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The Phoenix Ranch School
MARCH & APRIL 2012 PHOENIX FLAME
1845 Oak Road, Simi Valley CA 93063 805.526-0136 www.phoenixranch.org
Administrative News by Frances Alascano, Executive Administrator
The Phoenix is 30 Years Old!
March 31, 1982-2012
2012-2013 Continuing
School Registration
Phoenix Ranch –
Road to Summer Fun & Learning
We could think of no better way to memorialize
this special day than to celebrate with our children.
We feel very fortunate to have spent a
lifetime devoted to the pursuit of excellence in
education and recreation, and are privileged to
have worked with some of the finest teachers in
our profession. We are also very grateful to have
had the constant support and loyalty of thousands
of parents throughout the years. Most of
all however, it has been the children, without
whose love and trust there could not have been
a Phoenix Ranch School and Camp.
WE ARE PLANNING A PARTY—On Friday,
March 23, 2012, Mrs. Brown and I would like
to host a party for our students complete with
lunch, ice cream and fun. We will take a little
extra time that day to dedicate our first official
school sign. All our wonderful parents are welcome
to join in on the fun. Invitations will be out
the middle of March. This will be a special but
simple day filled with love, good fellowship and
appreciation.
At 5:00 PM on February 29, 2012, I began
to write my insert for the March /
April Newsletter. I do not know what
to say except that I was overwhelmed;
this years continuing registration is the
largest return enrollment in many years.
As of this date, our registration is up
over 200% for the same period last
year. I would like to think it was my
“gentle telephone reminder” or email
the night before or the great “Early Bird
Special” incentive program. However,
whatever the motivation, we are at 60%
capacity with five months left to register.
If you are planning to register at a
later date, or have some questions
please call , we are always delighted to
meet with any of our parents.
We want to sincerely thank you for
your trust and support.
This year more than ever before, we have
planned a summer full of fun and learning.
Our new eight page Summer Camp, Academy
and Preschool brochure will be out the
end of March and registration will begin the
first week in April. We will have great incentive
programs for our continuing students
and campers, and a whole host of new and
exciting activities, events and learning experiences.
The program includes three
great ACA accredited camps: Big Ranch
Camp, (5-13 years.), Little Ranch Camp
(kindergarteners in the fall), and Teen Camp
(6 th -8 th grade), a Mini Ranch Summer Program
for our 3 year olds, and a newly expanded
Summer Phoenix Academy with
workshops, tutorials and more. We will mail
you our new and exciting brochure.
OPEN HOUSE dates for Camp, School
and Summer Academy tours, presentation,
meet the teachers, staff and camp counselors
bring your friends: Saturdays from 10:00
AM-2:00 PM on April 14, May 5, and June 2.
Academic Happenings at the Phoenix by Amy Brown, Principal
Five students met the requirements and are welcomed into our first National Junior Honor
Society at the Phoenix Ranch School. Congratulations to Haley Perkins, Paulina Mirabella,
Sabrina Hussey, Emilie Gengl, and Megan Greene. These eighth grade students exhibited
strong academic consistency, have excellent citizenship and attendance, and demonstrated a
commitment to volunteerism. The Society will be involved in a project at school and elsewhere over the next few months.
Science: Mrs. Grimes has returned from her 3 day NASA training in Houston and she is bringing an engineering project to different
classes in the elementary school as well as middle school. The Phoenix is sponsoring 28 middle school students in the Ventura
County Science Fair taking place on March 21st. Award night is Thursday, March 22. Good luck, Phoenix scientists!
Music: The Glee Club will perform in La Boheme on March 10th and March 11th. Tickets are sold at the Madrid Theater in Canoga
Park. Our Senior and Junior Band will perform in the upcoming Spring Musicale on Friday, March 23 at 2:00 P.M.
