Vacation!!!

Have an excellent winter break!
Here's to a safe, happy, healthy new year!
See everyone in 2012!

Clips from Today's Show

Here are a couple clips from today's amazing assembly!

We Won... Twice!!!

Indian Trail Students won twice!!!!!

First.... We won the opportunity to have an amazing presenter today- Mr. Mike Byster! Mike has been dubbed the "Human Calculator" and he amazed the fourth and fifth graders with his talents! He also taught us some valuable lessons about persistence and facing challenges with excitement rather than dread. THANK YOU MIKE for a fabulous show!!!  Here are some videos from today's assembly:

Second....
The Indian Trail Math Olympiad team won the "Name Our Mascot" Contest! Out of the thousands of participating teams WORLDWIDE, the Indian Trail Tigers submitted the name MOe (Math Olympiad Expert) and our name was chosen to be the mascot!!!! Our school won $100 worth of books to use in the classrooms! Way to go team!!!!

FRIDAY!!!!

Mike Byster is coming THIS Friday!!!!!
The assembly is for all fourth and fifth graders but all parents at the school are welcome to attend! It's an assembly you won't want to miss!!!

Friday, December 2, 2011
9 am
Indian Trail Library

Come early to get your seat!!!

Mike Byster on 20/20

Here's a clip of Mike Byster on 20/20. Come see him in person at Indian Trail on Friday, December 2 in the Learning Center!

Mike Byster is Coming to Indian Trail!!!

Check out this video of Mike Byster in a classroom...

Save the Date!

Mike Byster, "The Human Calculator" is coming to Indian Trail!!!

Date: Friday, December 2, 2011
Time: 9:00 in the Learning Center
Who is invited: All fourth and fifth graders and their parents

It's an assembly that you WON'T want to miss!!!

More details to follow, but save the date!

It's SOOOOOO Scary!!!!

IT’s SOOOO Scary

Creative Writing Contest

Write a scary, suspenseful or just plain weird tale of 500 words or less. Any Indian Trail student in grades Kindergarten through Fifth grade may participate. Third, fourth and fifth grade students must type their stories. Kindergarten, first and second may turn in a neat, handwritten story.  Please make certain that your full name, grade level and teacher’s name are written on your story before submitting it to the library.

All entries are due to the library

before noon on

October 24th.

Parents may assist their student by:

·     proofreading

·     offering story suggestions or

·     typing their student’s work

One story per class will be selected by a group of teachers and student judges. The selected stories will be published into a booklet and will be passed out on Halloween day at school.  See Mrs. Grost for the rubric that will be used to judge all stories. Please email Mrs. Grost with any questions at kgrost@nssd112.org.

This is a JUST FOR FUN contest.  If you want to get creative and take the challenge, then get started writing those SCARY stories.

Read This Brainteaser ... bet you CAN!!

The phaonmneel pweor of the hmuan mnid: I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearcr at Cmagbride Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers of a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Welcome!

Welcome back to school!!!!!  Are you ready for a great new school year?  Check back soon for weekly brainteasers, daily homework, and other fun things!

Last Chance for Brainteasers!

The last Brainteasers of this school year have been posted!  Please have all answers to Mrs. Belkind by Tuesday, as that is the day the solutions will be posted!

Have a fabulous summer!

Fun Fest Rescheduled!

Due to weather conditions, Fun Fest has been rescheduled to Wednesday, June 1.
Hope to see you there!

REUSE A SHOE: WORN OUT. PLAY ON.

Such is the slogan from Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program. Sound cool?  All you need to do is check your house for shoes that you no longer wear.  The athletic shoes will get ground up to make playground surfaces, tracks, and basketball courts in underprivileged areas. The gently used non-athletic shoes (even crocs and boots!) will be donated to Share Your Soles, a local shoe charity that provides warmth to feet in need.

All you need to do is bring in unwanted, outgrown shoes and drop them off in the box in front of the main office before April 25.  Check out the link below for more information:  
http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/

Attention Parents...

We have created a student information update form for parents to complete online.  This is accessed via our school website.  We are asking that all parents/families complete the form by April 29.  Thank you!

You Can Make a Difference!

