Good Morning
Every Monday, Email Club members receive important
information regarding upcoming events and communications from The PTA and
Strandwood staff via the Email Blast. The Email Blast also provides links to important flyers
and new items on the school website. The deadline for submitting your article is Thursday at 5:00pm. All submissions should be sent to strandwood_emailclub@hotmail.com. |
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Make A Difference Day
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A BIG thank you to all those great volunteers that turned out Saturday. Many of the projects were completed and the campus looks much better. Special thanks to Beth Macy and Lisa Ellis for coordinating this annual event.
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STAR Testing
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STAR (California's Standardized Testing and Reporting) testing will be held from May 4th through May 15th. Here are some helpful hints for the testing days.
* Being on time each morning is critical for the success of every
student every day, including STAR testing days. Students who
arrive late disrupt not only their own testing but also their
classmates. We are in this as a team at Strandwood and success
of one student is the success of all. Please be on time!
* Allow your child to get a good nights sleep before the tests
* Be sure you child eats a well balanced breakfast
* Encourage your child to do his or her personal best but do not
overemphasize the tests, they are only one measure of your
child's performance.
PLEASE, Do not schedule vacation, doctor or dental appointments during the testing window.
Homework assigned should be light during testing.
We have three very valuable links listed below. These are the same sites that our 2nd through 5th grade teachers use to help them pace the teaching of standards throughout the year as well as prepare them with test taking strategies.
First, there is a 3 page Parent/Guardian Guide that answers many of the questions about the STAR Program. To view that guide click HERE.
Second, view a blueprint of the testing program by clicking HERE. Third, practice testing on some actual questions from recent years by clicking HERE. You can also find links to these sites on our webisite, www.strandwood.org. |
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Photo courtesy of the Bargmann family.
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Calendar
Click below to go directly to the Strandwood web site calendar.
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Fun Facts
A systole is a heart beat.
The first known transplant took place around 600 BC in India.
Black Puff, Royal Puff, Cardinal Puff and Petrol Puff are all names of Swatch watches.
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WHAT IS IT?
This is a close up of an
object. What is it? The Answer is at the bottom of the
page.
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Turn Off TV Week
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| Turn off TV Week went great last week. Congratulations to those who went all week without watching TV. We will share some of the things our students did instead of watching the tube next week. |
Wacky Wednesday Spirit Day
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 Wednesday, May 6th is Hawaiian Day at Strandwood. Put on your flower shirts and best Hawaiian accessories and show your school spirit on the last Wacky Wednesday of the school year.
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Read and Dream Reminder
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Reading logs will be due on Friday, May 1.
Awards will be given out the following Friday, May 8, to
those students who have read their grade level minutes.
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Superintendent's Weekly Memo
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Will Federal Stimulus Funds Help Mt. Diablo Unified?
Within days of learning late last week that California will receive $4.9 billion in federal State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF) over this year and next, Mt. Diablo USD staff had completed an application for a share of those funds. The application will be presented to the MDUSD Board of Education at its April 28 meeting for review and approval before being submitted to the grant agency.
The SFSF is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the federal stimulus package sponsored by President Obama, and is specifically earmarked for public education. Of the $4.9 billion that California is to receive, $3.1 billion is available as a first installment, which will be distributed among public school districts, county offices of education, direct-funded charter schools, and state colleges and universities that apply and meet the criteria.
Read the rest of this story by clicking here or or visiting MDUSD.org.
"You never know how a horse will pull until you hook him to a heavy load."~ Bear Bryant
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Pleasant Hill Student Showcase Information
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 Each year the Pleasant Hill City Council sponsors this wonderful opportunity to showcase the musical talents of students in the Pleasant Hill schools.The Strandwood students will be performing at the following times.
Mark your calendar
and join the festivities showcasing the musical talent of Pleasant Hill
students! For more information contact Martin Nelis at (925) 671-5229 or email mnelis@ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us. You can also click here to view and print the flyer.
All Strings students will perform Wednesday, April 29th from 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm
All Band students will perform Thursday, April 30th from 4:15 to 4:45 pm
All students are to meet in the plaza on Crescent at least 15 minutes prior to the start time.
