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Technology Survey Results
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Thank you to all parents who took the time to answer our brief technology survey last January. Staff and students received a more comprehensive list of questions regarding educational technology. These results ( you can view them here) are being used to inform the current technology planning process. These infographics are high-level summaries to provide a snapshot of technology in our district. A draft plan of the district technology plan should be available in May. Please contact me if you have any questions. John Dean - Director of Learning and Media [email protected] |
Math Coffee Chat
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Please join us on Friday, May 2nd for Part II of our Math Coffee Chat. We will be discussing the Math Pathways, acceleration options and provide some examples of "going deeper" with math. We will meet at Corte Madera School in Room 102 at 8:30 to accommodate Ormondale parents who may need time to come over and park. All parents are welcome. Target audience will be parents of current 5th-7th graders. Please contact John Dean, Director of Learning and Media, if you have any questions. [email protected] |
Safe Routes to School
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Safe Routes to School News
PVSD received 3 iPod Touches from the County Safe Routes for the wonderful participation in the Golden Sneaker Program in March. Thank you students and teachers for helping make this program a part of our schools and such a great success!
Based on data collection from San Mateo County schools over the past 2 years, now over 52% of children in the county who live 1/2 mile or less from school are walking or biking to school. That is up from 20% the previous year - a tremendous increase in participation! We have successfully encouraged people to leave the car at home and to support active, healthy transportation instead. Portola Valley has been in the lead in terms of our own participation here at our own schools. Thank you parents! This is the month to celebrate Earth Day and more! Mark your calendars for the next Bike/Walk to School Events: Ormondale - April 23rd Corte Madera - April 25th Bike Rodeo at Town Center - May 10th 10 am-2 pm
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This Week's Calendar
Ormondale * Corte Madera * District
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Mon, March 31 (A)
ORM School Site Council Meeting 3:20pm Rm 12
CMS Panache with a Touch of Brass 7pm
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Tue, April 1 (B)
New Student enrollment registration packets due
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Wed, April 2 (A)
ORM Muniz class America the Beautiful 8:15am
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Thu, April 3
ORM Miller Class America The Beautiful 8:15am
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Fri, April 4 (A)
ORM Bloom-Smith class America the Beautiful 8:15am
K-8 Movie Night "Despicable Me 2" 6:15pm
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Weekly Post Reminders:
To submit an article to the Weekly Post, please send it to [email protected]. Deadline is Thursday at noon. See the PVSD website for more information
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Save the Date: Common Core Math
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Save the date: Common Core Math with Professor Jo Boaler from Stanford, Saturday April 26th from 12:00 to 2:00 at the Menlo Atherton High School Performing Arts Center. More info to follow soon. Please add this to your calendars.
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PTO Volunteer Opportunities
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The PTO is looking for volunteers for the next school year, and we are really in need of a current Assistant Treasurer that could start ASAP to take over as Treasurer next year. The positions below have short descriptions so feel free to e-mail any of our PTO leaders for more information. As you can see in the diagram, the PTO provides a multitude of activities and services for our schools, children and staff members. We can only do so with your help! Treasurer: No accounting experience necessary! Just able to work with Excel and Quickbooks (Our current Treasurer had never used it before! Very friendly program). Oversee all financial aspects, monthly account reconciliation, deposit/withdraw funds for all events except those listed below, financial reporting/budgeting, all QB entries.
Assistant Treasurer (2 year position; move to Treasurer 2nd year): Deposit/cut checks (via on-line bill pay) for all CMS sport programs, collect/deposit funds for book fairs, send Treasurer documentation for QB entries
Auditor: Perform audit and fill out tax forms
Original Works (both ORM and CMS): Coordinate collection and distribution of OW artwork in the fall. Moving to an online ordering system to simplify the tasks.
ORM Back-to-School Picnic (need by late April/May!): 2 individuals needed to coordinate volunteers, book vendor, enlist 8th Grade help, and oversee event
ORM Hot Lunch/Playground Coordinator: Coordinate volunteer calendar New Family Welcome (4/5th grade rep needed): Touch base with new families and help 1st-3rd grade and 6th-8th grade coordinators with August event ORM Home Room Parent Coordinator: send weekly e-mail Sunday to all HRP's Thanks very much and we look forward to hearing from you! Sharon Shaffer: CMS President Heather Asborno: CMS Vice-President Michelle Bellomo: ORM President Susan McLaughlin: ORM Vice-President Heather Prelle: Treasurer
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Principal's Message
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Spring is here (though we did not have much of a winter!) and our students will soon be in the all important final stretch of the school year. This time of year is filled with great learning and exciting and fun activities, as we all know. It's also an important time for all students to maintain their focus and stay engaged in their learning with summer being just around the corner. It really takes a partnership to make that happen, so thank you to all of our parents and staff for their continual support of our students - they are truly thriving and will continue to do so on through June.
