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AUGUST 30, 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.
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Another Successful Jump Start Day
By Jeff Eide
| Although the weather presented some challenges, once again Jump Start Day was very successful. If you were there between 4:00pm and 5:00pm you were not alone. 75% of the families that participated in JSD visited in the first hour! It was nice and spread out between 5:00pm and 7:00pm. Next year we will adopt some sort of staggered time frame to prevent the flood of families when we open the doors.
Of course events like this would never happen without the help of the volunteers listed below. Strandwood has a fantastic Staff, PTA and parent volunteer group. If you are new to Strandwood you will soon see how much the volunteers do around campus. From JSD to FAME to The Nutcracker Play to every day activities, they are there. If you didn't complete your "Yes I Can" volunteer form you can still visit the JSD web packet by clicking here (page 14). Fill it out and return it, and any other form you didn't get a chance to turn in at JSD, to the PTA basket in the office.
Thank you to the following people for making JSD successful.
Set Up, Ellen Javete and Lynn With - Welcome Table, Rose Bargmann and Vangie Jordan - PTA Table, Martha Alexander and Sue Noack - Fundraisers Table, Janine Gamble - Programs Table, Noga Kessler - Directory and Email Table, Orlando Guzman and Kelly Martinelli - Volunteer Table, Margaret Casebeer, Jennifer Murov, Camilla Podiwski and Cyndy Palermo - Spirit Wear, Melaine Huth, Melanie Jurow, Lea Harington and Pizza and Refreshment Sales, Lori Tuey, May Hanecak and Cindy Turner. Also helping out were Strandwood students Mindy With, Dominic Hanecak, Ethan Tuey, Jasmine Safarians, Sophia Harrington, Courtney Turner, Riley Jurow and Jayna Jordan.
As with everything else at Strandwood we couldn't do it without the help and support of the office staff, Mrs. Kim, Laura Curtis and Karina Hemby. Also helping out was the custodial staff of Manny Rivera and Joaquin Salazar and Cafeteria Supervisor Sandy Reeder and her mother Joan Gaustad.
I apologize in advance if I forgot someone. Jeff Eide
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Photo courtesy of the Bargmann family.
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Calendar
Click the image below to go directly to the monthly Strandwood web calendar.
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On This Day in History
AUGUST 30
1945 - Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan and set up Allied occupation headquarters. 1963, The hot-line communications link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow went into operation.
(Go to article.)1990 - Ken Griffey & Ken Griffey Jr become 1st father & son to play on same team (Seattle Mariners), both single in 1st inning BIRTHDAYS
1930 - Warren Buffett, American entrepreneur 1972 - Cameron Diaz, Long Beach Ca, actress |
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Allergies Notification
| Parents/Guardians if your student has food allergies please review
them with your classroom teacher! Talking about them with your teacher ensures
that he/she knows to be mindful of what others bring to the classroom to eat!
Thank you!
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Spirit Wear Catalog On-Line
| The 2010-2011 Strandwood Spirit Wear catalog is now on-line. If you missed Jump Start Day, or didn't get to the spirit wear table click here for the latest catalog.
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Absences: ill, sick, under the weather
| Whatever you call it, please call it in!
We have an automated phone system that will call you when your child is absent from school if you don't call us. You will need to let the school know EACH DAY your student is out of school. Even if your child is out for the same reason you need to call in the absence each day they are absent. Please include the symptoms for your student's illness. For example,
high fever, muscle aches, cough, sore throat, or headache, congestion, etc.
This saves us a phone call and helps us accurately report information to our
Student Services.
HOTLINE: 682-8000 Ext. 8025
EMAIL: Visit www.Strandwood.org and link to attendance or strandattend@mdusd.k12.ca.us
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Advertise Your Business in Strandwood's
2010-2011 School Directory
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The 2010-2011 Strandwood school directory is now underway. If you did not turn in a Email Club and Student Directory Sign-up Form, please contact Jeff Eide at JEideVP@Gmail.com. Or, click here for the JDS packet and scroll down to the form (page 14), fill in and print it. Drop the completed form in the PTA box in the office. The information you provide helps us create an up-to-date school directory, individual class rosters, E-blast enrollment, and for communication within each student's class.
