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Bennett Elementary PTSA Newsletter
Volume 2,
Issue
2
September 21, 2007
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REFLECTIONS
"I can
make a difference by. . ."
Reflections
is a PTA cultural arts program that provides an opportunity for
students to use their creative
talents to express themselves through original works. It provides
positive recognition for all participants.
Outstanding efforts may also be recognized on a city, state, and
even national level.
This year's
theme is "I can make a difference by. . ."
Entries
must relate to the theme, show creative ability, not exceed size
stated in the rules, and be the individual work of the student.
Categories
include: Photography, Literature, Visual Arts, Music, Film/Video
and Choreography/Dance.
Bennett
entries will be judged in two grade level divisions: Grades K-2 and
Grades 3-5. Participation Rules and an Official Entry form will
come home with your student.
For more
information and guidelines please visit www.wastatepta.org
(programs/reflections).
Entry
DEADLINE is November 8th!
Questions
or volunteer to help, contact:
-or- Shannan Roth shannanroth@comcast.net
425-642-3247.
Encourage your child to start working on their
Reflections project(s) today!
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PTA MEN
ESSAY CONTEST
It's
not too late for students to participate in the PTA Men: Partners in
Making a
Difference Essay Contest. Men make a difference in
the lives of the children they care about, and children are more
successful in and out of school when they have the guidance of an
involved male role model. This statewide essay contest gives
students the opportunity to express this vital relationship.
The
postmark deadline for the essay contest is October 15th.
The
contest rules and entry form are available online at: www.wastatepta.org under
programs/ptamen
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Math
Olympiads
Bennett is
forming a team to participate in the Math Olympiads this year.
The team will
meet once a week on Wednesdays during lunch and the second recess
to hone their computational and reasoning skills on non-routine
problems under the coaching of Mr. Levin (our Enrichment Program
teacher).
There will
be 5 contests throughout the school year, beginning Nov. 20. Each
contest will consist of 5 math problems and all contests will be
done at Bennett (with the results sent to and compiled by the Math
Olympiads organization, http://www.moems.org).
If
you have any questions, please contact: Steve Poteet (PTSA
Math Committee) atspoteet6@hotmail.com
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BSF News
Bellevue
Schools Foundation Phonathon is coming - October 22, 23, 24, 2007
You can
make a difference for the children in our schools! Please make a
generous donation when volunteer parents from your school call.
This year, the
Bellevue Schools Foundation (BSF) is raising $1.6 million for
world-class, district-wide academic programs and support services
for teachers and students in Bellevue 's schools. BSF relies on
financial support from parents like you to provide these valuable
programs for our students. Your dollars also support curriculum
enhancement (formerly classroom) grants, teacher training, book
purchases, middle school science, and VIBES mentoring. Funds raised
during Phonathon benefit all students in all Bellevue schools.
Company
matching funds double your contribution. Microsoft and Boeing are
among the companies matching employees' donations. Please contact
your employer for a matching gift form.
Donate
online at www.bsfdn.org/donate by October
10 and we won't need to call you.
For more information on Phonathon, see the BSF website: www.bsfdn.org/Events/phonathon.asp. Or
contact our office at 425.456.4199, email: info@bsfdn.org.
" Do
for every child what we would do for our own"
Want
to Volunteer at Phonathon?
Volunteers (parents & high school students) help call parents
in our school during the Phonathon evenings of Oct. 22-24 and
prepare the follow-up mailing on Thursday morning, Oct. 25, 2007.
Please contact the following Phonathon leaders or our school's BSF
rep to volunteer:
Phonathon
2007 Chair: Diane Paukstis (dpaukstis@comcast.net)
Why Support the Bellevue Schools Foundation?
The Bellevue Schools Foundation raises money for
things individual schools can't - it funds major, district-wide
curriculum improvements in reading, writing, math, science and
social studies. Kids in every school receive a better
education with the Foundation's help. Without it, these
improvements might eventually take place but perhaps not in time
for our children.
