March 2018

Dear Parents,

The world seems to be moving at a furious pace. Sometimes it seems like our days just couldn’t get any busier, and yet somehow, they do! As adults, we feel this, and I can assure you that our children feel it too.

It’s good to keep our children involved in a variety of

extracurricular activities, but as parents, how do we know “just how much is too much?” This month, I would like to focus on providing our elementary parents some tips on how to keep your children from being overscheduled, and perhaps help parents reduce everyone’s stress level too.

In trying to determine if your child is overscheduled, it is

important to seek balance by considering what works for each individual child. When selecting an afterschool or weekend activity for your child, consider the following:

• Passion - Will this activity give them an opportunity to learn

more about something they truly love. To avoid burn out, try keeping involvement to 1-2 times per week. This is an almost impossible task with organized sports but continue to check with your child to see if they are enjoying it.

• Be Supportive, Not Critical - Monitor the pressure level your child feels with the extracurricular activity. Keep in mind the point is to have fun and expand their horizons, not to make them a prodigy or superstar athlete.

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Your Creativity is the Greatest Gift you will

ever be Given, and

it’s the source of

the greatest things you

will achieve

-Ian Brennan

Everything is

ENERGY. Your THOUGHTS

begin it, your EMOTIONS

amplify it, and your ACTIONS

increase its momentum.

-Niurka

• Schedule Down Time - Children cannot be creative if every minute of time is scheduled. Young people need considerable amounts of rest. Children need time to ponder, explore, use their imagination, and experience free play. Be sure to allow time for kids to be kids!

• Mix it Up - Psychologists often suggest variety, involving children in no more than 3 activities in a given period; one social, one physical, and one creative or artistic. Parents, no one person knows your child better than you

do. The pressure and stress of keeping up with too many planned events can take a toll on your child and your family. As principal, I would be remiss if I did not point out the value in quiet reading times, and time spent doing kind acts for others. We all seek balance in these busy times. I hope these suggestions help you and your child find yours. Warmest Regards, Mrs. Golem Principal

We wanted to give a big thank you to many volunteers who have headed some special PFA events around campus. Thank you to Rekha Krishnankutty who held a successful and informative Parent Education Night about Growth Mindset. Another big thank you to Jess Jacobus and Susan Sloat who led a fun night at the Sock Hop! A big thank you to Mia Nelson who continues to provide fun restaurant nights each month. We are looking forward to the remainder of our year with Family Reading Night, the GALA, and the GALA Glow. Please remember that without amazing volunteers, we cannot have all of these fun and informative events for our kiddos and families. Please try to help and support PFA where you can. Thank you everyone!

Sincerely, Andi Keith and Melissa Worthy PFA Presidents

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VALENTINE’S DAY in TK Transitional Kindergarteners made Love Bugs,

played Valentine’s Bingo,

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VALENTINE’S DAY in TK Valentine’s Bingo, berry parfaits,

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VALENTINE’S DAY in TK Delivering their Valentine’s to their fun homemade Valentine’s boxes.

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VALENTINE’S DAY In 1st Grade Mrs. Sundstrom’s class had a waffle breakfast, passed out Valentines and played games.

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VALENTINE’S DAY In 1st Grade Mrs. Sundstrom’s class

Mrs. Pinto’s class patiently waiting to pass out their Valentine’s.

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VALENTINE’S DAY In 1st Grade Passing Valentine’s in Mrs. Pinto’s class.

Wish there were more pictures of your kid’s class?

You can submit your class pictures for the PFA Roadrunner

Newsletter by the 20th of each month for the coming month.

Send pictures to Sirena at sbudrakey@gmail.com.

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VALENTINE’S DAY In 2nd Grade Second grade celebrated Valentine’s day with a Special Waffle Breakfast.

Mrs. Kneller’s class had Valentine’s themed centers and munched on delicious heart shaped

waffles made by Mrs. Kneller with extra love.

