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| From the PTO President |
 Hello Laurel Parents!
A Huge High-Five to all of our Laurel families (52%) who have joined the PTO! Thanks to you, we are a little over half way there. However this means that 48% of our families still need to join in order to bring our 2009/10 PTO budget alive! Our Membership Drive ends NEXT FRIDAY. If you have not yet joined please do so now by filling out this Membership Form, or donating online (click the "Join Your PTO Now!" button). Click here to see how your contributions are put to work!
Carla Posthauer
Laurel PTO President |
| Next Week |
| Monday, 9/21
No Events Scheduled
Tuesday, 9/22
No Events Scheduled
Wednesday, 9/23
General PTO Meeting, 7:00 p.m., Laurel Multi
Thursday, 9/24
No Events Scheduled
Friday, 9/25
PTO Membership Drive Ends
School Spirit Day - Wear White and Blue! |
| Upcoming Events |
9/28 Kid Art Fundraiser- Order Week
10/4 Sunday Launch of the Book Fair
10/5-9 Book Fair in the Laurel Multi
10/7 National Walk & Bike to School Day
10/13 Menlo Park City School Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m.
10/14 PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:40 a.m.
10/15 Minimum Day
10/16 Staff Development Day/ No School
10/20 Picture Day
10/30 Halloween Parade
11/2 Make-Up Picture Day |
| General PTO Meeting This Wednesday! |
Special Guest Speaker
Toni Barone, the District's Instructional Technology Coordinator, will speak about 21st Century Learning. Find out how our District has been busy creating opportunities that provide our students with an educational experience reflective of today's global world and preparing them to learn in tomorrow's world.
- Wednesday, September 23
- 6:15 p.m. Refreshments/Mingling
- 7 p.m. General PTO Meeting
- In the Laurel Multi
All Laurel parents are encouraged to attend this year's first General Meeting of the Laurel PTO. Get updates from the PTO, Linda Creighton, the School Board and more, and then enjoy the exciting information from Toni Barone and how 21st Century Learning impacts Laurel students.
The PTO will provide free babysitting from 6:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. in the Laurel library. The deadline for reserving babysitting is TODAY, September 18th. To reserve, send the names and ages of your children to Alisa Francis at pto_vicepresident@laurelpto.org. | |
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| Extra/Mini Directory Orders |
| Every family in the school district receives a student DISTRICT WIDE directory. If you would like additional directories, or a half-sized version, you may order them for $5.00 each. Use the Order Form to order by Friday, September 26. |
| Site Design Committee Members Needed |
Laurel School is looking for three parents to sit on the Site Design Committee. Committee
members will look at plans and give input into the development and progress related to construction, landscaping, and site design at Laurel School. Meetings will occur 3-4 times per year after school. Anyone who is interested in sitting on the committee should email Linda Creighton. | |
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| "Reading Around the World" Book Fair - October 4th - 9th |
Book Fair Events
Mark your calendars for the "Reading Around the World" Book Fair Kick-Off Party on October 4th from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Laurel! The Book Fair will be open for shopping in the multipurpose room and bands will be filling the air with music! Facing painting, firemen and a magician will also add magic to your afternoon! Prior to our kick-off party, Laurel Students will receive a Book Fair coloring sheet from their teachers and Encinal students will receive word searches to complete. Return these sheets to your teachers by Friday, October 2nd to enter to win a poster at the Book Fair October 4th through 9th. Don't forget to honor your wonderful teacher with a Gift Card, which will be available for purchase only at the Book Fair. Book Fair will be open Monday - Thursday from 8:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m. with extended hours on Wednesday until 8:30 p.m. (Friday hours TBD). See you at the Fair!
Volunteers Needed
Do you love to read? We do too! Join us as we celebrate books and the love of reading at the Encinal/Laurel Book Fair in the Laurel School Multipurpose Room, October 4-9, 2009. Parent volunteers are needed to staff the registers, help students find books, and replenish the bookshelves. Learn what books have replaced Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Harry Potter as the must have books this fall while helping us raise money for our schools! Volunteer shifts are available all week! No separate training meeting is required this year. Just arrive 15 minutes before your shift for a quick training. Find a shift that fits your busy schedule by contacting Mary Sapountzis at marysapountzis@yahoo.com.
