Newsletter - September 29, 2009

Just in case you've deleted your newsletter, here is a brief synopsis always at the ready.

International Walk to School Day: Wednesday, October 7.

Really, every day should/could be walk to school day, but this day is set aside to encourage more adults and children to walk to school together to raise awareness about:

* The importance of teaching children safe walking behaviors, such as how to cross streets, and how to select safe routes to school.
* How easy and enjoyable walking is! Adults and children spend healthy, active time together doing the world's simplest exercise - walking.
* Taking specific steps to create more walkable communities such as advocating for more crosswalks, sidewalks, crossing guards and better driver behavior.

If you live close enough to school to walk or even ride your bike to school, and you haven't been, give it a try! It's a nice, peaceful way to start the day and a great opportunity for conversation with your child and greetings between neighbors.

Student Council Election Results are IN!

On Sept. 18, after stirring speeches, our study body elected their Student Council Representatives for the 2009-2010 school year. Congratulations to the following Student Council Members:

President: Sam Eisendrath

Vice President: Emma Hotaling

Secretary: Sam Pal

Treasurer: Zachary Wise

Publicity Chair: Johanna Rohrbough

Spirit Chair: Emily Flachman

4th Grade Class Reps: Kathryn Evers and Katelyn Mayberry

5th Grade Class Reps: Kendall Schemmer and Samuel Wendt

6th Grade Class Reps: Neha Sikand and Max Teaford

New After-School Programs!

By popular request, we have been researching and recruiting new after-school opportunities for Bishop's Peak/Teach students. Here are a few of the upcoming classes to be offered on site:

Mad Science: Tuesdays starting Oct. 20, 2:30-3:30

Enthusiastic, hands-on science labs!

Pottery Classes: Offered by Shevon Sullivan of Anam-Cre Studios, will be on Wednesdays from 2:30-4:00 PM on Oct. 21, 28, Nov. 4 and 18. To learn more about Anam-Cre, visit their website at www.anamcre.com.

Spanish: More information to come--will be offered after school on Thursdays by a district teacher.

Family Pizza Night at Village Host Pizza Tuesday, October 6

You and your family are invited to join other Teach families at our monthly Family Pizza Night at Village Host Pizza, located at 2138 Broad Street (at the corner of Broad, South and Santa Barbara Streets). Families come and go between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m., and Village Host generously donates a part of all sales back to the school. Isn't that nice? Plus, it's a great opportunity for our kids to socialize with other Teach students outside of school, and a chance for parents to meet each other. Add to that no dishes to wash? It's a no-brainer. Hope to see you there!

Bishop's Peak Carnival is October 9, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.!

All are invited to join the party at the Bishop's Peak Carnival on Friday, October 9. There will be lots of fun games, a Carnival Fun House, food, a silent and live auction, a dunk tank and lots more. Wristbands for unlimited games are $10. Many of our students are Bishop's Peak alumni and can tell you how much everyone looks forward to the carnival each year. Carnival is a fun tradition and the perfect way to celebrate the season. Hope to see you there!

Swap & Shop October 16

Like free stuff? Have some perfectly good things hanging around your house that you're not using? Bishop's Peak and Teach families love Swap & Shop. For those of you new to our traditions, Swap & Shop is like a swap meet, only everything is FREE! Our families clear out gently used clothes, toys and games their family has outgrown or no longer use and bring them to school the week before the swap. Then on the day of the swap, the items are laid out neatly on tables in the courtyard and the fun ensues as everyone finds new treasures to take home for FREE. Items not taken are donated to a local thrift shop. Watch for the Swap & Shop collection boxes in the courtyard starting October 12, and bring in your items!

Teach School is Collecting Used Ink Cartridges

Got some empty laser or inkjet cartridges hanging around in your drawer? Don't have a handy postage paid HP envelope? Been waiting to get around to taking that inky think over to Staples, but you can't seem to remember to grab it on the way out? Bring 'em in! Teach School can use them. Much to our delight, we have helped our school by turning in used ink cartridges. We receive $3.00 per cartridge and have been able to bring in $60.00 per month which is used by Mrs. Crabb and our teachers for much needed school supplies. Please help us out by bringing in your used cartridges to the office. All brand cartridges are eligible for a refund. Stick those empties in your car and drop them off with your kids in the morning.

