Your Monday Morning Roadrunner from Strandwood Elementary

MARCH 22, 2010

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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In This Issue

Read and Dream Reminder

Maverick's Fundraiser Deadline Extended

All We Need is Your Signature

Book Fair Starts March 19th

Book Signing at Book Fair

Make A Difference Day

Please Don't Stop the Music

Technology Committee Thoughts

Birthday Book Club

Urge Legislators to Protect Children's Education

Support Local Funding for Local Schools

MDUSD Eliminates or Reduces Positions

MDUSD Bond Measure

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Dates, Times and Places

Flyers Available in the Office

Photo courtesy of the Bargmann family.

Calendar
Click the calendar below to go directly to the Strandwood web calendar.

Read and Dream Reminder

Reading logs are due Friday, March 26.

Awards will be given out the following Friday, April 2, to those students who have read their grade level minutes.

For questions please email Noga at nogakessler@yahoo.com

or Suzie at silvacrew@aol.com

Don't forget to sign up for the Raise A Reader Challenge. Click here to register and enter your reading minutes for a chance to earn the library $5000. To check Strandwood's progress click here. As of last Thursday only 28 parents had signed up their children (out of 570 some students!) Come on Folks.

Maverick's BBQ Fundraiser
Deadline extended to Wednesday, March 24.

Take a night off from cooking and relax. Order a Maverick's BBQ dinner or two, on or before Wednesday, March 24, and then come by Strandwood Elementary between 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 25th to pick up your delicious dinner You don't even have to get out of the car to pick up your dinner, someone will bring it to you when you drive up.

Family BBQ Dinner ($34.95) feeds a family of 4.
1lb Wood Fired Sirloin Tri-Tip
4 pc Smoked BBQ Chicken
1 Pint Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes -
1 Pint Cowboy Beans 1 Pint Coleslaw
Includes Bread & BBQ Sauce

It's simple. Order online at: www.MavericksBBQ.com
Click: Customer Login
Enter Password: mvbbq
Click: Product List, and select STRWD

Help the Strandwood Outdoor Education Program reach their goal of 60 dinners.
Thank you for your continued support to help raise money for the Strandwood Outdoor Education Program.

All It Takes Is Your Signature

The two articles near the bottom of this newsletter (with a green background) give you an opportunity to make your voice heard. All it takes is your signature. The first one asks for you to print and sign letters to our State Legislators and Government officials asking them to pass a state budget that protects your child's education.

The second one asks you to sign a petition that would lower the passage rate for parcel taxes from 2/3 to 55%.

Look for information regarding the Rally for Education Funding on April 15th in future Roadrunners.

All it takes is your signature.

Book Fair Continues This Week

Are you hungry for a good book!
Then come to Book Fair Diner.

We've got books for all tastes including chapter books, bestsellers, mystery, humor, and more!

Our Menu includes treats such as ice cream, Story time and a book signing by Illustrator Michael Slack. Now that's a recipe for fun!

Here are the Book Fair hours. So get ready to dig in!

Monday March 22nd
2:50-8:00pm Open to All
6:00-7:30pm* Ice Cream Sundaes & Raffle
* Illustrator Michael Slack will be at Strandwood to sign his book "My Life as a Chicken"

Tuesday March 23rd
11:40-12:40 (3rd - 4th - 5th Grade shopping)
2:00-2:50     Shop without Students
2:50-8:00   Open to All
6:15-7:15     Story Time with Mrs. Kim, Mrs. Burns and Mr. Brown

Wednesday March 24th
8:10-9:00 Shop without Students
12:30-2:00   Last Day of Book Fair

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Illustrator Book Signing During Book Fair

Illustrator Michael Slack is coming to Strandwood
on Monday, March 22

To be sure to get your copy of the California Young Readers Award nominee "My Life as a Chicken", return payment of $18.52 (payable to Strandwood PTA) to the office by Wed., March 17th. Please include student's name and teacher. Then, come in on Monday, March 22nd, 6:00-7:30 to pick it up at the Library and have it signed!

Questions? Contact Katie Roarty

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Make A Difference Day is March 27th

Make a Difference this Spring!
Spring into action on Saturday, March 27, and help beautify California Distinguished School Strandwood Elementary!

