EVENT CALENDAR Eighth Grade Projects

Red Rooster Revelry Success!

Thank you Live Oak Families! This year’s Red Rooster Revelry live event and online auction was a success. Our goal is not only to raise money for Live Oak, and almost $60K is a lot of money, but to also build community.

Truly a grassroots event, The Revelry, was generated by the energy and commitment of parents across the grades. Whether you gave your time or talent, donated or pur-chased items or tickets, or silently sent us your support, this is your event! Organiz-ers, graphic and website designOrganiz-ers, class basket and project coordinators, teachers and students, donation collectors and giv-ers, chefs, musicians, dancgiv-ers, bartend-ers, event voluntebartend-ers, and even Live Oak alumni student servers, thank you for sharing your personal gift. Your vision, commitment, and energy is inspiring. If you missed this year…Save the date for next year: March 14, 2015

$59,700

gross funds raised

$9,150

Earmarked for classroom chairs and desks

Wobbly Desks and Broken Chairs

Decent desks and chairs for our children was the fundraising focus for a portion of our Live Event. Live Oak has made improvements in the upper grades but most of the desks and chairs in the lower grades are hand-me-downs that have been handed down and down and down. Over $9,000 was raised at the event and it’s not too late to do-nate! Make a donation online at www.liveoakfoundation.org or by cash or check in the office and note “desks and chairs”.

Builders and Craftsman: Commercial desks are expensive. Share your creative, affordable, solutions with Mr. Morgan at [email protected].

...Imagination In Education

In This Issue...

Page 1 Mornings with Mr Morgan Auction News Page 2 Calendar

8th Grade Projects Explorer Games Work Party Save the Date Page 3 Bulletin Board

Board News Foundation News Page 4 Peek into Library

Traffic Safety

Page 5 Lost and Found Campus Tasks Appreciations

Staff Changes Handwork Guild Page 6 Community Events

The Leaflet is available in three formats.

Blog - liveoakleaflet.blogspot.com You may visit the blog via the web, or subscribe to receive the articles as they are published via email. PDF - www.liveoakcharter.org/ leaflet-newsletter

Paper distributed to every family via your youngest child’s folder. If you wish to opt out of the paper version please inform the school secretary.

The Leaflet is published every other Thursday. The next publica-tion date is Thursday, April 3. If you wish to submit an article, ap-preciation, or community bulletin post please contact Jen Stevens at [email protected]. The deadline for submissions to the next issue is Monday, March 31.

March 20, 2014

Mornings with Mr. Morgan

Eighth Grade Projects

Please join the Live Oak Class of 2014 as they present their 8th grade proj-ects beginning at 6:00 pm on Thursday, March 27 and Friday March 28. Each student has been working since the beginning of the year to develop a chosen area of expertise with the support of a mentor. We encourage you to experience the fruits of their labor! The presentations are sure to be informative and inspiring.

The presentation schedule is as follows: Thursday March 27 - 6:00 pm

Brandon McCoy Building a Personal Computer Coleman Steiner Tai Chi

Audrey Hecker Deductive Reasoning Noelle McCoy Electric Guitar Jake Perinoni Binary Stars Gracie McNally Writing a Novel

Yasmine Ghosheh Learning to Cook Italian Cuisine Vivian Allen Crocheting a Baby Blanket Siena Wigert Learning to Play Piano Friday March 28 - 6:00 pm – Reception to Follow

Brady Scott Ancient Civilizations

Elizabeth Wilson Management-Intensive Grazing Dixie Mooney The Art of Photography

Owen Bojanowski Building a Van de Graaff Generator James Lehmann Magic

Seventh Grade Explorer Games

The 7th grade went to their Explorer’s Tournament at Ragle Ranch Park in Sebastopol on March 14th. They met students from San Francisco Wal-dorf, SunRidge, and Sun Gold School in Sacramento.

They departed on their ships early Friday morning, only to crash into huge rocks on an uncharted island. They were able to grab a couple of things and get off the boat alive before it was engulfed by the hungry waves. They survived the initial shipwreck and collected some bits of gold while learning that they could perchance trust their fellow country mates. They ran, trying to find resources to survive their dilemma, and then had a four way tug of war to battle other countries for bragging rights. A sur-vival skills test was then offered and all came out on the better end. The afternoon brought hot sun and cool minds. The explorers went out orienteering with compasses, found a blind maze to traverse, learned about and challenged each other in knot tying, and took on the challenge of rattlesnake pass to cross a large canyon.

