Newbery Award winning author, Karen Cushman will speak to students in Grades 2 – 6, Thursday, June 10.
Ms. Cushman is the author of the following books: Midwife’s Apprentice, Rodzina, Cathrine, Called Birdy, and The Ballad of Lucy Whipple. She won the Newbery for Midwife’s Apprentice. Her new book, Alchemy and Meggy Swann, has just been released. A selection of her books will be for sale following the event.
Watch: Egg Drop VIDEO
This week Villa Academy’s 6th grade students finished designing and building egg drop structures.
“What’s that?”
The egg drop structures are handmade contraptions that will safely transport an uncooked egg, dropped out the window, from Villa’s fifth story floor to the front patio. Some eggs survive, while others face a tough break!
The Villa Academy Green Team is planting a native garden in the strip of soil between the two carpool lanes on the east side of the school. Funding for this student-driven project came from a $300 “Terry Husseman Sustainable School Award” granted to Villa Academy by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Preparations for the garden began in May and will continue through the summer and into next year.
All the plants in the Green Team garden will be native to Washington State. In an effort to save water and energy in the summer months, the Team has focused their selection on plants that flower only in the spring and fall and have chosen species that are found in areas with more sun exposure and drier soil.
The students have worked diligently to plan and prepare the execution of this project. Lots of brainstorming, research and schedule planning preceded the first day of digging last week. As part of their preliminary planning, the Green Team writes, “Our native plant garden is important because it gives homes to native animals and our plants are adapted to the climate and to native animals. It also provides a variety of foods all through the year.”
At one of their earliest meetings, student members of the Green Team voted to spend the $300 award from the WA Department of Ecology on tools, supplies and planting soil to keep their garden growing.
Join us as we watch the Green Team’s Native Garden bloom! Students will begin planting this week. Informational plant signage and additional garden touches (such as bird feeders, woodpecker suet logs, etc) will be coming soon!
Thank you officers and representatives for your service to Villa this school
year! You supported the students by helping with dances, Adopt-a-Family,
Talent Shows, Catholic Schools Week, Spirit Days, weekly announcements, and
much more. Thank you for your efforts and dedication.
2009-2010 Officers:
President: Jenay M.
Vice President: Rosie B.
Secretary: Erica B.
Treasurer: Noah C.
Commissioner of School Spirit: Maddie B.
Commissioner of Spiritual Affairs: Madison M.
2009-2010 Representatives:
Alexandra P.
Elizabeth D.
Nicole R.
Mitch F.
Bobby M.
Bailey A.
Emily R.
Cyrus O.
Veronica H.
Kate M.
Max C.
Patrick M.
Rena F.
Jack K.
Jack T.
Claudia G.
Our Annual Spring Concert is Wednesday May 19, at 7:00pm in the Theater. All are invited. This year there are some new performers. In addition to Villa Voices and Villa Bands, we will feature Jake W., harpist, and our after-school improvisation group, the Gold ‘n Blues. Please plan to join us.
Performers Notes
Parents, please have all performers at the Theater by 6:30pm on Wednesday, May 19 for warm-ups and seating. The concert begins at 700pm.
Rehearsals on Tuesday May 18 & Wednesday, May 19 are at the regular band time, in the Theater. These are combined rehearsals (both bands both days please), so we can get a feel for the acoustics. An informational flyer went out to all students. If you have not seen yours, please check with your student, or see me for a copy. It contains important details. Thanks!
Irv Kellenberger
Villa Bands Director
Celebrate National Poem in Your Pocket Day!
Thursday, April 29th, is National “Put a Poem in Your Pocket” day. The idea is to carry a poem in your pocket to share with a colleague, a family member or a friend.
To celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day, and as a fun activity related to the Sixth Grade’s current English unit, students will be handing out pocket-sized copies of their favorite poems during morning carpool.
Keep a Poem in Your Pocket
Keep a poem in your pocket
And a picture in your head
And you’ll never feel lonely
At night when you’re in bed.
The little poem will sing to you
The little picture bring to you
A dozen dreams to dance to you
At night when you’re in bed.
So-
Keep a poem in your pocket
And a picture in your head
And you’ll never feel lonely
At night when you’re in bed.
-Beatrice Schenk de Rogniers
Graduation pictures will be taken on Monday, May 3, at 8:30am. There are no make up times for this photo session, so we encourage you to have your eighth grader at school on time that morning. There will be a group picture taken, as well as individual pictures of the students in their caps and gowns.
For graduation pictures, students wear the attire outlined below. After the photo session, students will change into their regular Villa uniform.
Girls: white blouse, skirt, and black shoes. Shoes may be with heels, open toe, or flats.
Boys: white dress shirt, black pants, and black shoes.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact your student’s advisor.
Back in January, Villa’s Student Emergency Response Team (SERT) hosted a “Change for Haiti” coin drive. Their efforts helped raise over $4,000 dollars to buy relief-kits for the victims of Haiti’s recent magnitude seven earthquake. All funds were donated to Catholic Relief Services and were pooled with donations from other schools across the country. Read more about the Power of Pennies, as children all over the United States take on the challenge of helping others in need, a few cents at a time.
Parents, Staff, Faculty and Students,
The Spring 2010 Book Fair, through Secret Garden Book Store, was a fabulous success. Your purchases earned approximately $1100 for library books. We hope you enjoy the books you purchased as much as our students will enjoy the new books we are now able to purchase with the Book Fair funds. We are also thankful for the many books that were purchased for the Villa Library Wish List and the Birthday Book programs. Our children will enjoy many new books for years to come, due to your generosity.
Many, many thanks are offered to our wonderful volunteers! These parents helped the students with book selection, estimating the cost of purchases with tax, counting money and making change. A special “thank you” goes to the following volunteers: Anita P, Laurie B, Lisa P, Jenny P, Laurie A, Jeannine M, Hilary G, Claudine L, Wendy G, Alison A, Amy F, Lynn B, and Kathleen C.
Special events such as the Book Fair could not happen without Villa’s Facilities Department personnel. We truly appreciate the “behind-the-scenes” efforts, putting up banners and setting up tables.
The staff and management at Secret Garden were extremely supportive and knowledgeable. The book selection was perfect for Villa’s clientele. It is always a pleasure partnering with them for this event. Sometime when you are in Ballard, stop in and visit their cozy bookstore on Market Street and enjoy the incredible customer service!
Again, many thanks to all the Villa families, friends, staff and faculty who contributed to the success of the Spring Book Fair!
Karen Strand & Leslie Keeney
Patrick M. took a fourth place at the North Deanery Science Fair at Blanchet High School on Thursday, March 25th, among stiff competition.
His experiment, “Washing Away”, was about the effects of vegetation on soil erosion. He measured the amount of soil that came out of six trays with grass and six without grass. Patrick poured water on the trays, each at a 15 degree angle, and measured the amount of soil that was washed away. His hypothesis was “If a tray on a fifteen degree angle has grass on it then the soil will erode less than a tray without grass on it, because the grass
roots will hold the soil”.
The data showed that there was fifty times more soil eroded from the trays without the grass growing in it.
Way to go Patrick!
