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Calendar Highlights |
March 17th - 21st -- Spring
Break
March 24 -- No
School, Teacher In-service
March 28 --
Progress Reports
March 28 --
BINGO Night
March 31st -
April 4th -- MAT 8 Testing
April 4 --
Skating Party
April 5 --
State Science Olympiad
April 11 -- No
School
April 14 -- In
Service
April 18 -19
-- Middle School Play
April 23 --
Middle School Art Show 5:30 - 7:00
April 25 --
25th Anniversary Celebration,
Heritage Hall (Ks. Expocentre), 6-11
p.m.
April 26 --
State History Day
April 27 --
25th Anniversary Picnic, TCS, 12 - 3
p.m.
May 1 -- Open
Forum, 5:30 dinner, 6:00 p.m.
meeting
May 2 -- Day
of the Child
Follow the quick link
(above right) to a concise academic calendar
for 2007-2008.
Follow the quick link
(above right) to a full events calendar for
2007-2008.
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Parent Council News |
12/6/07; 2/7/08; 4/3/08
All meetings will begin at
5:30 p.m.
Officers
President - Joe Pennington (contact Joe
with agenda items)
Vice President - Dave Lob
Treasurer - Elena Carrington
Secretary - Tracey Goering
Volunteer Chairpersons for 2007-2008 School Year
Fundraising - Julie Unruh
Special Events - Debra Ricks & Sarah Shipman
School Support - Kim Baker
Marketing - Mary Brownback
MEC - Dallas Bauer
Communications - Jill Cox
Anyone wishing to volunteer on any of these
committees should contact the Volunteer
Chairperson listed above.
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New Student in Mr. Park's Class |
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Madeline "Maddy" Tolsdorf has joined Mr.
Park's 4th grade class. She and her family moved here from the
St. Louis area.
Madeline's parents are: Geoffrey and Krista
Tolsdorf
Address: 4521 Nicklaus Drive,
Lawrence, KS 66047
Krista Cell: 314-330-9036
Geoffrey Cell: 314-330-9036
Geoffrey Work: 785-368-5149
Please welcome Madeline and her family
to our school.
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Students Advance to State History Day |
Congratulations to the 14 students who won either first or
second place in their categories at District History Day
competition, earning them the right to advance to the state
contest on April 26. TCS students took first or second place (or
both) in every category they entered except one. This year's
theme is Conflict and
Compromise in History.
Historical Papers
Matthew Reynolds -
2nd Place
Individual Projects
Cooper Self -
2nd Place
Group Projects
Thomas Coates/Dylan Cox
- 2nd Place
Group Performances
Shelby Carpenter/Soren Lamb/Nyalia Lui -
1st Place
Becca Kaye/Haley Ramirez - 2nd
Place
Group Documentaries
Patrick Elisha/Reston Phillips -
1st Place
Alex Chanay/Nicky Henriquez/Julian Mullican -
2nd Place
Bailey Evans
received an Honorable Mention for her individual exhibit.
Former student
Sophia Holman took 2nd for her individual
documentary.
Alumna Sjobor
Hammer '06 placed 1st in senior individual
documentary.
Congratulations to all and good luck in April!
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MATHCOUNTS Team Heads to State |
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Good luck to our MATHCOUNTS team of Nicky Henriquez,
Edward Collazo, Josh Greene, and Cain Mathis
as they head to state competition in Salina Saturday,
March 8, with coaches Mrs. Hoyt and Mr. McCoy. |
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25th Anniversary Celebration Calendar and
Contest |
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 It's
time to celebrate our 25th year at Topeka Collegiate. To keep
the spirit going all school year long we have established a 25th
Anniversary Celebration Calendar of 25 activities. TCS students
will get points for every activity they attend or in which they
participate.
At the end of the first semester the lower and middle school
classes with the most points received pizza parties. At the
end of the second semester, the students in the classroom with
the most points for the entire year will all receive movie
passes.
At the
end of the year each student will have a chance for every
point he or she received to be in a drawing for a grand prize.
There will be a middle school winner and a lower school winner.
The grand prizes will be a $100 gift certificate at Best Buy,
Barnes and Noble, Wal-Mart
or Toys 'R' Us.
