mountaineer - Mountain Avenue Elementary
Transcription
mountaineer - Mountain Avenue Elementary
MOUNTAINEER 2012 California Distinguished School, 2005 U.S. Blue Ribbon School Principal: Ms. Rebeca Witt MACK President: Katrina Harbers Vol um e 4 4 , I s s u e 8 PTA President: Lourdes Wang Mountaineer Editor: Mary Braswell www.mountainavenue.org A p ri l 201 2 Calendar April Principal’s Message Rebeca Witt [email protected] It brings me great pleasure to announce that Mountain Avenue is now a 2012 California Distinguished School! This award is truly significant because it is the only honor that the state provides to schools with an outstanding record over a period of years. Only certain schools that demonstrate great success are invited to apply, and they are only eligible to receive the award every four years. It is not automatically given: After submitting an application, schools meeting the paperwork criteria advance to the next stage – receiving a validation visit. In March we greeted the state validation team. This group of visitors walked into all of our classrooms and interviewed parent groups, students and school staff. They also had an opportunity to speak with school board members Christine Walters, Mary Boger and our Superintendent Dr. Sheehan. At the end of their visit, they shared how impressed they were with our school community, where our PTA, nonprofit MACK, School Site Council, and staff all come together and complement one another to provide the best for our students. 4! Recycle Day 5! PTA Association meeting - 9 a.m. ! Minimum Day - 12:30 p.m. dismissal ! Fourth-Grade Pali meeting - 6 p.m. ! Open House - 6:30-8 p.m. 9-13 !Spring Break 16 ! No School - Staff Development Day 21! Math Field Day ! MACK Night Out 23-27!Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week 27! PTA Executive Board meeting - 9 a.m. May 1-11! STAR testing 3! Teacher coffee, hosted by 1st grade 4! PTA Installation Lunch/Assn. mtg - 9:30 a.m. 9-12 !State PTA Convention, Anaheim 14! Chorus performance - 7:15 p.m. 15! 5th Grade Field Trip - Riley’s Farm 16 ! Instrumental Music performance ! ! 6:30 p.m. at Rosemont 18! Volunteer Appreciation flag ceremony ! PTA Executive Board meeting - 9 a.m. ! MACK Movie Night 20-26!6th Grade Trip to Washington, D.C. 28! No School - Memorial Day We are great because we recognize that it takes all of us to help students succeed. At Mountain Avenue, our collaborative spirit and flexibility ensure that our innovations and traditions continue to develop along with our rising scores and academic excellence. Our incredible level of PTA involvement creates a warm and welcoming environment in which students know their education and well-being are a high priority for us all. Our nonprofit foundation, MACK, tirelessly provides support for our programs, especially in these times of depleted state and federal funding sources. This is why it is very important that you, our families, support MACK Night Out on April 21 – your support of MACK also funds professional staff development training for our teachers. I know many of you belong to both organizations, and if you don’t yet, it is not too late to join PTA or MACK. State Superintendent Tom Torlakson states, “This award is a direct reflection of the dedication, hard work, and vision of your school’s educational community, and I am pleased to be able to award this honor to your school.” We are grateful that our state recognizes the amazing effort our staff, parents and ultimately our students are making each and every day at Mountain Avenue. How timely that we get to celebrate by having our Open House this Thursday – where you can come together as a community and celebrate all that makes us special! Congratulations, everyone, and see you Thursday night! Mountain Avenue Elementary PTA • 2307 Mountain Avenue • La Crescenta CA 91214 • (818) 248-7766 • Glendale Council, 1st District www.mountainavenue.org 2 April 2012 P TA P r e s i d e n t ’ s M e s s a g e T.E.A.M. Mountain Avenue: Together Everyone Achieves More for our Kids We worried we’d need a tent, but the rain and wind held off just long enough for our “Once Upon a Time” Founders Day celebration last month. Thanks once again to all the teachers, staff and students who participated. Against a beautiful castle backdrop, the performances and HSA award presentations were terrific. It’s always such a special treat to hear our staff sing their song, and the kids did an amazing job learning theirs. Of course, I can’t forget to mention our parent performers who truly showed that “The PTA (and MACK) Can.” Also last month, our Book Fair with Mrs. Nelson’s Book Company was very successful. Thanks to your generous support, we were able to donate approximately $3,900 in books to the library and all of our teachers’ classrooms, including the [email protected] Speech, Art and EEELP classrooms. Huge thanks again to chairpersons Becky Foster and Lisa Cha, along with Elizabeth Blake and De Ann D’Ambrosio for all their hard work in making this year’s book fair a success. Lourdes Wang, PTA President 818-249-6637 Thursday, April 5th at 9 a.m. is our next PTA Meeting. It is a combined Association/Executive Board Meeting, so all are welcome to attend. At Founders Day, we elected our slate of officers for next year without a new President. I’m happy to announce that at the upcoming meeting, we can vote in Ann Ortiz as our candidate for President. Please be sure to join us. Saturday, April 21, is MACK Night Fever. Help raise money for our school and have a great time doing it! Don’t miss out on this fun night of dancing, casino games, cocktails and dinner at the Thursday Club in La Canada. Dinner will be catered by DISH. Get your tickets now! April 23 - 27 is our Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week. Please look for details regarding this special week in an upcoming Thursday update. If you’d like to help with planning for this week, please contact Lisa Carp at [email protected] or 808-372-0272. Last month I talked about the importance of our volunteers. PTA cannot provide all the wonderful things it does without your help. As I mentioned, our Board consists of over 20 different committees – some jobs are for one short time, and some go longer. A complete list of committees can be found on our website under the PTA tab, as well as in the front of the Bear Pages. If you are interested in any of these committees, or know someone who is, please let us know. We are planning for next year and have some holes to fill – one big one being for our Mountaineer Editor. This position will allow you to work from home, be creative and always know what's going on at school. Computer experience with publishing software is helpful. You can email me, call me, leave a note in the PTA box in the office, or let someone else on the board know. We’d love to hear from you. I hope everyone has a relaxing and fun Spring Break! May Mountaineer Submission Deadline: Friday, April 20 Please email articles to [email protected] Thank you! Mary Braswell, Editor Enjoy Your Spring Break! See you back at school on Tuesday, April 17th April 2012 www.mountainavenue.org Art Avenue Press The Newsletter for Mountain Avenue PTA’s Visual Art Program VOLUME SEVEN Visual Art Lesson Five Our last lesson of the school year is upon us. Here’s a quick description of what’s in store. K 1 2 Gustav Klimt: Our little artists will study the patterns and rhythms in the work of Klimt and then stamp out their own patterns with tempera paint. American Gothic: Classes will study the work of American artist Grant Wood, known for his depiction of this famous farm couple. Horses: Students will study artistic depictions of horses from various artists and learn how to draw one themselves using geometric shapes as a foundation. (*See the “try at home” bear lesson link on this page.) 3 4 5 6 Interpreting Nature: In this class, our young artists will study the work of Max Ernst and Ohara Shoson and then create a “frottage collage” of a creature using texture plates and cut paper. Matisse: This lesson focuses on the work of Henri Matisse. Using cut paper, repeating shapes and complementary colors, the students will create a collage mimicking his style. Media Frenzy: Students re-create one image using four different mediums, exploring how each creates a different mood and texture. Van Gogh: Using tempera paint mixed with corn starch, artists will paint a composition in the impasto style, utilizing texture and complimentary colors. Note: The masthead of this newsletter shows a student’s painting from this lesson. All the lessons can be viewed at our website: https://sites.google.com/site/ mountainaveartdocent/ APRIL 2012 Great Art Is Just A Click Away We have many great museums here in the LA area, and it is fantastic to see art in person. However, if you are looking for examples of a particular artist, the internet can also be a fantastic resource. Many of the world’s most famous museums post images and information about their collections online. You can usually browse by style, medium, era or by artist. And, if you like what you see, and decide you would like to see some examples in person, a quick search of the LACMA collection reveals that they have several woodblock prints by Shoson in their permanent collection. There are some beautiful examples of April’s Kindergarten featured artist, Gustav Klimt, online as well. Check out: http://www.weetwo.org/john/art/klimt/ For example, the upcoming third grade project is to mimic the frottage drawings of Max Earnst. In 1926, Earnst published a book of 34 