Our PTA Executive Board needs to fill two key roles:
VP - School Community
This volunteer will act as an advisor/liaison to the following Committee Chairs:
- Community Outreach
- Teacher Appreciation
- Volunteer Coordinator
- New Family Liaison
- First Day Coffee
- Spirit Wear
- Coffee Cart
by providing them with information pertinent to their event - such as budget, event dates, guidelines, etc. This person will also report information from the events at the monthly PTA meeting and keep school apprised of events through Pony and website updates.
Corresponding Secretary
This volunteer will send correspondence such as thank you cards and sympathy cards through Paperless post for the President, and will also send notices of executive board meetings.
If you are interested - or know someone you think would be great at one of these jobs - please contact Nancy Felder - nancyfelder@pacbell.net / (415) 342-5251
Here's an easy way to help our school earn money over the summer: Clip and save those bright pink box tops! Look for them on General Mills (Cheerios, Kix, Chex, Fiber One), Yoplait Gogurt, Pillsbury, Ziploc and other brands. Then turn them in at the school office. Each box top is worth 10¢ for Edna Maguire. It may not sound like much, but when everyone pitches in, the earnings add up quickly!
We need your gently used soccer balls, footballs and basketballs! It's spring-cleaning time, and if you've got excess athletic equipment cluttering your garage, this is the perfect chance to get rid of it. Donations can be dropped off in the box in front of the office. Questions? Contact Karen Carr at karenmuntercarr@yahoo.com.
The Innovative Teaching Fund (ITF) is a line item of the PTA budget designated specifically for teachers to use toward unique educational programs. This year, a total of $3000 was allocated to the ITF, and every penny has been spent. Below is a list of grades/programs that received grants:
- Author for the Book Fair (Jon Ager)
- Document camera for Lisa Stapp/Kindergarten
- Books for 2nd Grade - Leveled Reading Books from Scholastic
- Being a Writer; Trade books sets/ Words in Action for 5th grade
- Green Team - 6 Part Plant Festival
Thank you, PTA, for helping to fund these programs, activities and resources! If you have questions regarding the Innovative Teaching Fund, please contact the ITF Coordinator, Merrie Jaffe.
Thanks to the Edna teachers and parents who bought supplies for various events this year. If you wish to be reimbursed for your purchases, please turn in your receipts with a completed reimbursement form to the PTA Treasurer's (Christine Freda) mailbox in the office. Thanks!
Don't forget Edna while shopping for summer clothing, sports equipment or books for the beach! Sports Basement in the Presidio will give you 10% off your purchase when you ask for the "Edna Maguire School" discount at checkout. Plus, they'll contribute 5% to our school! (We earned over $150 this year)! In addition, we receive 5% back from Amazon when you shop through the link on our home page and 5% of sales from Book Passage. Summer shopping that saves you money AND raises money for our school-- now THAT'S a sizzling deal!
The Edna Maguire Spring Faire is taking place on Sunday, April 28 from 12 to 4 p.m. Last year our concession stand at the Faire raised $1844 for our Children's Garden, thanks to our parent volunteers! We are looking for people to help this year in two different ways:
- Sign up for a one hour shift to help sell pizza, burritos and baked goods: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0E45ACA7238-concession2
- Donate a baked good to our concessions stand: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0E45ACA7238-baked2
We welcome all things tasty - brownies, cookies, rice crispy treats, cupcakes, etc. We are asking for gluten-free goodies also. Remember that none of the treats should contain nuts. Thank you for supporting the Edna Children's Garden!
We all shop for groceries, sometimes two or three times a week -- or more. Now turn those shopping trip into easy cash for Edna Maguire, and encourage friends to do the same! Just look for the Box Tops logo on hundreds of products like Cheerios®, Hamburger Helper® and Kleenex®, in almost every aisle of the store. All you need to do is clip and have your child drop them off in the office - each one is worth 10¢ for Edna!
The Mill Valley Children's Garden is proud to partner with UNHUNGER, a nonprofit started by local Tam High 10th grade student Justine Rutter. UNHUNGER is dedicated to providing fresh produce to the Marin County Food Bank. Special thanks to the students in Room 20 who have planted and tended to 3 beds in our school garden. Justine, along with Edna student Amelia Sharpe, harvested many boxes of delicious vegetables to help provide nutritious meals to those in need. Please visit http://www.unhunger2012.org for more information about this wonderful organization or meet Justine in person at the chicken pillow booth at the Garden Spring Faire on April 28.
The Green Team is helping to get ready for our new garden next school year! The new garden will be in the shape of an L. There will be more room for growing plants like tomatoes and pumpkins, and more places to spend time just "hanging out" alone or with friends. This year, the Green Team has had to thoroughly wash all of the plants they pick because of the construction dust.
The Edna Nominating Committee is looking for a great team of parents to help with PTA activities and the board for the 2013-2014 school year. Whether you are a working parent or a work at home parent with too little or too much time on your hands (yeah, right!) there are plenty of areas in which you can contribute. Dads are encouraged! We would love to have you on this team of positive, energetic parents who are making Edna a wonderful school community. This will be even more important as we unveil our new school!
Spots are filling up quickly so don't delay if you are interested. And, if you would prefer not to head up a committee or help on the PTA Executive Board we are taking early sign ups for volunteers to help on any of these committees. Please email ednamaguirePTApositions@gmail.com.
Thomas Allen, Ella Bricker, Nathaniel Burroughs, Jack Callaghan, Caden Carney, Ethan Munter Carr, Justin Munter Carr, Paula Castillo Hi, Jack Chai, Alex Davis, Kavi Dolasia, Zadie Foskett, Carson Harrell, Skyler Mandigo-Stoba , Cole Maxson, Isabella Meagher, Jesse Mosher, Emma Palmer, Ginger Rogers, Patrick Ryan, Jack Scalisi, Sadie Scholz, Sarah Schoner, Andrew Sitrin, Sky Somers, Nara Uncapher
And the
winner is . . . . .
Thank you
to everyone who submitted names during our successful naming contest. We had
many fantastic submissions!
After
much deliberation, our chicken team decided on the names Ivy and Pearl.
Congratulations
to Hugo (Room E) and Amelia (Room 20) for naming Ivy and Sasha (Room A) for naming Pearl. Please stop by to visit Edna, Joanie,
Ivy and Pearl!
IVY
PEARL
The garden has a lot to be thankful for!
A BIG thank you to Randy Harris (Troy and Vance's dad) of Artistry In Trees (http://www.artistryintrees.com). Randy and his crew were kind enough to prune (once again!) all of the fruit trees in our garden! Thanks for keeping the garden healthy, Randy!
Thank you to Troy Lavelle (Teo's dad) for taking time out of his busy schedule to fix a broken water line in the garden this past weekend! Thank you Troy!
A final BIG thanks to all of the amazing Edna Maguire families who donated towards the garden wish list in February! Everything that we received (gift cards, fabric, work gloves, sharpies, supplies for the garden faire, etc.) was greatly needed and much appreciated! Thank you for your generosity!
The Edna Nominating Committee is looking for a great team of parents to help with PTA activities and the board for the 2013-2014 school year. Whether you are a working parent or a work at home parent with too little or too much time on your hands (yeah, right!) there are plenty of areas in which you can contribute. Dads are encouraged! We would love to have you on this team of positive, energetic parents who are making Edna a wonderful school community. This will be even more important as we unveil our new school!
Please click the link
2013-14 PTA OPENPostions.pdf and check out what positions are currently available. Spots are filling up quickly so don't delay if you are interested. And, if you would prefer not to head up a committee or help on the PTA Executive Board we are taking early sign ups for volunteers to help on any of these committees. Please email
ednamaguirePTApositions@gmail.com.
Yaseen Ashraf, Nikki Batroff, Skyler Cecchi, Joshua Clark-Hexter, Tyler Coates, Miya Cohn, Tyson Cole, Colton Creath, Braden Dalin, Benjamin Gillmer, Arabella Henderson, Kader Kayser, Ashton Kern, Ethan Lewczyk, Will Lester, Ethan Lin, Mikayla Lin, Kaitlyn Lucas, Jake Neulight, Conall Noonan, Natalie Anne Popper, Sylvia Topas Popper, Katharine Reuter, Juliana Revelli, Will Richardson, Carmen Rivera, Tillie Sanchez, Joshua Schultz, Oliver Silmore, Milana Sitrin, Benjamin Southern, Isabelle Southern, Spencer Tsuchiyama, Spencer Tsuchiyama
The Edna Nominating Committee is looking for a great team of parents to help with PTA activities and the board for the 2013-2014 school year. Whether you are a working parent or a work at home parent with too little or too much time on your hands (yeah, right!) there are plenty of areas in which you can contribute. Dads are encouraged! We would love to have you on this team of positive, energetic parents who are making Edna a wonderful school community. This will be even more important as we unveil our new school!
Please click the link and check out what positions are currently available. Current Open PTA Positions.pdf Spots are filling up quickly so don't delay if you are interested. And, if you would prefer not to head up a committee or help on the PTA Executive Board we are taking early sign ups for volunteers to help on any of these committees. Please email ednamaguirePTApositions@gmail.com.
School starts in an hour, and your child says that she/he doesn't feel well. Should you send your child to school or keep her/him home? Ask yourself, "If my child were healthy, would I want her/him near someone with these symptoms?" Robert Hockelman, M.D., contributing editor of The Merck Manual of Medical Information - Home Edition, offers these guidelines to help you decide what to do. Of course, if symptoms last longer than 24 hours or worsen, call your child's pediatrician.
Please see the chart below to know when to keep your child at home:
whentomissschool.pdf
A child should be kept home at least 24 hours after a fever and 24 hours after starting antibiotics.
From our experience we have learned that sick children seldom, if ever, gain anything by attending school. They are much better off at home where they are most likely to get the necessary care for recovery and early return to school. Keeping ill children at home also protects other children, their parents, and the school staff.
Remember: If your child needs to take medication at school, you need to send a form signed by you and your child's health care provider with the medication and instructions.
We want to acknowledge our January and February Birthday Book Club members for remembering our library on their special day!
January Birthdays
Sebastian Ames, Hugo Barberie, Brett Cardinal, Charlotte Casey , Lila Ciambriello, Cooper Embree, Kali Farnsworth, Ella Foskett, Gavin Freda, Felix Fulton, Sebastian Gillmore, Sophia Grady , Skye Guyot, Sydney Hubbard, Veronica Meagher, Christopher Newell, Lauren Olsen, Clarice Piontek, William Piontek, Nathaniel Schohn, Montgomery Tipton, Corey Whitehead, Aydan Yates
February Birthdays
Lara Akmehmet, Aidan Bass, Quinn Bass, Jake Batroff, Lainey Bloom, Ella Bogan, Mia Camacho, Luke Chase, Marco Chow Kelly Clifford, Sofia Constant, Reed Edwards, Paulina Gologorskaya, Annabelle Gulash, Diego Castillo Hi, Billy Hobson, Amelia Kiriakis, Jackson Lucas, Madison Macliver, Zoe Neulight, Cooper Scheurmann, Mckinley Scheurmann, Eli Solem, Fane Uren, Dexter Watenpaugh, Chris Wilmoth, Jacob Wright, Madeline Yates
Edna Maguire collects box tops, and you can help! Each box top is worth 10 cents! The money adds up quickly when every family pitches in. Just look for the bright pink label on food items such as Go-Gurt, Bisquick, Gold Medal Flour, Cheerios, Pull-ups and a variety of other General Mills, Pillsbury, Old El Paso and Betty Crocker products. Clip the pink coupons from the boxes, turn them in at the office, and we'll send them in for cash. It's that easy!
If you need a gift for an outdoors or athletic type, zip across the Golden Gate to Sports Basement in the Presidio! Mention our school to receive 10 percent off your purchases AND a donation of 5 percent for Edna.
Do you prefer shopping locally for the book lovers on your list? Head to Book Passage, and our school will receive a percentage of your purchases. Just mention Edna Maguire at the register.
We're a little behind, but we wanted to acknowledge all of our August-December Birthday Book Club members for remembering our library on their special day!
August Birthdays
Sam Barenbaum, Athena Bouas, Ikseong Choi, Emerson Erving, Jack Fierstein, Cole Ford, Alexander Galin, Kaia Harte, Mari Karp, Liza Lachter, Liam Ludin, Nico Lown Heitz, Marlowe Mitchell, Eleanor Octavio, Lillian Penther, Ben Porter, Annie Ravazzini, Braeden Selph, Olivia Skiles, Julian Snell, Jack Spence, Lyla Tipton, Kiyoko Ellis Williams
September Birthdays
Cooper Alley, Henry Barenbaum, Luke Bleckman, Levi Butter, Felix Clarkson, Kendall Cole, Simon Dauth, Ella Grady, Quinn Guyot, Kaden Hisanaga, Julia Jaffe, Ben Johnson, Joslyn Lazzareschi, Emily Peters, Rebecca Preis, Gracen Rivera, Luna Sanchez, Kai Smith, Creig Williges, Cassady Winchester, Tawnie Winchester
October Birthdays
Emma Barenbaum, Joshua Max Berman, Emily Conner, Gage Duchon, Maria Figueirinhas, Leah Fullerton, Anna Harrell, Lauren Marler, Juliet Rose Petter, Katie Ravazzini, Asha Sanda, Christian Schultz, Amelia Sharpe, Caroline Steele, Diego Suh, Nick Taylor, Zoe Trainer, Elizabeth Wheaton, Ava Zech
November Birthdays
Kayla Boon, Cormac Erving, Lauren Felder, Ty Fullerton, Simon Gooden, Elsa Greene, Sophie Hampton, Lauryn Ialeggio, Carley Lehman, Isabella Kiriakis, Elias Michael, Jack Moriarty, Mackenzie Pinksa, Michael Reuter, Will Schreiber, Brendan Steinhofer, Jackie Warner, Kalen Whitehead
December Birthdays
Fiona Bailey, Colton Berger, Maya Bliss Popper, Emma Bowser, Sienna Brooks, Jonah Butler, Caspar Cheung, Logan Citroen, Helena Goddard, Leo Grava, Scarlett Grava, Jaiden Grimminck, Quinn Harte, Henry Harwood, Isaiah Clark-Hexter, Torben Hoy, Sofia Johnson, Grace Levinson, Kiana Lyman, Alana Miller, Ava Miller, Aidan Newell, Charlie Osborn, Nola Palestrant, Jackson Philipp , Carson Rogers, Ellie Trainer
Super Bowl's over. But if you'd like to get off the sidelines and play a more active role in our school, this is your chance! We're recruiting volunteers to fill many open PTA Executive Board and Committee Chair positions for next year. Being part of the PTA team is a great way to put your talents to work for our school, make new friends and learn new skills. Please contact Head Coaches Simone Slattery (simtot@yahoo.com) or Nancy Felder (ronancy@pacbell.net) for more information.
Kiddo! Teacher Grants are awarded annually in support of programs that foster creative and innovative classroom teaching. This year's grants have been announced, and thanks to your donations to Kiddo! the following programs will be available at Edna Maguire this school year:
Lisa Monge - Young Author Fair - After several library lessons focused on writing, students in grades 1-5 write a short fiction piece that is their "ticket" to a half-day fair celebrating storytelling. Students further their understanding by using last year's writing as a model. The event strengthens students' writing ability and sense of community.
Anna Isler - ESGI (Educational Software for Guiding Instruction) - ESGI is an online assessment tool that allows teachers to assess all aspects of the Kindergarten curriculum, including letter sounds, numerals, patterns, shapes, coins, etc. This information can be shared with parents.
Tara Ordonez & the 1st Grade Team - American Dance Through the Decades - This weekly half-hour dance class, conducted by local dance instructor Annie Leese (Artistic Director, Performing Arts Academy of Marin), teaches 1st graders about the history of dance from the 1910s to the 1970s - from soft-shoe to disco. The class also introduces students to American culture in different periods.
Kate Kellman & 4th Grade teachers - Walk Through California - 4th graders will gain a common experience and understanding of the history of our state through an interactive, creative and fun program presented by California Weekly Explorer, Inc. Upon completion of the program, students receive an expert card, allowing them to share their knowledge with others.
For more information about the Kiddo! Teacher Grant program, visit www.kiddo.org.
The deadline to order a yearbook is January 29! We can't accept ANY orders after this date! The yearbook is an amazing keepsake of your child's journey through the school year, so don't miss out. Look for extra order forms in your child's Wednesday folders or pick one up in the front office. You can also order online at www.Jostensyearbooks.com. Questions? Contact Justine Whitehead at Lbprod@pacbell.net
We want to send a BIG THANK YOU to all of our loving Edna Maguire families. From your cards, home-baked goodies, generous gifts and well wishes, your support and incredible generosity over the holidays was very much appreciated. It's our pleasure to welcome and teach your children every day. Their warm hellos, hugs and sweet smiles make our days more special.
Wishing you all the best in 2013! - Schuyler Harvey, Elaine Harris and Taylor Schepps
From January 21 - April 13, Whole Foods (on Miller Avenue ONLY) will include Edna Maguire as a recipient of its Dimes for Donations program. The store will contribute a dime to our school every time you bring in your own bags to shop. So please be sure to buy groceries at Whole Foods on Miller and help raise money for Edna. And don't forget to bring your bags!
When you open your presents this holiday season, please consider saving your ribbons so that the Mill Valley Children's Garden can re-use them to make fairy wands and wrap prizes for the Spring Faire!
A collection box will be in the main office through January 11th. Any color and length welcome!
Reduce - Reuse - Recycle! THANK YOU!
Just a reminder that school will be closed from Friday, December 21, through Friday, January 4. Have a fun and relaxing break--and Happy Holidays!
Yearbooks make great holiday gifts! Don't miss out on getting a copy of this amazing keepsake of your child's school year. The deadline for ordering is January 29!! Order today by downloading and completing this form or go to www.Jostens.com and order online! Questions? Please e-mail Justine Whitehead atLbprod@pacbell.net
This holiday season, we've got three ways you can shop for the holidays--and give a gift to Edna at the same time!
Treat yourself to hassle-free shopping on Amazon, and 10 percent of your total purchases will go to our school. And yes, this means ALL purchases, not just books. You're sure to find something to please everyone on your gift list. Just enter Amazon.com through this link or the Amazon School Rewards Program link on our home page. Be sure to share the link with your friends and family--their Amazon purchases can support Edna, too! Please Note: When you enter Amazon.com through our link, your Amazon page won't look any different. Don't worry--as long as you click on the link to get on Amazon, Edna will get credit for your purchases!
Prefer shopping locally for the book lovers on your list? Head to Book Passage, and our school will receive a percentage of your purchases. Just mention Edna Maguire at the register.
And if you need a gift for an outdoors or athletic type, zip across the Golden Gate to Sports Basement in the Presidio! Mention our school to receive 10 percent off your purchases AND a donation of 5 percent for Edna.
Everyone wins when you shop at our business partners for the holidays.
After nearly three years on the job, Dorothy O'Donnell, our Pony Express editor, needs to hand over the reins to someone new in 2013. Maybe you? If you have solid editing skills, a flair for writing and work well with others, consider becoming part of the communications team that produces Edna's bi-weekly parent newsletter. Experience using content management or blogging platforms is desirable, but not necessary. Please contact Dorothy at dorothyodonnell@comcast.net if you're interested!
Please be aware that meals ordered through Choicelunch are not saved after regular lunch hours unless you make special arrangements with your child's teacher in advance. If your child doesn't pick up his or her lunch by 12:30 p.m., it will go back to Choicelunch.
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with Edna Maguire's attendance and tardies policies:
Attendance and Absences
If your child will be absent from school, please call our 24-hour Attendance Line (389-7733 ext. 2690). Children who are ill should NOT be in school, and we appreciate you keeping them home to rest and get better. Please report prolonged illnesses or communicable diseases to the office as soon as possible!
Did you know that three unexcused absences is truancy? We urge you to plan trips to visit relatives, vacations, doctor and dentist appointments, and other days off during scheduled school breaks. We are committed to all of our students, and being here at school is necessary for their success.
Student Tardies
Students who arrive on campus after 8:30 should go DIRECTLY to the office to sign in and receive a late pass to class. Otherwise, we don't know that your child is here, and he or she will be marked absent in the attendance system. Thank you for your continued support of your child's education and success.
With the holidays quickly approaching, it's the perfect time for Edna students to reflect upon how truly fortunate they are. Last week, classes wrote what they were thankful for on a "leaf" and attached it to the tree painted outside of Room A.
If you haven't already, make sure you stop by to take a look! Who knows, you might even find inspiration for an answer to give over that turkey dinner when asked, "What are you thankful for this year?"
Haven't ordered a yearbook yet? The yearbook is an amazing keepsake of your child's entire school year! Order today by filling out a form from the Edna Website or go to www.Jostens.com and order online! If you have questions, please e-mail Justine Whitehead atLbprod@pacbell.net
Last month's International Walk and Roll to School Day was a BIG success. Let's keep the momentum going by committing to GO GREEN to school every Wednesday. Bundle up and help reduce the traffic in front of our school while starting your day with some fresh air and exercise! We encourage you to walk or bike at least once a week with your family, friends or neighbors. Once you get in the habit, you may even want to make it a multiple-day activity!
Edna families donated many pounds of lollipops, chocolates, and chews to Blue Star Moms of Marin (an organization run by mothers of enlisted soldiers) during our Halloween Candy Drive. It was especially sweet to see students taking candy right out of their lunch boxes to contribute. The collected candy will be included in care packages being sent to soldiers stationed overseas for the holidays. Thanks to all who donated to the drive!
With the school year in full swing, we're impressed with how well carline has been running so far! Please be aware that BOTH lanes of the driveway leading to our school are intended for carline users during pick up and drop off times. Here are a few other reminders that will help keep carline running smoothly:
Volunteer for your classroom's four shifts on the carline Signup Genius page.
Pull up as far as possible in the line, have your children ready to exit quickly and wait until you're at the curb to let them out.
Stay in your car and let the volunteers help your children in and out of your vehicle
Don't double park in the lot to drop off or pick up your children.
Remind your children to come straight down to the lot after school when you're picking them up at carline.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Every April, our popular Spring Faire is held in Edna's beautiful Children's Garden. We are seeking two creative, energetic people to "shadow" our current Spring Faire organizers and take over their positions for the 2013-14 school year. This is a great opportunity to play a key role in a fun, community-building event that helps fund the upkeep of our garden! Parents of kindergarten and first-grade students are especially encouraged to jump in and learn the ropes.
Here are the two positions we need to fill:
1. Managing and Directing the Faire
• Organize and staff various games and activities.
• Book musicians
• Come up with theme and complementary decorations
• Manage Bake-Off and other contests
2. Publicity
• Create posters/flyers and distribute them to area schools and community
• Put ads for the Faire in local newspapers
• Staff ticket booth and track money generated by ticket sales
Please contact Barbara Bleckman (barbaracrampton@comcast.net) for more information or to sign on.
Your kids ran a long way for our school. And the money they're helping us raise will go a long way toward funding classroom supplies, assemblies, P.E. equipment, books, technology, field trips and much, much more! Steeplechase is Edna's ONLY PTA fundraiser for the year! If you haven't already done so, please turn in your packets to the office or your child's teacher ASAP. Help your child's class reach their 100% participation goal. EVERY donation gets us one step closer to our fundraising goal of $135,500. Thank you for helping us build an even better Edna!
Students who weren't in school on picture day last month can get their individual photos taken on Friday, November 2 between 8:40 a.m. and noon.
Bring your extra Halloween loot to school on Friday, November 2. Your lollipops and candy bars will sweeten the day of our brave soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. Look for donation tables near the office and 5th grade portables before and after school. Blue Star Moms of Marin (an organization run by mothers of enlisted soldiers), will ship the candy for free! If you have any questions or would like to help collect donations, please contact Karen Olson
That's right -- fourth grade is sponsoring the Garden Work Day on Sunday, November 4, from 2 to 4 p.m. It's your chance to make your mark and prep the garden for winter. Get outdoors, get a little dirty and have fun working with your classmates, friends and teachers. Whole Foods will provide drinks and snacks.
