Read-A-Thon: Mission Sponsors Needed!

So, you have read about the great success of our mission to date. People throughout the Terraset community are finding their space to read and accumulating those meteor-minutes. However, the ultimate success of this "rocket" will be measured by how much it ignites the interest of sponsors!

Sponsorship will deliver a badly needed pay-load to the school. Have you started asking yet? Grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles... bring them all into the fold and sign them up for this mission.

Here is the Standard Operating Procedure for this phase of the mission:

1. Student participants should ask family, friends and neighbors to sponsor them.
2. Adult participants should consider making a donation ($5-$10 would make a difference)
3. Sponsors can pledge 1c per minute, or more. 
4. Some sponsors may prefer to make a donation. A $20 donation is nearly equivalent to a sponsorship rate of 1c per minute if you read 60 minutes each day. Collect these donations at the time they are offered.
5. Total minutes (at-home plus at-school) will be calculated and then reported to you on Tuesday, April 8th. 
6. Once you have this report, collect your sponsors’ pledges.
7. Sponsors calculate the amount they owe using the total minutes you read multiplied by the amount per minute they pledged.
8. Return all sponsorship and donation funds to school by Friday, April 11th.  
9. Results and rewards will be announced Monday, April 21st.

So, one small step for a Terraset Tiger, one giant leap for our Terraset Pride! Make your contribution to this cosmic event!

Need a Sponsorship Form?

Read-A-Thon: Mission Update

We are into our third week of the read-a-thon mission and all is going well! Our reading capsule is on target as we accumulate, with light speed, our meteor-minutes!

Right on track!

There is no doubt our resident space alien has helped. His captivating eyes have motivated all the Terraset Tigers as they hunt through our bunker headquarters for its whereabouts! This hunt has contributed 3,500 minutes to our current total of more than 525,000! Yes, 525,000 meteor-minutes have been accumulated! We are now in the vicinity of Jupiter and we're hurtling towards Saturn and its sixty-two moons.

There are three major strategies in place. The first, at-school reading -- the students have accumulated more than 61% of the meteor-minutes amassed thus far using this technique. The second, at-home reading -- children have been lying under, over or inside as many different space-using-vessels that they can locate, surreptitiously gathering an additional 19% of the meteor-minute collection, as they find their space to read. Finally, adults have been able to gather the remaining 20% by sneaking in their midnight sorties to collect more treasured meteor-minutes.

Kindergartners count their minutes.

With half our target accumulation in place, we need to remain focused on the mission. Do not take this lightly, Terraset Tigers must continue on this stellar adventure in reading if we are to achieve ultimate success!

Warp Factor Achievements So Far:

• Fifth Grader, Nick Migliara has collected 4,672 meteor-minutes
• Third Grader, Urooj Khattack has gathered 3,167 meteor-minutes
• First Grader, Layla Windenhofer has assembled 1,164 meteor-minutes
• Mrs. Dueno's intergalactic class has read 21,000 minutes at school
• Mrs. Asbury's shooting stars have read a total of 12,206 minutes at home
• Parent-Astronaut, Neil Stobie, has pulled together 3,400 minutes
• Extra Terrestrial Teacher, Mrs. Foreman, has set into orbit 3,120 minutes

The 2014 Read-A-Thon Blast Off!

Our trajectory to 1,000,000 meteor-minutes!

What a fantastic first week for the 2014 Terraset Read-A-Thon!

The kickoff was GREAT" third grade teacher, Ms. Childers proclaimed, "very positive..."  and despite the halting start to at-school reading because of snow days last week, there has been an excellent response from the whole community! Indeed, we have recorded over 175,000 meteor-minutes in the first week of reading! We have traveled beyond Mercury!

"My kids love the theme" third grade teacher, Mrs. Asbury, told us. A big attraction has been the space Alien which has been hiding in the school. Indeed, the "space" theme has been a huge hit with both students and staff. It has captured just about everyone's imagination. Miss Jennings' first graders have even been creating posters for it!

Third grade is working on Earth Cycles at the moment, so the Read-A-Thon theme has offered a nice connection to curriculum. A number of the teachers have extended the Read-A-Thon into their class time activities. "We are going to start a recommended reading section in our classroom during this event." Mrs. Asbury said. Several of the grades 4-6 teachers have indicated to their class that participation in the Read-A-Thon is virtually "required" which has resulted in at least three classes having close to a 100% participation rate in the first week (way to go teachers!). And K-3 teachers have been very supportive by showing students how to complete their reading logs, making extra copies for kids who have lost them, and diligently keeping track of their at-school reading time.

Undoubtedly, the students are enjoying getting the participation prizes. "I had twelve out of twenty get something." Mrs. Asbury announced. So, hopefully the rest were inspired and their will be more little prizes handed out to third grade students next week! "I have a handful who are challenged and VERY motivated to win prizes for their reading." Ms Childers added.

One of the big features in the Read-A-Thon during the first week was the Dome Theater assembly. Terraset PTA Assemblies Program and the Read-A-Thon brought the Dome Theater to the school! The Dome is a Mobile Digital Theater featuring highly innovative, immersive, and educational programs. Programs correlate primarily with pk-8th grade curriculum and cover a broad range of subjects based in topics such as social studies, science, language arts, health, and technical subjects. "That assembly ROCKED" we were told.

