Borlaug International Festival was a huge success!

I want to thank our dedicated parents and staff for an outstanding International Festival last Friday evening.  It was wonderful to see us gathered as a community celebrating our various cultures through displays and sharing delicious foods.  Below is a link to a photo slide show of our International Festival which we hope you enjoy viewing as a family.http://www.edline.net/pages/Borlaug_Elementary_School/Activities/International_Festival

This Friday, March 15^th, will be a special day at Borlaug – It’s Beach Day! Spring Break is just around the corner, so let’s pretend we are on a sunny beach instead of experiencing an Iowa winter!  We hope our Borlaug students will dress for the occasion with a fun t-shirt, or hat, or sunglasses, etc. 

This Friday will also be our School-Wide BINGO celebration!  Our Borlaug Bulldogs have reached our goal of 40,000 Borlaug Bulldog tickets through their respectful, responsible, and safe behaviors. We will celebrate by playing BINGO for the last half hour of the day.  We will use our PA system and the SMART Boards to play as classroom teams.  It is sure to be lots of fun!

I hope you have a super Spring Break!

Celeste Shoppa, Principal

Borlaug’s Read Across America event held on Friday, March 1st

Hello Borlaug Families,

We hope you enjoy the

below link which is a slide show from Borlaug’s Read Across America event held on Friday, March 1^st .  The National Education Association’s “Read Across America” is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on the birthday of beloved children's author, Dr. Seuss.
http://www.edline.net/pages/Borlaug_Elementary_School/Activities/Borlaug_Celebrates_Read_Across

Each Borlaug classroom, Preschool – 6^th grade, enjoyed a visit from a member of the Coralville/Iowa City community.  The community members read their favorite children’s book, sharing their own love of reading, and its importance in their lives.

The Press-Citizen paper newspaper covered the story as well.  You will find an article in the Saturday, March 2^nd paper under local news, page 3A.  It is wonderful to spotlight reading and our fabulous Borlaug community.

Principal Shoppa

H2O for Life/Schools & Borlaug Partnership

Borlaug is proud to participate in a project to help people in the developing world who do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. We have joined an organization called “H2O for Life/Schools” to provide a donation system to help fund a clean water source for a school in need. We are officially announcing this new partnership as part of our International Festival on March 8. At the International Festival, we will have a table set up to take donations online or by writing a check. Our 5^th and 6^th graders have been learning about the very serious water needs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It feels right to reach out to people in need at this time. You can donate to this cause any time, by going to the website: “H2O for life schools.org” (http://h2oforlifeschools.org/). At this website, go to “Find Your Group,” select “Iowa” and then select Borlaug School. Here is a link about our partnership: http://www.edline.net/pages/Borlaug_Elementary_School/News/H2O_for_Life_flyer_Borlaug_pdf

                   

Thank you,

Celeste Shoppa, Principal

Borlaug Fine Arts Nights

Our Borlaug Fine Arts Nights are coming soon!  Wednesday, January 23^rd starting at 6:30 pm at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, we will have the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd graders sharing their musical talents.  On Thursday, January 24^th starting at 6:30 pm at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts,  we will have the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th  graders, along with the Orff Club, sharing their musical skills.  On both evenings the lobby will be open at 5:45 with the students gathering at 6:15 to be ready to perform at 6:30 pm.

The Coralville Center for the Performing Arts is located at the corner of 5th Street and 12th Avenue at 1301 5th Street  Coralville, IA 52241. Here’s a link to the center’s location and direction page -  http://www.coralvillearts.org/index.aspx?nid=98

We hope you will be able to join us for these evenings of musical celebration led by our fabulous music teacher, Mrs. Larsen.

Principal Celeste Shoppa

December Items of Interest

During October, the Iowa Assessments were administered to students in grades third through sixth; these assessments measure student achievement in reading, written expression, language, mathematics, science and social studies.

Parents of elementary children will receive a written report for their child at parent-teacher conferences in February. Parents may also access their child’s test scores through Power School at this time.

To access scores in Power School, parents will:

§  Login to Power School

§  Click on Additional Features

§  Click on IA Assessment Graph

If your student was in ICCSD both this year and last year, scores from both years are plotted on the graph. If you would like to have a card copy of your child’s IA Assessment Profile Narrative please feel free to contact the Borlaug office at 688-1155.  This document will also be shared with you at parent/teacher conferences.

The second item is a reminder that our first annual All- School Winter Sing Along and Orff Club Showcase is tomorrow Wednesday, December 19^th at 10:00 am in the Borlaug gym.  Families are welcome to join us at this festive send-off to Winter Break!

The third item is a reminder that Borlaug Night at Carver Hawkeye Arena is tomorrow night, Wednesday, December 19^th with the game starting at 5:30 pm.  Borlaug students will be featured at half time, so we hope you will be able to join us.  Student tickets are free and adults are $5.00. 

Thank you for your continued support as our outstanding parents. You play an essential role in our efforts to keep students safe and successful at Borlaug. I wish you a wonderful winter break!

Thank you,

Celeste Shoppa, Principal

Iowa Women’s Basketball Team Members and Herky Visit Borlaug

Three Iowa Women’s Basketball Team members and Herky came to visit Borlaug students on Friday, December 14th, and weare looking forward to a  great turn-out at Borlaug Night at Carver Hawkeye Arena on the 19^th.  Our Borlaug students will be featured at half-time! This is all sponsored by our Borlaug PBIS Team as part of our school-wide celebration for reaching our ticket goal for December.  We are so proud of our Borlaug Bulldogs and their diligence at making respectful, responsible, and safe choices. GO BULLDOGS!

December Reminders

Here are some December reminders:

• Our Borlaug Food Drive runs until this Friday, December 14th, so please send a non-perishable food item for our Winter Break Baskets.  If you are not sure what food item your child’s grade is to bring, please refer to the December 10th newsletter.
• Spirit Day is this Friday, December 14th, and our Student Council has decided it is a Pajama Day.   Please be sure your child has regular shoes to wear that day.
• The last reminder is that Borlaug’s Game Night is next Wednesday, December 19th,  at Carver Hawkeye Arena to cheer on the Iowa Women’s Basketball Team as they play Missouri State. If you do not have tickets already the ticket information can be found on our Borlaug website.

Thank you,

Celeste Shoppa, Principal