Language Arts: The students in middle school will participate in the Simi Valley Rotary Club “4-Way Essay” soon. We will submit our
essays before Friday, March 16. Monetary awards are given to winning students in this contest, so again, good luck students. Other
classes are working on poetry and short stories for the Anthology of Poetry or Short Stories for Young Americans.
Math: Our students in fourth grade and up will participate in “The Math League” competition. Middle school results will be posted
online after March 2, and we will share information as to our progress in subsequent testing as the competition advances.
Grade Level Events: First grade will participate in their “Fairy Tale Ball” on Thur., March 22 at 9:00 A.M. Fourth grade students enjoy
Gold Miner’s Day on Wed., April 11 at 9:00 A.M. Fifth grade is heading to Camp Allegre in Santa Barbara for outdoor school on April
10; returning April 13. Fifth grade will also be celebrating Colonial Days on Wed., April 25th. Sixth grade will take a full day trip to Santa
Cruz Island (Scorpion Cove) on Wednesday, April 11. Seventh and eighth grade students will be on their one week trip to Washington
D.C. departing Mon., April 9. All planned activities are aligned with specific California State Standards.

Page 2
The Phoenix Ranch School and Camp Open House:
“A Day at the Phoenix” Saturday, April 14 10:00 AM—2:00 PM
Musical Notes by Ms. Stephens
K-5 General Music:
March is a very exciting month for the
music program here at Phoenix Ranch!
Glee has dress rehearsals for the opera
La Boheme, with performances on March 10
&11. Tickets are available by calling (818) 517-
4102 or going online www.centerstageopera.org
Hoover Middle School from San Jose will be
visiting with their music students to guest perform
March 9 at 1:00.
First grade is preparing for the Fairy Tale Ball
on March 22 nd .
Third grade will perform April 26 th for our
Alice in Wonderland and Mad Hatter Parade
Thursday, April 5 at 9:30 A.M.
March Dates to Remember:
March 2 (Fri) Read Across America
March 5 (Mon) Spring Sports Meeting 5 PM
March 7 (Wed) Family Fun Night 4-8 PM at
Daphne’s Restaurant in Regal Plaza
Mach 8 (Thu) VIP Day at Preschool
March 9 (Fri) Visiting Band Performance
March 10 & 11 La Boheme Performances
March 14 (Wed) PI Day at Middle School
March 16 (Fri) St. Patrick’s Day and End of
2nd Trimester in Kindergarten
March 21 (Wed) Ventura County Science
Fair for Middle School Students
March 22 (Thu) Fairy Tale Ball (1st Grade)
and Field Trips for 2nd and 3rd Grade
March 23 (Fri) Spring Musical (Band and
Glee) 2:00 PM - Free Dress Day
March 26-30 Spring Camp
Spring Vacation for K-8th /Preschool open
For any questions contact me at jstephens@phoenixranch.org
Band and Glee have their Spring
Musicale on the March 23 rd at 2:00 PM.
Parents, family, and friends are invited to
the Musicale.
Daylight Savings Time Begins
Set your clocks forward on Sunday,
March 11
April Dates to Remember:
April 4 (Wed) Family Fun Night 4-8 PM
at Rubios (Tapo Canyon)
April 5 (Thu) Alice in Wonderland & Mad
Hatter Parade—All School 9:30 AM
April 6 (Fri) End 3rd Quarter (1st-8th)
Last Day Spring Book Clubs
April 9-13 Washington DC Trip (7th and
8th) and Science Camp (5th)
April 11 (Wed) Gold Miner’s Day and 6th
Grade Trip to Scorpion Cove
April 13 (Fri) Report Cards 1st-8th
April 14 (Sat) A Day at the Phoenix Open
House 10 AM-2 PM
April 20 (Fri) Agricultural Fair (2nd)
April 24 (Tue) Career Day (8th)
April 25 (Wed) Colonial Days (5th)
April 26 (Thu) Spring Assembly 10:30
April 27 (Fri) Free Dress Day
Preschool—8th Grade
Mad Hatter Contest with Prizes
Alice in Wonderland, The White Rabbit, and the
Mad Hatter will perform and lead the parade.
