Spirited Garden Work Builds Spirit

The turnout at the Garden cleanup On Monday, August 27th was overwhelming. There are not enough words to say thank you. There were probably 70 people there (although our name count comes to 67, undoubtedly some have been left off this list! If you notice any names missing—see below—please let us know!) A special shout out to our Pack 32 Cub Scouts and all the Terraset Girl Scouts (including daisies & brownies) – you worked hard, you worked well… YOUR gardens are fantastic!

Vern James (left) of Whole Foods Markets with the early arrivals.
Another 50 or so people arrived to help!

We had parents, grandparents, students and staff. At the end of the evening, a community member came strolling through on her “evening constitutional” and was amazed at how the gardens were looking.

Also.. a very special thanks to Vern James of Whole Foods Markets, Reston. Our vegetable garden started with a donation from his store. We received another fantastic donation of over $4,000 this year. Vern showed up to drop off some snacks for the workers. THEN, he ended up hauling bags of mulch for us. What a Terraset Tiger… thanks Vern!

Many hands make light work! Well, maybe not light, but fun!
See more photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/Terraset.Friends

The transformation of the school entrances and gardens was unbelievable. If you get a chance to walk through the grounds, you must do it. They look beautiful! Take some friends with you.

Kim Lowther will be Rota-tilling the vegetable patches on Tuesday, August 29th with a view to planting some winter crops. We hope we can engage some of the students when they get back too.

Our Thank You List!

Vern James of Whole Foods Markets, Reston

Amy Smith – with Erik, Tommy and Shea
Amy Krull – with Ellie, Kate, Laela & Colin Huddleston, Sara & Maggie Holland
Suzanne White
Michelle Moyer
Alison Stobie – with Sophie and Rory
George Paine
Heather and David Thomas – with John and Julia
Stephanie Randall – with Kyla
Mary Purvis – with Olivia
Kim Lowther - with Haley Kuhn
Lindsay Trout
Barbara Byron – with Mary, Chris and John
Deana Dueno – with Sofia and Omar
Maria Newman
Lindsay McNell – with Ashton
Ruth and Dennis Schulte – with Celia, Lily and Leo
Tati Greenwood – with Alexa
Julie Thomas – with Tara and Nicole
Jamie Andrews – with Gillian
Annette Bobby
Kiris Powell
Traci Waller – with CJ, Hannah and Caleb
Brian Davidson – with Noah
Rebecca Estrada – with Max
Mrs. Smith – with Myisha & Mujahid Jones
Liz & James Falcone – with Katie

Terraset's New Administration Set to Serve

It’s a whole new ballgame for Terraset as our new administration gears up for the 2012-2013 school year. The new Principal, Ms Lindsay Trout, and Assistant Principal, Ms Candace Hunstad, have been working hard for the past couple of months. Not just because they want to do a good job, but because they are “coming home” and they want to give something back. “Since a very young age, I have aspired to give back to the Reston community as it has given so much to me.” Ms Trout shared.  “I’ve always wanted to come back home and serve the community.” added Ms Hunstad. “I grew up giving back with my father through our involvement in Reston Interfaith.”

You see, both our Principal and Assistant Principal know our community because they grew up in it! Ms Trout graduated from Terraset, Hughes and South Lakes and feels the people and the schools had a big impact on who she is today. Ms Hunstad went to Sunrise Valley then followed the Hughes-South Lakes path too!

Terraset’s new Assistant Principal, Candace Hunstad (left) and

Principal, Lindsay Trout, enjoy a short break on Terraset’s rooftop.

Ms Trout and Ms Hunstad have a driving vision for Terraset. They will continue to develop Terraset as a school that meets students where they are and propels them forward–academically, socially and emotionally–as far as they can possibly go.  “Students will learn to think critically, to problem solve creatively and to communicate effectively and respectfully while they are here. They will move to middle school prepared and personally invested in their own learning.” Ms Trout stated.

So how are they going to make this happen? “We are going to implement strategies and processes that will allow teachers not only to reach all students but to challenge all students academically.” said Ms Trout. “Parents of all students will feel as though their child’s needs are being met here!”

Of course, there are some things they both agree should not be changed. The fantastic teachers, great community and wonderful students are welcome to stay. Indeed, the appreciation that the staff, students and families have for this school has already made its mark. “I take great pride in our school and our staff, students and families and will lead by way of serving this wonderful Terraset family.” Ms Trout committed.

Our new administration seems determined to take a very successful school and continue to move it forward. With this energy, Terraset seems destined for a great year. Any last words Ms Hunstad? “Go Tigers!”

