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SCHOOL NEWS
Golden Sneaker Winner Announcement and
Thank You to SR2S Team!
The Golden Sneaker Award is a Safe Routes to Schools Team contest among the classes at Edna for the highest number of students biking, walking, or carpooling to school in a month. The teachers or students keep track of how the students traveled to and from school, awarding one point for each way that a student biked, walked, or carpooled.
And the winners are:
November:
1st-2nd grade
Ms. Barry and Ms. Foskett
3rd-5th grade Ms. Shern
January:
1st-2nd grade Ms. Rees
3rd-5th grade Ms. Shern
March:
1st-2nd grade Ms. Caruso
3rd-5th grade Mr. Stachon
The Grand Prize Winners for the overall contest were:
Ms. Barry and Ms. Foskett for 1st-2nd
Mr. Stachon for 3rd-5th
Thanks to everyone for supporting our children’s efforts to walk, bike, and carpool. It really makes a difference in the lives of our children and our community.
Thank you to Lisa Zimmer for her on-going support, Leslie Fielder, and to the SR2S committee members for their many contributions of time and creativity to Walk and Roll Days, Golden Sneaker, and Frequent Rider Programs: Lisa Gilmore, Julie McCrady, Leslie Lewczyk, Bethany Conybeare, and Rik Barr.
It's Fun! It's Healthy! Less Traffic! Less Pollution!
Mill Valley School District Funding Measure, November 2008
The Mill Valley School District faces a difficult financial environment due to significant budget cuts from the state, increasing student enrollment, and an economic downturn that limits property tax revenues. MVSD projects a funding gap of $850,000 for the 2008/09 school year and up to $2 million annually for each of the next three years. The district will be able to close next year's funding gap through increased PTA and Kiddo! funding and budget cuts to a variety of programs and services, without resorting to the teacher layoffs that many districts across the state are experiencing.
However, without a secure, local source of increased funding the district will be forced to meet its growing financial shortfall with more drastic reductions in the 2009/10 school year and beyond. The Mill Valley School Board is expected to vote on June 11 to place a measure on the November 2008 ballot to amend the existing school parcel tax. The amendment would increase the current tax by $193 per parcel and extend the tax for an additional eight years. If passed, this measure would raise nearly $2 million of additional guaranteed local school funding annually.
The district faces some unique challenges in passing this measure. Parcel taxes require a two-thirds super-majority to pass. This is particularly difficult as fewer than 20 percent of voters in Mill Valley have children in our district schools. In addition, the district and school board are legally restricted in their ability to advocate for the measure. A campaign committee of community volunteers has already emerged to promote the measure and will be contacting parents independently.
We urge school families to become informed about how this upcoming measure will affect our schools and our community. Stay tuned for more information and please be sure to vote on November 4, 2008. Thank you.
Continue to GET READY!
We want to thank the 20 parents who attended the May 29th Get Ready Marin presentation by Mike Maguire. The information discussed and distributed gave the attendees a lot to think about and do! As was discussed at the event, we would like to organize a C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Training) session at Edna Maguire. If you are interested in participating in such an event, please email Mari Allen (allenmari@hotmail.com) by June 13th.
The Lunch Survey Results Are In!
Thank you everyone who took the time to fill out the hot lunch surveys. We received almost 90 responses. There was a lot of good information and detailed responses that we will share with Revolution Foods in order to improve the lunch program. We received some wonderful suggestions for new menu items and we will try to incorporate some of them in the Fall. Thanks again for your valuable help.
Quilt Auction for the Garden
The Room 8 Math Quilt Project – "Room 8's Attic Windows" – is being auctioned with all proceeds benefiting the Garden. The silent auction for this quilt will continue until Friday, June 6th, at noon. The winning bidder will be contacted via phone by Christine del Castillo or Josie Viscardi. The quilt is not yet completed, but it will be by the last day of school. The sign-up sheet clip board is in the Edna office (ask Leslie Fielder), and bids are to be done in increments of $50.00.
Are Your Routes to School Safe?
The City of Mill Valley is updating its Pedestrian/Bicycle Plan and would like to know what local issues affect your route to school. While the city cannot fix every issue at once, we want to ensure that all problem areas are identified in order to plan for the future.
