From the Principal

Congratulations and thanks to Linda Park, Brad Proffitt and volunteers for creating our fun annual Family Dance event (Madstock) last month! It was fun for all and especially for some of us old timers who remember the lingo of the time . . . far out!

As we enter into March, spring time and the third trimester of school, there is a lot to look forward to. I’m excited to see the production of Seussical and our cast of over 80 students. This is each year such a labor of love with many, many people involved. I appreciate the hard work it takes not only to create the musical but also to keep the priorities of school work and other commitments in balance as well.

We have a non-student day coming up on the 14th. Our staff will be engaged in professional development in the area of math. Our building math coaches (Tom Gorney, Siri Haugen and Penny Nichols) will be facilitating our learning on that day. There is also an early dismissal on Thursday 20th so that teachers can conduct spring conferences for some parents and identified students. We dismiss on this day at 12:10.

Craig and I will host our monthly coffee hour on Friday 21st from 9:00 – 10:00 in the library. We hope you might come join us. We again have no planned agenda or topic, this is just an informal setting to chat and yes . . . there really is coffee and tea!

I hope you saw the flier that came home with Notes From The Office recently regarding some opportunities the District is providing for parents to look at the three final publishers of math curriculum being considered for our K-5 adoption. If you are interested take a look at the Bear Facts website or the Edmonds School District website for those dates and times.

A special week that I look forward to each year happens the week of March 24th and that is Deaf Awareness Week. Our wonderful DHH staff has again planned a week of special activities ranging from a DHH Trivia game to a special assembly with a Deaf Dance performance group on Thursday the 27th. The goal of this week is to grow as a community in our awareness of Deaf Culture and to celebrate the many gifts we have as a community as we learn from each other.

Our attribute of character for March is honesty. This attribute provides lots of opportunities for authentic conversations prompted by literature and daily life both in and out of school. I will (as I do each month) be visiting in elementary classrooms to read a story about honesty and host a conversation about this attribute. This is one of my favorite activities and I learn so much from sharing this time with our students!

At this writing the crocus so lovingly planted by parents and staff in the Peace Garden are blooming beautifully. What a wonderful gift to everyone. Happy spring to you!

-Lynda

Madrona Integrated Team

MIT Co-Chair’s Corner

Civility – the Foundation for a Strong Community

The national political climate is heating up, and it looks like the presidential candidates are going to run the same kind of negative campaigns that we all say we hate, and they all said they were going to avoid. This mud-slinging and no-holds-barred aggression makes me uneasy, and I feel it just drives us farther down the road to a weaker society.

There are two themes that are causing me to lose sleep recently – the need for civility in all public and private discourse, and the need to build a strong and cohesive community. Since I started really thinking about this, I have become aware of a couple of civility initiatives that are active in this country. One is called the Civility Project, and it’s based in Michigan, and the other is a Civility Center at Johns Hopkins University. The professor who started the project at Hopkins in 1997 published a book in 2002, which I plan to buy as soon as I can get to a good bookstore (I can’t shop at Amazon – I need to touch the books before I buy them).

The message that I have been getting from these projects, from those terrific Allstate ads on TV, and from discussions I’ve had with lots of people over the past few months, is that we need to work on becoming more civil to each other, in order to build a stronger community. The Talk-It-Out message that our kids are getting at school is a great one for helping them defuse arguments, and it’s a skill that we all need to learn.

Nonviolent or Compassionate Communication, which was discussed at the February MIT meeting, and in the first session of a study group on February 13th, is another method of helping people get their messages across without bruising others or damaging the society (school, local, national, international) in which we live. There’s another session of this study group on March 19th.