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Wish there were more pictures of your kid’s class?

You can submit your class pictures for the PFA Roadrunner Newsletter by the 20th of each month for the coming month.

Send pictures to Sirena at sbudrakey@gmail.com.

VALENTINE’S DAY in 2nd Grade

Mrs. Pederson’s class donned their PJ’s, dined on waffles, decorated milk jugs to receive their

Valentine’s along with their centers.

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VALENTINE’S DAY in 3rd Grade Mrs. Barrett’s class exchanging Valentine’s

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VALENTINE’S DAY in 3rd Grade In the true spirit of Valentine's Day and using their hearts for kindness and compassion, Room 20 tied 6 fleece blankets together to donate to Project Linus. Project Linus is a non-profit organization which matches handmade-blankets of all shapes and sizes to children in hospitals and orphanages who need something warm to snuggle with especially if they are sick or need some comforting. The kids also wrote letters to the "Little Ones" who will be receiving their blankets letting them know that someone cares about them. The Ventura County Project Linus Coordinator visited Room 20 to collect the blankets and dub all 24 students as Project Linus Blanketeers. If you would like to find out more about Project Linus and support their mission by donating handmade blankets, please visit their website at www.projectlinus.org.

Room 20 students busy tying knots on their fleece blankets.

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VALENTINE’S DAY in 3rd Grade Mrs. Byington’s class Project Linus blankets

Trevor Morgan, McKayla Hernandez, & Ben Fournier didn't monkey around to complete their fleece

blanket.

Rohn Kuenstle, Sebastian Ferretiz, Zoe Sellers, and Sharlene Ariyaratne went "wild" with their blanket.

Miles Lewis, Judah Kroenke, Keanan Fisher, and

Leonardo Ramirez popped into action to get their blanket tied.

Keith Chetwynd, Cyurs Sharifi-Zanjani, Harmony Pandey, & Sammy Case made an elephant-themed

blanket.

Samantha Suarez, Kamia Timan, Jimmy Shields, and William Espirito knotted a ladybug blanket.

Mahalia Rubio, Brody Champlin, Sophia Hamlett, and Tristan Kulpaca got moving to finish their

transportation blanket.

VALENTINE’S DAY in 4th Grade Mrs. Birg’s class got creative and crafty decorating their Valentine’s bags.

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VALENTINE’S DAY in 4th Grade Mrs. Birg’s creative hearts.

KINDERGARTENERS… Celebrated the 100th day of school on Feb 2. They are working on the letter M and more sight words. With Mystery Science lessons, the kids got to watch the Olympics. Aspen is switching their science curriculum to FOSS (Full Option Science System). FOSS aims to engage students in science through active learning. Our Kindergarteners are loving

science as these lessons touch all the learning modalities: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. They are also getting time to use the computers in the classroom and in the computer lab.

FIRST GRADERS… Continue their weather unit. They began practicing for their “Wonderful Weather” show for

the assembly in March. They also began 2-digit addition and subtraction and continue expanding their vocabulary and phonics lessons to improve their reading and writing skills.

SECOND GRADERS… Valentine’s themed word games, books, & puzzles challenged our 2nd graders this month.

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SECOND GRADERS… On the computer…

…working on STEM projects and reading to each other to improve their fluency.

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SECOND GRADERS… Art projects

… reading to each other to improve their fluency.

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THIRD GRADERS… At the end of February,the Aspen third graders travelled to the Civic Arts Plaza to join the New West Symphony in their The Orchestra Sings! program. Here, the students prepared several pieces to play on their recorders with the professional symphony such as "Ode to Joy, "New World Symphony," and "Make Words Sing!" plus got to sing along with "Simple Gifts," Come and Play," "Bought Me a Cat," and "Oye." As an added plus, they got to be the appreciative audience as the music soared in Variations on a Shaker Melody from "Appalachian Springs" and the Finale from "The Firebird Suite." Many students were inspired by this trip to learn to play a new instrument besides the recorder - let's see what musicians spring forth from the third grade!

