News from Donlon PFC

Quick Calendar
10/12	Spirit Wear Sale 11:25 AM- 11:50 AM
10/16	PPIE Student Grant deadline
10/18	Student Leadership Meeting - 3:00-3:40 PM - C15
10/19	Flag Salute - 1:15 PM - Twin Day
10/22 - 10/26	Red Ribbon Week
10/25	Fresh and Easy Shopping night

Get Your T-Shirts

If you ordered a Donlon T-shirt for students in grades 1-5, it will be sent home with your child on Friday, October 12th.

Kindergarten parents can PICK UP their T-shirts on Friday, October 12th from 11:25AM-11:50 AM in the courtyard in front of school. We will also have extra T-shirts available for sale at that time for parents who missed their chance to order. T-shirts are $10 and we will accept cash or checks payable to Donlon PFC. Donlon T-shirts are recommended to promote safety on field trips.

Any T-shirts that are not picked up will be sent home in student backpacks the following Monday.

Follow the Principal's Tweets

Mrs. Ceminsky is now texting! Want to receive short updates about minimum days, special events and other news? For Donlon Updates sent to your phone via text:

Text: 40404
Enter: Follow Donloncubs

Student Leadership Flag Salute

Our student leadership has selected themes for our fun school-wide spirit days. Friday October 19 is Twin Day! So grab a friend or a sibling and dress-up to look like each other! Flag salute is at 1:15pm.

Pictures for Yearbook

Have a great picture from class? Did you capture a cute shot of students on a field trip? The Yearbook team wants your photos! If you have any great group shots of students or a class, please send them our way. We would love to have your pictures in the Donlon school yearbook! You can email them all year to Kate Damiani (damianikate@gmail.com).

5% From Fresh and Easy - October 25

Fresh and Easy will donate 5% of ALL SALES to Donlon during their Shop for Schools Night at their Pleasanton location (Rosewood and Santa Rita) on October 25th between the hours of 4 and 8 PM.

Volunteers Needed

We need 5 adult volunteers to be present during the 4 hour period (2 hour shifts) in order to qualify for the 5% promotion. Please consider donating some of your time for this easy and fun night. Last year some of the older kids were able to come out and help with their parents, making it a really easy way to contribute! If you are able to work the event, please contact Leslie Mehta (LSMEHTA@mac.com).

And remember to keep turning in your Fresh and Easy receipts to the front office. For every $20 we spend through December 31st, Fresh and Easy will be donating $1 to Donlon.

Red Ribbon Week- October 22nd-October 26th

Red Ribbon Week is coming up soon. Look out for some fun activities for the whole school to enjoy as we celebrate saying NO to Drugs.

Click to view options

Family Portrait Fundraiser

We have the perfect opportunity for you to obtain beautiful family portraits before the Holidays, while helping support Donlon. Jeff Firestone from Firestone Photography is offering Donlon parents a great deal. He will donate all sitting fees to our school as well as a percentage of all sales. The sitting fee is $50. There will also be an option to buy the digital copy of pictures once a portrait at least 8x10 has been purchased. All portraits will be taken on Saturday, November 10th at Sycamore Grove Park in Livermore.

If you have any questions or if you would to sign up for the time slot that works best for your family please contact Jane Mihelcic (mihelcic@comcast.net or 925-484-9655). The final date for sign-ups will be Saturday November 3rd. Thanks for your support.

Gene's Community Cards - 5% on Purchases

Gene's Fine Foods in Pleasanton will be ending its Debit/Credit eScrip program now and launching the Gene's Fine Foods Community Card today. Now, all of your purchases count regardless of how you pay. Be sure to continue earning contributions for Donlon Elementary School:

Stop by Gene's Fine Foods in Pleasanton to get your new Community Card
Fill out the registration form in store, or bring your card home and add it to your existing eScrip account.

PFC, PPIE, PUSD, CSR - What do these acronyms mean?

If you are new to Donlon, you are probably wondering what these acronyms mean! Here's a quick guide:

PUSD = Pleasanton Unified School District

Donlon is one of nine elementary schools in the school district. PUSD also includes three middle schools and three high schools. The PUSD website is www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us.

PFC = Parent Faculty Club

At Donlon, we have a PFC instead of a PTA. We don't pay dues to the national PTA or participate in their events, but we function very similarly to a PTA, providing volunteer services and fundraising in support of school needs. Money donated to the Donlon PFC stays at Donlon to support our school.

PPIE = Pleasanton Partners in Education

PPIE raises funds for district wide programs. The biggest difference between PPIE and the Donlon PFC is that staffing decisions are made at the district level, so donations to PPIE have the potential to bring back staff. Donlon PFC sometimes has the ability to fund increases in staff hours (such as for our librarian or tech specialist) but we can't hire additional teachers or staff. The PPIE website is www.ppie.org .

CSR = Class Size Reduction

The Class Size Reduction program was established by the California Department of Education in 1996. It is a program through which the state provides some additional funding to schools that maintain a low student-to-teacher ratio (20:1) in grades K-3. Among Pleasanton parents, CSR is commonly used to describe any reduction in class size, such as the 25:1 ratio maintained for the last few years, even though those ratios do not garner funding from the state CSR program. This year, when we returned to a 30:1 ratio, PUSD returned to the staggered start schedule used for grades K-3 in Pleasanton years ago before CSR was implemented. More information about California's CSR program is online at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/cs/k3/.

Employer Matching Gift Program

The Donlon Parent Faculty Club is a bona fide 501(c)(3) organization qualifying for matching company gifts. Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match contributions made by their employees to the Donlon Parent Faculty Club. We are starting to receive these funds from various employers based on your Walk Thru Registration Donations. Donations eligible for employer matching gift programs include Classroom Donations, Science Donations, Music Donations, PE Donations, and Dollars for Donlon, to name a few. If you made any of these donations, please check with your Human Resources Department to find out if your employer might have a Matching Gift Program in place. If you have any questions, please contact Andra Rogers at donlonpfctreasurer@yahoo.com. Thank you for submitting these requests to your employers!!

PPIE NEWS

PPIE

Pleasanton Partnerships in Education (PPIE) is a non-profit dedicated to supporting Pleasanton public schools. The mission of PPIE is to raise funds in order to protect programs threatened by state budget cuts, and to fund projects/needs enhancing educational excellence for Pleasanton students.

STUDENT GRANTS DEADLINE: 10/16

Student or student groups at Donlon Elementary are encouraged to apply for PPIE grants once a year. Grants may be used to fund an individual student or student group activity or a project that promotes a positive learning experience inside or outside the classroom. A teacher sponsor, to offer guidance as needed through the completion of the project, and a school principal's approval, are also required. Grant requests are accepted in amounts up to $500. To obtain a grant application packet, got to the PPIE website, www.ppie.org.