The Lion's Roar  
The Las Lomitas PTA Newsletter  
                                                               
 Week of November 3,  2014
   
In This Issue
From the Foundation
From the Principal
PTA News
From the Health Office
Music Informances
Business Partners
Community News
Newsletter Submissions
End your promotion with a kick -- consider a postscript to reinforce one of the key product or service benefits.
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 Calendar

 

This Week:  

  • Wed Nov 5 - Student Make-up picture day
  • Wed Nov 5 - PTA Bd. Mtg. 9:00 a.m. - Room 20B
  • Wed Nov 5 - Evening with the Principal 6:30 p.m. - Library

Coming Soon:

  • Nov 10, 12 - 14 - Conferences - Minimum Days - ALL STUDENTS ATTEND SCHOOL 9:00 A.M. - 12:20 P.M.
  • Tue Nov 11 - No School - Veterans Day
  • Wed Nov 12 - Holiday Workshop Prep Day 9:00 - noon - Cano Hall
  • Wed Nov 12 - School Bd. Mtg. - 7:00 p.m. - LE MUR
  • Nov 24 & 25 - No School - Staff Development days
  • Nov 26 - 28 - No School - Thanksgiving Holiday
From the Foundation

                  
   

The 2014-15 Annual Giving Campaign is nearing the halfway point,  
and donor rolls are coming out soon!

There's no better time to give than now!

DONATE NOW at www.llef.org 


             Thank you to all families who donated in time to participate in the $1,500 Giving-By-Grade Contest! 

As of Tuesday, October 28, Kindergarten held the lead at 38% participation, with the 2nd and 4th grades tied for a close second place at 34%.

The winning grade will be announced next week, to allow all last-minute donations to be counted.

  

  If you missed the Contest deadline, don't distress, as you can still take advantage of the $200,000 Challenge Grant Match by making a larger donation than last year.

The incremental increase of your gift will be matched dollar for dollar!

 

For more information and to donate now, visit www.llef.org


JOIN or UPDATE ESCRIP - IT'S AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3!


Here's how:


1.     Visit http://www.eScrip.com   

2.     Register or renew your Safeway Club Card (some automatically have been done) and Credit Cards at the eScrip website and then designate Las Lomitas Education Foundation (Group ID# 125673324).

3.     Start Shopping!

 

Last year we raised over $25,000 from participating merchants like: Safeway, Bianchini's Market, Draegers and many more.  Visit the eScrip.com website to learn more about participating merchants.

 

For Safeway:

Only spending done with debit or cash will go towards rewards for LLEF.

 

For Bianchini's Market: 

Tracking for contributions is now done with a REGISTERED Bianchini's Rewards card, not a credit or debit card.  Most of our Las Lomitas families have not linked our Rewards card to LLEF and we're missing those contributions!  You will still earn a 2% rewards for yourselves, but if you register the card in eScrip, Las Lomitas Education Foundation will earn up to 4% every time you shop!

 

 

 

From the Principal

Dear Las Lomitas Families,

 

Regular attendance is crucial to student success. Students are expected to be at school unless they are ill, or if the parent reports that they will miss school due to an unavoidable family matter (funeral/wedding) or medical appointment. Education Code Section 48260 defines a student as truant if he/she has an "unexcused absence of more than 30 minutes on three (3) different days or more." If your child is regularly late to school, or misses school due to travel, he/she may be considered truant. If an absence is not reported to the school on the day of the absence, it is also considered unexcused, even if the child is sick. Students who have good attendance records consistently do better in school! Please help us keep our student attendance high by taking family vacations during our scheduled holiday breaks.

 

Kindergarten registration information is posted on our website. Registration for new students entering at all grades, Kindergarten through 3rd, for the 2015-2016 school year begins on January 7, 2015. Please check the website for details at http://ll-llesd-ca.schoolloop.com/.

 

 

The session request procedure is also posted on the website. Returning families with students entering first or second grade may request a change in session beginning on January 1, 2015 at 10:00 p.m. Requests must be emailed to me at ssartor@llesd.org. Requests prior to 10:00 p.m. will not be accepted. You will receive an email from me confirming receipt of your request within three days. (It takes a while to organize them!) Session requests for new students, including incoming kindergartners begin at 10:00 p.m. on February 1, 2015. Any requests prior to that date will not be accepted. Please see details on our website at http://ll-llesd-ca.schoolloop.com/.

