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The Central Scoop
Issue 11: Tuesday, December 13, 2011  
A Message from the Editors:
The Central Scoop will be on Winter Break during the last two weeks of December and will return in January of 2012! Have a great break and we wish you a wonderful holiday season.
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Upcoming Central Events . . . are also posted on The Central Elementary School Website: Central.brssd.org - Friday, December 16th = Central Holiday Movie Night, 6-8pm in MUR
- December 19-January 2nd = WINTER BREAK, NO SCHOOL
- Tuesday, January 3rd = Students and Staff Return from Winter Break
- Tuesday, January 10th = Parent Education Night @ 7:30pm
- Thursday, January 12th = Kindergarten Visitation (2012-2013) @ 9AM
- Thursday, January 12th = PTA Association Meeting @ 7PM, Central Library
- January 13th-27th = Reading Power Read-A-Thon
- Monday, January 16th = Martin Luther King Jr. Day, NO SCHOOL
- Wednesday, January 18th = Family Reading Night @ 7PM, Central Library
- Tuesday, January 24th = Kindergarten Visitation (2012-2013) @ 9AM
- Tuesday, January 24th = 4th & 5th grade Winter Concert, Central MUR 7pm
LOOKING AHEAD: STAR Testing Begins April 30, 2012 ________________________________________________________ The Library is OPEN this week!
Wednesdays are Walking Wednesdays - Walk your Child to School! Show your Central Spirit by wearing blue on Fridays! |
A Message from our Principal
Dear Parents,
You can just feel the excitement throughout our school because the Holidays are almost here. It is a wonderful time to be surrounded by children. They exude the energy and joy of the season, and it is catching!
At this time of the year, you can't help but reflect on the many things we have to be grateful for at Central.
The month was kicked off with the Holiday Craft Fair where there were smiling children's faces everywhere. Thanks to our Co-chairs, Helen Gruener and Dawn Richards, the day was a perfect way to start the season. It could not have happened without all the volunteers who contributed their time, delicious baked goods and talent to make it such a happy day for kids.
Today, you see smiling staff members everywhere. That is because of PTA's generous Annual Cookie Party. The staff room looks like Martha Stewart stopped by early with gorgeous cookies for all staff members to sample and take home to share with their families. It is just another reminder of the exceptional parents we are blessed with who support us and contribute to our school in a myriad of ways. We can't thank you enough.
With just a few days before our break, it is obvious that for many this is their favorite time of the year. It would be wonderful if we could keep this special spirit going all year long.
Whichever holidays your family celebrate, I wish you a happy and peaceful season filled with family, friends, good health and joyful times together.
Warmest Regards,
Cori McKenzie
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Notes from the School Office
by Mrs. McNulty
Office: 650-637-4820
Attendance:650-620-2810
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Please click here for information regarding visitors, the 24-hour attendance line, tardies, dropped-off items, and the lost & found. Please click here for information regarding student medications.
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School-Force
READING POWER READ-A-THON Dragon Den
Volunteers Needed 
Dear Central Parents,
The 2012 Reading Power Read-A-Thon is starting in mid-January. We are looking for volunteers to staff the Dragon Den during morning recesses on four days: Wed. Jan 18th, Fri. Jan 20th, Wed. Jan 25th and Fri. Jan 27th. Time: 9:45am to 10:45am. It's easy work and fun to watch our dragon grow.
Here is a link to our signup sheet:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0C49AAA92BA57-dragon
password: read
Also please remember if you see family over the holidays to talk to them about sponsoring your child(ren) for reading!
Please contact Lisa Conley with questions,
lbconley (at) gmail.
Thank you!
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PTA News
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Tomorrow Night . . .
Wednesday, December 14th, 5:30-7:30pm
Opening Doors: Belmont-Redwood Shores Special Services PTA Winter Potluck
for more information please see the eflyer here!
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Central's Holiday Movie Night
is coming up!
Friday, December 16th
from 6-8pm in the MUR!
Bring your kids and all their movie-going buddies to kick-off Winter Break with the movie -
"The Polar Express" *
This is a great opportunity to drop off your kids and get some gift-wrapping or grown-up dining in. There will be refreshments, but not dinner, so feed your kids beforehand.
*The Polar Express is based on the children's book by Chris Van Allsburg and is rated G.
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Parent Education Night
. . . is coming up . . .
