Pawprints - March 1, 2011

Details:

Dear Pacific Parents and Guardians,

Welcome Back Panthers! I hope that your February vacation was wonderful and that you were able to enjoy hours and hours of precious, family fun. It seems that Pacific students devoured books during the vacation and their collective reading minutes not only met our school-wide goal but also surpassed it! The Pacific student community read 421,015 minutes during the R.O.C.K. Read-A-Thon challenge! Thank you to all of the moms, dads, grandparents, older siblings, friends and neighbors who supported the reading adventures of Panthers during the month of February. On Friday, please remind your children to wear their pajamas to school (with safe school shoes) and we will celebrate Dr. Seuss, a life-long love of reading, and fun music during lunch!

In addition to hours of reading over vacation, Pacific School was exceptionally represented at the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition. The 1^st/2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th grade teams were models of Panther Pride and our community is very proud of their dedication and work. The 5^th grade team won 1^st place and they advanced to the State competition. Sending a Panther “Shout-Out” to the 5^th grade team of Bella, Joseph, Mackensie, Max, Maya, Olivia, and Zach.

Our Kindergarten Parent Orientation meeting is quickly approaching (March 8^th at 9:00 a.m. in the Pacific cafeteria). If you have a child that will be turning 5, before December 2, 2011, he/she is eligible for Kindergarten. We are excited to showcase our instructional program and our wonderful school community during the meeting and school tour. Please share the date with your friends and neighbors (adults only, please).

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your active participation in our community of excellence. We have parents/guardians that donate countless hours and dollars to ensure that Pacific has an outstanding educational program, we have dedicated teachers and staff members that consistently go “above and beyond”, and we have students that are engaged and give their personal best every single day. Panthers are truly exceptional!

In closing, please help keep our wonderful campus clean and free from vandalism. Please report any suspicious weekend or evening activity to the Manhattan Beach Police Department. The non-emergency number is 310-802-5140. Thank you for your care and commitment. Have a wonderful week!

Fondly,

Debbie Mabry

Principal

We're Gearin' Up for the 12th Annual Pacific Parent Party - Biker Ball 2011

Date: Saturday, March 19, 2011

Time: 7:00pm-11:00pm *VIP Reception Begins at 6:00pm

Location: Velocity Sports Performance

Individual Event Ticket $80 includes Buffet by Memphis Catering & Events, Live Performance by Wayward Sons, Airbrushed Tattoos, Unlimited Event Themed Photos, Candy Buffet by the CandyWarehouse, two beverage tickets...and so much more!

Don't host your own pre-party, join in on the early fun without the extra work by getting your VIP Ticket today! A Individual VIP Ticket ONLY $150 also includes transportation to and from Pacific School, VIP Reception with Hand Passed Appetizers, Auction Preview & Bidding, VIP Seating, VIP Swag Bag...and more. HURRY, less than 50 VIP tickets left!!!

Race to Nowhere Screening

Please join us for a screening of the film, Race to Nowhere, Tuesday, March 8th from 7pm to 9pm. To attend, please RSVP here. Race to Nowhere offers a view at how we can prepare the youth of American to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.

Date: Tuesday, March 8th

Time: 7pm - 9pm

Location: Mira Costa Auditorium

Cost: FREE - but you must RSVP as seating is limited

* The cost of the film is sponsored by a collaboration of the MBUSD PTA/PTSA's.

Walk or Wheel to School Wednesday, March 9th

Hey Panther! Don't forget to Walk and Wheel to school on Wednesday. It's good for the environment -- and good for you! Next Wednesday, March 9th, we're having a give-away for all those students who walk or wheel to school, so get out there and show your Panther Pride by Walking and Wheeling on Wednesdays!

Richstone Family Center's Pier-to-Pier Walk-a-Thon

The 24th Annual Richstone Family Center Pier-to-Pier Walkathon is coming April 30, 2011. April is National child abuse prevention month. Form a team and raise awareness now! Call Kristina Schrader with any questions at 310-546-9367.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS! The annual Doodle 4 Google contest is here!

Open to K-12 students, the theme is "What I'd like to do someday".

Registration ends March 2nd; entries are due by March 16th. The winner receives a $15,000 college scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for their school.

Details at http://www.google.com/doodle4google/.

An Interview with 2nd Grade Teacher and Author, Mrs. Michelle Lautanen

by Claire D., Sarah C. and London F., 4th Grade

On a sunny and warm afternoon, we interviewed one of Pacific’s talented 2nd grade teachers, Mrs. Lautanen. She wrote two fabulous and wonderful books called,

Mom, What If I Swallowed An Ice Cube? and Mom,What If I Don’t Want To Go To School Today?

London: What advice would you give to young, inspired writers?

Mrs. Lautanen: Anytime you have an idea, write it down always! Maybe keep a journal. I have a “hot” folder with a flame drawn on it that holds my ideas.

Sarah: Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Mrs. Lautanen: I was born in Zainsville, Ohio. This town is famous for having the only “Y” shaped bridge in the USA.

