Robious Express Newsletter 

December 2016


WOW!! You know the Holiday Break is near when Mr. Peace once again knocks it out of the park with his 2nd Grade Holiday Show. Thanks to all of our members and generous donors, the PTA was again able to provide funds to purchase the amazing costumes worn by many of the students in this production.  

Another improvement to look out for at the school are the new Chromebook stations in the Kindergarten Classrooms. The teachers are still trying to figure out how to most easily work them into their daily routines, and the kids are still trying to figure out how to log themselves on. But they have been VERY well received by the Kindergarten Team.

I'd like to give a huge shout out to the tireless volunteers that make this PTA so effective. Our purpose is to engage families in the education process, promote the welfare of our children, and to create a community that our children are excited to be a part of. I celebrate all of you who help to make this happen this Holiday Season!

As it's starting to get colder, I'm really looking forward to the Winter Break, hunkering down in front of a fire watching family holiday movies and working our Christmas puzzle. I wish you all a very restful break, filled with family, community and love.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Krista



A Note from Our Principal
The upcoming winter break is a wonderful time for children and adults to refresh and recharge. It is also provides the gift of time, being together as a family. In education we are continuously reflecting on how to best support children as 21st century learners and preparing them to be college and career ready. When considering the tremendous shifts that have occurred since we were students in the K-12 classroom, technology has paved the road for much of the work. We are able to research questions, seek solutions, conduct daily business and even recreation through apps and games. The added convenience and the impactful tool that technology and devices have provided in education and our personal lives have also greatly impacted our communication with friends, family and colleagues, both positive and negatively.  
 
In the classroom, we want to ensure that while we create rigorous and relative learning experiences, the development of our children as productive citizens is first. The life skills we invest in developing such as creating problem solvers, seeking first to understand and the contributions of their gifts to support the greater good, all provide a pathway to enhance a rigorous and relative learning experience. Equipping our children with technology resources and tools adds an additional level of responsibility for the adults and children.  Ensuring that people are still the most valuable resource and the time we invest in building relationships, collaborating and working together as a team will provide the biggest payout.
 
I had a middle school teacher and coach that made a large impact on me. I was a nanny for her two children while I was in college and later I was fortunate to teach alongside her as a colleague. I adored her children and Mrs. Bailey was and still is a shining exemplar teacher. One large statement she made over 10 years ago about no technology for her children during the school week, stuck with me. When my oldest son went to school, I implemented the same policy. Yes, it wasn't easy, sometimes it is still hard. I even had to do some convincing with my husband in 2010. I can only imagine how hard something like this would be to implement now as we are much more technologically driven. I will also admit that I am not a good model many times as I am on my device doing work well before the children go to bed. However, I feel a tinge knowing that I should be capitalizing on the face time and not doing work. Thus, I keep trying to enforce the no technology policy during the school week for myself too. (It is a BIG work in progress). As hard as it is for myself, my kids know the steadfast policy of no devices during the school week.
 
I came across an article and it made me consider how technology driven our children are and how much they have become the focus of children's desires, whether it be a kindle, an ipod, a phone, a gaming system, bluetooth headphones etc., children continuously talk about their "wants" and they center around technology. For most of our children, they have devices and they will receive new or advanced devices for the holidays or birthdays. I wanted to take the opportunity to share this article as I know in our household technology plays a large role.
 
I feel fortunate that I spend the majority of my week immersed with your children and my own. I continuously speak to how blessed we are to be a part of the Robious community. We have tremendously hard working staff and wonderful children. I try to walk into the cafeteria during the school week because as busy as lunch time is, it provides an opportunity for impromptu conversations with our children. This time also reinforces how wonderful our children are. Their manners in conversation, their interaction with their peers and myself bring a definite smile to my face. Most important, it reminds me of the sheer innocence our children have when they are doing normal life things and although school days have changed significantly, some things have not. The relationships and "face time," is the most important investment we can give our children. I hope that you have an opportunity to spend time together as a family during our winter break and while I know the excitement new devices bring, consider developing a device "policy" for your family. No devices during the week is the extreme, I know. But, as our children get older, an expectation that family time or face time is valued will become even harder and more important. 

Happy Holidays and many blessings for the New Year!

Casta

News
Caboose Camp - Permission Slips and Volunteers Needed!         
Information forms/Permission slips are needed for students attending Caboose Camp. Please click  HERE  and submit your child's information form/permission slip by Friday, Dec 16

We are recruiting adult volunteers to help make Caboose Camp a success.  Caboose Camp is Tuesday and Thursday from Jan 10 - Feb 16. We are looking for volunteers to sign up for a shift between 2:00-5:15pm on  Caboose Camp Adult Volunteers 2017 . We are also recruiting middle school student volunteers. Email Katie Hill with any questions or if  your a middle school student interested in volunteering. Thank you!
Programs

Movie Night

Ease your way back from break by joining us at Family Movie Night for "The Secret Life of Pets" on Friday, January 6, 2017 @ 6:00PM.   