Oh yeah...there's one more thing - you'll probably want to win THE GARDEN CONTEST! The sponsoring grade with the biggest turnout of students for their Garden Work Day wins a party--pizza or ice cream - at the end of the year! So tell your friends (especially your fellow fourth graders), bring your family and come out for a great Sunday afternoon. As always, all other grades are welcome! Contact Saor Stetler for more information.
The Edna Maguire logo can be added to almost any Lands' End item that can be embroidered for an additional $5.50. To see all items, go to the Lands' End school uniform page
When ordering, JOIN the Land's end school rewards.
1. find our school's dress code
2. save school
3. create account
4. sign in-- a web page appears with Edna Maguire information
For questions about ordering, contact Lands' End directly at 1-800-963-4816.
Calling all garden lovers! Please join us in the Children's' Garden every Wednesday--starting this week-- from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. to weed and tackle small projects.
The Wednesday Weeders crew is ideal for volunteers who need a flexible schedule, wish to work alongside other adults and enjoy being outdoors and helping the garden. Although gardening experience is helpful, it's not necessary. Come as often as you like--we'll provide the gloves and tools!
Please come prepared to do light physical work and dressed appropriately for the weather (we will not meet on rainy days). For more information, contact Leslie Myers at lesliewmyers@yahoo.com.
We need to borrow a flatbed or other large truck to pick up the equipment for marking off the course for Steeplechase. If you have a truck we can borrow from around 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the day of Steeplechase (October 19) we would GREATLY appreciate it.
And if you are free that day to be part of the team that is picking up the equipment and setting up the course, even better. But if that's not possible, then just the truck would be fantastic. Please contact Nancy Felder ASAP at 342-5251 or ronancy@pacbell.net
As a card-carrying PTA member, you can take advantage of some great discounts! Download the PTA_Perks.pdf to check them out. And stop by the front office to get your PTA card or contact Simone Slattery simtot@yahoo.com or Nancy Felder ronancy@pacbell.net
We are pleased to announce that the school crossing guards at the Lomita/Blithedale and Camino Alto/Sycamore intersections will stay on duty longer in the afternoons to ensure the safety of our kids. Here is the new crossing guard schedule:
Mornings
Daily: 7:35 to 8:30
Afternoons
Monday and Friday: 2:15 to 3:20
Wednesday: 1:10 to 2:20
Tuesday and Thursday: 2:45 to 3:45
If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to complete your one-stop PTA shopping forms, volunteer forms--or go online to volunteer for PTA events--and permission slips. If you misplaced the copies included in your first-day packet, you can download them here. It's especially important to turn in your PTA permission slips. Doing so ensures that your child can join in all the fun, fantastic and fabulous events happening at Edna this year. EVERY student needs a signed permission slip to participate in ANY PTA activity, including Steeplechase, which is coming up next month.
It's hard to imagine Edna without the many events like Book Fair, the Art Show, Science Fair, Spring Faire and more that make our school so special. We need YOUR help to ensure they continue! Make a commitment--even a small one--and have fun while helping our school. Just go to signupgenius.com to volunteer for an event or activity online. If you don't already have a SignUpGenius account, click here to get directions--it's fast and easy. Please contact Daisy Scholz (daisyzoe@yahoo.com) if you have problems signing up online or have questions.
Your contribution of $7 per child helps us provide emergency supplies for every Edna student. The money enables us to keep a well-stocked inventory of up-to-date medical supplies, blankets, snacks and other essential items. It also goes toward the expense of maintaining the emergency supplies container and water tank. And it helps us cover the costs for students requiring financial assistance. If you haven't yet done so, please help us meet our kids' safety needs by making your contribution today!
The Parks & Recreation's Enrichment Program is offering after school Supervised Play on the Edna campus, Monday through Friday. Supervised Play is from 2:50 - 4:30 p.m. every day (except Wednesday when it will start at 1:50 p.m.).
Due to construction, all other Enrichment Classes will be held next door at Ring Mountain School. Classes begin at 3:30 p.m. on September 24 and are open to students from both schools. Edna Maguire students signed up for enrichment classes will meet at the Supervised Play classroom to be escorted to Ring Mountain by a staff member. If your child is taking an enrichment class, please pick him or her up at Ring Mountain. Students taking Wednesday enrichment classes must also sign- up for Wednesday Supervised Play.
To register for classes, stop by the Community Center or go online. Please call Mill Valley Parks & Recreation at 383-1370 if you have questions.
Regular attendance plays an important role in student achievement. If your child has an unexcused absence, he will be responsible for making up any work he missed. With enough notice, teachers will try to provide students with assignments and homework during an absence. However, many assignments can't be made up, which may negatively affect a student's grades.
Students who are out of school due to unexcused absences for more than 15 consecutive student school days will be removed from their school rolls. They must re-enroll with the district upon return. There's no guarantee that, upon re-enrolling, a student will return to the school and class that she left.
Steeplechase, Edna's main fundraiser, is right around the corner! If you're a business owner or work for a local business, please consider sponsoring our Steeplechase t-shirts! Sponsorships are a great way to increase exposure for your company while helping our school. They're available for $200, $400 or $600. Just fill out this form and return it to the front office by September 21. Questions? Please call Nancy Felder (342-5251). Thank you for your support!
Mill Valley Middle School tours begin in November. They fill up quickly, so sign up soon. The tours are open to parents of fifth grade students ONLY. Download the Fifth Grade Tours.pdf for dates and times.
We want to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to Leslie Myers and Laura Figueirinhas for going above and beyond the call of duty in caring for the garden this summer. These ladies watered the garden even when construction shut down power and irrigation; kept everything organized and tended to the plants; and prepped it for the new school year. Our garden wouldn't be the treasure it is without these special helpers working their magic! Thanks also to Lauren Marler and her family for taking Edna's hens "under their wing" for the summer.
Who says PTA membership doesn't have its perks? Check out some of the exciting discounts you and your family can enjoy this summer!
Don't forget Edna while shopping for summer clothing, sports equipment or books for the beach! Sports Basement in the Presidio will give you 10% off your purchase when you ask for the "Edna Maguire School" discount at checkout. Plus, they'll contribute 5% to our school! (We earned over $150 this year)! In addition, we receive 5% back from Amazon when you shop through the link on our home page and 5% of sales from Book Passage. Summer shopping that saves you money AND raises money for our school-- now THAT'S a sizzling deal!
Here's an easy way to help our school earn money over the summer: Clip and save those bright pink box tops! Look for them on General Mills (Cheerios, Kix, Chex, Fiber One), Yoplait Gogurt, Pillsbury, Ziploc and other brands. Then turn them in at the school office. Each box top is worth 10 cents for Edna Maguire. It may not sound like much, but when everyone pitches in, the earnings add up quickly!
Due to construction, Supervised Play will be the ONLY after school enrichment class offered on our campus by Mill Valley Parks and Recreation next year. You are welcome to sign your child up for enrichment classes at any other district schools or the Mill Valley Community Center.
As always, the garden was buzzing with activity throughout the school year. Every grade had the opportunity to participate in a variety of projects in our beautiful outdoor classroom. Here's a recap of what they were up to:
Kindergarteners: Planted a butterfly garden for the butterflies they raised and released.
First-graders: Released 45,000 ladybugs to complement their insect anatomy studies and better appreciate how these bugs benefit organic gardens.
Second-graders: Started new worm bins with 15,000 new worms; oversaw the bins as the worms decomposed food waste and created rich fertilizer.
Third-graders: Planted a Three Sisters Garden based on traditional Native American farming methods. The project complemented their study of Native Americans and taught them about symbiotic plants.
Fourth-graders: Planted a Sunflower Fort as part of a project sponsored by the UCSF Great Sunflower Project. They also conducted a bee count and planted new horseradish and asparagus beds.
Fifth graders: Grew potatoes in potato cages and performed general garden tasks, including creating compost; building a new herb garden; planting fava and pumpkin patches; pruning the roses and trees; and harvesting. Plus lots of eating!
Edna students went all out on last Friday's Dollar Day for Haiti. Thanks to your generosity, we raised $377.86! This money will go to the organization Sionfonds for Haiti to pay school tuition for several Haitian children. We are proud to say that the Edna community has helped make a difference in a country that is still reeling from the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Thanks to all of you who gave the library the gift of a book on YOUR special day!
May
Ilayda Akmehmet, Hannah Alpert, Olivia Bleckman , Gabrielle Bukary, Chloe Carney, Tim Clifford, Tim Coen, Nathan Derich, Cameron Ford, Mac Kayser, Vasco Paul Lazzareschi, Sarah McAvoy, Liam Moeller, Willem Palmer, Charlie Peters, Alexander Podesta, Summer Polster, Jack Porter, Watts Richmond, Sabina Safavi, Nathan Slattery, Noah Solem, Kacea Stetler, Kassidy Stetler, Tatum Treais, Iago Zamudio Troncoso
June
Kekoa Ahumada, Henry Basnight, Owen Bourdages, Casey Brandt, Jake Buxton, Tyler Buxton, Maeve Cain, Ethan Chase, Mila Cheung, Luca Fazio, Walker Frisbie, Maggie Griffis, Kacie Krasniewz, Max Krenz, Jacob Levinson, Annabel Lieser, Bryce Mason, Garrett Mason, Marlo Nanola, Zachary Naterman, Grace Newman, Ally Niquette, Nicholas Norbutas, Olivia Page, Andrew Parker, Sadie Rosenthal, Carly Schultz, Maury Schultz, Lorenzo Soleri, Mikaela Stern, Macy Taylor, Miguel (Mickey) Lemus Temer, Ry Tibbs, Carly Toole, Danil Wells
July
Lucy Allen, Justin Alley, Abigail Alpert, Adnan Ashraf, Jonas Barnes, Ellery Barres, Will Basnight, Dylan Boon, Gabrielle Brandt, Kyra Carney, Hayden Chamberlain, Owen Constant, Vincent Crosetti, Mula Dalin, Jake Donohue, Zuzu Duchon, Andrew Dunne, Jason Dunne, Hannah Gillmer, David Hampton, Oliver Harwood, Luke Jessup, Elan Levine, JT Lieser, Tomas Ludin, Hudson Nanola, Sydney Philipp, Emma Pollack, Graham Ross, Jackson Slomiak, Jack Robert Spence, Kyle Wong
Where would we be without the Pony Express newsletter; the Pony Scan and Plan; our school calendar and website? They keep us up-to-date on everything that's happening at Edna, in the MVSD and the community. Most of us reap the benefits of this information without thinking about the countless hours--including weekends and holidays-- our communications team spends putting it together. Many thanks to Linda Dunne, Janie Karp, Dorothy O'Donnell, Tim Schultz, Simone Slattery and Tom Slattery for keeping us informed!
Another GREAT school year is coming to a close and we couldn't have accomplished so much without YOUR support. Your volunteer service and Steeplechase dollars made a HUGE difference for our students. Thank you! The following parents, however, went above and beyond the rest of us this year. Please take a moment to thank them for their dedication!
PTA Executive Board
Janie Karp, Simone Slattery, Lisa Zimmer, Jen Miller, Stirling Somers, Karen Carr, Kit Harris, Nancy Felder, Jeannine Berman, Christine Freda, Christine Cole, Mari Allen, Kathy Bishop, Michelle Barenbaum, Carrie Morgan, Caitlin Smith, Saor Stetler, Christine Brandt
PTA Committee Chairs
Shaila DeLeede, Michelle Zimmerman, Lisa Stapp, Janie Karp, Gary Batroff, Trina Rivera, Mari Allen, Jessica Ryan, Christine Freda, Lyra Kelly, Christine Brandt, Linda Dunne, Sasha Eakle, Lisa Barnes, Anne Buxton, Jon Cronander, Stirling Somers, Cathy Wilmoth, Suzanne Alpert, Saor Stetler, Liz Harrell, Merrie Jaffe, Caitlin Smith, Kit Harris, Sean Norton, Tracy Ginther, Charlie Wilmoth, Dorothy O'Donnell, Tim Schultz, Karen Carr, Anna Zarraonandia, Deborah Huber, Johanna Southern, Sunyoung Park, Barbara Bleckman, Karen Olson, Lisa Gilmore, Tina Taylor, Kathy Sonderby, Daisy Scholz, Justine Whitehead
Room Parents
Nancy Felder, Jenny Kelly, Maija Muncy, Alex Reuter, Julie Winchester, Kim Hobson, Vyvianne Kiriakis, Jennifer Boon, Christine Berg, Mara Conner, Jennifer Gillmer, Jennifer Miller, Leslie Ford, Rena Chase, Tina Taylor, Karen Carr, Charity Smart, Kristi Duchon, Ronnie Sharpe, Kirsten Treais, Trina Rivera, Heidi Longo, Mary Arnold, Laura Bowman, Nicole Ferguson, Shaila DeLeede, Julie McCrady, Michelle Zimmerman, Amy Bonetti Price
Mill Valley School Board Liaisons
Leslie Wachtel, Robin Moses, Judy Sherman
Thank you to our fantastic team of volunteer photographers for capturing so many special moments during this year's school events: Kathy Bishop, Mike Bishop, John Carney, Mara Conner, Kristi Duchon, Sasha Eakle, Nancy Ericsson, Deborah Huber. Rebecca Hutchins, Janie Karp, Jenny Kelly, Ann Mason, Sunyoung Park, Daina Selph, Ronnie Sharpe, Simone Slattery and Justine Whitehead.
Get some great deals on unclaimed clothing and other items during our final lost and found rummage sale of the year! All profits support the PTA.
Thanks to the Edna teachers and parents who bought supplies for various events this year. If you wish to be reimbursed for your purchases, please turn in your receipts with a completed reimbursement form to the PTA Treasurer's (Jeannine Berman) mailbox in the office.
Wondering where all those PTA dollars you helped raise this year went? They provided students with everything from basic classroom supplies--like pencils, pens, glue, etc.--to special equipment such as iPads and laptops for students and teachers. They also paid for special people like our garden/science consultant and covered the cost of our Visual Thinking Strategy curriculum. And they allowed us to bring our students many special assemblies, including Perfection on Wheels trick bikes, math magician Dan Chan, A Touch of Understanding disability awareness program for fourth-graders and two days of USPTA tennis instruction for all grades.
Your PTA dollars also funded popular annual events such as the Dr. Seuss Café; Book Fair; Family Science Night; the Art Show; Donuts with Dads; Muffins with Moms; and the Variety Show, to name just a few. And they paid for emergency supplies, parent education speakers, recess equipment, the yearbook, teacher appreciation, professional development for teachers and much, much more!
Your money also allowed each grade level to augment its specific curriculum with field trips, special experiences, projects and visits from experts:
Kindergarten: Richardson Bay Audubon Center; Outdoor Learning Consultant Rebecca Mullaney
First Grade: Wonderful Whales; Edventure More-Oobleck; Wacky Weather and Ice Cream; Explode the Code workbooks; Hoedown; Versatile; Science Books
Second Grade: Poetry with Sasha Eakle; Edventure More-Stomp Rockets; Fractals and Magnets
Third Grade: Native American Storytelling and Crafts; Edventure More-Stomp Rockets; Susan Johnson-Light and Color;Art Project on Heroes and "Goodbye Edna" with Tory Canby; Poetry with Sasha Eakle; Outdoor Learning Consultant Rebecca Mullaney
Fourth Grade: Point Bonita; Oakland Museum-California Indian Lifeways; Mission Dolores; Tiburon Salmon Institute, Edventure More-Pickle Power; Edventure More-Exploding Volcanoes; Beach Clean-Up; three class sets of headphones; Sutter's Fort
Fifth Grade: Ricca Wolfe-America Sings; Ancient Artifact; strengthened classroom libraries to better support Common Core Standards; replenished science materials; Walker Creek; graduation
Our second-graders will enjoy a well-deserved ice cream party for having the biggest turnout for their grade's garden work days! Way to go, guys! And thanks to everyone else who showed up to work in the garden this year. Your support helps our garden thrive!
The results of the Marin Municipal Water District's (MMWD) Cultural Studies investigation for the mainline replacement project on Lomita Avenue showed that further careful excavation is needed. MMWD will excavate a 30-foot trench at the Lomita /Lomita intersection in front of our school. It expects to start the archaeological work on May 28 and complete it on June 1. Traffic controls will be in place during the excavation.
The full mainline project will begin at Shell Road on June 18. If you have questions or concerns about this project, please contact Kevin McDonnell, Senior Engineer, Marin Municipal Water District at 945-1576.
The School Board voted unanimously to place a $196.00 parcel tax on the November, 2012 ballot. The parcel tax will bring in approximately 1.9 million dollars per year for the next eight years. Faced with over three million dollars of state budget cuts in the last three years, the District has employed a "Shared Sacrifices, Shared Solutions" model this year and has been successful in trimming costs and increasing revenue. The parcel tax is one piece of the solution that also includes increased contributions from Kiddo! and PTAs; negotiations with teachers; and budget cuts at the district level.
We are lucky to live in a town where education is valued and where administration, teachers, parents and Kiddo! are working together to keep Mill Valley schools exceptional. See the Mill Valley Patch article for more information about the upcoming parcel tax.
All library books are due by Friday, May 25. Thank you for returning your books on time!
As we look ahead to next year's classroom placements, we realize some parents may have a particular teacher in mind for their child or want him to be in the same class as a friend. All of our teachers are wonderful. And part of what makes them that way is their wide variety of teaching styles. We believe your child will benefit most by working with all kinds of "mentors" during her years at Edna.
Our staff spends many hours working in teams to create balanced classes comprised of students with varying interests, needs, strengths and cultural backgrounds. We also take a team approach to placing children with special needs (such as physical, emotional or learning differences) in classes that will best accommodate them.
Once classes are set, we will NOT MAKE CHANGES unless there is a truly unusual situation that has been thoroughly discussed with the parents, teacher, principal and superintendent. Even then, no changes will be made during the first two weeks of school. Generally, we find that once students settle into their new class, they acclimate quickly and make new friends. They can always see their other friends during recesses, field trips or other school activities.
Please do not put your child's teacher in an awkward position by making special placement requests. They cannot promise matches with personnel or other students.
We ask for your trust and thank you for respecting our professional judgment.
Lisa Zimmer
Mill Valley School District Principals
Here's an easy way to help our school earn money over the summer: Clip and save those bright pink box tops! Look for them on General Mills (Cheerios, Kix, Chex, Fiber One), Yoplait Gogurt, Pillsbury, Ziploc and other brands. Then turn them in at the school office. Each box top is worth10 cents for Edna Maguire. It may not sound like much, but when everyone pitches in, the earnings add up quickly!
You can purchase Edna Spirit Wear at Landsend.com via our home page. Just click the link to see all the cool stuff you can get with the Edna logo embroidered on it. On Thursday, May 24, we'll have some of these items on display in the front office. So come by at drop off or pick up and check them out! Now's the time to stock up so you can show your school pride at the Celebrate Edna Party!
A GREAT BIG THANKS to all the families who helped the Children's Garden via our Garden Wish Wall. We received all kinds of helpful items, including new garden gloves, chalkboard paint, buckets, curriculum supplies, tools and more. Your generosity and support helps keep our garden growing!
Our recent Spring Garden Faire was truly a magical day. Attendees enjoyed luscious desserts; great live music; a funny magician; and fabulous crafts, activities and games. Plus perfect warm, sunny weather!
It took nearly 100 people to put the Faire together. Funds raised will help maintain our beautiful garden. Many thanks to all who made this fun-filled day for our community a success: The bakers; judges; crafters; volunteer coordinators; booth staff; prize collectors and wrappers; garden parents; teachers; set-up and tear-down helpers; decorators; shoppers; weeders; photographers; sign makers and hangers; musicians; and our Master Gardener. And thanks to our children and the whole Edna community!
Sincerely,
Barbara Bleckman
Lisa Gilmore
Karen Olsen
Thank you to all who helped create the 2012 yearbook-- and preserved amazing memories for our kids!
Leslie Fielder
Lisa Zimmer
Mike Bishop
Chloé Lagier
Nancy Ericsson
Kristi Duchon
John Carney
Michelle Zimmermann
Mara Conner
Julie McCrady
Mari Allen
Suzanne Alpert
Sunyoung Park
Lisa Gilmore
Ronnie Sharpe
Maddie Stranger
Rebecca Hutchins
Jenny Kelly
Daina Selph
Jacqueline Domin
Karen Carr
The Room Parents
The Student Council
The Event Photographers
With Much Gratitude,
Justine Whitehead & The PTA
The results of the Marin Municipal Water District's (MMWD) Cultural Studies investigation for the mainline replacement project on Lomita Avenue showed that further careful excavation is needed. MMWD will excavate a 30-foot trench at the Lomita /Lomita intersection in front of our school. It expects to start the archaeological work on May 28 and complete it on June 1. Traffic controls will be in place during the excavation.
The full mainline project will begin at Shell Road on June 18. If you have questions or concerns about this project, please contact Kevin McDonnell, Senior Engineer, Marin Municipal Water District at 945-1576.
We need your gently used soccer balls, footballs and basketballs! It's spring-cleaning time, and if you've got excess athletic equipment cluttering your garage, this is the perfect chance to get rid of it. Donations can be dropped off in the box in front of the office. Questions? Contact Karen Carr at karenmuntercarr@yahoo.com.
On Monday, May 14, Edna's Garden Club and Green Team are sponsoring a Six-Part Plant Fest. All six parts of plants will be represented at this tasty event and ready to snack on. For example, we might have carrots, edible flowers, celery, pumpkin seeds, snow peas, and lettuce leaves to roll up together in a six-part plant veggie burrito.
Rebecca, a garden consultant, and her friend will be helping with this event. But we need more volunteers! We are hoping each class can provide TWO PARENTS to accompany students to the garden, help serve the veggie burrito and keep the line moving. Please click here to sign up online and join us at the fest!
Thanks to ALL the Edna students and families who participated in this year's Go Green to School Contest! The results have been tallied, and the following classes had the highest percentage of kids who traveled green to school during the contest:
First place: Mrs. Lackey's third- grade class (80%)
Second place: Mrs. Carr's second- grade class (62%)
Third place: Mrs. Sprague's fourth-grade class (61%)
On April 5-6, Edna Maguire fourth graders participated in Sutter's Fort Environmental Living Program in Sacramento. Our school was the ONLY one from Marin County to have this honor. It wouldn't have been possible without our dedicated teachers and parent volunteer docents, as well as contributions from local vendors and financial supporters. We would like to extend our deep gratitude to all who made this amazing experience possible for our students:
Teachers - Anne Eshoff, Schyuler Harvey, Kate Sprague and Michael Stachon
Administrators - Leslie Fielder and Lisa Zimmer
Parents - The 50+ parent volunteer docents who made the event a true success and the parents who contributed to the scholarship fund that supported our students
Vendors - Whole Foods, Bandera Restaurant, Orchard Star Farms, Star Route Farms, Mill Valley Lumber and Rocco's Pizza for contributing food and other products.
And, last but not least, a HUGE thank you to parent Stirling Somers for coordinating this event!
Last month's Young Authors' Fair was a big hit! Students rotated through three stations where they made leather bookmarks with art teacher Katie Mostert, listened to storytelling with Edna library aide Anne Fretes and worked on an illustration and author's page. Students also had time to read each others'stories. The event concluded with a presentation by popular children's author Mac Barnett!
A young author shows off his book.
Students enjoyed listening to stories.
Fifth grade teacher Adam Sanchez and Mrs. Misakian, his elementary school librarian.
Thank you to Edna's young scientists for making the second annual Edna Maguire Science Fair a resounding success! Participants first shared their work with UCSF scientists Eddie Sosa, Rahul Aggarwal, Mike Mason (dad of second-graders Bryce and Garrett), Katie Koepfgen and Chuck Ryan (dad of second-grader Patrick).
We learned all about static electricity; which bubble gum blows the biggest bubbles; which wipes clean the best, whether food cooks faster in water or oil; if heavier or lighter objects land first when they're dropped--and much, much more!