"[The students] are coming in each day asking each other if they have read and how many minutes? " Mrs. Asbury laughed. Let's hope that enthusiasm carries the school to its 1,000,000 meteor-minute target!

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.

Terraset Trout Eggs Due This Week!

Have you noticed the large fish tank in Terraset's courseway? Well it is about to be populated! Our next batch of some 200 Brook Trout eggs will be arriving on Thursday, October 11th.

These eggs come to us as part of the Trout in the Classroom program sponsored by Terraset PTA. First introduced in 2009 by Dianne Rose and George Paine, Terraset students have successfully released about 60 Brook Trout into Virginian streams over the past three years!

Originally the fish were raised by students in our Eco Club. Unfortunately, we cannot run Eco Club this year as the lead volunteer parent, Dianne Rose, has now "graduated" from Terraset along with the graduation of her younger child. However, this does not mean the Trout in the Classroom program will not continue. Indeed, it is about to flourish with its inclusion into the regular curriculum of one of Terraset's classrooms.

Ms Meredith Capets will work with her students to maintain the tank. The students will get to observe the life cycle of the brook trout and share in the responsibility of caring for the Trout. However, Ms Capets will not have to manage this on her own. A number of older students at Terraset, along with a couple of Terraset graduates are keen to help. Ms Capets and the volunteers will be there at key times to make sure the water quality (testing and changing as needed) and temperature (50 - 55 degrees) are right, the air pump and filter are working, any dead fish are removed, the fish are adequately fed. The team will work together to ensure as many of the eggs survive and grow vigorously through to their release time.

Terraset students release the brook trout they raised last year
into Red Bud Run

Of course, release time is the most exciting part of the whole project. The children, along with their parents, transport the fish to a carefully selected spot in a fresh water creek --typically a couple of hours drive away from Terraset.

Its been great to watch this program establish itself over the years. One of the exciting things is that every student in the school gets to watch the eggs hatch into alevin, then grow into fry at which time they are released into the wild.

Enjoy Our Fall Gardens!

Colorful display for Outdoor Classroom

Cone flowers and hyssop for the
Butterfly Garden

There are several new plants planted around the outdoor classroom, butterfly garden, and vegetable garden for the fall. In the Outdoor Classroom: hyssop, asters, daisies, Russian sage, and sedum. In the Butterfly Garden: white and purple cone flowers and hyssop. And finally the Vegetable Garden: herbs--thyme, basil, lemon balm, marjoram; and Winter vegetables--collard greens, red cabbage, and kale.



Herbs and winter vegetables for the
Vegetable Garden

The beautiful new plantings are all thanks to Troop 304 Junior Girl Scouts, who are Terraset, Armstrong, Foxmill, and Hunterwoods 5th graders. The girls determined where each plant should go based on its needs, then they prepared the space by digging out a hole, making sure it had plenty of organic garden soil, and then planted and watered each plant. “How wonderful!” Ms Trout exclaimed on hearing the news. “I can't tell you how much this means to us.”

A huge thank you to Troop 304 for their thoughtfulness and generosity. “We will take good care of the plants!” Ms Trout promised.

Please take a moment to go admire the results of the girls' hard work! The weather is perfect for roaming around the gardens.

Amy Krull
Kim Lowther
Troop 304 Leaders

It Takes a Village

It was great to see so many people rally to help the Lawrence family! New to the Terraset community and expecting their fourth child, things did not go to plan when Charlotte hurt her foot.

On the second day of school, while walking her kids to Terraset, Charlotte was hit by a car! “Obviously not paying attention” Charlotte laughed. This happened at the intersection of Soapstone and Purple Beach Drive. A driver drove over Charlotte’s foot, she fell on the road, then was rushed off to the ER. All this occurred right in front of her children.

As it turned out, Ms. Trout, Terraset’s Principal, arrived on the scene. She immediately took care of the children while emergency workers were trying to reach Mr. Lawrence. The children were taken to Terraset and comforted by Mrs. Hunstad, Terraset’s Assistant Principal. Then four hours later, Ms. Trout went to pick up Charlotte from the ER. “First time we ever met! “ Charlotte declared.

Having just moved to Reston, the Lawrences had no family or friends close by to help. They needed some quickly, so Ms. Trout put them in touch with the PTA and the Terraset magic started to happen.  Firstly, the Goetz family stepped up offering to walk the younger children to school. They were quickly assisted by the Penn family (who actually lived a little closer to the Lawrences).

Charlotte Lawrence and her new baby, Bruce.

But more excitement was on the way. Baby Lawrence, Bruce, decided to come into the world just a little earlier than expected. According to doctors, the road accident caused “Baby Bruce to come two weeks earlier, when our three other kids were one week late.” Mrs. Lawrence told us. So, Charlotte found herself back in hospital. In marches a team of Terraset tigers -- teachers and parents -- with meals for the family. “Just incredibly nice people! We feel so lucky to be part of this community.” Mrs. Lawrence said.

Welcome to Reston Tim, Charlotte, Elliot, June, Vincent and Bruce. We are all looking forward to getting to know you better!

By the way, the driver who caused the accident was charged on site by the police and court day is October 17. “I wish we had more crossing guards near by the school....” Mrs. Lawrence commented.

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.