Thank You Urban Burrito!

Urban Burrito was kind enough to donate the food for our first PVA Night on October 15, and we really appreciate it!  Please stop in and let them know how much if you have a chance!

Not sure what a PVA Family Night is?  Find out all about them here and come joins us at the next one, Math Night, on November 19th.  

Roots & Wings and Wild Wings!

Claxton students' painted pumpkins will be featured in Wild Wings Café's Annual Great Pumpkin Painting Pageant on Tuesday October 30th 6:00-8:00 pm.

Wild Wing Café invites local classrooms to participate in their Annual Great Pumpkin Painting Pageant. They donate pumpkins to local classrooms for the students to paint, decorate and enter into the pageant. Mr. Cassara had roots and wings classes paint pumpkins, and five were chosen to be displayed at the restaurant.  Winners will be chosen from multiple schools the night of the pagent.

Wild Wings hosts their Kids Halloween Party on Tuesday October 30th.  Painted pumpkin finalists will be judged and the winner will be announced! The winning pumpkin will win a $100 donation to the schools art department, as well as a catered lunch for the winner’s classroom. The student’s individual prize will be free Kids Meals for a year plus other prizes to be announced.

Students do not have to be present to win and all students are invited to attend the Kids Halloween Party.  Wild Wing Café will be hosting a Kids Costume Contest and will provide a free Kids meal to every child in costume (with an adult meal purchase).  So, make the most of those Halloween Costumes and come on out to see what Claxton students have created!

FIRST Lego League Tournament at UNCA November 3rd!

Come cheer on Claxton 4th adn 5th grade students as the flex their Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education skills at the FIRST Lego League Tournament at UNCA on November 3rd!

What to expect at the tournament: Teams spend the first half of the day in closed judging sessions presenting their research, demonstrating and discussing how the Core Values informed the work they did together, and explaining how they designed and programmed the robot.  The afternoon is filled with back to back rounds of table competition.  Teams square off at back to back tables, and compete both against their own best scores and in cooperative and competitive tasks that involve the other team. Each round last only 2.5 minutes and teams keep the best score from their three opportunities to compete.   The afternoon is a fast-paced and exciting.  The competition is free and open to the public. 

The tentative tournament day schedule includes:

12:45pm Parade of Teams & Opening Ceremony
1:15pm – 3:15pm Robot Runs
3:45pm Awards Ceremony

The tournament at UNCA is a qualifying event, and the teams that score the best across all areas of competition will progress to regional competitions and then on to state-wide competitions.  Claxton had a team progress to the state level last year.  So, come on out and cheer on this year's teams as they show how their skills!

Oh!  And keep an eye on WLOS New 13's Never Stop Learning for an upcoming story on our teams!

Book Fair Going on Now!

Make sure you visit our Scholastic Book Fair and experience a celebration of reading that provides families the opportunity to get involved in a universal mission: encouraging kids to read every day so they can lead better lives.

Our Scholastic Book Fair theme – All-Star Book Fair: Every Reader Is a Star! – is part of an exciting reading event that brings to school a wonderful selection of fun, engaging, and affordable books kids want to read. Giving kids access to good books and the opportunity to choose their own books will motivate them to read more. And like most acquired skills, the more kids practice reading, the better they’ll get.

Hope to see you there!

Book Fair Dates: Friday, October 26th-Wednesday, October 31st.

Shopping Hours: 8am-3pm

Special Events: Family Shopping Night, Monday, 29th, 5pm-8pm (shop and have dinner!)

Grand-Person Breakfast, Wednesday, 31st, 7:45-8:15 am (bring a special person to shop and eat)

In Search of the Perfect Pumpkin?

The 5th Grade is selling punpkins grown right here in Buncombe County!

Pick one up after school 2:30 - 4:30 -- Last day is Friday October 19th

Average price: $4 - $10

Proceeds reduce the cost of the 5th grade field trip for all students and help to ensure that any student who is eligible to participate will be able to do do - regardless of financial need. 

