Soldier Hollow Charter School

Osprey News – 10/23

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Red Ribbon Week: Soldier Hollow will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week next week, Oct. 24-28, in conjunction with our Sustainable Habits – Healthy Lifestyles Month. We will be doing the Gold Medal Mile during lunch, playing games, and having a bike rodeo. We are in need of a few parents who can help out. If you would like to volunteer for one of the Red Ribbon activities, please contact Tricia Livingstone or Stephanie Roberts

Fall Gala: Preparations are continuing and we are looking forward to a fantastic event on November 5^th. Tickets will be available beginning Monday, October 23^rd. Fall Gala tickets will be $15 each, and you can purchase them in the office during school hours or in the parking lot at 2:45 pick-up (if you purchase a ticket in the parking area, please pay with cash or check only). There will be a Fall Gala meeting on Monday, Oct 23^rd, at 1:00 pm at the Soldier Hollow Grill. Any questions, please contact Claudia Heusch.

School wide Kamas Pool Party – Friday, October 28 – Drop and pick up kids at the Kamas Pool

We’re hoping parents and carpools can arrange to pick up and drop kids at the Kamas Pool. If that’s not feasible, we’ll have a few drivers who can pick kids up at school at 8:00 and/or bring them back at 12:45.
Bring warm clothes to play games outside, then we’ll swim from 10:30 – noon.
Student awards ceremony. Top fundraiser students (those who raised $200 or more) and fantastic family fundraisers (listed on page 2 of Osprey News) will be awarded Olympic-style medals at the beginning.
Physical education activities will include: Volleyball, soccer, wallyball (in racquetball courts), and other activities. If we can find one or two people to get trained on the climbing wall, we’ll also be able to offer that.

Help needed so our kids can use the Kamas Pool Climbing Wall: We’d dearly love to be able to let students use the climbing wall at Kamas while we’re there. To do this, we need 1-2 people to be trained by pool staff this coming SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 at 9:00 am (usually takes an hour or less if you’re experienced). If you’re willing to do this and able to come next Friday, October 28, please notify Kim Gilboy

Meet at the South Summit Aquatic Center in Kamas at 9:00 on Saturday, October 22. (If you’re already certified by South Summit and willing to supervise belay, please notify Kim.)

Fundraising Wrap-Up: Congratulations to our students for their monumental efforts in fundraising! They earned a schoolwide snow cone party, a trip to the Kamas Pool, and a tubing party.

They set new records for virtually every category:

The total amount raised is over $22,500 ($9,000 more than the previous record)
82% of kids participated
The average raised per student was huge – $91.29

THANKS – PARENTS AND FACULTY – FOR YOUR ENTHUSIASM AND SUPPORT!

Half of the money will go toward school enrichment projects (such as technology, relocating our garden nearer the school and a crazy science experiment cooked up by Mr. Gallo). The other half (100% for 5th and 6th graders) will go into a savings fund that will be used to pay for schoolwide multi-day field trips such as the Moab trip and the Washington DC trip.

Rewards Program: With the Fall Gala preparations underway, let’s all remember to turn in our BOX TOPS & CAMPBELL’S LABELS! Remember there is a prize at the end of the year to the individual, and the class, who bring the most reward items in! Let’s make this year phenomenal, and break all the records! You are all awesome!

Carpool sign-up sheet: If there are any parents that would like to try to join up with or start a carpool, there is a sign-up sheet is in the school office.

Powerade: There are several cases of Powerade left over from the Sheep Dog Festival and they are up for grabs. A case of fifteen bottles (32 oz each) is only $10. If you would like a case of Powerade, stop by the school office.

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Osprey Newsletter 10/10/11

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Fall Gala moved to November 5th, 2011: The venue that was booked to host the Fall Gala (The Lodge at Stillwater) had a water main break, which caused extensive damage to part of the dining/conference room. They informed us that they would not be able to do the needed repairs in time for our event. We have rescheduled the Fall Gala and it will be held at the Soldier Hollow Golf Course Grill. Thank you to all of our parents for their patience and understanding in this unanticipated change. For those of you who do not know what the Fall Gala is; it is the largest fundraiser of the year coinciding with the student raffle. This is an amazing event with good food, great people, and silent and live auctions with proceeds benefiting the school. This is a fun social event for our Soldier Hollow parents, all who attend will be happy they did.

