P.T.O. SPONSORS SANTA'S WORKSHOP
   Santa's Workshop arrives at Morrison onDecember 13.  Students will view the various gifts available for purchase on that day and then return onFriday, December 14, to make their purchases.  A price list will be sent home to parents on Thursday.
   Directing this P.T.O. activity are Liz Luehrman and Angel Mack
====================
 KIDS NEXT DOOR  SING AT UNIVERSITY MALL
     The Morrison "Kids Next Door" will perform their holiday show at the University Mall on Monday, December 10, at 6:15.  We invite all Morrison families and friends to attend and hear the melodic sounds of these young singers under the direction of Michele Hayes.  Their performance is guaranteed to entertain and brighten your holiday spirits.

STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTED
     Student council members were elected by our voters and took their oaths of office on November 16.  Oaths were administered by Athens Mayor, Ric Abel.
     Council members are: President, Emily Climer; Vice President, Ricky Frame; Secretary, Erin Mazzocca; Treasurer, Matthew Witten; Sergeant at Arms, Lyndsey Noftz; Room Representatives - Megan Gilfert, Ashley Luehrman, Samantha Williams, Kara Endick, Daniel
Rankin, Rebekah Grippa, Shannon Clary.
   Congratulations and best wishes to our council members for a great year.
     Advisors to student council are teachersLesley Michigan and Heidi Mullins.

  BOXTOPS !
    A big THANK YOU goes to our Morrison families who participate in the Box Tops for Education Program. We have already raised 422.00 for our school.  Way to go!    For those unfamiliar, this program works by families simply clipping the box top logos from General Mills cereals and sending them to school.
    We appreciate everyone's support with this fund raising project.   If you have questions,  contact chairperson,  Margie Innis at
594-4193.

VETERANS'  DAY  OBSERVANCE
     A Veterans' Day observance was held at Morrison on November 9, to honor all American veterans because "freedom isn't free." The program featured our "Kids Next Door" who sang Peace Round, the National Anthem, and American the Beautiful.  The Morrison Flag Patrol presented the colors and did a special reading about the significance of folding the American flag while demonstrating the proper way to fold our country's flag.  The Pledge of Allegiance was led by PAL, Stephen Kelder.   Guest speaker was Mr. John Montgomery, a former Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force during Vietnam and currently Commander of the American Legion K.T. Crossen Post 21 in Athens.  The program concluded when the Morrison Flag Patrol ran the colors up the school's flag pole as the entire student body watched in a respectful manner.
     We thank Judy Barrows for inviting our speaker, Michele Hayes for directing the Kids Next Door, and Sabrina Kotts for organizing the Veterans' Day program and  directing the flag patrol.

STUDENTS NEED TO DRESS FOR RECESS
   Unless  precipitation is  falling, students WILL GO  OUTSIDE FOR  RECESS when  the temperature is  20 degrees or  above, and the  wind chill factor  is acceptable.  We do go outside when snow is on the ground.  Healthy children need outdoor physical activity and a break from classroom routine.  Thus, please make sure that your child comes to school with theproper clothing for recess including: a winter coat, gloves/mittens, attire for the head, and boots when it snows.
   If you son/daughter is in need of a winter coat, please contact the school office at 593- 5445 or your child's teacher.

PAL  PROGRAM  BEGUN
   A Pledge of  Allegiance Leader  (PAL) program  began at Morrison  on October 22.  Two students from each home room who are considered good citizens have the honor of leading the student body in the Pledge of Allegiance on Mondays and Fridays of each week. PALs who have already served include: Joe Gilkey, Robbin Wiggins, Stephen Kelder, and Melissa Lee.  This program was initiated by principal, John Gordon and teacher, Lynne Conroy and has been positively received by students and staff.

