GEM AWARD NOMINATIONS In its seventh year, Roush Honda and Westerville Parent Council have partnered to present the GEM Award Program (Great Educator Mentor Award). This distinguished honor is given to a community member, a vol-unteer, a parent or district/building faculty and staff member who makes a difference in the lives of students at each building and/or the Westerville School District as a whole. Students are not eligible to receive this award. Winners will receive a beautiful glass etched trophy and will be honored at a Board of Education Meeting in May. Please take a few minutes to let an individual know how special they are to a particular school building or to the district by completing a GEM Award Nomination Form. These forms will be available at each school building and can also be accessed at http://www.wcsoh.org/olcClassView.aspx?classID=118&newsID=296 All nominations for a particular school or for the district must be re-turned to the appropriate building no later than Thursday, February 18, 2010. A district nomination can be dropped off or mailed to WPC District GEM Committee; 336 S. Otterbein; Westerville, OH 43081. Winners and their nominators will be notified by U.S. mail upon the completion of the selec-tion process. For questions please contact Jeanette Talamo at jmtandco@aol.com or 891-1657.

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Volume 2, Issue 5

January 2010

The 5th Grade Strings Concert will be held this Monday, Janu-ary 11, 7:30pm, in the Genoa Middle School Commons. The Concert will feature strings students from Alcott, Annehurst, Central College, Emerson, Fouse, Huber Ridge, Mark Twain, McVay, Robert Frost, and Wilder Elementary Schools. Performers please report to Genoa Middle School between 6:30 and 6:45 for tuning and warm-up. Don't forget to bring your instrument, music book, and a wire-folding music stand. Please have your student wear concert dress (white dress shirt, black dress pants or skirt) for the concert. All are invited!!!

Strings Concert Tonight!

Page 2

Spanish Corner…. Hola from Senora Murray

THE TURTLE TIMES

¡HOLA!

In the last Emerson newsletter, I talked about reading to students in Spanish and how one way to help students to figure out what is going on in the story is to look at pictures. Another tip we encourage students to use is to look for cognates.

A cognate is a word that looks and/or sounds similar in more than one language. Although Spanish is Latin-based and English is Germanic-based, there are still plenty of cognates readers can use to aid in comprehension. Below are some examples:

El coyote es nocturno. Come ratas, pescados, aves, insectos y frutas. Vive en el desierto y las montañas.

The coyote is nocturnal. It eats rats, fish, birds, insects, and fruit. It lives in the desert and the mountains.

¡OJO! (Watch out!) We do warn our students that there are “false cognates” out there! False cognates are words that appear to be similar, but may not mean what we think they do. Examples:

Bizarro ≠ bizarre or strange . . . it means “brave”

Carpeta ≠ carpet . . . it means “folder”

Éxito ≠ exit . . . it means success

Sopa ≠ soap . . . it means “soup”

Embarazada ≠ embarrassed . . . it means “pregnant”

As you can imagine, it is not uncommon for English speakers to find themselves in an uncomfortable situation by misinterpreting a false cognate, but for the most part cognates can be a beneficial way for language learners to expand their vocabulary. Next newsletter: context clues!

Señora Murray

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 5 Page 3

    Reflections District Winners 2009‐2010  

Achievement Record Dates

• January 29—AR • February 26- Interim • April 1—AR • May 7—Interim • June 8—AR

DELAYED START, EARLY DISMISSAL OR SCHOOL

CLOSING WILL BE REPORTED TO THE FOLLOWING: Westerville City Schools District and Building WEB SITES

TV STATIONS:

WOCC-TV WBNS-10 TV

WCMH – 4 WOCC-TV

WSYX- 6/Fox 28

RADIO STATIONS:

WTVN- 610 AM RADIOU- 88.7 FM WHOK- 95 FM 100.3 FM 107.9 Big Hits

WOSU- 820 AM WOSU- 89.7 FM WLVQ- 96 FM WJZA-103.5 FM

WMNI- 920 AM WCBE- 90.5 FM ONN- 97.1 FM WTDA- 103.9 FM

WCOL-1230 AM WCOL- 92.3 FM WNCI - 97.9 FM WJZK- 104.3 FM

WCLT- 1430 AM WLZT- 93.3 FM WBZX- 99.7 FM WBWR- 105.7 FM

WBNS-1460 AM WSNY- 94.7 FM WCLT – T 100 107.1

Michael Dailey Literature Beauty Is Snow 2

Olivia Talamo Photography A Snowy World 3

Mikaila Logue Choreography untitled 1HM

Abby Jung Literature Beauty Is Spider Web 3HM

Category Title Place

The Emerson PTA will host a reception honoring all of the reflection winners, both local and district on Janu-

ary 21st at 6:00 before the regular PTA meeting. All are welcome!