If you love numbers even more than good books, we need you to be our book fair treasurer. Don't let your accounting skills go to waste! We need a marvelous, mathematical mom (or dad) like you! Please contact Elizabeth Katz at el_katz@yahool.com to volunteer.
Donate Used Books - Needed NOW!
Used books are needed for the 2009 Laurel/Encinal Book Fair! Please donate Adult Fiction and Children's Books - 100% of the proceeds go to our PTO. Drop off your book donations in the Donation Box outside the Encinal and Laurel school offices the weeks of September 21 and 28, 2009. Please no board books, magazines, coloring books, text books, or books in really bad shape. For more information regarding donating used books, please contact Susan Tanner at mstanner@bluetopazsolutions.com. |
| Environmental Education Committee News |
| It's that time of year to teach our children the difference between trash and compost during snack and lunchtime as part of our ongoing efforts to reduce Laurel's impact on the environment. This zero waste lunch program has been very successful for Laurel in past years, diverting over 5 tons of garbage from the landfill every year! This program cannot continue without parent support, so if you are available to volunteer during lunch in September, please email amy_cramer02@yahoo.com. Be sure to indicate the number of days you are available and preferred days of the week. Thank you! |
| After-School Programs Update |
| Many of the After-School programs are still looking for students. To enroll your student in any of the following after-school activities click here.
Hoops on Mondays
Math on Mondays, deadline to enroll is today, class begins 10/5
Berlitz Beginning Spanish for AM kinders on Wednesdays: This class needs at least one more student to continue.
Berlitz Beginning Spanish on Wednesdays
Berlitz Advanced Spanish on Thursdays
Sports and Fun on Thursdays
Chess Club and Chess Team on Thursdays
Engineering FUNdamentals with Legos on Fridays is still enrolling 1st and 2nd graders.
If your son or daughter is participating in an Afterschool Program please remind them to go to the class on the appropriate day. |
| MPAEF News |
Join eScrip for Our Schools!
When you do your shopping, you can support our schools as a percentage of your purchase is contributed to the Foundation. Last year eScrip earned our district over $45,000! That money goes directly to the district operating budget to help support our teachers, librarians, science and music instruction. And it won't cost you anything. Register your Safeway card, Macy's or major credit cards to generate extra returns for your children's education. Click here to sign up. Already a member? As a courtesy to our many eScrip supporters, the Foundation will automatically renew your Safeway account. If you would prefer to do it yourself, please let us know by October 2, 2009. Contact the MPAEF office to request that we not automatically renew your support or if you have questions. |
| Disaster Readiness Program |
| Would you like to volunteer to help out with the Disaster Readiness Program at Laurel? We are looking for volunteers who can help out from now to October 1st. Hours will be 10:20 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. Please contact Rena at rena.hafeez@hotmail.com or (650) 243-1811. |
| Walk & Bike to School Day |
October 7th is the national Walk & Bike to School Day. Laurel is participating again this year! We're looking for parents or other volunteers to help organize the day (making signs, collecting giveaways, etc.), and to be there on the day itself (place signs, welcome walkers & bikers at school, etc). If you want to be part of this special day, please reply to summerstormca@hotmail.com. |
| Thank You Fall Family Potluck Volunteers! |
We would like to thank our gracious volunteers for all of their help. We especially thank Carla Posthauer and Tracy Uyeki for being wonderful co-chairs and making this event a huge success. A big thank you also goes to everyone who volunteered their time at the potluck:
Miram Rivera, Elizabeth Gujral, Carla Johnson Bass, Suliana Moimoi, Kenia Garcia, Priti Khare, Victor Pascual, Alisa Francis, Laurie Sapp, Jennifer Murray, Carrier Zehnder, Lisa Bemner, Valerie Laird, Mercedes Hausler, Angela Ballard, Carol Pistorino, Emily Fox, Sarah Griffin, Christie Goodin, Betsy Baum, Liz Macias, Julie Shanson, Betsy Baum, Emily Fox, Tekalin Delore, Jenny Fiermuth, LaSahnna Mcnight, Rena Hafeez, Angelia Lopez, Samantha Martinez, and Marianne Shinn, |
| Fall Family Potluck Lottery Winners! |
We have many unclaimed lottery ticket winners. Winners will receive either a Laurel cookbook or blanket. If you have any of the unclaimed lottery tickets, please contact Betsy Baum at 650-283-0351 or ebaum@hrmrlaw.com to arrange for pickup. And the winners are: 806585, 807672, 806450, 807645, 807010, 806992, 806442, 806964, 806596, 807673, 806994, 806985, 806974, 806434, 806976, 806998, 806593, 806428, 807676, 806595, 806579, 807692, 806979, 807649, 806429, 806981, 807680, 806456, 806444, 807653, 806976, 806998, 806593, 806428, 807676, 806595, 806579, 807692 |
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Community News |
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Kepler's Family Event
- Story Time with Vivian Walsh & Adam McCauley, June and August
- Sunday, September 20, 2009
- 11:30 a.m.
