SUGAR GROVE GAZETTE April 2016
THE VIGO COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION WILL EQUIP STUDENTS WITH LIFELONG SKILLS AND PREPARE THEM TO BECOME PRODUCTIVE AND RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS.
Important Dates
Student Council Penny War for Charity Mrs. Webster and the members of the Sugar Grove Student Council are pleased and honored to announce that Sugar Grove collected $1,500 during the annual Penny War! Funds collected go to two charities that are very important to our Sugar Grove community: Riley Children’s Hospital and the VCSC Backpack Program. We thank all who contributed!
Outstanding Educators We congratulate two of Sugar Grove’s outstanding teachers for being recognized for their excellence in the classroom. First grade teacher Mrs. Sue Wright is the recipient of the Vigo County Education Foundation Excellence in Education Award! Mrs. Wright will be honored at a banquet on May 4, 2016. Fifth grade teacher Ms. Dee Gosnell is a VCSC Teacher of the Year Candidate! Thank you for all you do for our students, Mrs. Wright and Ms. Gosnell!
Fourth Annual Pi Day in the Café Fourth and Fifth grade students celebrated the Fourth Annual Pi Day in the Café on Monday, March 14. We congratulate the following students who were our leaders in learning and reciting the most digits of Pi from memory without stopping: Grade 4: Jenna Hubbard and Nicholas Yatsko each recited 39 digits. Grade 5: Jocelyn Snyder recited 39 digits. Fifth grade student Michael Tanoos set a new school record for reciting an astounding 221 digits of Pi from memory without stopping!! We congratulate all students who participated!
April 12, 2016: Kindergarten Little Cub Book Club meets after school until 4:00 April 14, 2016: Kindergarten Little Cub Book Club meets after school until 4:00; Speedy Sneakers Club meets after school until 3:30, last names L-Z April 15, 2016: Unused Snow Day, NO SCHOOL April 18-May 6, 2016: ISTEP+ Testing Window, Grades 3-5 April 19, 2016: Kindergarten Little Cub Book Club meets after school until 4:00 April 21, 2016: Mrs. Joseph and Ms. Tennis take their classes to the Symphony; Kindergarten Little Cub Book Club meets after school until 4:00; Speedy Sneakers Club meets after school until 3:30, last names A-K April 25, 2016: Miss Miner’s class goes on a field trip April 26, 2016: Ms. McGuirk and Mrs. Wrenn take their classes on a field trip: Midterm Reports go home in Tuesday Folders if needed; Major Saver Fundraiser begins April 27, 2016: Garden Guru Club meets after school until 4:00; all students and families invited to attend the Spring Fling, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Congratulations, Mathletes! We congratulate the following Sugar Grove Math Club students who earned trophies at the Honey Creek Middle School Invitational Mathematics Contest on Saturday, March 5, 2016: Derek Burns, Outstanding Performance Riley Norris, Outstanding Performance Jocelyn Snyder, Outstanding Performance Jakub Gasiorowski, 15th Place Sophia Barker, 11th Place Michael Tanoos, 2nd Place We also thank our Math Club Coach, Mrs. Gehman!
Planning for Next School Year All teachers at Sugar Grove Elementary School teach the current Indiana Academic Standards. All teachers at each grade level follow the same block schedule and utilize the same core curriculum. Teachers collaborate regularly during grade level meetings to provide a consistent, high quality educational program for all students. We are very proud of our staff! As such, we feel confident that your child would be successful with any one of our teachers. If, however, in the academic interest of your child, you feel it necessary to share information about your child that pertains to his or her placement for the 20162017 school year, Parental Input Forms are now available in the school office. In order for a request to be considered, forms must be filled out completely and returned to the school office in a sealed envelope on or before May 2, 2016. Please keep in mind that completion of the form does not automatically place your child in the requested class. There are many factors to consider when developing class lists, and teachers may be placed in different grade level assignments from year to year.