This is what I think we need to commit to in order to have a civil society:

1. The conviction that we all want what’s good for our kids, even if we approach that goal differently

2. Face-to-face communication, so that we can gauge the effect of our words

3. A willingness to let the other guy go first, whether in conversation, traffic, or through a doorway

4. Gratitude for what others do for us

5. Giving without thought of what we’ll get in return

6. Inclusion of everybody who wants to participate

7. Outreach to those who don’t know that they can participate

-Linda Hood

Mutual Understanding and Compassionate Communication

Are you interested in joining a book/study group to discuss communication and mutual understanding at Madrona? A group of Madrona parents and staff will be discussing the book Teaching Children Compassionately, by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. This short paperback explores communicating compassionately through the use of “nonviolent communication”. This group will read the text and then begin a discussion of its application at Madrona.

One potential suggestion has been to use this text as a starting point for the construction of a communication framework at Madrona. Currently at Madrona students use “Talk it out” strategies to communicate, while staff at Madrona has established meeting and communication norms as part of the adult culture. This team would investigate the use of “nonviolent communication” and share a potential communication framework for MIT meetings, community dialogues and other communication channels at our school. If you’d like to join this book/study group please contact Craig Baldwin @ BaldwinC@edmonds.wednet.edu or 425-431-7981. We will be meeting at the Madrona Library on March 19. We’ll begin at 6:30 and finish by 8:00. Craig Baldwin has copies of the book for interested participants. Just stop by the Madrona office to pick up a copy prior to our next gathering. We hope to see you there!

- Erika Jennings- Madrona Parent, Craig Baldwin- Assistant Principal

Madrona Integrated Team

MIT Family Dance!

Wow! What a fun night! The band, Los Orchids, kept everyone on their feet until the end and lots of kids joined them onstage to dance the dance away! The decorations were definitely a hit, with lots of color and the clothing was pulled right out of the 60’s! Congratulations to all of the winners of the costume contest! Thank you to all of the parents and middle school students who worked hard to make this night happen. Thank you to Sarah DeMun for the fantastic huge posters on the gymnasium walls – done freehand! Madrona parents are awesome! A special thank you to Dale Sutton for his photographs – you backgrounds were great! And none of this would have happed with the visionary himself, Brad Proffitt! Thanks Brad!

-Linda Park

Informal Parent of the Month – Madrona Children’s Theater Parent Volunteers

This month’s totally unsanctioned Parent of the Month award goes to all the parents who have given dozens and hundreds of hours to making this year’s production of Seussical a success. The actors get all the adulation, but the parents get nothing but the satisfaction of seeing their kids on stage, and they work for months to make the show great. Thank you all. You are stars!

-Linda Hood

MIT Business Meetings 2007—08

All meetings will be held in the library at 7:00 PM

March 18th – Tuesday
April 15th - Tuesday
May 21st – Wednesday
(Nick Brossoit visit)
June 10th* - Tuesday

The Little Kids’ Playground Needs Your Help

Buy Entertainment Books!

As you may have noticed, the playground between buildings 2 and 3 is mostly empty of equipment. Everything but the rocking cars has been removed by the Edmonds School District, as the rules about safe playground equipment have changed. This is a huge blow to the DHH preschool and to the Kindergarten classes, which use that playground all the time. There is not much productive play that can happen with a pile of wood chips!

We need to replace that equipment. The District cannot purchase everything we need, so it is up to us in the Madrona community to step up and find the money to buy new equipment, which will cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

Beginning this week, MIT will be selling Entertainment Books as a special fundraiser to collect money for the playground equipment. We have been given a very generous deal by Entertainment Inc: every dollar that is spent on Entertainment Books will go toward the playground. Because the effective dates for the coupons in the books are from November 1, 2007 to November 1, 2008, we will be discounting the price of the books – get a $25 value for only $15! Stop by the Family Room or the Front Office to purchase a book, or call me at (425) 879-6458 to have a book or multiple books sent home with your child. Checks can be made payable to MIT.

If you don’t want to buy a book, but do want to make a 100% deductible donation to this worthy cause, please feel free to make a donation to All for Kids, putting “playground” on the memo line of your check, and we’ll make sure those funds are directed to the playground fund.

