FROM THE PRINCIPAL:

April was a very busy month here at Hearst. Our students sang at Dana Middle school in the Choral Showcase and sounded magnificent thanks to our wonderful music teacher, Mrs. Slavik.  Students are really building in skill and we have all enjoyed their music performances this year. Our hats are off to you Mrs. Slavik. Our fourth graders went to Sacramento on the 16^th and 17^th of April and had a wonderful time. Hearst held an Inventors Showcase that had so many great inventions and ideas by our students in grades first through fifth. I want to thank all those that participated and congratulated those that took home a trophy. We announced the winners at our Monday Morning assembly.   I also wanted to thank Mr. Blume, Mrs. Adi, Mrs. Kirkness and all our parents that judged the inventions for all their time and dedication to this event. We make a great team here at Hearst.

We all know the importance of being at school every day and being on time.  During the month of March we had 375 absences and 543 tardies. April’s attendance rate was better, 290 absences and 307 tardies, however I know we can improve. I challenge you to help us make May our most attended month yet. Our goal for the 09-10 school year will be to increase our attendance from 95.8% this year to 97%. To help us reach our goal we are asking you to consider the following suggestions.

• Plan your vacations around our regularly scheduled break time. We have many families that take vacations during the school year.
• Have your child pick out what they are going to wear and what they are going to eat for breakfast the night before. This will save you time in the morning.
• Make sure your child has a set bed time and try to stick with the schedule. We know children need more sleep then adults.
• When dropping off your child in the white zone (3 minute parking), we ask that you stay in your car and be considerate of others that are trying to drop their children off quickly and efficiently. If you have to speak to a staff member or drop off something to your child please do not leave your car in the white zone. 

I am excited to see how well we score on this years CST exam. I am confident that our students were well prepared.  Thank you for being diligent about getting your kids to school on time during testing.   I was impressed with the level of concentration and perseverance of each student as they tackled this state exam. I am sure our scores will represent the hard work our students and teachers displayed this year.

To end the month of April we were hit with information about the Swine Flu. Here is an update to the San Diego Unified School District community on issues related to the swine flu outbreak as of 10:30 a.m., Thursday, April 30, 2009.

Cases: As of this writing, no new cases of swine flu have been confirmed in San Diego County since yesterday. No cases have been reported among San Diego Unified students or staff.

Schools Open: All traditional calendar San Diego Unified schools are scheduled to be open tomorrow Friday, May 1. Year-round schools are currently on Spring break and are scheduled to re-open on Monday, May 4, 2009.

State of Emergency: The County of San Diego and Imperial County both proclaimed local health emergencies on April 29. The proclamations are routine steps in preparations for addressing an outbreak of swine flu. Read more.

Prevention/Precautions: Frequent hand-washing and covering a cough or sneeze are the best protection from the flu and the best defense against the spread of germs, both at school and at home.

National Travel Advisory: The CDC has issued a warning to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico. Read more.

Planning: The early stages of San Diego Unified's Pandemic Flu plan are being followed. If needed, the district will further implement the plan.

For More Information: San Diego County residents can call the County of San Diego Swine Influenza Information Line at (858) 715-2250, or visit http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/Portal/News/swineflu.html .

I am looking forward to the rest of the school year and want to invite all volunteers to mark May 20^th on their calendars for our Volunteer Breakfast from 7:45-9:30. Our students will perform and we will have all sorts of yummy breakfast items for you as a way of thanking you for all you have done for us this year.

School Foundation
THANK YOU ! Hearst Elementary Foundation hosted their Annual Dinner and Auction on Saturday March 28th at St Therese Hall, (aka the Magic Castle). The magical evening included a silent auction, beautiful class art projects, dinner provided by Hearst family-owned 3 Squares, the ever popular raffle and Auctioneer Steve Hamann hosting an exciting live auction.  The evening raised over $38,000 profit this year. These funds help to add a little Magic to Hearst. With the support of the families, teachers and community, the Heart Foundation has been able to provide a choral music program, a computer lab technician, new computers for the computer lab, a visiting artist art program, and much more.  A special thank you to Rosemarie Marshal and Tracy Canepa for co-chairing a great night!