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, www.bsfdn.org and click on the Amazon.com
link. BSF receives over 7% of each sale. Remember, you must go through
our website link for BSF to get credit for the order.
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Principal's
Post
The first
few weeks of school have been super. I have been impressed with
your students and their drive to learn as much as they can from teachers
and staff.
During the
next few weeks, students will be tested in the area of reading.
This information is valuable as it helps our teachers/staff meet
the specific needs of all students. The test itself takes about
20-40 minutes, depending on the grade level of students.
Bellevue AP
Calculus Performance Far Better Than the Nation
Recently
released information for the Class of 2006 shows that not only do a
higher percentage of students enroll in AP Calculus in the Bellevue
School District than students nationwide, but BSD students also
outperform their peers nationally when it comes to earning passing
marks on the test.
Class of
2006: Nationwide Graduates: 2,747,371
BSD Graduates: 1,113
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Student Photos will be taken on
Tuesday,
October 16th
with
retakes on Wednesday, November 14th
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POWER WALK 2007
The walkathon is only one
week away! Save the date: Friday, September 28th, from 3:30 to
6:00p.m.
Your child should have
brought home a packet with all of the information and a pledge
sheet. If you did not receive one, extra copies are available in
the school kiosk, or in the office. Don't miss out on this fun
filled family event.
Prizes for the top money
raisers are a Zune, 21 Speed Mountain Bike, The Wave Street Surfer
and a Razor Scooter. Other great prizes include; medals, book gift
certificates, Bennett bracelets, Bennett water bottles, ribbons,
and a Bennett sweatshirt.
Each student receives a
T-Shirt and Ribbon for participating. We will have a pizza meal for
sale for $3.50 and sno-cones for $1.00. Bring the whole family and
share in this wonderful Bennett event.
PLEDGES MUST BE TURNED IN
THE DAY BEFORE THE WALKATHON - THURS. 9/27
MONEY IS DUE THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 11TH TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR MANY OF THE PRIZES
*NOTE: REVISED DUE DATE
FOR MONEY TO BE TURNED IN IS -- OCTOBER 11th
Questions? Contact Cathy Allen
at: cathycuddallen@aol.com (425) 885-1646
-or- Sarah Penrose at: sarahpenrose@comcast.net (425) 260-6473
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President's News
by Sue
Bentsen and Marian McDermott
The Bennett Bulldogs are
off to a great start! We hope that every Bennett family will do all
they can to cheer on the students as they lap around the soccer
field next Friday, September 28, at PowerWalk 2007.
The walkathon is the
"fun-raising" event of our fundraising campaign this
year. Money raised through family donations and Walkathon pledges
will help support the education enrichment programs for all
students at our school. What are these programs? To list a few, the
PTSA supports classroom instructional aid time, purchases the new
books for the library, provides for fieldtrips for every student,
and supports our Young Author, Young Scientist, and Math Olympiad
programs. Donations make these happen (and they are 100% tax
deductible)!
Fun raised at this event
includes prizes, sno-cones, pizza, and a great time hanging out
with your kids, your kids' teachers, your kids' friends, and your
kids' friends' parents. We hope to see you there!
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News From WA State Region
2 PTA: by State PTA www.wastatepta.org
Region
2 PTA and the Law workshop
Oct 16th 9 - Noon in Issaquah
Oct 18th 6 - 9 pm on Mercer Island
One of the best
ways to keep your PTA running smoothly is to make sure all of your
officers receive the most current training. PTA and the Law is a
workshop centered on the laws of the State of Washington and IRS rules
and regulations that govern nonprofit organizations. The workshop
will answer questions about raffles, audits, insurance and IRS
forms just to name a few. This workshop is for your entire Board of
Directors and there is always something new to learn! The cost is
$35 per unit if received 7 days before the workshop. Your local
unit may attend either session for that one fee. Please let us know
which session you will be attending.
