Puppet Club Visits Daycare Centers

Today I was honored to accompany the Eubanks Puppet Club to Primrose Daycare to see their performance to their pre-school students. Our students did an impressive job both in their presentation and in their interaction with the youngsters.


[Pictured at left is Puppet Club Sponsor and Music Teacher Megan von Dreau]




As a principal, I was very proud of our students. The kids at Primrose sat in rapt attention, at least most of them. After the performance, our students mingled with the pre-schoolers allowing them to touch the puppets and to receive 'trading cards' of the puppets and their makers. It was a great day!




[The Eubanks Puppeteers in action]

Reading to Fifth Graders

I spent my Monday reading to Mrs. Hunt's classes. I always enjoy the time I spend with students. The book we read was The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson. It is a book set in the late 1950s to early 1960s. As I attended elementary school in the 60s, it gives me a chance to talk to the students about growing up in that time period. The students have many good questions for me; Can you milk a cow? What's a party line? In addition, the book has a great message to our kids about all races and ethnicities growing up together. You might want to check it out sometime.

Boys are Reading at Eubanks!

The last round of grants from the Carroll Education Foundation (CEF) saw Eubanks receive funding for a Boys Book Club...and we are in full swing. Under the direction (or maybe under the supervision) of our librarian, Mrs. Lucy Drenka, the Eubanks Boy's Book Club meets over lunch to have fun and listen to "Book Talks." Over 100 boys have been a part of the club at some time this year. I am so happy to be involved with this terrific club.

At a recent meeting we gave the boys five "Guy Approved" stickers to place on the spine of their favorite five books we purchased with our funding from CEF. The boys were quite excited about it.

Drop by the library and ask about our 'Guy Approved Section."

Dawson Band Preview Last Night

I had the pleasure of watching some of our former Eubanks students who are now in the DMS Wind Ensemble last night. The concert was one for those in fifth grade interested in band. Wow! The student's were amazing! It is always enjoyable to see our kids as they progress through the upper grades. There growth and excellence is a great testament to the impact our teachers have and a good indication of the wonderful parenting you perform.

Today's rain plus expanding road construction plus the rush to go to work caused us headaches in the front this morning. I have had plenty of suggestions on how to make it work more efficiently. Just some items about which you may not be aware: Dawson parents with only a DMS student are asked to use the rear of DMS for drop-off and pick-up (more and more are using the front which clogs the traffic in front of DMS). The walk in front if Dawson is Dawson's. I don't have the manpower to man their walk and keep folks moving. On a rainy day, I don't make kids wait for a group before crossing as they would be soaked. And, the longest I observed anyone waiting was six minutes.

I appreciate your patience in the front and would ask that you not cut in front of folks who are following the published directions.

Technology's great....when it works.

As most of you know, we have been experiencing problems with our e-mail system. It has been a district-wide problem. Should you not receive an answer to an e-mail message you may have sent to the school, please call us to verify that we have received your message. Most communication has been sent...eventually. My compliments to the technology department for their efforts.

In other news, we have a band concert in the Dawson gym tonight and our fifth graders are invited to attend. It is important for them as they begin the process of deciding whether to 'give band a shot' next year. It is really the first elective that they'll be choosing the next few years as they begin the secondary schooling experience.

Various News Items

It is surprising how the semester is flying by as we head to the Thanksgiving Holiday! Here are a few items missed:

Hooray! Eubanks Intermediate received notification that we have earned recognition as a "Higher Performing School" by the National Council of Educational Achievement (NCEA)! What an honor for our kids, our faculty/staff, and for our parents.

Shave or not shave ~ the votes are in. The students voted $354.27 to $354.09 for Mr. Terry to "not shave" his goatee. So it will stay at least through the 2011. I had fun and judging from the many questions from the kids, they did, too. It was certainly cute to hear kids ask me, "Does Mrs. Terry like it?"

Boys Book Club ~ Today we held our first Boys Book Club in the library. I did a book talk on Shoeless Joe and Me by Dan Gutman. We had a number of boys who'll be giving their own book talks that will include mysteries, war, fantasy, sports, and more. Hopefully, our club will grow.

Finally, another thank you to our students who represent their classes by being members of the Eubanks Student Council!

Crazy Hats and Go Rangers!

Students had a great time with our Crazy Hat Day during our Carroll Education Foundation Week. Students dressed up each day which had a specific theme. The students also collected coins all week to support CEF. Our students collected about $700.00, although we haven't completed the tallies. The CEF has helped Eubanks out on numerous occasions as our teachers have consistently garnered instructional funds through the Foundation. Pictured here are some of our 'crazy-hatted' students.


Yesterday, we had Rangers Day...just for fun! Eubanks students and staff members could be seen wearing their Texas Ranger gear (along with a few with Tigers, Cardinals, and Yankees jerseys). Sometimes it helps to make school fun just because....