Claire: Is it hard to be a teacher and an author?

Mrs. Lautanen: Yes, because you have little time. In the school season I teach and in the summer I write, write, write!

London: What are your two books about?

Mrs. Lautanen: They are inspired by my kids. They were exaggerating and my daughter, Emma, thought of an idea. The next book is going to be: Mom, What If I Ran Away From Home? In the book she's going to leave notes everywhere.

Sarah: How did you decide to become a teacher?

Mrs. Lautanen: My mom and dad were school superintendents and they inspired me to become a teacher.

Claire: What inspires your stories?

Mrs. Lautanen: Real life, my own kids and school children.

London: What made you want to write two books?

Mrs. Lautanen: I thought I wanted to try to write one every other year. It’s not easy to get through to the publishing companies. It takes a long time.

Sarah: How do you like working at Pacific Elementary School? How long have you worked here?

Mrs. Lautanen: I love, love, love Pacific School! I have worked here for seven years.

Claire: Have any of the things in your stories actually happened to you and your family?

Mrs. Lautanen: No, they’re all totally made up.

London: What is something interesting about you that some people might not know?

Mrs. Lautanen: I went skydiving out of an airplane. I was a cheerleader in college, and I traveled around the country and taught during the summers.

Sarah: Does the Pacific School library have copies of your books to check out?

Mrs. Lautanen: Yes they do!

Claire: Do you think you’ll ever write a chapter book?

Mrs. Lautanen: I think so, as my kids get older, but I love picture books!

London: How long does it take you to write a book and get published?

Mrs. Lautanen: Sometimes it only takes a day to write a children's book. It could take more than a year. As far as getting it published, it could be anywhere from 6 weeks to never. Most people don't like editing, but I love it because I can think of new, descriptive words.

Sarah: I know you are a big supporter of the Odyssey of the Mind program. Can you tell our readers about this program.

Mrs. Lautanen: It is a fantastic educational program! I did the program with my son when he was in Middle School. I also went to Sacramento for the state tournament to be a judge.

Claire: How did you get the illustrations done for your books?

Mrs. Lautanen: My editor has a list of illustrators and I picked one that has whimsical and creative drawings.

Sarah: On the topic of Odyssey of the Mind, Pacific School has three teams this year. I am a member of the fourth grade team. Can you share your top 3 pieces of advice for the day of the tournament for our student represented teams?

Mrs. Lautanen: 1) Use time WISELY, 2) be positive and 3) just enjoy the process.

Mrs. Lautanen is such an amazing person! She is smart, fun and very lovable. She is an awesome teacher and should definitely write more books. If you ever see Mrs. Lautanen around the school, be sure to ask her about her books!

An Interview with Pacific’s Reading Club Teacher, Mrs. Shirlee Rogers

by Lyndsey G., Natalia U-T, and Vicky M., 5th Grade

From the amazing hallways to the magnificent classrooms of our Pacific school lies a room only for the 1st through 3rd grades called, “The Reading Club,” which has the delicious smell of gingerbread cookies, and the extremely nice and marvelous Mrs. Rogers.

Lyndsey: In college, did you major in reading?

Mrs. Rogers: NO! I was an education major with a minor in psychology and music. I later got my reading credential.

Natalia: Why don't you teach 4th & 5th grade?

Mrs. Rogers: I have a full schedule and have no time, but I would love to.

Vicky: What do you like most about Reading Club?

Mrs. Rogers: I have my own little room and I like to work with 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders.

Lyndsey: What did you excel in besides reading?

Mrs. Rogers: Music! I play the piano and flute.

Natalia: Where are you from?

Mrs. Rogers: I'm originally from Nebraska, but moved to Manhattan Beach when I was 4. So, I feel like I am a Californian.

Vicky: What’s your favorite book?

Mrs. Rogers: I don’t have a favorite book, but the book I am currently reading is called Unbroken. It is about World War II and the main character’s name is Louie Zamperini.

Lyndsey: What’s your favorite grade level to teach?

Mrs. Rogers: I don’t have a favorite - they are all a delight to teach and all have a different sense of humor.

Natalia: Have you ever published a book?

Mrs. Rogers: I haven't, but my sister has written four books. They were never published because the books had too much color (it cost too much for the publishing companies to publish), and she refused to change them.

Vicky: What’s your favorite book genre?

Mrs. Rogers: I like historical books, biographies and mysteries.

Lyndsey: What was the first book you read?

Mrs. Rogers: It may not have been my first book, but my first memory of a book I wanted to read was Nancy Drew. I used to save up my allowance until I could afford one.

Natalia: At what age did you learn to read?

Mrs. Rogers: I was about 5, I was in kindergarten.

Vicky: Did you teach at other schools?

Mrs. Rogers: In the Los Angeles Unified School District, a school called Amestoy where I taught 1st grade. In Manhattan Beach, I taught 2nd and 3rd grade at Meadows and 3rd grade at Pacific.

Lyndsey: What was your first job?

