Penguin Post January 2012

Penguin Post
Winter 2012
Dear Kirby Hall Family,
Kirby Hall School has won the Private School Interscholastic Association for 11 years in a row for district! Congratulations to
our students, parents and teachers! During the competition, our elementary students scored 526 points, far exceeding the
second place of 274. Our middle school students scored 410 points, with the second place at 259. I also wish to express
gratitude to all our parent volunteers, especially to Mrs. Anamika Mitra. Mrs. Mitra, who coordinated the PSIA event for KHS,
has worked hard and tirelessly to help our school achieve its fullest potential at PSIA. Please show her your support for the
state meet. Good luck Kirby Hall students in Fort Worth!
With much admiration for your abilities,
Our PSIA 2012 District Winners
CREATIVE WRITING:2nd
1st place Jael Dammann
3rd place Dylan Levy
5th place Anna Nagle
DICTIONARY SKILLS:4th & 5th
3rd place Emma Duhon
5th place Anna Pederson
IMPROMPTU SPEAKING:7th& 8th
6th place Claire Bruster
LISTENING SKILLS:4th & 5th
2nd place Sanjay Pandiri
3rd place Sophia Boyd
LISTENING SKILLS:6th , 7th & 8th
2nd place Nurit Elber
MAPS, GRAPHS, & CHARTS:4th
1st place Roland Gadbois
2nd place Gandharvi Varma
4th place Vaughan McInerney
MAPS, GRAPHS, & CHARTS:5th
1st place Jacob Hale
2nd place Jessica Temborius
MAPS, GRAPHS, & CHARTS:6th
1st place David Lucid
5th place Sanjay Pandiri
6th place Owen Taylor-Williams
MAPS, GRAPHS, & CHARTS:7th
2nd place Sonali Mitra
3rd place Delia Stephens
MAPS, GRAPHS, & CHARTS:8th
1st place Ryan Ajgaonkar
4th place Ethan Weaver
MATHEMATICS: 4th
1st place Jorn Dammann
2nd place Vaughan McInerney
3rd place Alexander Burton
Please continue on page 2
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Mrs. Mitra and KHS Parents at PSIA
In This Issue
PSIA 2012 District Champion!...........1
A Busy Day in My Life as a Primer....3
Classroom News................................4
What’s Growing: Garden News.........8
African American Celebration............8
Announcements ................................9
Spelling Bee, 2012...........................10
KHS’s 2012 Talent Show ................10
Our PSIA 2012 District Winners
Continue from page 1
MATHEMATICS: 5th
1st place David Lucid
2nd place Sanjay Pandiri
3rd place Karinya Chen
MATHEMATICS: 6th
1st place Hannah Wolfson
3rd place Owen Taylor-Williams
5th place Charles Arscott
MATHEMATICS: 7th
1st place Sonali Mitra
2nd place Ryan Ajgaonkar
MATHEMATICS: 8th
2nd place Delia Stephens
MUSIC MEMORY:3rd
2nd place Nir Elber
MUSIC MEMORY: 4th
2nd place Alexander Burton
4th place Jorn Dammann
MUSIC MEMORY: 5th
2nd place Cordell Mazzetti
4th place Leah Griffith
5th place Alfonso Juarez
ON-SITE DRAWING: 7th
1st place Ethan Weaver
ON-SITE DRAWING: 8th
6th place Balie Griffith
POETRY INTERPRETATION:4th
4th place Sophia Boyd
5th place Jorn Dammann
POETRY INTERPRETATION:6th
3rd place Charles Arscott
6th place Nurit Elber
READY WRITING:3rd
2nd place Maya Jhaveri
3rd place James Stephens
READY WRITING:4th
4th place Peyton Paulette
READY WRITING:6th
2nd place Charles Arscott
5th place Rainer Schurig
READY WRITING:7th
4th place Delia Stephens
MUSIC MEMORY:6th
1st place Karinya Chen
1st place Wini Taylor-Williams
3rd place Julia Savage
SCIENCE:6th
1st place Owen Taylor-Williams
2nd place Vasanti Varma
3rd place Lukas Markogiannakis
MUSIC MEMORY: 7th
4th place Nurit Elber
SCIENCE:7th
4th place Ryan Ajgaonkar
NUMBER SENSE:4th
1st place Vaughan McInerney
2nd place Alexander Burton
4th place Roland Gadbois
SCIENCE:8th
3rd place Sonali Mitra
NUMBER SENSE:5th
1st place Sanjay Pandiri
2nd place Jacob Hale
3rd place David Lucid
NUMBER SENSE:6th
1st place Owen Taylor-Williams
2nd place Charles Arscott
SPELLING:5th
1st place David Lucid
2nd place Sanjay Pandiri
3rd place Wini Taylor-Wlliams
SPELLING:6th
6th place Charles Arscott
SPELLING:7th & 8th
2nd place Delia Stephens
STORYTELLING:2nd
1st place Sean-Karl Dobson
3rd place Eliza Stubbe
STORYTELLING:3rd
2nd place Lauren Sparks
4th place Victor Romero
VOCABULARY:5th
2nd place Anna Pederson
4th place Emma Duhon