Spring is also a time when we get deep into making plans for next school year. Please be on the look out for dates and details coming soon about informational meetings for our incoming 4th and 6th grade parents. As well, there continues to be a lot of work being done to further align our curriculum and programs to the common core standards for the coming year. We are also getting closer and closer to having a new and improved master schedule for next school year. The group of staff, parents and students working together for much of the year on this project have been refining our best thinking to make sure we have the most productive and student centered schedule possible. Just so you know, there will be another update on our progress at the School Board meeting on April 9. Be on the look out for more updates about our new schedule as we progress through the spring time.
Finally, spring is when our staff gets spoiled by our wonderful PTO during Staff Appreciation Week. All the great food, gift cards and appreciation - our staff is truly thankful to all of our superstar parents from PTO!
Have a great week!
Michael Corritone
Principal
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Corte Madera Basketball Wrap-up
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Thanks to the seventy-three 6th-8th grade students who represented Corte Madera, and showed their school spirit by participating in the PTO-sponsored After-School Sports Basketball program this winter. We've heard from coaches, players and parents about how much individual and overall team skill improvement occurred over the course of the season. None of the fun the students had would be possible without the tremendous efforts of the coaching staff. A huge thank you to:
8th grade coaches: Jan Sweetnam, Eric Doyle and Esteban Samra
7th grade coaches: Dan Flahavan, Travis Lucian, Rometra Craig and Sally Ann Reiss
6th grade coaches: Tim Sato, Paul Skrabo, Justine Headland and Max Reines
Congratulations to the 7th grade girls team who took home the championship. The coaches inspired the girls to work hard, and give their individual best efforts. The girls learned that each team member had a unique, and important contribution to the team as a whole. Together they were stronger, better...and champions!
Go Panthers!
Kate Cox and Dan Flahavan
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CMS PTO Staff Appreciation Thank Yous
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Staff Appreciation Week is a week where we show our appreciation to the wonderful staff and teachers we have at Corte Madera School. It would not have been possible without the help of the following volunteers who cooked, decorated, shopped, donated, organized, washed dishes and did much more!
Thank you to the following who helped with Tuesday Fruit Day and Friday's Staff Room Lunch:
Lauren Lopez, Liz Tamas, Karen Tate, Jenni Farrell, Sharon Shaffer, Mary Henry, Rosario Camacho, Hayley Leinfelder, Charlie Orchard, Karyn Bechtel, Lissa Cook, Laura Kavanaugh, Kathy Waddell, Ruth Taylor, Rose Kerr, Kristi Patterson, Joyce Chung, Naomi Reynolds, Mari Baker, Ali Haazer, Renee Courington, Jennifer Youstra, Ching Wu, Tricia Christensen, Jackie Lai, Tabitha Jordan, Sylvia Constantz, Tamiko Verkler, Linda Wong, Barbara Hugli-Jones, Carrie Davis, Kristin Brew, Lisa Hill, Heather Keller, Becca Lev, Mary Jo Kloezeman, Douglas Morss, Michelle Bellomo, Karen Askey, Lynn Holthaus, Debbie Grech, Gina Rayfield, Tanya Hayes, Kim Hamrick and Tanya Pastushkov.
A big thank you to Elise Gabrielson for chairing the Wednesday "Asian Theme" Staff Appreciation Lunch for another yummy year, to the PTO for designing a new Staff Appreciation banner for the front of the school along with new road side signs and to the room/lead parents for making this week special for their teachers.
Thank You!
Heather Asborno
CMS Staff Appreciation Lunch: "Thank you Volunteers!"
Thank you to everyone who helped with the CMS Staff Appreciation Luncheon on March 19th...your support and generosity made it a huge success!
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
CMS Staff: Kathy Hoskin, Susan Outland and Jerry Nickel
Parents: Karen Allen, Heather Asborno, Lisa Cianfichi, Alison Haazer, Lynn Holthaus, Mary Jo Kloezeman, Tricia Law, Andrea Reid, Sharon Shaffer, and Nancy Tracy.
Thank you everyone!
