You won't want to miss Laurel's Spring Fling tonight at 5:00 p.m. Bring the family, a picnic, a blanket and a dessert (finger-dessert, please) to share. Join us as we wish our Principal, Nancy Hendry, a fabulous retirement. Guaranteed to be a fun time as well as an historic event all rolled into one!

Current Laurel students need to be in their classrooms by 5:15 to get ready for performance with Mrs. Beckstrom!

Site Council Survey - Please Respond!

Each year, the Laurel School Site Council launches a survey to obtain feedback from our parent community. In order to be responsive and see that our goals are aligned with the needs of the greater school community, guaranteeing School Improvement funds are spent wisely, Laurel's Site Council will analyze, evaluate, and respond to survey results at the beginning of next year. We will use the information to plan for the 2009-10 school year and beyond.

If you have more than one child at Laurel, please complete the survey based on the child whose birthday comes first after today. Click on this link to complete: Laurel School Site Survey

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

PTO Committee Call for 09/10: Laurel PTO Needs You!!

Laurel School still needs just a few more amazing volunteers! Interested in any of the following: Web Management, Membership, School Souvenirs, and Business Alliance. We won't be able to offer support in these areas without you! Please click here for detailed information, and/or contact Carla Posthauer at cjpost( at )pacbell.net for more information!

Sponsor-a-Book - Don't Miss Your Chance!

Looking for a way to honor Nancy, your teacher, a student, a staff member...or any person of choice? Consider donating a book to the Laurel Library! Laurel PTO's "Sponsor-A-Book" allows you to purchase a book(s) for our Library while honoring someone with a personalized nameplate. For $20, you can make a difference! Click here for more information and to place your order.

Last Reminder - Sign-ups for Shuttle/Bus Service

If you are interested in having your child ride on one of the Afterschool Shuttles from Encinal to Laurel, please email the following information to Darcy Leschly at dleschly( at )comcast.net BY THURSDAY JUNE 4: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PROVIDED ALL INFORMATION - OTHERWISE YOU WILL NOT BE ADDED TO THE LOTTERY. Please write "Shuttle" in the subject line of your email.

1)    Encinal Child Name and grade in fall
2)    Encinal Child birthdate(s)
3)    Laurel Child name and grade in fall
4)    Mother's/Guardian's name
5)    Father's/Guardian's name
6)    Home address
7)    Home phone number
8)    Cell Phone Mother/guardian
9)    Cell phone Father/Guardian
10)    Email address Mother/Guardian
11)    Email address Father/Guardian
12)    Name and cell phone of other caregiver picking up child
13)    Preference - yellow bus (all days), white shuttle (no minimum days or Thursdays), either
14)    Days of week requiring transportation: All, M, T, W, TH F

Library News

SSA and HSA Recipients

Congratulations to all Laurel School Service Award and Honorary Service Award recipients! Each recipient has had a book donated to the library by the PTO in his or her honor. Recipients, please enjoy the book and return it to the Laurel Library by today.

ALL LIBRARY BOOKS ARE DUE NOW!

Please help your students find their library books and return them to the library ASAP. Thanks to all who have already returned their books. Once all the books are in, we can begin inventorying the collection and find out what is missing or "lost" on library shelves because it is in the wrong place! Thanks for helping keep our library in order for all the children to enjoy books.

PTO's Caring & Sharing Spring Drive

The PTO's Caring & Sharing Committee is holding a Spring Drive to collect grocery gift cards for families within our community who are in need during these difficult times. Please consider picking up a gift card of any amount the next time you're at Trader Joe's or Safeway to help our friends and neighbors!

There is an envelope in the front office for the collection of gift cards. Please drop them off by Wednesday, June 3. Thanks for your support! Questions? Contact Amy Hamilton Kratzer at adkratzer( at )yahoo.com.

Chinese After-School Program at Laurel Starts Fall 2009

With thanks to all of you who have enthusiastically expressed interest and support, we will have a Chinese after-school program starting in the fall of 2009 at Laurel!

The program will be offered by Hwa Shin Chinese School , which currently offers afterschool Chinese programs at Las Lomitas in Menlo Park and Fairmeadow School in Palo Alto. Based on feedback from you, the program will offer 2 classes, Beginner and Level 1. Each class will meet twice a week for 1.5 hours on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. An optional enrichment program will be offered after the language classes. For more details of the program and enrolment information, click here.

Encinal and Hillview Newsletters

For parents with students entering Encinal or Hillview Middle School this fall, don't forget to subscribe to their newsletters for the latest information.

Encinal Newsletter sign-up

Hillviewer Newsletter sign-up

Stay involved and stay informed!

FREE Obsolete Textbooks!