FIRST GRADE:
   The walls outside  Mrs. Brooks' first  grade class were filled  with the spirit of  Halloween. Students not  only created pumpkins  and scarecrows, but also  used their creative imaginations to write about them. Children pretended they were the jack-o-lanterns and envisioned what they might see, feel, want, and hope as those carved symbols of Halloween.  They also personified the scarecrow in the field as they created an A to Z list of what they could see as they looked over the cornfield they protect.
   Students in Mrs. Swatzel's class have been celebrating this autumn season through the literature of pumpkins, apples, and leaves. Children were able to explore these autumn specialties in a variety of ways.  During a walk through the land lab students collected a beautiful array of fall leaves.  Later, they enjoyed identifying the types of leaves they found and making leaf rubbings.  The students also had the opportunity to feel the insides of a pumpkin, design our class jack-o-lantern, and taste baked pumpkin seeds.
   Senior Science Buddies are back by popular demand.  Physics students from Athens High School have visited Mrs. Stork's class twice this fall.  In September the high school students brought a low friction "air-hockey puck" powered by a vacuum cleaner on which the first graders rode as they investigated how forces change the motion of things.  In October, the first graders explored another of Newton's laws as they built and raced balloon driven rockets that raced along strings stretched across the cafeteria.  Everyone is looking forward to more fun science experiences. planned for the months to come.

THIRD GRADERS...BUSY IN THEIR COMMUNITY
   Third graders have just completed a unit on communities...specifically, a unit on
ATHENS.  They learned some interesting information about how communities are formed and how they survive various changes throughout the years.  A former Morrison teacher,  Mrs. Gladys  Gallaway, gave a  fine presentation to  our classes that  provided some  wonderful historical  information to the  students.  They learned about some of Athens' history, particularly about how natural disasters (flooding) can change the course of a city (Hocking River re-routed).  In addition, all three classes took a field trip to the Athens County Historical Museum, where Mrs. Prisley, the museum's curator, gave an informative historical tour.  Finally, some of the children created extraordinary "homemade" brochures of Athens, that included writings about 2-3 important events and 2-3 important places in Athens.  What a memorable history unit!!

FROM THE SIXTH GRADE:
We've Got the Spirit!
   Sixth grade recently held Spirit Leader Elections...Mary Jane Giesey, Max Jahren, Brittany McIntire, Tabitha Peters, Ebony Smith, and Christina Wince will represent us by popular demand.  They spearheaded a successful bake sale with the proceeds going toward a classroom gift to the school at the culmination of their graduation.

The Spirit Got Us!
Students also competed in The Athens Messenger's Scary Story Contest.  Three students from each homeroom were selected for entry.  Shay Brooks, Shannon Clary,  Mary Jane Giesey, Erin Mazzocca,Tabitha Peters, and Megan Ramirez were the top writers chosen.  Chillgratulations to all of them, as well as a super chillgratulations to Shay Brooks, 2nd place, and Megan Ramirez, 3rd place Messenger winners!

Responsible Citizenship Means to Recycle
   Did you know that the mineral bauxite (not found in North America) is one of the ingredients it takes to make aluminum, and that it takes several years for aluminum to decompose?  Tom O'Grady from the Athens-Hocking Recycling and Waste Reduction shared that fact with us as well as many others through an informative slide presentation on October 23rd.

THANKSGIVING VACATION
   We have much for which to be thankful as citizens or residents of the United States of America.  This Thanksgiving may be more special than many in the past because we have all seen recently how fragile life and property is today even in this great country of ours.  We at Morrison wish all of you a very special and safe Thanksgiving.
   Classes will not be in session on November 22, 23,  and 26.  School will  resume at the usual  time on Tuesday,  November 27.

NEWS FROM KINDERGARTEN
   Kindergartners in Mrs. Michigan's, Mrs. Porterfield's, and Mrs. Watson's classes have been busy cooking up some fun while learning the letters A and P.  In honor of the letter A, we enjoyed making apple tarts.  The best part, of course, was eating our finished products!  The recipe for the letter P called for pepperoni pizza.  After baking our pizzas we made a class graph to show our favorite type of pizza topping.  It was a perfectly delicious day!
   The week of S was simply super!  We wore Silly Socks as we hosted a guest speaker from the  Dept. of Natural Resources who taught us all about spiders, snakes, and bats.
   With many more letters to learn, there is sure to be a lot of news coming from kindergarten this year.  Stay tuned!!!!!!!

