Thanks for making our Open House a big suc-cess! We had many new and existing Castlehill families stop in to visit classrooms and view the Art Show!

OPEN HOUSE & ART SHOW I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Registration, Tuition, and Taxes

2

Science Night 3

Toddler, PS, PK 4

Kinder, 1st, 2nd 5

3rd, 4th, 5th 6

Specials– Art, Science, Computers

7

Specials– PD, Library Beloved Pets

8

CASTLEHILL DRAGON THE

Volume 2, Issue 6 February 8, 2013

Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

Party Rock is Here!!

The Castlehill Third graders will be performing the dynamic "Party Rock!" show on February 13th at the St. Gregory Theater, and this year's performance is going to be extra special! We are inviting the fourth and fifth grade students to join us at our show for a special interactive portion... but that's not all! For the first time ever, we are inviting Cas-tlehill alumni to participate in one of our shows as well. Through the power of Facebook,. we've been able to contact over a 100 Castlehill alumni in un-der 24 hours! We are hoping to get many of these students to help out in our dance extravaganza. There will be no VIP tickets issued this year, instead the fourth and fifth grade students will be on a VIP list! Regardless of your grade level, this show is fun for all!! Don't miss out! We'll be sharing some high-lights from the show in Friday's assembly.

Congratulations to the amazing first grade classes who performed beautifully in their production of Schoolhouse Rock! Enormous thanks to Mr. Ca-nelos, Allegra's dad, for playing the drums for our performance. Now we begin learning about the or-chestra while studying 'Peter and the Wolf'. Congratulations to the equally amazing 4th/5th grade classes who performed the final showing of “How to Eat Like a Child”. Fantastic! The Kindergarten show is coming up quickly on Wednesday 2/13. Come support their efforts in the 'Moosical'. Step in time preschoolers, because April 18th (your show date) will be here before you know it!

It’s registration time! Registra-

tion packets for the 2103-2014

school year will be mailed home by

the first week of March. Parents

are always welcome to come and

visit classrooms. Please stop in

the office and pick up a visitor’s

badge.

Page 2

C C D S S T I M U L U S P A C K A G E

Take advantage of our stimulus package! It’s a win-win situation for CCDS and

our families!

*A family who refers a new student that registers between April 1 and June 30 and

attends school for the 2013-2014 school year will receive 10% off of one of their

own student’s tuition per new child.

*Example- For a family with one child that registers and attends school for the 2013

-14 school year, the referring family will receive a 10% discount on one child’s tui-

tion. For two families that register and attend with one child each or one family with

two children that register and attend, the referring family will receive 20% off of one

child’s tuition. (Honored up to 50% discount per student.)

*Call the office for more information.

Volume 2, Issue 5

Congrats!

Congratulations to

our National Geo-

graphic Geography

Bee winners!

1st place:

Drew Messing

2nd place:

Nolan Ferrill

3rd place:

Ellie Nolan

Well done!!!

Registration

Save the Date:

Feb. 13– Kinder/3rd

shows

Feb. 15– Report cards/

Conferences 2nd se-

mester (Regular school

day)

Feb. 18-22 Rodeo

Break

The Arizona state income tax credit

program, together with the Institute for

Better Education (IBE), has helped stu-

dents with demonstrated financial

need attend CCDS. Your tax contribu-

tions through this program make it pos-

sible for academically excellent stu-

dents to attend Castlehill through

need-based financial assistance.

You can now make a contribution up to

$2006 if filing jointly and $1003 if fil-

ing singly to help our students. This is

a dollar for dollar credit on your total

state income tax obligation, regardless

of whether you owe the state or will

receive a refund. You may also con-

tinue to make a tax credit contribution

to public schools and the working poor.

Our community is stronger because of

the tuition tax credit program and we

appreciate your participation and sup-

port! For more information, go to

www.ibescholarships.org.

