BLUES’ NEWS
Richmond Street School and PTA Newsletter
February 2005			Volume 5, Issue 6
Richmond Street School 615 Richmond St., El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 606-6831		Dickie Van Breene, Principal http://elsegundousd.com/richmond_school Shari Gulian, Newsletter Editor, ssa@copper.net		Windri Barriga, PTA President PTA El Segundo Council 33^rd District, CCPTS

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Richmond Street Families,

I would like to start off by thanking the Richmond Street School community for contributing $6,002 to Save the Children Tsunami Relief Fund. A special thank you goes to Mrs. Janicek and our student council who worked very hard everyday to collect and count all of the donations. A check has been sent to Save the Children. If you forgot to send in a donation and still want to contribute you will need to send it directly to Save the Children or a charity of your choice.

Richmond teachers continued staff development in writing on Friday, January 14th in a K – 12 workshop at the high school led by coaches from the UCLA Writing Project. Grade level representatives also participated in a two-day workshop that explored strategies to improve student achievement through review of student work. On Tuesday, February 8th, a minimum day for grades 1 – 5, teachers in grades K – 3 and 4 – 7 will be meeting to discuss areas of need within the subjects of reading, writing and math.

Fifth grade students celebrate Colonial Day on Friday, February 4^th. They’ll have an opportunity to travel back in time and participate in activities and games of that time period while dressed in colonial costumes. Third grade will be displaying their Science Fair projects in the auditorium on Thursday, February 24^th. Kindergarten will be holding parent/teacher conferences from February 7 – 18.

Sincerely,

Dickie Van Breene

Principal

dvanbreene@esusd.k12.ca.us

SCHEDULE OF MINIMUM DAYS

Grades 1 – 5 attend from 8:30 – 1:30

(Kindergarten remains on regular schedule)

February 8 Professional Development

March 8 Professional Development

April 4 & 5 Parent/Teacher conferences

May 26 Open House

June 23 Last Day of School

2004/2005 Richmond Street School Site Council Survey is available by going to our school website at www.elsegundousd.com/richmond_school. We value your input greatly and make changes based on your comments. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. No individual responding to the questions will be identified, as the data is collected and tabulated off-site by SurveyMonkey.

If you don’t have Internet access, your may request a hard copy be sent home with your child; please fill it out and return it to your child’s teacher. Thank you for participation.

Chicago and All that Jazz The combined El Segundo Middle School and High School Choirs will be hosting a fund raiser at Chevron Park on Saturday, February 26. Middle school students will perform from 3:00 – 5:00 and high school students will perform from 5:30 – 7:00. Dessert will be served and an exciting Silent Auction will be held. For tickets and information call Ashley or Alita Pottenger at 524-0040.

Used/empty Inkjet Cartridges: We are continuing to collect used or empty inkjet cartridges with the help of Mrs. Lister and the PTA. Please send the cartridges in a zip-lock baggie to your child’s teacher or bring them to the office. Please note that the only Epson cartridge we can take is S020031. You can go to www.recyclerusa.com for more information.

Student Council Valentine’s Day Candy Sale: Student Council will be selling Little Dipper Lollypops and delivering Candygrams during the week of February 7^th. If a student wishes to send a Candygram to a fellow student they can purchase the candy and card, sign it and address it to the student’s classroom. A student council member will deliver the Candygram on Friday, February 11^th. Little Dipper Lollypops and Candygrams will be $1 each.

5^th Grade Basketball Noon League: The 5^th grade is in the process of forming teams for a noon basketball league. We are fortunate this year to have the help of Mrs. Sleeth’s husband. Mr. Sleeth will be coaching and refereeing 5^th graders 2 days a week. Miss Stone will also help out on a third day.

FEBURARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2/7 – 2/18	Kindergarten Parent/Teacher Conferences
2/7 – 2/11	Student Council Valentine’s Day Candy Sale $1 each for Little Dipper Lollipops and Candygrams
2/8	MINIMUM DAY – Early Dismissal Grades 1 – 5 attend 8:30 – 1:30
2/14 Monday	Presidents’ Day Holiday No School – Happy Valentine’s Day
2/21 Monday	Presidents’ Day Holiday No School
2/24 Thursday	3rd Grade Science Fair 6:00 – 7:00 PM

MESSAGE FROM THE PTA

It’s hard to believe that the school year is almost half over. It’s safe to say we had a terrific first half. Every coach knows that the game is won in the second half. It takes a team to win the championship and we want to continue our winning streak. As we look ahead to the future, there are still many projects and activities for us to accomplish.

Coming soon will be the District “Run for Education”. This is a PTA sponsored event in which all the schools in El Segundo participate. We hope that Richmond Elementary will continue to have a significant presence. In addition we will begin planning for Teacher Appreciation Week. This will be our turn to let teachers and staffs know how grateful we are for the wonderful job they do. And lastly, we want to recognize our own MVP’s (Most Valuable Parents), so we will be taking nominations for the PTA Honorary Service Award to be presented in April. It would be particularly difficult this year with so many deserving team members to choose from. The nomination form will be distributed to the children to bring home. It’s never too soon to start filling out next year’s roster; if you would like to be a part of the winning team and become a PTA board member, please see Judy Gilberts to discuss the open positions. I want to thank everyone again for winning the first half and I’m sure we’ll seal the victory in the second half. With the enthusiasm of a Patriot and the ability to soar like an Eagle, we always win our Superbowl.

Windri Barriga

NATIONAL PTA REFLECTIONS PROGRAM UPDATE

The National PTA Reflections Program is an arts recognition and achievement program for students. 

Come join the El Segundo community at an all-school PTA Reflections Reception on Thursday, February 10, 2005 from 5 PM – 8 PM. Entries from all 4 schools in the district will be displayed at the High School Library.

Parent volunteers are needed to provide cookies, brownies, bottled water, or to help with setup on the day of the event. Please contact Meighan Langlois the Richmond Street School Reflections Program Chair at 322-1231 or at megtad@pacbell.net to volunteer or get more information.

A Richmond Street School assembly is planned separately to award the prizes to our winning students.

SONGFEST

Songfest is a choral festival featuring the choirs from all El Segundo schools. Center Street School, Richmond Street School, El Segundo Middle School, and El Segundo High School choirs will all be featured. A highlight will be El Segundo High School performing several movements from Rutter's Requiem with a live orchestra!

The concert is on Wednesday March 16th at 7 PM. Proceeds from the concert will go towards new music equipment at the high school - equipment that all our members will enjoy if they stay singing with the district. Ticket price is $10 - presale or at the door. It promises to be an inspiring event for all. Music in El Segundo thrives!

RUN FOR EDUCATION

Make it a part of your New Year’s resolution to help our schools!

El Segundo PTA’s 13^th Annual Run For Education

Become a “Friend of the Run” by making a $50 donation

And/or participate in the5K Run/Walk & Kids’ Fun Run

Saturday, March 19, 2005

Race begins at 8:00 a.m.

Donations are tax deductible and benefit the students of ALL El Segundo Public Schools.

Drop your contribution at any El Segundo Public School or mail to:

839 Center Street El Segundo, CA. 90245

Make checks payable to: Run for Education

Additional registration forms are available in the school office

BOX TOPS AND LABELS FOR EDUCATION DECEMBER WINNERS

Box Tops

Campbell’s Labels

Grade	Teacher	#BoxTops
K	O’Brien	53
1^st	Loye	52
2^nd	Foster	96
3^rd	Feinbloom	143
4^TH	Lewis	79
5^th	Miller	123

Grade	Teacher	#Labels
K	O’Brien	48
1^st	Pickett	93
2^nd	Nodar	530
3^rd	Igi	1506
4^TH	Blaney	65
5^th	Miller	21

Please save 50% of the Campbell’s labels. If you only turn in the pencil on the back of the label, they do not count.

Only 3 more collection dates left and they are: February 2^nd, March 2^nd, and March 28^th!!

Thanks to everyone for participating!!!