Thank you all for your generous support of the youngest members of our community.

-Linda Hood

Seussical the Musical

Seussical Candy Grams

$1.00 for Hershey candy bar with Seussical label

Madrona Children’s Theater would like to present Seussical Candy-Grams. The $1.00 candy bars will be delivered to your student/actor March 20th.

You may order a candy gram for your actor/student/friend by dropping off your order form in the Seussical box located outside the office or in person between 8:50 & 9:30am Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday starting March 11th and ending the 18th. You can place your order in the box up until the 19th. All grams must be paid for at the time of order. This is a great way for students and parents to wish each other luck or to give just for fun!

Please check your child’s mail for an order form or pick one up outside the office or in the family room.

-Tracy Langlie

CPC News

By now you are probably aware of the upcoming Replacement Technology/Capital Levy scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, May 20. It is a replacement levy for the facilities and technology levy passed in 2004 and would decrease from its current 52 cents per $1000 assessed valuation to 28 cents per $1000 valuation.

The levy, if passed, will continue to provide more technology improvements to the District, including replacing older equipment, increase the number of mobile labs, facility upgrades such as improved electrical and roofing.

For Madrona, it means increasing the number of shared mobile labs from 1 to 5, decreasing the number of students per computer from 10 to 4 and increasing the number of Student Tech Tools from 9 to 13.

As a member of Citizens for Schools, the group that is overseeing the District Campaign for the Levy, I would urge you all to vote yes for the Levy!

- Kory DeMun

Staff Star

Welcome to Johanna Kalmus who has joined Madrona this year in partnership with Deborah Buduan in the newly named Paw Sal Cha’l Center. This is Johanna’s fourth year in education, which she came to out of her delight in “getting kids excited about learning.” Johanna’s favorite thing about Madrona is working with staff and students that are passionate about learning. When she’s not at school Johanna enjoys hiking, ultimate Frisbee and art. We are grateful to have Johanna’s heart for kids and teaching skills at Madrona.

Madrona Monday Broadcast

The Madrona Monday Broadcast is on the Internet!

Check it out at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/MadronaMMB or search for MMB in iTunes podcast directory.

Madrona’s Vineyard

Eleanor Roosevelt Dance Company

Hip-Hop Workshop!

Attribute of Character for March

Honesty

“Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented.”

- George Braque

Something to think about

Talking About Honesty by Carleton Kendrick, from www.life.familyeducation.com

We demand honesty from our children. We can't stand it when they lie to us. We take it personally. But honesty means so much more than not lying. It's about not deceiving, manipulating, or exploiting others. It's about self-respect and integrity. It's about living a truthful life.

Finding the Words

To be honest, we must possess the courage to confront what we fear: rejection, disapproval, failure, and humiliation. Our kids need our help to develop that courage. Here are some questions designed to elicit some honest answers:

The Words: "Why are people dishonest?"

The Reason: We offer many reasons why we lie, cheat, deceive, and pretend. These rationalizations and justifications enable us to avoid facing our dishonest acts. Your kids' responses to this question may reveal the fears behind their dishonesty.

The Words: "Why do people cheat on tests or when they play a game?"

The Reason: By comparing various kinds of cheating, you can help your kids see the different motives behind dishonest acts. Take a look at your own actions, too. Let your kids in on the kinds of situations that test your honesty. Pose this type of question to your kids: "If I fail to point out that a restaurant bill has been incorrectly added in my favor, am I cheating the restaurant owner and staff?"

The Words: "Is it ever okay to lie?"

The Reason: This is a tough one: Do certain situations justify lying? Or is it always better to find the best way to face and speak the truth? A few hypothetical questions might help your kids maneuver this gray area. Here's an example: "Grandma spent the whole day baking a special cake for your birthday. It looks nice, but tastes like sawdust. Do you come right out and tell her so? How do you react?"

