January, 2017

FERNAN STEM ACADEMY 520 N. 21st Street

Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 www.cdaschools.org/fernan

Bill Rutherford, Principal

Phone: 208/664-2659 - Fax: 208/769-2923

Calendar of Events-January 1/11 — Fernan Spelling Bee 12:30-2:30pm 1/12 — 5th Grade MLK Celebration @ Lake City Church 9:30am 1/16 — NO SCHOOL — Holiday 1/18 — PTA Meeting 3:45pm Art Room 1/19 — District Spelling Bee 6pm @ CDA Library

Visiting Author Gary Hogg 1/20 — Visiting Author Gary Hogg 1/23 — Radikal Rick Assembly 10:30am 1/26 — Strings Concert 6pm 1/27 — NO SCHOOL K-12 Staff Workday

Calendar of Events - February

2/03 — Spokane Indians Night 2/15 — PTA Meeting @ 3:45pm / Art Room 2/20 — NO SCHOOL — HOLIDAY

CALL THE OFFICE - 664-2659

Thank you for calling the office when your child is going to be absent from school. We need to know where your child is for safety reasons. Please make sure that your child knows if they are riding the bus home or going in the carline prior to coming to school. We are receiving quite a few phone calls asking to deliver messages to children regarding after school directions. If you do need to get a message to your child, please call the school prior to 3:00pm, as all notes are delivered at 3:00pm. Remember that you can submit an absence through Skyward. If you would like help with this process, please call the office.

SCHOOL CLOSURE INFORMATION

District Weather Hotline: 667-0784 , Radio: KVNI 1080

TV Stations: Channels 2, 4, 6. Information is normally broadcast be-

ginning at 6:00 am. Watch for “Coeur d’Alene School District #271”.

SNOW CLOTHES

Please remember to

send extra clothes, i.e., gloves,

snow pants, hats, socks, etc. to

school with your child as we are

running low on our extra

clothes. It’s no fun for children

to sit in class with wet feet and

cold hands.

Thank you for your help!

Principal Message

Girls can be mean to each other while being best friends. Much of what I do at Fernan deals with girl-on-girl aggres-

sion. It comes in many forms and starts in first grade. Inviting a friend to a birthday part only if they promise to play

exclusively with the invitee, rolling eyes, starting rumors, and pitting one friend against another are all forms of aggres-

sion. Many see this as a natural part of girlhood and growing up. Parents, teachers and friends say, “Toughen up,” “it’s

just the way girls are,” “ignore them.” This seldom works.

I strongly urge all parents to read, “Odd Girl Out,” and “Queen Bees and Wanna Bees.” Both books offer insight

into what really goes on inside of the tight-knit world of girls. Nearly all girls report faking illness to avoid school and

the humility or aggression of another girl or group of girls. Understanding the motivation behind girl aggression and

working through the aggression with our daughter’s builds confidence in the girls we are raising while bringing us into

their world.

Below is a response to an email to Rachel Simmons, author of “Odd Girl Out.” It speaks to girls regaining control of

their lives through self-advocacy. I believe the most important factor of a child’s success is to have a parent who under-

stands the child and truly listens. Read the following letter with your daughter and ask if she agrees.

Dear Rachel…

How do I deal with my obnoxious, overreacting, jealous, clingy, rude, and generally hard-to-deal with best friends?

There are so many things I could say about them. I love them both, I’ve been best friends with one of them since I

was three and the other one is her cousin who moved here a few years ago. I love them both to DEATH, but they’re IN-

SANE.

Dear Friend on the Verge of Insanity,

Help me out here. You put the words “obnoxious” and “rude” in the same sentence as “best friends?” Ah, forget it. I

can’t pretend. I wish I could say this was unusual with girls, but it’s not.

If you ask little kids to draw you a picture of a bully, they sketch a picture of a tough boy who kicks beats you up

and takes your lunch money. You know, a bruiser, the kind of guy who’s been in fifth grade for five or six years, lurks

in the playground…you know the drill.