Your child's homeroom teacher will have a chart in the classroom
to keep track of the students' participation. If one of the
activities is off-site please have your child remind his or
her teacher to record it on the chart.
Here is a list of the activities. Some dates are still to be
established.
Back to School Picnic - 8/14
Raising of the 25th Anniversary Flag - 8/15
25th Anniversary Assembly - 9/7
Human number 25 Photo Shoot - 9/7
Chili Supper - 10/3
Run for a Reason - 10/13
Dress up for Halloween - 10/31
Buy a book at the Book Fair - 11/12-11/20
Dress up for Stucco Spirit Day - Jan.
Participate in making the classroom auction item - Jan.
Attend the History Day Fair - 2/5
Attend the Art Show
Participate in the Multi Cultural Event
Attend the 3rd Grade Form and Function Science Fair
Come to a Skating Party
Bingo Night
Participate in Day of the Child
Attend the Science Fair
Participate in Field Day
Attend a TCS Sporting Event
Perform Community Service (such as donating items or your time
or participating in a class project)
Match the Staff and Faculty with their pictures from 1982
Dust your dancing shoes off for Disco Night - 3/7
Participate in decorating the Hallways for the Alumni Picnic -
4/25
Current Families and Alumni Picnic - 4/27
Some activities might be subject to change or cancellation. We
will keep you and your child updated.
Please show your TCS spirit by encouraging your child and your
whole family to participate in the exciting activities planned
for this year for our 25th Anniversary! |
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The "Bat Zone" |
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Thanks to the generosity of the
Garlinghouse family, several bats and their trainer from the Bat
Zone in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, visited our school on
Thursday. The bats varied from small microbats, commonly found
in our area, to large megabats, found in Asia. The presenter
was a true bat expert and lover, who explained that bats are the
only flying mammal in the world, eat insects and fruit,
pollinate flowers, and distribute fruit seeds throughout the
areas they inhabit. He told the
students about the vampire bat, found in Mexico and South
America. This bat feeds on the blood of wild pigs and other
mammals by putting teeth holes into their skin and then licking
the trickling blood. He emphasized that no bat feeds on humans!
To view the Web site for the Bat Zone, visit
www.batconservation.org. Pictured here is Rob Mies, trainer
and presenter for the Bat Zone, showing lower school students a
microbat, found in Kansas.
Rob Mies shows a fruit bat to middle school students during
the second bat presentation.
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MAT-8 Testing Dates Set |
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Dates have been set for MAT-8 standardized testing. First
through eighth graders will be taking the tests the week of
March 31 - April 4. Please make sure your students get plenty of
sleep that week and send them off with a nutritious breakfast so
they can perform their best on the tests. |
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Middle School Track |
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All girls
and boys in middle school are invited to join the TCS track
team. It's an opportunity to try another sport! Practice
starts Tuesday, March 25 at 5:15 p.m. All practices and meets
will be held at Hayden High School's track.
Practice
schedule: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 5:15 - 6:30 pm.
Please
read the track rules and philosophy packet which athletes will
receive next week.
Coaches:
Tracie Lamb, Jackie Schumann, Sherry Miltz and Ben Coates
5th
Grade: You are invited to participate in practices. |
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First Grade Assembly - Mrs. Wilk |
Mrs. Wilk's first graders presented a play
based on the book The Night Before the Tooth Fairy by
Natasha Wing and Barbara Johansen Newman.
The students dramatized the story about
losing their first teeth using rhymes and rhythms similar to
those found in The Night Before Christmas. |
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The Rules of Comedy--Middle School Play |
What do you get when you take two rubber chickens, a pie fight
and a band of pirates and inject them into the most tragic scene
in all of literature? We're not sure either, but we do
guarantee a night of laughter (except during the parts that
aren't funny). Mark your calendars, April 18th and 19th at 7:00
p.m. for the Middle School's production of The Rules of
Comedy by Peter Bloedel.
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Dr. Seuss Week |
In celebration of the birthday of Dr. Seuss, students wore weird
socks, wacky clothing, funny hats, and read Dr. Seuss books.
