10.01.2014

PTO CORNER >

Stay connected! Visit pierceschoolbrookline.org

FATHER-DAUGHTER DANCE

Sun., 10/12, 6:30-9pm @ Brookline Teen Center

Dancing with the Brookline Stars invites you to join a Father-Daughter Dance at the Brookline Teen Center for 8th graders and younger. Share a fun filled evening with your little girl, which includes a DJ, games, food, photographs & more! Semi-formal attire requested.

Purchase tickets online at www.brooklineteencenter.org. Ticket prices are $50 per couple and $10 for each additional child. Proceeds benefit the Brookline Teen Center.

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JOIN US FOR HARVESTFEST: A PARENT & TEACHER SOCIAL

Friday, 10/17, 7-10pm @ Pierce School

Book your sitters and join us for this free social event with a cash bar and light snacks. Come enjoy a night out and mingle with other Pierce parents and teachers. HarvestFest is sponsored by the PTO and Brookline Education Foundation. $10 raffle tickets will be available with excellent prizes! For more information please contact pierce.pto@gmail.com.
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VOLUNTEERS! PLEASE LEND A HAND AT HARVESTFEST!

We're looking forward to Pierce HarvestFest, but we need your help to make it great! Volunteering for events is a great way to meet other parents and to get involved. HarvestFest is a perfect opportunity to provide short-term volunteer help with food, beverages, decorations, and ticket sales. Please click on this link to volunteer: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c49a5a92aab9-harvest. Contact pierce.pto@gmail.com with questions.

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RAFFLE ITEMS NEEDED FOR HARVESTFEST

We're looking for 3-4 items to be donated for a raffle at HarvestFest on October 17th. In the past, families have donated sporting tickets and we've restaurant dinners. Please contact us at pierce.pto@gmail.com if you have something you can donate for a small raffle. All proceeds will directly benefit the school. Thank you.

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FOOD ON WHEELS - DONATE AT SCHOOL THROUGH FRIDAY, 10/17

Parade from Pierce to Brookline Food Pantry on Sun., 10/19, 1pm

Please join us for the next big Pierce event: FOOD ON WHEELS! Donate non-perishable food and supplies in the bins at the entrance to the Main and Historical Buildings. All donations appreciated: canned goods (soup, tomato puree, diced tomatoes), boxed goods (pasta, oatmeal), toiletries, etc.

THEN... join us for a parade on 10/19 as Pierce families walk a few blocks from our school to the Brookline Food Pantry to hand-deliver our collective donation. Bring your family, wagons, backpacks, shopping carts, etc.! There will be drinks and snacks at the Pantry when we arrive, and a group play date at Pierce park after that!

The Brookline Food Pantry is in St. Paul's church (corner of St. Paul/Aspinwall), and has been serving our community, including families with children, for years. July and August were their busiest months, with 1,100+ households visiting.

THE NEED IS GREAT, and WE CAN HELP!!! Please contact Marissa Heller-Treistman (marissaheller@gmail.com), Toby Raybould (tobyraybould@gmail.com), or Jen Rothstein (Jennifer.rothstein@comcast.net) with questions.

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PTO K-2 POTLUCK BREAKFAST

Thursday, 10/23, 8am @ Cafeteria

Please note: This breakfast, originally scheduled for Fri., 10/3 has been moved to Fri., 10/23. Join parents and PTO leaders for a potluck breakfast. Please bring something to share if you can. Coffee will be provided. Contact pierce.pto@gmail.com with questions. See you there!

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ROOM PARENTS STILL NEEDED IN SOME CLASSES

Thanks to all who have signed up to be Room Parents! Almost every class now has at least one RP, which is great. Classes still in need of Room Parents are:

2LO, 4B, 5G, 6L, and 6MC.

Parents, please consider taking on this role. It's a great (and not time-consuming!) way to help your classroom teacher over the course of the school year. To learn what a room parent does, see: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jikMuVYXfRbRV5tkhSARqQ9HqOZ7CzrbkgTLE0kQKDU/edit?usp=sharing. If you're a Room Parent, please send your contact info to jean.sandler@comcast.net.

