PTO Newsletter

Nov. 1, 2013
The Dragon Dialogue
Mission Possible
As you read through this month’s newsletter, you’ll see
a recap of all the amazing events from October, as well
as a preview of upcoming events in November. You
may be as pleased as I am to see both the variety of
activities, as well as the vast numbers of participants,
including kids, parents and staff members.
Upcoming
Events
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Nov. 6: PTO
meeting. This
meeting will be on a
Wednesday.
Nov. 7: Marking
period ends
Nov. 8: Institute Day,
school closed
Nov. 11: Veteran’s
Day, school closed
Nov. 20 to 22: Book
Fair
Nov. 21 to 26:
Parent/Teacher
Conferences
Nov. 26: Early
release
The activities consistently reflect our PTO’s mission
statement, which talks about the importance of
promoting “a sense of community at our school.”
Our annual Halloween Fest did that and more! The
camaraderie amongst the spook house builders, the
many alumni who served at the events, the teachers
who gave up their time and space, and the kids and
families who attended the events are great examples
of how we came together as a community. Thanks to
Christy Middlebrook, Debbie Miller and the dozens of
volunteers who made it a success!
Our mission statement also talks about supporting
“health enrichment.” Two activities this month
certainly accomplished that. The entire school got
behind Red Ribbon Week and its message of making
healthy lifestyle choices. Thanks to Sara Woitel and
her committee for all their work, and congrats to our
students for supporting the event – by signing
pledges, wearing special colors and more. Beyond
that, the students participated in Hearing and Vision
Testing. Thank you to Amy Hartman and her team of
volunteers who worked with Nurse Jill to get the
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hearing and vision tests
completed. Here’s to the health of all of our students!
Of course our mission statement also includes goals
for “academic enrichment.” To support that, the
PTO issued its first round of teacher grants this year,
including new “grow lights” for the 2nd grade seed unit
as well as updated materials for our reading
specialists. Thanks to Susan Short for managing the
process and helping the teachers fulfill their goals.
Other academic enrichment activities included this
year’s first all-school assembly (thank you Ruta
Troutman and Ida Kittlaus), and the 5th graders’ big
Revolutionary War Day (thank you Jennifer Haidu &
team). Making learning fun is definitely a way we will
continue to work with our teachers to promote
academic enrichment.
We support all aspects of our mission through a
variety of fundraising activities. This year we
launched our first “no catalog” fundraiser with the
hopes of raising the majority of our funds through this
new, straight-forward approach. Another fundraising
effort that kicked into full gear was the school-wide
“Your Trash Our Treasure” program. Thanks to
Sharon Salmon, Kim Wrzesinski and their team for
their creative marketing, vigilant promoting, and
diligent counting. With funds raised through these and
other efforts, we can continue to fulfill the mission
statement of the Seth Paine PTO…to enhance
students’ lives by promoting a sense of
community and supporting health, arts and
academic enrichment in our school.
Cindy Malin, PTO President
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Do you enjoy taking pictures at school events? If so, there is a new, easy way to
share your pictures with the yearbook committee.
There are two different ways that you can upload your pictures to the yearbook
website. You can either download a free app, HJ eShare to your phone, or if you
prefer taking pictures with a camera, you can visit, www.hjeshare.com. Both of these
will ask for your school name, which is SethPaine. Once your school is picked, you
can start uploading your pictures to the Seth Paine Yearbook website.
We look forward to seeing your pictures!
If you have any questions, please contact Tara Elder at tsc211@yahoo.com.
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The After School Book Club will meet on Monday, November 4 immediately after
school until 4:15 PM. Kindergarten-2nd Grade students will read and discuss One by
Kathryn Otoshi. 3rd-5th graders will discuss Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.
Students are encouraged to read the book prior to the meeting. The Ela Area Public
Library has multiple copies of both books on display with the Monarch Books and the
Blue Stem books, both near the entrance to the children’s department. The books
are also available in the Seth Paine Library-Media Center. Fun activities are planned
and snacks will be served! If your child would like to participate please complete and
return the permission slip (available on the website) along with $2/child. Contact
Tracy Suykerbuyk at tracysuy@yahoo.com if you have any questions, would like to
be added to the book club mailing list, and/or are interested in volunteering. Save the
dates: the book club will continue on Wednesday, January 29, Monday, March 17,
and Wednesday, April 30, 2014.
