Pointers Run PTA

Pointers Run PTA Monthly Newsletter

September

01    Labor Day – NO SCHOOL
03    PTA Back to School Picnic, 6:00 – 8:00
16    Back to School Night for 1st, 2nd & 3rd grade @ 6:30 pm
17    Back to School Night for 4th & 5th grade @ 6:30 pm
26    Bus Driver/Crossing Guard Appreciation Day
30    Rosh Hashanah - NO SCHOOL

Parents: To reduce interruptions in the classroom we will put forgotten homework, safety patrol belts, instruments, etc. in the teacher's mailbox for pick up during their planning or lunchtime. If it is a forgotten lunch, we will contact the teacher prior to their scheduled lunch shift for pick up in the office. Please do NOT take any items directly to the classroom.

PARENT REMINDER FOR NEXT WEEK
Parents please remember to have your child/children wear tennis shoes next week (September 2 – September 5). All students will be spending additional time learning recess games during their scheduled related arts and recess times.

ALL DRIVERS – BE ALERT!
Please be aware that there is a new crosswalk that has been completed on Great Star drive, at Autumn Wind Circle. MD state law REQUIRES that all motorists MUST STOP to allow pedestrians to cross. While there is not a crossing guard at the crosswalk, cars are still required to stop if they see someone at the intersection. Stopping to allow someone to cross is NOT optional! There are many, many cars that are not stopping at this new crosswalk. For the safety of our children, please obey this state law and make any drivers in your home aware of it as well.

For the exact wording of the law see: (Section 21-502, MD Vehicle Law)

G/T ORIENTATION NIGHT
The Gifted and Talented Resource Teachers will be having their annual GT Orientation Night on September 17th at 6 pm in the media center. If you have a student new to the GT program or are interested in obtaining some information about the program in general, please join us for our presentation and a brief Q and A session to follow.

DON’T THROW OUT THAT INK CARTRIDGE
Our school will continue our fundraising project of collecting empty cartridges in a zip-loc bag. Small personal printer sizes only – not office size printer cartridges. Please turn it in to the box located in the hallway in front of the main office.

RECYCLE YOUR PAPERS AND EARN MONEY FOR PRES!
That's right! Pointers Run is proud to announce that we are now members of the Abitibi Paper Retriever recycling program. Bring your newspapers, magazines, shopping catalogs, office and school papers to the bright green and yellow recycling dumpster located at the end of the staff parking lot. Every pound of paper you recycle means more money for Pointers Run Green School Fund. For more information, visit the website www.paperretriever.com.

ABSENCE NOTES
When your child is absent, an absence note should be sent within two days of returning. If you know ahead of time that your child will be out, please send a note to the office explaining the reason for the absence. Any child out for more than 15 consecutive days school will be withdrawn and you will be required to re-enroll your child upon the child’s return.

FROM THE HEALTH ROOM
Health Services reached an administrative goal this year by limiting Nursing assignments to 2 schools. For this reason, I was assigned to Pointers Run as your new “Cluster Nurse”. My presence at Pointers Run will roughly be every other day, but Holly Nuse, your School Health Assistant remains as your daily health anchor. Ms. Nuse is out on leave and will return in Sept. But not to worry, Float Nurse Iva Gensler and orienting Float Nurse, Dee Goldstein support your child’s health goals. We look forward to getting to know your children this year.

If you have questions, feel free to call the Health Room at 410-313-5633 or email me at donna_lyman@hcpss.org. Thank you for your warm welcome and have a safe and healthy school year.      Donna Lyman, MS RN

TOGETHER IN EDUCATION PROGRAM
With the opening of the new Harris Teeter grocery store remember to designate PRES as your school. Go to the following link to sign up.
http://www.harristeeter.com/community/together in education/link to your school.aspx

GIANT A+ BONUS BUCKS PROGRAM
Remember to re-register Pointers Run for Giant Food A+ Bonus Bucks program. It is necessary to designate our school each year. Go to www.giantfood.com/aplus using ID 02671.

BUS VIDEO SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT
The Pupil Transportation Office has the capability of using video cameras on buses servicing your school at your request, the request of the driver/contractor, or the discretion of the Transportation area supervisor.

1.    A bus video surveillance system may be in operation to help monitor student behavior on Howard County Public School buses. Bus safety is a top priority and bus drivers may not be able to watch the road and closely monitor students at the same time.