Legislative
Assembly Training
Sept 27th from 7 to 9pm
The Lake
Washington PTSA Council has invited the members of Region 2 to a
Leg. Assembly training on Sept 27th from 7 to 9pm at the LE Scarr
Resource Center at Redmond Town Center. This is the School District
office. This session will cover both the Simple Majority campaign and
a training for those who plan to attend the Washington State PTA
Legislative Assembly on Oct 5th and 6th. Remember that
registrations for Leg Assembly are due by Sept. 21st. Here is the
link to the Leg. Assembly info http://www.wastatepta.org/legislation.htm
Region 2
Legislative Roundtable
Nov 15th 7 to 9pm Newport High School
Please
add this important date to your calendar. Everyone is welcome to
attend the Region 2 Legislative Roundtable. This is a free event
where you can sit down with your State Legislator and have a
conversation about the PTA priorities we will lobby for our kids
during this session. This is an intimate setting much like a Town
hall meeting. Though not all of us can lobby in Olympia during the
session this gives us a time to make that personal contact with our
elected officials and lobby in small groups. Building personal
relationships with our Legislators is important to us and they want
to hear from us as well.
Bronze
Level membership awards
September 30th
is quickly approaching and this is the first cut off date for the
bronze level membership award. To earn this award you need to have
entered 50% of the previous year's total members entered into the
WSPTA membership site by Sept 30th. This is not an award that you
have to apply for it is just given to all who have earned it. Keep
up the great work!
Note from Membership Committee: Thanks to all those parents
and staff members who have turned in their membership forms and
dues already - we have reached this first membership award. Also a
big thank you to Yoko Osawa and Lisa Robinson for all their work
putting the members into the state database! Let's go for Platinum
(20% increase over last year)!!
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Community Service
Announcements:
Childcare Help Needed
We are looking for some
childcare help! We are in need of a family to add one more child (4th
grader) on an occasional basis to their "getting to school
chaos" in the mornings. Also need just a few minutes after
school care on those same days. Please contact Jo at 425-881-2169
(home) or 425-890-6079 (cell).
Audition for the
Northwest Boychoir in October. Sign Up Now!
Maybe you've heard us
sing on movie soundtracks, or on your favorite video games. Or
perhaps you have friends who are already members. Now's your chance
to be sure you can join in the fun. Auditions for the Northwest
Boychoir will be held on Saturday, October 13. Boys between the
ages of 6 and 9 are eligible, and no prior musical training is
required. Boys age 10 or older with significant choral or other
musical training may also audition. Our auditions are friendly and
positive and parents are encouraged to attend. Financial aid is
available for those who qualify for the choir. Learn more www.nwchoirs.org or 206-524-3234.
Donate
You Time to Help with Paperwork
Do you have any tax or accounting experience? The PTSA needs an
amazing volunteer to do our taxes. If you volunteer it would be a
wonderful gift to the school. The Bennett PTSA has budgeted $600 to
have our taxes, you would be saving this money. You don't need an
accounting degree just a desire to help and a willingness to fill
out paperwork. The taxes are due early November so this volunteer
opportunity will not conflict with your own tax preparation. If
someone steps forward to do the non-profit taxes, the PTSA will
have $600 additional money to put toward field trips and other
academic programs. Please call Vanessa Swanson, 425-641-6626, if
you are interested. Thank you for your consideration!
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Librarian's Corner
Welcome to your library!
Parents, you can:
- Check out books to support your child's
reading and learning at home.
- Ask for help choosing books that will
engage your child.
- Volunteer to help keep the library running
smoothly.
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I hope you have enjoyed your newsletter!
The Friday Flyer
Bennett Elementary PTSA
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Information
contained in directories, newsletters, or membership lists published
by The Friday Flyer may not be used for solicitation, commercial,
political, ideological, or any other purposes not consistent with the
Washington Congress of Parent and Teacher by-laws.
Bennett
Elementary PTSA 2.3.22 17900 NE 16th Street,
Bellevue WA 98008
www.bennettelementary.org
thefridayflyer@yahoo.com
editor: Denice Malone
Membership
count: 158
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