Share Your Heart with the House

For the past several years, Indian Springs Elementary has been a proud participant in the "Hearts for the House: Kids Helping Kids" project benefiting the Southern Appalachian Ronald McDonald House Charities, Inc. (SARMHC).

This year's drive at ISE will begin February 2 and run through February 13. You will be receiving some information about how to participate in your child's backpack.


Last year, our students and families raised $1557.50, the most in our school district! In addition, two of the three top money-raising students in our school district were from Indian Springs and received prizes for their efforts! We had a lovely chain of hearts representing all our donations running through the school. Be on the lookout for information about this worthwhile project coming home soon!

We *Heart* Our Teachers and Staff!

The Teacher/Staff Appreciation Luncheon was held today from 11am-1pm. The food, decorations, and conversation were wonderful and we would like to thank all the many, many volunteers who made it possible. Special thanks to our coordinators, Kim Barker and Marilyn Cotter. These ladies spent several weeks planning the luncheon and we are most appreciative! They are the queens of good deals and were able to arrange a nice menu from O'Charleys that included California chicken salad, club sandwiches, and a potato cheddar soup that was awesome. They also got some GREAT door prizes donated including gift cards, Viking Hall tickets, a pedicure, and much more! Special thanks also to Chad Barker, the technical master of the slideshow, and to all who contributed pictures.

Thanks to all the dozens of volunteers who came to sit with the classes so the teachers could enjoy a relaxing time together. Thanks to the many parents who help with set up, serving, clean up, and running to the store at the last minute. Thanks especially to the ladies who stayed after today to get Mr. Dale's library back to its original, pristine condition!

Here are a few pictures of today's festivities. Enjoy!

Putting the finishing touches on the tables and decor....


Loading up on some of that good food...



A nice relaxing lunch for all...




And exciting door prizes!



A good time was had by all!

An Idea for the "Snow" Day

Looking for something to do today? How about going online to fill out your Sullivan County Parent Survey? A note was sent home by the school last week about this. It is important for all of us parents to express our thoughts and opinions, especially when we are specifically asked! The survey doesn't take long to complete and is worth doing. There are some comment boxes at the end to allow you to freely express what you like and dislike about the schools your children attend. The multiple choice questions are about everything from bullying to academics to how your child feels about his/her school.

Click here to go to the Main Street Academix webpage, select Sullivan County Parent Survey from the dropdown box, and enter password "sullivan". Take a few moments and do it right now!

PTA MEETING POSTPONED!

The PTA meeting scheduled for tomorrow, January 20, must be rescheduled due to Sullivan County schools being closed. We will let everyone know the new date as soon as possible!

Help for the Animals

The Fourth Grade is pleased to report that over 170 items were donated for the Sullivan County Animal Shelter by Indian Springs during the 100th day of school donation drive . Mr. Phil Lane from the shelter will be coming on Tuesday to pick up the items and speak to the fourth graders. If you haven't donated and would still like to, you can send your items in on Tuesday.

Thank you to all who donated to this worthy cause. And the dogs and cats thank you too!

100th Day of School is Almost Here!

Can you believe it?!

In honor of this milestone in our school year, the fourth grade is sponsoring a food/supplies drive for the Sullivan County Animal Shelter. If you would like to participate, please send in any of the following:

Dry dog or puppy food (any size bag)
Dry cat or kitten food (any size bag)
Cleaning supplies (409 and Lysol are requested)
Towels

Sorry, but no canned food can be accepted by the animal shelter.

Please bring your donations to your homeroom teacher (or any of the 4th grade teachers) by this Friday, January 16.

If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Mains.

Thank you for supporting the animal shelter, Indian Springs!

It's PTA Special Project Time!

We enjoyed two successful PTA fundraisers last fall - the Fall Carnival and the Spirit Item Sale. Therefore we will be able to fund a special project or projects to be implemented this spring at ISE! It's wonderful and exciting to be able to do this, especially given the uncertain economic times.

The proposals for special projects will be presented at the upcoming PTA meeting on Tuesday, January 20th at 6:30 pm in the computer lab, and we will vote that evening on which to fund. If you have a special project idea you would like to present, please let Karen know and come prepared to discuss/describe the project (along with sketches or pictures if applicable to help everyone visualize) and bring a good cost estimate.

Please make plans to attend this meeting to participate in the decision-making process on how your hard-earned PTA money will be spent to benefit Indian Springs!