THE BYTE

THE BYTE
September 19, 2011
2011-2012 School Year - Issue: #4
Medina PTA 2.3.57 - 428 members
http://medinapta.org
Welcome
Happy Monday Medina Tigers!
We hope everyone had a nice, relaxing weekend. Welcome to your third week of school
-hard to believe!
We want to thank everyone who was able to attend our back to school "Rejuvamom"
Party and our "Men's Malt March" Party, over the weekend. Both were a huge success
and raised more than we hoped for our PTA! Thank you especially to our party
planners, Schanon Odell-Ataee and Ron Lloyd and Dinny Hansen. Another huge
thank you to the Elston family and Greg Foster for hosting the Men's Malt March
at their homes - very brave!
Yet, another huge thank you to all of our brunch hosts! Each brunch was well
attended and everyone had a great time meeting new friends, sharing stories, making
plans and kicking off the school year. Thank you to all who attended these parties
and helped support our PTA so generously.
We hope that you all plan to attend Curriculum Night, this Tuesday. This is your
chance to get to know your children's Teachers, Specialists and Principal. You will also
have the chance to sign-up for all volunteer opportunities in your children's
classrooms - SO many amazing ways to help!
By now, I'm sure you've seen the schedule, but just in case...
Schedule:
5:30-6:00pm 3,4,5 Classroom Presentations
6:00-6:30pm Specialists Presentations
6:30-7:00pm Principal Presentation
7:00-7:30pm K,1,2 Classroom Presentations
7:30-8:00pm Principal Presentation (repeat of 6:30-7pm)
As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
Kea Rensch & Amy Roberts
Co-PTA Presidents, 2011-2012
Medina Elementary
In This Issue
Welcome
Join Medina's PTA
Walkathon 2011
Vision Screening
Volunteers Needed
PAGE
Spanish and Mandarin
Classes
Join Medina's PTA
It's not too late to join the Medina PTA. It is the best
way to get involved and stay connected!
5 Things to keep in mind:
-To volunteer in the classroom, lunch room, library or
playground you MUST be a PTA member.
-Attend meetings and have a voice and vote about
where you want your PTA dollars focused.
-Clubs such as Chess, Destination Imagination and
STEM Robotics are all PTA sponsored clubs.
-If you want your child to ride the Ski Bus, offered to
first through fifth graders, you MUST be a PTA member.
TEESO.com
Program Delivery Council
Destination Imagination
2011-2012
Curriculum Enhancement
Committee
Health Room Volunteers
Needed
-Most importantly, you receive a school directory!
Parent involvement is the key to students success in
education. So far we have 428 members. Please help us
meet our goal of 100% parent participation, and
please fill out a Taking Care of Business Form in the
office and join the Medina PTA.
If you have any questions, please contact Debbie Scott,
Membership Chair.
Walkathon 2011
Stem Lego Club
School Directory
Advertising Space
Playground and Lunchroom
Program
Chess Club for Boys and
Girls
Bellevue School District is
Hiring
Smart with Art Classes
Smith Brothers Farms
Offer
Boxtops for Education School Contest
Fun Run to Fight Pediatric
Cancer
Amazing Race
UW Lacrosse - Youth Clinic
Bellevue Youth Basketball
Reflections 2011-2012
Smile Jar
Shopping on Amazon.com
Virtue of the Week
Byte Submissions
Calendar Items
School has started which means the Medina
Elementary Walkathon is right around the corner!
Hope you're ready to launch into space and Shoot for
the Stars!
This Friday is our Walkathon Kick-off Assembly to
inform and excite students about our second biggest
PTA fundraiser of the year. Your students will also
bring home Walkathon packets on Friday - packed
full of important information on this big event!
When is the BIG day you ask? Get your moon boots
ready and mark Wednesday, October 12, from
11:45-3:30 on your calendars!
Last year, this annual event raised over $65,000,
and this year we hope to do even better! You can
help us reach this goal by encouraging your kids to ask
family, friends and neighbors for pledges. Read your
Walkathon Packet, coming home on Friday for more
details on pledge collection dates and prize
opportunities (popcorn parties!).
