December 2018
Calendar of Events
December

​6: 3rd Grade & Choir Performance, PTA Meeting
11: STEAM Night, 5:30-6:30
20-January 4: Winter Break (No School)

January :

8: Students return from Winter Break
21: MLK Day (no school)
24: Trivia Night, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

February
​14: Kindergarten musical performance
18: President's Day (no school)

March :
7: Parent/Teacher Conferences (no school)
25-29: Spring Break

April
19: Good Friday (no school)
24: 4th Grade Recorder Concert

May :
​9: Choir Performance
​24: Last Full Day
New and Notable
presents-red-banner.gif
Season's Greetings from your PTO! ( NOT PTA)
It's a season of giving, and we are proud to (finally) present to you your Discovery School PTO! It's been a long process, but this change will be so beneficial to our school community. Without a larger organization calling the shots, we will have more choices on how to spend the money we raise. Before we closed the books on the PTA, we had to empty our bank account, but we have some fun and exciting events planned to rebuild it including Trivia Night on January 24 and a Food Festival in April (more info coming later).

But the first thing we need to do is get some members! As in the past, membership is only $5 for your whole family. Classes that achieve 100% membership will win a reward. If you would like, you may also make an additional donation. Look for membership forms coming soon in your child's backpack, or join online from our website .

We are so excited to begin this new chapter of parent support at the Discovery School, and to see what heights we can reach.
kids_fieldtrip2.jpg
STEAM Night, December 11
5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

STEAM Night will be a time that students will be able to present their Cardboard Challenge projects from our STEAMXploration time (formerly clusters). Grade levels may have used the Cardboard Challenge as their PBL for the quarter, so parents will see the products from PBLs. Families will also get to participate in Family Steam Challenges, which will be set up by each grade level.
Upcoming Musical Performances


February 14: Kindergarten Musical Performance

April 24: 4th grade recorder concert

May 9: Choir Performance

Congratulations, Beta Club!


Congratulations to all of our BETA students who have qualified for the Nationals in Oklahoma this June! Below are the awards and celebrations of each student and group competitor. Thank you to Dr. Mall, Mr. Page, Mr. Matthews, Mrs. Warren, Mr. Hughes, Mrs. Abu-Hallimah, Mrs. Bahloul, and the other parent volunteers who helped make this year a HUGE success! We are very proud!

Visual Arts
Original Jewelry Design, Ashmi Patel - 5th place
Original Sculpture, Caedryn Baggarly - 5th place
Academics
4th grade math: Eli Bauer 1st place
5th grade math: Grayson Lin 1st place
4th grade science: Parker Lindquist 2nd place
5th grade science: Rachel Swicord 1st place
4th grade Social studies: Truitt Surbaugh. 1st place
5th grade Social studies: Ellie Gardner 5th place
4th grade Language Arts: Parker Griffin. 5th place
5th grade Poetry. Allison Lewis 4th place
Speech. Peyton Roeder 5th place
Elementary Quiz Bowl Team (Alicia Moreno - captain, Jack Gray, Ben Hogan, John Thomas Parkerson) . 3rd place
Elementary Engineering Team (Keegan Sparks, Matthew Smith, Luca Guevart, Bryce Holman, and Joseph Rowell): 2nd place - they had to build a working roller coaster in 45 minutes using only items from a list that was previously supplied and would fit in a 14 gallon container.
2D Design (banner). 1st place
Apparel (T-shirt). 5th place (Allison Lewis, Carter Lampley, Sophia Lopez)
Portfolio (Addison Martin and Abigail Postell) - 5th place
 
Junior Level is 6th - 8th grades
6th Grade Science - Griffin Minter 2nd place
Junior Engineering Team Competition (Jana Bahloul, Hannah Hughes, Kingston Vongsavath, and Olivia Caster) - 2nd place –
 
Adeline Scott (4th grader) was voted the first elementary state vice president!
Science Lab Happenings
Save the Date! Trivia Night, January 24

Make plans to join us for the 2nd Annual Discovery Trivia Night on January 24 from 5:00-7:00 pm. Dust off those old Trivial Pursuit boxes. Download your deleted HQ app again. DVR some Jeopardy episodes. Start forming your teams and training now!
Featured Staff Bio
Mrs. Kelsey McKnight, Guidance Counselor
I am so excited to be with this wonderful group of educators at The Discovery School! This is third year as a School Counselor for Murfreesboro City Schools. I graduated in 2016 with my Masters in School Counseling from MTSU, and I also have a B.A. in Theatre from Austin Peay State University. I have been married to my husband, Carson, for seven years. We have a three-year-old daughter named Amelia and a baby boy, Oliver, who was born in early September! 
       I am very passionate about school counseling and will work very hard to provide services to support your students in their academic, social, and emotional goals.
Thank you, Holiday Lunch Volunteers!

Pumpkin
Thank you to everyone who attended the holiday lunches this year. And thank you to our cafeteria staff for preparing a delicious meal!

We are especially grateful to our parents who helped out. We couldn't have done it without you!

Ivey Bahloul, Allison Barmore, Jeffrey Bratsch, Jody Dianna, Carolyn Jackson, Shawna Jolley, Leslie Kekelis, Meg McKee, Chase Micheal, Whitney Milligan, Sheryl Weber , and other parents who jumped in on the spot.

-- Jennifer Straka and Anna Stewart, Hospitality Co-chairs

Teacher and Staff Favorite Things
Ready or not, it's almost the holidays, and it's a great time to lavish our teachers and staff with love and appreciation. Click the link below to find out what they would like and what to avoid. There is also a notebook at the office with favorites from last year, including some that are not available on this list.
Happy Birthday!
Birthday Cake 2
December
12 - Teresa McCarthy (Kindergarten)
31 - Charlotte Young (5th)
PTA Board, 2018-2019
Officers*/Executive Committee
President*
Ayat Abu Halimah
Vice President*
Laurel Parkerson
President-Elect*
Genevieve Borendame
Secretary*
Julie Phillips
Treasurer*
Anthony Brownlow
Committee Chairs
Activities
Leslie Kekelis
Communications/Newsletter Editor
Amy York
Volunteers
Rachel Zelenak
Hospitality
Jen Straka
Membership
Holly Holton
Members-at-Large
K-2 Member-at-Large
Vacant
3-6 Member-at-Large
Amy Roeder