Webster School
WEEKLY EVENTS AND NEWS
FOR THE WEEK OF: March 22-26

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Friday, March 19 - Room 15 Field Trip to Reagan Library
Kids’ Night Out at the Webster YMCA - 5:30-8:30 (see flyer)

Saturday, March 20 - PTA Evening Event: “Bollywood” - 6 pm at Marwah Ranch
Please Send in Your Completed RSVP!

Tue., March 23 - Room 3 Field Trip To Pepperdine For Soweto Gospel Choir

Wed., March 24 - LATE START - School Begins at 10:00 am
Vocal Music Lessons For All K-2nd Grade Classes With Betsy Newell

Thurs., March 25 - Rooms 7, 20, and 22 Field Trip To Gene Autry Museum
Stairway of the Stars at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium at 7:00 pm

Friday, March 26 - Last Day of School Before Spring Break - Regular Schedule
Stairway of the Stars at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium at 7:00 pm

NEWSFLASH!-NEW NOTES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Stairway of the Stars - The 61st annual district music concert will take place on Thursday and Friday nights this week at 7 pm (see flyer). The following Webster students have been selected to perform in the Elementary Honor Orchestra and the Elementary Honor Choir:
Orchestra Students Choir Students
Freddy Adlam Jenna Rosen Blake Bendetti
Abby Droeger Sofia Staedler Emma Brisinger
Gracie Kinyon Ben Tran Katharine Hall
Gemma Lewis Madison Williams Maya Harris
Nico Neven Phoebe Markiles

District Strategic Plan Meetings - Public meetings to seek input from the community as the District develops a new Strategic Plan are scheduled as follows:
Monday, April 12 at John Muir School from 6 pm-9 pm
Tuesday, April 13 at Lincoln Middle School from 6 pm-9 pm
Thursday, April 15 at Malibu High from 6 pm-9 pm
(See flyer)

My Upcoming Absence - I want to remind you that I have one more treatment cycle to complete that will require me to be on leave from April 12 to about May 15. Dr. Samarge-Powell will be here once again to take my place. I thank you in advance for your cooperation with her and also for your understanding.

Kids’ Night Out at the YMCA at Webster - This Friday! - 5:30 pm-8:30 pm - For kids ages 4 1/2-12 - fun, games, pizza, and a movie - $30 for non-program members, $25 for Webster Child Care Program members, $20 for Palisades-Malibu YMCA members - $15 for siblings (see flyer).

Special Auction Item - Mammoth Vacation! - Still not sure what do for spring break? Never fear we have the perfect solution. Come to Bollywood and  bid on a beautiful Mammoth stay from March 27th to March 31st. Four bedrooms, walking distance to the village and there is still snow! What more could you want!

After School Classes Begin After Spring Break - The Schedule and Registration Forms Are Going Home in the Blue Folder - Please complete and return your child’s registrations ASAP so we can get everyone scheduled and begin classes the week of April 12. Registration forms will be posted on our website as well.

Last Week For The Ed. Foundation Raffle!

“SMMEF RAFFLE 2010”
Win an iPod nano, a Weekend Getaway, MacBook Laptop or an iPod Touch….
This year’s prizes are better than ever!

The Ed Foundation’s Raffle has begun! Raffle ticket booklets, and all the information you need to get started, have been sent home with your children – don’t forget to check those backpacks! For each completed book of raffle tickets you buy/sell, you will be entered into Webster’s drawing for an iPod nano! There will be ONE iPod nano winner at EVERY SCHOOL! Anyone who buys raffle tickets will have a chance to win the following GRAND PRIZES:
1st Prize: Weekend Getaway!
2nd Prize: MacBook laptop!
3rd Prize: iPod Touch PLUS $100 iTunes gift card!
The annual SMMEF Raffle fundraiser supports the Ed Foundation’s Academic Enrichment Grant (AEG) program. Last year, the Ed Foundation awarded over $30,000 to 27 teachers throughout our district. Every year teachers are eligible to apply for an AEG up to $1,000 to support innovation in the classroom.
The Ed Foundation, is, again offering a $5,000 Super Grant. This grant will support collaboration and will only be awarded to one school, one grade level, one core, one department or one house in the District!

Please buy Raffle tickets today! At $4 per ticket and $20 per book of 6 tickets, this is a fun and affordable way to make learning fun for children at your school and district-wide.

Classroom Volunteer Lunch Supervision Schedule - We have begun our parent volunteer lunch supervision program this coming week. Each week, one classroom’s parents are asked to come at least one day during the week to help us with lunchtime playground supervision. Each class will only be assigned to a week twice during the year. We are hoping that parents will be able to plan ahead and make themselves available just twice during the entire year. We have found that this is an effective way to organize parents to help us keep our students safe during lunch. Parents are needed from 11:40-12:55. The schedule for the next four weeks is:
Week of March 22 - Ms. Morris
Week of April 12 - Ms. Nix
Week of April 19 - Ms. Stark
Week of April 26 - Ms. Berman/Ms. Murdock
REMINDERS
YMCA Child Care During Spring Break - All students are welcome to spend one or more days in child care in our YMCA program here at Webster throughout the two-week Spring Break. $50 per day for those students not already signed up for child care.