PICTURE DAY is Wednesday, October 28.

Don't forget, there is NO SCHOOL Friday, October 30. (It's a teacher workday.) Also, the week of November 2-6 is parent conference week: MINIMUM DAYS all week with a 1:00 p.m. dismissal time.

4th Grade Study Trip

Mr. Crabb's Class will be taking their Student Trip to AstroCamp October 21-23. Don't forget to turn in your medication releases by October 13. Also make sure that you've turned in the Pre-Orders for the student store (checks payable to Teach Booster Club) and your District Field Trip Permission Slip.

If you'd like to check out the program and/or the campus, follow the links below for the company and the Campus of the Desert Sun Science Center.

• Arrive at 6:00 a.m. at Teach Elem. on Oct 21 and bring a sack breakfast and lunch.
• Label your luggage. Make sure your child can actually carry everything!
• Bring five bucks for dinner.
  
• Expected arrival is at 8:00 p.m. There will be a phone tree letting parents know when they will be here.

The kids are SOOOPER excited. It's going to be a great trip!

Booster Club News

Thanks to all of our Teach families for their amazing response to our call for volunteers. Watch for meeting dates to help plan our annual Teach Dinner, Dance and Auction! Stay tuned here for news and ways to get involved with your child's education and extracurricular activities.

Feel free to subscribe to this blog either using RSS or via email. The links are to the right.

Also on the right are a few links to school fundraisers that you can participate in. Perhaps you are already shopping online for giftwrap or gifts...why not check out Genevieve's? If you buy products that have the Box Tops for Education icon, you can bring your child's box tops to school. You can even shop online! Please check the expiration date on your box tops and make sure that all the numbers and text information from the box top is visible when you cut it out.

Important Dates

Friday, September 18: 6th Grade study trip pledges are due; Student Council elections will be held.

September 20-25: 6th Grade study trip to Catalina!

Thursday, September 24: Site Council Meeting

Friday, September 25: 4th Grade Study Trip Pledge Forms Due

Tuesday, September 29: Hearing Screening for 5th grade

Friday, October 2: Booster Club Meeting! 8:35 a.m. in room 25 (?). Be there or be square.

Tuesday, October 6: Teach Pizza Night at Village Host Pizza - don't forget to tell them you're with Teach! Mmmm, yummy!! Added bonus? You don't have to cook!

Friday, October 9: Bishop's Peak Carnival. Celebrate Harvest & Halloween!


Want to make some new friends and help your child's school? Come to the Booster Club Meeting and volunteer for something. Or sit quietly in the back. We don't mind. Just show up! Booster Club Meetings are always open to all.

Clean Up Days Coming!

1. Coastal Clean Up Day - Saturday, September 19, 2009 - 9am to 12noon

California Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD) is the country's largest volunteer event in support of the marine environment. The mission of CCD is to engage people to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways; to identify the sources of debris; and ultimately change the behaviors that cause pollution. CCD is a partnership between the community, local non-profit groups, and municipalities that coordinate cleanups at the city and county levels. CCD is a major part of an International Coastal Cleanup which includes all 50 states and over 100 countries worldwide. To find a site near you go to: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/ccd.html

In SLO County last year, over 1,300 volunteers removed nearly 5,000 pounds of marine debris from 26 beaches! But don't count on someone else to do it. We need YOU to help clean up your local beaches! The SLO County Coastal Clean-Up Day contact is ECOSLO. For more information go to http://www.ecoslo.org or e-mail ccd @ ecoslo.org or call 544-1777 and ask for Holly Sletteland.

2. SLO County Creek Clean Up Day - Saturday, October 3, 2009 - 9am to 12noon

Join family, friends and neighbors on October 3 and make a difference in your community cleaning local creeks! Trash finds its way into our local waterways and collects, causing trickling effects. Winter rainstorms wash that debris into the ocean and onto our beaches. At any stage, trash pollutes our waterways, threatening wildlife, harming the environment and impacting our local economy.