Please join us in honoring our Reflections winners.

We try to get the kids out-side as much as we can in the winter. Please send them to school with coats, gloves, hats and even Snow Boots so they can enjoy some fresh air and activity outside.

Thanks!

Emerson Presents…

Afterwards enjoy a dessert at the 5th Grade Bake Sale (benefiting the Ecuador school)

When: Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 6:30 PM (students to re-port at 6:00 PM)

Where: Westerville South High School Auditorium & Commons Area Look for more information in the next couple of weeks!

Business Owners: If you would like to donate an item for the si-lent auction, please contact Elizabeth Krile at 614-891-0882 or ek-

rile@insight.rr.com.

International Evening

Student Musical Concert , Art Show &

Silent Auction

Emerson Calendars Available It is not too late to get your 1st edition Emerson Calendar fea-turing the artwork of former Emerson parent, Mark Sherman. We have a limited number available for sale in the office. They

cost 10 dollars and all proceeds go into the Emerson General fund which cov-ers teacher supplies, paper, etc… Get them while you can!

Emerson Students Jump Rope for Heart

And Mrs. Rand– Physical Education

CONGRATULATIONS to Olivia Talamo who raised the most money for the American Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart. Prizes will be distributed when they are received. THANKS to the families who helped Emerson raise funds for research, education, and heart care, and BRAVO to all students who improved skills and made their hearts stronger by jumping in physical education!

Here is a correction to the jump rope rhyme from Japan which was printed last month: "Moon, moon, come to me, come to me this hour. Climb over the mountain, and bring me jasmine flowers."

During December, first grade students earned "Scooter Licenses" by learning and demonstrating safety and fun on scooter boards, through tag, games, races, and obstacle courses. Second grade classes also did scooter board activities, balance and fitness, and experimented with beginning volleyball skills. Grades 3,4,and 5 practiced and improved volleyball skills such as pass, serve, and signaling 'in' and 'out', during our games which included Dyna-mite and Bounce Volleyball.

Grant money from Ohio Action for Healthy Kids provided funds for our purchase of a combination exercise bike/rowing machine. This is a valuable addition to fitness learning for our fourth and fifth grade students.

Even with the cold weather, remember a few minutes of outdoor activity, fresh air, and natural light are great for the entire family! Check out this month's fitness calendars for indoor and outdoor ideas

From the Music Room

We are getting ready for our big International Night musical performance on February 11th. I am so ex-cited to show you what our students can do musically. The whole school will first sing together. To hear all of our children singing together is really something special! Each grade level will also perform its own special songs. The first and second graders are excited because they get to sing in Spanish. They sound great already. I’ve given the third graders a special challenge…they have especially difficult-to-learn songs. The fourth graders will perform what I will just call “Recorder Surprise” for now. The fifth grad-ers are working especially hard on some multi-cultural percussion jams. Stay tuned for more details re-garding performance night. Can you help us? The music room needs empty plastic coffee containers. We use the two pound size with the handle on the side. They make great drums! Please keep us in mind the next time you buy cof-fee. We can also use five gallon water bottles and the donation of a few new plastic garbage cans would really be appreciated! See you on the 11th!

Tami Martine~Music Specialist

Mr. Carr’s Counseling Communicator Happy New Year Emerson!

One of the best New Years resolutions one can make is to resolve to stay positive, to improve what we can and accept what we cannot. The Westerville character education “Word of the Month” for January is Atti-tude. One of the most important gifts you can give your child is the ability to have a positive attitude. When a person has a positive attitude his or her self-esteem is high. A positive attitude can permeate all of your child’s life. They will want to get up in the morning, come to school, do their best, enjoy others and be kind to everyone with whom they come into contact.

