Buzzin’ in the Hive

Dear Graden Families: Celebrations are very important part of the learning process. We held our first quarter celebration/pep assembly on Thursday, October 13. The assembly began with our spirit leaders, getting us “pumped up” with hornet spirit. We recognized students who served in various building leadership roles during the first quarter; we also recognized students who exemplified the 8 Habits, students who met grade level academic and personal goals. The assembly ended with students who met their goals, playing a relay game with scooters, a good time was had by all. This was also the first assembly of the year that our student leaders facilitated. Our hornets sure do have a lot of poise, school spirit and pride! Additionally, on October 13, students participated in interest groups, we had students in team sports, cooking, animals, technology, games, and much more. These groups provide students an opportunity to practice Habit 8, Finding Their Voice. Students had the opportunity to spend 45 minutes in an interest group which they selected. Parent Teacher Conferences afforded us a wonderful formal opportunity to work as “team members” to collaborate and exchange information about how your child is doing at school. Even though there is only one formal Parent Teacher Conference scheduled this semester, please do not hesitate to contact us throughout the year with any questions or concerns you have about your child. We always have time for that! We have yet to meet our goal of having 100% of our families attend conference. If you were unable to attend conferences during the scheduled days, we are more than happy to accommodate your schedule. Please call the office to schedule an appointment. If we don’t hear from you, you will be hearing from us. Channel 18 will be featuring a “spotlight on Graden Elementary,” beginning the last week in November. The theme for this spotlight is: Finding Your Voice. Students in grades kindergarten – fifth grade depicted what at it looks like to find their voice. We certainly have a lot of engaged and excited hornets. The Graden School Store is a big hit. The Student Lighthouse Team is running to store as a community service project. Proceeds from the school store will benefit the

From the Principal...

NOV E M B E R - 2 016

Global Orphan Project. The Global Orphan Project, Inc. is a global Orphan Care and Orphan Prevention organization located in Parkville, Missouri. The Global Orphan Project works internationally and domestically, to help provide care for orphaned and abandoned children in their respective communities. Student Lighthouse members will sort, categorize and price books to sell in the school store. This project serves two purposes, first, to help orphan and abandoned children and, secondly, to provide books at a very minimal cost to Graden students – WIN-WIN! Additionally, ALL profits from the school store will be donated to the Global Orphan Project. The Major Saver campaign is quickly approaching. This is a district-wide campaign to support the Park Hill education Foundation, which provides student scholarships and teacher classroom grants across the entire Park Hill School District. Over the years, Graden teachers have been the receipents of many classroom grants. The Major Saver card is FULL COLOR and sells for $15.00 which features 17 BOGO discounts.

November 1: Graden will host a McTeacher Night, all proceeds will be donated to the park Hill Foundation

November 7th – 11th: Campaign Kickoff. Student sales packets will be distributed.

November 7th – 11th: Campaign Collections.

November 14: Follow Up Day. Late order collections During the month of November, we often take a moment to recall what we are thankful for in our lives. Please know that all of us at Graden are thankful for our talented student leaders and our caring families. Remember that school will not be in session on Wednesday, November 23, Thursday, November 24, and Friday, November 25 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Also note, we have an early release day scheduled for Thursday, November 10, with dismissal at 1:30pm. Your participation and support in the many activities taking place at Graden is appreciated. It’s a GREAT DAY to be a HORNET! With hornet pride, Dr. LuAnn Halverstadt, Principal

Picture Retakes are Tuesday, November 8!

If you are in need of picture retakes, they will be taken on November 8th (Picture Day ID: KM986006Q1). You can also order online and use a credit card or Paypal to pay at mylifetouch.com.

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Art News and Reminders: Consider purchasing keepsakes with your child’s artwork on it for the upcoming holidays on Artsonia.com. Each student has an online gallery of all their projects created at Graden. 20% of the proceeds from anything purchased will be returned to Graden to support the art room. The Graden Art Show will be held from 5:30-7pm on Wednesday, April 19th. All students will have ONE piece of framed artwork on display in the gym. The frames will be available for purchase, but artwork will be returned regardless. The artwork to be framed includes: 5th grade Animal Prints, 4th Grade Crystals and Gemstones, 3rd Grade Architecture Paintings, 2nd Grade Monochromatic Pigeons, 1st Grade Donut Prints, Kindergarten Texture Sheep.

All students in physical education class will be focusing on movement and muscles. Students will be learning the muscles in their body and they will be learning how the specific muscles are being used and how to strengthen those muscles through physical activity. Grades 3rd-5th will be starting sports skills and will be working on a variety of sports specific lead up games while following the rules and cooperating with others. Just a reminder that it is extremely important that students come dressed appropriately for physical activity. Tennis shoes with laces and appropriate gym clothes are required for participation and for safety.