Box Top Winners
WOW! Seth Paine students really know how to shine and turn trash into cash!
Our first collection of the year took place on Thursday and as a school we collected 7,580 box tops!
That's $758 for our school!!!
We also collected 5200 Labels for Education points that we can use for new playground equipment
and more!
The competition was close to see who had the most, so we want to acknowledge those classes who
came close.
With 800 box tops, Mrs. Reinstein's class took third place.
With 803 box tops, Mr.Herlocker's class took second place.
And with 922 box tops, the box top dragon goes to Mrs.Lodewyck's class!
With 275 label points, Mrs.Marello & Mrs.Martine's class took third place.
With 1,254 label points, Mrs. Lodewyck's class took second place.
With 1,399 label points for education, the Campbell's bear goes to Mrs.Mathison's class!
Good job everybody! Our next collection is November 25th. Keep bringing in those labels! And
remember to ask your neighbors and relatives to collect for you too!
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5th Graders get an A+ for Fundraiser
Who knew the 5th graders would be such serious salespeople?!! Huge thanks goes out to our 5th
graders and parents of those 5th graders for making the Taffy Apple Taft Fundraiser such a
ginormous success! They sold 92 cases of apples - that's 2,208 apples! Their profit, which will
offset the cost of their trip to Taft, was $1,850! That's record breaking sales folks!
Special thanks to the lead coordinator Debbie Dice and to those who assisted her in the organizing
and distribution of apples, Jennifer Brennan and Suzanne Petropolous. (A hectic job.) Also thanks
to our motivational speaker who introduced the sale, Kymme Lightfoot.
October 4, 2013 goes 1776
Yes, on October 4th, 2013 the 5th grade students went back in time...back to Revolutionary War Days!
Thanks to the rain holding off - the back field of Seth Paine was transformed into a fun educational experience complete
with a Trapper, Spinner, American Indian, Woodworker and Fire Pit Masters. We also had two cooking stations which
provided the students opportunity to cook like they did back then. They made Johnny Cakes, Sandwich Pies and
Popcorn - all over an open fire with cast iron skillets and old fashioned popcorn popper.
The success of this event can be attributed to the following parent volunteers: Colleen Andrews, Jennifer Brennan,
Debbie Theys-Dice, David Finn, Sharon Janke, Mary Kalesz, John and Monica Maas, Cindy Malin, Traci Murphy, Kim
Nicholson, Lara O'Malley, Suzanne Petropolous, Rani Rajagopalan, Sherri Roben, Noel Schwarz, Susan Short, Janine
Steeves, Ann Swayne, Damon Tognetti and Laura Wenzel.
A special thanks goes out to Mrs. Christ's husband, Mr. Ken Christ, for volunteering his time and effort teaching
woodworking skills of the day.
At the very last minute we needed to create another station - so the 5th grade teachers came up with a great idea. They
quickly put together a back-drop and found some scripts so the students could act out the Boston Tea Party. I am
grateful to Mrs. Lodewyck, Mrs. Lyons and Mrs. Whiteman for coming to the rescue. Resident artist, 1st grade teacher,
Mrs. Weider deserves thanks for quickly creating the big ship.
All in all a great day. As my son Bennett said "I wish every day could be Revolutionary War Day." A sure sign of a
successful event!
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BOOK FAIR TIME!
The Fall Book Fair is coming up November 19th- 22nd! We are looking for volunteers
to help set up and break down fair, help shoppers of all ages to find "just the right
books," and run the cashier station/checkout.
Book Fair set up begins on Tuesday, Nov. 19th at 8:35 am.
Book Fair Hours:
Wednesday, Nov. 20th 8:35 am - 2:50 pm
Thursday, Nov. 21st 8:35 am - 7:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 22nd 8:35 am - 12:00 pm.