5th place Sylvia Stefani
VOCABULARY:6th
6th place Luka Markogiannakis
SPELLING:2nd
2nd place Clarissa Voghell
SPELLING:3rd
3rd place Guy Crickmer
5th place Madeleine Lucid
6th place James Stephens
SPELLING:4th
5th place Roland Gadbois
NUMBER SENSE:7th
1st place Sonali Mitra
2nd place Ryan Ajgaonkar
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Enjoying Free Time at PSIA
Hello everyone!
I’d like to share with you my day in Mrs. McInernery’s Primer class. Its very busy and
very fun!
We start the day with Morning Tasks, during which we independently practice concepts
we have learned previously. Everyone likes to start the day with a feeling of accomplishment and confidence! Our Morning Tasks include things like: telling time to the
hour, matching sets of objects to the correct number, copying and extending a pattern
and translating figures using geoboards. As each of us finishes our Morning Task, we
move on to Independent Reading Time in the “Literary Lair”. My friends and I can read
together from books that we have earlier, or we can find a new book to try out. After
each of us has accomplished our Morning Task, it’s time for the Morning Meeting. We
all gather on the “Forest Floor”, and open Morning Meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we learn about the calendar,we take attendance, discuss our jobs for the
week, talk about this month’s color, shape, and pattern, check and record the weather,
plan our schedule for the day, review our classroom rules, count the days we’ve been
in school, and sing our alphabet song. Phew!
On most days, we have time for Song Tree after Morning Meeting. Each of us gets to come up and select a song on the
Song Tree. We sing along, follow the directions for movements, or just dance like crazy! My favorite songs are the super-silly ones that involve a lot of wiggling and giggling! Math class comes next. We love to play with numbers – they
are such fun friends! First, we have the lecture and discussion, then the guided practice, and finally the independent
practice. After a bathroom and water break, it’s time for science class. But first, we have to check on our worms. We
learned all about how to care for our worms earlier in the year. They are busy making rich soil for us to use when we
study seeds in the Spring! Some of my friends even like to hold our worms, but we have to be so gentle with their tiny
little wormy bodies… We are also careful not to exchange any germs with them. We wash our hands and tell our worms
goodbye...
Then, we meet at the “Science Spot” for our lesson. Often, we write a book about what we are learning in Science so
that we can look back and remember all of our important facts and share them with our families. Sometimes, we do a
coloring activity, too, just for fun! Today, we are just finishing up our book about dental health. Everyone loves to look at
all the wonderful work we have done, and it is lots of fun to be an author and illustrator! Then it’s lunchtime! We line up
to go into the main school building. We eat and chat and do our best to use our nice table manners! After lunch, on
beautiful days, we go outside to the playground for recess. Some days, I am an architects, and some day I am a construction workers! Some days, I am a monkey! If the weather is rainy, we have indoor recess, or Choice Time! We build
dinosaurs out of Legos! We work on puzzles! We build castles for our princesses! After recess, we get cleaned up and
meet at the “Butterfly Garden” for language arts and literature. During language arts class, we work on reading and decoding skills, and fine motor skills used for writing. During literature class, we learn about language and stories: vocabulary, rhyming, points of view, and parts of a story (including characters, setting, problem, and solution). These all play a
part in our discussions. Today, we are finishing up a book we have been working on making for a while. We have all
worked hard to cut out pictures that represent all of the beginning sounds…
Please continue on page 9
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Happy Birthday!
