Grandparent's Day 2010

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. ~Alex Haley


DLES loves Christmas, and DLES loves grandparents. We celebrated both today in our first of two performances. The audience was full of family members who came from both near and far to enjoy the music the children have been working so hard to prepare. It was a pleasure to see so many grandparents smiling and proudly cheering on their little ones. If you were not able to attend the performance today, make sure you come tomorrow. We'll begin right after our 8:00 morning announcements.

Merry Christmas!
David Lipscomb Elementary School

Well done, Ms. Collins!

Congratulations to Kindergarten Teacher, Becky Collins, who received the Hubert Smothers Award at the TAIS conference held in Chattanooga earlier this week. Only five other teachers in the state received this award. The criteria for the award includes excellent teaching, a love of learning new things, and a passion for sharing with the broader community. Those of us at DLES know that Becky is often asked to share her love of outdoor learning with other schools. She has been instrumental in our work with environmental education for many years. This year, through her efforts, we won the Eastman Good Sports Always Recycle Award which gave us $500 to add to our environmental efforts. Well done, Ms. Collins! You make us proud!

It's Finally Here

It has been a long time coming, but our brand new Pre-First/First Grade playground is officially "open for business!" Following a ribbon-cutting celebration hosted by Mrs. Farmer, Principal, and Dr. Hammond, Headmaster of David Lipscomb Campus School, along with our two PTO Presidents, Stacey King and Lori Nixon, the children raced to be the first to experience the newest addition to the DLES campus. They have patiently waited day after day, on the other side of the fence, watching dirt being moved, equipment being built, and mulch being spread. Although excitement was mounting this morning, over 100 children took a moment to bow their heads in a prayer of thanksgiving for all of those parents, grandparents, and supporters of the school who made this moment possible, and joined in asking for a special blessing of safety for the thousands of children who will enjoy this gift for years to come. Thank you to each and every giving heart who has supported this effort. You have put smiles on so many faces - adults and children alike!

Come one, come all!

We offer tours on a daily basis to accommodate everyone's schedule, but Open House is a wonderful time to visit with faculty and staff, enjoy some refreshments, and get a good feel for who we are from the inside out. Hope to see you here!

Deciduous? Are you serious?

I was down in the kindergarten area last week when a five-year-old answered a question with the word 'deciduous' - yes, you read correctly, deciduous! I had to stop in my tracks and politely interrupt to ask if I heard what I thought I did. The class was beginning their weekly science lab with Ginger Reasonover, Science Lab Coordinator, and starting their study of leaf varieties. It is always incredibly interesting to me how easily youngsters soak up information and retain it. At such a young age, their little brains are so primed with millions of neurological pathways just waiting to fire. In fact, if they're not utilized, they begin to die. Engaging them in intellectual conversation and learning through experiences and play is exactly what they are made to do, and it is fascinating to watch!

By the way, a big congratulations is in order for Mrs. Reasonover who is pictured here helping out Mrs. Felts' kindergarten class. She recently traveled to Knoxville to receive an award presented by Project Learning Tree, a division of the National Forestry Service. Ginger was named 2010 Environmental Educator of the Year.

We're so proud of the work Ginger continues to do to mentor other schools as they work toward Green School designation. She serves on several local and state boards of environmental groups seeking to educate the children of our community and to raise awareness of the citizens of the region.

Thank you, Ginger, for your significant contributions to our environmental efforts here at the elementary school and for representing Lipscomb in the larger community.