Mrs. Rogers: It was at a gift wrapping station in a department store before Christmas. My first item to gift wrap was an ironing board. What a funny memory!

Natalia: When did you decide to be a reading teacher?

Mrs. Rogers: All of my family were teachers so it was a natural choice for me.

Vicky: What subject do you like most other than reading?

Mrs. Rogers: Music.

Overall, we had a great time learning a lot about Mrs. Rogers's career, what she enjoys, and her personal experiences. Thank you, Mrs. Rogers!

Love

by Blake H., 2nd grade, Miss Peita

Love can make a difference

Love looks like a bright rainbow in the morning light,

Love smells like a fresh red rose,

Love sounds like a gentle and graceful wind,

Love tastes like beautiful, peaceful heaven,

Love feels like a precious emerald in my hand.

Love is our creator, the one that started it all!

Second Grade Sisters

Grace and Mia O’Brien, 2nd Grade, Miss Wallace/Mrs. Witlen

We are Second Grade sisters and we are twins.

Between us we have many grins.

We play and laugh together like best friends --

Our friendship never ends.

When apart we stay together by connecting hearts.

My Favorite Series of Books

by Luke N., 2nd Grade, Mrs. Lautanen

I love books! My first favorite series of books is Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. The reason I like it is because it is adventurous. I also like it because it has Greek Mythology in it. My favorite book in the series is the 5th one, called The Last Olympian. It’s about the Greek gods in a war against the Titans. The Titans are sons of Gaea, who is Mother Earth in Greek mythology. My favorite character is Percy Jackson because he’s awesome! I rate this series a billion stars out of five!

Paws Opinion:

Technology Doesn’t Always Make The Good Things In Life Better

by Bella N., 5th Grade

Books entertain and educate readers with adventure, drama, action, comedy and facts. Books have been loved for many generations, but a new invention, the e-reader (electronic reader), may ruin it for books as we know them.

Some people like the new e-readers (Kindle, iBooks, etc.) because it is convenient not to keep shelves of paperbacks and hard cover books, and to, instead, keep electronic copies of books on one e-reader. Others enjoy books because of the sensation they have while reading of holding a real book and turning pages made of paper – I’m one of those people as I strongly prefer books to e-readers.

One of the reasons I love books is the feeling you have while reading. I think anyone would prefer reading something warm and welcoming

over looking at a computer file on a cold, metal machine. Another reason I enjoy books so much is that it is fun collecting books and making miniature libraries. I like to arrange books on my shelves and re-read them.

Some people, though, prefer e-readers because they can download all of their books onto one machine so it is then easier to keep track of them and access them. In fact, the opposite can be true. For one thing, when your e-reader runs out of batteries, you won’t be able to access any of your books until the e-reader is charged – books never run out of batteries. Also, if you lose your e-reader, you have then lost all of your downloaded books forever – if you lose a physical book, you have only lost one. For those reasons, and so that we don’t close down our beloved libraries, I hope that people continue to buy books instead of e-readers.

The Los Angeles Regional Tournament of Odyssey of the Mind was held Saturday, February 26, at Manhattan Beach Middle School. The coaches of the Pacific teams would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the kids and families of their teams! It was a labor of love for us and we appreciate your support these past several months.

Congratulations to the following teams on their fine performances:

1st/2nd Grade Team: Kaila B., Emma C., Gretchen L., Kyle L., and Sophie N. coached by Kathy Lundberg. These kids were the youngest to participate in their division problem!

4th Grade Team: Sarah C., Nisha C., Riley F., Ally K., Anna M., Kenzie P., and Meera S. coached by Karla Cameron and Kathleen Waters.

5th Grade Team: Mackensie B., Joseph C., Olivia D., Zach H., Bella N., Maya S. and Max W. coached by Sejal Sood and Kim Noonen.

The 5th Grade Team won 1st place in their division for their problem, called “As Good As Goldberg”- where they wrote a skit, made props and built a Rube Goldberg machine. They will compete at the the State tournament on March 26 in Northern California.

Go Pacific!

R.O.C.K. On! by Joseph C., 5th Grade

Ah... March. There is so much to look forward to, and one of those wonderful things is happening right at our school, and that is R.O.C.K. INTO READING! What's R.O.C.K. into Reading you say? R.O.C.K. (Reading Opportunities Challenge Kids) into Reading is an opportunity for all the kids at Pacific and also honors the great writer, Dr. Seuss, whose birthday is on March 2. Students read as much as they could throughout the month of February, tallied the minutes all up, and turned the totals in to their teachers in hopes of reaching a school-wide goal of more than 400,000 minutes. If we have met that goal, a DJ will come to school on Friday, March 4, and play us music! Also, every teacher in the school, including Mrs. Mabry, will be wearing a "Cat in the Hat" hat! In addition, all participants will receive a special bookmark! Rock on, and read on!

PawPoll

Pacific Panthers LOVE to read!! When asked about their favorite book of all time, we received a wide variety of answers!

The most popular response was the Percy Jackson series, followed closely by the Harry Potter series. Some other top picks include:

Hatchet