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  Encinal School NewsletterDecember 18, 2011 La Organizasión de Padres y Maestros de Encinal Boletin en español - haga clic aqui |
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Enjoy the holiday break! See you January 9th.
Things To Do
- Come and join your child at the Winter Sing, 12/20 click here
- Volunteer for Cultural Arts Day taking place 1/30 click here
- Double a first-time or increased MPAEF donation click here
- Register your student for January after school activities click
- For hot lunch in January, place online orders click here
- For SamTrans riders, replace discontinued paper passes click
- Support Food for Thought, Holiday Meals click here
Dates to Note
This Week 12/18-12/24
- Sun Honeybear Trees fundraiser continues click here
- Tues Winter Sing click here Also check Lost & Found click here
- Wed Food for Thought & Holiday Meal drive final day click here
- Fri First day of Winter Break - No School
Beyond
- 1/9 School resumes - Welcome Back
- 1/16 No school, MLK holiday
- 1/19 Spanish Immersion parent mtg, 8:30am, Laurel multi
- 1/19 Encinal Specialists Night, time TBD
- 1/20 Encinal kindergarten parent tours, 8:45am (also 1/27)
- 1/23-7 Encinal Week of the Family
- 1/27 Encinal kindergarten parent tours, 8:45am (also 1/20)
- 1/30 Cultural Arts Day celebrating Eastern Africa
- 2/1-3 Spanish Book Fair, Laurel School, times TBD
- 2/1-29 Encinal kindergarten registration
Information to Know
- Cultural Arts Day needs volunteers for its Jan. 30 event click
- Girls Leadership Institute Workshops registration click here
Ways to Support Encinal School
- Participate in MPAEF Foundation 500 drive click here
- Shop at Honeybear Trees with flyer through 12/24 click here
Report Your Absent or Tardy Student click here
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Encinal Winter Sing, Tuesday, December 20
 On Tuesday, December 20, Encinal will be having our Winter Sing. Click here to check what time of day your student's class will participate in this sing-a-long event. At this link you will also see the songs and lyrics so you and your student may prepare ahead of time.
The Winter Sing is made possible due to the generosity of everyone who donates to the MPAEF, which funds the Music program district-wide.
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MPAEF Matching Grant Announcement
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MPAEF Announces Foundation 500 Challenge Grant click here
 The Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation is thrilled to announce a great opportunity for donors to double their money in support of our schools. To inspire new donors and increased donations, a group of generous families are funding the Foundation 500 Challenge, a $250,000 matching grant.
Donate now through January 31, and the Foundation 500 Challenge Grant will match dollar for dollar:
- Donations from new donors
- Increased donations over last school year
Let's work together and meet the challenge to keep our schools strong. With your donation and the dollar for dollar matching grant, we can raise an additional $500,000 for our children's education. Are you IN?
 It's not too late to support our schools. Please donate today. Click here. For families who have already contributed, thank you!
Questions? Please contact Lynne Van Tilburg, MPAEF Executive Director, at lynnev@mpaef.org.
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Food for Thought, December Holiday Meals
 A big thank you to the Encinal community for your awesome support of the Holiday Drive and the Giving Tree. Because of your generosity, the gift wishes from Encinal families in need have all been filled. We need additional funds for holiday meals and to continue Food for Thought through the rest of the year. Donations of any amount are welcome and will help fund these two programs. Please donate by this Wednesday, 12/21:
- Donate online by clicking here
- Donate by check to "Encinal PTO" with "Caring & Sharing" in the memo -- drop off in school office
Food for Thought
Please click here for a more detailed description of this program. Holiday Meals Encinal PTO plans to give a grocery card to each Encinal family in need to provide a special holiday meal in December.
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SamTrans Discontinuing Paper Monthly Passes for Students
A message from Sam Trans to San Mateo County Students After December 31, 2010, SamTrans is discontinuing paper monthly SamTrans passes - except for students on Free and Reduced lunch who will continue to receive paper passes from their school office. On January 1, students riding SamTrans buses must have a Youth Clipper Card monthly pass or pay exact fare with cash or tokens. Exact fare is still $1.25. The Youth Clipper Card is a reloadable fare payment card that stores a monthly pass and electronic cash to ride on any Bay Area transportation provider such as Caltrain or BART. Click here for the SamTrans Spanish & English flyer about this change. Click here for a list of SamTrans token vendors. Click here for information about the Encinal bus routes run by SamTrans, bearing in mind the changes to monthly passes in 2012. Back to Top |
After Winter Sing, Check the Lost & Found For Your Property
 The Lost & Found is filled up again. Please collect anything you are missing before the Lost & Found committee donates the unclaimed items to charity. As you leave the Winter Sing the Lost & Found is straight in front of your exit, so swing by and claim lost items. Back to Top |
Cultural Arts Day Celebrating Eastern Africa - Mon., Jan. 30
 This year, Encinal's Cultural Arts Day will explore some of the rich and diverse cultures of this region of East Africa. What can we learn about the people, crafts, dance music and food of the maintains and savannas surrounding Africa's Lake Victoria? There are lots of ways for parents to help. - Have some East African artifacts we can borrow for the day?
