‘Tis the season and our Holiday Gift Shop is underway. The kids had a great time today shopping for their loved ones at the Holiday Gift Shop. The PTO is sponsoring the Gift Shop as an opportunity for children to come in and make decisions regarding which presents to get for who within a budget. Not only that, but it strengthens those math skills!

The Holiday Gift Shop runs through Friday. The class, one class from each grade, attends the Gift Shop each day thru Thursday with Friday being a preview day. Each day after school until 3pm the shop is also open.

Gifts range from 30 cents to $17.00 and we have a wide range of gifts that the kids can find something for everyone.

The PTO would like to thank everyone who volunteered today and a “thank you” in advance to everyone throughout the week that is volunteering to make this event memorable for the kids.

If there are any parents that would like to help, please call Alycea at 360.556.2265.

We have the preliminary results for the WASL test that the 3rd graders must take at the end of the year.  Click on the link to compare the results for local area school WASL scores to see where Edison stands.  We are doing great!

WOW!  The students of Edison really did an outstanding job of salesmanship for the cookie dough sales.  We made about $5500. 

The top three classroom sales were: Mrs. Strickland, Mr. Clinton and Mrs. Lochbaum.

The top sellers for each grade level were:

Kindergarten – Chloe Vedder
1st grade – Tyone Fellows
2nd grade – Darien Roundtree
3rd grade – Zach Queen

At the assembly the top sellers in each grade were given a chance to have a go in the money booth.   Check out the pics on the right to see how well they did…

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, here is a great project to be able to do with your children. Nothing brings people together like food, so what could be better this Holiday, then to start a “Family Cookbook”.

Making a Family Cookbook

Your child can practice valuable skills and you can make a memorable gift if you create a family cookbook together.

Families make history every day in the kitchen and around the dinner table. Your aunt’s blueberry pie and your special turkey stuffing are the ingredients of memory. Collect these special recipes into a holiday gift book and you’ve also helped your child explore family history and develop reading, writing and organizing skills. Here’s how to get started:

1. Decide on a theme. It can be holiday recipes or ethnic specialties. Or maybe you want a general cookbook with a few recipes in basic categories, such as main dishes, vegetables, salads, soups and desserts. Special bonus: This will help your child learn about the food groups that make up a balanced diet.

2. Collect the recipes. If your family is gathering this holiday season, ask each person to bring along a copy of a favorite recipe. Or ask relatives to send them by mail or email.

You might want to set up a form to make sure a crucial instruction , the oven temperature, for example , isn’t forgotten. It might include this information:

• Name of recipe
• Name of person contributing it
• A brief description of where it came from, why it’s special
• List of ingredients, including quantities
• Special equipment that might not be in everyone’s kitchen : a bundt pan or a food processor, for example
• Cooking directions, with temperature
• Number of people it serves
• Any special advice: What’s the secret to keeping the souffle from falling or the bottoms of the cookies from getting burned? Is there a good variation of the recipe, substituting butterscotch chips for chocolate ones, for example?

3. Choose illustrations. Your child can illustrate the cookbook with his own drawings. If you have access to a scanner, you can also use family photos as illustrations. Ask relatives to send you photos or look through your own collection for pictures of memorable family moments. You can also scan mementos: An invitation you’ve saved from your child’s birthday party could be used to illustrate a cake recipe or the handwritten recipe from a great-aunt can be used on the page that tells how to make her special coffee cake.

4. Prepare the recipes. Have your child help you read them over to make sure all the necessary information is included. You can simply photocopy them if you’ve set up a form for your contributors to follow. Or you can type them into your computer and print them. Put the recipes in categories and alphabetize them; both are good skills for your child to practice. Make a table of contents.

5. Write a short introduction. Ask your child to help or let her dictate it to you. Be sure to include the date.

6. Ask someone else to proofread.

7. Assemble. If you have a big family or lots of recipes, you may want to leave the printing to a copy shop. A three-ring binder works well as a cookbook because you can add recipes in years to come. Use notebook dividers with pockets in them so the recipient can stash extra recipes in each section. Use plastic sleeves on the pages to splatter-proof them.

Your cookbook doesn’t have to be in book form: You can make a CD-ROM of the contents and send it to far-away family members. Or have a tech-savvy relative design a family Web site to display your efforts.

Article provided by the staff at GreatSchools.net

GreatSchools.net had an article recently on Volunteering in the classroom.

Volunteering in your child’s classroom can help you keep tabs on what is happening at school and show your child that you think education is important.

Following these tips will help make your volunteer time fun for you and helpful to the teacher.

1. Find out ahead of time the school’s requirements or procedures for volunteers. Some schools require parent volunteers to show proof of a negative tuberculosis test; others require volunteers to be fingerprinted. If you are planning to drive on a field trip, you will probably have to show proof of insurance. Calling ahead prevents unpleasant surprises on your first volunteer day.

