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First Week of School
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Monday, 8/25
First Day of School (new times below)
Back-to-School Coffee 8:25 a.m. and 10:20 a.m.
Tuesday, 8/26
No Events Scheduled
Wednesday, 8/27
PTO Executive Board meeting, 8:45 a.m.
Head Room Parent Training, 7pm (library)
Thursday, 8/28
No Events Scheduled
Friday, 8/29
Head Room Parent Training, 8:45 a.m. (library)
School Spirit Day - wear blue and white! |
| Upcoming Events |
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8/25 First Day of School
8/27 PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:45 a.m.
8/29 Head Room Parent Training, 8:45 a.m.
9/1 No School -- Labor Day
9/2 Carpool Pickup Begins
9/3 Library Volunteer Training, 2:00 p.m. and
7:00 p.m.
9/4 Laurel Back-to-School Night, 7:00 p.m.
9/5 PTO Council Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
9/5 Library Volunteer Training, 8:30 a.m.
9/8 Kid Chow Lunch Delivery Begins
9/10 PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:45 a.m.
9/12 Quarter Gourmet, 5:00 p.m.
9/17 Laurel Site Council Meeting, 3:00 p.m.
9/19 Head Room Parents Meeting, 1:30 p.m.
9/21 Fall Family BBQ, Encinal School 2:00 p.m.
9/21-26 Book Fair, Encinal School
9/24 General PTO Meeting, 6:15 p.m.
10/3 PTO Council Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
10/6 No School, Staff
Development Day
10/8 PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:45 a.m.
10/15 Laurel Site Council Meeting, 3:00 p.m. |
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| New Laurel School Day Schedule |
The Menlo Park School District Board of Education has revised the school day schedule for 2008-2009. Laurel School start and end times will be as follows:
AM Kindergarten 8:20 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.
PM Kindergarten 10:20 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.
1st and 2nd 8:25 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.
Thursday "All Together Day"
All K, 1st and 2nd 8:25 a.m. - 1:40 p.m. |
| Details |
Lunch and Snack
Don't forget to pack a lunch for your child (except AM Kindergarteners) and a separate snack (all grades) each day. The Kid Chow Lunch Program will begin on September 8.
Information Links
A number of flyers are being sent to your home in the summer mailing. We have posted most of these to the Laurel PTO Web Site for your convenience:
Additional information is always available on our website at www.laurelpto.org. If you are new to the school, you may want to look at the Laurel School FAQs on the Laurel School web site.
To Unsubscribe
If your children are no longer at Laurel this year, please scroll to the bottom of this message and use the "Safe Unsubscribe" link (in the small print) to remove yourself from our mailing list. |
| After-School Programs |
| The Laurel PTO has contracted with a variety of independent after-school programs who offer classes on the Laurel campus. The programs for the 2008-2009 school year are: Chess, Berlitz Kids Language (French and Spanish), Sports and Fun, Basketball, Afterschool Math, First Place Fencing Club (FPFC), and Engineering FUNdamentals with LEGOs. Please see the After-School Program Overview for program descriptions and schedules.
To Register, go to:
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Be Your Kids' Super Hero. Support Your PTO.
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 The annual PTO Membership Drive is underway and we need your support. Our PTO offers a variety of enrichment programs that make Laurel a terrific place to learn, work and come together as a community.
Please join the PTO and help to continue these "super" programs.
Join by Monday, August 25th and be registered to win a reserved parking spot on Back-To-School night! Print and send in a membership form. |
| Back-to-School Coffee |
- Monday, August 25
- 8:25 a.m. and 10:20 a.m.
- Second Grade Arbor
Welcome back to school! All parents are invited to the "Back to School Coffee" after drop off on the first day of school, August 25! This year we will have two coffees, one after the 8:25 a.m. drop off and one after the 10:20 a.m. drop off.
The Coffee is a great way to get to know other parents and explore the many ways to get involved at Laurel school as a parent volunteer. Have a cup of coffee and a snack and sign up for a volunteer position that suits your interest and schedule. School t-shirts, sweatshirts and pennants will be available for sale. |
| Library News and Volunteer Training |
A warm welcome to the new Laurel Librarian, Gail Bradley. Gail comes to
Laurel after serving as Encinal's Librarian for many years. She is very
excited to join the Laurel community and is looking forward to sharing
her favorite picture books with the children. Welcome to Laurel, Gail!
If you would like to volunteer in the Laurel Library this year, please plan to attend one of the scheduled training sessions. The sessions should not take more than 30 or 40 minutes. Library volunteers help check in books, check out books, reshelve, and more during their children's weekly library time.