Finally, Medina Elementary's Walkathon couldn't be
possible without volunteers! Please click on the link
below to see where help is needed and to sign-up
(we are furiously working on getting TEESO up and
running but, until then, are using Jooners to sign-up
volunteers for this event)
volunteer for Walkathon!
Still have questions? Contact:
Joanna Hansen [email protected]
Kristyn Arnold, [email protected]
Jolinda Linden, [email protected]
Vision Screening Volunteers Needed
We are looking for a few volunteers to help facilitate vision screening. The screenings
will take place on Tuesdays, one grade level per week. The times have yet to be
decided by the classroom teachers. We need 3 volunteers for the fifth grade screening
on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
We would like 2 volunteers for the fourth grade screening on Tuesday, Oct. 11. We
need one volunteer for the third graders on Tuesday, Oct. 18 and one volunteer for the
kindergartners on Tuesday Nov. 15.
If you are interested, please contact Debra Perry at [email protected].
PAGE
Bellevue Schools Parents Alliance for Gifted Education (PAGE)
PAGE is a grassroots coalition of Enrichment and Prism parents in the Bellevue School
District. Our goal is to improve gifted education in the Bellevue School District, and to
support students, educators, and parents in the gifted programs. Visit our website at
http://bellevuegifted.org for more information and great resources regarding gifted
education. CLICK HERE to sign up for our newsletter. For Medina specific questions,
please reach out to parent reps: Stephanie Charaf or Terri Forsberg.
Spanish and Mandarin Classes
Sponge Language Classes Starting Soon.
Ni hao and Hola! Sponge School will be offering Mandarin and Spanish classes at
Medina on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons starting October 4th. If you are interested
in enrolling your child, please go to www.spongeschool.com/medina to learn more. For
families who have already signed up, we'd like to enlist some parent volunteers to help
get the kids into their classrooms. If you're available for just the first couple of week of
language class, that would be a big help. If you are available to help for the year,
Sponge is offering a 50% discount off the cost of one child's Sponge tuition. Anyone
interested in helping out, please email [email protected] or contact Carolyn
Duffy at [email protected].
TEESO.com
Thank you to everyone who turned in their pink TEESO form with their Taking Care of
Business form. Even though, we neglected to include a name line on the TEESO form
(oops!), we were able to match almost all of them with the right family. On
Curriculum Night you will have another chance to check a TEESO box when
you verify your directory information. If you don't see a check in this column,
PLEASE, just check the box and we'll make sure you're part of this amazing new
website. Trust us, you won't want to be left out!
Once we have permission from everyone, we will download all of your names into the
site. This should be complete by the first week of October. Nancy Gertz has been
working night and day to get everything else set-up for us - entering all events and
volunteer opportunities for the entire school year and for each classroom amazing!!!Thank you Nancy!
Any questions, please contact Nancy Gertz, TEESO Chair.
Program Delivery Council
The Program Delivery Council ("PDC") is the forum for staff, administrators, and
parents to directly collaborate on strategic issues impacting the education process and
learning environment at Medina. The PDC operates independently of all other boards
and committees, with a general focus on academic initiatives spanning multiple
academic years. The PDC has already met this year, and among other initiatives is
working to expand the BSD's newly adopted literacy program with an associated
technology curriculum, plus looking at initiatives to enhance other student learning
through technology.
Look for updates in Tiger Times and The Byte, as well as on a new webpage at
the school's website www.bsd405.org/medina. Please look for our "comment box" in
the office, and give us your constructive suggestions and thoughts on enriching the
academic environment at Medina. You can also contact one of the parent reps, via
email:
Lynn Janata - [email protected]
Jessica Nadelman - [email protected]
Melissa Lloyd - [email protected]
Sean G. Hyatt - [email protected]
Destination Imagination 2011-2012
We are making many improvements to our successful Medina Destination Imagination
(DI) program this year. DI is a global critical thinking, creativity, TEAM activity for
students, offered at Medina for grades 1-5.
