November 2, 2011

Volume 2, Issue 3
Ponderosa News
Special Dates of
Interest:
PTA Meeting
Tues, Nov 1
st


Read Aloud Day
Tues, Nov 8
th


Picture Retakes
Wed, Nov 9
th


PBIS Family Night
Wed, Nov 9
th


NO SCHOOL
Nov 21
st
25
th


SAC Meeting
Mon, Nov 28
th


Winter Program
Wed, Dec 7
th


Individual Highlights:
Welcome 2
Food Drive 2
Rotary Donation 2
Conferences 2
Thank You 2
Safety 3
Walk to School 3
Picture Retakes 3
Report Cards 3
Weather 4
Fundraiser 4
Art Room 4
5
th
Grade 4
CSAP/TCAP 5
Meetings 5
School Hours 6
Contact Info 6
Nov. Calendar 7
Ponderosa Elementary School of Global Learning
Go Global: Care Create Communicate Innovate

Greetings,
Now that we have completed
our first quarter, I hope that
you have had an opportunity
to dialogue with your child
about his/her success and
areas of focus for the next
quarter. As it states in the
newsletter elsewhere, we
held 99% of our conferences
with our parents. Thank you
for your support at home!
We know parent involvement
is important to our students
success. I would encourage
you to keep in contact with
your teacher to further your
childs success in the
classroom as well as ideas to
support your child at home.
Currently, we are beginning
our second round of testing
with our 3
rd
, 4
th
and 5
th

grade students to measure
student growth in reading,
writing, and math. Were
looking forward to the
results because weve been
working hard!
Last week, I sent a letter
indicating that we would
spend some time developing
our global focus here at the
school. We are very excited
about the opportunities that
this will present for our
students and staff! The
process of adopting the Ross
Model follows a set of
guidelines established to
best implement this
Ponderosa Ponderings

educational approach.
Schools interested in
adopting the model are
assessed for suitability and
through thoughtful dialogue
and discussion; the Ross
model would provide our
students a global education.
The teachers and
administrator are introduced
to the essential elements of
the model to ensure an in-
depth understanding of the
curriculum and pedagogy
that has been refined over
the years at Ross School.
Ross Institute Academy then
works closely with
administrators and teachers
to plan and implement
teacher training process
most appropriate for that
school. As this
comprehensive program
unfolds, consultants from
Ross Institute assist the
school in assessing its
progress and provide on-
going support. This includes:
> Training and support in
the Ross global cultural
history curriculum and best
practices that engage
students in intercultural
understanding.
> Training and support in
integrated, interdisciplinary
education that prepares
students for real-world
collaboration and problem-
solving.
> Training, ideas and
support in innovative
educational technologies and
pedagogical practices that
fully engage students in
learning and extend units of
study beyond classroom
walls.
> Training and support in
wellness and nutrition
programs that nurture the
whole student.
> Participation in on-going
professional development
including group workshops,
on-site consulting and
videoconferencing with Ross
Teacher Academy mentors,
individual guided study and
action research.
We are very excited to begin
our work with the Ross
Institute and providing the
learning experiences that
will prepare our students for
middle school and beyond.
Sincerely,
Lamb Caro



Ponderosa News
Page 2 of 10












"Feeling gratitude and not
expressing it is like
wrapping a present and not
giving it."

~ William Arthur Ward
Recently joining the
Ponderosa staff is
Joe DeShazo,
classroom aide. You
may see him out at
recess or working
in our classrooms
with students and
staff.

Welcome to Food Drive
Ponderosa


Three members of the
Loveland Rotary Club
visited our 3rd grade
classes and gave each
3rd grade student a
dictionary. Many of our
students were excited
about receiving their
own dictionary. We
Rotary Club Book Donation Tile Wall
Thank you to the
many parents that
participated in our
parent teacher
conferences. We met
with 99% of our
parents. The spring
conferences will be
held the week of
February 13
th
.

Parent Teacher Thank You!
Conferences

Ponderosa will once
again support the Philo
Food Drive! We will be
collecting canned food
items starting Monday,
November 7 -
Wednesday, November
30. Please send food
items with your student
to support local families
in need. Due to safety
issues, we ask that food
items not be
homemade, perishable,
or in glass containers.
There will be a prize for
the class collecting the
most food items! There
will also be a friendly
competition with Mary
Blair Elementary with
the winning schools
principal wearing a
great costume for a
day! Lets go Pandas!!

appreciate the efforts
of our community to
support our students in
TSD and at Ponderosa.
Thank you for
supporting our
students!!