Primer - Ms. Summer McInnery
The Primer Penguins are roaring right ahead into the new year with
lots of new skills and activities!
The One Hundredth Day of School is a highlight of the year. We have
been keeping careful track of each school day during Morning
Meeting, and we can hardly believe that our daily numbers have
marched so far around the room. Our Hundredth Day was marked by
lots of activities involving the number 100, from necklaces with 100
beads, to beanbags with 100 beans to snacks with 100 pieces of
popcorn. We even took 100 steps in the park – it’s a long way for little
legs!
In science, we learned about how the tilt of the Earth as it revolves
around the sun causes the seasons to change. As a corollary to this
unit, we discovered that when one tilts, rotates, and revolves all at
once around a chalk “sun” on the sport court, one gets very dizzy. We
have also been taking good care of our worms, making sure that they
have plenty of good food and are happy. They, in turn, have been
working hard getting some nice, rich soil ready for our springtime unit
on seeds. But first, Groundhog Day will usher in our unit on Shadows
and Light.
Sophia
Ethan
Jarrett
Beck
Ariba
Casey
Jael
Kristen
Nir
Jasmine
Carson
Maya
Riley
Roland
Lily
Ashley
Karinya
Julia
Sylvia
Sophia
Steven
John
Clarissa
4th Grade
7th Grade
Primer
1st Grade
Primer
3rd Grade
2nd Grade
5th Grade
3rd Grade
3rd Grade
3rd Grade
3rd Grade
5th Grade
4th Grade
7th Grade
12th Grade
5th Grade
5th Grade
5th Grade
Kinder
2nd Grade
6th Grade
2nd Grade
Jan 4
Jan 11
Jan 21
Feb 4
Feb 10
Feb 12
Feb 17
Feb 17
Feb 20
Feb 21
Feb 26
Feb 28
Mar 7
Mar 7
Mar 13
Mar 16
Mar 19
Mar 25
Mar 26
Mar 28
Mar 30
Mar 30
Mar 31
In civics, we studied five major holidays during December. Ramadan,
the Winter Solstice, Diwali, Hanukkah, and Christmas. We discovered
that even though these holidays are celebrated by different people
and in different ways, they are all similar in that the most important
aspect of them all involves caring for and being with people we love.
In January, we learned about Martin Luther King, Jr., who taught us that regardless of what a person looks like, he or
she is special and beautiful, and that how we act is much more important than how we look. We made coffee and added
different amounts of milk to show that no matter what color it ends up, it is all made of the same thing, just as no matter
what color our skin is, it is all skin, and we are all people underneath. We are working on using “honey” words, which
are smooth and pleasant, rather than “vinegar” words which can hurt our hearts, just as vinegar hurts our noses. As it
turns out, one can get one’s point across just as well with honey words. Our unit on table manners is in full swing, and
the unit will culminate with a field trip to debut our fancy selves at the Nordstrom Café at Barton Creek Mall. We are
looking forward to showing how grown-up and well-mannered we can be.
In Language Arts and literature, we are reading books that have a lot of words that start with the same letter –
alliteration. We are also writing our own book. Each letter gets a page, and we have been brainstorming to come up
with words that start with that letter. We have also
discovered that some letters (the overachievers!) like to
make more than one sound. We have had lots of fun
thinking up words and getting them into the book. Of
course, we are still practicing our penmanship. Now that all
of the letters are our good friends, we are working on
making them as beautifully as we possibly can.
In math, we are learning about the numbers’ neighborhood
– they all live along the same street (the number line) and
each one has its own house, where it can always be found
(numbers never try to push in line or be in a place they
shouldn’t be – they are very well-behaved). By visiting the
different houses and inviting the numbers out to play, and
then walking down the street to visit other numbers, we
have begun to generate and solve equations. We are also
learning about money, how to count it, and how to
determine if we have enough money to buy something we
want in our classroom “store”. Our study of probability has
been a favorite, since it involves rolling dice, flipping coins,
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Primers Celebrating Diversity for MLK Day
and filling in data charts!
