Creekside Newsletter
August 14, 2016
In This Issue


Aug
15
Early Dismissal
- Kinder 11:50 am
- 1st-3rd 11:20 am
- 4th-5th 11:35 am
Aug
16
Kinder, Harter & Brogna/Kirby Back-to-School Night, 6-7:30 pm, MPR
Aug
19
PTA Association Meeting & Dinner, 5:30-7 pm, MPR
Aug
23
1st-3rd Grade Back-to-School Night, 6-7:30 pm, MPR
Aug
24
4th-5th Grade Back-to-School Night, 6-7:30 pm, MPR
Aug
26
Room Parent Meeting, 8:15 am, MPR

Click here to learn how to to "subscribe" to the Creekside calendar on your mobile device
 
First Day of School Safety & Info

Our teachers are very excited to see your little one tomorrow. If you haven't yet, please make sure you have read over the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) including the last two pages so you are aware of the arrival and dismissal instructions. As to be expected, auto traffic will be heavier the first few days of school. For this reason, please carpool, walk, or park east of Charbray on Lusitano Street and then walk the rest of the way (to avoid the crowded intersection).

Please also make sure your tell you children who walk/bike to school to only cross using the crossing guard located at the corner of Massara and Charbray.

For more parking/driving safety information, please read the
Student Handbook
. We are all very excited to see you tomorrow! It's going to be another great year!!

School Supplies Info

Many of you made optional supply donations during online registration. Thank you! We get many questions regarding the cost of supplies and how it amounts to $125 per student. We have worked to develop this supply cost example list to clarify the average cost of supplies per student per year so you can understand how supply donations are spent. 

Please click here to see the optional supply donation cost explanation.
 
Thank you for supporting our school by submitting the voluntary $125 per student supply donation. Optional donations were made during registration or can be made now by visiting
www.togeda.com/creekside. 
 
 
Sincerely,



"Mr. T"
Aaron Tarzian
Principal
Welcome New Teachers  

Please join us in welcoming our new teachers...
  • Alyssa Steele will be long-term subbing in 5th grade for Mrs. Thompson this Fall.  As a recent graduate from Cal State East Bay, she is thrilled to have her own classroom and start the year at Creekside with our room B212 Comets! 
  • Candace Wheatley (full time) and Emily Haire (one day a week/part time) will replace our two speech and language teachers that were assigned to our school this past year. They both shared with me that they are extremely excited to get to know the students that they will be supporting this year! 
  • Danica Woo, our new science specialist lab teacher, joins us from Coyote Creek where some of her six children have attended for the past few years. Danica has been a frequent substitute teacher at Coyote Creek  for the past year. Danica realized that she LOVES teaching science while doing her student teaching and subbing this past year, so she is thrilled to get this position at Creekside. Welcome Danica!
  • Danielle Hunt, our new 5th grade teacher, returns to Creekside doing a fantastic job long-term subbing in 4th grade and 5th grade for the past two school years.  Danielle is very excited to have her own classroom at Creekside. Welcome back Danielle! 
  • Erika Gorr, our new part-time resource specialist, will be working alongside Stephanie Nazario. Ms. Gorr has 12 years of experience working as a resource specialist in Illinois and is moving to California because her fianc� recently relocated to the Bay Area for work. Welcome Erika! 
  • Lauren Frank, our new 5th grade teacher, returns to the Creekside staff after a one year absence to finish obtaining her teaching credential. Lauren is excited to be back in 5th grade in the same classroom she was in when she took over for Mrs. Torres in January 2015! Welcome back Ms. Frank! 
  • Ryan Burnett, our new school psychologist, joins us from the Lafayette School District. He has many years of experience supporting schools and students in special education. He is very excited to be working in a large school district where he will get to team together with numerous school psychologist across our district. He also shared with me that he is very excited to meet our students! Welcome Ryan!
  • Susan Peterson, our new part-time science specialist lab teacher who was hired in January 2016, has accepted the part-time position again this year. She will be working with Ms. Promes, Ms. Patterson, and our first grade classes. Welcome back Ms. Peterson! 
Welcome new and returning teachers! We are excited to work with you at our school!
Creekside PTA Logo
Message from the PTA President 
 
Wow, I can't believe the summer is over and all of our kiddos will be heading back into the classroom! I hope everyone had a wonderful summer, full of laughter and great lasting memories. As the new PTA President, I just want to welcome everyone to Creekside for this new and exciting school year. If you are new to our school, you will begin to understand just how exceptional our school is.