Open to the Public
Monday, June 8, 2009
9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Laurel Elementary School - Community Room
Encinal Elementary School - Library
Oak Knoll Elementary School- Gym

Bring a bag and help yourself to these old but useful textbooks!

Pancake Breakfast: Sizzling Success!

Over 600 members of the Laurel and Encinal school community braved near-record temperatures on May 16th to attend the 4th Annual Pancake Breakfast, which raised about $1500 for PTO programs for both schools.

Thank you to the numerous wonderful student and parent volunteers who set up in the early morning, registered attendees, flipped pancakes, fried-up bacon, poured beverages, mixed batter, washed strawberries, served the food, and cleaned up all the mess. Thank you also to Cafe Zoe.

MPAEF News

Thank You!

The Foundation would like to thank all its wonderful donors and volunteers. Without your support throughout the year we wouldn't be able to provide the consistent level of funding to help bridge the gap for our schools. We plan to grant the District $1,790,000 to support Librarians, Science Aides, and other personnel that make the education experience better for our students and their teachers. We're also proud to announce Scott Lohmann and Gaurang Desai will be our co-Presidents for next year. The board and staff wish everyone a happy and relaxing summer break!

Community News

Kepler's Family Events

Story Time with Susan Heller, Mup the Pup

Sunday, May 31, 2009

11:30 a.m.

Kepler's Books, 1010 El Camino, Menlo Park

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

Menlo Park Legends Summer Baseball Camp

Menlo Park Legends Summer Baseball camp is a brand new camp run exclusively by college baseball players. For all levels from ages 6-15. More information at www.menloparklegends.com or call David at 650-387-4427.

MP Strikers Soccer Teams

Tryouts will be held for boys and girls who will be U8, U9, U10 in the fall. The tryout dates are May 26th, 28th, and June 2nd at Hillview. For players who will be U8 +U9 in the fall the tryouts are at 3:45-5:15 p.m. For players who are U10 in the fall the tryouts are at 5:15-6:45 p.m. For more information please visit our website www.mpstrikersfc.com.

FREE Introductory Lacrosse Clinic

A fun summer camp offers beginners the chance to learn the hottest new sport in West Coast schools. We will group players based on age and experience level. For players with more experience looking to take their game to new heights-check out our new PRO SERIES camps!!

Who: Boys & Girls Ages 7 & up
When: Sunday, May 31st
Where: Atherton - Holbrook Palmer Park
Camps: Week long Sessions June - August

For more information please visit our website www.AthertonLacrosse.com or email AthertonLacrosse( at )Gmail.com.

Menlo Park Library Summer Reading Program

Keep children and teens of all ages reading throughout the summer with the Menlo Park Library's June 1st - July 30th , 2009 Summer Reading Program. Featuring the theme "Be Creative ( at ) Your Library", the Summer Reading Program helps students maintain and improve the reading skills they've developed during the school year. Registration is easy. Either come to the library to pick up a registration packet or register online at www.menloparklibrary.org beginning June 1st. Visit the library regularly for fun rewards. Free entertainers throughout the summer. Click here for more information.

Menlo Mavericks Swim Team

Welcoming swimmers age 5-18, beginner through advanced, with level-appropriate workouts year-round. Starting June 15, summer Mavs includes swim meets and morning practices at the Burgess Pools in Menlo Park. For more Information and registration click here.

College Men's Basketball Program

Join us for two, 4-day summer basketball camps the weeks of June 22-25 and July 20-23. Grades K-5 will be from 9am-2pm, while Grades 6-8 will be 3pm-5pm. Camps will offer instruction of basic fundamentals, skill development, teamwork, games, and loads of fun! Sign up today for early-bird and sibling specials! Contact Chris Cobb at 510-909-4824 or email at menlobasketball( at )aol.com. Click here for more information.

Dance Lessons

Dance this summer with Maryanne at the Menlo Park Recreation Center. On Mondays, from July 2 to August 3, Beginning Jazz/Hip Hop (4th - 8th grade) will be offered from 5:00-6:00 p.m. and Intermediate Teen/Adult Jazz will be offered from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Dance Camps are also available for 4 - 15 year olds. Contact Maryanne and Jane at Maryanneshowbiz( at )yahoo.com and Janeshowbiz( at )yahoo.com.

City of Menlo Park Sports Camps

Baseball, basketball and football sports camps are being offered this summer in Menlo Park. Sign up now and join the fun. Please check out our flyer for more information.

Scoot - Door-to-Door Child Shuttle Service

Coming Soon...Scoot is launching this summer and includes transportation to summer camps and to schools in the MPCSD in the Fall. If interested, email Sally Williams at sally.williams( at )earthlink.net to be added to Scoot's mailing list. You will receive an announcement mid-summer when Scoot officially launches.