La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 1

La Mariposa Pawprint Member of Camarillo PTA Council, Twelfth District PTA, California Congress of Parents, Teachers, Students, Inc. and the National Congress of Parents and Teachers

La Mariposa School 4800 Corte Olivas, Camarillo, CA 93012 (805) 987-8333 www.LaMariposaTigers.org

Principal’s Message

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

February 2011

PTA INFO 2

DINNER DANCE 3

FIELD TRIPS 4

PAST EVENTS 5

REFLECTIONS 6

PRE-K / KINDER 7

TAE KWON DO 8

BOX TOPS 9

During the month of February, La Mariposa students will be learning about honesty. As a parent, you may agree that honesty is a virtue that is of utmost importance; we expect our own children to be honest no matter the circumstances. When we surveyed La Mariposa parents last Spring, Honesty was among the most important traits for students to learn. I don’t need to write a newsletter about the importance of honesty; I’d like to focus instead on dishonesty. I believe that all children are inherently good, and that adults who turn out to be

“bad” have turned out that way because occasional “bad” behaviors became everyday “bad” habits. Do you know an adult who has a reputation as a “liar?” How do you think they came to be known this way? Were they born dishonest? Probably not. In fact, they were once an elementary school student who always told the truth, but along the way, something happened. Maybe they lost something important and their parents got upset. In order to avoid the feeling of shame, they lied, saying another student took the item. Whatever the lie was, its aim was to deflect responsibility for losing the item. The next time they did something wrong, they remembered that by lying, they were able to avoid- to some degree- the consequences for their actions. Slowly, this occasional reaction became second nature. Lying at school and at home may follow the same pattern. In order to avoid being shamed, does your child ever lie? It’s ok if you answered “yes.” A child who occasionally lies to avoid negative consequences is not a “bad” child. Telling a lie is a common knee jerk reaction for children. The important thing is what you say when you know your child is not telling the truth. If your response attempts to pile more shame on the child, don’t expect an admission of guilt; expect another lie to back up the first, or simple repetition of that first lie. Now, if your response to the lie is calm, measured, and non-shaming, you are likely to come to a respectful resolution. There are many age appropriate responses you can give to your child, such as:

“We always tell the truth in this family.” “We tell the truth even when it’s hard.” “If we have done something we shouldn’t have, we own up to it.”

These remarks do not shame the child for what they did, but reinforces your expectation of honesty. Older children may need a natural consequence for the behavior (i.e. cleaning up a mess they lied about making). No matter what, the way you handle dishonesty will influence your child’s behavior the next time they find themselves in a difficult situation. Mr. Jay Greenlinger

La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 2

LOVE AND SCIENCE?

My first schoolgirl crush was on my middle school science teacher. It started when I was in the fifth grade. I’d peek out the door every time I heard the zwipp zwipp of his dove grey cords outside my classroom. I can still picture his quirky push-broom mustache, powder blue Izod shirt, and thin gold framed glasses that made him look extra smart. All of us girls loved him...Mr. J... if he only knew how funny and nice and sooo cute we all thought he was. I was nearly thirteen before I got over him and moved on to some dumb boy with too long hair and a peach-fuzz mustache--ew.

