The Bear Pack Adds Color to Our Day

You may have noticed the newly painted crosswalk. It is the work of our very own Bear Pack, a new group of Claxton dads who make themselves available to help out at Claxton Elementary wherever needed. They painted the crosswalk over the weekend.

YOU ARE PRE-APPROVED!

Become a member, be an involved parent, help when you can, make a difference. Join the Bear Pack today by emailing your name and contact info to: Will@hornadaydesign.com to join or get more information. 

What is the Bear Pack? 

This is a new group of Claxton dads who can make themselves available to help out at Claxton Elementary wherever needed. 

Too busy for long-term projects at school but want to help? The Bear Pack is for you! No meetings, no officers, no dues, no Robert's Rules of Order; we are rapid response volunteer help for much needed fast projects at our school.

BUT YOU WANT MORE!

OK you will get a stylish T-shirt, laminated membership card, a sticker for your manly vehicle (or Prius), and the knowledge that you are letting your children see you volunteer for something important-- to both you and them.

YOU ARE PRE-APPROVED!

Become a member, be an involved parent, help when you can, make a difference. Join the Bear Pack today by emailing your name & contact info to: Will@hornadaydesign.com to join or get more information. 

--First Meeting is Never--

Volunteers needed for ACT Marathon!

Claxton PTO is partnering with the ACT Marathon on Saturday, September 28th. We will be volunteering at an aid and cheer station located on Lakeshore Drive. (In the big curve by the lake). We will need to be there from 5:45-7:45 AM. 

In exchange for this work, we will be awarded $530 for our PTO!!!!! 

We will need 30 volunteers. (kids can participate) Here is the link to a google doc, so please sign up. 

I know this is early in the morning but it's easy money for our school and many of you live just down the street, so please consider helping out!! 

Also, there will be a volunteer thank you party at Highland Brewing on Oct.1st.

Volunteer to help with the health fair on September 5th! 

 We will need volunteers to help with BMI measurement, vision and dental screenings at different time slots between 8:15 and 2:00 on Thursday, September 5th. If you would like to help with the vision screening, you will need to come to a brief 30 minute training session August 29th at 8:15 with our school nurse Amy Alday. 

Volunteers are most needed in the morning slot between 8:15 and 2:00 on the 5th. Sign up using the google document here! We need your help to make sure we have healthy kids at Claxton!

Thank you Health Fair Volunteers

The Health Fair at Claxton allows us to provide recommended screenings for students, all in one day. This prevents multiple disruptions of the class schedule throughout the year for various screenings. The screening help to detect health-related problems early in the school year so that they can be addressed proactively.  

The following screenings were done at Claxton's Health Fair on September 12th:

• Dental – Grade 2 only
• Vision – Grades 1, 3 & 5 (and individual students referred by teacher)
• BMI (Body Mass Index) – Grades K-5

Hearing screenings are also conducted, but on a separate day by the Speech/Language Pathologists of Asheville City Schools.

It takes A LOT of people to hold a smooth and successful Health Fair. This year, we had 12 parent volunteers who helped make this one of our best Health Fairs ever. 

 Thanks so much to everyone who helped out!

Grounds Workdays -- Thank you!

Thank you to the wonder volunteers from the community and from Claxton who really out did themselves last week on Thursday's Day of Caring and again on Saturday.  Things look great!

Claxton Health Fair -- Volunteers Needed!

We need volunteers to help students get their BMI checked and their teeth and vision checked as part of the Claxton Health Fair on September 12th! A special Monday morning training is required for volunteers helping with vision screening, please sign up as soon as possible! 

Sign up here or contact Dee Dee Allan or Elizabeth Sager for more information.

Day of Caring -- September 6th & 8th!

The Claxton Diggers Grounds Committee is partnering with the United Way and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce to bring a Day of Caring to Claxton!

From 9:00am to 1:00pm on September 6th and again on September 8th, volunteers from our matched partner, the Chamber, will be in attendance to work at Claxton. We will be weeding and mulching the school grounds and constructing compost bins for the school.  We're also working on plans to have other community volunteers on hand.  Can you join us?

This will be a great opportunity to bring resources from the larger community to Claxton to see the wonderful things we have going on as we continue to make our school a greener, more beautiful place!

International Potluck on September 11th!

5:30 to 7:00pm

Claxton Cafeteria

Please join us for the International Potluck!  It's a time for families and staff to come together to celebrate diversity, cultural heritage and to showcase the different cultures and countries represented at Claxton! 

Sign up to bring a dish representative of some aspect of your culture or even a flag or souvenir! Don’t have a dish to contribute? Then volunteer to bring cups, plates, utensils and napkins or to help set up or clean up! All families are encouraged to attend, we hope people share and learn from one another on this very special night! 

RSVP to Spanish/ESL teacher Gabriela Dominguez  (350-6552 ), or to our Volunteer Coordinator Elizabeth Sager.

Hope to see you there!

Mary Hiers Honored

Claxton parent Mary Hiers-Skelton will be featured as WLOS News 13's Person of the Week on Friday's 6:00 news.

 

Mary leads the Claxton Diggers, a group of volunteers who have been making great progress over the past several years improving our grounds and making the outdoor space at Claxton more appealing, more usable and more educational. Her hard work has resulted in an improved and expanded K-1 playground, the installation of gardens around the grounds, the repair and relocation of the Deborah Sizemore Sound Garden installation, and the beginnings of a natural noise barrier along the Merrimon Avenue side of the school. 

