Alcott Elementary eNews Brief

October 29, 2009

FALL HARVEST FESTIVAL 2009 UPDATE

October 30, 2009 from 6:30-8:30PM

From your PTSA Fall Festival Coordinators:

AVAILABLE PARKING:

Designated spaces in the Alcott Parking Lot (North and West of the school), as well as the blacktop near the playground (PLEASE NOT ON PAINTED ATLAS/WORLD MAP SURFACES).

OVERFLOW PARKING:

Special thanks to Canyon Automotive and Motorsports as they have graciously agreed to allow overflow parking for Fall Festival 2009 at their business.  Please do not park in front of any customer cars (which cannot be blocked for after-hours business pick-up).

Parking is not allowed in any of the FIRE LANES along the drive through lane and around the school.  Please take note of the NO PARKING signs, particularly north of the school.  This area will be coned off so that it is clear it is a no parking area.

Please do not park in any RESERVED parking spots (these spaces were purchased at last year’s school auction which and includes before, during and after-school access).  Thank you!

Please supervise children and use crosswalks when crossing 228^th Avenue and the Redmond-Fall City Road.

Click here for the Event Parking Map.

We are hoping to get volunteers to help us out with parking, but are short of help with so many not available due to illness.  If you could help direct traffic at the evening event, could you please contact Elizabeth Ibrahim at elzusa2003@gmail.com.  

 Thank you.

ALCOTT PE UPDATE

You can learn about what kids are doing in PE, find out how kids can earn fitness prizes and medals, print fitness calendars, and check out the PE curriculum frameworks on Mr. Laughlin’s web site, which is located inside the Alcott web site.  Just go to the Alcott web site at  http://www.lwsd.org/school/alcott/Pages/default.aspx , click on About Us, then Staff Directory, then click on Mr. Laughlin’s name to get to the site.  Or, simply click on this link:  http://schools.lwsd.org/alcott/laughlin/ .  The “Events and News” page of Mr. Laughlin’s web site is updated every few weeks. 

 If your child correctly completes a fitness calendar and turns it in on time, he/she will receive a fitness pencil that month.  Students that turn in seven or more calendars for the year earn a fitness medal in June.  More information about this is available on the PE web site.  A list of fitness stars (students that turned in a calendar) will be posted in the hallway outside the gym to show which children turned in fitness calendars the previous month.  Thank you, Mr. Laughlin

Alcott Elementary eNews Brief

October 28, 2009

VETERANS DAY ASSEMBLY REQUEST

Dear Families,

            Veteran’s day is quickly approaching and we will be having Veteran’s day assembly the second week of November to honor the day.  In the past we have asked families to send in pictures for a slide show and we would like to continue that tradition this year.  If you have a picture that you would like to add to our slideshow to honor the veteran in your family, please send it via email to ksterrett@lwsd.org  by Monday November 2^nd.  Please include in your email the name of the Veteran, your child’s first and last name, and the relation of the veteran to your family. 

Thank you, Alicia Wetherbee & Kristin Sterrett

UPCOMING EVENTS

PTSA FALL HARVEST FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are in need of moms, dads, and older siblings to help staff the Fall Harvest Festival.  Please contact Elizabeth Ibrahim at elzusa2003@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering or have any questions.

VISION AND HEARING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are in need of about ten more people to help with Vision and Hearing screening on November 12.  If you are available to volunteer, please contact Christine Chai at christine@bracechai.com.  Thank you!

 REFLECTIONS DEADLINE THIS WEEK!

The deadline for entries is October 30.  For more information contact Janet Zimmermann at janetzimmermann@hotmail.com.

SEATTLE KIDS MARATHON 2009 REMINDER

All registration forms must be completed and turned in with the $15 registration fee (checks made payable to “Seattle Marathon Association”) to Diane Davis, davisfam10@verizon.net, Running Club Parent Volunteer, by Friday, October, 30^th, 2009, or register online.

 Alcott Elementary eNews Brief

October 26, 2009

 PTSA FALL FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

ALCOTT FALL FESTIVAL 2009

Volunteers needed!

The Fall Festival will be held this year on:

Friday, October 30th from 6:30-8:30 pm. 

Fall Festival is Alcott's annual carnival.
In addition to lots of carnival games, crafts, costumes, cakewalk and food, the Fall Festival has a wonderful Haunted House!  
 
We are in need of moms, dads, and older siblings to help staff this event.  Please contact Elizabeth Ibrahim at elzusa2003@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering or have any questions. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

VISION AND HEARING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are in need of about ten more people to help with Vision and Hearing screening on November 15.  If you are available to volunteer, please contact Christine Chai at christine@bracechai.com.  Thank you!

HEALTH AND WELFARE UPDATE

Flu season is upon us!

One of our best indicators is the amount of traffic through our Health Room—it has been a busy place.

We  also know that the number of students out of school has been climbing.  On a  couple of days this past week, we have seen in excess of 15% out of school with illness of some kind.  As much as we love to have your children here at school, we want to thank each of you for keeping them home when they are ill, and in particular when they are exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

Thank you for your help!

Alcott Elementary eNews Brief

October 16, 2009

PARKING AND TRAFFIC

SAFETY TIPS,  REMINDERS and ANNOUNCEMENTS

In most schools around our district, parking and traffic are a regular concern—usually at the end of the school day.  When many of our schools were built, they were designed for a smaller number of students (notice our portables) and done at a time when most students either walked or rode the bus to school.  How times have changed!  As is often the case, the decisions of the past can be in conflict with present reality.

