News From Murwood PTA August 27, 2014

Welcome back to Murwood! Our school is shiny and bright and filled with the sounds of our wonderful students' learning. We have had a very smooth opening, and great thanks are due to Lynnette and Stacy in the office for their incredible organization and attention to detail. We also owe a great big thank you to Vee and Anthony for making our school look so beautiful! Finally, to our dedicated teachers and support staff, your round the clock efforts to welcome each child warmly are appreciated. We are so lucky to share every day with each of you.

The parking lot was calm and safe this morning, thanks to everyone leaving extra time to park or navigate the larger student body. Please remember if you are parking to use the NEW, SAFE walking path that is right in front of the spots on the left as you enter. This path connects to the walking path into school and will lead your children safely to the doors.

Hooray for kindergarten parents who made a SIGN WITH THEIR CHILD'S NAME ON IT and POSTED IT ON THEIR DASHBOARD! We had the little ones safely buckled in no time! Parents, it helps us connect your child to you, so make a sign!!

Things to remember:

NEW SCHOOL HOURS!!

Please note that our school hours have changed!! This year, 1st through 5th grade begins at 8:15 AM, but our ending time is now 2:35 PM. Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten times have been assigned by their teacher.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT GRADES 1 - 5!! THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

Please join us for this PARENTS ONLY evening to learn about your child's academic year. Please note there is no supervision on the playground.

The schedule is:

6:30 PM - 7:15 First through Third grade classroom presentations

7:15 PM - 7:45 Parents join Principal, PTA and WCEF in MPR.

7:45 PM- 8:30 Fourth and Fifth Grade classroom presentations.

SHORTENED DAY!! FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

TK/Kindergarten 8:00 AM - 11:20 AM

Grades 1 - 5: 8:15 AM - 12:30PM

Thank you for your continuing support of WCEF and PTA. I look forward to another great year with all of you! Don't forget to JOIN OUR PTA, sign up to volunteer, and attend our family events!

Thank you,

Carol Nenni

Murwood Principal

From the Office

Welcome back families! It was lovely to see the little familiar faces back in our office today...and meet some new friends as well! Just a few reminders of our office policies as we start off the year:

- All visitors MUST sign in at the office and wear a Visitor's Badge while on campus. If you are helping in your child's classroom, please make sure you have pre-arranged it with the teacher.

-All adults MUST present Photo ID at the office for pick up of any child during school hours. Adults should come to the office to show their ID, request their child be sent to the office and sign them out. If the ID does not match any names on the child's contact list, the child will not be released.

-If your child will be late or not at school on any given day, you need to call the MW Attendance Line at 943-2462 x5801 to let us know. Please leave the child's name, your name, date, and reason for absence.

From the PTA President

Dear Murwood families,

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! This year is full of new ideas and exciting events.

I would like to personally invite your family to get involved in the Murwood PTA. Involvement can be coming to meetings as a member to vote on policy, serving on one of our many committees, or volunteering. Involvement is a great way to meet new people, to really see how our school and community functions, and to share your skills with the rest of us. Please contact myself or any of the PTA Executive Board for more information.

This year, I hope you will join us for our first PTA meeting when Mrs. Nenni will unveil the book for Murwood's first ever 1 School, 1 Book program. This program, which has been used at other local schools, is an excellent way to reinforce and celebrate reading with the entire community, and we are very excited to take part in it. More information will be available next week.

Also, please keep an eye out for news about this year's WCSD Governing Board elections. The Governing Board is comprised of five members from the WCSD community and they are tasked with setting and overseeing policy at the district level. This year, three of those seats are up for election. It is important to get informed about the candidates and to vote this year. This election will impact your child's education.

I hope to see you all next week at Back to School Night, and have a great first week of school!

Mandy Wells

Murwood PTA President

PTA Corner

RECIPES NEEDED!

Please share your favorite recipes for our fabulous Murwood PTA Cookbook. The link to the website is http://www.typensave.com/get-started/ (User Name: MEPTA and Contributor Password: pudding387). The recipe book will be coming out in early December. Reserve your copy today. Deadline for recipe submissions is September 27, 2014. Contact Renee Brooks for more information.

EARLY BIRD AUCTION TICKETS

There is still time to get your Early Bird Auction Tickets and be entered into the Embassy Suites Room Raffle. Send your payment and form from Welcome Back Day to the Murwood School Office by this Friday. Prices increase on September 1st.