Every child who marches in the parade will receive
a treat bag.
Toy Prize Donations
Are Needed!
Hat Contest
Hat prizes in the following
categories will be awarded
in 1st-8th Grade.
Most Spring-like, Most Colorful, Biggest Hat
Most Original, Funniest Hat, Sportiest Hat
Parking Information: Please park in the Oak
Road lot or in the East Campus (Shunk Road) lot
or across the street at US Bank. The West Campus
lot will be closed for parking until 11 AM.
A Day At the Phoenix
Tell your friends and family to attend our
upcoming Day at the Phoenix Open
House. We will be conducting camp and
school tours, teachers will be present, as
well as counselors and directors. We
have three Open Houses this year::
Open Houses:
April 14, May 5, June 2
10:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M.
Students in the News!
We have so many students in the news!
▪ In preschool, Emily Galan, Blake Evertson, Bella -Donna Spoehr , Shayla Wamsley, and Dylan Schwartz all turned 4!!
▪ In Mrs. de Leon’s class, Dylan Wilkinson has a new baby sister, Tessa Pearl. Dylan’s daddy, Bobcat, is a former counselor
here at the Phoenix.
▪ Roan and Maeve Schmidt have a new baby brother, Foss. Congratulations families on your new arrivals and future students!
▪ In second grade, Quinn Friedman filmed a Walgreens commercial, so we’ll continue to see him on TV.
▪ In Mrs. Grimes’ sixth grade homeroom, the parents of Alex Roberts and Cameron Cardenas each bought a new home.
Congratulations! Riley McDonough’s aunt has a new baby and Riley has a new cousin. Cameron Cardenas is now playing
ice hockey.
▪ In Mrs. Wolfe’s homeroom, both Alex Olarte and Kyle Benton have leveled up to double green band in Parkour.

Hablar Espanol by Mr. Orrala, Spanish Teacher
K-5 Spanish:
Bienvenidos! This monthly letter
will be an important tool to inform
families of what is being taught in
Spanish class and how to support
language learning at home!
Please consult the Monday Newsletter
from your child’s classroom
teacher or middle school homeroom
for a review of assignments
or homework. You may also check
my Engrade.com page for a review
of homework and a calendar of
events (middle school). Each concept
covered includes vocabulary,
pronunciation exercises, memory
games as well as group activities.
These are the concepts:
Kindergarten: Family & Food
First Grade: Clothing/Body Parts
Second Grade: Animals, House &
Ranch Club News by Flamingo
I’m excited to offer new and
fun activities this month and
super fun special events such
as: Bowling for shamrocks,
shamrock shakes, and the
Frog Toss. We have a huge
St. Patrick’s Day scavenger
hunt on campus that’s sure to
lead to a pot of gold! In addition,
we will play March Madness
games, create balloon
The Spring Assembly
The April Assembly will be held on
Thursday, April 26th at 10:30 A.M..
The assembly will include Letters to
our Troops, Character Counts!
awards given for trustworthiness
and birthday gift bags to be distributed
for April and May birthdays.
Parents are invited
to attend the 10:30
A.M. assembly.
Adjectives.
Third Grade: Family, Singular,
Plural & Articles
Fourth Grade: Restaurant, Numbers
0 – 100 & Capital Letters
Middle School:
Parents can play an integral role
in your child’s acquisition of
Spanish by staying informed of
what is been taught in class and
supporting language learning at
home.
Spanish 1 Theme 1: Mis amigo y
yo (My friends and I) Chapter 1A
¿Que te gusta hacer?
Spanish 2 Theme 4: Tiempo
Libre (Hobbies) Chapter 4A :
¿Adonde vas? (Where are you
going?)
eggs, egg races, talent show,
and skate day which also
happens to held on both free
dress days! But that’s not all!
