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A Strandwood PTA Publication
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MARCH 21, 2011
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 PTA and school websites. 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 these electronic communications please use the "Safe Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the newsletter.
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Read and Dream's Earth Day in April
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This year Read and Dream will celebrate Earth Day on Friday, April 1st, by providing students who have reached their grade-level minutes with a wide selection of used books. Reading logs will still be due on Friday, March 25, and everything will stay the same except for that the books received will be gently used but just as wonderful. Please remember to write down your minutes and turn your reading logs in on time.
Questions?
Please email Noga at nogakessler@yahoo.com or
Suzie at silvacrew@aol.com
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Book Fair Carnival
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Step right up, Book Fair Carnival is here! But we need some help to make it happen. We need help on:
March 29th for setup from 1:30 until pick up.
April 1st, 4th and 5th - afternoon and evening shifts
April 6th - take down starting at 2:00.
If you can help this great cause please contact: Katie Roarty at kmroarty@comcast.net or 944-2432. We appreciate your support in whatever form it takes.
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Spring Photo Day
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Spring Photo Day is Tuesday, March 29th. Please come to school with your biggest smiles on this day. Like last spring, you will receive a proof and order form within 2 weeks. Remember, the spring pictures are not pre-order.
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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 PTA web calendar.
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What is it?
What is the object in the close up photo below?
Find the answer in the Dates, Times and Places section at the bottom of the newsletter.
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Auction Updates
|  Bidding for Good: Please remember to check www.biddingforgood.com/strandwood often. We are adding new items daily! Also note that we have TWO closing dates this year: Wednesday, April 6th and Thursday, April 7th!!! This is the ONLY place to bid on the teacher experiences, Strandwood only items and class projects. A few of the hottest items right now are: Kindergarten Spring Sing Seats, The VIP Table, "Flock Your Friends", many restaurants, Taylor Swift tickets, Castle Rock Arabians, A year of pizza at Papa Murphy's, Clix Portrait packages, pet sitting, 5th Grade Outdoor Ed. DVD and the marquee greetings. The leader in the referral contest has sent 41 people to B4G, can you top that and win a dinner out on us??? It's the easiest way for us to expose our friends and family to the great items we have to offer.
Raffle: Order forms were sent home on Monday or are available by clicking here. There is a prize for everyone!! An Amazon Kindle 3G with blue leather case, a deluxe leather Coach purse, or a round of golf for 4, with carts, at Contra Costa Country Club. This is a members only course and this could be your ONLY opportunity to play this excellent course right here in our own backyard! Tickets will be sold on campus next week, continuing through the day of the dinner dance. Please contact Dara Duane if you have any questions at dara_duane@yahoo.com
Auction Preview Night: You will have the opportunity to view those awesome class projects up close and personal on Friday, April 1st. Stop by on your way to the Book Fair to take a peek. You will also be able to purchase individual projects, raffle tickets, and even sign up for some of those fun parties. Bring the Family and let them show off their hard work! 2:50-8pm
Clean-Up Crew Needed: Are you a night owl (and has a truck or SUV!) We are looking for some people to help us take down and take home all the left over items and decorations from the auction. If you are not attending the event, this is a great way for you to help contribute to the event. We need to be out of the Pleasant Hill Rec. Center by 11:30 pm and the only way to do that is with your help! Please contact Vangie Jordan at airevj@pacbell.net if you are able!
Sweet Thanks to our Sponsors and Donors! We are so happy to accept monetary donations from the following sponsors: Bazooka level ($500); Flaskerud Real Estate, Allied Waste, Pleasant Hill Collision, Boy Scouts of America, Rotary Club of Pleasant Hill, Cl!x Portrait Studio, and Merry West (Proud Strandwood Grandmother): Hot Tamale ($250); Law Office of Heidi Taylor: Good & Plenty ($100); Downing Family, Higgins Family: Bit o'Honey; Garcia Family. With these sponsors' help we are able to underwrite the "behind the scenes" costs so that our profits from the auction go straight to the students through PTA programs. THANK YOU!! It is never to late to become a sponsor. If you know of, or have a business, or just want to be a sponsor, please log on to www.biddingforgood.com/strandwood and follow the "Sponsor" link. Thanks too to the families that have donated a service, products, and vacations! There are far too many to list (but that's a good thing)! Please know that we could not do it without the support of this great family we have at Strandwood. |
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See's Candies Spring Fundraiser
Attention 4th Grade Families
|  Join us as we continue our See's Candies Spring Fundraiser to benefit our children's 5th grade Outdoor Education Program for next year.
Our fundraiser started March 18th and ends on March 30th. Orders will be delivered to your student the week of April 18th, prior to Spring/Easter break.
PRIZES: There will be a prize for the top seller in each 4th grade classroom. (Prize: Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB).
This is a great opportunity for family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to purchase See's Candies (or a See's Candies gift certificate) without having to wait in line at the store, while helping to raise money for our children.
Note: Because the cost for the 5-day Outdoor Education session is about $250-$300 per student, fundraising is critical so that we can lower the cost for each student. Our fundraising goal is $8,000, and we hope to make approximately 10% of this through the See's Candies fundraiser.