A Note from the Music Room

October was a musical month! The fifth grade choir got underway and the fifth graders performed “Rock and Roll Forever.” There were songs from Elvis, the Beatles, Little Richard and more! The audience and performers both had a great time!

Kindergarteners (Ms. Robeson’s class pictured) used glowing ghosts for a Halloween song. Mrs. Smith

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Kids Wow Parents at Student Led Conferences! By Beza Brown and Caroline Wengler

It's a brand new year! There are lots of new students at Graden. We interviewed Beckett Booner, a kindergartener from Mrs. Baker’s class, to see how he likes his first

year at Graden. We asked him some questions about his favorite things at Graden. When we asked him his favorite habit his answer was, “I love Begin with The End in Mind.” His teacher, Mrs. Baker has just as much fun with him as he has with her. “I love my teacher!” he said. So far I think Beckett has had a wonderful school experience. We also interviewed Kinleigh Heim to see how she was liking her first year at Graden as well. Kinleigh answered a lot of great questions and we found some great answers. She told us she loves swinging at recess. She also told us she loves the laptops and that is her favorite subject too! Her teacher, Mrs.VanSlyke is great! She helps Kinleigh out and works with her so she can succeed in school. Kinleighs favorite habit is be proactive. So far she is having a great year. We’re only in the third month of school, and so many new students are loving school so far! Graden is a such a great place, who could not like it!? The new students feel very welcome with lots of kind students and teachers that will help them learn and be successful in life. It’s always a great day to be a Hornet!

Christmas On The River By Grace Leak, Macy Morris, and Madi Sylvester

Graden Elementary hosted their first ever PIE night and it was a very exciting night. The exiting event happened on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27. From 6:15 to 7:00 P.M. From 5:30 to 6:15 there was a school wide assembly in the gym. Throughout the evening there were a variety of activities that showcased leadership and life at the Hive.

We interviewed Miss Haberburger and she said, “PIE Night is such a great opportunity for Graden to show what we are learning and accomplishing here at school!”. She would absolutely encourage students to go to PIE night. Miss. Haberburger continued, “I love PIE night even though she has been here for a year.” Miss Haberburger said, “I love seeing new students and how excited they are!”. Sounds like Miss Haberburger is a big fan of PIE and leadership!

Here at Graden we build relationships with other students. She said “I'm especially excited because of the new habit 8.” Mrs. Brown is ready for the school wide assembly, she said they're focusing on leadership. Pie night was so much fun. We learned so much about leadership and the 8th habit. The 8th habit really taught us about how to be ourselves. Now we learned how to use the 8th habit and to work together on the 8th habit. I hope everyone soon finds their voice and finds what they are good at.

We interviewed Mrs. Brown. We asked her are you ready for PIE night. She told us “Yes” because there is a leadership activity. I would definitely encourage other students to come to pie night. Mrs. Brown said, “I’m excited because this year there is a new habit!” I hope to see you there!

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Father Daughter Dodgeball By Tayler Banks and Anna DeCaro

This year instead of the father daughter dance, Graden hosted the father daughter dodgeball. Father Daughter dodgeball is when Graden girls and

their fathers get together and have a dodgeball match. This is the very first group of girls that will do father daughter dodgeball. What a fun, new opportunity! Father daughter dodgeball was one of the most exciting events yet! Dodgeballs, hotdogs and special family time with your father! How much more can you ask for? Graden girls and their fathers really loved this event. We interviewed Clara Heim, a student from Mrs. Brown’s class. She said she likes the dodgeball idea because she gets to be on a team. She also said she would prefer the dodgeball over the dance. Clara seems very excited about this event. We can see why! After seeing the opinion and point of view of Clara, I think we can safely say this event was as exciting as the last! If you went I hope you had a good time! I hope you tried to win but overall had fun with your fathers!

Thankful Thanksgiving By Mackenzie Wright and Marin Zink

Do you know why we are appreciative at Thanksgiving? Well it's because it's the time families get together, share stories and be grateful for each other.