Arizona State Tax Credit

(New Information)

Science Night was a HUGE success! If you thought it was crowded, you were right! With nearly 3oo students and fam-

ily members packed into the MPR, we had some science to discover!

*The projects were truly amazing, very creative and definitely full of the scientific method. Excitement bubbled as stu-

dents tried to find the answers to the Scavenger Hunt. Maggie Colombo, Cole Revis, and Amy Choi were the only stu-

dents who found all the correct answers and the corresponding projects. Congratulations! You won a $5.00 credit to the

school store!

*Experiments demonstrating Newton’s Laws were tried, a Thermite Reaction burned holes in paper (Goggles please!),

we tried to find the balancing point of tableware and everyone enjoyed digging for sand rubies and shark teeth in the sand

box!

*Congratulations to Project 304, Esme Canelos won the Fan Favorite Award and a $5.00 credit to the school!

*Shout Out to the members of the Tucson Amateur Astronomers Association (TAAA) for showing us the amazing

sights of the night sky. We looked at the rings on Jupiter as well as 4 of her moons, Andromeda, Orion’s Nebula, Almach;

a double star and Pleiades.

*The judging was very difficult this year as SARSEF has changed their judging standards. 9 judges from around Tuc-

son (Science Teachers, Science Students, and Scientists) judged each project at least twice! From those results, only 10

super projects can be chosen to represent Castlehill at the upcoming SARSEF competition in March. Congratulations to

the following Best in Show (in no particular order):

1st Grade Class Project: The Bitter Truth about Sugar

Avi Sanan: Which Asteroid Would Make the Biggest Crater?

Andres Peralta: Take a Deep Breath

Erin Oxnam: R U Color Blind?

Colette Mayo: Cricket Cereal Super Bowl

Tommy Jacobs: Hard as a Rock

Hunter Hourany: Can you Get Bigger Eggs for Peanuts?

Dominic Colombo: Can You Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?

Liam Conroy: Is Technic the Technique?

Teak Biaggi: The Warmth of a Fat Coat

Honorable Mention Awards: Erika Garcia, Olivia Lane, Annika Revis, Talia Zuckerman-Brown, Redah Jessani, Mollie

Sohn, Sophia Tannehill, Lauren Wiedebush, Philip DuBose, and Sirona Smoak

Science Night

plenty of counting, esti-

mating and answering

questions about what

100 means to each of

us. Both Pre-k classes

took an exciting and

educational field trip to

KVOA Channel 4. We

met up with meteorolo-

gist Jeff Beamish after

our newsroom tour and

had a great time watch-

Pre-k has spent the last

couple of weeks dis-

cussing, exploring, and

experimenting about

weather, the Arctic re-

gions, magnets and

more. We made static

electricity and watched

Penguins slide on their

bellies in science class.

We celebrated the

100th day of school with

ing live tapings and learn-

ing so much about

weather, including fore-

casting. We are preparing

for our big show with Mrs.

Colombo, A Spoonful of

Sugar. Next month we

look forward to Valen-

tine's Day and Ro-

deo...yeee Haa!!

Page 4

PRESCHOOL

TODDLERS

PRE -K INDERGARTEN

Volume 2, Issue 5 CLASSROOM NEWS

Goodbye January and winter - welcome February and Valentine's Day! Ms. Moore's and Mrs. Liesenbein's Preschool Classes explored frozen and melting water and focused on the winter season with penguin projects, snowmen and mitten matching. Mrs. Liesenbein's children warmed up with Snowflake French Toast and hot cocoa. We even counted marshmallows on our cocoa mug art project. We finished the month by bringing our bears out of hibernation, culminating in a Teddy Bear Picnic. We counted, com-pared and sized the bears that came to our Picnic. We are working on learning the alphabet, both upper and lower case let-ters, and we are encouraging beginning writing skills. February will bring Valentine projects, a Desert Habitat Unit and a Dental Health Presentation. We look forward to a visit from Dr. Priya Abramian after Rodeo Break, who will teach us how to take care of our teeth.