Returning Participants: Please CLICK HERE to view important information and
instructions and CLICK HERE for pre-registration. Note:Early registration for returning
participants closes September 20.
Students New to DI. Please CLICK HERE (scroll down) to view important information
and instructions and CLICK HERE to access the required permission slip.
TRY DI sessions: Monday, September 26, from 3:00-4:00pm, for Grades 1-2, and
Tuesday, September 27, from 3:00-4:00pm, for Grades 3-5, both in the Medina
Gymnasium. Only students NEW to DI attend TRI DI sessions.
Melissa Lloyd, Denise Niles and Kristi Stroyan, your DI CoChairs
Curriculum Enhancement Committee (CEC)
We have a new PTA committee at Medina this year called the "Curriculum
Enhancement Committee (CEC)". We are a group of parents and teachers working
together to find innovative and creative ways to enhance grade level and specialist
curriculum this school year. Similar committees have been successful at other Bellevue
elementary schools, and we feel especially fortunate to have one advantage on our
side-YOU! We are actively looking for field experts in many areas to help us identify
unique opportunities for enhancing the curriculum at Medina. If you (or anyone you
know) is an expert in any of the fields listed (or others not listed) below, please contact
Leslie Feller [email protected] or Shelia Getz [email protected]. The
combination of a wide variety of talented parents within the Medina Elementary
community and our new CEC committee provides a unique opportunity to really make
a direct impact on our children's education!
-Medicine (Nurse, Physical Therapist, Pathologist, Nutritionist etc.)
-Scientist (Biologist, Geologist, Zoologist, Botanist, Entomologist, Marine Scientist)
-Arts (Writer, Poet, Artist)
-Business (Economics expert, Computer/Software expert)
-Engineer
-Historian
-Native American expert
-Families who have immigrated to US (1st generation)
Health Room Volunteers Needed
Looking for a fun way to donate your time at school? We are looking for volunteers to
staff the health room for one hour on the days the nurse is not in and while Molly is
busy in the lunchroom. No experience necessary. Simply a warm smile and a kind
heart is all that is needed. You'll help tend to scraped knees, bumped elbows, lost
teeth, etc. Usually a bandage or a comforting hug is all the child needs. You can
volunteer as much as one day a week or as little as one day a month. It's a great way
to get to know all the children in the school. If interested please contact Debra Perry at
[email protected] or by calling 425/451-9780.
STEM Lego Club
Medina STEM Lego Club is launching again on Wednesdays (offering 2 sessions). It will
be open to any students from 2nd grade thru 5th grade who are interested in both Lego
building and robotics (motorizing using motors/battery packs, WeDo, and NXT). CLICK
HERE for both the registration form and permission slip, both of which must be
completed and submitted, along with a $175 check made payable to Medina PTA. We
will take the first 25 students who register for each session (first come, first served).
For more information please contact Mary Christie at [email protected].
Wednesdays: 9/21, 9/28, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26, 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, 11/30,
12/7, 12/14
Session A: 12:15-1:15, Session B: 1:20-2:20
Place: TBA
Coach: Ms. Mary Christie
Fee: $175
Ages: 2nd - 5th Grade
School Directory Advertising Space
Do you have a business to advertise or know someone who does? Advertising space is
currently for sale in our school directory. Space & time is limited! Contact Melissa
Brandenfels or Tobey Bryant to book your spot today!
Playground and Lunchroom Program
Many thanks to Dave Simpson for his leadership in running the Medina Playground &
Lunchroom Volunteer Program the past four years. This school year, we will be
continuing the program which Dave developed and the kids love. We welcome both
past and new volunteers to sign up.
We will continue to use "Volunteerspot.com" for the playground and lunchroom
volunteer sign-ups until the end of September, at which time our new, all-school
volunteer coordination site, TEESO, should be up and running. (See above discussion
of TEESO.)
For all those interested, please send Jason Craig an e-mail, and he will forward the
sign-up link.
We look forward to seeing you on the playground and in the lunchroom!
