Tuesdays 8.30-10.30am From September 8th

This year we are asking for volunteers to make our 2009 Holiday Boutique extra special!  We are looking for parents and family members who would be interested in attending Craft Club.  Each week we will work on simple crafts that can be sold along with other merchandise at our holiday store.

This is a great way to meet other parents and become more involved in your child’s school.

In addition we would love to hear from crafters who are interested in donating homemade items to the boutique – scarfs, aprons, etc…  would be greatly appreciated.  Or if you have a business or connections that would enable you to donate goods to the boutique we would love to hear from you too.

No craft skills are needed

To find out more contact Emma Clarkson: (818) 861-7139 emma@xurble.org

Emma Clarkson

Welcome to the 2009/10 school year! In keeping with this year’s PTA membership theme, “All Hands On Deck,” We think you’ll see that our school is about just that – working together. Families For Stevenson is your school’s booster club. FFS works together with the PTA and our wonderful staff to give our children the best education that we can possibly give them. It is our goal to work together with parents to bring music, art, dance and other specialty programs to Stevenson. The state budget cuts have been hard on our schools so it’s up to us to make up that difference.

The FFS “main event” is Stevenson Rocks! which takes place May 7th, 2010. Last year, we raised over $15,000.00! With the economy the way it is, that was quite a feat. We couldn’t have done it without the parents who volunteered in so many ways – from making signs to making phone calls, to working at the event, and spending their hard earned cash! When I got home that night after Rocks!, I felt fragile and exhausted. After everything that we worked for to make Stevenson Rocks! what it was, it was over. And it was a huge success. I went into my son’s room to find him sleeping with the remnants of bright red hair spray still in his hair (and that was after a shower). I laughed and I cried. I do this for him. And for all of our children. For those of you who aren’t sure that you have the time to volunteer, take it from me, it’s worth it.

De, my co-president, loves working with the children and parents here at Stevenson. Her amazing talents are a gift to us all and she’s able to look around and actually see and feel rewarded by all of the smiles on everyone’s faces. She’s able to be creative, imaginative, and inventive as we tackle new projects and events. Her work at Stevenson Rocks! really kicked the entire occasion up a notch. We are so very lucky to have her on our team!

No matter how much or how little time you have to help FFS/PTA – we appreciate it. We work hard, but we have a great time doing it! This year, De Eldridge, our co-president, along with your Families For Stevenson board: Kym Wheeler, Renee’ Kregler, Danielle Sost, Gina Boulais and myself are here to help make R.L. Stevenson Elementary the best school in Burbank!
We can’t do this without you so please contact either myself or De at 818-752-3133 or 818-415-8487
or you can e-mail us using this form.

Thank you and have a great year!

Jennifer Jesperson and De Eldridge

Co-Presidents

I have some big shoes to fill with Paul Bond moving on as head of this committee but I will try to continue with the programs he started and hopefully expand with some new ones.

Since I am going to be talking to you about wellness this year I thought I’d tell you a little bit about myself and what my qualifications might be to dispense pearls of wellness wisdom.

I am a mother of three boys, Hank 6 ½ in first grade with Ms. Diamond and Jake and Luke 2 year old fraternal twins. I, like you, am also a bit of a juggler. I juggle being a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, volunteer and entrepreneur.

Before I had my boys I had my own personal training business called Mat’s Muscles. I truly enjoyed helping people get healthy. My motto was and is, “Fitness is more than muscles, it’s a state of mind.” I am currently breathing life into my training business again. I’ll keep you posted on how all this juggling is going as the year progresses.

I appreciate my motto more than ever now since my muscles seem to have gone into hiding and I’m trying to shift my state of mind from “survival mode” to really focusing on what is best for my family and me.

What I hope to accomplish with this column is to share information with you so you can live a healthy and balanced life.

As a trainer I will share exercise tips with you and as a mom juggling kids and a career, tips on how to fit it all in.

This month’s tip is, hydration! If you are experiencing a bit of a headache, drink a glass of water. It’s also the best way to start your day. The old saying of 8 of 8 a day (eight, eight ounce glasses of water a day) is no longer a requirement and hey, who could do that anyway. But if you are feeling a bit parched, you are already headed for dehydration. The same is true for your kids. Make sure they have a healthy drink in their lunch and remind them to drink up.