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NO ROOM PARENTS YET IN YOUR CHILD'S CLASS? FAMILIES - GET TOGETHER!
Since some Room Parents are still being identified, families are encouraged to take initiative to organize an introductory gathering for families/students in their class (or grade, for the upper grades), e.g. a casual weekend gathering at a local park. We have a small budget available, so if you'd like to reserve park picnic areas, contact jean.sandler@comcast.net.

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PARENT NETWORKS

Back-to-School Nights, PTO meetings, sports team start-ups - as you get to know other parents, this is an excellent time to consider starting a Parent Network, and B-PEN can help. Parent Networks can be as simple as a few friends meeting for coffee in someone's kitchen, or as structured as an open grade-level parent meeting with an expert speaker - or anything in between. These informal gatherings can help parents share information and establish community standards regarding common adolescent concerns. Visit the B-Pen Parent Networks page for tips, meeting guidelines, icebreaker topics, and discussion guides.

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SCHOOL CORNER >

Stay connected! Visit pierceschoolbrookline.org

SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING TOMORROW

Thurs. 10/2, 6pm @ James Walsh School Committee Room, 5th Floor, Town Hall

See the agenda here.

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ATTENTION GRADES 5 & 6! PENGUIN POST (NEWSPAPER) INTRO MEETING

Wed., 10/8 during recess & lunch - ask your teacher for meeting location
Are you a fifth- or sixth-grader interested in working on the Penguin Post, Pierce's newspaper for 5th & 6th graders? Bring your lunch, either from home or bought in the cafeteria, to this meeting! We're looking for reporters, photographers, writers, and layout specialists. Bring your ideas for how you'd like to be involved. Contact Carin Aquiline, caquiline@mindspring.com with questions.

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PARENTS: PENGUIN POST NEEDS YOUR HELP

The Penguin Post, Pierce's 5th & 6th grade newspaper (named the Brookline Tab's "Favorite Newspaper" in January 2014) is looking for parents to help with editing, layout, and other tasks. No journalism experience necessary - just an interest in helping kids create an outlet for communicating news and their views.

Penguin Post meetings are every Wednesday, 11:40am-12:20pm, although there are ways to help that do not require attending the weekly meetings. We also welcome parents with work experience relevant to journalism as guest speakers at the staff meetings. To get involved or ask questions, contact Carin Aquiline, caquiline@mindspring.com.

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CAR-FREE SCHOOL DAY - WALK MORE, DRIVE LESS

Wednesday, 10/8, 7:30-8:30am

International Walk To School Day is a global event that involves communities from more than 40 countries walking and biking to school on the same day. At Pierce, all entering school will have their hand stamped to call attention to "Car Free School Day." Several volunteers needed at school entrances from 7:30-8:10am to provide stamps and encourage students and families to walk more often. Please contact pierce.pto@gmail.com.

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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: CHILD ASSAULT PREVENTION PROGRAM (CAP)

No experience necessary; next training session begins Sat., 10/18

Last year, CAP successfully launched at Heath; now, we need your help in expanding to other schools. Our goal is to build a Brookline Task Force of community volunteers - CAP Prevention Specialists - to teach children in classroom workshops that they have the right to be Safe, Strong, and Free with their friends and peers, when they meet adult strangers, and with those who are trusted to take care of them. Using simple and age-appropriate language, volunteer leaders address bullying, stranger safety, and sexual assault by known persons with the students.

CAP volunteers need no previous experience, and include parents of pre-school and school-aged children, empty nesters, professionals, and retirees interested in child safety. The program requires a one school year commitment (October-May) and ability to participate in 2-3 daytime workshops per month. Nineteen Continuing Education Credits available for MSWs.

Please visit www.ncscweb.org, or contact Gail Sommer, Director, at 617-969-5906 ext 143 or gsommer@ncscweb.org. Or, contact Brookline parent and 8-year CAP volunteer Evonne Meranus at evonnemeranus@comcast.net.

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PIERCE BOOK FAIR - SEEKING NEW LEADERSHIP

Do you love Pierce Book Fair, and want to see it continue? Do you have ideas that may help improve it? If so, please consider volunteering for a leadership role for the event. While we usually have plenty of volunteers for support positions, Pierce Book Fair needs a few people for leadership roles in order for the event to happen this spring. To discuss what a leadership position entails, contact Carin Aquiline, caquiline@mindspring.com.

