April 11

With the end of the school year right around the corner, it's time to settle any outstanding account balances for your family. All outstanding balances for the current year must be paid in full before contracts for the upcoming year can be honored. Records are not released when there is an overdue outstanding balance. Please contact Mrs. Tilghman in the Business Office if you have any questions or need additional information.

Parent Council News

The Parent Council held its annual election via an online ballot this week. Following are the results of the vote:

2008-09 Officers

President - Greg Schneider

Vice President - Kim Baker

Treasurer - Elena Carrington

Secretary - Tracey Goering

Volunteer Chairpersons for 2008-2009 School Year

Fundraising - Debbie Gibson

Special Events - Debra Copley (Ricks) & Joe Anderson

School Support -

Marketing - Ben Coates

MEC - Dallas Bauer

Communications - Jill Cox

Anyone wishing to volunteer on any of these committees should contact the Volunteer Chairperson listed above. Watch for the Volunteer list distributed in the fall!

Next year's meetings are already posted on the school calendar.

TCS Alum Available for Summer Childcare and Tutoring

Jordan Carter '03 is home for the summer after her freshman year at Washington University in St. Louis. She babysat and tutored - primarily math and English - throughout high school and has continued tutoring in St. Louis public schools. She has a car and flexible hours and is available from mid-May through early August for tutoring and/or childcare. Feel free to call 785-221-8875 or email her at jaecarter@gmail.com if you have a need for either service.

First Grade Poetry Tea

First graders recited the poems of their choice in front of an audience of parents, grandparents and friends at the First Grade Poetry Tea. This tradition has been with Topeka Collegiate for many years. The boys wore suits and/or ties and the girls wore lovely dresses. All wore corsages or boutonnieres made and provided by TCS parent Julie Unruh. All families particpated by providing tea sandwiches, cookies, decorations, programs, memory books or tea. After the performance, everyone moved to the commons for the tea and book signing party.

First graders Matt M. and Christoper B., joined by his father, exchange autographs in the poetry tea memory books they designed.

Pre-K Assembly

Pre-k students were adorable as they shouted to the elephant, "Please don't sneeze!" Dressed in outfits from zebras to buffalo, from fish to birds, there was never a more adorable set of animals to be found on stage or in the zoo! They all recalled their lines perfectly and a few recognized important people in the audience by shouting "Hi Mom!" or simply waving gleefully. They were obviously thrilled to be on stage, most for the very first time. Great job pre-k!

(left) Pre-k student Maude M. poses just before the big show.

(below) Brady P. prepares to be a fierce buffalo.

(left and below) Pre-k students on stage during the performance

2nd Grade Field Trip

Second graders recently visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. On display were dragons in artwork from Asia and Europe. The students worked to identify the differences between the two areas' attitudes toward dragons. The trip concluded with a trip to Winstead's for burgers and ice cream!

Day of the Child

As in years past, Day of the Child proved to be a fun time for all students. The younger students paraded through the school and schoolyard with kites they had decorated. Then students did activities by rotating through classrooms and outdoors. Some age groups did the traditional bubble blowing, face painting, and finger nail painting while others did more challenging activites such as making creations from newspapers and folding oragami figures. The fun day ended with popcorn and watching the 8th graders challenge faculty to a kickball game. While there was no official scorekeeper, it is certain that the 8th grade class cleaned the faculty's clocks! Thanks to Dallas Bauer, the faculty and the many volunteers who made the day so much fun for everyone!

(above and right--two lower school kids show off face paintings)

Pre-K Travels to Zoo

Z-Z-Z-Zoo! You guessed it--Z is for Zoo! A perfect follow-up to the pre-k assembly, pre-k students visited the zoo last week for their year-end field trip.

The TCS Library is Growing!

TCS grandparents James and Sara Farley gave a generous donation to purchase books for our library. Newberry award books are now current. We also have purchased books about Europe for next year's cultural theme. New books about science and history have been added that are appealing to the older students.

Tracey Goering and Dennis Mahan have also purchased books through Barnes and Noble's membership discount certificates that are updating our award winning book collection.

The students appreciate these gifts!

