Webster School
WEEKLY EVENTS AND NEWS
FOR THE WEEK OF: Nov. 23-27

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Thurs., Nov. 19- “Shortened Day” for Parent Conferences:
Kindergarten - 8:45-11:45; 1st-5th Grades - 8:45-1:20
PTA General Meeting at 6:30 pm in our Library

Friday, Nov. 20 - “Shortened Day” for Parent Conferences:
Kindergarten - 8:45-11:45; 1st-5th Grades - 8:45-1:20

Mon., Nov. 23 - “Shortened Day” for Parent Conferences
Kindergarten - 8:45-11:45; 1st-5th Grades - 8:45-1:20

Tues., Nov. 24 - “Shortened Day” for Parent Conferences
Kindergarten - 8:45-11:45; 1st-5th Grades - 8:45-1:20

Wed., Nov. 25 - “Shortened Day” for Parent Conferences
Kindergarten - 8:45-11:45; 1st-5th Grades - 8:45-1:20

Thurs.-Fri., Nov. 26-27 - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
NEWSFLASH!-NEW NOTES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Student Council Spirit Day: "Character Day" - On Wednesday, Nov. 25, our Student Council is sponsoring "Character Day".  All students are invited to come to school dressed as a favorite character from literature, TV, or movies.  Please be sure that your child's outfit is appropriate for school.

No After School Classes on Shortened Days - None of our after school classes are meeting on the shortened days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.  School is dismissed at 1:20 (kindergarten students at 11:45) and scheduling would be next to impossible.  Classes begin again as usual on Monday, Nov. 30.

District Homework Survey - Our school district is asking all parents to complete a “Homework Survey”. It is available on line on our website. Hard copies are available in our office. This is your opportunity to have your voice heard on this topic that affects every child and family throughout your time in school.

Thanksgiving Program at Malibu Library - Monday, Nov. 23 from 4:00 pm-5:00 pm - Make “Handprint Turkeys” - Free for all ages. (See flyer)

Three Musketeers at Malibu High - Dec. 3rd, 4th, and 5th at 7 pm, Sun., Dec. 6 at 2:00 pm - Tickets can be purchased on line at malibuhigh@smmusd.org . (See flyer)
.
Do You Know Someone Who Speaks Hindi? - We are looking for someone who can help with translating for a Mending Kids child here for surgery. Please call our Office if you can help or if you can refer us to someone else who can.

Children’s Lifesaving Foundation - Every year we collect donated gifts for needy children who attend holiday parties organized by this local organization, They are staging a fundraiser on Saturday, Dec. 5th at 7:30 at the Malibu Performing Arts Center featuring Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, and Brad Garrett. Tickets are $50, $75, and $100. The Malibu High Choir will also perform. You can purchase tickets on line at www.childrenslifesaving.org or by calling (310) 456-3701. (See flyer).

Winter Camp for School-Aged Children - At Cabrillo and Malibu High - Register for one week or two (Dec. 21-23 and Dec. 28-30). $120 per week. Call (310) 399-5865 for further information and to register. (See flyer)

Parent Conferences - These have begun and I hope they are going well. For those of you who are still looking forward to your conference, please consider the following:
1. Make every effort to include your child for at least a portion of the conference
2. Come prepared with whatever questions you have
3. Be prepared to share your experiences with your child at home in terms of his/her comfort with homework, upcoming tests, and any other school-related issues - the
teacher only sees your child at school
4. Try to come away from the conference with a short list of strategies to implement at home
that will best support your child’s continued improvement as a student and as a
person - these ideas should be intended to fit together with the teacher’s efforts at school

Salvation Army Food Drive - We are ready to receive your donations of canned and packaged foods to be distributed to needy families in our area. Our barrels of donated food will be picked up on Dec. 14. As I always do, I am suggesting that you take your children to the market and let them pick out a few items to send to school. Or if you are like us, you can make those choices from your pantry. If every student just brought in a can in one hand and a packaged item in the other, we would collect almost 800 items!