The Words: "Say one of your friends tells an unkind joke about another person. It bothers you, but you laugh anyway. Are you being dishonest?"

The Reason: Pretending is a particular form of dishonesty. If you continually act in a manner that's different from what you believe or feel, you're in danger of losing your ability to be honest with others and with yourself. Kids need to know that the cost of compulsive pretending is too high – it's the loss of self.

“Almost any difficulty will move in the face of honesty. When I am honest I never feel stupid. And when I am honest I am automatically humble.”

-Hugh Prather

Conversation Tips

When discussing honesty with your children, be careful not to engage in self-righteous sermons or lectures. The purpose of this discussion is not to make kids feel guilty, or to scare, or shame, them into being honest. Its purpose is to examine and understand the roots of dishonesty, while encouraging your kids to be courageous and truthful.

Beyond the Rap

Challenge everyone to observe his own honesty for one week. Keep track of your own lies (white or otherwise), exaggerations, and pretenses. Then get together and talk about how easy it is to lapse into some form of dishonesty. Brainstorm how to avoid falling into those same dishonesty traps again.

Safety Corner

Internet Safety Presentation

April 8th, Tuesday, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Madrona Library

Detective Lee Malkow from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department is returning to Madrona to discuss the Internet. Those of you who attended our meeting about sex offenders will remember Detective Malkow. She talked briefly about the Internet and how to keep our children safe, and graciously agreed to return to give a more in depth presentation.

Detective Malkow will be discussing the following:

Internet Statistics

How easy it is to target kids on-line

Practical safety tips

MySpace, Face Book etc.

In addition, Detective Malkow will give an on-line interactive presentation of what goes on out in the wide world of the Internet. This presentation is graphic, so we cannot have children present. Please let me know if you need childcare, and we will arrange to have childcare available.

I hope many Madrona parents can attend this most important and powerful presentation. Regardless of what grade your child/children are in; the information shared will be of benefit to you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you!

-Ellen Ernst, Madrona Safety Committee

Save the Date!

Scholastic's Spring Book Fair "Take a Reading Road Trip" is arriving March 24-28. Be sure and check your student's Wednesday packet each week for more information and updates!

-Ann DeVight

HELP! HELP! HELP!

Remember the notice about the unsafe climber on the preschool-kindergarten playground? Well, it is truly gone if you haven't noticed by now...it's looking pretty desolate in the wood chip area without a climbing structure.

The children go outside & if it's too wet to bring out the bikes & wagon, then the children don't have a lot to do now. HELP HELP HELP! The school district has found a vender that has given us a bid for $18,000.00 to replace the old climber. If anyone is interested in looking at the proposal, please stop by room 13. How are we going to raise the money for this??? Brian Harding, Linda Skinner & Paul Koehn would love to hear your opinion about the removal of the climber & the new plan to replace it & how MIT might play a role. Contact them through the district email & let them be aware of your concerns. It is possible that a new climber can't be installed until the summer time which means spring time on the playground will be less than adequate for gross motor play.

I'll be speaking to Child Hearing League the weekend of March 1st & asking for some support from them again. If you'd like to become a member of Child Hearing League, contact President Lenni Evans at 4715 or evanslr@msn.com

Be on the look-out for some fund-raising opportunities coming up!!!

- Gary Elise and PJ

Deaf Awareness Week

Madrona Hosts Deaf Awareness Week: March 24-28.

Activities include:

pins or buttons for the whole school
“Catchya” candy throughout the week-if we catch a student wearing their deaf awareness button
Poster displays with interesting facts about famous deaf people
Daily trivia questions with prizes at the end of each day
Deaf staff visiting classrooms for Q & A
Assembly on March 27 at 1:30: deaf and hearing dancers from Gallaudet University

If you would like to offer your assistance for any of these events, please contact Lori Wike, Comet’s teacher, at WikeL@edmonds.wednet.edu or 425-431-2917

-Monica Edwards

Music & More…

Music Department

Congratulations to the following band students who were named to the Edmonds School District Elementary Honor Band!

