|
Principally Speaking
Dear Families,
As we get close to the end of this school year, I want to remind everyone that we are in the midst of planning for the years to come with our new school building. I urge you to come to the public meetings to hear about the designs and plans. Everyone is a stakeholder in this venture - families, teachers, students and community. Your input is important. I encourage you to stay informed of the progress. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 7. Details are below:
Edna Maguire New School - Public Input Meeting; 6-7:30 p.m.
Location: Edna Maguire Campus Multipurpose Room, 80 Lomita Drive
The following topics will be covered:
- Presentation of Selected Site Option Refinements
- Comprehensive Functional Overview
- Aesthetic Design Review
Lisa Zimmer
Open House is this Wednesday!
Please come to Open House this Wednesday, June 2. The garden will open for viewing at 6:00 p.m.; classrooms open at 6:30. Come see some of the exciting projects your children have been working on this year. This is also a great opportunity to visit other teachers and classrooms.
PTA Budget Vote Announcement
In accordance with the Edna Maguire School PTA Bylaws, the proposed budget for the 2010-2011 school year must be made public before the vote for approval. The vote will take place at noon on Friday, June 4, during our last PTA meeting of the school year.
If you have any questions, please contact Janie Karp at jkarpj@comcast.net or Leslie Lewczyk at lesliepta@gmail.com.
Enter Edna's Chicken Naming Contest this Week
Our four chickens have made themselves at home in the Edna garden.
But we need your help in providing them with one more thing—names! So this week, we're holding a contest to name our girls. Anyone can participate, and you can submit as many entries as you like. The cost to enter is 50 cents per name or $1 for four names; all proceeds will go to the chicken feed fund. The contest ends on Friday, June 4. Winners will be announced in the final Pony of the school year and have their pictures taken with the newly named chickens. You can turn in your entries in front of the office or in the back parking lot during drop off and pick up.
First/Second Grade Sponsored Garden Work Day, June 5
The next Garden Work Day is Saturday, June 5, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Everyone is welcome, but we're especially counting on our first and second grade families to make an extra effort to come out and support the garden! Enjoy tasty breakfast snacks from Whole Foods while helping to plant the fence beds, mulch pathways and plan our garden for the next school year. Questions? Contact Saor Stetler at sstetler@earthlink.net.
Be Here or Be Square on August 23
Our annual collating "party" will be held in the multipurpose room at 9:45 a.m. on August 23. We need your help to get all of the first day packets ready before the new school year begins. We'd love to see you, so please save the date!
Last Call for PTA Receipt Reimbursements!
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 Suzanne Alpert's mailbox in the office. Reimbursement forms are on our website. All receipts are due by June 18.
Turn in Library Books
If you haven't yet returned your library books, please do so immediately. All library books were due last week. Watch for final overdue book notices in the June 9 Wednesday Folders.
Revolution Foods Accounts
If you still have money in your Revolution Foods account, you can let your balance roll over to use during the next school year or request a refund. To get a refund, just log on to your account and click on the BALANCE tab along the top of the screen. Then select ACCOUNT LOG and in the blue area near the bottom of the log, look for the End of the Year Refund link. After clicking on it, you'll be prompted to either donate your balance to Edna Maguire or request a refund. Checks will be processed and mailed at the end of the month.
PTA Lunch Volunteers Appreciation
A big thanks to all of the volunteers who helped serve lunches from Revolution Foods to Edna children this year! This has been a surprisingly difficult and time-consuming task, and many of the same people volunteer to do it year after year.
Thank you Shaila de Leede, Michelle Zimmermann, Deb Luster, Corinne Fuller, Tina Taylor, Yuka Saito, Barbara Polster, Fabrizio Natale, Christine del Castillo, Mabel Feres, Dorothy O'Donnell, Annie Peters and Judy Safavi for committing to a full year of service. Nancy Bernstein, Dominique Stevens, Colleen Madden and Margot Bishop also helped by stepping in last fall to get the program going. And a special thank you to Lisa Church, Kirsten Treais and Ashia Yacoobali – they all gave at least an hour or two a week, often working alone! Thanks also to Katrina Kehl, Leslie Lewczyk, Janie Karp, Leslie Fielder, Erin Hill, Lisa Zimmer and Lisa Church (again) for moral and e-mail support.
We're waiting to find out if the school district will take over running this volunteer - intensive program next year. Until then, the PTA, Revolution Foods and I thank you for your many hours of support. I couldn't-- and wouldn't --do it without all of you!
- Josie Viscardi, Edna PTA Lunch Volunteer Coordinator
A Huge Shout Out to Josie Viscardi!
