STORYTELLING ASSEMBLY
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As part of the PTA's Cultural Arts Series, we will be hosting master storyteller Jim Cogan. Jim will use sound, movement, a myriad of facial expressions and audience participation in his program "Storytelling in Language, Lore and History." Our students will explore a classical myth, participate in a folktale and experience a personal re-creation of a memorable moment in history as Jim performs from some 300 tales, legends, fables and myths. As always, parents are welcome to attend these assemblies. There are three showings: 9:00 (K/1), 10:00 (2/3), and 11:00 (4/5). |
ON YOUR MARKS...
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Get Set . . .
JOG!
The 10th annual Marengo Jog-a-thon will be held after school on Friday, March 11.
The kindergartners will walk/jog around grassy area on the upper playground from 10-10:30am and grades 1-5 will walk/jog around the blacktop from 1:30-2:30 pm.
The Jog-a-thon is one of our PTA's biggest fund-raisers, bringing in over $20,000 last year. This year, proceeds will go to fixing and lowering the temperature on our playground. All students are encouraged to participate in this fun event. Pledge sheets and instructions were sent home in February.
Please help your student(s) collect pledges from friends, neighbors, and family, then come out and enjoy the music and festivities as we pull together to make a difference and help our school! We need parent volunteers, so if you're interested in helping, please e-mail Michelle Speers (michelle_speers@yahoo.com).
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DINNER NIGHTS OUT
| | We can look forward to Dinner Nights Out in March including:
  and La Fiesta Grande. Check backpack mail for more information. |
CONSTRUCTION WOES
| | You may have noticed that the construction on Fair Oaks Avenue is impacting traffic on Marengo Avenue, especially during the morning drop-off hours. Please be patient with our safety valets. Better yet, see this as another great reason to walk/bike/scoot to school or at least plan for enough time to park a few blocks away.
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THE BULLY GAME
| | Last week, the PTA brought entertainer and magician John Abrams to campus to share his game-show approach to talking to kids about bullying. His focus was on chatter vs. gossip, telling vs. tattling, bystanders vs. witnesses, and teasing vs. taunting. He also presented a seminar for parents in the evening. If you weren't able to attend, you can download a copy of the handout he spoke from that evening.
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100 DAYS & 100 YEARS
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Marengo celebrated our 100th year during the 100th day of school - February 14th.
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100-Year-Old Zero the Hero visits campus and challenges students to research aspects of the school from 1910-11.
(His memory wasn't so great).
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4th graders report back at the end of the day about what they have learned about school rules and discipline in 1911 and 2011. Kindergartners researched recess activities then and now; first grade looked at school supplies; second grade examined the lives of teachers; third grade talked about the school facility, and fifth grade examined the daily routine for students.
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 | | Superintendent Joel Shapiro took the time capsule filled with photos of and notes from every student. It will be buried in the district office, with instructions to open in 50 years! |
 | | Huge thanks to our very generous parents, aka "Marengo Bakers", we ended the day with a cupcake party after school with 1,100+ cupcakes! (Extras were donated to a local mission). |
 | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARENGO! |
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| PTA PARENT FORUMS | | Take advantage of the information provided at the PTA Meetings and Parent Forums.
March's meeting (March 2nd, 7:00 pm) features 4th Grade Teacher, Mr. David Speck, talking about the use of technology in the classroom and the technology connection with school work at home. He will also answer questions about the 4th/5th grade "All Are Scholars Academy."
In April (April 13, 8:20 am), Dr. Margaret Finnegan will present "Don't Sweat the Spelling: How to stop tearing your hair out and help your child write better." You don't have to be a writer to have kids who write well. Get tips and advice on how you can help your child become a stronger, more confident writer. Learn what things you should sweat and what things you can let go of. Dr. Finnegan teaches composition at California State University, Los Angeles, and she has helped writers of all ages find their voices. Her own work has appeared in publications such Salon, FamilyFun, the LA Times, and she is the author of Selling Suffrage: Consumer Culture and Votes for Women.
In May (May 4, 7:00 pm), we will hear from the Middle School Principal and a counselor about the transition to middle school and the mentoring program W.E.B. (Where Everyone Belongs).
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| ARTIST IN RESIDENCE (AIR) PROGRAM | | |
After six creative weeks of in-class visual art instruction, the students of Marengo Elementary will get to display some of the art works they have been creating at an exhibition on March 10 - 11 in the Marengo Auditorium.
