Connecting Waters Charter School

April 2003

 

 

 

            Spring has sprung!  Spring time is a wonderful time of yearÉeverything is in bloom.  ItÕs just beautiful outside.  It makes me think of the wonderful times of preparing and planting a garden with my children in years past.  It felt so good to clear out the weeds, till the land, and plant the foods that we enjoyed eating.  One year we planted watermelon.  Gardening was a great science project for my children to do at home.  I believe that in addition to learning about how plants grew it cultivated a wonderful bond between us as a family.

            Spring time also makes me think of testingÉAs a parent I remember feeling like this was sort of my report card of how well I did instructing my children.  Just as classroom teachers look at testing as their report card, I realized that whatever we spent the majority of our time on during the year often was reflected in the test scores.  Testing often confirmed to me that what I was doing was making a difference in my student mastering a specific skill.  I soon began to relax and used testing as another opportunity to teach my children a life skill.   I also realized that I needed to give my children some test taking strategies like using process of elimination in choosing the best answer.  They now have several tests under their belts and accept it as a part of life. 

            So as we move into the STAR testing cycle remember to relax.  I found that my children would usually respond to a situation the same as I did.  If I was relaxed they were relaxed and if I was uptight they were uptight.  Remember that testing is neither a report card for you or your students.  They are just encouraged to do the best that they can.  For most students it is a fun time to meet new friends and show their knowledge.  Your ES has probably given you the time and testing site location that your student has been signed up to attend.   The information is also on our web page under assessment.

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

 

You will want to attend one of our open houses.  We will have vendors who will have educational materials for you to look at, contract program instructors for you to talk to about possible classes for next year, information for prospective students, staff to meet and talk to, networking with other families in our school and door prizes!

 

The open houses will be in Manteca, Tuesday, April 29th; Ceres/Modesto, Thursday, May 8th; and Waterford, Tuesday, May 13th.  All will begin at 7:00 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m.

 

We will have an eighth grade graduation ceremony on May 20, 2003 in the Waterford High School multi-purpose room at 7:00 p.m.  The high school graduation ceremony is scheduled for May 22, 2003 at 7:00 p.m. and will be held at the Waterford High School gymnasium. 

 

 

There will be an end of the year informal picnic on the last day of school, May 23rd from 11:30-2:00 p.m.  One of our special families thought that it would be a nice way to end the year for those who would like to attend.  Everyone should bring their own lunch and plan to meet other families from Connecting Waters.  This will take place at Graceada Park located at 401 Needham Avenue in Modesto.  Please meet near the playground area.

 

 

Parent Council Election

 

Connecting Waters is governed by our Parent Council which consists of 29 parents of CW students.  Our charter states that the term of each council member is 2 years except for our first year.  Unfortunately, we are only allowed to keep 15 of the original 29 members.  Fourteen members will have to be replaced through an election process. You may want to nominate yourself or you may know someone who you may want to nominate for a council position. The role of the council member is to:

 

 

Nomination forms are available at then Waterford office, learning centers, on the parent listserve, and your ES.  Please return your nominations via email, mail, learning centers or ES by April 23rd. 

 

Thank you for participating in this process!

 

Learning Centers

 

We currently have 2 learning centers to serve our parents and students.  They are located in Manteca and Ceres/Modesto.  Because we are a school of choice and provide an ES budget for our families, our centers are funded through the instructional funds that parents agree can be used to fund the centers.  Before we are able to sign a lease with the landlord of a center we must have the enough support pledged, through the donations of the instructional funds, to provide for a one year lease.

 

We are seeking support for the centers this month so that we know how to plan for the next school year.  Here is what is provided at the centers:

 

 

Families have let us know that they really value our learning centers.  If you feel the same way and you and/or your ES benefits from the center(s) please fill out a ÒProgram Expense AgreementÓ which can be obtained from our school web page, your ES, or the centers.  You can also donate funds from this years budget to the site.

