Friday, February 3, 2012

Dear Stevenson Parents,

Thank you for your continued support and investment in our school! The mission of our Fun Run is to promote a healthy and active lifestyle for our students and raise money.

The way it works is as follows: each student finds as many sponsors as possible and asks them to pledge one flat rate amount. Help your child get pledges from friends, family and co-workers! Bring the completed pledge forms and donation money back to school NO LATER than Thursday, February 2nd.

Come cheer your child on! Below is the schedule for our event:
Kinder 12:30-12:40
1st 12:50-1:05
3rd 1:15-1:30
2nd 1:40-1:55
4th 2:05-2:20
5th 2:30-2:45

Prizes

The class that raises the most money will be awarded a popsicle party and extended recess! Each student that collects at least $25.00 in pledges will be entered into a drawing to win Pirate Gear (T-Shirt & Baseball Hat) and lunch with Miss Ginnetti.

There will be a scheduled time for each class to run, walk, or a combination of the two. Since the Fun Run takes place during school hours all students will participate. Each participant will receive water, fruit and a Clif Kid Organic Zbar. Parents are invited to come and cheer on the runners. A schedule will be sent home prior to the event to let you know when each class will be running.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer for this event please contact us conahans@sbcglobal.net.

Thank you for your support!

~Made In The Shade

Donna is currently Assistant Choir Director at Burbank High School. She has many years of experience creating music curriculums, working with school choirs and has a Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana University School of Music.

The choir met for the first time last week and I can honestly say that it was a pleasure to see Donna at work. Her warmth, experience and enthusiasm shone. The auditorium was filled with laughter and song, and boy can those kids sing!

After talking to my daughter and her friends, it’s clear that “Miss Donna” has the Stevenson seal of approval.

The High Cs choir will be performing at Talent Show, Friday, March 9th and Saturday, March 10th.

As the High Cs choir is only open to grades 2-5, we are working to bring an affordable after school singing program for our kindergartners and first graders. We’ll keep you posted.

Emma Clarkson
Co-President Families for Stevenson
emma@familiesforstevenson.org

FFS’s mission is to bring Arts education to all our students. This includes bringing quality, affordable after school enrichment classes to our families.

Instructors and programs have been approved by the FFS board directly and FFS handles program administration to keep the final cost down.

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

Families for Stevenson is off to a busy start this year offering many great art and music education programs to our students over the next few months.

Veteran art teacher Barbara Eisner has begun a 10-week in-class art instruction program for our students. This is a continuation from 2 weeks of instruction at the beginning of the school year. The new and much anticipated 13-week High-C’s after-school choir program has started under the direction of Donna Dandino who is the Assistant Choir Director at Burbank High School. The choir enrollment is closed, but if you are interested we can put your child on a waiting list. Choir students are receiving group vocal instruction and will perform in the FFS Talent Show and at Stevenson Rocks!

Sponsored by FFS, the Talent Show 2012 themed “Dream Out Loud” is off to a great start. Talent show student participants are diligently practicing and refining their performances. The Talent Show will take place on Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10. Don’t miss this amazing show.

Thank you again for supporting arts education here at Stevenson Elementary. Together we are making a huge difference in the lives of our students!

Emma & Renee

by LeeAnne Matusek

At Stevenson, we started our collection drive right before Thanksgiving and continued until the day before we were dismissed for the holiday break. Every classroom got involved – one class made a field trip out of it and met at Target for a shopping trip with their own families! The students even wrapped the gifts that they purchased!

Thanks to a dedicated group of PTA volunteers, we were able to collect, sort and after an eight-hour wrapping marathon, deliver four incredible, thoughtful, over-flowing baskets. We received so many donations, that we’re confident that we’ll be able to adopt more families next year!

Your PTA would like to thank all of you who donated so many wonderful gifts and food items, as well as your time. Without you, we couldn’t have done this!

Burbank’s Coordinating Council received many calls and notes sharing how much this meant to these people. I know it meant a lot to those of us who volunteered our time. The holidays are a time for giving and Stevenson gave in a BIG WAY!

Thank you all so much!

Wellness Week – Jan. 30 – Feb. 4
Valentine’s Day Lunchtime Celebration – Feb. 14
Stop Bullying. Speak Up. Week – Feb. 21-24

I encourage you to quiz your kids this month! With almost every week filled with new experiences and activities, it’s the perfect opportunity to get informed. So ask and learn!

PTA is also very proud to announce that one of our yearly goals has been met – CPR & First-aid Training for all of our yard duty supervisors! And as an added bonus we are offering any Stevenson teacher the opportunity for re-certification. Thank you to all involved for getting this done!

Jessica Good
PTA President

You may know a person who heads committees, runs big events or tackles the big projects – alternatively, there are others whose contributions are often behind the scenes, but nevertheless add up in a very big way. Please nominate the people around you whose special contributions go above and beyond on a continuing basis. They deserve a big thanks from us!

Please take a moment to nominate that special parent, teacher, staff member or local business/group. We’re going to recognize volunteers who provide outstanding service to the children at Stevenson and our community at the March 15th PTA-FFS meeting.

Nomination forms for the Honorary Service Awards are due to the school office by Feb. 17. Forms are available in the office or you can download and print one here. Please contact HSA Chairman, De Eldridge, with any questions – de@5dspectrum.com or 818-415-8487.

HONORARY SERVICE AWARD

An Honorary Service Award (HSA) may be given to an individual or organization in special recognition of outstanding service to children and youth.

CONTINUING SERVICE AWARD

A Continuing Service Award (CSA) may be given to an individual or organization in special recognition of continued service to children and youth and may or may not have received a California State PTA Honorary Service Award.

GOLDEN OAK SERVICE AWARD

The Golden Oak Service Award is the most prestigious PTA award in California. This award may be given to an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the welfare of children and youth in the school or community.

VERY SPECIAL PERSON AWARD

The Very Special Person (VSP) Award may be given by individuals or PTA constituent organizations to recognize an individual or group.

The week will culminate in a student Fun Run on February 3. This event first started last year and was wildly popular. Funds raided by students through collecting sponsors pledging an amount per lap will be allocated to the sun safety program at our school.

We want to wish all of you a great New Year! Families for Stevenson has many exciting things going on in 2012.

Starting in January, FFS is proud to welcome Donna Dandino as our Choir Director for the new High C’s after-school choir program. Donna is the Assistant Choir Director at Burbank High School and has an extensive career in vocal music. Stevenson students participating in the choir will receive group vocal instruction to prepare for performances at the FFS Talent Show and Stevenson Rocks!

We also want to welcome back veteran art teacher Mrs. Barbara Eisner, who will be continuing with 10-weeks of art instruction for every student at Stevenson. Looking
ahead, in March, FFS is proud to showcase our own Stevenson students in the Talent Show 2012 themed “Dream Out Loud.” Talent show participants are already working
hard practicing their performances.

Thank you again for supporting arts education here at Stevenson Elementary. We are looking forward to an amazing 2012!

Rennee Kregler and Emma Clarkson