5th Grade Ballroom Madness - Our 5th grade ballroom dance program is accelerating toward its dramatic conclusion. All 65 of our students will perform for parents and friends in the Webster auditorium on: Thursday, Dec. 17 at 9:00 am in our auditorium. The previous Friday, Dec. 11 at 10:00 am, ten Webster students (5 couples) will be selected to compete against students from the other two schools in Santa Monica where this program is happening: John Muir and Will Rogers. All of the 5th grade students from the three schools will travel to Santa Monica High to attend the competition in Barnum Hall and support their classmates. We have decided to take a school bus to Samohi, but we we will need parent chaperones to help us supervise the students. Please see Ms. Cook or Ms. Kooy to volunteer to come along as a chaperone. Thank you for your support of this very unique program. We think it is a wonderful experience for our students.

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 November 23 - Ms. Nix
Week of November 30 - Ms. Stark
Week of December 7 - Ms. Berman/Ms. Murdock (Room 10)
Week of December 14 - Ms. Held
REMINDERS
Holiday Programs - Our PTA has agreed to fund a series of vocal music lessons in November that will prepare pairs of classes to perform two songs each at our annual holiday program. The dates for these programs are:
Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 9:00 am - Kindergarten-2nd Grade Classes
Thursday, Dec. 10 at 9:00 am - 3rd-5th Grade Classes
Adding the cost of this program to the budget was a difficult decision for our PTA because as of this date, less than 100 Webster families have contributed to our “Teach Your Children Well” contribution campaign and we are about $100,000 short of our goal. In other words, the programs that are already in place, such as classroom instructional aides, Computer Lab, Art Studio, Gardening Angels, and classroom instructional supplies and materials are not yet fully funded. We are betting that we will soon receive contributions from the remaining 200 families. Please donate whatever you can and help us keep Webster the special school we have built for your family.

Clothing For Nurse’s Office - We need some used clothes for our Nurse’s Office. We are looking for long pants in all sizes and long sleeve t-shirts and sweatshirts. We use these when our students’ have various accidents (often involving water and/or mud) that require a substitute pair of pants or shirt. Thanks!

Thanksgiving Dinner For Malibu Day Laborers - Thursday, Nov. 26 from 11:00 am-12:30 pm - Webster students and families are invited to participate in any of the following ways:
1. Help set-up on Wed., Nov. 25 (Call Elijah at (310) 589-5508)
2. Bring hot cooked/prepared food to Malibu Methodist Church on the morning of Nov. 26
(Call Isaac at (310) 457-3650)
3. Donate other items such as soft drinks, juice, desserts, tableware, decorations
(Call Isaac at (310) 457-3650
4. Donate personal care items such as toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, mouthwash, sunscreen, lip balm, lotion, shampoo, soap, combs, brushes, shaving cream, razors, face towels (Call Eden at (310) 589-5508) (See flyer)

H1N1 (Swine Flu) Update - We have had students at all grade levels and in most, if not all, classrooms with cases of what appears to be the H1N1 flu. These cases number somewhere around two dozen and have not been concentrated in any one class or grade. The most serious cases have resulted in those students being absent for a week. Others have been able to return sooner. Parents seem to be doing a good job of keeping sick children home until they are recovered and fever free for at least 24 hours. We have posted several flyers on our website with more information.

Johns Hopkins “Talented Youth Search” - Parents of 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade students who scored “Advanced in ELA and/or Math on the California State Tests last May are receiving packets of information regarding the Johns Hopkins University “Talent Search”. If you are interested in this program, your application to Johns Hopkins is due by Nov. 30. (They seem to have extended their deadline from 11/20).

Parent Volunteers Workers’ Compensation - We have been asked by our school district to distribute some information to all of our parent volunteers regarding the fact that volunteers are covered by the District’s Worker’s Comp. insurance. You will receive this little packet in your child’s classroom whenever you come in to work and you will be asked to sign for it. You are being informed that you have the opportunity to go online and specify the name of a doctor whom you would see in the event of a Worker’s Comp. injury at school. People who have no identified doctor on file will be required to see the District’s Worker’s Comp. doctors.