On Friday, March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake struck Sendai, Japan, resulting in a devastating
tsunami that ravaged the coast just 180 miles from Tokyo. In response, Students Rebuild
partnered with DoSomething.org, to ensure students worldwide have a way to support their
Japanese peers.

You can help Japan by making paper cranes. These simple yet powerful gestures will trigger
a $200,000 donation from the Bezos Family Foundation--$2 for each crane received--to
Architecture for Humanity’s reconstruction efforts in Japan. The goal is 100,000 submissions,
then, the cranes will be woven into an art installation--a symbolic gift from youth worldwide to
their Japanese peers.

Through Indian Trail’s Kids Who Care program you can get involved, too!

1. Make a paper crane--view a how‐to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSijU52XJ7w&feature=related

2. Turn your crane in to Ms. Lee, by Thursday, April 14th.

3. Team up with friends and fold as many as you can!

Why Origami Cranes?

Cranes are sacred creatures in Japanese culture. According to legend, anyone who folds a
thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. Students Rebuild’s goal is to collect
100,000 origami cranes from young people to represent 100 wishes of support and healing for
Japan.

Have a Fabulous Spring Break!

Spring Break is Almost Here!

Spring Break is almost here!
Some great activities to do over spring break:

READ!!!!  You can never read too much!
WRITE!!!!  Going on Vacation?  Try keeping a Vacation Diary!  It will improve your writing skills AND you will have a keepsake that you will treasure when you are older!  Not going on Vacation?  Keep a journal anyway of your days off- how will you fill your time?

And most importantly....
HAVE FUN and RELAX!!!!!!!

Conferences Are Coming!

If you are a parent of a child in a G.T.E. pullout and would like Mrs. Leven (K, 2nd Grade, 4th Grade) or Mrs. Belkind (1st Grade, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade) to come to your child's conference, please email with the time and date of your child's classroom conference.  Our emails are as follows:

Mrs. Leven: rleven@nssd112.org
Mrs. Belkind: ebelkind@nssd112.org

See you soon!

Read Across America Night!

Who:  All Indian Trail Students and their families
What:  Read Across America Night
Where:  Indian Trail Library
When:  Thursday, March 3rd from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Why:  To read books and to do fun projects
How:  Fill out an RSVP form and return to Mrs. Grost or Mrs. Lesser

New Brainteasers for Younger Kids!

As usual, each week Brainteasers will be posted on the G.T.E. blog.  The first person to email the correct response to Mrs. Belkind (ebelkind@nssd112.org) will receive a prize.  If a student is not the first person to correctly respond, he/she will still receive a sticker on a chart.  Earn five stickers and earn a prize!

This week, we will also be introducing a new page- BRAINTEASERS K-1.  This page is reserved for those students in K-1 that also want to participate in Brainteasers but find the older problems too challenging.

As always in G.T.E.- have fun and learn something!

Brainteasers!

Each Friday, I am going to be posting a brainteaser on my blog.
The first person from each grade level to email me the correct answer (at ebelkind@nssd112.org) will win a prize!
Just click on the "Brainteasers" page on the right!
Good luck!

(Every Friday I will also update the solutions page so you can see the answers from the previous weeks!)

Drum Roll Please...

Congratulations, Indian Trail!!   Through your generosity, we as a school community have collected $5,034 for ShelterBox this week!!!   The students of Indian Trail acted as a team, not competitively or for rewards, to help others in need. We learned about a cause, worked hard at everything from extra activities at school to extra chores at home to achieve a shared goal. This amount smashes our goal of trying to raise enough for 4 boxes, and we are now able to purchase 5 boxes to help 50 people in a time of need.

We will keep you posted when we have identification numbers for our boxes so we can track where they end up and in what country they help families in need.   

Thank you so much for giving so generously and working so hard.  Today is an amazing day to be a tiger!

We reached our goal one day early!!!

A HUGE “hats off” to our Indian Trail community because on "Hats Off to YOU for Giving to Give Day" we have hit our goal of $4,000!  That's right, one day before the end of spirit week we have raised $4,008.37!   Congratulations, Indian Trail!  Isn’t it so exciting?!  Now all donations received tomorrow will go towards a fifth box and we’ll be closer to helping 50 people who have lost their homes!