Living and modeling a positive attitude is the best way to help your child live a positive attitude lifestyle. One method that has been found effective in nurturing and developing a positive attitude is to keep a Happiness List. Start by writing down five things that happened today, things that you feel good about, things that put a smile on your face. Small things work best, like: the sun shined today, I received a compliment, I got a hug, someone said, “I love you”, I heard a funny joke, a friend called,… Compile a list daily of things that made you happy and feel positive. Some days this will be difficult but hopefully it will become easier and easier as perceptions accentuate the positive. Keep your lists in a file. On days when you may be feeling bad, de-pressed, angry, worried or stressed out, go back and read your lists. Revisit those happy feelings that remind you of positive feelings.

Tips for making the most of your Happiness List

• Have the whole family do it. This is a great habit for everyone to get into.

• Keep your family Happiness Lists in a special notebook or folder. Have your child decorate it.

• Read and review your lists often with your family, so that you all may enjoy those feelings again.

Pick out a favorite activity that made you happy and do it again.

These ideas and many others are contained in Stick Up for Yourself! by Kaufman, Raphael, and Espeland. Once again have a joyous, productive, and positive year in 2010.

Emerson Elementary PTA January Dates to Remember Monday, January 11: Market Day Pickup

Tuesday, January 19: Raising Cane’s dine out night 5pm-9pm Emerson PTA will receive 20% of dine in and carry out orders.

Thursday, January 21, 6:00pm: Reflections Reception

Thursday, January 21, 6:30pm: General PTA meeting

Friday, January 22: 2nd grade sponsored Teacher Appreciation Luncheon

Emerson Parents-

The Square1Art fund raiser was an overwhelming success! Thank you so much! Final tallies are not in but it looks like we made around $1800 for the Art department. I am amazed at the support! I haven't had a lot of feedback regarding the products but I would love to hear from you on whether you liked this fund raiser. Please email me with your thoughts. I thought the products looked amazing!! Thanks again!!

On Feb. 11, as part of International Night, we will be having an Art Show. We are trying something new this year. We are going to be working with KidsArtFairs to display the art-work. They provide frames and we provide the artwork for the show. What is unique about this is that it also is a PTA fund raiser because if you like the way your child's art looks in the frame, you can take the art AND THE FRAME home with you.

If you are anything like me, I always intend to frame my children's art and then before I know it my child is in 8th grade and I have a pile of artwork that is from 1999 and still not framed. This company helps with the display of the art by providing easels and frames for the art show and if in the meantime, you feel like making a purchase, the school benefits. The matted frames will be about $32. What I really need to stress is that if you plan on coming to the Art Show and only intend on viewing the artwork, that is more than okay, just be sure to send in the KidsArtsFairs r.s.v.p. form that will be coming home soon. Those r.s.v.p. forms help us or-ganize the show and make sure that we have enough frames to display the artwork. Again, if you have questions please don't hesitate to email me.

KidsArtFairs website: KidsArtFairs.com

I look forward to the show on Feb. 11

and seeing you there!

Thanks for all of your support!!

Gena Moore

mooreg@wcsoh.org

44 Vine Street Westerville, Ohio

43081

EMERSON WORLD CULTURES AND LANGUAGES

MAGNET SCHOOL

We have a lot of exciting events coming up fast. I am proud to be on such a talented team working together to “grow” our kids! Tonight is our Strings performance! I am also looking forward to our In-ternational Night on Feb. 11th at South High School. This is the real deal folks! Special Thanks go out to Mrs. Mar-tine, Mrs. Moore for working so hard with our students and

Welcome to the New Year!

I hope the holiday provided everyone with an opportunity to relax and enjoy

family. My trip to Louisiana was good and the temperature was between 40-50 degrees the whole time! They were complaining about the cold while my family and I walked around soaking up the warmth! :)

the PTA parents who are or-ganizing the event. We could not do this without you all. I hope to see you all there!

Principal’s Message… Be Safe...Do your best!

Phone: 614-797-7080 Fax: 614-797-7081 jarrellv@wcsoh.org

We are on the Web!

www.wcsoh.org

If your student is out sick or is going to be late for school please use our attendance Hotline:

614-797-7093

Snow day?

“Guys Read” and GGR~ Girls Gotta Read will be starting up soon. Look for details about this afterschool book club for 4th and 5th graders! Spanish Club starts soon!