The PTA is all about community, support, families and friendships. The PTA Board has been working hard with some new ideas to better incorporate these values and my hope for this year is to build an even stronger bond between our Creekside families, staff and students:

Some of you have already seen a couple of the changes with our First Annual Back to School Bash and Comet Star Tags. The Bash was a fun event and brought a lot of new and returning families together to relax and get to know each other.


The Comet Star Tags is one way the PTA wants to show our children just how awesome each and everyone of them are. Every student will be given their "start up" tag and ring to put on their back packs, but by the end of the year, will collect many many more! I'm very excited about this program and hope everyone loves them too.

On Monday, the first day of school, the PTA is hosting our first Yahoo Boohoo Breakfast (replaces our Welcome Back coffee) and we'd love to see everyone there, even all you Kindergarten parents. After you drop your kids off, please come to the MPR and enjoy coffee, pastries and get to know other families.

I look forward to being your PTA President this year and get to know as many of you as possible. Have a great first day of school and hope to see you Friday evening for our PTA Association meeting at 5:30pm.

Sincerely,

Kim Lo Porto
PTA President
Comet Fund Logo
Message from the Comet Fund President 

Welcome back to school!  Thank you to all the families who have donated to the Comet Fund and to each classroom during registration.  Your generous gifts help us continue to provide the "Margin of Excellence" that Creekside is known for providing for our children.

Your donations have helped us create a school that:
  • supports one of the Contra Costa County finalists for Teacher of the Year - Joyce Rooks
  • is a California Gold Ribbon school
  • is a model school for the Columbia University's Reading and Writing Project,
as well as numerous programs that support the education of the whole child.

If you haven't had a chance to register or donate yet, please make the commitment today to your community and to your kids. It only takes $365 per year, per child that is $1 per day, per child to provide programs such as music, art, extra library hours, classroom paraprofessionals and more.  Go to togeda.com/creekside, step 3.

We continue to turn over every rock so we don't have to raise our ask, such as increasing our matching funds donations, applying for education grants, and other sources such as Amazon Smile.  Every little bit helps and when we reach our goal, we'll stop our fundraising efforts for the year.  Thank you again and we look forward to a great school year ahead.

Sincerely,

Carin Hubins, President
Creekside Comet Fund
Match Your Donations

Many companies have 30-day DEADLINES. Please submit any documentation to your company to double your generosity by September 15th. Look up your company through our Double the Donation SRVEF link. Questions about matching and payroll deduction donations to The Comet Fund can be sent to [email protected].
After School Enrichment Classes for Fall

Classes start the 2nd week in September. Review the schedule and class descriptions at the After School Enrichment Website or view the PeachJar flyer.
Outdoor Movie Night is Back - September 23

Save the date for a fun family night on the Creekside lawn in front of a big inflatable screen with other Creekside families. Brought to you by your Creekside PTA.

MISSING THE FIRST 3 DAYS OF SCHOOL 2016-17
Because our district is growing, schools are very full and many continue to have wait lists.

* As in the past, if your child does not attend the first three days of school, your student will be dropped from the school on Thursday, August 18, 2016.
In that event, you will need to re-enroll your student. A space at your resident school will not be held for your child. If there is not space at your resident school when you return, your child will be placed at the closest school based on space availability.

Please note:
In accordance with California Education Codes 48205 and 48260, and District Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5113, any student who misses 3 or more school days without a valid excuse, as defined by AR 5113, shall be reported as truant to the District attendance supervisor.
The email distribution list for our weekly newsletter includes parent email addresses provided at registration and staff email addresses (unless you've previously opted out).  You were also added to the SRV Council of PTAs list.  If at any time you no longer wish to be on a list, simply click on the SafeUnsubscribe link in the footer, at the very bottom of any of our messages, to adjust your list choices.  Also, please use the Update Profile/Email Address link in the same place to change your email address.
The Comet Flash is produced by Creekside PTA in the effort to keep the parent and teacher community informed of upcoming events at the school, in the district, and in the community. All newsletter submissions must be approved in order to be included in an upcoming Flash. 
DEADLINE IS THURSDAY AT 3:00 P.M. EACH WEEK. If you have questions, you can contact the Comet Flash Editor at [email protected].

To submit information for this weekly bulletin, please email your article or announcement to:
School Information                    [email protected]
Comet Education Fund Info       [email protected]
PTA Information                        [email protected]
Community Announcements      [email protected]