frottage reproductions titled “Histoire Naturelle”. Every page of this book is viewable online at the MOMA website! Simply go to: http://www.moma.org/ explore/collection/ and type “Histoire Naturelle” into their search bar, then click on the link with the book cover. Work by the other third grade artist, Ohara Shoson, is also readily available online. For example try this link, which contains 134 full color large reproductions: http://www.yeeeeee. com/2009/01/26/the-beautiful-orientalart-of-koson-ohara-134-pics/ Here are just a few of our favorite art links*: Try This At Home In honor of our school mascot, the bear, we thought it would be fun to include a “try at home” lesson from Jan Brett on how to draw a bear of your own. Enjoy! http://www.janbrett.com/learn_to_ draw_a_bear.htm The Getty: http://www.getty.edu/art/ LACMA: http://www.lacma.org/ MOMA: http://www.moma.org/ The Google Art Project: http://www.googleartproject.com/ The Louvre: http://www.louvre.fr/en The Smithsonian: http://www.si.edu/ *Parents may want to preview the links, as many of the collections contain images which may not be suitable for small children. SAVE THE DATE This year’s Night of the Arts celebration will be on Friday, June 1, 6 - 8 p.m. Come enjoy some live music, good food and of course, lots of art from our talented Mountain Avenue students. You won’t want to miss it!! 3 4 www.mountainavenue.org April 2012 A SECRET GARDEN BLOOMS AT MOUNTAIN A cast of 64 Mountain Avenue students sang and danced their way through "The Secret Garden" on Saturday, February 25, as they staged the musical theatre production in partnership with Missoula Children's Theatre Program. The show featured students from all grades, and four students were also given the opportunity and experience of being Assistant Directors, working behind the scenes with the Missoula directors. "The Secret Garden" was a joyful retelling of a story of hope and celebration as a young orphaned girl travels from India to her uncle's home in England filled with "The Humans" of the cast. Along the way she makes friends with hilarious Canadian Geese, colorful Bugs That Rock, Moor Animals and Fireflies, and the whole household begins to enjoy the return of health and happiness to the home as they watch "The Garden" members of the cast unfold their costumes into beautiful flowers. PTA brings this unique theatre experience to Mountain Avenue each year so that our children can experience musical theatre at a time when funding for these programs is no longer budgeted. Two directors from Missoula arrived in their little red truck on Monday filled with sets and handmade costumes, cast the show on Tuesday in a two-hour audition, rehearsed after school that week and performed two shows on Saturday at the Roosevelt Middle School Auditorium. Special thanks go out to all the staff and parent volunteers who made every little detail possible that week! Information on Missoula Children’s Theatre can be found at www.mctinc.org April 2012 www.mountainavenue.org 5 6 April 2012 www.mountainavenue.org Calling All Earth-Loving Moms and Dads (with a small amount of time to share) Thanks again to all our supporters for bringing their collected CRV donations to the curb the first Wednesday of each month. For those of you who are new to the process, remember we are not allowed to accept glass and the only way we can make money is if the cans and plastic bottle say CA CRV on the labels. As we approach the year’s end, already we are preparing to say good-bye to three key members of our little co-op called the Recycle Committee, so we really need helpers. This is even a great way for dads to help “take out the trash.” Here are 3 things you need to know... a) It’s a fun way to help the school/ art and teach earth awareness. b) It’s pretty simple and doesn’t take much time. c) Without some new volunteers, the program won’t happen anymore. So what’s involved? You’re wondering who does what? A Point Person – This person reminds the pickup service to come, puts up signs, tracks incoming and outgoing money, and reports to MACK as needed. Curb Hands – This is fun because you see the collection pile grow as you greet parents, and the student Recycle Rangers love to help. It’s a busy half-hour at the curb once a month, but it’s rewarding and over quickly. The more hands on deck the better. Store Coordinator – This person buys recycle store items and manages store needs on the Friday after recycle day. Kids love to use their coupons to buy plants, seasonal gifts and art supplies. As with the curb collection, the more hands the better and it’s fun because you get to interact with the kid customers. Cute. Ticket Accounting – One person credits the students’ CRV contribution and allows each one the proper number of “dollars” for use at the