Lead in Lunchboxes

The California Center for Environmental Health (CEH) has found up to 90 times the legal limit for lead in several soft vinyl children's lunch boxes. Some of the lunchboxes found to contain lead feature Superman, Tweety Pie, Powerpuff Girls, Hamtaro and other characters, but any other vinyl lunchbox should be tested to be sure - see the CEH website for details. Lead testing kits with multiple testers (you could share with another family) are available at local hardware stores for less than $10.

As an alternative to vinyl lunchboxes and paper bags, the PTO is offering Laptop Lunches, a waste-free reusable lunch kit that does not require plastic baggies, for sale through the Laurel PTO website (www.laurelpto.org). The kit includes a booklet of healthy recipes and tips for kids' lunches, and ten percent of your purchase will go to Laurel!

-Eco Squirrel

Class Party Supplies !

The class party supplies have arrived just in time for the Halloween party! Each classroom now has a set of 24 plates, 24 cutlery sets and 20 cups (the extra 4 cups per set should come soon). They are stored in the multi behind the stage in the left white cupboard labeled party supplies. All boxes are all labeled and organized by grades.

A few things to remember:
They can be used for any party, birthday parties included.
Teachers can decide to keep them in the classroom if they prefer.
They need to be washed and returned in their container.

Thank you for supporting this program! Questions? Contact Eco at EnvironmentRecycling_Chair (at) laurelpto (dot) org.

Nuttiness,
Eco Squirrel

The Laurel Encinal Newsletter

LE News, the Laurel/Encinal PTO newspaper, is now online! Meet our new teachers, hear the latest from school principals and PTO presidents, and get the inside information on what's happening at our schools.
September 26th LE News (PDF format).

A Royal Thankyou from the Kingdom of Reading

The PTO sends a big THANKYOU to everyone who helped with the Book Fair.

Buy Laptop Lunchboxes and support the PTO !

Given the recent news about lead in some brands on lunchboxes, and the cost of testing, the PTO Hot Lunch committee has found a vendor that can supply reusable safe containers for your kids' lunches and a proportion of the proceeds will go to the PTO. Please visit Laptop Lunches for details.