Sligo Creek Elementary School

PTA Newsletter
Volume 12, Issue 3 Friday, November 5, 2010

PTA Presidents Corner

Thank you to all the room parents who made Friday's Fall Festival go smoothly. By now, we expect you've realized that room parenting is a fun and rewarding way to spend all of your waking hours. Or, like Stuart, you can spend only 90% of your waking hours as a second-grade room parent, and the other 90% of them as PTA co-president. Most of our classes have room parents, but there are still 4 classes that don't: Ms. Reinhardt, Ms. Scheurer, Ms. Wright, and Ms. Cissel. If you can be the room parent for one of these teachers, please contact Laura Foradori (lforador@yahoo.com). If you're new to room parenting, find another room parent who can share what they've done. Check in with your child's teacher. Find out what help they can use; every teacher has a different preference for how their room parent is involved. Don't try to take it all on yourself. Keep an e-mail list of the parents in the class. Ask for help from parents on specific things - photocopying, decorating, party preparation, Friday folders. And don't be afraid to poll the listserv for advice. For extra credit, know who the room parents are for the other classes in your grade. There are opportunities for combined activities, or at least coordinating party preparation. In an ideal world, we (the PTA) would have strong grade-level coordinators to work across classes, but in reality, if there is a gradewide issue, we rely on room parents to pick it up. Your teachers talk across the grade on academic stuff, so see how you can support them socially. And if you see something that the PTA might help with, please bring it up. If you're not a room parent, find out who your room parent is and let them know that you're willing to help. In other PTA news, the PTA recently submitted an application with the Takoma Foundation for the purchase of 2 bike racks and bike safety demonstrations by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. We hope that our grant is approved, and that we are able to offer our students a safe place to park their bikes and also encourage more students to bike to school. The Foundation is expected to make its award decisions in December, so we'll keep you posted on how our application fares. Many thanks to Yasmina Mudarres for the inspiration, and to Mrs. Swift, Cori Vanchieri and Tori Hall for their help with the grant application! Look for the school directories in mid-November. Diane Kelleher & Stuart Kern PTA co-Presidents

Principals Letter
Dear Parents, We had such a great time at our Wacky Word Walk and Fall Celebration. Word Girl appeared in living color and students thought a REAL super heroine had just appeared. My credibility may not ever be the same. Students enjoyed making their own costumes with a focus on vocabulary. It was a rich, educational and fun experience for everyone, even Word Girl It was an exciting time for our children and we were pleased with the response and the end result of the activities. We will continue to focus on vocabulary in all areas of our instructional program. Coming up quickly are parent conferences. Please make sure that you have contacted your Page | 1 childs teacher and have scheduled a conference on th th November 11 or November 12 . This is an important time for you to gain insight related to your childs academic progress. We are partners in your childs education and we look forward to chatting with you. We want to make sure that every parent attends a Parent/Teacher conference. Bring your questions, concerns and celebrations! We are now entering the second quarter of the year. We have a great deal of work to do and our resources remain limited. More than ever, we rely on our volunteers. We are still in dire need of a volunteer to coordinate the efforts of our volunteer force. If you have only 30 minutes a week to give to (Continued on page 2)

(Principals Letter from page 1) our school, we would welcome it. Please contact the PTA presidents, Diane Kelleher or Stuart Kern if you would like to fill this great need. If your child is a car rider, you have noticed that two days a week we have the support of MCPS Security to assist in our morning drop off. Drop off and pick up is much safer and runs more smoothly as parents make it a habit to pull as far around the circle as possible. This enables us to get more cars in the circle, even if no one is behind you when you pull up. Under no circumstances are students to get out on the lane side or get belongings from the trunk

of the car. It only takes one driver to make an error and a child will be injured. In the afternoon, we have decreased our pick up time by 10 minutes (except on rainy days). Thank you drivers, for your continued efforts in following the rules of the road. As we approach the holiday season this month, our lives get more hectic and our time more stretched. I encourage you to take time for yourself and time for your family. Everyone will benefit. Thank you for a great first quarter. Our children are soaring. Sincerely, Diantha Swift

PTA News
Upcoming December 7th PTA Meeting: Enrollment Concerns
Please mark your calendars now for the PTA's December 7th General Meeting at 7pm. Two MCPS officials will join us to discuss our enrollment concerns related to Sligo Creek's Academy population. Since the boundary decision by the Board of Education last year, we have seen declining enrollment in our Academy classes (in some cases more than was predicted). Our community remains concerned about what these enrollment numbers mean for the long-term health of the school. Bronda Mills, our Community Superintendent, and Bruce Crispell, Director of the MCPS Long-Range Facilities Planning office, will be there to help us understand what these numbers mean and what we can do about them. Many thanks to Mrs. Swift for helping us to secure the attendance of Ms. Mills and Mr. Crispell at our December PTA meeting. Please plan to join us!