Elise Gabrielson
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CMS Track and Field Registration Now Open
| | Corte Madera Track and Field Registration is now open. Registration is due by Friday, April 4th. Track and Field is open to all 4th-8th grade boys and girls.
REGISTRATION LINK:
The 2014 Track and Field season will begin on April 21st and end on May 28th. Practices and meets will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00-7:30 (except Tuesday, May 27th). Events will take place at M-A High School, except May 12 and 14 which will take place at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park. Parents/guardians will be responsible for transportation to and from all practices and meets.
Event dates: Mon/Wed April 21/23/28/30 May 5/7/12/14/19/21/23/28 and Tues May 27 (since no program on Memorial Day May 26) The Track and Field program is very low-key in nature and focuses on personal best, not winning. Athletes will have opportunities to participate in sprints, distance runs, hurdles, relays, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus and plastic javelin. The program is run in conjunction with La Entrada, Hillview and Woodside Elementary. All 4 schools will be at the practices and meets in order to maximize the events offered each time. |
Community Calendar and Events
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Reading Volunteers Needed
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Reading & Classroom Volunteers Needed in East Palo Alto - An Hour a Week Could Change a Student's Life (sign up now, September start)
We are looking now for parents willing to volunteer beginning in September to assist in K-4 classrooms in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park. Either tutor students in a structured reading program or assist teachers in the classroom with individualized instruction much like you may have done in your own child's school. These schools have almost no parents helping...no PTA. It's one hour per week starting in September. Our organization provides orientation/training and coordinates everything. Click here for an informational flyer. To learn more or to sign up, visit us at www.allstudentsmatter.org or contact Carolyn Blatman, parent volunteer and ASM Program Director, at [email protected].
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Summer Math Camp
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Mathitude presents a Fun & Exciting MATH game experience that will change the way your children will think about Math!
This camp is not a 'pencil and paper' camp. Instead, it's a massive game the children play all week. Children will rotate between stations, guided by trained counselors. Stations include the Design Center, Math Arcade, Treasure Hunting and 007 Secret Agent. The children roll the dice, or draw a card, to determine their math task (based on interest and level). Each task attempted and/or solved will earn tokens the children redeem for prizes at our Gift Shop.
For entering grades 2 - 8 (all levels welcome). Go to www.Mathitude.com to learn more and register!
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Creative Art for Young Children
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Spring 2014 @ Portola Valley Town Center April 23-June-14th Creative young artists get ready to spring back in time to ANCIENT EGYPT...the land of the Pharaohs and Egyptian Princess'. Here we will find a treasure trove of inspiration for our Art!...starting with CLAY PYRAMIDS and Egyptian Artifacts...DRAWING HIEROGLYPHICS on our version of papyrus...PORTRAITS IN PROFILE and use a lot's of metallic GOLD paint! From there we will enter the world of the English artist DAVID HOCKNEY and his amazing landscapes. He looks at the trees and forests and plays with them in his paintings...the kids will do the same in theirs. Some of his paintings are so huge you feel like they surround you in wonder...so we will make BIG PAINTINGS also. And, of coarse we will end with our ever popular ART SHOW and the MAGIC BRUSH. Age-Day-Time and Fee!3-5 yrs. Wed. 1-3:00 $300 K-2nd grade Wed. 3:30-5:30 $300 K-2nd grade Thurs. 3:30-5:30 $300 PreK-K Fri. 1-3:00 $300 3rd-5th grade Fri. 3:30-5:30 $300 4-8 yrs. Sat. 10-12:00 $300 4-8 yrs. Sat. 1-3:00 $300 To register contact Cindy @ the Portola Valley Town Hall (650) 851-1700 (ext. 200) Reg. forms available @ their office, 765 Portola Rd. or reg. online ( portolavalley.net) SIGN-UPS START March 19th P.V. residents... April 2nd Open Reg.
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| Farmer's Market Thursday from 3-7pm |
Lots of fresh spring veggies and strawberries. Organic asparagus and broccoli, farm-fresh eggs, head lettuces, baby kales, Brussels sprouts, root crops, micro-greens, delicious organic apples, freshly squeezed juices, dried fruits and almonds. Flowers, walnuts and walnut butter, specialty nut butters, hummus and vegan cheeses, jams, fair trade coffee, fresh local seafood and oysters, handmade Haley's sausages, Sinbad's entrees and salads, HOT Roli Roti chickens, RIBS and fingerlings. Pickles & jerky, breads and scones and plenty of gluten-free treats for dessert.