Character Counts “Pillar of the Month” for November is CITIZENSHIP. Some of the ideas in this area include:
1. Be a good neighbor
2. Care about and pursue the common good
3. Be a volunteer - help your school and community be better, cleaner, safer
4. Protect the environment by conserving resources, reducing pollution, and cleaning up
after yourself
5. Participate in making things better by voicing your opinion, voting, serving on committees, reporting wrongdoing
6. Play by the rules, obey those in authority

Donate Hand Sanitizer - Our classrooms need donations of hand sanitizer - Purell or similar product. We are hoping that many of you will be able to send in a bottle or two.

Cookies For Sale on Fridays - Our cafeteria sells chocolate chip cookies every Friday for 50 cents. Students are only allowed to buy one for themselves.

A Note From the PTA

Reflections contest winners!
Congratulations to our 2009-10 Webster PTA Reflections art contest winners. There were 121 entries this year, making it tough on our judges! The theme was “Beauty is…” and it was clear the students put their hearts and souls into their work. First-place winners will advance to the next level of judging. We’ll have a lunchtime popsicle party for everyone who entered; stay tuned for the date. Thanks to everyone – students, judges, families – who made this a wonderful expression of our children’s creativity!
– Reflections chair Soniya Perl

The results are:

Photography K-2 (judged by Susan Helm)
First place: Lola Augspurger
Second place: Matthew Marasli
Third place: Grace Colburn
Honorable mentions: Nicole Feig, Lola Augspurger and Ashley Ferbas

Photography 3-5 (judged by Susan Helm and Curtis Augspurger)
First place: Luke Mincer
Second place: Nathan Fagan
Third place: Dusty Rhodes
Honorable mentions: Anna Cappello, Logan Stanley, Abigail Droeger, Ben Albert

Visual Arts K-2 (judged by Veda Kaplan and Rosanna Vo)
First place: Serena Perl
Second place: Grant Hall
Third place: Josie Lerner
Honorable mentions: Olivia Darin, Karla Polard and Truman Palmer

Visual Arts 3-5 (judged by Veda Kaplan and Ching Lerner)
First place: Jarret Beauregard
Second place: Alexandra Galvan
Third place: Anna Cappello
Honorable mentions: Shanley Matzorkis, Rory Gesner, Fiona Delaney

Video Production 3-5 (judged by Pamela Eells and Leigha Barr)
1st place: Sierra Brady
2nd place: Danielle Beauregard
3rd place: Alex Jemelian
Honorable mention: Noah Dark

Musical Composition 3-5
1st place: Maya Harris

Literature K-2 (judged by Laurie Cappello)
First place: Serena Perl
Second place: Jason O'Connell
Third place: Luke Sorce
Honorable mention: Evan Geft

Literature 3-5 (judged by Pamela Eells and Laurie Cappello)
First place: Jillian Wolf
Second place: Sophia Polard
Third place: Christian Pierce
Honorable mentions: Nikki Gelb and Abby Droeger

The PTA Reflections Program is a national arts recognition and achievement program that allows students to express themselves creatively, while raising awareness of the importance of arts education. Students submit artwork to their local PTAs. Works are judged at the local level and the winning entries advance to the council, district, region, and state PTA level. Top state award-winning entries advance to the national level of judging.

Teach Your Children Well
Donations have slowed to a trickle. Even if you can’t donate right now, please pledge now for payment later in the school year! In this season of gratitude, now is the time to write your check for “Teach Your Children Well,” our direct fundraising drive. Ninety-seven families have donated and raised $175,000 so far! It costs the PTA roughly $1,200 per student to pay for teachers’ aides, computer lab, art, a P.E. assistant, Gardening Angels, additional teacher supplies, etc., and this fund pays for the bulk of it. We couldn't do it without your generous donations. Please give at whatever level you can to help us continue to fund those valuable programs and services we all take for granted and that keep our school multi-faceted, competitive and a dynamic place to learn and grow! You may donate by check or credit card, or, new this year, PayPal (click on the PayPal donate button in the left column; there are also clickable instructions there). Whatever avenue you choose, please fill out one of the donation envelopes, or print out one here. And however you donate, be assured that your donation amount and your personal info are confidential and secure.

