March 11, 2008

Pennekamp Families,

            Welcome to our first entirely-paperless edition of our Tuesday Green Sheet! We hope that all PK families will take the opportunity to access this weekly missive by going to the PTA website and going to the Dragon eNews. Our intent is to maintain our same level of communication while being more environmentally friendly.

            Now that we are into the second week of March, we have completed the 2^nd trimester of the school year. Undoubtedly the most highly-anticipated event of the week is the distribution of Report Cards on Friday. Your children will be bringing them home in envelopes which are sealed (hopefully!), so that you can see them for the first time along with your child. We encourage parents to approach this event in a positive and encouraging manner with your children. Set reasonable expectations, celebrate the good things and set realistic goals for improvement. After all, we want report cards to be a joyous experience, rather than a cause for anxiety for children. This will ultimately result in children having positive connotations of school.

            Over the course of the month of March, we have a number of noteworthy school events taking place. Please take note of the following:

Capitol Convoy – Tuesday & Wednesday, March 11 & 12. PTA Co-President, Denise Ellis, and I will be joining this annual political advocacy venture to Sacramento along with a group of about twenty-five others, consisting MBUSD administrators, PTA representatives from all MBUSD schools, and students from Mira Costa. 

PK Parent Party – Friday, March 14^th  6:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. at the beautiful Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach. It promises to be a wonderful fundraiser and a good time for all. We hope to see you there!

St. Patrick’s Day – Monday, March 17^th. Our lower grade classes are already planning out their Leprechaun Traps! Students are encouraged to get into the spirit and wear green.

2008-09 Kindergarten Parent Orientation – Tuesday, March 18^th, 9:00 a.m. in the PK Cafetorium. Parents are encouraged to attend in order to learn about Pennekamp and their children’s educational program for next year.

Parent Basketball Tournament – Saturday, March 29^th, MBMS Gym. Game times will be forthcoming. Come out and root on the PK Dragons team!

Pride Day Rescheduled – New Date: Saturday, May 10^th (not March 29^th). Come out to help beautify Pennekamp, with gardening and light cleaning. Students who work for one hour or more will receive a Gold Card.

Sincerely,

Dale Keldrauk

 

Instrumental Music Mini Concerts – On Monday, March 31^st, our instrumental music students will be performing mini concerts throughout the school day.  Parents are invited to attend these informal concerts which will showcase our strings, recorders and band students. The concerts will be in the Pennekamp Cafetorium and will last about 35 minutes each. The schedule is as follows:  8:20 a.m. = 3^rd gr. recorders and strings (Hooper, Moreno) /  9:00 a.m.= 3^rd gr. recorders and strings (Horowitz, Hunt) /  10:30 a.m. =  4^th gr. strings and band /  12:50 p.m. =  5^th gr. Strings and band.  Please contact Ms. Johnson at BandisFun.com or Mr. Mollick at mbstrings@gmail.com with any questions.

Parent Party and Silent Auction– Pennekamp’s 4^th Annual Parent Party and Silent Auction will be held on March 14^th.  Seats are still available.  Checks must be received no later than March 7^th and can be dropped off in the office. Credit cards will be accepted the evening of the event for your auction purchases.  However, The Portofino Inn will only accept cash for the no-host bar and parking.  We look forward to seeing all of you at this fun and memorable event! Please contact us for questions or donations: Shannon Coyle (310) 941-1988, shannoncoyle1638@msn.com or Zena Cronyn (310) 766-6857, zcronyn@gmail.com

Green Ideas – Shop Locally- An Iowa State University study found that people who switched to buying 10% of their produce from local sources produced 5 -17 times less CO2 overall than if they had purchased non-local items. Most conventional foods travel an average of 1,500 miles before ending up on your plate.  Buying in your own backyard saves energy and supports the local economy.  Some Farmer’s Markets in the area include: El Segundo = Main Street – Thursdays 3 - 7, Hermosa = Clark Field on Valley Dr. – Fridays 12 - 4, Manhattan Beach = Morningside and 13^th St. – Tuesdays 12 - 4, Redondo Beach = Veteran’s Park – Thursdays 8 - 1, Torrance = Wilson Park – Thursdays & Saturdays 8 – 1.   Take your kids on a fun field trip and visit a local farm or farmer’s market by checking out http://localharvest.org/ You can even try growing some produce of your own. Even better!

Talent Show DVD’s for sale! – Did you miss the show or want to have a keepsake of your talented student that you will treasure forever? We have many DVDs available!  Download the order form through the PK website or contact Karen Cavallo at cavallo5@verizon.net . 
Talent Show DVD Order Form

Scrip News – Our March Madness contest is here!  Help your child earn free ice cream on Ice Cream Friday!  We will track each order for the entire month of March and the class that buys the most scrip will earn a free ice cream. The teacher of that class will also receive dinner and movie tickets.  Let’s help our school!  Your children and their teachers could also benefit!  Thank you so much for supporting the scrip program.  If you have any questions please contact Christy Mancilla at (310) 679-2093. 
Scrip Order Form   Special Scrip Order Form

Camp and Vacation Expo – Saturday, March 22.  Stop by MBMS and see more than 50 camps and programs available to help you plan for summer vacation.  Programs include sports, art, science, reading, music and more. There will be prizes, food, entertainment and a silent auction.  Admission is free! 
Camp and Vacation Expo Information

Lost and Found – There is a huge amount of lost and found items that need to be reunited with their owners.  On Friday, March 14^th , items will be put out on the lunch tables for easier identification.  Any items not claimed by Spring Break will be donated to charity.

 

IMPORTANT DATES

• Tues. March 11^th – Rms. 13 & 14, walking field trip to Polliwog Park 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

• Fri. March 14^th – 2^nd trimester Report Cards go home

• Fri. March 14^th – Parent Party and Silent Auction at the Portofino Inn, Redondo Beach

• Fri. March 14^th – School Spirit Friday – Wear your PK shirts

• Mon. March 17^th – St. Patrick’s Day – Remember to wear green!

• Tues. March 18^th – Kindergarten Parent Orientation for 2008-2009 at 9 a.m. Pennekamp cafeteria

• Wed. & Thurs. March 19^th and 20^th – 4^th grade GATE

• Fri. March 21^st – Local Holiday / No school

• Tues. March 25^th – 1^st gr. Field Trip to Santa Monica City College Planetarium 8:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

• Wed. March 26^th – Room 29 (4^th) field trip to American Pride, Long Beach 8:15 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

• Thurs. March 27^th – Room 31 (4^th) field trip to American Pride, Long Beach 8:15 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

• Fri. March 28^th – Room 27 (4^th) field trip to American Pride, Long Beach 8:15 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

• Mon. March 31^st – Kdg. field trip to El Camino 9:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

• Mon. March 31^st - Instrumental Mini Concerts – Pennekamp Cafeteria, 8:20 a.m. = (Hooper, Moreno) / 9 a.m.  = (Horowitz, Hunt) / 10:30 a.m. = all 4^th grade /  12:50 p.m. all = 5^th grade

• Wed. April 2^nd – PK Blood Drive – More information to follow

• Thurs. April 3^rd – Jogathon – 10:00 a.m. PK Field