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Next Week
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Monday, 9/1
- NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
Tuesday, 9/2
- Carpool Pick-up Begins
Wednesday, 9/3
- Library Volunteer Training, 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, 9/4
- Laurel Back-to-School Night, 7:00 p.m
Friday, 9/5
- PTO Council Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
- Library Volunteer Training, 8:30 a.m.
- School Spirit Day - wear blue and white! |
| Upcoming Events |
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9/8 Kid Chow Lunch Delivery Begins
9/10 PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:45 a.m.
9/12 Art Coordinator Meeting, 10:15 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.
9/27 School Beautification Day
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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Be Your Kids' Super Hero and Support Your PTO!
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 Over 80% of the PTO budgets are raised during the annual membership drive going on now. Raising money early in the school year helps with budgeting and it reduces the number of additional fundraisers needed to run our programs. Please help us continue to offer the multitude of super enrichment programs for our children, staff and community by joining the PTO today. You can download a flyer or join online. |
| 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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| Drop-off and Pick-up |
Car/Carpool Pick-up Begins Tuesday, September 2nd!
Today you should receive your Car/Carpool pick-up cards, if requested. Wednesday was the deadline for requesting a Car/Carpool number, which is required before you can use Car/Carpool afternoon pickup at the front of the school - starting on Tuesday, September 2nd. You can still fill out the Curbside "Carpool" Pick-up Form and run it over to the school office, but requests those will not be filled in time for the first day of Carpool Pickup. (Note: It is not necessary to drive more than one child in order to qualify for a carpool number and you are not obligated to use it - you can always park and walk in as long as your child knows where to meet you.)
Please remember not to park and leave your car at the curb in front of the school during drop-off and pick-up times. It's a good idea to review the Drop-off and Pick-up Procedures before Wednesday. |
| Stolen Bike and Bicycle Awareness on Campus |
An unlocked boy's bike was stolen on Tuesday from the racks located near Ringwood. If you have any information regarding this incident, or notice suspicious behavior around the bike racks, please contact Nancy Hendry. Please keep in mind the following:
- Always lock your bike. We have three bike racks for locking up bikes
located around the campus.
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Parents and students must walk their bikes on campus at all times.
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After school, please do not bike or walk in front of the children during
carpool, you must walk your bike around the back of the office. |
| Library Volunteer Training |
| 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. |
| Art Coordinator Meeting |
- Friday, September 12
- 10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
- Laurel's Art Room (D2)
If you are the Art Coordinator for your child's classroom, please come to a meeting to go over the year's schedule and answer any questions you may have. Contact Lora Christen at lorachristen(at)yahoo.com or Amy Kratzer at adkratzer(at)yahoo.com.
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| Laurel's Annual Quarter Gourmet - We Need Volunteers! |
- Friday, September 12
- 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- 2nd Grade Field
Come meet your teachers, classmates and families, and groove to the sounds of the Whoa Nellies Band (great 60's and 70's music). Please bring a dish for 12 to share, specified by class below. You and your family will enjoy the resulting buffet and pay a "Quarter per Scoop" or go through the "$5 (per person) Express Lane". (Note: the Express Lane will not provide change, so a check/exact cash/or larger donation works) All proceeds go directly to the Laurel PTO! Look at our flyer to see more details, to RSVP for the Quarter Gourmet, and to sign up for a volunteer slot. We need volunteers! 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 |
| 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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| 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 Details |
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.
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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| 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! If you have questions about the event or would like to sponser a game, contact Christine Scheetz at chriskevs(at)aol.com.
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 Katie Ferrick and Noel Young of the Hospitality Committee for putting together not one, but two exceptional Back to School Coffees. And thank you to all of the Committee Chairs who were there to greet people and answer questions.
Thanks to Christine Evans, Becky Jackson, Denise Kouzoujian, Carla Posthauer, Julie Quinlan, Eileen Rozanski, and Rebecca Wang for helping to assemble and deliver the first day of school packets!
A big thanks goes to Tom Haid of Tom's Outdoor Furniture in Redwood City! He
slashed his price for 2 large market umbrellas and bases to just cover his cost
so that the PTO could supply umbrellas to shade the very sunny second grade
arbor tables. Thanks for helping our kids to beat the heat. |
| 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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| 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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| Community News |
Kepler's Family Story Time
- Back to School Story Time
- Sunday August 31, 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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