The Paloma Partner |
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| Volume II, Issue 2 | September 2000 |
Got Ice Cream? We do! We've got sundaes and cones,
toppings galore and delicious baked goods. We've got terrific door prizes,
hula hoop contests, and surprises for some lucky teachers. Where? At the PTA's annual Ice Cream Social. Relax with Paloma friends
and faculty while you celebrate the anniversary of the ice cream cone. Stop by the PTA table. We'll have
t-shirts and school supplies for sale. We'll also have lots of the items
included in our catalog fundraiser for you to look at. You can try out
those wonderful Fannie May chocolates, too! Please call our Ice Cream Social Chair, Debbie Striker, at 940-0649 if
you would like to volunteer at this event and have not already signed
up. Be sure to join us for the first fabulous social event of the new
school year. It's Time to Shop It's catalog fundraiser time and have we got a great line-up of items for
sale this year! Our new catalog has lots more than wrapping paper and Christmas candles.
Check out the Fannie May chocolates-yum! We've got mugs, picture frames,
pretty tins, and school memory books. Also lots of items with angels,
animals, and 60's themes. Do you like Victorian-style gifts? They're in
there, too. Of course, there's lots of beautiful gift wrap as well.
Remember, the holiday season is right around the corner. The PTA will have a display table at the Ice Cream Social so stop by,
look at the samples and try some of the chocolates! Every child who participates is eligible for our 12 grand prize drawings,
including $100, $50, and $25 gift checks. In addition, our catalog vendor
has offered us a free school-wide assembly with the marvelous musical group
Melon Ball if we increase participation in the fundraiser to 40% of all
enrolled students! Students only have to sell one item to participate-but we hope they'll
sell more. Please remind your children not to sell door-to-door for safety
reasons. This sale is the PTA's biggest fundraising effort of the
year. Proceeds go to pay for playground supervisor salaries and other
important PTA activities. So enjoy shopping and help your Paloma Doves at
the same time!
Are You On-Line?
So are we. Check out the new PTA web site at
www.palomapta.org (you can also use www.palomapta.com.) Read the monthly meeting minutes, learn more about legislative issues supported by the PTA, or find out what events are scheduled for this month. Be sure to tell us what you think of our new site by leaving a message on the guest book or sending an e-mail to any Board member.
We're Soaring to New Heights
Have you seen the new cool PTA t-shirts? They're bright Paloma blue with a wonderful soaring white dove. Everyone loves them! Children's shirts come in size M (8-10) and L (12-14). Adult sizes come in S, M, L, XL, and XXL.
Children's sizes and adult S are $10.00 each, while other adult sizes are $12.00 each. All shirts are 50/50 cotton and polyester. They are manufactured by Jerzees, so they wash well and don't shrink much.
T-shirts are available for sale at all PTA events and after school on Fridays in September near the east parking lot. Check out the Paloma school supplies, too. We still have plenty of squeeze bottles, zippy pencil packs, sparkly pencils, magnetic refrigerator clips, and 2-pocket folders. All proceeds support PTA activities. Doves Soar!
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While we endure the summer that never seems to end, our children are playing in comfort under the two new playground shade structures. | |
New
Handbook for ParentsOne of the PTA's new services to parents this year is our blue-covered Paloma Handbook for Parents, which came home in backpacks recently. If you haven't had a chance to read through it, please do. You'll find lots of information about your PTA and a very useful Calendar of Events.
Be sure to fill out the volunteer forms in the back of the Handbook and send them in to school. All our kids benefit when you donate your time and skills.
If you received more than one copy of the Handbook for Parents, please return the extras to the school office for our new Paloma families.
Best Deals Card Decks
Those handy little decks of deals and discounts are back! For only $20.00, you get hundreds of dollars worth of coupons and price breaks at a wide variety of local merchants. The discount cards are good through December 2001.
If you didn't get your order form in by the September 8th deadline, don't worry. You can still purchase your card deck at any PTA event through the end of the year. So pick one up for your family soon and remember they make great gifts, too!
5 Ways for Parents to Be Involved in Their Child's Education
(courtesy of the National PTA)
August Meeting Notes
The first PTA meeting of the year was a great success. We wrapped up the whole meeting in 40 minutes! We elected a Treasurer, reviewed and approved the budget, discussed necessary by-law changes to be voted on at the next meeting, introduced and heard from the Standing Committee and Special Committee Chairs, and made a few announcements.
That was a lot in a short time, but we did it! Keeping the meetings to an hour or less will be very important this year as we plan to have a variety of speakers after the meetings.
Help Wanted
The PTA has a few openings for several Committee Chairs. We've detailed what we're looking for so the jobs don't sound so terrifying. Can you help us out?
Health/Welfare Committee: This is a standing chair position. We
would like this chair to organize a blood-drive during the garage sale in
February, write one or two short articles for the newsletter, and arrange
for a health related speaker at one of the PTA meetings. You may certainly
choose to do more, but this is the minimum we are asking for.
Spring Carnival Chair or Co-Chairs: This is a special events chair.
The carnival is scheduled for March 23rd this year and is a
favorite event for our Paloma families. Good organizational skills are
helpful for coordinating booths and volunteers. Creativity is useful for
coming up with a theme, designing signs, and adding activities. We have a
great procedure book from last year to help you out.
Silent Auction/Dinner Chair: This is a special event chair and is
new to Paloma this year. Instead of holding raffles and a small silent
auction at carnival this year, we have decided to make an event out of it.