The tiles with the
students self-portrait
have now been installed
by the stairs. A big
"Thank You to Skips
Carpeting for donating
their expertise and
services to Ponderosa!
Stop by to take a look!







Much thanks to our
parents that made
our Fall Festival
Parties fun! Your time
and effort are
appreciated,
especially with your
support in providing
healthy treats for our
students!



Ponderosa News Page 3 of 10















Parents, you may have noticed
changes in the parking lot. The bus
zone by the Early Childhood
classrooms is intended for buses
only due to safety requirements.
We ask that you use the parking
lot to park if you need to exit your
vehicle. Some other things we
could use your support with:
9 The drop off lane is only for
dropping off or picking up.
Please do not exit your
vehicle if you utilize this
lane.
9 Remind your students that
they are not to be at the
school until 8:23 a.m.
9 Please do not bring pets on
to the school grounds
during school hours.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Safety Walk to School Day

Due to the snow day on
October 26, picture
retakes are rescheduled
for Wednesday, Nov. 9.
Studio 5 Photography
will be at Ponderosa
Elementary for retakes
for those who were
absent or would like a
retake for a previous
photograph.


Picture Retakes Report Cards

"The mind is not a
vessel to be filled, but a
fire to be ignited."

~ Plutarch









Students have the ability to
earn prizes as a part of their
on-going participation in
"Tires-N-Tennies Tuesdays
throughout the 2011-2012
school year. The school with
the most participation will
receive an additional prize for
their Field Day. Lets show
them that Ponderosa is
committed to improved health
and a cleaner environment!
We hope that you will be able
to participate with your child in
this worthwhile program as we
seek to promote a "greener
environment as well as
increasing student physical
activity.









Report cards were sent
home last week. This is
a great opportunity to
dialogue about
academic achievement
and talk about the
possibilities for next
quarter!


Ponderosa News
Page 4 of 10






















We remind students
and parents to check
the weather and be
sure to come with
warm clothing for
recess periods. We will
be going outside
unless there are
extreme
temperatures, heavy
precipitation, or high
winds. Students will
be outside engaged in
physical activity unless
the temperature drops
Colorado Weather Fundraiser

Thank you for all your
milk jug donations. We
have enough now to
complete the project.
Thank you!


Plastic Art Room 5
th
Grade
Milk Thank You Parents
Jugs School of Choice


"The trouble with
weather forecasting
is that it's right too
often for us to ignore
it and wrong too often
for us to rely on it."

~ Patrick Young

below 15 degrees
with wind chill. We
want students to be
as safe and
comfortable as
possible during any
outdoor activities.




Thank you for your
support with Ponderosas
ABC fundraiser!
$10,596.50 was raised!
The funds will support the
teachers and students in
the classroom by helping
to bring the Ross
Educational Model on
board as well as providing
funds to support
technology at PES. Again,
thank you for all of your
support.
A big thank you to
everyone who has
generously donated
needed supplies to
the Ponderosa art
Room. Your
donations of
consumable supplies
(such as glue sticks)
help our budget go
farther to enrich
student creativity.
At this point we have
gathered enough egg
cartons for our
upcoming painting
projects and paper
towel rolls as well.
Thank you all for
your support!
Ms. McCulloch.
Any parents
considering the open
enrollment to any
middle school in the
district other than
your home school,
the window opens
December 1st for
middle school only.
The last day to
submit your open
enrollment forms at
your desired middle
school will be
January 10th.


Ponderosa News Page 5 of 10


























3
r
d

G
r
a
d
e

Reading February 29
th
March 1
st
March 8
th

Writing March 14
th
through March 15
th

Math March 21
st
through March 22
nd

4
t
h

G
r
a
d
e
Reading/Writing March 13
th
through March 20
th

Math March 21
st
through March 23
rd

5
t
h

G
r
a
d
e

Reading/Writing March 13
th
through March 20
th

Math March 16
th
through March 20
th

Science March 21
st
through March 23
rd

The Colorado Assessment Program (CSAP) is now the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP).
The dates for the assessments are listed below:

LUNCH SCHEDULE

CSAP / TCAP Window

"Coming together
is a beginning.
Keeping together
is progress.
Working together
is success."

