Four Years of Raising Brook Trout

On May 28, the Trout in the Classroom program at Terraset released it's latest "class" of 127 brook trout fry.

Under the diligent tutelage of Dianne Rose, with assistance from Meredith Capets and Kim Lowther, the brook trout, which are Virginia's state fish, were hatched from eggs provided by Virginia's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited and the Northern Virginia Chapter of Trout Unlimited coordinate delivery of the eggs and release of the trout into coldwater streams.

Trout Release in 2012

This is the fourth year Terraset has participated in this program (See Terraset PTA Clubs for an early history of this program at Terraset). Each year the students and staff have been fascinated to watch the delivery of the eggs, the eggs hatching, the fish growing (and sometimes dying), and finally the collection of the fry ready to be released into their natural, new home, in a suitable Virginian coldwater stream.

It was with great sadness that the students saw the empty fish tank on May 29th. Unfortunately, we will not be able to bring the program back to Terraset next year, as we are not sure whether the renovation will impact the tank's environment. "I'm sad to see them go!' Ms Trout said "I have an obvious [name] connection with those fish!"

Click here to see more pictures

Hopefully, we will be able to bring the brook trout back to Terraset once our renovation is complete. The photos from the last four years highlight some of the key events in the life of young trout. This year the trout were released into Wildcat Hollow Run in the Thompson Wildlife Management Area.

Terraset Tigers Treadle to School

Bike to School Day was scheduled for Wednesday, May 8th. However, the local meteorologist put a dampener on that plan. Reston's participating schools -- which included Aldrin ES, Armstrong ES, Dogwood ES, Forest Edge ES, Hughes MS, Hunters Woods ES, Lake Anne ES, Sunrise Valley ES, and Terraset ES -- were set to enjoy a friendly competition, organized by Reston Patch, to see who could get the highest number of participants. However, with thunderstorms forecast, several canceled, some went ahead as planned, but Terraset postponed to the Friday. No one imagined what a great turnout we would subsequently have!



The Bike Racks are overflowing!

Over 120 kids' bikes were counted on the bike racks! We believe it was the largest turnout of all Reston schools.
Luckily, we had the help of Reston Bike Club which loaned us a couple of bike racks! They also arrived ready to do bike inspections and check helmets. They even had a few helmets to give away to some very lucky kids. Further, with the sponsorship of Clif Bars, we were able to distribute healthy snacks to all the kids and their parents who joined in.

This event could never have been such a success without the support it received from the whole school. The PTA, the teachers, even the administration joined in. Ms Trout rode her bike from Ashburn that morning and reminded all the kids that a little determination can get you a long way.

 

We had particularly good representation from our Terraset Striders. One hundred percent of the running club members indicated they rode their bikes to school that day!
 



Ms Trout welcomes some early arrivals.

The Reston Association Pedestrian & Bicycling Advisory Committee hopes this event will help build more awareness of the benefits of cycling and be the starting point for future rides and opportunities. The really good news is that Bike to School Day has inspired several Terraset families to allow their kids to continue to ride to school. Ever since the big event, we have noticed half a dozen more bikes on the bike rack (editor's shout out to residents of Old Trail Drive:-)

Check out the FABB Blog for more stories from Bike to School Day!



Ms. June and Mr. Vincent Call the Shots for a Day!

What? Terraset has two new Principals?

 

Don't worry... it was just for a day and Ms. Trout was close by all the time. You see, the Lawrence family placed the highest bid for the "Principal for the Day" item at Terraset's recent Silent Auction and as a result "Ms. June" and "Mr. Vincent" called the shots for the day. "They worked very hard during their temporary assignment" Ms Trout, the "real" Terraset Principal, told us.

June, a sixth grader, and Vincent, in first grade, observed each of their classrooms. They also observed and helped in a fourth grade classroom. They had a lunch bunch with three third grade boys (which is a well regarded tradition for Terraset Principals). In addition, June and Vincent assisted Mr. Skerker, Assistant Principal, in getting SOL Snack Packs ready for our hard working teachers and Instructional Assistants who started administering SOLs this week.

There are quite a few special events scheduled over the next couple of weeks for those who successfully bid for items in the Auction. Two fourth graders are joining Mrs. Nieto and Ms. Culin for a date with the teachers' puppies. A large bunch of second graders will be playing kickball against the second grade teaching team next Monday (that could be fun to watch!). A group of four students enjoyed semi-private basketball lessons from Mr. Millar, and numerous children will be going out to dinner, the movies, and a variety of other activities thanks to the generous donations of Terraset Staff, many of whom extended the number of winners for their items to help us maximize our fundraising.

"The Silent Auction far exceeded our fundraising expectations, with over $1,800 pledged in bids!" Brain Davidson, the Silent Auction Chair, told us. What was the most popular single item this year? "Chillaxin' in LC2" brought the PTA $320!

