| Principal's Message | This Friday is the WCI PTA Wild West Social at Shadelands in Walnut Creek. It is still not too late to buy tickets and join us for this fun evening of food, music, casino games and conversation. The link to the event is below in the PTA section. Thanks to everyone who has put so much work into planning the Wild West Social and we hope to see you this Friday.
A huge thank you to all families who donated red envelopes last week to WCEF in their Turn up the Heat campaign. WCI families were extremely generous with returning the red envelopes and we really appreciate your support.
Have a wonderful week.
Mike Cannon
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| President's Message | It's finally here - the 5th Annual WCI Wild West Social is just two short days away. This Friday, Nov. 14th, the Shadelands event center will be transformed into the Ponderosa Ranch where the parents, staff, and community of WCI can play cards, eat BBQ, and bid on some great silent auction items. If you are interested in purchasing a last minute ticket to this event, please contact Ellen Schuler at schulerellen@gmail.com.
Please join me in saying thank you to Caroline Thomas for volunteering to Chair the PTA Reflections program this year at WCI. In addition to coordinating all of the entries, Caroline put on a fabulous art showcase last week in the library where the impressive talent of the WCI students was on display. Congratulations to all of the WCI students who participated in Reflections this year and thank you to Caroline for all of her hard work.
Our final PTA meeting of 2014 will be next Wednesday, November 19th at 9:30am. Click here to see the agenda. Please join us for coffee/snacks at 9:00 and the meeting at 9:30.
Hope to see you on Friday night!
Julie Gibson
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Urgent: Vision Screening Volunteers are Needed
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 Vision Testing for all 6th grade students will take place on Monday, November 17th, Tuesday, November 18th and Thursday, November 20th. We will need two volunteers each morning (8:30-11:40am) and afternoon (12:20-3:00pm). Screenings begin in less than two weeks; if you can help, please click http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c45afae22a64-6thgrade today and sign up for one or more shifts. For more information, contact Megan Martin at meghan1002@gmail.com or (925)890-0147.
Thank you so much for your help!
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WCEF News
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 WCEF: #TurnUpTheHeat Update! THANK YOU!
Thank you to our students, parents, teachers and administrators who participated in our #TurnUpTheHeat Campaign last week. We are still working on tabulating final numbers and percentages but can report the following: 
902 Envelopes Turned in K-8
$43,204.06 raised so far K-8
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 WE NEED YOU!
Calling all volunteers. Looking for a fun way to support our students? Volunteer at the 22nd Annual Turkey Trot! Specific needs include:
- 11/27 Race Day: registration and t-shirt distribution, water stations, course workers, food and water site workers, timing/finish line assistance, clean-up/breakdown.
- Many different shifts available to fit your schedule. Free volunteer T-shirts!
- Click here TO VOLUNTEER!
- Interested in running? Click here to register to race.
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WCEF Business Partner Deals Good All Month Long!
Check out our November Business Partner Deals and all the businesses supporting our schools and students. These businesses have invested in our students' education and are offering special discounts throughout the month of November - just be sure to mention WCEF!
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Creek Kids Care
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The WCI branch of Creek Kids Care will meet on November 19 at 8:30 am in room 305 (Ms. Stewart's classroom). All WCI kids are encouraged to participate in this fun and worthwhile club. Creek Kids Care is a local nonprofit of kids and teens working together to benefit the Trinity Center (serving our local homeless community) and the Mother of Peace orphanage in Zimbabwe. Details about the organization can be found at www.creekkids.org. In addition to the November 9 meeting, the club will meet on these dates: December 10, January 14, February 4, February 25, March 11, March 25, April 15, May 13, and June 3. If you have questions, please contact Elizabeth McCormick at oneadamtwelve@me.com.
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One Warm Coat
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The WCI Girl Scouts are working with One Warm Coat and request your help for people in need this winter. Please bring your extra gently used coats and jackets to Walnut Creek Intermediate for the One Warm Coat Drive. The coats will be washed and given to people in need right here in our area. All sizes are needed and welcomed.