 

   

Sue Sartor

Principal

 

 

Construction Update

The house on the property next to Las Lomitas, near Champions, will be demolished this week.  Please excuse the noise and dust!  This is the first step in our new facility construction project.

PTA News
PTA VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE!


The following programs require a lot of volunteers to run successfully. PLEASE SIGN UP!

Green Campus - We have an amazing program that is not only educational for the kids but great for our environment. Consider volunteering for Green Campus and spend time with your children during lunchtime to help compost.  Please sign up on our invitation page on Volunteer Spot.

Fun Fridays - Help organize and run games with the kids during lunch recess the first Friday of each month.  Fun Fridays are a great way to interact directly with the kids and see first hand
playground fun!
   
Website - Help with the Las Lomitas PTA website.  Volunteer work can be done at home 1 hr/wk. 

Feel free to contact me at volunteer@laslomitaspta.org with any questions. Have a wonderful week of school!

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Boxtops for Education
                                                                                                 boxtops
Congratulations to the 3 lucky winners of the boxtops for education drawing! Ava J., Benjamin L., and Ethan B. will each receive a Barnes and Noble gift card.

Many thanks to the Las Lomitas parents who helped prepare the boxtops for submission: Linda Barman, Joann Tantisira, Carroll Sesnon, Suzanne Kisch, Zsuzsa Hamburger, and Judy Nayebi. We also had help from students Justin Lee, Madeline Lee, and Nina Barman! Thank you!

Keep saving and submitting those boxtops. Write your student's name and their teacher's name on the bag. We will have another drawing in February.

Thank you!

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The Apple for the Classroom program is a way for parents to support their children's teachers directly.  All the teachers and specialists at Las Lomitas have been invited to create a "wish list" of items that would help to further enrich their classrooms.  Wishes may include art supplies, gift cards, books, or donations toward a special activity or field trip.

 

To view the lists, please visit our website at http://www.laslomitaspta.org/programs/apple 

 

Once at the site, select the list you want to view. Teachers' lists are divided into two sections, so you can choose to bring an item directly to the classroom or you can choose to make a donation via PayPal.

  

Thank you for supporting our teachers and enriching your children's experience at Las Lomitas.


 
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LE Book Fair Logo
La Entrada Used Book Fair!  
 
Don't forget to  mark your calendars for the La Entrada Used Book Fair (Nov 10th -14th).
It's a great place to shop for new and like-new books for the whole family!   Please, no technical or textbooks.

To volunteer to help set up the Book Fair, or to sell books during the Fair, please go to
http://vols.pt/dCqvRH 
 
Questions?  Please contact Monica Albers (monica.albers@gmail.com).

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WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!


 

We need more volunteers to assist at lunch!  Recology, our waste hauler, will not haul our compost waste unless it is properly sorted.  If we do not comply with their regulations, we will be forced to lose our impeccable TRASH FREE reputation.  Please join in the fun (yes, sorting trash with your kids!) to help Mrs. Sartor and Mr. Camou with the small children at lunch time.  

  

For parents who send lunch to school, please use washable containers for your children's lunch.  We maintain zero trash lunches.  Leftover food is to be taken home. Disposable containers will be sent home.

  

We are so grateful to keep the Hot Lunch program going, BUT let's not let our composting efforts go to waste. Let's keep our reputation intact and continue to be a model for all other schools in the area. Yes, we need you to help with TRASH!

  

Click this link to volunteer via VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/cWgwmo

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HOLIDAY WORKSHOP PREP DAY - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12 (9-NOON)

We need your help! 
Join us to help prepare the crafts for the Holiday Workshop!  Come meet fellow Las Lomitas parents while we cut, fold, tie, and sort the materials our kids will work with to create wonderful gifts for their loved ones. 
Please sign up via the PTA website to volunteer for the December 3rd Holiday Workshop!  It's one of the best events of the year and your children will love to see you there!
Don't forget to drop off your handled paper bags!

