newsletters.htm
MayParent/Board Meetings
Thismonth's parent meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 24in the Team 2 classroom. This will be the last parent meeting untilSeptember. Our monthly board meeting will immediately follow at 8:30in Team 1's classroom. The staff will present a proposed budget for2001-2002 to the board at this meeting. Please join us for bothmeetings.
DC Trip
Students and staff will betraveling to Washington, D.C., onTuesday, May 29 for our school trip.Our plan is to leave CLC at 5:00 a.m. We will bedropped off on the Mall and spend the day exploring the area andmuseums. We expect to return to CLC around 11:00 p.m. that evening.If you would like to join us as a chaperone, please let M.J. know byMay 18. We are taking 3 chartered buses this year, so we have plentyof room for parents to join us.
Picnic/Lastday of school-June 6
We are planning to spendthe afternoon (and early evening) of Wednesday, June 6 at HolmesFoster Park (upper level) for an end of the year communitycelebration. The afternoon will be spent playing active games as partof "field day" with activities organized by some of our students withthe help of Michelle Richards, our Health and Fitness instructor.This will be followed by a family potluck around 5:30 and some earlyevening family fun. Please plan to meet us at the park as early asyou can. Everyone's welcome! More details in next Friday's"mail".
2001-2002 SchoolYear - team configurations
At theApril 26th meeting of the CLC School Board, the Board unanimouslyapproved the addition of a 5th team of students, raising our schoolpopulation to a total of about 125 students, still below the approvedcharter level of 200. This expansion will bring with it bothchallenges and opportunities. However, as we have grown, ourcommunity has worked hard to find ways to make our school a strongerand more supportive place to learn, work and grow. We will continueto work in this manner towards developing the CLC's uniqueeducational environment. Class configurations for next year are stillfar from being finalized. However, based on the information aboutreturning students that we do have, it looks like we will have alarge 8th grade class combining 7th graders from teams 1,2 and 3.Otherwise, teams 3 and 4 should remain fairly intact although somevacancies will need to be filled. Two new 5th/6th grade teams willform a second pod.
2001-2002 School Year - the "Lottery"
Ourlottery for new applicants for the 2001-2002 school year washeld on Monday,April 30. Thirty-two 5th and 6th gradeapplicants were accepted for the new classes. Wealso accepted 5 students to fill in spaces in our 7th gradeclass.
Applicationswill continue to be accepted and will be used to fill inremaining openings in the order they are received. Word of mouth isour best source of advertisement! Please help us to get the word out,so that we can fill these spaces quickly.
Project BlockNews...
Pod 2 (Teams 3 & 4):
The field trip to Bald Eagle State Park was engaging and fun. Holly,our fearless naturalist, presented us with the challenge of creatinga working watershed. Each group had to build a part of the system onthe beach. It was quite a learning experience.
Back in the classroom, learning modules are beginning to shape up.Students are actively preparing presentations for the symposiumon Tuesday, May 8th. Some groups have taken the initiative toplan field trips to learn more about their specialized areas.
Team 3 Language and Writing Workshop:
Team 3 has begun live CE presentations. Devan, Austin, and Williewere the first to present, and they are to be commended for awonderful job. We look forward to hearing another wonderfulpresentation next week. Please check Kathryn's web site at:http://clccharter.org/~kathryn/currentevents.htm for scheduling andrequirement information.
As always, assignments for the week can be found on Diane's web pageat: http://clccharter.org/~diane/workshop.htm. This week, studentsare challenged to write an essay on "How to Make a Peanut Butter andJelly Sandwich." On Friday, Diane and Kathryn will test out theirinstructions with the real stuff.
Team 4 Afternoons:
Team 4's Independent Projects continue to unfold and develop.Students continue to feverishly research and collect materials. Theyshould be finished with phase two by Friday, May 4. Luke and Jacobtook a trip to the new building to survey and measure the yard for apossible soccer field and fence. Vanessa has taken on the challengeof creating the first ever CLC yearbook.