We can't thank Josie enough for her years of dedication to Edna's PTA lunch program. The truth is, it probably wouldn't exist without her. Josie manages to keep the PTA, the school district, Revolution Foods and hungry kids happy while coordinating a team of volunteers. It's practically a full-time job, but she makes it look easy. And she does it with a smile on her face. Thank you, Josie, for giving so much to Edna—we are so lucky to have you!
Yearbook Team Thank Yous
The 2010 yearbooks are done and will be here soon. They look fantastic! This giant volunteer effort couldn't have succeeded without the creative direction of Jackson Butler. Thank you, Jackson, for your vision and years of commitment to this annual project. And a big thanks to Justine Whitehead for her photography and computer skills; Kathy Bishop for assisting with the third and fifth grade deadlines and financial orders; and Anne Buxton for her typing skills. Thanks also to all the teachers who provided class pictures and to our contributing event photographers: Anne Zarraonandia, Mabel Feres, Michelle Zimmerman, Julie Kennedy, Meagan Thurman and Lisa Gilmore. We couldn't have done it without all of you!
Stoop Patrol a Huge Success!
Look around at our clean school - you have Edna students and teachers to thank for its spiffy appearance! Using good old-fashioned techniques--like simply picking up and disposing of trash, depositing items in recycle bins and sweeping up compostable material--the new Stoop Patrol has Edna looking better than ever. Stoop Patrol has only been active for one month, and already classes have almost filled the compost bin. If your class hasn't received a large compost bag, e-mail Ronnie Sharpe at ronnie@tadpolephotography.com or Laura Figueirinhas at lfigueir@comcast.net.
Great job, everyone! Keep up the good work and please do your part to keep our school clean.
State PTA Joins Lawsuit Seeking to Fix Broken Education Finance System
Last month, California's State PTA joined other plaintiffs--including nine school districts, families and students--in filing a historic lawsuit against the State of California. The lawsuit claims that the state's current education finance system is broken and can't meet the educational needs of students as required by its constitution.
The PTA's Board of Directors and Board of Managers weighed the decision to participate in the lawsuit very carefully. They decided legal action was necessary given the serious deficiencies of today's school funding system and the lack of meaningful action taken by the legislature and governor to fix these problems.
All of the legal representation for California State PTA's involvement in this case will be provided at no cost to the association. A number of prominent law firms and legal experts are involved in the case, some volunteering their time. For more information on the lawsuit and to read the complete complaint, visit www.fixschoolfinance.org.
Get Half Price Legoland Tickets with Your PTA Membership
Is a trip to Legoland on your summer itinerary? Then stop by the office to pick up coupons good for FREE admission to the park when you purchase an additional full-price ticket. You've worked hard this school year—now treat yourself and your family to a fun summer outing!
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Mill Valley Public Library Summer Splash
Catch the Wave of excitement at the library and dive into great books and lots of summer fun! Starting June 21, sign up for our renowned Reading or Read-Aloud Games. Stop by the amphitheater every Wednesday for live entertainment including jugglers, magicians, and puppeteers. Other activities include reading to Share-A-Book dogs from the Marin Humane Society, hands-on art projects and wild animals. We'll even have a visit from a shark attack survivor!
Join the brand new Laugh-Out-Loud book club (for kids in 3rd grade and up). Older kids can receive personalized summer reading lists by registering for PeRL (5th and 6th grade) or The A-List (7th, 8th, and 9th grades). Got toddlers? Check out our Little Sprouts! events just for pre-K kids.
But wait, there's more! Our End-of-Summer Film Festival (August 16-19) will showcase fun family films in the cool Creekside Room – popcorn and pillows included. On Friday, August 20, celebrate the end of summer with a festival in the redwoods. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Elizabeth Mitchell will perform and you'll have a great time with crafts, face-painting, ice cream, and a book swap/sale sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
Watch for the purple flyer in your child's backpack, pick one up at the library, or visit our website on or after May 26. It's fun, it's all perfectly FREE, and it encourages the love of reading. For more information, please visit http://millvalleylibrary.org or call the Children's Room (415-389-4292 x106).
Help Make Strawberry Streets Safer
If you live in Strawberry or are one of the many Edna families who spend time at the recreation center, please help make the streets and sidewalks surrounding it safer for our kids. Join the efforts of Strawberry Point Elementary parents and other community members by writing to Marin's Director of Public Works and/or the Board of Supervisors to request much-needed safety improvements, such as widening sidewalks. Click here to get their names and addresses, generic letters and more information.
|
