Spring has definitely arrived at Foster Elementary.  Room 8 students made kites and pin wheels and flew them in the field.  What an array of colors!  Then, the saying, "If you build it, they will come" comes to mind when you look at the grassy area outside Room 11.  They put out bird feeders and the birds did come.  They attracted quite a variety of birds, from American Goldfinches to House Sparrows and Finches, etc.  There has been quite a bit of chattering going on.  All classrooms received live critters to study for the life science unit and the students have been learning about, observing and interacting with them.  One classroom hatches chicks each year and that's always exciting.

Foster students came through again this year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Pasta for Pennies organization.  They set their goal at $2500 and they exceeded that by quite a bit!  They raised over $3100.  Of course, that came with a price for the principal, Dave Downey.  He vowed to dress up in a dog costume and eat canned dog food (YUCK!) if they reached their goal.  Well, they did and he did.  The class that contributed the most also got to have front row seats and throw whipped cream pies in Mr. Downey's face.  There were many parents there to watch this event because it was tied in with the BBQ lunch.  What a good sport Mr. Downey is!

The art program is still going strong.  The PTA president, Brock Scott, has done a wonderful job of presenting the art classes.  He has shown the work of two great artists so far, Norman Rockwell and John Audubon.  He then had the students try out some of the art styles.  Many children could be heard saying, "Wow, I never knew I could draw a bird before!" and "I'm pretty good at art!;" so it has been very well worth the effort.  Thank you to Brock for acting on what many of us believe - that art is so important, but unfortunately it is the first thing to be cut during a budget crisis.  Brock and Mike Cagle, another very involved parent, have been putting the finishing touches on the hand-painted mural with "Children around the World" as the theme.  

One of Foster's very devoted partners is the Allied Garden's Optimist Club.  They have donated many hours at various events every year and give monetary donations to many causes.  They held two "pancake breakfasts" recently, one of which was held on Saturday after the sleepover at Foster. The PTA sponsored sleepover/BBQ dinner/movie night was held on May 8th.  It was a lot of fun and we hope that it will become an annual event.  Foster's partner, Jack In the Box Corporation, will once again sponsor Junior Achievement at our school in May.  They do a wonderful job of working with our students and teaching them about working in the community.  

Through one of our parents, Sue Laird, the Marriott has become one of our partners.  They are helping to beautify the corner of 51st and Zion by adding landscaping.  They provided healthy snacks during our testing week, they are contributing generously to our silent auction, they are providing monetary support for our "Kids at Play" plywood figures that adorn the fencing surrounding the school, and they donated several cases of paper.  Thank you to our generous sponsors. We really appreciate you, especially during this budget crunch.