2.    The surveillance system can be helpful in monitoring student behavior and permit the bus driver to concentrate on safe driving.

PTA Express News    PTA Express News

Are you PRESidential? If you’re ready for a leadership position with flexible hours and a direct impact on your child's elementary school experience, the PRES PTA has the job for you. We have a budget and a full slate of officers with one exception: the PTA President.

We are actively recruiting for this position among new and returning PRES parents. Please consider this exciting opportunity.

Our PTA is full of terrific volunteers. Our talented, enthusiastic committee chairs will create experiences that enrich your student's tenure at PRES.   If you like working with other creative parents and want to contribute to PRES, please contact Arnie Sheetz (arniesheetz@hotmail.com) or Kathryn Moran Silberman (kathryn.moran.silberman@gmail.com).

HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE
The Hospitality Committee kicked off the new school year with a successful Welcome Back Staff Luncheon on Thursday, August 21st. The Committee would like to thank everyone who volunteered and/or donated items for this great event. Special thanks also goes out to Sara Maggio for graciously helping out to run the luncheon that day.

BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC
Come out and celebrate the start of another great school year at the Back to School Picnic hosted by the PRES PTA on Wednesday, September 3rd from 6:00-9:00 pm. We’ll dance to the music of DJ Chris Anderson and do some face painting. Popcorn, cotton candy, and frozen treats will be provided, but feel free to bring a picnic dinner and blanket. It’s a great chance to reunite with our PRES teachers, friends and family after the summer break and get ready for the 2008-09 school year.

SUMMER ENRICHMENT
We hope everyone had a great summer and all of your kids worked on the Summer Enrichment books during the summer. Now is the time to return them to school. They are due by Friday September 5th. All students who have completed at least 75% of the book will receive a medal. Others will receive a certificate. If you have any questions, you may contact Tammy Lawrence at tamlawr@comcast.net.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
The membership forms this year will not be the little golden envelopes. Look for the PTA 2008-2009 brochure in your Welcome Packet that contains a paper membership form for you to complete. If you do not receive one or misplace it, just go online to www.pointersrunpta.org and print a copy.

The brochure includes a description of all the PTA committees, their activities and the ways they each help the PTA make a difference. Please take the time to look over the brochure and decide what you would be interested in helping with and join that committee at Back to School Nights September 16th & 17th, 2008.

Our membership goal this year is 750. With all the active participants at Pointers Run, we should easily make that number. And remember, not just the parents, teachers and staff of Pointers Run can join the PTA and grandparents, aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends can also show their support by joining, too!

FOOD ON THE 15TH STARTS IN SEPTEMBER!!
Food on the 15th is a community service project that delivers groceries free of charge to economically challenged seniors in Howard County and teaches children about philanthropy. To-date, the students at PRES & CMS have delivered over 1,400 bags of groceries through Food on the 15th! We operate on a $0 budget, as all donations that come in go directly to the seniors because we have no overhead. We are trying a new system where each class will collect canned goods for one senior at the Guilford Senior Center monthly. This means that there may be specific dietary requests. A list will be attached to each classroom collection bag.

We are in great need of a co-coordinator for this valuable program. Please contact Sue Monthie at 301-854-1345 or sumcmom@yahoo.com for more info.

2008-2009 School Year Collection-Delivery Dates
Collection Dates    Delivery Date
September 8-15, 2008    Monday, September 15, 2008
October 13-20, 2008    Monday, October 20, 2008
November 14-20, 2008    Thursday, November 20, 2008
December 10-18, 2008    Wednesday, December 17, 2008
January 7-13, 2009    Tuesday, January 13, 2009
February 9-18, 2009    Wednesday, February 18, 2009
March 9-16, 2009    Monday, March 16, 2009
April 14-21, 2009    Tuesday, April 21, 2009
May 7-14, 2009    Thursday, May 14, 2009

PRES YEARBOOK
Picture opportunities have already taken place at the New Student Orientation, Open House, staff welcome luncheon and first day of school. If you have any that you would like to submit, please email them to Carrie Thompson at tct@ix.netcom.com. If you submit them on a disk, please make sure your name is on it, what grade/class the pictures are from and whether you want the disk back or not. Then drop it in any PTA box.

MARQUIS STARS WANTED!!
Have you always wanted to see your name in lights? How about the next best thing? Be the star that manages the PRES marquis.
This PTA volunteer opportunity is ideal for kindergarten parents!
Your new student can hold chunky letters and help you piece together words for 1-2x monthly marquis updates.