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Library Reading Festival
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Randel McGee Takes the Stage as Hans Christian Andersen
2ND Annual Contra Costa County Library Reading Festival Celebrates
Reading, Libraries and Community, May 3 - 9, 2009
On Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. at the Pleasant Hill Library storyteller Randel McGee will bring to life Hans Christian Anderson, creator of such beloved folk tales as The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling. Come and be enchanted with his storytelling and paper cutting. For everyone from 5 -105.
On Sunday, May 3 at 2 p.m. Melissa Anelli, webmistress of Leaky Cauldron.org, an official Harry Potter website and the author of the recently published Harry: a History, will appear in Concord at the Willow Pass Center to talk about all things Harry Potter - just in time for the next movie!
All Reading Festival programs are free and open to all.
The 2009 Reading Festival is a celebration of reading, libraries, and the community and all 25 community libraries in Contra Costa County will feature authors, events and performances - free and for the whole family - throughout the week of May 3 - 9, 2009. For a complete schedule of events at the Pleasant Hill Library and other community libraries, visit the Contra Costa County Library Reading Festival's website at www.ccclib.org.
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Pleasant Hill Middle School Field Contest
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It has been a little quiet lately, but the Frosted Flakes Field Contest is not over.
On Thursday, April 30, Frosted Flakes will pick 100 nominated locations to renovate out of the 3,405 in the running thus far. We will all vote like crazy mad men if we get picked and then 30 total locations will be picked for the winners.
As of right now, we have over 10,400 votes for our school (plus the other nominations and their corresponding votes made for our school, if they are combined). We stand as number 72/100 for our rankings of most votes. Frosted Flakes looks at the number of votes made, the commentaries voiced and the feasibility of fixing a field for qualifications. We can do this!
I can tell you our original nomination has the pictures of PHMS. If you have a few minutes and would like to lend your support, please log onto to this link and sign up as a "supporter." The school has already been nominated, so make sure you are signing up as a supporter. I am being told that even schools in Moraga are voting for us!
Keep the voting up; we still have until April 30. I believe you can vote as many times as you want. I cannot find anything in the rules that state otherwise. You just need to put in the slanted code that appears and click "submit."
Thank you for all of your support, Rebecca Rader, Pleasant Hill Middle School
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Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader
1st Grade Question - What bird is a symbol for the United States of America?
2nd Grade Question - Starfish typically have how many arms or rays?
3rd Grade Question - What is the perimeter of a square in which one side is 8 inches?
4th Grade Question - Pollen grains are made in what part of the flower? A. Anther B. Ovule or C. Sepal
5th Grade Question - The word "I" is nominative. "Me" is objective. What similar word would be possessive?
Answers are at the bottom of the page.
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Dates, Times and Places
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The 2009-2010 school year calendar has been approved and is on the MDUSD website. Click here to view that calendar. School starts on August 31st.
April 27 - Hearing Screening K-2, 5
April 29 - Volunteer Tea - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
April 29 - Pleasant Hill Student Orchestra (Strings) Showcase - 4:30 pm
April 30 - Pleasant Hill Student Band Showcase - 4:15 pm
April 30 - Spring Photo Day
May 1 - Spotlight Assembly - 8:15 am
May 4 - May 15 - STAR Testing
May 12 - Site Council - 3:15 pm in the Library
May 14 - Kindergarten Orientation
May 21 - Open House
May 27 - Vocal Concert in the MU room
Field Trips:
May 11 - 1st Grade, C-1, C-4 - Botanical Gardens and Little Farm, Tilden Park
May 12 - 1st Grade, B-2, B-3 - Botanical Gardens and Little Farm, Tilden Park
May 21 - 3rd Grade, B-7, C-6 - Black Diamond Mines - 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
May 28 - 3rd Grade, A-1, C-5 - Black Diamond Mines - 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Holidays:
May 25 - Memorial Day
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In the Office
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Answers
1st Grade - The Bald Eagle
2nd Grade - 5
3rd Grade - 32"
4th Grade - A - Anther
5th Grade - My or mine
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What is it? A can opener
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