Newsletter Volume 45, Number 05 @ 10-08-26

October 8, 2026 | Volume 45, Issue 05

Table of Contents

Mark Your Calendars! Parent Conferences Fri., Oct 9th
Donate Candy for Pumpkin Palooza Sun. Oct. 18, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Dress to Impress - Literary Character Day, Fri., Oct. 30
Share the Info! What is Gifted Education? What is the Akaba Model?
Tell a Friend! RSVP for SPARClers Now!
"Floating" our Ideas, Early Elementary Science

Upcoming Events

FRI, Oct 9

NO SCHOOL

Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences

THURS, Oct 15

5:30 pm - 8:30 pm, MAGC Fall Virtual Conference

SUN, Oct 18

11:30 am - 2:30 pm, Pumpkin Palooza

THURS, Oct 22

7 pm, SPARCler Parent Support Forum #2: Learning Styles

FRI, Oct 30

9 am, Literary Character Day & Bowling

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

PARENT CONFERENCES

Fri., Oct. 9th

Parent Conferences are tomorrow! Parents, please notify us if you are going to be late.

DONATE CANDY for

PUMPKIN PALOOZA

Sun., Oct. 18, 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Steppingstone will be participating in Plymouth’s annual Pumpkin Palooza again and is asking for candy donations to support this community event. Donations can be dropped off during school hours. Thank you to the White family and Mr. Liou for donating candy already!

We are also looking for volunteers to help pass out candy and collateral during this event. Thank you to those who have already signed up to volunteer! A reminder will be sent closer to the event date. Thank you to the Styke & Nehme family for signing up to volunteer! A reminder will be sent closer to the event date.

DRESS TO IMPRESS

LITERARY CHARACTER DAY

Fri., Oct 30

Friday, October 30th, is Literary Character Day. This is a chance for students to dress up as the main character from their Power Reading book for this month’s genre. They will arrive at school in costume for a game of 20 Questions (guessing each other’s characters by asking yes or no questions). When the characters are all revealed, they'll give presentations about their book while in costume (please help your child limit their retelling of the story to 3-4 minutes).

Not only is this a fun activity, but it also integrates some important skills into the curriculum. Students will hone their skills in oral presentation, creativity, performing arts, and problem-solving.

Please remember that costumes should be homemade as much as possible (we value creativity more than posh). Students should also have a simple prop to enhance their costume. No 3D printing and no weapons, please.

Students who do NOT want to bowl in their costumes should bring a change of clothes for the afternoon of bowling.

THANK YOU to the Styke & Pike family for volunteering to bring in snack trays.

Parents, if you would like to chaperone during the afternoon bowling please inform Mr. Liou. More details will come as we are closer to the event date.

SHARE THE INFO!

WHAT IS GIFTED EDUCATION?

WHAT IS THE AKABA MODEL?

Do you know of anyone who may be interested in gifted education? Do you know of anyone who has gifted children? Although we reside in PARC, as an elementary school we have all the amenities of a high school plus some! If you know of anyone who may be interested in our program, please share this information. During the open house they’ll learn more about who we are, what we do, and how we utilize PARC resources.

TELL A FRIEND!

RSVP FOR SPARClers NOW!

Our second SPARCler (parent support forum) will be on Thursday, October 22nd 7PM on Zoom. We have invited Ananya Pattanaik to be our speaker again and she will be talking about “Learning Styles”. To attend, please RSVP for the session here.

Ananya Pattanaik is the founder of Thrive Learn Joy and an educational consultant with a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent Development, alongside over 15 years of experience in Montessori administration and pedagogy. Blending this expertise with a strong background in physics and child development, she provides specialized guidance tailored to gifted learners, early childhood education, and STEM enrichment.

"FLOATING" OUR IDEAS

Early Elementary Science

Our Early Elementary students have been making a splash in science class! Last week, they calibrated their own spring scale using jumbo paper clips. This scale will be used in several upcoming lessons.

Next, it was time to formulate their hypotheses regarding 14 different objects. They were a clay lump, bobber, wood bead, glass marble, aluminum nut, and a nylon bolt, as well as . They also had polyethylene, aluminum, acrylic, and wood cylinders in two sizes each. Students hypothesized whether each item would sink or float in the water as well as explain their reasoning. This is an essential component of the scientific process, which students also follow for their Science Fair projects.

Performing the experiment followed. Each item was placed in the water and observed. Everyone was surprised a few times when items floated or sank unexpectedly. For fun, we also tested a mini can of Dr. Pepper and hypothesized about why it floated at an angle.

Students then used an equal-arm scale to see how many paper clips would equal the weight of each of the 14 items tested. They discovered that although some items were heavier than others, they floated while lighter items sank. We will explore this phenomenon more in future lessons.