Eagle Productions Melissa Paul, Editor

Volume Issue

Special Points of

Interest

Missoula Theater

Science News

Holiday Program

2nd &3rd Grade News

Picture Pages ..

Inside this Edition

Calendar

Lunch Menu

Tax Credit

Yearbook Order Form

Winter Vacation No School—12/21-1/3

School Resumes Thursday, January 4th

As many of you are already aware, Elgin School Students, Faculty and Staff earned an A Grade on the Arizona Department of Education School Report Card. We are extremely excited; less than 17% of the schools in Arizona were awarded an A rating. This reinforces all of the hard work and innovations we have shared, and it is very validating. As I have explained to everyone in our learning community, while earning an A grade is a tremendous accomplishment, keeping it will prove to be an even BIGGER challenge. We are diligently working to analyze our data, moni-tor student progress, and provide appropriate interventions and enrichment activities that will con-tinue to ensure our students are performing academically and mastering curriculum concepts and skills. Please feel free to come in any time to ask any questions or share feedback you may have about our instructional practices and teaching strategies. As always, I am more than happy to meet with families and individuals to discuss anything that is happening at Elgin School and in the com-munity. As 2017 begins to wind down, I would like to take a moment to explain our current budg-et situation. As we predicted in our budget meetings last spring, funding changes at the state level from Average Daily Membership to Average Daily Attendance have resulted in a decrease to our budget capacity of approximately $80,000. Although our enrollment is actually growing, we are now funded by actual daily attendance and not an average enrollment at the 45th and 100th day. This means that every time a student is absent or tardy we only receive a portion of our funding for that student on that specific day. This is the biggest reason for our decrease in budget capacity. We need your support to help us maintain our staff and resources by making sure students are on time for school every day, and that they only miss school when it is absolutely necessary. This is not only key to the academic success of students, but in order to keep our current programs and re-sources available, it is critical that we maintain our current budget capacity. There have been recent changes to this legislation, and we hope to have a contingency plan for the future, but in the mean-while your cooperation and support is critical. Thank you for all that you have done, and continue to do, that adds to the success of Elgin students. Lastly, on November 9th, we were once again honored to host our annual Veterans Day celebration. Students, faculty and staff worked together with members of our community to acknowledge the sacrifices of America’s best. I would like to thank everyone for their contribu-tions and commitment to an event that continues to be flawless and memorable, and express my humble appreciation for the members of the community who joined us in teaching our students to recognize both the freedoms and responsibilities of being an American. The students and members of this community never cease to amaze me. We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving Holiday, as well as our annual Missoula Children’s Theatre and Winter Performances, and hope to see you all there. We are also anxious to enjoy the Winter Break; I believe everyone needs this time to re-charge their batteries and enjoy time together with family and friends. Thank you for all your con-tinued support and commitment to the future of this community. You are what makes Elgin great. Eagles, Rock On!

Message from Dr. Bonn

Elgin School is excited for our upcoming visit from Missoula Children’s Theater. The Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) touring productions are complete with costumes, scenery, props and makeup, all they need is Elgin Students as the cast! Auditions will be held on Decem-ber 4th at 2:00 PM. Permission slips and the $1.00 fee for auditions must be turned in by No-vember 28th. MCT Tour Actor/Directors will conduct rehearsals throughout the week from 2:00-4:00 PM and 4:30-6:30 PM each day. Limited Childcare for cast members is available. Peter & Wendy will be presented on Saturday, December 9th at 6:00 PM. The Missoula Children's Theatre residency at Elgin School is brought to you with support from the Elgin School PTC and generous community donations.

Holiday Shop

Dec. 4th-6th

10:45 AM—12:20 PM

From our school to your

home, have a joyous

holiday season! Middle School Science—By Mrs. Koweek All middle school science students are busy preparing for the science and engineering fair in January. Every year I am so impressed with the wide variety

of topics being researched and learned about. Almost any topic can be turned into an experiment or engineering pro-ject, from determining how biogas can be made from bio-mass to does caffeine stunt a person’s growth to what is the best way build a perpetual motion machine? The science room is filled with interesting projects! While students de-velop their projects, they learn how science is done: what makes a fair test? How are results best communicated? Do scientists share their procedures (yes!)? This process leads to a lifelong understanding of how to interpret scientific information and make good decisions for oneself and one’s family. Additionally, 8th grade students are beginning to study chemistry, building a foundational knowledge in prep-aration for high school chemistry or ag science classes. I was so happy to hear a student say “This is fun!” as we were learning how to count protons, electrons, and neutrons in atoms of different elements. 7th grade students have fin-ished their study of ecology but are still learning about population biology as they monitor their milkweed bug habi-tats. Each group started by learning about the milkweed bug life cycle and then chose one mating pair and are now waiting to see if they will have any eggs hatch. Then they will study survival rates and reproductive potential. Last, but NOT least, the 6th grade students have just begun a study of energy – learning about potential and kinetic ener-gy by building paper rollercoasters.

Elgin School is seeking a Head Coach and assistant Coach for Co-Ed Soccer. The soccer season begins in January and runs through February. Please contact Athletic Director, Nate Porter, at (520) 455-5514, ext. 124 or nporter@elgink12.com.

Elgin School

Yearbooks

Full color, 56 pages!

$15.00 each (prior to March 15th)

Order form enclosed, or contact Ms. Sebert at msebert@elgink12.com for more information.

Athletic Physicals If your student will be participating in spring sports, please update their physical in the office if you have not done so already this year. Athletic physicals are good for one year from the date of service. All athletes must have a current physical on file to participate.

2nd & 3rd Grade Investigators—By Ms. Mattus 2nd and 3rd grade have been Crime Scene Inves-tigators for our Project Based Learning this quarter. We have had the opportunity to learn from real investigators in our community. Sergeant Chad Matthews from Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office came and taught us about finger printing and the importance on writing reports in his profession. Detective Robert Perry from Arizona De-partment of Public Safety joined our classes to teach us about securing a crime scene and looking for evidence. Trooper Eric Martzke from Arizona Department of Public Safety brought a police car to our school and let the stu-dents use the lights and sirens as well. We plan on having more Crime Scene Investigators in our community, such as Brittany Oleson from Arizona Game and Fish and Ser-geant Donald Mattus from Arizona Department of Public Safety, teach us about the importance of using evidence, inferencing, writing detailed and complete reports, and working together.

Art Room News—By Mrs. Coleman The art students have been creating some impressive art pieces. We have been focusing on perspective in November and were able to show off the art work in our display at the Veterans Day cele-bration. From kindergarten to 8th grade, the stu-dents have been using their creativity and art knowledge while having fun. December will bring winter-themed pieces to be displayed at the Holiday Program on Tuesday, De-cember 19th at 6pm. I hope all families will be able to join us for a festive evening, compliments of the Elgin students and teachers. Each class will be per-forming (or combining with another class) songs, po-ems, or skits of their choice.