Campus Messenger Last week we sent out two automated telephone calls. Our computer system allows us to send these automated messages to families via phone and email. If you receive a call from the school number and no one is on the line right away, give it a few seconds for the message to start. Please let Jim Litwin know how this works for you. We plan to use the messages periodically for important information and school announcements.

Congratulations to the Lightning Sparks! Horace Mann School's 3rd Grade Destination Imagination team, the Lightning Sparks, deserve a big congratulations on an excellent performance at the East Metro Destination Imagination competition. Destination Imagination is a community-based, school-friendly program that builds participants' creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork in enjoyable and meaningful ways. You can find more information at http://www.idodi.org/. These seven students solved a crime involving the theft of the world-famous Hope Diamond. Nice job, Lightning Sparks. A big thank you also to the parent coaches, Emily Duke and Sue Dion!

Playground Project Update Thanks to everyone for their fundraising efforts for the new playground. The project continues to move forward and progress. Look for an announcement next week on the website with an updated architectural drawing and totals for fundraising efforts.

March is Women's History Month and Girl Scout Troup 269 will present 15 women important in the history of the United States. Each day the students will announce information to the rest of the school.

Theatre Auditions Held SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development will be holding auditions for student actors who would like to be in SteppingStone Theatre’s production of A Lion’s Tale: Somali Folktales. Auditions are Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 15 at Higher Ground Academy in Saint Paul. To schedule an audition, or for more information, just call SteppingStonee at 651-225-9265.

Help Needed- We are looking for one or two parents who could be the photographers at the Readathon Closing Ceremony on Friday, March 16 at 9:25 a.m. If you are able to help with this, please contact Julie Schulz at jschulz675@comcast.net or 651-690-4034.

Sock Hop Rescheduled Join us for the 2007 Horace Mann School "Sock Hop" (Family Fun Night) to be held on Friday, March 16, 2007 from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. This is gonna be - like - totally FAR OUT AND COOL! You'll be able to groove with the tunes (provided by a "DJ").

• Sport your favorite dancin shoes and shades
• Meet the totally, like way cool, new Principal, Mr. Litwin
• Eat dinner at the HMS Diner (for a reasonable price) Heeeeyyyyy...the menu is hotdogs, chips, soda and cookies...wow!

Be there - or be square -- dudes and dudettes! This is gonna be a rockin' good time! This event is sponsored by the Horace Mann School PTA and is a great opportunity for us to get together and close out our 2007 Read-a-thon Celebration.

Mark these events...

• 3/14  5:00-7:00 p.m. Site Council- Library
• 3/15  7:00 p.m. PTA Meeting- Library
• 3/16  9:25 a.m. Reading Rocks Assembly- Cafeteria
• 3/16  5:30-8:30 p.m. Sock Hop- Cafeteria