White Christmas

Each year our school collects money at Christmas to help families in need within our school. Our program for this is called White Christmas and was started in the Walhalla school system many years ago by former Superintendent E.B. Stoudemire. Students and their families can donate their spare change or any amount of money they would like. The money is used to purchase Christmas gifts for our students who might not otherwise receive them. We also use the money throughout the school year if a family encounters hardship or needs help. I hope you will consider making a donation to our White Christmas fund this year if you are able to do so. What better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than to help others! Have a blessed Christmas season!

A busy month

December is a very busy month for our school and school families. The month got off to a great start with our 4th annual Family Fun Run that was held on Saturday. We had 115 people register for our 1 mile and/or 5K event. The weather was wonderful and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. A special thanks to all who participated or helped with the race. We will use the money raised to have a storyteller visit our school and work with our students and staff.
On Monday, December 3rd we will host our first school art show from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Parents and family members will have the opportunity to purchase their child's matted and framed artwork. I hope you will join us for this event.

On Monday, December 10th we will host our Season's Readings activities. We will have Christmas readings, make crafts and have a visit from Santa. Please join us as we celebrate the season with our families.

Our school Christmas program will be on December 20th. We will have a performance for our K-2nd graders beginning at 8:30 and for our 3rd-5th graders beginning at 9:30. We will have performances by our Chorus and Drama groups. We are working on getting our Strings students to participate as well.

I hope you will be able to join us for these activities!

Holiday Season

I hope that each of you had a restful and happy Thanksgiving with your family. Thanksgiving marks the start of a very special, and busy, time of year. I hope that in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season we can all take the time to enjoy our family and friends. Our children are our most treasured possession and we need to make sure we take advantage of the opportunities to spend quality time with them. I just finished reading Tony Dungy's book, Quiet Strenght, and I would recommend it to everyone. Coach Dungy spends a great deal of time in his book talking about the importance of family and friends and making sure we don't take them for granted. I hope we will all keep that in mind this year.
Have a happy holiday season!

Children's Book Week Review

We had a great Children's Book Week last week! Along with the normal reading activities that take place at our school we created pennants for our favorite books, had a book swap, gave out "Caught Reading" tickets, listened to guest readers, enjoyed popcorn while reading, and had many other activities to help us celebrate. The pennants created by our faculty and staff are on the wall in the front hallway. Students also created pennants and they are on display in the hallways nearest their classroom. I hope you will continue to take every opportunity you can to read to, and with, your child(ren). This is one of the best activities you can do to help your child become a better reader.

American Education Week

The week of November 11-17 is American Education Week. The theme this year is Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and our Responsibility. I feel very fortunate to work at a school with such a great group of teachers and support staff. Every day I get a first hand look at the dedication, hard work and love that our staff members put into doing their job. Each staff member at Walhalla Elementary is committed to helping ensure that our school is a place Where Everyone is a Star!
I hope you will take an opportunity this week to thank an educator for the job he/she does for our children.

"Children are our most valuable natural resource." Herbert Hoover

Children's Book Week

This week Walhalla Elementary joins other schools in our county, state and nation to observe Children's Book Week. Our theme is "Reading is a sport, too!" Several activities have been planned including having our staff members create pennants for their favorite book. These are displayed on the front hall. Students will be creating their own pennants later in the week. We are also having a book swap where students can bring up to 5 "slightly used" books in good condition to trade for different books. Students who are caught reading can receive a ticket to enter in a drawing for books. We also are playing "Book-O" where we use the title of favorite books to complete a Bingo style game.
I encourage you to take the time to read to your child and to listen to your child read! These are great ways to spend time with your child and to also help them become better readers and listeners.

Upcoming School Events

We have several family events coming up in the next several weeks. I hope you will take the opportunity to join us for any or all of the following events:

• November 12th - PTST Thanksgiving meal and meeting. The meal begins at 5:30 and we will have a brief meeting afterwards.
• December 1st - 4th Annual SIC Family Fun Run - 1 mile walk/run begins at 9:00 am and the 5K walk/run begins at 9:15. Registration form is available on available on the school website (http://www.oconee.k12.sc.us/walhallaelem/5k%20Race.htm)
• December 3rd - School Art Show - the show begins at 6:00 pm and gives family members an opportunity to buy student framed student artwork.
• December 10th - Season's Reading - 6:00 pm - join us for story reading, craft making and other seasonal activities.

Your participation is vital to our school's success so I hope you will join us for our family activities!

Welcome to my Blog

I am trying something new by starting a blog. My goal is to share value information with our students' families and our staff. I hope to update the blog each week. If you have information that you think would benefit our school families please let me know.

I consider it a great privilege to be the Principal at Walhalla Elementary School. I'm excited about the opportunity to work with the students. I feel it is the responsibility of the school to tap into each student's potential and help our students to develop into "Shining Stars". In order to accomplish this, it takes a team effort. The student, the school, and the home must work together to ensure that each student receives the best possible education.