|
JUNE 7, 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.
|
|
A Message From The Principal
|
 What I know for sure.... Here's the truth...my secret passion...I love O Magazine. Everyone has at least one guilty pleasure, right? (Of course my favorite novel is Melville's Moby Dick, seriously is there a better novel for character development?)
One of the regular features in the magazine is the "What I know for sure..." article that Oprah does every month. In it she writes about what she appreciates about life. Our lives are overwhelmingly busy; we don't always have time to reflect on what we've accomplished.
What I know for sure about this school year is...
100% of our Kindergarten students are Benchmark in sounds, letter identification and segmenting!
15 of our teachers have been trained in Board Math and we look forward to our STAR Test results in math!
We began the school year fully staffed with highly qualified teachers!
We welcomed a new Superintendent to our District and his vision is student achievement and data driven instruction!
Each Grade Level wrote and monitored standards based goals in English/Language Arts, Math and Technology!
½ our English Language Learners met or exceeded their Annual Measurable Goals.
We had a 96.83% attendance rate!
We have an excellent and successful reading intervention program for our primary grades - focusing on catching them before they fail!
We spent our SIP budget on: IA for the Computer Lab, teacher release days; Board Math training, Substitutes for teacher release days and training days; Ed1Stop license; Dibels materials, document cameras, Quick Writes for 1st; Bellworks for 2nd and 3rd, Zaner Bloser handwriting, Curriculum and Associates, scanner.
We spent our school budget of $9000 on: Substitutes to support teacher release days, substitutes for Special Education and Combination class teachers so they could accompanying some of their students on field trips; teacher warehouse allocations ($4700); postage; office supplies; and paper.
We used our English Language Learners allocation to buy instructional materials for our classroom teachers and ELD teacher to use with our English Language learners.
We received $3200 in donations from parents who work for Chevron, Clorox and Bank of the West, $1000 from Wells Fargo and $1000 from Allied Waste. All of which went to support our expenditures in our school budget including technology.
We survived the first year of increased class sizes and the ongoing decreasing state budget for education in California! We are a stronger staff and community having met the challenges of both of these facts.
What I know for sure is your individual commitment to our group effort - that is what has made Strandwood an amazing place to be this year!
Thank you
|
Get Out And Vote Tomorrow
|
 A government by the people, for the people just can't work without the
people. This is a simple fact. Like a car without an engine, or a
computer without a hard drive, a democracy without voters is just a
shell and has no power. While it is easy to say "one vote doesn't make a
difference" the reality is that every vote counts. Also you have to remember that as an individual your vote may
seem to be little more than a whisper but when your vote is combined
with the votes of others who share your views it becomes a voice and the
more like-voters there are the louder that voice grows. So get out
there and make the youth vote be heard.
Voting is a tremendous gift. Believe it or not, people just like
you in other countries actually fight and even die for this right; a
right that so many in democratic nations take for granted. You
should vote because you can, if you don't you may one day wake up in a
country where you can't.
|
Final Box Tops / Webkinz Winner
|
 Congratulations to our final Webkinz winner for this year. The Lee family turned in 282 Box Tops for the month of May. Thank you so much to everyone for your continued support of Strandwood. Please keep collecting Box Tops throughout the summer and look for new contests next year. Have a fabulous break everyone! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please Help Find A Home For Wayward Clothing
| | There has to be close to 100 articles of clothing that is going to be donated to charity if not claimed this week. There are two large boxes and two clothing racks located outside the multi-use room. If you are on campus please take a look for your children's clothing. Your students walk by the racks and boxes twice a day at lunch time. Maybe they can look also. |
Not Coming Back to Strandwood?
|
Attention Kindergarten through 4th grade families!
Are you moving out of the area or leaving Strandwood for any other reason (what that would be I can't imagine!)? If so, please notify the school office as soon as possible. We want to keep our information as current as possible!
Thank you!
|
Attention 5th Grade Parents
| News for 5th Graders From Pleasant Hill Middle School
All-in-One-Day - Mark your calendars now for Pleasant Hill Middle School's All-in-One Day (like  our Jump Start Day), scheduled for Tuesday, August 17. Incoming 6th graders and their parents have their own special time slot for All-in-One Day, from 8:30am to 11:00am. The event, called Camp Pleasant Hill, includes presentations from Principal Roselin and the PTSA, a tour of the school, and opportunities to sign up for school events. Parents may also purchase items, such as yearbooks and PE uniforms. School pictures will be taken, and students will receive their class schedules.
