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SCHOOL NEWS
PTA Budget Vote Announcement
In accordance with the Edna Maguire School PTA Bylaws, the proposed budget for the 2008-09 school year (pdf) is herewith made public 30 days before the vote for approval. This vote will take place on June 11th at 11:45 a.m. at the PTA End-of Year Luncheon. If you are unable to attend, but would like to vote, please email Mari Allen at allenmari@hotmail.com.
Innovative Teaching Fund –
Your PTA Dollars At Work!
Each year, the PTA allots monies within our budget for the Innovative Teaching Fund. This $3000 grant is awarded to teachers for specific projects. The teachers must complete an application that is then approved by our school Site Council. This year, only $30 remains in the fund, which will be rolled into next year's budget. Below is the summary of the projects that were awarded ITF grants:
- Green Team ($321.29) for compost buckets and nylon pinnies
- KG ($40) for stamps to create postage paid envelopes for incoming Kindergarteners
- 1st Grade ($833.01) for Non-fiction Leveled Readers
- 2nd Grade ($234.70) for "Contexts for Learning Mathematics"
- 3rd Grade ($130) for materials to make costumes for 3rd grade play
- Anne Siskin ($51) for bare books to create Mythology picture books
- 4th Grade ($760) for Sutter's Fort
- 5th Grade ($600) for scholarships to Walker Creek
If you require further detail regarding these grants and projects, please contact ITF Chairperson, Mari Allen (allenmari@hotmail.com).
Variety Show KUDOS
Thank you to the amazing Variety Show team. The 4th Annual Variety Show was the best show ever thanks to Jody Branham and Stephanie Lynde who worked for months organizing the show and working with our talented Edna kids. See the photo montage of the Variety Show.
Thank you Jody for your organizational skills,endless emails, doing show programs, decorating, and constant presence. Thank you to Stephanie for your tireless enthusiasm with the kids and ability to keep everyone focused–it is your show! Thanks to Rob Thomure for being our sound and light person...setting up special microphones and lighting and cutting cds of all the music. Thanks to Max Perkoff for your musical support of the kids. Thank you to Cambria Hicks for your extraordinary set design. Thank you to Deb Luster for helping out backstage and lending a hand wherever needed.
Thank you to Janet Fox for organizing the snack bar with your team of helpers: Cindy Siciliano, Julie Zener, Jim Ciambriello, Meg Vangelos, Molly Ferrell, Mari Allen, Aniko Molnar, Dena Davis, Lauren Snell, Julie McCrady, Anne Marie Coen, Paula Jimenez, Satyam Von Rueben, Erin Griffis, Laura Figueirinhas, Meagan Thurman, Ken & Rhonda Campbell, Adrienne Lawrence, Margot Bishop, Kathy Sonderby, Barbara Zamost, Kristin Silmore, Diana Bars, Kira Keane, Joe Locke
and Debbie Faubel.
Most of all, thank you to the Edna families that supported the show and the AMAZING EDNA MAGUIRE CHILDREN who performed for us all!
Spring Garden Festival and Tour
Mark your calendars now for the 2nd Annual Spring Garden Festival and Tour on Sunday, June 1st from 1-4pm. Join Edna families and neighbors as we celebrate our extraordinary Garden with student-made crafts and desserts. Click here to view the invitation. For more information, please contact Lee Budish (lbudish@comcast.net) or Saor Stetler (sstetler@earthlink.net).
Take the night off from cooking
Don't forget to eat at or take out food from Pacific Catch Tuesday, May 20th. Just mention Edna Maguire and our school will receive 20 percent of your total food bill. It's just that easy!
REMINDERS
PTA Lunch Survey
We need your feedback! Your child received a brief survey about the PTA lunch program in last week's Wednesday folder. You can also download the flyer (pdf). Please let us know your comments and suggestions for improving the food and menu choices by May 19.
When Sex is the Subject
Wondering how to answer your children's questions in an age appropriate manner? Come to this informative, humorous, and interactive presentation that helps parents address some of the challenges in talking to their kids about this subject. This presentation will be led by Steve Gardner, Family Education Specialist on Tuesday, May 20th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the multipurpose room. This talk is ideal for parents of third through fifth graders but all parents welcome. Please RSVP to Katrina Kehl at kkehl@pacbell.net. To download a pdf of the flyer with full information for the event, click here.
Are You Ready for an Emergency?
A Get Ready Marin presentation will be held Thursday, May 29th from 8:40 to 10:40 a.m. in the multipurpose room. Please RSVP to Mari Allen (allenmari@hotmail.com) by Wednesday, May 21st. Mike Maguire, a member of the Southern Marin Fire Get Ready program, will cover the basics of emergency preparedness.
