Wow, October has been crazy busy!! We've had the ending of the fundraiser, conference meals, and the Book Fair...all within a couple of weeks! I just wanted to give "a little shout out" to the committees and their chairpersons on a job well done!

I'll start with the fundraiser. Tanya Thompson really did an awesome job organizing and communicating to parents and teachers about deadlines (and ducks!). We'll give exact numbers at the November PTO meeting, but I will just say that we have less students this year and we made more money than ever! Thank you to all of the parents and their kids that got out there and sold! We are really excited to buy the climbing wall and we know the students are even more pumped than we are! Don't forget that this Wednesday (10/23) is the day for product pick up from 2-6pm at the school. We do need some more volunteers to help with that. Please consider signing up for a shift on our Doodle Poll! (See below.)

Next, I want to pat Erica Johnson on the back. She did a fabulous job organizing and setting up the conference meals. (I still think the fall leaves gave it that extra touch! lol) I don't have the names of everyone that contributed, but I do want to say a HUGE thanks to all that made soups and bars for our teachers! I heard more than one person say that they thought it was the best conference meals ever! Way to go!!!

Last, but certainly not least, are the Book fair chairs and their committee. They really knocked it out of the park! Kriste Briest and Laura Hjelseth went all out as the committee co-chairs. They decorated the library and wore costumes and transformed our Book Fair into the Reading Oasis! Their passion for reading was contagious because we had record breaking sales, with over $4,200 on the first day! We get a percentage of those sales in scholastic dollars, which we then use to stock our school library and individual classroom libraries! We had lots of volunteers that ran the registers and restocked shelves and we couldn't have done it with out you!!! Once again, thank you, parents, for not only supporting our Book Fair, but for supporting and encouraging your children's love for reading! 

This shout out wouldn't be complete if I didn't include the Family Science Night planning committee! Even though the Family Science Night isn't until November (Nov. 7th 5:30-7:30), they have been hard at work this month with all of the behind the scenes stuff that will make this night ROCK! Susan Duffy, along with her incredible team, are planning a really exciting evening for 1st and 2nd graders and their families. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend this free event!


Thank you guys for truly being an All Star PTO!!! I am honored to serve along side each of you!
-Lori

Imagine, if you will, a dry desert, with lots of empty bookcases. You're searching, seeking, just looking everywhere for a new book to read. Feeling hopeless, feeling desperate. Then... up ahead...in the distance... you see it...those beautiful, shiny, sliver cases. They're open and, even from afar, you can see the rows and columns of brand new books! There are picture books for the pre-reader, easy to read books for the beginning reader, chapter books for the intermediate reader, more challenging chapter books for the advanced reader, reference books, cookbooks, books about science, or celebrities, or sports, books for all ages, even for Mom and Dad! 

Ahhhhhh...Now, that's refreshing. Welcome to the oasis, the Reading Oasis. Are you ready?

Reading for pleasure is so important for children! It opens the door to an exciting world of adventure, where kids can become anybody and go anywhere! It's a proven fact that students that read for fun tend to be stronger in all subjects in school! They have a bigger vocabulary, they are better spellers, they can focus longer, and they have more vivid imaginations! 

It is recommended for students to read 20 minutes per day. A great way to get that in is to make it a family affair! Everybody in the house can grab a book, set the timer, and get lost in the pages for 20 minutes. You'd be surprised how quickly that time will pass and chances are, everybody will want to read just a "few more pages" after the buzzer sounds! 

 So back to my earlier question...Are you ready for the Reading Oasis? Well, there will be 3 opportunities, this week, to visit the Reading Oasis Book Fair! You can come by on Monday (10/14) or Tuesday (10/15) during Parent/Teacher Conferences. We will be running it from 4:oo-7:30pm. (You may even see Cleopatra there!) If you want to browse on a less crowded day, then Thursday (10/17), during the Flu Shot Clinic, might be more ideal for you! We will be open from 3-6pm that day. We also have an online Book Fair that will be open all next week (you can click below to go to the online store).

Sometimes, all it takes is one new book that ignites a lifelong passion for reading! That one new book just might be sitting on a shelf, in one of those beautiful, shiny, silver cases in the Reading Oasis Book Fair. Hope to see you there!
-Lori

It's almost here! I can hardly wait! Truly, it really is one of my favorite times of the year! Am I talking about Halloween? (No) Am I talking about the weekend? (No) Am I talking about my last couple of  weeks to eat candy corn until next year? (No) What then, you may ask, could I possibly be referring to? Well, if my clip-art hasn't given it away yet, then I will tell you...It's the 1st set of Parent/Teacher conferences!

I like to think of it as my first glimpse into how my children are doing in the school year. True, I check Parent Portal almost daily, but those 15 minutes of one-on-one time with my kids' teachers are so very valuable to me! I always get new insights into my own children during that time! Not only do I find out which subjects they are excelling in or needing a little extra practice in, I find out about their school personality.

I think most of us know what I mean. There's the home personality and the school personality. Sometimes, as parents, we only get to know certain sides of our children. Sure, we get to see our sons and daughters doing many different things, besides being our sons and daughters, but we never get to see them being a student. Most of the time, we never really know what our children are like when they are not with us. During those precious 15 minutes, we get to hear from the one adult that spends almost as much time with them as we do. 

I will admit, it's not always easy hearing my child isn't perfect in every way (lol), but I always appreciate honesty and I know that my child's teacher only wants to push my child to be the best that they can be (which, oddly enough, is my exact goal, too!).

So, as conferences begin next Monday and Tuesday, I encourage you to really make the most of those 15 minutes with your child's teacher. Think about any questions you have about your child's academic progress and social interactions. Discuss any concerns you have about those things, as well. Most importantly, remember that you and your child's teacher are on the same side...the side that wants your child to succeed this school year, and in life! 
-Lori