Sign up now for the PHMS e-Newsletter - 5th grade parents are encouraged to sign up now for the Ram Slam, PHMS' twice-weekly e-newsletter. The Ram Slam is the primary method of communication used by the principal, school office and PTSA to communicate school-wide information to parents. By signing up now, parents will receive up-to-the-minute information about the start of school in the fall. To sign up, go to the PHMS Web site at http://www.mdusd.k12.ca.us/pleasanthillmiddle and enter your email address in the box marked "Join our email list".
|
Medications Pick-Up
|
If your child uses any type of medication at school, please be sure to pick up their medication, i.e. pills, inhaler, epipen, etc., by Thursday, June 10th. All medication will be disposed of after that date.
If you want or need your child to use his/her medicine on the first day of school, please pick up a Medication Form in the school office. Mt. Diablo Unified School District policy regarding medication can be found in the Parent Information booklet (page 14) or on line at www.mdusd.org, under the "Parents" tab.
|
| No More Credit For Lunches | Thank you to all who supported the lunch program this year. Due to the end of the school year approaching, there is no credit issued for lunches. Please make sure your child has money on their account or please pack them a lunch.
Any funds remaining on your account will be carried over to next year. 5th graders will have the excess monies refunded. For questions on refunds or carry over balances please feel free to email me.
Thank you,
Sandy Reeder, Cafeteria Manager
|
PTA Approves Spending for Next Year's I/A's
| At the general membership meeting last Thursday, the PTA put the final touches on supporting some staffing needs at Strandwood. Next year the PTA will pay for the following Instructional Assistants: (1) Primary Grade Level Reading Assistant, (1) Secondary Grade Level Reading Assistant, (1) Science Instructional Assistant, (1) Site Tech 1 and an additional 4 hours for the computer lab Instructional Assistant, (up to 7) Instructional Assistants for the 1st and 2nd grades and one Release Day for the teachers. The PTA is spending over $70,000 next year in salaries to keep these great programs up and running.
In addition, the PTA will pay to replace 19 old monitors in the computer lab with new flat screen models, freeing up space and reducing heat in the lab. Also in the computer lab, the PTA agreed to purchase a short throw projector and mounting for the interactive white board and a document camera for the library. Please read the informational flier sent home with your communications folder last Friday for more information on how your PTA is supporting Strandwood.
|
|
Kindergarten Spring Sing
| Last Thursday night the fantastic Kindergartners put on their annual Spring Sing. If you never had kindergartners at Strandwood you have missed a wonderful production put on each year by Mrs. Anderson and the other Kindergarten teachers.  |
|
BMX Show Returns to Strandwood
| Also last Thursday, the last assembly of the year took place on the secondary playground. The crowd favorite BMX show came in and gave separate shows for the primary and secondary grades. One stunt involved jumping a student, sitting on the top of the ramp, and another of the BMX riders. What a great way to start winding down the school year.
|
FPHE Awards 2010 Grants to Pleasant Hill Schools
|  On May 20, 2010 the Foundation for Pleasant Hill Education (FPHE) awarded more than $30,000 to support educational activities in Pleasant Hill public schools. The grants represent a significant investment of funds to enhance educational opportunities for Pleasant Hill students while our schools combat ongoing spending cuts. This year's grant awards are more than double what FPHE awarded in 2009 and over its two-year history, the Foundation has awarded $45,000 to Pleasant Hill schools.
This year, FPHE awarded over $30,000, which was raised from 291 private donations and the proceeds from special events including Dine Out for Education, Night of Improve, and the Oak Park Restaurant Walk.
Those who did not have a chance to give during the annual campaign can give at any time throughout the year. FPHE accepts donation all year (visit www.fphe.org). FPHE donors help show that our community values quality education.
The 2010 FPHE grants were awarded based on a combination of criteria, including the number of students impacted and the contribution to or support of language arts, math, science, or other key curriculum areas. FPHE determines the awards on what grant requests we receive and the integrity of the requests as to how they support education.
