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| Next Week |
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Monday, 3/22
No Events Scheduled
Tuesday, 3/23
No Events Scheduled
Wednesday, 3/24
Pizza My Heart Fundraiser (see below)
Budget Cut Reductions Meeting with Ken Ranella, Encinal Library at 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, 3/25
Pizza My Heart Fundraiser (see below)
Friday, 3/26
NO SCHOOL, Staff Development Day |
| Upcoming Events |
3/29-4/2 NO SCHOOL, Spring Break
4/9 PTO Council Meeting, 8:30 a.m., District Office
4/7 Laurel Kindergarten Orientation, 6:30 p.m.
4/7 Parent Education Night, 7:00 p.m.
4/13 Menlo Park City School Board Meeting, 6:00 p.m.
4/14 PTO Executive Board Meeting, 8:40 a.m.
4/15 Laurel Art & Science Fair
4/22 Laurel Kindergarten Orientation, 2:30 p.m.
4/23 General PTO Meeting, 8:30 a.m., Laurel Library
4/24 MPAEF Rock the Foundation Event
4/29 PTO 101, 8:30 a.m.
5/1 Pancake Breakfast, Encinal |
| Stay Informed About the Potential Budget Reductions Affecting Our Schools! |
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Superintendent Ranella will present information on
Potential Budget Reductions for 2010-2011 on Wednesday, March 24, at 4:00 PM in the Encinal Library.
Our District is facing a severe reduction in revenue as well as an increase in enrollment. As we plan to address a projected $2.02 million deficit for 2010-2011 and a further deficit of $2.85 million in 2011-12, potential expenditure reductions are being identified. Some of the current options under consideration include:
- Raising class sizes
- Reducing librarians
- Eliminating the Spanish Specialist program at the elementary level
- Reducing the PE Specialist program
- Eliminating curriculum support for technology
Please attend one of the informational meetings to learn more about how these and other options may impact your child. |
| Registered to Vote? |
If you are not registered to vote or have recently moved, please register at www.ShapetheFuture.org or pick up a voter registration form in the school office. Not sure if you're registered? Check your status at www.Shapethefuture.org. You must be registered by April 18th to vote on Measure C, a mail-in ballot voters will receive in early April which will raise funds for our District. |
| Parent Education Night |
The PTO Council is pleased to present:
- Dr. Jim Taylor, Positive Pushing: How to Raise a Successful and Happy Child
- Wednesday, April 7th
- 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
- Hillview Middle School Multi
Are you pushing your child too much or too little? Come listen to Dr. Jim Taylor share his no-nonsense approach with plenty of real life anecdotes, practical solutions and humor. Based on his first parenting book, Dr. Taylor introduces parents to the use of positive pushing that is very different from the kind of pushing with which they may be familiar. He demonstrates how to push, when to push and importantly, when to back off. To learn more, visit www.drjimtaylor.com.
The event is free, however please RSVP at jimtaylorevent@yahoo.com with the name(s) of the person(s) attending. Childcare for elementary age children is available for $12 if reserved before April 5th. If reserving childcare, please include your cell number and the ages of your children in your RSVP. |
| Award Recipient Nominations |
Every year our district is lucky enough to have parents, teachers, staff, and community volunteers give of their time, skills, and creativity to our schools. Many programs would not exist if it was not for this formidable group of volunteers, "the Pillars of our Community." Honorary Service Awards (HSAs) as well as the School Service Awards (SSAs) are our way of recognizing those individuals who have contributed in an extraordinary way to our District. (H.S.A. criteria outlined here; SSA criteria is based on volunteerism specifically at Laurel School.)
Please take a moment to nominate someone you know who goes above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference! You can complete the nomination form and email it back to Carla Posthauer at pto_president@laurelpto.org, or print out and drop in the President's folder in the PTO crate (in an envelope, please).
Thank you! |
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Business Alliance News |
Dine at or order take-out from Pizza My Heart in Palo Alto on Wednesday, March 24 or Thursday, March 25 and they will generously donate 30% of the purchase to the Laurel/Encinal PTO. Please take this flyer or mention Laurel/Encinal PTO to get credit for your order! They are open from 11 a.m. to Midnight, so enjoy some great pizza for lunch or dinner and help support our schools at the same time. Pizza My Heart is located at 220 University Avenue, Palo Alto and pick-up orders can be placed by calling 650-327-9400. |
| Caring & Sharing News |
Laurel's Caring and Sharing Committee Pennies for Peace campaign is happening NOW! Pennies for Peace is a program of the Central Asia Institute, that promotes and provides community-based education and literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions of Central Asia. The donation containers will be in the classroom for 6 weeks. Questions? Please contact Amy Hamilton Kratzer at adkratzer@yahoo.com. |
| ROCK THE FOUNDATION! |
 Ready to find your inner "Rock Lobster" and party "down, down, down, down...."?! Then be sure to check out this year's Rock the Foundation event website at www.mpaef.org/springevent. The site has details about this year's MPAEF spring party and fundraiser, scheduled for April 24th, including different ways you can attend, how to buy tickets, the band (Pop Fiction), rockin' raffle prizes, Fund-A-Teacher, and more! Additional information about the silent auction and the auction catalog will be sent home right after spring break. Questions? Contact the Foundation office at foundationoffice@mpaef.org. See you at the party in April!