As for our Principals for the Day... June and Vincent were introduced on WTER and everywhere they went, they were greeted by their peers with comments like, "Hi Boss!" and "Good morning, Mr. Vincent" and "Hello, Ms. June."

"We had a wonderful day!!" declared Ms Trout. We are still trying to decide who had the most fun.

Tiger Striders Get Going!

From the archives... 2009 Terraset Fun Run

Since 2009 we have been dabbling with fun runs and running clubs. Well, we have a great formula this year!

Mr. Patterson is going to work with our Tiger Striders running club to prepare participants for the Potomac River Running 2013 Father's Day 5k at South Lakes High School. Meeting twice a week starting April 17th, our runners will stretch, drill, train and pace their way to a 5k (about 3 miles) distance. The club will meet on Wednesdays and Fridays after school and there will be at least four adult coaches at each meeting and two middle-school aged assistant coaches. So, every participant can expect to get the help they need to prepare for this fun event.

We are expecting a great display of Tiger Pride on June 16th as our Terraset Striders line up to start on race day! Each runner will have an adult running buddy with them to make sure they hold their course and determination all the way through to the finish line.

There are a couple of slots still open, so if you get your child's registration in now, they may still be able to join in!

Getting Ready to Dance!

Terraset PTA works hard to ensure there are plenty of opportunities for the school and its families to get together. Spring is a great time of year to do just that, but this year we are trying something new!

On Friday April 19th, we will be having an International Earth Day Dance. "It's always a gamble to try something new" said Annette Bobby, Terraset PTA President, " but we hope this event will appeal to all our families."

"For almost 10 years now we have organized a Spring Carnival, but it seemed to be time for a change. We wanted something that would not be quite so demanding of volunteers and less susceptible to the uncertainty of spring weather." Annette told us.

Along came Diana Tamarez, mom to kindergartner Donavan and first grader Brianna, keen to become more involved and willing to turn her hand to organizing a dance! Since October of last year, Diana has been busy working with the dance committee to plan the theme, arrange the DJ, organize the decorations and pull together some activities.

Dance Club members practice some moves
influenced by Indian dance.

Dance committee members attended an SCA meeting to ask the students what they would like to see at the dance; the WTER crew started interviewing people; and dance club members even started trying out some new moves! The kids were a little unsure at first, but after asking a few questions and offering ideas, the International Earth Day Dance was confirmed.

Parents have been suggesting great ways to interpret the theme of "International Earth Day" too! The DJ will be playing popular music from around the world... so you can expect to hear Spanish, Indian, Arabic and a variety of other artists from other countries too. There will be display tables to represent ways in which different cultures celebrate Earth Day; ways to protect the environment; ideas for re-cycling and upcycling; we may even have some samples of international foods!

There will also be a couple of activities. Kids will be able to make their own passport and have it stamped at each display they visit; we have the Tremendous Treasure Tree (donations of gently used items still welcome) where kids can play to choose a large, medium or small prize; and the Cake Walk is back!

Remember, you can save from 20% on the price of tickets by getting your advanced purchase order in. Otherwise, just buy your ticket at the door for $5 each. All ticket holders are eligible for door prizes.

"We hope to see a lot of Terraset families, teachers and community members there" Diana said. "This will be such a fun way to see old friends and make some new ones!"

Terraset's International Earth Day Dance: 6:30pm, Friday April 19th, 2013.

Interim Assistant Principal Announced

Ms Trout announced Monday, March 11th that Mr. Jason Skerker will be the Interim Assistant Principal at Terraset while Ms Hunstad is on maternity leave.

Mr. Jason Skerker

This sounds like a perfect solution for Terraset. The elementary schools in south Reston form a strong community and Mr. Skerker is "excited about the transfer and being able to help out at Terraset."

 

Mr. Skerker has been an assistant principal at Hunters Woods for three years. Prior to that he was a Title 1 math coach at Graham Road, and before that taught Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd and 5th grades at two other schools in Fairfax. "When I was asked about the possibility to come over to Terraset I was eager to help. We are a close community in Reston and I look forward to being able to support our neighboring school." Mr. Skerker said.

 

Terraset ES is well regarded in with the Fairfax County Public School System. Mr. Skereker commented that he had heard so many positive things about the atmosphere at Terraset. He is looking forward  to getting to know the staff, students and families in our community. "The part of the job I am most looking forward to is being able to support the school and community in day to day operations." Mrs. Hunstad was very pleased to hear that Mr. Skerker had been appointed to this task. "I worked with him at Hunters Woods" she exclaimed "and he has a lot of experience." An important part of her responsibilities at this time of year is managing the testing procedures. She is very pleased to have someone who can step right in and seamlessly take over.

