From the Principal…

Dear Parents, Monday, February 20, 2012 students will not report to school since teachers, students and parents will be meeting in student-led conferences during the previous week. Teachers are scheduling their own conferences this time. The staff and students have been preparing all year for student-led conferences. They have prepared portfolios, discussed goals and established checklists. We believe as research has indicated that a student-led conference will benefit the children as they assume more responsibility for the process of education. They are prepared to share their work with you. I believe you and your child will enjoy the experience. We would also welcome feedback once the conferences are over. All staff will be here on Thursday, February 16 until 7:30 p.m. Teachers will be offering other times during the month of February as well. I look forward to seeing you soon! Kathryn Moser Principal

Thanks & Congrats…

It’s Curtains for Us Thanks to Denise Jacobs for donating curtains for the Parent Room. They come in handy when there are cute little faces pressed against the window but Cass and Pat have work to do.

A Fresh Look A huge thank you to Karen Clay, mom of Nathaniel (4th grade) and Jacob (Kindergarten), for the beautiful update to our tour brochure. Nationwide Children’s Hospital Drive Girl Scout Troop 619 wants to thank all those who donated coloring books and crayons to our holiday drive for Nationwide Children's Hospital! We ended up with approximately 91 coloring books and about 64 boxes of crayons for the hospital. They were so appreciative and let us know that they will be used not only in patient rooms but in the waiting rooms for appointments, etc. as well. Thank you for helping with our troop's winter service project! --Heather Jarvis, Troop Leader & Indianola mom Math Works Competition On Thursday, December 17th, the fifth grade Math Works team competed against most of the elementary schools in Columbus in the Columbus City Schools Math Works Competition. The competition consisted of four parts: Problem Solving; 24 Game; Logical Thinking; and a just for fun Spatial Reasoning Challenge. Our team of fifth graders, Eva House; Rain Juhl; John Riley O’Toole; and Lana Tleimat with Jack Jones as the alternate, placed first in the Logical Thinking competition taking home medals for them and a trophy for the school. Way to go team!!

Parent Consultant News Indianola K-8

January, 2012

Cass Freeland Pat Merkle cassfreeland@yahoo.com pmerkle@columbus.rr.com 784-8140 262-2013

Announcements… PTO Membership Don’t forget to remit your dues for PTO membership! Send in the purple form and a check payable to Indianola K-8 PTO or join via our website: www.indianolakids.org. Thank you for helping make Indianola K-8 a great school! Indianolakids.org Have you checked our redesigned website? Try to get in the habit of checking it regularly—the more people who are using it, the more content people will be inclined to post! Maybe you have some classroom news or photos you’d like to post, or perhaps you’d like to be involved with the upkeep of the site. If so, contact Ray Arebalo (arebalo1@gmail.com), Mark Klingler (mark.klingler@sbcglobal.net) or Cass Freeland (cassfreeland@yahoo.com ). Newsletter Submission Dates If you have something you’d like included in the newsletter, email it to Pat Merkle by the corresponding date. Submission date Distribution date (Mondays) (Thursdays) Jan. 30 Feb. 2 Feb. 27 Mar. 1 Apr. 2 Apr. 5 Apr. 30 May 3 School Absence If your child is absent, please notify our attendance secretary, Denise Holland, by email at dholland@columbus.k12.oh.us or by phone at 365-5579. Email is preferred; your email will also serve as the excuse note. If you call, send an excuse note when your child returns to school.

Classroom & School News and Events… Spelling Bees Middle school: The middle school spelling bee will be held Jan. 19th in the auditorium beginning at 11:00 am. Parents are welcome to attend. Congrats to the middle grades students who qualified: 6th graders: Nathan Alshaibani Gwen Biggs Diego Castro Alia Coy-Smith Joseph Crump Briyana Dragin Mary Doherty Endiya Evans Miles Fulmer Matthew Garrison Silas Gates Reese Harper Rosemary Koontz Zampa Provenzale Elise Shapiro Bryn van Dommelen

7th graders: Amina Adesiji Rebecca Amonor Emma Lou Andrews Gen Belair Alijah Cole Wyatt Crider Izzy Erikson Ian Evans Xenia Holm Rylan Mortensen Emily Yoder-Tiedt 8th graders: Jacob Broyles Emma Clark Olivia Danner Colleen Dearth Bonnie Legg Rachel Schwerdtfeger Anna Shapiro Elementary grades: The elementary spelling bee will be January 27 from 9:30-11:30 in the auditorium. All students who signed up will be participants. Parents are welcome to attend. Chess Club  Chess Club began this week. Fourth and 5th graders will meet Wednesdays from 12-1:00. Second and 3rd graders will meet Thursdays from 11:30-12:30. Both groups will meet in Michele Ballinger’s room (27). Please bring a packed lunch, if possible. Thanks to Michele for the use of her space and to Michele and Mary Whitehead (our counselor) for their help in getting this club re-started.    

Gender & Schooling Discussion Please join Cass and Pat Thursday, Feb. 9th at noon for a brownbag lunch discussion of gender differences and their effects on schooling. Our starting point will be the books, Boys Adrift and Girls on the Edge, written by Leonard Sax. Read them if you can, but even if you can’t, join us for what promises to be a fruitful discussion. An evening session is possible if folks are interested—let us know. Staff Dinner During Conferences The Friends of Indianola PTO is planning a dinner for staff on Thursday, February 16, during Student-led Conferences. We will be collecting goodwill donations of between $1-$5 towards a quality take-out/catered meal. Any extra money collected will either go back into the general PTO fund or be used for further staff appreciation. More information will be coming later this month in Friday folders. To contribute ideas or volunteer to help that evening, contact Julie Hughes at juliebill2874@hotmail.com.

