September 28, 2007

Laurel School Newsletter
Next Week
Monday, 10/1
 - Used Book Collection Continues

Tuesday, 10/2
  - No Events Scheduled

Wednesday, 10/3
  - No Events Scheduled

Thursday, 10/4
  - No Events Scheduled

Friday, 10/5
  - PTO District Council Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
  - KidsArt Fundraiser Order Deadline
  - Walk and Bike to School Day
  - School Spirit Day - Wear Blue and White
Upcoming Events
10/8-12   Laurel-Encinal Book Fair
10/9       Library Mending Training, 10:30 a.m., Hillview Library
10/10      PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:45 a.m.
10/17      Laurel Site Council Meeting, 3 p.m.
10/18      MINIMUM DAY, school dismisses at 11:35 a.m.
10/19      NO SCHOOL, Staff Development
10/23      Laurel Picture Day
10/23      Last Day to Submit Box Tops for Fall Drive
10/23      Deeelish! Meal Building Session, 6:30 p.m.
10/31      Halloween Parade, 8:30 a.m.
11/2        PTO District Council Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
11/12      NO SCHOOL, Veteran's Day
11/14      PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:45 a.m.
11/14-15 MINIMUM DAYS, school dismisses at 11:35 a.m.
11/14-15 Teacher Conferences
11/21-23 NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Vacation
11/27      Picture Make-up Day
11/28      Teacher Holiday Luncheon, noon
11/28      PTO District Council Meeting, 3 p.m.
 
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
Last Day of PTO Membership Drive
Extra Directories
Kid Chow Volunteers Needed
KidsArt Fundraiser
Box Tops
Book Fair
Caring and Sharing at the Book Fair
Used Books Needed
Library Mending Training
Morning Drop-off Tips
Eco Squirrel
Drop-off Volunteers Needed
Hillview Gift Wrap
MPAEF
Community News
Quick Links
Join our Mailing List!
Last Day of PTO Membership Drive
PTO Membership DriveThis year's PTO Membership Drive ends TODAY, September 28.  Thank you to all of the high flyers who have joined the PTO during our drive. 

Join now!  Any level of contribution will be greatly appreciated. Although we would like to meet our participation goal during the drive, we will continue to accept any and all contributions in the coming weeks. Please download a membership form and drop it off with your contribution at the school office or by joining online using a credit card. Together we can help all of our kids soar to new heights.
Extra Directory Orders
Every family in the school district receives a student directory for each school their children attend. If you would like additional directories from your child's school, or any other school in the district, you may order them for $4.50 each. Use the Order Form to order by Friday, October 6.
Kid Chow Volunteers Needed
Kid Chow volunteers are needed in the Second Grade Arbor Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  Please contact Mary Picciotto, mary.picciotto(at)laurelpto.org, with days you can help.  If you are curious about our new food vendor, this is a great way to see the lunches first hand!
KidsArt Fundraiser
The children are working on artwork for the KidsArt Fundraiser (formerly Note Card Art).  Your child will soon bring home a packet that includes your child's artwork and a price list and brochure from Original Works. You can order note cards, aprons, totes and much more.  These items make beautiful, unique gifts that will be treasured for years to come while providing a terrific fundraising opportunity for our PTO!

ALL ORDERS MUST BE TURNED IN BY OCTOBER 5.

You may turn in your orders either in the school office (front round table), or via your child's classroom. Please make checks payable to Laurel PTO. Contact: Carol Kelly, 325-6702 or rolandandcarol(at)yahoo.com
Box Tops for Field Trips Drive
The Fall Box Tops for Field Trips Drive is here! This year, the Business Alliance Committee is running the program school-wide with all the earnings going to fund school field trips - all of our children will be winners! 

Watch your student's blue folders for this year's Box Top Baggies to Clip, Save and Send those Box Tops in to class between now and October 23.  Please help your student sort, count and tally their own Box Tops.  What a great way for the children to take on a sense of ownership in the progam's success!  Our goal is to submit 15,000 Box Tops for $1500 - you can check our progress on the school posters during each drive.  For more details and a list of participating products, click here.  Thanks for your participation!