KHS Events
February 13 - March 2
February 20
March 1
March 3
March 10
March 11
March 12 - 16
March 26 - 30
In cooking, we have made several dishes that correlate with
our civics units. We prepared latkes, maamoul,
kaneelkoekjes, and gingerbread men, as well as some other
fun and delicious dishes. We are observing and learning
about how heat causes changes in the physical appearance
of ingredients. The Primer Penguins are looking forward to
learning more this spring and continuing to prepare for
Kindergarten!
Spring Conferences
Presidents’ Day Holiday
Enrollment Day
PSIA
SAT
Daylight Savings Begins
Spring Break
ITBS Testing
Kindergarten - Ms. Sasha Ybanez
Last semester flew by so fast, and I am looking forward to the next couple of months that I have left with my kiddos.
Kinder is doing great! Every day I am amazed by their capabilities and the growth that I have seen throughout the year.
Here is a short summary of what we are currently learning in class.
Math - we are continuing to progress in our addition and subtraction facts, learning steps in solving word problems,
counting by fives, tens, even and odd numbers, learning the value of pennies, dimes, and nickles, learning to write tally
marks, to measure, to tell time, and to fill in missing numbers to complete patterns.
Phonics - We started spelling in November and will continue with phonograms until February. In spelling, children are
given twelve words a week. Children practice writing their spelling words and write a sentence to accompany each
word. We review past phonograms every Friday.
English - We focus on a book once a week and work on comprehension in various ways to make sure that we
understand what we read. In addition to reading different selections for English, we are continuing to learn about verbs,
nouns, and adjectives.
Reading - We have reading groups twice a week. Students are paired in groups and take turns reading to each other.
Along with reading, students are given two sight words a week. They make sight words books and practice reading
those as well. Every two weeks, children take home readers based on their individual reading level.
Science - We have learned parts of plants, trees, flowers, pumpkin and apples seeds, life cycle of frogs. Now, we are
beginning to learn about animals, pets, and their needs.
Social studies - We are learning the seven continents and currently we are studying about South America
First Grade - Ms. Terry Parks
The first graders went to Ballet Austin to see Symphony of Clouds in late January. The ballet is designed for school-age
children and tells the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's childhood. We were excited to experience this unique field
trip and were thrilled to have our very own Ms. Escuder joining us.
We began our history & geography lessons this month with a thorough study of maps and globes. "Creature
Continents", a kinesthetic lesson about the seven continents, was a huge hit! I think we visited the continents about ten
times. More recently, we've been traveling back in time to ancient civilizations in history, with our first stop being
Mesopotamia. The students have written in cuneiform, constructed ziggurat pop-ups, and made "postcards" from
Mesopotamia to name a few of our hands-on activities. We are off to Ancient Egypt next, and if they were this
enthusiastic about Mesopotamia, I can't wait to see them learning about pyramids, Tutankhamun, and mummification.
By the beginning of January, we were up to five-sentence journal entries, as well as five-sentence paragraphs in writing
lessons. By the time you'll be reading this, we'll be well on our way towards that first eight-sentence paragraph. Those
of you who have had first graders at KHS in the past know that meeting this goal comes with a sweet surprise.
Here is a quick run-down of some other areas of study: In grammar we are learning about types of sentences. We have
all but mastered alphabetizing in our spelling work, and in math we are busy with subtraction facts, fractions, addition
with re-grouping, and much, much more. In manners we've been listening to and discussing stories from One Year of
Devotions for Kids, and we learned about the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Second Grade - Mr. Jared Dailey
Second grade has wrapped up 2011 and jumped right into 2012 full steam. We're reading Matilda at the moment, and
the kids are no doubt taking some notes and planning their next big pranks after the style of the main character. Our
science studies have us following the path our food takes through the digestive system, and the kids have been both
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fascinated and a little grossed out. When we finish the body we'll
jump back into physical science with a unit on magnets. For history
and social studies, we're now focused on the story of our great
nation and are wrapping up our look at immigration. We'll spend
February studying the struggle for civil rights for all citizens. The
kids have done a great job all year, and I have no doubt they'll finish
even stronger!
