ElSolLogo  

 

Puesta del Sol PTA

Unit 2.3.95, Bellevue, WA

Lisa Dembo, Co-President

Julee Seibel, Co-President

Andrea Olsen, Editor

425.456.6143 PTA Office

425.456.6100 School Office

www.puestadelsolpta.org

www.bsd405.org/puestadelsol

 



June 20, 2014
In this Issue
PTA Presidents
PTA@Work
Playworks
PTA Survey
PdS Summer Camps
Lost & Found
Thank You
Community
Quick Links
Amity Interns
Contact for Tutoring
425-829-8696

425-829-8673

Belen
425-289-6379

 

Fatima

fcalvopa@gmail.com  

425-209-6559

  
Srta. Sidoine Radio
KXPA 1540 AM
Sundays from 4-5 p.m.

PTA Board
Lisa Dembo
Julee Seibel
Mendi Carroll
Laura Dooley
Jennifer Murphy
Valerie Fritz
Janice Griner
Renee Isbell
Laura Rossow
Crystal Coldiron
Brenda Rosellini
GG Haight

Member at Large
Stacy Hauser Weigel
Articles due  
Mondays at 9pm  
Late submissions are
not guaranteed 

Like us on Facebook

If you "LIKE" us on Facebook
don't forget to change your settings under "LIKED" to Get Notifications so you don't miss our posts!

Calendar of Events
 

 

JUNE 2014

Today: Field Day, 1:30-3 p.m.
23: Last Day of School, 9:05-11:05 (bus routes as usual, no lunch)

24: All lost and found items to be donated

 

Mark your Calendars Now 

 

9/2 1st Day of School
9/2 1st Day Coffee
9/5 Ice Cream Social
9/9 Kindergarten Curriculum Night
9/11 5th Grade Curriculum Night
9/16 1st-4th Grade Curriculum Night
9/16 Picture Day
9/15-19 Scholastic Book Fair
9/19 Walkathon 

 

October Readers are Doers
10/21 Skate King Night 

 

November PTA Reflections

PTA News
Masthead

 

Letter from the PTA Presidents  

 

Thank you Puesta del Sol volunteers, parents, teachers, staff and students for another amazing year. Your PTA generously organized and funded numerous field trips and programs to enhance the school day experience.

 

The Spanish Immersion through the Arts brought Thomas Pruiksma to start the year for the 5th graders with a poetry workshop in September. Then we had the visit from Flamenco Casa Patas, courtesy of the Consulate of Spain in Seattle. We had a visit by Washi Gibaja Tapia, Andean story teller, for 4th grade. The two-week visit from Alejandro and Polo from La Maga Films in Mexico City was great fun. All of these guests worked with our students to clearly broadening their cultural experiences while participating and encouraging our students.

 

We would not be able to bring these important enhancements without the support of our teachers and staff and the leadership of Principal Nestor. She believes passionately in the Immersion/ISA program in its entirety and has worked to strengthen it. We will miss her and wish her well as she moves on to the next step in her journey.

 

Finally, we are so grateful to be able to host our 3 amazing Amities and 1 Spanish Aide this year: Nathalia, Francisco, Belen, and Fatima. You brought so much joy to our children and community this year. We will miss you all! Please stay in touch.

 

Thank you to all of you for being a part of this amazing community and for saying yes when the opportunities arise and require your participation. We especially thank the Board and communications team:  (El Sol, Communications, Webmaster, Facebook and Friday Packets) for all the help in getting the word out! AND to our 200 volunteers: We could not do it without each and every one of you! It has been a pleasure to serve with the board this year and we look forward to the upcoming year,

 

Lisa Dembo and Julee Seibel

 
 
Masthead

Puesta del Sol Elementary PTA @Work 2013-14 

 

Thanks to the generosity of our families/community, we were able to bring the following programs to the school community for the 2013-2014 School Year. Look for these programs and more in 2014-15. 

 

Academic Challenge
Drama Club
Latin Dance
Amity Scholars
Facebook
Math Olympiad
Art Appreciation
Family Fun Nights
Movie Night
Assist w/Bus loading
Field Day
Newsletter
Auction
Hands on Equations
Passport Club
Bomba El Sol

Hearing/Vision Testing
Presidents Challenge
Classroom Stipends
Ice Cream Social
Principal/PTA Coffee
Dining for Dineros
RAD (Readers are Doers)
Reflections
Scholastic Book Fair
School Directory
Science Fair
SITA Book Fair @ UW Bookstore
Skate King
Sock Hop
Spanish Immersion thru the Arts
Tambores el Sol
Teacher Grants
Volunteer Appreciation
Volunteer Coordination
Walkathon
Website (puestadelsolpta.org)
Yearbook

 

 

Grade Level Field Trips 2013-2014                
*Chosen by the grade-level team, approved by Principal Nestor, and funded by Puesta del Sol PTA

Kindergarten: In-Class Toymaker interactive workshop, and Alki Beach
First Grade:  "Goldilocks & the 3 Bears" play @Storybook Theater and "Art Dog" play @ The Seattle Children's Theater.
Second Grade: In-Class Toymaker interactive workshop, Boehm's Candies Tour, and In-Class presentation by the Insect Safari.
Third Grade:  Museum of Flight's "Yes It Is a Rocket" workshop at school, Woodland Park Zoo at school Raptor Program, Mercer Slough Nature Tour, and Seattle Art Museum Field Trip
Fourth Grade:The Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve, Native American Storyteller in-class presentation, Pacific Marine Research Vessel Tour on Puget Sound, In-Class Toymaker interactive workshop, and MOHAI
Fifth Grade:  Seattle Symphony, State Government Tour in Olympia, In-Class Toymaker interactive workshop, and Pacific Marine Research Vessel tour on Puget Sound

 

 
Playworks and the PTA
 

There has been a lot of discussion about Playworks at Puesta del Sol. The PTA Board has heard your concerns and would like to make sure that PTA members have all the facts. Playworks is not a program run by the PTA. The use of the Playworks program is solely up to the school administration. If you have concerns about Playworks, please read Sra. Nestor's email sent out last month which addresses how our school has implemented Playworks. If you still have concerns, we encourage you to reach out to the appropriate school staff person and/or attend recess to observe the playground in action. 
 
