We just found out! Stevenson Elementary School will be moving on in the California Distinguished School Award Process.

This means that soon we will be visited by a team sent from the California State Department of Education to validate the application we submitted in December.

Thanks go to Faculty, Staff, Students and Families whose daily contributions make our motto, “Knowledge is our Treasure,” a reality.

Won’t you be my Valentine???
The heart of PTA – what is it? It’s you – the parents, our kids, the volunteers, our teachers, our staff, the Room Reps. Valentine’s Day is upon us. So in this month of love, roses, candy and hearts, we would like to give you our Valentine’s Day card, just for being the heart of our PTA.

Roses are red, violets are blue,
Our PTA is in love with you!
Your kids are our mission -
It’s a long lasting tradition.
Your support is all we ask
To keep us on task.
You’re the heart of PTA.
So please volunteer today.
You are loved all the time.
Won’t you be our valentine?

Tiffany Bakas
Felix Chamberlain
Stevenson PTA Tag Team

Because we don’t think about future generations, they will never forget us. ~Henrik Tikkanen

Our children are the future generation. Not only do we need to teach them how to take care of our planet, we need to take care of our planet for them.

Our family tries very hard to reduce our carbon footprint, yet I know we’re not trying anywhere near hard enough. Here are some helpful, basic hints with a little bit of interesting trivia so you can impress all your friends!

Recycling cans and bottles may seem basic, but it is one of the easiest ways you can reduce your carbon footprint with little or no extra effort. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours!!!!!
Recycle old scrap paper that may be hanging around the house. Between junk mail and used pieces of computer paper, you’ll be surprised at how fast you can fill the recycling bin up. Americans use 85,000,000 tons of paper a year: about 680 pounds per person.
Check labels to see if some of your favorite household products are recyclable. Products such as aluminum foil are often overlooked, but can be thrown in the recycling bin along with (aluminum) cans and glass. Americans toss out enough aluminum every three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet, according to the Aluminum Association.

Pack your child’s lunch with the environment in mind:

1. Use reusable lunch bags – I couldn’t find any statistics on paper lunch bags specifically, but in 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year alone. Paper bag production delivers a global warming double-whammy forests (major absorbers of greenhouse gases) have to be cut down, and then the subsequent manufacturing of bags produces greenhouse gases. I’m hoping that in the last 10 years, that number has gone down.

2. Use reusable water bottles – in America, 38 billion water bottles end up in land fills each year!

3. Snack and sandwich bags – Americans spend about $85.00 a year on plastic baggies!

4. Cut waste and save by buying in bulk while using reusable containers to portion out lunches.

5. Napkins, utensils, icepacks and more – check out this web site for some amazing products that will actually help you save money and the environment. And they look cool!

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/lunch-bags-more-utensils-more-c-4_28.html

Remember, it is easy being green!

Dear Parents,

True wisdom is the ability to learn from other people’s experiences. Therefore, child psychologist, Dr. Charles Schaefer, asked this question of 50 parents who had successfully reared children: “Based upon your personal experience, what is the best advice you could give new parents about raising children?” The most frequent parental advice offered was:

Love abundantly
Discipline constructively
Be clear, consistent and authoritative
Punish in private
Be flexible, reasonable, and understanding
Discourage continued dependency
Spend time together
Develop mutual respect
Really listen
Tend to personal and marital needs

Parents and teachers function like a mirror to a child by letting him or her know what they are really like. Parents who are proud of, have confidence in, and like their child are strengthening their child’s ego and helping them to develop self acceptance and inner harmony. As parents and teachers we can:

Love and accept our child as they are from the day they were born.
Respect individual differences and appreciate each child’s unique characteristics.
Show affection frequently; physically through a hug or a pat on the back and verbally through our choice of words and tone of voice.
Really listen as a child talks to us. Listening attentively gives insight into how he/she feels, builds rapport and acceptance, and gives a child a sense of significance.
Help your children see themselves accurately so they can appreciate their strengths or accept their limitations.
Set realistic expectations so a child can feel adequate in keeping up.
Praise more than criticize.
Set limits so our children know for sure what gets our approval and disapproval.
Treat your child with respect and consideration. Children really do learn what they live.

How can we as teachers and parents build a child’s self esteem? Enjoy them and value their uniqueness. Celebrate their achievements and let them know you love and appreciate them.

Sincerely,

Debbie Ginnetti

For the last five years Families For Stevenson has been raising money to fund Art, Music, Dance and other specialty programs within our school. The lack of Arts Education in public schools today means that without Families For Stevenson’s fundraising efforts our children would not experience these wonderful programs.

We would like to give special thanks to the following families who kindly made a donation to Families For Stevenson.

If you are interested in making a donation click here