How Much Is That Doggy In The.....

BATHTUB??

Answer:  No price can be put on him!

Erin and Emily helped to give Jake a bath before he left today to spend the next 10+ days at a friends home....enjoying the company of two other dogs!  We are off to western SD tomorrow afternoon for a family vacation.  This will be our first family vacation in two years since Terry and I went off along last year.  I am looking forward to some sight seeing with the kids (climbin Harney Peak, Mammoth Site, etc.) as well as spending some time with some friends in Hot Springs.  At the end of our trip we'll have the priviledge of spending four quiet days at a very special place.  Ahhhhh....let the vacation begin!! 



I have a confession. I am addicted to......

Not a surprise to those who know me well!

CRAFTINESS!

Erin's is certainly one crafty little girl.  My mending piles seem to get the best of me.  Sometime ago I had moved my huge mountainous stack of mending into the living room....hoping that I would stop procrastinating!  Well, several days went by and Erin continued to look at one of her items on the top of the pile that was needing a bit of needle/thread help.  She must have finally decided that enough was enough.  She got out the needle and thread and proceeded to fix it herself.  Sadly, she probably did a MUCH better job than I would have. 

Fast forward to this past weekend.....Trevor was busy with Terry, Emily was at a friends house so it was just Erin and I.  I was trying to get caught up on my household duties (I prefer to be outside this time of year!!) before some very important guests arrived the next day.  After learning that I had (more) mending to do, Erin took it all to the living room, set it all up for us to work on together complete with music (a must for most of us, here!).  I am happy to announce that the mending is all done (for now), we enjoyed our special time together and had fun doing it!  Did I just say that I had FUN mending?!  

Here is another item that she was busy with during her quiet time at home......  She had been saving the carton for me to make it for her.  I had already made one a year or so ago and it was NOT as easy as the directions made it sound.  She found the directions in video form at the Family Fun Magazine website so she sat down and worked....and worked.....and worked!!  What can I say?  She makes me sooooo proud!!

Who Says You Can't Go Home Again.....

That is the song that was played to a slideshow of each of the students attending Poy Sippi Elementary School.  The teachers made an awesome choice of song for that!  That little school was certainly a home-away-from-home to many and will always hold special memories for many.  However, in moving forward we can look forward to making new friends, having new opportunities and finding new memories to make!

Throughtout the last few days of school, a larger newspaper called to interview a teacher and then asked to interview a parent.  Since I was there volunteering that day, I was called to the phone.  All in all, it went well.  There were just a few words put into my mouth and I am hoping that others see it as just that....media putting words into ones mouth.  It was written that "students will be lost in a larger school".  What was really said was stated after...."Due to the small school setting, the students had more opportunity to 'shine'."  Hmmmm.

All said and done...we are looking forward to enjoying a great summer with a vacation to SD, some bike riding, hiking, and just enjoying my kids before they head back to school in September!!  =-)

We Are Poy Sippi School!!

FAREWELL, POY SIPPI SCHOOL!



POY SIPPI ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

TO SO MANY HAS BEEN CALLED “HOME”

AFTER YEARS OF BUSTLING HALLWAYS

IT WILL STAND QUIET AND ALONE.

A SMALL BRICK BUILDING

BUILT IN 1962

GAVE EDUCATION TO LITTLE ONES

ALL THE YEARS THROUGH.

TEACHERS AND STAFF

BECAME AS CLOSE AS FAMILY

TEARS DURING STRUGGLES

TIMES OF LAUGHING JOYFULLY

STUDENTS LEARNED SO MUCH

ABOUT OUR COUNTRY & OUR FREEDOM,

GIVING SELFLESSLY TO THOSE IN NEED,

AND EVEN MOMENTS OF STARDOM!

OUR LUNCH STAFF MADE LUNCH SO FUN

WITH MEALS FROM A FOREIGN PLACE

A PICNIC WITH BEACH BOY MUSIC

PARENTS AT LUNCH-THERE WAS ALWAYS A SPACE!

A CLEANER SCHOOL

THERE COULD NEVER BE!

MRS. MARINI WOULD DUST & POLISH

WITH NO DUST AROUND TO SEE!

WE CAN’T FORGET THE POY SIPPI PTO!

THEY RAISED

MONEY IN FUN WAYS

TO BE USED, IN PART, FOR FIELD TRIPS:

LIKE ZOOS, PARKS, FARMS & PLAYS!

SO AS WE LEAVE OUR BELOVED SCHOOL

WE WILL SHED A FEW DOZEN TEARS.

SOME WILL BE EXCITED TO GO TO CLAY LAMBERTON

OTHERS MAY HAVE A FEW FEARS.

WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER OPENS!

