Our 2nd grade class is collecting any Starbucks Cardboard Sleeves for recycling purposes. This is a community project we are just beginning. The purpose is to take care of our community and help local businesses like Starbucks promote recycling for certain items. They already recycle milk jugs, but a concern my class has is that many people/families are throwing away and wasting the cardboards sleeves that can be recycled.

If parents would be so generous to collect them and save them, they may keep them in a bag and drop them off to our classroom box designated for the Starbucks Sleeves. The classroom is located in the basement at Washington (near the boys bathroom). Our class will be dropping the sleeves off weekly from February 25th until the last Friday of March. Thank you for your help!

Mrs. Kirchner's 2nd Grade Class
253-571-5729

3 new WHAM galleries are now up with amazing art from our students:
http://web.me.com/pcblanchard/WHAM/Galleries_2011-12/Galleries_2011-12.html
Fall session: Klimt portraits.
Winter session: Fauvism, and Buttonmania.

Thank you for supporting the arts in school.

Paul Blanchard
WHAM coordinator  759-9669
web.me.com/pcblanchard/WHAM
Tues/Wed: 3:30-5:30pm
Washington North Basement

Congratulations to all of our talented artists here at Washington Hoyt! Before our snow storm twelve children received recognition on the district level for their outstanding entries in the PTA reflections art contest. It was wonderful to see our students showcased for their efforts. Hayden Feeney received an honorable mention for his work in Visual art and Brianna Benner also was awarded an Honorable mention for her Photography entry. Ella Boers was honored with an award of excellence in photography, this means that her photo has been forwarded to the state level and will be representing Washington-Hoyt at the state competition. Congratulations to all of our students!

If you would like to see what your fellow students have done they will be on display at school for all to see. " How can I do this?" you might ask, get started now on your entry for next year. Entries will be due in late September but work can be done any time from now until then. Next years theme is, "The Magic of a Moment", you can find contest details at the PTA website. We are looking forward to a very strong representation next year.

Impressive Showing by Cougar Chess Team at Bellarmine Tournament
On January 14 four of five Cougar Chess players representing Washington-Hoyt qualified for the State Chess Tournament. Collin Bagley won 4 of his 5 matches, and Cameron Showalter, Jonathan Showalter and Kevin Dinicola each won 3 of their 5 matches. Jonah Gaimster won two of his five matches. Three wins are required to qualify for the State tournament which will be held April 21 in Tri-Cities. On February 11 many more Cougar Chess Club members will participate in the tournament at Charles Wright Academy. Go Cougar Chess players!

As many of you know, the Washington-Hoyt buildings will be closed during the 2013-14 school year for major renovation. The Washington remodel is funded through designated levy funds. Hoyt may undergo some remodeling, but it will be done with other capital funds not yet committed. Classes will be relocated to the recently closed Hunt Middle school, where we will be the sole occupants.

The Tacoma School District has selected BLRB Architects for the remodel of our Washington Elementary building. Here is the Press Release regarding the selection. The design process will begin in mid-February or early March. The architects' design processes will involve the whole community - parents, teachers, students, neighbors - in the decisions about changes at the school. I think it will be a great process. Everyone in the District and at the Architecture firms has a keen appreciation for the special place Washington-Hoyt has in the community - as a beautiful, historical building, a premier educational institution, and as a part of the fabric of our families. I'm very excited about this project and the role we all get to play in shaping the improvements to our school. I will continue as the PTA representative for this project, so please contact me with any questions or concerns - Gerrit Nyland gnyland@drizzle.com or by phone (253) 304-5105.

Our PTA sponsored session of before-school French will begin Wednesday February 8th and end Friday March 16th . All sessions will be on Wednesdays and Fridays from 8-8:45 am (before school in Washington Hoyt basement).

All levels are welcome, kindergarten thru 5th grade. This is a great opportunity to introduce your child to a foreign language at an early age. The earlier a student starts a foreign language the greater the level of proficiency he/she will ultimately achieve.

This will be a fun and informative class for all age levels. There will be lots of games, activities and French treats! However participation is a vital part of learning. If there are continuous disruptions from a student there will be disciplinary actions and the parent will be contacted.

Enrollment Form

Do you think your child needs a greater academic challenge in school? Parents can apply now to have their children tested to see if they qualify for one of Tacoma Public School’s highly-capable education programs. Be sure to turn in your completed referral form by the Feb. 3 deadline to have your child included in the spring testing cycle. The district’s highly-capable programs will accept referrals for the 2012 selection process for students currently in grades 3 to 7, and these programs serve students who have an identified need for additional academic challenge.
 
