Chesterbrook PTA Friday Digest

The Friday Digest National PTA Logo

Pertinent Points for the Week Ahead
from the Chesterbrook PTA

Vol.2, No.14

January 7, 2011

I hope everyone had a restful or active (depending on your preference) winter break! The PTA is gearing up for fundraising season with our Auction and Fun Fair rapidly approaching. These events require broad participation from families and are a good way to get involved with the school if you haven't had a chance already. See below to find out how you can help.

Our Health, Safety, Wellness and Nutrition Committee is up and running again with an event at Whole Foods on January 20th about making healthy and fun lunches for your kids. And speaking of food, the First Annual Chesterbrook International Night, February 4th, will feature bites from around the world--see below to get involved or represent a country.

Before- and After-School Activity sign-ups continue. Some classes have filled, but there are still plenty of options to keep your cold winter mornings and afternoons busy. Plus, SummerQuest is coming to keep your summer mornings, afternoons and, new this year, late afternoons filled! See dates and times below. More information to come on specific classes and sessions.

To Do This Week

Make a Yummy Lunch

Whole Foods of Tysons will be hosting a demonstration for Chesterbrook
parents/kids with Chef Matt Finarelli on Thursday, January 20 at 5 pm. Chef Matt will be creating a healthy lunch box and demonstrating how to make a nutritious and exciting meal for kids. This will be exciting and instructional for both parents and kids! Chef Matt is a culinary instructor and opened the local restaurant Open Kitchen.

Join Chef Matt for this exciting demonstration at Whole Foods Tysons at 7511 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church. Families are welcome to stay afterwards and chat with Chef Matt. (Whole Foods al-la-carte buffet dinner available for purchase afterwards.) Please email Claire.Montaut@WholeFoods.com if you plan to attend. If there is enough interest, a second session will be added at 6:30.

Sign Up for Before- and After-School Activities

Sign-ups for before- and after-school activities began before the break and are still open on the PTA website afterschool activities page. The following classes are still available (note days have switched for some):

Art Outreach, grades K-6, Mondays, 2:05 pm, 1/24 - 5/2, $190.
Beginning Drama, grades 3-6, Mondays, 1 - 2 pm, 1/24 - 5/2, $83.
Fitness Warriors, grades 1-2, Tuesdays, 7:30 - 8:15 am, 1/18 - 3/22, $68.
Fitness Warriors, grades 3-4, Wednesdays, 7:30 - 8:15 am, 1/19 - 3/23, $68.
Fitness Warriors, grades 5-6, Thursdays, 7:30 - 8:15 am, 1/20 - 3/24, $68.
Yoga, grades 3-6, Thursdays, 3:25 - 4:25 pm, 1/13 - 3/17, $110.

Note that yoga began this week, but you can still participate in the grades 3-6 class (K-2 is full)! Also, Fitness Warriors begins next week.

We have changed our Emergency Form procedures. Please complete this Emergency Form and submit to the school office prior to the first day of class. Submission of the form does not constitute enrollment.

Help with Online Auction

In case you missed the email last weekend or the flyer yesterday, 2011 Chesterbrook PTA Online Auction opens 5 weeks from Sunday on February 13th! Did you get gifts you don't need or want? Don't put them in the closet. Donate them to the Auction!

We have almost 50 items. We need hundreds more. Please visit the PTA's auction website for more details. All you need is a Donor Form to donate an item or request a donation. Or you can request a contribution - If a business would prefer to make a donation, they can be a Business Friend of Chesterbrook. All you need is a Friends Agreement. For more information visit the Friend's website.

Thank you in advance for your support and we look forward to your participatin in the fundraiser. If you have questions, please contact us at auctions@chesterbrook.org.

Julia Nelson (703-534-2611) and the Auction Team --Delia Swigart, Solicitations, and Lori Boerner, Marketing

Go International

Mark your calendars! February 4th at 6:30 pm is Chesterbrook's first annual International Night. Join us for tasty treats from countries represented in our amazing Chesterbrook community.

