Just the Facts
Woodland Star Weekly Update
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Learning to think, to care, to create
UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS
Wednesday, September 3th, 4th Grade Parent Evening, 6-7:30 PM
Thursday, September 4th, 2nd Grade Parent Evening, 6-7:30 PM
Thursday, September 4th, Parent Council Meeting, 6:30 PM
Thurs-Fri, Sept. 3-4: Meet & Greet, 8:30-9:30 AM in Quad
Friday, September 19th, Character Education Meeting, 8:30-9:30 AM
Tuesday, September 23rd, Surviving & Thriving with your Adolescent w/Penni Sparks,
7-8:30PM, **FREE childcare offered for this event**,
Thursday, September 25th, Parent Tea with Penni Sparks, 8:30-10 AM, Main Hall
Friday, September 26th, Harvest Festival, more details to come.
FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR
Welcome back! ~ It's wonderful to see our campus come alive again with children and their families as we start in on what promises to be a joyful and productive year at WSS. Our middle school students are enjoying the freedom that comes with having an upper campus and beautification efforts are underway. If you have interest in being part of the upper campus site committee, let me know.
Parking updates: we now have a crosswalk for safe passage of our students to and fro the middle school campus and some new signage as it relates to parking and traffic flow. Please continue to be cautious and aware as we all adjust to these important changes. As of right now, our parking does not include using Altimira's staff lot, please only park in our designated WSS spots or in the adjacent neighborhood. I'll keep you updated if our status changes.
Thank you all for continuing to bring in your supplies fees. As you know, it is these funds that determine each teacher's class budget and what they have available to spend on field trips and supplies for their students. The sooner we have contributions the better, as they can get to the important task of planning their school year.
I also want to welcome all new families and faculty members. We have a very special community here at WSS and we are very happy to have you all joining us. I want to invite you all to join myself and members of the Charter and Parent Councils this Thursday and Friday morning for Meet & Greet. We will be distributing the new parent handbook, collecting supplies fees and offering coffee, tea and conversation. As members of the school's governing boards, we are available to answer questions about WSS such as how to get involved and how the school is run. We'll also show you a beautiful demonstration of how supplies fees money is used. Maybe you've already taken care of the paperwork and fees and want to enjoy a cup of coffee and some good company. Either way, we'll be out there & would love to have you join us.
Warmly,
Ms. Reilly
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Surviving and Thriving with your Adolescent with Penni Sparks ~ Tuesday, Sept. 23rd, 7-8:30 PM. Hear Penni's inspiring and practical ideas on navigating the stormy seas of adolescence. FREE childcare to those who sign up in advance and FREE entry to anyone bringing in either a completed Family Giving or E-scrip form. What a deal!!
Parent Tea with Penni Sparks ~ Thursday, Sept. 25th, 8:30-10 AM. Join Penni as we follow up topics discussed from the previous Tuesday lecture and explore new topics alive within our parent body. If you have a specific question for Penni to address at the tea, either place it in her box or email her at penni@woodlandstarschool.org
Family Giving Update ~ Thank you to all that participate in WSS's family giving program. If you had filled out a participation agreement and had monthly deductions last school year, we need you to update your account by filling out a participation agreement for this school year. Attached to this newsletter is the 2008-09 participation form. For those of you who haven't participated and would like to, please fill out and submit the same form. Family giving is a critical way of financially supporting the school to deliver the rich and varied Waldorf curriculum. The funding that we get from the state falls short by approximately $2,000 per child from what it costs to educate a child in the Waldorf curriculum. Any and all donation amounts are most welcome and appreciated! For further information, see Sheila or Janis in the Business office.
Character Education Group ~ Join us for our first meeting of the year as we continue working towards bringing conflict resolution/community building programs to WSS. Friday, September 19th, 8:30-9:30 AM in the Main Hall.
Parent Council Invitation ~ All are welcome to the first PC meeting of school year 2008-2009 this Thurs, September 4th at 6:30p.m. Each class needs 2 parent council representatives. Get directly involved in your child's school. If you have an interest in learning about the Parent Council and the great potential of Parent participation at Woodland Star School, please join us on Thursday night. The Parent Council gives you the opportunity to play a major role in your child's daily happiness and education. Parent Council meetings are held once per month, on the second Thursday. Please join us this week for the big fun!
Class Parent Meetings ~ Check the website: woodlandstarschool.org for the dates of the various class parent meetings. Childcare is provided for these meetings at a cost of $5 per child. Please sign up in advance (in the office) and pay the childcare provider directly.
Distribution for Just the Facts ~ In the spirit of saving paper, we first of all, encourage all to sign up to receive the Just the Facts electronically by simply signing up on our homepage. If that doesn't work for you, we are going to be making the Just the Facts paper editions available in the office on the front counter instead of having the copies go home with the children. Many families receive multiple copies and we wish to avoid that paper waste. Thank you all!
Lost & Found ~ We already have a hefty supply of "lost" garments and accessories. Have your child check the box regularly and please label items.
GRATITUDES
Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers who came forward to help beautify our campus over the past few months. Painting, landscaping, cleaning, re-organizing and spreading goodwill were all part of the efforts and we appreciate you all!
Thank you to Shannon Dewees for stepping forward to take on the creation and publication of Just the Facts each week, you continually amaze me! - Sheila
Fee free to send in your gratitudes and we'll publish them here. You can send them to: shannondewees@hotmail.com
CLASSIFIEDS
Glen Ellen House for Rent: Beautiful private road (cul de sac). Creekside, large yard (almost 1/2 acre property), great neighborhood & safe 4+ bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, basement (with laundry room and plus room), garage $3000/month. Call Nicole 495-6707
Guitar Class for WSS students ~ This guitar class is an exclusive offer to WoodlandStar Students on Thursday's beginning at 1:30p.m. The class will be a beginners' guitar class with a limit of 8 students per one hour session. The cost is $15 per session paidmonthly. Classes will be held at Sonoma Music Arts School on Broadway. For scheduling and more info call Ralph Cetola @938-1357.