Clean creeks and clean water are required to protect public health, to grow food and fiber, to provide habitat for fish and wildlife, to
provide opportunities for public recreation, and to promote sustainable economic development. Help keep San Luis Obispo County beautiful and trash free on Creek Cleanup Day from 9 am to noon on Saturday, October 3 at a site near you throughout the county.

Volunteers meet at check-in stations located in Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Templeton and Paso Robles. Bags and gloves are provided. Many locations also offer prizes and snacks. Volunteers are encouraged to wear long sleeves, sturdy foot protection and sunscreen and to dress for a variety of weather conditions. Past Creek Day events have removed more than ten full-sized dumpsters of trash, in addition to hundreds of pounds of recyclables from county creeks, thanks to the work of hundreds of volunteers. Creek Day is a perfect opportunity for Scouting groups, business organizations, community service groups, families and anyone else who wants to make a
difference in their own backyard. Visit www.CreekDay.org
to find the site in your community.

Creek Day is a collaborative effort by many SLO county cities, agencies and organizations including: Atascadero Mutual Water Company, Cal Poly SLO, Central Coast Salmon Enhancement, Citizens of Santa Margarita, County of San Luis Obispo Tobacco Control Program, ECOSLO, Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay National Estuary Program, Nipomo Conservation District, San Luis Obispo County Partners in Water Quality, and Templeton Conservation District.

Teach Boosters Meeting

Sept. 4, 2009



Attendees: Jen Flachman, Susmita Gupta Pal, Ahmad Amir, Jocelyn Leonard, Christina Gigante, Crystina Giuffrida, Lori Olson, Helen Sipsas, Jill Chan, Kathryn Eisendrath Rogers, Jessica Napier, Belinda Morrill, Cheryl Clark, Derek Gragson, Andrew Schaffner, Sunshine Cowgill, Bonnie Achugbue, Anika Clements, and Taffy Gonzalez

Meeting called to order at 8:35 a.m. The approval of the minutes from the last meeting (June) will be done in October. Booster club meets one time per month on the first Friday of the month. The meetings are limited to one hour. A recap of each meeting will be sent out to all Teach parents on an e-blast.

The Booster Club officers were introduced. Jen Flachman will be our President. Susmita Gupta Pal will be the Vice President. Ahmad Amir will be the Treasurer. Jocelyn Leonard will act as Secretary.

The financial report was given. We are doing well financially. The costs of the study trips for the year were announced, $400 for the 4th grade, $500 for the 5th, and $600 for the 6th grade. Statements will go out in the mail to let families know what they owe. They will go out about once a month. There was a question about how the gift-wrap sales affect students study trip accounts. Approximately 50% minus taxes of the sales go to the balance of the individual student. If someone doesn't want to buy, but would like to make a donation to the student, they would make the check out to Teach Boosters. That money would go into the student’s individual account. Ahmad wanted to also let parents know that there is a scholarship fund to help students go on the study trips. There is a confidential application process. You can contact your child's teacher, the principal, Mr. Block, or treasurer, Ahmad Amir to find out more about that.

Mr. Block gave the Principal's report. Enrollment is way up. The fourth grade has a waiting list of 4-5 kids. In future years, if the classes keep expanding, we have the ability to grow into a larger school. Back to school night was a success. Kim Kelly is our new teacher in the 5th grade. She is doing great. Mrs. Pudlo is going to retire at the end of January, and the school will be working toward getting a good teacher for her replacement. Mrs. Pudlo is very dedicated to making the transition work. The 6th grade trip is coming up soon--Sept. 20-25. They will be going to Catalina. Next will be the 4th grade, going to Astrocamp in October. The 5th grade will go to Yosemite later in the year. A question was asked as to how parents can be chaperones on study trips. Mr. Block said that you must have fingerprint clearance and volunteer clearance; otherwise communication is through the teachers. Another question came up about fingerprinting. You must be fingerprinted if you will be alone with any students. If you are helping in the classroom with the teacher present, you do not need to be fingerprinted, you would just need to have turned in the volunteer form. This form is new this year and is available in the office.

For the teacher's report, there wasn't much news as school has just begun. In the future, each grade's representative would give information about each classroom. The student council papers have been sent home, and the students can get involved by running for a position.

