MESSAGE FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

Dear Richmond Street Families,

THANK YOU FOR CONTRIBUTING TO BOOST OUR SCHOOL! MORE THAN 71% of our families have contributed $25 or more! We are so grateful to all of you who contributed to the El Segundo Educational Foundation’s Boost Our School Campaign. We had the highest participation rate in the district. Thank you for your support. The $2,500 gift from the campaign will go to our new playground, which is scheduled to be installed some time this year.

Please note that Friday, March 9th is teacher professional development day. Students do not attend school. We will continue to learn strategies to meet the needs of high achieving students, unmotivated students, students with special needs and students for whom English is a second language. These strategies help teachers differentiate instruction and help your student to find success in school. If you have concerns about your child’s academic progress you may schedule a Spring Parent Conference with your child’s teacher for March 20th or 21st. We will have early dismissal March 19th – 21st to accommodate staff development and parent/teacher conferences.

I would also like to encourage you to join us in El Segundo Unified School District’s Annual Run for Education on Saturday, March 24th. More information will follow.

As always, thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Dickie Van Breene

GUEST speaker march 12^th pta meeting

Please join us at our March 12^th PTA meeting when guest speaker Stephanie Burns will discuss Challenges with Children - Natural and Logical Consequences. Stephanie is an El Segundo High School counselor with a master’s degree in counseling and pupil personnel services and an undergraduate degree in psychology with a concentration in child/adolescent psychology.

Stephanie worked as a counseling intern for San Juan Unified School District in their family counseling center, meeting with students, parents and families on school and personal issues. She worked for Stockton Unified School District as an elementary and middle school counselor. She also created and implemented an elementary counseling program for two schools in Carmel Unified School District, and worked as a special needs social worker for three years in the Fresno County area. She was a Kingsburg High School counselor, and has been here in El Segundo since 1999.

MEET OUR TEACHERS

Betty Sleeth (5^th Grade): When I was in high school, I was a camp counselor at various Girl Scout camps and also at National Girl Scout events around the country. I also became an aide in an elementary classroom to fulfill the requirements for a Girl Scout badge. I think it was during these experiences that I grew to appreciate how each situation and each day could be so enriching and varied when you work with children. I continued to be a counselor and teacher at music camps (I’ve played the clarinet since elementary school), drum major camps (I was the first female drum major at my high school), recreation centers, and scout camps though my college years at Irvine. I began teaching in Los Alamitos, continued for some years in Huntington Beach, and came to El Segundo in 1991. I wouldn’t change my career choice for anything else!

Lisa Parrish (Art): My second grade career plans were to be an archeologist until I was twenty-five. After which, I would become a teacher in the middle of my life and then I would write and illustrate children’s books in my retirement. Who am I? Miss Parrish, the art teacher at Richmond and Center Street Schools. I did go on a couple of archeological digs in college but decided to turn my talents to education, mathematics, music, art and theater. Drawing and painting have always been a love of mine so I studied to become a high school art teacher but then found elementary was more suited to me. I was a classroom teacher for six years (K, 2^nd, & 5^TH ) before coming to Richmond and Center to be the art teacher. Teaching also runs in my family. My mother, sister and brother have been teachers at some time. (Mom taught in a one room school house in North Dakota.) As far as the future…well perhaps I will write and illustrate my own children’s books as I had planned in second grade. We’ll see.

Stacy Feinbloom (3^rd Grade): I truly believe I have the best job in the world. I love teaching. I have been teaching for 15 years and I can't remember a day when I woke up not wanting to come to school. I remember the moment I knew this would be my career. I was a student at UCLA and I could earn credits by interning at UES (University Elementary School) on campus. I walked into the Early Childhood classroom very nervous. The second I walked in the room a little girl age 5 ran up to me and hugged me. I immediately knew I would become a teacher. I come from a family of educators who have all loved being teachers. I am looking forward to another joyous 15 years in this profession.

BOx tops for education

Box Top Winners for January 2007
Grade	Teacher	Box Tops
Kindergarten/Tedde	Glenny	73
First Grade	Loye	255
Second Grade	Sabosky	40
Third Grade	Evans	274
Fourth Grade	MacKenzie	90
Fifth Grade	Lubba	111

Congratulations to our January winners!! With all your help and effort we have almost meet our 2006-2007 goal for the year and we still have four more months to go. So, keep clipping those Box Tops and keep up the great work! Box tops are collected on the first Friday of each month. The next collection date will be Friday, March 2nd. Thank you for all your support.

Julie Cantu and Judi Nieto

Box Top Coordinators

ANNOUNCEMENTS

4^th Grade State Writing Test: The 4^th grade STAR writing test will be given on Tuesday, March 6 in the morning. Please make sure your 4^th grader has had a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast.

Spring Pictures: All students will receive a packet of pictures to take home. If you do not want to purchase the pictures you will need to send the packet back to the classroom with your student. If you would like to purchase the pictures you will need to have your child bring the payment to the classroom.

Cold and Flu Season: Yes, it’s that time of year. Please remind your children to wash their hands frequently and please keep them home if they have a fever.

Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences: Parent conferences are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, March 20th and 21st. Your child’s teacher will contact you if he/she feels one is necessary. You may also contact your child’s teacher if you feel a conference is necessary.

Kindergarten Orientation: Please tell your friends and neighbors who have students entering kindergarten for the 2007-2008 school year that Kinder Orientation will be held for parents only, on Thursday, April 26th in the RSS Auditorium at 6:00 p.m.