To "audition," please e-mail kathryn.moran.silberman@gmail.com or call 443-535-9064.

Community News

There will be a large community event at Goddard on September 13th where they expect roughly 10-20, 000 people to come to Goddard Space Flight Center for a “show and tell” of what happens at Goddard. Many of the buildings will be open and the scientists and engineers will be on hand to discuss their projects as well as a festival style series of events. The education office and outreach teams from the missions will be running kid friendly activities throughout the center.

Feel free to share this with students/families! I hope you and your family can make it as well - it's a lot of fun!

Here’s the web site with more information:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/events/launchfest.html

Cub Scouts – Sign Up for Scouting – 7:00 Wed., Sept. 10 PRES Cafeteria
In Cub Scouting, boys and their families have fun and adventure in a program that builds character and instills values. Pack 702 is made up of Scouts from Pointers Run, and will be having a meeting for interested PRES boys in First-grade and up, with their parents at 7:00pm at PRES on Wednesday, September 10 in the Cafeteria.

Boys of different ages have different ranks in Cub Scouting. As you go from Tiger Cub (1st grade) to Webelos Scout (4th and 5th grade), you learn new things and new skills that you use to meet new challenges, as you get older.

Where you begin in Cub Scouting depends on your age at the time you join. If you join when you're in first grade, you will begin as a Tiger Cub. If you do not join until the third grade, you'll begin as a Bear Cub Scout. You won't have to go back and earn the Tiger Cub and Wolf badges.

For additional contact info, see the Pack 702 website at www.geocities.com/pack702/

Pointer Puppies - September 11, 11:30 - 12:30 PM at Schooley Mill Park
Pointer Puppies is a monthly playgroup for pre-schoolers who will attend Pointers Run Elementary School. The playgroup provides an opportunity for parents and children to meet each other before they begin kindergarten. It meets the 2nd Thursday of each month and the first meeting is at Schooley Mill Park on Thursday, September 11th from 11:30 – 12:30PM. If this is your day off - great! If you have morning or afternoon preschool on Thursdays then please swing by for a little bit either before or after class. Bring a lunch and come play with new friends! Email Cindy Benedek bcpjbrady@verizon.net with any questions.