 

Mr. Skerker shared that he and his wife (who is also an educator in the county) have a beautiful four year old daughter named Adalyn and said "we are expecting another girl in the beginning of June!"

 

Welcome Mr. Skerker. We are all looking forward to getting to know you.

Terraset’s First Foray into Odyssey of the Mind

The Pet Project team in action

On Saturday March 9^th, Terraset participated in the regional tournament for Odyssey of the Mind. Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college.

We believe this is the first time our school has been represented in this great program. Unfortunately, we started preparing a little late, but after a call for interest in mid November, about 23 kids indicated they wanted to join in. We were able to enter three teams and the next three months of preparation proved to be a lot of fun for all involved.
 

One team entered their solution for the Pet Project problem. Ethan Boswell, Noah Davidson, Cyrus Pendleton, Olivia Purvis, Kathleen Russell, Eddie Schoenborn, and Caleb Waller were required to build three vehicles, each with different propulsion systems. The vehicles had to take three trips apiece to an assembly area where team members would construct a pet and have the pet do a trick. Whew! That sounds like a lot. The kids built a car that moved by rubber bands, an electric car, and a car that moved by sling shot. Their pet was a parrot and its trick was to perform a series of flips around a pole. The judges really loved their risk taking in using a slingshot to propel the car, the great acting of the group and the creativity that they all showed. The team did an amazing job and ranked 6th out of 16 teams in their division.

ARTchitecture the Musical team psyching up!

A second team worked to create ARTchitecture the Musical. Julia Thomas, Sophie Stobie, Amanda Grant, Katie Falcone, Jordyn Boswell, Rachael Boatwright and Ariel Boatwright had to create and present an original performance that included a replica of a documented architectural structure that was built between 1,000 AD and 1,600 AD. The story featured two characters that go on a quest to find three works of art that "disappeared". The performance had to include two songs that are accompanied by some type of choreographed movement. In preparing for the tournament the team had a lot of fun. Indeed, each practice offered a great chance for the girls to share many important cultural traditions (Can we have more pizza?) and solve mission critical problems (We need more paint!) “Each participant offered so much creativity and leadership.” coach Ray Boatwright commented. “They showed great teamwork and artistic innovation.” The judges were impressed with this team’s persistence and teamwork too… particularly when their scene setup did not quite go to plan on the day of competition.

 

The third team (sorry we don't have a photo) entered their interpretation of The Email Must Go Through. Eve and Esther Schofield, Tommy Smith, Celia Schulte, Ike Cho, and Brianna and Donovan Tamaraz practiced in Terraset's library to start with. The team really enjoyed sharing ideas and playing creative, team building games but, they were often very distracted by the library books (especially when the book fair was in place) wanting to read during practice. However, once it was time to build their email device, they worked in coats next to a space heater in their coach’s garage. “The team members were always upbeat, had more ideas than time allowed and overall, enjoyed their time together” said one of their coaches, Michelle Michlik. The judges complimented this team's use of recyclables and clever costuming. But our favorite comment was about how much positive energy they displayed during set up and performance. “This experience was great for the kids, they got to know some Terraset Tigers from other grades, they stretched their minds and talents, and best of all, they did it on their own.” 

 

Terraset PTA would like to thank all the volunteers who helped these three teams get to the tournament, particularly all the coaches: Ray Boatwright, Dana Grant, Brandon Boswell, Michelle Michlic and Aaron Schofield. Three teams and three success stories! “Not bad for our first year competing and having 3-4 months less time than all the other teams!” said Terraset’s Odyssey of the Mind coordinator, Katy Boswell. “We are all looking forward to next year and getting more students involved!”

Terraset Read-A-Thon Rocks

Tracy Grant and Devon Boatwright, Read-A-Thon
coordinators, celebrate reaching the Read-A-Thon goal!

February was all about reading at Terraset and the Read-A-Thon was front and center! With a goal to read 1,000,000 minutes we had our work cut out for us. But Terraset tigers don’t get scared easily. They were ready to make a mark in the annals of Terraset’s read-a-thon… all three years of it! And this year’s participants have turned themselves into legends. The Terraset community read 1,373,590 minutes and raised over $6,000.

The Read-a-Thon’s pirate theme made its way into everything. Kindergarten was singing the “Subtract like a Pirate” song, first through third grade classrooms were full of pirate stories, and fourth-sixth grade… well they’re pretty much pirates all year round anyway!

Principal Lindsay Trout visits a first grade
classroom with treasure for ALL
 

What were they really reading for… the prizes of course! The biggest prize of all was having Principal Lindsay Trout dress and speak like a pirate all day on Friday, March 8^th because “we reached our goal!” Other awards included prizes for individual readers and fundraisers, as well as awards for the classes that read the most!