Pictured here are Federico Pettinella, Micaela Magee,
Sydney Sims and Megan Anderson with
fine Whoville hairdos.
Below: The honorable Cheryl Rios Kingfisher (judge and TCS
parent) administering the Dr. Seuss "reading oath" to
students.
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Sixth Grade Assembly - Mr. MacDonald |
Mr. MacDonald's sixth grade class combined
the humor of Leap Year history with a Chinese fable. A young
boy sought after his goal by negotiating the elements and
getting to the prized possession--a piece of hand-embroidered
brocade. |
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3rd Grade Travel Convention |
 Third
grade scholars presented facts and interesting tidbits about
different states in the United States at their Travel
Convention. When questioned, they were able to answer
effectively, and add interesting information. Some even provided
samples of foods from their area of the country. After viewing
each display, the students marked a map to show which states
they had "visited".
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Model UN "Worldly" Experience |
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Topeka Collegiate 8th graders
attended the Topeka Model United Nations on March 3 and 4.
Students represented Australia, Sudan, Cyprus, Greece, Syria,
Ireland, Bangladesh, and Columbia in various councils debating
resolutions about everything from radioactive waste to
terrorism. A TCS school record 11 resolutions were accepted at
this year's UN. Also, Nyalia Lui, a Sudanese
delegate, was recognized as "Best Dressed Delegate" for his
indigenous clothing. Considering there were 500 students from
across the state in attendance, this is an outstanding
recognition. Our very own Travis Lamb has been appointed as the
next director for this dynamic program. Congratulations to all
involved!
TCS alumnus Jonny Schmidt
'98 (center, above) traveled from Chicago to close
Model UN with stories from his Semester at Sea, four months
spent traveling the world as a senior at the University of
Georgia-Athens. Jonny plans to continue his interest in all
things international by taking the foreign service exam.
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Heifer Ranch Visit |
 The
seventh grade class visited Heifer Ranch last week to experience
how people live in third world countries. Heifer Ranch is part
of Heifer International, a group determined to end world
hunger. Heifer follows the philosophy of "teaching a man to
fish" by providing an animal--a cow or goat--to a family in
need, in exchange for the promise of passing its offspring on to
another needy family in the community.
Heifer International's Heifer Ranch near
Perryville, Arkansas, is a hands-on campus for education about
world hunger and solutions through animal agriculture.
Surrounded by Arkansas' beautiful Ouachita Mountains, the
1,100-acre facility provides more than 22,000 visitors a year
with a variety of educational experiences - from two-hour tours
to week-long work camps.
Through education that
emphasizes experience, the Ranch's outdoor "living classrooms"
acquaint visitors with Heifer's mission and the needs of those
the organization serves. Visitors learn about the ways in which
animals--and people--can make a difference.
If you are interested in more
information about Heifer International, follow this link:
Heifer International. Watch the
next Collegiate Connection for excerpts from the journals of
students who traveled to Heifer Ranch.
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Basketball Teams Finish Season |
The 7th Grade Boys' Basketball Team
with its 4th place trophy and Coaches Lamb and Schumann
6th Grade Boys' Basketball Teams with
Coaches Greene and Coates
Girls' Basketball Team with its 4th
place trophy. Not pictured: Coaches Evans and Matthais
8th Grade Boys' Team with Coach Myers
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Kindergarten Assembly--Mrs. Berryman |
Topping off an already exciting week
of Dr. Seuss was Mrs. Berryman's Kindergarten Assembly
"Horton Hears a Who". Vibrant costumes, music, narration by
Mr. Berrryman, and guest appearances by Lolly Hindman (as
JoJo) and Mrs. Thiessen (as the Cat in the Hat) made the
performance especially exciting.
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Delicious Dishes Fundraiser |
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There is still time to register with
Jewelia Oswald for the 7th grade fundraising event at Delicious
Dishes. You may attend one of two sessions on Tuesday or
Wednesday (March 11th or 12th) at 6:00 p.m. Please email
joswald@topekacollegiate.org
this weekend if you plan to attend.
