E-Currents

Thanks to all of our book lovers in the RCDS community!!! The 2011 bookfair "Snow Better Time to Read" had an incredible turn out. While shoppers listened to the tunes of Frosty the Snowman, almost $8,000 was donated to the RCDS Library.  In addition to the direct book donations, funds will be used to purchase new books for the library and to bring in a visiting author for the students in the spring. Thank you for all of your support.  Happy Reading!

Dr. "Mykee" Fowlin came to RCDS January 30th to present "Even Small Crayons Make Bright Marks" to our 3rd-5th graders and "You Don't Know Me Until You Know Me" to our 6th-8th graders.  Both presentations began with the following thought-provoking poem:

Still Here
by Langston Hughes

"I been scarred and battered
My hopes the wind done scattered
Snow has friz me
Sun has baked me
Looks like between 'em
they done tried to make me
Stop laughin'
stop lovin'
stop livin'
But I don't care
I'm still here"

His incredible presentation on acceptance, discrimination and personal identity had the kids laughing hysterically at some parts to tearing up in others.   He left the kids with one "to do".  Say "Hi" and smile at 10 random people today. That might just make a difference in that person's life.

www.michaelfowlin.com

Parent Council's "Western Bingo" family night was well attended with close to 200 students and parents.  Mr. Small kicked off the night, calling the first two rounds, he surprised the crowd with his own prizes.  Aside from Cowboy hats and bandanas... many happy students walked away with great prizes, including a Kindle and an iPod Touch! Chipotle fare was enjoyed by all!  Yeee Haw!!

As we wind down this Fall's ASAP program, we want to thank all of the teachers and volunteers who made this time so special for so many of our kids!  We made cartoons, cooked, golfed and dried with a kiln.  There were arrows shot at targets and ivories that were tickled (piano), and of course, as always, much fun on the fields with Coach Camp.  This Fall Fun classic is always a blast and thanks to all that participated!  Be on the lookout for more exciting class offerings in ASAP's Spring Program.  And if you would like to volunteer to be a parent helper during ASAP's Spring Program, please speak with ASAP Chairs Kelly Atanacio, kelly@funkandstandard.com or Karin Robinson, karinhassel@aol.com.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this years Family Field Day. It is always fun to bring parents, students and faculty together. We had tones of fun with current families, new families and alumni taking part in all the games and activities. Mother nature was smiling down on us and gave everyone at RCDS a beautiful day to enjoy our annual tradition. A special thank you to Coach Campanella and his team for helping us make Family Field Day a great success. We hope everyone enjoyed the Brennan's lunch and our band "Random Test". This RCDS tradition is a great way to kick start a wonderful school year, we hope you enjoyed taking part in it as well.

The Big Top Circus unveiled it's 2011 curtains at RCDS on March 17th & 18th. Mrs. Vogelsong's Beginners performed and solved The Mystery Under the Big Top, with enthusiasm reminiscent of Broadway!

The Circus had something for everyone; glamorous pony riders, hulking strongmen, a ferocious lion & her tamer, crazy clowns, exotic snake charmers and the ringmaster. Along with the acting, Mrs. Vogelsong and Mr. Hamm guided the young performers through a wonderful mix of updated songs, including "Musclemotion" and "Ponies are a Girls Best Friend."

The class would like to thank Mrs. Vogelsong, Mr. Hamm and all the parents and staff who assisted in helping them solve the mystery and reach the "stars" with their performance!

The Pre-K children enjoyed an adventure to Jenkinson's Aquarium and learned about many different marine species from different parts of the world. Their guide explained how to identify different kinds of sharks and the children had an opportunity to touch some marine creatures and experience their different textures while learning about their unique adaptations for survival in the aquatic world.

The next step on the adventure was a visit to Insectropolis to explore various kinds of insects . The children learned how to distinguish a queen bee from the colony in addition to learning so much about other insect species from around the world including the favorite Blue Morpho butterfly from the Amazon Jungle and of particular interest was petting the tarantula. We had a brave group of explorers who were eager to touch and explore every insect presented for touching, no matter how scary it looked.

Spring Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweep
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sea Bright Public Beach
9 am to 12 pm

I know it's been a long cold winter, but it's that time of year again when we clean the beaches of all the debris that pollute the waters and threaten the marine life,while collecting data for Clean Ocean Action to use in the fight against pollution.  In 2009 5,556 volunteers collected over 301,000 pieces exceeding 59,270 pounds of debris from all the NJ coastline and bays.  Here is a picture of RCDS children from 2007. Have they changed much??

Sea you at the beach
Mark and Cash Woldseth

On Tuesday, April 12th, Mrs. Conley's amazing 1st grade went to the Monmouth Museum on a field trip! We explored in the Becker Children's Wing on the museum's Brookdale Community Colllege campus. Right now there is a "Changing Climate: Changing Weather" exhibition. We learned about the history of weather, the effect of global warming, as well as the impact of our own carbon footprint. We were inspired to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! Thank you Mrs. Conley!