School Site Governance
Please join other concerned Hearst parents for our next meeting to be held Thursday, May 21 @ 4pm in the library.

PTA News
PTA Meeting – May 4 at 8:00 am in the auditorium  Join us for this very important meeting. We will be fine tuning the budget which means we will be deciding which areas to fund and which may need to be cut.  There will be a discussion about Art Corps, Talent Show and Fall Festival.  We will also discuss new board and committee member candidates.  You won’t want to miss this meeting. 

Hearst Alumni News – Did you know Hearst Elementary is turning 50 next year?  If you are alumni or you know an alumnus – get involved.  We need your help coordinating the festivities.  Check the Hearst website often for information - http://www.sandi.net/hearst/ or email hearst50@cox.net .   Let’s celebrate Phoebe and Hearst Elementary.

Speech & Hearing  
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month! Did you know?

Hearst has a speech and language pathologist working with students who have speech and language disorders. 

Speech and language disorders affect over 14 million Americans. Speech and language disorders can take many forms such as stuttering, extreme hoarseness, difficulty pronouncing certain sounds, inability to speak or remember words and difficulty understanding what is said, following directions or interpreting social cues and more! The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has celebrated Better Hearing and Speech Month each May since 1927 to raise public awareness of speech and language disorders. You can help promote awareness of Better Hearing and Speech Month by discussing good communication as a family. Ask what good communicators do and challenge everyone in the family to use good communication skills! 

Have questions?  Ask the speech-language pathologist!

Elissa Grobman, MA, CCC-SLP  egrobman@sandi.net (619)583-5704 ext.116

GATE  Information
GATE classes are doing many interesting things. Mrs. Vasquez has just completed a math and science project with her students that involve planting Impatients in a flower box that a parent constructed for the children. The fifth and second grade GATE testing have been completed. Results were mailed to parents, via the U.S. mail. Mr. Guadarrama's class has just completed and submitted picture books for a national contest called, Kids as Authors. What made his students work unique is that they were created entirely digitally, using Corel Painter and digital tablets. The fourth grade GATE students went on their trip to Sacramento. Mrs. Pascoe's students just completed an incredible project where they designed an entire community- the models they made are exceptional.

Kiwanis / Parent Volunteers
Aprils’ Kiwanis Student of the Month – Christina Marshall – Christina is a wonderful role model for the Hearst community, takes pride in her academic work and strives to achieve her best at any given topic. She is a wonderful author and enjoys reading so much that she can often be found lost in a book.  Christina has many attributes that make her a great leader. These include honesty, integrity and trustworthiness. These attributes also make her a wonderful friend, which can be witnessed as she cares for her classmate on crutches or simply saves a seat for a friend at lunch. We are lucky to have Christina in our classroom and school. She is a special person here at Hearst.

Classroom Parent of the Month – Meredith Ryan – Meredith was acknowledged for her dedication to not just one classroom but two.  Mrs. Vasquez and Mrs. Fernandez have benefited by the many hours of classroom volunteer help she has provided.  The dedication to her children’s education spills over to all the children in their classrooms.  The many hours she has set aside to learn and teach Art Corp for both classrooms is phenomenal.  It is parents like Meredith that make the education experience at Hearst so incredibly special for our children.  Thank you Meredith for all that you do in the classroom and for the school.

Campus Parent of the Month - Marti Brower – Art is at the core of education and we are very grateful for Marti’s dedication to heading up the Art Corps program here at Hearst.  Art Corps provides an exposure to famous artists that children may not otherwise get.  It gives them the opportunity to produce artwork like Picasso, van Gogh, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Kandinsky and many other famous artists.   Family Art night at Hearst is a fun and bonding time for our art bound students and would not be possible without her.  Thank you Marti, for the many hours and hard work you dedicate to make Art Corps a possibility for our children.  It is parents like you that help our children grow into strong, independent and confident young adults. 

