Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Dear Pennekamp Families,
“Spring
forward. Fall back.” It is hard to believe that this coming Sunday
marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time. Fortunately for
seasonally-challenged individuals such as myself, the aforementioned mnemonic
device helps to reduce the likelihood that we will adjust our clocks and
watches one hour in the wrong direction, thereby causing untold levels of
confusion and mayhem in our lives. So if we all remember to turn our clocks forward
this Sunday morning, we can rest assured that our various timepieces will all
be correct, even though our own “internal clocks” may still be in the process
of adjusting to time change.
We
are now into the second week of the month of March, and we find ourselves on
the cusp of seasonal change. As is often typical of March weather, the
conditions can vary greatly from day to day. An unpredictable juxtaposition of
warm, cool, wet, dry, windy, and calm is normal for this time of year. A good
rule of thumb is: Hope for the best, but
prepare for the worst! The key element is for children to dress
appropriately. While their active, little bodies may appear impervious to
inclement conditions, their immune systems can be rendered vulnerable. The
ravages of Cold and Flu Season have
hit hard this year, with an inordinate number of children and adults feeling
the impact. While we cannot completely shield ourselves or children from
potential illness, we can lower the likelihood by taking the following
precautions.
Please
encourage your children (and yourselves) to follow these few simple guidelines
which can result in better health and fewer absences from school or work.
Talent Show Kudos – Pennekamp children really shined
last Friday night! What a wonderful showcase of our own “home-grown” talent! We
all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Gail Goldstein, who directed this
extravaganza. Kudos to all of the children who participated, as well as to all
of the parents who supported their children by assisting with preparation,
costumes, etc., as well as cheering on all of the performers at the event.
Report Cards on Friday – Look for your children to be
bringing them home in sealed (hopefully!) envelopes this Friday. As always, we
encourage parents to sit down with your children to review the cards in a
positive manner. Celebrate their efforts and accomplishments, and set reasonable
and realistic goals for improvement. “Report Card Time” should be should be a
happy time for children, not an anxiety-provoking experience. As the old song
goes, “Accentuate the positive!”
PK Parent Party – 7:00-11:00 p.m., Saturday, March
13. This year’s event will be held at the
Richstone Feast – Thursday, March 18th. Dinner seatings at 5:15 and 6:45 p.m. Tickets
are still available for both seatings. Contact Mr. Warner (Ext 5830) or Mrs.
Barney (Ext 5818) for tickets. We also still need raffle prizes. Please leave
prizes in the office or contact Mrs. Barney. We hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Dale Keldrauk
Spring Break Enrichment Camp - The Manhattan Beach Athletic Foundation is
happy to announce its first ever Spring Break Camp during the week of March
29-April 2 at Pacific School during the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Instruction for the week will be offered by Acamp, a community provider of
multi-faceted enrichment and sports programs.
Additional supervision will provided by MBAF staff. There is something for everyone grades Kdg. –
5th including; outdoor sports, yoga, art, video production, crafts,
games and much more. To find out more and to enroll please go to www.psmanhattan.org and click on the
link for Spring Break Camp. You may also
contact Nancy Rosenburg, MBAF Director, at (310)376-6115 or nrosenb@aol.com.
Music Mini Concerts -
Music teacher Amy Johnson is proud to present a series of Mini-Music
Concerts in the Pennekamp Cafeteria on Monday, March 22. The times are listed here and all parents are
welcome! 8:35 a.m. (Hooper and
Helping our Furry Friends – We will continue to collect, used
towels, blankets, toys and treats for needy animals until the end of the school
year. If there is something you are not
using, please consider donating it.
Donations can be left in the Pennekamp office.
Styrofoam is now recyclable in
Pride Day – Saturday, March 20th from
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Children and
parents are encouraged to come out and beautify our school. All students who work for one hour will
receive Gold Cards.
Scrip News – The Scrip Team is pleased to
introduce a new partner in the Scrip program, Power Karate of Manhattan
Beach! See the newsletter in your
Tuesday envelope or online at PKPTA.org for more information.
Pennekamp Open – Calling all of our women tennis
enthusiasts! Pennekamp will be hosting a
women’s doubles tennis tournament on Saturday, April 10th at Mira
Costa. 100% of the tournament proceeds
will be donated to the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation. Please go to www.pkpta.org
for more information and registration forms, or contact Missy Ready at missy_ready@yahoo.com or Nina Patel at patelnina@hotmail.com.with questions.
Jogathon – Mark your calendars for Friday,
April 23rd at 10:00 a.m. on the PK Field. Look for pledge sheets in next week’s Tuesday
Envelopes. More information to come.
Dragon Family Movie Night – Friday, May 14th is
Pennekamp’s annual Movie Night. The
movie has not yet been determined, but we guarantee you will have a great
time! Join us on the lawn for dinner and
a movie to celebrate the end of state testing.
Volunteers are also needed for this event. Please contact Karen Cavallo at cavallo5@verizon.net or Cindy Poirier at
cpoirier@sequel-us.com.
Important Dates