The Foundation received 56 grant requests and awarded, in part or in whole, 38 grants. While the number of grant requests received from each school varied from none to thirteen, every school that requested a grant received one. Below are the grants awarded and the 10 schools that received them:
College Park High School
· Sets of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Cyrano de Bergerac, and
To Kill a Mockingbird.
· Two LCD projectors for the Math Department
· Literature workbooks and subscriptions to New York Times Upfront Magazine
· Sets of Frankenstein, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and The Importance
of Being Ernst
· Cardio boxing station
Pleasant Hill Middle School
· Hardware and software updates for Computer Lab
Sequoia Middle School
· Alternative energy science program and materials
· Hands-on measurement and geometry materials
· Biographies for the Library
· Interactive and vertical planning whiteboard for the Math Department
· Art in History program for Chinese, Greek, Egyptian, and Indian cultures
· Class sets of Al Capone Shines My Shoes
Valley View Middle School
· Computer station for the Resource program
· Sets of spelling books
Gregory Gardens Elementary
· Promethean Board
· Learning-to-read reading books
Hidden Valley Elementary
· Combined grants to cover four document cameras and two LCD projectors
· 100 Thesaurus books
Pleasant Hill Elementary
· Board Math program
· Board Language program
· LCD projector and document camera
Sequoia Elementary
· Sets of Nature's Children animal book series
· SRA reading program
· World Book Encyclopedia
· Combined grants for California research materials
· Read Naturally program
· Sets of Bob Books
Strandwood Elementary
· Hands-on science materials
· Sets of By the Great Horn Spoon
· Board Math whiteboard
· Supplies for Kindergarten garden project
· Sibelius computer software for the Music Department
Valhalla Elementary
· Video project materials
· Schoolyard Wildlife Connection interactive program
|
Library Offers Summer Reading Program
| Make a splash at your library this summer. Participate in Kid's Summer Reading 2010 win a prize. The program runs from June 5th through August 16th and is for children age 2 thorough 5th. For more information go to the Contra Costa County Library web page at www.ccclib.org or just click here.
|
Jump Start Day
| Mark you calendars for Jump Start Day 2010 on Monday, August 23rd. This year we will be trying to use the electronic forms more than in the past. Paper packets will be available after August 11th. Electronic packets will be rolled out sooner. Look for JSD news later this week.
If you would like to volunteer to help out on Jump Start Day, or the packet stuffing on August 10th, please contact me at Strandwood_emailclub@hotmail.com or JEideVP@gmail.com. Thanks, Jeff Eide
|
Fall 2010 Music Classes
| 4th/5th Grade Concert Band/String Ensemble classes are
coming in the Fall of 2010.
Questions: Please call Village Music School at (925)
676-8400 or email Noga at nogakessler@yahoo.com.
More information will be released over the summer.
|
|
Parcel Tax Measure Fails to Qualify for
November 2010 Ballot
|
 We would like to thank the many PTA volunteers who signed the petition to put the "Local Control of Local Classrooms Funding Act" on the statewide ballot in November 2010. We know that many of you worked very hard to collect signatures from your fellow PTA members, neighbors and family members. We truly appreciate your efforts.
Unfortunately, we were not successful in qualifying the initiative for this year's ballot. We fell far short of the signatures needed. The bulk of the signatures came from San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Contra Costa County and Los Angeles County.
Despite being unsuccessful in our original goal, this effort did demonstrate that there are thousands of voters in California interested in efforts to support their local schools. We will continue to advocate on this issue. Senator Joe Simitian's SCA 6 is a bill currently in the Legislature, that would reduce the threshold for local school parcel taxes from the current two-thirds to 55 percent. PTA has a Support position on this bill and will continue to work with the Senator's office, should the bill move forward.
Once again, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to our many members for their support and tremendous efforts on this issue. Although our advocacy efforts do not always succeed in the short term, we know that they are never wasted, as we are building a base of support for this issue in the longer term. |
Measure C Receives an Important Endorsement
Congressman John Garamendi
|
We're pleased to report that the Yes on Measure C campaign has just received another major pledge of support for our cause: Congressman John Garamendi.
Congressman Garamendi officially gave his endorsement to Measure C Wednesday morning after a productive meeting with MDUSD Superintendent Steven Lawrence and three Walnut Creek parents.