Harrison Orders – French Horn
Helen DeMun – Trombone
Yazmin Tang – Clarinet
Rhiann Tougas – Flute
Megan Hoppe – Flute
Dean Celli – Trumpet
Brianna Sackett – Clarinet
Jessy Harb – Flute

-Matt Edwards

Upcoming Concerts

Sno-King MS Orchestra Festival – March 11

Field Trip – MS Orchestra

Sno-King MS Band Festival – March 13

Field Trip – 8th Grade Band

Elementary Honors Concert – March 18

Selected elementary students only.

EWHS Big Band Dance – April 19

Jazz I

Madrona Jazz Night – April 30 (tentative)

Jazz I & Jazz II

Sno-King Solo/Ensemble – May 3

Selected middle school ensembles

Art Walk – May 8

Jazz I

Elementary Band Concert – May 28

Jazz II, Beginning, Intermediate, & Advanced Bands

Middle School Spring Concert – June 5

Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Jazz I, Orchestra

Edmonds Arts Festival – June 13

Field Trip & afternoon concert – Jazz I & Inter. Orchestra

Top Chefs?

Future pastry chefs (maybe?!) are having some creative fun at the cake decorating enrichment class, led by Sherri Horvath. The kids in this class really look forward coming to this every Monday, and create really beautiful little cakes and cookies. This day they where making gardens.

-Marilyn Conley

Did You Know?

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...) The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400
The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades - King David, Hearts – Charlemagne, Clubs -Alexander, the Great, Diamonds - Julius Caesar

Kindergarten News

Ms. Rust’s Class

This month the second Tribes Day was held but it was the first chance the part-time kindergarteners had to participate (the last one was held in the afternoon). I volunteered as a parent last time, however, so I can draw from both experiences in expressing my gratitude for how the middle schoolers are being encouraged to care for the youngest in their tribes. In playgrounds around the city I am consistently amazed by how little consideration older kids give to smaller ones' balance & agility as they roughly pass by (sometimes at heights!), & I am gratified to see values of consideration, respect & awareness inculcated in our older Madrona students as they take on the roles of welcoming and caring for the newest members of the school. The middle schoolers came down from the risers last time to collect the kindergarteners as they entered the gym, & this time all the children were buddied up and given time to get to know one another before participating in teamwork exercises. The kids were again paired up for a game of freeze tag in the beautiful spring weather and finally given a chance to work in groupings of four. Initially my own five year old was quite reticent to talk or hold hands with kids she didn't know, but through the help of her buddy she warmed up to the experience & came back to Ms. Rust's room quite excited to have made another big girl friend. The spirits seemed high & I am hopeful that others had a similar experience.

-Erika Jennings

Mr. Kelly’s Class

Mr. Kelly’s Kindergartners have a busy month ahead of them. The kids will be focusing on understanding honesty & learning to distinguish between addition & subtraction. The numbers focus will be on the teens & the alphabet focus will be on letters M, E, U, long vowels & visualizing to assist with comprehension. In March & April while the older kids are taking the WASL the kindergartners will be taking the WAFL. This gives them an opportunity to explore some test taking skills. The kids will be practicing their math skills with M&Ms & Eggo waffles.

Lucky the Leprechaun will be visiting the classroom. His visit allows the children to discuss greed, abundance & trust. Rather than capturing Lucky for his gold they will be building him a resort & a safe place on the green table in the classroom. There they will offer him personal treasures.

Rainforests have appeared in the kindergarten classrooms. The children will be learning about the animals of the rainforest from ants to jaguars. They will learn about the rainforests resources & how it effects us in daily life. Lifecycles will be taught by raising & releasing butterflies & ants. They will be learning what we can do to help preserve the rain forests. The zoo field trip is April 10. We are all excited about going as a class to see the animals many of which we have already learned about.

