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From PTO President Gina Watkins
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It is hard to believe this 2007-2008 school year is coming to an end. I know I'm not alone in feeling excited and lucky for our children as they grow up in the Laurel family. I also know I'm not alone in wishing that this wonderful time in our lives could last forever. Our kindergarteners, first graders and second graders certainly bring every single one of us an enormous amount of happiness.
On behalf of the entire PTO Executive Board, thank you Laurel parents and volunteers for being so generous with your time, energy, support and love that you put into this school. Some efforts are small, some are big, some are in the open, and most are behind the scenes but all of our contributions make a difference. Teachers and staff, of course, a warm hug to each of you for dedicating your careers to children.
Our PTO is in great hands with the incoming PTO executive team, lead by one of Laurel's most dedicated volunteers, Leslie Burke. We should all look forward to a terrific next school year.
Happy summer vacation to everyone!
Fondly,
Gina Watkins
PTO President 2007-08 |
| Upcoming Events |
8/4 Back-to-School Mailing, District Office, 9 a.m.
8/18 Back-to-School Luncheon, 12 p.m.
8/21 Class Postings, School Office, 4 p.m.
8/25 School Reopens for 2008-2009 School Year
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To Cancel Your Laurel Newsletter Subscription
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If you will have no children
at Laurel next
year, please unsubscribe from the newsletter.
If you do not cancel now and later decide
that you don't want Laurel Newsletter emails,
look at the bottom of any of our mailings for
the
"unsubscribe" link.
There is no need to unsubscribe and
resubscribe if you will be back in the fall.
We are suspending newsletter emails until
early August, when we will begin sending you
back-to-school information.
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| Laurel Office Summer Hours |
During June and August, the Laurel Office will be open from 7:30 to 4 p.m. daily. The office will be
CLOSED for the month of July.
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School Begins 8/25
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Mark your calendar for the start of next school year, on Monday, August 25. Class assignments for Laurel and Encinal students will be posted the previous Thursday, August 21.
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| Incoming Laurel Families |
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IIf you know any families who have a child starting at Laurel in the
fall, please advise them to subscribe to the newsletter now so they
won't miss out on any back-to-school information. Either forward this
newsletter to them or send them to www.laurelpto.org, where they can
enter an email in the box to subscribe.
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| Encinal Newsletter |
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If your child is starting at Encinal in the fall, don't forget to sign up for their newsletter now. Newsletters will start coming in August, with back-to- school information. Click here to join the Encinal newsletter mailing list.
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| Look What YOU Made Happen! |
A big pat on the back to the hundreds of families who joined this year's PTO. PTO parents volunteered over 12,000 hours to run all of the PTO services, programs and events offered at Laurel like the Kid Chow lunch program, the book fair, parent reading buddies, carpool and drop off coordination, this electronic newsletter, the Spring Fling, Quarter Gourmet, the Early Bird Breakfast program, the art and science fair, the fine art festival, staff appreciation, and so much more. Your PTO dollars paid for Mrs. Beckstrom's music program, the Reikus and Mr. Barry recess programs, buses for field trips, technology upgrades for the classrooms, supplies for our teachers and enrichment, and so much more. A job well done, and a hip hip hooray to every single parent, volunteer, teacher, and staff member. Thank you!
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Back-to-School Mailing Party
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- Friday, August 4
- 9:30 a.m.
- District Office
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| Back-to-School Luncheon |
Laurel
Staff - please mark your calendars! Incoming PTO Vice President, Carla Posthauer is organizing that event and will be looking for parent
volunteers to help make food and do other jobs for this fun, annual
event. If you think you can help, please contact Carla at PTO_VicePresident(at)laurelpto.org.
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Please Claim in Laurel Office
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Tent
If you loaned a tent for "Camp Readalot" two weeks ago, please check to make sure you got your tent and all of its parts back. A tent pole and a separate gray and white tent were found on the first grade yard after the event. Please claim either of these in the school office.
Dolls
Two porcelain dolls in a "Madame Alexander" box were found several weeks ago and have not yet been claimed.
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| Shuttle Service Announcement |
If you will
have children at both Laurel and Encinal next year, one way to solve the problem
of picking them up in two places at the same time is to sign up for
the Shuttle service.
Dismissal times for next year have not been finalized
yet for Laurel and Encinal school. We hope that the shuttle and yellow bus
service will be able to operate between Encinal and Laurel as they have this
past year. Currently, the Yellow
Bus runs everyday, Monday through
Friday, leaving Encinal after dismissal and
arriving Laurel 5-10 minutes later.
The Menlo Park
City Shuttle (White shuttle)
runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, leaving Encinal and arriving Laurel 5-10 minutes later (NOTE: the
white shuttle does NOT run on Thursdays or on minimum
days).
Due to high
demand, riders will be assigned by lottery. We will collect names and
information of interested riders until Friday, June
20. The lottery will be
completed by the end of June and everyone who submitted their name will be
notified of their lottery number shortly
thereafter. A waitlist
will be maintained for those who are
not assigned seats on either the
shuttle or yellow bus. Incomplete and late entries will be added to
the end of the waitlist.
If you are
interested in having your child ride on
one of the Shuttles, please submit the email Form BY FRIDAY JUNE 20:
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PROVIDED ALL INFORMATION - OTHERWISE YOU WILL
NOT BE ADDED TO THE LOTTERY. Contact: Darcy Leschly at dleschly(at)comcast.net.
