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The Watsonville CharterSchool of the ArtsApril/May/June 2009Newsletter

Our Mission Statement

Art is the pathway to knowledge. The Watsonville Charter School of the Arts is a community of families, educators,artists and community members who believe in the development of a well-rounded child. We value the arts as alifelong pursuit. We respect the environment, hold high academic standards and acknowledge the importance ofdiversity. Family involvement is vital for the long-term success of our students and families.

Principal’s Corner

Spring at Watsonville Charter School ofthe Arts brings with it a wonderful array ofevents and performances! You can see theseevents on the enclosed calendar pages andread about them elsewhere in this Newsletter.I’m mentioning these first, because theseevents and productions offer parents andguardians a means of getting your volunteercommitment up-to-date!• Grades 1 & 2 “VIEW OF THE SLOUGH” –April 1 in the MPR• 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders play “ROCK ANDRECORDERS” – April 7 in the MPR• EARTH DAY CELEBRATION – April 22• DIA DEL NINO -- April 30• Kinder and 1st grade “WHERE THE WILDTHINGS ARE” – May 8 in the MPR• 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders present“DANCING IN THE STREETS” – May 28 atthe Mello Center• 6th graders are creating “ A MIDSUMMERNIGHT’S DREAM” – date TBAParents and guardians, with theseperformances and events, as well asnumerous planned class trips and Statetesting preparation, come opportunities foryou to lend your all-important volunteerhand! Getting enough parent help is on ourminds! If you have volunteered fewer than20 hours this year, you will receive a call.Please read inside about the 8th grade’srecent trip to Catalina Island Marine Institutewith Mr. Sugerik, both fourth grade classovernight trips to Sacramento, and the 7thgrade’s rafting trip on the American River.Wow – it’s great to be a kid here at WCSA!The Courtyard area is being transformedthis spring! Jaime Sanchez, a local muralist, iscreating a water cycle mural on the insidewalls. You can observe him and his studenthelpers most sunny afternoons after school—Yvonne Leonor, Neli Avila, Christian Reyna, Jessenia Garcia, Sonia Leonor, and NikkiGonzales have been painting alongside Jaime.Yes, a couple graduates of WCSA areexercising their creativity also.Student Council members this yeardeveloped fun theme days, which continueuntil school ends in June. Members haveincluded Arleen Marquez, Jack McGrath,Sarah Tapia, Etienne Green, Galilea Garcia,Victoria Otvos, Samantha Galvan, BrielleMoreno, and Donovan Arteaga. Thank youfor being enthusiastic leaders at our school!I cannot say enough thank yous to all theparents who are involved in leadership roleson campus through Leadership Council,Home and School Club, Art Auction Team,and the Safety Committee; plus thoseinvolved in creating the yearbook andfundraisers that have happened throughout

this year. Staff will hold a special recognitionin May for these parents who give countlesshours to our school. They are wonderful rolemodels for being active partners in their

More Principal’s Corner…

childrens’ education! We are grateful for thiswonderful support!Thank you to Landa Rosebraugh, theNewsletter Editor, who took on this job andhas done a great job all year!Best regards,Trish Hucklebridge, Principal

Home and School Club

Thank you to all those parents who madethe 08-09 fundraising events successful. Withyour help we were able to make monetarycontributions to the school in many areas. Thefollowing is a partial list demonstrating howthe Home and School Club supported theschool: purchased picnic benches for thequad, provided scholarships for students toattend class fieldtrips, sponsored theupcoming Dia del Nino festival, purchasedEmergency/Safety Kits and black out curtainsfor each classroom, sponsored thematerials/supplies needed to have the schoolmural painted, donated half of Cookie Doughprofit to all teachers to spend on theclassroom, sponsored an ad in

Growing Up inSanta Cruz

In addition, a BIG THANK YOU TO THEOFFICERS – Margaret Carlon, Lorena Moran,Geneva Ybarra-Lopez, Erin Vega, Leticia Arteaga,and Leticia Preciado.

WCSA Yard Sale!Saturday May 16, 2009

Corner of Freedom Blvd andCrestview8:00 am - Set Up9:00 to 2:00 - Sale

It’s time for some Spring Cleaning and to start saving all your Treasures.