Don’t forget to wear blue and white or Indian Trail gear in honor of being part of such an incredibly community!

Thanks for Giving to Give SOOO generously!

ShelterBox Fact of the Day:

-       Each ShelterBox has a specific identification number, so we’ll be able to track our boxes and find out where they end up!

Brainteasers!

Each week, I am going to be posting a brainteaser on my blog.
The first person to email me the correct answer (at ebelkind@nssd112.org) will win a prize!
Just click on the "Brainteasers" page on the right!
Good luck!

ShelterBox

Today we got to learn about the ShelterBox organization, see actual items that come in the box, and go inside a real tent that is sent to families who need a place to live after a disaster.

Don’t forget to kick off our week of giving by wearing green on Monday, and bring in a donation to support this great cause. 

Also, please plan on joining us on Tuesday morning to the before-school ShelterBox Pajama Party at 8am on Tuesday morning!  Breakfast items will be available for $1-2 donations, and ShelterBox items will be on display.

ShelterBox Fact of the Day:

-       On any given day, more than 12 million people worldwide lack adequate shelter

Mark Your Calendars- Giving to Give Spirit Week!

Tomorrow we are going to attend a ShelterBox assembly.  Please talk to your student when they come home tomorrow about what they learned, saw, and took away from the presentation.  More detailed information about the ShelterBox organization will follow in the very near future.

In the meantime, please put the following information regarding next week’s Giving to Give Spirit Week on your calendars. 

*Note: We are not going to be competitively keeping track of which class or grade level raises the most amount of money, but instead have set one goal of working together as a school community to raise $4,000 and are going to provide students with several opportunities throughout the week to achieve that goal:

Monday, January 24: Green Day

·      In honor of the actual Shelter Boxes, which are green, students and staff are encouraged to wear green to school. 

Tuesday, January 25: Pajama Day

·      Roll out of bed and come straight to school in your comfy pjs!  Also, kick off your day with a ShelterBox Pajama Party: bring a special guest (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, baby-sitter) to school at 8:00 am for our pajama party!   ShelterBox items will be displayed and families can join us for hot chocolate, coffee, and bagels.  Suggested donation will be $1-2 per item, but we encourage you to give any amount that will help us reach our $4,000 fundraising goal.

o Students in K-2^nd grade (and special guests) join us for a pajama party downstairs in the lunch room

o   Students in 3^rd-5^th grade (and special guests) join us for a pajama party in the big gym

Wednesday, January 26: Help Us Meet Our GOAL Day

·      Students and staff can wear gear from their favorite sports team and watch as we creep closer to our goal of raising $4,000!!   Remember to contribute what you are able, every little bit counts!

Thursday, January 27: Hats Off to You for Giving to Give Day

·      Wear a hat and feel proud about making a contribution to this worthy cause!

Friday, January 28: Indian Trail Spirit Day

• Let's all wear our IT Tigers apparel as we come together as a school community for one last day of donations.  We’ll all be anxiously awaiting the grand total announcement at the end of the day!

Giving to Give

What does it mean to “give for the sake of giving?”   As Indian Trail prepares to launch Giving to Give week next week, please take this opportunity for some family discussion about charitable giving. 
·      What does “giving to give” or “giving for the sake of giving” actually mean?  
·      How does it compare to “giving to get”?  
·      Does one make you feel different than the other?
·      Why is donating to a valuable cause important, and how does it promote good citizenship?

Indian Trail is going to be raising money to benefit ShelterBox, a worldwide disaster relief organization that sends shelter and survival supplies to families who suddenly lose everything due to natural or man-made disasters.  We are going to work hard to raise money, but we don’t want to motivate students through incentives like competitions and promises of pizza parties.  Instead, we want students to experience what it’s like to donate just for the sake of knowing they are making a difference in the lives of other people.

Please watch the following ShelterBox video as a family and discuss how you might be able to make a difference for families you have never met.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFUFykoy_PA&feature=related

Are YOU ready to make a difference?!

Get ready for Giving to Give Spirit Week

January 24-28

www.shelterboxusa.org