Kudos to ALL our curious, inventive and hard-working scientists:
Kayla Alizadeh, Abigail Alpert, Aliyah Bassa, Nikki Batroff, Lily Bowman, Ella Bricker, Natalie Bricker, Jasper Brown, Maeve Cain, Chloe Carney, Kyra Carney, Jack Chai, Olivia Chamberlain, Rory Cronander, Alex Dargan. Ella Foskett, Grace Furey-Peters, Audrey Herrera, Mari Karp, Cassi Kelly, Carina Kelly, Henry Lawrence, Cate Lebsock, Stefan Lemme, Thomas Ludin, Keri Nakae, Fiona Norton, Summer Polster, Gracen Rivera, Will Schreiber, Amelia Sharpe, Andrew Sitrin, Tatum Treais, Corey Whitehead, Kalen Whitehead, Rachel Whitelaw and Chris Wilmoth.
Students shared their projects at last month's Science Fair.
See some more pictures of the fair
here.
Thanks to the Edna teachers and parents who bought supplies for various events this year. If you wish to be reimbursed for your purchases, please turn in your receipts with a completed reimbursement form to the PTA Treasurer's (Jeannine Berman) mailbox in the office. Thanks!
Don't forget Edna while shopping for summer clothing, sports equipment or books for the beach! Sports Basement in the Presidio will give you 10% off your purchase when you ask for the "Edna Maguire School" discount at checkout. Plus, they'll contribute 5% to our school! (We earned over $150 this year)! In addition, we receive 5% back from Amazon when you shop through the link on our home page and 5% of sales from Book Passage. Summer shopping that saves you money AND raises money for our school-- now THAT'S a sizzling deal!
Fourth graders Tessa Keane and Emily Peters were recently featured in the Mill Valley Patch for their generous efforts to help others. The pair donated $200 they raised selling lemonade last summer to California Pacific Medical Center's Pediatric Specialty Clinic. Awesome job, girls! Click here to read their inspiring story!
California Standards Tests (CSTs) begin April 24 and end May 18 for 2nd through 5th grade. They measure students' progress toward achieving California's state-adopted academic content standards in English-language arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and history-social science, which describe what students should know and be able to do in each grade and subject tested by the end of the school year. Testing times and dates during this window will be determined by your child's teacher. Please check in with them if you have additional questions.
Are you interested in meeting new families and making new friends at Edna? Everything great that happens at Edna happens because people care enough to put in the time. The teachers, staff and parents- together, we ARE the PTA!
The Edna PTA needs a Financial Secretary who will:
- Verify funds received by the PTA
- Open, review and deposit funds from First Day Packets
- Maintain excel spreadsheets of all deposits
- Open and review all bank statements
- Deposit funds into bank and report this information to Treasurer who maintains PTA's financial records
- File for matching funds applied for by donors
- Communicate with yearbook, birthday book and emergency preparedness committees with regard to funds collected
- Prepare information for the PTA Auditor and President as needed and review monthly bank statements at the beginning of every month
- Attend monthly PTA meetings
The hours for this position are dependent on the time of year. The busiest times are the beginning of the school year and during the Steeplechase campaign. During the busiest times the position may require 2 hours per day multiple times per week and during the rest of the year, 1-2 hours per week. This position requires basic excel skills.
Please contact Simone Slattery at simtot@yahoo.com if you're interested or have questions.
On the front lines and behind the scenes, Edna administrators Leslie Fielder and Elaine Harris do so much for our kids and school. They deserve our appreciation ALL the time, but especially during Administrative Professionals Week. Please stop by the office to thank them for all they do!
Our third, fourth and fifth grade scientists have been working hard on their experiments for Edna's second annual Science Fair. They'll present their final projects to UCSF scientists who will review and discuss each entry. Our young scientists will then share their work with the Edna community. Come and check out their exciting projects at the Science Fair Open House, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the lab (AKA the multi-purpose room)!
Join us for a magical afternoon at the Spring Garden Faire! Featuring great activities such as wood sculpting, fairy-house building and, of course, our famous bake off, this event is always a hit with families.
We need PRIZES! If you work for, or know of, a business that would be willing to donate a prize, please contact Barbara Crampton
The Innovative Teaching Fund (ITF) is a line item of the PTA budget designated specifically for teachers to use toward unique educational programs. This year, a total of $3000 was allocated to the ITF, and every penny has been spent. Below is a list of grades/programs that received grants:
• Library
• Kindergarten
• Third Grade-Third Grade Play
• Fourth Grade-MAPs Assessment and Data Tracking
• Green Team-6 Part Plant Festival
• Young Authors' Fair
Thank you, PTA, for helping to fund these programs, activities and resources! If you have questions regarding the Innovative Teaching Fund, please contact ITF Coordinators, Merrie Jaffe and Mari Allen
Be part of the team that keeps our website up to date and assist with formatting and distributing our bi-weekly newsletter, the Pony Express. We're looking for someone to train with our current web guru,Tim Schultz, to serve as a back-up web master. For a small time commitment, you'll be helping our school in a big way!
Desired Qualifications:
Coding HTML in a text editor
Comfortable with FTP
Familiar (ideally) with e-mail programs like Vertical Response and blog platforms like Movable Type
Some web development experience
If you're interested in the positions, please contact Tim at timschultz3501@yahoo.com.
Calling all bakers! The Garden Faire, with its popular Bake Off, is right around the corner. So whip up one of your favorite creations and enter it in the contest for a chance to win some great prizes!
Lands' End hooded sweatshirts and fleece wear embroidered with an Edna Maguire logo are perfect for our quick-to-change spring weather! And they're just a couple of the many items you can order with a logo. Click here to see some examples. Choose from two different designs: the Edna Maguire Mustang or our school name with a horse. Adding a logo costs $5.50. You can also monogram purchases for $6.
Just go to the Lands' End website and enter the Edna Maguire school code 900129768 into the "preferred school code" field of the order form. For questions about ordering, contact Lands' End directly at 1-800-963-4816.
A big thanks to all of you who shared your special day with our library with the gift of a book in your name!
February Birthdays
Lara Akemehmet
Lainey Bloom
Luke Chase
Arianna Chitsaz
Kelly Clifford
Sofia Constant
Polina Gologorskaya
Jackson Lucas
Zoe Neulight
Henri Penther
Cooper Scheuermann
McKinley Scheuermann
Fane Uren
Griffin Vernali
Dexter Watenpaugh
Chris Wilmoth
March Birthdays
Hannah Bishop
Jake Bourdages
Joshua Clark-Hester
Tyson Cole
Julia Collins
Braden Dalia
John Frisbie
Benjamin Gillmer
Kader Kayser
Maggie Jane Kelly
Will Lester
Ethan Lewczyk
Ethan Lin
Mikayla Lin
Kaitlyn Lucas
Jake Neulight
Conall Noonan
Dylan Palmer
Will Richardson
Tillie Sanchez
Piper Santos
Joshua Schultz
Oliver Silmore
Milana Sitrin
Benjamin Southern
Isabelle Southern
Spencer Tsuchiyama
April Birthdays
Thomas Allen
Ella Bricker
Aron Bukary
Nathaniel Burroughs
Caden Carney
Ethan Carr
Justin Carr
Jack Chai
Pavinee Chaimanont
Bryer Chalstrom
Alex Davis
Kavi Dolasia
Amanda do Valle
Zadie Foskett
Carson Harrell
Caitlyn Kennedy
Skye Mandigo-Stoba
Isabella Meagher
Jesse Mosher
Emma Palmer
Ginger Rogers
Patrick Ryan
Sadie Scholz
Sarah Schoner
Andrew Sitrin
Brie Slomiak
Annabel Smith
Sky Somers
Ethan Zener
Thanks to everyone who dropped off televisions, laptops and other electronic equipment during our E-Waste Drive last month. We raised approximately $150 for our school AND avoided sending more junk to landfill. Well done, Edna families!!
Attention Edna students! Lucy the Dog, a special "trophy" made out of recycled bike parts by Marin students, is looking for a new home! Lucy would love to hang out in YOUR classroom. All you have to do is make sure your room has the highest percentage of students who walk, bike or carpool to school during the Go Green to School contest (now through April 16).
Wednesday, March 28, is the perfect opportunity to score some BIG points for your class! Meet us at the Community Center at 8:10 a.m. to walk and roll to school with Edna staff and other families. See you there!
She's not cuddly, but "Lucy the Dog" sure is cute! And your class could win her!
It's no April Fools' joke --EVERYONE is invited to the next Garden Work Day! Join us from 2 to 4 p.m. as we spruce up the garden for the Spring Faire. We promise it will be a fun afternoon working alongside your classmates, friends and teachers. Whole Foods will keep everyone happy with drinks and snacks. Contact Saor Stetler (sstetler@earthlink.net) for more information.
The Edna PTA Nominating Committee has worked tirelessly for the past month to fill vacant PTA Board positions and committee chairs. We so appreciate the time and energy of Jenny Douglass, Christine Brandt, Christine Cole, Nuran Akmehmet and Maija Muncy.
Pursuant to Article V, Section 3.g. of the PTA Bylaws, the report of the Nominating Committee was submitted and posted on March 7. The election will be held during the PTA Association Meeting on Wednesday, April 4 at 8:45 a.m. in the teachers' lounge. We hope you can join us!
2012-2013 PTA Executive Board Nominees
President: Simone Slattery
Executive Vice President: Kari Chalstrom
VP of Student Well Being: Jenn Miller
VP of Programs: Karen Carr
VP of School Community: Kit Harris
VP of Fundraising: Stirling Somers
VP of Site Enhancement: Open
Treasurer: Christine Freda
Financial Secretary: Open
Recording Secretary: Christine Cole
Historian: Janie Karp
Auditor: Christine Brandt
Please remember parking is NEVER permitted in the red zone in our front parking lot OR in front of the gate by Marin Day School. The garbage trucks will not pick-up our trash when these areas are blocked, which leaves us with a smelly and unsanitary mess! Thank you for your cooperation.
Join us on April 29 for the Spring Garden Faire! Featuring great activities such as wood sculpting, fairy-house building and, of course, our famous bake-off, this event is always a hit with families. We need PRIZES! If you work for, or know of, a business that would be willing to donate a prize, please contact Barbara Crampton (barbaracrampton@comcast.net).
Back by popular demand, the second annual Edna Maguire Science Fair is happening next month! Our third, fourth and fifth grade participants will present their final projects to UCSF scientists who will review and discuss each entry. Our young scientists will then share their projects with the Edna community. Come and check out their exciting work at the Science Fair Open House, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the lab (AKA the multi-purpose room).
If you have season tickets to sporting events, the theater, symphony or other activities, chances are you can't always use them. Don't let your tickets go to waste--donate them to Edna's Teacher Appreciation Stub Hub!
If you have tickets you'd like to donate to the teachers who give so much to our kids every day, e-mail Karen Carr at karenmuntercarr@yahoo.com. Please provide details such as the number of tickets you have available, the event, date and time. Karen will forward the information to our teachers. Interested takers will contact you directly to make the final arrangements.
Thanks to the efforts of Edna parents Ronnie Sharpe and Jennifer Puente, two new hens---Joanie and Frieda--have joined our flock. Special thanks to Jennifer for caring for the chickens at her home to get them healthy enough to start their new lives in our garden. The hens were among 400 starving chickens rescued from a Central Valley farm by the Marin Humane Society and available for adoption.Click here to read the full article that ran in the Mill Valley Herald.
Rescue chicken Joanie gets a warm Edna Maguire welcome!
Hats off to the cast and crew of the Edna's Got Talent Variety Show! The crowd was well fed with dinner, drinks and desserts provided by the Variety Show Concession Stand. Thanks to the following parents for helping out: Suzanne DiBianca, Suzy Slomiak, Nicole Palmer, Margret Scott, Debbie Carney, Kirsten Treais, Mary Arnold, Ronnie Sharpe, Russell Lyman, Kit Harris, Janie Karp, Stirling Somers, Lyra Kelly, Jenny Douglass, Jennifer Foskett, Simone Slattery, Julie Kennedy, Cathy Wilmoth, Kristin Silmore, Erin Griffis, Trina Rivera, Christine Brandt, Debra Schreiber, Sam Toole, Nicole Lamb, Suzanne Alpert, Stacey Tsuchiyama, Cheryl Reiss, Karen Olson, Mari Allen, Ipek Serifsoy, Kathy Sonderby and Kathy Bishop.
Just one year ago, on March 11, 2011, northern Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami. The Edna Maguire community joined together to find a way to help. Along with supportive friends and family from the area and around the country, Edna students folded about 4,000 origami cranes. For each crane we folded, Students Rebuild was given $2 toward the rebuilding of schools in the affected region. In all, our cranes helped to contribute about $8,000 towards this effort! Students Rebuild produced this video to show the world what happened as a result of the MILLIONS of cranes that were folded by children all around the world. Thank you and arigatou, Edna Maguire, for making a difference!
Our students have talent--LOTS of it! This year's Variety Show has more performers than ever before. They've been diligently practicing their acts for the past month--and it shows! Please come and cheer on these awesome kids as they take the stage THIS Friday! We guarantee Edna's Got Talent will be a night of fantastic entertainment for the whole family.
The first set of performers will kick off the show promptly at 6 p.m. There will be a 15-minute intermission at around 7 p.m., followed by the second group of performers. If your child is one of the earlier acts in his or her group, please stick around to support the other kids in the group!
Come early and enjoy dinner and snacks at the concession stand! It opens at 5 p.m. and will serve pizza, hotdogs, watermelon, popcorn, lemonade and a wide array of baked goods. You can also buy flowers for your special stars. All proceeds from the concession stand will go toward the fourth grade's Disability Awareness Assembly featuring A Touch of Understanding.
ATTENTION THIRD GRADE FAMILIES: We still need volunteers to help run the concession stand! Please click here to sign-up online. Thank you!
The leadership provided by principals like our very own Lisa Zimmer is one reason Mill Valley schools are so great! Please take a moment to thank her for all she does during Principal Appreciation Week, March 5-9!
Our Lovely Leader, Principal Lisa Zimmer
Edna Maguire will once again participate in the Go Green to Spring Challenge, a four-week, countywide initiative to reduce car trips by encouraging students to travel by foot, bike, carpool or bus to school. There will be a poster of a tree hanging in every classroom during this time. Teachers will attach leaves to their trees to track the number of students traveling green to school each day.
So grab your friends, round up your neighbors and make a commitment to walk or roll to school every day for a month! Even driving part way counts as long as you walk for at least seven minutes. Edna Maguire WON this event last year--let's make it two years in a row! Questions? Please contact Anne Zarraonandia (annezarra@aol.com).
Beginning on March 12, stop by our Thankful Tree to pluck a "Shamrock Wish" from a member of Edna's fantastic team of non-classroom teachers and support staff. Our school wouldn't be the same without these dedicated individuals. So give a little back to them by granting one--or more--of their wishes!
Calling all bakers! The Garden Faire is right around the corner. And that means it's time for you to whip up one of your favorite creations for Edna's bake-off!. Click here to learn more.
The P.E. Team thanks all of the Edna Maguire students for their enthusiastic energy during our "Jump Rope for Heart" event on Valentine's Day. Through the many donations from our students and their families, we raised $265 for the American Heart Association. We are SO proud of all the students who participated and look forward to another fun and successful event next year. Thank you all for your support--and for filling our Thankful Tree with so many hearts!
Our Thankful Tree blooms with hearts after our Valentine's Day jump rope event.
All Edna Maguire students got to visit the Dr. Seuss Cafe last week where they were transported into the wonderful world of the beloved author. They read books, enjoyed snacks and participated in a Dr. Seuss trivia contest!
Thank you to the following parents, students and staff for making the café such a warm, inviting place to READ: Kathy Bishop, Denise Bourdages, Leslie Fielder, Jennifer Foskett, Anne Fretes, Kit Harris, Janie Karp, Kira Keane, Lyra Kelly, Lisa Monge, Lin Porter, Daisy Scholz,Ipek Serifoy, Simone Slattery, Stirling Somers, Kirsten Treais and, of course, our fabulous fifth grade waiters.
The Dr. Seuss Cafe served up a week of reading and fun!
See some pictures of the cafe
here.
Thank you, Edna Maguire families, for supporting our third graders' Leap Day service project to collect toiletries for the Ritter House. Look what you did!
Third graders prepare tons of toiletries for delivery to the Ritter House.
Edna's third grade students are celebrating Leap Year by using their "extra" time to give back to our local community!
Until February 29, they'll be collecting small hotel/travel-sized toiletries for Ritter House in San Rafael. Ritter House provides a safety net for the near homeless and the already homeless in Marin by providing them with shelter, food, case management and the small necessities many of us take for granted.
Please look around your home for travel-sized shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, shaving cream, band-aids, antibiotic ointment, mouthwash and other toiletries to donate to Ritter House. Check with your friends and neighbors to see if they have any to spare! Ask your doctor or dentist for trial-size samples! You can drop off your contributions in Room 13. Thanks for your support!
Sloat Garden Center is sponsoring another Growing Up Green Week, going on NOW through February 27. Sloat will donate a percentage of your purchases to Edna's Children's Garden when you bring in this flyer. It's a great time to get trees, shrubs or flowers to plant during the rainy season. Or to pick up some new garden tools or outdoor furniture. The more we participate, the more our garden will benefit! Thanks for supporting the garden-- and for shopping locally at Sloat Garden Center.
Next week, Edna's library will be transformed into The Dr. Seuss Reading Cafe. Each class will have a chance to read Dr. Seuss and enjoy refreshments served by fifth grade waiters and waitresses.
If you have a first grade or kindergarten student, you're welcome to come read with your child. Just check with your child's teacher to find out when his or her class will be visiting the café. All other parents: Be sure to ask YOUR children about their trip to the cafe and what they learned about the wonderful world of Dr. Seuss! Questions? Contact Janie Karp at jkarpj@comcast.net.
One of the reasons Mill Valley schools are so great is the leadership provided by principals like our very own Lisa Zimmer. Please take a moment to thank her for all she does during Principal Appreciation Week, March 5-9!
A BIG shout out to Randy Harris of Artistry in Trees (and Edna dad of first grader Troy and third-grader Vance). He just pruned the fruit trees in our garden for the second year in a row AND chipped the resulting branches and debris. Thanks for keeping the garden healthy, Randy!
Sadly, Ginger, one of our precious school chickens, recently passed away. She had a wonderful life and received TONS of love from Edna students and families. Ginger died peacefully of natural causes with her two loving companions, Edna and Scarlet, by her side.
She is buried next to the tree on the left side of the coop. Students have adorned the tree's branches with poems and messages to create a memorial for our special feathered friend.
Our beloved Ginger getting a hug from one of her many fans.
Congratulations, Edna parents and teachers! Thanks to YOUR support, our PTA is celebrating its 60th year as a chartered Parent Teacher Association.
California State PTA has established a program, Legacy PTA, to recognize associations that have reached milestones in the number of years they have been advocating for children. Edna Maguire will be honored at the 113th California State PTA Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center in May. Thanks again for all your time and hard work. As you can see, it doesn't go unnoticed!
Edna will really be jumping on Valentine's Day--jumping rope, that is! February is American Heart Month. To support the American Heart Association (AHA), students will participate in our annual jump rope event! The kids love this event, and our P.E. staff is helping them prepare for the big day with plenty of practice.
We're asking each student to donate $1 for the AHA and its fight against heart disease. Students who make a donation will receive a heart with his or her name on it to put on the Edna Maguire Thankful Tree. We appreciate your support!
Valentine's Day is coming, and we'd like to pass along some fun and tasty heart-healthy snack ideas for classroom parties. Also, please remember to keep our peanut allergy guidelines in mind as you prepare your snacks. If you and your child want to hand out something more than Valentine cards, we encourage you to select a non-food item--think simple, inexpensive and eco-friendly. Happy Valentine's Day!
Along with supporting families of children with learning differences, ITAV--Mill Valley's Special Education PTA-- is responsible for helping to bring many excellent parent education events to our community.
We are looking for new parent representatives from Edna to join our Board! It's NOT a big time commitment--representatives simply attend our monthly board meetings and make sure our events/news get publicized at their schools. We'd also love to hear your ideas--and get feedback from other parents at your school--for future education events. Whether you're already a member of ITAV or just want to learn more about what we do and how you can get involved, we invite you to attend an upcoming Board meeting. For more information, contact Edna's ITAV rep, Dorothy O'Donnell, at dorothyodonnell@comcast.net or visit itavmv.org.
Kiddo! Teacher Grants are awarded in support of programs that foster creative and innovative classroom teaching. Each fall teachers submit grant applications, and an Awards Committee comprised of one teacher from each school, a representative from the administrative council, and a parent from PTA Council selects the recipients. Because of your generosity, Edna students will enjoy the following exciting programs this year:
Lisa Monge and Adam Sanchez - "Young Author's Fair" - After several library lessons focused on writing, students in grades 1-5 will write a short fiction piece that will be their "ticket" to a half-day fair celebrating storytelling. Students will learn grade-appropriate writing skills and experience what it's like to participate in a literary community.
Judith Barry and the Third Grade Team - "Third Grade Performance" - At the end of every unit in every subject, third graders will prepare a song, skit, poem, or video that synthesizes what they've covered in that unit. Then, in the spring, they will perform a musical "wrap/review" revisiting and consolidating what they've learned during the academic year.
Jenny Leogrande and the First Grade Team - "Dance Through the Decades" -- This weekly half-hour dance class, conducted by local dance instructor Annie Leese (Artistic Director, Performing Arts Academy of Marin), will teach first graders about the history of dance from the 1910s to the 1970s - from soft-shoe to disco. The class will also introduce students to American culture in different periods.
There wasn't an empty seat in the house at last month's Family Bingo Night! And no wonder--besides the chance to indulge in some wholesome fun and socialize with other Edna families, the many Bingo! winners scored some AMAZING prizes thanks to our Site Council.
Principal Zimmer got in a good workout racing around the multi-purpose room in response to the almost non-stop cries of "BINGO!" that rang out through the night. And fourth grade teacher Mr. Stachon did a fantastic job of calling the games. Thanks to our fifth grade families for keeping everyone energized with dinner and tasty baked treats!
We want to extend a BIG thanks to our local Rotary Club for its generous support of our third grade students. Over the years, the club has made financial and other contributions to third-grade classes in Mill Valley. This year, the club provided third-grade classes at Edna and other schools dictionaries. Thank you!
Give your loved ones and friends a scrumptious gift for Valentine's Day: chocolate from See's. There's still time to enjoy the ease and convenience of ordering See's candy through Edna. Orders will be accepted through Wednesday, January 25! All profits from the sale will directly benefit our students! Order forms were sent home with your child last week and can also be found in the office. Candy will be delivered on Friday, February 6.
The deadline for ordering yearbooks is NEXT TUESDAY, JANUARY 31! Don't miss out on the one book that captures this year's incredible events and experiences... friends, fun, favorite teachers, classes, games, music, art and everything in-between. It's all in your 2012 Edna Maguire Yearbook!
There are three ways to purchase:
1. Fill out a one-stop-shopping form.
2. Fill out a form in the front office.
3. Purchase online at www.jostensyearbooks.com.
Auditions for the Edna Maguire Variety Show are right around the corner (Wednesday, February 15, at 1:45 p.m. in the multi-purpose room). Edna's got talent, and we want to see YOURS! Perform solo, or better yet, grab a friend or two and wow us with a group act.* Past shows have featured singers, bands and other musical performances; dancers; skits; gymnastics; and Tae Kwon Do. But the only REAL requirements are to be creative and HAVE FUN! And to make sure a parent fills in a registration form by February 2.
Volunteer Opportunities
Students: We need fourth and fifth graders to be stagehands. We also need fifth graders to emcee the show.
Parents: The show won't go one without your help! Be a part of the action by assisting students during auditions and rehearsals. Or sign-up online to volunteer for a job on the night of the show
*We strongly encourage group acts to help keep the show on schedule and give more kids a chance to participate!