recycle store. That’s mostly it. Nancy, Becky and Jackie will still be here to keep it fun. Please let us know how you can help by contacting Kimberly Jordan at [email protected]. February / March Best Citizens Bartholomew Bendick Dante Busalacchi Morgan LashleyHaynes Daniel Cho Alyssa Lee Angela Choi Nathan Lee Lydia Choi Ryan Lee Connor Eubank Julia Linney Marisa Fostrey Alex Mustain Jacob Garcia Kate Nappi Andres Gurza Jason Nigro Cambria Hawes Kate Oh Aidan Heberger Ashlynne Oliver Cameron Hernandez Andrew Ortiz Elizabeth Hernandez Dashiell Paek Carolina Herrero Jacob Sanders Hannah Hiscott Caden Schulte Matthew Jang Rayluk Smith David Johnston Aurelia Thomasy Matthew Kim Gabriel Toumani Norah Kranz Andrew White February / March Super Citizens Alex Aceytuno Melo dy Kizirian Bella Busalacchi Lauren Kosco Ashley Cho Jordan McWhorter Cate Dou d Ruben Munoz McKenna Heeg Kaitlyn Pak Nick Desmon d Debbie Ryu Lucas McNevin Grady Schilling Destin Jordan Sarah Sciacqua Joyce Kang Will Smiley John Kim Matthew Stickels Woojin Kim Josh Tamara Yuni Kim April 2012 7 www.mountainavenue.org LEGISLATION NOTES What Would We Do With $405,027?! PTA is the oldest and largest advocacy group in the nation. For well over 100 years we have advocated for children and their families. We put an end to child labor in factories and farms, brought hot lunches to schools, immunizations, kindergarten, anti-bullying reform and much more. In California, in the past three years we have lost over 20 billion dollars and 40,000 jobs in education. This past summer when we asked our membership what their No. 1 concern was, their resounding response was to fix our school finances. In answer to that, PTA has co-authored a bill that would bring much needed monies DIRECTLY to each school and affect each child immediately. $405,027. That’s how much money our school would get to spend in our first year if we can pass the “Our Children, Our Future” initiative in November. $405,027! What would we do? Fund a full-time computer lab and library? Reduce classroom size at ALL grade levels? Hire a science or art teacher? Or both? What would we give our children to make their education experience what it should be? What would we be able to do at all grade levels for twelve years? We will never know unless we get “Our Children, Our Future” on the November ballot, and we need you to do it. It’s simple. If you are a registered voter in the state of California, sign a petition TODAY! We need to gather 800,000 signatures by April 20 to qualify for the November ballot. We know that there are only more cuts to education ahead. This money cannot be touched by Sacramento and it must be spent at each school site. There is no robbing Peter to pay Paul here. We either spend our allotted amount or what remains goes back to the general pool to pay down school bond debt. Learn more by going to ourchildrenourfuture2012.com and sign a petition. (A legal petition must have an actual signature; there is no online petition signing. All information will be kept confidential and not shared in any capacity.) See Sandy Russell if you would like to sign and/or help get a few friends and family to join in the effort. Sandy Russell, Legislation Chair [email protected] Follow me on Twitter! (PTA news only): sandyptaglendal M C O U N T A I N O M M I T T E D A V E N U E T O K I D S Mountain Avenue Committed to Kids invites all parents, family and friends to come shake your groove thing with us at MACK's annual fundraiser on Saturday, April 21, from 6-10 p.m. at the La Canada Thursday Club. Tickets are $50 per person and are available either online or by returning the envelope that was recently sent home with the invitation in your child's Thursday folder. DISH Restaurant will be catering the buffet, a DJ will be spinning your favorite ’70s tunes to hustle to, and cocktails will be served on the gaming floor as you try your hand at black jack and roulette. Raffle items such as vacation getaways, Disney packages and Dodger tickets will be available that night, as well as the live auction chance for you or your child to be Principal for the Day. MACK will also be setting up an online bidding system directly after spring break with everpopular opportunities for your child to have a special outing or experience with his or her teacher. All proceeds from the event will support Mountain Avenue’s science, music and technology programs. Tickets and sponsorships are also available online at mountainavenue.givezooks.com/events/mack-night-fever Flag Ceremony Schedule April 6 Ms. Gibson’s Class /Reading Incentives April 20 Mrs. Dziok’s Class April 27 Teacher/Staff Appreciation All Parents, Family and Friends are invited to attend these ceremonies on the school patio at 8:30 a.m. 8 www.mountainavenue.org April 2012 PTA