Notes From the Music Room
   Fall has been an exciting and busy time in the music room!  All Morrison students have participated in activities such as singing, playing classroom instruments, learning music fundamentals, and playing music games.
Holiday Music Program - December 6, 7:00 PM
Students in Preschool, Kindergarten, first, second, and third grades will participate in this year's December music program.  Theprogram is  entitled "A Star-Spangled Holiday."  It will include patriotic songs, as well as seasonal selections and other children's songs. Please put this important date on your calendar!! You won't want to miss your child's performance.

KIDS NEXT DOOR
   In September, Kids Next Door(Morrison's 5th and 6th grade chorus) began rehearsing and preparing for the school's annual Veterans' Day program. The performance took place at Morrison on November  9, at 9:15 AM. Kids Next Door performed "Peace Round," "America the Beautiful," and "The Star Spangled Banner."  On October 4, auditions for solo parts  took place.  Nineteen outstanding singers tried out. Soloists for the Veteran's Day program were: Danielle Fultz, Jesse Adams, and Erin Mazocca.
The Kids Next Door will also perform a holiday concert at the University Mall.  It will take place on Monday, December 10, at 6:15 PM.
Each year, members of Kids Next Door are invited to submit designs for t-shirts, which will be worn at performances.  Though several creative entries were considered, a panel of eight students and adults selected the following winners: Catherine Meyer, Lauren Herpy. Ebony Smith, and Kara Endick.  Congratulations to these artistically and musically talented students!

ALL IN ALL
   We would like to tell you what we have been doing in Ms. Green's third grade class.  To start with, we have been reading great books.  Secondly, we just started matter in science.  Third of all, we have excellent classmates that help each other with work.  All in all, this is what we have to tell you.
   By Aaryaman Singhal and Dakota Baughman

HAPPENINGS IN PRE-SCHOOL
   Preschool students in Mrs. Lawrence's and Mrs. Williford's classes have been busy!  We have really enjoyed getting together with our third grade buddies from Mrs. Bloom's and Mrs. Mullins' classes.  Children had a lot of fun making friendship bracelets, spooky spiders, and going on walks together.     As the weather became cooler and the leaves changed colors,  we started  learning about the season of fall.  Girls and boys enjoyed taking a fall walk in the Land Lab, and then, back in our classroom where we made collages of a few of the fall items we found on our walk.  Students have learned a lot about leaves by observing, exploring, sorting, classifying, and making projects involving leaves and trees.  We learned about fall harvest while we enjoyed "Apple Day."  Children read stories, sang songs and shared finger plays about apples.  Then, we cut our apples in half and discovered the star that hides in the center of each one.  Finally, we drank apple juice and ate apples together for our snack.  More recently we have been exploring pumpkins.  We cooked and ate pumpkin seeds, played games, shared songs, and made projects centering around  pumpkins.  After predicting what we would find inside, we even carved our own Jack-o- lanterns from real pumpkins.   All in all, it's been a fun fall in preschool!

November Tips From Your School Counselor
   Many school-age children and adults are having concerns related to the New York City tragedy, anthrax, etc.  These feelings are normal!  There are steps you can take to cope in this time of stress.  As a parent, be aware of your child's feelings and watch for these signals:  concentration problems, depression, anger, anxiety, fear of specific locations, nightmares, constant physical complaints, and general dissatisfaction.  You can help yourself and your child by: 1) limiting distressing television, 2) encouraging expression through pictures, writing or discussion, 3) spending quality family time together, 4) getting exercise and eating well, 5) reaffirming the future and talking in "hopeful" terms, 6) providing factual information-at their age level, 7) teaching stress management techniques such as slow/deep breathing.  I
   This month we are focusing on the Life skill of  "Respect."

Everything's Comin' Up Pumpkins
   If you were at Morrison recently and thought you saw an orange "glow" coming from the fourth grade classes, you weren't seeing things!!  Fourth grade celebrated Pumpkin Week.  All of the events kicked off on Friday, October 26, when Mr. Porterfield conducted pumpkin gym classes. Later, students dressed in orange, led the Morrison Halloween Parade with cart loads of pumpkins.
   The week of October 29, through November 2, saw the students doing pumpkin research on the Internet, reading pumpkin stories and  poems, and doing  pumpkin math to  measure pumpkins in  every dimension.   Boys and girls found  out that pumpkins  float and used water  displacement to determine the approximate volume of pumpkins as well as conducting numerous other pumpkin investigations in pumpkin science.
   Friday was cooking day with a large pumpkin feast.  Students learned how to double a recipe and used their measurement skills to make their own pumpkin pies, from REAL pumpkins.  Other tasty treats included pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, other types of squashes, and pumpkin butter.
   A grand time was had by all!

