We still need help for the following time slots for tomorrow’s Honeybees assembly.

Please contact Jackie Lahey at jaclahey@aol.com if you can come during one of these times:

Thursday, March 31

9:45 – 10:30 2nd Grade Workshop

12:45 – 1:30 Kindergarten Workshop

Friday, April 1

9:45 – 10:30 5th Grade Workshop

10:35 – 11:20 4th Grade Workshop

Parent Volunteers Needed for Dancin’ With the Honeybees

THIS AMAZING ASSEMBLY REQUIRES MANY PARENT VOLUNTEERS AND WE STILL DON’T HAVE ENOUGH. PLEASE SEE THE SCHEDULE BELOW AND LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN HELP OUT DURING ONE OF THE SLOTS BY EMAILING JACKIE LAHEY AT jaclahey@aol.com

The Clinton PTA is excited to present Cliff Sunflower’s assembly and workshop program, Dancin’ with the Honeybees, on Thursday, March 31,
and Friday, April 1. Using honeybees as his focus, Cliff reaches
all levels of students and adults with concepts, facts, and ideas about the ecology of the natural world. Dancin’ with the Honeybees uses storytelling, poetry, prose, puppetry, music, dance, and participatory theatre. The follow-up “Bee Touch Me Museum” lab program reinforces the science concepts presented in the main assembly. Every participant makes a beeswax candle to take home.

In order to make the follow-up lab program work smoothly, we need at least six parents from each grade to volunteer to help at the museum stations, which will be set up in the gym. We ask that you attend the morning parent orientation, and then help during your child’s workshop. (If you are coming only to the afternoon workshop, Cliff can do a 10-minute orientation for you beforehand.)

The schedule is as follows:

Thursday, March 31

8:15 – 9:15 Assembly, Grades K-2

9:15 – 9:45 Parent Orientation

9:45 – 10:30 2nd Grade Workshop

10:35 – 11:20 1st Grade Workshop

12:45 – 1:30 Kindergarten Workshop

Friday, April 1

8:15 – 9:15 Assembly, Grades 3-5

9:15 – 9:45 Parent Orientation

9:45 – 10:30 5th Grade Workshop

10:35 – 11:20 4th Grade Workshop

12:45 – 1:30 3rd Grade Workshop

If you would like to volunteer, please contact Jackie Lahey at jaclahey@aol.com, or 973-313-9757. Please give your name, your workshop time, your email address, and your phone number.

Thank you very much!

Get your appetites ready for our 10th Annual International Dinner…”A Taste of Clinton” on Thursday, April 14th!

Flyers will be coming home in backbacks this week with more details about making your reservation, donating a dish and volunteering. For your convenience, the flyer is also attached here.

For those who signed up to volunteer for this event at the PTA coffee on the first day of school, you will be contacted by one of the co-chairs, Deidra McLaughlin or Sharon Hargrove.

We are looking forward to another delicious and fun family event celebrating all of us in the Clinton community…sharing our strenghts, celebrating our differences!

A Group for Siblings of Children with Special Needs
[Facilitated by Kristen Materek, Social Work Intern]

Who: A program just for brothers and sisters of kids with special needs!
What: This K-5 group will meet for 4 weeks. Through fun games and activities we will focus on dealing with the joys and challenges of having a sibling with special needs.
Where: Tuscan Elementary School
Social Work Room (G16)
25 Harvard Ave Maplewood, NJ 07040
(973) 378 – 5221 x7101
When: Mondays at 4:00 – 5:00 pm
3/28/11
4/4/11
4/11/11
4/25/11

Poetry Performance a Huge Success!

On Friday, February 18th, Clinton 4th grade students as well as Ms.
Rebecca Antunes’ special education class had the opportunity to perform their original poems, raps, and rhythms to fellow students, parents, friends, a Board of Education member, and local media.

The event received some great local press coverage:

Article 1

and

Article 2

The Poetry Jam was the result of an amazing artist-in-residence program Clinton School was awarded this year. Through the program, Clinton 4th graders had the opportunity to work with Lamont Dixon, a poet, performance artist, and this year’s artist-in-residence at Clinton School.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Artists-in-Education Consortium, which includes the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Arts Horizons, and Young Audiences New Jersey, Clinton fourth graders had the wonderful opportunity to explore poetry with Mr. Dixon, aka Napalm Da Bomb, a Philadelphian who has been a prominent presence on the jazz- poetry scene for many years. His poetry has been published in numerous magazines including Essence and African Voices, and he recently published a book of poetry called Come Ride My Poems.

Students also had the pleasure of working with percussionist Josh Robinson.

Mr. Dixon employed basic theater games and exercises designed to develop and enhance the students’ stage presence and voice projection as well as to help the students attain proper diction and help them emit emotion through body language. Under his guidance, the students created their own haikus, free verse, acrostics, and tongue-twisters, and they also learned about odes, limericks, and nonsensical poems.

Music was also an important focus. “Rhythm, cadence, beats, and sound are major components of poetry,” explains Mr. Dixon. In fact, the residency is also funding a guest artist, percussionist Josh Robinson, who will teach students how to use “found objects” for percussive effect.

At the February 18th performance our amazingly creative students played percussive instruments to accompany each other’s poems and they performed their written pieces. The result was incredibly inspiring.

Clinton School has been fortunate enough to receive arts education grants for the last several years. Making this happen requires tremendous partnership between school administrators, faculty, and our PTA., who all believe strongly in the power of arts education.

A fun evening in support of South Orange Middle School’s forthcoming musical, Annie!

South Orange Middle School’s all school musical this year is Annie (April 1st, 2nd and 3rd). The show features many Clinton alumni so be sure to mark your calendar and get tickets.

SOMS is also sponsoring a fun fundraising event to support the musical that you won’t want to miss.

It’s called
A NIGHT in N.Y.C.
FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011
6:30pm-8:30pm

Admission Price Includes:
Dinner, 1 Beverage, Dessert and Fun Activities.*

DINNER SERVED 6:30-8:00 pm ● ACTIVITIES 6:30-8:30 pm

ADULTS: $12 ● STUDENTS/SENIORS: $8
*Additional Beverages and Additional Activities will be available for purchase throughout the evening.

For Tickets Call (973) 378-2772
Location: South Orange Middle School ● 70 N. Ridgewood Road ●South Orange, NJ

CASH ONLY
Tickets may be purchased at the door, but buy in advance and avoid the lines!

**Proceeds from this evening will go directly to support this year’s production of Annie.