Principal's Letter 3/16/11

March 16, 2011

Dear Roosevelt Families,

I want to congratulate all of the Roosevelt students and families for their wonderful and enthusiastic participation in this year's Annual Read-a-Thon that concluded last month. Excitement around literacy at school and at home makes for the ideal family-school partnership and helps to support the journey of life long learning for all. A big thank you to all of the extended families, friends and neighbors who supported Roosevelt readers and cheered them on along the way!

Keep that wonderful reading spirit alive in your homes and continue to strengthen our home-school partnership this month with our Character Development Book of the Month program! For the month of March, all classes are reading Too Many Tamales and focusing on the quality of honesty. Our committee of teachers has created reflective questions for classes to discuss about the characters in the book and how we see the quality of honesty being portrayed. Please take a trip to your neighborhood library and check out the book for you to have in your home this month. When families help to connect the work we do at school to their family life, it makes learning so much more powerful and meaningful. Thank you for your support and we look forward to your child leading some great conversations about honesty at home!

A fun way to support the additional literacy programs and curriculum enhancement that help students thrive at Roosevelt is to attend our upcoming Roosevelt Spring Event: Dinner and Fundraiser on Saturday evening, March 26th at Wokcano restaurant. You are sure to have delicious food, festive entertainment and great company while enjoying the Roosevelt spirit. All of the proceeds from this auction and fundraiser make the many outstanding programs at Roosevelt possible. I know that you will have a wonderful time and your participation and support make ALL the difference in helping maintain educational excellence for our students. Make sure to get your tickets online ASAP on myroosevelt.net and check out all of the wonderful auction items available for bidding right now online!

Just around the corner is one of our unique examples of how the educational opportunities at Roosevelt extend above and beyond…the 5^th grade trip to AstroCamp from Wednesday, April 6^th – Friday, April 8^th is quickly approaching. Ms. Chu and I are really looking forward to joining the 5^th graders and teachers in all the outdoor adventures that lie ahead in the Idyllwild mountains. It was a great experience being with the 5^th graders last year in nature and watching the incredible learning and teamwork that transpire. We greatly appreciate the Roosevelt community supporting our weekly Wednesday Late Start Breakfasts from 9:30 am – 9:50 am in our

cafeteria. Yes, it is every Wednesday morning! So, come and enjoy a wonderful

selection of healthy breakfast items to help your day started off right. All proceeds are going to support the 5^th grade Astrocamp trip and the 5^th grade culmination activities. Thank you for your support!

Speaking of 5^th grade, we are very proud of the Student Council Leaderhip this year in how they have selected and embraced the school-wide philanthropic focus of; Much Love Animal Rescue. They made boxes for all of the classrooms to donate money to the organization that helps care for local animals in need and to find homes for them. They spent time at the Saturday Farmers' Market interviewing volunteers from Much Love Animal Rescue and meeting lots of the animals. After the student council members' excursion, they created a video about the cause and presented it to our school at grade level assemblies last Friday. Please make sure to check out this wonderful video that we have posted on myroosevelt.net! In addition to the coin collection boxes in the classrooms, student council is launching a campaign drive from March 15^th – April 8^th to collect various items (leashes, collars, dog/cat treats, etc.) to help Much Love care for the animals. Collection bins are located inside the office and in Room 40. Thank you for your support of our school-wide effort and for all of your donations, as we work together to make a positive difference in our community!

State standardized testing is around the corner for all SMMUSD students in 2^nd - 5^th grades from May 2^nd – May 13^th. We are happy to offer a wonderful parenting workshop open to all (back by popular demand) on helpful tips and strategies to help educate you about standardized testing. Our literacy specialist will be conducting two parent workshops, so hopefully one of these will work for you…Wednesday, April 6^th at 6:30 pm and Thursday, April 7th^th at 8:30 am both in our auditorium. A letter with many more details and helpful hints is soon to follow.

A friendly 2011-2012 school year calendar reminder, school begins a week earlier next year. The first day of school is Tuesday, August 30, 2011. This new calendar has many changes from all previous years, so please make sure to look at the calendar of dates and vacation times that are posted on our website. As always, it is very important that you plan your family vacations when school is not in session, so we want to make sure that you have plenty of time to do your planning. Thank you for your cooperation in making sure that your child is at school every day!

If coffee and conversation fit into your Friday morning schedule, I would love to have you come by the auditorium this Friday, March 18^th at 8:30 am for ‘Coffee with the Principal.'

Sincerely,

Natalie R. Burton

Principal

Roosevelt Elementary School