Pod1(Teams 1 & 2):
Now that the timeline is completed, thestudents are busy working on their space department's charteredagenda in small groups. There are a wide variety of areas beingresearched including Astrophysics, Robotics, Agriculture in Space,and Women in Space Science, Check outhttp://clccharter.org/~mark/projects/space/chartdep.htm to see moreinformation on this out-of-this-world project.
In language arts, both seventh and eighth graders are workingon the second stage of the alien writing project. Nearly everyculture and society has a myth of origin - a story that answersquestions of how the world was created and how beings came to be. Thesecond stage of the project will begin with a quest to understandmyths which answer these questions. In class, students will readseveral cultures' myths of origins and talk about similarities anddifferences. Each group must research a myth of origin that was notstudied in class, then prepare an oral presentation of the research.For more info, please see http://clccharter.org/~lisa/aliens2.htm .
CLC Yearbook
Vanessa(Team 4) and Brittany (Team 2) are working on the first ever CLCyearbook. Information about ordering the book and how you can helpare enclosed in this week's Friday folder(orange form).
Graduation
18 studentscomprise the first group of 8th graders to graduate form CLC. Theceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 5, with all CLC studentsattending. If you are interested in helping us to plan this specialday, please let M.J. know ASAP.
New Facility-A Reality!
As of July1 our new address will be 2643 W. College Ave. That's right - we haveour very own building! Be sure to take the online tour linked to ourhome page.
Rocket Club
Thespring launch of the rocket club will be on Saturday, May 19,at the Mount Nittany Middle School field. See Glenn's web page formore information.
Car Wash
The 8thgraders will be holding a car wash this Sunday, May 6, starting at9:30 a.m. at the 
NorthAtherton McDonald's. Please stop by, get your car washed and supportour 8th graders as they continue to raise money for theirtrip.
Student Absences
Anotherreminder to please send in a written excuse for your child's absencefrom school. If you choose to email us an excuse, please send it toyour child's home team assistant teacher, as well as to M.J. in theoffice. Our daily attendance records are kept by the assistantteachers.
SpaghettiDinner
Congratulations to theeighth graders (and their families) on a successful spaghetti dinner.Proceeds should approach $700 once all silent auction monies arecollected. This should guarantee adequate funds to allow the trip toToronto and Niagara Falls as planned. Because the cost of thechartered bus came in considerably higher than anticipated, thestudents had to raise additional money quickly or cut the length oftheir visit. They planned, organized and followed through with adelicious meal, baby-sitting and a variety of auction items forpurchase, with less than three weeks of planning time. The studentssend a hearty thank you to all who bought a meal, donated auctionitems or volunteered their time.
StandardizedTest Schedule
CAT V testsfor all grade levels began April 23 and will be completed May 16. TheSCASD writing assessment will be conducted in mid-May. Acomprehensive test schedule can be found though a link on the homepage of our web site.
GreenDesign Fair
Congratulationsto Team 2 who won the Grand Prize of $150 at the Green Design Fair onApril 8 for their Ecology and Sustainability project. Dane G. andNater also won the $100 first place prize for their Ecological Artsubmission of the "Plastic Man." Andrew S. took second place in thisdivision for his soda can pyramid. Congratulations!
Dehydration
We arespending more time outdoors now that it is so nice outside. Studentsdo not have access to a water fountain when we are on the field.Please encourage your child to drink plenty of water during the dayand to have a water bottle with them at all times.
CLC Calendar: | May 8 | POD 2 Earth and Water Symposium |
| May 22-23 | 8th grade trip to Toronto/Niagara Falls |
| May 24 | Parent Meeting 7pm/Board Meeting 8:30 pm |
| May 28 | Memorial Day (no school) |
| May 29 | All School Trip to Washington, D.C. |
| June 4 | CLC Student Conference |
| June 5 | Graduation |
| June 6 | Last day of school
School Picnic - Holmes-Foster Park
(more details later) |