FOUNDERS DAY 2012 Once Upon a Time ... ... the entire Mountain Avenue community came together to salute the pioneers of PTA! Serenading the crowd on Founders Day were the Mountain Avenue Singers, top; our wonderful teachers and staff, above; parents from PTA and MACK, below; and the Class of 2012, opposite page at bottom. April 2012 www.mountainavenue.org 9 PTA HONORARY SERVICE AWARDS Every year, PTA presents Service Awards to special people in our school community for their contributions and service to our school, community, or youth organizations. Mountain Avenue PTA makes a donation to the California State PTA scholarship fund in the name of each award recipient. High school seniors who are members of PTSA may apply for these college scholarships. This year’s 11 honorees are recognized here and in upcoming issues of the Mountaineer. Grace and Paul Sung, Honorary Service Award Presented by Jee Hyun Kim. This award goes to two special people who have helped our school community in many ways. For over a year, Paul and Grace Sung have been providing the Korean translation for our Thursday updates. They have also translated many of the PTA and MACK flyers and brochures, often times on very short notice. Grace has also served as the Korean Liaison on the MACK board, and was Treasurer of the Korean Mothers Group for four years. She helps with all our events, including the BBQ at the Halloween Carnival, and the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon. In addition, she enjoys helping in the classroom. Grace and Paul Sung, please come up and receive your Honorary Service Awards. Margo Ewing, Golden Oak Service Award Presented by Emily Wang, Eve McCreary, Kristina Kruegermann, Justin Pauly, Amanda D’Ambrosio, Zerxes Bhadha and Luke Naoumovitch. SUNG TO “I’VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD.” She’s been working up at Mountain, since 1983 She’s been working up at Mountain, teaching you and me Don’t you hear her piano playing Singing about rocks with glee Don’t you hear her class preparing For their Authors Tea Don’t forget about the play And the Gold Rush Day Westward Movement and the missions, too Then the used book sale Valentines and Smencils Student Council is her specialty Mrs. Ewing’s in her classroom in the morning Mrs. Ewing’s in her classroom at night Mrs. Ewing’s in her classroom all day Preparing her students all the way Mrs. Ewing, PTA has a Golden Oak for you 10 www.mountainavenue.org April 2012 PTA HONORARY SERVICE AWARDS Lisa Cha, Very Special Person Award Presented by Jasmine Lee and Stephen Cha. Denise Pearson, Continuing Service Award Once Upon A Time at Mountain Avenue… There was a Volunteer Fairy that I’ll bet you know too! She works quietly and with care, Then disappears as if into thin air! Have you been to Mountain Avenue’s book fair? You are sure to have seen her in the cashier’s chair. For five years now, this kind volunteer Has been helping students purchase books and all with good cheer. Like magic she rings up book totals and hands out precise change, She could do it blindfolded if it didn’t look so strange! This great volunteer has more talents up her sleeve – She even draws and paints and has an artist’s degree! Both PTA and MACK find her painting SO handy, She can whip up banners that are just dandy! Have you guessed who this is? Well here is one more clue, She is a member of the Korean Mother’s group too! We are so grateful to have worked with this kind volunteer, We wish it wasn’t her very last year! Please come forward, Lisa Cha, to receive your Very Special Person Award. Congratulations! Presented by Tiffany Hale and Sandy Russell. SUNG TO “POPULAR” FROM WICKED. Whenever there is a job for MACK or PTA, And let’s face it, when isn’t there a job in MACK or PTA? Denise’s heart tends to start to bleed And when a fundraiser needs a makeover, She simply has to take over! She knows, she knows exactly what they need! And even in PTA’s case, Though it’s the toughest case she’s yet to face, Don’t worry, she’s determined to succeed! Follow her lead, And yes you’ll see how to go... VOLUNTEER She is an amazing volunteer She’ll teach you the No Sweat Fundraiser When you raise some cash Little ways to help around Ooh! She’ll show you what shows to book How to Jogathon Everything that really counts to be… A VOLUNTEER She’ll help you volunteer You’ll hang with the right cohorts, You’ll be good at sports, Know the slang you’ve got to know, So let’s start, We’ve got a long, long way to go! Denise Pearson, we would like to present you with a Continuing Service Award for your dedication to the Mountain Avenue Community. A HAPPY ENDING Once upon a time, Mountain Avenue Elementary had a VERY successful Book Fair! Thanks to the amazing volunteers for their time and patience, donuts and