PTA Activities & Volunteer Opportunities

Upcoming Staff Luncheon: Donations & Volunteers Needed
Thursday, November 11th at 1:20 pm the PTA will host a Staff Luncheon, and we are seeking the help of 25 parents. We know everyone is quite busy right now, but the SCES PTA has a lovely tradition of honoring the school's staff with a few lunches each year. If you could contribute one or more things from the following list, we would so appreciate it. - Main courses such as a crock pot of chili or soup, lasagna, baked ziti, enchiladas or rotisserie chicken. What works well is if you can bake it that morning and bring it hot between 12:45 and 1:00 p.m. For crock pots, you can bring it any time and just leave the pot turned on. - Bread or rolls - Desserts - Fresh fruit or fruit salad - Salad fixings or dressings A few people are also needed to help set-up at 12:15 pm and clean-up at 2:30 pm (kids are welcome)! November 11 is an early dismissal day and we will hope this will add to our pool of terrific volunteers! Please email scesappreciation@yahoo.com with your donation. A food can be dropped off in the staff lounge on Thursday morning (anytime between 7-11:00 am). Arrangements can also be made to drop off the goods early-- either at the school or at a volunteer's home. Thanks, we're looking forward to a successful lunch! Staff Appreciation Committee Jennifer Tyler, Kathleen Isaacson Page | 2

Countdown to the Book Fair!!

The Book Fair is right around the corner! We will have both French and English books available for purchase. Each class will have time to visit the Fair but parents and family members are welcome to come at any time to browse and buy! We will be open during the following times in the Media Center: Monday, November 8: 8:30 am 4 pm Tuesday, November 9: 8:30 am 4 pm Wednesday, November 10: 8:30 am 4 pm Thursday, November 11: 8:30 am 6 pm (half day) Friday, November 12: 8:30 am 2 pm (half day) Students will preview the books on Monday and Tuesday with their class. If you send your child to school with money to purchase books, please do so on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. We accept cash, checks and most major credit cards. If you send your child to school with cash or a check, please add the 6% MD state sales tax we must charge on all purchases. Also, we are still looking for volunteers. Please contact Alice Vorosmarti at vorosmarti@verizon.net if you are able to help out! Thanks for helping to make the Book Fair a success!

After School Programs: Thank You to Teachers and Staff

The PTA would like to give a huge thank you and norme merci to the following teachers for allowing their classrooms to be used for the PTA sponsored After School Programs: Mr. Brinson Mme. deDecker Ms. Dodson Ms. Duckworth Mme. Dupeux-Murray Ms. Kelley Mrs. Lightfoot Ms. Payne Mrs. Scott

And special thanks also to Mrs. Matthews and Mrs. Moise for helping to find classrooms, answer questions, be patient and provide paper and countless assistance when needed. Marisa Osorio SCES PTA Afterschool Program Coordinator

Special Needs Corner

Monthly Gathering of Sligo Creek ES Parents with Special Needs Children. All Are Welcome! Just Drop by. We plan to discuss executive function disorder, among other topics. Friday, November 19 at 9.45am Kefa Caf 963 Bonifant Street Silver Spring, MD 20910 For more information, contact: Marla Schrader, Special Needs Committee Chair marlaschrader@msn.com Tel. (301) 603 8640 Page | 3

PTA Election Day Bake Sale Raises Over $1000

Thanks to so many of you that stopped by our PTA bake sale on Election Day. Please thank your friends and neighbors as well. With your generosity, and the generosity of your friends and neighbors, we raised $1,016.52 (plus one euro) for our PTA! The array of treats was spectacular, and barely a crumb remained at the end of the day. Thank you to many of you that donated food and time to run the sale.

French Immersion News

French Immersion Action Meeting: November 18, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Because the language immersion programs in Montgomery County are considered "magnet programs", they are often prime targets for budget cuts. We need continued parent involvement to build support among the county and state's decision-makers to keep our French immersion program strong. There are other ways that parents can help as well. There are also great opportunities to involve French-language organizations in our school's activities. And our FI teachers can always use parent assistance. Please attend a meeting on Thursday, November 18, 7:00 - 8:30 pm, to learn what we've accomplished and how you can help. Immersion has maintained its support because of the actions of parents like you. So please attend and let us know how you can get involved! Cori Vanchieri SCES PTA Advocacy Committee

PTA and School Calendar 2010-2011

November 8 12 Thursday, November 11 Friday, November 12 Thursday, November 18 Wednesday, November 24 Thursday, November 25 Friday, November 26 Tuesday, December 7 PTA Book Fair PTA Staff Appreciation lunch; Early Release Early Release French Immersion Action Meeting Early Release No School No School PTA Meeting Media Center

7:00 pm 8:30 pm

7:00 pm - 8:30pm in the Gym

SLIGO CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PTA Sligo Creek Elementary School 500 Schuyler Rd Silver Spring MD 20910 PTA Web site: http://www.scespta.org/ Alice Vorosmarti, Newsletter Editor vorosmarti@verizon.net

Diane Kelleher,co- President Stuart Kern, co-President Andrew Schulman, Treasurer Suzanne Chartol, Secretary Jennifer Calvert, Vice President for Events & Fundraising Andrea Savoye, Vice President for Communication & Operations Laura Foradori, co-Vice President for Academic Support Alice Vorosmarti, co-Vice President for Academic Support

Current and Past Issues of the SCES PTA newsletter are available online at the PTA Website WWW.SCESPTA.ORG

Page | 4