MONTEREY RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Message sent - 12/8/2008

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.
~Abraham Lincoln

GRAND OPENING OF THE MRES PARENT VOLUNTEER CENTER
I am thrilled to announce the grand opening of the MRES Parent Volunteer Center. All of us at Monterey Ridge believe deeply in the importance of developing a strong relationship between home and school. We want volunteering at school to be easy and comfortable for our parents. Therefore, we have dedicated a room specifically for our parents and volunteers to call their own. We hope having a place to gather will continue to help build a strong sense of community and provide another arena for all of us to partner in ensuring the very best for every one of our Monarchs. The Volunteer Center is located in the D village.

GRANT FOR TRAINING PLAYGROUND AND ESS STAFF
MRES is one of two PUSD schools that has recently been awarded a district Association of Poway School Managers mini-grant that will provide our noon-duty playground supervisors and ESS staff with training on effective playground supervision. Stuart Jones, owner/director of Outpost Summer Camps, Inc will be providing two trainings. The first training describes typically-occurring playground situations and provides specific, proactive skills and best-practices for creating a positive playground environment. The second training crafts solutions for current challenges occurring at MRES and brings together noon-duty personnel and ESS staff to problem-solve. We are excited about this opportunity and look forward to building a terrific recess and after-school experience for our students!

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
On Friday, February 27 we will once again be honoring our Character Counts Students of the Month at our Student Council led Breakfast of Champions before Friday Flag. As I am certain you are aware, our commitment to character education is strong. We want to celebrate students who exhibit the behaviors of the Pillar of Character we emphasize each month. Over the course of the school year we celebrate the six Pillars (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship) to help us bring character education alive and provide a barometer to help guide our students' decision making. On Friday, we will be honoring those students who exemplified the pillar of Trustworthiness. Thanks again for joining us in helping build the minds and characters of our students.

e-PACKETS
The launch of our green e-Packets continues to be a success. The PTA website had over 3500 hits after the last e-Packet email. Thanks again for supporting our efforts. Please watch for the ConnectEd email this Wednesday.

4th GRADE STAR WRITING TEST IS NEXT WEEK
On March 3 our fourth grade students will be taking the California Writing Standards Tests (CSTs in writing). Our students will be required to produce one of four types of writing: narratives, summaries, information reports, or responses to literature. The CA Dept. of Education has an excellent online guide to the test and offers sample student writing responses. It can be viewed at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/documents/cstgr4wrttg.pdf

BREAKFAST, BOOKS AND BASKETBALL IS THREE WEEKS AWAY
Our Dad’s Club will be leading our first ever “Breakfast, Books, and Basketball” on Saturday, March 14th. Come to relax, connect with our school community, eat a yummy pancake breakfast, shop for books from our Scholastic Book Fair, and stay for a friendly pick-up game of basketball. Breakfast consists of 3 pancakes and a drink (OJ or coffee), and costs whatever donation you are willing to give. The goal is to raise money for calculators and other math supplies. We will be open from 7:30am – 10:30am. The book fair will take place in the library, and the pancake breakfast will be in the cafeteria. Hope to see all of you there (including Moms, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents). If you are willing to help out that day, or have an electric griddle you are willing to let us use, please contact Becky Scioscia at bscioscia@powayusd.com

PTA
FUN RUN IS NEXT WEEK

Our 3rd Annual Fun Run Fundraiser will take place next week on Wednesday, March 4th. If you have not sent in your pledge form please do so asap. This should be a super fun event.

FOUNDATION
LAST CHANCE TO PREVIEW TALENT SHOW ACTS IS THIS WEEK

The First Annual Monarch Talent Show (March 11) is quickly approaching. All acts must be previewed (auditioned) by Wednesday, February 25. Auditions are held Wednesdays from 1:40-2:30PM in the MP room and usually only take a few minutes per act. Tickets for the Talent Show are on sale this month. For questions, please email suneethig@hotmail.com.

ALBERTSON’S CARDS
Albertson’s is requiring all preferred savings card holders to reregister their cards. To do so, please go to www.albertsonscp.com or call 1-800-696-6419. This is a great way to continue to support our school.

Dr. Rich Newman.

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