Come and see all the fun
things we do in Club.
Don’t forget SPRING CAMP,
March 26-30th. See the
enclosed flier for more information
and registration.
SPRING CAMP
(March 26-30, 2012)
Join us for five fantastic days
of fun at Spring Camp; March
26-30 from 8:30-3:00 P.M.
with extended care included
(6:30-8:30 A.M. and 3:30-6:30
P.M.). Students in kindergarten
-6th grade will enjoy game
room, wacky science, balloon
rocket races, make space
monster cookies, ice cream
smoothies, and s’mores. Play
dodge ball, kickball, alien
scavenger hunt, hockey and
more. Spring Camp Information
and the registration form
is enclosed. Flamingo and the
counselors will see you at
Spring Camp!.
Spring Camp Flier Enclosed
“California Then and Now”
GREAT BRAIN FAIR & AUCTION
...and 30 Year Celebration
The Great Brain Fair is set for Saturday, May 19 from 10:00 AM
to 3:00 PM. Our theme is “California Then and Now” and will
include all the wonderful presentations on stage and in classrooms
across all grade levels. In addition to all the reflected
learning, will be a wonderful lunch available for purchase. The
events of the day include the Phoenix Ranch School Auction
and classroom displays.. Grade level content, as expressed at
the Brain Fair, reflectis California Standards and learning goals.
Preschool - California Farms
Pre-K/Jr. K -California Cities and Countryside
Kindergarten — California Animals
First Grade — Our Neighborhoods and Our Community
Second Grade— California Agriculture
Third Grade — California Indians
Fourth Grade - Westward Movement to California
Fifth Grade - California and the 50 States
6th & 7th Grade - Famous Californian Biographies
8th Grade - Californian Writers and Poets
Page 3
Report Cards, etc.
by Amy Brown, Principal
The end of the third grading period is
Friday, April 6. All students in first
through eighth grade will receive
a report card on Friday, April 13.
The end of the third quarter is remarkable
in that only ten weeks of
school remain. The final quarter
begins on Monday, April 9 and concludes
Friday, June 15. A holiday on
Monday, May 28 (Memorial Day) will
occur in the final quarter.
The last quarter of the school year
is a time of tremendous learning
as we complete our curriculum and
prepare our students for the next
grade level. Attendance at school is
very important and we encourage
families not to plan vacations or take
children out of school, during this
time. Tardiness is a problem.
Classes start promptly at 8:30 A.M.
Honor roll is awarded twice during
the school year; at the end of the first
semester and at the end of the academic
year. Therefore, honor roll will
be awarded at the final assembly of
the year, on June 15th. Eighth grade
graduates will receive honor roll at
ceremonies on June 12th.
Standardized testing will occur on
May 29 through June 1, with results
received back to the school by end
of June. Parents will receive test
results by mail, in July.
Parking at the Main Office lot continues
to be a concern. That lot is for
business in the Main Office. Please
use the carpool loading and unloading
areas for drop off and pick up,
and one of our three other parking
areas,. and please use caution when
driving up or down Oak Road.

Preschool News by Cathie Shultz, Preschool Director
Dr. Seuss’s Birthday
We will celebrate Theodore Geisel’s birthday on Friday, March 2. It is “Read Across America Day.” We will read Dr. Seuss books and have fun eating
“Green Eggs and Ham” for lunch. Our Pre-K and Jr.-K librarians will have a special reading for us in the library.
VIP Day
Thursday, March 8 is VIP day at the preschool. Please join us for a fun filled experience with your child. Our VIP’s from our half day classes are invited
to come between 9:30 – 11:00 A.M. Special activities are planned for you to participate in. VIPs from the full day classes are invited to attend between
3:30 – 5:00 PM. A VIP could be a mommy, daddy, aunt, uncle, grandma or grandpa. We look forward to seeing you on the 8 th .