Popcorn and drinks will be available, bring your own chairs and/or blankets, snacks or dinner and enjoy a movie in the Gym!
Fundraising

Barnes & Noble Spirit Night
THANK YOU for making our November 30 Spirit Night at Barnes & Noble and Chick Fil A a huge success. RES raised over $3,400 at Barnes & Noble alone.  We had a wonderful night with RES teachers, administrators and families!
RES Kids Care Club 

The students of the Kids Care Club did a great job singing Christmas carols and spreading holiday cheer for the residents at Bickford Assisted Living of Midlothian this past Saturday! The residents really enjoyed the visit! Thanks to all the families who joined us for our outing! 


Our next meeting will be a morning meeting on Tuesday, January 17. Mark your calendars and more information to come about our next project! 

Thanks,
Kara and Michelle 
Kids Care Club 
The Library Corner
1) Our December Author of the Month is Robert Munsch .  

2) Reminder:  December 16  is the deadline for the Picture Book Reading Challenge. Complete your Picture Book Reading Log and turn it in to Ms. King so that you can earn your prize!

3) Help us get Jan Brett to visit our school! Contest begins January 2017 so look for more details when we return from break. 

4) Thanks to all of our Adopt A Book Donors...we raised over $2,000 and have a wonderful selection of books that will be arriving sometime in January or February. 
Box Tops

Our first quarter Box Top contest has ended and together we clipped almost 8,000 Box Tops!
 
Congratulations to Ms. Barnes' class for collecting the most in the first nine weeks!  Our three student winners, selected by random draw, were Camden McChesney, Max Meyer, and Emily Loughlin. Thanks to Skyzone and Sweet Frog for their generous prize donations to our contest.

Thanks to everyone who sent in entries and keep clipping for our second quarter contest! The second contest has begun and will end on January 23.  

Box Tops can be found on many of the products your family uses each week!  Enter the individual contest by sending in 10 Box Tops TAPED to a sheet with your child's name and teacher.  Classrooms also will receive incentives as they work together to reach our clipping goals. Recruit friends, neighbors, and grandparents to help save those Box Tops, too. It's a small thing that adds up to something BIG for the programs at our school!

_______________________________________________________
  

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the PTA Board.


 

Sincerely,

 

Robious Elementary School PTA
In This Issue
A Note from Our Principal
Caboose Camp
Programs Update
Fundraising
Kids Care Club
Library Corner
Box Tops
Upcoming Events
Auction
PTA Membership
RES STEAM Club
Hospitality
Staff Appreciation
Running Club
Quick Links

Upcoming Events:

 

Dec. 14:

Running Club at RMS track, anytime after 8 AM

 

Dec. 16:

Winter Classroom Party

 

Dec. 17 - Jan. 1:

Winter Break, school closed

 

Jan. 2:

School Reopens

PTA Meeting, 7 PM in library

 

Jan 6:

Family Movie Night, 6PM in Gym

 

Jan. 10 and Jan. 12:

Caboose Camp

 

Jan. 13:

3 hour early release day

 

Raising the Rails Auction
There is still time to get your tax-deductible donations submitted for the biennial PTA Raising the Rails Auction scheduled for Saturday, March 25, 2017 from 6-11pm at Salisbury Country Club. Do you own a business that could donate products or services? Perhaps you have a beach house or a mountain retreat and would like to donate a vacation. Do you know a local personality that could donate a one-of-a-kind experience? If so, we want to hear from you. Please contact Cristin Drummond, Procurement and Solicitations Chair, for more information.  
Membership Update

Thanks to everyone who has supported our school and our kids by joining the PTA!  We are almost to our goal of 100%, but in order to achieve it, we need to get creative.  If you have joined as a single member, please consider joining your spouse or other adult in your family.  If you know a grandparent or other family member who loves to volunteer at our school, please ask them to consider joining.  I am confident that our school family will pull together to reach our 100% goal because we all appreciate the great programs the PTA puts on for our children.  Membership forms can be found HERE or you can join ONLINE.  Thanks for your support!


RES STEAM Club
 
We had a wonderful STEAM Club meeting after school on Tuesday, December 6, where Bricks 4 Kidz led us in a fun Spinning Art Challenge with Legos!  
 
Thanks to all 42 students who were able to come!

Our next meeting will be on February 15, immediately after school again.  

For updates or to learn more visit our web page, HERE

If you have questions you can email us.
Veteran's Day Celebration
The Veterans Day Program was a huge success.  Robious Elementary hosted 65 veterans for the program. The veterans enjoyed a patriotic concert from the students as well as a reception.  A huge thank you to Starbucks coffee on Huguenot Road for the generous donation of coffee for our veterans. Thank you to Barbara Unger for spearheading this special celebration.  

 
The holiday staff appreciation event for the RES staff will be held on Thursday, December 15th.  We will be providing hot cider, flavored coffees/teas as well as delectable holiday goodies. Sign up HERE if you can help at the event or with donations! 

Happy holidays from the Staff Appreciation Committee!

Friendly Reminder:

T he Robious Roadrunner Running Club will not meet during the months of January and February this year.

Join us for our last run/walk of the year on Wednesday, December 14 and then plan to join us again in March 2017.