Trailers Get the Students Outdoors

from Liz Falcone

If you haven’t seen them yet, two new classrooms were added to Terraset this summer… outdoors! We are now the proud owners of two more trailers.

However, no one (or two) group of students get them all to themselves. No! The whole school gets to share them when they go to Art or FLES (Spanish).

Last year, Spanish was “squeezed” into the stage area in the cafeteria and Art was in Pod Three with the 3^rd and 5^th grade classes. The stage was simply too small for our classes (particularly 5^th and 6^th grades) and the room in Pod Three will be needed by a fourth 3^rd grade class that is required this year.
 

Images of the new trailer-classrooms outside exit door

three (near the Gym)

As soon as you mention “trailer” you can get some fairly emotional responses, but in this case, our teachers are quite happy with the arrangment. Mrs. Wehle, Terraset’s Art teacher says “One major advantage is the students can listen to music when working on their art.” Mrs. Calvache Vu, our Spanish teacher is also looking forward to not having to “keep the volume so low!” Since FLES is a study of language and culture, you will often find the students dancing and singing in her classes. Everyone loves that unless they are having a test next door or sharing some quiet reading time. “No worries about noise and testing schedules during the SOL's.” Mrs. Wehle laughed.

Both teachers are also happy about being out in nature! “I would like to try and use the outdoor space more often.” Mrs. Wehle offered and for sure, Mrs. Calvache Vu will have our kids parading outside as they reinact Mardi Gras!

If you are worried about whether the children will be comfortable temperature wise, the airconditioning units seem to be working fine. We don’t know about the heating yet, but that will be serviced by Fairfax County Public Schools along with all the other equipment in the school.

“I would love to paint on the outside of the art trailer.” Suggested Mrs. Wehle “I have to check with Ms Trout first” she added, smiling.

There is one piece of advice… students should use the restroom BEFORE going to class in the trailer classroms. There is no water or bathroom out “in the OUTBACK” as Mrs. Wehle likes to call it. Now I’m feeling homesick!

Summer Reading Success

from Bettina Forman, Terraset Reading Specialist

Sometime last winter our principal asked a few of us to think of ideas in case we received funding for some sort of summer school program. I thought it would be wonderful simply to have the library open, and teachers available to help students choose just right books for summer reading. My friend, special ed teacher Maria Newman, thought wouldn't it be wonderful if we could feed children over the summer. And so began what turned into a program that did both and a bit more.

This summer our school provided breakfast and lunch on a daily basis-- free of charge, and with choices-- to any child, eighteen or younger, who wanted to dine. We opened the library from 9:30-11:30 every Tuesday and Thursday morning and provided, teenage, senior, and teacher volunteers to play games, create art projects, make play dough villages, help choosing books, read books together,do puzzles, learn chess, work on the summer assignment, write stories, listen to read alouds, and see their favorite teachers.



Teachers and older friends are all there to help with
letter recognition... a first step!

Typically, we had at least thirty kids come each time. Sometimes parents accompanied children and stayed for the fun. Several younger children came with their sisters and brothers. We had wonderful volunteers from South Lakes HS and Langston Hughes. Many rising seventh graders came as well as children about to enter kindergarten in September.

This program was totally Terraset grown and accomplished entirely through volunteer efforts with only a small stipend from PTA for materials. Many of the games were borrowed from teachers. All of the loving care came from staff and community. We are so thankful to have had this wonderful opportunity to spend this special time enriching our Terraset students over the summer and hope it's the start of something lasting.

Healthy Donation for Terraset

Every year, school PTAs put in hours to identify their fundraising needs. Supporting classrooms, field trips, enrichment programs, and teachers’ professional development takes a lot of effort and money. So how good is it to start the year with a gift from a generous benefactor?

Today, we received a check for $4,281.25 from Whole Foods Market, Reston. This represents the proceeds from one of their “5% days”, held in July, which was donated to Terraset PTA.

Whole Foods Market works tirelessly to support its community through its Whole Kids Foundation -- supporting schools and inspiring families to improve children’s nutrition and wellness. The Reston store has a long-time relationship with Terraset having made direct donations to Terraset’s cafeteria, supported our Earth Day Carnival and provided a grant to establish our vegetable garden three years ago. This latest contribution will help us maintain our gardens and expand them.

Vern James, Marketing Team Leader for Whole Foods Market, Reston said “[We aim] to help children and families make healthy food choices for life.” While Whole Foods Market does not dictate how the funds they donate should be used, they do encourage us to use them for our gardens and nutrition education programs. So, with that in mind, watch out for new efforts from Terraset PTA to work with our teachers and community to encourage our children to take an active role in making healthy food choices.