Tuesday, January 10th from 7:30pm-9pm
Mike Lanza of Playborhood.com will make recommendations on how to let your child play freely.
stay tuned for an upcoming eflyer with more details
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Walking Track News 
Ever wonder why your kids come home with foot charms?
Well, your kids have been doing a great job getting out and walking and/or running around the track! You wouldn't believe how many students walked 5 miles each (throughout the fall semester) during Thursday recesses. Thank you to all the volunteers that have been part of this program so far!
The program has been a terrific success. It encourages exercise and puts smiles on the faces of every participating student. To continue to keep this fantastic program available, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS.
Currently the kids earn a charm for every 1/2 mile walked. In January, we will encourage the kids to walk a mile for a charm-and we could use your help to encourage, record and reward. Without enough volunteers it is difficult to keep things moving.
All you need to do is show up on Thursday from 12-1pm. You can come once a month or once a week or whenever you like. You will see how much the kids enjoy it.
Please contact Michelle Garcia I would be happy to send you the link to sign up. Thanks! |
| Art-In-Action
The third graders in Room 5 have really been enjoying Art in Action this year with Ms. Fields,three art docents (Grete Fry, Holly Hesselgren, and Michelle Matosian), and some wonderful helpers. There have been three lessons so far including a color wheel and a lighting lesson and fun African textiles project where the kids got to "weave" their own pattern and stamp stencils they created. This month the kids learned about Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night and did a painting project where they created their own versions. We have a great group of artists!
- Michelle Matosian
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Central's Community Announcements | |
Last Chance to Easily Help an Adoptable pet!
Collection is TODAY,
Tuesday December 13th at noon!
Thanks to everyone who has kindly donated items to the Pet Supplies Donation Drive for Peninsula Humane Society!
Girl Scout Troop 33393 will continue collecting items this week. The last day to donate is Monday December 12 (the donations bin will be collected TODAY, Tuesday December 13 at noon).
Much-needed pet supplies include: gently used blankets, towels, collars, leashes, pet toys (especially large Kongs), Fancy Feast cat food, paper towels, creamy peanut butter and canned tuna, as well as several household items-many things which you may no longer need yourself! So please help our troop help local Bay Area pets by donating items to the donation box in front of Central School's Office.
You can find a complete wish list of hoped-for donations on the Girl Scouts' pet donations flyer. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Troop Co-Leader:
Traci Psaila at
Thank you for your help!
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Former Central Student Giving Back through Eagle Scout Project!! Your support is needed!
Dear Parents and Guardians
of Central Elementary School,
My name is Greg Newton and I was a student at Central from Kindergarten to 5th grade. I really enjoyed my time at Central and wanted to give something back. I am currently a Senior at Carlmont High School and a Boy Scout in Troop 301. To attain the rank of Eagle Scout, I will need to lead a service project benefiting the community in some way. As soon as I learned this I knew I wanted to do a project for Central. I met with Ms. Cori McKenzie to discuss an area of Central that she and Ms. Fong have wanted to see improved for a long time.
Here is a picture of the area we'd like to improve:
To see a picture of what it will look like, please click ____________________________
PROJECT WEE CARE  Samaritan House's Holiday Toy and Gift Distribution "Established in 1974, Samaritan House is a non-profit health and human services agency with over 30 years of experience in providing a broad range of services and resources to low-income residents in San Mateo County. Services include case management, clothing, medical care, food, shelter, employment assistance, and food and toys for the holidays. All services are provided free of charge to low-income families." (from their website - samaritanhouse.com) Please help out by donating the from the following list: Gift Drive-NEW: Games & Toys...sports equipment, art supplies, action figures, board games, playing cards, card games, dolls, stocking stuffers, toys for infants - age 12 Gifts for Teens-NEW: basketballs, soccer balls, make up, accessories, gift certificates for boys and girls ($10 and up) See the eflyer for more information! _______________________________________________ Also for Samaritan House... Samaritan House is in desperate need for children's clothing. There are more homeless children in San Mateo County this year than last and they need our help. Please look through your closets for gently used clothing and see if you can help this cause. They need the following: - Girls 4 to 6x clothing - pants, shirts, dresses, shoes, anything
- Toddler girls and boys pants
- Boys size 3 to 7 - pants of any kind especially jeans, long sleeve tee shirts
- Boys 8, 10 and 12 pants
- Other children's clothing needed as well, but these are the greatest needs.
