Bobcat Tracks - March 2016
Connecting our Community
Letter from our PFC President
Hello Bancroft Bobcats!

What a great Luau it was!  The evening was infused with the spirit of Aloha that truly exemplifies our Bobcat community.  Thank you to everyone who came and partied and bid, and a huge thank you to all of the many volunteers (including Dr. Dowd, the Principal of Walnut Acres, and a few of her WA parents who came to help with check out!).  And of course an extra special thank you to Cherisse Riney, Brenda Walsh, and Lianne Bosko for leading this effort; you are a fabulous team!  We will look forward to hearing the final analysis of the Auction from a financial standpoint at the April PFC meeting (4/12) and in the April Tracks.

Also at our April PFC meeting we will continue the process (that began with a special budget meeting on 3/22) of budget planning for next school year.  With input from Mrs. Schuler and the teachers, we form plans and priorities for next year and determine how to fund for the biggest impact.  As always, we welcome your attendance and input; if you cannot be present at the meeting but would like to add your thoughts, please email or call me or find me around campus.

Concurrent with budget planning, the PFC has begun our recruiting efforts for volunteers for the 2016-17 school year.  We already have many fabulous people in the line up, and we are looking for more!  If you would like an opportunity to share your time and talents, please reach out to me. I would be happy to discuss the many ways, small or big, you could help our community. There is a volunteer spot for everyone!

Open House is fast approaching... it will be on April 7th from 5:30 to 7pm. This is great time to visit with your child's teacher, see their current classroom, as well as take a sneak peak at classrooms they may be in next year!  The PFC will also be in the courtyard promoting all the ways volunteers support our wonderful school. We will be happy to answer any questions you might have about current PFC funding as well as priorities and plans for next year. I look forward to seeing you there.

Mari Mielcarski 
PFC President
Annual Open House, April 7th

Join the Bancroft community at our
annual open house on April 7 from 5:30-7pm.
Teachers and students have worked hard all year and the open house is where they showcase some of their favorite work. 
Come see what your students have done this year and take a peak at the grade ahead too!
Don't forget your camera. You'll want to document those beaming faces and excellent samples of their work.

MDUSD Teacher of the Year Finalist!
Congratulations, Bancroft Teacher MDUSD 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year finalist Deanne Giffin ! 

Mrs. Giffin grew up locally and attended Lafayette schools. She went to DVC and studied liberal studies at Cal State Hayward (now East Bay). She received her multi-subject credential at St. Mary's. Mrs. Giffin is on the Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS) roll out committee for MDUSD.

Mrs. Giffin is in her 28th year teaching at Bancroft. Her first 26 years were in kindergarten and first grade. This is her second year teaching 4th grade.

Mrs. Giffin consistently demonstrates a passion for teaching with the ability to differentiate instruction to meet students' needs, and connects with and supports our school's community. Thank You Mrs. Giffin for your dedication to the our students and school!
Groovy Book Fair
Please Stop By Our Spring Book Fair!
at Bancroft Elementary School - Multi-Use Room
on Tues. 4/5:11:30 AM - 12:15 PM and 2:15 - 4:00 PM
Wed. 4/6:11:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Thurs. 4/7:11:30 AM - 12:45 p.m. (open for student shopping - no browsing); 2:15 - 3:30 PM and 5:00 - 7:30 PM (open during Open House)

Please sign up to help volunteer here  

Our online book fair is available from April 4 through April 15  http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/bancroftelementaryschool4

For more information, please contact
Box Tops & Labels for Education
Please join us in congratulating Mrs. Grunert's first grade class as our February winner for collecting the MOST Box Tops/Labels for Education last month! The students are proud to have earned the Bobcat "Putting Your Best Paw Forward" trophy for their classroom this month. They collected so many labels that they also earned "extra" recess!

And, we are also congratulating Maggie Messier from Mrs. Hicks' 3rd grade class as the raffle winner of the month!

Thank you so much for continuing to bring in your Box Tops and Labels for Education to earn more funds for Bancroft and our children's resources and programs!
  
As a reminder, there are just a few easy steps to collect and contribute Box Tops and Labels for Education.  Shop for products you already purchase and deposit the labels in the box located in the office (please place labels in a Ziplock bag or envelope with your child's name and teacher's name).
 