All in all it was a great day!

Spring Work Party

On Saturday, March 29, 9am-3pm, we are holding a work party to finish up the backyard of the Lower Campus. Spring is here and it’s time for our students to have access to some outside space for lunch and recess.

We will be working on removing any and all garbage from the yard, lev-eling the ground, spreading mulch, and painting the back fence. Anyone who can paint, sweep, carry garbage, and use a shovel is needed and wel-come. Students are especially invited to get involved in creatively painting the back fence and beautifying this area.

Thu Mar 20, 2014

8:30-10:30am Parent Handwork Guild Handwork Room

6-7:30pm 3rd Grade Play for Parents 3rd Grade Classroom 7-9pm Executive Committee Mtg

Fri Mar 21, 2014

8am-3pm 8th Grade Track Meet Credo High School 3:10-4:10pm Chess For Kids Class

Handwork Room

Mon Mar 24, 2014

5:30-7pm 2nd Grade Parent Mtg

Tue Mar 25, 2014

8:15-9:30am Conversations w/ Mr. Morgan-Library

3-4:30pm Sewing Workshop with Ms. Meret-Handwork Room

Wed Mar 26, 2014

8:30-10am Campus Tour Library

8:30-10am Class Coordinator Meeting Aftercare

7-8pm Communications Committee Meting

Thu Mar 27, 2014

8:30-10:30am Parent Handwork Guild Handwork Room 8:45-12:30 3rd Grade Field Trip

County Line Farms 6-9pm 8th Grade Project

Presentation-Lower Campus

Fri Mar 28, 2014

3:10-4:10pm Chess For Kids Class Handwork Room 6-9pm 8th Grade Project

Presentation-Lower Campus

Sat Mar 29, 2014

9am-3pm Lower Campus Work Party

Mon Mar 31, 2014

5:30-7pm 1st Grade Parent Meeting 6:30-8pm 6th Grade Parent Meeting

Tue Apr 1, 2014

11:40-12:40 4th grade Play for Students 3-4:30pm Sewing Workshop with Ms.

Meret-Handwork Room 6-7:30pm 4th Grade Play for Parents

Wed Apr 2, 2014

11am-12pm 4th Grade Play for Students

7-8:30pm Parent Night- Adolescent Development

6th Grade Classroom

The Live Oak Community Calendar is hosted at the liveoakcharter.org website. You may subscribe to the calendar and link it to your own datebook. If you have an event to include in the calendar, please submit it to Muriel in the office or via email at [email protected].

Save the Date

April 26 Butter and Egg Days Parade- Live Oak will be in the Parade- more information coming soon.

Community

Bulletin Board

This is a space for parents in the Live Oak community to post notices about items or services for sale or trade, or to give away, or simply to share infor-mation with one another. Send your notices to [email protected].

---HOUSE FOR RENT in NW Santa Rosa. Small ranch house, 3bedroom/3bath on 5 acres. Available soon. Contact Bobbie Smith at (707)364-4452

---Good News! CSA BOXES FROM THE COUNTY LINE FARM ARE RE-TURNING! If you would like a farm fresh box full of veggies from a local farm dropped off right at your school, then the CSA program is for you! If you are interested in a weekly or bi-weekly box, please contact Julie Yar-nall at [email protected].

---REQUESTING IDEAS and informa-tion about Waldorf-inspired art, mu-sic and farm camps for the summer of 2014 for an almost 6 year old. Please send information to Erin Wrightsman at [email protected] or 707-480-4855. Thank you!

---I AM LOOK---ING FOR LARGE EGGS (goose, emu, ostrich, etc.) or uniquely colored eggs for creating pysanky or etched eggs. If you have some and are interested in selling them it would be greatly appreciated. I can be reached at [email protected]. Thank you.