ESUSD Songfest 2007: Musical excellence in El Segundo will be demonstrated during the all-district choral festival entitled Songfest 2007. The festival will feature performances by all El Segundo Unified School District choirs. Songfest 2007 is scheduled on Wednesday, March 14th at 7:00 p.m. in the El Segundo High School Auditorium. Tickets are $10 per person, and will be available for purchase at the schools beginning on March 1st.

See's Candy Fundraiser! Help support Richmond Street School's 5th Grade Class. In order to raise funds to offset the cost of 6th Grade Outdoor Science School (OSS), the 5th Grade Class will be kicking off their very popular See's Candy Fundraiser at the beginning of March. See's Candy offers a special selection of Easter Candy for this fundraiser at very reasonable prices. They make wonderful gifts and all items will be delivered before Spring Break. The 5th Graders and their parents appreciate your support!

ATTENTION PARENTS! The El Segundo Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit will be presenting “How to Raise a Street Smart Kid” on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. in the El Segundo Library’s Matsui Room, 111 W. Mariposa Ave. Parents will learn about: basic child safety, teaching their children abduction escape techniques, and good vs. bad touching. Refreshments will be served and space is limited. To RSVP, or for information, call Laurie Risk, Crime Prevention Analyst at (310) 524-2274. ADULTS ONLY PLEASE.

VISION & HEARING SCREENINGS The district nurse will be conducting vision and hearing screenings for all kindergarten, 2^nd, and 5^th grade students starting in March. This is a state mandated requirement. If you DO NOT want your child screened please send a note to their teacher as soon as possible. Thank you for helping our students be healthy.

SAFETY CONCERNS: Please think about dropping off and picking your child up in a spot other than the front of the school. Talk to your child about always using the crosswalks. Drive slowly and alertly around the school at all times. Do not double park and do not park in the loading zones and leave your car.

MESSAGE FROM OUr PTA PRESIDENT

Well … February flew by; we've passed the 100th day of the school year! PTA is working on Honorary Service Awards and we need your help. These awards are given at the Founders Day Tea in mid-April. Do you know someone you think has gone above and beyond great this year at Richmond? We are looking to give away a Very Special Person Award, to someone from the community or school, such as a teacher or employee or community group who has really helped this year. The Honorary Service Award is given to an individual who has had outstanding service through PTA. There is also a Continuing Service award given to someone who has previously in past years been a recipient of a Very Special Person or Honorary Service Award. Nominating forms have been sent home already and there are more in the office. Forms can be returned to the office in an envelope with my name on it.

I'm sure Mrs. Van Breene has already said this but I will reinforce it, thank you so much to our Richmond Families for donating to the Boost Your School drive for the El Segundo Educational Foundation. Richmond Families have stepped up to the plate and we have reached and surpassed our 50% family goal. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

PTA is looking for more parents to join the PTA Board for the 2007-2008 school year. We have just a few positions left and we need you! Please contact me at kipntam@sbcglobal.net and I will put you in contact with the nominating committee to get you started.

We are looking forward to seeing many parents at our March Meeting., March 12th at 7:15 p.m. Find out about the Run for Education, Teacher Appreciation Week and Nominating for our 2007-2008 PTA board.

Danny Thomas said, "Success is not built on what we accomplish for ourselves. Its foundation lies in what we do for others." Getting involved in PTA is a great way to achieve that success.

Tammy Long

run for eduction

Please plan on joining us for El Segundo PTA’s 15th Annual Run for Education on Saturday March 24th. This event is El Segundo PTA’s largest fund raiser of the year! There is a 5K Run/Walk and a Fun Run for the kids (fifth grade and under). Awards in the 5K are given to the overall, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers in each age category for both male and female runners. The Fun Run is approximately 1/3 of a mile and participants receive a Mattel toy.

Register before March 11th to receive discount entry fee. Registration is also available on-line at active.com. Register early to improve your odds of getting your t-shirt size. Early package pick-up will be available Friday, March 23rd from 4-7 pm in front of the High School. For additional information email eat4hlthrd@aol.com.

TEACHER appreciation week

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 7th – 11th, if you would like to help or donate items, please contact Marcia DeAngelis at 310-535-0055 or marciadeangelis@sbcglobal.net. It is a very fun week where we show our appreciation to all our wonderful Richmond Street teachers and administrators. Thanks.

RICHMOND STREET SCHOOL

MARCH 2007 CALENDAR

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Read Across America Day-Pajama Day at RSS (Students can dress in their pajamas to honor Dr. Seuss!)

Kick of f of K-2 Read-a-thon

Minimum Day

4th Grade

California State Writing Test

Character Counts Assembly

10:30 = K -2

11:10 = 3 - 5

Teacher

Professional Development Day

NO SCHOOL

Daylight

Savings Time

PTA Meeting 7:15 pm in RSS Library –

Guest Speaker Stephanie Burns

Minimum Day

Author’s Fair

7:00 Songfest

ESHS Auditorium

Author’s Fair

	BLUES NEWS
Richmond Street School and PTA Newsletter
March 2007				Volume 7, Issue 7
Richmond Street School 615 Richmond St., El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 606-6831		Dickie Van Breene, Principal Janice Hickey, Assistant Principal elsegundousd.com/richmond_school Shari Gulian, Newsletter Editor	Tammy Long, PTA President PTA El Segundo Council Thirty-Third District California State PTA, everychild.onevoice

Richmond Street School and PTA Newsletter

Richmond Street School

615 Richmond St.,

El Segundo, CA 90245

(310) 606-6831

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

MESSAGE FROM OUr PTA PRESIDENT