the Orca Splash
Viewlands Community Principal Wheeler Update
Hello Viewlands Families!
There were so many things that created enthusiasm and pride today. We ended the week on a big highlight!
First, a big student highlight of the week was definitely the snow today! While the snow on the ground didn't stay long with the temperatures above freezing and the changes from rain to snow to snow mix and back to rain throughout the day, snow always create excitement. The snow falling equals heaps of student joy! It was a joyful way to end the week. Now of course, that is balanced with disappointment that we can't have snowball fights, but plenty of snow fun was had by students.
Second, was the 4th and 5th grade Pi day (one day early) event. This has become a tradition at Vielwands. 4th and 5th graders invest time and energy the week or two prior to Pi Day learning more about Pi and trying to memorize digits in Pi to earn tickets. Those tickets then give them more opportunities, like a raffle, for their name to be drawn at the event. If their ticket was drawn at the event this afternoon, they earned the opportunity to throw a cream pie in the direction of a staff member. This year it was Mr. Arango, Mr. Thorpe, Ms. McVay, and Ms. Kutch, and a bonus of Mr. W and Teacher Valentine! (I received a one year break from being the target and instead got to just be a witness to the fun this year because of an after school appointment. I promise to return to being a target next year!) It was a cold day for this event this year, but fun was still had by all. Interesting fact, the world record for most digits of Pi memorized is Rajveer Meena, from India, who in 2015 recited 70,000 digits of Pi blindfolded, which took him ten hours.
The third big highlight from the end of this week was that the Viewlands Global Reading Challenge team, Snow Leopards, represented our school at the district competition at the Seattle Central Library today. The Snow Leopards team was the winning team from the Viewlands competition. The original team was 5th graders Anne, Embry, and Christopher, and 4th graders Wesley and Laurel. A couple other students attended with the Snow Leopards team as captains from other teams since one of the team members was unable to attend the district competition. Ms. Misner shared that the team showed determination and hard work in the district competition, representing Viewlands positively! Congrats to Viewlands Snow Leopards Team! Thank you for representing our school community and dedicating time to the Global Reading Challenge!
Last, but not least, a former Viewlands teacher, Ms. Katie Walden, visited today. She flew to Seattle from the midwest and spent the whole day at Viewlands. She knows many of our 4th and 5th graders from when she was a teacher at Viewlands. Ms. Walden is very loved and very missed. It was wonderful to have her at Viewlands today. Once an Orca, Always an Orca!
Your children are bright, inquisitive, and creative thinkers. We will continue to seek ways to make every student feel known, valued, and empowered through the year.
In Partnership,
Carrie Wheeler | Viewlands Principal
