First of all, welcome to the 2008-2009 school year! A special welcome to all of the new families. You will find our website a great resource. This weekly newsletter from me appears under the Principal’s Corner (just in case the “Student Express” is not always reliable). If you ever have any ideas or suggestions for content, please let me know. I hope your children and you have a terrific school year! 

Jim Litwin, Principal

Introducing the Responsive Classroom® Approach Many Horace Mann teachers participated in weeklong training this summer. I would like to share a short paragraph excerpted from http://www.originsonline.org. You can get a great deal more detail from the website too.

“The Responsive Classroom (RC) is an approach to teaching and learning that fosters safe, challenging, and joyful classrooms and schools, kindergarten through eighth grade. Developed by classroom teachers, it consists of practical strategies for bringing together social and academic learning throughout the school day. Since 1981, thousands of classroom teachers and hundreds of schools have used the Responsive Classroom approach to help create learning environments where children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. In urban, rural, and suburban settings nationwide, educators using these strategies report increases in student investment, responsibility, and learning, and decreases in problem behaviors.”

I am very excited that our staff is embarking on this journey as it dovetails very well with our work in reading, writing, math, and now gifted services. The framework helps us to bring all our work together into what will hopefully be a beautiful quilt of learning each year. It is going to take time, but much like a quilt, the payoff in the end will be worth it.

Family Pot Luck Friday Sept 19, 4:00-6:30 p.m. Join us for a fun family picnic to get acquainted and re-acquainted with other Horace Mann families. Bring a dish to share, a blanket to sit on, and drinks for your family. Serving tables will be set up in the gym; picnic blankets will be outside on the playing field. See you there!

Fall Fundraiser Set to Kick Off We are excited to announce the beginning of our annual fundraiser here at Horace Mann School. The fundraiser kicks off on Monday, September 15 and runs though Wednesday, October 1, 2008. Once again the fundraiser is being coordinated through Geckler Companies with the proceeds going to help our school.

It is important to note that this is the only school wide fundraiser that the families will be asked to sell products this year. Of course, participation is voluntary but we do hope your family takes part in this effort.  I realize that with the skyrocketing gasoline prices, rising food prices, etc., we are all feeling pinched for money.  Under the circumstances, it may be tempting to “pass” on participating in a fundraiser.  However, I am asking you to continue with your participation for one more year.  This does not need to personally cost you any extra money.  All I am asking is that you contact as many - - or even more - - friends and neighbors and relatives as you have in the past.  The budget we face for providing for the students does not decrease just because the economy is facing tough times, so we appreciate all of your efforts in helping to make this fundraiser a success!  Remember . . . the time and effort you invest in this fundraiser are directly reinvested in your children’s futures.  As in the past, students can earn fun prizes while at the same time raising funds for their school. Products can even be ordered on-line at www.gecklerstore.com. This is a great convenience for out-of-town friends and relatives.

Last year, almost $7,000.00 was raised through the efforts of our students and their families. As a result, we were able to purchase laptop computers, provide a clay art residency, and enhance learning through field trips, special guests, and special programs that might not have been able to be purchased without these efforts.

You will receive a packet of information on Monday, September 15 containing a catalogue of items available for purchase this year, order forms, and an instructional letter. If you have any procedural questions as to how the sale works, please call Geckler Companies at 1-800-788-7471 and they will assist you. We thank you in advance for your support and look forward to another successful fundraising campaign!

Jim Litwin, Principal & Deanna Olson, PTA Geckler Fundraiser Chair

Boxtops for Education Don’t forget to turn in those Boxtops you’ve been saving all summer!

Ramadan The Muslim month of fasting called Ramadan begins on September 1 or 2, 2008 and ends on September 30 or October 1, 2008. Ramadan is a special month of the year for over one billion Muslims throughout the world. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual lives. The third "pillar" or religious obligation of Islam, fasting has many special benefits. Among these, the most important is that it is a means of learning self-control. Due to the lack of preoccupation with the satisfaction of bodily appetites during the daylight hours of fasting, a measure of ascendancy is given to one's spiritual nature, which becomes a means of coming closer to God. Ramadan is also a time of intensive worship, reading of the Qur'an, giving to charity, purifying one's behavior, and doing good deeds. As a secondary goal, fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing sympathy for the less fortunate, and learning thankfulness and appreciation for all of God's bounties. Fasting is also beneficial to the health and provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits or overindulgence.

Upcoming Events

• Monday, September 8 - 1st Day of School Kindergarten
• Monday, September 8 - Grade 2 Family Information Night 6:00-6:45 p.m.
• Tuesday, September 9 – Grade 5/6 Family Information Night 5:00-5:45 p.m.
• Wednesday, September 10 - Grade 4 Family Information Night 5:00-5:45 p.m.
• Wednesday, September 10 – Site Council 5:30-7:00 p.m. Room 201