WE CAN MAKE A NEW FRIEND

NEW MEMORIES AND NEW TRADITIONS.

THIS IS A BEGINNING…NOT JUST AN END!

 

 BY: KARA CARLSON       6/6/11

Our final day is tomorrow (Thursday).  We will celebrate with breakfast at school, followed by field day activities, fourth grade graduation and then a ceremony to close the school doors with.  We are all prepared....with a kleenex box or two.  This was a very well thought out decision and we all know it was a closure that was needed.  However, we will still feel a bit lot of sadness with the finality of it.  It has been a great school to hundreds of students throughout the past almost fourty years - but we are moving on......

ROAD AMERICA & SPEED!

On Saturday we took the kids to Road America with another family. It was fun to watch....but I think I would pass on the ride!! It was a very warm day but the kids did very well. Some of the time they sought the shade of the bleachers and sat playing their games but other times they got into the racing as well. Thanks to eating at Subway, we were able to get free tickets (a savings of $180!!!!) and kids 12 & under were free. Needless to say, we wouldn't have gone otherwise - but it was certainly fun & entertaining!

A table for 10 reserved......

As a way to reward positive behavior, our school district has implemented a new behavior system in which each student is given a ticket to reward them each time an adult sees them obeying a rule, etc. without reminding.  They put their name on the ticket and put them in a bucket.  At the end of each week, a few names are chosen for a prize.  Then, at the end of the month, two names from each classroom are drawn for the opportunity to sit at the "restaurant" table!!  Erin's name was drawn so she was seated at this fancy table!!  Our lunch lady is the absolute BEST....she had the table done up with a table cloth, fresh flower arrangement and orange crush in glass goblets.  What a great chance to "shine"!!  Love you, Er-Bear!!

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs was performed by the selected middle school students last week after two months of practice and they did a terrific job!  There were four 6th graders with acting parts and a few more in the chorus.  Trevor played one of the palace guards in which the three guards sang a trio along with the Wicked Stepmother while she was getting prepared to cast a "MAGIC SPELL" on Snow White. 

You did a great job up on stage, Trev!

Memorial Day

Here are some pictures of the happy memories from Memorial Day Weekend.  Erin made a new friend so that was the absolute highlight of her weekend!  She had a blast with Chloe and was able to spend one night with her.  Emily and Josie had a great time in with the animals and getting four wheeler rides from Tom.  Terry gave rides to all the kids with our four wheeler and a trailer.  Brennan & Gavin White sure enjoyed the ride on the four wheeler!  Terry, Sherry and Tom got the kids going with a game of Human Foos Ball.  We needed some more kids (big or little!!) but they had a blast!  Of course, we  needed to roast marshmallows as well!  Trevor spent most of the weekend with either his bow/arrows or his rocket blaster.  That rocket was a big hit with the kids AND adults!  Gavin just loved Jake...and Jake loves just about anyone who will show him some affection!  Terry and Larry got in some shooting and gun talk as well!

Team Building through School Forest Activities

Our annual school forest field trip turned into our final school forest trip for Poy Sippi Elementary.  The weather was gorgeous, no ticks were found and the students were on their best behavior, making it a terrific day!  After climbing THE HILL several times, working on team building through an obstacle course, rope swinging, teeter totter and a balance board, all the kids came home pretty tired out!

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for....

ICE CREAM!!

The third grade class made ice cream in zip lock bags.  It was a noisy

classroom of 19 students but they were certainly busy making

memories.  When the bags were opened and they were

busy eating (or drinking!!) their ice cream, it was

silent except for the occassional "yum", "MMMM" or

even "This is better than 'real' ice cream!"

 Emily's ice cream got hard and she was able to eat it with a spoon.

The milk mixture was put into a smaller zip-lock baggie, which

was then put into a gallon sized baggie with ice & rock salt.

After shaking for awhile, the milk mixture was

(supposed to be) turned into ice cream. 

The ice melted too quickly in some of the later bags so

the mixture didn't turn as solid as the others.  Erin's was

one of those.  However, it didn't stop the fun

for them, nor did it change the flavor. 

It was just eaten through a straw as a

a.....MILK SHAKE!

Beatlemania

Last week, Trevor's middle school choirs (6th, 7th & 8th grades) presented a Beatlemania concert.  This is the first year our middle school has done a 6th grade choir and our director has done a marvelous job with them.  It was so fun to listen to their improvement from December to May!  The program started out with all three grades singing the first few verses of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band followed by the 6th graders singing When I'm Sixty-Four and Hello, Good-bye.  The combined choirs closed the show with the end of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Goodnight.  Next year, the current 6th grade choir will nearly double in size - SING ON!!