Congratulations PTO Mini-Grant Recipients!

This Fall the PTO is proud to support two proposals from our faculty:

The first brings a Harlem Renaissance exhibit to Claxton. This exhibit features 3 large color display panels as well as posters, exhibit information and a teacher's guide. The exhibit will be in a prominent location to benefit students, parents, and visitors. 

Classroom teachers are encouraged to incorporate grade level literary components based on the poetry of Langston Hughes and other writers. Mr. Butler will incorporate lessons in the jazz movement associated with the Harlem Renaissance: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and others. Mr. Cassara will involve parents as docents and members of the YMI Cultural Center as resources. Goals are for students to be able to express their feelings through art, music and poetry. The project is further intended to increase pride in our rich cultural heritage. Thank you Mr. Cassara for spearheading this wonderful project!

The second grant aims to promote literacy and to integrate arts into the curriculum by creating paintings on 36x 48" canvasses depicting covers of some of the student's favorite books. These will be hung in the cafeteria. Each classroom will select and nominate books. Grades will then ultimately select one book. The A+ committee will oversee the selection of a volunteer artist.

Students gain appreciation of the visual arts as they consider book covers. This grant covers phase one and  allow 3 books to be hung in the cafeteria. Funding for the remaining three book covers is a work in progress. Placing the paintings in non-classroom areas helps to reinforce books and reading a part of life beyond classroom requirements. Thank you Ms. Powell for bringing this proposal on behalf of the A+ Committee!

Additional mini-grant opportunities will be available in the Spring.  We encourage everyone to be thinking of creative projects like these that help to enrich the experience of all students.

Save the Date -- Oct 29 Italian Dinner

Mark Your Calendars!

On October 29th, the 5th grade will host an Italian Dinner in conjunction with the Fall Book Fair.  It's a great time to join friends and classmates for a casual dinner that's fun for everyone.  Come out and enjoy an easy family dinner with no cooling and room for everyone!

Menu: Salads, Pasta & Bread
A la carte homemade desserts will be available for purchase as well.

Cost:  $3 per person - Tickets available after school in the pickup/car rider line & at the door

Proceeds of dinner sales reduce overall costs of the 5th grade field trip and help to ensure that no student who has earned the opportunity to go will miss out because of costs.  

The dinner is made possible by the PTO and fifth grade parent volunteers.  

Questions? Interested in finding out what you can do to help?  Contact Lisa Laney or Shannon Casson for the details!

Claxton Elementary’s 6th Annual Storytelling Festival on Thursday, December 6th, 2012.

That’s right-we’re in our 6^th year of this amazing experience, the brainchild of our wonderful Mr. Godleski!

Claxton Elementary School’s Storytelling Day involves professional and amateur storytellers. Students take a whole day to experience the art of storytelling in cross-grade assemblies and grade specific small group settings. Students can be involved in the telling as well as being active listeners, as precursory and follow-up classroom activities make this not just a wonderful day of entertainment, but an important educational event as well. With an emphasis on grade level themes from the N.C. State Essential Standards and Common Core Curriculum, the overall intention is to strengthen students’ connection to their learning and expose them to the culture and diversity that a wide array of storytellers can represent. Southern Appalachian, Native American, African, and African American cultures are emphasized, but storytellers of all types are welcome to volunteer or solicit for a paid performance. This year Claxton’s Storytelling Day will be Thursday, December 6.

We want to encourage parents and teachers to make students aware of this event ahead of time so it doesn’t just appear out of nowhere as a “day of entertainment.” It's something teachers can use in precursory and follow up activities to connect to the curriculum (elements of writing and stories, social studies, audience behavior, listening skills, drama, etc. etc.). 

We have had Storytellers from a variety of sources: teachers, professionals, UNCA retirement center, parents, deaf storytellers, Native American, African American, musical, dramatic, etc. etc.

We would love to have a student storytelling station this year so please consider whether you could support and encourage your student to be a storyteller!

Please contact Brooks Butler or Tom Godleski if interested in being a part of this year’s event. 