Traditionally we ask that each family donate or solicit a product or service that can be auctioned off. In past years, we have had so many wonderful items i.e. teacher dates, gift baskets, ski passes, snow boards, adventure trips, hand-made items, a set of braces, birthday parties, gift certificates to restaurants, play passes, massages, etc. No matter how big or small, we are grateful for every item. If you have something to turn in, please leave it at the school office with Joan. If you have any questions, please contact Claudia Heusch.

STUDENT RAFFLE FUNDRAISER – BRING ENVELOPES IN ON TUESDAY. Final Collection Date will be Friday. Help your student earn one of those highly coveted lollipops!! (And, help their school in the process.) We’ll be collecting and counting donations from the annual student raffle fundraiser on Tuesday. In addition to lollipops (given to every participant), there are several schoolwide, class and individual incentives (gift certificates to the Scholastic Book Fair, several bestselling book collections (Harry Potter, Fablehaven and more), a Nintendo DS, and two iPads). This week’s special awards:

On Tuesday:

The class that raises the most this week gets to go OUT TO LUNCH WITH MR. WEBER at Café Galleria. (Through Tuesday, Oct. 11 – does not include any prior week donations.)
If the school can beat last year’s record-setting performance by Tuesday, Mr. Weber has agreed to be dressed up at Professor Dumbledore. (Students blew us away by submitting $7,605 in donations last Tuesday. To beat last year’s record, they’ll need to bring in another $5,900 this Tuesday.)

On Friday:

The top fundraising class overall will win a tubing party at Soldier Hollow!
If the school raises more than $15,000, the entire school will earn a swimming party at the Kamas Pool.
If GreenCouncil can raise $5,000, we’ll allocate $1,000 toward moving and re-establishing the school garden and Ms. Gallo has agreed to have her hair redesigned, too!!! (That’s a seriously big goal for 35 students, even though a few council members are top sellers. We hope they’re all working on it!!)

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR RAFFLE:

Help sew a simple Dumbledore robe costume for Mr. Weber – We can get a neat hat and wig, but need a velour robe to go with it – probably in time for Halloween. We’ll buy fabric. Very fun project!! Can someone help??
Lifeguards needed. We’re trying to arrange a possible schoolwide party at the Kamas Pool during the school day (possibly the morning of Friday, October 28), but they’re struggling to find enough lifeguards during the school day (most of their lifeguards are high school or college students). If you have Red Cross or other lifeguard certification, and would be willing to help out, please let us know your name, contact info and an exact description of what type of certification you have.
Committee members (Primarily this week)– we’d love to have one or two more people who can help count donations this week and/or enter the names of raffle donors on your own time. (We’ll be counting on Tuesday and Friday, beginning at 8:15 – probably until at least noon. Data entry can be done on your own time, but needs to be completed by next Sunday night so we can do the drawing on Monday.) We also expect to have a few follow-up events like the Kamas Pool party where we could use some help.

If you can help one of these things, contact Kim Gilboy.

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Annual Student Fundraiser (aka “Raffle”) starts today!

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Parents,

Your kids are SO COOL!!

We had a great time with them today launching Soldier Hollow’s Annual Student Fundraiser. Even the young ones who didn’t totally understand what we’re doing were so eager to help the school! In past years, these funds have been used to purchase the play structure behind the school, visiting artists, computers, projection systems, field trips, and a set of 10 iPads that are currently on order.

This year, the board has approved two purposes for the fundraiser: 1) half of the money raised by each grade will be set aside for children in that grade to participate in substantial, multi-day field trips, such as the 4^th grade Moab trip. 2) half of the money will go toward school priorities – this year it’s upgrading our technology.

We hope that you’ll make every effort to support your son or daughter in this effort. (We’re structuring in a lot of ways for them to succeed and be recognized!)

The fundraiser will run through Friday, October 14, but we’ve given them some fun incentives to get this first week – including the opportunity (to the top selling class) to decorate Mr. Gallo’s head for one week. (This has historically been a hot item at the Fall Gala auction!)

Students will be bringing home a packet with more details today. They can pick up extra materials in the office or download a printable PDF of Grand Prizes, Collection List, and Receipts.