We interviewed Coach Munsterman to get his thought about Thanksgiving and he said, “I am thankful for my family.” He continued, “And I say that because I come home from work and everyone expects me to me tired but I actually have dance parties with my kids.” Coach Munsterman is also thankful for smiles because, “It brightens everyone's day, the more smiles the better. Happy people enjoy life more! Sometimes if one thing goes wrong in a person's day they will make it a big deal and that's not good so, happier people enjoy life more.” Well it looks like Coach knows what he’s thankful for. But aren’t we all grateful for getting together with family, sharing stories, and spending time with them? Now we know Coach's thoughts, but do you know why 4th grader Addison Womack is thankful at Thanksgiving? Addison told us, “I’m thankful for Earth, God, my family, and my friends. I’m also thankful for some other things but those are the most important.” Addison explained, “I am thankful for these things because they give me hope, spirit, and help make us into the people we are meant to be. I think this is a very nice and spirited time of year.” Looks like Addison has lot’s to say, we can clearly see what she is thankful for now! Thanksgiving is a very important holiday to a lot of people and it’s good to be thankful any time of the year, but this is the time of year to celebrate! Everyone is thankful for something different, and it is nice to see not only what you are satisfied for, but what they are thankful for as well. You should ask your mom and dad what they are grateful for, and tell them what you are thankful for. We all know a lot of people like turkey but, Thanksgiving isn't just about the awesome food. It’s about family, and spending time together, and asking ourselves, “What am I thankful for?”

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Sonic’s High Five Club November Recognition

Reinforcing personal development and leadership - that is what Sonic's "High Five" Club is all about. The High Five Program was introduced in December 2012 to recognize personal development and leadership. Students who are selected each month will receive a certificate which they can redeem at the 63rd Street Sonic location in Parkville, Missouri for a free ice cream

cone. A "High Five" handprint with the child's name will be displayed on the wall inside Graden Elementary. At the end of each month, the High Five Hands are taken down and replaced with the High Five hands honoring students for the next month. The hands are then put up on a special bulletin board at Graden Elementary and remain up until the end of the school year. This list recognizes all students who received High Fives between October and November of the 2016-2017 school year. Please join us in congratulating all of the members of the Sonic High Five Club! Great job students!

Kindergarten Noah Basri Elijah Colhour Mila Hubbard Lucy Rosengreen

1st grade Grace Blackburn Jake Hart Emmett Lopez Rowan Marroquin Josie Sylvester

2nd grade Kyria Arrington Sam Goodfriend Seth Irving Ella Palermo

3rd grade Marlee Flores Colt Hallquist Leah Steitz Lawson Stuhlsatz

4th grade Tristan McManus Reece Napier Enzue Tang Shaylise Turner

5th grade Ryleigh Bradley Beza Brown Caleb Chambers Chloe McIntire

Media Center Update

VETERANS DAY In celebration of Veterans Day, community Veterans as well as soldiers from Fort Leavenworth have been invited to our school on Friday, November 11. We have asked our visitors to attend a continental breakfast in the library, to greet our students at the buses, car lines and breakfast, to participate in our morning announcements, and to make visits to our second through fourth grade classrooms. A tradition at our school, this will be a great experience for those students.

To continue this celebration, our school would like to recognize Veterans and soldiers that are members of our Graden community, proudly displaying those names on one of our bulletin boards. Please e-mail names of Veterans and/or soldiers that are members of your family to Ginger Candler, the library media assistant, (candlerg@parkhill.k12.mo.us), typing Veterans Day in the subject field.

Please include the following information: student’s name; Veteran’s/and or soldier’s full name including rank and military branch; and connection to your family.

SUPER HERO FAMILY READING EVENT Kindergarten and first grade families, thanks so much for attending our Super Hero Family Reading Event--what a wonderful, fun evening. It was great to see so many families celebrate reading with their very own Super Heroes!

(816) 359-5847 whismanl@parkhill.k12.mo.us

Graden PTA Parents’ Night Out

Drop your children off at Graden for a night of fun while you do holiday shopping, enjoy dinner out, or run errands.

Children will eat pizza, watch movies with popcorn, and play games with supervision by volunteer parents and Park Hill South students.

Children that cannot eat pizza are welcome to bring a sack meal.

Space is limited to the first 100 children to register. The same parent or adult must be present to check in and out.

Fri. November 18, 2016 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

$10 per child

All proceeds benefit Graden students and activities.

**Children are not required to attend Graden, but must be 4 to 11 years old and able to independently use the restroom.**

Signup at https://goo.gl/IJ6P2E (SignUpGenius).