---Pregnant and Postpartum Moms, Do you love yoga or are you interested in practicing? I am teaching a pre/ postnatal yoga class at POST Wellness here in Petaluma on Tuesday nights 5:30 - 6:45pm. Classes are intended to meet you where YOU are, no struggle, no competition. All stages of mother-hood welcome, no children please. Thank you. Yvette Racines

---Mr. Boshell’s Summer Tennis Camp. It’s not just for kids, but for families too! If your family wants to play and enjoy tennis with instruction, along with other Live Oak families this sum-mer, call M Hampton at (707)971-0218.

Board News

by Rachel Kaplan, Board Member

The LOCS Board met on Thursday evening, March 13 for a long meet-ing where we focused on the possibilities presented by our inclusion in the Petaluma City Schools bond. With a potential $1.7M for our school to-wards a long-term site, we are in a better position than we have ever been to realize a long-held dream. In the coming months, we will be looking into ways to support the passage of this bond, continue to raise the neces-sary funds to make a school site a reality (as the potential bond monies are only about a third of what we truly need to develop a new school site), and are forming an administrative committee to help support this process. For this committee, we seek the support of a real estate attorney; anyone with professional knowledge of mortgage loans; community and project development; and general contractors with experience with large projects. Please contact Mr. Morgan if you or someone you know can support this exciting development for our school in this way. Our continued presence at the Petaluma City Schools Board meetings, every other Tuesday at the Administrative headquarters, is also of value to our school in this process. Other items on the agenda included the extension of a transitional garten in the mainstream school system and how this affects our kinder-garten, our enrollment policy for siblings, and our second Interim Budget. We discussed Board terms and a number of Board members terms will expire at the end of this year. If you are interested in serving on the Board in the coming years, please contact our Board Chair, Karna Dawson, [email protected]. C’mon down! Board service is a rewarding way to serve your school community.

Foundation News

My deepest appreciation to all of you who made this year’s Auction yet another amazing community event. Besides raising more than $59,000 to support our school, a 10% increase over last year, we had an absolute-ly fabulous time—we sang and danced together and enjoyed local food, drink, and artistry as well as each other’s company. From the tables filled with donations from crafters, artists and healers to the dance floor filled with tunes from our own parents and staff, it was a stunning demonstra-tion of Live Oak’s abundance.

In addition to all those who donated goods and services or helped with auction projects and baskets, special thanks go to

• Bobbie Smith and Corryn Degelabert, auction co-chairs and their amazing committee & helpers: Kelly Collins, M Hampton, Jill Harrison, Jacqueline Machado, Irene Meech, Jacquie Potts, Jen Stevens, Sara Valerio, Cheryl Vargas, Aimee Ward, Tina Wilder and Erin Wrightsman

• Paul Irving and Denise Williges, chefs • Live Oak alumni kitchen help and wait staff

• Tanya Boone-Alva, Leah Brosio, Mark Escalera, Grant Gibbs, Scott Hampton, Leah Numair, Patrick Numair, Caleb Prusso, and Troy Silveira, musicians

While we all left with full hearts and bellies, some of us were fortunate to bring home items crafted by the lovingly guided hands of those who are themselves our greatest gifts—our children.

As we turn towards Spring, Live Oak Foundation will be asking for your commitment to supporting this school in its mission to help our children grow and become creative and connected human beings. With potential bond money coming our way, your participation at any level is more im-portant than ever.

A Peek Inside the Live Oak Library

Instilling a life-long love of reading in children is something all of us as parents and educators hope to achieve. How does our school library help in this task? In as many ways as we can! Each class has a regular library time, usually weekly or bi-weekly. The first through sixth graders hear a story read aloud, and then have time to explore the collec-tion and choose books. First graders choose one book to bring home, while second graders and up may choose two books. As the second graders are learning to read, one of the books has to be a “just right” book that they can read themselves and keep in their desk to practice with whenever they can. Students also select books for book reports and research projects, and the middle school students all had a class devoted to “How to evaluate the credibility of web sites for research projects”, which was eye-opening for many.

