Changing leaves, pumpkin spice, football, fall festivals, fundraisers, and most importantly (for me, anyway)...candy corn. Ahhh, the joys of Fall! Well, we are officially out of summer and into my favorite season. There's just something about those cool, crisp mornings and days where jeans, sneakers, and a sweatshirt just feel perfect. 

We have been back in school for almost a full month now. I must admit, it feels really good to have schedules and routines again (I know, I know, come April and May, I will be singing an entirely different tune! Just let me enjoy this moment though, while it lasts! lol) I hope everyone is adjusting well to the new school year! 

If you noticed, I very subtly (or maybe not so subtly) slipped in fundraising in my opening sentence. Yep, it's that time of the year. Yay, fundraising!!!! I know many of you may not share that enthusiasm and that's perfectly understandable! Fundraising is much harder on us parents than it is on our kids! Let's face it, we do 90% of the work, and they collect the ducks! haha

Let me just take a minute to let you know just how vital this Fall fundraiser is to our group. It is the basis of where all of our funding comes from to do any of the things we do! (No pressure, right?) Seriously though, we get one fundraiser per year and that's it. All of those classroom rugs we purchased came from our Fall fundraiser last year. The field trips we helped pay for, also came from our Fall fundraiser. The Spring play... the Fall fundraiser. The 5th grade farewell? Yep, you guessed it, the Fall fundraiser paid for that too. So essentially, if we want to do those extra things for our school, for our students, we have to do well on our Fall fundraiser. 

Unfortunately, every group out there is in the same boat. We're up against sports, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and pretty much every other group that exists and takes money to operate. Everybody seems to fundraise in the Fall, so they have money for the year, which makes sense. We're no exception. To keep our non-profit status, we have to start the school year with less than $1,000, so we have to fundraise right off the bat in order to do anything!

We have BIG plans for this school year. We want to do a Science Night in November for our 1st and 2nd graders (and their families) and a Night of the Arts in the Spring for our 3rd and 4th graders (and their families). We want to purchase a climbing wall for the gym and some new playground equipment! Everything we want to do will only make things better for our children and our school, but unfortunately, it all takes lots of money. That's why we need everybody to help out as much as they can.

I get it, I really do. We're asking every child to try to sell 10 items. That's not easy for lots of us, I know! I have two children in Aurora this year, which means my family needs to sell 20 items. We're at 12 right now, so 8 more to go and I have no idea who we're going to ask next. I'll think of somebody though, I always do. Every item, every dollar helps. Our PTO goal is $20,000. We're shooting for the stars, but we're All Stars, right? We can do it!

I really hope to see you on October 1st for our next PTO meeting! We'll meet at 7pm in the library and as always, free childcare will be included. There will be door prizes again and who knows...maybe even some candy corn! :-)
-Lori

It's that time of year again in West Fargo! It's...Streets Alive!!! If you and your family have never participated in this, I highly recommend doing so! Save the date: Next Saturday, September 21, 2013, 2:30-5:00pm! Turn off your car and and grab your bike, roller blades, skateboards, or just your sneakers and enjoy the fresh air and the blocked off streets here in West Fargo! 

To gear up for Saturday's event, West Fargo schools will be having Schools Alive! The goal is to promote 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Let's face it, we all find ourselves cooped up inside much of the winter, so let's get outside and enjoy the warmth, while it's still here!

Aurora will be celebrating Schools Alive by having some fun with fashion this coming week. Here is the schedule:
Monday 9/16-HAT DAY – Hats off to physical fitness! Wear your favorite hat.
Tuesday 9/17-Favorite Jersey Day
Wednesday 9/18-Aurora Colors (Blue,Red,Yellow) or Aurora All Star Shirts
Thursday 9/19-Dress as Favorite Athlete
Friday 9/20-Spirit Day – Work up a sweat! Wear sweats to show your spirit.

Research indicates that getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity can improve behavior, help children focus better, and boost positive attitudes! I know I can tell a difference in my own children if they are getting enough physical activity. Not only that, but my kids seem to do even better if their physical activity takes place outdoors! There's just something about that fresh air! 

So, encourage your child to get into the spirit, get up, and get moving next week!!
-Lori

Line segments, rays, and lines, oh my! 

We've survived the 1st 2 weeks of school! Yay parents! (Oh, good job to the kids and teachers too!) I feel like I've already learned quite a bit. I can label all of the northeastern and southeastern states on a US map (pretty quickly too, I might add!) and I can explain the difference between a parallelogram and a trapezoid! If you're impressed with my knowledge, you should see my 4th grader! 

Seriously, I am blown away by how much these kids know! I feel like I get a good challenge when I'm helping my daughter with her math homework (thank goodness for those answer sheets! lol). Most of you are familiar now with Everyday Mathematics, the curriculum that West Fargo Schools adopted a few years ago. I'll be quite honest, it's been pretty hard teaching this old dog new tricks, but we're getting there! I'm kind of excited to go through this curriculum from the beginning with my son. I'm hoping to build a fresh foundation for myself. There have been many new methods I've picked up the past 2 years that I never learned to do as a child and I really like how the curriculum uses math in practical ways! 

Hang in there, if it doesn't seem to make sense to you at first. I have discovered that usually when the curriculum is introducing a new method, they break it down. Sometimes, the 1st couple of steps the children practice seem a little odd, then everything gets put together and it makes perfect sense (and is usually easier than the method I was accustomed to!).  The really nice part about Everyday Mathematics is that the children get several options of methods to solve problems. 

When your child brings home their user name and password for Everyday Mathematics, really encourage them to practice online. I've found that when I watch my daughter, things start clicking for me as well! (Then I can at least feel as smart as a 4th grader! Ha!)
-Lori