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.