Thanks in advance for helping your student with this! — Raffle Committee

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Osprey Newsletter, 9-21

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Rewards Program: Keep sending in those Box Tops! Our first contest is underway and we are off to a great start. Please continue to send in the collection sheets with your students- they need to be turned in by Friday, September 23^rd. Each full sheet of Box Tops counts as one entry. We will be having a random drawing for prizes, and one winner from each grade will be chosen. The drawing will be help on September 29^th. (Remember, expired Box Tops cannot be accepted)

Chess Club: The Soldier Hollow Chess Club is meeting on Wednesdays, from 3:00-4:00, in Mr. Sproul’s classroom. The cost is $15 per semester/ or $25 for the entire year. If you have any questions, please contact Karla Willis.

Provo River Watershed Festival: Rock Cliff Nature Center on Sept. 24, 2011. Our school started this festival four years ago and hosted it with State Parks. It has grown to include many more entities and while we no longer organize the festival, we are still a very active part of the festival. This year’s festival celebrates the Provo River and all the land that drains into it (what an amazing natural resource!) and National Public Lands Day. The goal of this year’s festival is to make the public aware of this natural resource! The festival will offer live music, clowns, informational and educational booths by non-profit organizations and our students, kayaking, birds of prey show, Utah wildlife presentation by Hogle Zoo, Living Planet Aquarium van, crafts, fly fishing, dutch oven cooking, wildflower identification hikes, geocaching, a duck derby, and much more! Please plan to bring the whole family out for a free day of fun at Jordanelle State Park.

As with any festival there are tons of things that need to be done! Volunteers are needed for the day to help:

- Help with the Soldier Hollow Charter School booth.
- Run educational games (already made and set up).
- Run the Duck Derby (sell ducks, catching ducks in the race, recording winners)
- Help at the Welcome Booth and direct visitors to the fun!
- Staffing the nature center (checking out GPS units, starting movies, answering questions)
- Set-up and take down

This is a great and fun way to get some of those volunteer hours in, especially if you have trouble getting into the school on weekdays. If you can volunteer for the day or any part of the day, please contact Kelly Gallo.

The Duck Derby: A fun fund-raiser (for EE Week) that our school coordinates at the festival. Participants pay $2.00 to decorate a blank rubber duck. The numbered duck is entered into the Duck Derby at noon and 3:30pm (two chances to win!). Ducks are dropped into the Provo River and race to the finish line (where they are collected and returned to the designer). Winning ducks are eligible for prizes. Please send your friends and family to the festival to enter the Duck Derby!

Donations of prizes for the Derby would be GREATLY appreciated! Past prize donations have been field guides, binoculars, bird houses, t-shirts, books, gift cards, etc. Any level/ size of prize is GREATLY appreciate and will make our fund-raiser grand! Please bring these donations to Kelly Gallo in the yurt or call me and I will pick them up. Kelly Gallo.

Envirothon Team Bake Sale: The Soldier Hollow Envirothon Team is holding a bake sale on Saturday at the Provo River Watershed Festival! Last year, our team of 6th and 7th grade girls won 1st place in the oral presentations. They won 2nd place over all among groups of high school contestants. If students or parents are interested in donating a batch of homemade cookies, muffins, brownies, or other yummy treats, students can talk to Bryn Dayton, Ingrid Norton, or Stella Trincado in the 6th through 8th grade portable from 11:30 to 12:30 this week. If you decide to donate treats, please drop them off at the yurt on Friday before school ends. The proceeds from the bake sale will go to travel expenses from the Envirothon team. Thank you so much for helping to send our team to Zion National Park for the state competition this year

Look Out SHCS!! Annual Student Fundraiser: We’re still finalizing all the details, but expect to be ready to launch our Annual Fall Gala Student Fundraiser on Tuesday, September 27^th.

We do have one secret we can reveal: Once again, we’ll be giving away an i-Pad to one of our top fundraisers!!

We’ll try to make this a really fun and friendly competition to help the school. To spice things up, we’ll be adding some fun new class incentives, etc (so, look out Mr. Weber and Mr. Gallo!)

Another new twist: Half of the funds raised by each class (3^rd grade, 4^th grade, etc.) will be set aside in a fund to be used for multi-day trips (such as Moab, Washington DC, etc) for that grade. Since fifth and sixth grades are now left scrambling to raise enough for their DC trips on a short timeline, 100% of the funds raised by those classes will go into their respective funds. The remaining funds will be used to purchase additional technology equipment.

