Reading Elementary Rockets Report: RES PRINCIPAL'S BLOG - ROCKETS REPORT

Dear Reading Elementary "Rockets" Families & Community Members

What a memorable time at the Thanksgiving Feast - yummy food and great community! Hope your Thanksgiving break was wonderful!

Kudos and heartfelt thanks to:

All of you who helped bake and donate food for the Thanksgiving Feast!
All of you who took time off from work and your busy lives to attend!
Donna and Rick Martin for all their assistance cooking and cleaning up from Thanksgiving Feast!

Other Items of Interest:

Act 46 Study Committee - It was great to have 8 representatives from RES there last meeting. The committee will be meeting from 6:30 - 10:30 PM, this Wed. evening at the WCSU Central Office. Hope you'll join us!

Library News - Please send in your child's library books they checked out if they've finished them. If they just checked them out before break, they can keep them one more week. If your child has a book overdue, the notice will come home in their classroom folder, or I'll send you an e-mail.

Ski Runner Details - Information packets and forms will be coming home in the next week. PLEASE check your students' backpacks. Please note the following dates. In the past the PTO paid 40% of the fee, but this year has not been decided on yet.

Where: Suicide Six Ski Area Base Lodge

When Fridays 1/6, 1/13, 1/20, 1/27, 2/3, 2/10, 2/17, 3/10 (2:00 – 4:00 PM)

Fee: $75 until 12/01/16 OR $85 after 12/01/2016

There is NO program Feb. 24 due to Presidents Week, or March 3th due to the Special Olympics. Registration opens October 5, 2016. Registration closes December 18, 2016.

Snowflake Bazaar - Time to Get Ready for the Snowflake Bazaar!

The first and second graders will host our the Snowflake Bazaar on Monday, December 12. In addition to giving people a good place to donate their unwanted goods, keeping lots of packaging out of the landfill, and giving their schoolmates a chance to buy inexpensive gifts for their families, the children will raise money for a charity of their choice. This event is part of the Trailblazers study of money, economics, and sustainability.

How does the Snowflake Bazaar work? Starting Monday, December 5, we will begin accepting donations of gently-used goods that the first and second graders will sort and price during the week. All items will be priced between 25 cents and a dollar so that they will be affordable for all children in the school. We are also asking for donations of ribbons, gift boxes, gift bags, tissue paper, gift tags, and gift wrap (gently-used is ok for these, too). We can provide tape and scissors for wrapping.

Also on Monday, all students in the school will come home with a decorated envelope on which they can write their name and their shopping list. They can bring their envelope back to school anytime up until December 12 with up to $5 inside to spend at the Bazaar. Teachers will keep the envelopes safe for children until that day. (We ask all parents to respect the $5 limit to provide a more equitable experience for all children. We will also make sure that all children are able to shop even if they do not bring back an envelope.)

On the day of the Snowflake Bazaar, children will be invited down by class to shop for gifts for their families and friends. Younger students will have “personal shoppers” with them (fifth and sixth graders) to help them make good choices. Gifts will be wrapped here at school and sent home at the end of the day. Then the trick will be to keep the gifts wrapped and the secrets safe until Hanukkah or Christmas!
The next step will be for the students to decide where to donate the funds. They will brainstorm the kinds of projects they want to support, view videos and websites related to those causes, and go through a decision-making process that will include making short persuasive statements to their peers about where the money should go. Finally, they will write letters to each group to include with the checks we send them. From beginning to end, the children will get a hands-on experience with basic economic concepts such as wants and needs, sustainability concepts such as ecological responsibility, social equity, and economic systems, and project planning.

We would love to have some volunteers on the day of the Bazaar to help us wrap gifts and assist younger students with shopping. If you can do that, please let me know. It is a lot of fun to be a part of this special day!

MESSAGE FROM OUR TEACHERS:

From Ms. Faulkner, Pre-K Teacher:

WANTED: Someone to sand and paint toy shelf units from the pre-k room. Sanding will help prevent splinters from these much used shelves and painting will help brighten them up. Ideally, this could be done over the December break, possible taken home to be done if that is easier. Thanks!

OTHER WAYS TO HELP READING SCHOOL

-Come to a Reading Elementary School Board Meeting!

HOLIDAY SHOPPING - The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers. If you'd like to help, please go to smile.amazon.com, and choose "Reading Parent Teacher - Organization Reading PTO" from the list of organizations. Every little bit helps our students!

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS - How Tools for Schools Works - Price Chopper

OUR SCHOOL CODE IS - 13970 Register your AdvantEdge Card and designate a school at the Guest Services desk at your local Price Chopper, at your school, or online at pricechopper.com. Schools can redeem accumulated points for free supplies and equipment. Tell your friends, neighbors, co-workers to register their card and designate Reading Elementary! Thanks for your support!

BOX TOPS ADD UP - During the Holiday cooking, please save those Box Tops for us! Please ask your relatives and neighbors to clip and collect as well! Every one of those is worth 10 cents!

LUNCH & BREAKFAST MENU FOR THIS WEEK:

Lunch accounts should be paid in full each month. Please send in your payment if you have not already done so. If you need help complete the Free/Reduced Paperwork, we are here to help! ALL APPLICATIONS are kept confidential. Thank you!

Mon., Nov. 28 - Turkey Soup & Leftovers; Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs & Toast - The Regulars
Tues., Nov. 29 - Baked Potato Chili Bowl, Pears, Spinach, Whole Grain Corn Chips; Breakfast: Hard Boiled Egg - The Regulars
Wed., Nov. 30 - Grilled Peanut Tofu, Cauliflower Rice, Broccoli, Whole Grain Asian Noodles; Breakfast: Muffins & Sausage - The Regulars
Thurs., Dec. 1 - Tuna Casserole, Apples, Coleslaw, (whole grain noodles), Breakfast: Hard Boiled Egg - The Regulars
Fri., Dec. 2 - Beef Stew,
Applesauce

(vegetables in stew), ,
Whole Grain Rice; Breakfast: Hard Boiled Egg - The Regulars