Is it just us, or is this fall really speeding by? As we roll into November, we want to take a minute to thank those who have stepped up to lead a PTA committee this year. La Entrada would be a very different place without your energy, creativity and enthusiasm. Thank you all! We would like to especially thank Maureen Goode and Wendy Malecek for a terrific Halloween celebration. They are spooky good.

Art Note Cards - Diane Appel, Susan Fitch, and Paula Hamilton

Book Fair - Stacey Alexander and Stacy May

Bulletin Boards - Lisa Reid and Laurel Timpson

Career Day - Linda Itskovitz

Dads at Lunch - Katie Boland

Directory - Lisa Reid and Lucia Tedesco

Family Picnic - Maryellen McCabe and Liesl Noble

Geo Bee - Michele Leclerc and Alka Mithal-Sehgal

Grade-Level Gatherings - Sandie Timm

Halloween Event - Maureen Goode and Wendy Malecek

Holiday Faire - Taylor Perkins

Hospitality - Stephanie Zaharias

Hot Food Volunteers - Julia Massa

Hot Food Outreach - Mary Zarucchi

Lunchtime Enrichment - Esther Dicks and MJ Crousore

Membership - Shari Guggenhime

M-A High School Liaison - Lee Ann Yasukawa

Newsletter - Lucia Tedesco and MJ Crousore

Parents Education - Michelle Dillabough and Jen Le

Project Cornerstone - Katie Boland

Reflections - Julie Ann Min

Room Parents Coordinator (4th and 5th) - Carla Sakrison

Tutoring Center - Jeni Mahon

Science Fair - Bardia Pezeshki and Ann Crady Weiss

Spelling Bee - Janelle London and Kari Mueller

Volunteer and Staff Appreciation - Susanna Segre' Politi and Patricia Sullivan

Website - Lucia Tedesco

Please remember that these many PTA programs are all supported by your membership. If you haven't yet gotten around to joining, it really isn't too late. You're not alone if you just haven't gotten around to it yet...join today. It's quick and easy and will help us meet our budget for this year.

Wishing you a happy November,

Laura Glader and Rachel Lokey

La Entrada PTA Co-Presidents

Here's how it works:  All students are given a spelling test in class, on a date of their teacher's choosing between Oct 29 and Nov 9. (In the event of absence, make-up testing should be coordinated directly with the teacher.) Qualifying students are identified based on the test scores, invited to the Bee, and provided a study packet. The Bee champion advances to the San Francisco Chronicle Spelling Bee. The Bee follows the rules of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Ways to prepare:

1.      Watch the movie Akeelah and the Bee to get inspired.

2.      Check out the spelling words at http://myspellit.com/.

3.      Quiz your family and friends on tricky words, and have them quiz you.

4.      Keep on reading!

NOTE: A few spots are still available for the event of the year: Spelling Test Grading Party: Thursday, Nov 15, from 9:00am to 11:00am.  Snacks! Camaraderie! Learning! Laughs galore!

Questions? Contact Kari Mueller (Kari.rae@gmail.com) or Janelle London (jlondon@stanfordalumni.org).

LA ENTRADA GEO BEE REGISTRATION HAS NOW OPENED

SILVER WEEK THIS WEEK!!!

This year, members of the ASB have decided to focus their fundraising on a national scale. The annual "Silver Week" profits will be donated to the Pennies for Patients, which is a service and philanthropy program that gives students a unique experience making a difference through teamwork-working together to aid thousands of children and adults in the fight against blood cancers like leukemia.

How can your student help this worthy cause? Throughout this week during lunch there will be five large water jugs, one labeled for each grade level, where students will put their coins into their own grade level jug. At the end of the week, the grade level that collects the highest value of coins receives the maximum amount of spirit points.

A Penny= (1 point)

A Nickel= (5 points)

A Dime= (10 points)

A Quarter = (25 points)

A half dollar= (50 points)

A dollar coin= (100 points)

Please remember that our end goal is to raise as much money as we can for this very worthy organization. Thank you in advance for helping us achieves our goal!

If you have any questions or concerns, please see Mrs. Rianda or email her at trianda@llesd.org.

TALENT SHOW TRYOUTS THIS WEEK!!! 

Tryouts for the Annual Talent Show will be held during lunch next week in room 24. 4/5th graders will try out on Tuesday and Thursday and 6th-8th graders will try out on Monday and Wednesday. All potential acts are asked to perform only thirty seconds of his/her act in front of a panel of ASB student judges and Tanya Rianda.