Thanks for your support, and please contact Julie Tuggle (octuggle@yahoo.com) with any questions.
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Parenting Tip of the Week
From www.parents.com | |
14 Ways to Encourage Kindness
As it turns out, kids are actually hardwired to be considerate and kind. "The desire to help is innate," says David Schonfeld, MD, director of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. And their sense of doing good develops as they grow. "At first, children like to help others because it helps them get what they want. Next, they do so because they get praise. Finally, they begin to anticipate the needs of others, and it becomes intrinsically rewarding to do nice things for people in their lives."
Bottom line: Kids want to help. And as parents, it's our job to nurture and guide a child's natural inclination to pitch in so it becomes a lifelong habit. "It's important to be a good role model -- children learn to be helpful from watching you," says Dr. Schonfeld. Try out a few of these simple ways to nudge your kid's helping gene.
Click here for the article. Remember to click through all the pages of information by clicking Next.
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Education News and Information
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Strandwood to get Technology somewhere between 2011 and 2013, Solar in 2012, HVAC in 2013 and Modernization in 2017. Where will your students be by then?
By Theresa Harrington
Friday, March 18th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
Ensuring that the public will embrace the Mt. Diablo school district's 51-site solar project after construction begins could be a daunting task.
And Pete Pedersen, who is managing the project, admitted to the Measure C Bond Oversight Committee on Thursday that he loses sleep thinking about it.
"At 3 in the morning, I'm trying to create a vision about: 'How bad can this be?'" he said. "What things do I need to be thinking about now that are going to be happening next March? If there needs to be a 500-pound gorilla who says, 'no,' it's got to be me right now. Out of all the projects that we've ever worked on, this - PR-wise - is just challenging. There are a million different ways it can go bad." Click here to see the entire Measure C Schedule.
Click here for the remainder of the article and a list of 17 sites that will receive solar panels over the summer, during the first phase of construction.
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Mt. Diablo teachers' union reaches tentative agreement
By Theresa Harrington
Friday, March 11th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
"If Mt. Diablo district teachers approve a tentative agreement hammered out Friday, students will lose three days of classes by the end of this school year. That's because the Mt. Diablo Education Association has struck a deal with the district to accept three furlough days, while maintaining elementary library, vocal music and PE prep periods the district wanted to eliminate. "We have a one-year contract from last July to the end of June, because we're still without a contract this year," union president Mike Langley told me today. Teachers and the district still need to decide which days to take, but the pay cuts will be deducted one day a month in April, May and June, Langley said. Besides the furlough days, the proposed contract also includes several smaller items:" Click here for the remainder of the article.
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Rock Out with BandWorks Summer Camp
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For kids 8+, BandWorks Rock n' Roll Camp is open to young beginners through advanced, older teen players. All instruments are welcome. Top professional musician-instructors create a fun and supportive environment while they teach kids the skills they need to play in a rock band-and make new friends in the process. Our week-long Summer Day Camps offer a variety of classes throughout the summer, and campers may enroll for a 1/2 day or full day. By the end of the week, students are rocking out in a live performance in the classroom. We have locations in San Jose, San Carlos, San Rafael, Oakland, San Ramon, Orinda, and Los Altos.
For beginners, we offer our Intro to Rock Band Instruments Camp. Kids get an opportunity to get their hands on a variety of instruments, while receiving rudimentary instruction of each of them. For kids with some musical experience, camps include Rock Band, Rock Jam and our popular "Music of" series, in which students focus on one featured band, such as Green Day, for the week, learning not only their songs, but the tricks that make them great.
For registration and more info about BandWorks Summer Camp, please contact us today at ariel@bandworks.com, 510.THE.BAND (843.2263), or visit the BandWorks website at BandWorks School of Rock Summer Camp
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Dates, Times and Places
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March 21 - PH Middle School School visits Strandwood
March 23 - Student Council Spirit Day - Twin/Triplet Day
March 24 - Field Trip - A-5 - John Muir Historic Site
March 25 - Field Trip - A-3 - John Muir Historic Site
March 29 - Spring School Picture Day
March 31 - Field Trip - A-6 - John Muir Historic Site
March 31 - Field Trip - B-5, C-5 (Second Graders) and E-2 - Lindsey Museum
April 1 - Field Trip - P2 - DVC Planetarium - 10:00 am
April 4-8 - Staff Appreciation Week
April 7 - PTA General Membership Meeting -
April 8 - Field Trip - P4 - DVC Planetarium - 8:45 am
April 8 - Field Trip - P3 - DVC Planetarium - 10:00 am
April 9 - Strandwood Dinner Dance Auction
View the calendar on the Strandwood PTA website by clicking here.
Visit the Strandwood Elementary School website by clicking here. 
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In the Office or On-Line
Flyers regarding the following items are available in the office this month. You can also click on the link, underlined if there is one, to go directly to that site.
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Larkey Sharks Pre-Season Parent Meeting, Registration and Info Night
For Both New Parents Interested in Joining the Swim Team and current Members
Click Here for the Flyer
Dolfins Swim Team Sign Ups
1 day remaining - Saturday, March 26, 2011
Click Here for the Flyer
Foundation for Pleasant Hill Education
Annual Campaign - Help Schools Thrive - Give $55
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