What is the PTA's role?
  • The school administration identified the need to create a playground environment where students are safe on the playground, feel included, and are having fun. Puesta del Sol recesses currently only have 3 Supervising Adults for 200-300 kids. And as hard as they work, they are unable to help all students navigate problems on the playground.
  • In the Spring of 2013, the school administration expressed interest in asking Playworks to create a Training Program designed specifically for our school.  The school administration approached the PTA and asked if they would be able to help fund a program that the school identified would help solve some of the playground issues they were noticing.
  • A request for funding the Playworks Training Program was proposed and passed at the April 2013 General Membership Meeting. The PTA General Membership discussed and approved $5000 to be donated.
  • During the 2013-14 school year, Playworks worked with Puesta del Sol Administration and Staff to individualize a program to help meet the goals of Puesta del Sol Elementary.
  • In the Spring, teachers and staff were trained by Playworks and the new recess program was put into place. 
Please remember that the administration of our school, staff, and our teachers do their very best to do what is right for our kids. They work very hard every single day for your children. Together they identified that recess was not working well for the students of Puesta del Sol Elementary and together they implemented the Playworks plan designed for our students.
If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact either of us directly at   president@puestadelsolpta.org
Sincerely,
Lisa Dembo and Julee Seibel, Co PTA Presidents

 

 
Masthead                                  
How are we doing?
 
The Puesta del Sol PTA Board would like your feedback on how we are doing. Please take a few minutes and  click on the link to complete a 5-question survey. Your answers will help us plan for the 2014-2015 school year.Thank you and have a great summer.
 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QTC5C7Q

 

Reminders
 

Summer Camps at Puesta del Sol
Registration closes June 23

PTA Puesta del Sol Summer Camps There is still time to register!  Check out the available camps at here

Masthead

  
All lost and found items will be donated on June 24
  
Thank You's

 

New PdS Community Garden

 

The entire Puesta del Sol community, parents, and staff would like to express sincere gratitude for the installation of Nuestro jardín escolar (Our School Garden) over Father's Day weekend. Special thanks to Luly Feliciano, Forrest Jammer, and Kathryn Pizzo, who together led the garden planning, donation acquisition, and volunteer management.  Seed funding came from the PTA's Spanish Immersion through the Arts program. More than 20 parents and almost as many current and former Puesta del Sol students spent all day Saturday creating six beautiful raw cedar log raised beds from scratch, digging holes, laying irrigation pipes, cutting wood, assembling the beds, and filling with high quality donated soil and amendments.
Our most sincere thanks  go to the following people who donated anywhere from 2 to 10 hours of their valuable time and energy on Saturday:  Mike (& Tessa and Kara) Pizzo, Celeste Honey, Aidan Jammer, John Justice, Peter Gissing, Tony Guidotti, Sarah Jacobsen (& Matt, Anna, Clara, and Isaac), Michael Holley (& Parker), James McNeil,  Charlie Sliwoski (& Jack and John), Jerome Lee (and Rebecca), Kirsten Tonning, Keith Hedlund, and Sra. Delia.
Additionally, Puesta del Sol is grateful for the most generous (thousands of dollars' worth!) material donations from many suppliers who made this project possible, including the following:

 

 Garlic Crush, Hendrikus Organics,

Spee West Construction,

John Deere Landscapes, Ballard Hardware

& Eaglemount Forest Products

 

 Nuestro jardín escolar will be awaiting our students at the start of the 2014-15 school year as a hands-on laboratory of science, language and arts enrichment for ALL students in ALL grades at Puesta del Sol. Please contact katpizzo@comcast.net for additional information or to volunteer.

 

 
                                 
Thank you to the Yearbook Committee

The Yearbook looked great this year! A big thanks to Lori Smith, Armineh Rosenwald, Viccy Salazar, Dena Voth, Barbara Mullen, Megan Reed, Regina Knotwell, Marjorie Blanco, Jennifer Cha, Melinda Carbon, and Molly Schledetzsky, room parents, and everyone one else who pitched in. You did an amazing job!

 

 
Spanish Immersion through the Arts Committee
 
Muchas Gracias to Luly Feliciano for her vision and hard work to start and run the Spanish Immersion Through the Arts committee the past four years. Our students have benefited from the numerous arts programs she has brought to our school. The most recent is the implementation of the new school garden. Thank you to all who came out to help put in the garden on Saturday and Wednesday! Thanks also to Forrest Jammer and Kat Pizzo for all their hard work in bringing the vision to life!

 

 
                                 
Pinocchio
A big thank you to Molly Schladetzky and Michelle Mahlman for all their hard work to make Pinocchio a smashing success!  Thank you to the PTA for bringing the Studio East drama program to our school.

 

 

Field Day

 

Thank you to Carrie Norrah and all of the volunteers who made Field Day a success!

 

 
                                 
Thank you to Andrea Olsen, our tireless and fearless El Sol Editor.  We appreciate you so very much for bringing the electronic version of the El Sol to life! We wish you well and thank you for your 2 years of service.

 


                                  Community Corner Information