 

 

Congratulations to everyone that made our read-a-thon a success this year. The kids could not have done it without the help of their teachers, parents and grandparents. It was a true community effort. We also need to acknowledge all those volunteers who helped collect, enter and collate both paper and online reading logs. We need to give a special shout-out to Brian Davidson who hosted and developed our online logging system at read.terrasetpta.org. But special thanks go to Devon Boatwright and Tracy Grant. They planned, coordinated, and executed the whole shebang, and anyone who has been involved in a program like this knows just how much behind this scenes work that entails. Thank you both so much, especially for indicating you may be willing to do it again next year! Yey!

Max Estrada - Top overall
fundraiser for 2013!

	Top Readers	Minutes	Top Fundraisers	$
Overall	Margaret Goetz	8,895	Max Estrada	445.00
K	Noah Goetz	4,126	Taryn Dougherty	180.00
1	Rebecca Goetz	5,716	North Karas	181.92
2	Alex Walters	2,310	Elliott Berg	200.00
3	Margaret Goetz	8,895	Max Estrada	445.00
4	Krishna Patel	4,671	Katie Falcone	173.10
5	Kathryn Goetz	8,597	Carlo Nassar	144.50
6	Zachary Rice	3,459	Lexi Reuling	155.00
K-2	Top Class: Ms Kirk’s 2nd grade: 38,311 minutes
3-6	Top Class: Ms Childers’ 6th grade: 52,777 minutes

 

Zumbate Saludablemente

It’s usually pretty cold at this time of the year, but not at Terraset. The kids just keep dancing! Mrs. Calvache-Vu has a program of study that includes two minutes (maximum) of highly energenic dancing during each class this quarter! Walk past her learning cottage and you won’t be able to resist the beat. They are all doing Zumba, using a fusion of Latin and international music that supports this dynamic, exciting, and effective fitness system! “I use Spanish speaking countries’ music based on salsa, merengue, cumbia, reggae, and other international music styles.” she told us.

3rd graders revved up for FLES!

Mrs. Calvache-Vu teaches FLES (Foreign Language for Elementary Schools), an approach to language learning that allows students to develop basic communication skills in a language while reinforcing and enriching content in other disciplines.

This quarter her cross-discipline curriculum will include health, nutrition and language arts in Spanish."Through this project I found that I can offer the students an opportunity to understand: what they eat; the importance of eating healthy food; how healthy choices in our daily routine benefit our body; balanced nutrition; that exercises keep our bodies in good condition; and that eating healthy and doing exercise can be fun!”

All FLES students will participate. During their FLES class they will be learning more about the food pyramid, what families eat around the world, cleanliness and hygiene, while also studying the use of location words, prepositions and verbs. In addition, students in grades 3-6 will log their activity. Mrs. Calvache-Vu shares her characteristic enthusiasm, “Through this project I am making a difference in my students’ life, promoting health and educating them to live a better life based on nutrition and exercise.”

Thanks Mrs. Calvache-Vu! Keep dancing!

Terraset Targets 1,000,000 Minutes!

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! Terraset's pirate themed read-a-thon has set sail and things are looking shipshape!

An' the chil'en be very excited! Just ask Devon Boatwright and Tracy Grant, the Cap'ns of the read-a-thon this year. They can no longer walk down the halls, or sit with their kids at lunch, without other children coming up to say how much they've been reading. They've become "the read-a-thon ladies!"  This is usually exclaimed with great excitement just before some child asks "When will I get another participation prize?"



Devon distributes fortune cookies to
week one participants.

Indeed, they are earning them... minute-by-minute! With over 66,000 minutes logged at time of writing, we are hoping there will be many more by midnight on Wednesday. That's when the kids need to have their minutes submitted for week two if they want to be eligible for the next round of participation prizes. 


But, landlubbers... the lads and lasses need your help! 1,000,000 is a VERY big number. You won't win any prizes, but by logging your minutes you will help the kids reach their goal -- to have Ms Trout dress and talk like a pirate for a day! Shawn Brown is doing his part. He read 1,200 minutes in just three days! Thanks Shawn. You seem to be a great example for Cade too.. 3rd grader, Cade Thomas, logged 1,081 minutes in the first week. But not to be outdone, 5th grader, Abeer Zaib managed 1,432 minutes! They have set the standard. We have also seen solid performances from Terraset teachers Leslie Sogandares, Bettina Forman and Allison Knode. Way to go! You really want to hear that pirate talk don't you? C'mon me Hearties, add those minutes into the system. If you didn't put them in last week, no problem... add them now! Go to read.terrasetpta.org

Tracy hears about a favorite read!

Another thing worth noting. Now there's a good reason to collect those Doubloons!

The organizing committee have introduced a new big attraction this year. For every $10 in sponsorship a student collects, their name will be added to the draw for a Kindle Fire. Collect $50, get five entries in the draw! So, encourage your kids to find those sponsors too. That would be a fantastic prize for a budding, reading enthusiast.