Chagrin Falls PTO

Welcome back!

Click to download the September 24 Gurney Building Newsletter (71).

Mrs. Tatom submitted this report on 9/15/10.

• Thank you to all of the PTO volunteers who helped us with Picture Day! It went smoothly in large part to your help and organization!

• Time Change: We have had to adjust the time that we allow students to classrooms in the morning by 5 minutes to be in compliance with our teachers’ contract. Therefore, students are not permitted to classrooms until 8:15am. Prior to that, we do not have proper supervision for them. This does not affect any students who ride the bus in the morning as they tend to arrive at that time anyway.

• Literacy by Design Training: Gurney teachers had their first training session for the new language arts program during early release day. The program is great and teachers are anxious to get all of the components operating in full swing. Additional training/support is scheduled for the teachers again in November.

• Compass Learning: All Gurney teachers are being trained in a new online reading and math program called Odyssey Compass Learning. The program will be used in the district, K-10. Look for information coming home soon introducing the site to you and providing you with your child’s username and passwords. It is a web-based program so students can complete assignments at home as well as at school. There are many fun practice activities and enrichment activities that teachers can assign and students can enjoy doing at home. All of the assignments and assessments are aligned to our Ohio Academic Standards.

The PTO report was presented by Alissa Stinson.

• Library volunteers have been assembled, and the schedules have been compiled. They will be having their orientation with Mrs. Graham September 15th.
• Volunteers have been plentiful for the clinic and for most grades of lunch and recess. Volunteer schedules have been created for both of these committees. The number of volunteers for kindergarten lunch/recess is a bit light. We may have to recruit more volunteers later in the year if needed.  (Click here for information on volunteering.)
• Room parents were assigned and lead room parents attended an orientation meeting.
• Open Houses were well attended. Class fees were set at $5 and were collected in grades 1-3. Due to a lack of an open house for kindergarteners, class fees have not yet been collected for Kindergarten. A letter will be sent home to kindergarten parents along with an envelope to return to school. This letter has been submitted to Mr. Thompson for approval.
• Picture Day was Monday, September 13th. PTO volunteers ensured everything ran smoothly.
• The Giddings Coat Collection Drive has started and will run into October. Collection bins have been delivered to the school and donations have begun to come in. There will be an incentive week for kids so they will be encouraged to bring in donations, not their parents.
• The Box Tops committee is preparing for a “Fall Blitz”. This will run the first week of October (4th-8th). They are going to be using Ziploc bags this year (bags each will contain 50 box tops). The ease of use of the Ziploc bags will hopefully encourage participation.
• Thank you to the following:
• Joelle Snavely and Mindy Goodin on the decorating committee for the new back to school decorations, and the planters of mums.
• All room parents who diligently collected the class fees and are preparing the phone chains and to Kathy LaMonica for spearheading their effort.
• Joan Newell,Tina Nerpouni and the hospitality committee for organizing the back to school lunch. We received thank you notes from teachers and staff in appreciation of the lunch.
• Lunch, library and clinic committee chairs for their efforts in compiling the volunteer schedules for the year.
• Annie Amata and Renee McLain for serving as Gurney contacts for the Welcoming Tea and to Jesse Weinberger for continuing to develop/maintain database of PTO volunteers for Gurney.

Sheri Halagan had interesting news about iPod Touch applications in the classroom. Gurney recently received a grant from an independent foundation for a classroom set. They will start using them soon.

The Gurney School report was presented by Sherrie Halagan.

Thank you for the lovely luncheon and plants on Staff Appreciation Day!

• THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO MADE KINDERGARTEN SCREENING RUN SO SMOOTHLY!
• THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO HELPED WITH LUNCH TIME ON ELECTION DAY!
• THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO HELPED US SO MUCH TO MAKE THIS SUCH A SUCCESSFUL YEAR!

• Rotary Teacher of the Year nominee:  Congratulations to Jillian Langer, 2^nd grade teacher, who has been nominated as the Rotary Teacher of the Year!  Good luck to her as she heads in for her interview!

• Kindergarten Screening:  It went incredibly smoothly!  We have 115  Kindergarten students registered for next year and it looks like we will have 4 full day kindergarten classes, 1 morning class and 1 afternoon class in 2010-2011.

• Open Houses:   When the calendars come out for next year, you will notice no Open House for kindergarten.  This is because Kindergarten Kick-Off Night is considered their Open House and they have an Orientation Day.  After all of that, there isn’t much left to tell the parents.  Also, by contract, we can only ask the teachers to do one Open House per year and Kindergarten Kick Off Night is more valuable than Open House in the fall after an Orientation.