Sincere thanks to everyone who has given this school year, and helped keep Webster the best it can be! We are honored to publicly thank our families who have made donations. This is our next batch of angels:

Stephanie Cupp
The Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, Inc.
If you give us your pledge, we promise to award your wings next week!

Grants or foundation $ ?
Take note in the list above a grant from the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation. (Thank you, Smithers family!). If you have a foundation that is in a position to donate or make a grant to Webster, please consider us in your plans. We can provide whatever non-profit paperwork is needed to fulfill it.

Thanks!
Our favorite part of the job is thanking people who volunteer. We’re delighted to thank:
∑ Jaclyn Gelb, for partnering with Anita Hall on this year's Halloween Parade. Jaclyn has graciously agreed to take over the spooky spectacular next year and we truly appreciate all her efforts.
∑ Laurie Principe for arranging for Susan Stiffelman to talk to our parents about their sticky, tricky parenting issues.
∑ Reflections chair Soniya Perl, and her team of judges -- Curtis Augspurger, Leigha Barr, Laurie Cappello, Pamela Eells, Susan Helm, Veda Kaplan, Ching Lerner and Rosanna Vo for a job well done. Whew…121 artistic entries!
∑ Hospitality chair Jayne Irons and her helpers for putting on a delicious spread for the Stiffelman talk.
∑ Teri Carcano, who is bringing the Book Fair to the front burner.
∑ Dorothy Reinhold, who continues to write the Note from the PTA every week (item sneaked in by Kathie Ferbas)

That’s just a few -- 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!

Only a few programs left to adopt
We have just a few classes/programs left to adopt. Take a look at the list in the far left column of this e-News. Thank you to those families and businesses who have adopted already! You may adopt as a family, team of families or as a business – whatever rings your chimes. Our goal is to have all classes and programs adopted before the end of December (get your tax write-off for year 2009). It costs $300 to adopt a class, which provides additional money to each teacher so she can buy extra supplies and special items for her class. Checks should be made to Webster PTA and sent to the front office to the attention of Beth Lucas/Adopt-a-Class (BLucas4@verizon.net).

Book Fair approaching
Mark your calendar -- our annual Book Fair will be here Dec. 7-11, timed perfectly for your upcoming holiday gift-giving needs. (Think Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s, birthdays, teacher gifts.) You think Dec. 7 is a long way off? Nah, we’re telling you because we want you to save up your book-buying for our fair. We’d hate for you to buy a load of books in November, when our Book Fair is only a few short weeks away. Remember, the Book Fair is one of our important fundraisers, and enables us to keep our library up-to-date and well stocked. Books rock!

Attn.: Amazon power shoppers!
If you go through Webster’s portal when you are shopping on Amazon, Webster gets a 5% kickback, at no cost to you. That’s right...free money from America’s largest online shopping site. Please bookmark our NEW LINK TO AMAZON, and use it when you are shopping on Amazon. If you really want to spiff your karma, tell everyone in your family to use our link, too! If you want instructions on how to bookmark it on your computer, look here.

Check bottom of Ralphs receipts
When you shop at Ralphs, please glance at the bottom of your grocery receipt. If it doesn’t say you are donating to Webster, you have fallen off their Scrip list and must sign up again. Scrip sign-ups need to be re-done each year (sorry about that, they make up the rules!), and the time is now for everyone at Webster to reapply. This potentially means a lot of money for us -- last year Webster earned some $13,000 in Scrip – kickbacks from local grocery stores like Ralphs, Pavilions, Vons, Hows and Albertsons. Every time you shop there and swipe your club or rewards card, Webster gets a percentage of your total, at no cost to you. Go here for simple instructions and easy clickable links to sign your card up. Remember, this is FREE MONEY FOR WEBSTER, and this year more than ever, we need it. The amount we get from Scrip is not trivial. Thanks for taking the 5 minutes to do this; we all appreciate it!