Chess Club for Boys and Girls
FUN, FRIENDS, CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING and CRITICAL THINKING!
Give your child the gift of learning chess, a life skill, right at Medina Elementary! The
Chess Club meets every Wednesday after school, from 12:30 to 1:30. All levels of
skill are welcome. We have a team of experienced coaches for beginning, intermediate,
and advanced players.
Register in the school office.
Sept 21st - Chess Club starts
Sept 19th - Our club social at 6:30pm, Family Chess Night
DID YOU KNOW? Our region is home to some of the strongest girl players in America?
Medina is the only Elementary school with our own ALL Girls Tournament. Enroll your
daughter now!
Bellevue School District is Hiring
Bellevue School District Needs YOU!
We are currently hiring on-call Educational Assistants, Secretaries, Child Care Aides,
and Special Education - Para Educators.
- On-call work allows for flexibility.
- You tell us what days and times you are available.
- Shifts are usually 1-6 hours in length.
Applications are available at www.bsd405.org. Information orientations will be held
Tuesday mornings starting September 13, 2011 through the month of October
2011, 9:00AM in the Human Resources office at 12111 NE 1st Street.
All positions require an application and a resume. A minimum of three references will
be checked by telephone. If hired, all employees must be fingerprinted.
Smart with Art Classes
The "Smart with Art" program has new class offerings at the Bellevue Arts Museum,
including classes involving clay exploration, 3D sculpture, recycled art and gift making!
For more information or to sign up for a class, go to www.smartwithart.net or call Amy
at 206.850.8443. Also, CLICK HERE to view a flyer about our new First Friday
Workshops starting in October! It's a great way to have an evening out in Bellevue
while your kids dine, socialize, tour BAM and make a masterpiece!
Submitted by:
Michelle Dutton
Smart with Art
In Collaboration with Bellevue Arts Museum
425.358.1083
Smith Brothers Farms Offer
Smith Brothers Farms ("SBF") is offering a "Back-to-School Special" and chance to
earn money for our school at no cost to you. Starting September 1, 2011, and
continuing through December 31, 2011, any Medina parent who signs-up for SBF's
service using the Promo Code "PTA" will receive a $20 credit for their first delivery and
a chance to earn money for the Medina PTA. For every five Medina parents who sign up
for SBF's service, SBF will pay the Medina PTA $250! So, if 10 families from Medina
Elementary sign up for service, SBF will write a check to the Medina PTA for $500! For
more information, CLICK HERE to view a flyer and/or contact Tracy Patton (206/2952848).
Boxtops for Education - School Contest
Help your child win a popcorn party *and* fund our PTA for the 2011-2012 school
year! Last year we raised $530.00 and this year our goal is to raise $600.00.
Contest details are:
--Boxtops will be collected twice per school year. The first collection week is October
17 - 21, 2011, the second collection week will be in mid-April.
--Each child should drop off their boxtops in their classroom during the Oct. 17 - 21
collection week.
--Please trim the boxtops and place them in a baggie, noting the number collected.
--The class collecting the most boxtops in each grade level will win a popcorn party!
We all shop for groceries to lets get cutting (Boxtops that is)! For more information,
please contact Lynn Janata.
Fun Run to Fight Pediatric Cancer
Go4TheGoal Launches Fun 5K Run/Walk to Support the Pediatric Cancer Center at
Seattle Children's Hospital. Did you know that September is Pediatric Cancer
Awareness Month? Go4TheGoal encourages families to join the challenge to end
childhood cancers. Come out and join us with your family for some good, fun exercise
for a great cause!
When/Where: Saturday, September 24th; Start/Finish at St. Thomas Episcopal
Church (Medina, WA - 8398 Northeast 12th Street, Medina, WA)
Entry Fee:$25 single registration (includes t-shirt) or $55 Family registration (includes
2 t-shirts). CLICK HERE to register.
For more information about the Go4theGoal Foundation please visit
www.go4thegoal.org.
Amazing Race
There's room for a few more teams in the first ever Medina Parent/Child Amazing Race.
Get your spot before it's too late!