That may be a bully for some people, but not for girls. Most of the time people who bully a girl will be her close or

even best friends. They won’t do it physically. It’ll be subtle, through put-downs and hot-and-cold moods.

Too many of us put up with it, precisely because “they’re my friends.” But just because someone is your friend

doesn’t mean she might not also be your bully. Friendship is not some all-holy state that gives people license to throw

jealous fits, cuss you out, put you down, and freak out when you don’t fix all their problems (and that is what you de-

scribe above).

Every friendship has its ups and downs, no doubt. But if your downs far outnumber your ups, and if your downs

come weekly or even daily, you may have a bully masquerading as a friend – kind of like that wolf in sheep’s clothing

in Little Red Riding Hood.

Except your life is no fairy tale. You’re going to have to make your own happy ending. Here’s what I’m thinking:

lay low for a week. Keep a journal of all the stuff that happens with your friends that bothers you. Write down what

happened, when, where, who was there, all those details. You may even want to write a few sentences about how you

felt in the moment.

After the week is up, read over your list. Then ask yourself this: if you had a best friend who showed you this jour-

nal, what advice would you give her? Would you tell her she was in a toxic friendship and to get out, or stick with it?

If you do decide to stick with it, I urge you to sit down with each friend on their own – not together, because they’re

related and they’re clearly tight, which means that if you talk to them together, they’ll likely be invested in protecting

each other and not listening clearly to you – and run through your list. Say something like, “This doesn’t feel like a

healthy friendship. I need this stuff to change.” It’s up to you to suggest some alternatives, such as, “When you’re jeal-

ous about me hanging out with her, I need you to just tell me instead of [whatever you're doing].”

I’m not feeling optimistic based on your letter, but I support you in trying to fix this. The only way to do that,

though, is to talk to both of them and make some clear statements about what’s not working and what you need to

change.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Principal Rutherford

Please keep those Box Tops com-

ing in. They help raise money for

classroom supplies!

Fernan collects toner car-tridges, cell phones, camer-as, and other electronics for recyclng. The money gener-ated from recycling helps us purchase new equipment.

Free and Reduced Breakfast and

Lunch -

Parents, just a reminder that if your in-

come has changed recently, you can apply at anytime dur-

ing the school year for free and reduced breakfast and

lunches. Applications are available in the office.

01/26/16 @ 6pm

Please have students here by 5:40.

Congratulations to Braden Meredith, Bella Berzoza, and Kyle Johnson on winning their respective

divisions in the Fernan Hoop Shoot! These students, along with other “top shooters” are listed with the

results below.

For this free-throw contest, the 8 & 9 year olds were allowed to shoot from 11 ft. out, while the 10 &

11 year olds were required to shoot from the regulation (15 ft.) free-throw line. (There were no girls in the

10-11 year division who qualified to represent Fernan past the school competition.)

# Free Throws

Division Name Grade Made/25

8-9 Boys Braden Meredith 4 18

Tyler Voorhees 4 15

Cason Sperber 4 9

Jackson Webb 3 8

Lukas Ruchti 3 7

8-9 Girls Bella Berzoza 4 14

Courtney Johnson 2 10

Kelsey Green 4 7

10-11 Boys Kyle Johnson 4 13

Luciano Pegoraro 5 12

Jacob King 5 8

Braden, Bella, and Kyle will represent our Fernan STEM Academy in the City Finals of the Elks’

National Hoop Shoot which will be held January 8th at Post Falls High School. Good luck to all of you!

Also, thank you to all of our hoop shoot participants who put forth the time and energy to compete in this

event!

Fernan Hoop Shoot Results

Staying Active in the Winter Months

Often times, winter months usher in a decrease in physical activity and weight gain. There are ways to keep your family ac-tive during the cold months of the year. Join your kids in an afternoon of sledding or making a snowman instead of watching from the window. Bundle up and take family walks around the neighborhood. Snowshoeing or cross country skiing is great exercise and gives you the opportunity to appreciate nature blanketed in snow. For days when conditions prevent playing outdoors, try turning up the stereo and showing off your dance moves! For more information on how to add physical activity to your life, go to the Nutrition Services department page at www.cdaschools.org.

