Catalayah Elementary

For all you "planners" out there... the CPS Academic Calendar for 2021-22 has been approved by the Board of Education. It goes without saying, but just in case, this is official unless we have any unforeseen situations come up in the future. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/page/academic-calendars

Due to the icy conditions, CPS will continue Distance Learning, Thursday, February 11th & Friday, February 12th. Additionally, the child nutrition team will not distribute meals this week. Check in to your Google Classrooms and follow the instructions. Your teachers are working from home and are available to assist you. There will be no after school activities, including athletic practices or games. We will post updates on the CPS communication platforms. If you have not downloaded our CPS App on your phone, we suggest doing that to receive the most updated information. It's available through the Apple Store & Google Play for free. Be safe, stay warm, make a memory, and remember it's A Great Day to be a Zebra. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Have you ever wanted to know more about our Principal, Mrs. Shuck?? On our website under menu there is a tab named MEET THE PRINCIPAL. Although we couldn't list all the great things she does for her students and staff it still has some great info about her!! We are so proud and thankful for our leader!! Here is the link to MEET THE PRINCIPAL https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/o/catalayah/page/meet-the-principal #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

** Staff Spotlight** 5th grade Teacher, Mrs. Ritter I graduated from Salina High School and then graduated from NSU. I have been teaching for 16 years. The last 2 years have been at Catalayah. I love the relationships I build with students and helping them understand new concepts/skills. Those lightbulb moments are the best! Showing students all the possibilities and how they can be successful makes our job the best job. In my free time I like to read and spend time with my family. I also probably watch too much TV. I have been married to my husband Creed for 20 years. He is the manager at Walmart. We have 2 sons, Elijah-16 and Jake is 12. My favorite quote is "Kindness is always fashionable, and always welcome."- Amelia Barr One thing I want to do that I have never done before is go on an Alaskan Cruise. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Due to Technical Difficulties there will not be a 5:00 call today. Weekly Reminders for Feb.8- Feb. 12. If you didn't have a conference on Feb 4th click the link below to schedule a conference for March 11th. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

National Read Aloud Day!! I love being able to show off this video. Some of our staff, students and a former staff member sent in pictures and videos of how they celebrated Read Aloud Day at their house. Did your family participate in Read Aloud Day?? If so what books did you read? What are your kids favorite books? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmbO_g8S55o #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

**Staff Spotlight** I graduated from Owasso High School. Then attended college at Northeastern State University. What do I love about teaching? I love being the gateway to a child's public school experience. I enjoy being the teacher that makes learning and coming to school fun and enjoyable. I have been teaching for 10 years, the last 9 of those have been at Catalayah. In my free time I enjoy making jewelry out of skateboards and kayaking. I have been married to my husband Nic for 15 years and we have a son Benjamin who is 14 years old. Nic works private events for the Tulsa Zoo and Ben is a freshman in high school this year? If I could be any book character I would want to be Mrs. Frizzle because she has the coolest outfits and engages her students in the most student driven, hands-on, inquiry based, real life experiential learning! My favorite quote is "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"- Dr. Seuss One thing I want to do that I have never done before is travel to another country. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Mrs. Cole's sweet Pre-K classes has been learning about Volcanoes!! Mrs. M and our Art teacher Mrs. Coffey made this awesome Volcano so the kids could watch it erupt. Click the link below to watch the video of the eruption!! The kids spent the month of January learning about Dinosaurs. They learned about the different types of dinosaurs, what they eat, where they lived and much more. Have you heard their song about dinosaurs?? If not, be sure to check it out on the district page!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI6eoFURCL4 #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

National School Counselor's Day!!! Take a minute today and tell a School Counselor how much you appreciate them. Mrs. McComb is absolute amazing!!!! She goes above and beyond for our students at Catalayah. We truly appreciate everything she does for us. THANK YOU, Mrs. McComb for all you do for us and our students. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

It is important to keep our kids safe while online, and Claremore Public Schools is committed to providing software for our devices and resources for our parents. We have partnered with FamilyZoneUSA to ensure students’ cyber safety at school and at home. This #TechTipTuesday will show parents how to set up an account with FamilyZone and obtain the instructions on how to setup FamilyZone on all personal electronic devices that are not school-issued. https://youtu.be/Pi0u67bpoAk #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Tobi Riggs, a teacher at Roosa Elementary, tells us about the digital tools she received from the Claremore Public School Foundation and encourages you to participate in this year's virtual Brainiac Brawl. https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/article/390711