If Mr. J was my first crush, then Science was my first love. I loved conducting experiments to see what would happen, learning about how things worked and why things worked, and how to find the answers to all the questions that ran circles around in my head. While I certainly enjoyed learning the information of science, it was the process of science that really got me: Observation, Asking Questions, Prediction, Experimentation, Analysis and Reflection, More Experimentation, and finally Drawing Conclusions. I never realized that while I was learning all those “cool” facts and doing all those “cool” things in science class, I was also learning how to think and the art of asking questions. Hands on use of Scientific Method is the perfect tool for learning and practicing critical thinking skills, fostering curiosity, and inspiring creative problem solving in young learners. Curiosity, Creativity, and Critical Thinking--I’ve heard them referred to as “The Three C’s” and they are why La Mariposa’s Science Night was born nearly four years ago. We’ve crashed cars, harnessed static electricity, breathlessly extinguished candles, made slime and silly putty, built wind powered vehicles, launched film canister rockets, observed microscopic animals, and fed venus fly traps all while learning scientific principals and applying scientific method. So how will we top it this year? This year’s theme is “Discover” and we’ve definitely got something for everyone. We are bringing back two of our greatest hits: Paper Airplanes and Slime. The students from Cal State Channel Islands will be back again along with Professor Phil and some of his cool equipment that we’ll put to use in a pH lab. We’ll also be doing experiments with magnets and messing around with some cool sound wave electronic equipment. We’re hitting the human body this year with a disarticulated skeleton, some organ models, and some pretty sweet x-rays. It’s finally time to include one of my all-time favorite science activities--dissecting owl pellets--it’s one of the coolest and grossest things I’ve ever done and I’m sure the kids will be as equally impressed and disgusted as I was. Lastly we’ll be designing and constructing marble roller coasters on peg boards; we may even have some races and set some speed records. Science Night is Wednesday, Feb 23, 4-8pm, and free for all La Mariposa students. Parents can sign their kids up with friends or on their own both online or with a registration form available from the front office. I hope to see you all at Science Night and have a Happy Valentine’s Day. Sincerely,

Kamala Nahas PS: Don’t forget to send in your Dinner Dance reservations this month, it’s a blast!

Message from the PTA President

February 21: Washington’s B-Day No School

La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 3

Highlights for live and silent auction: Two nights at any Courtyard by Marriott in the US or Canada. Sky High Trampoline- birthday party package. Principal for a day. $5000 in orthodontics from Dr. Wright. VIP parking spot at school for one year. Junior golf lessons at Los Robles GC. 5th grade promotion VIP- reserved parking and reserved row of seating for the ceremony. 4 passes to all Camarillo High School home games. The Barkley Pet Hotel and Spa- $150 GC to pamper your pet. And much, much, more…..restaurants, hotel stays, gym memberships, haircuts, facials, we will have items in all price ranges!!! Check the weekly email blasts for more auction highlights.

Invites have been mailed…Please RSVP by February 25th. First come first serve. First 200 reservations will be accepted, wait list to form after that. Please remember to go through your garage and closets (any gifts you received over the holidays that you don’t need or already have) and see if you can donate anything to the silent auction baskets. Could be any new…video games, toys, kitchen items, electronics, gift cards, jewelry, artwork, sporting equipment, home accessories, etc. If you have anything to donate, please drop off in the office and Nancy Thompson will give you a receipt for your tax deductible donation. Do you have connections to sporting events, hotel stays, please let us know if you can help us get donations for the auction. Contact bethsassower@verizon.net, or luv2tlk@roadrunner.com We want to thank our sponsors for their generous donation:

Double Sponsor - Caulfield Consulting Group L.L.C. California HealthFirst Physicians, Cruise One, Luggage of Love, Cal Coast Motorsports, Sweet Success and Cool-Pak Produce.

100% of the dinner dance proceeds go directly to our school and our kids.

For more information check out our dinner dance website:

www.lamariposadinnerdance.org

Come Join Us at Swirl!

An Affordable Way for the Family to Get Out and have a Healthy Treat!

When: March 17, 2011

Time: 11am - 9pm

25% of the Entire Day's Sales goes to La Mariposa!

(No flyer needed)

La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 4

4TH GRADE FIELD TRIPS Written by Atharva Nanodkar, Benita Bheemisetty, and Jack Holden

In December our fourth grade classes went on a field trip to Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks. When we went to Gardens of the World, we learned about the many flowers and types of gardens there are all over the world. There was a Japanese garden, an English rose garden, an Italian garden, a French garden, and many others. We heard a mock Father Junipero Serra speak about his journey to California. It was fun when he picked student volunteers to help act it out. Overall it was a very exciting trip! Another field trip was when we went to Carpinteria

State beach for Dolphin Days. This field trip helped us experience the things we read about in the novel Island of the Blue Dolphins and our history books. We learned survival skills, went on a scavenger hunt, built and painted a redwood plank canoe, tried to make fire, and made strings of yucca fiber. This was one of the best trips we’ve had! We would like to give a special thanks to our PTA for funding these wonderful field trips. We would also like to thank our parents who helped drive and chaperone.