Last year’s funds were used to purchase additional technology equipment for the school – including 10 i-Pads that are currently on backorder – and to help the 5^th (now 6^th) in their Washington DC field trip fundraising.

We hope parents will support their children in helping the school (and their own opportunities for enrichment) through this fundraiser.

Soldier Hollow Charter School Fall Gala, October 15^th: It is that time of year. Autumn is in the air and the Annual Fall Gala preparations are in full swing. For those of you who do not know what the Fall Gala is; it is the largest fundraiser of the year. This is an amazing event with good food, great people, and silent and live auctions with proceeds benefiting the school.

Each year we ask each family to participate in a number of ways:

Attend and Invite. This is a fun social event, all who attend will be happy they did. Tickets this year will be $15, and we will begin selling them soon.
Donate or Solicit. Traditionally we ask that each family donate or solicit a product or service that can be auctioned off. In past years we have had so many wonderful items i.e. Teacher dates (these are always a very coveted auction item,) great gift baskets, a Lake Powell private house boat rental, a helicopter tour of the beautiful Heber Valley, snow boards, Provo River rafting trips, Moab adventure trips, hand-made scarves, jewelry, birthday parties, lots of great gift certificates to restaurants, hotel stays, ski resorts, massages, manicures and pedicures, etc.
Support your child in selling “raffle-style” drawing tickets to family, friends, and neighbors.

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National Blue Ribbon Award Announcement

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Dear Parents,

Mr. Weber made a very wonderful announcement to our school last week. Arguably, this is the most exciting thing that has happened in Soldier Hollow Charter School history.

Soldier Hollow Charter School has been chosen as a 2011 National Blue Ribbon School

by the United States Department of Education!

Soldier Hollow is one of only two schools in Utah chosen this year for this award and will be Utah’s very first Blue Ribbon charter school. Based on either their high achievement on state assessments or their success in reducing the achievement gap for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, these schools were nominated for this award by the Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The National Blue Ribbon Award is one of the most elite honors available to American schools. Mr. Weber has been invited to travel to Washington DC in November to receive this award at a ceremony hosted by the US Secretary of Education.

What an opportunity it is for all of us to be part of such an organization that under Mr. Weber’s leadership and vision has grown from such humble beginnings to become an institution where our children can be mentored by world-class teachers and prepare to become the leaders and teachers of our society.

We all join together in congratulating our students, parents, volunteers, teachers and our wonderful principal in this amazing achievement. This is truly a cause for celebration as this award will impact our school, our students and our community forever. We all look forward to a very bright new future and realize that this is only the beginning as students at Soldier Hollow Charter School, National Blue Ribbon School are staged for success.

Congratulations to everyone who makes our school such a wonderful place for children!

–Soldier Hollow Charter School Board

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2011 National Blue Ribbon Award

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Today Soldier Hollow Charter School received the National Blue Ribbon Award. With only 305 schools and only two from Utah being recognized, that’s pretty incredible. Just the state of Utah alone has over 1,000 schools. Just imagine how many other schools we had to compete against.

So, give your students, faculty, Principal, and yourself a pat on your back. With hard work and a love for learning, we all made this possible.

Please celebrate with us this Friday by wearing blue.

To read more about SHCS being a Blue Ribbon School, go to The Deseret News.

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Osprey Newsletter – 9/8/11

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Picture Day: Thursday, Sept 15th.

From the Office: Remember to please call the office if your student will not be in school for the day.

State Fair Field Trip: Students in the 4th through 8th grades will be attending the Utah State Fair on the 14th of September. The displays of Utah counties, the animal displays, vegetable and garden displays, and other crafts and wares will give our students great insight into what is happening throughout the State. There are also opportunities to meet students from all over the State. There will be a donation asked of $4.50 for the all-day trip on the bus.

Fall Gala: Mark your calendars, the annual Fall Gala will be held on October 15th. Details will be coming out shortly for this wonderful fundraising event.

Full Day Fridays: Please be sure to remember that September 9th, 16th, and 23rd will all be full-day Fridays.

Rewards Program: Have you all been stashing your box tops over the summer?! School is back in session and we are ready to get our rewards programs in full swing again! Let’s make this year OUTSTANDING! Our school earns money and supplies through our rewards programs and we appreciate everyone for supporting these programs. This year we will be participating in the Box Tops for Education program, The Campbells Labels for Education program, Smith’s Earn and Learn program, and the Sunny D Book Spree program. We will be sending a flyer home with your students next week to explain these programs in more detail. Each teacher has a box in their classroom where the Box Tops, Labels for Education, and Sunny D UPC’s can be turned in.

