Happy Earth Week!
            Thanks to the hard work and creativity of our Go Green Committee (and volunteers), we are enjoying a fabulous "Earth Week" at the Grove.  Every day we have had celebrations, activities and new learning opportunities.
              We kicked off the week with an artistic touch.  Using the blacktop as a canvas, students designed dozens of mini-murals depicting their impressions of our world in multicolored chalk.  A series of "frames" - square boundaries for each of the murals - were created along the perimeter of the field.  Students worked in groups to fill each of them with pastel chalk impressions.  The finished product was very stirring, and very pleasing to the eye.
            Tuesday followed with a literary theme.  During lunch recess, our students were treated to a variety of earth-friendly readings.  Guest readers - parents and community members - met with the children under the shade structure to conduct read-alouds.  Books selected from our "Environmental Legacy Library" were read to the students who gathered on the grass to hear great stories read by caring and involved adults.  Good stuff!
            On Wednesday our theme was bicycles (alternative transportation).  The day was designated "Ride Your Bike to School" day, and our bike racks were jammed.  At lunch time our "Sprocket Bike Club" held a clinic on bike maintenance and repair, bringing in local experts to teach those interested.
            Gardening, composting and games were combined to celebrate nature on Thursday.  Leftover lunch waste was collected and added to our composting bins; students worked with our Garden Moms at various horticultural tasks; a large scale environmental scavenger hunt was ongoing while other students plied their skills at navigating through an "energy maze."  Again, the playground and blacktop were abuzz with excitement and activity.
              On Friday we will culminate Earth Week with a school wide assembly.  Water conservation will be the topic, and center-stage will be occupied by professional entertainers/educators sponsored by Zone 7 Water District.  This presentation combines laughter, learning and a very special talent -you'll have to wait until your child comes home on Friday to find out more, however. Our secret.
            The events of the week shout out a message to us all:  our students are truly fortunate to have so many caring, dedicated and creative adults involved in their lives.  Big thanks to all of those who volunteered during the week.  Special thanks are in order to several folks in particular.  Mrs. Peters, our Go Green, Ecology Club, Roots & Shoots Club and eCoach faculty advisor, worked with fellow Go Green coordinators Cece McCarthy and Kris Haase to organize the events of the week.  This wonderful trio is responsible for countless contributions that are so uniquely "Walnut Grove."  And they are not alone.
            Our Garden Moms - Vicki Grant, Heather Brillhart, Maria Williams and Gayle Naylor - make every week an earth week at the Grove.  Thanks to their commitment to our kids, every Thursday the garden becomes a learning center (as well as a source of healthy, free snacks!) and a place for children to explore the wonders of nature.              New on the scene is Katrina Monesanti, our Sprockets Club leader.  Mrs. Montesanti, a new parent, proposed the idea of having a bicycle club earlier this year, and it has resulted in Sprockets - our newest of many student-based clubs.  Sprockets meets during lunch recess each Wednesday.  Kudos to Katrina for bringing in another opportunity for our students to appreciate the health, environmental and educational benefits of bicycling!
              Reminders of the incredible quality of our community abound - reaching far beyond the parameters of this week alone.  I am pleased beyond words to share a final note on this topic.
             Last week our PTA voted to fund Smart Classrooms in our 4^th and 5^th grade classes.  "Smart classrooms" are classrooms that integrate multimedia technologies for instruction.  Using "board room-type" presentation tools, teachers gain the capacity to present instruction that was previously beyond our scope.  Imagine a classroom in which the teacher can guide instruction from a ceiling-mounted, theater quality projection unit.  This unit can project images scraped from the web or taken from instructional media; it can be used to share books, writing samples, bugs, moving or stationary objects -  virtually an entire world of media.  And all is shared in larger-than-life form on an 8' X 8' screen.  Enhanced sound systems support the smart classroom.  A special "student cam" is used to capture images and enlarge them onto the screen.  Events, demonstrations and expositions can be viewed in real-time: a science experiment, for example, can be performed by the teacher or by students while the balance of the class observes on a screen.  The possibilities are truly limitless.            These integrated devices are being used in many classrooms already, and the results are very impressive. The best curriculum materials are now being heavily based on the use of media.  Our new social studies/history program is one such program.  Next year we will be able to install a new science curriculum, and having smart classrooms will allow us to fully implement the best of these programs.
             Prior to appropriating the funds for these classrooms, our staff went through a process in which we evaluated our needs and discussed options for moving our instructional program forward.  I was struck with the outcome:  all staff, regardless of grade level, supported the concept of smart classrooms emphatically.  The PTA also investigated the smart classroom concept.  Members of the PTA Board and staff visited Hearst Elementary School to see how they have implemented these technologies in grades 4 and 5.  After thorough investigation and discussion, our parents embraced the concept enthusiastically.
            We will begin by implementing them in grades 4 and 5 this summer.  Based on our success, we will consider expansion of the concept to lower grade levels and we will identify potential funding sources.  In August we will hold a special meeting for all interested parents to see first-hand what a smart classroom looks like, sounds like and acts like.
            Finally, a few random notes:  STAR testing is under way and all is going well.  We conducted an Intruder Drill this week and the feedback was quite good.  Parents are (generally) doing a good job of following our process for visiting campus.  For those who need a reminder: please sign-in in the office before proceeding on to campus.  You will be given a badge that proves that you are "legal."  Only exception:  field trip drivers.Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
  Thanks for all you do to make Walnut Grove such a great place to learn, work and just "be."                                                            Sincerely,
                                                          Bill Radulovich, Principal