muffins, enthusiasm and generosity. Thanks to all the parents who supported the Book Fair by purchasing books for their children and teachers. This year, the Book Fair earned $3,900 in books for our teachers and our school library. WAY TO GO, MOUNTAIN AVENUE! April 2012 www.mountainavenue.org PTA HONORARY SERVICE AWARDS Student Council Last month was a successful one for Student Council. At the beginning of the month, we issued a Blue Count challenge to all of the classes. Could their class be the one to have 100% of its students wearing a blue shirt every Friday? Several classes met the challenge. Let’s see if the whole school can show school spirit by wearing blue on Fridays. Leah Dilbeck, Honorary Service Award Presented by Stuart McKinney, with Arwyn Dilbeck, Rylan Brodie and Claire McKinney. Who has been on the MACK board for 5 years running? LEAH! Who hosted MACK Night Out 2 years in a row? LEAH! Who ran Jog-A-Thon this year and raised over $26,000? LEAH! Whose family donated the large storage container for our middle field? LEAH! Who is on the board of directors at the YMCA? LEAH! Who volunteers in all of our kids’ classes? LEAH! Who has been an art docent for 5 years? LEAH! Helps on all of the field trips? LEAH! Has volunteered in the library for 5 years? LEAH! Helped organize Gold Rush Day for fourth grade? LEAH! Hosted a fund raiser for Harambee Ministries? LEAH! Hosted a fund raiser for AIDS Service Center? LEAH! Organizes “Easter in the Park,” giving funds to various charities? LEAH! Helps new families move into the Mountain Ave district? LEAH! Has hosted the Pasadena Foothills Assn. of Realtors Charitable Foundations “check giving party,” where about $70,000 a year is given to local charities? LEAH! A loving wife and mother of 4? LEAH! And who brings home the bacon and fries it up in a pan? LEAH! The PTA is proud to present Leah Dilbeck with a 2012 Honorary Service Award! On March 9, it was Wacky Rainbow Day. The whole school was filled with colors of the rainbow. Everyone tried to wear as many colors as they could. There were tie-dye shirts, different colored socks, and some interesting combinations of clothing. This fun Spirit Day showed how much school spirit our students have. Another successful event was our last Box Tops Bake Sale of the year. Everyone enjoyed the sweet treats, and Student Council collected lots of Box Tops to help the school. Did you know that over the past year, we have earned over $1,000 from Box Tops? Keep cutting them out and bringing them in! Throughout the month of March, we sold Smencils and Smens, which are scented pencils and pens. Mmmm! Our work smelled so good that it seemed easier to do. In April will be our annual rubber ducky sales. These are the highlight of the year, so get yours while they last! Eve McCreary, 4th Grade Representative Kiran Sheikh, 4th Grade Representative School Lunch Menu The Mountain Avenue cafeteria menu is available at mountainavenue.org (click on Cafe Menu), or www.gusd.net/foodservices. April’s Harvest of the Month is fiber-rich dried fruits. Tips: Buy dried fruit without added sugar. Top lowfat yogurt with dried fruit for breakfast, snacks, or dessert. Add chopped dates and figs to salads. 11 12 www.mountainavenue.org April 2012 Here are some of Mountain Avenue’s medalists in this year’s PTA Reflections program. TEACHER & STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK April 23 ~ 27 Thank you, 2nd grade parents, for putting on a very green (literally) Teacher Appreciation Coffee! How fun and creative! by Brooke Beer 3rd Place, Photography, Grades 3-5 by Aaron Leucht 2nd Place, Visual Arts, Grades 3-5 by Angellena White 3rd Place, Visual Arts, Grade 6 This month, April 23-27, we get to show the teachers and staff how much we appreciate them! This is a weeklong annual event that all grades and classes participate in. This year's theme is "Thanks for Helping Us Bloom." I need some volunteers to help with this event, even just a couple of hours of your time. Thank you! Lisa Carp, Teacher Appreciation Chair [email protected] 808-372-0272 April Thank You Special thanks to the following people: Mimi Reichenbach for handling the logistics of the Missoula Children's Theatre production, and all of the parents (too many to mention!) who helped make the week possible. Chairpersons Tanya Mitchell and David Flores and all those who came out on Beautification Day to help make our campus look great. Becky Foster and Lisa Cha for chairing a successful book fair, along with Elizabeth Blake, DeAnn D’Ambrosio, and all the parents who came in to help. Sandy Russell for keeping us informed about legislation issues affecting our kids. Amy Benedict Brodie, David Connors, Cathy Hardyment, Stacey Vera and Lourdes Wang for serving on the Honorary Service Award Committee.