There are many case lot sales going on right now. It’s a great time to stock up on things for your pantry and in return score some Box Tops, Campbell’s Labels, and Sunny D UPC codes. If you shop at Smith’s Grocery Store or Smith’s Marketplace, be sure to register your rewards card with the Earn and Learn program (you need to register every year) the points help out our school! Last year our school received $1000 from Smith’s rewards. Kids, get your grandparents, aunts, uncles and neighbors involved. Every Box Top and Campbell’s Label makes a difference. Are you ready for a little COMPETITION? ….. YES! Look for more information to come soon on our first Box Tops contest!!!

Crossing Guard Help: We are still in need of more crossing guard volunteers. Shifts are 7:45-8:30 a.m. and 2:30-3:15 p.m. and all crossing guard duty counts as double volunteer hours. It is an easy way to get in volunteer hours, and we greatly appreciate all of the parents who help to make sure our children are safe. We need help on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday afternoons. Please contact Tricia Livingstone or the office to sign up. Thank you!

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Osprey Newsletter

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Timpanogos Storytelling Festival: Grades 3-8 will be traveling to the storytelling festival in Provo Canyon on Thursday, Sept 01. They will depart from the school at 8:30 a.m. and return by lunchtime. A donation of $3.00 per student to cover busses would be appreciated. Grades K-2 will hold their own storytelling festival here at Soldier Hollow.

Sheep Dog Classic at Soldier Hollow: The Sheep Dog Classic will be held this Labor Day weekend. Friday is a half-day of school and the kids usually get a chance to see a part of this amazing event. Drop-off and Pick-up on Friday will be at the ski lodge. Drop your students off at the lodge in the morning and they will walk down the path to the school. Teachers will walk the kids back up to the lodge at 12:00 to be picked up. Crossing guards will be out to help direct cars to the correct place.

Mr. Gallo wins ABCTE “Teacher of the Year”: Our very own science teacher, whose Criteria Reference Test scores in Science have far surpassed the state scores, has won Utah ACBTE Teacher of the Year. Mr. Gallo is a passionate teacher who ensures that all students learn through lots of hands on lessons. Thanks to all who voted for him. We will find out his standing in the nation in September. Wish him luck! You can see comments on this post on our school website: http://www.myshcs.org/archives/1660#comments

From the Office: Remember to please call the office if your student will not be in school for the day.

PTO Meeting, Tuesday, September 6^th, at 8:30 a.m.: We will meet at the school, just after drop-off. All parents are welcome to attend. We will be discussing events that will be happening during September and October, ways that parents can become involved, volunteer opportunities, and answering questions about PTO that parents might have. If you are not able to attend, we will be posting the notes from the meeting on the school website www.myshcs.org

School Information and Communication: We strive to follow our charter, and one easy way to do this and preserve the environment is to send out school communications via email. A weekly newsletter will be sent out via the internet, typically sent in the middle of week. If you are not receiving the newsletter from please get in touch with Tricia Livingstone or Joan Kohler at the office. You are welcome to stop by the office to pick up a copy of the newsletter each week.

As a way to make it easier to keep informed on school happenings, we’ve started our Twitter feed @soldier_hollow. Many parents don’t have access to email while traveling around town. With Twitter, you can subscribe to updates that are sent directly to your phone. We also added a Facebook Page, which you can connect to by clicking the “Like” button.

Please make sure that you are also getting information from your student’s teacher. Some teachers send out their own email updates. Most of the teachers have a UEN website for parents and students to use and the school website at www.myshcs.org has links to teacher’s website.

As you can see, we have several avenues for receiving school information. We will do our best to get all of the information out to parents. If you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact your student’s teacher, a member of the PTO, Joan Kohler in the office, or Mr. Weber.

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Mr. Gallo Won “Teacher of the Year”

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Solider Hollow

Our very own science teacher, whose CRT numbers are well above the state’s average, has won Utah ABCTE Teacher of the Year. Mr. Gallo is a passionate teacher who ensures that all students learn through lots of hands on lessons.

Thanks to all who voted for him. We will find out his standing in the nation in September. Wish him luck!

You can see all comments on this post here:
http://www.myshcs.org/archives/1660#comments

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