BLUES NEWS
Richmond Street School and PTA Newsletter
May 2007				Volume 7, Issue 9
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

MESSAGE FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

Dear Richmond Street Families,

The Richmond Street School Wellness Committee, comprised of parents, teachers, and food service employees has been working to meet federal, state and district guidelines to ensure that our children are eating nutritious foods at school. Our cafeteria food meets or exceeds these guidelines. Lacey Middough, Director of ESUSD Food Services will explain these guidelines at our May 14th PTA Meeting and give parents an opportunity to taste test some of the items we sell. We will also be encouraging parents to send in healthy food, small prizes or a book to celebrate birthdays instead of donuts, candy and cupcakes. We hope you will join us at this meeting.

STAR testing for grades 2 – 5 is scheduled for May 21 – 31. We would like to encourage you to send your child/children to school on time and well-rested, having had a nutritious breakfast. Homework will not be given during testing. Where possible, please schedule orthodontist/doctor’s appointments for your child after school.

May 7 – 11 is Teacher Appreciation Week. I would like to express my appreciation and respect for all the teachers at Richmond Street. I see daily, the professionalism, dedication, and caring attitude our teachers have for our students. I’d also like to thank all the parents and PTA members who are involved in planning Teacher Appreciation Week. You really know how to make our teachers feel special.

Finally, we look forward to seeing all of you on Thursday, May 31st from 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm for OPEN HOUSE!

Sincerely,

Dickie Van Breene

MEET OUR TEACHERS

Lisa Haun (Reading Specialist) - Teacher of the Year

I was absolutely thrilled to be selected as Teacher of the Year.  RSS has an incredibly dedicated staff, supportive administration, and amazing students.  These are my motivators, and it feels magnificent to have my hard work recognized, especially from my colleagues who I admire so much! The fall of 2006 starts my fourth year as Richmond Street Elementary School's full-time Reading Specialist.  Previously, I worked five years at Robinson Elementary in Manhattan Beach.  In 1997-1998, I participated one year on the Japanese Exchange and Teaching program teaching English in Nara, Japan.

I graduated from the University of Southern California with a BS in Education. From USC, I obtained my Preliminary & Clear, Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials.   In 2003, I finished the Reading and Language Arts Specialization Credential and received my Masters Degree in Education from CSU Long Beach.  

Keeping up-to-date on the latest research and best practices in literacy and helping Richmond Street students to become strong readers are my top priorities. I have over 50 students on my caseload. I am also a School Site Council Representative, organize and facilitate a professional book club at school, run the K-2 annual Read-a-thon, oversee implementation of K-5 literacy assessments, as well as collect and analyze data. I create and lead site-based and district-wide staff development. I’m also a consultant for the ESHS Literacy Team where I work with staff to create and implement a plan for the high school in the area of content literacy and reading intervention. El Segundo is a great place to work and I’m very happy to be here.

Barbara Berkes (5^th Grade)

Teaching is actually my second career.  I was a registered nurse for 15 years before deciding to spend more time at home with my son and daughter.  As I was not good at just being at home (you can only do so much cleaning), I did a one year stint as the health aide at Center Street School while volunteering in my children’s classrooms.  Upon finding true pleasure in working with students, I embarked on eight years as a third grade instructional assistant at Center Street School.  Realizing that I was soon to become an “empty nester,” and needing to fill the void of having been intensely involved in my children’s lives to that point, going back to school to obtain my teaching credential and masters degree seemed like a natural path.  An added bonus has been the opportunity to teach 5^th grade science to the whole grade level.  I truly love teaching science and watching the students’ excitement as they observe, experiment and discover new things.  Questions abound!  I feel very blessed to work in a district where I was able to watch my children, and now your children, flourish and grow in such a wonderful learning environment.  

ANNOUNCEMENTS

KINDER VISITATION: Please tell your friends and neighbors who have children who will be entering kindergarten in the fall about our Kindergarten Visitation scheduled for Friday, June 1 from 10:15 – 11:15.

Moving over the summer? Please inform Ann Hancock in the office if you are planning to move over the summer.

School Safety: The Richmond Street School Safety Committee meets each trimester to review our school safety plan. The students participate in monthly drills for fire, earthquake, and shelter in place/lockdown. The district also has a phone system that can inform households of upcoming events or emergency situations. A call introducing the system was placed in April.

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 http://www.elsegundousd.com/Richmond_school

Lost and Found: Our Lost and Found is overflowing with sweatshirts. Please check at Open House for any items your child has lost.

