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  Encinal School Newsletter
March 25, 2012
Encinal PTO/La Organizasión de Padres y Maestros
Boletin en espanol - haga clic aqui
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Things To Do
- Encourage your child to make cards for Card Day 3/27 click
- Nominate candidates for volunteer awards by 4/1 click here
- Buy tickets for MPAEF auction before prices rise 4/12 click
- Finalize Read-a-Thon forms & collect pledges by 4/13 click
- 2nd/3rd grade, Girls Leadership Inst. signup starts 3/27 click
- Sign up for great after school activities on campus click here
- Take survey to give feedback on district fundraising click here
- Consider volunteering with the Encinal PTO click here
Dates to Note
This Week 3/25-31 Tue Card Day click here Wed 3rd Grade Wax Museum event 5:30pm click here Sat Encinal Read-a-Thon ends, forms due April 9-13 click Beyond 4/1 Nominations due for SSA and HSA volunteer awards click 4/2-6 No school - Spring Break week 4/11 Last day of early bird prices for MPAEF auction tickets click 4/12 Orientation for 3rd grade families entering Encinal 4th grade next year, 4:30-5:30pm click here 4/13 Read-a-Thon forms and pledge checks due click here 4/26 New PTO family fun night: Spingo 5pm-8pm click here
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Card Day Is on Tuesday, March 27
 Tuesday, March 27, will be Card Day at Encinal School, organized by the PTO. This is a special day to honor teachers, staff and Encinal friends with cards made by students. Cards for classroom teachers, aides, Special Ed support staff, maintenance team members, administrators or specialist teachers for art/music/PE/library can warm the hearts of the many professionals who dedicate their working day to our children's education. Click here for a listing of Encinal staff & teachers.
Children should bring cards to school on Card Day. Thank you for helping to show appreciation to our wonderful staff! |
Read-a-Thon Is Almost Over - Keep on Reading - Ends 3/31
 Read-a-Thon ends on Saturday, March 31st, and we are getting ready by sending home a large envelope in every child's green folder. Please use the envelope to return each student's reading log, pledge form and any pledge payments after Spring Break during the week of April 9-13. Forms and payments may go directly to the classroom in the green homework folder or they can go into the Read-a-Thon drop-off envelope in the school office. Forms are downloadable: click here.
Thanks for keeping your kids enthusiastic! We hope they are enjoying their reading and that they are logging their minutes and getting pledges. Every dollar helps our library.
Questions? Email readathon@encinalschool.com.
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Nominate Outstanding Volunteers for Recognition by 4/1
Call for Service Award Nominations - due April 1st  Every year our District benefits from the parents, teachers, staff, and community volunteers who give their time, skills and creativity to our schools. Many programs would not exist if it were not for this formidable group of volunteers, "the Pillars of Our Community." The PTO's Honorary Service Awards and School Service Awards recognize those individuals who have contributed in an extraordinary way to our District. The HSA/SSA Nominating Committees rely on nominations from parents and teachers for the Awards Ceremonies.
Please take a moment to nominate someone you know who goes above and beyond to make a difference in our schools. You can download a nomination form or pick one up in the school office or email your nominee's name with a description of his or her contribution to ptopresident@encinalschool.com. Nominations are due April 1st.
Volunteer Appreciation Brunch, Tuesday, May 22nd 9:30am Encinal School will honor all of our parent volunteers, including our SSA recipients, at our Volunteer Appreciation Brunch on Tuesday, May 22, from 9:30 to 11:00am. All parents are invited and encouraged to attend this special occasion. Honorary Service Awards Ceremony Thursday, May 24th, 4pm The district-wide HSA ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 24, from 4 to 6pm at Laurel School. Questions? Email ptopresident@encinalschool.com. |
2nd/3rd Grade Girls - GLI Starts Wed., April 11th
 Want to empower your 2nd/3rd grade daughter to make real friends, communicate honestly and directly, and be her real self?
Encinal School once again welcomes the Girls Leadership Institute and its "Real Parents, Real Daughters" workshop series. These workshops allow parents and daughters to laugh and learn about themselves in a safe environment. Girls Leadership Institute programs encourage girls and parents to have fun together while learning about friendship, feelings, apologies and healthy approaches to conflict. Families learn and establish practices that help serve girls in elementary school and beyond.