We are currently in the midst of reading the books nominated this year for a California Young Reader Medal. Every year books are nominated in the following categories: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (3-5), Middle School (6-8), Picture Books for Older Readers (4-8) and High School. If a student reads all of the books in one category (5 books for pri-mary, 3 for other categories), they then get to vote on their favorite. All of the votes from all of the school children in California who participate are tallied up and the winner receives a California Young Reader Medal. The children get very excited about this every year, for this is the only medal awarded to books that they actually get to choose! So if your child talks about the “voting books”, you will know what they are referring to. Votes have to be sent by April 1st, so we are getting down to the wire. The hardest part is waiting the two months to find out who won! The chil-dren can also nominate their favorite books for this medal (the book has to have been published in the last 4 years). Their website has not only a list of the current nominees, but all of the past winners, so it’s a great place to find some good reads. Visit www.californiayoungreadermedal.org.

The library also maintains the collection of class reader sets for each grade. For the younger students, these are sets of books for each reading level which they use in the classroom for reading circles. For fourth grade and up, the books are themed to correspond with what they are currently studying. The fourth graders, for example, just finished reading By the Great Horn Spoon! as a class, which is set in the Gold Rush Era, while the 8th graders, who study American history, are reading To Kill a Mockingbird.

We all know reading with our children, or setting aside time for them to read is important. But sometimes we could all use some suggestions for good books, or for safe internet sites for research projects. Here are a few of places to try: American Library Association (ALA)’s Great Web Sites for Kids: http://gws.ala.org/

ALA’s Children’s Division - list of Award winners and notable books: www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants

UC Berkeley’s library division-Tips for internet research: www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/ Evaluate.html

Our own Live Oak Library Website - where you can search our catalog and see what’s new: http://loc.scoolaid.net Live Oak’s reading specialist Laura Duggan has her own website which has many wonderful recommendations: www.litkidz.com

Laura’s site is nice because it includes a recommended age for the book. All books are published with an age recom-mendation, which is based on complexity of story, violence, language, and maturity of theme. If you cannot find the age recommendation on a book, the general rule of thumb is that the main character in the book should be roughly the age of the child reading it. It is delightful to see a book really resonate with a child, and one written for their age level is most likely to “sing” to them.

Happy Reading!

Traffic Safety Reminder

Have you noticed the beautiful new Drop-Off Zone sign at school? The Drop-Off Zone is a NO PARKING AREA DURING SCHOOL HOURS.

Drop-Off Zone guidelines:

• Pull all the way to the curb and all the way forward.

• Ask children to be ready to exit the vehicle quickly and safely. • Use caution, and your blinker, when pulling back onto the Concourse. Watch for cars, bikes and pedestrians.

• Make U-turns at the end of the Concourse, past the Middle School Campus.

• Be careful of students crossing the street.

Lost and Found:

Please check the blue bins at both campuses for your lost items. Anything unclaimed will be donated on Monday - March 24th

Spring Campus Task List

If you find yourself with some free time and a desire to volunteer at the school, we have an ongoing list of small tasks that need to be accomplished. Please check in with Julie in the office before starting tasks.

1. TP holder installed in 1st and 2nd grade girls bathroom - materials available

2. MPR front door facing deck needs bracket so it will stay locked - materials available 3. Compost pile outside RSP needs to be dumped into green recycle bins

4. Plastic covers installed over thermometer units at south campus - materials available

Appreciations and Gratitude

As a specialty teacher, without a parent body to help in the classroom, I am so very grateful to those of you who have volunteered time to help me! Special appreciations to Gayla Overmeer for your generosity and other odds and ends, to Corryn DeGelabert for all your sunshine-y warmth and willingness to take up whatever I have needed; to Amy Ross for making spirals, and to Nikki Greco for sewing curtains, cocoons, and for painting my little stool (which I use all the time!). Each time I encounter something you have contributed to RSP, it brings me delight! Thank you!! Karen Perry, RSP Teacher

Thank you to the Auction Committee for creating an incredible evening! You thought of everything; delicious, abundant food, festive dancers, exciting donations to bid on, generous class baskets, inspiring class projects, fabu-lous music which gave way to much laughing, dancing, sharing and generosity towards our children’s education. Thank you for being an inspiring group of uber-volunteers. In gratitude - Kim Anderson

Winds of Change

Every spring, as the crocus bulbs work their way through the humus of autumn’s fall, teachers contemplate the close of the year and the direction for the year ahead. Sometimes those meditations yield changes that were not looked for. In this case, Ms. Anca, our first grade teacher, has announced that she will be stepping away from teach-ing next year and will focus on matters of family and personal endeavor. Ms. Baker, our 8th grade teacher, has also decided to graduate with her students and will be going back to high school, joining the Credo High Faculty in Rohnert Park.