• Field Day/Clap-Out:  June 8^th is Field Day and we have a lot going on!  Third Graders will have their Field Day activities at the High School stadium!  Second and First Graders will rotate around our own campus for fun activities and Kindergarten Classes each have their own schedule planned for the short day.  Thanks to PTO we will all enjoy a pizza lunch!  And finally, at 12:45pm, we will clap-out our 3^rd graders.  The day ends with early dismissal at 1pm.

• Report Cards:  Report Cards will be mailed home by June 16^th.

• iPod Touch Project:  Mrs. Halagan presented our new iPod Touches, applications we are starting to use with them, and the foundation that graciously granted us the money for them.

Gurney PTO Report

The Gurney School PTO report was presented by Karen Ostanek.

• Recent Events and Updates from Gurney:
  • Teacher Appreciation Day went well. Hospitality chose to purchase the food form Costco.  The menu consisted of shrimp, sandwiches, salad, fruit and cake.  It was very much appreciated as were the gift plants received by both the teachers and the bus drivers.
  • All Room Parents provided cards for their teacher, a staff member and a bus driver.
  • Kindergarten Screening went well.  About 105 children were screened with the help of 30 PTO volunteers over a two day period.
  • The May election went smoothly as well.  It is suggested that at least one parent per room (two would be ideal) to help the children who are buying their lunch and manage the classroom for the lunch period.
  • 3rd grade testing was fine.  Room Parents provided snack and water for the testing days.

• Thank You To:
  • The Hospitality Committee for providing lunch for Teacher Appreciation Day
  • The Kindergarten Screening Committee
  • Kathy LaMonica and the room parents for providing the lovely cards for their teachers, staff members and bus drivers
  • The last minute helpers for Election Day
  • The yearbook committee for all of their diligent work that began with Picture Day in October and will end with the distribution of the beautiful Yearbooks

• Upcoming PTO Related Events
  • Tiger Trek – May 27 – t-shirts are ordered, Sponsorship sheets due Friday May 21.  Each class is responsible for their own water bottles and PTO will supply the popsicles.
  • Field Day – June 8^th – providing 3 half sheets of pizza per room.  Lunch will begin at 11am or 11:30 and should end by 12:30.  Clap-out is scheduled for 12:45.

• Approved Grant Requests from Gurney Building Fund
  • Approved a $313 request by Pam Fox for playground balls, jump ropes and hula hoops.

• Miscellaneous
  • 2010-2011 Committee Chair forms and First of the Year help forms are distributed to teachers for take-home folders this week and will appear in the May newsletter (or download   and send in with your child)
  • Kindergarten for next year will consist of 4 full days and 1 morning and 1 afternoon class
  • Jason Wise will move to First Grade
  • Michelle Edwards will stay in  2^nd grade for Mrs. Greene who is taking next year off.
  • Walk-through for August is scheduled for the afternoon of the 19^th for 1st grade  and for the morning of the 20^th for 2nd/3rd grade.

Gurney participated in a Zero Waste Challenge this month through the Greener Grass Club.

The Gurney School report was presented by Regina Lantsberg.

• Thank you to all of the volunteers who provided us with dinners on conference nights!  They were fabulous!
• Zero Waste Challenge: Thanks to Mrs. Garvey, we are looking forward to a successful Zero Waste Challenge tomorrow, on Earth Day!  Her Greener Grass Club has provided us with great morning announcements and information to give our students and parents regarding how to pack a zero waste lunch.  We practiced today and kindergarten did the best (and when we had the teachers try it last week, the kindergarten teachers did the best and won Heinen’s gift cards)!  It was a very close race though.  Tomorrow, our goal is to have less waste (measured in pound per student) than the Intermediate School did when they did this.  If we reach that goal, each grade level will get an extra recess.  The grade level that does the best tomorrow will receive a reusable, Gurney Tiger Pride water bottle for each student!  This has been both a fun and educational activity for the whole school!
• Right to Read Week: Next week is our Right to Read Week.  Information will be coming home this week.  It is a sports theme and students are encouraged to wear different sports jerseys and tshirts on certain days next week.  We have an incentive for students to read at home and enter a drawing to participate in our Friday assembly with a special star guest!  All week, we will be playing music over the p.a. spontaneously as a signal for the whole school to stop and read!
• Kindergarten Screening:  Kindergarten Screening is May 6 and 7^th.  Please spread the word that parents must register their child before they are screened and registration can be done at central office.  If anyone needs to sign up for screening, they just need to call the Gurney office.
• Full Day Kindergarten:  The deadline to sign up for full day kindergarten in May 7^th.  A $200 deposit is required to hold the spot in full day kindergarten.  Rachel Gebler is moving to teaching full day kindergarten for next year.  We don’t know which teacher will take over the ½ day classes – it will depend on the numbers that enroll.
• Summer Reading and Math Camp flyer:  Information on the Gurney Summer Reading and Math Camp is included in the Gurney newsletter.  Please consider registering your child.
• Summer Science Camp flyer:  Information on Camp Invention at Gurney is included in the Gurney newsletter.   Please consider registering your child!
• Dr. Rasinski Training:  Wondering why your child’s teacher was out for 3, ½ days right when we got back from spring break?  Sorry!  But, it was the only time we could get this phenomenal early literacy instructor, Dr. Tim Razinski.  He is a professor at KSU and has written over 200 articles and co-authored or edited over 50 books on reading education.  He is author of the best-selling book on reading fluency, The Fluent Reader.  His research has been cited by the National Reading Panel and has been published in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, Reading Psychology, and the Journal of Educational Research.  Tim was recently elected to the International Reading Hall of Fame.  So you can see, we couldn’t pass up on the opportunity and he was worth it!