Trainer Tip: I literally start my day with an 8 ounce glass of H2O. It’s the best way to wake up. As I drink that first glass of water of the day I can almost feel it seeping into my pores and rehydrating my body from my state of slumber.

If you have any tips for the wellness column or want to volunteer for FOOTBALL ON THURSDAYS program, please call or email me 213-247-5893 or leeannematusek@sbcglobal.net.

LeeAnne Mutasek

This year we will, of course, continue with our very successful RR Program. Each class K-5 will have Room Representatives. There will be a “Head” RR that will act as the liaison between PTA/Families for Stevenson and the teacher, as well as the very important link for the parents in their classroom who want to know what is going on in their child’s class.

Responsibilities vary but may include the following:

• Assisting teachers with informing parents of classroom news.
• Sending out notices to parents of classroom supplies that are needed.
• Encouraging classroom parents to join and participate in PTA/FFS.
• Encouraging and contacting parents to help with upcoming events and fundraisers.
• Creating a classroom directory of phone numbers and e-mail addresses (training will be provided).

A new addition to the RR Program – This year each class at R.L. Stevenson Elementary will have its own section on the website www.stevensonpirates.net and our wonderful RR’s can regularly maintain a blog to keep parents informed and maybe even entertained.

Applications went out and were due back on August 28, 2009. If you overlooked the application and are still interested in being a part of this program please contact Cassandra Brennan at 818-943-3221 or Wendy Pennings at 818-842-8111.

If you are thinking about participating this year or in future years please note that RR’s do not have to be moms, dads are welcome too, and they do not have to be non-working parents! RR’s can do most of the responsibilities from home on their own time! You don’t have to work in the classroom. With a team of RR’s, responsibilities can be divided up to make the job even easier.

RR’s are greatly appreciated by teachers, parents, PTA/FFS and students alike. We hope you will join us in making a difference for our school.

Cassandra Brennan

Welcome to Stevenson, one and all and, as we have been saying to everyone during this first week of school, “Happy New Year!”  It is indeed a new school year. Most of us are feeling equal parts relief and excitement, as the new year begins. We’re also feeling a little anxious. Anxious in a general way – will our kids get the “right” teacher this year? will they make good friends and be a good friend? will they eat the lunch we made them? But this year, we’re all a little extra anxious because of the California State Budget cutbacks and the effect this will have on our public schools.
Well, the cutbacks do exist and the circumstances are dire. But one thing we wanted to share with you and your families that might add an upside to our current situation is the fact that we have our kids in BURBANK schools. For a little insight into how our schools compare with other public schools, have a look at yesterday’s (Sat., 8/22) Burbank Leader.  There are two articles worth reading (one is about test scores and another on “securing independent revenue for Burbank Public Schools”). In our opinion, it clearly illustrates that our school system here in Burbank is more manageable than most and that our teachers, principals and Board of Education are trying to do what they can to look out for our children’s best interests.

Now to bring this right down to a local level, what you all can do right here at our school is become a member of Stevenson’s  PTA. Believe us, our Stevenson PTA ain’t your mama’s PTA anymore! It’s made up of working moms and stay-at-home moms; working dads and stay-at-home dads; folks with wonderfully diverse backgrounds! And we would like to invite you to become involved!
Our PTA is the best way to be informed and stay informed about what is happening here at school – events, fundraisers, town hall meetings, the in-side scoop about what’s going on within the School District and around town!

And maybe more importantly, let us say that in today’s economy and with all the school cutbacks, we will need parent involvement more than ever before.  Keep in mind, PTA is the ONLY state and federal lobbying group fighting for our children’s rights. We know this might sound a little heavy handed, but it is the truth. Becoming part of the Stevenson PTA will make ours a stronger community!

If you haven’t met either of us yet, please come up and say “hello”. We would love to meet you!

“The Tag Team” -
Tiffany Bakas – Stevenson  PTA President
Felix Chamberlain – Stevenson PTA Exec. V. P.