Anita Thiessen

Lower School Field Day

Lower school field day and middle school field day were run successfully last week. From sack races to 3-legged races to balloon tosses, the day was fun for everyone who participated. A BIG THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who helped! You made the days fun and exciting!

2nd grader Blake R. participates in the relay race.

3rd Grader Lillian W. runs in the relay race.

2nd grader Edward B. runs in the relay race.

Author Visit

We were fortunate to be visited by children's book author Jorge Argueta. Mr. Argueta is originally from El Salvador, but now lives in California. He talked to the Lower School students about writing and read one of his books to them. At the end of the presentation, the children had a chance to ask him some questions.

Asian Quilt

In conjunction with this year's school-wide Asian cultural studies, students from various classes painted flags representing 45 Asian countries. The fabric was then sewn into a beautiful Asian tapestry which will permanently adorn TCS halls. Students saw the results of their artistic efforts for the first time at the pre-k assembly. Topeka Collegiate School thanks the Multicultural Education Committee for initiating and supporting 2007-08 Asian cultural study.

Mrs. Young's Retirement Reception

A retirement reception for one of TCS's most beloved teachers drew many friends, familiy members, colleagues, former students and others to school Sunday. All stopped by to wish Mrs. Young well to thank her for 22 years of teaching pre-k at Topeka Collegiate School.

(above) The school presents Mrs. Young, surrounded by many of her young admirers, with a wooden rocking chair. On it are the school's logo and a brass plate with the inscription:
Young Retirement

To Eleese Young, for 22 years of planting the seeds of lifelong learning in young minds, with love and gratitude from Topeka Collegiate School.

We will truly miss Mrs.Young - her laughter, her soft touch, her patience and her love for the children. Thank you for all you've done for us, Mrs. Young!

(left--Mrs. Armbruster, Mrs. Mosier, Mrs. Young, and Mrs. Hamilton--the 2007-2008 pre-k teaching team.)

Youth Choir at Worlds of Fun!

On Saturday, April 12, the Topeka Collegiate Youth choir traveled to Kansas City to participate in the Worlds of Fun Choral Festival. Three nationally-known choral directors were the adjudicators and many choirs from all over the state and neighboring states participated in this event. The choir sang very well and received a superior (I) rating and also a trophy for taking first place in their division. The sleet and snow (in April!) meant we rode very few roller coasters at the park that day, but I'm sure choir members and parents alike would call it a memorable experience!

Kay Siebert

Ms. Kessler Earns Master's Degree

Proving that she is a lifelong learner, Ms. Kessler completed her graduate work this semester and earned a Master of Science in Business Education from Emporia State University. Congratulations to Ms. Kessler--hard work

DOES pay off!

Back Patio Gets a "Face Lift"

Nothing gets past Kim Baker! Some parents were commenting about the condition of the garden in the back patio area and Kim decided to take action. She and fellow parent volunteer, Tracey Goering, worked the better part of a day weeding, pruning, trimming and watering the garden in the back.

Stop by and notice the change--it looks fantastic. Thanks to Mrs. Baker and Ms. Goering for their ongoing support of the school.

(left) Parent volunteer Kim Baker cleaning up after the work is done.

25th Anniversary Spirit Contest Winners Announced!

The classroom Spirit Chart check marks have been counted and the winner for middle school is Mrs. Hoyt's class with an outstanding average of 19 activities per student out of a possible 23. Mrs. Bammes' class won from the lower school with an impressive average participation of 17 activities per student. Each student in these two classrooms and their teachers received a $10 gift certificate for the movies!!!

For every activity in which a TCS student participated, a ticket was placed in the grand prize drawing. The winner from middle school is Marissa W. (right) and the winner from lower school is Nathan R. (left). Both of these students received a $100 gift certificate for their choice of Best Buy, Toys 'R' Us, Wal-Mart or Barnes and Noble.

We are so proud of all of the students for showing their Topeka Collegiate spirit by participating in so many activities. All teachers deserve a big thank you for keeping track of their students' achievements. We know that our school is loaded with spirit and it was fun to see it documented on the walls of our classrooms.

Sue Badsky

Traditional Indian Dance Presented at Topeka Collegiate