We already have a couple of places in mind for the event, so that part of
the job is nearly done for you! In addition, the Donations Committee is
hard at work collecting items for the silent auction. We just need someone
to pull it all together.
Copy, Sort, Staple, Stack and Stuff
Group (CSSSSG): We would like to organize a small group to assist us
with assembling and distributing the many pieces of information the PTA
sends out during the year. We could use help during the school day to copy
and stuff teachers' mailboxes and anytime to do the sorting, stapling, and
stacking.
If you are interested in any of the
positions mentioned above, please contact a Board member in person, via
e-mail, phone, or even a note in our mailbox at school. Your support goes a
long way and helps make our organization stronger.
September 20th PTA Agenda
The next PTA meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the library. Agenda items will include:
Following the business portion of the meeting, Paloma's Principal, Gina Taylor, will give her annual "State of the School" address. She'll explain the tax donation program, review the lifeskills program, discuss recent test scores, and talk about district goals and how they relate to Paloma. If you want to know how last year's budget reallocations are affecting your students, don't miss this meeting.
Candidate Forum at Paloma
Remember how upset you were last year when the Kyrene School Board tried to change our start time to 9:00 a.m.? Are you concerned that Paloma now has only a ½-time vice principal, only a ¾-time gifted teacher, and has lost one whole K-3 resource position? How do you feel about your child's class size this year? Do you wish you could tell school board members what is important to you as a tax payer and parent?
Here's your opportunity. The Paloma PTA is sponsoring a Kyrene School Board candidates forum following the PTA meeting on Wednesday, October 18th. The forum will run from 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room. Robert Briscoe and Slade Mead are running for the 3 open board positions. Write-in candidates will also be invited as we learn who they are.
Here's your chance to let your future school board members know what matters most to you about the way the Kyrene schools are run. Parents from Pueblo and all it's feeder schools have also been invited. Please join us for this exciting event.
A Big Thank You
The PTA and Paloma staff want to offer our sincerest thanks to Craig Dayton and his family for purchasing a beautiful new refrigerator for the teachers' lounge. It's big, it has ice, and the teachers' food actually stays cold now! What a great way to kickoff our lounge renovation project. Thanks so much Dayton family!
Legislative Corner
Welcome back, everyone.
This has been an exciting month for our legislative group. We told you
in our last newsletter that November may bring with it one of the most
important school votes in the last decade. Please visit the PTA's great new
web site, www.palomapta.org. You can read about Proposition 301 in
the August 2000 Newsletter! We have also provided a copy of the proposed
Proposition 301 ballot measure on our site. The final wording has yet to be
completed by the Secretary of State.
Our emphasis this month is to work hard at registering voters. Your vote
counts! One vote has made the difference many times through American
history and your vote counts every bit as much now.
There are a variety of ways you can register in the state of Arizona. We will be registering voters at school during PTA events. You can get information on voter registration at www.sosaz.com. This site allows you to download a registration form. Forms are also available throughout the state at various locations, including the auto license bureau, the library, and the county courthouse. You can also call the toll-free voter registration hotline at 1-877-843-8683.
The Arizona primary election day is September 12th and you must already be registered in order to vote this day. However, you have until October 9th to register for the general election which is being held on November 7th. At the general election, we'll be choosing not only a new President and Vice President, but our representatives to Congress and the Arizona State Legislature, and Kyrene School Board members. A number of city and state propositions will also be on the ballot, including Proposition 301.
Set an example. Register to vote. You will make a difference!
Speaking of Registration ...
If you have not yet registered on
Schoolpop.com, now is the time to do so! Paloma not only
receives $5 for each member who registers, but if 50 new people register by
the end of September we will receive a $250 gift certificate for Barnes and
Noble. Wouldn't that be a wonderful gift to present to the Paloma library?
Remember, Schoolpop.com does not sell your information and does
not send SPAM if you uncheck the "send me information" box. If you are
interested in participating, e-mail any Board member and we will forwarding
the "Tell a friend" letter with registration instructions. It only takes a
minute and doesn't cost you a dime or your privacy.
Save Those Receipts
Did you put the big white PTA envelope on your refrigerator? If you're a PTA member, you already got a magnetized clip for it. Or, you can purchase a Paloma clip at our school supplies table.
Use the envelope to collect your Basha's receipts, Campbell soup can labels, and Big G box tops. Just empty it once a month and send the labels and receipts to school with your kids. It's easy to do and the funds really add up.
Or Not...
Fry's has a new program this year, called "Cool Ca$h-Earning for Learning." For every $50,000 in VIP purchases you make, Fry's will mail the PTA $500. But, instead of collecting receipts, your purchases will be electronically recorded every time you use your VIP card. The catch? You need to take the "Cool Ca$h" school ID card (coming home soon in backpacks) with you the next time you shop at Fry's. Once your VIP card is linked to the Paloma ID, however, all you need is your VIP card. And, it's good at any Fry's anywhere.
Did you know that you can also earn money for the Paloma PTA with your Target credit card? The next time you shop at Target, ask how to sign up. Also, don't forget to use your Community Partners card the next time you shop at Albertson's. If you need a new card, please contact the PTA Treasurer.
Hey, you're going to shop anyway. Why not support Paloma at the same time?
5 More Ways for Parents to Be Involved in Their Child's Education
(courtesy of the National PTA)