She must turn in reservations prior to the event. Save yourself
some time and support the trip to Sea Camp at the same time! |
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Third Graders Correspond with Iditarod Racers
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This year the
students in Ms. Kido's third grade class wrote a poem to be
included in one of the bags of mail that a musher (dog sled
racer) must carry in his/her sled during the Iditarod sled
dog race. Their mail ended up in Ed Iten's sled. He is among
the top ten racers right now!! When he completes the race
he will sign the third graders' piece of mail, write a
summary of his race, and send their mail back to them. The
race ends in Nome, Alaska. The Mayor of Nome, students from
Nome, and volunteers at the finish line will also sign the
mail.
Iditarod Trail
Mail: From Topeka, Kansas to Anchorage, Alaska, to Nome, Alaska
It is not easy!
Daring dogs dashing
through dangerous and deadly obstacles
Icy weather is a
challenge!
The dogs are in
control and they lead the sled
Are you going to
make it across the river without getting attacked by a moose?
Running like the
wind even though it is below zero
Old or young dogs
are found on the snowy trail!
Do the cha cha dance
when you finish. You deserve it.
 Third
graders sent letters and e-mail to the "mushers"
participating in the Iditarod.
Lauren Fricke
(left) was thrilled to receive a response from her
racer just days before the race began. Iditarod Racer Matt
Hayashida wrote in part:
"So glad to hear from you. My favorite
type of dog to race with is the Alaskan Husky. They are bred
specifically for marathon racing. As far as the moose are
concerned, I have never been hurt, but have had some close
calls. Two weeks ago, a moose looked like he was going to run
right over the team, but at the last
minute he jumped out of the way! |
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Fifth Math Olympiad |
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The fifth Olympiad was given
March 4th. TCS recognizes any student who receives a
3, 4, or a 5. In the 4th grade we recognize students
who receive a 2, because they are taking the same test as the 5th
and 6th graders.
4th Grade - Students
receiving a 2
Jocob Cole
Micaela Magee
Brennen Shipp
5th Grade - Students
receiving a 3
Skyler Dykes
6th Grade - Students
receiving a 3
Carter Petty
Sahil Rattan
4th Grade - Students
receiving a 4
Laura Nicolae
6th Grade - Students
receiving a 4
Alec Berryman
6th Grade - Students
receiving a 5
Josh Greene
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State Chess Tournament |
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The
state Chess Tournament in Kansas City is Saturday, March 8. The
following players will be participating: Malik Bauer,
Jackson Davis, Christopher Gernon, Thomas Kensinger, Karl
Larson, Charlie Lathrop-Allen, Malcolm Lathrop-Allen, Jack
Malone, Federico Pettinella, and Leonardo
Pettinella.
Best wishes for a successful tournament!
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In Praise of Math Teacher Mrs. Hoyt |
He  hasn't been
in her classroom for
six years, but Hunter Ellsworth (T)
'04 counts Phyllis Hoyt as one of the most inspirational and
influential people in his life. Hunter is now a high school
senior and a Presidential Scholar candidate.
The scholarship
program
recognizes some of our nation's most distinguished high school
seniors. In his Presidential Scholars essay, Hunter wrote:
"Mrs. Hoyt put everything in motion for me so that I
could be strong and
self-motivated, so that I could succeed in difficult
courses, so that
I could take tests calmly and well prepared. But, like all
good coaches,
she not only prepared me for 'game day', she prepared me
for life.
I still remember the little sign on her file cabinet that
said 'To
teach is to touch a life forever.' In this case, the sign
holds true."
This week, Mrs. Hoyt was with Hunter (right) as
he was recognized by the Topeka School Board for his
accomplisments.
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More Hope and Inspiration |
Last year, TCS alum Austin Gideon
conceived, planned and implemented a fundraiser that raised
nearly
$1,400 for scholarships for kids at Capper Foundation-Easter
Seals. For his work on the Hope and Inspiration Coffeehouse,
Austin was named a Young Hero by the Topeka
Capital-Journal.
Now it's time for round two for this young
philanthropist. This year's Hope and Inspiration
Coffeehouse, again a benefit for the Easter Seals-Capper
Foundation, is
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No Gum Policy |
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Please remember (and remind your
children) of the 'no gum in school' policy. Thank you!
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