BLUES’ NEWS
Richmond Street School and PTA Newsletter
October 2006				Volume 7, Issue 2
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 THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Richmond Street Families,

October is a fun and busy month. Please remember every Monday is a minimum day and Monday, October 30 is a Pupil Free Day. All K – 12 teachers will be meeting at the high school to work on curriculum and instruction.

Friday, October 27 is an exciting night at Richmond Street School for the entire family. It’s the Fall Festival. There will be games, music, food and more. We have a Silent Auction and all the teachers and administrators get involved by offering to take the highest bidding students for a fun afternoon out. We hope you will join us on the playground behind the school.

We’ll celebrate Halloween with a parade for grades 1 - 5 on Tuesday, October 31 at 2:20 in Library Park. Parents are invited to watch the parade from Library Park. Please read on for costume details. Kinder parents will be advised of Halloween activities by your child’s teacher.

Sincerely,

Dickie Van Breene

dvanbreene@esusd.k12.ca.us

MESSAGE FROM PTA

School is in full swing and if your home is like mine it is crazy with sports, homework, play dates and occasionally spending time as a family!  The PTA would like to say thank you for coming to the PTA meeting and fitting us into your busy schedules.  It was great to see so many new faces at our last meeting and I am inviting everyone to come on out to our October meeting.  We will have a guest speaker come to explain Measure Q which is on the November ballot.  October is also Fall Festival month and the Fall Festival Committee is fast at work.  I know that they are still looking for volunteers for the sweet walk, working food and games booths and as always, the Silent Auction is looking for Auction Donations.  Mark your calendars for October 27th.  The Fall Festival is a great event. 

Also I would like to thank our teachers.  We were the first school in the district to have 100% of our teachers join the PTA.  That is the true meaning of PTA, parents and teachers working together.

Again, I thank you for your participation and look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Tammy Long

OCTOBER CALENDAR OF EVENTS
10/4 Wednesday	PTA Room Parent Luncheon 11:20 – 1:00
10/9 Monday	PTA Meeting 7:15 p.m. Richmond Auditorium
10/19 Thursday	GATE Parent Meeting, 6:30 p.m. School Board Room – District Office
10/20 Friday	Make-Up School Picture Day
10/25 Wednesday	School Site Council Meeting 8:30 a.m. Room 202
10/27 Friday	FALL FESTIVAL! 5:00 – 8:00 P.M.
10/30 Monday	NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS Professional Development Day for Teachers
10/31 Tuesday	Halloween Parade for Grades 1 – 5 Library Park, 2:20 p.m.
11/10 Friday	School Holiday – Veteran’s Day
11/20 – 11/24 Monday - Friday	Thanksgiving Holiday

HALLOWEEN PARADE:

Grades 1 – 5 will have a Halloween Parade on Tuesday, October 31 at 2:20 in Library Park. If your child is an Early Bird he/she may stay for the parade or you may take him/her home. Students may not wear costumes to school. Please send your child’s costume to school in a bag. An alternative activity will be provided for those students who do not wish to participate. Please send a costume that your child can slip over his/her clothes.

Costume Guidelines

· Students may not come to school with unnatural hair color. Parents may spray it on before the parade.

· Weapons/sharp objects are not allowed

· Glamour costumes should be in good taste

· Infamous contemporary character costumes are not allowed

· Wigs/masks should not obstruct vision

· Shoes should be safe and comfortable

Parade Directions

· Classes will line up on their butterflies at 2:20

· Classes will exit out the Mariposa gate by the plunge and will be led by 1^st grade

· Classes will walk down Mariposa through Library Park and through the park twice

· Parents may view the parade in the park

· Students will return to their classroom and may be dismissed early if a parent is at the classroom to take them

· An alternative activity will be held in the cafeteria for those students who do not participate in the parade

ANNOUNCEMENTS

School Shoes: Open toed shoes are not allowed at school. The plastic clogs that are very popular now have also appear to be troublesome for our active students. We suggest you send your child to school in tennis shoes so they can run, jump, and play safely.

Lunches: If your child does not buy a school lunch please do your best to send your home lunch to school with your child. Bringing lunch late to school is very disruptive to the school office and the classroom teacher. Thank you for your cooperation.

Loading Zone: The loading zones are for pick-up and drop-off only. For the safety of all students please drive carefully and slowly. The El Segundo Police Department may ticket individuals who are double-parked. Crossing guards will be on site to help students and to monitor traffic.

Drop off and Pick up: We ask for your help in keeping our students safe by choosing to drop off and meet your upper grade children at the corner of Mariposa and Virginia. This will help alleviate traffic hazards for our children in front of the school where it is very congested. We will be surprising students who are dropped off at the back entrance of the school with a prize one day next week!

Visitors and Volunteers: per Education Code and for the safety of students, all visitors and volunteers must first check in at the school office.

School Site Council Representatives: Ms. Gulian and Mrs. Dunaetz are our new School Site Council representatives. Mrs. Nillson is our alternate. We would like to thank all of you who were nominated to participate and we hope you will continue to stay involved by joining PTA.

