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  Encinal School Newsletter
January 29, 2012
Encinal PTO/La Organizasión de Padres y Maestros
Boletin en espanol - haga clic aqui
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We hope everyone enjoyed Week of the Family last week!
Things To Do
- Read Cultural Arts Day information for all parents click here
- Donate to MPAEF by 2/15 for donation matching click here
- Order 2011-2012 Encinal Yearbook by Tues. 1/31 click here
- Make nominations for the 2012 PTO Board by Tues. 1/31 click
- Register eligible kids for Kinder or Spanish Immersion click
- Visit the Spanish Book Fair at Laurel School F pod click here
Dates to Note
This Week 1/29-2/4
Sun Spirit of Uganda, 6 pm M-A Perf. Arts Ctr click here
Mon Cultural Arts Day celebrating Eastern Africa click here
Tues PTO Board nominations deadline click here
Tues Encinal Yearbook ordering deadline click here
Wed Kindergarten and Spanish Immersion registration click
Wed Spanish Book Fair begins, Laurel School F pod click here
Wed Special Education Breakfast 9:30am District Office click
Sat Spanish Book Fair last day, Laurel School F pod click
Beyond
2/6 Outdoor Ed. Prog. gr. 5 parent mtg Library 6:30pm
2/8 Parent Input Session for Principal search 7pm Library
2/9 Parent Input Session for Principal search 8:30am TERC
2/13 Appreciating Our Differences Spencer West Parent Event
2/14 Appreciating Our Differences Spencer West & Pink Day
2/15 Deadline for MPAEF Board member submissions
2/17,20 Presidents Day holiday, no school
2/22 Box Tops for Education due
2/22-23 Pizza My Heart Fundraiser
Calendar Get the dates for the rest of school year click here
Ways to Support Encinal School
- Participate in MPAEF Foundation 500 drive by Feb 15 click here
- Drop off Box Tops For Education by Feb 22 click here
- Donate auction getaways and mark your calendars for MPAEF's annual auction and party click here
Report an Absent or Tardy Student click here
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Wrap-up of Week of the Family
We hope everyone enjoyed Week of the Family this past week and we look forward to learning what the community thought about it. In the spring the PTO will survey parents about the Week of the Family and other programs at Encinal and we look forward to hearing back from you. Back to Top
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Cultural Arts Day Notes for All Parents & Volunteers
 Thank you so much to the many wonderful parents and community members who have volunteered to help with Cultural Arts Day! And thank you to the HRPs who have given so much help. We also appreciate your recyclables for the art project--we have received all that we need.
Here are some things for parents and volunteers to know before coming to campus on Monday morning. Questions? Please email culturalartsday@encinalschool.com.
Notes for all parents: - Children who would like to dress in the spirit of the day may wear bright colors, batik & African animal prints or images. Special dress is completely optional for everyone. Ugandan paper bead necklaces will be part of the celebration and every child will receive one made by Encinal 4th and 5th grade students.
- Ordinary lunch procedures are unchanged for Cultural Arts Day, so make sure your student is set with her usual lunch.
- For families with allergies: there will be two East African snack foods for children to sample: plantains (an African fruit similar to a banana) and chapati bread (a flat bread of Indian origin that contains gluten).
- The third grade classes of teachers Collier and Vargas will be attending the dance performance at 8:30 along with the kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades. Please ensure all your students get to school on time so they won't miss any of the performance.
Notes for adult volunteers:
The Cultural Arts Day committee thanks all the parent volunteers who will help make the day memorable!
This tour group of Ugandan children will perform during the morning of Cultural Arts Day. If you would like to see their full show, you can see them at the Performing Arts Center at Menlo-Atherton High School at 6pm on Sunday, January 29th. This is a show you don't want miss. Check out a (boisterous!) preview here. Click here for tickets.
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Yearbook Order Deadline Jan. 31 click here
 The PTO's Yearbook committee announces that now is the time to order your 2011- 2012 yearbooks! All orders are processed online and are by credit card only. Please be sure to order your yearbook by the deadline, which is January 31st, 2012. To order go to www.jostensyearbooks.com and use the pull down menus to select California, Atherton and Encinal Elementary School and order from one of the three options. Scholarships are available by contacting Pam Garcia in the Encinal office at pgarcia@mpcsd.org or 326-5164. The yearbooks will be distributed at school to your child at the end of the school year. |
Spanish Book Fair Feb. 1-4 at Laurel School
 If you are interested in Spanish books for kids, please come to the Spanish Book Fair at Laurel School in the new "F" Pod from Feb 1-4. Our book vendor "Let's Read in Spanish" will bring a wonderful selection of Spanish books for children from many Spanish publishing countries. You can preview the books online at their web site.20% of the proceeds from the book sales will be given back to our schools' PTO's. For families in the Spanish Immersion Program at Laurel and Encinal, please be sure to check out the wish boxes of books that teachers and librarians have selected.Book Fair hoursWed Feb 1, 8am - 4pmThu Feb 2, 8am - 3pmFri Feb 3, 8am - 4pm and Family Fun Event 6 - 8pmSat Feb 4, 2pm - 5pmAnd please join us for a special Fun Family Event!!