- Doreen Hocraffer

da Vinci

Many daVinci students are participating in Seussical the Musical, so there’s a sense of anticipation as the play and spring break both loom on the horizon. They’re also excited about Camp Hamilton in June. Still, there’s a lot going on in the classroom to keep kids focused.

On Wed., March 12, daVinci students attended the Seattle Children’s Theatre production of “100 Dresses”, a classic story about bigotry, peer pressure, guilt and redemption that takes place in 1930’s in small town America. We’ll get a report on the play in the next issue of the Bear Facts! Our recent lunar eclipse happened at a convenient time, since the class is now focusing on astronomy in science. In addition to solar and lunar eclipses, students are learning about seasons and the solar system, and they have made and displayed models of the planets. In Social studies, students are finishing up their examination of Mesopotamia with “Readers Theater.” Next on the agenda is Ancient Egypt – pyramids, pharaohs, and the rest are always a highlight. Artist-in-residence, Jill Nunemaker, has spent the last four Friday mornings teaching DaVinci students the basics of drawing. An art grant from Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation supports her work in the classroom. Children have been filling their sketch books and taking turns as artist models. As teachers it has been a treat to watch students experiment with a variety of drawing strategies and discover unexpected skills.

Jill will visit the DaVinci Center again later in the spring to work with students on Greek pottery as part of our study of ancient civilizations.

-Valerie Kelley & Lynn McCabe

ASB News

Thanks to everyone who supported ASB candy-gram sales for Valentine’s Day this year. Beginning March 17 – 28, ASB will be running a canned food drive for the local food bank. Prizes will go to the primary, intermediate and middle school center that brings in the most CANS (please do not send noodles). Foods that include vitamins and protein are especially needed (peanut butter, chili, beans…).

-BJ Stephenson

Center News

Epicenter

Don't be worried if you see things flying about in the Epicenter--the kids have been experimenting with catapults! They manipulate numerous variables and record the results for how high the object flies. In social studies students are choosing and creating artifacts from their ancient civilizations to display at Art Walk. In math geometry is the focus with emphasis on shapes and exterior angles. The tulip project continues to sprout at an ever increasing pace as the warmer days of spring are upon us.

-Doug Fair

The View from the Summit

Summit Center is having a blast in the afternoons! On Judi’s side, where the 4th year students are, they have a nutrition class and are drawing giant self-portraits. On Marianne’s side, the 5th and 6th year kids have Health, where they learn about the human body.

Every Friday morning Summit Center has Art class, in which we get to create so many amazing things. Lately we did paintings of urns, and Mesopotamia-inspired drawings with crayons on sandpaper: the finished designs were then ironed on to cloth to make wall hangings. The finished cloth is so pretty (and bumpy)! You can view them in the hallway outside rooms 16 and 17.

- Liz Hood, Summit student

Paw-Sal-Cha’l

This month the inspiration and creativity flowed onto the walls in the Paw Sal Cha’l classrooms! Johanna, Deborah, the students and their families had an awesome painting party. Two beautiful mountain murals were painted. The children are very pleased with their refreshing scenery! The class is also looking forward to studying marine life and ocean ecosystems at the Seattle Aquarium on March 26th.

-Shellette Dubois

Madrona's Vineyard

DHH Kickball Club

Friday, March, 21 , 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Activities will include games and crafts. Dinner will be served at 5 pm. This is for all deaf, hard of hearing, CODA and hearing signers. The club meets in the gym. This year we are asking for a donation of $5 per child to cover cost of dinner. Please come and join in the fun! For more information/questions or if you want to help or have a story you want to share contact Joanna Clearbrook (daisyjo@tmail.com) or Cheryl Kaler(KalerC@edmonds.wednet.edu.

Please RSVP to teachers.