The audience singing along to "Bought Me a Cat."

Traveling by bus to the Civic Arts Plaza.

Judah Kroenke, Mahalia Rubio, & Kamia Timan dance to "Oye."

Jimmy Shields and Miles Lewis play along with the orchestra in "Ode to Joy" while Sammy case's

grandparents record the event!

Rohan Kuenstle, Trevor Morgan, & Samantha Suarez play the lilting melody of the "New World Symphony" while the rest of the Aspen 3rd graders join in with the

rest of the audience.

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FOURTH GRADERS… The 4th graders are learning multiple different ways to improve their spelling through projects. Our teachers are diligently growing our children’s natural curiosity and developing their character to reveal their full academic potential from within.

FIFTH GRADERS… Had an Astronomy Night this month – ask your kids what they thought! Currently the 5th grade has an anthology theme “Team Up to Survive.” Through the stories, they are working on comprehension skills, identifying the problem and solution, facts vs. opinions, drawing conclusions and making judgements. In Social Studies, students are learning about the influences on Europeans that made them choose to settle in North America and systems developed in the colonies, the role of slavery and what brought on

democratic ideas. In Science, the students will begin learning about 4 systems of the human body: respiratory, digestive, circulatory, and excretory.

Congratulations

Leo Hutson Alexander Esposito

Aiden Keith Avery Nguyen

Avery Worthington Sawyer Grosfeld

Sharlene Ariyaratne Wyatt Studebaker Christopher Carpo Jackson Messervy

Maria Vazquez Elsa Paley

Robert Gomez For reaching Level 6

in Reading Counts!

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Aspen’s Student Council

Student Council is an excellent way for 4th and 5th graders to become involved with their school and to put their leadership skills into practice.

Thank you to our current Student Council for bringing so many amazing projects and awareness to ways we can support local and

national causes. You are inspiring change!

RESTAURANT NIGHT – Wednesday March 21, 2018 from 11a-9p

Check your child’s backpack for the flier!

Aspen Elementary invites you to a fundraiser at: Little Calf Creamery and Cafe

652 East Janss Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 805-497-2000

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 from 11am - 9pm Little Calf Creamery and Cafe will donate 20%

of your entire bill to Aspen PFA Valid for dine-in or take out order.

(Present flyer at time of order) www.littlecalfcreamery.com

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When: Friday, April 13, 2018 6:30-11:30pm

Where: The Los Robles Greens

Sunset Ballroom 299 S. Moorpark Road Thousand Oaks, 91361

Who: Parents, Teachers, Specialists, Staff, Family

& Friends of our Aspen community.

Plan to join us for this exciting, adults only, event.

Evening attire suggested and bring your favorite Masquerade style mask.

EARLY BIRD Entry ticket $65* single ticket, $120* couples ticket *ticket price will increase to $85 single ticket and $160 couples ticket on April 1st

Entry includes:

• All Access to view and participate in the online Auction IN PERSON • All Access to view and participate in the LIVE AUCTION • Hosted Social - One (1) Drink ticket per ticketed attendee

• Passed Appetizers during the social • 3 Course Plated Dinner (vegetarian option available)

• Dancing and a GREAT TIME!

To purchase tickets ONLINE visit: https://squareup.com/store/aspen-parent-faculty-association

To pay with cash or check look for a ticket table at

MORNING DROP OFF Thursday and Friday.

Please join the Facebook group for up to date information regarding the Gala. Search ‘Aspen Gala’ in Facebook Groups and click JOIN

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Beginning in November as our teachers began to fully know our students, Aspen began its Student Recognition Awards. Students will be recognized each month through May.