Training Sessions (held in the Library):
- Wednesday, September 3 - 2:00 PM
- Wednesday, September 3 - 7:00 PM
- Friday, September 5 - 8:30 AM
If any of the above days/times don't work, just contact Christine Franco at 323-6432 or christine_franco(at)yahoo.com to arrange an individual training session. |
| Menlo Park Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF) |
 Become a Foundation Ambassador this year and join an award-winning team of volunteers! Help increase participation and be the "eyes and ears" for the MPAEF. Interested? If so, please email our Ambassador liaisons for Laurel:
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| Back-to-School Night |
- Thursday, September 4
- 7:00 p.m.
- Your child's classroom
Back to School Night is your opportunity to meet your child's teacher, learn about a typical school week and classroom activities throughout the year, and sign up for volunteer opportunities in the classroom. It's a night designed just for parents, and you won't want to miss it!
Please consider walking, biking, or carpooling, as parking will be tight.
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| Kid Chow Lunch Delivery |
We are happy to announce
that Kid Chow's healthy brown bag lunches will be available Monday
through Friday during the school year for all 1st and 2nd Graders. At
this time we are not able to provide the service to the Kindergarten
classes.
Go to www.kidchow.com to view the fall menu and place your order. You can choose from a huge variety of cold entrees and up to three side dishes. While the program is offered every day, you can opt to purchase for any number of days, weeks or months that you wish. Lunch service will begin Monday, September 8th. Please note: orders are due August 31 for the week of September 8.
Kid Chow needs volunteers to help distribute the lunches at the 1st and
2nd grade arbors!! As a completely volunteer-managed program, we rely
on parents to keep the program going smoothly throughout the year.
Distributing the lunches requires only 30 minutes of your time
mid-day. Please click here to sign up
Please contact Rebecca Wang at rebs1(at)aol.com if you have any questions about Kid Chow.
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| Newton Center Program |
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 about the Newton Center click here. To view and print the registration form please click here.
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| Transportation |
Construction at Laurel and the other District campuses will create both traffic and parking challenges. If at all possible, please walk or bike to school to reduce traffic, ease on-site parking and save energy. If walking or biking to school is not an option, there are several other excellent transportation alternatives available to Laurel families:
- The District has secured special funding to purchase a new school bus, which will be used to supplement routes not served by SamTrans (such as transportation to the Newton After School Childcare Program at the Presbyterian Church). The District School Bus will also offer a morning route for K-2 students attending Laurel and Encinal.
- The City Shuttle and Tinsley bus will continue to provide after school transportation between Laurel and Encinal Schools for consolidated family pick-up.
- The District is also currently working with SamTrans to develop a new bus schedule to accommodate the new starting and ending times at each of our District's campuses.
- Consider carpooling with your neighbors and friends to reduce drop-off/pick-up traffic. The District is developing an online carpooling message board.
More information about each of these options can be found on the District website, www.mpcsd.org/transportation.
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| Laurel's Annual Quarter Gourmet - Save the Date! |
- Friday, September 12
- 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- 2nd Grade Field
What is the Quarter Gourmet? It's a potluck Laurel Family Social Tradition in the Fall. Come meet the teachers, children's classmates and families. Bring a blanket to sit on and a dish for 12 to share. See the flyer and contact Christine Evans at ckendle1206(at)cs.com or Kris Fichou at kris(at)fichou.net for more details.
Kindergarten - Dessert
First Grade - Salad
Second Grade - Main Dish |
| Fall Family BBQ and Book Fair Opening |
- Sunday, September 21
- 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Encinal School
Save the date for Fall Family BBQ and Opening of the Book Fair! The Principals, Teachers, PTO and Parents of Laurel and Encinal want to unite our schools and celebrate our children. We are going to have a Carnival in which families can sponsor games. The games can be purchased through Christine Scheetz or created by your family. Some examples of games are: balancing a stuffed safari animal on a spoon and walking through an obstacle course, Face Painting, Bubble Making, or Safari Puppets. Be creative, kids just want to have fun!
Sign up early to sponsor a game or craft and remember that more than one family can donate together. Deadline for sponsoring a game, ride, craft, as well as reservations for the catered BBQ is September 9! There will be sign-ups at the Back-to-School Coffee or you can sign up in advance by contacting Christine Scheetz at chriskevs(at)aol.com to sponsor a game or if you have questions about the event.
To volunteer at the Book Fair contact Misty Patnaik at mistypatnaik(at)gmail.com. Any questions about the Book Fair contact Roxy Bozdog at 415-596-0599 or Traci Brinton at 650-224-4600. |
| Thank You! |
| Thank you to Amy Cramer, Traci Christie, Christine Evans, Josh Evans, Emma McGaraghan, Carla Posthauer, Karen Rist and Eileen Rozanski for their help in assembling the Back-to-School information packets that were mailed to all Laurel families.
