March
March 2012
Q: Why do we have so many fundraisers?
A: We try to limit the amount of fundraisers because of the impact on families, especially those with multiple children and particularly in this difficult economic climate. Unfortunately, school funding is hurting, too. We try very hard to balance the needs of the school with what we ask of our parents and community. That's why we encourage parents to help with fundraising efforts outside of themselves - extended family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, businesses, etc. We also try to stagger the fundraisers so they don't all hit at once.
Q: What are the various fundraisers and how are the funds used?
A: This is a four-part answer: 1) PTA fundraisers include the Walk-a-thon, Fall Book Fair, Dinner Nights, and See's Candy Sale which support programs and school needs that cannot be accommodated through regular school funding sources. For example, assemblies, the principal's awards, field trips, Accountability Concepts, Scholastic News, Family Fun Nights, Birthday Books, School Safety program, Peace Builder program, and many other activities, are all funded by PTA! We wouldn't have any of these things without the support of PTA fundraisers. 2) The Cheesecake fundraiser is not sponsored by PTA. It is sponsored by 4th grade parents who coordinate a school-wide effort to raise funds to offset the cost of Outdoor Science Camp for their children who will go to the camp next fall. Without this whole-school fundraiser, the cost would be $250 per child to attend the camp. 3) The Friday Snack Sale is to provide resources for the 5th graders to have a wonderful year-end party.
4) Student Council typically has one charity fundraiser per year where no prizes are given. We do it to help others. This year, we will combine our charity efforts with the school-wide Olympics and call it "Relay Recess" for the American Cancer Society.
Q: Are there any other ways to get money for the school?
A: Absolutely! Doing little things like saving Box Tops, Campbell's Soup labels, or registering and using your Target or Vons cards for our school are all ways to get our school FREE MONEY for things you are doing anyway. Also, we appreciate parents who are constantly on the lookout for freebies from their employers and have donated much in terms of resources and materials to the school this year!
Kindergarten/ New Student Registration 2012-13
Kindergarten and New Student registration begins March 1st . Registration packets will be given out from 9:00-3:00 each school day. Please bring:
1) Birth Certificate indicating fifth birthday
prior to Nov. 2nd **
2) Immunization records:
Polio- 4 doses
DPT/DTP/DT/Td - 5 doses
MMR - 2 doses
Hepatitis B - 3 doses
Varicella
3) Proof of residency from 2 sources.
If you have friends or neighbors with children who would qualify for enrollment at our school, please pass along this information.
** A Transitional Kindergarten will be held for students with birthdays between Nov. 2nd and Dec. 2nd.
Annual Grace Miller Online Survey
Please take our Grace Miller Parent Survey which will be available for you to answer questions online now through March 16th. If you do not have access to an online computer at home or at work, the Computer Lab will be open on March 12, 14, 16 from 10:30 AM - 1:30 PM so that you may take the survey there. We value your input and look forward to hearing from you.
The online link is:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EUBZ69K9T/
Students will receive a treat from the principal when parents complete the survey!
WHAT IF . . . Emergency . . . . EARTHQUAKE!!!
During an earthquake: In the event of an earthquake, students and staff will assume the Duck and Cover position under their desks. "Duck and Cover" means that students will drop to the floor, get under their desks, cover the backs of their necks with one hand and hold onto one leg of the desk with the other. They will face away from windows. They will hold that position until the shaking has stopped.
Once the shaking has stopped, the teacher will take the red emergency backpack and evacuate the building to a designated area. If any students or staff members are immobile due to injuries, they will wait where they are until the Search and Rescue Team arrives to evacuate them to the First Aid Station. Once the class is outside, the teacher has the first student in line hold up a green, yellow, or red card. Green means everyone is safe and accounted for. Yellow means that everyone is accounted for but there is a need to be addressed with that class. Red means that immediate assistance is required and there are people missing from that class.
After successfully evacuating, staff members immediately report to duty stations. Some staff members are in charge of the students and some take on responsibilities for things like Incident Command, First Aid, Search and Rescue, Communications, Student Release, Campus Security, Supplies , Utilities shut-off, etc. Elementary Schools are on the first priority list for First Responders (fire department, paramedics, police). We won't have long to wait for help to arrive following an earthquake.
Check-out Procedures: Understandably, parents will be concerned about the safety of their children following an earthquake. It is very important that everyone remains calm so that we can maintain orderly operations, and to keep from upsetting the children by seeing adults in panic mode. It is very important that parents and those on emergency cards follow the procedures below for an orderly release of students:
· Those picking up children will report to the Release Table in front of the school.
· Staff will have the person picking up a child fill out a brief form, and the staff member will verify that the person is on the student emergency contact list. Those persons must show ID to have the student released to them.
· The person picking up the child will take the form to the area where the child is being held.
· The teacher monitoring the child in that area will collect the form and release the child to the person.
Our school Disaster Plan is on file in the school office if you'd like to look at it.
Next month: What if . . . . there is a FIRE?