For any questions, feel free to reach out to your coordinators: 
Box Tops for Education: Alyson Ogden
Labels for Education: Debbie Bourne

  Dine 2 Donate

Bancroft raised  $417 at Chipotle's Fundraiser, thank you for your support!  I am waiting for a response back from Yalla Mediteranean and Pasta Pomodoro for upcoming fundraisers.  

Any other requests, please email me at: 
[email protected]


Our March Dine to Donate fundraiser will be at
Round Table Pizza at 2960 Treat Blvd. 
on Thursday, March 24 from 11:30 am until 9:30 pm.
Round Table will donate 20% of your total order back to Bancroft.
Please present this flyer with your order. 
Family Literacy Night!                        

Family Literacy Night was on Friday March 4, 2016. Thank you to all the families that came out for our rainy reading night. We had about 50 children attend with their families and had a wonderful evening. Thank you to Maestra Stiles, Ms. Velasquez and Maestra Gomes for sharing your great ideas. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers: Enid Zimmerman, Roger and Gem Lui, and Tatiana and Brian Espinoza. Thank you to our readers: Mrs. Schuler and 5th grader Marcus McCloud, Mrs. Gay, Melissa Horgan, Samantha Chang, Marga and Maggie Marshall, and Cecilia and Francisco Espinoza.

 
Odyssey of the Mind
The Results Are In For the Odyssey of the Mind  
2016 SF Bay Regional Tournament...
Bancroft's 5th grade team makes STATE!!!!!

On Saturday, February 27th Bancroft's 4 Odyssey Teams showed up prepared and ready to compete in the SF Bay Odyssey of the Mind Regional Competition.  That night the gym at Concord High was packed for not just one, but two separate AWARD CEREMONIES.

Many of these teams had been practicing for months - brainstorming, collaborating, testing ideas, building, writing scripts, choreographing dances with original songs, making costumes, building vehicles and sets, Spontaneous problem solving, voting, and working as a team of students without any outside assistance from their parents or coaches.

Before the tourney results, our teams would like to thank our Odyssey Parent Coaches and Volunteers.  Without Parent Coaches and Volunteers, our teams would not have been allowed to compete in this amazing event.  

Drum roll, please! Bancroft's 5th grade Problem 2 (Technical) Team made it to STATE! Advancing to the state tournament from our regional competition is an honor sought by over 750 teams throughout California! This team's hard work and outstanding creativity have earned them the right to compete at the State Finals, which will be held again at the University of California, Riverside on April 2, 2016. This Bancroft team now represents not only our school and our school district, but also all the teams from our San Francisco Bay region. Congratulations, Team!  Good luck at State!  

Problem 2 (Technical) Team- Something Fishy (5th Grade)
AWARDED 2nd PLACE OVERALL/ ADVANCING TO STATE
This team did really well with their Style, winning top prize for that category. Judges really liked how this team wrote their script and their creative props and costumes for their Long Term Problem performance.
 
Coaches-Spiro and Alphina Zapantis
Alysse Barreuther
Jack Bowen
Lucas Click
Tim Lambert
Athena Zapantis

Primary Team- Stir the Pot (1st and 2nd Grade)
AWARDED PARTICIPATION MEDALS
Judges praised this team for the creativity of their costumes and dance!
 
Coaches- Craig Chlebicki, Gosia Dunning, Traci McPhee
Jack Chlebicki
Adam Dunning
Jack McPhee
Caleb Horgan
William Osness
Kailee Sandoval
Kiana Franco

Problem 1 (Vehicle) Team - No-Cycle Recycle (3rd, 4th and 5th grade)
Came in 2nd Place for their Spontaneous Problem Solving!  
This team received compliments on the creativity of their "Piggy" vehicle's appearance and storyline in their Long Term Performance.

Coaches- John Goh,  Luciana Arim, and Melissa Horgan (Spontaneous Coach)
Ayla Arim
Ava Corrigan
Ephrem Goh
Cian Horgan
Benjamin Lafredo
Jacob Reyes
Sienna Van Duse

Problem 5 (Theatrical) Team - Furs, Fins, Feathers and Friends (3rd grade)- AWARDED 5th PLACE OVERALL
Came in 2nd Place on both their Long Term Performance and Style!!  This team received high marks on the humor and for their creativity of their costumes!