The three elementary school programs include:
• JAWS is the Joining Abilities With Subject Matter pull-out enrichment program for students in the third, fourth and fifth grades. JAWS is currently located at Browns Point, Fawcett, Lowell and Skyline elementary schools.
• The Self-contained Advanced Individual Learning, or SAIL, program is full-time self-contained program that serves students in the fourth and fifth grades. Browns Point, Lister and Point Defiance elementary schools currently house the SAIL program.
• The Gifted and Talented Education, or GATE, program serves third, fourth and fifth graders in multi-age classrooms at Downing and Northeast Tacoma elementary schools.
More information on Highly Capable programs referrals

As in past years, teachers will use a universal screener in January to assess all second-grade students. Based on the results of that screening, parents/guardians and schools will receive notification if any further testing is required.

For more information, contact the Highly Capable programs office at 253-571-1120.

Thanks to the many families who donated to the PTA this fall to support the students and teachers at our school. You helped us raise $4000 for classroom grants, field trip and uniform support, school-wide events, and even this website. Thank you!

The school's food composting program in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade lunch has been a great success--almost 3 tons of food have been saved from the landfill and sent for composting! Many thanks to our great parent volunteers who have ensured our program works so well: Rosemary Ponnekanti, who trains our student volunteers to run the recycling station, Jennifer Drum, who oversees our new volunteers every Monday, Ellen Sherman, who ensures the recycling trays are kept clean and usable, and Sara Sledge, who designed fantastic signs for our compost and trash bins.

The Green Schools program was in the City's EnviroTalk issue this month. See first page of attached pdf.

Here are a few pictures of our 3rd and 5th Grade "Green Partners" in action!

Hey Parents! Time to brag about our teachers and students! Last week our teachers attended an award ceremony sponsored by the Center for Educational Effectiveness. We were invited by the Puget Sound Educational Service District, who sent the following message:

"Congratulations on being a  2011 School of Distinction Award  winner! Your school has earned this honor based on the outstanding accomplishments you have made to improving student learning. The award is made to the top 5% of schools in our state who have made sustained improvement in reading and math over five years. In the Puget Sound ESD region, 38 schools in 18 school districts achieved this high standard.  The award is granted by The Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE), in partnership with the Association Educational Service Districts (ASED), the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP), Phi Delta Kappa-Washington Chapter (PDK-WA), Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA), Washington State ASCD and Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA).”

We now have a nifty School of Distinction banner hanging in the first floor hallway at Washington, courtesy of your teachers, your students, and every parent who makes sure their child completes daily homework!  WE ARE A TEAM!

- Dr. John Knight

The Washington State Department of Ecology presented us with the 2011 Sustainable School Award in recognition of our efforts to reduce waste at our school.  These efforts resulted in (1) a 14 percent reduction in material waste since 2007 due to recycling efforts, (2) saving over 72,000 sheets of paper since 2007, and (3) reducing our food waste by 2.5 tons per year through our food waste collection system, a system run by student teams at lunch time.   I want to say thank you to all of the parents who have supervised our students during food waste collection, AND give very special thanks to Felicity Devlin who created, implemented and sustained our food waste collection system by  visiting classrooms, training and supervising students, and encouraging parents to be supervisors.  Our award is posted on the Green Schools bulletin board on the first floor at Washington. - Dr. John Knight

Keep clipping and saving your Box Tops - there will be a collection in the new year! Box Tops are an easy and free way for our school to raise money for PTA supported activities during the year. Take a look around your pantry for products you may have purchased that have the Box Tops symbol on top, cut it out, put them in a ziplock baggie and send them in to your teacher. (Trimming note: Please try and trim the Box Tops right along the dashed line otherwise it may be rejected, thanks!) http://www.boxtops4education.com/

WHAM is open for Winter Session registration.
Tuition is $176 for 11 classes.  Classes begin Jan. 3rd+4th.

If you know anyone who'd like to enroll for WHAM's Winter Session, our schedule and registration form can be found here: http://web.me.com/pcblanchard/WHAM
Forms are due, either to me or the main office's PTA box, by Friday, Dec. 16th.
Paul Blanchard Washington-Hoyt Art Movement Coordinator 759-9669

Recently, we were learned about a Wash. state government agency that is available to assist families in resolving complaints, disputes, and problems between families and elementary and secondary public schools in all areas that affect student learning. Thought we'd pass it on: Washington State Office of the Education Ombudsman http://www.governor.wa.gov/oeo/

Congratulations and thank you to all the student who entered the reflections art contest.  We had some truly lovely pieces of art work turned in and I am so proud to be taking our winners onto the council level.  Following is the list of entries and the awards they have received, ribbons will be awarded after the holiday break and the art will be displayed with their ribbons as soon as we get them back from the council judging.  