The Toddlers have spent the last month learning and reciting

traditional Nursery Rhymes and Folk Tales. We have been inte-

grating all kinds of fun activities and projects. The class went on

a mini field trip to St. Gregory's campus to visit their Billy Goats.

We went to visit Hazel and Floyd Gruff to learn about goats and

compare that to what we have learned from the folk tale, The

Three Billy Goats Gruff. The children learned all about goats and

were able to experience them first hand......feeding, brushing, and

observing them!!

CASTLEHILL DRAGON Page 5

1ST GRADE

KINDERGARTEN

2ND GRADE

First Grade took time out from practicing their SCHOOLHOUSE

ROCK show to celebrate the 100th Day of School and boy was that fun!

Our show was a huge success! What's better than rocking out and learning

at the same time? Thanks, Mrs. Colombo, for working so hard to make us

look and sound so good! Thanks, Mr. Bentley, for making us our

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK sign for the stage and thank you, Mr. Canelos,

for playing your drums in our show. You were awesome! In our class-

rooms we finished our 1st grade Science Fair project, completed our pen-

guin and time units. February will bring the human body, black history,

Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, and dental health studies.

" Snow" was the theme for both of the Kindergarten Classes in January. We made large paper snow-men, circular and square snowflakes, read stories about winter jackets and mittens, learned about real bliz-zards and investigated what "Snowmen Do at Night". Our One Hundred Days of School came near the end of the month. What an exciting day that was! Each child brought one hundred items which were divided and counted in various ways. We also had a treas-ure hunt to find the missing chocolate kisses that would fit into the set of (nearly) one hundred on the art ta-ble. We ended the day with an Ice Cream Party for both classes. On the last day of January, both kindergarten classes enjoyed a field trip to the Planetarium. This be-gan our Solar System unit which we will continue during February.

The second grade students are preparing for a field

trip on February 11th. They will experience DaVinci

the Genius traveling exhibit on opening day at the Ari-

zona Science center. They will also be viewing the

planetarium show, Arizona Skies. At this time, the stu-

dents are studying the history of Mardi Gras with its

rich French culture.

Third graders are looking forward to an exciting monster

truck tour at Rooster Cogburn's Ostrich Farm where they will

feed rare Sicilian Donkeys, Lorikeets, Ostriches, and many

other animals. Science projects for the Science Fair are being

completed, and the students are enthusiastically preparing for

their show, "Party Rock!" while reading their third book of the

year, and delving into some challenging math concepts. The Reading Slumber Party, al-

ways a favorite, will take place February 8th while we have individual conferences with the

students regarding their academic and social growth thus far this school year.

To culminate our study of Native Americans, the 4th graders went on a field

trip to Old Pueblo Archaeology Center. The students learned a great deal

about archaeology as they participated in an archaeological dig. They

learned about insitu, site mapping, and the usefulness of obsidian

rock........ The 4th/5th grade students spent many hours working together

to prepare for their music show, How to Eat Like a Child. Their performance

was on January 31, and they ALL did a wonderful job!..... In the classroom,

we are in the midst of our realistic fiction unit, double digit multiplication,

regions of the U.S., Early Explorers, and expository writing. In February we

will be looking forward to our next reading slumber party, science fair,

and long division. Congratulations to Drew Messing...our Geography Bee

winner!

Page 6

4TH GRADE

THIRD GRADE

Volume 2, Issue 5

5th Grade

In addition to putting on a fantastic performance of “How to Eat Like a

Child,” the fifth graders have been working hard in each of their academic

subjects. In reading, they completed Lincoln, a Photobiography after an

exciting unit on the Civil War. Our next genre is science fiction, and the

students will read the award-winning novel A Wrinkle in Time, by Made-

leine L’Engle. In grammar, students have been busy identifying preposi-

tional phrases and adverbs in sentences, as well as editing sentences for

errors in punctuation and spelling. In writing, students have just com-

pleted the rough draft of their persuasive essay. Topics chosen have in-

cluded the importance of playing a team sport, the importance of adopting

a pet from the Humane Society, and the benefits of having a healthy

diet. Finally, students are well into our geometry unit and will soon be

ready to find the area of polygons and circles. Want to know the formula

for finding the area of a circle? Just ask a fifth grader!