What does Distance Learning look like at your house??? Does your family get up like a normal school day and complete work in the morning? Is your family like mine and sleeps in on Fridays and completes their work in their jammies??? #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

**Staff Spotlight** Department Head of Special Education at Catalayah, Mrs. Nichol I am a native of Michigan and graduated from Laker High School in Pigeon, Michigan. I went to college at Oral Roberts University where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and Special Education. What I love about teaching is watching students learn and grow! I will complete my 40th year of teaching at the end of this school year. All 40 years have been with Claremore Public Schools. The first 30 I taught at Central Upper Elementary in Claremore, and the last 10 have been here at Catalayah. I also completed my intern teaching with Claremore at Claremont Elementary. It's great to be a Zebra!! In my free time I love to spend time with my grandchildren, sew and do decorative painting and crafts. I have been married for 39 years to my husband, Edward. He is the owner of a swimming pool repair and maintenance company. We have one son, Justin who is married and lives in Jenks, Ok. I also have two grandchildren, Abby (6) and Alex (4). If I could be any book character I would like to be any fairy tale character. I love, love fairy tales and enjoy reading them to my grandchildren. My favorite quote is "The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it." One thing I want to do that I've never done before is learn how to swim. I almost drowned in Lake Huron as a teenager and have been reluctant to try ever since. We are building a pool next summer for the grandkids and I want/need to learn to do it. This is my 40th and final year of teaching as I am retiring at the end of the school year. #CPSZEBRA PRIDE

Mrs. Sayre Whitaker, Westside Elementary teacher, wants you to know how CPSF has made a difference in her classroom and with her students. If you have ever received a grant from CPSF, comment on the CPS FB and tell us your story. Bonus points for a photo! https://www.claremore.k12.ok.us/article/388886 #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Mrs. Hall has been teaching our kids some really cool stuff in the innovation lab. They have been working with Sphero Bolt! BOLT is Sphero’s most advanced coding robotic ball to date, providing even more ways to express inventive ideas and experience the power of programming. Our students are able to program the sphero to move, speak and display different designs. They have really enjoyed the different aspects of programming. Watch the vided in the link below to see what these girls programmed their sphero to do!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi8xlbSieRE #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Diorama Project** 3rd grade students were given the option to participate in the diorama contest for the Will Rogers Memorial. The idea was to create a diorama that depicts the life of Will Rogers. The dioramas will be displayed at the Museum for all of February. Any visitors at the museum during that time are asked to vote on their diorama!! Voting end February 25th and winners announced the 25th. If you get a chance, stop by the museum and vote for your favorite!! These kids worked really hard on their diorama and we are so proud of them. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE (I wasn't able to get a picture of all the entries, so please stop by the museum to see them all!!)

Diorama Project** 3rd grade students were given the option to participate in the diorama contest for the Will Rogers Memorial. The idea was to create a diorama that depicts the life of Will Rogers. The dioramas will be displayed at the Museum for all of February. Any visitors at the museum during that time are asked to vote on their diorama!! Voting end February 25th and winners announced the 25th. If you get a chance, stop by the museum and vote for your favorite!! These kids worked really hard on their diorama and we are so proud of them. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE (I wasn't able to get a picture of all the entries, so please stop by the museum to see them all!!)

Have you Thanked a School Board Member lately??? We have been highlighting them on our facebook page. If you don't know them take a few mins to read their bio and get to know them. They do so much for our school, students and staff. THANK YOU, CLAREMORE PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION!! We couldn't do what we do without you. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

Mrs. Casey's class used Jamboard on their IPads today to practice regrouping. It’s like a digital dry erase board.😊👍🏻 What is your kids favorite thing to do on their ipad??? #CPSZEBRAPRIDE

National Popcorn Day was this week!!! Did you get to celebrate National Popcorn Day??? We celebrated at Catalayah!!!! The kids (and teachers) were so excited to smell the yummy popcorn cooking in the hall. What a nice treat we were able to share with our students today. #CPSZEBRAPRIDE