FLAG Patrol Thanks Morrison Student Body
   After the tragic events of September 11, many children felt they wanted to do something to help.  The Morrison Flag Patrol held a lunch time lollipop sale to raise money to donate to disaster relief.  Thanks to the students who purchased the pops and donations made by several individuals, Flag Patrol was able to donate $200.00 dollars to the Red Cross September 11, Fund.
   Thank you Morrison students and staff.

The Eagle Has Landed!!
   Our new fifth grade teacher is Miss Chapman.  We interviewed her so that we would feel like we knew her better. Miss Chapman was born in Gallipolis, Ohio. She has two sisters and one brother and their names are Robin, Angie, and Tone. She never moved when she was young. Math was her hardest subject while art and science were her favorites. When she was in high school she played softball and was the school mascot, which was a golden eagle.        Miss Chapman attended the University of Rio Grande. She was captain of the softball team, a student ambassador, and also the 2000 Rio Grande Homecoming Queen.  Her favorite book is To Kill a Mocking Bird. She decided to teach because she enjoys helping people and loves kids. She chose fifth grade science because fourth, fifth, and sixth were her favorite grades and she wanted to do hands-on activities in science. She is twenty- two years old. Her favorite foods are hot fries, roast with potatoes, and vegetables.  She is getting married in May!
   Welcome to Morrison, Miss Chapman!
   Written by Jesse Adams, Alissa Hyde, Layne Gregory

Show Me the Money....Golden Dykes
   "Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, add another get a trillion!" That is what fifth grade math teacher Mrs. VanDyke is teaching her students. That song is to help her students learn place value. Before that, she taught them graphs and mean, median, mode, and range. Math for fifth graders is not only a learning experience, but something fun for her students. One of the ways she makes math real is by paying her students.  No not in real money, but in tokens called Golden Dykes. Golden Dykes are little pieces of yellow paper with Woodstock on them.  Students can use them to buy candy, and at the end of the year, to buy items at her auction. That is not all though. She is the game woman! She has two boxes full of games! Best of all though are no homework Fridays! Obviously, math is an adventure for fifth graders!
      Written by Matthew Witten, Johnny McKenzie, and Stephen Rodriguez

50 States Whiz
   Our fifth graders have been doing some very interesting things in social studies.  We started this month off with a big test over all 50 states!  It was not a problem for us because of the way Mrs. Conroy teaches the students.  We then continued on to study Native Americans of the Plains and Eastern Woodlands, followed by explorers.  Now we are learning about Jamestown and the pilgrims.  Whew!  Who knows what Mrs. Conroy has in store for us next month!
   Written by Lauren Herpy and Danielle Fultz

HOW FAST ARE YOU?
   Recently Dr. Li Yunsheng, a native of Beijing,  (Sophia Chen's mother) visited Mrs. VanDyke's math classes to demonstrate the use of the traditional Chinese abacus.  Students were fascinated by how quickly she could calculate complex math problems accurately.  A special thank you to Dr. Yunsheng

WOODLAND ALTARS UPDATE:
   We have confirmed dates for the annual fifth grade three day adventure to Woodland Altars.  Put them on your calendar now!  They are: May 22, 23, 24.  The price remains the same as last year ($90.00).  What a deal for two nights lodging and seven meals!  More information will be forthcoming as the dates get closer.