- Want to help on event day 1/30/2012?
- Want to help get everything ready?
We are thrilled that an inspiring children's dancing and drumming group, sponsored by the non-profit Empower African Children, will be performing at Encinal for Cultural Arts Day. If you are interested in seeing one of their full performances with your family, there will a show at the Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 6pm. Tickets are available online, click here. Click here for more details on how you can get involved with Encinal's Cultural Arts Day. Back to Top |
After School Programs Registration for January
 Registration is underway for after-school programs that run in the Winter starting in January. The classes include intro to sports, flag football, yoga, wizbots and more. Information on grades, class days & dates is available on the signup page. Click here to learn more and to register your student for January.
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PTO Parent Ed: Girls Leadership Institute - Sign up Now
 The Girls Leadership Institute is offering its "Real Parents, Real Daughters" workshops to families with girls in 2nd through 5th grade. Led by professional educators, the workshops for girl/parent pairs will help your daughter learn important skills for developing healthy relationships, managing conflict, expressing her real emotions and becoming a strong leader.
The workshop dates for 4th/5th Grade Girls are: Wednesday evenings January 11, 18, 25 and February 1. For 2nd/3rd Grade Girls, the workshops will take place Wednesday evenings February 8, 15, 29 and March 7. Workshops will meet in the Encinal Library from 6-7:30 p.m. The cost is $190 per parent-daughter pair, and financial aid is available. To register, click here. Back to Top |
Hot Lunch Selection for January Open Now
 If your student takes the PTO-operated Encinal School hot lunch, please note that January's online ordering is now open ( click here). Students without lunches pre-ordered may not get a lunch, so ordering now is an easy way to ensure your student is all set. |
Recognizing the People Who Make Encinal Excellent
 Congratulations to December's Go-Eco Raffle winners. Good job getting to school by foot, bike, bus or carpool! Keep up the good work! Aya C. in room 35 Maximos B. in room 16 Miranda C. in room 23  Many thanks to Amy Hamilton, Estella Mihovilovic and Julie Quinlan (and their kids!) of the Encinal PTO Caring and Sharing committee for organizing the Giving Tree and the Holiday meal drive supporting Food for Thought and December holiday meals. Our special thanks also to Pam Garcia in the school office for her tireless work on this project. |
Honeybear Trees Through 12/24: Shop & Support Encinal
 Honeybear Trees is offering 15% back to Encinal on purchases in their lots between 11/19 and 12/24. Please mention Encinal School at check-out and show this flyer (which includes maps and addresses for Honeybear Trees in Redwood City and San Carlos.)
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Volunteer Opportunities - You Make A Difference!
Click here to see an overview of ways to volunteer |
Volunteers & East African Artifacts Needed for Encinal's 4th Annual Cultural Arts Day click here
 Encinal School is hosting its fourth Cultural Arts Day featuring East Africa on Monday, January 30th. This is an all-day event for the entire school and our committee is planning wonderful experiences for everyone. Parent volunteers are needed to prepare and lead the students through various activities. To make this event successful, we need many volunteers who can come for the whole day. There are also roles for part of the day and ahead of time prep. - Have some East African artifacts we can borrow for the day?
- Want to pick out some Kenyan coffee for teachers, staff, and volunteers?
- Or figure out where to get plantains?
- Or help our children dancers on the day?
- Or eat a roasted grasshopper in front of Encinal students?
Click here to volunteer. We also plan to have two adult volunteers per classroom throughout the day, in addition to the teachers, to lead activities and chaperon the kids to activities outside the classroom. Talk to your HRP to volunteer for this.
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Community News & Events
For complete listing click here
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Latest Community Listings
 Want to see everything, not just what's new?
Click here.
Events for Students and Families
(ages 3 and up) Empower African Children brings the "Spirit of Uganda" performance to the Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center for one show as part of their US tour on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 6pm. Tickets are available online, click here. This group will also do an assembly as part of Cultural Arts Day at Encinal on Jan. 30.
For Parents - no new items
Sports, Classes, and Volunteer Opportunities for Students and Families
(3 years to young adult) Dance Expressions Class, starting January 3, 2012, at the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center, Menlo Park
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Encinal PTO Communications
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| Encinal Newsletter Submissions - Deadline Tuesday noon
 Email articles for the Encinal newsletter to newsletter@encinalschool.com Email community announcements to communitynews@mpcsd.org Back to Top |
Join the PTO Mailing List - Text "SUBSCRIBE" to 42828
Make sure to receive Principal's Posts, Midweek Updates and weekly newsletters by joining the Encinal PTO Mailing List. Back to Top |
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