ART with Mrs. Valencia

Students were excited this week to embark on all new projects after the mad rush

to complete everything for our first Art Show! Items that are currently in the show will be

sent home as soon as the Art Show comes down.

Kindergartners learned about and painted beautiful seahorses using an impres-

sionistic technique.

First graders discussed folk art and looked at several examples from the Mexican

Huichol people. They drew and are now painting a bark painting in the Huichol style of folk

art.

Second graders learned about how artists create space in a picture including size,

placement, overlapping, and atmospheric perspective. They have begun a beautiful water-

color painting using architectural features and techniques of creating space.

Third graders reviewed what they know about owls and are drawing pastel owls to

compliment the clay owls they will be making soon.

Fourth graders experimented with making a monoprint. Like a science project,

some worked and some are adjusting their techniques and trying again!

Fifth graders completed a watercolor abstract and then began a Modigliani in-

spired portrait.

SPECIALS CASTLEHILL DRAGON Page 7

SCI E NCE

W I T H M R S . T I N L E Y

While learning about Nursery Rhymes, the Tod-

dlers had the opportunity to meet the Billy Goats

Gruff! (Actual names are Floyd, Hazel, Cupcake

and Sprinkles.) St. Gregory school and Mr. Clash-

man graciously provided the goats and we added

the fun! The students learned

how to care for the goats by

brushing them, petting them

and even feeding them. Many

thanks to all for making this a

hands-on learning experience!

Third grade is doing an amazing

job on their typing this year! Of my

top three typist in the school, two of

them are 3rd graders. Keep up the

good work everyone and remember

to use your typing account at home

for extra practice once in awhile. It

can really help increase your speed.

In skills class, the kindergarten

and first grade students are working

in Microsoft Word. They are learning

a variety of concepts from changing

font colors, styles, and sizes to copy-

ing and pasting text! Second grade

has begun an animal project using

Publisher, while third,

fourth and fifth graders are creating

pie charts using Microsoft Excel!

Computers Mrs. Boocher (keyboarding)

Ms. McBride (skills)

CASTLEHILL DRAGON Page 8

P.D . W I T H M S . J O R G E N S E N

Beloved Pets

Library News –We are busy reading and enjoying the list of Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominations for picture books in Grades K-3. We will finish the 10 books on the list and then each student will get to vote on their favorite. The votes from Castlehill will be part of the final statewide vote and results will be announced before school is out in May.

The younger classes have been enjoying Karma Wilson’s Bear Books illustrated by Jane Chapman. Ask your students about these books. They focus on the seasons of the year, friendship, and developing desirable character qualities. The upper grades are being encouraged to read books new to our shelves from the fall book fair. We have a great selection from which to choose!

The spring book fair is just around the corner, March 4-8. If you signed up to volunteer at curricu-lum night in the fall, you should be getting an email from me soon. If you did not sign-up, but are inter-ested in helping that week, please let me know through the office or your classroom teacher. We can always use extra hands.

Thank you to ALL who have sent in Box Tops for Edu-cation. The spring deadline is February 27, so keep clipping and sending them in with your students. Thank you in advance, Mrs. Orr.

Library With Mrs. Orr

Shea, the dog, and Fido,

the cat. Andy and Zach

Chasin’s beloved pets!

If you would like to have

your pet featured in a future

issue of the Castlehill

Dragon, simply email a pic-

ture with your name and

your pet’s name to:

kristinavalencia

13@yahoo.com.