Friday, February 3, 6-8pm.
We will have music and fun board games and the Book Fair will be open. Please bring cash for homemade tamales and pupusas. Complimentary Lemonade, Water and Iced Tea available. All families welcome!We are also looking for volunteers to help with set-up, take-down and staffing, please email Mary Sapountzis at bookfair@encinalschool.com. Questions: Contact Traci Christie at bookfair@encinalschool.com. |
Principal Search Parent & Community Input Sessions
Please join Superintendent Ghysels to provide your input on the qualities and qualifications that you would like to see in Encinal's next principal.
February 8 at 7:00 pm in the Encinal Library
February 9 at 8:30 am in the Teacher Education Resource Center (next to the District Office)
For more information about the search for a new Encinal Principal and Allison's Liner's July transition to Chief Learning Officer for the MPCSD, please click here to read Superintendent Ghysel's Letter to Parents.
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Foundation 500 Challenge Grant Update
Almost there!
The Foundation 500 Challenge has just three more weeks to go. We set out with $250k to be matched, for a total of $500,000 for our kids' Foundation. And we've matched all of that except for $86,888. Amazing! Let's use up those funds by February 15th. To all of you first time donors and to those of you who would like to donate again and have your increase matched, click here to donate now. Thank you!
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MPAEF Annual Auction and Party on April 21
Location, Location, Location - Share Your Favorites!
Donate Getaways for our Silent Auction
Getaways - accommodations in great locales like Lake Tahoe, Hawaii, Paris, or somewhere closer to home - are always a big draw at the silent auction. But to offer such enticing items, we need your help!
Do you or a member of your family have a beach house, wine country house, ski house, timeshare, condo, or apartment in a great location? Are you willing to share your place with another district family for a weekend or full week? Your generosity will benefit all of our kids.
To Donate a Getaway: Please contact Celine Sanie (celine@sanie.com). The deadline for submitting auction items is March 1. We're also looking for families to host adult and children's themes parties, as well as to donate sporting event tickets and other unique experiences.
Don't Forget: Saturday, April 21, Cabana Hotel, Palo Alto. Featuring the one-and-only Cheeseballs, the top dance band in SF!
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Special Education Breakfast with the Director Feb. 1
from MPCSD Student Services Director Olivia Mandilk
 A "Breakfast with the Director," will be held for parents of students with IEPs on Wednesday, February 1st from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. at the District Office. Superintendent Ghysels will be one of the featured speakers. Please RSVP to Ada Reid-Watson (areid-watson@mpcsd.org ) by Monday, January 30th if you plan to attend the breakfast. For further details, please visit the District's Special Education "Parent Education Opportunities" web page. |
Box Tops Collections Underway - Deadline Feb. 22
 Hear Ye, Hear Ye Encinal Community!Our next and last collection date for Box Tops for this school year will be February 22, 2012. Please start cleaning your junk drawers for the box tops you have misplaced. Each and everyone counts and adds up to hundreds of dollars for our school.
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2012-13 Kindergarten Registration During February
 Registration for next year's Kindergarten, new Transitional Kindergarten, and Spanish Immersion program starts on Feb. 1. Please refer to the district website for important instructions, tour information and parent meetings. Click here for more information. |
Lost and Found - Where Do All the Clothes Come From?
 Believe it or not, the Lost and Found is full again. And to judge by the looks of it, the wormhole of missing socks from the clothes dryer empties out at the Encinal Lost and Found. Please check for your family's missing items and reclaim them.
The Lost and Found is tucked away in the 4th/5th grade area on a ground floor corridor wall across from the new Multipurpose Room. There is a row of hooks holding lots of unclaimed items which will be donated to a worthy cause soon.
Are you sure that missing item is at the bottom of the laundry? Maybe it is in the Encinal Lost and Found.
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Parking Reminder For Encinal Parents
 A friendly reminder to parents to make sure to obey the parking signs around the school and the surrounding side streets. The police were giving tickets last week. Some cars were ticketed for parking during no parking times and some were ticketed for parking facing into the flow of traffic instead of away from it.
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February Life Skill Theme: Self-Discipline
Book: Teammates by Peter Golenbock
 "Teammates" is the amazing story of Jackie Robinson and Peewee Reese. Jackie Robinson was a fantastic baseball player but more than that he was a man of amazing self-discipline. As the first African American to play in what had been an all-white league, he endured a lot of hateful and cruel things. With remarkable self-discipline he did not react to mean words because any angry reaction would have given validation to the people who wanted to keep African Americans out of baseball.Read this article about how important self-discipline (or control) is later on in life.
How do you help your kids learn self-discipline? Teach them to wait for things. If they want dessert right after dinner have them wait 15-30 minutes. Teach them how to hold on to their allowance and buy a big item rather than spending it right away on something small. At Halloween don't let them eat a whole bunch of candy all at once. Every time you have them wait for something you are teaching them self-discipline.
