Rummage Sale Info from Natalie

Hello PTO parents of Portside Montessori,

A signup sheet is up in the lobby of the school and the rummage sale flyers will go
out to all parents this week. If you are able to help, please sign up for whatever you
can. We appreciate all the help we can get.
A couple of notes on the signup sheet:

•We will need help with pricing items that are dropped off on Friday. We ask
that all items are dropped off between 5 and 7pm on Friday. We appreciate
it if items are brought already priced, but if that isn’t the case, we’ll need to
take care of that. We will be storing items in some of the back rooms and in
the Toddler playground; just on the other side of the fence for easy set up the
next morning.

•If anyone has a wardrobe rack, please let me know. This will make for easy
display of any clothing brought to the sale. I will be bringing tons of hangers.

•I will be bringing a 30x60 folding table, and Melinda and Maureen have a
couple other tables, but if anyone has a card table, that would be very helpful.
Just make sure your name is written on the underside, and please pick it up
by noon on Saturday.

•If anyone has any crafts they would like to donate to the sale that would be
fantastic. Also baked goods are always easy and usually go fast.

•We will be providing an e-waste disposal at the sale as well. Bring any
electronics that you need to dispose of and we will get credit for this and
Melinda and Maureen can write off that cost.

•I will be posting as many signs as I can and will be posting an ad on
craigslist.org, facebook and a local news channel on Thursday and Friday the
week of the sale.

Thanks so much for helping in any way you can. If there are any questions or
suggestions please feel free to email me.
Natalie
natalie.johnson@mac.com

Next PTO Meeting!

PTO meeting next Wednesday April 25th @ 6:00pm. Try to let us know by Friday the 20th if you need child care or at the latest by the 23rd. Lots to discuss including our big garage sale fundraiser coming up on May 5th. Looking forward to seeing you there.  Make sure to check out the new play structure in the toddler area! 

Rummage Sale Coming Soon!

RUMMAGE SALE!
Save your rummage sale items!  We will be having a rummage sale to benefit Portside Montessori on May 5th.  Proceeds will go towards supplies and yard equipment for our childrens' school.  We will be asking for you to donate your things as well as your time for helping on the day of the sale.  Signups for volunteering will go up within the next week. 


Ideas of items to donate:
baby/kid gear(strollers, carseats, bumbo chairs, swings, bouncers, high chairs, blankets,diaper bags, pack n plays, bassinets, exer-saucers, carriers)
baby/kid clothing& lightly used shoes
adult clothing
maternity clothing
bikes
yard supplies
tools
electronics (working)
cameras (working)
home décor
antiques
DVDs & CDs
Cookbooks
Cooking utensils
Kitchen appliances
Furniture (smallstuff, drop off day-of only)
Books (both adult andkids)

Teacher Alicia needs jar lids

Teacher Alicia is planning an art project and is requesting jar lid. Any lids you have are appreciated. Please bring them by Monday, March 5th.

Teacher Appreciation Lunch - next Wednesday!

Laura had the great idea to have a teacher appreciation lunch next Wednesday for LEAP DAY!

When Wednesday Feb 29th.

Sign up to bring something below:

Menu: Sandwiches, Salads and sides!17 teachers
Roast beef: Laura Federico
Turkey: Velrose White
Ham:
Rolls: Natalie Johnson
Cheese, lettuce and tomato:
Condiments:
Pasta Salad: Gretchen Daues
Fruit: Nadien Menke
Chips: Karin Sturgis
Cookies: Nadien Menke, and Karen Zanotto
Drinks:


Thanks! 


ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Natalie Johnson has volunteered to head up the spring rummage sale fundraiser!  Way to go Natalie!  She will keep us posted when she has more information. 

Healthy Children Article

Check out the link below shared  by parent Jasmine Nguyen:


http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Pages/default.aspx

It's sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The site addresses many important issues, such as nutrition, sleep issues, behavioral concerns, toilet training, etc. Topics that pediatricians simply cannot cover at length in a 20-30 minute well child check.  I particularly like the article about Growing Independence: Tips for Parents of Young Children

Notes from PTO meeting held February 1, 2012

Guest Speaker Melody Bosley, Kindergarten teacher at Southport Elementary School, spoke about Kindergarten readiness. 

• Curriculum taught in this district is "Open Court" for reading and "Math Expressions" for math. 
• For Kindergarten, there is a 20-1 student teacher ratio. 
• Social aspects are so much more important than academic aspects of preparation.  Knowing how to share, to sit quietly for longer periods of time and to not cry when parents drop off are very helpful. 
• Academic preparation - "well-prepared" kids can write their letters, numbers and their names.  Ways to help your child prepare include lots of reading, singing, counting, etc. 
• By the end of the year, students will read a minimum of 34 "site words" and write numbers 1-30. 
• There is some comfusion about birthday cut offs for starting kindergarten.  Check back at the Washington unified school district for more informatio.n: http://www.wusd.k12.ca.us/   As of the meeting, the website showed a Dec. 2nd birthday cut off, but the laws are changing and we think the website may just not be up to date. 
• We discussed after school care options, which vary by school site. 

Other notes/announcements:

• Melinda announced that the outside structure for the toddler room has been ordered and they are just waiting on a delivery date. They also ordered a water table for the preschool and toddler room and some new mats with the money raised from the cookie dough fundraiser.
• February 10^th is parent's night out – sign up at Portside if you want childcare.
• Brad wanted to remind parents of preschoolers to please drop off either before 9am or after 9:30, as to not interrupt “group time.” He is working hard to get the pre-schoolers ready for Kindergarten. Thank you for understanding.
• Hang on to anything you may wish to donate to the spring rummage sale!  All proceeds will benefit the PTO.  Date to be announced. 

Thanks for Laura Federico for arranging our guest speaker this month! 

We will announce our next meeting as soon as we set a date, probably sometime in mid-March.

As always, if you have an idea for an event/activity for the PTO, let us know and we can try to make it happen! 

It is so nice to see parents at the meeting and we would love to have even more parents getting involved!