  

Contacts: Kristina Valentine & Josie Tang (holidayworkshop@llpta.org)
 
From the Health Office



Flu season will be starting soon.We will be taking steps to reduce the spread of flu at Las Lomitas by promoting good hygiene and alerting you if your children are sick at school. We need your help to do this, below are some tips:
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children over the age of 6 months get the flu vaccine. This is the single best way to protect against the flu!
  • Teach your children to wash their hands often. Washing with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds is ideal( that's about as long as it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday"song twice.)
  • Teach your children the proper use of hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.Place about a quarter size blob of gel on the palm of the hand, rub the sanitizer over the whole hand and continue to rub until the hand sanitizer is dry. This should take about 20 seconds-"Happy Birthday" sung twice.
  • Teach your children to keep their hands away from their face and avoid touching their mouth, nose or eyes.
  • Teach your children to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or by coughing into the inside of their elbow. Cough or sneeze into your sleeve-not your hands!
  • Keep your child home if he/she is sick. They should stay home until their temperature is normal for 24hrs (below 100 degrees) without the use of fever reducing medication.Please also refer to these guidelines for when to keep sick children home: http://www.prentice.k12.wi.us/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/sickchildren.pdf
  • Help your children to learn these healthy habits by setting a good example and always doing them yourself.

Thank you and if you have any questions or concerns, contact your doctor or the school office. The web site: www.flu.gov also has up-to-date information about the flu. Together we can help keep your child healthy for learning.

  

 

Music Informances

Music Informances are THIS WEEK!                                      

 

Please come watch your child's music informance. This is an opportunity to see what we're working on in music class.  

 

Music informances are scheduled for the week of November 3-7 in room 37.  

 

Your child's specific time is listed on the music website. Click on the following link and then take time to look around the new music website.

Business Partners
QWERTY Education Services, a premier provider of education services for Menlo Park, Palo Alto and surrounding Peninsula communities for over 25 years, offers private, one-on-one tutoring services, educational testing by Licensed Educational Psychologists and a variety of custom other education services designed to help your child.  Looking for multi-sensory math tutoring, help with writing, study skills support, educational testing or expert insight about how your student learns?  QWERTY is here to assist. - See more at:  http://www.qwertyed.com
Community News


Do you have a daughter who is interested in joining Girl Scouts? Are you interested in helping girls become leaders for our future? If yes, please join Melissa Cardinale, Danielle Naftulin and Barrie Shapiro as they hold a parent information night on Wednesday, November 5, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. in Cano Hall. Girls from any grade level can join a troop, so don't worry if your daughter didn't start Girl Scouts in kindergarten. Please RSVP to llgirlscouts@gmail.com by November 1, 2014 with your contact information, your daughter's name and grade level. We look forward to meeting you!


Menlo Park Library presents STORYTELLING!
  Tales from the oral tradition - November 6 and December 4 at 4 p.m. in the library's downstairs program room.  Join resident tale-spinner John Weaver for hilarious tales told without a book!  Fun for all ages!!

Play Tennis with Player Capital!!!
Happy Fall Everyone! 
We're excited to announce our full schedule of junior clinics at Holbrook-Palmer Park for the fall.  The detail is available on our website: http://www.playercapital.com/Juniors. Private lessons can also be scheduled. Please email admin@playercapital.com
 to register or to find out more!  See you on the courts!

Alpine Strikers is a local competitive youth soccer club serving the areas of Menlo Park, Portola Valley, and Woodside.  The club is holding their annual tryouts for all age groups; U8-U19. If your child is interested in soccer and would like to come out for tryouts, please click here  for tryouts information and registration.  We look forward to seeing you out on the field!

SportsHouse in Redwood City is holding a flag football league this winter, beginning in January.  The teams play indoors.  For K - 3rd graders, all players must sign up individually.  This age group kicks off on Saturdays, beginning January 17.  Teams play 8 weeks and the cost is $199 per child.  For more information, go to http://www.sportshouseonline.com/SportsYouth/YouthFootball.htm or call 650-362-4975.  
 
 
Newsletter Submissions

To submit an item, email Carol Clark (cclark@llesd.org) by 12 noon on the Wednesday prior to the Monday publication date.
The Lion's Roar is distributed via email every Monday. Printed copies are available in the school office, or the newsletter archives may be viewed online.  If you have trouble receiving the Lion's Roar, please ensure your email reader or service is not blocking the Lion's Roar because it is a group distribution. To change your email address, please click 'Update Profile/Email Address' below. Thank you!