Community Newsletter December 2000

DecemberParent/Board Meetings
There is no parent meeting this month due to the holidays.Our monthly Board Meeting, however, will take place on Thursday,December 21, at 7:00 p.m. in Mark's classroom. All community membersare invited and encouraged to attend this meeting.

"Newer"Parent Meeting - December 14 at 7:00 p.m.
The meeting will include apresentation of our programs followed by an opportunity fordiscussion and questions/answers. This is a chance for 1st year CLCparents to come together to meet each other, get more information andaddress concerns. If any "veteran" CLC parents would like toparticipate in this evening as a voice of experience, please contactM.J. or Theresa as soon as possible.

KnowledgeMasters
The first nationwideKnowledge Masters Open of the year was held on Tuesday and Wednesdayof this week. Congratulations to our CLC team on their success. Theteam, consisting of John L. (Team 2), Eric D. (Team 2), Stephen C.(Team 2), Michael P. (Team 4), Adam L. (Team 2), and Nicholas R. (ahomeschooled member of our team) did a phenomenal job. Theyparticipated in a grueling 2 hour, 200 question competition, testingtheir knowledge, comprehension, and analysis skills in academic areasincluding history, civics, science, math, the arts, English, healthand more. Their total score was 1383 points out of a possible 2000.This placed them 18th out of 76 middle school teams in the state ofPennsylvania and 125th out of 957 in the country. (This does not takeinto account school sizes.) Not only did the kids do a great jobacademically, they were incredible in working together as a team;talking through the questions and answers, listening to each othersideas, encouraging and congratulating each other, and not placingblame for incorrect answers. Their team work was just as, if notmore, impressive than their score and ranking, especially for a newteam. They are looking forward to continuing to work with Diane overthe next several months as they prepare for the April competition,strengthening their knowledge base and continuing to build theirteamwork skills. We would again like to thank Adelphia BusinessSolutions for their decision to sponsor our team.

Humanity and theEnvironment Project.
Thank you to parents who responded and sent in magazines for Team 1'sproject. As part of this project, the students have built a waterfiltration system for their classroom with the help of three PSUstudents from the EcoAction Club. You are all invited to come in andsee the Living Machine in Josephine's classroom.
Team 1 is now looking for some parents who like to walk in the cold:they are planning several walking field trips. The first one is Tue.12/12 to the PSU greenhouse to see their Living Machines inoperation. Please contact Josephine or Sara B. or M.J. if you areinterested in volunteering.

OnlineMagazine
The Fall 2000 edition ofthe CLC Online Magazine is online and ready for your readingenjoyment! The link can be found on the CLC web site. Included inthis issue are book reviews, stories, poetry, artwork, andnonfiction.

Scholastic BookOrders
The ordersare due on Wednesday, 12/13. Families should note on the order formif the purchases are for holiday gifts for their children.

LasagnaDinner
Congratulations to Ana and Kathrynfrom Team 1 for organizing a very successful lasagna dinner tobenefit the Heifer Project. The students prepared and served alasagna dinner, complete with bread, salad, and dessert, onWednesday, Dec. 6, to 70 guests in the UBBC Community Room. Thestudents raised $220.00 for the Heifer Project! Thanks to the manystudents, parents and teachers who volunteered to help Ana andKathryn in this effort: Jared and Ellis from team 1; Desirae, KatieB., Adam L. (plus Hannah, Jessi and dad), and David from Team 2;Ebinose, Luke (and dad), and Neal from Team 4; Kathryn's mom, dad,and sister; Ana's sister; Denise, Mark, Jalynn and M.J. Also, thankyou to the folks you participated by attending the dinner as guests.It was a huge success!

WinterBreak
There is noschool from Monday, December 25, through Monday, January 1. Studentsdo have a full day of school on Friday, December 22.

SnowDays
Just a reminderthat we follow the State College School District's decision on schoolclosings due to weather conditions. If State College is closed, we'reclosed. The closings are usually broadcast on the local radiostations and on Channel 4 on T.V. For Bellefonte, Bald Eagle andPenns Valley students, your transportation is dictated by theindividual district's decision to close or start late/dismiss early.If Bald Eagle has a 2 hour delay, but State College is on time, yourBald Eagle bus will run on the Bald Eagle schedule, two hours late.If Penns Valley is open, but State College is closed, CLC will beclosed. Does all of this make sense?

Cold WeatherClothing
A reminder to make sure your children are appropriately dressedfor the cold weather when they leave the house in the morning. We dotake students outside for recess and after school throughout thewinter. Also, please remember to write their name on the tag of theirjackets, gloves, hats, etc. so that when these items are left behindin the big room (and, inevitably, they will be at some point thiswinter) they can be returned to your child.