Come help us rouse our gardens from their longer winter slumber and restore our campus to its springtime glory. Spare a few hours between 9:00 - 5:00 for our gardens, for our school, for our children!

Contact Belinda at brcsullivan@sbcglobal.net to sign up to help.

Please Don't Stop The Music

You can help music education in our district and win a Disney vacation for four!

Please stop by the lower grade playground after school on either March 30, 31 or April 1 and buy a ticket for a chance drawing. A $10 donation gives you one chance to win and a $20 donation gives you three chances to win. Proceeds from the drawing will go towards restoring the 5th grade music program in the Mt. Diablo School District.

The district board voted last year to eliminate 5th grade band as a cost-saving measure, beginning in the 2010 - 2011 school year. Since then, the Mt. Diablo Music Education Foundation has formed with the goal of keeping instrumental music in our elementary schools.

There are three vacation packages:

1.   7-night Alaskan Pacific Sail Disney Cruise, departing from Vancouver, Canada with ports of call throughout Alaska. Includes airfare from Bay area. Valued at $9,000.

2.   5-day, 4-night Disney World vacation in Orlando, Florida, including airfare from the Bay area, 5-day hopper passes, Disney Dining Package and stay at Disney's Boardwalk Inn. Valued at $6,000.

3.   4-day, 3-night Disneyland vacation including airfare from the Bay area, 4-day hopper passes, stay at the Grand California Resort, and a Disney Dining Package. Valued at $3,500.

The winners will be announced at the foundation's music festival at Concord Pavilion on May 15. You need not be present to win. If you can't stop by after school, you can purchase tickets online at www.mdmusicfoundation.org. More information can also be found on the foundation's Web site.

If you have questions or would like to help with sales, please e-mail Amanda Szakats at gszakats@yahoo.com..

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Technology Committee

At the technology committee meeting on March 11th, one discussion was about embracing new technologies and looking for ways to bring the digital age to our school. An article in Saturday's Contra Costa Times talks about the same things the committee was discussing. To read that article please click here.

If you have ideas or comments regarding using technology in new ways at Strandwood please feel free to email us at strandwood_emailclub@hotmail.com. We will pass your messages on to the technology committee.

Library Birthday Book Club

The library continues to take birthday book club memberships. Simply donate $15 to the Strandwood Library and a beautiful, new hard cover book will be given to the library in honor of your child's birthday.

The book will be selected by our library media teacher, Mrs. Burns, and it will be presented to your child during his or her library time. A custom-made book plate will be placed inside the book with your child's name and birth date.

The books will become part of the Strandwood library collection to be read and enjoyed for years to come. Support the library and give your child a special treat in honor of his or her special day. To get the birthday Book Club application please click here.

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Urge Legislators to Protect Children's Education

Parents and staff of MDUSD can send letters to their legislators urging them to pass a State budget that protects children and invests in the economic health of California through increased stable revenues for education and children's health and human services.

Click the link below and fill in your name and address on the first letter to Senator Mark DeSaulnier. The form will fill in your information in the other 9 letters. Print the package, sign and place in the letters in the PTA Basket in the office. We will gather and mail your letters.

All you need to do is print 10 pages from your computer and we do the rest. Your letters do make a difference.

1. Contra Costa County legislators.
·Senator Mark DeSaulnier
·Senator Loni Hancock
·Assemblymember Joan Buchanan
·Assemblymember Nancy Skinner
·Assemblymember Tom Torlakson

2. The "Big Five" decision makers
·Governor Schwarzenegger
·Senator Darrell Steinberg, president pro tempore of the Senate
·Senator Dennis Hollingsworth, Senate Minority Leader
·Assemblymember John Pérez, Speaker of the Assembly Elect
·Assemblymember Sam Blakeslee, Assembly Minority Leader

All you need to do is print it, sign it and turn it in to the office.

Click here to download and print the letters.