Questions? Please contact Kathy Sonderby (ksonderby@yahoo.com).
Many thanks to all of the birthday celebrants below for sharing your special day with Edna's library!
November Birthdays
Luka Bayon-Fraise
Kayla Boon
Kashif de Leede
Cormac Erving
Lauren Felder
Grace Furey Peters
Simon Gooden
Sophie Hampton
Vance Harris
Lauryn Ialeggio
Sasha Kalika
Isabella Kiriakis
Carley Lehman
Iliana Levine
Milo Levine
Elias Michael
Alyssa Moshavi
Wambua Musyoki
Dara Noonan
Michael Reuter
Lauren Ross
Will Schreiber
Christian Schultz
Quinn Abraham Smith
Jamie Snell
Brendan Steinhofer
Jacqueline Warner
Kalen Whitehead
December Birthdays
Colton E. Berger
Maya Bliss Popper
Zach Breitbard
Isaiah Clark-Hexter
Cordell Coleman
Leopold Grava
Scarlett Grava
Henry Harwood
Torben Hoy
Grace Levinson
Kiana Lyman
Takeo Patterson
Zach Philipp
Stella Rosenthal
Katie Southern
Ellie Trainer
Oriana Zamudio Troncoso
Mason Zimmermann
January Birthdays
Sebastian Ames
Isabel doValle Athanasoulis
Jacob Berrol
Natalie Bricker
Brett Cardinal
Mac Castaneda
Olivia Chamberlain
Lila Ciambriello
Alex Dargan
Ella Foskett
Gavin Freda
Sophia Grady
Skye Guyot
Troy Harris
Audrey Herrera
Sydney Hubbard
Aidan Kennedy
Henry Lawrence
Teo Lavelle
Veronica Meagher
Cole Monti
Zachary Mosher
Lauren Olsen
Clarice Piontek
William Piontek
Jack Robbins
Sema Serifsoy-DiFalio
George Warga
Corey Whitehead
Aydan Yates
The Mill Valley School District is using No Bully as its primary solution to bullying, intimidation and other aggressive behavior and language on our campuses. The nuts and bolts to No Bully's success is a Solution Team and Solution Coaching approach.
The Solution Team model is based on non- punitive intervention that gets the whole student body to work together to develop solutions that address bullies, their targets and bystanders. Already, our Solution Teams are seeing results! A student who was a bullying target recently reported that things are, "way, way better!" How amazing is that?
It's important to keep in mind that No Bully is only one part of the plan we are implementing to reduce bullying at Edna and enhance what is already working. Examples of other ways we are addressing these issues and instilling strong morals in our kids include our recently introduced student Conflict Managers, classroom "bucket filling" activities, the Ophelia Project and, of course, our monthly Life Skills program.
How lucky we are to get to support and encourage resilient, flexible and self-actualized little people! To learn more about No Bully, go to http://www.nobully.com/.
Come to the multi-purpose room from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to learn about Edna's bully prevention program. Already used within the Mill Valley School District and across the country, this program is designed to protect our children from bullying and aggressive social behavior. The presentation will outline the bully prevention game plan and give examples of the success the Mill Valley Bully Prevention Solutions Team has already experienced. Edna Maguire school counselor Jason Mountsier, Principal Lisa Zimmer and teachers will explain the program and talk about why they believe it is a powerful and effective method of controlling bullying. This is an ADULT ONLY event. Please leave your children at home!
The yearbook deadline is fast approaching, so get your order in before it's too late! Don't miss out on the one book that captures this year's incredible events and experiences... friends, fun, favorite teachers, classes, games, music, art and everything in-between. It's all in your 2012 Edna Maguire Yearbook!
There are three ways to purchase:
1. Fill out a one-stop-shop form.
2. Fill out a form in the front office.
3. Purchase online at www.jostensyearbooks.com.
Sloat Garden Center is sponsoring another Growing Up Green Week, January 13 through 23. Sloat will donate a percentage of your purchases to Edna's Children's Garden when you bring in this flyer. It's a great time to get trees, shrubs or flowers to plant during the rainy season. Or to pick up some new garden tools or outdoor furniture. The more we participate, the more Edna's garden will benefit! Thanks for supporting the garden-- and for shopping locally at Sloat Garden Center.
Give your loved ones and friends a scrumptious gift for Valentine's Day: chocolate from See's. Through Wednesday, January 25, enjoy the ease and convenience of ordering See's candy through Edna. All profits from the sale will directly benefit our students! Order forms were sent home with your child last week and can also be found in the office. All candy will be delivered on Friday, February 6.
And kids--don't forget! The student who sells the most candy will win a Nook! Second prize is a Razor scooter! How sweet is that?
Show-off your talents at this year's Edna Maguire Variety Show! Auditions are Wednesday, February 15, so start preparing your act NOW. Perform solo, or better yet, grab a friend or two and wow us with a group act.* Past shows have featured singers, bands and other musical performances; dancers; skits; gymnastics; and Tae Kwon Do. But the only REAL requirements are to be creative and HAVE FUN! And to make sure a parent fills in a registration form by February 2.
Volunteers Opportunities
Students: We need fourth and fifth graders to be stagehands. We also need fifth graders to emcee the show.
Parents: This show wouldn't be possible without your help! Be a part of the action by assisting students during auditions and rehearsals. Or sign-up to volunteer for a job on the night of the show (coming soon on SignUpGenius).
*We strongly encourage group acts to help keep the show on schedule and give more kids a chance to participate!
IMPORTANT DATES!
Sign Up Forms Due - Thursday, February 2, by 6 p.m. (Online)
Auditions - Wednesday, February 15, 2-6 p.m. (MPR)
First Rehearsal - Wednesday, February 22, 2-6 p.m. (MPR)
Second Rehearsal - Wednesday, February 29, 2-6 p.m. (MPR)
Dress Rehearsal - Wednesday, March 7, 2-6 p.m. (MPR)
Variety Show! - Friday, March 9, 6 p.m. (MPR)
As you may know, effective January 1, 2012, children MUST be secured in an appropriate safety or booster seat in the back seat of a vehicle until they are at least 8 years old or 4' 9." The new law imposes stiff fines and penalties on the driver for violations, including the possibility of child endangerment charges. Please note that if your child is scheduled for a field trip, he or she must be in the proper safety or booster seat in order to attend. Your child's teacher will work with you to secure enough drivers who can accommodate safety seats.
A HUGE thanks to all the Edna families and friends who shopped at Amazon through our website during the holidays. Edna received $410 because of you! Keep the momentum going by shopping on Amazon throughout 2012-- and thanks again for your support.
Your clippings are working! Thank you to all who have submitted boxtops. Edna collected $146 (that's 1,460 boxtops!) over the last 6 months because of you. Please keep clipping in the new year!
If you've already contributed to our annual Holiday Food Drive, thank you! If you haven't had a chance to drop off a donation in the red bins in the office, there's still time. We'll be collecting non-perishable goods until December 16. In these tough economic times, food is the perfect gift for the growing number of Marin families that can't afford basic staples (think high-protein items and canned fruits and vegetables.) Thanks again for your support! And don't forget the Lindsay Olives challenge -- Edna has a chance to win $3,000 if we collect the most food items.
We have so much to be thankful for. Please give children who aren't as fortunate something to get excited about during the holidays. Bring a new, unwrapped toy to the front office now through December 16. The Mill Valley Fire Department will collect the toys and distribute them to needy children in Marin County. Contact Sasha Eakle with any questions: sasha_eakle@hotmail.com.
Only ONE book captures this year's incredible events and experiences: Your 2012 yearbook! Remember all the friends, fun, favorite teachers, classes, games, music, art and everything in-between. Yearbooks are on sale NOW! Purchase yours by filling out this form and writing a check to Edna PTA or going to www.jostens.com and ordering online.
Edna Spirit Wear makes great holiday gifts! Choose from fleece jackets, bags, hats or other items. You can add a logo to almost any Lands' End item that can be embroidered for an additional $5.50. Go old school with the original "Might Mustangs" logo or opt for the newer "Edna Maguire School" logo.
To place an order, click here. When ordering, enter the Edna Maguire school code number into the "preferred school code" field of the order form: 900129768. For questions about ordering, contact Lands' End directly at 1-800-963-4816.
Hey first graders--you're on deck for the first Garden Work Day of the New Year! Come help the garden get through winter--no gardening experience needed. Have fun working alongside your classmates, friends and teachers. Whole Foods will keep us energized with drinks and snacks.
And don't forget THE GARDEN CONTEST! The sponsoring grade with the biggest turnout of students for its Garden Work Day wins a party--pizza or ice cream - at the end of the year! So tell your friends (especially your fellow first graders), bring your family and spend a great afternoon outdoors. As always, all other grades are welcome! Contact Saor Stetler (sstetler@earthlink.net) for more information.
We want to offer prizes to the students who sell the most candy during next month's See's Candy Drive. Profits will support all Edna students, including our fourth graders' trip to Sutter's Fort and our fifth graders' visit to Walker Creek.
Following discussions with the Student Council, we would like to offer a Nook and a Razor scooter as prizes to our top sellers! If you have either of these, new in the box, that you can donate--or know an organization that might like to do so-- we would LOVE to hear from you! Please contact Lucy Hampton (mvlucy@gmail.com) if you have any leads.
Thank you, Edna students, for going above and beyond the call of duty on Somalia Dollar Donation Day. Your generosity helped us raise $628.42 for World Vision-- way more than our goal of $1 per student! And with the help of a matching donation from the federal government, World Vision will receive FIVE TIMES that amount--more than $6,000--to help save starving Somalian children! Be sure to check out your child's Somalia star on our Thankful Tree.
This holiday season, it's easier than ever to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list--and help Edna at the same time! Just shop at the following businesses:
Amazon.com- Use our Amazon link and 10% of ALL purchases will go to our school.
Sports Basement (Presidio location only) - Save 10% on gifts for all the active folks on your list AND get a 5% contribution for Edna.
Pottery Barn Teens and PB Kids - Use Edna Member ID 411080139648 and password WS9141376 on qualifed merchandise, and 4% of your purchase will go to our PTA.
Book Passage - Shop locally for the book lovers in your life! Mention "Edna Maguire" at the register, and a percentage of your purchase will be donated to our school.
Speaking of books, here are some great gift ideas for young readers from Edna librarian Lisa Monge:
Picture Books
Art & Max by David Weisner
Crows at Pearblossom by Aldous Huxley
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? By Carol McCloud
If You Give A Dog A Doughnut by Laura Numeroff
King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently
Oh No! by Mac Barnett
Press Here by Herve Tullet
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman
Easy Readers
Big Fat Cow that Goes Kapow by Andy Griffiths
Cat on the Mat is Flat by Andy Griffiths
Fly Guy by Ted Arnold
Elephant and Piggie by Mo Willems
Henry & Mudge by Cynthia Rylant
Annie & Snowball by Cynthia Rylant
Beginning Chapter Books
Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon
Melvin Beederman Superhero by Greg Trine
Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo
Chapter Books
Adventures of Nanny Piggins by R.A. Spratt
Brixton Brothers by Mac Barnett
Emerald Atlas by John Stephens
Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable by Dan Gutman
Girl who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
My Life as a Stuntboy by Janet and Jake Tashjian
Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall
Pie by Sarah Weeks
Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizza
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
Trouble Maker by Andrew Clements
View From Saturday by E.L. Konisburg
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Recently, we've received reports of kids riding scooters and bikes around campus without helmets. This is not only extremely dangerous, it's against school policy. Please remind your child to wear a helmet whenever he or she is on a bike, scooter or skateboard ANYWHERE on school grounds, including the playground and corridors. And don't forget--students are ONLY allowed to use their wheeled vehicles on campus BEFORE 8 a.m. or AFTER 4 p.m. Thank you for your cooperation.
We have so much to be thankful for. Now let's give children who aren't as fortunate something to get excited about for the holidays. Please bring new, unwrapped toys to the front office now through December 16. The Mill Valley Fire Department will collect the toys and distribute them to needy children in Marin County. Contact Sasha Eakle Sanchez with any questions: sasha_eakle@hotmail.com
Edna's annual food drive, coordinated by our Student Council, is happening now. Please drop off your canned and other non-perishable food items in the big red bins in the office. All donations will go to the Marin County Food Bank. And remember--thanks to a challenge sponsored by Lindsay Olives, the group that collects and donates the highest percentage of food items for its local food bank will win $3,000 for its school!
Our days are getting cooler, but that doesn't mean our county-wide Travel Green to School Initiative is taking a break. We're lucky to live in a climate that makes traveling green to school year-round a realistic goal. Help your child bundle-up and continue walking or biking to school whenever possible. Starting the day with a little exercise is a great way to wake up your child's brain! Exercise enhances mood, concentration, memory and behavior. Teach your child at an early age how fortunate we are to live in California where traveling green to school really IS possible every day of the year!
This holiday season, give yourself the gift of hassle-free shopping on Amazon. When you do, Edna will get a gift, too! Ten percent of your total Amazon purchases will go to our school. And yes, this means ALL purchases, not just books. You're sure to find something to please everyone on your gift list.
Just enter Amazon.com through this link or the Amazon School Rewards Program link on our home page. Be sure to share the link with your friends and family--their Amazon purchases can support Edna, too! Please Note: When you enter Amazon.com through our link, your Amazon page won't look any different. Don't worry--as long as you click on the link to get on Amazon, Edna will get credit for your purchases!
Prefer shopping locally for the book lovers on your list? Head to Book Passage, and our school will receive a percentage of your purchases. Just mention Edna Maguire at the register.
We want to extend a HUGE thank you to the businesses that sponsored this year's Steeplechase t-shirts:
West America Tae Kwon Do
Catamount Ventures
Camino Alto Veterinary Hospital & Wellness Center
Hillstone Restaurant
Tamalpie
Mill Valley Swirl
Main Street Research LLC
Harte Building & Design
Growing your Child
Falkow Orthodontics
KIVU Consulting
Malugani Tire
Levinson Construction
Amazing Adventures Travel
Rick Fullerton Soccer Camps
SoftRAID LLC
Doggie Styles
State Farm Insurance
Tamalpais Pet Hospital
Niantic Corporation
Proof Lab Surf Shop
Think Clean Cleaners
Town Hall Restaurant
Redwood Security Systems, Inc.
Burge-Pacific Enterprises, Inc.
The Store
Dr. Ladan Vakili, DDS
Dr. Francis Yankie, DDS
Betty's Beauty Boutique
Jessup Associates Architects
Mary's Acupuncture
Milvali Salon
Terra Teak & Garden
Art Start
Dr. Gila Dorostkar, DDS
Critterland Pets
VASCO Restaurant
Flying Horses
Woodland Pet Food & Treats
Carlson Orthodontics
Lexington Law Group
Dr. Dorothy Slattery
Dr. John Boland
Cat Clinic of Mill Valley
We also want to give A BIG SHOUT OUT to our Steeplechase Committee for making this event such a smashing success: Cathy Wilmoth, Janie Karp, Caitlin Smith, Dawn Davis, Suzanne Alpert, Simone Slattery, Deb Carney, Michelle Zimmerman, Shaila de Leede, Stirling Somers, Sean Norton, Nicole Palmer, Julie McCrady, Kit Harris, Justine Whitehead, Chris Newell and Mari Allen. Thanks also go out to the numerous other volunteers who helped with set up and clean up, punching lap cards and asking questions and, of course, cheering on our walkers, joggers and runners! We couldn't have done it without ALL of you pitching in!
Many thanks to the entire Edna Maguire community for supporting our Book Fair. Birthday Books and the fair are the ONLY SOURCES OF FUNDING for our library --- we get no money from the Mill Valley School District or the State. This means that the success of the Book Fair is crucial. Thanks to you, we sold about $26,788 worth of books and $1444 worth of special red tickets --- that's about $6800 for the Edna Library!
In addition to your support, the Book Fair would not have been successful without the dedication of our volunteers and support crew. It is with deep gratitude that we recognize the following people:
Decorators
Christine Freda
Annemarie Coen
Lauren Snell
Maddie Trainer
Janie Karp
Cathy Wilmoth
Mari Allen
Book Unloaders & Set-up
Chloe Lagier
Don Reed
Annemarie Coen
Tina Taylor
Jennifer Foskett
Kristin Silmore
Bethany Conybeare
Sean Norton
Suzanne Alpert
Maddie Trainer
Rich Allen
Lauren Snell
Cathy Wilmoth
Dorothy O'Donnell
Stephanie Philipp
Lisa Barnes
Simone Slattery
Ann Mason
Kit Harris
Lin Porter
Deborah Huber
Mika Allen
Lucy Allen
Thomas Allen
Cate Ryan
Elise Ryan
Brooke Wimmer
Julie Kennedy
Briana Kennedy
Lucy Silmore
Oliver Silmore
Christine Freda
Jessica Ryan
Mari Allen
Author
Mac Barnett
Story Time Reader
Naima Dean
Donors
Annemarie Coen
Daria Painter
Christine Freda
Simone Slattery
Donna Wenig
Deb Monti
Jessica Ryan
Mari Allen
Teacher Preview Breakfast Hosts
Lisa Barnes
Leslie Ford
Book Chat Hosts
Ann Riley
Judy Safavi
Book Chat Presenters
Jessica Ryan, Children's Librarian, Mill Valley Public Library
Lisa Monge, Edna Maguire Librarian
Door Security
Mieko Maeshiro
Book and Tchotchke Sellers (AKA The Red Apron Army)
Lisa Barnes
Ann Riley
Simone Slattery & Ava
Trina Rivera
Tina Taylor
Jennifer Foskett
Bethany Conybeare
Kristin Silmore
Janie Karp
Kit Harris
Vyvianne Kiriakis
Lin Porter
Cathy Wilmoth
Suzanne Alpert
Karen Olson
Dawn Davis
Lauren Snell
Deborah Huber
Annemarie Coen
Laura Spence
Kari Chalstrom
Jed Smith
Leslie Ford
Stephanie Philipp
Kori Stevenson
Dorothy O'Donnell
Ann Mason
Merrie Jaffe
Ahtossa Fullerton
Julie Kennedy
Suzy Slomiak
Germaine Chee
Christine Freda
Jessica Ryan
Mari Allen
Evening Event Helpers
Cate Ryan
Elise Ryan
Kerry Taylor
Corey Whitehead
Tessa Keane
Sky Somers
Luca Citroen
Briana Kennedy
Clean-up Crew
Suzy Slomiak
Chloe Lagier
Kellie Minor
Ann Riley
Leslie Meyers
Betsy Kennel
Laura Spence
Simone Slattery
Trina Rivera
Sean Norton
Suzanne Alpert
Don Reed
Michael Freda
Rich Allen
Christine Freda
Jessica Ryan
Mari Allen
Support Crew
Lisa Zimmer
Leslie Fielder
Maija Muncy
Dave Rintelman
PTA Presidents: Janie Karp & Simone Slattery (plus Eva!)
PTA Treasurer: Jeannine Berman
PTA FinancialSecretary: Christine Freda
Book Fair Orphans (for the 4th year in a row)
Cate Ryan
Elise Ryan
Patrick Ryan
Kate Freda
James Freda
Gavin Freda
Mika Allen
Lucy Allen
Thomas Allen
Book Fair Coordinators
Christine Freda
Jessica Ryan
Mari Allen
Thank you to all the families who dined with us at the Book Fair Café! You helped us raise $1317.20 to offset costs related to the fourth grade's Sutter's Fort learning project. Hats off to everyone who donated food, beverages and supplies for the event. Special thanks go out to those who worked in the café and helped with set-up and clean-up. And a BIG thank you to Lyra Kelly for her amazing leadership in organizing this evening.
Thanks for volunteering: Anne Buxton, Meera Dolasia, Jennifer Gillmer, Lisa Gilmore, Tracy Ginther, Patty Hubbard, Dan Kelly, Lyra Kelly, Kira Keane, Hillary Lester, Soo-Hi Nayer, Dorothy O'Donnell, Karen Olson, Kathy Reed, Suzy Slomiak, Eric Somers and Phillip Suh,
Thanks for donations: Michelle Barenbaum, Laura Bowman, Susan Burgess, Anne Buxton, Nora Clifford, Meera Dolasia, Ahtossa Fullerton, Lisa Gilmore, Madeleine Gish, Cambria Hicks, Patty Hubbard, Deborah Huber, Merrie Jaffe, Kira Keane, Jeanette Layden, Jill Lebsock, Hillary Lester, Leslie Lewczyk, Shawn Marshall, Christina Michael, Asia Nana, Soo-hi Nayer, Bonnie Neulight, Dorothy O'Donnell, Karen Olson, Barbara Polster, Carolyn Preis, Kathy Reed, Eric and Stirling Somers, Denise Steele, Sarah Suloff, Justine Whitehead, Cathie Wilmoth and Julie Zener.
Join us for dinner at the Book Fair Evening Café from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Fill up on pizza, pasta, salad, drinks and yummy baked goods before shopping for books. Get a complete dinner for only $5 and, for an extra buck, add a baked treat for dessert.
All proceeds help fund the Fourth Grade Overnight Environmental Learning Project at Sutter's Fort. Come support the café by eating, eating, eating--everyone is welcome! We still need volunteers to help out in the café. If you can pitch in, contact Lyra Kelly at clyrago@gmail.com or click here to sign-up online. See you there!
With 95% participation in this year's Steeplechase fundraiser, the Edna community raised over $132,000. Thanks to you, we met our goal and will be able to provide all of the budgeted assemblies, supplies, books, materials, equipment, programs, specialists and so much more for our students this year. A special thanks to the students, teachers and families of Rooms B, 1, 4, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17 and 20 for reaching 100% participation in Steeplechase donations. Thank you EVERYONE for contributing, and being part of, Steeplechase 2011. Your contribution will make a difference for EVERY Edna student, EVERY single day.
Be sure to check out the very special tree spreading its branches across the wall of Edna's main corridor! The leaves of our "Thankful Tree" feature messages of gratitude from our students. This lovely tree is a great reminder of the many things we all have to be grateful for. A special thank you goes out to Cambria Hicks for creating the tree. And a Happy Thanksgiving to all!
If you have a child who will be attending kindergarten next fall, you can register him or her at the Mill Valley School District office, from 1 to 7 p.m., on the following dates:
Monday, January 9
Thursday, January 12
Monday, February 6
Thursday, February 9
To download registration forms, go to www.mvschools.org.
Our Disaster Preparedness Drill on October 26 was a big success! A special thank you goes out to Edna parent John Cronander for organizing an authentic drill and making sure our emergency supplies container is well-stocked and organized. Parent volunteers, students and staff created a mock earthquake disaster drill. After "ducking and covering" in their classrooms, students were led outside to organized groups. Staff members then performed tasks such as search and rescue, first aid and damage assessment. Student Council leaders simulated various injuries so we could practice treating them.
Your donation of $7.00 enables the PTA to ensure we have enough first aid materials, food, water, tarps, sanitation and hygiene supplies in the event of a real emergency. Thank you for helping to keep our students safe!
We ducked and covered...
...practiced getting to our assigned places in a quick and orderly fashion...
...and honed our triage skills during Edna's Disaster Preparedness Drill!
Our kids ran their hearts out at this year's Steeplechase. And while the finish line is in sight, we still have a way to go before we cross it. Make sure our kids' hard work pays off by collecting your donations and turning in your pledge packets THIS WEEK. Especially now as we're feeling the effects of the budget crisis, Edna Maguire is counting on YOU to contribute whatever you can to help Every Child, Every Day with Everything. Please help your child's class reach 100% participation AND earn a popsicle party! Our Steeplechase collection deadline is now Tuesday, November 8--help us finish strong!
Did you know many companies will match donations their employees raise for non-profit organizations? Edna's PTA is a non-profit. So if you haven't already checked to see if your employer is willing to match your Steeplechase donations, please consider doing so. Examples of companies that have matched donations given to Edna in the past include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Gap, Macy's and Salesforce. Thank you!
The Mill Valley School District is projecting a $700,000 deficit for the current school year and a $2.3 million deficit for the next school year. Our district enrolled 155 new students this year, but received NO ADDITIONAL FUNDING and only two new teachers were hired. At least 114 new students are expected to enroll in the 2012/13 school year.