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Green Tip of the Week |
Do you have extra fruit and/or veggies from your home garden that you would like to get off your hands? Village Harvest is a group of volunteers who will help you harvest all that extra produce and donate it (with a tax deduction for you!!) to local food banks (Second Harvest, Salvation Army, etc.). What a great way to help out and keep the yard free from fallen fruit at the same time!! |
| Art & Science Fair: Volunteers Needed! |
The Art & Science Fair is a only month away - YEAH! We are still looking for about 10 volunteers to help the morning run smoothly. Mostly we need guides (who help the kids get from one workshop to the next) and "back up" volunteers (who will fill in in case someone needs to bow out - which happens!). Please contact Carolee Hazard at if you are interested in helping! ASF will be Thursday, April 15th, from 8:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m. |
| Keep Your Kids Warm on Chilly Mornings! |
Laurel logowear has both Navy pull over hoodies and Grey full zip hoodies in stock. Let you kids show their school spirit and stay warm at the same time. Click here for an order form or email Jen Nelson at jenbank@yahoo.com. |
| Attention Laurel Parent Community! |
We are looking for a Laurel parent who has graphic design skills to complete our team. We are currently working on a Laurel School project for Fall. Please contact Debi Rice, debirice77@gmail.com for more details. |
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Laurel Kindergarten Orientation Dates |
April 7th at 6:30 p.m. or April 22nd at 2:30 p.m.
You may sign up for one of the orientation dates when you register your child for Kindergarten. For kindergarten registration information, click here. |
| New Sessions for After-School Programs! |
NOW! is the time to enroll in the final after-school sessions of the year including:
Math on Mondays beginning April 5th
Sports & Fun on Thursdays beginning April 15th
Golf on Fridays beginning April 16th
Hope Musical Theater at Laurel on Tuesday, March 23rd
Two Peninsula Youth Theater (PYT) productions at Encinal beginning the week of April 5th
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Community News |
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Kepler's Family Event
- Antoinette Portis Story Time
- Sunday, March 21, 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.**
"Kids, Parents and Power Struggles
- "Kids, Parents and Power Struggles"presented by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
- Thursday, March 25th at 7 p.m.
- Sequoia High School Auditorium, 1201 Brewster Avenue, RC
Join Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, best-selling author of "Raising Your Spirited Child", for a lively presentation on "Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles: Secrets to Effective Discipline". Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door if space is available. Scholarships are available, thanks to First 5 San Mateo County. For more information, contact Parents Place at 650-931-1840 or 650-688-3040.
Menlo Park Library News: Grand Reopening of the Children's Area
Join us on Saturday, March 27th from 10:00AM - 2:00PM at the Menlo Park Library for the grand reopening of the Children's Area. The Menlo Park Library Foundation and the community have given our children the library they deserve, featuring new computers, child-friendly self-check, homework center, colorful carpets, and a storytime area. Help us celebrate with stories, balloons, Boswick the Clown and more.
Menlo Park's Annual Easter Egg Hunt
The City of Menlo Park invites you to join us for our Annual Egg Hunt Event! The event will take place on Saturday, April 3rd from 10:00-Noon at Burgess Park. This event includes an egg hunt for children ages 2-8, Jelly Bean Guess, Crafts, a visit with the Bunny, Bounce House, and fire truck Rides on Old Tom. Please call 650.330.2200 for more information. We hope to see you there! Click here to see the flyer.
Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Holbrook-Palmer Park
Sponsored by the Atherton Dames and Holbrook-Palmer Park Foundation, this year's Easter Egg Hunt will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 3rd, at Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Avenue in Atherton. Gates will open at 9:30, and the hunt, for children in grades 3 and under, will start at 10:15 a.m. Activities will include a visit with the Easter Bunny (don't forget your cameras) and entertainment by Gerald the magician. Bagels, juice and specialty coffee drinks will be served. Cost is $5 per person. Please make your reservation by emailing vkogler@yahoo.com or calling 650-234-8447.
"RACE TO NOWHERE" Special Screening"Race to Nowhere" special screening will be held Tuesday, April 13, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. at the M-A Performing Arts Center (PAC) and will be followed by Q & A with RTN Director Vicki Abeles. "Race to Nowhere" is a documentary film examining the pressures faced by youth, teachers and parents in our achievement obsessed education system and culture. Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried students aren't developing the skills needed, and parents who are trying to do what's best for their kids, "Race to Nowhere" points to the silent epidemic running rampant in our schools. Visit www.racetonowhere.com to learn more. Tickets will sell out quickly! This is the only scheduled showing of "Race to Nowhere" in Menlo Park. To purchase tickets, go to: http://rtnmenloatherton.eventbrite.com/ For more information, please contact Charlene Margot, Parent Education Series Chair, at parenteducation@mabearspta.org or 650.868.0590.
Save the Date for the 5th Annual M-A BIG BEAR RUN
Join us on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 9 a.m.! The M-A Big Bear run is more than a 5k race starting at M-A High School and weaving its way through Lindenwood - it is a fun-filled, community event and the core fundraiser for M-A athletics. Last year, the Big Bear Run raised over 75% of the funds needed to operate M-A's sports program which serves over 900 committed student-athletes and over 50 sports teams. This is a great way to get to know your local high school. If you would like to get your name on the popular Big Bear Run t-shirts or sponsor this event, contact MicheleCulhane at michculhane@pacbell.net by March 25th. To register for the race visit the M-A Athletics Boosters website at www.m-aboosters.org. | |
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Submit Friday newsletter items by Wednesday at noon or flyers by Tuesday at noon to newsletter@laurelpto.org. Please write concisely and proofread your submissions. For past issues of the Laurel Newsletter click here. | |
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