In the category of visual arts for the intermediate grade level:
First Place: Kaia Brown
Second Place: Anna Finch
Third Place: Anastacia Johnson
Fourth place: Jillian Vindivich

In the category of visual arts for the primary grade level:
First place: Naomi Steele
Second place: Hayden Feeney
Third place tie:Una Johnson and Lillie Steele

In the category of Photography for the intermediate grade level:
First place: Ella Boers
Second place Max Sledge
Third place: Brianna Benner

In the category of Literature for the intermediate grade level:
First place Hunter McAmis

The entries were judged by members of our community that have a background in art and education.  The judges took into account the theme and how the srt addressed the theme as well as the artistic merit and  creativity.  It was wonderful to get the feedback from the judges as they were very impressed with the caliber of art being produced here at Washington-Hoyt.

We will have next years theme published in the spring and look forward to seeing what our students have for us next year.  Congratulations again to all of our participants. - Amy Steele, Reflections Program Coordinator

PS And a special thank you to Amy Steele for bringing this wonderful program to Washington-Hoyt!!!!

It takes effort every day by drivers and pedestrians alike to keep our kids safe. Please be aware of the kids as you are making your way to and from school. It is everyone's responsibility in our community to pay attention and keep our kids from being hit by a car.

DO NOT USE THE DRIVEWAY IN FRONT OF THE WASHINGTON BLDG. AS A PICK-UP/DROP-OFF SPOT. THIS DRIVEWAY SHOULD ONLY BE USED FOR HANDICAPPED ACCESS.

◦ Park at the library or across the street. Walking a block is good for you!
◦ Please don't block the corners of the street (This is especially a problem down at the Hoyt Building. Please always park legally!)
◦ Always yield to pedestrians in the roundabout and crossing the street.
◦ The speed limit is 20 MPH, please slow down and help keep our children safe.
◦ Use the crosswalks or better yet cross with Miss Peggy!
◦ Do not stop and drop your children off in the middle of the street.

Be sure to fill out the (orange) Safety questionnaire form that went home with your student. Please return it to school by October 21st. Thanks for helping make our school safer for everyone!

Cougar Cards (formerly known as Scrip cards) are the EASIEST FUNDRAISER EVER!

Picture this: You can make your usual weekly visits to the grocery store, gas station, book store, coffee shop, and many more retailers and make money for Washington-Hoyt at the same time! How is this possible? Welcome to the COUGAR CARDS fundraising concept. Our PTA purchases gift cards, or COUGAR CARDS, from popular retailers and grocery stores at a discount. WA-Hoyt families then buy the gift cards from the PTA at face value. The difference in price is kept by the PTA. This difference is listed as a percentage next to each retailer on the order form. Families can then spend (or give as gifts) the COUGAR CARDS at the retailer where it is worth face value. You haven’t spent an extra dime and you’ve made money to help our school!

Last year COUGAR CARDS made over $6,500.00 to contribute to great programs at our school!

COUGAR CARDS order forms will come home with your child one or two Fridays a month in their “Friday Folders”. Please return the completed order form on the following Monday to your child’s teacher, with a check made out to “WA-Hoyt PTA”. The COUGAR CARDS will be delivered to your child on Friday. It is very important to indicate on your order form who is allowed to pick up your COUGAR CARDS order. Because the gift cards are the equivalent of cash, we will only release the cards to persons indicated by you.

Order Dates for 2011-2012 School Year:
November 14, December 5, January 30, February 27, March 19, April 16, May 7, June 4
Thanks so much for supporting
Washington-Hoyt Elementary.

If you have any questions, please contact: Cara Reese, 752-0200, dcreese@harbornet.com

Please don’t forget to register your Safeway Club Card

WASHINGTON-HOYT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA

www.escrip.com - WH Group Number 8567772
Last year the WH PTA received close to over $2,500 based on your Safeway purchases!
If you have registered in a prior year
WH must be confirmed each year in order to continue receiving these contributions.
IT IS EASY TO DO AND IMMEDIATELY BENEFITS WASHINGTON-HOYT!
If you have any questions, please send inquiries to ginaeury@yahoo.com
Thank you for your support!!
GO COUGS!