The four workshops last 90 minutes and take place in the Encinal Library at 6pm on Wednesdays 4/11, 4/18 and 4/25; then finish on Monday 4/30. $190 per parent-daughter pair (financial aid is available). The registration will be open on Tuesday morning, March 27. To register, click here.
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Purchase Tickets and Preview Catalog for Auction on 4/21
The spring auction web site is officially open for business! Don't delay -- purchase your tickets today because the Black & White Dinner tickets are sure to sell out, and ticket prices go up by $35 on April 12th. While you're visiting the Black & White and Spring All Over web site, preview all the great items that will be available for you to bid on in the Auction Catalog. Pick your favorites ahead of time. - Online Auction -- kids' parties, camps, teacher items
- Silent Auction -- getaways, sports tickets, parties
- Black & White Dinner Live Auction - specially selected offerings
Black & White and Spring All Over Saturday, April 21, Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel, Palo Alto 6:00 pm Black & White Dinner 7:45 pm General Admission Tickets available here: $200/guest for the Black & White Dinner; $85/guest for General Admission; $50/guest for Teachers & Staff Questions? Email auction@mpaef.org. Back to Top |
Introducing "Spingo" Family Fun Night Thu. 4/26, 5-8pm
We are excited to announce Encinal's new Spring community building event. What is Spingo? A night of science, pizza and bingo. Read on to learn more!
 The Encinal PTO has arranged for the Lawrence Hall of Science to bring its acclaimed "Wizard's Lab" to Encinal  5-8pm on Thursday, April 26. Children of all ages can become "wizards" in this hands-on program for exploring matter and energy and should be accompanied by their parents. We can accommodate 150 students at each of the one hour sessions. Please RSVP for your session choice, click here.  To round out the evening, we are setting up a "come one, come all" Bingo night in the small multi. Play as much as you please anytime 5-8pm. No need to RSVP.  If you would like to eat dinner together on campus, we will arrange for pre-purchase of pizza. Details will come after Spring Break. You are also welcome to bring your own food. And that is the fun new Encinal event we call "Spingo" -- a night of science, pizza and bingo! As with any event at Encinal, parking will be tight, so please consider car-free travel for the evening.
To join the fun, all you have to do is: - RSVP for your Wizard's Lab session (click here)
- Consider a volunteer slot to help run Spingo (click here)
- Watch for pizza purchase details after Spring Break
- Consider a carpool or bike/walk group for the evening
- Show up for Spingo before your Wizard Lab start time and play some Bingo before and after
- Go home happy
Questions? Email spingo@encinalschool.com. Back to Top |
No Dogs on Campus
from Allison Liner, Encinal Principal
 Although a walk to or from school with the family dog can be a pleasant event, please do not bring your dog to the Encinal campus during school hours, during drop off and pick up hours, or during school events. Even the most gentle dogs can react unpredictably when faced with unfamiliar situations. Please note that for the safety of our students and the animals, the Menlo Park City School District does not allow dogs on campus, with the exception of service dogs or those approved for specific educational purposes (Board Policy 6163.2). Your cooperation is appreciated. |
Announcing PTO Executive Board Slate for Next School Year
 Business for PTO General Membership Meeting on Wednesday April 25 at 8:30am in the TERC.
We're proud to introduce the slated nominees so far for next Year's Encinal PTO Executive Board. Please note we still have some excellent positions open for willing and energetic volunteers. Serving on the PTO board is a great way to build community within the school, get to know more parents, teachers, and administrators, and feel very connected to your child's educational experience.
If you would like to learn more, 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. Click here for full descriptions of these open PTO Board positions.
Proposed Slate for 2012-13 PTO Executive Board:
- President: Katie Ferrick
- Vice President: Open
- Treasurer: Kristy Moesler
- Financial Secretary: Bernice van der Meer
- Communications Chair: Open
- Co-Volunteer Coordinator/HRP Coordinator: Julia Molise (Volunteer coord.) and Kate Kennedy (HRP Coord.)
- School Support Coordinator: Kristin Campbell
- Community Support Coordinator: Diane Mavica
- Secretary: Chris Sewell
- Auditor: Christy Tonsfeldt
Thank you to all the nominees for being willing to serve.
The slate will be voted on by all interested parents and teachers at the PTO General Meeting on Wednesday, April 25, at 8:30 a.m. in the TERC. We will also present the proposed PTO budget for next year. Please plan to attend!