November Awards TK - Rm. 6 - Mrs. Fisher � Positive Attitude: Ashlyn Konish � Citizenship: Logan Andersen � Perseverance: Harper Lindsey TK – Rm. 3 – Mrs. Wildermuth � Optimism: Braxton Arzouman � Positive Attitude: Charlie Peters � Learning from Mistakes: Kason Speer K – Rm. A – Mrs. Miller � Helpfulness: Rachel Clarkson � Challenge Enthusiast: Luke Dyer � Optimism: Elaina Khnkoyan � Citizenship: Presley Duncan, � Citizenship: Rose Jones � Kindness: Adrian Suniga K – Rm. B – Mrs. Poling � Helpfulness: Justice McKinney � Positive Attitude: Ryan Schram � Citizenship: Solomon McKinney � Citizenship: Riley Jones � Kindness: Jack Landry � Kindness: Sydney Turner TK/K/1 – Rm. 5 – Mrs. Aliano � Positive Attitude: Rayirth Dutta � Optimism: Christopher Steiner 1 – Rm. 1 – Mrs. Button/Mrs. Farhit � Perseverance: Ashton Espirito � Optimism: Dexter Pickle � Kindness: Bridget Hunzeker 1 – Rm. 1 – Mrs. Pinto � Positive Attitude: Nikolai Budrakey � Challenge Enthusiast: Genesis Robles � Kindness: Maxwell Chapman

1 / 2 - Rm. 9 – Mrs. Sundstrom � Positive Attitude: Jackson Potter � Citizenship: Faye D’Attile � Kindness: Getsi Hernandez Torres � Sportsmanship: Samuel Anderson 2 – Rm. 12 – Mrs. Kneller � Positive Attitude: Maya Sosa � Challenge Enthusiast: Sawyer Grosfeld � Optimism: Bowen Yu � Perseverance: Ashley Chutuk 2 – Rm. 19 – Mrs. Pederson � Challenge Enthusiast: Ethan Nishizaki � Reflection: Evan Jones � Optimism: Aryana Fernandez 3 – Rm. 21 – Mrs. Barrett � Positive Attitude: Nico Mitchell � Challenge Enthusiast: Abigail Choi � Reflection: Aurora Taute � Sportsmanship: Miles Pelletier 3 – Rm. 20 – Mrs. Byington � Positive Attitude: Ava Aliano � Challenge Enthusiast: Sharlene Anyaratne � Optimism: William Espirito � Perseverence: Cyrus Sharifi-Zanjani 2/3 – Rm C. - Mrs. Blanco � Positive Attitude: Ella Russel � Citizenship: Conor Travers 4 – Rm 15 - Mrs. Brown � Helpfulness: Wyatt Turley � Challenge Enthusiast: Alex Harjoto � Optimism: London Halvorsen � Perseverence: Gabby Napoli

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November Awards (cont’d) 4 – Rm 16 - Mrs. Birg � Positive Attitude: Finn Barber � Sportsmanship: Joshua Samson � Challenge Enthusiast: Christopher Toppe � Optimism: Audrey Cuico � Perseverance: Abigail Coffee 4/5 – Rm. 7 – Mrs. Larimer � Kindness: Maria Vazquez � Positive Attitude: Jenson Fulford � Citizenship: Dulce Vazquez

5 – Rm. 11 – Mr. Stelle � Citizenship: Eme Beshears � Helpfulness: Sayln Cutler � Optimism: Veronica McLaughlin � Perseverance: Max Garcia 5 – Rm. 10 – Mr. Walker � Positive Attitude: Addison Evans � Challenge Enthusiast: Ella Thomas � Optimism: Jaxon O’Bryan � Citizenship: Madeline Withrow � Kindness: Jimi Boger