Art Room News Several Sugar Grove students had art work on display at the Vigo County Public Library Spring Art Show held at the Main Branch. The Spring Art Show took place from February 26 through April 4, 2016. Ms. Allen’s students who had pieces on display were Karizma English-Malone, Leigha Harris, Justin McGuirk, Darinel Roblero, Jr., and Elena Small. Ms. Irving’s students who had work on display were Caroline Kooistra, Ava MacDonald, and Syra Scarbrough. The Vigo County School Corporation Health & Wellness Center is currently exhibiting an original mixed media piece entitled “Heart” created by fifth grader Kierstyn Kirby. The following student artists currently have pieces on display at the Swope Art Museum’s 49th Annual Student Art Exhibition: Kayleigh Cheatwood, Sophia Crist, Brett Egan, Maya McNichols, and Jocelyn Snyder. Ms. Irving’s student Artists of the Month for the month of March were Engelend Aaron, Alexis Hall, Autumn Lewis, IndiAnn Nichols, Michael Tanoos, and Kambria Watler. March is designated as Youth Art Month in Indiana. In celebration of this, several of our students had art pieces chosen for display at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. Those students were Maeli Bolton, Jackson Griffin, Emilee Hammond, Delaney Linville, and Madeleine Manson. It is a great honor to have an original art piece selected for exhibition. Congratulations, Sugar Bear artists!
Battle of the Books Competition
Unused Snow Days
Fifteen fourth and fifth grade students represented Sugar Grove very well at the 2016 Battle of the Books Competition held at Meadows Elementary School on April 8th. The students spent many months reading and studying a collection of Young Hoosier Book Award books under the direction of our media specialist, Ms. Kerr, in preparation for this rigorous contest. The Sugar Grove team members in the advanced division lost the championship by only one single tie-break question! We are very proud of all of our Battle of the Books team members: Sophia Barker, Maxine Bough, Cy Denton, Brett Egan, Mia Loyd, Madeline Manson, Owen Martin, Kylee McGuirk, Maya McNichols, Kenley Shoults, Chase Smith, Calvin St. Michael, Michael Tanoos, Madison Wilkinson, and Nic Yatsko! A big thank you goes to Coach Kerr and Assistant Coach Gehman!
For the first time in many years, the VCSC didn’t have any wintertime Snow Days. That means that students will have two extended weekends between now and the end of the school year. There will be no school on Friday, April 15th and Friday, May 27th as those days were built into the school calendar as make-up Snow Days if necessary. Keep in mind that school will also not be in session on Monday, May 30th in observance of Memorial Day. The last day of school for the school year for boys and girls will be Thursday, June 2, 2016. There are many skills left to learn between now and then! Please be sure that your student is present and on time every day.
International Reading Association Student Representative Each year, the International Reading Association honors one student from each school during the annual I.R.A. spring banquet. Our I.R.A. sponsor, Mrs. Jackson, is pleased to announce that Sugar Grove’s representative this year is Jayden Russell. Jayden is a third grade student in Ms. Pickens’ class. Jayden has a passion for learning and puts forth maximum effort at all times in her reading work as well as all of her work. In addition, she is an outstanding citizen and a compassionate friend. Thank you, Jayden, for being such and excellent representative of our student body! We are proud of you.
ISTEP+ Testing, Part II Students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 will take the second round of ISTEP+ testing between April 18th and May 6th. The second part of the testing is done completely online. Students in Grade 3 will take six different tests in the areas of Mathematics and English/Language Arts. Students in Grade 4 will take eight different tests in the areas of Mathematics, English/Language Arts, and Science. Students in Grade 5 will take eight different tests in the areas of Mathematics, English/Language Arts, and Social Studies. As Sugar Grove has only one computer lab, our testing schedule is quite complex. Your student, for example, may test for a couple of hours on a couple of days in a row and then not again for several days during the testing window. All of our students need to be present and on time throughout the entire testing window. Students test at their best when they are well rested and have a nutritious breakfast. Your assistance is appreciated.