Spring Break Attendance
Spring Break for Elementary and Middle School children is from March 26-30, but Preschool will be in session. We will be taking a survey of preschool
children who will be attending that week to help determine staffing. Please let us know if your child will be here during elementary school spring break.
Trike-A-Thon for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
We have chosen to present a special Trike-A-Thon to support St. Jude Children’s Hospital and teach our children trike and bike
riding safety. We will teach a special unit on trike and bike safety and culminate the unit with a fund raiser trike-a-thon on
Wednesday, March 28. The children will collect pledges for laps ridden or a lump sum for participating in the event. We will
turn the west campus parking lot into a trike / bike track. The children are invited to bring their own trikes or bikes for the event.
Watch for more information to come.
April Fun at the Preschool
Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter Parade
We are looking forward to our annual “Alice in Wonderland and Mad Hatter Parade.” The preschool parade will begin promptly at 9:30
A.M. on Thursday, April 5th. Preschool and Pre-kindergarten children will make their special hats in class. If you would like to come and
take pictures, please arrive no later than 9:00 A.M. as we will close the gates at 9:15. Please park in the school parking lots along Oak
Road or on the East Campus (Shunk Road) or across the street near US Bank. The West Campus lot will be open for carpool or drop off
but CLOSED to parking from 8:45-11:00 AM.
A Day at the Phoenix
From 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, April 14 you are invited to bring your friends and family to experience a day at the Phoenix. Teachers and
staff will be here to show you their programs. Preschoolers might like to come to see what pre-k is like and pre-kindergartners might like to come and learn
about Little Ranch Summer Camp. Members of your family or friends are invited to come and learn all about The Phoenix Ranch. See you there!
Middle School News by Mrs. McAdam, School Coordinator
March and April are exciting months for Middle School. It begins on Wednesday, March 14 th , when students will observe Pi
Day. Pi Day is celebrated on Albert Einstein’s Birthday, 3/14 at 1:59. (Pi = 3.14159) Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to
its diameter. Students will be participating in a contest of the most digits of pi memorized, compete in teams to find diameters,
radii, and circumferences of various circles found around campus, and by eating yummy pies.
On Wednesday, March 21 st , twenty-eight of our 6 th –8 th graders will compete with other private and public schools
at the Ventura County Science Fair. We wish the best of luck to our 6 th graders – Emily Aguilar, Mariel Arreygue,
Derek Busch, Heather Diem, Cameron Hussey, Ethan Joe, James Johnston, Thomas Johnston, Jacob Lunbeck,
Riley McDonough, Riana Orf, Sarah Porche, Alec Roberts, Julian Ros, Austin Tenn, and Stephen Wolfe – 7 th
graders – Kyle Benton, Jack Fratianne, Rachel McAdam, and Alex Olarte – 8 th graders – Kyle Allen, Nicole Diem,
Sabrina Hussey, Paulina Mirabella, Francesca Sullivan, Cameron Tenn and Kenji Ushino.
Our 7 th and 8 th graders will fly their way to the east coast for a Williamsburg/ Washington D.C. adventure on Monday,
April 9 th . This five-day tour takes students to the Jamestown Settlement, Mt. Vernon, the Smithsonian Air &
Space and American History Museums, Fords Theatre, Arlington National Cemetery for the changing of the guard,
the National Archives, the Capital, White House and most, if not all, of the many memorials Washington D.C. has
to offer. Please wish us all safe travel.
Our 6 th graders will be enjoying a day at Santa Cruz Island on Wednesday, April 11 th . Students will be traveling by boat
with Island Packers. Their adventure takes them to the wonders of Scorpion Cove. There is always an opportunity to see
wildlife en-route to the islands. Student will take a guided hike with their naturalist. Naturalists are trained on the unique
natural and cultural resources found in Channel Islands National Park. This field trip aligns with our California State Standards
for our 6 th Grade Earth Science curriculum.