 

If you're not already familiar with all that Mary, the Claxton Diggers and our Grounds Committee are doing, check out the Grounds page to find out how you can get involved!

 

Congratulations Mary! 

 

Your work serves as a great example of what a dedicated volunteer can accomplish on behalf of our school and our students. We invite everyone to tune in as Mary is celebrated for her contributions to the Claxton community. The story will air at 6:00 on Friday on WLOS News 13.

you have all been waiting for it...

FIELD DAY SIGN-UPs are UP!

There are 11 games and stations up and waiting to be filled in.

Volunteers: Please arrive at memorial statium at 8:45am

May 29th: 4th and 5th

May 30th: 2nd and 3rd

May 31st: k and 1st

Only on the... Google Doc!

Grounds Update!

Most of the plants that we had donated in the fall have been planted around the school and it really looks great. Thanks to a small group of hard working parents, Claxton’s landscape is shaping up!

The K-1 playground has had more exciting things happen. We now have a dry creek bed for drainage and a bridge for kids to play on. The dry creek bed held up well during the torrential rains last week! Thanks to Paul Willard for his hard work and artistic eye!

We are working on several grants for the large playground. It is going to require a lot of grading and drainage work before we can even get to the fun stuff. Hopefully we can start working on that this summer.

On Hillside and Merrimon Avenue, we are planting lots of plants, in hopes of creating a noise buffer from the roar of traffic. That way, we will be able to eventually have outdoor classrooms! We are just starting, but hopefully will be able to raise some funds to plant hollies and other plants in the upcoming years to enhance this sound barrier.

Now, we are just trying to keep weeds and grass at bay around the plants we have installed.

We need your help!  

We have dumped some mulch around the plants, and it needs to be spread out. We also have a bit more mulch near the front entrance that can be used. Can you spare 30 minutes to an hour and stop in anytime to help spread this mulch? There are also weeds to be pulled along the building and in the planting beds at the corners of Merrimon. 

Also, we'd love to plant some fern and hosta in the front raised beds at the Hillside/Merrimon corner. If you have any to share, we would love to have them!

The Asheville City School Board meets at Claxton on Monday, May 7. Won’t it be great for our grounds to welcome to them? Please lend a hand in the coming week to help with these projects to make sure everything looks great!

Looking for some Tablers.

Kindergarten Registration Day

 May 3rd!

PTO will be welcoming incoming Claxton Families on May 3rd from 9am until 3pm.

We are looking for volunteers to bring snacks, greet families, and share their experiences with PTO and the school in general.

Questions: Contact

Amanda Van Cleve

billyvc@charter.net

Check out the Google Doc!

Save the DATE!

SAVE THE DATE for our first annual...
 Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony!
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
3pm-4:30pm
Food, Drinks, and Live music Provided!

This is our opportunity as staff to appreciate all the work you have done as volunteers to contribute to the success of our classrooms.
Your attendance to be appreciated is greatly appreciated!

Graduation is here!

GRADUATION DAY IS AROUND THE CORNER!

 June 1st @ 10AM

  

This is the day to celebrate the success' of our 5th Grade Students! Families come on out and show your support.

Were Looking for Healthy Food items and Hearty Volunteers please!

Questions: Contact

Liz Hackett

thehacketts@charter.net

Check out the Google Doc!

Staff Appreciation- SPA DAY!

Spa Day for Claxton Staff

March 19, All Day!

Mrs. Dechant has arranged for the staff to receive a special treat throughout the day and has asked us to contribute to the effort by providing fruit smoothies.

We need volunteers throughout the day and donations of smoothie supplies!

Contact: Kimberly Mason masonfab5@gmail.com

Sign-up on the

Google Doc!

Spring Book Fair

SPRING BOOK FAIR

Saturday March 24th

9:30am-3pm

Barnes and Nobles at Asheville Mall

We will be fundraising and tabling while Claxton staff put on activities for families and students! Come on out for a fun-time and to show your support!

Sign-up on the

Google Doc!

School Supply Drive!

ATTENTION CLAXTON FAMILIES!

Want to help out?

Here’s a great way!
Claxton’s PTO is collecting
Teacher Supplies and Backpacks
during the month of March.

We Specifically Need:
Glue, Kid-Safe Scissors, Electric Pencil Sharpeners, Pencil Erasers, Pencils, Loose Leaf Paper,Graph Paper, Composition Books

However, any donations are appreciated!

Look for the bin in the school lobby, and place your items there

Valentine's Dance

Our 4th grade is hosting a
Valentine's Day Dance!

Tuesday February, 14th

3:00 - 4:15 PM

Claxton Gymnatorium

3rd, 4th and 5th grades

Tickets are $3.00.
Refreshments will be available:
Pizza - $2
Popcorn, soda & baked goods $.50 each.

All proceeds support the 4th grade field trip in May. 

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact a fourth grade teacher for more information.

There's No Business like Show Business!

Volunteers needed to Classroom Run and Supervise.

Claxton staff are in the beginning stages of what will become Doo-Wop Wed Widing Hood "A 1950's Musical Fairy Tale." Auditions beginning next week December 8^th will need volunteers throughout the day.

Email Sijal Nasralla to sign up. 

Any parents interested in Choreography, Costuming, Props, Scene Design, Make-Up, Back-stage Help, or Music? Please Contact Cindy Baldwin so we can put those special talents to good use!