Receive Preferred Mailing: (If you would like to be put on an email list we will send you notices and announcements)

1. Log onto the school website at http://elsegundousd.com/richmond_school

2. Click on the button “sign-up for our mailing list” below the home page graphic

3. Type your email address, first and last name, and indicate grade levels

Skateboards, Skates, Roller Blades, Roller Shoes, and Scooters are not allowed at school! This is school board policy. Helmets must be worn when riding a bike to school.

Box Tops for education Collection

Welcome back! The Richmond Street PTA is continuing the Box Top program this year. The first collection date will be OCTOBER 6^th. We will collect the Box Tops from your child’s classroom on the first Friday of each month. Each student in the class which collects the most Box Tops will receive a treat and the winning classrooms will be recognized in the Richmond Street School Newsletter. The Campbell’s Soup Label program has been discontinued. Thank you all for your support.

PTA MEMBERSHIP

The Richmond Street School PTA would like to thank all the families who have joined PTA. Thank you for your support. If you have not joined PTA and would like to, it is not too late. Turn your envelope in to your child's teacher or to the office.

Thank you to the RSS faculty and staff for joining PTA and especially for being so prompt. Richmond Street School was the first school in the district to have 100% faculty participation. We are very proud of you.

JOIN US FOR THE PTA’s FALL FESTIVAL 2006

Let’s make it a family night to support the Richmond Street School’s 7^th Annual Fall Festival. This year’s activities are sure to be a crowd pleaser!

The big night is Friday, October 27, 2006 from 5pm to 8pm at the Richmond Street School’s playground. There will be plenty of entertainment for kids of all ages (parent’s too!) including fun games, yummy food, music and the ever-popular Sweet Walk, where lucky winners take home tasty treats. And don’t miss the fifth-grade class booths where food and beverages will be sold to fund their class picnic.

Spark your curiosity by checking out the amazing Silent Auction where local families and businesses generously donate some of their finest goods. Everything from sporting event tickets, to spa packages, to unique gift baskets and certificates, special teacher outings and even High School Musical paraphernalia can be bid on. Who needs e-Bay, right? So bring your check book and start your Christmas shopping early this year.

Admission is free, but tickets for food and games may be purchased for 50¢ each; before and after school, or at the Festival. Look for flyers in your child’s classroom regarding ticket sales or contact Esther Ochoa at 404.281.7222. For all other inquiries, including volunteer information, please contact Cathy McKenna, Festival Chairman, at 310.819.5122.

All proceeds go entirely to support Richmond Street School.

SILENT AUCTION DONATIONS NEEDED!

This year's Fall Festival and Silent Auction will be the best ever but we still need your help.  We are looking for donations to our Silent Auction.  Do you have a vacation home you would share for a weekend?  A favorite restaurant or retail store that you frequent that might donate?  Do you have season sporting tickets? Do you work at a company that would donate something?  Ask your dentist, manicurist, car detailer.......be creative.....Our Richmond St. parents are the best and have always pulled through!  If you have any questions you can e-mail me at bliedtke@talentworksla.com .  We have auction donation forms on line.  Click on PTA from the Richmond Street website and you will find it.  We are also happy to pick up your donations.  Just let us know. 

Thanking you in advance for your great donations!

Bonnie Liedtke-Kriestorac

Auction Chairperson

National PTA Reflections Program 2006-2007

Student Entries are due in the school office by Friday, November 10th

This year’s theme is “My Favorite Place.” Entry forms, rules and complete program information is available in the school office in the Reflections Binder or on the school website.

This annual program provides kindergarten through twelfth graders the opportunity for artistic expression and positive recognition for creating original works of art.  The program also increases community awareness on the importance of the arts in education. Participation and appreciation for the arts is the Reflections Program's goal.

The Reflections Program follows a "contest" format; however the emphasis is on participation. All participants will receive a certificate of participation and 1^st-3^rd place win a cash prize! Additionally, all entries will be displayed sometime early next year (Feb/Mar) at a Community Art Exhibit showcasing the talent of all ESUSD schoolchildren, date and location TBD.

All students are eligible to submit entries in any of the six arts areas as follows: Literature; Musical Composition; Photography; Visual Arts; Dance Choreography, & Film/Video Production.

Parents: Please encourage your children to participate in this fun and rewarding extra-curricular art activity. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Meighan Langlois at 310-322-1231 or megtad@pacbell.net.

Parent and community volunteers are needed for judging in late November/early December.

Ralph’s Fundraising

For the past few years now Richmond Street School has been participating in the Ralph’s Community Contribution Program to earn money for our school. This year Ralph’s is making it even easier for us with online enrollment. Here’s how:

1. Go to RALPHS.com

2. Click on “Community Contribution”

3. Click on “Participant”

4. Fill out the online enrollment form – our NPO # is 83279

5. Sit back and watch your grocery shopping earn money for our school.

Who needs to enroll? Everyone. To keep the system updated with correct information we are required to have all participants enroll or re-enroll each year. Please log on and enroll so we can start earning money for our school. If you have any questions please contact Heather Forest at iluvbw3s@sbcglobal.net.

BOOK FAIR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Mark your calendars now so you won't miss our Annual Book Fair. The dates are December 11th through the 15th, 2006, before and after school. There will also be one or two special family nights which you won't want to miss. For more information and to volunteer to help with this event, please contact Laura Nilsson at (310) 607-9992 or Brenda Forsythe at (310) 322-8153.