If you are interested in donating items,setting up or selling at the yard sale, please contact Liz Gonzales:egonzales831@yahoo.com

Window of Opportunity

Can you believe we are on our lastTrimester for the school year? Busy times areahead with even more ways to volunteer.There will be the Kinder/First Gradeproduction “Where the Wild Things Are” and“A View of the Slough” and the 2

thru 5

grade production coming in May.To date, each family should have aminimum of 25 hours. The volunteer reportfor the end of the second trimester is thatWCSA has 290 students, and 157 students’families ARE meeting the volunteer pledgethat we committed to at the beginning of theschool year. THANK YOU! Ms. Bateman’sKindergarten class has 17 of 20 studentsmeeting their pledge – RIGHT ON!Unfortunately there are 19 students at

zero

hours and 114 students whose familieshave volunteered less than 18 hours. Thismeans that 133 families ARE NOT meetingtheir volunteer pledge.Please remember to log your hours in thevolunteer logbooks located in the classroom.Hours are totaled based on what is logged inthe books. If you don’t log your hours, theycannot be transferred to the spreadsheet thatis given to the Leadership Council.There are other opportunities to volunteeraside from helping in the classroom. Some ofthese opportunities are Saturday workdays(the next two are April 4 and May 2), youmay volunteer to help with sorting mail in theoffice, updating the school marquee, orhelping with class activities. We alsowelcome help in the cafeteria from 11:30 –12:30 Monday thru Friday. Thank you toMaria Bahena, Erin Vega, Dawn Ramirez,

Geralyn Speziale, Linnie Livingston, SergioFuentes and Jose Zamora for regularlycommitting their time to helping our childrenat lunchtime.Thank you for your time.

Trisha Suruki, WCSA Volunteer Coordinatorwcsa_volunteer@yahoo.com

♪♫

Musical Notes

♫ ♪

By Sheryl Gentry

Students in grades 3-5 are diligentlymemorizing songs on recorder for ourupcoming concert. “Rock & Recorders will bein the cafeteria Tuesday, April 7

at 6:30. Joinus for such exciting numbers as “LeapingLizard”, “Secret Stairway”, and “ProudMary”! Students are beginning to master thenotes of the scale as well as music notation.Cookies and water will be sold duringintermission. We will also hold a musicraffle, so bring a few extra coins!Have you seen wetland creatureswandering the campus, or is it just me? Theamazing talents of our 1

and 2

gradestudents will be showcased at the annualproduction of the musical, “A View of theSlough”, April 1

at 6:30.The Orff Program promotes experientiallearning through story, song, drama, andmovement. Our students enjoy theopportunity to express their talents through amyriad of quality activities daily!Teachers in grades 3-5 are beginning toteach some fancy footwork as we all preparefor our end-of-year music production at theMello Center, May 28

. Mark your calendarfor America’s best dance show (á la WCSA)!

Art Auction Update

By Jessica Leonardis

The auction committee would like tothank our teachers, staff, parents, and ourgenerous sponsors for everything you havedone for this event. Your hard work andsupport is greatly appreciated. We areexcited for our event coming up in October,date TBA.Please come and support WCSA for one orboth fundraising events coming up in April.We will display artwork from theclassrooms to bid on. How wonderful it willbe to enjoy a gourmet meal and see all thespectacular pieces displayed around us! Also,both establishments have agreed to donate aportion of the proceeds of all food sold thosenights to the school. You don't want to missout on either one of these events!Art Open House Dinner FundraiserCafe Ella Green Valley GrillSaturday, April 25 Wednesday, April 29

Family Movie NightFriday, May 15

Admission: $10 per familyOR get in free when you bring yourdebit cards and sign up for escrip.

Join us for a fun, family friendly movie atthe WCSA outdoor theater. Popcorn andhot chocolate will be served. Mark yourcalendars now, more details to come later.

What’s Happening at WCSA?

By Our Amazing WCSA Teachers

Spring is a wonderful season in

kindergarten

! At this point in the year thestudents are beginning to look more like firstgraders. They are becoming very successfulin reading little books and writing sentences.After finishing up a unit on tide-pools inMarch with a visit to the Monterey BayAquarium, kinders are jumping into a scienceunit on oviparous animals. We will belearning all about birds, fish, reptiles, andinsects!Our K-1 Spring production this year willbe "Where the Wild Things Are." Both kinderclasses are working hard on learning the story