Enjoy this twist on a Medina auction favorite and spend a great afternoon with your
kids! You'll work together to solve puzzles and perform silly acts. Your team needs to
consist of 2 adults and 2 children (grades 3rd through 8th).
Each team will compete in physical and mental challenges in the Medina area that will
end with a bash to celebrate the winners. Each team will need a device (phone,
camera) capable of taking pictures. Where will this race take you? Can you push your
limits? Sign up now for the race, which will be on Sunday, September 25th. The cost
is $400/team. Please contact Kris Taylor at [email protected].
UW Lacrosse - Youth Clinic
THE HUSKIES ARE BACK!
Sign up for the 2011 UW Women's Lacrosse YOUTH Clinic- UW lacrosse players lead a
clinic for Bellevue girls!!
- Skill building drills and games for youth players - grades 3rd-8th
- Small sided games - grouped by age & grade
- Bring your friends and teammates for an afternoon of fun!
Date: Sunday, Oct 9th from 3:00-4:30PM
Cost: $10.00 per player
Goggles, Mouth Guard and Stick required
RSVP to [email protected].
Bellevue Youth Basketball
The Bellevue Youth Basketball Association (BYBA) tryouts for boys in grades 5-8 are
coming up September 18 and 25. For more details and to register please go to
www.bybahoops.org.
Reflections 2011-2012
"Diversity Means..." is next year's Reflection theme. We want to encourage our
students to explore new ways to express their idea of diversity and what it means to
them. We will be kicking off Reflections in September, when school starts, and while
we wanted to give our kids a chance to work on their projects over the summer.
Deadline for art work submittal will be November 2nd. Remember: There are several
art mediums to choose from: Literature, Choreography, Music, Film, Visual Arts and
Photography. Please feel free to email either Gina Craig or Stephanie Troy with any
questions.
Smile Jar
Have tickets to sport events, dance or drama performances, lectures or other events
you cannot use? Wish you could give tickets to someone who would enjoy the event or
performance? Want to surprise Medina Staff with tickets to their favorite type of event?
Drop-off your tickets at the front desk and let them know they are for the Smile Jar.
Ms Chris or Molly will make sure they land in the hands of a staff member who will
appreciate them.
If you have any questions please contact Amy Roberts or Kea Rensch.
Amazon.com
Shopping on Amazon.com?
It's easy to raise money for our schools while you shop at Amazon.com. Just go to the
Bellevue Schools Foundation (BSF) website home page and click on the Amazon.com
link. BSF receives over 7% of each sale. Remember, you must go through the BSF
home page link for BSF to get credit for the order!
Virtue of the Week
Idealism
When you have ideals, you really care about what is right and meaningful in life. You
follow your beliefs. You don't just accept things the way they are. You make a
difference. Idealists dare to have big dreams and then act as if they are possible.
The idealism of all who contribute to Medina Elementary make it a great school!
Byte Submissions
Do you have something you'd like announced in the Byte? Please email
content to Linda Bracken at [email protected], submissions are due
Friday (and are subject to PTA approval).
Calendar Items
ALL calendar times and locations can be found in the printed PTA calendar sent home
in your back-to-school packet.
19-Sep - Family Chess Night, 6:30 PM
20-Sep - Curriculum Night, see "Welcome" section (above) for scheduled sessions
21-Sep - Chess begins
23-Sep - Walkathon kick-off assembly
26-Sep - TRI DI day, grades 1-2
26-Sep - Principal Coffee
27-Sep - TRI DI day, grades 3-5
30-Sept -5th Grade Cocktail Party, hosted by Tami Hansen, 6:30 PM
Please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns you may have on any PTA
topics.
Sincerely,
Kea Rensch & Amy Roberts
Medina Elementary PTA
P.O. Box 247 | Medina, WA 98039 | [email protected]
Kea | H: 425.462.0044| C: 425.864.9970 | [email protected]
Amy | H: 425.453.6662 | C: 206.605.8841 | [email protected]
Medina PTA 2.3.57
Editor Linda Bracken
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