Third Grade - Ms. Kelly Smith
Third grade students have been busy volunteering, going on field
trips, and learning. In December, we volunteered with Operation
Blue Santa, packaging toys for Austin area children. It was a terrific
lesson about giving back to our community. A docent from Ballet
Austin visited with third-graders about the ballet, its history, and
ballet dancers. We then went on a field trip to see The Nutcracker at
the Long Center. What a wonderful experience!
Academically, the students are sharpening their geography
skills, learning about rocks and minerals in science, and reading
about prairie life in Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia
MacLachlan. The children are also completing their second book
report.
Two Friends at the Trip to the Alamo
On the horizon is a science-related field trip to Aquarena Springs in
San Marcos. The students will be learning how to use and balance
a checkbook register in math, read Daniel Defoe's Robinson
Crusoe, and make the final transition to cursive handwriting.
Lower GradeSpanish - Ms. Sasha Roberts
In Primer, we are continually learning new vocabulary by reading Spanish/English age-appropriate books. Some of our
current favorites are Dinosaurios en Calzoncillos (Dinosaurs in Underwear), De qué esta hecho el Arco Iris? (What
Makes a Rainbow?), and Arañas, arañas por todas partes! (Spiders, spiders everywhere!). We also review our
vocabulary through dialogue and games. When working on Color by Number worksheets and counting, we try to only
refer to colors and numbers in Spanish. We will continue to do this while taking the time to review pervious materials.
Kindergarteners are excelling in learning new vocabulary while we reinforce old vocabulary and basics (greetings,
numbers, colors, alphabet, etc). This semester, we will read books in Spanish together, play educational games (i.e.,
Spanish Bingo for vocabulary), learn new vocabulary, gender differences between nouns, and forming simple
sentences. We will also touch on noun/article and noun/adjective agreement near the end of the year. We are mastering
vocabulary quickly and we will continue to expand on that until the end of the year.
1st graders are also practicing article/noun agreement (gender and number), translating simple sentences (from
Spanish to English, and English to Spanish) and adjective/noun agreement. We will continue to do this, including the
usage of estar vs. ser (to be), pronouncing and translating simple dialogue, and playing educational and fun games
(Spanish Bingo, Spanish Scrabble).
2nd graders are performing phenomenally well in learning their -ar present tense conjugations. We have also been
working on verbal translation, how to form answers from sentences, and intermediate sentence formation. We have
been reviewing noun/adjective and article/adjective agreement. To practice our pronunciation, we have been breaking
up into groups to practice dialogues (in Spanish, then translating them into English) and have been reading and
translating sentences in front of the class. 2nd graders have also started to translate simple paragraphs from Spanish
into English, and we will continue to do so to exercise all we know of vocabulary and grammatical rules. We will be fully
prepared for Señor's class. :)
Middle School English - Ms. Teri Fickling
Middle school students are starting major research projects and are visiting local libraries (the John Henry Faulk Library
and UT's Perry-Castañeda Library) to gather sources. Fourth grade students continue to practice mastering the paragraph in the four distinct writing modes while fifth graders try blending modes in short essays. Sixth grade students are
studying how animals are treated in a literary work and are making arguments about the author's anthropomorphism or
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realism in depicting the animal. Seventh and eighth grade students are exploring how symbols are used in novels to
convey theme, and they are practicing how to incorporate research into a literary analysis.
History - Mr. Joe Rumrich
Fourth grade is covering the start of Texas becoming it's own
entity. We culminated this topic by going to see the Alamo on
Wednesday, February 8. We have finished our traditions project
where we presented the special celebrations in each of our
families to the rest of class.
Fifth grade has been covering Westward Expansion both before
and after the Civil War. We are starting to review our state capitols
and state locations. Students will soon be working on their writing
skills with reports on various states from now through April.
Sixth grade went to the Perry-Castañeda Library at UT to do
research on topics from World War II. We headed to the War in
the Pacific Museum for an over night field trip on February 16 and
17 to reinforce what we have learned in class.
