Your Monday Morning Roadrunner from Strandwood Elementary

MAY 3, 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.

If you no longer wish to receive the electronic communications from Strandwood Elementary please use the "Safe Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the newsletter.

In This Issue

A Message From The Principal

Measure C Information

Proposed Scope of Work at Strandwood

2010 - 2011 PTA Executive Board

Positions Wanted - Noon Supervisor

STAR Testing Starts in may

FAME Appreciation

Summer Camps and More

Mavericks Fundraiser

Lake Strandwood to Dry Up

FPHE Oak Park Restaurant Walk

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Dates, Times and Places

Flyers Available in the Office

Welcome 2010-2011 Kindergarten Parents

Starting this week we have added all the email addresses received at kindergarten registration. If you were already on the email list you will receive two mailings until the lists are merged. Welcome to those new Strandwood parents. If you have any questions or comments email us at strandwood_emailclub@hotmail.com. PTA officers will be at kindergarten assessments this Thursday to answer questions also.

A Message From The Principal

Get Involved, Be Informed!

Every school year there are many ways for parents to become involved at Strandwood. Our amazing PTA affords you many opportunities to be involved, our classroom teachers welcome parents to volunteer in our classrooms, and a unique opportunity to be involved is our School Site Council.

As we move forward toward the school year 2010-2011, another opportunity is available for parents, staff and even students at the secondary level. Our community is aware of the budget constraints that our district is responding to as well as our state. Our Board of Education has approved reductions in the budget that will be reached by school closure or consolidation. Our District is assembling a School Closure Committee (SCC) that will be responsible for using criteria to evaluate all schools and make recommendations for closure and/or consolidation to the Board. Every school site is being given the opportunity to make recommendations for representatives for the SCC. This is an application process; there will be a selection process by the Superintendent's Council. Attached to the Road Runner is an announcement and application form. If you are interested in applying, please complete the application and turn it in to the office no later than May 7th.

Being informed is important as well, I'll be sharing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Measure C with parents as I greet students in the morning or afternoon. The FAQ has information as well as resources for more information about Measure C.

Get Involved, Be Informed!

Click here to view the SCC announcement.
Click here to view the SCC application
(If these links are not working in the morning, please try back later.)

Photo courtesy of the Bargmann family.

Calendar
Click here to go to the Dates, Times and Places section.

Fun Facts
Click on the fact for more information.

The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by simulated emission of radiation."

Balsa wood, one of the lightest know woods, is in the hardwood class of timbers.

Put On A Happy Face
For the next few weeks there will be a different "smile" photo in this space. Can you guess where that smile is located? Note, some photos might have been rotated. (Hint: You will really get a kick out of this one.)

Measure C Information

*** What is Measure C and what will it do?
*** How do I know that the money will be spent wisely?
*** What is the fiscal track record of the school district?
*** How much will the bond cost? Will it raise my taxes?

For answers to these questions please click here
(If this link is not working in the morning please try back later.)

Currently, the MDUSD is making a "Proposed Scope of Work" list for all the schools in the district. The Strandwood list is below.

Measure C Proposed Scope of Work - Strandwood Elementary

Not The Final List

PTA Meeting

The next General Membership Meeting will be Thursday, May 6th.

In addition to all the important PTA affairs, our fantastic 3rd grade teachers will be informing the membership of happenings at their grade level. Free babysitting is provided by the PTA.

Please join us for this meeting.

Wanted - Noon Supervisors

We are in need of noon supervisors and Uncle Sam

noon supervisor substitutes for next school year.

It's a great way to make a little extra money and support our school. If you have a grandparent, aunt, uncle or neighbor who may be interested in creating a safe environment at Strandwood, please contact Laura Curtis, the office secretary.

STAR Testing Starts This Week

Check out the sample test questions

STAR (California's Standardized Testing and Reporting) testing will be held from May 4th through May 14th.

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.

Here are a few great web pages with STAR information from the
California Department of Education.

Parent/Guardian Guide
A three page guide to STAR testing. This is the 2009 version but it still applies.

STAR Sample Test Questions
Choose your grade, subject and performance level. When you choose the first question you can then use the "results" arrows near the top of the page to advance to the next question.