SPEF and the elementary PTAs are funding the district-wide Artists in Residence (AIR) Program, developed by SPACE, the South Pasadena Arts Center, and taught at Marengo by teaching artists Sarah Dugan, who integrated Language Arts with Art in grades K-2 and Sarit Swanborn, who integrated Math with Art in grades 3-5. Deemed as a success by enthusiastic students, parents, and teachers, the program culminates in a student exhibit open to the public on Thursday, March 10, from 2:25 - 6:00 p.m. On Friday, March 11 from 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. art will be on display for student walk-throughs.
Special thanks to Halverson's Cleaners (across from Trader Joe's) for donating much-needed plastic for primary art projects.
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Join Our List
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IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
3/2
3:00 pm - School Site Council Meeting
7:00 pm - PTA General Membership Meeting featuring Mr. Speck
3/4 Cultural Arts Assembly
9:00 am, Grades K,1 10:00 am , Grades 2,3 11:00 am, Grades 4,5
3/9
7:45 am - 8:05 am - Jog-a-thon Pledge Sheet Turn-In
8:10 am - Jog-a-thon Special Prize Assembly
3/11
Kindergarten on Block Schedule
Jog-a-thon
10:00 - 10:30 am - Kindergarten
1:30 - 2:30 pm - Grades 1-5
3/14 - 3/18
Parent-Teacher Conference Week - 12:30 Dismissal All Week
3/21
NO SCHOOL - Professional Development Day
3/28
8:15 am - PTA Executive Board Meeting
3/30
11:00 - 1:00 pm - Teacher Appreciation Lunch
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| A WORD FROM OUR PRINCIPAL | |
Dear Marengo Community,
Marengo is committed to integrating character education into the curriculum and encouraging families to make choices according to our 'High Five' of Good Character: Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Fairness, Trustworthiness, and Citizenship. Over the past month, we have been focusing on TRUSTWORTHINESS. These character traits are taught and reinforced through Second Step, our character education program.
According to Wikipedia, TRUSTWORTHINESS can be defined as, "a moral value considered to be a virtue. A trustworthy person is someone in whom you can place your trust and rest assured that the trust will not be betrayed. A person can prove their trustworthiness by fulfilling an assigned responsibility - and as an extension of that, not to let down expectations. The responsibility can be either material, such as delivering a mail package on time, or it can be non-material such as keeping an important secret to themselves. A trustworthy person is someone that you can tell your worries and secrets to and know they won't repeat them without your permission. In general, in order for trust to be earned, worth and integrity must be proven over time." The students and staff at Marengo have been working to follow the basic rules of trustworthiness:
Be honest · Don't deceive, cheat, or steal · Be reliable - do what you say you'll do · Have the courage to do the right thing · Build a good reputation · Be loyal - stand by your family, friends, and country
When others trust us, they give us greater leeway because they feel we don't need monitoring to assure that we'll meet our obligations. They believe in us and hold us in higher esteem. That's satisfying. At the same time, we must constantly live up to the expectations of others and refrain from even small lies or self-serving behavior that can quickly destroy our relationships.
When you think about teaching your children to be trustworthy, you must remember it does not happen overnight. Instead, it is something you should model for your children every day because you are the most important teacher your child will ever have.
Here are some ideas to help you model trustworthiness to your child.
- Make promises only of rewards that you plan to keep.
- Make promises only of punishments that you plan to keep.
- Be consistent.
- Tell the truth to your children.
- Tell the truth in front of your children.
For the rest of the school year we will be focusing on one character trait per month as follows:
March - Caring, April - Citizenship, May - Review of all.
Thank you for practicing and reinforcing these character traits at home. We can't do it alone!
Sincerely,
Kim Sinclair
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COUNSELOR'S CORNER
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Recently, I read a beautiful article from Organic Gardening, a favorite magazine of mine. The article reminded gardeners to recognize the garden's beauty in winter. Void of vibrant colors, a stark garden allows us to care for the plants we love so dearly before the bloom of spring. Without the show of flowers and lush foliage, we can nourish weaker flora and rearrange plants for optimal show. The article refers to the "quiet beauty" of these months and challenges gardeners to appreciate this gentle season. It is the care in winter that determines the outcome of spring blossom.
Much like the winter garden, education has its season of "quiet beauty." Without the excitement of starting a new school year or the thrill of graduation, the winter months are devoted to intensive academic growth. The work is no longer review. Teachers are carefully examining student performance to expected grade level standards and readiness for the next year. What may appear as a less active time is actually a time of diligent, intense work. Educators love these months of uninterrupted study because we know the colorful bloom of success is just around the corner.