Center News

TXT Center

Dear Madrona Community,

Thank you for your interest in TXT. In social studies, we have been hard at work on our Junior Achievement curriculum. We have been learning the parts of an economy and how these parts work together. I want to thank Ashley Koe, our parent volunteer, who has donated countless hours in our classroom helping with Junior Achievement. We appreciate you so much, Ashley. In math this month we continue to focus on story problems. Next month we will be practicing how to write number words, keep a checkbook register and how to fill out a check. This math unit ties in with what we need to know for our Junior Achievement field trip on May 2nd. In addition, students who want to earn McDonald’s lunches for memorizing their math facts need to accomplish this before March 13th. I am going on maternity leave and am not sure if my substitute would appreciate me volunteering him/her to buy student lunches! Smile.

In addition, before I go on leave I want to say a huge “thank you” to my assistants this year. Janeen Steele, Thawin Choulaphan, and Lori Dockter have been a tremendous help to me. All three of them come to work every day and work very hard. They are all “kid focused” and are constantly working with students to ensure their success. I cannot begin to express my appreciation for these three individuals but wanted to recognize them to you as a community as a group of outstanding individuals. Thank you, Janeen, Thawin, and Lori. You are appreciated more than you know!

-April McGill, DHH Intermediate Teacher

The Comets

The Comets have a new addition to welcome to our class. Annette Barga is a student teacher that comes to us from Lamar University in Texas. She started in January 29th and will be with us until April 20th. We also wanted to remind the Madrona community that Deaf Awareness Week is March 24-28. The students in the school will be receiving buttons again this year. We will be having an assembly on March 27th.

- Lori Wike

Ohana

Jeanice's Language group is studying some important blacks who tried to stop segregation and help other blacks escape slavery, like Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, and George Washington Carver, a Scientist. I'm in the George Washington Carver group. I learned that he invented crop rotation, where one year he grew peanuts and the other, cotton, to save soil. The whole center had a Valentine's party on February 14th. On the same day, we had Volunteer Appreciation Day. After Robert introduced each parent, two students gave each volunteer some presents, then we all clapped.

- Ohana 3rd Grader, Emi Nakashima

(PS: Jeanice’s language group also made a “photostory” for Black History Month - you can view this by going to the Ohana website, click on “homework”, then follow the link to the document category (special projects).

Center News

A Special Article from SND

Reading time on Mondays holds a special interest for students in the SND class. In addition to all the dedicated parents who volunteer on a regular basis during reading, Julia Peterson comes in to work with students on their reading. She corrects students’ vocabulary and pronunciation, asking them to re-read sections and guides their eye using her finger to help them keep their place. All typical teaching strategies, but Julia is deaf. She uses her peripheral vision to watch the interpreter sign exactly what is being read by the student.. In addition to working on reading fluency, Julia will teach the student ASL signs for select words within the reading. Watching Julia work in tandem with the interpreter illustrates the enthusiasm SND students have for an opportunity to read with Julia.

After photographing the reading session I had an opportunity to sit down with Julia & Lisa Flatt, interpreter and ADA coordinator, and learn more about interpretive services available to all parents, students and teachers in the Edmonds School District. It is …” the intent and commitment of the District to provide communication access for our Deaf community. We want to have appropriate interpreters for our deaf employees, families and community when they are participating in activities sponsored by the District.” (Edmonds School District) Not only are interpreters provided for deaf students and families as a way to communicate during class or participate in school sponsored activities, but interpretive services may be requested by hearing persons as well, to reduce the communication barrier that may prevent persons from establishing connections and relationships with other families.

ASL services can be utilized by all Edmonds School District community members, including yourself! The easiest way to schedule interpretive services is to visit the requests web page at: http://www.edmonds.wednet.edu/about/aslrequests.cfm (Link can also be found on the Bear Facts web site.) Details are provided on what type of information should be included in your request, which is as simple as an email!