In previous years, Mill Valley was insulated from school budget cuts because 95% of our revenue for education came from property taxes. Now, however, our schools--and our children-- are feeling the pain of decreasing property taxes, growing enrollment and cuts in state funding. To tackle these problems, the MVSD is looking at a three- pronged approach:
• Reducing the budget
• Shared sacrifice
• Tapping the budget reserve (for emergencies only)
At Edna Maguire, we are already experiencing the following effects of the budget crisis:
• Increased student enrollment
• Bigger class sizes in all grades
• No hiring of additional staff to support this growth
• Decreased professional development for teachers
It's essential that ALL OF US work together to protect our children's education and maintain our excellent schools. Get involved! Stay informed! Please attend one of the upcoming Parent Budget Forums at the Mill Valley Middle School: Wednesday, November 2, 7 p.m. or Monday, November 7, 9 a.m.
Due to the important Parent Budget Forum happening this Wednesday, we've postponed our No Bully presentation until Tuesday,January 10, 2012, at 6;30 p.m. The PTA Board and Association meeting, however, will still be held on November 2 at 5:45 p.m. in the multi-purpose room. All are welcome!
Attention Edna garden supporters! Sloat Garden Center is sponsoring another Growing Up Green Week, November 4 -14, 2011. Bring in this flyer and Sloat will donate 10 percent of your purchases to our Children's Garden. The more people who participate, the more we'll receive! Our rainy season is coming, so it's a great time to head to Sloat's to buy trees, shrubs or flowers that need that extra water! Or pick up those garden tools or furniture you've been eyeing.Thanks for supporting the garden and for shopping locally at Sloat's!
What? Book Fair 2011
Why? To support Edna's library, encourage kids to read and get some great books! Twenty percent of all proceeds go to the library for online and magazine subscriptions, books, supplies, and more.
When? Monday, November 14 - Thursday, November 17; 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily
More BF Events to Note:
Tuesday, November 15 from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. - Book Chat and breakfast treats with Real Books owner Angela Cozad and children's librarians Lisa Monge of Edna and Jessica Ryan of the Mill Valley Public Library. Get the scoop on the must-reads for adults and kids.
Wednesday, November 16 - Children's Librarian, Naima Dean, will read selections from the fair to students in grades K-2
Thursday, November 17 - Author/illustrator Mac Barnett will join us for assemblies throughout the day; Book Fair Café and Evening Event - 5 to 8 p.m. -dinner, shopping and a drawing for fabulous prizes!
Questions? Contact Mari Allen (allenmari@hotmail.com)
During Book Fair week, Edna Maguire Girl Scouts will be collecting gently used, or new, children's books. We'll be donating the books to the Children's Book Project. You can drop off any books you'd like to contribute in our collection bin at the Book Fair. No adult books, magazines or textbooks, please. Contact Laurie Mandigo-Stoba at stoba3@comcast.net if you have questions about the Book Drive or Girl Scouts.
Starting the second week of November, we will provide lunch for the children in Homeward Bound's Family Emergency Center. Homeward Bound of Marin is the main provider of shelter and support services for homeless families and individuals in our county. This monthly team effort will involve Edna kids and parents bringing components of the lunches to our multi-purpose room for an "assembly line party." Please contact Sasha Eakle at sasha_eakle@hotmail.com if you'd like to help!
Only one book captures this year's incredible events and experiences--the friends, fun, favorite teachers, classes, games, music, art and everything else in-between--the Edna Maguire 2011-2012 yearbook!
There are two ways to order:
1. Download the one-stop-shop form at www.ednamaguire.org/flyers-forms.html
2. Order online at www.Jostens.com
The deadline to order is January 31, 2012! If you have questions, please e-mail Justine Whitehead @ Lbprod@pacbell.net
There are some exciting "firsts" for the 2012 Edna Maguire Variety Show. We've got a new director, Kathy Sonderby. And the show will happen much earlier in the year-- on Friday, March 9. So it's the perfect year for first-time volunteers to get their feet wet in this fun and rewarding Edna tradition! Of course, seasoned pros are welcome to return for an encore performance, too. Because one thing that hasn't changed are the Edna kids who look forward to taking the stage and letting their talents shine. They rely on parent volunteers like YOU to make that possible!
We need help with practices and set design. And we're desperately seeking someone who can create a master CD with the performers' music and handle sound and lighting for the show. Please contact Kathy Sonderby (ksonderby@yahoo.com) if you can help or have questions. Practices will begin soon after the winter holiday break!
Just in time for your holiday shopping, our Amazon link has been reactivated. If you enter Amazon.com through this link, or the Amazon School Rewards Program link on our home page, Edna Maguire will receive up to 10% of your purchase total. And yes, this means ALL purchases, not just books. Bookmark the link today and share it with your friends and family. Their Amazon purchases can support Edna, too!
Please Note: When you enter Amazon.com through our link, your Amazon page won't look any different. Don't worry--as long as you click on the link to get on Amazon, Edna will get credit for your purchases!
Show your Edna pride with shirts, fleece jackets, bags, hats or other items sporting either of our two logos. They make great holiday gifts! You can add a logo to almost any Lands' End item that can be embroidered for an additional $5.50. Choose from either of the logos below.
To place an order, click here: When ordering, enter the Edna Maguire school code number into the "preferred school code" field of the order form: 900129768. For questions about ordering, contact Lands' End directly at 1-800-963-4816.
Two Ways to Show Your Edna Pride
Many thanks to the Birthday Book Club members below for giving the library the gift of a book in honor of their special day! There's still time to join the club--just download the form, fill it out and turn it in at the front office.
August Birthdays
Aidan Toole, Annie Ravazzini, Athena Bouas, Cole Ford, Daxton Chalstrom, Eleanor Octavio, Jace Monti, Jack Fierstein, Julian Snell, Liam (William) Ludin, Lyla Tipton, Mari Karp, Olivia Jane Skiles, Patrick Clifford, Sam Barenbaum
September Birthdays
Cassady Winchester, Cooper Alley, Creig Williges, Ella Grady, Emily Peters, Fiona Norton, Gracen Rivera, Jack Ferguson. Jessica Brooke Tempero, Joslyn Lazzareschi, Julia Jaffe, Kai Smith, Landon Minor, Luke Bleckman, Luna Sanchez, Madison Dayton, McKenna Barr, Mutindi Musyoki, Rebecca Preis,Simon Dauth
October Birthdays
Amelia Sharpe, Anna Harrell, Caroline Steele, Elizabeth Wheaton, Emily Conner, Emma Barenbaum, Gage Duchon, James Freda, Joshua Berman, Katie Ravazzini, Lauren Marler, Maria Elena Figueirinhas, Nick Taylor, Reed Neulight, Sophia Soto,Tilman Phleger, Zoe Trainer
We'd like to extend a special garden thank-you to EO® Products, a Corte Madera-based company that makes natural and organic body care products. EO Products recently provided the garden with NEW hand-sanitizing stations featuring their all-natural, lavender hand sanitizer gel. It's a much better alternative to traditional chemical-laden hand sanitizers--for our children AND our environment. Thanks, EO! And thanks to Ronnie Sharpe for contacting the company to make this happen.
Our kids ran their hearts out at this year's Steeplechase. And while the finish line is in sight, we still have a way to go before we cross it. Help us finish strong by collecting your donations and turning in your pledge packets ASAP! Edna Maguire is counting on YOU to make a contribution, big or small, to help Every Child, Every Day with Everything. Please help your child's class reach 100% participation AND earn a popsicle party!
Check out the illustrations below to see what our new, state-of-the-art school will look like once construction is completed!
View Looking South
View Looking West From MPR
View Looking East Between Grade 1 and Kindergarten
Steeplechase, our school fundraiser, is coming! This year's theme is EVERY CHILD, EVERY DAY, EVERYTHING. Are you ready?? Here's your chance to make a difference in your child's education. Help Edna cover the cost of EVERYTHING, including books, pens, paper, assemblies, specialists, balls, curriculum, assemblies and computers. As the state continues to cut its budget for education, we need to fund the gap for our kids. Now, more than ever, we need your help to reach our goal of 100% participation and $300 per student. EVERY CHILD at Edna is counting on us EVERY DAY!
Steeplechase starts at 1 p.m. for kindergartners and 2 p.m. for all other grades. Please come and cheer on our kids. Contact Cathy Wilmoth at ccwilmoth@comcast.net if you have any questions. SEE YOU THERE!
You asked for it, you got it! Choice Lunch will serve up samples of its entrees right after the Halloween Parade. Samples for kindergarten families will be available in front of the kindergarten classrooms at 1:30 p.m. Families of all other students can test-drive samples in front of the office at 2:50 p.m.
Bring your extra Halloween loot to school on Thursday, November 3 and Friday, November 4. Your lollipops and candy bars will sweeten the day of our brave soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Look for donation tables at the front and back parking lots before and after school. Blue Star Moms of Marin (an organization run by mothers of enlisted soldiers), will ship the candy for free! If you have any questions or would like to help collect donations, please contact Karen Olson at cokobo@comcast.net.
Our hot lunch program is in serious need of some volunteer support! If you can lend a hand between 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.-- any day of the week-- to help serve lunch to our students, please contact Ashiya Yacoobali at ayacoobali@mvschools.org. It's fun, easy and takes less than an hour. Thank you!
If you have season tickets to sporting events, the theater, symphony or other activities, chances are you can't always use them. We're pleased to introduce a great way to ensure your tickets don't go to waste AND give our wonderful teachers a special treat: Edna's Teacher Appreciation Stub Hub.
Our "Stub Hub" will connect teachers with families who have tickets to various events that they can't use. If you have tickets you'd like to donate to the teachers who give so much to our kids every day, e-mail Karen Carr at karenmuntercarr@yahoo.com. Please provide details such as the number of tickets you have available, the event, date and time. Karen will forward the information to our teachers. Interested takers will contact you directly to make the final arrangements.
Another successful Farmers' Market season is winding down. Thank you to everyone who helped harvest, cook, bake and sell our garden's bounty: Donna Wenig, Beth LaDove, Kristin Silmore, Katherina Laan, Daina Selph, Kit Harris, Leslie Myers and Simone Slattery. And a special thanks to our Farmers' Market coordinator, Karen Olson. Thanks, also, to all of you who shopped at the market. You helped us raise over $300 for the maintenance and upkeep of our garden. We hope to re-open the Farmers' Market in the spring.
Children's Garden Bounty
Miss the MVSD Board of Trustees Candidates' Forum at Strawberry Point School last month? If you haven't already watched the video on our website featuring the three candidates- Robert (Bob) Jacobs, Leslie Wachtel and Clifford Waldeck- you can see it by clicking on the links below:
Forum Part 1
Forum Part 2
Green Team is off to a great start this year. So far, we've met twice, started our lunch-time recycling program, and on October 31, we will start our Friday compost pick-up team.
The Green Team is also sponsoring a bake sale on Thursday, October 13 at 5:30 during the International Family Picnic. The sale will be in front of Room 13. We're having the bake sale to raise money for our supplies and events. If you're interested in helping, please bring pre-sliced or wrapped baked goods to room 13 during school hours on the day of the sale or right before the picnic. Hopefully we will see you there, with money in your pocket!
This article was written by Green Team members Justin Carr, Tessa Keane and Catherine Morgan. Great job, guys!
The morning was cool, and there were a few brewing glitches at the first Edna Coffee Cart. But that didn't dampen the spirits of the more than 50 parents who showed up in front of the office, many of whom were eagerly waiting for the Steeplechase Pep Rally to begin. Thanks to the efforts of Jon Cronander, plenty of fresh, hot coffee was flowing after the rally. Thanks also go out to Leslie Fielder and Simone Slattery for all their help. And thank you to everyone who attended for being such good sports! We learned some lessons and promise the java will be ready on time at our next Coffee Cart, November 18! If you're interested in helping with the cart, please contact Kit Harris at kitharris57@gmail.com. Click here to see some pictures.
From Crocs to pumps, the Edna community really stepped up to make our shoe drive a success! We collected over 70 bags of shoes for families in need in Haiti. The first batch is already on its way to them via the Arch Rival stores in Mill Valley and Greenbrae. Thank you for making a difference. And thank you to Sasha Eakle for organizing this event!
Edna's Shoe Drive Was a Runaway Success!
Edna Maguire's library now features a section dedicated to gardening books and resources. In addition to books, students and parents can also check out a DVD of What's On Your Plate? This witty and provocative documentary about kids and food politics is told through the experiences of two 11-year-old girls in New York City.
Congratulations to our Friends of the Garden (FOG) group! It earned an Honorable Mention in PTO Today's 2011 Parent Group of the Year search, a national competition. FOG parent volunteers help manage and maintain Edna's Children's Garden for our school and the Mill Valley community to enjoy. A BIG THANK YOU to Ronnie Sharpe for nominating FOG!
Being a PTA member isn't just about volunteering and supporting your school. Click here to discover some of the great deals--from places like Jamba Juice, Enterprise car rentals and Legoland, to name just a few---members can enjoy.
Tired of chauffeuring your kids to and from school--and then shuttling them all over town AFTER school? Want to help the environment? Sign up at SchoolPoolMaring.org to get a list of other families in your area you can carpool, walk or bike with to school AND after school events. The first 500 families who register this year will receive a Peet's gift card!
Our shoe drive for families in Haiti is in full swing. If you haven't had a chance to donate a pair or two of gently used kid or adult shoes, there's still time! Just drop them off in the marked bin in the front office by Wednesday, September 28. Any style of shoes is appreciated! Our local Arch Rival shoe store will then deliver the shoes to families in Haiti. Questions? Please contact Sasha Eakle (sasha_eakle@hotmail.com)
It's hard to imagine Edna without the many events like Book Fair, the Art Show, Science Fair, Donuts for Dads, Muffins for Moms and more that make our school so special. We need YOUR help to ensure they continue. Click here to learn how to sign up to volunteer online. It only takes a minute! Make a commitment--even a small one--and have fun while helping our school.
If you didn't get the chance to sign-up to volunteer for the Book Fair, you're not too late! This popular event will be happening November 14 -17 with set up the week before. We need your help to transform the MPR, unload books, set up the fair, and SELL! We'll hold just one meeting in October to go over the details. Please e-mail Mari Allen at allenmari@hotmail.com if you would like to join our amazing committee.
Please take a moment to complete and turn in your PTA permission slips. Doing so ensures that your child can join in all the fun, fantastic and fabulous events happening at Edna this year. Misplaced the form? You can download it here. EVERY student needs a signed permission slip to participate in ANY PTA activity, including Steeplechase, which is right around the corner!
Your contribution of $7 per child helps us provide emergency supplies for every Edna student. The money enables us to keep a well-stocked inventory of up-to-date medical supplies, blankets, snacks and other essential items. It also goes toward the expense of maintaining the emergency supplies container and water tank. And it helps us cover the costs for students requiring financial assistance. If you haven't yet done so, please help us meet our kids' safety needs by making your contribution today!
You are welcome to attend our PTA Association meetings. Below are the dates for this school year's meetings. Unless otherwise indicated, meetings are held in the Teachers' Lounge at 8:40 a.m. We hope to see you there!
• October 5
• November 2 (6:30 p.m.; MPR)
• December 7
• February 1
• March 7
• April 4
• May 2
• June 6
Attention Edna garden supporters: Sloat Garden Center is sponsoring Growing Up Green Week, now through September 26, 2011. Bring in this flyer: EMS Growing Up Green 11-12.pdf, and Sloat will donate 10 percent of your purchases to our Children's Garden. The more people who participate, the more we'll receive! So head to Sloat's to buy trees, shrubs or flowers to plant during the upcoming rainy season. Or pick up those garden tools or furniture you've been eyeing. Thanks for supporting the garden and for shopping locally at Sloat's! Also, be sure to mark your calendar for these future Growing Up Green Weeks:
• November 4 - 14
• December 5 - 12
• January 13 - 23
• February 17 - 27
You can now save 10 percent on all purchases from Sports Basement in the Presidio AND support our school at the same time! Five percent of your purchase will go back to our PTA. (So, if you spend $100, you pay $90 and our PTA gets $5). Now THAT'S a bargain!
Just ask for the "Edna Maguire School discount" at checkout. It's good for EVERYTHING, including rentals. So head to Sports Basement for sports equipment and clothing, camping gear, backpacks and more! Tell your friends and family to ask for the Edna Maguire discount, too! This offer is good ONLY at the Presidio Sports Basement.
We are also excited to introduce Pottery Barn's Gear Up to Give Back program. Now until December 31, Edna shoppers will qualify for up to 4 percent back on merchandise such as backpacks, lunch bags, and duffle bags purchased at Pottery Barn Kids or PBteen. To shop online go to: Pottery Barn Kids Gear Up to Give Back or PBteen Gear Up 2 Give Back. When you make a purchase online or in a store, please provide the following:
Edna Member ID: 411080139648
Edna Password: WS9141376
Note: You can get credit for purchases made as far back as July 1, 2011. Just leave a copy of the receipt with your name in Stirling Somer's mailbox in the school office or contact her at stirlings100@gmail.com.
Our fantastic local bookstore, Book Passage in Corte Madera, contributes 5 percent of all purchases to our library. Just mention Edna to the cashier when you're ready to pay. At the end of each fiscal year, the store sends a gift certificate to our librarian, Lisa Monge, to purchase books for the library. For more information, contact Mari Allen at allenmari@hotmail.com.
Edna Maguire collects box tops, and you can help! Each box top is worth 10 cents! The money adds up quickly when every family pitches in. Just look for the bright pink label on food items such as Gogurt, Bisquick, Gold Medal Flour, Cheerios, Pull-ups and a variety of other General Mills, Pillsbury, Old El Paso and Betty Crocker products. Clip the pink coupons from the boxes, turn them in at the office, and we'll send them in for cash. It's that easy!
We need volunteers to help serve hot lunches to students on Mondays and Fridays. It's only a one-hour commitment, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. If you can help on either day, please contact Ashiya Yacoobali at ayacoobali@mvschools.org.
Who could miss the incredible dragon mural gracing the walls of our school? The street art is the work of local artist, and Arte Sempre owner, Zio Ziegler. His unique, colorful designs also cover the walls of 142 Throckmorton Theatre and Tam Bikes on Miller Avenue. In addition to creating the mural for us, Zio generously offered to work with Edna's art teachers and teach our students about his artistic process. Zio was recently profiled in an article in the Mill Valley Patch. Contact him at ziocompany@gmail.com.
The master at work: Zio Ziegler creating our dragon mural.
After dropping students off in their new classrooms, hundreds of parents stopped by the multi-purpose room to greet each other and enjoy refreshments. A HUGE thank you to Peet's Coffee and Tea on Throckmorton Avenue for giving us an extremely generous discount on the coffee! We also appreciate the following parents for donating pastries to ease the first day jitters: Mari Allen, Michelle Barenbaum, Karen Carr, Kristin Evans, Karen Olson, Jessica Ryan, Kristin Silmore and Tina Taylor. Thanks also to Justine Whitehead and Cathy Wilmoth for supplying tea. And a big thank you to our set up and clean up crew: Beverly Allen, Mari Allen, Karen Olson, Ronnie Sharpe and Justine Whitehead. Let's hope the good cheer at the first-day coffee lasts throughout the entire school year!
Many, many thanks to the volunteers who made our school photo days picture-perfect: Karen Carr, Nancy Ericsson, Tracy Ginther, Kit Harris, Julie Kennedy and Stephanie Philip. The Edna community appreciates your help!
For the second year in a row, Randy's Artistry in Trees (artistryintrees.com) provided the garden with truckloads of wood chips. We'll use them for mulching and for pruning our fruit tree orchard to keep it healthy and productive. Please remember to think of Randy whenever you bite into a juicy garden apple or pear!
Thank you to the students, families and friends who folded origami cranes for Students Rebuild. As you might recall from last spring, our initial Thousand Cranes project quickly multiplied and we sent almost FOUR thousand! The organization's most recent online newsletter gave an update about our cranes (in addition to the millions that were folded by others). The effort was also highlighted in the August 21New York Times Sunday Magazine with a photograph of the artwork created using the cranes. Arigatou, Edna Maguire, for helping students in the tsunami and earthquake ravaged areas of Japan rebuild their schools and their lives.
Regular attendance plays an important role in student achievement. If your child has an unexcused absence, he will be responsible for making up any work he missed. With enough notice, teachers will try to provide students with assignments and homework during an absence. However, many assignments can't be made up, which may negatively affect a student's grades.
Students who are out of school due to unexcused absences for more than 15 consecutive student school days will be removed from their school rolls. They must re-enroll with the district upon return. There's no guarantee that, upon re-enrolling, a student will return to the school and class that she left.
California ranks among the lowest states in the nation when it comes to funding public education. And as a community- funded, or "basic aid" district, Mill Valley doesn't receive ANY general-purpose money from the state. Instead, our funds come from the local property tax.
Edna Maguire and the other schools in the Mill Valley district rely on fundraising to provide the excellent education and enrichment programs our children enjoy. If you have questions about our primary Edna fundraiser, Steeplechase, district-wide fundraising organization, Kiddo!, or Measure C funds to modernize Edna, please check out our fundraising FAQ.
Along with other Mill Valley schools, Edna Maguire is in the process of migrating to a new district-wide web platform called Schoolwires. The new platform will provide all district schools with a more consistent look and feel to their websites. It will also enable flexible and more efficient content management capabilities and make it easier for all members of our school community to connect and share information.
Please turn in your one-stop PTA shopping forms and volunteer forms ASAP. If you misplaced the copies included in your first-day packet, you can download the shopping form here. And for the first time, you can now sign up to volunteer online! Just open an account at Signup Genius. Then search for the Edna Volunteer sign-up list using this e-mail address: ednavolunteersignup@gmail.com. You'll see a complete list of the many events we rely on parents like you to make possible for our students. Please contact Daisy Scholz (daisyzoe@yahoo.com) if you have problems signing up online or have questions.
If you have a first or fourth grade student, be sure to join us for first Grade Level Family Picnic of the school year. Back by popular demand, these picnics are a great way to get to know your children's classmates, their parents and Principal Lisa Zimmer. Each picnic will be held on a Sunday, from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.,at the tables in front of the designated grade's wing. Please bring a picnic, plates and utensils for your family. Contact Jennifer Miller at jennimil@sbcglobal.net if you have questions. Here's the complete picnic schedule:
September 11: First and fourth grades
September 18: Third grade
September 25: Second grade
October 2: Kindergarten and fifth grade
Too many shoes cluttering your closets? Gather them up and donate them to our shoe drive for families in need in Haiti. From Monday, September 19 through Wednesday, September 28, you can drop off your gently used (no holes) kid and adult shoes in the marked bin in the front office. Any style of shoes will be accepted and greatly appreciated! Our local Arch Rival shoe store will then deliver the shoes to families in Haiti. Questions? Please contact Sasha Eakle (sasha_eakle@hotmail.com).
We know staying on top of everything happening at Edna Maguire can be a challenge. So this year, in addition to our bi-weekly Pony Express newsletter, we're launching a new condensed version, the Pony Scan and Plan. Galloping to your inbox on weeks you don't receive the regular newsletter, Pony Plan and Scan will provide you with short, easy-to- scan reminders about key upcoming Edna events you won't want to miss!
If you miss an issue of the Pony, lose a form or can't quite remember the date of a particular Edna event, don't worry. Just click on ednamaguire.org for instant access to the Pony (your main source of Edna news and upcoming events), class websites, our school calendar, forms and much more. Do yourself a favor and bookmark it now!
Be sure to follow Edna's chief tweeter, Lisa Zimmer, on Twitter
(http://twitter.com/#!/LisaZimmer1). She'll keep you up to date on Edna events, news and more throughout the school year.