Contact: Amy Barry at aminibarry(at)hotmail.com.
Book Fair Blizzard
  • October 8 through 12
  • 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Friday
  • 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday
  • 8 a.m. to 3 p.m and 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m on Thursday
  • In the Laurel Multi

Come chill out at the Book Fair Blizzard at Laurel. Encinal and Laurel classes will visit the book fair according to this class schedule.

Ice Cream Social
Wednesday from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. in the second grade arbor at Laurel.  Come enjoy a chilly treat and browse the book fair.

Movie Night
Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. on the second grade lawn.  Let your children watch cartoons and eat pizza while you shop.

Coloring Contest
Enter the coloring contest by printing out the entry form and returning it to the Laurel office no later than October 5.  A randomly selected winner from each grade will be announced each day.

Remember, gift certificates are a great way to help teachers build their classroom libraries.  To order, return the gift certificate order form to the office with your check. All gift certificates may be picked up at the fair.

Caring and Sharing at the Book Fair
The Caring and Sharing committee has identified a school library that has not had a budget for new books in over three years. Please consider donating books to the Cesar Chavez Academy, which serves East Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, when you visit the book fair at Laurel. You will find their wish list with our teacher's wish lists. They will greatly appreciate our generosity.
Contact: Kim Garlinghouse-Jones, kimghouse(at)yahoo.com or Daren Tuchman, dbtuchman(at)hotmail.com. Thank you!
Donate Your Used Books
Gently-used books are very much needed for the 2007 Laurel/Encinal Book Fair! Please donate adult fiction and children's books - 100% of the proceeds will go to our PTOs. Drop off your book donations in the Donation Box outside the Laurel and Encinal school offices through October 5.  Please no board books, magazines, coloring books, textbooks, or books that are in really bad shape.  Volunteers to staff the used book area are also needed.  Contact: Susan Tanner atmstanner(at)bluetopazsolutions.com.
Library Mending Training
  • Tuesday, October 9
  • 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
  • Hillview Library
On the first Tuesday of each month, beginning in November, a group of parents will meet at the Hillview Library at 10:30 to mend books for the Hillview, Encinal, and Laurel Libraries.  Training will be October 9.  Come and learn all the exciting mending techniques, enjoy coffee and a bagel, and have fun repairing books together for our schools' library shelves.  All help is greatly appreciated.

Please RSVP to Tracy Piombo, Hillview Librarian, at tpiombo(at)mpcsd.org or Ora Chaiken, Volunteer Coordinator, ora(at)odsd.org, so we can make sure to have enough supplies.
Morning Drop-off Tips
When using the drop-off area, please drive as far forward as possible before pulling to the curb. There is often much more space in front of the office/kindergarten area that is not used because people are waiting for a spot farther back. Pulling forward will allow smoother flow through this area and less waiting for everyone.
 
Consider leaving your house 5 or even 10 minutes earlier. This will spread out the congestion over a greater period of time, and you'll experience a dramatically shorter wait in the drop-off area. Playgrounds are supervised beginning at 8 a.m.
 
