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

 

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

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

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

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

  

  

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!

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!

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.

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.