At Live Oak, we have adopted a model for cohort teaching that outlines a grade 1 through grade 5 loop, and a grade 6 through grade 8 loop. Generally, we expect 5th grade teachers to graduate their class and return to teach 1st, and for the 8th grade teacher to return to 6th to receive the matriculating 5th grade. There are exceptions to this pattern however, and this year is one example. As Ms. Baker will not be returning to Live Oak next fall the question arose as to who would be teaching next year’s 1st and 6th grade classes. At this time I am pleased to announce that Ms. Amy will be our 1st grade teacher next year, and Ms. Leah will continue into the middle school program with her current class. Ms. Amy has been on staff with Live Oak for 5 years and has served as substitute teacher throughout the grades as well as teacher assistant for two years each with Leah Brosio and Julie Meierding. Amy brings a host of skills to her teaching, and a love and grace in working with students. In light of Anca’s departure, we will be be conducting a thorough search for a teacher to join our 2nd grade students. We expect to complete our search by late April.

Please join with me in thanking Ms. Anca and Ms. Baker for their years of service to Live Oak and our students. Though they will be missed, they leave behind a school that is stronger, healthier, and wiser for their contribution.

Handwork Guild

Community Events

Introducing Martial Arts Academy in Rohnert Park.

We all want the best for our children - invest in your child’s success today. An article I recently read by a psychologist explained why traditional martial arts are so valuable for your child. It explained that having a series of increasingly difficult challenges, and being able to see the benefit and improvement through your own hard work leads kids to real, lasting confidence, and an unshakable level of self-esteem. Kids in traditional martial arts schools are strong and fit, confident, polite, and have great success when faced with challenges in life. Martial Arts Academy has Karate classes for Kids, and lots of options for adults (Karate, Self Defense, Kickboxing, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Japanese Swordsmanship, and more.) Come try 2 FREE weeks and see why Martial Arts Academy is the place to be!

Tony Johnson, Sensei, Martial Arts Academy, (707) 364-6478 5979 Commerce Blvd, Suite 5, Rohnert Park, Ca 94928 www.m-a-academy.com, [email protected]

Painting Course with Victoria Temple: Second Session

Thursdays 3:30 - 5:30 pm at Credo High School, 1200 Southwest Blvd., Rohnert Park March 20 — April 29 (7 sessions)

Some materials will be provided. You will be asked to bring others and a materials list will be available upon regis-tration. Fees for the class are based upon a principle of separating economic circumstances from the ability to par-ticipate in artistic training. Students pay between $0 and $25 per class ($0 to $175 per session). To learn more or to enroll contact Victoria at 707-268-4322 or by email at [email protected]. Questions welcome!

Chess for Kids Class

The next session of the Live Oak chess class starts on Friday March 21. There are just a few days left to enroll. Go to www.chessclubforkids.com to register.

SAVE THE DATES!

6th Annual Scholastic Chess Tournament in Santa Rosa: May 3 1st Annual Scholastic Chess Tournament in Napa: May 10

Wet Felting Class with Ms. Jonatha

Sat April 5, 10am-2pm

Bring your imagination and learn to wet felt a small bag using the resist method at the new Cast Away & Folk store, Railroad Square, Santa Rosa.

Cost: $60- includes all materials except roving (may be purchased at the store). For details or to register go to www.castawayandfolk.com or email Jonatha at [email protected]

Second Annual Feather Fest for Kids

April 19, 9am-12:30pm at Shollenberger Park, Petaluma

Docent-led morning bird and nature walk designed for kids 6-12. Observe nesting behavior of birds amidst the habitats of the Petaluma Wetlands. Parents will need to accompany their children on the walk.

Tailgate Party: Pizza, cookies, fruit, and sodas provided for $2.50 per person (kids and parents).

Attendance is limited. To sign-up, please call Al Hesla at 707-765-9411 or email at [email protected] no later than April 17.