Steeplechase, Edna's main fundraiser, is right around the corner. If you're a business owner or work for a local business, please consider sponsoring our Steeplechase t-shirts! Sponsorships are a great way to increase exposure for your company while helping our school. They're available for $200, $400 or $600. Just fill out this form and return it to the school office by September 26. If you have questions, call Cathy Wilmoth (786-6923). Thank you for your support!
Meals from our new vendor, the aptly-named Choice Lunch, are now available! Featuring local and organic ingredients, Choice Lunch will offer Edna students up to 17 different tempting entrees per day! Your child can even choose from a varied selection of side dishes.
To place lunch orders, go to choicelunch.com and follow the directions for creating your online account. Be sure to enter the registration code MVSD.
This summer, Edna's garden took home two ribbons from the Marin County Fair's annual competitions.
Our children won second place for their backyard compost (made in the garden compost piles) and first place for their worm compost (made by our very own Edna worms)! In addition to winning ribbons, our gardeners also won $35 in prize money! We used the money to buy new work gloves and hand tools for the garden. Way to go, kids!
A BIG thank you to the following individuals for helping our garden--and chickens-- thrive over the summer:
Jill DeMaio and Tracy Ginther for coordinating the care of our hens.
Ahtossa Fullerton, Janie Karp, Julie McGuinness, Leslie Myers, Stirling Somers for taking care of the chickens.
Leslie Myers for coordinating and implementing pathway sheet mulching, along with providing general greenhouse and garden care.
Randy Harris of Artistry In Trees for providing top-quality woodchips for the sheet-mulching project.
Laura Figueirinhas for coordinating and designing garden curricula and garden parent materials.
The following folks, that's who! Thanks to all of you for stepping up to the plate over the summer to help us get ready for the 2011-12 school year:
Volunteer Signups: Daisy Scholz
Carline Signups: Julie Kennedy
Carline Cart: Ken Kennedy
Beautiful Painted Tree: Cambria Hicks
First Day Packet Photocopying: Leslie Fielder
First Day Packet Collators: Lyra Kelly, Chloe Lagier, Sunyoung Park, Maija Muncy, Samantha Fazio, Jeannine Berman, Mari Allen, Christine Freda, Stirling Somers, Julie Kennedy, Kit Harris, Simone Slattery, Janie Karp, Nancy Felder, Christine Brandt, Christine Cole and Caitlin Smith
Google Calendar: Linda Dunne
Pony Express: Dorothy O'Donnell and Tim Schultz
Pony Scan and Plan: Simone Slattery
Edna Website: Tim Schultz
Edna Database: Mike Bishop
Kindergarten Welcome Playdate: Kit Harris
First Day Coffee: Suzanne Alpert
Along with other Mill Valley schools, Edna Maguire is in the process of migrating to a new district-wide web platform called Schoolwires. The new platform will provide all district schools with a more consistent look and feel to their websites. It will also enable flexible and more efficient content management capabilities and make it easier for all members of our school community to connect and share information.
Kindergarten teacher Lisa Stapp not only organized last Saturday's E-Waste Drive--she also braved the pouring rain to work at the event. Thank you, Lisa, for giving up your morning for us! Thanks also to Kit Harris who stopped by to lend Lisa a hand.
In spite of the soggy weather, Edna families, staff and community members showed up to drop off old electronics and make the drive a success. Thank you for helping the environment and Edna!
Summer's almost here, and if you've got excess athletic equipment cluttering your garage, this is the perfect chance to get rid of it. We especially need gently used soccer balls! Footballs and basketballs are also appreciated. Please drop off donations at the front office. Questions? Contact Karen Carr at karenmuntercarr@yahoo.com.
For having the biggest turn out of students in their grade for their garden work days, the third graders won an end-of-the-year pizza party. You rock,third graders--enjoy your pizza!
A big thanks also goes out to our kindergarteners for making our last garden work day of the year one of the best attended! And thanks to ALL the students and parents who showed up for other garden work days throughout the year. Without you, the garden wouldn't be what it is today! We also extend a special thank you to our Garden Work Day Coordinators: Amy Bonetti Price, Deborah Huber and Merrie Jaffe. They helped get the word out about the work days, along with organizing the monthly scavenger hunts and the end-of-the-year pizza party contest. Their efforts helped our garden thrive!
Here are a few examples of what Edna students did this year--and will have the chance to do next year--in our "outdoor classroom:"
Kindergarteners planted a butterfly garden to support the butterflies they raise and release.
First graders released 10,000 ladybugs to complement their insect anatomy studies and appreciate how these bugs benefit organic gardens.
Second graders harvested and ate everything imaginable and planted a 10 foot tall "pea tee pee" for children to sit under.
Third graders planted a Three Sisters Garden based on traditional Native Americans farming methods. The project complemented their study of Native Americans and taught them about symbiotic plants.
Fourth graders planted a Sunflower Fort as part of a project sponsored by the UCSF Great Sunflower Project. Next year's fourth graders will conduct a bee count. The results will be entered into a national database to help leading biologists better understand the Honey Bee Population Decline Syndrome.
Fifth graders will be responsible for overseeing the worm bins as the worms decompose our food waste and create rich fertilizer. They will also grow potatoes in potato cages.
General garden tasks included installing owl boxes, tending to compost, planting, pruning the roses and trees, harvesting and lots of eating!
Edna third graders working, learning and having fun in the garden.
Calling all Edna Maguire families! Thank you to those of you who have been saving and bringing in your box tops. Each little pink square coupon is worth 10 cents! So far this year, we've collected 1200 box tops. Good, but if we all pitch in, we can beat that number next school year! Please remember to save your box tops this summer and bring them to the office in September.
Did you know that all of your Amazon.com orders can benefit Edna Maguire? Amazon.com will give 10 percent of your total purchase back to Edna. Just use this link next time you make a purchase on Amazon or shop via the Amazon School Rewards logo on ednamaguire.org.
You can also support Edna by shopping at Book Passage in Corte Madera. The store contributes 5 percent of all purchases to our library. Just mention Edna to the cashier when you're ready to pay. Questions? Contact Stirling Somers at stirlings100@gmail.com.
Thank you Dorothy O'Donnell, our Pony editor, Tim Schultz, our Web master, and Linda Dunne, our calendar guru! Without their tireless efforts, we wouldn't have our Pony every other week or an up-to-date school calendar and website. These Edna parents put in many hours to make sure we get the information we need in a timely, lively fashion. We are lucky that all three of them have agreed to come back for more next year--thank you!
The 2011 yearbooks are complete and will be distributed soon. They look fantastic! We wouldn't have been able to pull off this huge project without the creative direction, photographical expertise and computer skills of Justine Whitehead. Thank you, Justine, for all you do to make this book so special! In addition, a big round of applause goes to the members of Justine's team: Mari Allen, Suzanne Alpert, Mike Bishop, John Carney, Mara Conner, Kristi Duchon, Nancy Ericsson, Leslie Fielder, Lisa Gilmore, Kira Keane, Donna Wenig, Anne Zarraonandia, Lisa Zimmer, Michelle Zimmerman. Thanks as well to all of the event photographers, room photographers, room parents and teachers who helped. We couldn't have done it without all of you!
Edna's fundraising efforts for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami are already yielding positive results! Below are some highlights from Students Rebuild of how the origami cranes you folded, and the money you generously donated, are helping Japan.
Setting the foundation - Cameron Sinclair, cofounder of Architecture for Humanity, blogs from Tokyo on the budding efforts in Japan, including some clues as to the project undertaken with Students Rebuild funds!
Japan TV spotlight (link)- NHK Broadcasting in Japan features your amazing efforts to fold over 1 million paper cranes for Japan--both in Japan and worldwide! During this terrific segment, Los Angeles teen Kelsey Kwong shares her story in a live interview English version).
Stay tuned - In early June we will launch the new www.studentsrebuild.org, which will feature your stories, letters and wishes for Japan. Share your story by emailing info@studentsrebuild.org, subject line: Story!
Contribute to the virtual collage - While the deadline to mail cranes has passed, you can show your support for Japan by posting photos of your cranes on the Paper Cranes for Japan Facebook page.
If you're a Twitter user, you can now follow our very own Principal Lisa Zimmer as she tweets about the latest Edna news and events.
Edna Maguire is pleased to be an active participant in the Safe Routes to School program. Participating in the program lets us increases green trips to school by walking, biking, carpooling or taking the bus. As a result, we're reducing traffic congestion and its related greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention increasing physical activity for our students.
Safe Routes to Schools is conducting a survey of parents to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of its program. This survey will provide valuable information to improve the Safe Routes to Schools program at our school. All responses will be kept confidential-- neither your name or your child's will be associated with any published results without your permission. Click here to take the survey.Questions? Contact Peggy Clark (peggy@marinbike.org) at Safe Routes to Schools.
If you haven't yet returned your library books, please do so now! All books must be turned in by Friday, May 27. Overdue book notices will be coming home soon.
Dear Edna Maguire Families:
The third grade students are raising money to send kids to school in Haiti. The third graders are not only doing a play, but they are also hoping to raise S1.00 per Edna Maguire Student. My mom (Karen Olson) inspired me as she went to Haiti in April to help people who needed medical care. We would like it if you could try to donate at least $1.00 because that would help us send several children to school in Haiti for a whole year. It costs approximately $150 per year for one student. We will be sponsoring kids through an organization called Sionfonds. If you would like to help, please bring your money to school by Friday, June 3.
Thank you,
Charlie Osborn
(Charlie is a student in Ms. Lackey's third grade class.)
Thanks to Office Depot, Edna families can save up to 60% on school/office supplies and up to 40% on technology purchases. Take advantage of this great opportunity to stock up on school supplies for next year! Please download the Office Depot Purchase Form.doc for more details and ordering information.
Thank you to all teachers and parents who bought supplies for various events this year. If you want to be reimbursed for your purchases, please turn in your receipts, along with a completed reimbursement form, to PTA Treasurer Jeannine Berman's mailbox in the office. Reimbursement forms are on our website. All receipts are due by June 9.
Wondering where all those PTA dollars you helped raise this year went? Following are just a few examples of how they helped our kids. The funds we raised provided students with everything from basic classroom supplies--like pencils, pens, glue, etc.--to special equipment such as wireless headphones. They also covered the cost of our Visual Thinking Strategy curriculum. And they allowed us to bring our students many special assemblies, including the Signature Project, jump-rope artist Renee Bibaub and the Eth-No-Tec storytellers.
Your PTA dollars also funded popular annual events such as the Dr. Seuss Café, Family Math and Science Nights, the Art Show, Donuts with Dads, Muffins with Moms and the Variety Show, to name just a few. And they paid for our emergency supplies, parent education speakers, recess equipment, professional development for teachers and much, much more!
And that's not all! Your money also allowed each grade level to augment its specific curriculum with field trips, special experiences, projects and visits from experts:
Kindergarten: Projector Carts, Edventure More-Animals, Richardson Bay Audubon Center, Play Kitchen
First Grade: Lawrence Hall of Science-Pop Fizz, Wonderful Whales, Edventure More-Oobleck, Wacky Weather and Ice Cream, Explode the Code workbooks
Second Grade: Poetry-Sasha Eakle, Edventure More-Stomp Rockets and Magnets, Richardson Bay, San Francisco Opera-Sing a Story
Third Grade: Native American Storytelling and Crafts, Edventure More-Periscopes, Susan Johnson-Light and Color, Art Project on Heroes, Sasha Eakle-Poetry, Next Generation, Imac
Fourth Grade: Point Bonita, Oakland Museum, Mission Dolores, Salmon Institute, Edventure More-Pickle Power, Foss Kits and Sutter's Fort
Fifth Grade: Ricca Wolfe-America Sings, Lawrence Hall of Science, Ancient Artifact, Walker Creek and Graduation
Every year, the PTA's grants from our Innovative Teaching Fund enable teachers to bring people or items into their classrooms that will enhance student learning. To receive part of the grant money, teachers must complete an application, which is reviewed and voted upon by the Site Council. We are proud to announce that, for the seventh consecutive year, all monies have been dispersed. Below is a list of the diverse ways our teachers used these funds:
$300 for kindergarten for MP3 players for each of classroom
$500 for the third grade musical (added to the grant from Kiddo!)
$141.61 for Emilie Albertoli for RAMP support materials
$55.64 for fourth grade teacher Ann Eshoff for speakers for her computer
$264.92 for the Technology Team headed by Lisa Monge/Colleen Carr for a microphone, flip camera and digital microscope
$1737.83 for the entire school towards a chart maker for the teachers
Thank you Edna PTA members, staff and families for the many hours of volunteer service you gave to our school this year. It's YOUR dedication that makes Edna so great! A special thanks to all who took on the following roles:
The PTA Executive Board: Janie Karp, Kit Harris, Lisa Zimmer, Michelle Barenbaum, Mari Allen, Karen Carr, Stirling Somers, Ingrid Lin, Jeannine Berman, Christine Freda, Deb Luster, Leslie Lewczyk, Kathy Bishop, Ahtossa Fullerton, Shana Stewart, Jenny Leogrande, Dan Kelly, Caitlin Smith, Soar Stetler, Lisa Gilmore, Judy Sherman
The PTA Committee Chairs: Shaila DeLeede, Michelle Zimmerman, Lisa Stapp, Janie Karp, Laura Figueirinhas, Ronnie Sharpe, Jennifer Hollander, Mari Allen, Jessica Ryan, Christine Freda, Christine del Castillo, Christine Brandt, Erin Griffis, Mike Bishop, Karen Olson, Anne Buxton, Ken Campbell, Steve Podesta, Cathy Wilmoth, Margaret Krivoruchko, Saor Stetler, Barbara Bleckman, Michelle Barenbaum, Ahtossa Fullerton, Sean Norton, Tracy Ginther, Howard Wynn, Leslie Fielder, Dorothy O'Donnell, Tim Schultz, Linda Dunne, Karen Carr, Deb Carney, Julie Kennedy, Lisa Gilmore, Rhonda Campbell, Nancy Turner, Gideon Bernstein, Tina Taylor, Jody Branham, Justine Whitehead
Room Parents: Dena Berger, Christine Berg, Amy Fierstein, Anne Buxton, Bonnie Neulight, Christine Brandt, Christine Freda, Dawn Davis, Deb Luster, Diane Mateo, Dominique Hawthorne, Heidi Longo, Jan Levelle, Jenn Boon, Jenn Gilmer, Jennifer Hollander, Jenny Douglas, Karen Carr, Kathy Lucas, Kristi Duchon, Kristy Campbell, Laura Bowman, Lauren Snell, Lucy Hampton, Lyra Kelly, Maureen Keefe, Michelle Barenbaum, Michelle Zimmerman, Ronnie Sharpe, Shannon Udovic, Simone Slattery, Suzanne Alpert, Suzanne DiBianca, Tina Taylor, Tina Zachariou, Vyvianne Kiriakis, Wendy Dalia, Wendy Pagett
Thanks to photographer coordinator Mike Bishop and his team of talented shutter bugs for their great pictures of school events this year: Mari Allen, Kathy Bishop, John Carney, Mara Conner, Justine Corey-Whitehead, Kristi Duchon, Nancy Ericsson, Christine Freda, Janie Karp, Jessica Ryan, Ronnie Sharpe and Michelle Zimmerman.
Thank you, birthday book club members, for giving Edna's library the gift of a new book on YOUR special day:
June Birthdays
Andrew Parker, Bryce Mason, Carly Toole, Caroline Schultz, Casey Brandt, Chris Parker, Danil Wells, Erin Faubel, Ethan Chase, Garrett Mason, Grace Newman, Henry Basnight, Jacob Levinson, Jake Buxton, Luca Fazio, Macy Taylor,, Maeve Cain, Maggie Griffis, Marlo Nanola, Maury Schultz, McKay Hawthorne, Mikaela Stern, Olivia Gerraty, Tess Wilmoth, Tyler Buxton
July Birthdays
Abigail Alpert, Adnan Ashraf, Casey Braff, Charlotte Baker, David Hampton, Elan Levine, Gabrielle Brandt, Graham Ross, Hannah Gilmer, Hudson Nanola, Jason Dunne, Jonas Barnes, Justin Alley, Kyle Wong, Kyra Carney, Lucy Allen, Luke Jessup, Maddy Shepard, Maia Ciambriello, Michael Umolu, Monroe Drysdale, Myla Dalia, Owen Constant, Ryan Hemmeter, Sydney Phillipp, Tomas Ludin, Will Basnight
There are only five more weeks of school left and we're all busy. But we still need 100% parent participation to keep car line running! Thanks to all of you who have already volunteered throughout the year. And if you haven't had a chance to work a shift, now's the time to jump in and help! Please note the revised schedule below and sign up for as many slots as you can.
Morning (8:15 -8:40 a.m.) Afternoon (2:40- 3:05 p.m.)
5/9 Leogrande Barry
5/16 Stapp Bremer
5/23 Marks N. Stachon
5/31 Aronson Isler
6/6 Ingle Carr
We need your gently used soccer balls, footballs and basketballs! It's spring-cleaning time, and if you've got excess athletic equipment cluttering your garage, this is the perfect chance to get rid of it. Donations can be dropped off in the box in front of the office, now through May 20. Questions? Contact Karen Carr at karenmuntercarr@yahoo.com.
All fifth graders must return their library books BEFORE the Walker Creek trip. Please drop off your books by Friday, May 20! For students in all other grades: your books are due on Friday, May 27.
Last month, garden angels Ronnie Sharpe and her second-grade daughter Amelia, went all out for Edna! Ronnie was selected from a pool of 380 grant applicants to win an electric tiller/cultivator from the National Gardening Association and Mantis! The tiller/cultivator will make turning compost into soil in the pumpkin patch a breeze!
In addition, this crafty mother-daughter duo won the Whole Foods Creative Reuse Contest for their "Banner'ammock," a hammock made from recycled banners and bags. Their creativity scored Edna a $1000 prize for our garden. Way to go, ladies!!
Ronnie, Amelia and Their Prize-Winning "Banner'ammock"
Thank you to all of you who gave the gift of a new book to Edna's library on YOUR special day:
March Birthdays
Hannah Bishop, Pamara Chaimanont, Miya Cohn, Tyson Cole, Julia Collins, Braden Dalia, Anya Dimaio,Viviana Garcia, Benjamin Gilmer, Emma Hollander, Kaden Kayser, William Lester, Ethan Lin, Mikayla Lin, Isabella Lown Heitz, Kaitlyn Lucas, Lucas Meyers, Nicholas Michael, Conall Noonan, Oliver Silmore, Milana Sitrin, Sara Steele, Lassen Waugh
April Birthdays
Thomas Allen, Elissa Asch, Maddie Asch, Emily Baker, Ella Bricker, Aron Bukary, Nathaniel Burroughs, Jack Callaghan, Caden Carney, Ethan Carr, Justin Carr, Jack Chai, Pavinee Chaimanont, Alex Davis, Amanda do Valle, Kavi Dolasia, Kate Freda, Carson Harrell, Lily Ignon, Sophia Krivoruchko, Skylar Mandingo-Stoba, Jesse Mosher, Emma Palmer, Patrick Ryan, Naomi Schiller, Sadie Scholz, Sarah Schoner, Andrew Sitrin, Annabel Smith, Sky Somers, Alexia Stern, Olena van Rueben, Lucille Viscardi
May Birthdays
Ilayda Akmehmet, Hannah Alpert, Olivia Bleckman, Gabi Bukary, Sophie Cabral, Chloe Carney, Tim Clifford, Tim Coen, Gary Griffis, Caden Hollander, Jesse Keefe, Samantha Locke,Willem Palmer, Charlie Peters, Alexander Podesta, Summer Polster, Jack Porter, Sabina Safavi, Nathan Slattery, Noah Solem, Kassidy Stetler, Kacea Stetler, Tatum Treais, Lula Zada
Are you interested in meeting new families and making new friends at Edna? Then here's your chance! The Edna PTA is looking for a few good parents to fill these committee chair positions for the 2011-12 school year:
Community Outreach
Book Fair Evening Cafe
Safe Routes to School
See's Candy Sale Variety Show
If you're shy, grab a friend and share a position. Get involved and have fun! Everything great that happens at Edna happens because people care enough to put in the time. The teachers and staff, students and parents- together, we are ALL the PTA! Please contact Kit Harris at kitharris57@gmail.com or Janie Karp at jkarpj@comcast.net if you're interested or have questions.
Thanks to the Edna teachers and parents who have bought supplies for various events this year. If you wish to be reimbursed for your purchases, please turn in your receipts with a completed reimbursement form to the PTA Treasurer's (Jeannine Berman) mailbox in the Edna office. You'll find reimbursement forms on our website. Thanks!
Thank you Edna students, teachers, families and friends for supporting our cranes project! Together, we folded a total of 3,881 origami cranes that have been shipped to Schools Rebuild in Seattle. The organization has promised to donate $2 per crane ( a total of $7762) to help rebuild a school in Tohoku Prefecture, the area most devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11.The cranes we folded will be incorporated into an art installation at the school. Our good wishes will be felt by many, many school children. Arigatou!
Wow, Edna families, thank you for diving right in to support the Thousand Cranes Project and for contributing $1526.81 to our March 23 Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fundraiser! Thanks to Salesforce.com Foundation, your donations will be matched for a total of $3053.62.This amount will be divided among the following Japan relief organizations:
1) Japan Platform: delivers humanitarian aid
2) Kids Earth Fund: offers mental/psychological support for children
3) ETIC: provides human resources development
4) Second Harvest Japan: gives food aid
To make additional contributions, or for more information, please go to Salesforce.com.
Through April 30, Edna students will continue to work with friends from Mill Valley and across the U.S. to fold origami cranes. A HUGE thank you to third-grader Lara Akmehmet for donating 1,000 cranes from family and friends who are busy folding an extra 2,000! And thanks also to second-grader Simon Dauth for donating 100 cranes! Edna Maguire is on track to donate a total of 4,000 cranes for the children of Japan.
In addition to being a symbolic gesture, the cranes project will also help rebuild schools destroyed by the quake and tsunami. For every paper crane mailed to Students Rebuild, a national initiative helping youth take action on global issues, the Bezos Family Foundation will donate $2 to Architecture for Humanity. Once 100,000 cranes are received, a Japanese artist will weave the cranes into a piece of art. The piece will be displayed on the property of a Japanese school that Architecture for Humanity will rebuild. For more information, visit facebook.com/papercranesforjapan.
Edna's Rainbow of Cranes will Soon Fly to the Children of Japan
Bingo Night Fundraiser
In addition to the crane project, Edna's Family Bingo Night raised an extra $1000 for our earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. We sent this money to the Brookstone Company, which matched our donation. Edna students should be especially proud to know that $2,000 will go to Save the Children, an organization that is helping Japanese children in the regions affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
What better way to spend a warm spring evening than learning some new things at the first annual Edna Maguire Science Fair! Thanks to student scientists Lukas Affeltranger, Lara Akmehmet, Lucy Allen, Hannah Alpert, Sebastian Ames, Nikki Batroff, Mariam Bham, Hannah Bishop, Jake Bourdages, Eloise Breckbill, Natalie Bricker, Kyra Carney, Jack Chai, , Kennedy Cook, Connor Dargan, Anya Dimaio, Andrew Dunne, Jason Dunne, Ellie Evans, David Fineman, Kate Freda, Madeline Furey Peters, Carina Kelly, Audrey Herrera, Shanzeh Iqbal, Luke Jessup, Lilly Ignon, Sophia Krivoruchko, Samantha Locke, Tomas Ludin, Cooper Marshall, Lucy Meisler, Keri Nakae, Amina Nakhuda, Khadija Nakhuda, Dara Noonan, Juliet Oreste, Avi Perkoff, Zoe Philippides, Alex Podesta, Ian Pratt, Joe Rico, Piper Santos, Olivia Shine Harris, Katie Southern, Mikaere Todd, and Georgia Westfall for sharing your work with us. Your projects were AWESOME!