*Pack up Fair at 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Please let me know if you are interested in helping out! There will be a sign up genius
link sent out very soon!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
My email is nicmariani @yahoo.com
Thank you for your consideration!
Nicole Babcock
Book Fair Chair
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School Grants
The Grant Committee met last week to review the fall grant proposals submitted by the faculty at
Seth Paine. Read on to learn about the valuable enhancements to your child’s curriculum in the
coming weeks and months!
The approved grants included:
1. There will be a carabiner reward program for third – fifth grade. Tags will be awarded when a
student reads three books in one of seven categories: realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy,
mystery, nonfiction, reader’s choice, and award books. Students will be asked to try at least three
categories before they repeat one. This will be implemented by Alice Troyer.
2. Badminton racquets and birdies will be purchased by Mrs. Olsen to teach the sport of badminton to
the third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Seth Paine already has the nets, but has needed racquets
and birdies in order to learn the game.
3. Additional Read Naturally CD/Passages at the Encore level will be updated. Seth Paine has not
updated these in over ten years. Jan Boden, Diane TenBusch, and Deb Anaclerio will be utilizing
this valuable resource soon.
4. A deluxe, intermediate math manipulative kit will be utilized by the fourth grade team. These kits will
give the students the opportunity to have hands on practice of all the Common Core objectives which
are taught and learned in fourth grade. Students will also gain more experience working with a
partner or in small groups to reinforce learning. Mr. Herlocker, Mrs. Mathisen, and Miss Pender will
all have access to these kits.
5. The second grade team will be receiving grow lights for their science unit on plant and animal life
cycles. In the past they have had difficulty getting seeds to grow because their windows are on the
north side of the building. With the new lights in place, Mrs. York, Mrs. Kern, and Mrs. Reinstein’s
students will be able to watch the seeds grow with their own eyes.
6. Versa Tile Reading/Language Arts Starter Sets will be in place for the Third grade team of Ms.
Lindquist, Mrs. Martine, Mrs. Marello, and Mrs. Mirock soon. These sets provide differentiated skill
practice for all the students, including those who need additional practice to secure a skill. Each
classroom will receive a set of eight books to be used with self-checking tiles: one level below grade
level, at grade level, and one grade level above.
Purchasing these materials is possible because of the parents’ contributions to the Seth Paine
PTO. The faculty and students are so fortunate to benefit as a result of your donations. Thank you
for your generosity! Susan Short
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Thank you Freaky Friday and Spooky Saturday
Volunteers
To all our Freaky Friday, Spooky Saturday and Spook House Volunteers we say
THANK YOU!
This year was the biggest year ever. We built an entirely new Spook House the
school can continue to use for years! It would not have been possible without the
generous donations of materials, time and labor of our cherished volunteers. You all
went above and beyond and we thank you for that.
The generosity of our school community continued through to Freaky Friday and
Spooky Saturday. It takes a huge amount of volunteers to make those events
happen and we came together to create another successfully spooky good time for all
the students.
Thank you all so very much for volunteering to support our school and our students!
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Red Ribbon Week a Success!
Seth Paine celebrated a successful Red Ribbon Week from October
21st-25th. The week started off with all the children signing a pledge to
Stay Healthy. The pledges were then made into a chain and hung in the
cafeteria hallway. Tuesday children wore sweats and received gold
stamped ribbons, Wednesday children wore red and received tattoos,
Thursday children wore slippers and received pencils, and Friday
children wore school or team spirit wear and received Smarties and
stickers. The school was decorated in red ribbons, red ribbons were sent
home for the children to show their commitment at home, and there was
a coloring contest. It was a close contest with a lot of great entries.
Winners were Alayna Woitel, Emily Borek, Gianna Mirabella, Justin
Stern, William Chialdikas and Anthony Enciso . Thanks to everyone for
participating!
Next Newsletter Deadline: Nov.22 with publication date of Dec. 1
Please contact Kristy MacKaben at kmackaben@hotmail.com with
newsletter submissions. Photos of past events, or information about
upcoming events are welcome.
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