Gurney PTO Report

The Gurney School PTO report was presented by Kristin Wood.

• Recent Events/Updates

• Grant request pending for 1^st grade cameras.
• 3^rd grade Reading and Math Achievement testing finished today – Tuesday and Wednesday am.
• Sports theme for Right to Read week culminating with a special guest on Friday.
• Thank you’s from teachers re: the school conferences dinner.

• Upcoming PTO Related Events
  • Right to Read Week — April 26 – 30
  • Teacher Appreciation luncheon – May 5
  • Kindergarten Screening – May 6 and 7
  • Tiger Trek Walk-a-thon – May 27

• Approved Requests

Kindergarten science grants

• Miscellaneous

Staffing changes for 2010-11

• • Curtis Howell (2^nd) moving to Middle School; Shelly Zdolshek taking his place in 2^nd grade; Rachel Gebler (half day Kdg) taking Z’s Kindergarten full day class.
  • Julie Greene (2^nd) is taking all of next year off and will return the following year.
  • Sheryl Butler will be the Gurney Math Intervention Specialist for 2^nd and 3^rd grade.  Never had math intervention before.
  • Justin Wise and Kelly Shanaberger (both Kdg) RIF’d – hoping to hire back once Kindergarten numbers come in.
  • Jason Starynchak resigned (1^st).

The Gurney School report was presented by Lisa Todaro.

• Thank you in advance for the always delicious dinners on conference nights!  We truly appreciate your thoughtfulness in providing us with that nice meal so we can take a short break on those evenings.
• Third Grade Testing Week March 22nd:  Next week all of our third graders will be tested for gifted identification purposes.  They will all be taking a cognitive abilities test and achievement testing in reading and math.  These are different from our Ohio Achievement Assessments because they are nationally normed tests which is required for gifted identification.
• Kindergarten:  Kindergarten Kick off Night was March 18th.  We appreciate the parent volunteers who helped to sign parents up for kindergarten screening.  We also had Mr. Holzheimer there to answer transportation questions and Mrs. Ritz there to help with registration for any parent who has completed it.  Parents were  able to choose from three different presentations for the evening:  Full Day Kindergarten Presentation, Half Day Kindergarten Presentation, and a Presentation of Both Kindergarten Programs for parents who have not yet decided.  Parents were also welcome to tour the kindergarten classrooms and the school during this evening open house.
• Parent Conferences/Report Cards:  Gurney Parent Conferences are next week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  All parents who have signed up for a conference will receive their child’s report card at the conference.  If a parent has signed up for a phone conference or an email update, their child’s report card will be sent home for them.

Gurney PTO Report

The Gurney School report was presented by Lauren Jones.

• Recent Events/Updates
  • Set Teacher Appreciation Lunch for May 5 – Spoke with Rachel about idea for a plant and a wonderful lunch and she thought it was a great idea.
  • Rachel had an idea that it would be nice to involve the kids in Teacher appreciation week and each day they can bring in something small to combine into a larger appreciative gift. For instance one flower, a school supply for the classroom, a small sweet or treat, a note or card form the child. This could occur on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with the lunch on Wednesday.
  • We requested the numbers for yearbooks and Tiger Trek T-shirts that are donated to needy families. This year we will but an extra box on the sheet for parents to indicated if they would like to make a donation to help a needy child receive a t-shirt. The same type of box will be on next year’s yearbook order form.
  • Kindergarten registration numbers are low this year but will hopefully increase as the year ends.
  • Right to Read Week is coming up with a sports theme.
  • Gurney staff is already planning for a new reading adventure called One School, One Book.   It is a month long event which consists of a shared book between the grades and is customized to the grade level with fun games and questions/trivia. It will culminate with a shared activity. The parents will need to be an active participant in this activity as they will need to read to their child. There will be podcasts that a child can listen to as well. Gurney is looking for PTO support to help with this program not only monetary but through PR and home support. This program is currently active at Kenston and is receiving accolades. Plans will be finalized this summer.

