MONTEREY RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Message sent - 12/8/2008
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Tell Me and I Forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve Me and I Learn.
~Benjamin Franklin
SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL
MRES will have two openings for parent members on our School Site Council
this year. At MRES, we're very fortunate to have an active School Site
Council (SSC) as an advisory and decision-making body for all of our school
improvement considerations.
This council, composed of teachers, parents, classified staff and the
principal, considers such items as goals for the school, budget
considerations, community concerns and interests, and programs and
activities for our distinguished students. SSC parent members serve for two
years and we meet 4-5 times before school at 8:00. The entire MRES community
elects the parent representatives.
If you are interested please nominate yourself and send me a brief statement
(no more than one paragraph) stating why you would like to be a member of
School Site Council (this will be shared on the ballot sent out to all
parents). Nominations must be returned to the school office by 3:00 on
Thursday, October 8th. Election ballots will be sent home via the e-Packet
on October 13th. Please don't hesitate to call me with any questions you may
have.
PTA – MINI GRANTS FOR TEACHERS
The PTA will soon be generously offering each of our teachers the
opportunity to benefit from mini grants. The PTA Mini Grant Program provides
teachers a source for funding Art, Assemblies and Field Trips, and
Curriculum Based needs. The program provides flexibility for our teachers on
how and when the money is spent and adds needed per student funds to
classroom budgets. Resource, Speech, OT and Preschool will also benefit from
a similar program this year. Thanks PTA!
RECYCLING AT THE FLAGPOLE IS THIS THURSDAY
Our next recycling day will take place on Thursday, October 8th. Don’t
forget to bring your cans and plastic bottles. This is a great way to help
our planet, earn Butterfly Catches and raise funds for our school
COLLEGE DAY
As part of our focus on ensuring that our students develop the skills
necessary to be college ready our spirit day this Friday will be College
Day. Students are encouraged to dress wearing a college jersey or shirt. We
would love to see all of our parents at Friday Flag also wearing a college
shirt.
MAPS TESTING WILL BE COMPLETED EARLY THIS WEEK
Our MAPs testing will be completed early this week and we will be resuming
our regular computer lab schedule.
DAD’S CLUB
Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 29 for the first Dad’s Club event
of the year. We are still working on the specifics of the event. So, stay
tuned for more details. By the way, we could use more Dads to help us.
MRES 1st ANNUAL SCIENCE FAIR
Our First Annual Science Fair will take place on Thursday, January 28. All
students are eligible to participate. The Science Fair is an extracurricular
project that is to be completed at home. Students can enter the fair in one
of three categories (Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences). More
information will be forthcoming soon. If you have a background in science we
would love to have your help. We hope to offer some after school support
sessions for our students to help guide and support them in the development
of their science fair projects. Please contact me if you are interested in
helping.
WALK TO SCHOOL DAY
The PTA is sponsoring Walk to School Day, Wednesday, October 7th. All
students and parents are encouraged to walk to school on October 7th in lieu
of driving to promote healthy walking habits. Students who walk to school
will be provided with a healthy snack which has been generously donated by
Kashi. The PTA would like to thank Kashi for their support in supporting our
students’ healthy walking habits. We hope to see you all on Wednesday,
October 7th for walking fun!
AND THE WINNER FOR THE TEACHER EXPERIENCES ARE…
Teacher Experience winners will be notified this week. Thanks so much for
making these events a success. We look forward to having some fun with our
winners.
COFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL
We had an excellent Coffee with the Principal meeting last Friday. Parents
brainstormed in groups their hopes, dreams and wishes for MRES and spent
time working together to develop ways to expand our engagement with our
parents and community members. I hope you will join me for future meetings.
Dr. Rich Newman.