Keyspot Corner

New for FALL 2014 - ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR AFTERSCHOOL ENRICHMENT!

Registration for the Fall Afterschool Enrichment Program is now open and ends Friday, September 5th. We have a great Fall lineup of classes! But some classes fill up quickly, so DON'T WAIT! This ASE session includes the new programs Girls On The Run running club and Cooking 'Round the World! To keep the kids moving, we have Flag Football, Volleyball, Tennis, Yoga and R&B Hip Hop. Learn some physics with Legos on the Go or design then build a robot on a computer in Robotics 101. What about burning a marshmallow to measure calories in Mad Science? The ever popular Berkeley Chess club, morning Spanish class, Piano and Guitar Lessons and chorus are all back too!

The 2014 Fall Afterschool Enrichment Program packet includes class descriptions, registration forms and detailed registration instructions for each class. It can be printed from the Murwood PTA website. You can also pick up a packet in the school office. Please turn completed registration and waiver forms into the school office no later than September 5th. Even if you sign up online, a registration form and waiver are required in order to participate.

Please contact Murwood's After School Enrichment Coordinators with any questions or leave a note in the ASE folder in the office for us.

WCEF

Welcome to the 2014-2015 School Year!

Welcome back to our returning families and a special welcome to all our new families K-12. Since 2005, the Walnut Creek Education Foundation has been supporting the six schools in the WCSD and Las Lomas High School. This year we have committed $712,500 to over 5,000 students. DONATE NOW!

We are grateful to our parents, community and businesses that support WCEF through their donations and their volunteer efforts. Our children benefit from one of the best public educations in the state and that is made possible because of the commitment to education that is shared by all in our community. Thank you!

WCEF:Support Our Students

Win A Pair of Tickets! Fall Walk: Wednesday, September 17, 6:00-9:00 PM

Save the date - September 17! Head downtown with friends and family and unwind after those hectic first weeks of school! The Fall Walk features tastings in downtown shops, restaurants and businesses, musicians playing along the way, and fun prize drawings. Tickets on Sale Now! Be sure to select WCEF from the drop down menu when purchasing your tickets. $10 from each ticket sold comes back to WCEF!

Make your 2014/15 WCEF donations before August 31 and be entered to win a pair of tickets for this event!

____________________________________________________________

Whole Foods Walnut Creek 5% Give Back Day

Wednesday, September 24 from 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Tell your family and friends! 5% of all purchases made on September 24 at Whole Foods will go to WCEF and our students to support academic programs and personnel that benefit all the students in the Walnut Creek School District and at Las Lomas High School (AUHSD). In the past we have raised an average of almost $6,000 from our WCEF shopping days at Whole Foods. Please help make our September 24 shopping day even more successful. Thank you!

Calendar

September

Sep 1 Mon No School - Labor Day Holiday
Sep 4 Thurs
6:30-7:15pm Grades 1-3, Classroom Presentations

7:15-7:45pm All Grades, MPR, Principal's Welcome, PTA/WCEF Information

7:45-8:30pm Grades 4-5, Classroom Presentations

Sep 5 Fri
Shortened School Day

K/TK: 8:00-11:20am

Grades 1-5: 8:15-12:30pm

Sep 10 Wed Picture Day
Sep 10 Wed Camp Loma Mar informational meeting for parents in the MPR from 6-7 PM
Sep 12 Fri Walk-a-Thon
Sep 29- Oct 3 Mon- Fri 5th Grade at Camp Loma Mar

Community eFlyers

These links are all Walnut Creek School District approved flyers that are electronic. Please use the links below to view the newest flyers or click on Community Flyers to view all electronic flyers on the Walnut Creek School District website.

Quick Links

Murwood School Website Murwood PTA Website

Murwood Keyspot Murwood School Lunch Menu

Walnut Creek School District WCEF - K12

Escrip Walnut Creek Intermediate

Las Lomas High School Las Trampas Creek Council of PTAs

E-News Submissions

To submit an article or announcement for next weeks e-news letter, please send by Friday, 5pm, to: [email protected].

You can easily remove your email address from this weekly newsletter list by clicking on the words "Update your Profile/email address" at the bottom of this email.