Fifth Graders Are a Bunch of Animals!
   Fifth grade has been studying the animal world in science,  beginning with fish  research that  included a story and  an art project  All  student work was  displayed in the  hallway for  everyone to enjoy.   We rounded out the vertebrate group with "I Know" paragraphs about different mammals. Sharing his knowledge with us was guest speaker and paleontologist, Dr. Larry Witmer, from Ohio University.  He did a great job and the students loved to listen to his expertise and view the models which he shared with us.  We thank him again for coming to Morrison and speaking to the fifth grade.
   Last week, we began to study invertebrates and will be studying the individual groups.  Sponges are our first group and arthropods will round out our studies of the animal world.
   Written by Miss Chapman

HAVE YOU PURCHASED YOUR SCRIPT?
     Our P.T.O. is currently  participating in a national Script Program.   The P.T.O. sells the certificates for face value (i.e. you pay 25.00 for 25.00 worth of script.)When you use the Script at a store or restaurant, our P.T.O. receives a certain percentage of the sale. Our school earns money and you are able to complete your finish Christmas shopping.  Thus, if you are going to spend money anyway, it may be a good idea to use script so that your child's school can also benefit.  Everyone wins!   The Script program is not just limited to the holiday season.  The certificates or cards are honored at stores throughout the year.
     If your family is interested in the Scrip program, look for information coming home on Mondays.  Return the Script order form on Tuesdays with your money.  Script will then be sent home with your child on Fridays, just in time for weekend shopping or dinner out of the home.
     Members of the Script Steering Committee are parents: Traci Lawrence, Betty Sindelar, Liz Luehrman, Cathy Bruggeman, and Beth Cooley.
 

HONOR ROLL 
 
 

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FifthGrade Honor Roll
Grading Period 1
=================
Ellie Andrews
Jim Bruggeman
Ilona Carlson
Sarah Chapman
Kara Endick
Brandon Follrod
Danielle Fultz
David Gilfert
Layne Gregory *
Lauren Herpy *
Alissa Hyde *
Ben Innis
Christopher Ipacs
Ashley Jones
Pat Junkins
Adriana Lein *
Megan McCoy
Catherine Meyer
Bethany Miller
Andrea Pierson *
Daniel Rankin *
Jordon Scali
Katie Selander
John Siemer
Anthony Sylvester
Tristen West
Michelle Wiggins *
Samantha Williams *
Ben Williford
Rochelle Withem
Matthew Witten *

*   Indicates students with all A's
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Fourth Grade Honor Roll
 Grading Period 1
===================
Reed Anderson
Kerrigan Boyd
Nigel Cambridge
Robert Carpenter
Justin Clary
James DeGraw
Brynnie deLange
Andrea Dudding
Megan Gilfert
Jamie Hall
James Herpy
Josh Herrin
Suzy Hixson
Stephen Kelder
Ashley Luehrman
Jhalak Mehta
Tavner Murphy
Devin Neal
Lyndsey Noftz
Nick Pratt
Emma Ryan
Christian Showalter
Rachel Stewart
Jennifer Stretton
Kasie Sweeney
Joe Tysko
Kyle Young

===================
Sixth Grade Honor Roll
 Grading Period I
===========================
Shay Brooks
Sophia Chen *
Doug Chiki
Shannon Clary
Emily Climer *
Mary Jane Giesey *
Tenny'e Griffin
Bekah Grippa
Conor Hartwick
Hannah Hirst
Mitch  Jeffers
Patrick Lew
Kok-Yuen Lin
Erin Mazzocca
Tabitha Peters
Megan Ramirez *
Ebony Smith *
Elizabeth Stein
Christy Stock *
Christina Wince *
 
 

* Indicates students with all A's

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IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Nov. 22-26 - Thanksgiving holiday

Nov. 27 - Classes resume

Nov. 30 - 2:35 - Honors Day Assembly Gr. 4-6

Dec. 3 - Grades 1-2 visit Stuart Opera House

Dec. 5, - 9:15 Geography Bee for grades 4-6

Dec. 6 - 7:00 p.m. Star-Spangled Holiday Program featuring Grades P-3.

Dec. 7 - 2:40 - Honors Day Assembly for Grades K-3

Dec. 10 - 6:15 - Kids Next Door perform at University Mall

December 13-14 - Santa's Workshop

Dec. 19 - 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Dance for all students sponsored by Morrison Student Council

Dec. 20 - 11:15 - Spirit Leaders Bake Sale

Dec. 21 - Last Day of School This Calendar Year
 

THANKS

   As we count our blessings during this Thanksgiving season, we are indeed thankful for the fine students and cooperative parents which are part of the Morrison family.  It is certainly a pleasure to work at Morrison Elementary School.

   Happy  Thanksgiving!