Please take a minute to report any safety hazards or other impediments that you notice on your way to school when you bike, walk, scooter, or carpool, as well as safety issues that may prevent your family from trying to bike and walk. You can reply to our SR2S Team Leader, Deborah Cole at dcole3@sbcglobal.net or 381-4177.
For more on what details to report, click here.
Vote For Ben!
Ben, a fifth grader at Tam Valley Elementary School, is a finalist in a contest with the Red Sox to represent California. If elected, Ben will share the Tam Valley Green Team's mindfulness of reducing, reusing, and recycling and encourage the Wally, the Green Monster mascot, to become more "green" and earth friendly.
Visit http://www.voteforben.org to see Ben's baseball card, which tells his story about being a student at Tam Valley, the Green Team, and his dream of becoming a Captain of Red Sox Kid Nation.
Thank you for helping Ben represent California and a great cause.
KIDDO! NEWS FOR JUNE 2008
Kiddo! Annual Giving Campaign – Off To A Great Start!
Thanks to the 45 percent of school families who have already made their 2008 Kiddo! contribution! This is a fantastic start to raising the $1.9 million needed to save library and classroom aides from budget cuts, as well as fund our award-winning art, music, drama, dance and poetry programs for the 2008/09 school year.
For the 861 school families who have not yet donated, please note that follow-up phone calls are on the way – donating now will help Kiddo! save time and money so more funding can go to the kids. Thanks in advance for your generous support in these difficult financial times for our schools.
Don’t forget to:
DROP your donation in the Kiddo! box at your school
CLICK on www.kiddo.org and make your donation online
MAIL your donation to Kiddo! at 409 Sycamore Avenue
Kiddo! Video 2008-2009
Do you have video or great photos of your child's Kiddo! performances? Concerts, plays, poetry readings, dance recitals? If so, please share them with us as we begin to prepare next year's Kiddo! video. Please send to ajustice@kiddo.org. Thank you!
2008 Kiddo! Golf Classic
Kiddo! is gearing up for its third annual golf tournament on Friday, October 24, 2008. Spaces fill up quickly, so if you want to ensure a foursome for you and your friends, you might want to consider sponsoring a hole or even the entire tournament, as sponsors receive top priority. For more information, please contact Louis Stervinou, Tournament Chair, at 228-2880 or lstervinou@eastdilsecured.com, or call the Kiddo! office 389-7789, ext. 5 (info@kiddo.org). All proceeds benefit Kiddo!
2009 Kiddo! Gala
The 2009 Kiddo! Gala Committee is looking for an Auction Chair to organize the 20+ auction volunteers. If you are interested, please contact Gala Co-Chairs, Molly Williams 380-0978 or Amy Curtis 383-1515.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Summer at the Mill Valley Public Library
The Sky’s the Limit at the Library this summer! Why leave Mill Valley when you can visit the library for fantastic summer programming? Kids can pick up reading and read-aloud logs on June 23; they’ll receive weekly prizes and stickers that gently encourage their love of books and reading. Daily (M-F) afternoon activities at the library start on Wednesday, June 25 and run through Wednesday, August 13. There’ll be folklore (with delicious snacks), Little Sprouts! toddler programs, art workshops, and so much more. Every Wednesday afternoon, you’ll enjoy entertainment under the redwoods featuring a stellar lineup of storytelling, dance, music, magic, puppets, and comedy… perfect for the whole family.
Kids entering fifth grade in the fall can sign up for PeRP, our Personalized Reading Program, and get a customized summer reading list. Watch for our blue Summer Reading flyer in your child’s backpack – it’s the key to keeping your kids engaged, involved and READING all summer long! Flyers will be available at the library on June 9. For more information, visit our website (millvalleylibrary.org) or call 389-4292 x106. Many programs have limited space and/or age restrictions, so please read the flyer carefully for details.
Our End-of-Summer Film Festival (August 18-22) will make the last, bittersweet week of summer a little less painful. Daily FREE matinees at the library will showcase fun family films, served with popcorn and pillows. Screening schedule will be available in mid-July.
Ongoing programs include all five of our weekly Story Times (check our website for days and times) and Live Homework Help, our FREE online tutoring service for grades four through 12+. It’s available through our website millvalleylibrary.org/homework.html for students in summer school or anyone working on academic projects during the summer.
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