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IN THIS ISSUE:
message from the board / summer camp spotlight / after school activities / celebrations of learning / pahto field trip / lost and found / popcorn kernel mathematics / campus snapshots / upcoming events
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The March 21st meeting of the Board of Trustees was held in person in the Farmhouse. It's always wonderful to get together in person and build community.
On a high note, we reviewed the Gardner Auction results, which were a rousing success. The generous donations from the community contribute to the many things that make the Gardner School an amazing place for students. If you missed the Auction, or would still like to donate, we are offering high-quality printed posters of the All School Art at the $100 donation level. We are already looking forward to next year's Auction, which will be a celebration of our 30th anniversary as a school!
And on a bittersweet note, it was our honor to celebrate Lori Cohen, who after four years of service to Gardner is stepping down from our Board. Lori joined the Board the month before the pandemic hit, and her leadership through unknown times was especially necessary. She transformed the school's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts by Chairing the first Board committee, and doing incredible work to make the Gardner School a more equitable space to serve our children and families. Lori served as Board Chair, and transformed many practices and policies that will have impacts for many years into the future. She has exhibited both competence and a steady hand throughout her service. Her wisdom and kindness will be missed, though she assures us she is only a phone call away. Lori's service truly made an impact on children, families, teachers, and staff, and we thank her for her gifts of her time and talents.
If you are interested in knowing more about what the Board of Directors does, or would like to consider board membership or service on one of our committees, please reach out to boardchair@gardnerschool.org.
--Ben Petersen
Board Chair
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Summer Camp Spotlight
How It's Made
Have you ever watched the series "How It's Made", or listened to their podcast? This summer, students have the opportunity to learn how many things are made during a series of exciting camps! From fabric to ceramics to things made in molds, kindergarteners through second graders will explore the "how" of various creations by making their own. Led by our Kindergarten teacher, Joyce, this series will also feature plenty of outdoor play and time to get to know classmates!
You can sign up for one "How It's Made" camp, or two, or all five! They are all separate, and you can pick and choose the ones that appeal most to your child. See our full list of camp offerings on our website!
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After School Activities
Spring Soccer Clinic for K-2 Students
Our after school program is continuing with a new session of Soccer, brought to you by West Coast Soccer Academy, for our Kalama through Loowit students. The new session begins right after Spring Break, on April 9th. Kids learn the basics of the game and the skills necessary to play soccer, and no experience is necessary.
Spring Soccer runs on Tuesdays from 3:45pm to 4:45pm, for 10 sessions. The fee is $175 for the season.
Sign up at https://www.hopewcsa.org. If you have questions, contact Emily Smyka-Ingalls at ingallswcsa@gmail.com!
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Celebrations of Learning This Week!
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Our Mazama and K-6 students are excited to welcome families to campus this week! They have been hard at work this winter on various thematics, and are ready to showcase their learning for you.
Mazama will hold their Celebration of Learning at 12:00pm on Wednesday, March 27th. They will begin in the Great Room and move to Mazama, where they will demonstrate their Science of Fairytales thematic for everyone.
Our Kalama through Klickitat (K-6th) students will hold their Celebration of Learning at 2:00pm on Thursday, March 28th. Each classroom has a presentation they will perform in the Great Room, and afterwards families are invited to visit their students' classrooms to view more of their thematics and some additional presentations.
We hope to see everyone there!
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Pahto Field Trip
Wildlife Refuge Adventure
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On Tuesday, March 19th, Pahto went on an outdoor adventure to the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge and Cathlapotle Plankhouse. The weather was beautiful and sunny, and the first graders were well prepared, having gone on a practice hike to WSU Vancouver with their Klickitat Reading Buddies not long before! Students examined all the wildlife they could find, including snakes, and had a great day exploring the outdoors and expanding their science knowledge. And they'll be revisiting wildlife and science on their visit to the zoo next month!
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Lost and Found Spring Cleaning
Lost and Found "Boutique" Now in the Lobby!
We have an unusually high number of items in our Lost and Found right now! Is your student missing a jacket? Shirt? Maybe a stuffed animal or a water bottle? We just might have it!
We have laid items out on a table and the cubbies, and pinned jackets to the corkboards in the lobby and immediately down the hallway. Stop in and see if you recognize something during pick up, drop off, or during our Celebration of Learning! We are also encouraging all of our kiddos to check as they walk past multiple times this week, and are hoping to reunite the majority of these items with their owners.
Anything left in our Lost and Found at the end of the day on Friday, March 29th will be donated to charity over spring break, so check now!
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Learning in Action
Popcorn Kernel Mathematics
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This week, Loowit worked together as a group to count a jar of popcorn kernels. They made estimates, and then started counting. This is a great activity to reinforce how to use materials to figure out the place value of a number and how to make the changes from ones to tens, tens to hundreds and hundreds to thousands. Altogether they counted 4,756 kernels. According to some of the students, "It was the BEST math project of the year!"
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Campus snapshots
What's happening on campus
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Upcoming Events
Wednesday, March 27th
Mazama Celebration of Learning, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Our Mazama classroom is looking forward to sharing their Science of Fairytales thematic with our community! Students will present a short program, and then lead families on a student-guided exploration of their thematic in the classroom. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thursday, March 28th
K-6 Celebration of Learning, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Our Celebration of Learning is the culmination of our Winter thematics for our Kindergarten through 6th grades. Students will present a short program in the Great Room, followed by classroom activities. We hope your families can join us to celebrate all our students' hard work this Winter!
Friday, March 29th
Pajamas, Popcorn, and Projectors Day
We continue our fun tradition of Pajamas on the day before a long break! Wear your favorite (warm) jammies to school, bring a stuffed friend, and expect some fun!
Monday, April 1st - Friday, April 5th
Spring Break, No School
Monday, April 8th
In Service Day, No School
Thursday, April 10th - Friday, April 12th
Wy'East at Audubon Marmot Cabins
Wy'East will be off on a fun three-day, two-night adventure to the Audubon Society's Marmot Cabins near Sandy, Oregon!
Friday, April 12th
"First" Friday Parent Social
The first Friday of April is over Spring Break, so we're moving the First Friday parent coffee social to April 12th! Join us in the Farmhouse for a cup of coffee or tea and a treat, and catch up with admin and other parents!
To see and subscribe to our calendar of events, click below!
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