Congratulations to Eleni King for winning the Fernan Geography Bee. She now has a chance to compete in the State Bee!!

Spelling Bee

Fernan 2016 Spelling Bee will be held in the library on

Wednesday, January 11th. Before the Christmas holiday, study lists were handed out to 3rd,

4th, and 5th graders who chose to participate in this event. Classroom spelling bees will be

held during the week of January 3rd - 6th to determine the top five spellers

from each 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes.

These classroom winners will compete against their own grade level in the

school bee on January 11th. We will begin with 3rd grade at 12:30 pm and pro-

gress to 5th (approx. 1:30) and 4th (approx. 2:30) grades. The first place win-

ners from each grade will then go on to the District Spelling Bee on January 19, 2017.

3B Stars

Michelle Dixon Mindy Hall Nancy Knoll Linda Carper Jennifer Durocher Wyatt Baldwin Evelynn Brekke Kolton Gayman Izzy Barnes Brianna Rose Eva Berzoza Carter Tjensvoll Lilyanna Beaver Jackson Jeremenko Angelina Mulvaney Jackson Sifford Lilly Henriksen Haidyn Southworth Brileigh McCauley Saydie Green Melody Lund Melinda Hennig Misti Ruchti Sherma Higgs Angela Critchfield Jordan Clifford Khloe Stephenson Kamryn Braga Kendyl Bridge Seth Deniston Savannah Robles Cash Eller Luke Deiss Gracianna Martinez Daniel Vincent Bradley Saltness Christopher Barker Amelia Shull Mattea Landen Alex Siegler Jocelyn Murphy Marcy Canale Rebecca Webb Heather Mangini Julie Cooper Stephanie Cove Andrew Miller Ethanie Horne Lukas Ruchti Nate Colberg Jane Robinson Hunter Dykes Savannah Gooch Liam Barnes Kyle Johnson Sabrina Schwartz Hunter Schnitzler Anna Ruff London Lynch Andrew Strinz Kaitlyn Tomey Nyah Lund Carla Ludwig: Quinlyn Rutherford-Stone, Regan Spence, and Ryan Steinberg Robyn Valov: Taylen Hoffman and Hailey Dunham

The 5th grade Legendary Falcons want to thank everyone who donated items to the

Women’s Shelter. Your generosity is amazing and we appreciate your support for

this worthy community project.

Happy New Year!!

Spelling Bee

Fernan 2016 Spelling Bee will be held in the library on Thursday, January 14th. Before

the Christmas holiday, study lists were handed out to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who chose to

participate in this event. Classroom spelling bees will be held during the week of January 4th-8th

to determine the top five spellers from each 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes.

These classroom winners will compete against their own grade level in the school bee on

January 14th. We will begin with 5th grade at 1:00 pm and progress to 3rd (approx. 1:45) and 4th

(approx. 2:30) grades. The first place winners from each grade will then go on to the District Spelling Bee on

January 19, 2016.

The Fernan Staff would like to send out a big Thank You to our in-

credible PTA! We can’t thank you enough for your enthusiasm and

dedication to our school. From the fun school dance to food for the

staff to fundraising to well, the list goes on and on! We love our

PTA!

Fernan STEM Nutritional News

Fernan is hosting a new breakfast menu beginning in January. The new menu will be offered

from the months of January-April. Parents are always welcome to join their child for breakfast

at any time. However, there is a small fee of $2.40 per adult and $1.55 for a visiting child. We

are committed to providing a healthy lifestyle for our Fernan students.

The University of Idaho will partner up with our STEM specialist to provide nutritional lessons

throughout each grade level’s scheduled time.

Please contact your child’s teacher for more information or concerns that may arise.