"As the election nears, voters all across the district are looking carefully at the facts and concluding that Measure C is sorely needed and makes good sense for the district. We are thrilled to have Congressman Garamendi's support. It is more validation that trusted community leadership understands that we need Measure C" said Walnut Creek City Council member Kish Rajan.
Congressman Garamendi joins a growing list of elected officials, business leaders, community leaders and hundreds of individuals throughout our community who understand that we need Measure C to provide our local schools with local funding that cannot be taken by the state. Previous endorsements have included the Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill City Councils, the Mt. Diablo Council of PTAs - representing over 5,000 members, and dozens of individual parent groups - the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley, Mount Diablo Education Association (MDEA), the United Mount Diablo Athletic Foundation and many more. Visit www.protectourlocalschools.org and click "Endorsements" to view all who support this effort.
How will you help our students and achieve a major victory for our local schools? In addition to all the hundreds of caring community members who have lent their support so far, an important endorsement, such as Congressman Garamendi's, can provide a huge boost to the campaign in this final critical week before Election Day.
However, we still need your help to get out the vote and make this potential triumph for our students a reality. By volunteering just a few short hours today and tomorrow, you can make a huge difference for thousands and thousands of children in our community for years to come.
We will be phone calling and dropping door hangers to voters the campaign has identified as supporters reminding them to vote. That's it! It's easy, but very important to ensuring Measure C passes on Tuesday, June 8th.
Please sign up for one or more shifts, either by email at info@protectourlocalschools.org, by phone at (925) 237-1616 or by going to www.protectourlocalschools.org, and clicking on the button "Get-Out-The-Vote Phone Bank and Walk Sign Up".
And most important: don't forget to vote YES on C on June 8th!
|
6th Annual Firecracker Run
|
The 6th Annual July 4th Firecracker 5K Fun Run Will Again Benefit Pleasant Hill Schools
The Pleasant Hill Fourth of July Commission has announced that  the Firecracker 5K Fun Run will again be a part of this year's Fourth of July Celebration. All proceeds from the run will be donated to Pleasant Hill schools! Better yet, every runner who registers will receive a T-shirt and can designate what Pleasant Hill school they would like their registration fees to be donated to! Last year, the Fourth of July Commission awarded over $10,700 to Pleasant Hill schools. This is a great opportunity for parents and children, friends and neighbors to raise money for our school.
Fleet Feet Sports, the Rotary Club of Pleasant Hill, and Allied Waste are generously sponsoring this year's event which will begin at 8am and makes three laps of the parade route in downtown Pleasant Hill. Same day registration and the start of the race will be in front of Fleet Feet Sports on Crescent Drive.
On-line registration can be accessed by visiting the Fourth of July Commission's website at www.PHJuly4.com and click on the "5K Run" tab. By registering on-line, individual runners and families will receive a break in registration fees from $5 to $15.
What a great way to kick off the Fourth of July and to help our school!
|
| Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? | 1st Grade Question - What is a baby frog called? 2nd Grade Question - Which one of the following animal types is furry or hairy? A) Amphibian B) Reptile C) Mammal
3rd Grade Question -In air, sound travels about how many miles per hour? A) 74 miles per hour B) 740 miles per hour C) 1,740 miles per hour
4th Grade Question - Joan of Arc was from what country?
5th Grade Question - True or False? "Boom", "pow", and "whoosh" are examples of onomatopoeia. |
Community Service Day
| Save The Date - the Pleasant Hill Community Service Day will take place on Saturday, September 25th. For more information click here or visit www.pleasant-hill.net/csd.
|
 Dates, Times and Places | June 11th - 5th Grade celebration / promotion June 11th - Pizza Lunch June 14th - Last Day of School - 12:30 release time June 15th - First Day Of Summer - YahooA printed copy of the Dates, Times and Places is available on the PTA bulletin board at the front of the school along with a few printed copies of the Roadrunner.
Check all the calendars on the Strandwood website by clicking here.
|
| Answers | Are you smarter then a 5th grader?
1st grade - Tadpole or Pollywog
2nd grade - Mammal
3rd grade - 740 miles per hour
4th grade - France
5th grade - True
Put on a Happy Face? Spice Tin (cinnamon)
|
|
|
