January Calendar of Events

• December 25th-January 5th: Winter Break January 8th (Monday): School Resumes; ALC Resumes
• January 9th (Tuesday): 5th & 6th Grade Field Trip to Walker Art Center; Staff Meeting (3:00 p.m.)
• January 10th (Wednesday): Site Council Meeting (5:00 p.m.)
• January 15th (Monday): MLK Holiday (No School)
• January 16th (Tuesday): Start of NNAT Testing; Public Relations Committee Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
• January 18th (Thursday): PTA Meeting (7:00 p.m.)
• January 20th (Saturday): Parent Information Fair, Roy Wilkins Auditorium (9:30-2:00 p.m.)
• January 23rd (Tuesday): 5th & 6th Grade Field Trip to Walker Art Center; Staff Meeting (3:00 p.m.); Public Relations Committee Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
• January 25th (Thursday): Inventor's Fair
• January 26th (Friday): Professional Day (No School for Students) January 29th (Monday): 5th Grade and SNK Field Trip to Belwin Nature Center; Ramsey Jr. High School Visit to 6th Grade (9:30 a.m.).

ONE MORE THANK YOU FROM THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR Thank you to our neighborhood Lund's and Caribou Coffee for donating baked goods and coffee during our book fair preview. We appreciate businesses that support our fundraising efforts at Horace Mann School!

THANK YOU FROM THE PTA Many of you have generously answered our call for donations to the PTA. Tax receipts for these donations will be mailed by early January. If you have questions, please contact PTA President Susan Lawrenz-Smith at 651-291-8898 or slawrenz99@hotmail.com.

READ-A-THON NEWS! This year's read-at-thon theme is Reading Rocks! The read-a-thon will happen during the entire month of February 2007. A sock hop for families is scheduled for Friday March 2. We are looking for a DJ for the night of the sock hop. We need someone who can play appropriate music and help kids and families have fun dancing, and even learning some new moves! We are also looking for 'celebrity readers' who would be willing to read to the Mann student body during the month of February. If you are able to help with finding readers or with the sock hop, please contact Julie Schulz at 690-4034.

HELP KOWALSKI's HELP HORACE MANN Horace Mann School will be a recipient of the Receipts for Charity Program at Kowalski's Market. How can you help? Shop at Kowalski's Market (Grand Ave, 1 block east of Hamline) between January 1-March 31, 2007. Place your receipt in the clear Lucite box labeled Horace Mann School. The boxes are located near the exit. The donation from Kowalski's will be based upon the number of receipts (not dollar total). Shop at Kowalski's and we will all benefit!

CD/DVD DISCS NEEDED In preparation for our Reading Rocks Readathon we are collecting CD and DVD discs. If you have discs at home or work that are no longer needed, please send them to school. The CD's do not need to be playable. Our students will be writing on them. Please call Maya Hanna if you have questions at 695-1877.

READ-A-THON HELP NEEDED! We are looking for one parent per grade level who would be interested in reading to their grade level of interest once per week for the month of February. As the celebrity reader for that grade level, you would read aloud to each classroom for 15-20 minutes once per week. The purpose of our celebrity readers is to generate excitement about the read-a-thon, encourage students to read and support the twin goals of the read-a-thon which are to help students love to read and to raise money for our school. Please contact Julie Schulz at jschulz675@comcast.net or at 690-4034 if you are interested in being a reader!

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER BOX TOPS COUNTS Mrs. Kortuem's fourth graders took first place in the November/December Box Tops count with $25.20. Second place went to Mrs. Ronnei's sixth graders with $18.20 and Mrs. Dixon's second graders finished a respectable third with $14.50. Thanks for all the clipping and saving!

HAVE A FANTASTIC WINTER BREAK EVERYONE!

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN AN AFTER SCHOOL ART PROGRAM FOR YOUR CHILD? That's right! After school art is a possibility! We've decided to survey parents to determine whether there is enough interest in an after school art program. If we have enough positive feedback from families we will begin to plan such a program. We will again work with our district Community Education Program to secure an instructor. Please complete the survey below and return it to school no later than December 22nd, 2006.

Please contact Mr. Scott if you have questions at 651-293-8965.

Name of Parent_______________________________________________________

Name of Child________________________________________________________

Grade Level of Child__________

Telephone Number You can be reached_______________________________

_____Yes, I'd like to enroll my child in an after school art class. Please contact me with

details.

_____Please send me additional information on the program.

_____We are not interested in after school art at this time.

December 22, 2006

Dear Parents and Guardians,

For over 8 years I have had the pleasure of working with you, guiding students and teaming with the staff at Horace Mann School. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.

I currently have the opportunity to use this experience as I accept the position as Executive Director of Elementary Education for Saint Paul Public Schools.

In order to ensure a smooth transition in leadership, I will not begin this new position until Feb. 5, 2007. I want you to know that in the coming weeks I will keep you informed regarding the status of the transition process and when the hiring of a new principal is initiated and completed.

While I am extremely excited about this new step, I will never lose my affection for Horace Mann School. Together we have many success stories that I look upon proudly. Thank you for such memories. I feel secure in the thought that the future holds more opportunities for me to grow, and even more experiences and success stories for you and your children.

Thanks again for supporting my leadership at Horace Mann.

Sincerely,

Lewis H. Scott, Jr., Principal, Horace Mann School