November Calendar of Events

8 Graden Spanish Club (3:30-4:30pm) 8 Let Me Run (3:30-5pm) 8 Spanish Club – Community Ed. (3:35-

4:35pm) 9 Girls on the Run (3:30-5pm) 10 PTA Morning with Mom – Gym (A-M)

(7:30-8:30am) 10 EARLY RELEASE DAY – DISMISSAL

AT 1:30pm) 10 Reading Clubs 3rd/4th Grades

(7:25-8:25am) 10 Mathletics (7:30-8:30am) 10 Early Release Mad Science Camp

(1:30-5:30pm)

10 Young Rembrandt’s Early Release Camp (1:30-3:30pm)

11 Veteran’s Day Celebration 11 PTA Morning with Mom – Gym (N-Z)

(7:30-8:30am) 11 Girls Lead by Example (7:40am) 11 Chess Club – Community Ed. (3:30-

5:15pm) 14 3rd /4th Grade Bridges (8:50-2:45) 14 Girls on the Run (3:30-5pm) 14 Young Rembrandts – Community Ed.

(3:30-4:45pm) 15 Reading Clubs 3rd/4th Grades

(7:25-8:25am) 15 5th Grade Choir (7:45am) 15 5th Grade Bridges (8:50-2:45) 15 Essential Elements – Room 17

(3:30-4:30pm) 15 Graden Spanish Club (3:30-4:30pm) 15 Spanish Club – Community Ed.

(3:35-4:35pm) 16 Girls on the Run (3:30-5pm) 17 Reading Clubs 3rd/4th Grades

(7:25-8:25am)

1 Reading Clubs 3rd/4th Grades (7:25-8:25am)

1 5th Grade Choir (7:45am) 1 5th Grade Bridges (8:50am-2:45pm) 1 Let Me Run (3:30-5pm) 1 Spanish Club – Community Ed.

(3:35-4:35pm) 1 McTeacher Night – 64th St.

McDonalds(4-8pm) 3 Reading Clubs 3rd/4th Grades

(7:25-8:25am) 3 Mathletics (7:30-8:30am) 3 4th Grade Musical Day Performance

(9am) 3 Graden Spanish Club (3:30-4:30pm) 3 J-Club (3:30-4:30pm) 3 4th Grade Musical Evening

Performance (6:30pm) 4 Girls Lead by Example (7:40am) 4 Chess Club – Community Ed.

(3:30-5:15pm) 4 Let Me Run (3:30-5pm) 7 3rd/4th Grade Bridges (8:50-2:45) 7 Girls on the Run – Practice 5k

(3:30-5pm) 7 Young Rembrandts – Community Ed.

(3:30-4:45pm) 8 Fall Picture Retake Day 8 Reading Clubs 3rd/4th Grades

(7:25-8:25am) 8 5th Grade Choir (7:45am) 8 5th Grade Bridges (8:50am-2:45pm) 8 Essential Elements – Room 17

(3:30-4:30pm)

17 Mathletics (7:30-8:30am) 17 4H’s Meeting – Media Center

(7:45am) 17 Graden Spanish Club (3:30-4:30pm) 17 J-Club (3:30-4:30pm) 17 Student Lighthouse Meeting – Media

Center (3:30-4:30pm) 18 Girls Lead by Example (7:40am) 18 Chess Club – Community Ed. (3:30-

5:15pm) 18 Parent Lighthouse Meeting –

Conference Rm 8:45am) 18 PTA Parents Night Out (6-8:30pm) 19 4H’s Club Ronald McDonald House

Tour (2-4pm) 21 3rd/4th Grade Bridges

(8:50am-2:45pm) 21 Young Rembrandts – Community Ed.

(3:30-4:45pm) 21 PTA Ice Skating – The Rink at

Burlington Creek (5-7pm) 21 5th Grade Field Trip (8am–2pm) 22 5th Choir (7:45am) 22 5th Grade Bridges (8:50-2:45 ) 23-25 NO SCHOOL – THANKSGIVING

BREAK) 28 3rd/4th Grade Bridges (8:50-2:45) 28 Young Rembrandts – Community Ed.

(3:30-4:45pm) 29 5th Grade Choir (7:45am) 29 5th Grade Bridges (8:50-2:45) 29 Essential Elements – Room 17

(3:30-4:30pm) 29 Graden Spanish Club (3:30-4:30pm)

November PTA Events

The November 8th PTA Meeting has been cancelled - GO VOTE!!

Morning with Mom has moved to Thursday & Friday, November 10th (A-M) & 11th (N-Z) from 7:30-8:30am.

November 18th- Parent's Night Out - $10 a child.

November 21st- Burlington Creek Ice Skating Party.

Great Job Hornets on collecting and turning in your Box Tops!

Mrs. Weber's 2nd grade class won 1st place with 636, Mrs. Berka's 3rd grade class just missed it by 1 and was 2nd place with 635, Mrs. Rush's 4th grade class turned in 607. Everyone did an awesome job with a grand total of 8176 box tops, with $817.60 coming back to Graden!!

Graden at a Glance