NORTH DAVIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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School Column Appearing in the Davis Enterprise
June 2001

BITTERSWEET ENDINGS AND NEW BEGINNINGS

Blown to the ground during last week’s wind storm, the cherry from my backyard tree tasted bittersweet. The tree really wasn’t ready to let the cherry go. But the cherry -- or the wind -- had other plans.

Bittersweet. That’s how the North Davis Elementary family feels about the departure of five teachers this spring. Amy Langdon and Lana Klingensmith (kindergarten), Barbara Perkes and Katie Tracy (third grade), and Claire King (librarian) are retiring, with over 100 years of combined teaching experience between them.

In a recent interview, Principal Judy Davis expressed her gratitude for the "unswerving dedication of these consummate professionals." "Each of these women," she continued, "has given years of service, and love, to our children." Davis is at a loss for words, however, when trying to express how deeply she will personally miss her friends and colleagues.

On a lighter note, all NDE teachers and staff were treated to a gala appreciation lunch earlier this month. PTA parent volunteer Liesa Pitts and an army of deputies transformed the staff room around a Western theme. Cantina del Cabo provided succulent chicken and ribs, and Lauren Gary made a stunning cowboy boot cake. Teachers and staff, thank you!

Amid the good-byes and festivities, learning continues. Award-winning writer Eve West Bessier led two fourth grade classes in a week of poetry instruction, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. Another free program is planned for Fall, involving all district fourth graders.

In Laura Stevens’ class, students wrote the following lines, playing with metaphor: " I am a pink nightgown, pretty and soft" (Destiny Wilcox);"I am a door opening" (Marshall Brown); "I am the legs of a newborn fawn" (Megan Graham); "I am a clock, always at work" (Kyle Adams); "I am a snowflake drifting" (Nikki Price); "I am a hyena, laughing all day" (Brandon Ja); "I am the sun sinking behind the mountains" (Emeri Callahan); "I am the sky, with nothing in my way" (Emily Covell); "I am a tiger that roams in the forest" (James Jelks); "I am the wind that travels around places" (Julia Scheibe); "I am a bear, scratching against a tree" (Sandra Anaya); "I am an angel, fluttering in the sky" (Laurel Hsieh); "I am the vase that holds the flower" (Karli Balash).

The Fourth Annual Battle of the Books takes place June 5 at 1pm in the MPR. Librarian Claire King reports that over half of NDE students participated in Books Count this year, and 119 reached their reading goals. Thanks go to Liz Posner and her fellow volunteers for another successful year of Books Count.

Fifth graders will hold their DARE graduation June 6 at 12:30 in the MPR, with Officer Matt Franti.

The sixth graders are to be congratulated for raising $1300 in just six days for the Heifer project, which provides small livestock to poor communities worldwide. "It’s a wonderful thing," lauded teacher Nancy Adams, "for kids to look beyond themselves."

Science teachers Tracy Skinner and Kathy Froman report that sixth graders are ready for a best-ever Science Night May 30 from 7 - 8pm in room D-5.

Graduating sixth graders will be feted at their "clapping out" ceremony starting at 8:45am on the last day of school, June14. The sixth grade chorus will sing one last time, awards will be handed out, and the fourth and fifth grade classes will "clap out" the graduates as they head off to the Community Pool for a bbq and swim.