If you would like to participate in our new event which replaces our old Passport Days, please contact Nancy Stuckwisch.

Attend "Race to Nowhere" Screening

The Safe Community Coalition (SCC) is sponsoring a screening of the film, "Race to Nowhere", on January 11, 2011 at 7:00pm. It will be shown at Langley High School's auditorium, located at 6520 Georgetown Pike in McLean, VA. Additional screenings are planned for McKinley ES in Arlington on January 28 and Madison HS in Vienna February on 9. Information about these and possibly additional screenings can be found here.

"Race to Nowhere" is a documentary about the pressures and various outcomes experienced by our students and educators: stress-related illnesses, depression, cheating and burnout. Working in partnership with Langley High School, McLean High School and the Parent-Teacher-Student Association of Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology, the SCC is also organizing a post-film panel discussion to encourage a dialogue about these important issues. Additional information about the film can be found on their website, www.racetonowhere.com. For tickets, please click here.

Serious themes including depression, drug use, suicide and other stress-related illnesses are discussed. The screening is intended for adults; parental discretion is advised. Resources addressing these topics will be provided.

Get Ready for Summer!

Summer? Already? Yes! Chesterbrook's famous SummerQuest weekly camps are just around the corner! Camps will be held the weeks of July 11-15, July 18-22, July 25-29, and August 1-5, with sessions from 9 am - 12 pm, 1 - 4 pm, and new this year, After Camp Fun time until 6 pm. We're aiming to have something for all ages during each session and across multiple subject areas, so there's something for everyone! Look out in the coming weeks for more information.

Help with Fun Fair

Time to upgrade your Wii system, cleaning house or just feeling generous this holiday season? The Fun Fair Co-Chairs are looking for a new or used Wii system to use at Fun Fair and would like to avoid having to buy one. Contact Trisha Downey or Kim Johnson if you have one available to donate.

Looking for a different way to contribute to Fun Fair? We are looking for vendors to sell their goods/products at our Fun Fair Boutique. Space is limited so contact Candace Stromberg today if you are interested in having a table or know of someone who would like to vend at our Fun Fair.

"Like" the Chesterbrook PTA on Facebook

In order to keep the Friday Digest shorter and more focused on the Chesterbrook community, we have moved many of our non-Chesterbrook news to our Facebook page. We've been posting information about McLean Community Center/Alden Theater events and our Friends and financial supporters. You can see updates anytime by clicking on our Facebook page, even if you are not a Facebook member. Check us out!

Also, social media isn't social if others aren't participating. If you have ideas on events or articles that might be of interest to our community, please forward them to Lori Boerner.

Give and Read old books

Combine the Joy of Holiday Giving with the Fun of Reading! Join We Give Books, the new online reading community, where by simply reading free digital children's books you can help put books in the hands of children who don't have them. Visit www.wegivebooks.org with your children and read some of your favorite children's books online--anytime you like, no matter where you are--for free! With each digital book you read, the Pearson Foundation will give a brand new book to a great local or international literacy organization that you choose to support. Register today and start giving to this great children's charity.

Learn Some Chinese

The Chesterbrook Morning News episodes of Time for Chinese are now online. Through the school's website you can link to the iTunes podcasts of the 2 minute clips the students see every morning. You can also go straight to the iTunes page. It's a great way to practice every day!

Looking Ahead

January 11, 8:30 am	PTA Meeting, Auction meeting to follow
January 11, 7:00 pm January 17	Race to Nowhere Screening MLK Holiday--no school
January 20, 5 pm	Whole Foods demonstration
January 21, 2 pm	Band Concert
January 26, 7pm	Band Concert
January 28 January 31	Spirit Day: Wacky Day Teacher workday, student holiday
February 1	Student holiday
February 4, 6:30 pm February 8. 7:30 pm	International Night PTA General Membership Meeting, Speaker TBA