If you don't have any of these and would like to go pick up a pair of new jeans or tee shirts from Old Navy,. Target or K-Mart that would be great too. For $10 you can buy a new pair of pants at Old Navy.
Donations are accepted at Samaritan House, 4031 Pacific Blvd., San Mateo, CA
Thank you for your help.
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Central Library News
by Mrs. Patty Branscum
email: pbranscum@brssd.org
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The next Family Reading Night will be
Wednesday, January 18, 2012.
December is a great time to buy a gift for our library. Adopt-A-Books are available Dec. 12-16 for your shopping convenience!
Happy Holidays,
Mrs. Branscum
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School-Force News
schoolforce.org
Wondering what to give your child's teacher for the holidays?
What better gift can you give them than an investment in something they care deeply about? Consider an additional investment in quality education in Belmont-Redwood Shores schools as part of your teacher's holiday gift. Click on the
Shop for School-Force this holiday season!
Your holiday purchases on Amazon and other online retailers including Target, Macy's, Expedia, Walmart and Lucky Brand earns an average 7% of the money you spend for School-Force, at no cost to you!
Click here to get started shopping!
Maximize your tax write-off! As we near the end of this tax year, please be sure you've given all you want to give for this year to maximize your write-off! You have until June 30th to make an impact on the 2012-2013 school year, but write-offs for this calendar year end soon!
Click here to donate now!
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More from School-Force!
The new School-Force window decals are here! If you've made a donation since July 2011, you should be receiving your donor window decal soon, be sure to display it proudly!! If you begin your monthly giving now, the suggested amount in order to reach the $1200 level is: $150/mo for one child or $300/mo for 2 children. Click here to set up your donation now.
It's fun to be on a winning team! Join other School-Force volunteers and help continue our winning streak! The School-Force Team has had great success over the last few years helping Belmont-Redwood Shores schools overcome some drastic state budget cuts. We need your help to continue this excellent record. Click here to get involved now! It's a team effort.
Thanks to your donations last year, many programs are being supported by School-Force dollars right now.
2011-2012 School-Force Supported Programs: Class Size Reduction for K-3rd Grade $350,000
Funds support additional teacher salaries so student: teacher ratio is 25:1 rather than 29:1.
Reading Specialists $244,000
Support emerging readers in the younger grades at all six elementary schools.
Science Specialists for 4th and 5th Grades $129,000
Science specialists share workload between all six elementary schools.
Choral Music-4th and 5th Grades $100,000
Elementary music teachers share workload between all six elementary schools.
Instrumental Music 4th and 5th Grades $145,000
Dean at Ralston $121,000 Full-time, serving all 1000 Ralston students.
Counseling at Ralston $48,000
50% of full-time position, serving all 1000 Ralston students. The other 50% is paid with general funds, per state mandate.
Library Media Specialists $113,000
Keeping libraries open part-time at all elementary schools and full-time at Ralston. The program receives additional support from the general fund.
Teacher's Aides (Para Educators) $120,000
One Para Educator at each elementary school site to aid teachers in split-grade classrooms. If no split grades at a site then equivalent funds are used at the principal's discretion to support classroom learning.
Technology for Teachers $50,000
Computers for newly hired teachers and partial support for the refresh program for teacher computers.
Ralston Afterschool Athletic Program $20,000 Stipends for coaches to bring cost down and make the program accessible to more students.
Questions? Contact Michele Moyer, School-Force Liaison
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Notes from the District
Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Website link
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eflyers | |
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Scoop Corrections:
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We strive for accuracy each and every week, but will undoubtedly make mistakes now and then. If you catch one, please let us know by emailing us at:
thecentralscoop@gmail.com
We may even hand out a prize now and then!
Thanks,
Your Central Scoop Team
Jill Pratt and
Stephanie Vargas
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About the Scoop:
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The Central Scoop is currently run by parent volunteers.
For submission questions relating to the Central Scoop, please contact Jill Pratt. For technology questions relating to the Central Scoop, please contact Stephanie Vargas.
We can be reached at:
525 Middle Road
Belmont, CA 94002
Office: 650-637-4820
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Box Tops | | |
There is a collection box in the office with Mrs. McNulty, or you can send them in with your child and your child's teacher will make sure they are collected.
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eScrip | |
Now Providing Shopping Advice While Helping You Contribute to Central!
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Volunteer at Central!
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It takes volunteers to help make Central great!
You can register to volunteer here:
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