 

Funding For Next Year

 

We are doing everything in accordance with the SB740 waiver requirements so that we will also receive full funding next year.  Based on that we should be able to provide $1,150 for grades k-8 and $1,450 for grades 9-12 funding for the 2003-2004 school year.

 

Yearbook Update

 

Due to the lack of participation there will not be a CWCS yearbook this year. The company that we were working with required a minimum number of orders which we did not obtain. If you sent in a payment for a yearbook it has been refunded to you. We would like to use the pictures that were submitted for the yearbook for a CWCS scrap book. If you would like to have the pictures returned please call the CWCS Waterford Office at 209-874-9463. 

 

 

 

 

 

CWCS Event Calendar

 

Date

Event

April 8,9,&10

Star Testing

April 9,10,&11

Star Testing  (Bay Area )

April 14-18

Spring Break

April 14-18

CWCS Learning Centers Closed

April 20

Senior Cap and Gown Order Due

April 21-25

CWCS Waterford Office Closed

April 22,23,&24

Star Testing Makeups

April 23,24

Star Testing Makeups (Bay Area)

April 23

Parent Council Member Nominations Due

April 29

Open House @ Manteca Learning Center

May 8

Open House @ Modesto Learning Center

May 9

Marine World Group Activity

May 13

Open House @ WSUD Conference Center

May 16

Parent Council Ballots Due

May 20

Eighth Grade Graduation

May 22

Senior Graduation

May 23

Picnic at Graceada Park

May 23

Last Day of School

May 30

First Day of Summer School

 

 

Just Write

Grades K-3 Write as many sentences as you can about a trip to the zoo and all of the animals that you saw there.

Grades 4-12 Write several paragraphs about a trip to the zoo, your favorite animal, or your least favorite animal.

We are calling it JUST WRITE. We will take a look at the writing and email back and forth about it. We want to create some more interest in writing among our students. If you would still like to respond to this prompt you may email it to msilva@ieminc.org. Here is one of the JUST WRITE articles submitted by a student in Connecting Waters Charter School. It was written by Elizabeth Bartholomew who is in 8th grade. Yes, it is a true story!

"My Trip to the Zoo"

By Elizabeth Bartholomew

I have to admit that usually going to a zoo does not interest me at all in any way- especially when I could be in Disneyland, which I was before heading to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park. However, surprisingly enough for me, I did have a good time and look forward to going back again someday.

When we first entered the zoo, I was sarcastically thinking, "Great. Another trip to the zoo... ItÕs summer; IÕd rather be at the beach!" My thoughts soon changed, however, as my favorite animal, a cheetah, led by a zoo-keeper, walked by down the parkway about five feet to the left of me! I bravely asked the animal-keeper why she was walking the cheetah down the road, and she politely answered that its paw was hurt, so she was taking it to an animal hospital farther down the road. Then, apparently sensing that I loved this species of animal, invited me to pet the cheetah! I tentatively stretched out my hand towards the waiting animal, and slowly stroked its soft, warm back. "Wow, thanks!" I told the keeper.

"Sure," she answered warmly. "Well, weÕve got to keep going. Have a nice time in the zoo, all right?" then continued walking on down the street.

I have to admit that after that experience, the rest of my time spent at the zoo seemed as nothing in comparison, although I still did have a great time.

I also loved seeing the giraffes, with their long, skinny necks. It was really amazing watching them eat, sometimes even eating the branches off of a 15 foot high tree! The gorillas are also very neat to watch, especially when they play games together!

The San Diego Wild Animal Park, where we went to next, is basically a preservation site for many animals, such as cheetahs, elephants, rare birds, antelope and many other animals. My personal opinion is that the most excellent thing to do while at the park is to take a tour on a train-ride around the open plains in which many animals roam free and have plenty of space to run and frolic. On the tour, you see, from a distance, lions resting in the shade, cheetahs hunting antelope, giraffes eating from tall trees, and monkeys playing in the cool shade of a group of trees. It really is astounding.

Although in the beginning I did not want to visit the zoo, my opinion had changed by the end of my trip. My experience was terrific and I would go back any day!