La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 5

STUFF THE BUS FOR HUNGRY NEIGHBORS Written by Michelle Fisher

In December, La Mariposa held its annual Stuff-A-Bus Food Drive along with the other schools in the Pleasant Valley School District. The district donated almost 5,000 pounds of food to Food SHARE! As a La Mariposa community, we donated 10 FULL boxes of food, for 10% of the district’s total pounds donated. Your generosity is appreciated by the thousands who benefit from Food SHARE programs. As Ventura County's regional food bank, Food SHARE distributes millions of pounds of donated food to Ventura County residents throughout the year via 150 food pantries run by churches, temples, civic organizations and community groups. As of December 2010, FOOD Share is assisting 73,000 hungry friends each month. If you would like to learn more about Food SHARE, please visit their website at www.foodshare.com. The food drive hosted by the school is about much more than just collecting food. It provides an opportunity for us to set an example for our children and teach them that caring for our neighbors and serving those in need builds a stronger community. Thanks again for your generosity!

"Think of giving not as a duty, but as a privilege." -- John D Rockefeller

Our Megamind Movie Night Fundraiser on November 10th was a huge success! Thank you to all the families who attended. Strong ticket sales enabled the Roxy to open up two theaters for our viewing enjoyment. We sure appreciated not having to squish into one theater. A special thank you to Judy Liu who put together two fabulous gift baskets for us to raffle! Together with movie ticket sales and sales from the raffle, La Mariposa earned $1,549. WOW!!!!! We look forward to our next Movie Night Event before the end of the school year (stay tuned for details). We hope to get even more families to share in the fun and excitement while raising money for our school. So, get excited and plan to join us again, or, for the first time, for a great family friendly evening!!!!!

MEGAMIND MOVIE NIGHT RAISES $1549! Written by Kathy Holden

Thank you Michelle and Kathy for organizing these events!Thank you Michelle and Kathy for organizing these events! Great Job! Great Job!

La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 6

Four of our La Mariposa Students received awards from the 12th District PTA for their award-winning entries at the 2010-2011 PTA Reflections Program. Each of these students' works were recognized for capturing this year's theme, "Together We Can." Their art submission advanced from the school and Camarillo Council level. On January 12th, these students were recognized for their entries in their respective Reflections category at the 12th District level. There were over 4000 entries submitted this year and 80 students received a 12th District PTA award. What an honor it is that four of our own La Mariposa students were recognized for their accomplishment. Well done!! Awards received are as follows:

Certificate of Commendation - Primary Photography (Grade K - 2) - Colin Wong Certificate of Merit - Intermediate Photography (Grade 3 - 5) - Karlee Blauert Award of Excellence - Intermediate Visual Arts (Grade 3 - 5) - Taryn Liu Award of Excellence - Intermediate Dance Choreography (Grade 3 - 5) - Christy Guglielmo

Christy’s & Taryn's entries were selected to move on to the state level.

Good luck to both of you!

REFLECTIONS - 12TH DISTRICT PTA Written by Cindy Laudato-Wong

La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 7

La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 8

La Mariposa Elementary School Pawprint Newsletter— Page 9

Sign

2: Walk or Wheel Wednesday 4: Kindergarten Information and Tour 7: Kindergarten Information and Tour 11: Jump Rope for Heart 11: Wear Pink Day 14: 100th Day of School 15: SMART Board Open House @ 6PM 15: PTA Meeting @ 7PM 17: Assembly: Beth Sussman 21: Washington’s Birthday - No School 23: Science Night

2: Walk or Wheel Wednesday 2: Dr. Seuss’ Birthday 3: Tae Kwon Do Thursdays Begin 4: Kinder Orientation Tour 7: Student Registration Begins 12: Dinner Dance 17: Swirl Fundraiser 18: Hippie Day 21: Lincoln’s Day Observed - No School 24 - 25: 2nd Grade Plays

UPCOMING EVENTS