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DECEMBER 7, 2009
Good Morning
Every Monday, Email Club members receive important information regarding upcoming events and communications from The PTA and Strandwood staff via the Roadrunner. The Roadrunner also provides links to important flyers and new items on the school website. Do you have any comments about this Roadrunner or suggestions for future Roadrunner articles or features? Drop us a line at strandwood_emailclub@hotmail.com. | |
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A Message From The Principal.. |
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The winter holidays....
 When it comes to the time period from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, it marks the longest season of the year for many reasons. We have shopping to do, parties to go to or give, traditions to carry out, budgets to watch and friends/family to visit. A favorite tradition of the season for me as principal of Strandwood is the performance of the Nutcracker by our students. The amount of time, energy and organization that goes in to it is, as Master Card says, - "priceless".
In my tenure as principal at Strandwood, I've had the opportunity to watch remarkable parents each year organize the props, the costumes, the music, the choreography, the timing, the rehearsals, and the set design. Each year I think, "this can't be improved upon - it's perfection". Every year parents amaze me by improving it. It never ceases to amaze me! Hats off to all the parents from past performances and to Diane Kastell, Stacy Monahan, and May Hanecak for another grand performance this year. I can't list all the parents who give time, energy and commitment, you know who you are and thank you! Thank you for getting up early for those 7:15 AM rehearsals, for giving up one precious day during a time that redefines busy to watch your child perform, for helping in the dressing rooms, and for raising some pretty great kids!
We each have something to be thankful for whether it is our health, our children, our friends/family or our jobs. As we move into the winter season I like to reflect on the non-commercial, non-material things we have to be thankful for. There are many around us - in our school, neighborhood, city, state or country that don't have health, family or jobs. I am grateful for every breath I take, the beauty of everyday, the people I have known and yet to know - I am grateful for my sons.
All of us at Strandwood are very grateful to you, our parent community, for your collaboration and support. We hope you continue to trust us with our most precious resource - your children, our future.
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Photo Day Make-up Date |
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The Photo Make-up day is scheduled for Thursday, December 10th. If you are having photos re-taken, don't forget to send the complete, original, photo packet with your child. They will have to give it to the photo staff prior to photo's being re-taken.
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Jump Start Day MC/Visa Charges |
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Due to technical problems the Jump Start Day credit card charges were just submitted. The charges should show up on your next statement. Thanks. |
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Box Tops / Webkinz November Contest Winner |
Cong ratulations to Jason Eide, proud new owner of a webkinz!!! Jason turned in 186 Box Tops in November!!! Please remember to put your name on the outside of your bag when you turn them in. We had a couple of large entries with no name!!!
December Box Tops will be due in the office on Friday, December  18th. Remember we can earn money from shopping on line too! Favorite retailers like Target and Barnes and Noble will give back to Strandwood, just by using the Box Tops Marketplace. Please use the Box Tops link at the bottom of www.strandwood.org to shop!!!!! This is EASY money for our school, especially in December! Thanks for your support!
Coordinators, Sophie Harrington and Courtney Turner (4th Grade) |
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Parent Teacher Conferences |
Parent Teacher conferences will be held from Today, December 7th, through the 18th. Dismissal will be at 1:40pm for 1st - 5th grades on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will still be a 12:30pm dismissal.
Your teachers have already scheduled your appointment dates and times. Please, show up on time for your meeting as there isn't much room between conferences.
Here are some ideas from our friends at FamilyEducation.com
Parent-teacher conferences present an excellent opportunity to find out how your child is adjusting to the new school year and to get to know her teachers. Here are some general hints on how to have a successful conference:
* Ask your child if there is anything that he would like you to discuss with the teacher.
* Jot down everything that you want to talk about at the conference.
* Arrive promptly or a few minutes early.
* Begin with positive comments about the teacher or classroom.
* Avoid lengthy discussions of topics that are not related to the purpose of the conference.