Volunteers are needed for many of the committees. Since Teach is such a small school, volunteers are very necessary so that we can offer our kids all of the wonderful opportunities that makes Teach so special. The Genevieve fundraiser needs some volunteers to help right now with coordinating the order and getting it sent in. Also, a coordinator is needed for this for next year. Helping out this year can be great training for the person who would like to take it over for next year. Another big fundraiser is the dinner/dance auction. We have lots of people signed up to be shift workers; we need a coordinator and people to solicit businesses for auction items. Taffy Gonzalez offered venue help due to her wedding planning experience. There will be a separate meeting to start working on this.

A question was asked as to what the fundraisers are for. For each study trip the Boosters pay 1/3-1/2 of the actual costs. The actual costs are much higher than what the parents are charged. Also, money raised goes to the scholarship fund, and to buy supplies such as computers, camcorders (for digital media), books, etc. In addition the money raised pays for electives, the 6th grade play, and field trips. The dinner/dance/auction is the biggest fundraiser, with $15,000 in profit raised last year.

New business:

1. A 4th grade representative is needed to be a liaison between the Boosters and the teacher. Helen Sipsas (Emily Ramirez's mom) volunteered for the position. All present were in favor. Thank you Helen!

2. The ice cream social was very nice. Someone will need to take that on for next year, as Kathryn Rogers' son will be moving to Junior High next year. Kathryn has been handling this for the past 2 years. Thank you Kathryn!

3. Teach Pizza Nights--fundraiser, social time at Village Host Pizza. A percentage of the sales go to Teach. Make sure to let the cashier know you are from Teach when you purchase your food, so Teach gets credit. The Pizza nights are the first Tuesday of each month. The first one will be in October. Take out counts too. Jen Flachman will talk to Village Host to try to negotiate a higher percentage for Teach. Someone suggested we make fliers to be passed out to friends and family, so that we can get more coming in for Teach. It was also suggested that we could do a drive-through BBQ like Bishop's Peak does, as that raises a lot of money with not too much work. We will look into all the options.

4. E-Script--Mary Amir will head this up again this year. There were some questions about which grocery stores participate, and if Target works for this. We will have to look in to this and try to get more information out as we get it. Thank you Mary!

5. Box Tops--Jill Chan has been handling this and reported that the box tops expire, and that it is sometimes hard to collect the money for these. She will research to see if it is viable to continue and she will report back in October.
Thank you Jill!

6. This year Teach will be hosting the Spring Book Fair.

7. A potluck coordinator is needed. We will have our annual Chili Cook-off in November. This is a social event, not a fundraiser. The fire department comes in to judge the chili. There will be a sign-up sheet for desserts/salads/breads. It will go out closer to the event.

8. A yearbook coordinator is needed right away to start collecting pictures. If you are a new parent to Teach this year, ask to see the yearbook from last year. It is beautiful--better than my high school yearbook.

9. You do not have to be present at the Booster meetings in order to volunteer for different positions. Just keep the communication open.

10. Kathryn Rogers suggested either a 6th grade school beautification project or a Teach wide beautification project such as planters, or painting. Mr. Block suggested that maybe we could coordinate that with Bishop's Peak.

11. More help is needed in the school garden. Mavis Wong is the coordinator. Let her know if you would like to help out.

12. This year both schools will have a Science Fair, which we have every 3 years.

13. International Day will be held in March. Each classroom in our area will be hosting a different country. The kids get to sign up to "visit" different countries, learning about them, and enjoying a sampling of their food. They each have a "passport" that gets stamped as they enter each country. It is a very fun event, put on by the parents.

14. Teach Electives: 5-6 weeks long. Parents sign up to teach the classes. In the past there have been cooking, instruments, debate, yoga, art, knitting, and a class about animals taught by a person from Woods Humane Society. The offerings change each year based on the skills of the people who volunteer to teach them.

15. School T-shirts will be coming in the future. They are good to wear for spirit day, and fun for the kids. Jen Flachman will check with J. Carroll for options on different shirt styles for girls.

16. Taffy Gonzalez volunteered to be our Assemblies coordinator. Thank you Taffy!

Meeting was adjourned at 9:35 a.m.
Next meeting will be October 2 at 8:35 a.m.