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Newton Center
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Newton Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to education, is now
accepting registration for students enrolling in Kindergarten (late
dismissal), 1st, and 2nd grade for the 2008-2009 school year.
The
Newton Center program will be held at the Menlo Park Presbyterian
Church at 950 Santa Cruz Avenue and the transportation will be
provided. For more information look at the Newton Center flyer. To view and print the registration form please click here.
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| Laurel PTO Volunteers Needed |
We need several dynamic people to chair PTO committees next year. If you are interested in leading one of our great teams or if you enjoy putting together fun events, please consider volunteering for one of these positions. Co-chairs are welcome - any of these jobs can be shared, so enlist a friend to join you!
- Caring & Sharing (Ongoing): Help teach our children the importance of caring about and sharing with those in need. We need one or two Laurel representatives to co-chair this committee with their Encinal counterparts. Chairs will organize various drives throughout the year to collect and distribute items for families in need (holiday food boxes, school supplies, etc.)
- Holiday Boutique (Fall/Winter): This important fundraiser is held every year on the same day as the Winter Sing. Baked goods, plants and other donated items are sold, with 100% of proceeds going to the PTO. We need two co-chairs to lead the committee.
- Drop-off Patrol: Recruit and organize volunteers to help keep traffic and student
drop-offs flowing smoothly every morning.
- Spring Fling Co-Chair:
Help to coordinate and organize volunteers for our annual end-of-school-year
celebration!
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Disaster Preparation
Chair: Work with the District office to make sure Laurel is prepared in
the event of a disaster.
Contact Leslie Burke, PTO President for 2008-2009, at PTO_VicePresident(at)laurelpto.org, with any questions or nominations as soon as possible.
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| Community News |
Kepler's Family Story Time
- Father's Day Story Time
- Sunday, June 15
- 11:30 a.m.
- Kepler's Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
What's just as good as a mommy? Why, a DADDY, of course! On this
special day, Kepler's helps to honor dads and granddads with readings
that highlight the special bond that fathers have with their children.
Bring the whole family as we celebrate the every day superhero known as
DAD.
**Remember to mention Laurel School at the register and 10% of your Kepler's purchases comes back to our PTO.** Menlo Park Downtown Block Parties this summer!
- Wednesdays June 25, August 6 and August 20
- 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
- Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park
- Live music, kids activities and entertainment
- Only local businesses and restaurants, and non-profit organizations on the street celebrating together
Don't miss the biggest parties of the year! Come down and see your friends and neighbors at the city wide block parties! These events are FREE admission.
Menlo Park Library Summer Reading Program
"Catch
the Reading Bug!" this summer at the Menlo Park Public Library and
explore the amazing world of insects. The 2008 Summer Reading Program
is free and open to all, from infants through high school. The program
will feature buggy give-aways, raffles, and a performance roster that
includes Indian dance, African percussion, songs and storytelling,
Mother Goose, magic, and puppets. Families with infants, toddlers, and
preschoolers are invited to join the Read-to-Me portion of the program.
Grade schoolers and teens can register for the independent reading
program. All participants set their own goals for how many books they
plan to read over the summer. You can register from home at www.menloparklibrary.org
or at the library beginning June 16. The performance line-up begins
with Nancy Cassidy singing toddler songs at 11:15 on June 9, in the
lawn area next to the library.
For more information, call the library at 650-330-2530, stop by at 800 Alma Street, or visit our website at www.menloparklibrary.org.
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Summer Camps
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Here are a few last summer camp links. The PTO does not sponsor or endorse any of these camps.
Jim Heebner's Camps
Sports Camp at Flood Park for kids Entering 1st to 3rd grades, 9:00am - 1:00pm, Mon - Fri.
Tennis Camp at Nealon Park - Ages 6 to 11, 9am - 12 noon
Tennis Classes - Ages 5 to 13, Afternoon hours, Mon - Fri
For further information go to www.sports-4-kids.com for all my programs. Contact: Jim at 814-6734.
Awesome Engineering Camp at Burgess Recreation Center. June 16-20 or August 4-8. Our Engineering and Construction program will teach you fundamental engineering and construction concepts using ErectorŽ educational toys. You will build things you encounter everyday; including bridges, cars, skyscrapers and more! For information and registration: www.awesomengineering.org
Dance Camp Express is a fun dance camp offered through ShowBiz Dance for ages 4-7. Join Jane and Maryanne for a week of dance and dress up! Different styles of dance will be explored. Camps are held at the Menlo Park Recreation Center. Contact: Maryanneshowbiz(at)yahoo.com
Andy Harader Summer Tennis Camp at Palo Alto High School, June 16 - August 22
Monday-Friday, 9-Noon. Ages 7-16, all levels. Contact: andre10(at)mindspring.com or 364-6233.
Website: www.andystenniscamp.com Andy was awarded the 2007 NorCal USPTA High School Coach of the Year.
Menlo College Soccer Camp
The Mission of the Menlo College Soccer Camp is to provide aspiring young soccer players (ages 6-14) with an opportunity to expand and improve their soccer skills and have a great time. Our staff will focus on each individual camper's needs in order to provide a positive experience and comfortable learning environment. See our website for more information.
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Submit newsletter items by Wednesday at noon or attachments by Tuesday at noon to newsletter(at)laurelpto.org
or phone: 473-1299
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