Thank you to everyone who donated refreshments for the Science Fair Open House. And a special thanks to the following parents and staff members for making this event a success: Ann Eshoff, Kit Harris, Deborah Huber, Janie Karp, Julie McCrady, Lisa Orloff, Jo Southern, Kate Sprague and Lisa Zimmer
We also want to congratulate Georgia Westfall, the lucky winner of our drawing for a free week of summer camp at Camp Galileo. Thank you to Galileo Learning for donating this generous prize. At Camp Galileo, kids engage in hands-on art, science and outdoor activities, plus have tons of fun with camp traditions like dress up days, Waterball and the rubber chicken cheer. Visit the Galileo website to learn about four brand-new innovative themes for 2011.
Edna's Young Scientists Wowed Us with Their Projects!
See more Science Fair pictures
here. Whoo-whoo needs you? Edna's owls, that's who! We need someone with experience wiring a camera into a television, computer, or smart board so we can watch what's happening at Edna's Owl Inn. Please contact Ronnie for more information at ronniesharpe@me.com.
We need YOUR help to ensure that the seventh annual Edna Maguire Variety Show goes off without a hitch. This year, we especially need parents willing to be mentored to take over directing and producing roles that will be vacated by fifth grade parents Jody Branham, Deb Luster, Max Perkoff and Rob Thomure.
Be a part of carrying on this wonderful tradition of bringing the performing arts to life at Edna. Enjoy the fulfillment of watching kids' faces light up in response to the fun, supportive experience of being on stage--often for the first time- in the Edna Variety Show.
Here's a list of roles we're looking to fill:
• Assistant Director
• Show Production Coordinator
• Volunteer Coordinator
• Piano Accompanist
• Sound and Lights Technician
• Stage Manager
• Set Production
• Graphic Designer (posters and programs)
Please contact Jody Branham at jodyvera@pacbell.net or 388-1282 if you'd like to take on one of these roles! And don't forget--if your child is participating in the show, it's mandatory that you volunteer to assist with a production task. Look for sign up sheets at the rehearsals.
"What kind of bug is that?" "Can I recycle this container?" "We use how much water?!" These are some of the questions from students participating in Edna Maguire's Next Generation Green Schools program.
Next Generation provides Edna Maguire with Green Team and Garden Club facilitation, garden and sustainability education, field trip coordination, puppet shows and more. Program Coordinator Rebecca Mullaney is here every Thursday. She works with classes in the garden on an ongoing basis, delivers other environmental programs, and along with third grade teacher Carrie Morgan, meets with the Green Team or Garden Club.
Now in its third year at Edna, the Next Generation program empowers young people in Marin to learn more about environmental issues and sustainable solutions, gain leadership skills, and take action for our environment. Next Generation is funded by the Marin Community Foundation, Marin County Board of Supervisors, Marin Sanitary Service, local green businesses, schools, and many individual donors.
Visit www.gonextgeneration.org to learn more about Next Generation programs or make a donation! Or contact Rebecca Mullaney: 459- 6398 or rebecca@gonextgeneration.org.
We are sad to report that Thelma Cornish, a good friend of the garden, recently passed away. Thelma donated flower bulbs to the garden every year. They have been lovingly planted and tended near the main entrance and kindergarten garden beds where her spirit lives on. She was also kind enough to name the Children's Garden as a beneficiary of gifts in her memory. We will be choosing a permanent place to plant dahlias and other flower bulbs in her honor.
On Thursday, March 24, Edna Maguire will sponsor "The Thousand Cranes Project" for Earthquake and Tsunami Relief in Japan. We, along with Principal Zimmer, encourage each child to bring $1 - preferably of his or her own money - to contribute to a class envelope.
At the end of the day, we will collect the envelopes and make a cash contribution to the Salesforce.com Foundation on behalf of Edna Maguire. Salesforce.com Foundation will match our funds, dollar for dollar, and will work with a Japan-based organization focused on emergency relief and recovery efforts. For more information, and to make your own additional contributions, please go to SalesForce.com Foundation Thank you Edna parent and Salesforce.com Foundation Executive Director, Suzanne DiBianca, for facilitating this for us!
We also hope the students of Edna Maguire will join us in folding 1,000 origami cranes as a symbolic gesture to the children of Japan. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. We will be folding cranes in some of the classrooms and at lunch recess but will need more than one crane from each student to reach our goal of 1000. If you would like to make a crane at home, please stop by the office to pick up a piece of origami paper and click here to view written and video instructions. Once we have 1000 cranes, we will deliver them to the Japanese consulate as a gesture of good will. We hope the cranes will then be forwarded to a school or orphanage in Japan.
You can also find more information on how to help the earthquake victims, and make donations to the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief, at www.redcross.org. Or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
If you have any questions, please contact Janie Karp at jkarpj@comcast.net or Kit Harris at kitharris57@gmail.com. If you would like to help with the cranes, please contact Mari Allen at allenmari@hotmail.com.
Thank you for your care and support.
Sloat Garden Center is sponsoring another Growing Up Green Week, NOW through March 21! Just bring in your Edna Flyer.pdf and Sloat will donate a percentage of your purchase to the Children's Garden. The more who participate, the more benefits our garden will reap! So if you've been thinking about preparing your garden for spring or need some new garden tools or furniture, be sure to go to Sloat. Thanks for supporting the garden and for shopping locally!
Just in time for our Jump Rope Month, world champion jump rope artist Renee Bibaub put on a mesmerizing show at Edna on February 28. Students enjoyed watching her perform some amazing tricks--and even learned a few to try on their own. Bibaub also left them with this positive message: give your best effort, mistakes are okay, don't compare yourself to others, work on your own goals-- and have FUN! This event was funded by your PTA dollars.
Students will get to practice what Bibaub taught them--and jump their way to happier, healthier hearts-- as Jump Rope Month continues. If you can, please put a $1 donation for lifesaving heart and stroke programs sponsored by the American Heart Association in the envelope in the office. Many thanks to P.E. teacher Schuyler Harvey for organizing this event!
The Edna PTA Nominating Committee, chaired by Deborah Huber, has worked tirelessly for the past month to fill vacant PTA Board positions and committee chairs. We so appreciate all Deborah's time and energy, as well as the efforts of Kit Harris, Jennifer Hollander, Nicole Palmer and Caitlin Smith.
Pursuant to Article V, Section 3.g. of the PTA Bylaws, the report of the Nominating Committee was submitted and posted on March 6. The election will be held during the PTA Association Meeting on Wednesday, April 6 at 8:40 a.m. in the teachers' lounge. We hope you can join us!
2011-2012 PTA Executive Board Nominees
President: Janie Karp
Executive Vice President: Simone Slattery
VP of Student Well Being: Jenn Miller
VP of Programs: Karen Carr
VP of School Community: Kit Harris
VP of Fundraising: Stirling Somers
VP of Site Enhancement: Ingrid Lin
Treasurer: Jeannine Berman
Financial Secretary: Christine Freda
Recording Secretary: Christine Cole
Historian: Mari Allen
Auditor: Open
Enter Whole Foods Market Marin's Creative Reuse Contest, and you might just win a $1,000 grant for our school! As part of its mission to recycle and reduce waste, Whole Foods is looking for ways to turn regular waste items, such as sheets of plastic laminate, coated paper posters, vinyl banners, laminated signs, cardboard, and waxed cardboard into something new!
You must register for the contest by April 1. Just send an e-mail creative.reuse@wholefoods.com with your name. And be sure to mention your entry supports Edna! You'll receive more details and instructions on getting supplies to work with. (Please specify the location of your local Whole Foods Market, so we can arrange for pick-up.) See below for more information or call Susan Grelock from Whole Foods at 381-1200.
Win a $1,000 Grant
For Your Bay Area School or Nonprofit!
Enter Whole Foods Market Marin's Creative Reuse Contest
Our goal: Whole Foods Market has a mission to recycle and reduce waste. Still, grocery stores make some waste that is difficult to recycle or reuse. We are looking for ways to reuse our regular waste items - and support local nonprofits at the same time.
Your challenge: Can you take regular waste items and use them to make something new?
The raw materials: Typical waste includes sheets of plastic laminate, coated paper posters, vinyl banners, laminated signs, cardboard, and waxed cardboard.
What can you make? You can make a practical item (like a tote bag made from a vinyl banner or a notebook made with a waxed cardboard cover) or a fine art item (like paintings done on vinyl or collages made from old posters).
The event: Participants need to bring their item for judging to the Art of Community event on Saturday, April 30. Participants must arrive by noon. The event is open to the public from 1-4pm and will be at Whole Foods Market on 340 Third Street in San Rafael.
Promote your nonprofit or school: All participants must be partnered with a school or nonprofit. At the event, participants will be asked to staff a table to promote their organization. You may also sell additional items you made for donations to your nonprofit or school.
The winner: Submissions will be judged by a panel during the event and winners will be announced at 4pm. The winner will receive a check for $1,000 for the nonprofit or school of their choice. (The check should be available 2-4 weeks after the event.) Visitors at the event will also be invited to vote - the "People's Choice" winner will receive a $500 donation. Winners will also receive the opportunity to have their nonprofit or school featured in a Whole Foods Market store.
Register: Participants need to register by April 1. Register by emailing creative.reuse@wholefoods.com. Provide your name and the name of the organization you are working with. After registering, you will receive more details and instructions on getting your supplies to work with. (Please specify the location of your local Whole Foods Market, so we can arrange for pick-up.) Questions? Call Susan Grelock from Whole Foods Market at 415-381-1200.
Thank you, Edna Maguire community, for participating in our first E-Waste Drive in January. We collected six pallets of old appliances, electronics, cell phones, and televisions in only three hours, earning $540 for our school! The PTA will use these funds to purchase new P.E. and recess equipment. Special thanks go out to Green Team member Elissa Asch for giving up her Saturday morning to help out. And to kindergarten teacher Lisa Stapp, who not only spent her morning working at the event, but also organized it! See you at our next E-Waste Drive in June.
A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped bring the Dr. Seuss Café to life for our students: Barbara Bleckman, Laura Bowman, Debbie Carney, Catherine Grava, Kit Harris, Deborah Huber, Merrie Jaffe, Kira Keane, Lyra Kelly, Karen Olson, Ann Riley, Stirling Somers and Cathy Wilmoth.
Thanks also to the first grade classes for the great Dr. Seuss art, Mr. Stachon's fourth grade class for cleaning up, and all our fifth grade waiters! And special thanks to librarian Lisa Monge and library aide Anne Fretes for providing plenty of Dr. Seuss books and lending us the library for the week.
Dear Family,
Earlier in my career, I had the horrible experience of teaching in a school where a 5-year-old child was hit and killed by a car. Our entire community was devastated by this tragedy, and I have never forgotten it. Research shows that 50% of children hit by cars near schools are struck by parents of other students.
Recently, we have noticed an increase in adults letting children out of their vehicles in the middle of the street. The children must then run around the vehicles to get to a sidewalk. In addition, people are still parking in loading zones, not using designated drop-off areas, ignoring speed limits, and cutting off bicycle riders! To control these dangerous practices, we've asked the Mill Valley Police Department for help. You may see officers patrolling our parking lot and crosswalks.
I URGE YOU - PLEASE PRACTICE SAFE, FOCUSED, RESPONSIBLE DRIVING! Here are some guidelines we should all follow when driving, walking or biking to school:
Drivers
- Stop and look for pedestrians crossing the street
- Expect the unexpected - be prepared to stop suddenly!
- Drive at or under the speed limit, especially in our school zone.
- Look for pedestrians when pulling out of driveways or driving around parked cars.
- Use our car-line for drop off and pick up--it doesn't take long!
- Be especially watchful for families and children on bikes on Lomita. The sidewalk is uneven and narrow, often forcing cyclists into the road.
- Check your side mirrors for pedestrians or bikes when you are avoiding oncoming traffic due to the narrow road.
- Stay off your phone--no call is that important!
- Remember -- your vehicle is a deadly weapon when it comes in contact with a human body or animal.
Pedestrians and Cyclists
- Use crosswalks and obey the crossing guard
- Dismount from your bike in crosswalks
- Don't cross a road between parked cars
- Wait for the "walk" signal when crossing a street with traffic lights.
- Talk to your child about traffic rules; model behavior you want him to practice
- Walk alert! Never assume a driver can see you.
Our car-line program also plays an important role in helping to make our school safer. We rely on volunteers from each classroom to keep it running smoothly, and to help kids get in and out of their cars each morning and afternoon. Please check the schedule and pitch in to help when possible! Click here to see the calendar.
Finally, I want to thank Safe Routes to School of Marin and the Mill Valley Police Department for their time, support and guidance. For more information, go to www.dhs.ca.gov/routes2school or http://www.saferoutestoschools.org.
Sincerely,
Lisa Zimmer
Click here to take action now!
On February 9, the Mill Valley School District Board of Trustees approved the design for the new Edna Maguire School. Wally Gordon of the architectural firm Deems Lewis McKinley, presented the design documents, which included a comprehensive functional and aesthetic design review. Current cost estimates for the approved design are within the $28.8 million construction budget. View the Edna Maguire Design Development Presentation.
If you look up at two of the trees past our softball field and near the bike path, you'll see Edna's two new owl boxes. They were installed to provide homes and nesting sights for Marin's native barn owls. Be sure to keep an eye out for signs that owl families have moved into the inn! And remember--observing is great, but please don't disturb the owl homes.
Thank you to Julie Hanft of The Hungry Owl Project for consulting with us and locating the ideal spot for our owl houses. Also, thank you to Randy Harris with Artistry In Trees and Edna parent for hanging the homes in the trees. And thanks to all of YOU for protecting our shared environment and welcoming the barn owls to Edna Maguire! Contact Ronnie Sharpe (ronniesharpe@me.com) if you have any questions.
Kudos to Edna students Ella Bricker, Natalie Bricker, Jamie Snell and Carly Toole for raising almost $600 for Malaria No More with their "Fun-Raiser." The girls were recently featured in the "Super Supporters" segment of the Malaria No More blog for their outstanding work! You go, girls!
Do you want to help Edna Maguire continue to be the great school it is? Would you like to get more involved at Edna? If so, we need you!
The Edna PTA Nominating Committee needs to fill three PTA Executive Board positions - VP of Student Well Being, Auditor and Recording Secretary. We are looking for enthusiastic people with good organizational skills and attention to detail. You'll attend monthly board meetings and, if you're VP of Student Well being, oversee chairs of some fun committees. All three roles provide a great opportunity to make a visible contribution to our school and play an important role in the PTA.
The PTA is also recruiting chairs to head up a number of PTA committees, such as Book Fair Evening Event, Woody's Ice Cream Social, and Community Outreach, to name just a few. These roles offer a great way to get involved and contribute to Edna in specific areas.
If you are interested and would like more information, please contact Deborah Huber (dhuber4@aol.com) or Kit Harris (kitter01@comcast.net)
In addition to our Mighty Mustang logo, the original Edna Maguire logo is now available from Lands' End for your spirit wear purchases. You can add either logo to a huge collection of t-shirts, sweatshirts, lunch bags, backpacks and tote bags for only $5.50. And if you place an order by February 11, you can add a logo for just a penny!
Look for the original logo near the lower right-hand corner of the Edna home page or click here. Be sure to use our Preferred School Code - 900129768 so 3 percent of your purchase will go back to Edna Maguire.
Every year, Kiddo! funds a mini-grant program to help our outstanding teachers incorporate innovative ideas and technology in their classrooms. Here's how the mini grants are enhancing our kids' education this year:
Eth-Noh-Tec Troupe performance for K-5th: Exposes our students to different cultures by showcasing Asian storytellers and performance artists. (Funds from Edna's PTA also helped make this performance possible.)
Document Camera for the art room: Makes it easier for students to share art, focus and engage in larger classroom settings.
Thank you to our Birthday Book Club Members for giving the gift of a new book to Edna's library on their special day! It's not too late for your child to join the club--click here to download the form.
Thank you to Lululemon for their grant of $600 to purchase new P.E. equipment and balls. Every Edna student has P.E. so we all benefit from this generous gift. Of course, none of this would have happened without the support of Edna parent and Lululemon employee, Margaret Krivoruchko.
There's still time to treat your sweet ones to delicious chocolate from See's this Valentine's Day--and to show some love for Edna, too! The deadline to submit candy sale order forms and proceeds has been extended to Friday, January 28. Enjoy the ease of ordering See's candy directly through Edna Maguire. Order forms are available in the office or here. Candy will be delivered on Monday, February 7. Thank you for participating in this important event that directly benefits our students.
The School Site Council is sponsoring this year's Family Bingo Night, scheduled for March 26. We need prizes for adults and kids! If you have new, unused items to donate, or gift cards you won't be using, please bring them to the office. Our first bingo night last year drew a huge crowd. The more prizes we have this year, the more games we can play!
We are all part of the Edna community, so even if you don't plan to use the car line, it's important that you do your share to make it successful and keep our school safe. Please sign up to volunteer during your classroom shift! Also, when using the car line, please remember to move as far forward as possible and wait for a volunteer to help your child out of your vehicle. Thanks for helping to keep our car line running smoothly!
Have you thought about where your children would get water after an earthquake or other natural disaster during school hours? We have. As part of our unwavering commitment to the health and safety of your children, the Edna PTA has purchased a H2OG (a.k.a. "the water hog").
The H2OG holds 50 gallons of potable water and is engineered to last 20 years. The tank water will be changed and refilled annually. In addition to the H2OG, Edna stores 120 gallons of water in plastic containers. With the H20G, we'll be able to purchase fewer of these containers. And at the end of each year, we'll recycle the H2OG's water into our landscape! To learn more about our H2OG visit http://rainwaterhog.com.
Edna's Very Own Water Hog (H2OG)
For just $20, you can relive the incredible events and experiences of this school year every time you open your 2011 yearbook. The deadline for orders is January 31. Absolutely NO orders will be accepted after this date!
Make checks payable to Edna Maguire PTA.
Please Note: If you already ordered a yearbook on the PTA One-Stop Shopping form at the beginning of the year, you do not need to fill out another form.
Support our popular Sutter Fort and Walker Creek programs, plus other school programs, by selling scrumptious chocolates from See's Candies for Valentine's Day. Edna can earn up to 50 percent from our See's sales! Instructions, order forms and collection envelopes were sent home in last week's Wednesday folder. You can also get them in the office or on our website. Please return your order form and all proceeds to your child's teacher or the office by Wednesday, January 26. We'll deliver the chocolates on Monday, February 7.
Edna Maguire collects Box Tops and you can help! Just look for the bright pink label on food items such as Gogurt, Bisquick, Gold Medal Flour, Cheerios, Pull-ups, and a variety of other General Mills, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, and Betty Crocker products. Clip the pink coupons from boxes and turn them in at the office. We'll collect and send them in for cash. Each Box Top is worth 10 cents! The money adds up quickly--especially when every family is on the hunt for these treasures!
Registration for next fall's kindergarteners kicked off this month. Additional registration dates are listed below:
- Thursday, January 13
- Monday, February 7
- Thursday, February 10
Please go to the Mill Valley School District Office, 411 Sycamore Ave, from 1 to 7:30 p.m. on these dates to sign up your child for kindergarten. You'll find important registration information and forms at www.mvschools.org.
If you resolved to make your life easier in 2011, make ednamaguire.org your one-stop source for school information. Starting today, 1-1-11, bookmark ednamaguire.org and check in frequently!
Fifth Grade
Mrs. O'Connor - T.K Dalke, Ryan Hemmeter
Mr. Sanchez - Ronan Cain, Lilly Fuller
Mrs. Shern - Fergus Campbell, Emma Schultz
Fourth Grade
Mrs. Eshoff - Caden Hollander, Shanzeh Igbal
Mr. Stachon - Luke Affeltrenger, Graci Salcunni
Mrs. Sprague - Eloise Breckbill, Gabriel Reuter
Winter Spirit Day is coming! It's the last day of school before the holidays, and we're in the mood to celebrate. This year's theme is Winter Wear, so come to class decked out in your favorite woolly scarves, hats, mittens and other cold weather gear. This event is sponsored by the Edna Student Council.
There's still time to make a contribution to The Marin Food Bank and Toys for Tots! Help the Student Council reach its goal of collecting 467 food items--one for each Edna student--and 100 toys by December 17. Students can bring donations of non-perishable food items and new, unwrapped toys to their classrooms or the office.
The Holiday Season brings lots of celebrations with special foods. For some kids, it also brings more exposure to dangerous allergens. Please make sure to bring only nut-free snacks and treats to school holiday parties. And keep in mind that some children also have allergies to foods such as eggs, milk, wheat, crustacean shellfish and soy. The best way to protect kids with allergies is to avoid exposing them to potentially deadly food. Thanks for your cooperation!
Did you know that all of your Amazon.com orders can benefit Edna Maguire? Amazon.com will give 10% of your total purchase back to Edna. Just shop via the Amazon School Rewards logo on ednamaguire.org. Shopping at Book Passage in Corte Madera also supports Edna. Book Passage contributes 5% of all purchases to our library. Just mention Edna to the cashier when you're ready to pay. At the end of each fiscal year, the store sends a gift certificate to our librarian, Lisa Monge, to purchase books for the library. For more information, contact Mari Allen at allenmari@hotmail.com.
Want your child to start the first week back at school in January with tasty, nutritious lunches from Revolution Foods? Then be sure to place your orders by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 29.
"This is really, really hard."
"Wheelchairs are cool!"
"You have to learn a lot when you're blind."
"Can I try on that artificial arm?"
These are just a few of the comments heard from fourth graders as they participated in a disability awareness program brought to Edna Maguire by an organization called A Touch of Understanding. The program encourages acceptance and empathy toward people with disabilities. It also teaches participants to appreciate the differences in all individuals.
For a couple of hours, our fourth graders took a short walk in the shoes of people with disabilities, giving them a glimpse into their daily lives. At a variety of interactive stations, students got to navigate in a wheelchair, walk with a white cane, learn to write Braille, and experience the challenges people with learning disabilities and Autism face. They also listened to inspiring volunteers talk about their disabilities, and had the chance to ask them questions about their lives. It was an exciting morning for the fourth graders, one they'll remember long after they slipped off those shoes.
See more pictures.
Edna Maguire tied with Coleman School to win the Early Bird SchoolPool award from Kaiser. We received a prize of $250, which was presented to Lisa Zimmer by Laura Kelly of Safe Routes to Schools on Friday, December 3, 2010.
Hello! Green Team is here to help you with your green problems. One of your biggest concerns is what to do with old electronics. We have an answer for you. Edna is having an E-Waste Drive on Saturday, January 29, at 9 a.m. So save all of your electronics for the school! Your old computers, printers, screens and cell phones can earn our school money. So, bring them in on January 29, but, please, leave your batteries, light bulbs, and appliances at home! Thanks!
This article was written by third grade Green Teamers Justin Carr, Luke Chase and Elias Michael. Way to go, guys!
You can register your future kindergartner at the Mill Valley School District office on January 10 and 13 or February 7 and 10. To download registration forms, go to www.mvschools.org
If your child is bound for sixth grade, be sure to sign up for a tour of the Mill Valley Middle School. All tours begin at 8:45 a.m. unless otherwise noted and are for ADULTS ONLY. Here are the dates:
February 9
March 24 -- 6:30 pm (evening tour)
April 7
May 3
May 26
To sign up, call or e-mail Deric Carter at 389-7711, extension 2874 or dcarter@mvschools.org. If you need to leave a message, please include your contact information and the date of the tour you'd like to take.
Looking for that perfect holiday gift for an Edna student or someone else on your list? We've got you covered! Just click on http://www.ednamaguire.org/spirit-wear-2008.html to order shirts, fleece wear, bags, hats and other items sporting Edna's Mighty Mustangs logo. Let your Edna spirit shine this holiday season and all year long!
A Toys for Tots box is now in the front office. Please drop off your new, unwrapped and unopened toys through December 17. We welcome any donations, but would especially appreciate gifts for two age groups that are often overlooked: Infants and Preteens. No teddy bears, please! For more information, contact Erin Griffis at erin.griffis@sbcglobal.net
A big shout out to all our August, September and October Birthday Book donors! We truly appreciate your gift to the Edna Maguire Library. It's not too late for your child to share his special day with us. To contribute a Birthday Book in your child's name, just fill out the form and order one today!