When selecting acts for the show, we make sure that there are at least two acts per grade level, there are a variety of different talents, and that both genders are well represented. Unfortunately, some acts will not make it into this year's show, but we highly encourage the participants to try out for the Airbands in the spring where students lip-sync and dance to their favorite song.  Acts that make it into the Talent Show will be posted outside my patio door on Friday, November 9. The Talent Show will be held on Thursday, December 6th @ 6:30 PM.

A.L.E.K.S. PARENT EDUCATION NIGHT

Thursday, November 15th, La Entrada Middle School at 7:00pm

The A.L.E.K.S. program, Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces, is a web-based, artificially intelligent learning and assessment system that can be used at school and at home.  Its goal is to increase student performance and retention with individualized assessment and learning.  Students obtain individually targeted instruction correlated to the California Common Core Standards.  By using A.L.E.K.S. at home and at school, students learn at their own pace with A.L.E.K.S. as their personal tutor.  Many of our students at La Entrada have been given the opportunity to take part in the on-line A.L.E.K.S. math program during the first couple of months at school and we want to share our goals with the La Entrada community.    

In order to provide information and access to all parents participating in our new math support program, we are holding our first A.L.E.K.S. Parent Education Night, Thursday, November 15th in the La Entrada Library from 7:00 - 8:00 PM.  All 4th- 8th Grade Parents are invited to attend.  Please RSVP to your student's math teacher by November 9th.

Robert Olds

La Entrada Middle School

4th/5th Grade Reading and Math Support Teacher

TEENS & BOUNDARIES by Katie Luce, LMFT Site Director at Redwood High School

Family rules and boundaries can provide a sense of stability to teenagers who are struggling to decipher relationships, roles, and even their own personalities. Although they may protest loudly against structure and boundaries, when they have a hand in what is being asked of them, and when those boundaries are firm but fair, teenagers will feel empowered.

Setting boundaries with teenagers is difficult, but it is critical if teens are to learn that their behavior has consequences.  Some of the challenges of enforcing rules can be eliminated by engaging children in the process of setting the rules and assigning consequences before the rules are broken.

When parents include teenagers in establishing clear rules about appropriate behavior and consequences, the arguments over rules and possible consequences are lessened. Teens can no longer claim that consequences or expectations are unfair, and parents can take on the role of calmly enforcing the communicated consequences instead of having to impress upon the child the seriousness of the problem and scramble to find an appropriate consequence.  The temptation to react emotionally when children break rules is alleviated because it is no longer perceived as an assault on parental authority, since it was decided upon by the family (teen AND parents), not solely on the authority of the parents, that the rules were established. Helping to set the rules and communicate boundaries and consequences clearly may not keep teenagers from breaking them, but it can help parents to avoid power struggles.

Positive or negative consequences given to your teen prove to be more effective if you follow some basic principles:

• Consequences must be important to your teen, or there will be little effect on behavior.
• Consequences must be delivered immediately to make a clear connection and understanding between the behavior and the consequence.
• Consequences must be appropriate and based on the behavior. Do not burden your teen with excessive negative consequences for the small stuff. Neither should you ignore or under-reward your child for making the best choices.
• Consequences must be consistent. Make sure your teen understands that "if you do this, then this happens."
• Consequences must be manageable. If they are too difficult or punishing on you, you may not follow through. At the same time, we all realize that parenting is sometimes tough, and being inconvenienced now rather than taking the easy way out will make your job much easier in the long run. 

Adolescent Counseling Services is a community non-profit, which provides vital counseling services on eight secondary campuses at no charge to students and their families. To learn more about our services please visit the ACS website at www.acs-teens.org or call Rom Brafman, PhD, Site Director at La Entrada at (650) 854-3962 ext. 218.   ACS relies on the generosity of community members to continue offering individual, family, and group counseling to over 1,500 individuals annually.  ACS provides critical interventions and mental health services, building a better future for tomorrow. If you are interested in helping to support our efforts, do not hesitate to call to make a donation. It goes a long way in helping teenagers find their way!

The English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC) was established to advise the Governing Board on programs and services for English Learners.  A majority of the Committee must be parents of English Learners. This committee meets five times a year to review and monitor programs that affect our English Language Learners.  Committee members'  responsibilities include:

• also serving as a member on the District English Language Advisory Committee (DELAC)
• assisting in developing school plans for English Learners
• conducting an annual needs assessment
• preparing an annual language census
• advising the District regarding redesignation procedures

If you are interested in serving on this committee, please call Mimi Sabo, ELD Teacher at La Entrada (854-3962, x151).