- Monica Edwards

Just For Fun

The Bear Market

Madrona’s own “classified ads!”

If you’ve got something to sell, or a service to provide, post it here! Send ads for “The Bear Market” by the end of each month to: nancykaris@comcast.net

The Beauty of Math!

1 x 8 + 1 = 9

12 x 8 + 2 = 98

123 x 8 + 3 = 987

1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876

12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765

123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654

1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543

12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432

123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11

12 x 9 + 3 = 111

123 x 9 + 4 = 1111

1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111

12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111

123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111

1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111

12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111

123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88

98 x 9 + 6 = 888

987 x 9 + 5 = 8888

9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888

98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888

987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888

9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888

98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

1 x 1 = 1

11 x 11 = 121

111 x 111 = 12321

1111 x 1111 = 1234321

11111 x 11111 = 123454321

111111 x 111111 = 12345654321

1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321

11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321

111111111 x 111111111=12345678987654321

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

Madrona Cooks!

Irish Stew (from www.foodnetwork.com)

serves 8

4 pounds lamb shoulder, cubed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
24 frozen pearl onions
2 medium carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup dried pearl barley
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups stout
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
12 new potatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat oil over medium high heat in large dutch oven. Add the lamb, sprinkle with salt & pepper & saute until browned. Set aside. Add onions, carrots, and barley to the pot. Stir to coat, about 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, stout, bay leaf, and thyme to the pot. Return the lamb to the pot, place the potatoes on top and bring to a simmer. Cover and bake in oven 2-3 hours, or until the lamb is fork tender. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with the parsley and chives.

Submit recipes to: nancykaris@comcast.net

Bear Facts Web Site

The Madrona Bear Facts Web site (http://madronabearfacts.com) is YOUR reliable source of information about Madrona! Please contact Allan Townsend, if you have suggestions or concerns about the Web site. It is updated constantly with fresh information. Keep checking back throughout the year. And don’t forget the online Calendar – it’s a great way to check on Madrona events & meetings.

- Allan Townsend, MIT Communications Director

The Back Page

Important dates and events to remember…

Save The Date!

Mar 10-13 Support Staff Appreciation Week
Mar 11 Sno-King MS Orchestra Festival
Mar 13 Sno-King MS Band Festival
Mar 14 Non- Student Day
Mar 17 St. Patrick’s Day
Mar 17-28 ASB Canned Food Drive
Mar 18 MIT Meeting
Mar 18 Edmonds Elementary Honors Concert
Mar 19 Compassionate Comm. Group
Mar 20 K-6 early release day
Mar 20 First day of Spring!
Mar 20-22 Suessical
Mar 21 DHH Kickball Club
Mar 24-28 Scholastic Book Fair
Mar 24-28 Deaf Awareness Week
Mar 25&27 Primary Concert
Mar 28 Hip Hop Workshop
Mar 31-Apr 4 Spring Break
Apr 8 Internet Safety Presentation
Apr 14-May 2 WASL
Apr 15 MIT Meeting
Apr 19 EWHS Big Band Dance

May 4-11 Teacher Appreciation Week!

Bear Facts Newsletter

Many thanks to all who contributed to this newsletter! It’s your articles that keep the Bear Facts interesting. Our next deadline is April 5 & will come out on April 9. Send all articles to nancykaris@comcast.net.

- Nancy Karis

Scrip News

Spring is just around the corner! Time to begin thinking of your spring home improvement projects and we have the gift cards just for you! Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sky Nursery, Fred Meyer, are just a few of the many cards available. And remember, we have many restaurants to choose from so you don’t have to cook after working in the yard! Each time you buy gift cards and shop at these stores or eat at the restaurants available, our school earns money! Easy! Also, begin thinking of your summer vacations. We can order a multitude of hotel cards that are good across the nation (we also have a Disney card!). I’ll see you at the scrip table (or you can drop off your order in the office!)

– Linda Park