INTEGRATED NEWS Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies March 24, 2006 LEAD TEACHER REPORT Dear Families, Spring Break has arrived, and the time will be a very well earned break for all of the children and staff at BCSIS. The older children did a great job on the CSAP; students worked their hardest and showed their best skills. We are all ready for time with family, relaxing in nature, curling up with a book, or just plain spacing out! 10th Year Anniversary BCSIS will celebrate its 10th Year Anniversary this spring! The Community Building Committee has been planning a wonderful event; however, we really need volunteers to help. Here's some important information about the celebration: * The 10th Year Celebration will be on May 11th from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at BCSIS. We were planning to have it at the Rocky Mountain Theater for Kids; however, we need more space. * The celebration will include a marimba band, dancing, a burrito bar, face painting, a BCSIS children's art and poetry gallery, and more. * Founding BCSIS families will also be invited to the event. * We need plenty of volunteers! We need help with decorating the cafeteria, painting children's faces, and organizing/coordinating the celebration. Please consider being a helper for part of the event; we will make it a fun experience for all! If you are able to volunteer, please contact Robyn Lawrence at 303494-6589, or email her at robyn-lawrence@mindspring.com. Thanks! * We also need supplies if you have them to donate or loan. We need face paints (even used ones are okay), decorations for the "restaurant" in the cafeteria (lamps especially), and more. Please contact Robyn if you have a donation or loan that will enhance our event. This will be an enjoyable and important BCSIS event; please save May 11th on your calendar. See you there ! Leadership Changes In case you missed the letter from Dr. Sheri Williams that was sent home last week, we want to let you know that BCSIS will be getting a full-time principal starting next year in replacement of the Leadership Team. The teachers are excited about this change for many reasons, primarily that being allocated a full-time principal will strengthen our voice in the district. The Ed Council parents were also given an opportunity to give their input to Dr. Williams about the leadership change. They agreed that this opportunity to have a full-time principal should not be passed up at this time. The actual principal interviews will be on May 18th. In the evening of that day, there will be a Community F o rum at which all parents can ask questions of the candidates. On April 19th at 4:30 p.m., Dr. Williams, Director of Elementary Education, will be at the school to meet with all interested parents. Her goal is to hear your input on the desired qualities of a future principal of BCSIS. If you have input or questions about this topic, please plan to attend that meeting. Thank you. Phil Katsampes and Sabine Smead BCSIS ED COUNCIL FOR 2006-07 HAS OPENINGS According to our by-laws, we need to open up the voting Ed Council positions to the entire school community every year. That means that those of you who have been thinking about joining the Ed Council but didn't quite know how, have an opportunity to be more involved. The following positions are the voting and community representative positions for the Ed Council. Though many of the parents doing them this year are interested in doing them next year, we always welcome new faces. Sometimes two people share a position and in the case of the treasurer, it would be great to have a third person join and start learning the job! Classroom reps will be open in the fall after we know what all the new classes will be. If you are interested in any of these positions, please let the co-chairs, Anna Stewart (parent) or Erin (teacher), or Phil or Sabine know by April 7th so we can fill them by the April 26th Community meeting: * Secretary * Treasurers * K-2 Parent rep * 3-5 Parent rep * DAC rep * DPC rep * Co-chair (two year position) Thanks for your consideration. THE FLU IS MAKING THE ROUNDS A viral influenza strain with symptoms that include fever, congestion, sore throat, headache, abdominal discomfort and lethargy is very present at our school. Please know that your healthcare provider can diagnose it with a simple swab test. An option does exist now to treat it if it is diagnosed within 48 hours of the onset of symptons. The treatment reduces the recovery time to 2 to 3 days. If not treated, the symptoms persist for 7 to 10 days. MARK YOUR CALENDAR March 27-31 (Mon-Fri) Spring Break no school April 3-4 (Mon-Tues) Parent/teacher conferences - no school April 7-20 BCSIS Spring Plant Sale orders will be accepted April 10 (Mon) Roots & Shoots meets April 11 (Tues) 6:30 p.m. BVSD Board Meeting addresses BCSIS Capital Improvements and Destratification April 24 (Mon) Roots & Shoots meets May 1 (Mon) Roots & Shoots meets May 3-5 (Wed-Fri) Pick Up Plant Sale Orders in the gym! May 11 (Thurs) 4:30-6:30pm. BCSIS 10th Anniversary Celebration at BCSIS May 12 (Fri) Community Service Day May 15 (Mon) Roots & Shoots meets NEWS AND NOTES March snow storms bring April plant sale order forms! The annual BCSIS Plant Sale will commence after our return from Springbreak. Our master gardener, Robyn Churchill Rathweg, has some suggestions if you are itchin' to get out in your garden now: Plant your peas Time to plant your peas! The "traditional" day for planting peas is March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. Peas are fun for kids to plant because they are large and easy to grasp with little fingers. Your kids can plant them 1" deep outside. Peas don’t mind a little cold and snow, but they don’t like the hot summer weather. Give them a trellis to climb, protect tender sprouts from birds and animals, and enjoy peas by May or June. Lazy gardening If it is still too snowy for peas, plant some poppies now, the lazy gardener’s way. Sprinkle poppy seeds directly on the spring snow. When the snow melts, the small poppy seeds will be carried gently down to moist earth, the perfect growing medium. Soon the garden will have drifts of flowers. Many poppies can be started this way: Oriental poppy, Horned poppy, Flanders poppy, even California poppy (not a true poppy, but lovely nonetheless). Most wildflower seeds are also perfectly happy being sprinkled on the snow. Planting this way often gives you a head start on blooms in the spring. Excited by Lazy Gardening? Then sprinkle some spinach, lettuce, and arugala seeds on bare or snow-covered ground now and have greens before your neighbors. It is wise to use a generous amount of seeds if you plant this way, since germination rates are low for scattered seeds. This is a good way to use up lots of last year’s seeds. BACARO FUNDRAISER A GREAT SUCCESS On March 5th, BCSIS parents, friends, faculty and staff gathered at Bacaro Restaurant in Boulder for a wonderful night of food, drink, silent auctioning and socialization. The event raised $6,000 for BCSIS, and a great time was had by all. The money raised by the event will help BCSIS fulfill its mission and promise to the children of our school. The Friends of BCSIS would like to thank all who participated and all who donated to the silent auction. A special thanks goes to Christine and Dante, the owners of Bacaro Restaurant. The food was wonderful and we all enjoyed ourselves. If you are ever in need of a great night out in Boulder, consider the fine food and wonderful service at Bacaro. Our thanks also go to Neil and Eileen Cochran at Paramount Press who donated the printing. If your business needs printing, please look to Paramount Press. <>