Please consider making a right turn out of the school driveway in the morning (there are two right-turn lanes). You can get back to Middlefield via Oak Grove and avoid the jam at Edge and Ringwood.
Eco Squirrel
Eco Squirrel here to tell you that the students have been doing a great job sorting their lunchtime trash into compost and trash.  Here are some ways you parents can help us reduce trash at Laurel:
  • Use reusable containers to pack lunches
  • Use wax paper bags (available at Whole Foods) to put foods in where you would normally reach for plastic bags.  Waxed paper can go in the compost but plastic stays in the dump forever.
  • Ask your child to bring home any water bottles sent in his or her lunch and recycle them at home.
  • Ask your child to bring home items not eaten at lunchtime.  You might be surprised at some of the things that end up in the trash instead of the tummy!
We ask for your continued support of this program. The amount of compost we are creating instead of trash  is amazing!  Stop by at lunch time some time to see for yourself.
Drop-off Volunteers Needed
Want to make a difference for our school?  Volunteer to help our kids out of their cars and into their backpacks one morning a month! Share your winning smile and great attitude while keeping kids safe, and our drop-off area flowing smoothly!  It's the easiest, most enjoyable 15 minutes of volunteer time! Contact: Marcia Bever at marcia(at)premierbenefits.com or 322-8869.
Hillview Gift Wrap Fundraiser
It's time to replenish your gift wrap supplies!  The Hillview PTO Gift Wrap fundraiser is in full swing, and this is your chance to order high quality festive gift wrap, ribbon, and gifts from Sally Foster.   The Hillview PTO earns 50 cents on every dollar spent.  Orders can only be placed online at www.sallyfoster.com. Remember to enter the Hillview account number (0357229) so the school gets credit for your purchases. Orders ship within 1-2 weeks. Orders including food items ship November 1. Fundraiser ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 1. Contact: Jill Roumeliotis at jroumeliotis(at)sbcglobal.net or Kim Guthrie at kimguthrie(at)earthlink.net.
MPAEF - Banana Slug String Band
MPAEF New LogoAn Evening of Science, Song and Slugs!
  • Tuesday, October 23
  • 7 p.m.
  • in the Laurel Multi
The Banana Slug String Band is a group of musicians and educators who use song, drama, puppets and the whole audience to excite kids about science.  Join the Banana Slug String Band for educational entertainment that simply feels like fun.  Before they know it kids will be learning about the environment, natural history, music and creativity.   Fifth and sixth graders will also want to get up close and personal with Solar Steve, the well-known principal of Outdoor Ed, part of the 5th grade science curriculum. Contact: Stephanie Woodworth at sowoodworth(at)yahoo.com.
 
This program, which is free and open to all, is made possible by the generous support of the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation.
Community News

Safe Routes to School Meeting

  • Wednesday, October 3
  • 7:00 p.m.
  • Laurel Multipurpose Room

You are invited to the 3rd Safe Routes to Laurel School Neighborhood Meeting. The City of Menlo Park has embarked on a project to develop a safe route to school plan for Laurel School that will:

1) encourage the Laurel School children to safely walk and bicycle to school and
2) make walking and bicycling to Laurel School more appealing modes of travel.

This will potentially reduce the use of cars for school drop-offs and pick-ups at Laurel School. The goal of this project is to develop a safe route to school plan for Laurel School that will be acceptable to project stakeholders.

Marsh Madness 10k/5k Fun Run and Walk

  • Saturday, October 27
  • 8 a.m.
  • Palo Alto Baylands

Palo Alto Family YMCA in collaboration with the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital will host the first annual Marsh Madness 10k/5k Fun Run to combat growing youth health problems,
including poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, youth obesity, and adult-onset diabetes. 100% of funds raised will go to enhance, advance and provide access to YMCA programs that help local youth be healthy. For details and to register visit www.marshmadnessrun.net.  Contact: 856-9622.

Kids' Viking Wrestling Club

  • Fall Session: Thursday, October 4, through Thursday, November 15
  • 6 to 7:45 p.m.
  • In the Palo Alto High School wrestling room

Wrestling develops self-confidence and discipline, and enables children of any size to compete fairly. The Viking Wrestling Club is open to all boys and girls grades K to 8. To find out more about kids wrestling or carpooling from Menlo Park, contact Coach Steve Wong, 269-1596 or swong(at)rigel.com, or Head Coach Jack Moses,  321-7991 or vikingwrestlingclub(at)yahoo.com.

Story Time at Kepler's with the Menlo Park K-9 Unit

  • Tracker: On the Job by Liam O'Donnell
  • Sunday September 30, 2007 11:30 a.m.
  • Kepler's Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park

Human and dog members of the Menlo Park K-9 Unit will be on hand to demonstrate what they do best. First we'll read an informative story about a German shepherd police dog named Tracker, and then we'll let the K-9 Unit educate us further. Bring every member of your family-it's a great way to show your support for the people (and dogs) that work hard to keep us safe!

**Remember to mention Laurel School at the register and 10% of your purchases comes back to our PTO.**

NJB Basketball Sign-ups are Now Open

  • Boys and girls teams for 1st through 8th grades
  • Competitive basketball against teams throughout Silicon Valley
  • Entirely run by volunteers
  • Practices at Payes Place in San Carlos
  • Games at Payes Place and local high schools
  • Register online at www.redwoodnjb.org
Submit newsletter items by Wednesday at noon or attachments by Tuesday at noon to newsletter(at)laurelpto.org
or phone: 473-1299