Tawanka Times

Don't forget that there is no school next week! We hope everyone has a wonderful spring break and comes back to school on the 18th feeling refreshed!

April is Autism Acceptance Month. Students and staff were invited to decorate a puzzle piece which were then put together in these awesome murals in the halls. This shows that even though each piece is unique, it all fits together as one - just like us!

Tawanka has a new addition to the playground! The idea is simple - if a child feels lonely, they can go to the bench as a signal that they need someone to play with. Another child will see them, go and talk to them and include them in their games.

Thanks to all the families who came out to enjoy the steam expo! Here is a highlight video for those who couldn't make it!

Mrs. Houser set up an elephant toothpaste station at the STEAM expo! They had a lot of fun color mixing!

Some photos of other stations as well:

SUNset Challenge is back May 13!

StandUp Neshaminy is excited to announce the return of the SUNset Challenge 2k/5k race on Friday, May 13 starting at 6:40 pm at Maple Point! This race offers families, teams and individual runners two great courses: the 2K walk/run will stay on Maple Point property while the 5k will use the new walking trail on Langhorne Yardley Road as part of a circular course that winds through Middletown Community Park and back to Maple Point. The race will be chipped and professionally timed by RunBucks, LLC, each runner gets a t-shirt and medal, and prizes will be awarded in multiple categories and a school banner for the Neshaminy school with the most participants (based on percentage).

The evening will feature a DJ (Mr. Gosser!), snacks and drinks for runners, and more. To guarantee a race t-shirt you must register before April 22. Register at: www.sunsetchallenge.org.

SUNset Challenge II Preview YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/Sao3iBUOGPI

Tawanka was the school with the highest participation the first time around, let's do it again! REGISTER NOW!

Let's have some fun celebrating Earth week!!! Here is our list of day to day activities for the week!

As warmer weather becomes the norm, please keep in mind the following clothing expectations for school:

• Footwear: Sneakers are best. Sandals with a firm sole and heel strap are acceptable. For safety reasons, flips flops or similar footwear are not acceptable.
• Clothing: t-shirts are best. Tank tops with tight armholes are acceptable (Avoid basketball-style jerseys - unless worn with a t-shirt underneath). Avoid short shorts, tube tops, and shirts/blouses that expose the waist/stomach. Tank tops/blouses should have straps of 2-finger width (approximately 1") or greater.
• Spring temperatures can be unpredictable. We recommend to continue to send your student with a jacket or hoodie for recess.

There were 97 students who participated in Math Challenge #12. The classes with the highest participation were Ms. Wells, Ms. Atwater, and Ms. Curtin. Amazing work!!

On opening day for our Phantastic Phillies some of our students were showing support in their awesome Phillies gear. Even our buddy Chance got in on the fun. GO PHILS' !!!

Mrs. Neff's class showed off their hard work on their habitats to their 4th grade buddies. Great job to everyone!

The boys and girls in Mrs. Neff’s Kindergarten classroom coded Beebots to tour their Zoo Habitats. As part of their Defined STEM activity, the children selected an animal of their choosing to research on their Chromebooks. Then they planned, created and shared about their Zoo Habitats, making sure food and water would be available for their animals. Last, with the help of Mrs. Phelan, they programed Beebots to be tourists at the zoo! Although some Beebots may have bumped into a habitat or two, fortunately no animals escaped their enclosures!

Our first grade students have been working on counting by tens. Take a look at the beautiful kites they made with the tails representing tens. Great job everyone!!

The first graders are having fun in iReady as well. The petals on the flowers below represent how many reading lessons the students have completed. The loops above represent how many math lessons they completed. Look at all the beautiful colors!!

In this unit of writing, students wrote an opinion piece about their favorite Superkids story in their readers. They wrote several reasons for their opinions and gave the story an award ribbon.

April is National Poetry month. The students in Mrs. Wendling’s class, designed a poetry box to go with a chosen poem. The students chose items to put in the box that gave clues to the poem inside. Then the students presented their poems to the class. Later the students had a chance to enjoy other students’ boxes.

In Social Studies, second grade learned about making a difference. As an extension, we collected donations for the Women’s Animal Center. A special thank you to all the donations from the second-grade families.

Our second grade scientists in Mrs. Hanna's class had SO much fun exploring soil and worms!!

Students in Ms. Wells' room have been busy writing pirate narratives! They read their stories to their friend Captain AR over Zoom!

Ms. Wells and Ms. Atwater's class got together to practice our measuring skills! We measured our height in inches. We then created a picture graph, putting our person in the correct place on the chart. We found that most of our second graders are between 51-60 inches tall. We answered comparison questions and had fun working together!

Third graders enjoyed their Encanto movie night on Friday, March 25th! Everyone had so much fun! A big thank you to the PTO for coordinating both the 4th and 3rd grade movie nights!

We're heading into playoffs for kickball for the fourth graders when we return from break. The final four teams are: Space Cowboys, Mudcats, LumberKings and Rough Riders. Good luck to everyone!!

The English Language Development program recently took a virtual field trip for 3rd and 4th grade ELD students with Washington DC’s Planet Word Museum. The students explored idioms, humor. And just basically Went Bananas over it!

The fourth grade is ready for the Phillies opening pitch !

Ryan A. won the MyPath Madness Challenge that Mr. Finkel's class. Awesome job Ryan!!

Tawanka students are participating in many team-building and individually challenging activities in the gym. Climbing on the rock wall is one of their favorite activities.

Mr. Wright and students practiced walking on stilts. Not only is it fun but it also helps with balance, coordination, and motor control!

Mr. Wright’s student teacher, Mr. E. is enjoying being taller than usual, which is quite tall!

Safety of all students and staff is a top priority at Tawanka, so we have strict safety procedures in place. A reminder of the following:

Building Entry: All visitors must scan their driver's license or state issued ID at the kiosk in the front vestibule and wait for entry. This is required at every visit, or access will be denied.

Early Dismissals: Please notify the teacher if your child will be picked up early. If being picked up by someone other than a parent/guardian, please specify who will be picking up your child. Students will only be released to individuals listed on the emergency card, but the office must be notified prior to pick-up. Students must be signed out in the main office. Again, driver's license or state issued ID is required to pick up a student. We strongly encourage early dismissals be no later than 3:00 pm.

Here's information from the PTO for the ice cream social they are hosting. Mark you calendars for some ice cream fun!!