The box for the coats is located inside the Attendance Office at school and the last day to donate at the school is Friday, November 21st. The coats will be given to the One Warm Coat Organization at near Broadway Plaza on Friday, November 28th. This event will be broadcast live on KTVU Channel 2 News. Watch for us!
Thank you very much for donating your extra coats and jackets. You can make a difference!
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Attention All 6th Grade Parents
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The 6th Grade Skate Night is Tuesday November 18th. Skate Night will be at The Golden Skate in San Ramon. Your 6th grader will not want to miss this event! Tickets will be sold during lunch periods on Monday, November 17th and Tuesday November 18th. The cost of the ticket is $13.00. Your student will need to bring CASH to purchase their ticket and a completed, signed permission slip. A flyer will be distributed to all 6th graders which has more details on the event, along with the permission slip. Please send your child with $13.00 CASH, the completed permission slip, and their student ID card on November 17th or November 18th. We need volunteers for this event. Please click here to sign up. If you need additional information please contact Jenn Johansen - johansenj@aol.com
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Sister to Sister
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Announcing a Fantastic Opportunity for Middle School Girls Registration is now open for middle school girls to sign up to be part of the 2015 Sister-to-Sister mentoring program. Beginning in January, high school girls trained by AAUW's Orinda-Moraga-Lafayette branch will be hosting 2-hour sessions to explore the challenges of growing up girl and offer their support, understanding and guidance. Sunday Super Sessions will be held at the Orinda Community Church, 10 Irwin Way in Orinda, on 1/11, 2/8 and3/15 from 2:30-4:30 in the afternoon. This new format will allow for follow up with the middle school girls and encourage stronger connections to form between the participants and their "big sisters". Sister-to-Sister is an award-winning program that has been presented for the past 15 years by the Orinda-Moraga-Lafayette branch of AAUW (American Association of University Women). It is directed to middle school aged girls and features discussions, games, great snacks, guest speakers, Q&A panels and the opportunity to be mentored by a high school "big sister". The Sister-To-Sister program's goal is to create a supportive community where middle school girls can explore their challenges and concerns while hanging out with our amazing team of trained S2S high school leaders. In the past Sister-to-Sister has been presented as a one day, 6 hour Summit; however, in response to feedback from past participants and facilitators, this year it will be presented as series of three workshops from 2:30pm - 4:30pm on January 11, February 8 and March 15. Registration is now open. The cost is $45 if registered by 12/15/14. We are having a special "Register with a Friend" discount of $10 off ($35 each participant). After December 15, registration is $55 each or $45 each for "Register with a Friend" promotion. Applications are available at AAUW Sister-to-Sister (S2S) | Orinda-Moraga-Lafayette (CA). For more information please contact Laura Wittenberg at (925) 788-0901.
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WCI Spirit Wear
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WCI Spirit Wear is available for purchase in the front office. The items that are available are: 
Reusable Grocery Bags $4
Girls Tank tops $17
T-shirts $15
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Boxtops for Education
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Congratulations to our Box Top winners! Grant A. turned in 284 box tops to win the $25 Target gift card! Clarisse S. came in second with 260 Box Tops for the $15 Target gift card; and Anastasia S. came in third with 194 Box Tops for the $10 gift card! A total of 21 students turned in 2,174 Box Top coupons = $217.40 for our library! Many thanks to all the students (and their parents!) who participated in the contest, and who continue to support our library. Even though the contest is over, we still need everyone's help - there is still plenty of time before Thanksgiving break to turn in more of those Box Top coupons! Just have your students drop them off in the library. Anne Woods ( shepwoods@comcast.net) wishes everyone a happy holiday!