Let me encourage you to attend your parent-teacher conferences with curiosity and question. Address any academic or behavior concerns. If your teacher is concerned about any area, find out what you can do to support your child's learning now. If I can be of assistance in reviewing academic growth, please do not hesitate in contacting me. I am here, enjoying the "quiet beauty" of March.
Kathryn Sievert Hutto
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MARENGO TANGO!
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The Marengo Tango dinner/dance fundraiser helped celebrate our school's 100th birthday on Saturday, Feb
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Photo by David Koh, 4th grade student
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ruary 12th by making over $22,000. Teachers and parents mingled, dined on burgers & brauts and danced the night away. Bidders vied for a Direct TV package worth over $1,000.00, Lakers & Dodgers tickets, art, yoga & culinary classes as well as spa & beauty indulgences. Proud parents were determined to win their child's gorgeous class artworks. Thank you is never enough to all those who worked tirelessly in organizing and facilitating this event, but we could not have done this without the generosity of our community, bidders, and doners alike.
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Marengo staff members celebrating at Marengo Tango.
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TALENT SHOW .... THE SHOW OF SHOWS
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What's another way to throw a 100th birthday party? The talented (and adorable) kids of Marengo showed us all how by putting on an incredible display of their talents for peers, parents, and our Marengo community at the 2011 Marengo Show of Shows this past Friday night. Rain did not stop our children from coming dressed in gowns, lugging instruments and hula hoops, props and dancing shoes. One after another they walked on to the big stage at the Middle School, and played, acted, danced and sang to an auditorium full of family and friends. They were brave, silly, charming, athletic, and musical. Some shared work that had taken years to develop, some dared to perform pieces that they had authored and invented themselves. All of them showed us how to take a risk-- and how rewarding that can be. We are lucky to be witness to this bravery- because that is really what it takes to walk out into the spotlight and share a piece of yourself. Of course, our kids are lucky, too. Marengo has a widely-known and well-deserved reputation for its committed parent community. In a time of diminishing financial resources for all, it is our choosing to roll up our proverbial sleeves and give of our time, energy and expertise that sets our school and our district apart. A sincere thank you to all the parents who chipped in to make this event a success. Because of these people the show went on with sound, lights, a fabulous emcee, music, video, programs, ushers, and a huge silk-screened back drop, now the property of the Marengo school. Clearly this birthday bash is ushering in another Marengo century to be proud of! - Abigail Deser
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Special thanks to Kelle Lopez for taking photos of all of the acts!
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Photos from the 2011 Talent Show have been added to our website. You can access photos from school events through the Photo Gallery at marengopta.com. The page is password protected, and the password is "lions". You can even order prints of photos you'd like to have. |
FAMILY MATH FESTIVAL - COMING SOON
| | What does Math look like when it takes over a whole school? Come see for yourself how interesting math can be! The PTA is sponsoring a Math Festival all day, followed by a Family Math Festival the same evening from 6:30 - 7:30 pm. This was originally scheduled for March 23rd, but is being rescheduled. Please stay tuned for new date.
Volunteers will be needed during the day! Parents DO NOT need to be experts at math to volunteer to help students at the Math Festival. You can learn everything you need right at your table! You will not be acting as teachers that day; you will be giving simple assistance to students, often helping them read and understand the directions at one Festival activity. Parents need not be fluent English speakers to help at a table. Parents who speak other languages can be of great assistance to students whose primary language is not English. A Math Festival is possibly the least threatening math experience parents will ever have; in fact it is a situation where both students and parents can have a good time doing math together. Please consider volunteering for this event. Once we have a date confirmed, you can let us know if you are available.
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CONGRATULATIONS....
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Riley Segal, President; Rachelle Jin, Vice President; and Abigial Szilagyi, Secretary |
TEACHER APPRECIATION LUNCH
| | Our Bi-Annual Teacher and Staff Appreciation Luncheon is scheduled for Wednesday, March 30 from 11 am to 1pm ,
at the home of Kerri and Art Terrill at 1816 Oak Street (on the corner of Stratford).
We are looking for volunteers to donate main dishes, side dishes, salads or desserts, and need a few people to help with set-up and clean-up. Any and all food and drink or paper good
donations are welcome! You are welcome to prepare your favorite dish or pick up prepared foods -- both are greatly appreciated. To sign-up to bring something, click here.
The food can be dropped off at the Marengo office on the morning of the lunch before 10:30 am, or brought directly to Kerri's house at 1816 Oak. Please clearly label serving utensils with your name, and the name of the dish if it is not obvious. All items will be washed and returned to the teachers' lounge in the school office for pick up after school.