No December Awards

January Awards TK - Rm. 6 - Mrs. Fisher � Challenge Enthusiast: Penny McElvany � Challenge Enthusiast: William Hope � Reflection: Silvan Hoen-Almaden � Kindness: Emma Coltin � Perseverance: Harper Lindsey TK – Rm. 3 – Mrs. Wildermuth � Problem Solver: Miles Hall � Kindness: Mikyla Metz � Learning from Mistakes: Macaela Armacost K – Rm. A – Mrs. Miller � Positive Attitude: Frankie Traut � Positive Attitude: Juan Rodriguez � Reflection: Paul Matzko � Reflection: Dylan Van Dyk � Kindness: Bradley Marsh � Kindness: Lillian Lydick K – Rm. B – Mrs. Poling � Problem Solver: Parker Harjoto � Problem Solver: William Raftree � Citizenship: Jackson Thomas � Citizenship: Mikayla Ariyaratne � Positive Attitude: Tyler Bart � Perseverance: Charli Bart

TK/K/1 – Rm. 5 – Mrs. Aliano � Helpfulness: TJ Vistante � Kindness: Alex Burgos 1 – Rm. 1 – Mrs. Button/Mrs. Farhit � Perseverance: Linnaea Giese � Reflection: Sebastian Kristiansen � Kindness: George Goh � Positive Attitude: MacKenzie Payne 1 – Rm. 1 – Mrs. Pinto � Problem Solver: Elouera Pope � Reflection: Savannah DeNuccio � Sportsmanship: Leo Wolfe � Perseverance: Logan Pavia 1 / 2 - Rm. 9 – Mrs. Sundstrom � Positive Attitude: Madelyn Friedman � Citizenship: Charlotte Snow � Kindness: Mia Thomas � Sportsmanship: Adam Snow 2 – Rm. 12 – Mrs. Kneller � Problem Solver: Jose Mazariego � Helpfulness: Rebecca Mendoza � Kindness: Olivia DeRaad � Kindness: Skyler Hadaller

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January Awards (cont’d) 2 – Rm. 19 – Mrs. Pederson � Problem Solver: Justin Ezaki � Positive Attitude: Christopher Pemberton � Challenge Enthusiast: Saylor Halvorsen � Optimism: Shresta Adusumilli 3 – Rm. 21 – Mrs. Barrett � Positive Attitude: Genesis Mejia � Helpfulness: Patrick Nelson � Challenge Enthusiast: Audrey Gharzuzi � Kindness: Sebastian Johnson Macineira 3 – Rm. 20 – Mrs. Byington � Positive Attitude: McKayla Hernandez � Challenge Enthusiast: Judah Kroenke � Optimism: Samantha Suarez � Perseverance: Brody Champlin 2/3 – Rm C. - Mrs. Blanco � Helpfulness: Ryan Hawthorne � Perseverance: Bradley Blanco 4 – Rm 15 - Mrs. Brown � Problem Solver: Nicolas Hernandez-Torres � Challenge Enthusiast: Lene Nagorsen � Optimism: Isaiah Quintero � Perseverance: Zinny Silikula

4 – Rm 16 - Mrs. Birg � Positive Attitude: Elyana Calderone � Challenge Enthusiast: Aiden Keith � Reflection: Steven Fransen � Optimism: Avery Worthington � Citizenship: Miles Carter � Kindness: Jaydon Hibbard 4/5 – Rm. 7 – Mrs. Larimer � Kindness: Lily Cota � Positive Attitude: Elsa Paley � Citizenship: Vanya Berezkin 5 – Rm. 11 – Mr. Stelle � Positive Attitude: Zach Reer � Citizenship: Joey Saari � Challenge Enthusiast: Justin Tsumpes � Kindness: Katherine McEntee � Perseverance: Zoe Noonan 5 – Rm. 10 – Mr. Walker � Positive Attitude: Owen Freeman � Challenge Enthusiast: Jacob Bradley � Optimism: Haley Prisbe � Citizenship: Kira Taylor � Kindness: Isabelle DeSantiago

Wish there were more pictures of your kid’s class?

You can submit your class pictures for the PFA Roadrunner Newsletter by the 20th of each month for the coming month.

Send pictures to Sirena at sbudrakey@gmail.com

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March Brain Teaser