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Support Local Funding for Local Schools

The following was an alert from the California State PTA regarding an important initiative. Please feel free to download and sign the petition today. The Strandwood PTA will be collecting signatures this week. Stop a PTA board member and ask how you can sign the petition. During this Tuesday's Board meeting, the Governing Board of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District will fully endorse the Act

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Please sign the petition to qualify the Local Control of Local Classrooms Funding Act today! As you know, the California State PTA has endorsed the initiative to lower the passage rate for parcel taxes from two-thirds to 55 percent. We need your help to collect 1 million signatures by the beginning of April to ensure that this measure qualifies for the November 2010 statewide ballot.

The California fiscal crisis is affecting every one of our schools. Passing local parcel taxes is one way to ensure a reliable source of local funds for schools, but they currently require a supermajority vote of two-thirds to pass. The Local Control of Local Classrooms Funding Act will lower the passage rate to 55 percent, making it easier for communities to invest in their local schools.

Please download and sign the petition today. We urge you to download a petition, forward it to your entire membership, and ask them to sign as well. There's no need to wait. As per our policies; units, councils and districts need not vote to affirm a California State PTA position on a statewide measure in order to take action. Signatures may be collected at authorized PTA meetings or events held on school grounds, as long as you have secured the appropriate use of facilities permission from your school district, and provided that district funds are not otherwise used to support the signature gathering. You should not collect signatures on school grounds in any other manner. Check with your local school district office and/or your school's principal to verify this complies with your own district's policies. You may also collect signatures outside of the school in your community - talk to your friends, neighbors and colleagues.

It's easy! And we can make a strong statement and strengthen our voice in supporting our local schools and speaking out for all children. Just follow these instructions.

1. Go to www.improvedschoolfunding.com.
2. Click the "sign petition" button.
3. Pick a package for the number of signatures you want to submit. You can sign a single petition or choose to collect multiple signatures.
4. Read the instructions and check the box at the bottom.
5. Click the link, "Click here to download the signature package as a pdf."

After doing this, you will have the signature package ready to print, sign and mail to the campaign. Remember, you can sign as an individual, or you can sign and collect other signatures as well.

PTA is looking for members willing to serve as key contacts for the campaign throughout the state. If you are willing to volunteer, please forward your name, e-mail address, telephone number, city or town and PTA District number to us at legislation@capta.org. Someone from the campaign will follow up with you.

Do it TODAY! Together, we can make a difference.

If we collect the approximately 1 million signatures required, we will be the first and only organization to successfully qualify an initiative for the ballot without using paid signature gatherers. Help us to make history! This will enhance the strength of our organization and help local schools save programs from future cuts.

If you have any questions, you can visit the campaign website at www.improvedschoolfunding.com, send an e-mail to petition@improvedschoolfunding.com or call 800-915-4768.

Click here to read an important message from Delaine Eastin, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction. [PDF]

Thank you for your support.

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MDUSD Board to Eliminate or Reduce Positions

At tomorrow's board meeting the district will vote on resolution #09/10-50 which is:

RESOLUTION RELATIVE TO ELIMINATION OF CLASSIFIED POSITIONS,
REDUCTION IN HOURS AND LAY OFF OF CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES

WHEREAS, due to lack of funds or lack of work, this Board hereby finds that it is in the best
interest of Mt. Diablo Unified School District that certain services now being provided by said
school district be discontinued by the following extent:

The following positions shall be eliminated or reduced as of June 30, 2010.

Click here for the list of positions eliminated or reduced by this resolution.

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At the same meeting the board will "Request Approval of the Parent Involvement Policy Revision" which in part says "The Governing Board recognizes that parents/guardians are their children's first and most influential teachers and that sustained parent involvement in the education of their children contributes greatly to student achievement and a positive school environment. The Governing Board of the district believes that a child's education is a responsibility shared by the family and school."

The proposed policy can be viewed by clicking here. The entire agenda can be viewed here.

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MDUSD Bond Measure

From the March 9th Board meeting - "The Board has determined that properties and facilities within the District need to be constructed and improved and that certain equipment be purchased in order to enhance the educational opportunities of the students the District served. The Board further determines that it is advisable to consider energy efficiency measures, including solar technology, to provide General Fund relief."

The approximately $348 million bond measure has been both criticized and praised. Evaluation of facilities is now in progress to determine the best use of the money. The Roadrunner will do its best to keep you informed on progress of the measure.