Thanks for having a ball with us at this year's Book Fair. Due to your generous book and raffle ticket purchases, our Book Fair raised $6532.47 for our school library! This amount represents 20% of all book sales and 100% of raffle ticket sales.
The Book Fair Coordinators--Jessica Ryan, Christine Freda, and Mari Allen-- could not have made this event possible without the enthusiasm and dedication of our army of volunteers. Click here to see the complete list.
Add one to your holiday table and benefit the Children's Garden. Large wreaths are $25 and small wreaths are $15.
Don't have time to read every school-related e-mail that comes your way but want to stay up to date on Edna news and activities? Just go to our improved website, www.ednamaguire.org, at your convenience. Thanks to our very own web guru, Tim Schultz, the Edna website is now your one-stop source for regularly updated school announcements, event information, photos, district news, community happenings and more. You can even download old issues of the Pony! And back by popular demand, bite-size reminders of important dates and events are once again available on Twitter.
Yearbooks are on sale NOW. For just $20, you can relive the incredible events and experiences of this school year every time you open your 2011 yearbook. Each colorful page will capture the friends, fun, favorite teachers, classes, games, music, art --and everything in between--that made for a memorable year.
The deadline for orders is January 31. Absolutely NO orders will be accepted after this date! Here's how to get your copy of the yearbook:
• Order online at www.JostensYearbooks.com
• Or bring cash/check to the school office with this order form Make checks payable to Edna Maguire PTA.
Please Note: If you already ordered a yearbook on the PTA One-Stop Shopping form at the beginning of the year, you do not need to fill out another form.
The Marin Food Bank barrels will be in the front office until December 13. Please drop off your donations of high protein food such as canned tuna, salmon, chicken and peanut butter. The bank also needs staples like canned fruits and vegetables, dry cereals, rice, beans, pasta, pasta sauce, hearty canned soups and nutritional drinks such as Ensure. And for the holidays, seasonal fare such as canned yams, cranberry sauce, canned ham, packaged potatoes are also appreciated. Happy Holidays!
Edna Maguire recently tied with Coleman Elementary to win the Kaiser Early Bird School Award. We earned the award for signing up the largest percentage of our families for SchoolPool in the first month of the school year. SchoolPool reduces traffic congestion by promoting carpooling, biking and walking to school. More than 60 schools currently participate in the program. Edna and Coleman will split the $500 cash award. Way to go, everybody!
Last month, Edna fifth graders took a special emergency preparation class based on the popular "Get Ready" program. Get Ready Fifth Grade participants completed exercises and discussed emergencies they might experience, such as earthquakes, fires and floods. They also learned about creating a family emergency plan, what supplies they would need to shelter at home, and what to take with them in an evacuation. Parents interested in taking the original "Get Ready" class can call 380-1105 for information.
Wet weather couldn't put a damper on all the Haunted Harvest fun. A BIG SHOUT OUT to the tireless volunteers who made this event such a smashing success! We especially want to thank Fest Coordinator Barbara Bleckman for her relentless enthusiasm and for recruiting a fantastic team of committee heads: Suzanne Alpert, Bruce Berrol, Jody Branham, Cheri Chamberlain, Mary Cronander, Jill Dimaio, Samantha Fazio, Amy Fierstein, Lori Fineman, Lisa Gilmore, Erin Griffis, Nicole Lamb, Heidi Longo, Carrie Morgan, Rebecca Mullaney, Marcia Myers, Karen Olson, Amy Price, Hajara Salenbhai, Jennifer Sheets, Simone Slattery, Lisa Stapp, Tina Taylor, Rob Thomure, Sam Toole and Donna Wenig. We also thank the numerous other volunteers---too many to name--who helped prepare for, set up, run and clean-up the festival. We appreciate each and every one of you!
Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make our Farmers' Market a HUGE success this fall. We raised over $500 for Edna's garden thanks to our harvesters, bakers and sellers: Lori Fineman, Tracy Ginther, Kit Harris, Beth LaDove, Lisa Nave, Kristin Silmore, Simone Slattery, Paula Stetler, Crystal Von Pischke and Natasha Wells. The Farmers'Market will re-open for business next spring--see you then!
Last week, the City of Mill Valley received a state Safe Routes to Schools grant for $363,130. The grant for this project was one of only 85 selected from 400 applications submitted statewide. This is great news for our kids who will benefit from a variety of safety improvements as they make their way to and from school. Some of the planned improvements include a pedestrian crossing beacon at Almonte and Miller; upgraded school area signs and pavement markings; and wider sidewalks and curb extensions on East Blithedale at Elm and Alta Vista. Construction of the improvements is slated for 2011/12. If you have questions, please contact Senior Civil Engineer Jill Barnes at 388-4033.
Thanks to you - Edna students, parents and staff--Steeplechase 2010, a.k.a the Chicken Run, was a great success! It took LOTS of helping hands to pull off this event. We appreciate all the volunteers who helped set up and tear down the course, asked questions, marked lap cards and performed many other tasks. And we'd like to give a special shout out to Jon Cronander for clearing sand from the course and Chris Newell for playing great tunes that kept everyone's feet moving.
Thanks also for our ice cream scoopers for rewarding our hot, hard-working kids with a cool treat: Anne Buxton, Deb Carney, Suzanne DiBianca, Monika do Valle, Molly Farrell, Shawn Marshall, Maija Muncy, Tim Peters, Stephanie Phillip, Kathy Reed, Simone Slattery, Lyra Waugh, and Joung Yoon.
And thank you Steeplechase committee members for your countless hours behind the scenes: Mari Allen, Suzanne Alpert, Dawn Davis, Leslie Fielder, Barb Gerraty, Kit Harris, Janie Karp, Katrina Kehl, Deb Luster, Julie McCrady, Sean Norton, Nicole Palmer, Ronnie Sharpe, Stirling Somers, Justine Whitehead, Cathy Wilmoth, and Lisa Zimmer.
The PTA would like to extend a special thanks to this year's Steeplechase sponsors. Together, they donated more than $17,000 towards our kids' education! Please show your appreciation for their generosity by supporting them throughout the year!
Logo Sponsors
Camino Pet Veterinary Hospital & Wellness Center
Catamount Ventures
dogonews.com
Faubel Construction Inc.
Flying Horses
Green Space
Henry's Toyshop
Hillstone Restaurant
Main Street Research LLC
Mill Valley Investment
Mill Valley Swirl
NetSuite
West America Tae Kwon Do
Whole Foods Market
Other Sponsors
Amazing Adventures Travel
Art Start
Bagrationi Sparkling Wine
Balboa Cafe Mill Valley
Betty's Beauty Boutique
John E Boland, DDS, MSD
Burge - Pacific Enterprises, Inc.
Cabana Home
Can Do Kid, Inc.
Carlson Orthodontics
Cat Clinic of Mill Valley
Dr. Robert S. Christensen
Concordia Bookkeeping & Business Advisory Services
Critterland Pets
Doggie Styles
Fullerton Soccer Camps
Gila C. Dorostkar, DDS, PC
Shere Goo, State Farm Insurance
Goodman Building Supply
HILLTOP 1892
Jessup Associates Architects
LB Productions
Levinson Construction
Lexington Law Group
Malugani Tire
marysacupuncture@gmail.com
Mill Valley Dentistry
New Dimension Custom Builders
Noci
Novato Pediatric Dentistry
Proof Lab Surf Shop
Redwood Security Systems, Inc.
Dr. Dorothy Slattery
Tamalpais Paint & Color
Tamalpais Pet Hospital
Terra Teak & Garden
Think Clean Cleaners
Town Hall Restaurant
Dr. Ladan Vakili, Pediatric Dentistry
Vasco Restaurant
Woody's Yogurt Place
See The Flyer
Come hear a fantastic concert featuring Violist and Edna Maguire mom Jenny Douglass AND support Kiddo at the same time!! This special event is this weekend - Sunday, Nov. 14 at 7:30pm in the Marin Center Auditorium at the San Rafael Civic Center. Buy your tickets now at www.kiddo.org/donate/index2.php and 50% of the ticket price goes to Kiddo! Tickets are $70 for adults and $20 for students 17-and-under (with an accompanying adult ticket). Tickets for this special Kiddo fundraiser will be held at the Marin Center box office's 'will call' window and cannot be purchased on the day of the show. So buy them today!!
Are you receiving Kiddo!'s monthly newsletter?
It's a visual delight filled with photos and information. Check out past issues on our website and you can send an email to update@kiddo.org to add your email to our distribution list. If you have photos you would like to submit, please contact Kelly Cacic at kcacic@kiddo.org.
ITAV, Mill Valley's Special Education PTA, invites you to join us for next parent coffee. These monthly events provide parents of kids with learning differences to meet and get support from each other. Our next coffee is coming up on November 12, from 9 to 11 a.m. at 186 Corte Madera Avenue. Visit http://www.itavmv.org for more information.
Dear Family,
This year's Chicken Run, also known as Steeplechase, was a big hit! Students love this event--it's great to watch them challenge themselves as they take another lap or cheer on their classmates. Thanks to all who ran, walked, cheered or volunteered on the course. And I want to extend a special thanks to Cathy Wilmoth and her team of volunteers for organizing this year's event.
As our primary fundraiser, Steeplechase is more important than ever this year. Your donations help pay for classroom supplies, technology and hands-on-learning for EVERY student. As you know, our state is experiencing major cut backs in education funding. Our local fundraising is critical to support programs here at Edna Maguire and throughout the district.
The teachers and I would like to thank you for all the support you give us to make our school such an incredible place to learn and grow. Our goal is to get 100% participation by every student in our school. We are asking each family to contribute $300 per student, but any donation is appreciated. Please turn in your pledge packets by October 29!
Lisa Zimmer and the Edna Maguire Teachers and Support Staff
After a record-setting delay, the California Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger finally passed the 2010-11 state budget. California State PTA believes that no one who cares about the welfare and education of children can be satisfied with this budget.
The budget suspends Proposition 98, the minimum funding guarantee for education, and our schools will receive billions less than otherwise required under the law. And once again, the budget was balanced with little in the way of new revenues, relying instead on spending reductions, anticipated federal funds and accounting gimmicks. After $17 billion in cuts to education the past few years, overall K-12 education funding will remain fairly constant from last year's funding level.
California State PTA is especially angered by the Governor's veto of more than $1 billion from critical programs for children and families - after the Legislature had voted to largely protect these programs. At a time when such help is needed more than ever, these vetoes are devastating.
Click here to view California State PTA's entire Informational Alert regarding the budget and to find additional links to the complete budget.
Last week, Edna Maguire conducted its annual emergency disaster drill. The entire school participated in this important event. Each staff member was assigned a task in Communications/Volunteer Coordinators, Student Release, Search and Rescue, Damage Assessment, Safety/Security, First Aid or Shelter/Sanitation/Water. We coordinated the drill with parent volunteers, the district and the fire department. During the drill, we pulled out all of our disaster container supplies and did a mock run-through of our emergency procedures. After, our local experts provided us with valuable feedback we can use to improve our system.
On a related note, please remember to sign in at the office and receive a visitor badge whenever you are on campus! This is for the safety of our children and your safety. Should an emergency occur, we must account for EVERYONE on campus. If we don't know you're here, we won't know to look for you. In addition, if you take your child out of school early or arrive late, you must sign him or her in/out at the office. Thank you for your cooperation.
As you probably know, we are fortunate to have a crossing guard in front of our school. The crossing guard has the authority to take whatever measures he or she deems appropriate to keep our community safe. This holds true for cyclists as well as pedestrians. If your child rides a bike to school, please review the following laws provided by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition:
- If you are within a designated crosswalk, dismount and walk your bike across the street.
- If the crosswalk is a connector/continuation of two bike paths, you can ride your bike as if you were still on the designated pathway. The Blithedale crosswalk is such a connector. The crosswalk at Lomita that ends at the flagpole in front of our school, however, is not a continuation of two bike paths. Therefore, you must get off your bike and walk it across the street.
It Takes a Village is a support group and Special Education PTA (SEPTA) for parents of Mill Valley School District (K-8) students who learn differently. Our mission (click through to Mission Statement) is to promote the academic success of ALL students who learn differently--not just those with learning disabilities--through parent education and advocacy. We even have members whose children don't have learning differences. These parents simply want to learn more about strategies to strengthen their children's education.
Kudos to fourth graders
Mikaere Todd and Jacob Berrol and fifth grader Damin Park for winning Edna's spelling bee! These super spellers will compete in the South Regional Bee on Thursday, October 19. We are very proud of ALL the fourth and fifth grade students who participated in our event. It's tough to spell words "on the spot" in front of a big group of people. Great job, everyone!
Laura devotes many hours to beautifying our school. On Saturday, October 9, she painted the walls of Edna Maguire--by herself! Thanks to her efforts, our campus is a more attractive and inviting place for all of us to enjoy. Please take a moment to show your appreciation to Laura for all her hard work.
Dear Families,
This Wednesday, October 6, is International Walk to School Day. I'd like to invite everyone to join me in walking to Edna Maguire! Along with Mrs. Harvey and Mr. Jett, I will meet you at the Community Center at 8:10 a.m. From there, we'll all walk or ride bikes together.
When you register for International Walk to School Day at School Pool Marin
(www.schoolpoolmarin.org) you'll be eligible to win a $5 Jamba Juice gift card. Plus, you'll help Edna compete for cash awards in the SchoolPool Challenge. The school with the most SchoolPool Early Bird sign-ups will win $500 contributed by Kaiser Permanente! It only takes a few minutes to register, so please sign up today. Put your best foot forward and join friends and millions of students worldwide by choosing a green way to get to school.
Silly Band Ban
On another note, students may no longer bring or wear Silly Bands to school. We have had incidents of students trading them, taking them from each other and arguing over them. They have been a constant disruption to our learning environment. The teachers and I appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Lisa Zimmer
Be a GARDEN BUG! Do a task for a few minutes or a few hours--whatever fits your schedule. Just check the "To Do" sign posted in the garden and choose a chore. Weed for ten minutes while you wait to pick up your child. Trim the roses. Put away work gloves. Every little bit helps keep our precious garden blooming! For more information or instructions for larger projects, please e-mail Barbara (barbaracrampton@comcast.net).
The rack by the front office is bulging with lost jackets! We also have racks of unlabeled, unclaimed items in the multipurpose room. Please come look through them if your child has lost anything. New this year: at the end of the month, we will take all lost and found items to the multi purpose room and box them up for our semi-annual lost and found sale.
The following students currently have items in the green 'Labeled Items' milk crate outside the office:
Jackets: Jacob Berrol, Corey, Sophie G., Gilmore, Leah, Lauryn I., Levine
Wanbua Musyoki, Pied, M. Zimmermann,
Miscellaneous: Kassidy Stetler - stainless food containers; Jessica Tempero - school homework folder
A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped Edna's Picture Day go off without a hitch: Mari Allen, Christine Brandt, Marie Cardinal, Jill Dimaio, Nancy Ericsson, Margaret Krivoruchko, Simone Slattery, Josie Viscardi, Justine Whitehead, Cathy Wilmoth and Michelle Zimmerman.
Can't make it to the Garden Work Day? Then be a GARDEN BUG. Do a task for a few minutes or a few hours--whatever fits your schedule. Just check the "To Do" sign posted in the garden and choose a chore. Weed for ten minutes while you wait to pick up your child. Trim the roses. Put away work gloves. Every little bit helps keep our precious garden blooming! For more information or instructions for larger projects, please e-mail Barbara (barbaracrampton@comcast.net).
Please take a moment to complete your PTA permission slip. Doing so ensures that your children can join in all the fun, fantastic and fabulous events happening at Edna this year. Misplaced the form? Every student needs a signed permission slip to participate in ANY PTA activity, including Steeplechase, which is right around the corner!
Your contribution of $7 per child helps us provide emergency supplies for every Edna student. The money enables us to keep a well-stocked inventory of up-to-date medical supplies, blankets, snacks and other essential items. It also goes toward the expense of maintaining the emergency supplies container and water tank. And it helps us cover the costs for students requiring financial assistance. Please make your contribution today. Thank you!
Just a reminder--if you haven't already turned in your car line acknowledgment form, please do so ASAP! There's an envelope for them in the office. We are ALL part of the Edna community, so even if you don't plan to use car line, it is still imperative to do your share to make it successful and keep our school safe. Please plan to volunteer during your classroom shift. Thanks so much for your help and cooperation!
Yes! Edna Maguire collects Box Top s and you can help! Just look for the bright pink label on food items such as Gogurt, Bisquick, Gold Medal Flour, Cheerios, Pull-ups, and a variety of other General Mills, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, and Betty Crocker products. Clip the pink coupons from boxes and turn them in at the office. We'll collect and send them in for cash. Each Box Top is worth 10 cents! The money adds up quickly--especially when every family is on the hunt for these treasures!
Regular attendance plays an important role in student achievement. If your child has an unexcused absence, he will be responsible for making up any work he missed. With enough notice, teachers will try to provide students with assignments and homework during an absence. However, many assignments can't be made up, which may negatively affect a student's grades.
Students who are out of school due to unexcused absences for more than 15 consecutive student school days will be removed from their school rolls. They must re-enroll with the district upon return. There's no guarantee that, upon re-enrolling, a student will return to the school and class that she left.
Edna families, please bring in your gently used backpacks during September! Our goal is to collect enough backpacks for all 178 students at Jesus Manzilla Elementary School in Colima, Mexico. Please drop off your bags in the collection bin in the office. The packs will be delivered in December. For more information contact Erin Griffis at Erin.griffis@sbcglobal.net or Karen Benke at karen@karenbenke.com.
Steeplechase, our main fundraiser, is right around the corner. If you have a business, please consider sponsoring our Steeplechase t-shirts at the $200, $400 or $600 level. Just fill out this form and return it to the school office by September 24. If you have questions, please contact Cathy Wilmoth at 786-6923.
As you probably know, schools across California have had their financial resources reduced by the state by $17 billion over the past three years. In Marin County, our schools have lost $54 million dollars. Last month, the State of California announced it was postponing until October providing our schools with funding they were supposed to receive this month. This means that $6,715,781 Marin County public schools were depending on to meet their financial obligations will not be available for at least 30 days.
Mary Jane Burke, Marin County Superintendent of Schools, is urging ALL residents of California to rise up and say "ENOUGH!" Click here to read her complete letter. To find out how to call, write or email our elected representatives, go to http://saveourschools.marinschools.org/TakeAction.htm. Every voice counts--make yours heard today!
Welcome back to school! THANK YOU to the 931 families district-wide who have already made their commitment to the 2010 Annual Campaign. Your generous contributions will help us preserve the following important programs for our students at Edna Maguire School.
• Art with Jackie LaLanne, Amy Faulkner, and Katie Mostert
• K-3rd Grade Music with Nora Thomas
• 4th -5th Grade Music with Anna Stearns
• 3rd & 4th Grade Chorus with Nora Thomas
• 5th Grade Chorus with Jessica Stewart
• 5th Grade Band with Cayce Carnahan
• 4th & 5th Grade Orchestra with Phoebe Dong
• K, 4th & 5th Grade Dance with Alan Scofield
• Poetry Specialists in 1st, 3rd, 4th & 5th grades
• Drama in 2nd & 5th grade
• Library Aide
• Classroom Aides in multiple rooms
• School Technology Specialists
• Mobile Laptop Carts
• Art and music supplies
• Teacher Mini-Grants
With increasing enrollment, cuts in state funding and declining property taxes, Kiddo! is committed to picking up an additional $300,000 with an Annual Campaign goal of nearly $2 million. Currently, our family participation rate is less than 50% which means that more than 1,000 families have not yet made their Kiddo! donation for this school year. To reach our goal and maintain our arts programs and current levels of library and aides as well as technology support, we need
everyone's support! So please make your donation today.
The recommended donation is $950 or more per student. Contributions at all levels are appreciated --
our goal is 100% family participation. Donate online at
www.kiddo.org, mail your contribution to Kiddo!, 409 Sycamore Ave., Mill Valley, 94941, or call the Kiddo! office at 389-7789 to arrange for an installment plan that meets your family's needs. Thank you for helping Mill Valley kids reach their full potential!
Kiddo! Business Campaign. Are you a parent with a local business? Support our schools and get valuable exposure for your business by becoming a Business Partner. You can sponsor your child's classroom, or be a school or district-wide sponsor. Contact Business Campaign chairperson Becky Houha ( becky.houha@comcast.net) for more details or call the Kiddo! office: 389-7792. And if you've found a new store in town or have a favorite business that you think would make a good partner, drop Becky a line with the name of the business and a contact name. Please also contact Becky if you'd like to help solicit business partners. Forms for Business Partnerships are available on the
Kiddo! Website.
Sign-up for our Monthly Online Kiddo! Newsletter! Keep up to date on all the current Kiddo! news and events. Each issue includes useful information about our Annual and Business Partner Campaigns as well as Kiddo!-related fundraising events, classroom performances and exhibitions. And of course, lots of cute photos of MVSD students in Kiddo! sponsored activities. Visit our website to see issues from 2009-10.
If you would like to be added to our Kiddo! e-mail or regular mailing distribution lists, please send your contact information to: update@kiddo.org. And if you have photos of Kiddo! related events & activities to share in our newsletter or to post to our online gallery, send them to kcacic@kiddo.org.
Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival. Don't miss the Mill Valley Arts Festival in Old Mill Park, September 25 and 26. Be sure to stop by the Kiddo! booth for coffee, yummy baked goods, pizza and snacks. If you'd like to volunteer to work at the booth, email Kiddo! volunteer coordinator, Wendy Johnson wrjohnson67@gmail.com or call her at 531-5311.
Shop for the Arts in our Schools
• Last year Kiddo! and Mill Valley Schools received nearly $65,000 from eScrip contributions.
• This program costs you nothing! If you are already signed up, you must renew your grocery loyalty cards (like Safeway) and update your credit and debit card information by October 31st in order for your purchases to continue generating rebates.
• What can YOU do? Fill out the bright green 2010 Shop-4-Kids Sign-Up & Renewal Form that is in your first day packets and is available at your school's front office. Return it to the Kiddo! office or go on line at eScrip.com to enroll or update your information.
• Our goal is 100% parent participation. Remember that grandparents, relatives and friends can also register with eScrip.
We encourage supporting local businesses, but sometimes online is the way to go. Kiddo! has partnered with Amazon at
www.shopkiddo.org. When you shop Amazon (and its many partners) through this site, Kiddo! will receive between 4% and 15% of your total purchase. WOW!
Additional Online Opportunities
Many online shopping portals will rebate a portion (typically 1%-4%) to Kiddo! Just log on to
www.eScrip.com for the eScrip online mall,
www.onecause.com or
www.igive.com and designate Kiddo! (Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation) before you shop at one of over 800 online merchants. You can also earn dollars for Kiddo! by searching the Internet using Goodsearch. Go to
www.goodsearch.com and select Kiddo! as your organization. You'll earn a penny for Kiddo! every search. And every penny counts! Please call Patty Flax at the Kiddo office 389-7792 with any questions.
Education Francaise of the Bay Area (EFBA), a local non-profit, is launching the second year of its after school French program. We offer courses for both beginners and more advanced French speakers. Classes begin October 4.
Beginner classes will take place right after school on the Edna Maguire campus. Classes for experienced speakers will be held at other locations in Mill Valley. The beginner classes will meet once a week while higher-level classes will meet twice a week. All classes are 90 minutes.
Tuition will range from $18 to $21 per hour depending on how many students register for the program; we will announce the actual amount on September 17. All tuition fees go toward teacher and assistant salaries, facilities expenses and insurance. As a non-profit association, our goal is to offer classes at the lowest possible cost. Please contact Catherine Klifa at 415- 877-1072 or millvalleyfrench@gmail.com for more information. Or visit our website, www.efba.us.
Please Note: Learning a foreign language requires dedication from students AND teachers. We ask parents and students to commit to this program for the entire school year. This allows us to provide the best teachers so your children can get the most out of their French classes.