- Kepler's Books, 1010 El Camino, Menlo Park
Kepler's Special Youth Event
- Jeni Holm, Baby Mouse #11: Dragonslayer
- Friday, September 25, 2009
- 5:30 p.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.**
GIRL SCOUTS ROCK!!!
Interested in Girl Scouts for your daughter this year? Join a world-wide organization dedicated to helping girls build character and skills for success in the real world. Come and find out how to get a troop started.
- Girl Scout Parent Information Meeting
- Friday, September 25
- 3:00 p.m.
- 2nd Grade Arbor at Laurel
Girl Scouts is open to ALL girls kindergarten-5th grade. No RSVP is required. Questions? Contact Rena Hafeez
Menlo College Basketball Clinic
This fall Menlo College will continue the tradition of providing a series of basketball clinics for players in grades K-5 and 6-8. Menlo will hold four individual clinics consisting of basic fundamentals, skill development, and teamwork drills. The series begins on Sunday, Sept. 20 and continues on Sept. 27, Oct. 4, and Oct. 11. Any questions, please contact Matt Davis at 650-543-3777 or email mdavis@menlo.edu. We look forward to seeing you on the court.
MP Strikers - Soccer
MP Strikers is looking for a few soccer players for this fall season! If you are interested please visit our website at www.mpstrikersfc.com.
Youth Rugby
The Peninsula Seahawks Youth Rugby Football Club - Open to boys and girls ages 5 to 16, no experience necessary. For more information, please visit the team web page at www.seahawkyouthrugby.com. After-School Drama Offerings at Encinal (open to Laurel students)
- Hope Musical Theatre Fall Workshops: Come SING, DANCE and ACT on STAGE!
Hope Musical Theatre is offering exciting workshops in October. We explore a
different Broadway Musical number during each 3 hour workshop! The last 10 minutes
of the workshop we invite parents and friends to come and watch a mini show
with costumes and all! 1st - 5th graders. Please click here (and click on Encinal) to learn more and to register.
- Encinal Elementary School is once again teaming up with Peninsula Youth Theatre
to offer after-school drama this year. Students will learn the basics of acting,
character development, storytelling and theater terminology while having fun
and rehearsing a show. Thursdays for 1st - 3rd Graders in the MultiPurpose Room. Please click here for more information and to register online.
Girls Leadership Institute Presentation
- Join highly-acclaimed national girls expert Rachel Simmons as she speaks from her new book, The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence
- Thursday, September 24
- 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
- Gunn High School's Spangenberg Auditorium
Earlier this year Rachel drew a standing room only crowd of 700 in Los Altos, captivating both girls and their parents. You and your daughter do not want to miss this opportunity to see Rachel live! This event is free and open to the public and is appropriate for parents and daughters (grade 5 and up), teachers, administrators, and medical professionals. No registration is required, but parking is limited, so please carpool if possible! For more information, click here or contact Maureen Griffin at m_a_griffin@comcast.net.
Challenge Success Conference: The Long View: Preparing our Children for 21st Century Success
- Friday, September 25
- 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
- Memorial Auditorium, Stanford University
Free and Open to the Public Featuring: Michael Thompson, author of best-selling books Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys and The Pressured Child; Chris Kelly, Chief Privacy Officer and Head of Global Public Policy at Facebook; Madeline Levine, author of best-selling book The Price of Privilege; Three student offering perspective on student stress and their views of success. Click here for more information and to RSVP. | |
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