For the safety of students, many schools require visitors to check in at the office before heading to classrooms. Complying with all of the school�s requirements will help keep your child and others safe.

2. Communicate with the teacher. Let him know what types of things you’d like to help with and get a sense of what he’s comfortable with you doing. You can also tell him about any special skills or talents you have that might be helpful to the class. While you should be clear about your expectations, it is also important to remember that teachers have different styles. One teacher might want you to design a project and lead the class in doing it. Another might need to learn to trust you before he will want you to work independently with a group of students.

…Full Story

Just wanted to send out a quick reminder to everyone that Friday is “POPCORN DAY“.

Bring those quarters and grab some ‘corn. Maybe even get a few extra for Saturday night when the family is sitting around watching a movie. Remember that all the money goes to the PTO fund to sponsor events like: assemblies, new playground equipment, AR Books, etc.

Remember, Friday is also EARLY RELEASE. School gets out at 12:25 pm.

Have a great weekend everyone.

The Edison PTO has decided to raise money for a new playground.  Our goal is to have the playground in and functional by the end of June this year.  We need to raise over $40,000 in order to make this happen. 

We will be having numerous fundraisers throughout the year to raise money.  

The Edison Students were very successful with the cookie dough sales.  This has always generated the largest portion of funds for the PTO and this year was no disappointment.  The students raised over $5,500.00.  More than half of the profits will go into the playground fund.  The other portion is being used to finish up the Technology Campaign that we ran last year.  The PTO was able to equip all but one classroom with new Document Projectors.  This is very exciting because we are the only school in the district that has one in EVERY classroom.  So, way to go!

The PTO is also sponsoring a Holiday Gift Shop for the students in December.  This gives the students and opportunity to purchase gifts for their family members without Mom or Dad present.   We have had great success with this in the past and hope to keep that momentum going.   The PTO receives 20% of the proceeds generated from the Gift Shop.  We think this is a wonderful way for the children to practice those math skills.  Informational packets containing product brochures and price lists will be coming home in the next few weeks.  Keep your eye on that Thursday Folder and keep checking in for updates.  We are looking for volunteers, so if you can help please comment on this post or email us at myedisonpto@gmail.com.

We will be an auction the will be held at Kit Carson March 17, 2007 at 5pm.  We will be selling tickets ahead of time, after the Holidays.  We will also holding a raffle in association with the auction.  Please check back to see when you can expect information in the Thursday Folder.   More information to be posted soon regarding the details of the auction.  We need as many people as we can get.  So please comment on this post or email us at myedisonpto@gmail.com if you are able to help out.  Anything would be appreciated.   

We have set our sights high and are looking to achieve some pretty hefty goals this year, but we can not do it alone.  Please join us in support our children and the other students at Edison.  Our next meeting is December 4, 2006 at 6pm in the Edison Library. 

Everyone is unique and has their own thought and ideas.  A diverse group is the best group.  Come be a part of something special.  We look forward to seeing you soon….

Thanks to all of the parents, teachers and students who turned out for Movie Night.  We all had a GREAT time.  The PTO appreciates all of your support.  We raised over $450.00 toward the NEW PLAYGROUND!!! 

 If you have any suggestions for our next Movie Night, please make a comment on this post and we will consider your request for our upcoming event. 

Again, thank you so much for coming out and supporting the PTO.  We can’t do it without you.  See you in Feb….

The PTO would like extend thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Witt for providing the video equipment for the movie.  We also want to thank Domino’s Pizza, Buckaroos Pizza and Papa Murphy’s for their donations.  In addition to individual pizzas, we did receive gift cards from Safeway for $25 and Wal-Mart for $50.  McDonald’s Restaurant donated the Juice and Carol Eastman donated her time by coming early to bake all of those oh so yummy cookies.  We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr. Kirby for letting us use the gym at the school and Mr. Fink for cleaning up the carnage. 

Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped out in the kitchen, Valerie, Maria, Lovena (even though you were late), Alisha, Dennis, Alycea, Dee Dee, Carol (popping popcorn all the way out in the lobby by her lonesome) and all of the Teachers who popped in and out.

We appreciate everyone’s support.

It’s time for Dinner and a Movie
Bring your blankets, pillows, and fuzzy slippers for an evening of fun for the whole family. Pizza, popcorn, juice, and cookies will be sold by the PTO to help raise money for the new playground.

As always, the MOVIE IS FREE. Join us at 6pm in the gym on November 9th.

Pizza- $1 per slice (pepperoni, cheese, combo pizza’s available)
Juice- $.50 per cup
Cookies- $.25 or 5 for $1
Popcorn- $.25 a bag
Dinner, Movie and quality time with the Family: Priceless!!

If you do not want to eat dinner but would still like to donate, you may do so at the popcorn station in the front lobby.

Thanks to everyone for your support.  Let’s make it a great night.

See you at the show…..

Here are the minutes from the November 6th meeting. Click on the button below.

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