2003 - 2008 CST Released Test Questions
First on the pages that follow are lists of the standards assessed. Next are released passages and test questions. Following the questions is a table that gives the correct answer for each question, the content standard that each question is measuring, and the year each question last appeared on the test

FAME Appreciation

FAME is a big program at Strandwood that serves all of our students so uniquely and without all of you the show would not go on! We would like to thank all of our docents: Stacey Mattos, Shelley Bogatinoff, Maritza Kim, Kendra Phair, Liz Fisher, Diane Kastell, Stacy Monahan, Leslie Shanks, Lauren Ulrich, Rose Bargmann, Patrick Miner, Shanna Holden, Evellyn Barrera, Orlando Guzman, Alison Clary, Martha Alexander, and Cyndy Palermo. These talented docents have put on 6 FAME-tastic presentations for the Strandwood students this year. Your time and dedication is so appreciated!!

Another round of applause for all of our talented and dedicated set designers! They are Susan Dailey, Jen Boyle, Cindy Lopez, Shanna Holden, Michele Dinsmore, Rose Bargmann, and Tammy Phillips. These ladies have spent many hours hanging, accentuating, lighting, draping, painting, cutting, sewing, glue-gunning, scavenging, and much more to create interesting and eye-catching theatre for your children...BRAVO!!

Special thanks to our long time Strandwood parent and FAME expert Kendra Phair who puts together all of our art & music docent training material every month ... a huge task that she does so smoothly and seemingly without effort!

THANK YOU, also, to Mrs. Kim for allowing FAME use an empty classroom for our lessons and for all the Strandwood teachers who give up there valuable classroom time to come to FAME!!

Summer Camps and More

As the end of the school year arrives the flyers in the office increase. Be sure to check out the "In The Office" section just above "Answers" at the bottom of the page. You can click on most events to view more information.

Another Mavericks Fundraiser

Join us for the last Outdoor Ed Dining Out night of the year. Turn off the stove and get out of the kitchen! Order a complete meal online from Maverick's BBQ and pick up at Strandwood on Thursday, May 13th. The dinner includes 1 lb. tri-tip, 4 pieces smoked chicken, 1 pint cole slaw, 1 pint mashed potatoes, 1 pint cowboy beans, bread and bbq sauce.

To place your online order, go to www.mavericks.com, click: Customer Login, password: mvbbq. It's that easy! Look for the flyer in an Email Blast later this week.

Thank you for your support. So far this year, we have raised more than $900 through the monthly dining-out nights.

Got Boots?

We have been fortunate enough with lots, lots and lots of rain this year. Our spring will be a beautiful spring! We have also watched the ebb and flow of "Lake Strandwood" on the primary playground with each rainy day! The good news is we will be getting a storm drain in that location over the summer! No more puddles, no more lakes!

FPHE Oak Park Restaurant Walk

Oak Park Restaurant Walk
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
6:00 - 8 :00 PM
Oak Park Center, 1098 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill

Support Pleasant Hill public schools! Come to the Oak Park Restaurant Walk and enjoy fphe.org specialties from: Bangkok Restaurant, Dallimonti's Italian Restaurant, Kobe Japan, Nibblers Eatery & Wine Bar, Round Table Pizza, and Smokin Okie's BBQ Joint.

Dance and sway to the music of Phresh Press and the Valley View Middle School Jazz Ensemble!

Join in family fun with face painting and balloon tricks. Participate in merchant exhibits. Purchase a wide selection of beverages. Enter the prize drawing.

Last year, a fabulous time was had by all. Don't miss it!

Avoid the lines by purchasing your tickets now at these locations:
Online, using PayPal at www.fphe.org
Pleasant Hill Farmer's Market on May1 & May 8, 8 am-Noon
From a FPHE board member
$20 Adults, $5 Children (ages 5-12).

Proceeds from the event benefit the 11 Pleasant Hill public schools.

Questions? Email generalinfo@fphe.org or visit www.fphe.org

Jump Start Day - 2010

Preparations are underway for the 2010-2011 school year opening ceremonies. School starts on August 25th, 2010. Jump Start day will be held that Monday, August 23rd.

Volunteers are always needed over the summer and on Jump Start Day. If you would like to volunteer, or inquire about jobs that need to be done, please email Jeff Eide at JEideVP@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for helping out.

The PTA is also planning a welcome back bar-b-que on Friday, August, 27th. Watch for more information on that event over the summer.

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

1st Grade Question - Is Virgina near the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean?

2nd Grade Question - Brazil and Peru are on what continent?

3rd Grade Question - Where is your cochlea?

4th Grade Question - Identify the conjunction in the following sentence. I really like to eat hamburgers and hot dogs.

5th Grade Question - When a volcano erupts, lave flows out from the top. What type of rock is formed as the lava cools?

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Dates, Times and Places