School Will End on Friday, June 18 Due to Employee Furloughs - After reaching contractual agreement with our district’s employee unions, the Board of Education has voted to furlough all employees for five days without pay during what was scheduled to be the last week of school. The year was scheduled to end on Friday, June 25, but instead, all schools will be closed the week of June 21-25. There will also be five furlough days in the 2010-2011 school year. The District will save about $2 million each year, which will help us deal with our projected $14 million deficit. The Board also voted to send out pink slips to 61 teachers. If Measure A passes in May, many of these will be rescinded. If Measure A fails, class sizes will rise to 30 to 1 in kindergarten through 5th grade. Elementary instrumental music teachers are all on the list of teachers receiving layoff notices. Again, if Measure A passes, we would hope to see this program restored in the budget for next year.
A Note From the PTA

Bollywood only 2 days away!
AUCTION: Check out our fabulous auction booklet here.
(Taylor Swift tix in a box suite! A luxury Dodger suite! U2 tix and backstage passes! And much more!) There are a few things still missing from the booklet, so expect surprises at Bollywood.

BIDDING: If you can’t be at Bollywood, be sure to deputize your friend to bid for you on some items.

WHAT IS BOLLYWOOD: A couple of people asked what “Bollywood” means. Bollywood is the creative name for India's expansive film industry. For our purposes, it is an Indian-themed Hollywood-ish, Malibu-ish type party.

WHERE IS THE PARTY? At the fabulous Marwah Ranch, at 29057 PCH just north of Kanan Dume and immediately south of Vital Zuman. You will see 2 very tall white wooden posts that signify the driveway. Drive up!

ATTIRE: Bring a wrap for possible chill. Festive Indian-themed or colorful attire, if you can muster it. If not, come as you like; we just want you there!

FOOD: Amazing Indian buffet dinner, including appetizers, an open bar, curry entrees, daal, saag, desserts prepared by Michelle Jackson and Jayne Irons, an espresso coffee bar. Casual seating (no assigned tables). Super delicious and fun!

Raffle tix and parking space
RAFFLE TIX: You can still buy raffle tickets for $5 each (or $20 for a book of 5), and we have some great loot to tantalize you: a Tylie Malibu purse, sunglasses, a gorgeous wrap, $100 gift certificate to Canyon Beachwear, flip flops and a manicure. See the raffle ticket booth at the drop-off area before and after school, or in the front office. This is pure fun!

PARKING SPOT: Correction: Instead of raffling this, it will be paired with Principal for a Day and auctioned off during the live auction at Bollywood. If you win this auction, not only does your kid get to sit in Mr. Cott’s chair and make announcements on the loudspeaker, but the special parking space belongs to you 24/7 starting next fall. Sweeeet!

Thanks!
Our favorite part of the job is thanking people who volunteer. We’re delighted to thank:
∑ Susie Parks, for stepping up to chair the Jog-a-thon next year. (We are told she has special anti-rain powers, too.)
More thanks to come next week. It takes our whole Webster village to keep our school top tier. We thank you for being a part of our success, and for making Webster a very special place!

Save these dates
Mark your calendar right now:
Sat., March 20: Evening Event – Bollywood comes to Malibu – our annual benefit
Thur., April 22: General PTA meeting, 9 a.m., cafeteria
Thur., April 29: Jog-a-thon & Field Day (third time will be a charm!)
May 10-14: Teacher Appreciation Week
Tue., May 18: Family Night Multicultural Dinner and Art Show at Webster (NEW DATE!)
Thur., June 3: Honorary Service Awards (NEW DATE!)

Honorary Service Awards
Each year, the PTA honors volunteers who show extraordinary or enduring service to the Webster community. We are seeking nominations for the Honorary Service Awards, so if you have a particular person/people you would like to nominate, please contact Holly Kinyon at hollykinyon@gmail.com

Need your pics for the yearbook
Do you have photos of field trips, classroom stuff, kids playing, etc. for the yearbook? We need them now! Go here to upload your photos to the yearbook.

The yearbook will be in all color this year! If you can help on the yearbook, or have any questions, please contact Brooke Bohm at brookebohm@verzion.net.

Can you help? We need:
1. PUBLICITY: Can you help us get Webster the attention our school and students need and deserve? Looking for someone to take over this spot for next year. We’ll train you and give you the contacts. Contact Dorothy Reinhold at DReinhold@charter.net
2. FAMILY NIGHTS: Looking for someone to replace Lynne Daniels as chief FUN-raiser! This person plans and puts on movie night, bingo night, disco dances, Family Feud night – whatever 3 or so fun nights of frivolity suit your fancy. There is no fund-raising in this job, but simply a chance for families to have some fun together at Webster.
3. WEBSTER NIGHTS OUT: Remember breakfast at Ruby’s and dinner at Guidos, with a portion of the proceeds going to Webster? That’s the sort of thing this chair does. Two or even three of these per year, and we’re set!
4. HONORARY SERVICE AWARDS: Need someone to chair this yearly effort that honors our volunteers.
5. LEGISLATIVE REP: Need someone to track legislation that affects our school/education, and keep us apprised.
6. PTA HELPERS FOR NEXT YEAR: We are recruiting for the PTA board and chairs for the 2010-11 school year. Please throw your hat into the ring if you are interested. We welcome all helping hands! Any Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grade parents want to jump in? Contact Holly Kinyon at hollykinyon@gmail.com.
Who can help with any of these jobs? You will have the undying gratitude of the entire Webster community if you tackle one of these tasks.
How to talk to your kids
Mark your calendar for our April 22 General PTA meeting at 9 a.m. in the cafeteria. We’ll do a little PTA business, and hear a talk from Charlene Underhill Miller, PhD, a licensed marriage and family therapist, professor, and Webster mom. Her topic is “‘I'm Not a Nag, I'm a Motivational Speaker’: How to Talk to Your Kids so Your Kids Will Talk to You.”