Lunch With The Principal
Congratulations to this month's Lunch with the Principal recipients:  Bella Frost, Travis Luong, Emma Luz, Justin Markell, Kalib Saxon, Eric Jacobson, Sammy Brooks, Ethan Retin, Nicole Lackenbacher, Tony Taranto, Jamey Underwood, Matthew Sweeney, Quinn Gefrom, Daniel Kalatov, Ella Brazil, Grace Miller-Hecht, Alexander Penney, Michael Stathorakis, Angelica Carabantes, Jed Edelstein, Tyler Veseliny, Lauren Gygax, Trevor Chubb, Starla Wilson, Jonathan Lalouz, Olivia Sample, Austin Sheely, Harrison Lange, Kaelia Okamura, Luc Galaif, Landis Cotta, Clara Lane, Robert Mackey, Matthew Meram, Jon Schindler, Brandon Matsumoto, Sam Handler, Camryn Dreyer, Carlson Temple, Everett Allen, Madeline Outlaw, James Bitter, Adi Mullen, Joshua Lopez, Austin Lane, Jesse Ortiz, Robbie Sommer, Cameron Kock, Colin Nugent, Danya Dilbeck, Daniela Olmos, Caley Sloniker, Ben Selleck

Inventors Showcase
First, congratulations to all students who participated this year. Thank you to Gary Blume for organizing this event along with Mrs. Adi and Mrs. Kirkness. We couldn't have done it with out you.

Awards were distributed as follows:

Second Grade:

Grand Prize-Matthew Kulis-B3

1^st place-Jonathan Marshall-B3

2^nd place-Trevor Chubb-B3

3^rd place-Summer Haddaway-B4

Third Grade:

Grand Prize-Brandon Matsumoto-4

1^st place-Clinton Allen-7

2^nd place-Ian Elliott

Fourth Grade:

Grand Prize-Matthew Pham & Matthew Sander – B5

1^st place-Bryce Ohmstede -12

2^nd place-Tyler Enquist & Joel Foster –B5

3^rd place-Margaret Poltorak -5

Fifth Grade:

Grand Prize-Emily Arkin & Brooke Kaplan - 10

1^st place-Marshall Cotta -11

2^nd place-Adi Mullen -5

3^rd place-Ryder Wise -11

Music Notes
Hearst Spring Concert for Kinder - 5th grade is Thursday night, May 28th at 6:45pm.  Our theme is Peace.  Once again the concert will be held in the Lewis Middle School auditorium.  Carol Elliot, my winter parent coordinator, has again agreed to be my point person for spring.  I need lots of help getting kids on and off stage, and sitting with them while they listen to the other classes.  Email me your availability at cherylslavik@sbcglobal.net, or leave a note in the school office. 

 There will be a 4th and 5th grade concert involving band, orchestra, and chorus on June 2, 6:30 pm at Hearst.

Our 4th & 5th grade chorus sounded incredible at the choral showcase on April 1st.  Our principal, Mrs. Jorgensen, joined us and the school was presented with a certificate of appreciation from SDCS.

One other music note: I'm in a community theater presentation of "Annie Get Your Gun", along with several former Hearst students and a couple of other musically inclined adults you might know.  It's a fun show, based on true characters, and revolving around the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.  It's appropriate for all ages. The show runs May 7-10 and 15-17 at Lewis Middle School. Check out the poster in the front window of the school. Tickets are available at the show or from the web –

site  suchnsuchproductions.com .  If you let me know in advance I can get tickets for you.  Hope to see you there and at our spring concert!  Cheryl Slavik

Thought for the Month
When you narrow it down there are only three kind of leaders in schools today: those who MAKE things happen, those who WATCH things happen, and those who WONDER what happened!

 MAKE it happen! Join PTA, Foundation, School Site Governance; get involved !