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Life Skill for April: Generosity
from Nicole Scott, Guidance Counselor for Encinal & Oak Knoll Schools
 Life Skill: Generosity
Book: "Mama's Panya's Pancakes" by Mary & Rich Chamberlin
The life skill for the month of April is generosity. Our book, "Mama Panya's Pancakes," is a Kenyan cross between the tale of Stone Soup and the story of the loaves and the fishes. Generosity is more than just giving to others; it is also about sharing a part of ourselves with others. Generous people get a lot out of their relationships with others because they give of themselves.
How do you teach generosity? Model it and talk about it with your child. Make sure your child knows this is a value that is important to you. It is the time you put into generous acts that helps your children understand how important the value of generosity is to you.
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Inspire, Involve, Invest - Are You In? Survey for All Families
Your input is requested from the District Council
 Earlier this year, the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF) and the Parent-Teacher Organizations (PTOs) from the four schools (Laurel, Encinal, Oak Knoll and Hillview) in our Menlo Park City School District collaborated on the "INspire, INvolve, INvest - Are You IN?" fundraising campaign.
The Are You IN? campaign's intent was to provide families with a more complete picture of the financial needs of our schools and school district and to underscore the importance of donating to each of the organizations that support our schools: the PTOs and the MPAEF. By presenting the information from both organizations together and in a clear way we hoped this would allow families to better plan their
donations related to the Menlo Park City School District for the year.
We ask all District families to take this survey to help the PTOs and MPAEF be as effective as possible in their future efforts to raise funds for the benefit of our children's education. The survey takes 5 minutes. Your feedback is very important to us. Please click here to take the survey. Thank you in advance for your help.
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Third Grade Parents: Wax Museum Is Wednesday 3/28
 The past few months, Encinal third grade students selected and read a biography about a famous person past or present. At school, students learned about the genre of biographies and wrote a 1-2 page paper about their subject. They researched their selected person at home and prepared a costume for a presentation at school. As the culminating activity, each student will be a "model" in a Wax Museum on March 28th. Students will dress as the subject of their report and memorize a short summary of their subject's biography. Third grade families are invited to tour the Wax Museum and visit all the famous "wax" figures. This event takes place Wednesday, March 28th, at 5:30pm in the Encinal 3rd grade classrooms, and will be a truly memorable event. |
Third Grade Parents: Orientation for 4th Grade Is 4/12
 Parents of the Encinal and Laurel third grade students who will make up next year's Encinal 4th grade cohort are invited to a meeting to learn about the 4th grade curriculum and meet the teachers. This is a parent only event in the Encinal large multipurpose room.
Parent Orientation - Encinal 4th Grade 2012-2013 Thursday, April 12th, 4:30-5:30pm, Encinal multi |
5th Grade Parents - Hillview PTO Needs You
 The 2012-13 school year is a great time to get involved at Hillview. We are opening the brand new middle school and welcoming a new principal. We have PTO committee chair positions open on the following committees: - Camp Hillview for 6th graders (2 more co-chairs)
- After School Classes (2 co-chairs)
- Book Mending (chair)
- Volunteer Appreciation Lunch (1 more co-chair)
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The PTO is looking for Volunteers!
 Newsletter Editor(s)
Would you be willing to help us put together the weekly newsletter?
You can work from home on an internet-connected computer -- make the time commitment that works for you. One hour a week helps and more time is welcome, too. Your work would be valuable to Encinal's electronic communications: newsletters, mid-week reminders, Principal's Posts, surveys. No special skills necessary because we will teach you everything.
2012-13 PTO Executive Board We still have some excellent positions open on next year's PTO Executive Board for willing and energetic volunteers! Click here for more info. |
Community News & Events
For complete listing click here
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New Community Listings
Want to see all listings, not just what's new? Click here. 
Summer Camp Information for District Families
Click here to get a valuable summary of summer camp information. Check back often - we are adding camps every week!
Events for Students and Families
- Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Presented by Palo Alto Children's Theatre, March 21-31, Palo Alto Children's Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
- Kepler's Story Time with Sue Fliess, A Dress for Me! Sunday, April 1, 11:00 a.m., 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
- Menlo-Atherton Dance Team Show and Fundraiser, Saturday, April 21, 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.), at the M-A Performing Arts Center. There will be a prize drawing and an evening of entertainment and upbeat performances.
Sports, Classes & Volunteer Opportunities
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Encinal PTO Communications
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This email and the Encinal School web site are delivered to you by the Encinal PTO Communications committee. For more information about Encinal School, please visit www.encinalschool.com.
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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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