Back by popular demand!
For only $25, you can put your business card in the "Strandwood Yellow Pages" at the back of the 2010-2011 Student Directory. Share your business or service with other Strandwood parents and help support our Strandwood community! (This is only available for parents of Strandwood students who provide a service or business; no non-Strandwood businesses will be accepted.) Drop off your business card with a $25 check (or cash) made out to "Strandwood PTA" in the PTA box in the school office.
The deadline to get your business card into the 2010-2011 directory is Friday, September 10, 2010. Limit of 1 business card sized ad per business.
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School Site Council Openings
Nominations and Election
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Get Involved, Stay Involved!
Every school year there are many ways for parents to become involved in
their children's school. 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 in our
School Site Council.
Our School Site Council is the governance body that supports our
decision making process around funding as well as the various planning
activities we engage in to ultimately set goals for student achievement. School
Site Councils were mandated by California Legislature in 1979. Categorical
funding was provided every year to schools with School Site Councils although
the next three years that funding is in Tier III and is now considered flexible
funding within a school district.
The School Site Council is made up of equal amounts of parent or
community membership and school staff. We have ten members on our School Site
Council; five parents, the principal, one other staff person and three
teachers. For the 2010-2011 school year we have three openings for parents. Parents nominate and elect the parent members. It is a great opportunity to have candid conversations with staff,
examine student data and set goals for student achievement each year. It is a
two year commitment.
The meetings are on the second Tuesday of the month at 3:15 PM in our
school library. The meetings generally last one hour to one and a half hours.
We are calling for nominations (check with the person first!) from the
parent community. Feel free to nominate yourself. Please complete the nomination form below and return it to
the school office by 3:15 pm September 3rd. Ballots will be sent via Roadrunner or Email Blast the week of September 6th. Completed ballots must be returned to school by September 10th.
We hope you will see this as an opportunity you can't pass up!
I nominate ______________________ to run for School Site Council.
I wish to run for School Site Council __________________________.
Please return to the office by 3:15 pm, September 3rd.
Thank you!
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Fund For Excellence
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 Have you contributed to the Fund For Excellence campaign yet? It's not too late - the $100 per student donation can be made online via PayPal. You can even choose a monthly payment option. Please click here to visit the Strandwood home page and make your donation now. The PayPal link is in the lower right corner. We also accept checks, payable to the Strandwood PTA (deposit in the office PTA basket). All proceeds are 100% tax deductible and fund the wonderful PTA programs and Instructional Assistants that benefit all of our children.
Preliminary figures show that we raised close to $30,000 on Jump Start Day - that's a phenomenal response and we are truly grateful to our dedicated group of Strandwood parents. Thank you for your support! To view the Fund For Excellence flyer, click here.
Company Matching Donations
Company Matching Programs are an important part of the Strandwood Fundraising Campaign. A large number of companies participate in this program that can potentially double the amount of your monetary donation! Please contact your Human Resource Department for further details. A partial list of companies that participate in this program can be viewed here.
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Birthday Book Club
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 This year the library is continuing with our birthday book club. 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.
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First PTA General Membership Meeting of the Year
Babysitters wanted $$
| The first PTA General Membership Meeting of the year will be held in the library on Thursday, September 9th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. The annual budget will be presented and the membership will vote to accept or change it. If you are interested in how your PTA money is going to be spent then you should attend. If you just can't make it, the minutes will be posted on our website the following week.
Babysitting is provided at no charge during the PTA meetings. Our regular babysitters have moved on and we are looking for two or more parents that would like to take over this important duty. Babysitters are paid $40 per night, each.
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After School Chess is Back
Beginning September 8th
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 Chess
is fun and can be learned quickly and easily. Studies have
found that chess helps improve test results in reading, science, and math, and
produces growth in critical cognitive skills. Beyond academia, chess
influences social behavior including self esteem, respect for others, patience,
and good manners. And did we mention it's FUN!!
Classes are held Wednesdays on campus from 12:35pm to 1:35pm beginning September 8th. The cost is $120 for a 10 week session. Click here to view the flyer and application or go online at www.berkeleychessschool.org and
register there.