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Las Lomas Public Speaking Program
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The Las Lomas Public Speaking program would like to hear what WCI students have to say: We eagerly invite any and all WCI students to enter our first ever speech contest. The speech contest is open to WCI students only, and students may deliver a speech to inform or a speech to persuade. The contest will be held on Saturday December 13th at Las Lomas High School. For more information, go to the Las Lomas Web Site and search under the Students tab. Also, ask your English teacher for a flyer. This is a great chance to speak your truth, Squires. Feel free to email any questions to Wendy Reeves-Hampton at
wreeves-hampton@acalanes.k12.ca.us. Whether you're a beginner or an already-confident speaker, you are always welcome here at LL Public Speaking. Give it a try!
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Nicaragua Summer Trip
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Spanish teacher Angie Green and Global Studies teacher Julie Krug are chaperoning a trip to Nicaragua through Free the Children in August. The trip is open to all WCI students. If this interests you, you can find information on their web pages. Application deadline is December 3rd.
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8th Grade Baby Pictures Needed
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The yearbook class is gathering baby pictures of the 8th graders for the yearbook. We can use a high quality photos printed on photo paper or the photo can be submitted digitally. Digital photos need to be high resolution ( at least 400kb). Please have students deliver photos to Mrs. Gautier in room 603. We will take good care of the photo and return it in a couple of months. Digital photos should be sent to Mrs. Gautier at: rgautier@wcsd.k12.ca.usPhoto deadline is November 15th.
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8th Grade DC/NY Trip 2015
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Attention all 8th grade families. Sign up now for the Washington DC & New York City 8th grade trip and save before the price increases. We will be voting soon on the Broadway play that we will be seeing in NY, don't miss out on being able to cast your vote! The trip will be taking place from June 26, 2015 - July 1, 2015. Don't miss out on this trip of a lifetime. We already have 55+ students signed up, and anticipate a lot more to come. Sign up at www.worldstridesdiscovernow.org under our trip ID # is 103444. If you have questions, please email trip leaders Steve Miller and Sarah Oliphant at wcidcny@gmail.com. *This is not a school or district sponsored trip.
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Leah Dubinsky
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 Meet Leah Dubinsky:
WCI Teacher on Special Assignment (2nd VP/Leadership)
I was excited to join the WCI team last year. I had my eye on Walnut Creek for a while, and when a position opened, I jumped at it. The community here reminds me of San Rafael, where I began my career as a middle school science teacher. Although I've worked in administrative roles in elementary and high schools, this is my first administrative position at a middle school.
One of the things that I like about WCI is that it's rich with traditions and committed to maintaining them. The community has a lot of pride in the school. I also enjoy the variety. Every day here is different and there's always something new to work on.
My goal is that when kids leave WCI, they will feel like there are adults at school who care about them - who want them to be successful in their academic and social lives. I want them to leave middle school with strong self-esteem. I look forward to continuing to build relationships with WCI's students and their families!
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Community News
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In this section, we feature community news that has been approved for distribution by the Walnut Creek School District. To have flyers posted in this section, please click here for submission requirements. No New News Click here to see all flyers on the district web site.
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Calendar of Events
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Below is a calendar of upcoming events. Please be sure to check the WCI Website and WCSD website for additional calendar information.
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Nov 14th
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6:30pm
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Shadelands
| Nov 18th
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6th Grade Skate Night
| 6:30-8:30pm
| Golden Skate
| Nov 19th
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PTA Meeting
| 9:00 Coffee
9:30 Meeting
| Library
| Nov 24-25th
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Parent Teacher Conferences - No School
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| Nov 26-28th
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Thanksgiving Break No School
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Article Submission Guidelines
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The WCI PTA publishes the eNewsletter every Wednesday. Our goal is to provide information to the WCI community in a timely manner. If you have an article to contribute email it to Susan Heitmann at wcienews@yahoo.com. Please limit articles to 150 words or less. The deadline is every Sunday at 6pm. For community announcements (non WCI specific submissions) please review the community section guidelines for approval by the Walnut Creek School District.
The mention of any business, service or event
in this publication does not imply an endorsement by
WCI PTA, WCI, or the Walnut Creek School District
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