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Portola Valley Theater Conservatory Spring Session
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Portola Valley Theater Conservatory's spring session begins the week of March 31st! We offer after-school theater classes to students in PreK-9th grade. The theme this spring is Fractured Fairytales. Get ready to put on a costume, play some theater games, and act up a storm! Registration and details at www.pvtc-ca.org.
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Panthers "All Sports Camp"
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Panthers "All Sports" Camp is back for another exciting 2014 summer. For more details, here is my website: www.pantherscamppv.com
Session 1 is filling quickly with only 10 spaces left and session 2 is sold-out. Sessions 3 and 4 have space available.
2014 Panthers Camp:
* Session 1: June 16-19 (10 spaces left)
* Session 2: June 23-26 (Sold-out)
* Session 3: June 30 - July 3
* Session 4: July 7-10
In order to register, please click on this link.
Contact Dan Flahavan with any questions: [email protected].
I look forward to another great summer with your kids at Panthers Camp.
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Three-Day Summer Course for Teens: Build Your Own Computer
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For your teenage tech enthusiast, this is the perfect, hands-on, short summer course. At the end of the third day, you should have a fully functioning computer to take home. Class is limited to 6 students, so register soon. Taught by former Corte Madera student, Nicholas Seidl, students will learn:
- How a computer works with its various components, including central processing unit, graphics processing unit, random access memory, etc.
- How to troubleshoot technology.
- How to safely and carefully handle computer parts and tools.
Dates: Monday, June 30 - Wednesday, July 2, or Monday July 7 - Wednesday, July 9.
Costs: $285 for the three-day course, plus $450+ for computer components depending on what you want to build.
Location: Portola Valley residence
Requirements: Must be at least a current 7th grader, enthusiastic about technology, and able to work independently.
Teacher bio and contact info: Nicholas Seidl is currently a junior at Menlo School. Loves technology, computer science, and digital photography. He is also available on a consulting basis. [email protected].
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Summer Camp in Portola Valley: Programming Java with Minecraft
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This is a great way for kids (grades 5-8) who love games to learn programming and build their own Minecraft mods. We use real programming with a real programming language - Java - on a real world server that your child will setup and configure.
The camp (in its second season) is run by local Corte Madera graduate Jack Youstra, with assistants for a 3:1 student:teacher ratio. Topics include:
- How to setup and use a Minecraft server
- How to setup a programming environment on your laptop
- How to install customized mods using Bukkit
- How to build a mod using Java
- Programming basics
- Java basics
- Good programming practice
There are two week-long sessions available: 7/6 and 7/13. Camp days are 9-3 with an optional extended day plan that covers 3-5.
To learn more about the camp and register for one of the sessions, email [email protected].
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Tennis Festival at Burgess Park
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Kids age 6-12 and their families are invited to join Menlo Swim and Sport for our first annual Tennis Festival on Saturday, April 19! Experienced instructors will be on hand for demonstrations, highlighting the new 10&Under program from USTA. This program is designed to introduce new players to the game of tennis using smaller courts, larger tennis balls and fun and active skills and drills. Register today!http://www.menloswim.com/tennis-festival
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Girls Performance Water Polo Clinic with Olympian Brenda Villa
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Join Brenda Villa, the most decorated women's water polo player, for a challenging and dynamic shooting clinic on Monday, April 14, 9-12noon, with focus on body position, movement, speed and agility. Features personalized video analysis with instant feedback. Girls 13-18 years, with a minimum of one year club or high school water polo experience. Space is limited, register today! http://www.menloswim.com/swim/water-polo/water-polo-clinics
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Costumes Needed for Nonprofit
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Do you have leftover pioneer dresses? Need to get rid of old Honk! accessories? You can use these costumes to help others.
Clara M., a 7th grade Girl Scout, is working on her Silver Award project. She is trying to help girls in the Daughters of Farmworkers program, a program that permits 3rd-4th grade girls who are daughters of migrant farmworkers to participate in fun activities. After learning that the girls really enjoy theater, she decided to build them a drama closet, putting together the closet herself. However, she really needs help from the outside community to gather costumes and accessories.
She is including two plays for the girls: The Ugly Duckling and Jack and the Beanstalk, and therefore is in need of three main donations: pioneer dresses, Honk! costumes, and overalls.
If you have any costumes or other helpful items, please contact Clara at [email protected] and she will arrange for pickup or delivery.
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