At the War in the Pacific Museum, Fredericksburg
The Texas History class has been covering life in Texas after the
Civil War, with the focus being on life in the old West. We have
also been working on reports in class on famous people and events in the early 20th Century in preparation for when
we start that topic in class.
Ninth grade’s World Geography class has tackled various maps this year, and now we have moved on to Africa. We
held presentations in mid-February on some countries in Africa, with some food items included as part of the
presentations. In addition, we will continue to research on our portfolio of countries, finding all sorts of fascinating
information.
Art - Ms. Amanda Bulger
We have been having a great time in art class this year! During the past term, students in all grades have been completing outstanding projects while learning about various aspects of art.
Primers through 2nd graders learned about different environments such as seascapes, landscapes, and outer space.
They created tissue paper seascapes as well as outer space collages inspired by the beautiful works of Argentinean
artist, Benito Laren. They also recently completed their own “wild things” after reading Maurice Sendak’s famous children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are.
Students in grades 3-5 learned about line and color extensively over the past term. They created colorful “Tempo Art”
designs and learned about Canadian artist, Ted Harrison. Harrison’s paintings emphasize simplistic use of line and color seen in various landscape settings. Currently, we have been learning about Austrian painter, Gustav Klimt, and making “Klimt Inspired Self Portraits” which utilize line, shape, color palette, and pattern.
6-8th grade art students recently went on a field trip to the Blanton Museum of Art to view a special exhibit by African
artist, El Anatsui. Anatsui uses recycled materials to create beautiful, sculptural works of art that symbolize his life and
culture in Africa. In class, students recently completed a sewing
project based on the quilts of Gee’s Bend. These quilts, made by
women in the secluded community of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, are
truly works of art. The quilts are influenced by African culture and
past histories of slavery, while resembling large scale, modern
paintings.
The 3rd term is bringing ceramics, sculpture, collage, printmaking,
and Pointillism for the art students of KHS! Please take time to
view rotating exhibits of student work, which are on display in the
library hallway! Great job, students!
“Klimtesque”
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With spring quickly approaching, the garden committee is busy getting our lot ready for planting. In early December, Catherine Chen,
mother of 5th grader Karinya, worked with her contractor to install a
spigot for the garden. Catherine donated the money needed, and now
we have a much needed water source on the lot. Thank you Catherine! The garden committee also wishes to thank Tara Cunningham
and her family for their generous monetary donation. Tara’s donation
will help pay for the garden ground preparation. Thanks Tara!
We have a great start to our garden. Yucca Do Nursery, Inc. donated
several plants for our butterfly garden. This nursery specializes in
unique plants that are heat and drought tolerant. Dan Teas from SpeSusanna During Valentine’s Day’s Fund Raiser
cialized Plant Sales donated several fruit trees. Dan Teas is a familiar
face at the Austin Farmers Market (Downtown) and is very knowledgeable about plants suited to Central Texas. Please
visit him at his stall every Saturday the the farmer’s market!
Additionally, KHS parent Susanna Arscott and Ms.Teri Fickling coordinated a successful Valentine Day's “Adopt a Rose” fundraiser. They
raised over $560 to establish an attractive rose hedge around the garden site. Thanks to everyone who bought a rose or contributed. A special thank you goes to Susanna who worked so hard during the plant
sale.
By the end of March, we will have part of the lot cleared, the damaged
trees removed, and top soil and mulch distributed. This will allow us to
plant our fruit trees, rose bushes and butterfly garden soon after the
last frost date. Look out for a bake sale in the near future! The garden
committee is planning to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our KHS
garden on April 5, the same day as our Easter celebration.
Dan Teas of Specialized Plant Sales
KHS hosted “A Day of Appreciation” in honor of African American
History Month on Wednesday, February 29th in the library. We
celebrated the contributions of African Americans in art, literature,
music, film and politics. Students recited poetry and prose. There
were refreshments, games, videos and book readings!
African American History Month (also called Black History Month)
was first observed 1926 when Harvard-trained historian, Carter G.