Coaches-Mari Mielcarski, Hillary Osness, and Christy Paloutzian
Sydney Mielcarski
Cole Mielcarski
Sarah Osness
Claire Paloutzian
Carter Paloutzian

Well-done Bobcat Odyssey of the Minders (aka OMERs)! You are ALL WINNERS!!!!!!
 Lost and Found

Lost and found is put out every Wednesday  (weather permitting) 
by a volunteer parent in the courtyard at dismissal. Make sure to check and collect your items at pick up. Items left at spring break will be donated to charity.  
Harvest of the Month

Thanks to everyone who helped make our March HOTM lesson a success. The kids learned about cucumbers.
Did you know a cucumber is 96% water?  Students got to taste and compare fresh and pickled cucumbers. 
The sour faces were pretty funny! 

If you're interested in helping out with a future lesson please email Kristin 
 Art Appreciation 
It was wonderfully inspiring to see the kids learn about this month's artists and create their own beautiful pieces of art!  Kindergarteners learned about the Russian artist, Marc Chagall and made their own surreal art; 1st graders learned about an American artist, William Johnson and created self-portraits using bright colors and simple shapes; 2nd graders learned about surrealist Salvador Dali and his fantastical dreamlike paintings and made "The Elephants" painting using watercolors; 3rd graders learned about Georgia O'Keeffe and her clear, bright paintings found in the simple, natural things and made fantastic fabric flower collages; 4th graders were inspired by Spanish Surrealist painter and sculptor, Joan Miro and experimented with scratch art paper to create a whimsical art piece; and later this week the 5th graders will be learning about painter and sculptor Alexander Calder and will create a wire fish or an animal sculpture.  Thank you to all the art volunteers working so hard and cooperatively to bring this special hour every month to the kids!  Want to volunteer in the art program?  We'd love to have you!  Please email  
Upcoming Dates
3/24: Orchestra Concert @7:30pm in Northgate HS

3/24: Dine2Donate fundraiser at Round Table Pizza

3/25-4/3: Sloat Garden Center Fundraiser

3/28-4/1: Spring Break

4/5-4/8: Spring Groovy Book Fair

4/6: LCAP Meeting with Superintendent Meyer @6pm at Northgate HS

4/7: Annual Open House 
@5:30 to 7pm

4/12: PFC Meeting @ 7pm

4/21: Site Council Meeting

4/27: Life Skill Assembly

4/29: Mathletics

Visit the Bancroft online calendar for future dates.
Thank You!
*Thank You Clair Boomer and committee/volunteers for an amazing night in literacy! Thanks to the families who attended the event!
*Thank you to all the traffic volunteers for keeping our Bancroft Bobcats safe!
* Thank you Cherisse Riney for organizing a successful auction, Let's Luau. Stay tuned for the April Tracks for a full wrap up and more Thank yous.
* Thank you to Christy Paloutzian for organizing another successful year of Odyssey of the Mind at Bancroft. Thank you to the many coaches and parents who step up to give this hands-on learning experience to our Bancroft students.
*Thank you to Elizabeth Real and Roxanne Suzuki for organizing another Dine2Donate fundraiser. 
Budget Update























For prior Blasts, Tracks, and Principal's Messages
Please refer to the PFC website's archive
Ongoing Fundraisers
dollar a day


Earn cash for our school!
Collect Box Tops and drop them in the collection bin in the office.
 
Shopping at Amazon? Click on the link on our homepage and Bancroft will receive a percentage of your purchase!

Basementeers receive 10% off every item every day and 10% of profits go back to your favorite local charity like Bancroft Elementary.

Contact Us
Bancroft Elementary
925-933-3405


Show your school spirit by purchasing Bancroft Spirit Wear!

Every Friday is spirit wear day at Bancroft! A spirit trophy rotates throughout the school year, and is held by the classroom with the most spirit. 
Help your classroom win by showing off your Bobcat pride!

Spirit wear is now available to purchase in the office.
T-shirts 12.00
Tie Dye-15.00
Pullovers-22.00
Zip ups- 25.00