A big thank you to all the students, families and friends who participated in the Cookie Dough fundraiser and helped raise money for the upcoming fifth grade Outdoor Science School. Your generous purchases and contributions have made it possible to fund this wonderful opportunity. Our top seller this year was fifth grader Marin Grote with 69 items, raising $923!  Overall our school has sold 1324 items and brought in $17,912 in sales, with the 5th grade class themselves having earned $2618 towards their own Outdoor Science School fees.  Way to go!

Students in Mrs. Hill, Mr. Blank and Ms. Goulding’s classes will leave January 3 for a week of intensive and fun studies at Thousand Pines Science Camp in Crestline, CA, near Lake Arrowhead. It’s something that all students at Stevenson look forward to doing their last year, and our fifth graders are very excited to go!

Thank you to Families For Stevenson for sponsoring this fantastic educational venture, and to Felicia Cain and Laurie Grote for their efforts to make this happen.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
-Anthropologist Margaret Mead

Nearly six years ago a small group of parents sent their first graders back to school. They were excited after a creative year of kindergarten – paint, crayons, construction paper and the smell of glue sticks still fresh in their minds– little did these parents know that this year would be different. Art and music class was not included in the regular curriculum. Specialized art and music teachers did not exist. Our well skilled first grade teachers could sometimes fit these important lessons in with the reading, writing and arithmetic, but it was becoming more difficult for our teachers to find the time.

The more this group of parents discussed the importance of Arts Education in their child’s learning, the more they realized that they needed to get involved. Timing is everything, and when Principal Ginnetti was approached by several parents to ask how they could help, she enthusiastically offered the idea of a Booster Association. That is when the Families for Stevenson Booster Association (FFS) was born. The mission was simple: to bring arts education back to Stevenson for all of our students.

This was just about the same time that the Burbank Unified School District was asked to become an Arts for All district through the Community Arts Education Project. This provided BUSD with grant money that allowed them to continue developing a Strategic K-12 Arts Plan and, as luck should have it, Principal Ginnetti was asked to be a part of the Arts for All Committee.

So with that momentum, Families for Stevenson forged ahead and began building what is now an amazing Stevenson Arts Education program. They began small with Friday afternoon “Fun Shack” treat sales that maybe brought in $50 in an afternoon. Over the last few years, FFS has successfully funded dance, visual arts, and music instruction at the school. They have also raised money for special needs projects such as the sun shades for the playground. Working alongside PTA, they have strengthened the Stevenson community to pull together and help our staff and teachers deliver a safe, quality, inspiring education in spite of drastic budget cuts.

One of the founding members and former presidents of FFS, Jessica Good, is now the Programs Manager for Burbank Arts for All, an Education Foundation (BAFA). “BAFA has a broader mission than FFS,” said Jessica, “to ensure every student in Burbank public schools receives a quality arts education as part of their core curriculum. Obviously, I’m passionate about arts education and I feel blessed that my work at Stevenson has enabled me to now focus on keeping and strengthening arts education in all Burbank schools. I am so proud of everyone who has helped and continues to help the children at Stevenson Elementary shine. Trust me; your impact will reach far beyond these brief, yet memorable years.” We are grateful that Jessica still has a daughter at Stevenson and is still serving on the FFS board.

Jessica was recently joined at BAFA by another FFS founding board member and past president, Carrie Brown. “When a small group of us sat down six years ago to figure out how to keep arts instruction in our school, it was hard to imagine the journey that was ahead of us,” shared Carrie. “We all believed in the power of the arts and wanted to make sure that our children, and all of the children in our school would experience the arts. It’s really amazing to see what can really happen when a small, dedicated group of people pull together to achieve a goal. There’s really nothing more powerful in this world.”

We Can’t Thank You Enough!

Families For Stevenson Booster Association (FFS) cannot thank Stevenson parents enough for their ongoing support throughout the year. Now it is time for FFS to baton down the hatches and look to the future of our children’s education!

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of Arts Education in the classroom – especially here in Burbank.

Quoting one of our founding FFS leaders, Carrie Brown, “Arts Education IS Career Development in our Community!”

We need parent volunteers who are passionate about keeping the quality arts education programs that FFS provides available to our children. The Burbank school district is constantly battling state budget cuts which threaten speciality programs in our schools – that is why we are looking to you for support!

“We cannot be a public school without a parent partnership and parent support groups.” – Stan Carrizosa, District Superintendent

FFS is your parent support group! FFS continues to provide in-classroom, curriculum-based Arts Education programs (10 weeks of dance taught by Garri Dance and 12 weeks of art taught by Barbara Eisner). To continue with these quality programs we have to raise money above and beyond what our state provides. This year, FFS provided funds to prevent drastic cuts to our librarian’s hours. Without your donations, Stevenson‘s library would only be supervised for two hours a day. That’s not sufficient for nearly 500 students!

Our annual donation drive is about to kick off and we need your help! Please keep an eye out for the bright yellow donation drive envelopes coming home in your child’s backpack. Did you know that just $40.00 covers the Art and Dance programs for one student for the entire school year? Please consider this when making your tax-deductible contribution to FFS this year.