* Be open-minded to suggestions from the teacher.
* Keep your emotions under control.
* Take notes about what has been discussed to share with your child.
* Express appreciation for the conference.
* Do not stay beyond your allotted time.
Don't forget to arrange for your children to be picked up early on those days.
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Order Your Nutcracker DVD's |
 Nutcracker DVDs - A holiday treat for all
Did you forget to order a Nutcracker DVD of your child's performance last Saturday? As always, this year's Nutcracker was specially shot and edited by our resident Strandwood dad pros and will include a behind the scenes chapter with special footage of your children in the classrooms getting ready for their big number. DVDs are $10.00 for one and you can buy a second DVD (of the same performance) for just $5.00 so you can share the memories with your relatives or friends. (Second DVD orders of a different performance are $10.)
Order forms were available before each show and will be in the office through December 18th. Cash and checks (payable to Strandwood PTA) happily accepted and all proceeds benefit the Strandwood PTA.
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Budget Situation Worsens |
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The following is a message from MDUSD Board of Education member, Sherry Whitmarsh:
------------------ "At the Superintendent's Parent Advisory Council last night (Thursday), Dr. Nicoll presented our current budget situation. For the current school year, the district eliminated over $30 million from our budget and we will need to make further budget reductions for the 2010 - 2011 and 2011 - 2012 school years. For 2010 - 2011 the amount is $5 million and for 2011 - 2012 the amount is slightly more than $13 million. There are several reasons for this:
1. In its budget slashing mode, the state has reduced our allocation to a
little less than $5,000 per year per student.
2. We have lost more than 700 student this year, which is over 400 more than projected.
When the agenda is published on Friday, we will be able to see the first list of proposed cuts. To my knowledge the board will not be taking action on this but it will be reviewing and discussing the list of cuts. Additionally it is projected that the state will make additional budget reductions since we are currently in a deficit of over $20 billion.
I am sending this email to you so that you can be aware of it and hopefully send me any questions or concerns that you may have when the agenda is published. Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you know that may be interested in the information. What can we do?
On December 14 at 7:00 p.m. at the Willow Creek Center, the is a local school community meeting. The intent of this meeting is to get your input to help support core academic programs like English, math and science and to attract and retain qualified teachers."
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The list of proposed cuts was not ready when the agenda was posted. It should be presented at the meeting. The numbers mentioned, $5 million and $13 million, are before the anticipated further cuts from the state. To view the agenda click here. If you would like to listen to a live broadcast of the Board of Education meeting click here before the start of the meeting Tuesday night at 7:30pm. |
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Jamba Juice Fundraiser |
 Jamba Juice has teamed up with the National PTA to return a portion of sales to the National PTA as well as our Strandwood PTA. Cards will be available in the near future that, when presented to the clerk, will return 10% of your sale back to the Strandwood PTA. Look for more information on this new program in the weeks to follow.
For now, Jamba Juice has provided us with coupons good for $1 to $25 towards a purchase. Those coupons are available in the office and expire on January 4th. Stop by the office and pick up your free coupon today.
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Box Tops Marketplace |
Still shopping for Christmas Presents? Shopping on-line too? Well you can help the Strandwood PTA while shopping on-line by entering your favorite on-line store through Box Tops Marketplace. Click here for a listing of the stores and their contribution. If you haven't yet registered click here now and start your shopping.
Another way to help the PTA fundraising is to use eScript Online Shopping Mall. It is very similar to the Marketplace. To visit the Shopping Mall click here. Both programs work in the background and, once logged in, shop online as usual. Check it out for your next online order.
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Register Now for "The Bee"
A city-wide spelling bee for grades K-5 on December 12th
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 Who: The Foundation for Pleasant Hill Education (FPHE)
Where: Pleasant Hill City Hall, Council
Chambers
100 Gregory Lane,
Pleasant Hill
Cost: Registration is $5. Register by calling Kaplan Educational Center
(676-8921) or printing a registration
form from FPHE's website
www.fphe.org. Send the registration form and payment to
FPHE,
P.O. Box 23851, Pleasant Hill, CA
94523.