~ Henry Ford

RECESS TRANSITION LUNCHROOM
11:25-11:45- K
5

M
i
n
u
t
e

T
r
a
n
s
i
t
i
o
n

11:50-12:10
11:30-11:50-1
st
11:55-12:15
11:50-12:10-2
nd
12:15-12:35
12:00-12:20-3
rd
12:25-12:45
12:25-12:45-4
th
12:50-1:10
12:30-12:50-5th 12:55-1:15

Parents are always welcome to come and have lunch. If you plan on having
lunch here, please contact the cafeteria at 679-9508 or the office at 679-9500
to let us know that you are coming so we have enough food made for you too!
Mon. Nov. 28
th,
2011 5:30 6:30 p.m.
Mon. Jan. 29
th
, 2012 5:30 6:30 p.m.
Mon, Feb. 6
th
, 2012 5:30 6:30 p.m.
Mon. Mar 5
th
, 2012 5:30 6:30 p.m.
Mon. Apr 9
th
, 2012 5:30 6:30 p.m.
Mon. May 7
th
, 2012 5:30 6:30 p.m.
SAC Meeting Schedule PTA Meeting Schedule

Tues. Dec. 6
th,
2011 6:30 7:30 p.m.
Tues. Jan. 10
th
, 2012 6:30 7:30 p.m.
Tues, Feb. 7
th
, 2012 6:30 7:30 p.m.
Tues. Mar 13
th
, 2012 6:30 7:30 p.m.
Tues. Apr 3
rd
, 2012 6:30 7:30 p.m.
Tues. May 1
st
, 2012 6:30 7:30 p.m.


NO SCHOOL
November 21
st
-25
th


Ross Model Training for Staff
& Thanksgiving Break














































Full Day Kindergarten through 5
th
Grade
Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri 8.38 a.m. 3:40 p.m.
Wed (early release) 8:38 a.m. 2:10 p.m.
A.M. Kindergarten
Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri 8:38 a.m. 11:40 a.m.
Wed (early release) 8:38 a.m. 10:50 a.m.
P.M. Kindergarten
Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri 12:38 p.m. 3:40 p.m.
Wed (early release) 11:58 a.m. 2:10 p.m.
If you need to drop your child off prior to 8:23 a.m., BASE Camp
(Before and After School Enrichment) opens at 6:30 a.m., and is
also available after school until 6:00 p.m.
Please contact BASE Camp at 226-1734 or go online to
www.mybasecampkids.org for additional information.
In an effort to be good
stewards of our resources,
Ponderosa Newsletters
will be posted on the
Ponderosa website for
your viewing convenience.
If you do not have access
Electronic News

Ponderosa School Hours


Ponderosa
Elementary School of
Global Learning

4550 Florence Drive
Loveland, CO 80538

ATTENDANCE LINE:
(970) 679-9590

PHONE:
(970) 679-9500

FAX:
(970) 679-9520

TWEETS:
twitter@PESNews
We're on the Web!
See us at:
http://ponderosaelementary.
wordpress.com

to a computer or prefer to
have a paper copy of the
newsletter, please call
Sheri at 679-9500 to
request a copy to be sent
home with your child.


Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be Fair-Minded
Ponderosa
Panda Way ~
IMPORTANT CHANGES TO BE AWARE OF ~



Ponderosa News Page 7 of 10


Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
Fund Raiser Delivery



6:30 pm PTA Meeting
2
EARLY RELEASE

7:50 am 4
th
/5
th
Grade Choir

6-8:00 pm Cub Scouts

6:00 pm Odyssey of
the Mind

3 4 5



6 7



8
Read Aloud Day


9
EARLY RELEASE

7:50 am 4
th
/5
th
Grade Choir

Studio 5 Picture Retakes

5:30-7:30 pm
PBIS Family Night

6-8:00 pm Cub Scouts

10


11

12
13 14


11

12
EARLY RELEASE

7:50 am 4
th
/5
th
Grade Choir





13

14 15
20 21

NO SCHOOL
PES ROSS TRAINING
22

NO SCHOOL
PES ROSS TRAINING
23

NO SCHOOL
THANKSGIVING BREAK
24

NO SCHOOL
THANKSGIVING BREAK
25

NO SCHOOL
THANKSGIVING BREAK
26
27 28

5:30 pm SAC Meeting
29


30

EARLY RELEASE

7:50 am 4
th
/5
th
Grade Choir

6-8:00 pm Cub Scouts



SCHOOL HOURS (full day K 5
th
)

Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri 8:38 a.m. 3:40 p.m.
Wednesday 8:38 a.m. 2:10 p.m.