Read-A-Thon

This year we are introducing a Read-A-Thon to run alongside our Scholastic bookfair.  The purpose is to encourage our children to read as much as possible and to raise money for the Claxton PTO funds which go to a variety of things all aimed at helping our students. On Friday, October 5th, your child will bring home a packet explaining how the Read-A-Thon works, along with a "reading log" and "pledge sheet". They have until October 31st (the final day of our Scholastic Book Fair) to read, read, read. Be sure to return pledge forms, reading logs, and money to their teachers no later than November 2nd!!! There will be prizes awarded!

Thanks for helping all of our children become "All Star Readers" and tune in soon for more information about the Book Fair running from October 26th-31st!

If you have any questions please email Joan Best  or Julie Porter-Shirley.

Staff Appreciation Brunch -- October 12th

The PTO would like to show the Claxton staff just how much we love them with a staff appreciation brunch.  

We need your help!

We're looking for Claxton families to share their culinary skills (or grocery shopping skills) to bring in some delicious brunch items. Contact Melissa Kledis to find out how you can help!

Join us at Barley's!

Come one, Come all!

Enjoy some great pizza with fellow Claxton families!

When?   Tuesday October 9 from 5:00 to 8:00

Where?   Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria

Why?   Because they love us and we love them!

Barley's has been a long time supporter of Claxton, and a spirit night at Barley's is about as good as it gets!  Kids have fun. Parents have fun.  Low key dinner with no need to cook.... It's a beautiful thing!

Come enjoy some fellowship with your Claxton friends and family!  10% of every lunch, dinner and take-out order from Barley's Asheville on October 9th will be donated to the PTO to support programs that benefit our students!

We send out a HUGE thank you to Barley's for the long-standing generosity and support that has meant so much to the Claxton family! 

Heroes for Hope

Eblen-Kimmel Charities provides support to our students and their families.  Each year, Eblen raises money for our students through the Heroes for Hope program.  The money is raised when you purchase a "pumpkin" in support of Eblen-Kimmel charities.  The program runs from October 1 - October 30th.

The money raised is used for a variety of things including food assistance, medication, medical supplies, heating assistance, school supplies and shelter.

There are several prizes that students, teachers and our school can earn for collecting donations.  If you would like to participate of would like more information, please contact Mark Ackerman.

Thank you for supporting this wonderful agency and all they do on behalf of our students!

Pisgah View Family Nights

Did you know that the Claxton team provides academic and enrichment activities for our students and all of the the families living in Pisgah View Appartments?  Would you like to join us?


The Next PVA Family Night is Literacy Night on October 15th.  We would love to have you there!

Find out about what we do, how you can help and upcoming dates by clicking here!

Yearbook Pictures Wanted

Have a shutterbug in the family?

We're looking for pictures for the Claxton yearbook.  We're interested in classrooms, kids, after school activities, field trips, or whatever else you can think of that represents our kids' experience at Claxton.  So, if there's a shutterbug in your family, share the love and share your photos!

Submit your pictures to Kimberly Mason or drop them in the PTO box in an envelope with her name on it.  Please include the grade, organization, and/or activity represented in the photo.  And please remember that we turn in the completed yearbook in January so any photos received after that can't be included!

Calling All Artists/Crafters - deadline approaching!

Claxton is planning a Holiday Art Show for our talented Parents and Staff to sell their wares. Each artist will be charged a small table rental fee ($25) to cover our costs of hosting the event (advertising/table rental, etc) and a small percentage of your sales (10%) will go to the PTO. This event will take place December 1st noon - 4:00 p.m. in the gymnatorium and will be open to the public. Artists will need to man their own table. Space is limited and will be reserved on a first come first served basis. Reserve your space before October 12th to secure a spot. Any remaining space will be opened up to artists in the community after October 12th.

All items must be handmade. So help out our PTO and earn some extra money for the holidays!

Please contact Rachel Friel or 551-7391 to reserve your space or with any questions.