If you work for or own a business that may be able to support The Arts in our school please contact Emma Clarkson – emma@xurble.org We are always looking for sponsors and donations of goods and services for our silent auction which is held at our annual celebration of the arts: Stevenson Rocks!

Please join us for our Dance Recital on December 9th, as the results of your ongoing donations and support will come to light! Our children will dance their hearts out at this annual event demonstrating the talent and passion they achieve by participating in these amazing programs. Finally, don’t forget that the 9th is also an FFS Dine Out Day at North End Pizzeria.
We hope to see you there after the recital!

Sincerely,

De Eldridge and Jennifer Jesperson – FFS Co-Presidents

Dear Parents,

There is always something very special about this time of year. There is a spirit in the air. Regardless of one’s religious affiliation and regardless of the commercialism in our streets and stores, a spirit of joy and sharing always seems to prevail during the holiday season.

The holiday season provides a rich opportunity for sensory experiences – the taste of traditional dishes; the smell of spices used in cookies, pies, and other goodies; the sight of beautiful lights, candles, cards, and longed for gifts to give and receive; the sound of bells, music, fires crackling and popcorn popping, and the special feeling of being close to loved ones and appreciating our heritage.

Our children brings us a special joy during this season, as we share meals with friends and relatives, share gifts with our loved ones and share time together as a family. As the year draws to an end, nearly all of us in most occupations receive some extra time off. The best thing to spend on your children is time.

The gifts we give provide momentary pleasures that fade over time and are insignificant compared to the time and love we give each and every day throughout the year. That is the foundation we build in shaping the kind of adults our children will become. Children bring us their special gifts and we can build their confidence and self esteem during those crucial formative years if we as adults:

• Remember people, not things, matter most.
• Love and accept our children from the day they are born.
• Respect our children’s individual differences and appreciate each child’s unique capabilities.
• When we think good thoughts about our children, tell them.

Cherish the moments of the season of joy with your children, family, and friends. These are the experiences that give richness and meaning to our lives and are to be treasured and fondly remembered in years to come.

With warm wishes for the holiday season,

Miss Ginnetti

Thank you to all of you who participated in PTA Reflections Art Program this year! We had a great submission return and and some spectacular talent displayed!

The top three in each category have been selected and have moved on to the council (Burbank) for further judging.

The judging is based on (in order of importance):

• interpretation of theme
• creativity
• mastery of medium
• artistic merit

Reason in the Season – From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. You can keep the cheer, but cut the waste. Start with some of these simple ideas and continue by creating your own low-waste holiday traditions!

Reduce the hail of unwanted mail – Are catalogs pouring out of your mailbox every day? You can slow the flow of unwanted mail coming to your mailbox. Here is where to go for some of the most common types of unwanted mail.

Catalogs: www.CatalogChoice.org Identify the catalogs that you want to receive and those that you would like to decline. Catalog Choice contacts the catalog provider for you, asking that you be removed from that mailing list.

Direct Marketing: www.dmachoice.org This online tool was developed by the Direct Marketing Association; choose what companies you want to contact you. It’s easy to do, and you’ll be reaching some of the biggest direct marketers in the country.

Credit Cards: www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688). This service allows you to opt out for two years or permanently. No matter what you pick, the same service makes it easy for you to opt back in at any time. Either process will ask for your social security number, full name, address, and telephone number.

Phone Books: www.yellowpagesoptout.com Simply enter your zip code to find the phone book publishers in your area that are participating in opt out requests. You will need to inform each phone book publisher that you would like delivery stopped. Opt outs take 60 days to process.

Sign up for a service. There are some nonprofit organizations that will work on your behalf to opt out of junk mail for you for a small fee. Check out Junk your Junk Mail or Precycle to learn more. Give the gift of waste reduction this year…

Then recycle - Household paper—glossy catalogs, old phone books, window envelopes, shipping boxes – all are generally considered “recyclable.” Find out about recycling options in Burbank: http://www.ci.burbank.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1

Some wrapping paper cannot be recycled because it contains too many un-recyclable materials, such as foil or fuzzy textures. Keep that in mind when purchasing your wrapping paper. For those types, the shredder is better.

VERY IMPORTANT: Before recycling, rip up or shred the credit card offers before you discard them. Prevent identity theft and protect your credit rating and privacy!

A bright idea: LED holiday lights - If you use strings of holiday lights at your house, switch to light-emitting diode (LED) lights this year. LEDs use a whopping 90% less energy than incandescent holiday lights: powering a string of 280 LED lights will cost $0.56 for the entire holiday season as compared to $6 for similar incandescent lights. (EnergySavers.gov) LED lights in many colors are widely available at retail, last for an estimated 40 years, and are cool to the touch, which reduces the risk of fire. Look for ENERGY STAR qualified strings of lights.

Christmas Tree recycling – At the curb/alley: From January 3rd through January 14th, 2011, the Burbank Sanitation Department will collect trees placed in the alley and at the curb.

In two parks: From December 27, 2010 through January 14, 2011, drop off your holiday tree at:

1. Brace Canyon Park, 2850 Haven Way, in the parking lot off Haven Way.
2. Verdugo Park, 3201 W. Verdugo Avenue, near the corner of California Street and Verdugo Avenue.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday season and remember, it is easy being green!

by Jennifer Jesperson