Students in Mrs. Davis's class have been working hard in the month of March in I-Ready. They accepted the challenging of increasing the minutes they spend practicing reading and math skills and passing the most lessons in each subject. Students are arranged in brackets. We have been through the second and third rounds so far. This week is the last week of the challenge and we will have a winner in reading and math by Friday.

Second round winners (math) Alaina, Richie, Farangiz, Chris, Savannah and Sofia.

Third round winners ( math) Richie, Farangiz and Savannah.

Second round winners(reading) Alaina, Hendrix, Hunter, Katelyn, Makenna and Sofia.

Third round winners(reading) Alaina, Hunter and Sofia.

This week we started something we are calling MyPath Madness. We created a bracket where the students compete against each other in MyPath. Students compete against one other student, and whoever finishes the week with the most passed and completed MyPath lessons advance to the next round. We will compete until we crown a champion!

We only had 4 matchups this week…..and the winners were:

Trevor

Avery

Liubou

Max

Students had the month of March to complete i-Ready My Path lessons in math and reading. Each week students versed a different classmate to see who could pass the most lessons that week. Tie breakers went to the student who then had the most minutes of lesson time on task! Students who passed 9 lessons in one week will compete in the championship round in April.

Reading Finalists:

Jordyn, Ryan, Tyler, Grayson, Owen

Math Finalists:

Isabella, Ryan, Noah, Owen, Tyler, Vincent

Students who passed 9 Lessons in One Week:

Jordyn, Alyssa, Vincent, Ryan, Julianna, Grayson

☘️The boys and girls in Mrs. Neff’s kindergarten class walked in to find foil clovers in their desks, on the walls and all over the floor. We even found some in the bathroom and one was on top of the soap dispenser! We’re still not sure what happened overnight on St. Patrick’s Day. Some mischief was definitely afoot, though! ☘️

☘️

First Graders made catapults as part of their Stem Science unit.

To welcome spring, Mr. Palmer read to the entire first grade over zoom.

2nd graders find and record shapes around them as part of our Geometry unit.

The poets of Ms. Atwater’s class wrote amazing odes to their family members! Some students chose to write a poem about their pets. Others chose their younger siblings or even their parents! In our poems, you will find rhyming couplets. We learned that you can make up words that rhyme by changing the beginning sound, but leaving the ending sound. It was fun to be creative with made-up words. Once we wrote our poem, we decorated with a coloring of our family member. The best part though, was reading our poems on Flip Grid! This way, we got to listen to our friends’ poems and comment on their awesome rhymes.

Students from Mrs. Gartenmayer's and Mrs. McHugh's classes preparing for the K'nex Challenge. They are testing their prototypes and making revisions according to the Engineering Design Process. They have spent the last 2 months during WIN building a prototype that conserves energy within their homes using a form of renewable energy. The ideas developed were a Hoverboard Fan, a wandering robot that charges gadgets when needed, and a "Earn your Energy Playground" that allows people to play outside and create free energy for items inside the home. All of these prototypes are powered by solar power.

Spring arrived! Tawanka students are practicing throwing and catching with balls and scoops. They are also learning the benefits of being outside in the fresh air and sunlight. Our bodies are making lots of vitamin D by being in the sun. Vitamin D strengthens our immune system. Our immune system fights viruses.

It was a beautiful day for playing instruments outside!

Mr. Cridland, or "Mr. Dave" as the students call him, has worked for Neshaminy for 32 years! He was Head Custodian at Lower South before coming to the new Tawanka. He makes sure that the maintenance of the building runs smoothly. He and his crew work hard to keep the building clean and sanitized, the snow and ice cleared from the sidewalks and parking lot (and that was a big job this winter!) and the grounds landscaped. You can often see him zipping around on the lawn mower! A big thank you goes out to Mr. Dave and his crew!

We are so excited to present Autism Awareness Week at Tawanka Elementary this school year! During the week of April 12-16th our students and staff will have the opportunity to participate in Autism Awareness Spirit Week.

Tickets are free but must be obtained online prior to the streaming event. Two shows with different casts will be streamed twice each.

The show will be streamed on Thursday, 3/25 and Friday, 3/26 at 7 pm. It will stream on Saturday 3/37 at 2 pm and 7 pm. Due to licensing requirements, it will not be available for viewing after the streaming event is completed. Don't miss out!

For ticket and cast information please visit www.neshaminy.org/musical.

Safety of all students and staff is a top priority at Tawanka, and so we have strict safety procedures in place. A reminder of the following:

Building Entry: All visitors must scan their driver's license or state issued ID at the kiosk in the front vestibule and wait for entry. This is required at every visit, or access will be denied.

Early Dismissals: Please notify the teacher if your child will be picked up early. If being picked up by someone other than a parent/guardian, please specify who will be picking up your child. Students will only be released to individuals listed on the emergency card, but the office must be notified prior to pick-up. Students must be signed out in the main office. Again, driver's license or state issued ID is required to pick up a student. Please schedule early dismissals no later then 2:30 to avoid afternoon dismissal traffic.

There are (4) PTO Board Member Positions up for election for the 2021-2022 School Year:

2nd Vice President

Treasurer

Corresponding Secretary

Recording Secretary

Anyone interested in running for one of these positions should email the Principal and copy the PTO: dpalmer@neshaminy.org and tawankapto@gmail.com

Deadline for submission is Monday, April 5th. The election will be held virtually on May 5th.

Our School Spirit wear sale is going on now through April 5th! This is our last sale of the year, so don't miss out! The link to order is provided below:

Thursday, April 8th from 6-9pm: Richman's Ice Cream Night, make sure to show the flyer so the PTO gets credit for your order! Flyer will be going home with students on 4/5.

Tuesday April 20th from 3-9pm: Mama Russo's Night! Mention you are with Tawanka and the PTO gets 10% of the proceeds. It applies to both dine-in and take-out orders!

Make sure to check your students backpack for the flyer, which will be sent home after spring break.

Our Next Virtual PTO Meeting will be held on Wed. April 7th at 7pm. A zoom link will be sent out via email prior to the meeting.

Don't forget that the PTO is still collecting Box Tops! This is an easy way to help earn money for Tawanka - download the app today! For more information, go to https://www.boxtops4education.com/.

You can also register your ShopRite Price Plus card at shopriteformyschool.com and designate Tawanka Elementary to receive your earned eBoxTops. When you buy participating products and swipe your Price Plus Card, eBoxTops are credited to Tawanka, adding to the check we receive from Box Tops for Education.