Put On Your Thinking Cap! Invention Convention is the morning of February 22. This science-fair style competition is mandatory for fourth graders, and optional for other students. It is really fun to see student ideas come to life. We are recruiting volunteer judges. If you (or another adult you know) would like to be a judge, contact Cass Freeland at cassfreeland@yahoo.com. Each volunteer will receive a packet that morning explaining the judging process.

Room Reps… Our next meeting is January 31st at 9:00 am. Please note: this is a date change. Hope to see you there! Teacher Room Rep(s)

Mrs. M Jennifer Schmied Michelle Holly Ruggerio Elizabeth Kate Wilkinson Julie Lisa Pfeifer Amy H. Elizabeth Douglass Emilie Mark Klingler Shannon Jennifer Nolte Sue Catherine Bird

Chrissy Gilbert Danielle/Nicole Jessica Starr

Cass Freeland Tracey Kelly Chellis

Amanda Hullinger Amy P. Karen Staley Tiffany Maria Conroy Ronda Sarah/James Bartczak Sylvia Tani Kushner Melissa Patti O’Toole Maree Lyen Djakov Andrew Marty Biggs Trina Mary Brown Jennifer Susan Belair Lisa Elizabeth Days Stephanie Denise Jacobs Monica Emily Adesiji

Fundraising, Donations & Service… “No Stuff” Fundraiser Want to support your school but hate accumulating stuff you don’t really want? The “No Stuff” fundraiser starts Jan. 31st and runs through spring break. You can donate what you are able to online (www.indianolakids.org) or by dropping a check in the PTO lockbox located in the office.

School Choice … Indianola K-8 Tours Prospective family tours have begun. We would love for parent volunteers to help show new families the building. No matter how much time you spend in the building, it can be heartwarming to take people on a tour and see all of the amazing things happening here. Remaining tours are Thursday January 26 and Wednesdays February 1, 8 and 22. All tours begin at 10 a.m. CCS School Choice Deadlines High School: Application Availability: High School lottery applications are available in the Indianola-K-8 office. They are also available at any CCS school and online at www.columbus.k12.oh.us. Application deadline: High School lottery applications must be turned in to the School Choice Office by January 31st. Applications may be delivered in person to 61 S. 6th St. or faxed to 365-6794. (Though applications can be mailed to the 6th St. address, it is not recommended.) Notification of lottery results: Results of the High School lottery will be mailed to parents by March 2nd. On or after March 2nd parents may also call the FACTline (221-FACT or 221-3228) for results M-F from 9:00 am-3:00 pm. Elementary/Middle School: Application Availability: Elementary/Middle school applications are expected to be available in CCS schools and online Feb. 1st. Elementary/Middle School Fair: The middle/elementary school fair will be held Feb. 1st from 6-7:30 pm at AIMS (Arts Impact Middle School) on the Ft. Hayes campus. Application deadline: Elementary/Middle school lottery applications must be turned in to the School Choice Office by Feb. 29th. Applications may be delivered in person to 61 S. 6th St. or faxed to 365-6794. (Though applications can be mailed to the 6th St. address, we do not recommend it.) Other important dates: June 15th: Last day to apply for regular lottery placements August 29th: Last day for sibling placements

Events Around Town…

COSI Events RACE: Are We So Different? Jan. 28-May 6 Looking through the lens of history, science, and personal experience, this exhibit explores differences among people and explains the realities of race. Add your voice to a conversation that will bring our community closer. Robot Science Day Saturday, Jan. 14, 11:00 am-3:30 pm Join robot clubs from all over central Ohio as they show you how robots move, sense the world, and perform tasks. Explore how we interact with robots every day. Add COSI’s Robotics Family Workshop for an additional fee.

Get Involved…

*Attend the PTO meeting Jan. 12th at 7 pm in the library *Volunteer to help with tours in Jan. &/or Feb. *Attend the middle school spelling bee Jan. 19th at 11:00 am in the auditorium *Attend the elementary spelling bee Jan. 27th at 9:30 am in the auditorium *Submit an article &/or photo for the February newsletter *Start reading Boys Adrift or Girls on the Edge and plan to join our discussion group February 9th

*Reserve a time slot with your child’s teacher for the student-led conferences in February *Volunteer to be a judge at the Invention Convention Feb. 22nd *Become a PTO member by sending in your $10 membership donation *Log on to www.indianolakids.org to see what’s been posted since your last visit                                      

Dude , where ’s the snow?

         

PTO  Officers                       Other  Positions  of  Note:    

Co-­‐Presidents:       Fundraising:  Beth  Rapach       Jenn  Eichorn      barapach@gmail.com     Jeichorn2@gmail.com      Rob  Cohen       Sarah  Case  rbcohen@gmail.com     spcase246@yahoo.com      Treasurer:       Web  Administrator:  Amy  Staz         Ray  Arabelo      astaz7@gmail.com       arebalo1@gmail.com    Secretary:  Brue  Hoyt  bruehoyt@hotmail.com         Important Dates

Thurs. Jan 12 PTO Meeting

“Working with Demand Energy/Compassionate Communication” 7:00 pm, Library

Mon. Jan 16 NO SCHOOL Thurs. Jan 19 Spelling Bee 11:00 am, Auditorium Weds. Jan 25 Report Cards Home Thurs. Jan 26 Prospective Parent Tour 10:00 am Tues. Jan 31 High School Lottery

Applications Due at School Choice Office Tues. Jan 31 No Stuff Fundraiser Begins Tues. Jan 31 Middle School Meeting 4:00 pm Weds. Feb. 1 Prospective Parent Tour 10:00 am Weds. Feb. 1 Elem/Middle School Fair 6:00-7:30 pm Arts Impact Middle School