  We will be reading and learning about Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, etc.  
	As a reminder, please study the spelling and vocabulary words nightly.  This will ensure your child recognizes them when they're reading.
	We will be sending home a permission slip next week for the field trip to the Nursing Home on Monday, February 14th.  The cost of the trip will be $ 2.00 so that we can provide transportation and a flower to the residents.  If you have any relatives that reside at Britthaven, please let us know so that your child can visit with them while we're there.
	We still have a few more people who need to turn in their t-shirt money ($10.00).  I need this by next Tuesday, January 25th so that our t-shirts will be back in time for the nursing home field trip.
	We have a class website that you can visit by entering the following web address :  http://teacherweb.com/NC/HuntsvillElementary/MrsSouthard/
or you can get to it by accessing the Huntsville Elementary school website at:  http://www.rock.k12.nc.us/hunt/index.htm  Just look for 1st grade and Mrs. Southard's name.  This website consists of calendar dates, homework information, a link to my email, and lots of other vital information.  Soon I hope to have pictures of the students on the website doing various classroom activities.

							Thanks,

							Mrs. Southard
							Mrs. Robertson