BLUES’ NEWS
Richmond Street School and PTA Newsletter
April 2006				Volume 6, Issue 8
Richmond Street School 615 Richmond St., El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 606-6831		Dickie Van Breene, Principal Marisa Janicek, Assistant Principal elsegundousd.com/richmond_school Shari Gulian, Newsletter Editor	Windri Barriga, PTA President PTA El Segundo Council Thirty-Third District California State PTA, everychild.onevoice

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Richmond Street Families,

Our Academic Performance Index ranking (API), which is used by the state to evaluate student achievement on STAR testing, was released at the end of March. We are proud to announce that we received a 10, which is the highest score possible, when compared to all elementary schools in California and a 9 when compared to schools with similar demographic criteria. In addition, we received a score of 903 on a scale of 200 – 1000. I would like to thank our teachers and staff for their hard work in providing each student with the best education possible. I would also like to thank all of our families for the support you give to our students throughout the year, each and every day.

Students at our school will participate again this spring in the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program. The STAR Program, an important part of the California assessment system for students in grades two through eleven, was initially authorized by state law (Senate Bill 376).

The purpose of the STAR Program is to measure how well students are learning the knowledge and skills identified in the California content standards. The California Standards Tests (CSTs) are designed to show how well students are doing with respect to the California content standards. These content standards, approved by the State Board of Education, describe what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. Students in grades two through five are tested in English-language arts and mathematics. Students in grade five also take a science test.

Students in grade three will also take the CAT/6 Survey tests that assess the achievement of general academic knowledge in key subjects that are commonly taught in public schools throughout the United States. The CAT/6 Survey tests provide comparisons of the performance of California students to the performance of students throughout the nation.

Students in grades two through five will participate in the STAR Program May 15 - 25.

Sincerely,

Dickie Van Breene

Principal

dvanbreene@esusd.k12.ca.us

APRIL CALENDAR OF EVENTS
4/3 Monday	PTA Meeting 7:15 p.m. auditorium
4/6 Thursday	PTA Founders’ Day Tea 3:15 p.m. Chevron Park
4/10 – 4/14	SPRING BREAK
4/21 Friday	Volunteer Luncheon 11:30 – 1:00
4/26 Wednesday	School Site Council Meeting 8:30 a.m.
4/27 Thursday	Kindergarten Orientation for Parents of 2007/2007 Kindergartners No children please 6:00 p.m. auditorium

K – 2 Read-a-thon ends on Friday, April 7. Our goal is to read 10,000 books. Please help us reach that goal by reading with your child nightly.

CONGRATULATIONS, MRS. THOMPSON: Mrs. Thompson and her husband had a baby girl in March. We wish them all the very best.

Thank you for supporting Jump Rope for Hearts: Our school raised $10,764 for the American Heart Association. That is a phenomenal amount and we’d like to thank everyone who participated. The students had a great time jumping rope and shooting hoops. Thank you to Mrs. Janicek, for organizing it, Ms. Read, Center Street teacher, for helping with jump ropes and basketballs and all of the parent volunteers. We are a great team at Richmond Street School.

Volunteer Luncheon: The Richmond Street School wishes to thank its parent volunteers on Friday, April 21. Please make sure to R.S.V.P. to your child’s teacher and attend the luncheon at your child’s specified lunch time.

Richmond Street School Survey Results: A summary of the results from the recent school survey is available on our school website’s main page at elsegundousd.com/richmond_school

KINDERGARTEN ORIENTATION: Please tell your friends and neighbors who have children that will be entering kindergarten in the fall about our Kindergarten Orientation scheduled for Thursday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. in the Richmond Street Auditorium. Flyers are available in the office explaining registration procedures.

PTA APRIL MEETING APRIL 3^RD

Attention Parents: Is your child’s birthday between the months of June – December?  Is your child ready to start kindergarten?  Is TEDDE a better option for your child?  What exactly is the TEDDE program?  Please come to our April 3rd PTA meeting to find out more!  Our guest speaker will be Richmond Street TEDDE teacher Dorene Morgan.  Please come join us and find out more about the TEDDE program from the expert!  Dorene will discuss the benefits of TEDDE and answer any questions you may have about the TEDDE program.  There will also be several parents at the meeting whose children have gone through the TEDDE program.  Please join us for a fun and informative evening!

FOUNDER’S DAY TEA

Founders' Day Tea - "Making Thyme For Our Children" - Thurs. April 6, 2006 at Chevron Park Clubhouse.  Doors open at 2:30pm and program begins at 3:15pm.  Everyone is welcome to the Founders' Day Tea.  It is PTA's time to honor all of our hard-working volunteers.  Come and see some old friends and make some new ones during this fun and relaxing afternoon.  Hope to see you there.  If you have any questions or would like to help with set-up or clean-up please call Joan Lindsey at 414-9493.

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

If you would like to help during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 1-5 or would like to donate items, please contact Marcia DeAngelis at 310.535.0055 or marciadeangelis@sbcglobal.net. It is a very special week where we show our appreciation to all our wonderful Richmond St. teachers and administrators. Thank you.

BOX TOPS AND LABELS FOR EDUCATION FEBRUARY WINNERS

Class	Teacher	Box Tops	Labels	Total
Kindergaten/Tedde	Jacobson	601	474	1075
First Grade	Pickett	85	137	222
Second Grade	Nodar	203	285	488
Third Grade	Saxonberg	68	12	80
Fourth Grade	Blaney	140	78	218
Fifth Grade	Thompson	207	12	219

Congratulations to February winners! A huge thanks to Mrs Jacobson's Kindergarten class for collecting 1075. We will be collecting Box Tops and Campbell's Labels for two more months; March and April. Our next collection date will be Friday, April 7th.

PTA “REFLECTIONS” CONTEST RESULTS 2005 – 2006

Richmond Street Elementary School

Photos of many of the winning entries are available on the Richmond PTA website at:

http://elsegundousd.com/richmond_school/pta

Category: Visual Arts
PRESCHOOL - GRADE 2
First Place Ian H. *District winner
Second Place Alexandra N. *Honorable Mention in District
Third Place Taylor W.

Honorable Mention Nicholas M.

GRADES 3 - 5 
First Place Sydney S.
Second Place Madison D.
Third Place Frances K.
Honorable Mention :Two-Way Tie:  Michael W.& Audrey H.

Category: Photography

PRESCHOOL - GRADE 2
First Place Sophia A.
Second Place Kevin M.
Third Place Stephanie R.
Honorable Mention Gavin G.

GRADES  3 - 5 
First Place Cory H. *District winner
Second Place Alison F.
Third Place Ana D.

Category: Literature

PRESCHOOL - GRADE 2
First Place Nicholas M.
Second Place Ruby F.
Third Place Jake M.

GRADES 3 - 5 
First Place Madilyn D.
Second Place Joey M.
Third Place Amanda H.
Honorable Mention Michael W.

Category: Music

GRADES  3 - 5 
First Place Blake P. *District winner
Second Place Kayla J.

Participants received special recognition and 1^st-3^rd place winners their cash awards at a school assembly. A special thank you goes out to all of the students who participated in the program & contest. It would not have been the same without your participation.

Start thinking about what you could create for next year’s contest. Next year’s theme will be: “My Favorite Place…”

Well done, students! Way to go! Keep up the great work!