September 01 Labor Day – NO SCHOOL 03 PTA Back to School Picnic, 6:00 – 8:00 16 Back to School Night for 1st, 2nd & 3rd grade @ 6:30 pm 17 Back to School Night for 4th & 5th grade @ 6:30 pm 26 Bus Driver/Crossing Guard Appreciation Day 30 Rosh Hashanah - NO SCHOOL Parents: To reduce interruptions in the classroom we will put forgotten homework, safety patrol belts, instruments, etc. in the teacher's mailbox for pick up during their planning or lunchtime. If it is a forgotten lunch, we will contact the teacher prior to their scheduled lunch shift for pick up in the office. Please do NOT take any items directly to the classroom. PARENT REMINDER FOR NEXT WEEK Parents please remember to have your child/children wear tennis shoes next week (September 2 – September 5). All students will be spending additional time learning recess games during their scheduled related arts and recess times. ALL DRIVERS – BE ALERT! Please be aware that there is a new crosswalk that has been completed on Great Star drive, at Autumn Wind Circle. MD state law REQUIRES that all motorists MUST STOP to allow pedestrians to cross. While there is not a crossing guard at the crosswalk, cars are still required to stop if they see someone at the intersection. Stopping to allow someone to cross is NOT optional! There are many, many cars that are not stopping at this new crosswalk. For the safety of our children, please obey this state law and make any drivers in your home aware of it as well. For the exact wording of the law see: (Section 21-502, MD Vehicle Law) G/T ORIENTATION NIGHT The Gifted and Talented Resource Teachers will be having their annual GT Orientation Night on September 17th at 6 pm in the media center. If you have a student new to the GT program or are interested in obtaining some information about the program in general, please join us for our presentation and a brief Q and A session to follow. DON’T THROW OUT THAT INK CARTRIDGE Our school will continue our fundraising project of collecting empty cartridges in a zip-loc bag. Small personal printer sizes only – not office size printer cartridges. Please turn it in to the box located in the hallway in front of the main office. RECYCLE YOUR PAPERS AND EARN MONEY FOR PRES! That's right! Pointers Run is proud to announce that we are now members of the Abitibi Paper Retriever recycling program. Bring your newspapers, magazines, shopping catalogs, office and school papers to the bright green and yellow recycling dumpster located at the end of the staff parking lot. Every pound of paper you recycle means more money for Pointers Run Green School Fund. For more information, visit the website www.paperretriever.com. ABSENCE NOTES When your child is absent, an absence note should be sent within two days of returning. If you know ahead of time that your child will be out, please send a note to the office explaining the reason for the absence. Any child out for more than 15 consecutive days school will be withdrawn and you will be required to re-enroll your child upon the child’s return. FROM THE HEALTH ROOM Health Services reached an administrative goal this year by limiting Nursing assignments to 2 schools. For this reason, I was assigned to Pointers Run as your new “Cluster Nurse”. My presence at Pointers Run will roughly be every other day, but Holly Nuse, your School Health Assistant remains as your daily health anchor. Ms. Nuse is out on leave and will return in Sept. But not to worry, Float Nurse Iva Gensler and orienting Float Nurse, Dee Goldstein support your child’s health goals. We look forward to getting to know your children this year. If you have questions, feel free to call the Health Room at 410-313-5633 or email me at donna_lyman@hcpss.org. Thank you for your warm welcome and have a safe and healthy school year. Donna Lyman, MS RN TOGETHER IN EDUCATION PROGRAM With the opening of the new Harris Teeter grocery store remember to designate PRES as your school. Go to the following link to sign up. http://www.harristeeter.com/community/together in education/link to your school.aspx GIANT A+ BONUS BUCKS PROGRAM Remember to re-register Pointers Run for Giant Food A+ Bonus Bucks program. It is necessary to designate our school each year. Go to www.giantfood.com/aplus using ID 02671. BUS VIDEO SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT The Pupil Transportation Office has the capability of using video cameras on buses servicing your school at your request, the request of the driver/contractor, or the discretion of the Transportation area supervisor. 1. A bus video surveillance system may be in operation to help monitor student behavior on Howard County Public School buses. Bus safety is a top priority and bus drivers may not be able to watch the road and closely monitor students at the same time. 2. The surveillance system can be helpful in monitoring student behavior and permit the bus driver to concentrate on safe driving. PTA Express News PTA Express News Are you PRESidential? If you’re ready for a leadership position with flexible hours and a direct impact on your child's elementary school experience, the PRES PTA has the job for you. We have a budget and a full slate of officers with one exception: the PTA President. We are actively recruiting for this position among new and returning PRES parents. Please consider this exciting opportunity. Our PTA is full of terrific volunteers. Our talented, enthusiastic committee chairs will create experiences that enrich your student's tenure at PRES. If you like working with other creative parents and want to contribute to PRES, please contact Arnie Sheetz (arniesheetz@hotmail.com) or Kathryn Moran Silberman (kathryn.moran.silberman@gmail.com). HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE The Hospitality Committee kicked off the new school year with a successful Welcome Back Staff Luncheon on Thursday, August 21st. The Committee would like to thank everyone who volunteered and/or donated items for this great event. Special thanks also goes out to Sara Maggio for graciously helping out to run the luncheon that day. BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC Come out and celebrate the start of another great school year at the Back to School Picnic hosted by the PRES PTA on Wednesday, September 3rd from 6:00-9:00 pm. We’ll dance to the music of DJ Chris Anderson and do some face painting. Popcorn, cotton candy, and frozen treats will be provided, but feel free to bring a picnic dinner and blanket. It’s a great chance to reunite with our PRES teachers, friends and family after the summer break and get ready for the 2008-09 school year. SUMMER ENRICHMENT We hope everyone had a great summer and all of your kids worked on the Summer Enrichment books during the summer. Now is the time to return them to school. They are due by Friday September 5th. All students who have completed at least 75% of the book will receive a medal. Others will receive a certificate. If you have any questions, you may contact Tammy Lawrence at tamlawr@comcast.net. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE The membership forms this year will not be the little golden envelopes. Look for the PTA 2008-2009 brochure in your Welcome Packet that contains a paper membership form for you to complete. If you do not receive one or misplace it, just go online to www.pointersrunpta.org and print a copy. The brochure includes a description of all the PTA committees, their activities and the ways they each help the PTA make a difference. Please take the time to look over the brochure and decide what you would be interested in helping with and join that committee at Back to School Nights September 16th & 17th, 2008. Our membership goal this year is 750. With all the active participants at Pointers Run, we should easily make that number. And remember, not just the parents, teachers and staff of Pointers Run can join the PTA and grandparents, aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends can also show their support by joining, too! FOOD ON THE 15TH STARTS IN SEPTEMBER!! Food on the 15th is a community service project that delivers groceries free of charge to economically challenged seniors in Howard County and teaches children about philanthropy. To-date, the students at PRES & CMS have delivered over 1,400 bags of groceries through Food on the 15th! We operate on a $0 budget, as all donations that come in go directly to the seniors because we have no overhead. We are trying a new system where each class will collect canned goods for one senior at the Guilford Senior Center monthly. This means that there may be specific dietary requests. A list will be attached to each classroom collection bag. We are in great need of a co-coordinator for this valuable program. Please contact Sue Monthie at 301-854-1345 or sumcmom@yahoo.com for more info. 2008-2009 School Year Collection-Delivery Dates Collection Dates Delivery Date September 8-15, 2008 Monday, September 15, 2008 October 13-20, 2008 Monday, October 20, 2008 November 14-20, 2008 Thursday, November 20, 2008 December 10-18, 2008 Wednesday, December 17, 2008 January 7-13, 2009 Tuesday, January 13, 2009 February 9-18, 2009 Wednesday, February 18, 2009 March 9-16, 2009 Monday, March 16, 2009 April 14-21, 2009 Tuesday, April 21, 2009 May 7-14, 2009 Thursday, May 14, 2009 PRES YEARBOOK Picture opportunities have already taken place at the New Student Orientation, Open House, staff welcome luncheon and first day of school. If you have any that you would like to submit, please email them to Carrie Thompson at tct@ix.netcom.com. If you submit them on a disk, please make sure your name is on it, what grade/class the pictures are from and whether you want the disk back or not. Then drop it in any PTA box. MARQUIS STARS WANTED!! Have you always wanted to see your name in lights? How about the next best thing? Be the star that manages the PRES marquis. This PTA volunteer opportunity is ideal for kindergarten parents! Your new student can hold chunky letters and help you piece together words for 1-2x monthly marquis updates. To "audition," please e-mail kathryn.moran.silberman@gmail.com or call 443-535-9064. Community News There will be a large community event at Goddard on September 13th where they expect roughly 10-20, 000 people to come to Goddard Space Flight Center for a “show and tell” of what happens at Goddard. Many of the buildings will be open and the scientists and engineers will be on hand to discuss their projects as well as a festival style series of events. The education office and outreach teams from the missions will be running kid friendly activities throughout the center. Feel free to share this with students/families! I hope you and your family can make it as well - it's a lot of fun! Here’s the web site with more information: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/events/launchfest.html Cub Scouts – Sign Up for Scouting – 7:00 Wed., Sept. 10 PRES Cafeteria In Cub Scouting, boys and their families have fun and adventure in a program that builds character and instills values. Pack 702 is made up of Scouts from Pointers Run, and will be having a meeting for interested PRES boys in First-grade and up, with their parents at 7:00pm at PRES on Wednesday, September 10 in the Cafeteria. Boys of different ages have different ranks in Cub Scouting. As you go from Tiger Cub (1st grade) to Webelos Scout (4th and 5th grade), you learn new things and new skills that you use to meet new challenges, as you get older. Where you begin in Cub Scouting depends on your age at the time you join. If you join when you're in first grade, you will begin as a Tiger Cub. If you do not join until the third grade, you'll begin as a Bear Cub Scout. You won't have to go back and earn the Tiger Cub and Wolf badges. For additional contact info, see the Pack 702 website at www.geocities.com/pack702/ Pointer Puppies - September 11, 11:30 - 12:30 PM at Schooley Mill Park Pointer Puppies is a monthly playgroup for pre-schoolers who will attend Pointers Run Elementary School. The playgroup provides an opportunity for parents and children to meet each other before they begin kindergarten. It meets the 2nd Thursday of each month and the first meeting is at Schooley Mill Park on Thursday, September 11th from 11:30 – 12:30PM. If this is your day off - great! If you have morning or afternoon preschool on Thursdays then please swing by for a little bit either before or after class. Bring a lunch and come play with new friends! Email Cindy Benedek bcpjbrady@verizon.net with any questions.