When: Saturday, December 12, 2009
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
(See www.fphe.org
for schedule.)
Why: An
exciting, educational event to promote education throughout our community. Proceeds go to FPHE to and Pleasant Hill
public schools K-12.
All
participants will receive a gift bag and certificate. Cash prizes ($100, $50, and $25) will be
awarded to the top three winners in each group.
For information
email generalinfo@fphe.org
or visit www.fphe.org.
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Maverick's Fundraiser
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Want to take a night off from cooking? The Outdoor Education Fundraising team is holding another fundraiser on Thursday, December 17th. They have teamed with Maverick's BBQ Catering and Delivery to make that night off happen. For $34.95 you can drive by Strandwood and pick up a family BBQ dinner consisting of Tri-Tip, Chicken, mashed pototoes, beans, coleslaw and bread. For more details click here for the flyer. |
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Cortsen Christmas Lights Are Dark |
Missing the normal fantastic display of lights on Cortsen Road, just off Grayson? The owner of the property had to relocate for a while but will be back next year. Do you know of any great light displays? Drop us a line at strandwood_emailclub@hotmail.com. |
Math Night for Parents
Sign up Now
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Are you concerned about your child's performance in math?
Are you interested to learn about the newly adopted state math standards?
Do you want to learn several effective methods that you can use at home to help your kids with their math studies?
Save
the date for Math Night for Parents presented by The Pleasant Hill Education/Schools Advisory Commission. It will be held Monday, January 25th, from 7-9
p.m. at Sequoia Middle School. We will have a presenter, Phillip
Gonsalves, who will focus on the math curriculum K-8. Phil has been
working with our school district to help teachers for at least a year now.
He works for Alameda County Office of Education. He has helped parents in our district
understand how best to support their students with Math homework.
This event is FREE. Your RSVP is not mandatory but is greatly appreciated.
Click HERE to view the website with more information and to RSVP. |
| Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? |
1st Grade Question: What is one piece of pizza called?
2nd Grade Question: True or false? When you turn your back to the sun, your shadow is in back of you.
3rd Grade Question: 36 divided by 4 = what?
4th Grade Question: Where did Robin Hood live?
5th Grade Question: Which are the oldest mountains in North America?
Answers are at the bottom of the page.
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Dates, Times and Places |
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December 7th - 18th - Parent Teacher Conferences - Early Dismissal.
December 10th - Photo Make-up Day
December 11th - Spotlight Assembly - 8:15 am
December 18th - Principal Pizza Lunch - Blue slips due by Wednesday, December 16th.
December 21st - January 4th - Holiday - Winter Break
January 7th - PTA General Membership Meeting (The 2nd grade teachers will be presenting)
January 8th - Spotlight Assembly
January 12th - Site Council - 3:15 pm in the library
January 14th - Sutter's Fort Parents Meeting
January 18th - Holiday - Martin Luther King Birthday
January 29th - Pizza Meeting - Blue Slips due by Wednesday the 27th
Check all the calendars on the Strandwood website by clicking here.
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In the Office
Flyers regarding the following items are available in the office this month. You can also click on the link, if there is one, to go directly to that site Junior Optimist Baseball/Softball League
Contra Costa Children's Chorus
YMCA youth Basketball
E-FlyersE-Flyers are ones that you can click on to view. As more and more organizations go to paperless this will become a popular method of getting notices to folks..
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| Answers |
| 1st Grade Answer: A slice
2nd Grade Answer: False
3rd Grade Answer: 9
4th Grade Answer: Sherwood Forest
5th Grade Answer: The Appalacian Mountains
What is it? A drill (actually the drill chuck)
Fact or Not?
1) Fact -
2) Not - 3) Not - The average adult human brain weighs 3 pounds 4) Fact -
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