It’s the Last Week of the Frequent Rider Contest
Safe Routes to Schools Frequent Rider cards with at least 20 points can be turned in every Friday this month in front of the school office. Don't forget to walk/roll/carpool to school every day! If you have at least 20 points after this week, turn in your card to the front office to be entered into a drawing for larger prizes. Don't forget to include your name and room number so we can find you if you win!
KIDDO!
More Art Show Participants
Last week when The Pony Express announced Edna's participants in the District poerty and art show at 142 Throckmorton, we inadvertently missed two kids, third graders Jordan Krasniewicz and Mclaren Pareja. Congratulations Jordan and Mclaren!
Celebrating Arts in Our Schools
The following is a list of students whose art work was selected by the teachers and Kiddo!: Pearson Ames, Ruby Bowser, Fergus Campbell, Amaya Cotton, Daisy Colburn, Viviana Garcia, Kimo Karp, Caelum Kelly, Jodan Krasniewicz, Juliana Martinez, Juliet Oreste, Mclaren Paraja, Avi Perkoff, Tilman Phleger, Valerie Price, Orion Siu, Ryan Treis, Lucille Viscardi, and Zoe Wynn.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Donate Your Outgrown Booster Seats
As your kids grow, you might find yourself with a pile of outgrown infant, car, and booster seats. Most area charities (such as Goodwill) will not accept these as donations, but you don't have to send them to the landfill! Precious Cargo will gladly accept these seats, likely even arranging to pick them up at your home or school. While Precious Cargo is not a charity, it will put these seats to good use for its demonstration classes and its State grant-funded loan and purchase programs for low-income families.
Sutter’s Fort Update
Thanks to your e-mails and generous contributions, Gov. Schwarzenegger REMOVED the proposal to close 48 state parks and 16 state beaches from his budget plan. In one week, more than 31,000 people e-mailed the governor and asked him to keep the parks open. This means that Sutter's Fort will REMAIN OPEN! Stop by the office to see the photos of our 4th graders re-enacting California State history. Thank to YOUR help, 4th graders in years to come will be able to have this unforgettable learning experience as well.
2008 Parcel Tax Campaign Volunteers Needed
Parcel Tax Campaign Coordinator, Tammy Edmonson (a former PTA President at Strawberry Point, PTA Council President, and a mom of a student at MVMS) is looking for volunteers at our school to help with the upcoming Parcel Tax initiative in November 2008. The information below is from Tammy Edmonson:
About Campaign Volunteers: At this stage, I am only recruiting the campaign leaders (one Field Manager and about 10 Precinct Captains per school.) We need to have these folks in place before school gets out and everyone scatters, but the real work of the campaign will not begin until school starts up again. At that point, we will need to do some mass appeals to get enough foot soldiers for precinct walks, phone banks, etc.
Job Descriptions: the work of both the Field Manager and Precinct Captain is limited (with the possible exception of one or two meetings) to the ten weeks prior to the November 4 election.
Field Managers (one per school)--attend a weekly Campaign Committee meeting(which I intend to hold during school hours); help to recruit Precinct Captains from their school; distribute materials, instructions, etc to Precinct Captains, oversee their progress on precinct walks, phone banks etc., and collect and return voter data to campaign office for analysis. Field Managers support and encourage their Captains, relay feedback to the Campaign Committee, and serve as the school spokesperson for the campaign.
Precinct Captains (about 10 per school)–Coordinate volunteers to carry out all voter contacts in their assigned precinct(s). PC's will receive a schedule of outreach activities to carry out at various intervals during the 10 week period which will include precinct walks, phone banks and sign distribution. Captains should have teams of volunteers who normally work in pairs for the precinct walks. All materials will be provided by the campaign including voter lists, scripts, FAQs etc.
Tammy Edmonson
381-4873 • cell 518-5764
Our Good Luck Ladybugs Continue to Bring Us Coverage Around the World!
Dogo News article! This is a news site for elementary school children. The primary goal of the site is to provide children a safe and fun online destination to read about interesting news from all over the world. The news stories/articles cover a variety of topics from Science to Social Studies to Fun and are summarized into two or three paragraphs so that children can focus on the most important elements/facts. Additionally, most of the stories are augmented with relevant videos and photos to provide a richer/interactive experience. DOGONews is linked to a number of library and school websites all over the world. Here are some of the examples of how schools and kids are starting to use the site. A school in Sweden provides a link to DOGONews for children to practice reading English. In a New York school, fifth graders use DOGONews for their weekly blog writing assignments. How fun is it to know that children in Sweden are reading about our school in Mill Valley? |