Additionally, many thanks to all those who helped make the Back to School Luncheon a special event for the teachers and staff! It clearly takes a "village": Lora Christen, Karen Rist, Becky Jackson, Shelly Orlando, Christie Goodin, Veronica Kogler, Amy Hamilton, Carolee Hazard, Gina Watkins, Christine Evans, Noel Young, Kris Fichou, Mari Chazen, Catherine Dowley, Eileen Rozanski, Kara Brahana, Kristin Campbell, Darcy Leschly, Kristi Waldron, Sheila Jimenez, Rebecca Wang, Stacie Plein, Tracie Christie, Cathy Ricke and Michelle Marini. THANK YOU! |
| Environmental Education Committee |
Tips to reduce lunch-time waste.
Did you know that if you use a disposable lunch, you create between
4-8 ounces of garbage everyday? That can add up to as much as 100
pounds per year!
- Use a lunch box or reuseable bag
- Put food in reuseable food and drink containers
- Pack a cloth napkin and reuseable utensils
- Use wax paper bags instead of plastic sandwich bags
Old athletic shoes cluttering your closet?
Too worn out for a second
life? Don't throw them out -- donate them to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe
program that recycles and repurposes sneakers for sport surfaces such
as new basketball and tennis courts, tracks, and playgrounds. Donating
your old kicks helps to alleviate landfill overload and waste of
valuable materials. Our nearest drop-off location is Metrosport at
Town and Country Village Shopping Center in Palo Alto(no cleats,
please).
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| Coming Soon: Donate Your Used Books |
| Do you have unwanted adult fiction and children's books that you've been meaning to get rid of? Well, look no further! Now is the time to rid your house of those unwanted books. We will be collecting used books for the 2008 Encinal/Laurel Book Fair and are looking for used books that are gently used and in good shape. Please no board books, magazines, coloring books, text books, or books in really bad shape.
Drop off your book donations in the Donation Bin outside the Encinal and Laurel school offices the weeks of September 8 & 15, 2008. For more information regarding donating used books, please contact Susan Tanner at mstanner(at)bluetopazsolutions.com |
Please CLIP and SAVE Box Tops like me!
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It's back to school and back to Box Tops for Laurel & Encinal
schools! The PTO's Box Tops Program is a simple and meaningful way for
children and their families to support our schools by saving and sending in General
Mills BOX TOP$ coupons found on products many of us already have in our
homes. This year we will be having 3
Drives (Fall, Winter & Spring) and hope to bring in over 15,000 Box Tops
and $1,500. It's never too soon to start
collecting, so check your pantries and tell your friends and family to start
clipping and saving today!
Watch your newsletters for more
details and submission deadlines. For a
detailed list of participating products go to:
http://www.boxtops4education.com/AboutBoxTops/Products.aspx
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| 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 $5.00 each. Use the Order Form to order by Friday, September 26. |
| Laurel School Newsletter |
The weekly email newsletter is the primary means of communication for the PTO and the school. It includes notices of upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, safety information, schedule changes, and much more.
On the first day of school, Monday, August 25, all students will get the last paper newsletter and flyer packet of the year. After that, the Laurel PTO weekly newsletter will be distributed primarily via email, on Friday afternoons. Paper copies of the newsletter and flyers will be available for pickup in the office, but we will not send newsletters and flyers home with your child each week.
Please make sure your friends and neighbors subscribe as soon as possible. Forward this email so they can click on the link below:
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| eScrip |
eScrip is a fast and easy way to give more money to the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation for our schools. Register your grocery and debit cards, and every time you shop, participating stores automatically give money back to the MPAEF.
Don't forget to renew: Previously registered members MUST renew their Safeway Club Cards EVERY year between August 1 and November 1.
Click here for details and easy directions!
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| PTO Executive Board for 2008-2009 |
President - Leslie Burke
Vice President - Carla Posthauer
Treasurer - Veronica Kogler
Financial Secretary - Gina Ryan
Recording Secretary - Traci Christie
Corresponding Secretary - Rebecca Wang
Auditor - Becky Jackson
Historian - Karen Rist
Parliamentarian - Darcy Leschly
Room Parent Coordinator - Julie Quinlan
Encinal Liaison - Shana Middler
Laurel Principal - Nancy Hendry Teacher Representative - Kristen Foley |
| Community News |
Kepler's Family Story Time
- Bubbles Story Time
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub - Sunday August 24, 2008
- 11:30 a.m.
- Kepler's Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
**Remember to mention Laurel School at the register and 10% of your Kepler's purchases comes back to our PTO.**
Cub Scouts Open House
- September 10, 2008 at 6:30
- Laurel Multi Room
Scouting has fun activities year round, strengthens the bonds
of family, encourages good behavior, builds self esteem, and teaches lifelong values. Any boy in grades 1st through 5th is invited to join
Cub Scouts. Find out more at our Open Houses. For more information visit www.pack565.org, email info(at)pack565.org or contact Cubmaster Dave at 650-322-9011. | |
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