SPRING AUCTION 2012

Student Emergency Cards  

LL: All k-3rd grade families will received the 2012-2013 Student Emergency Cards in their Monday packets. These are important documents that not only update important information about your student, but also serves as a registration form for the next year in our District. Please check that all the information is current, all missing information completed, and edit where appropriate. We find that parents' emails addresses are most often not updated or kept current, so we ask you to double-check that information, and if any information is changed during the school year to please update the office.

Even if you are not returning to the District, please check that box at the top of the form and return the form to your child's teacher.

Please return completed forms to your child's teacher as soon as possible.

LE: All 4-7th grade families should have just received the 2012-2013 Student Emergency Cards in the mail. These are important documents that not only update important information about your student, but also serves as a registration form for the next year in our District. Please check that all the information is current, all missing information completed, and edit where appropriate. We find that parents' emails addresses are most often not updated or kept current, so we ask you to double-check that information, and if any information is changed during the school year to please update the office.

Even if you are not returning to the District, please check that box at the top of the form and return the form to your child's teacher.

Please have your child return the completed forms to their Core teacher as soon as possible.

Update on the 8th grade Washington DC Trip  

This year's DC Trip was a "charmed trip" with ideal weather, many wonderful exhibits open and available to us that were not available to the group when traveling in February, model students who consistently earned praise and compliments from so many adults throughout our travels {airline stewards who looked frightened when first seeing a swarm of middle schoolers boarding their plane but ended up remarking on how polite and good travelers the kids all were when we disembarked :) , tour guides, hotel staff, bus drivers and exhibit docents everywhere!! } and a team of fun and smart chaperones who took their responsibilities seriously while also making sure to enjoy themselves with the kids.  Charmed, indeed!  The plan for next year is to travel again during the Spring Break, March 23-29, 2013 so we can once again take full advantage of all exhibits.  All La Entrada parents considering this excursion for their 8th grader are encouraged to begin to make financial plans so the travel fees will not be as painful in February 2013.  While I won't know the final fee for the trip, the average cost has historically been between $2,200.- $2,500.  I will send out meeting announcements in the August 2012 so all interested parents can learn more details about this wonderful trip.  Ms. Mitchell, our valued chaperone/web master/photographer extraordinaire, has documented this trip on our "8th Grade DC Trip" link found on our district's website, left hand column.

STAR testing
STAR testing will be given in the mornings of April 30, May 1, May 2, May 3 & 4 for grades 5 & 8 only, May 7 and May 8th.  Parents are asked to please ensure that your student has had a full 8+ hours of sleep prior to testing, has had a nutritious breakfast and is on time to school.  Tardy students will be held in the office until the morning testing period is completed and they must complete make-up testing at another time.  California will continue to mandate the STAR tests this year and next school year.  
Since all students will be tested first thing in the morning, it is not necessary for parents to provide testing snacks. It is more important that a healthy breakfast be provided at home to students, prior to arrival.  For those parents who have made arrangements to provide am recess snacks after testing, we recommend healthy, non-sugar and non-peanut foods.  Fruits and crackers are excellent ideas, whereas cupcakes or donuts are not encouraged.
I am hopeful that we will not have tardy students in the mornings during the STAR testing days.

The Climate Committee 
The Climate Committee is bringing a speaker to campus on May 8th to talk with all 6th, 7th and 8th graders about Cyber Safety.  Retired Menlo Park Police Captain, Mr. Bruce Goita, has graciously arranged for Reserve Officer Jamie Tassio to come and share her wealth of knowledge and experience with our students.  This assembly will take place in Jensen Hall and I have arranged for several chairs to be set up in the Hall should any parents care to join us.

Entrada Dress Code Committee
Call for volunteers for the La Entrada Dress Code Committee.  Mrs. McDonough and Mrs. Dineen are in the process of eliciting parents, staff and student volunteers to participate in a Dress Code Committee.  While we currently have a dress code in place, it is always best practices to reflect upon current practices and update, where needed.  Please email Mrs. Dineen if you are someone who would like to be part of this committee.  Our first meeting will be held on Monday, May 21, 2012 @ 3pm in room 7.  

New Mural at La Entrada!
For over three weeks, our La Entrada Art teachers, Ms. Gregori and Mrs. Ostrom, have been organizing and planning for our latest mural.  Thanks to these two teachers' efforts, our campus continues to be made a more beautiful place to learn.  MS. Gregori and Mrs. Ostrom worked closely with the same muralist who facilitated our first mural, Ellen Silva, to sketch out the overall mural artwork so student volunteers could come in shifts and paint over the weekend.
Please visit our new literary mural located at the entrance to our library.  Teachers, staff and students worked both Saturday and Sunday to complete this amazing work of art.  See how many stories you can identify from the mural!  

DADS AT LUNCH

Dads at Lunch is growing - come see what the buzz is all about!  Please come this Friday, May 4th and have some fun with the kids.  Last month some dads played touch football, some played kickball, some played frisbee and some just hung out with the kids.  It was really fun.  We'd love to have a lot of you there and make it a special lunch for the kids.  Grab a friend and come - 4th and 5th grades eat from 11:35-12:15 and 6th-8th grades eat from 12:15-12:50.  If you have questions, please contact Katie Boland at kboland@gmail.com  

Calling all HP Parents!

HP's Employee Product Giving Program reopens on Tuesday, May 1st . Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to donate HP products at 25% of list price to the Las Lomitas and La Entrada schools!   Funds are available on a first come, first served basis so you'll need to apply quickly.   Details on how to donate are available at this following link .    The school is particularly looking for HP TouchSmart 9100 PCs for the classrooms.  If you have any questions, please contact Suzanne Mitchell or Bob Wrenn.

AYSO Region 25 Fall Registration online Apr-15 to May-31 

AYSO Region 25 provides soccer for grades K-12 in the communities of Portola Valley, Woodside, La Honda, Ladera, and Las Lomitas. Registration for Fall-2012 is online only Apr-15 thru May-31 at http://ayso25.org.  For up to date details, find us on facebook.com/ayso25, or call Commissioner Don Yates at 650-851-2690. AYSO is an all-volunteer organization.  Safe, fun, affordable, and memories that last a lifetime.  Every child plays at least half of every game. 

Take the 2012 Drive Less Challenge! April 22 - May 5th, 2012 

The Drive Less Challenge is a fun way that you can try alternatives to driving your car to work, school, shopping, and other local places. Walking, biking, and taking transit instead of driving are great ways to improve your health, protect our environment, reduce car traffic (the largest source of CO2 emissions in the Bay Area). and to promote local commerce. Use our on-line Challenge application to share your stories, and to join or form groups - including friends, co-workers, neighbors, and others - to compete for fun and prizes from local businesses. Participate, volunteer, or sponsor the DLC at: http://www.drivelesschallenge.com

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