Boards and sets are provided for our classes. The minimum class size is
10, maximum is 20. Enrollments are accepted in the order received. We will call only if the class is full and we cannot accept more
enrollments. For siblings, the first child is full price, additional
siblings are half price. Also, some reduced fees are available to
low-income families upon request.
Note: We need one
more volunteer to remain in the room during chess class. If you
volunteer, you will receive free chess for your child this session.
No chess experience necessary! Parent volunteers are required to have
fingerprinting and a TB record on file at the school.
Please contact the Berkeley Chess School for more information: 510-843-0150 or bcschool@pacbell.net.
The Berkeley Chess School is a non-profit organization offering chess
instruction from kindergarten through high school for over 25 years. It
is an affiliate of the US Chess Federation. Over the years our students
have won many state championships and several have gone on to become National
Masters, FIDE Masters, and International Masters. For further
information, please call us at (510) 843-0150, email us at bcschool@pacbell.net, or visit our
website at www.berkeleychessschool.org and
enroll on line. Return to Top
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School Meal Cards How does it work?
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 With the new school year comes learning new procedures and remembering the old ones. As far as your student charging lunch instead of bringing cash we have the following reminders.
Every student has a meal card created for them at the beginning of the school year. These cards sit on a rack as they enter the MU room. If you have pre-paid then the card has "credit" on it. The children take that card to the cash register and use it just like a debit card. Unlike a debit card, your child will be allowed to charge up to two lunches even with no funds available. A note will be sent home notifying you that must come to the office and place funds in that account.
To put funds on your child's card you need to visit the school office. You can pay via check, cash or credit card (no debit cards like reported last week). On the counter are white envelopes that say "Food Service - Mt. Diablo Unified School District" on the top. Fill out the information on the front like name, room, amount, etc. and place your check or cash inside. Hand the envelope to an office staff member. Please do not leave it in the PTA basket. If you turn the money in the morning it is usually posted to their account before lunch.
If you wish to use a credit card you must fill out another form available in the office. You can download that form by clicking here.
The meal card is really a great system and is much safer and convenient than sending your child to school with cash. Lunches are $2.75 each.
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Save Those Box Tops
|  Dear Parents and Guardians,
Box Tops offers three easy ways to earn cash for our school through everyday activities such as buying groceries, shopping online and purchasing books.
Each month we will have an "Individual Student Contest" - submit box tops in an envelope or Ziploc bag with your student's name, teacher and number of box tops enclosed to the school office. The winner who submits the most box tops each month will a gift card of their choice (i.e. CocoSwirl, movie theatre, iTunes, etc). Box Tops will be collected on the last Friday of each month and one winner will be announced the following week.
Look for more information in your communication folders and future Roadrunners.
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Foundation for Pleasant Hill Education
Crescent Drive Restaurant Walk
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010 6:00 - 8 :00 PM Crescent Drive, Pleasant Hill Support Pleasant Hill public schools! Come stroll Crescent Drive and enjoy the specialties from: Chipotle Coco Swirl Five Guys Burgers and Fries (New!) Jack's (New!) Monsoon Masala Pasta Pomodoro Peet's Coffee and Tea Red Brick Pizza Shaadzee Bakery Bistro Sweet Tomatoes Yan Can Cook and more! Dance to live music by "Who's Your Daddy". Enjoy family fun with face painting and balloon tricks. Participate in merchant exhibits. Enter the Prize Drawing. Last year the food was incredible and a fabulous time was had by all. Don't miss it! Avoid the lines by purchasing your tickets now at these locations: ˇOnline, using PayPal at www.fphe.org |
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Dates, Times and Places | September 1st - Back to School Night - 4th & 5th Grade - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
September 2nd - Back to School Night - 2nd & 3rd Grade - 6:30pm to 8:00pm
September 6th - Labor Day Holiday - No School
September 9th - PTA General Membership Meeting - 6:30pm to 8:00pm in the library
September 10th - 24th - Innisbrook Fundraiser
View all the calendars on the Strandwood website by clicking here. Check out the new Monthly Google calendar. We will be updating it as often as information becomes available. The school is in the process of moving the master calendar from paper to electronic format. Until that is completed we will do our best to keep you updated of upcoming events.
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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. |
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