ATTENDANCE LINE: (970) 679-9590

N
o
v
e
m
b
e
r

2
0
1
1

October 24, 2011

Dear Ponderosa Elementary Families,

As you may know, Ponderosa has been developing its global focus model since the school opened. Recently,
Ponderosa received a generous donation to support our global focus here at Ponderosa! As shared in
communications last year, the Ponderosa staff explored a model of learning that incorporates 21
st
century skills
partnered with strong academics and we are excited about the implementation of the Ross Model of Global
Learning. For more information, please visit one of the web sites below:
http://rossinstitute.org/
http://vimeo.com/rossinstitute

Each year, the Ross Institute provides professional development in New York; however, the cost to send teachers
to the training increases significantly when travel, hotel, and per diem expenses are factored in. In order to
provide training with the staff in a way that is sustainable and cost effective, we have been working with the Ross
Institute to bring the professional development to us.

After a review of absence data, it appears that the two days prior to Thanksgiving would be the best days for
training due to the amount of students that left early last year for Thanksgiving break. For November 21 and 22,
we asked for and received a variance to complete professional development with our staff. This means that for
our students in grades K-5, school will not be in session. We are bringing trainers from the Ross
Institute on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22 to begin this important work around global learning. Teachers would participate
in the training while students stay at home on those two days.

The two days of training will be used for these purposes:
Develop the foundation and grounding of the Ross model of Global Learning to give the staff the
necessary background to implement the model
Develop units of study that includes 21
st
century skills and global perspectives


%HFDXVHZHUHFRJQL]HWKDWWKLVFRXOGFUHDWHVRPHKDUGVKLSVIRUVRPHIDPLOLHV%$6(&DPS3RQGHURVDVEHIRUH
and after school program, will offer child care for the students here at the school for those families needing that
support for the two days. More information regarding BASE Camp will be sent home later this week.

In addition, *UDQGSDUHQWV'D\ZKLFKZDVRULJLQDOO\VFKHGXOHd for Tuesday, November 22
nd
, has been
rescheduled for Thursday, December 22
nd
.

We are excited about the prospect of working with the Ross Institute to make Ponderosa Elementary School a
premiere school for learning and success. If you have any questions, please contact us at 970-679-9500.



Respectfully,


Lamb Caro







Ponderosa News Page 9 of 10


November 21st and 22nd


Ponderosa Cafeteria, 6:30a.m.-6:00p.m.










Full Day Care $38/day first child, $36/day additional children.
From Play-Doh to Goo,
Bug Making and More, *
we will be busy making and
playing a few of our favorite things!
*there is a possibility we will take a field trip to Chilson Pool. Details to come.

Registration: Nov. 3rd - Nov. 16th
If you cancel after Nov. 16th you will still be charged.
What to Bring:
Lunch and water bottle
Appropriate clothing for weather
Backpack for projects
Call: (970) 266-1734
www.mybasecampkids.org





Registration for these days will run from Nov. 3rd through Nov.
16th, and will be on a first come first serve basis. Two-day on-
ly registration forms can be printed off of our website at:
www.mybasecampkids.org.
You can also get a hard copy of the forms from Dani Wray, the
BASE Camp Site Director at Ponderosa or the front office.
All registration paperwork is due to Dani, at Ponderosa BASE
Camp, with payment, by Nov. 16th.




No Registration Fee!
Fee will be waived for Ponderosa families who are not
currently registered with us, but would like to attend
Nov. 21 and/or Nov 22 only. If you would like to attend
other days, the registration fee of $55/child and $65/
family will apply.




Reduced Rates
BASE Camp offers a sliding fee program and would like to provide re-
duced rates for these days for new families. In order to keep the paper-
work to a minimum we will offer two flat reduced fee rates:
Families who qualify and are currently on reduced lunch, will be charged
a daily rate of $25/child.
Families who qualify and are currently on free lunch, will be charged a
daily rate of $10/child.

I f you would like to continue using our services and qualify for sliding fee after these dates,
we will need 3 months proof of income and some additional paperwork filled out.