A Work of Art
With the ART CORPS curriculum nearly halfway complete, the kids are enjoying getting messy with paint and chalk! They’ve been exploring the relationship of color in art by learning about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Our talented Terrapins have also learned how to make various types of texture with chalk and oil pastels. If you’re wondering why you haven’t seen any artwork come home, it’s because we’re saving it for a special art show this spring. Stay tuned!
Family Art Explorers
The ART CORPS team is hosting the school’s first-ever Family Art Explorers night on March 3 from 6:15-7:30 p.m. in the MPR. This is a wonderful opportunity to make art with your child. If you haven’t registered yet, be sure to do so soon by completing this form and returning it to your child’s teacher. Space is limited. There is no cost to attend, and any donations collected will go toward supplies for our Spring Art Show.
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Music in the Air
Grades 1-4 have been hard at work rehearsing songs for their spring music performances. Don’t forget to save the dates for the following performances.
- April 27 – 4th Grade
- May 18 – 3rd Grade
- May 25 – 1st Grade
(please note the date change from the original published calendar)
- June 1 – 2nd Grade
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Making a Difference
Thanks to your generosity, the Turtleback Education Foundation has donated nearly $93,000 for Turtleback to use this year for everything from a new track and new computers to funding for art, music, and the Collaboratory. We’ve also provided the teacher teams in every grade level with $1,250. Following are just a few of our recent gifts, which wouldn’t have been possible without your support:
- $7,500 for the purchase of 26 Chromebooks that teachers will use to prepare student lessons
- $4,800 for upgrades to the South Entrance that include new trees, benches, and turf
- $1,800 for the purchase of three student Buddy Benches
- $1,700 for two 2nd grade reading assessment kits
- $825 for one teacher from every grade to attend Qualcomm’s Thinkabit Lab, where they'll get ideas for new teaching techniques
- $170 to purchase 68 copies of Island of the Blue Dolphins, one for every 4th grade student
- $95 for a substitute so that GATE students can be trained by a Turtleback teacher to use the Ozobots and littleBits Kits in the Makery and then teach other Terrapins
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Spell-a-thon Update
Thanks again to all of the families who contributed to this year’s Spell-a-thon. We raised $8,600 for Turtleback Elementary, which exceeded last year’s total. Congratulations to all of our super spellers and to Mrs. Klepper’s class for raising the most money—$726. Special recognition also goes to kindergarten (which raised $1,930) and first grade (which raised $1,811) for collecting the most money by grade.
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Calling All Volunteers
It’s never too late to participate and be part of the Foundation while helping the Turtleback community. We're looking for parents to manage the school supply fundraiser, Dad’s Group, and business sponsorships as well as to serve as officers for next year. If you’re interested, please email tbkfdn@gmail.com or attend the next Foundation meeting on March 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Collaboratory.
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Lighting Up the Stage
Over 50 students have been hard at work perfecting their acts and preparing for the best-ever Turtleback Variety Show. Make sure to join us on Friday, March 31 or Saturday, April 1 at 7 p.m. in the MPR. Admission is $5 per person and children under 3 are free. No strollers, please. The money raised at the Variety Show will be used to support our music and theater arts programs.
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All You Need is Love
On February 6, 55 bucketfilling students, parents, teachers, and staff warmed the hearts of over 130 homeless adults and seniors at the Salvation Army Downtown.
Special thanks to the Turtleback families who donated socks, underwear, toiletries, and food. We distributed 160 toiletry bags, double last year’s total! We’d also like to give a big thank you to the Radecker family, Binswanger family, Genni Myles, Mrs. Auten, and Julie—all of whom spent their weekend cooking pasta—as well as to all of the students who wowed the crowd with their singing and musical performances.
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Turtleback Rocks the House!
The MPR was packed on February 10 with about 400 kids and their families enjoying the 8th annual Family Valentine’s Dance. In addition to the tasty treats and pizza, there were crafts, a graffiti wall, t-shirt decorating, and a photo booth. The highlight was definitely dancing the night away with tunes spun by alumni Turtleback parents Triska Wasser and Joann Gaytan. A shout out to our fantastic teachers who moved and grooved alongside the kids on the dance floor. Thanks also to all of the volunteers who made this event possible, especially event chairs Genni Myles and Florence Malmgren as well as Bake Sale Coordinator Molly Engblom. With your attendance, we were able to raise over $3,500 for music and art programs at Turtleback.
We would also like to thank our sponsors for their ongoing support and generosity:
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Get Your Yearbook
Order forms for the 2016-17 yearbook have gone home and payment can be made online or via check to the Turtleback Education Foundation. The cost is $30 per copy and goes up to $35 per copy on May 1.
Make sure to also take advantage of the opportunity to recognize your child or a special teacher with a yearbook recognition ad. Ads are $5 each and approximately 2.5” x 1.5”. Special 5th grade recognition ads are $10 each and approximately 3.25” x 2.5”. You can design your special ad at www.pictavocommunity.com. Space is limited and the deadline to submit your artwork is April 1.
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