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GOT BOOKS? DONATE TO THE PIERCE BOOK FAIR

The Pierce Book Fair takes place in May, but donations of gently-used books are accepted all year long. Look for a donation bin outside the main office. Bring books in all genres for all ages, but please, no textbooks, encyclopedias, or outdated technical manuals. Thank you!

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THE PIERCE SCHOOL EVENT CALENDAR

... is located on the right-hand corner of the Pierce website, http://www.pierceschoolbrookline.org/. Check it regularly, as dates are always subject to change! Thanks!

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NOTES FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE

School is officially in full swing, and so is the beginning of the cold and flu season! We'd like to remind you of a few ways you can teach your children to protect themselves from the germs that cause colds, stomach bugs, bacterial infections, and the flu. One, master the art of good hand-washing; two, learn cough and sneeze etiquette. Please share these ideas with your children! You can find links on these techniques, as well as a letter and fact sheet re: the D68 Enterovirus (EV-D68), on the Pierce website. Feel free to contact us at 617-730-2584 with questions or concerns.

Advice for Parents:

Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
Avoid kissing, hugging, sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick
Disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys, doorknobs, computer keyboards, especially if someone is sick.

Thank you for your cooperation! The Pierce School Nurses, Mary A. D'Amore, RN & Jana Young, RN

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SPECIALIST'S CORNER >

ART
Visit Visual Arts on the school website and (virtually) meet our new Visual Arts teacher, Ceara Yahn!

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PROBLEM OF THE WEEK >

POW #3: BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR!

Due Tues., 10/14

The POW #3 will go on the board Friday. Or visit the POW page on the school website: http://www.pierceschoolbrookline.org/problem-of-the-week.html

SOLUTION FOR POW #2: BOXED IN

There are 52 cubes that touch a side of the box, as the box had no top.

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COMMUNITY CORNER >

What does Quezalguaque, Nicaragua have to do with Brookline? It's our Sister City, and in a few weeks, we'll be celebrating our partnership with some great events! Plus, town hearing re: the incoming marijuana dispensary; girls' self-defense classes; Corner Co-Op and Brookline Asian American Family Network open houses; and B-PEN events around Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October). See Community Corner for details.

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CLASSIFIEDS >

Want to see your ad here? Send an email to piercebridge@gmail.com.

GIRLS YOGA (AGES 10-12)

Fridays 2-3pm, starting 10/3

$10 per class

62 Harvard St Brookline | 617-232-7440

benefitnesshealthclub.com

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READWRITE FIRST PIZZA AND BOOK CLUB NIGHT FOR GRADES 3-8

Fri., 10/17, 5-8pm

Enjoy an early evening to yourself while your child has fun discussing the novel The Giver and filming a "short" interpretation of the book. Registered RW Students: $25. Other Students: $30. Extended evening until 9pm ($8 for registered students, $10 for other students). Pizza and fruit dinner; read excerpts, discuss themes, and learn more about plot and characters of the novel; create video clips in teams and share with the group! Register now or call 857-404-0170.

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PIANO LESSONS
Piano lessons - offered in Brookline in your home by an experienced teacher specializing in early childhood music education. Great local references! Please contact Barbara S. Gawlick gawsro@msn.com.

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IN-HOME PRESCHOOL (BROOKLINE VILLAGE)

Pierce parent and Massachusetts and EEC-certified early childhood teacher opened local preschool in home in the fall of 2011 for children 2.9 years and up. A few children are moving on to kindergarten this year, so there are a few openings for the current school year 2014-15. Please contact Kimberly directly at 617-955-6653 or visit the website for more information about the program, philosophy, and space at www.brooklineprekare.com.

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KIDS' YOGA CLASSES AT COOLIDGE CORNER YOGA

Kids' yoga classes at Coolidge Corner Yoga are the perfect blend of after-school fun and fitness. We have classes for every age group from toddlers to teens. Check out class descriptions and schedule at www.coolidgeyoga.com/pages/kids-yoga. (Here's a secret - parents can come too, and sneak their own yoga in at our concurrent adult classes!) Your kids will be too busy having fun to notice, but yoga provides increased strength and flexibility, improved posture and balance, enhanced concentration, and stress management tools.

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Contact Information

phone: (617) 730-2580