We are asking for your help as well as help from the district, local officials and law enforcement in a few areas around the school with our ultimate goal the safety of our students.  One area that we are looking for solutions is along the walking paths that begin at the mouth of the school driveway and extend to the north along 228^th Ave. NE.  

THE CONCERN: Parked cars, particularly on the west side of the street block the walking paths for student pedestrians and cyclists forcing them to make a decision to walk in the drainage ditch or the roadway (and oncoming traffic).  This is creating a very unsafe situation for our students that will not get better as daylight gets shorter and the weather causes more visibility problems.

OUR REQUEST: Particularly in the afternoon, we urgently request that parents be aware of their parking practice by complying with posted signage and make sure that walkways for students are not blocked so that they can safely arrive/depart school each day.

OUR NEXT STEPS: Just this week, I was able to meet with our district’s Risk Management director and a representative from the King County Sheriff’s department.  I was made aware that deputies will be periodically patrolling the area to enforce traffic and parking laws based upon current ‘No Parking’ signs (please read them carefully).  Our Risk Management department will be working with the county transportation and roads department to explore ideas for clearly defining the roadway from the walkway (for instance, installing curbs or barriers).  Risk Management will also be working with me to see what kind of temporary solutions we might be able to implement quickly.  Finally, we may consult Support Services about adding to our capacity to handle more cars (such as parking or re-routing traffic).

SAFETY PATROL AND CROSSING GUARD REMINDER: Since we are talking traffic safety, we also ask that all drivers be aware of our Safety Patrol and Crossing Guards at the school.  Their job is to make sure that we have safe walking paths on-site as well as off-site for students.  Please keep in mind that they are responsible for crossing students and NOT responsible for directing traffic flow.  They have a tough and important job, so we appreciate the many positive comments about their work for the benefit of the school.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

FALL FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The Fall Festival is right around the corner (Friday, October 30 from 6:30-8:30p) and our coordinators are looking for volunteers for this annual Alcott event.  Potential volunteers can contact Elizabeth Ibrahim at elzusa2003@gmail.com.  Thank you so much for your help!

FROM OUR PTSA SPECIAL NEEDS COORDINATORS

Welcome back to a new school year!  Debby Berg and Julia Acheson are your Alcott PTSA Special Needs coordinators for this school year.  We want to let you know about happenings with the Special Needs community at Alcott and in the district.  If you would like to be on our mailing list, please send an email to  Debby@Isimar.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

FAMILY NIGHT OUT

Saturday, October 17^th beginning at 6:00

Join the PTSA and ‘The ‘Rents’ band comprised of Alcott parents and alumni at Oddfellow’s Grill on Leary Way in Redmond.  The band begins playing at 7:30 and children are welcome to attend until 10pm.  Contact Linda Comstock at lindacomstock@hotmail.com for more information.

REFLECTIONS ART CONTEST

Start thinking out of the box and get creative.  It’s time to get started on REFLECTIONS art projects!  The theme this year is “Beauty is…”.  Reflections has 6 different ways for you to express yourself: photography, film, music composition, visual arts, literature, and dance choreography.  For complete rules, go to www.wastatepta.org under the program menu. 

The deadline for entries is October 30.  For more information contact Janet Zimmermann at janetzimmermann@hotmail.com.

SEATTLE KIDS MARATHON 2009

The Seattle Kids Marathon 2009 will take place on Saturday, November 28th at 10:00 a.m.

If you would like to run in this event, there are two ways to register as a member of the Alcott Elementary School team:

·         Seattle Kids Marathon Registration forms are available outside of the office.  All registration forms must be completed and turned in with the $15 registration fee (checks made payable to “Seattle Marathon Association”) to Diane Davis, Running Club Parent Volunteer, by Friday, October, 30^th, 2009, or…

·         Register online at www.seattlemarathon.org/kids/register.  Be sure to identify your child as a member of the “Alcott Elementary Orcas” team utilizing the “Select a School/Team” drop box.  Enter the team member password which is “orcafunrun”.

Please feel free to contact Diane at davisfam10@verizon.net if you have any questions or need more information.

EGG DROP

Many thanks to Kristie Scott and our many volunteers for an exciting Egg Drop.  We were blessed to have the Redmond Fire Department’s ‘C-Shift’ on hand to drop the egg ‘vehicles’ from a height of 60 feet.  The egg drop demonstrated the creativity that is on display every day at Alcott.  Whether you ended up with a potential hard-boiled egg or a scrambled one, congratulations to all our participants!

ALCOTT PTSA SCHOOL YARD SALE—SUCCESS FOR OUR STUDENTS

Many thanks to our yard sale coordinators Lisa Merges and Sharon Drazkowski as well as the many volunteers who made it happen.  Thank you for your hard work and the many quality donations!  As a result of the event, $3,394.54 was raised at the 3^rd Annual Sale which will help support our students through the Alcott PTSA.

I must say that I have a soft spot in my heart for Rummage Sales since my mom used to run an annual sale at my elementary school and eventually started up a thrift shop in support of the school.  If you have ever been in my office, you’ll see my ‘Lucky Bull’ which came straight out of one my mom’s second hand sales over 35 years ago.  The bull is lucky because he looks exactly the same after all those years.  Me, on the other hand, not so much. J 

Thank you for your efforts!