• Upcoming PTO Related Events
  • Kindergarten Kick-off – March 18
    • Both events are running well and have sufficient volunteers and staff
    • Need for 300 more spirit banners which will be ordered
  • 3rd Grade Testing – will check with room mothers for snacks
    • Gifted Testing next week Mon-Thurs
    • Achievement Testing April 20 and 21
• Approved Requests
  • Grant Request for Shanaberger  and Gebler approved.
  • Grant request for First Grade flip cameras is pending approval.
• Miscellaneous
  • Hospitality is planning dinners for Conference nights. Lasagna one night and a “picnic” supper the other night.
  • Tiger Trek is in the process of being planned and they are working to get a discounted price on the t-shirts. There will be both paper flyers and download forms for sponsorship and the t-shirts soon.

Important Upcoming Dates

Picture Day  – Oct 28
Halloween Parade/parties – Oct 30 beginning at 2:30
Election Day – Nov 3

School News

The school report was presented by Susan Tatom.

•    3rd Grade Testing: Our 3rd graders took the Reading Achievement Test October 6th.  We usually get results late in November and those are mailed home to parents.  Please keep in mind that students are not expected to pass it in October; in fact, we are fortunate if we have half of our students who actually do pass it in October.  It is an experience in test-taking for 3rd graders as they’ve never taken a test like it before.  It also give us as a staff information about students strengths and weaknesses so that we can best prepare them for the test again in May.  In May, they will take the Reading AND Math Achievement Tests.
•   1st Grade Nocturnal Animal Unit:  Our first graders have been learning about animal characteristics and habitats, particularly nocturnal animals.  This Friday, some of our CF high school students will be coming over to teach lessons related to characteristics of nocturnal animals.  This is always a very exciting experience for our kids.  The high school students seem to make everything much more exciting!
•    Parent Book Group:  Mrs. Fishman and Mrs. Langer have started a book discussion group for 2nd and 3rd grade parents.  It is the start of a dialogue between teachers and parents about various curriculum issues.  They had their first meeting last night.  If anyone is still interested in participating, simply call Gurney school and ask to leave either of them a voicemail with your contact information.
•    Halloween: Our Halloween parade will begin at 2:30pm on Friday the 30th!  It’s always a wonderful display of creative costumes….and the children look pretty good too ☺!  Class parties will follow the parade.
•    Conferences: Our conferences are the first week of November.  Parents will receive report cards at their conference time.  Please contact your child’s teacher if you do not have a scheduled conference time or you need to change it.  Thank you to PTO in advance for the wonderful dinners you always provide us during conference nights.
•    Picture Day:  Our school pictures will be taken next week on Wednesday.  Thank you in advance to all the parent volunteers that make this day run so smoothly!

PTO News

The PTO report was presented by Lauren Jones.

•    Recent Events/Updates

New Finger Scanning machine has not yet been put into operation.  The school is waiting for a part to properly connect each machine via a wireless connection.
Open Houses were well attended.  Most classes collected a majority of the class fees which have been submitted to the Treasurer
3rd grade Reading Tests occurred that first week in October.
Gidding School collection is underway however the collection has been “light” thus far.  (Dr Jones will follow-up on keeping some of the coats for needy Chagrin families.)  Find out more about the coat drive here.
Health Screenings will begin for new students and all first graders soon.
Picture Day is October 28th which will be handled by the Yearbook committee and PTO parents.  At least 20 volunteers are needed.  Contact us if you are interested.

•    Thank You
To the decorating committee for the new Fall/Halloween decorations
To Ted Kruse and the staff at Chagrin Pet & Garden for their very generous donation of a beautiful fall display!
To all room parents who diligently collected the class fees and prepared the phone chains and to Kathy LaMonica for spearheading the effort.

•    Upcoming PTO Related Events
Picture Day  – Oct 28
Halloween Parade/parties – Oct 30 beginning at 2:30
Election Day – Nov 3
Conference dinners for the teachers in November

•    Approved Requests
Approved a $303.00 request for Jillian Langer and Chris Fishman for books necessary for a second and third grade parent book group that will examine educational issues facing the children.  The outcome of this book study will help teachers and administrators adjust the curriculum for these students.

•    Miscellaneous
None noted