The teachers really look forward to this special treatment! Please help make it possible!
Contact co-chairs Angie McGrath (310) 977-1183 or amcgrath@fruit.com or Kerri Terrill (626) 379-2126 or kerriterrill@yahoo.com with questions or to make special arrangements.
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SUMMER SCHOOL IS COOL
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There are opportunities for everyone at South Pasadena Educational Foundation's popular Summer School program! The Elementary and Intermediate programs run from Monday, June 27 to Friday, July 22, 2011.
Elementary Summer School is for students entering grades K-4 in fall 2011. Enrichment classes-those classes that offer students academic gains or a taste of a new interest, in a creative, fun, and non competitive environment, include Icky Sticky Science, Create-A-Book, Jump Rope, Summer News, Math Blast, Multimedia stories with iLife, as well as a variety of other classes in Reading, Writing, Dance, Sports, Theater and Cooking. Additionally, we are able to once again, offer proficiency classes in Math and Language Arts, to those students receiving recommendation from their teacher, principal or counselor.
Intermediate Summer School is for students entering grades 5-8 in fall 2011. Enrichment classes include, but are not limited to, Robotics, Basketball Madness, Computer Game Design, Comic Book Design, Making Math Meaningful and Let's Get Cooking. Advance in academics and have fun at the same time! Proficiency classes in Math and Language Arts are once again available to those students receiving recommendation from their teacher, principal or counselor.
Look for Summer School brochures arriving home in backpack mail. Brochures are also available for download from the SPEF website at www.spef.com, and in hardcopy from the SPEF office at 1020 El Centro St. Room #3, in the district building.
We look forward to sharing another inspiring summer with your students.
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A NOTE FROM SOUTH PASADENA COUNCIL PTA
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URGENT ACTION ISSUE
CA PTA Asks Members to Call or E-mail Their Legislators and Urge them to Put a Tax Extension on the June 2011 Ballot. The students of California need your help! Please take action and send an email letter to your state legislators requesting that we, the citizens of California, be given the chance to vote on extending current taxes that will help stem some of the devastating budget cuts to education. Despite more than $18 billion in cuts in recent years, a further reduction of at least $2 billion (or $350 per student) will occur unless the Legislature takes action soon.
http://www.congressweb.com/cweb2/index.cfm/siteid/educateourstate
or, if you prefer calling: State Senator Kevin de Leon (213) 612-9566, State Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (626) 577-9944.
Local Legislators Share Information About the Current State of Public Education and Funding in California
Date: Saturday, March 11, 2011
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: Glendale High School, 1440 E. Broadway, Glendale
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PTA PRESIDENT'S CORNER
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| Dear Marengo Families,
Marengo's got talent! We hope you were able to join us for Friday's talent show which featured 68 unique acts showing off the many different talents of our students. Thank you to Abigail Deser, Kelli Driscoll, Andy Oran, Liz Price and Deb Vogel for again organizing this fabulous event, to Jeff Kirschenbaum for being the man on the mic (for the Talent Show and Marengo Tango), to Tom Cornwell for being the first one there and the last to leave while setting up and breaking down his personal sound equipment and making sure all of the acts sounded perfect, and of course to all of our student performers for sharing their talents with us.
Speaking of talented people, thanks are also in order for our amazing team that put together this year's silent auction "Marengo Tango." Katie Clark, Kelli Driscoll, Liz Price and Michelle Round put together an evening of dining and dancing that was a great time to benefit a great cause. And thanks to the generosity of our guests, we raised over $22,000! Thank you all!
If you are interested in how technology is integrated in the classroom, then be sure to join us this Wednesday at 7:00 pm in the auditorium. Our own Mr. Speck is the featured speaker at our PTA meeting and he will be discussing how technology is used here at Marengo. In addition, the slate of officers for the 2011-2012 PTA Executive Board will be announced. Free childcare is always provided for children aged two and up.
Then on March 11, we have our annual Jog-a-thon. The money we raise from this event, as well as what was raised at Marengo Tango, go into our general fund and towards numerous things such as the artist in residence program and cultural arts assemblies. This year a major portion will be put towards fixing cracks and lower the temperature on the playground. The jog-a-thon is a really fun event to volunteer at, so if you are interested please contact Michelle Speers at michelle_speers@yahoo.com.
As always, please contact us with any and all questions and concerns.
PJ Lutz Karen Weinstock
PTA President Executive Vice President
pjlutz5@gmail.com jkwst@hotmail.com
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