Kids also need to practice self-discipline in expressing their anger. Talk with them often about times when they reacted with anger instead of thinking through how to handle a tough situation. Role play with them so that the ideas are cemented into their brains.
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5th Grade Parents - Outdoor Education Program Meeting February 6, 6:30 pm
 The Outdoor Education Parent Information Meeting for 5th Grade Parents will take place Monday, February 6th, 6:30 - 7:15 pm in the Encinal School Library.
All 5th grade parents are invited to attend this Outdoor Education information meeting. Please come and meet Mark Nolan, Director of San Mateo County Outdoor Education, who will share information about the program, describe the weekly schedule for students, and answer any questions you may have.
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5th Grade Families - Baby Photos for the Yearbook by 2/3
 Attention 5th Grade Families: The Yearbook needs your BABY PHOTOS by Feb. 3. Both digital and hard copy images are great and please include the student's name, classroom teacher and classroom number. It's a tradition at Encinal School to have baby pictures of our 5th graders in the Encinal yearbook. If you are interested in having your child's baby picture appear in this year's Encinal yearbook, you can submit a hard copy or a digital image. The deadline is Feb. 3 If you have any questions, please contact Kristina Sakamoto (kristinasakamoto@yahoo.com). Hard copy - Submit the photo in an envelope marked "Yearbook" in the Yearbook drop in Encinal Office. Please attach to the photo your name, your child's name & her teacher's name, as well as the classroom number. Photos will be returned to you later in the year so we must have your child's teacher.
Digital copy - Create an account on the Yearbook web site at at http://www.replayit.com, then click Add Photos/Upload to transfer your photo from your computer to the Yearbook web site. Please enter student name, grade 5. Please enter the teacher's name in the file information under "Tags" or "Caption". Finally, click on "Share with School." It may take a few minutes until it is in our database. You can view what you have uploaded by clicking on your name at the top of the page.
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Recognizing the People Who Make Encinal Excellent
2012 Encinal Yearbook Cover Contest Winners!
In the Spring 2011 the PTO Yearbook committee asked the 4th graders to show what "Encinal Means Excellence" means to them by designing a cover for the Encinal yearbook in art class. The 4th graders created many wonderful covers. The 2012 Encinal Yearbook Cover contest winners are Joanna Tasch in 1st Place and Heath Hooper, Kayla Kranen, Christina Ikonomou and Kostya Yeshcheulov in 2nd Place. Joanna's cover will be on the front cover of the 2012 yearbook and Heath's, Kayla's, Christina's and Kostya's will be on the back cover. Congratulations to all the 5th graders for their creative covers, we will be displaying them at school soon.
The deadline for ordering Yearbooks is Tuesday. Click here to place an order online. |
Volunteer Opportunities - You Make A Difference!
Click here to see an overview of ways to volunteer |
PTO Board Openings for 2012 - Nominations Due Tuesday
Encinal needs you! Please nominate yourself or someone else you think would be great at one of these positions by this Tuesday, Jan. 31. To submit a nomination, to nominate yourself or to any questions about the Board, please email the PTO parliamentarian Gina Ryan or any member of our nominating committee: Amy Nelson, Heather Karp, Laurie Sapp, Holly Baudler and Kelly Perri. Thank you to these volunteers for agreeing to serve on the Encinal Nominating Committee to recruit and select next year's PTO Board. Click here for full descriptions of these open PTO Board positions. - Executive Vice President
- Financial Secretary
- Secretary
- Community Coordinator
- School Support Coordinator
- Volunteer Coordinator(s)
- Communications Coordinator
- Auditor
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Community News & Events
For complete listing click here
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New Community Listings
Want to see everything, not just what's new? Click here.
 Events for Students and Families
"The Spirit of Uganda" On Sunday, January 29, 6pm at the Performing Art Center at Menlo-Atherton High School. This talented and inspiring group of children from Africa (ages 11-18) will perform riveting dancing, drumming, and singing from East Africa. Purchase your tickets online. (All ages)
Kepler's Snow Story Time, Sunday, February 5, 11:30 a.m., 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Featuring Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner.
Hansel and Gretel Puppet Show by Puppet Art Theater Company, Thursday, February 9, 7:00 p.m., Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma Street. This event is tailored to children and their dads, but all are welcome.
M-A PTA M-Agic Fashion Show, Saturday, February 25, at the M-A Center for Performing Arts. Tickets go on sale on line January 29. Business or family sponsors for the show are needed by January 28.
For Parents
Teen Sexuality Panel: Get the Facts (What Every Parent Wants to Know), Thursday, February 2, 2012, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., Menlo-Atherton Center for the Performing Arts (PAC). Topics to include teen sexual behavior in San Mateo County, sex education, birth control/pregnancy prevention, sexual gender/identity, mental health issues, STDs, and more.
Sports, Classes, Volunteer Opportunities for Students & Families
Winter Camp - Menlo Aquatics One Day Camp, Friday, February 17, 8:45am-1:00pm, at the Burgess Pool, Menlo Park. For Ages 5-10.
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Encinal PTO Communications
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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. Click here or text "SUBSCRIBE" to 42828. Back to Top |
| 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 |
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