Woodson, designated the second week of February as “Negro
History Week”. Woodson chose this week in February because it
also marked the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976, our country’s bicentennial, Negro History Week became Black History Month. President Gerald Ford urged Americans
to embrace the month of remembrance and to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history. ”
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Box Tops/Labels Contest
The winner of the Box Tops/Labels Contest is fifth grade with 398 box tops/labels collected. They received a homemade sweet treat and a dress-down day. Thank you to everyone who sent in tops/labels. We will have one last contest
for this school year which will end May 11. So, keep those tops/labels coming! All proceeds go toward faculty appreciation.
Fundraisers for Teacher/Staff Appreciation
The Pit Stop will be holding two more fund raisers this year. As always, all profits go directly to Teacher/Staff Appreciation. As you know, ITBS Testing is March 26 - 30. Each child can bring a healthy snack each day of testing. The Pit
Stop can provide the healthy snacks for whichever days you select. For just $5 a day, you get to select your drink and
two snacks(all healthy options). Your selection will be delivered to your child's testing room with his or her name on the
bag. It just doesn't get much easier. So, be on the lookout for the order form coming soon. If you have any questions,
feel free to contact Paula Bidwell at 238-1298 or [email protected].
Easter Egg Orders
The Easter Egg Hunt, on April 5, will be here before you know it. As in the past, each child needs to bring in 4 dozen
filled eggs for the hunt. The Pit Stop is here to make life easier. For just $15, The Pit Stop will be happy to deliver filled
eggs to Ms. Roberts for you. Some of the eggs will have candy and others will have toys/prizes. This is a convenient
way to save time from buying eggs, candy/toys and then stuffing the eggs. Order forms will be out in mid-March. If you
have any questions, or, if you already know you're going to want to order eggs, please contact Paula Bidwell at 2381298 or [email protected].
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We have glued them on to the appropriate pages, and soon we will be able to practice letter sounds with our very own
book! In the process, we have learned a lot of new vocabulary! One day a week, we finish our afternoon with Showand-Tell! It’s lots of fun to bring a treasure from home and tell our friends all about it! After our Show-and-Tell presentations, there is usually enough time left to share and play with our treasures together! After a long and fun day at school,
it’s time to head home… We line up at the door and sing our goodbye song. I can’t wait to get home to tell our families
all about the neat things I learned at school! I have to remember to do my homework and make sure to get a good
night’s sleep. That way, so I can come back to school tomorrow, ready to learn more! Why don’t you stop by my cozy
classroom and see all the neat things we are up to!
Bye!
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For those who were able to get tickets to the sold-out show, The
KHS talent show was simply Dy-no-mite! We know our kids are
scary smart, but who knew smart kids can be so funky? There was
the memorial ballet from Peyton, a playful Broadway song and
dance from Karinya, and the energetic performance from Gabrella
to the the song of “Dynamite”. There was also the impressive demonstration from the square-root master, Vaughan, the provocative
improvisational piano piece from Roland, a masterful guitar demonstration from Alexander, and Anna’s wonderful rendition of “Tomorrow (Annie’s Song).” Of course, we cannot forget the amazing
Kirby Hall “Orchestra” and its talented conductor.
There was so much laughter, magic, jokes, clapping and proud
parents! It was a quite a night!
The third annual KHS spelling bee was held on January 10, 2012. 27 students
in grades 4 through 8 participated. After 15 rounds, 7th grader Delia Stephens
won the school bee by correctly spelling the word “orthodontist”. The school
runner-up was 5th grader Sanjay Pandiri. Sanjay represented KHS at the local bee on February 25th at Trinity Episcopal School where he placed fourth!
We are so proud of you Sanjay! Congratulations to all who participated in
KHS spelling bee, and thanks to the faculty and administration for their continuing support of the spelling bee. An extra special thanks goes out to our
guest pronouncer, Dr. Douglas Brewster, and our bee judges, Ms. Arnell and
Ms. Fickling. Stupendous Kirby Hall!
Thanks to the wonderful people who helped get this newsletter ready.
And...
All the faculty members who kindly and promptly made submissions.
Thanks to the hardworking Penguin Post staff:
Paula Bidwell
Christine Griffin
Donetta Nagle
Phuong Varma
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