School Choice Enrollment for 2007-2008: During one week in May, El Segundo Unified School District will offer residents of El Segundo the opportunity to choose where they would like their children in grades K-5 to attend school within the District, if space is available. Parents wishing to continue in their home school need not take any action. Parents interested in participating in this program for the 2007-2008 school year should contact Kris Martin in the Educational Services Office for an application. Applications must be submitted in person on the following days: Monday, May 21, through Friday, May 25, 2007 from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., at the El Segundo Unified School District Office located at 641 Sheldon Street, Room 102.

TEACHER appreciation week

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 7-11 and we have a lot of fun things planned to show our appreciation to our wonderful Richmond St. Teachers. If you like, please have your child bring a flower to their teacher on Monday or Tuesday and something sweet on Wednesday or Thursday to show their appreciation for their teacher.

If you would like to help or donate items for the week like plates, cups, food, etc. please call Marcia DeAngelis at 310-535-0055 or email at marciadeangelis@sbcglobal.net. 

MESSAGE FROM OUR PTA PRESIDENT

Can you believe it is May?  This school year is flying by.  PTA is gearing up for Teacher Appreciation Week, May 7 - 11.  Chairperson, Marcia DeAngelis and her committee of hard-working parents have several terrific events planned for the week.  A big thank you to all of you who make this week so special for our teachers.

April 30th was the Founder's Day Celebration at the Little Theatre at the High School.  Richmond Street has so many amazing volunteers; it is extremely difficult to narrow it down to just a few honorees.  This year our Honorary Service recipients are Shari Gulian, Sharon Blacksten and Bonnie Liedtke-Kriestorac.

Shari Gulian has worked tirelessly on our newsletter and website for many years and we are so fortunate she is so dedicated.  Sharon Blacksten has held many volunteer positions and this year tackled being the 5th Grade Representative.  Those of you with 5th graders know much work goes into the 5th grade activities.  Bonnie Liedtke-Kriestorac has worked incredibly hard to bring our Fall Festival Silent Auction to a new level. 

Our Continuing Service Recipient is Judy Gilberts.  There is hardly a PTA position Judy hasn't held including being PTA President for 2 years.  As Judy's last child is graduating from Richmond this year, Judy's presence and guidance will be greatly missed.

Our Very Special Person awards this year go to Ms. Valerie Mackenzie and Sam Kriestorac.  The 4th Grade Run Around the World program started by Ms. Mackenzie shows our kids the importance of physical fitness and just how far they can run!  Sam Kriestorac runs almost daily with the fourth graders to help motivate them in their running. Congratulations to our Honorary Service Award Winners and thank you to all of our volunteers. 

PTA would also like to say thank you to our teachers for throwing a great lunch bash for all of our volunteers on April 20th. I'm sure you agree with me in saying we volunteer because we love taking an interest in our children and in our school but the lunch was a much appreciated treat.   

Also, please make sure to come to our May PTA meeting on May 14th at 7:15 pm.  Besides being our last official meeting of the year we are going to be having a "Taste of Richmond Street" treat.  Lunch and snack items from our own cafeteria will be on hand to let you the parents sample what your kids are eating everyday! 

Have a great May!

Tammy Long

CONGRATULATIONS REFLECTIONS WINNERS (Richmond Street School)!

Division	First Place	Second Place	Third Place
PHOTOGRAPHY
Primary	Asha Bouverat	Kaden Langlois	N/A
Intermediate	Madison Dunaetz	Alison Fribourg	Conor Langlois
LITERATURE
Primary	Alex Nilsson	Joseph Karrer	Michael Graner
Intermediate	Lindsay Goldman	Noelle DeAngelis	Madilynn Dixon
VISUAL ARTS
Primary	Chloe Stonecipher	Kacy McGonegle	Alex Nilsson
Intermediate	Katherine Denman	Hannah Gibbs	Wendy Magid
VIDEO
Primary	Jacob Dunaetz	N/A	N/A
Intermediate	Nicholas Mazuk	N/A	N/A

Congratulations to both Chloe Stonecipher and Lindsay Goldman who not only came in 1^st place in their respective divisions at the school level, but also came in 3^rd place in the district-wide competition.

The Richmond Street School PTA is proud of our students' creativity and accomplishments in the Reflections contest. Next year's theme is: "I can make a difference by..."

RICHMOND STREET SCHOOL

May 2007 CALENDAR

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
		1	2	3	4 8:45 5^th Grade Panoramic Picture	5
6	7 Teacher Appreciation Week Minimum Day K - 5	8 Teacher Appreciation Week	9 10:45 – 11:50 Numeroff Assembly Teacher Appreciation Week	10 Teacher Appreciation Week	11 Teacher Appreciation Week	12
13	14 PTA Meeting 7:15 pm