Carpenter Charter Newsletter: PTA Elections, Honorees for Bootleggers Ball & More

NEWS IN THIS ISSUE:
- Reminder: PTA Distinguished Spkr Tues 3/13
- Reminder: PTA Elections!! Thurs, March 15th
- Reminder: PTA/PFC General Mtg Thurs, 3/15
- Governance Council Mtg, Thurs, 3/15
- Spirit Store Sale, This Friday, 3/16
- Walk-A-Thon Due Date Extended
- Reflections District Winners
- Reflections Reception, Monday 3/19
- Time to Order Greeting Cards
- "The Bootleggers' Ball" Honorees
- "The Bootleggers' Ball" Event Program Ads
- Reminder: Spelling Bee Update
- Reminder: Box Tops For Education

REMINDER:  DO YOU KNOW THE BEST WAY TO SAVE FOR COLLEGE? 

THE PTA DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS SERIES PRESENTS: LIZ WESTON

Liz Weston is a Carpenter parent and the most-read personal finance columnist on the Internet She will help parents understand college savings plans. Liz is the author of four books, including Your Credit Score and The 10 Commandments of Money. Her columns appear regularly on MSN.com, in the Los Angeles Times, and in AARP Magazine.
Tuesday, March 13^th 8:15-9:30 am
Café West

Questions? Contact Oona Hanson: oonahanson@gmail.com

REMINDER: PTA ELECTIONS!!!! - THURSDAY MARCH 15TH AT 7:45AM IN THE AUDITORIUM

PTA'S Annual Election of Officers will take place on Thursday, March 15^th at 7:45am in the Auditorium. You must be present at 7:45am in order to participate in the voting. Please feel free to bring your kids along with you before you drop them off in their classrooms. We expect to have the elections completed by 7:55am. The slate of officers recommended by the Nominating Committee includes:

President: Andrew Silver
Vice-President: Yanti Palleschi
Secretary: Joel Botwinick-Madison
Treasurer: Anthony Benenati
Financial Secretary: Danielle Peretz 

The elections  
At the start of the elections, the Nominating Committee will call for additional nominations from the floor. If you are interested in running for one of the officer positions, you must be present at the start of the meeting at 7:45am. If you have questions or concerns about the PTA Elections process, please contact Marjan Sagheb at marjansagheb@yahoo.com or 
carpenterpta@gmail.com. Be there to make sure your vote counts!

REMINDER: PTA/PFC MARCH GENERAL MEETING IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING PTA ELECTIONS

The March General Meeting of the PTA and PFC will take place on Thursday, March 15th at 7:45am in the Auditorium as soon as the voting for the new PTA slate of officers is completed. Please join us to find out what is going on with the Book Exchange, The Walk-a-thon, the Auction & Dinner Dance, and so much more. There are still great ways to get involved. Questions or concerns, contact carpenterpta@gmail.com
or PFC@carpentercharter.org

THIS WEEK’S GOVERNANCE COUNCIL MEETING

Are you interested in finding out what is going on at Carpenter?  The entire school community is invited to attend the Governance Council meeting this Thursday, March 15^th, at 2:45 pm in Café West.  Some of the agenda items include:

• A new project for some Carpenter stairways

• A proposal to change the Back to School Night format

•  A proposal for a summer writing camp and a sports camp

The full agenda for this meeting can be viewed on the bulletin board in the main hallway and on the Carpenter website (go to the Governance section under “Get Involved”).  Any questions, please contact Heather Tonkins (tonkins@roadrunner.com).  We hope to see you there.

SPIRIT STORE SALE THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 16TH

Spirit Store Sale this Friday, March 16th ~ At drop off, from 7:40AM to 8:30AM and in the afternoon from 2:20PM to 3:30PM.

Price cuts on old inventory:  Carpenter pullover sweatshirts($10 each), Cougar short and long sleeve shirts ($10 each) and Peace sign shirts($5 each). We're also selling kids and adult t-shirts, water bottles, coffee mugs, hats, backpack tags, Carpenter pencils and more.  Questions? Concerns? Excitement? Contact Adina at adina_barco@hotmail.com or Stacey at schirchick@mac.com 

WALK-A-THON PLEDGE MONEY – DUE DATE EXTENDED

If you haven’t turned in your pledge money for the Walk-A-Thon, there is still time! We are extending the submission date until this Friday, March 16th. Turn in your cash or check donations to the office.  We will be extending the eligibility for all prizes as well, so please turn in all submissions by this Friday.  Prizes for the most money raised include an iPod Touch, Tickets to Universal Studios, Walk-a-thon t-shirts plus a drawing for a Laser Tag party, earbuds and a Menchie's gift card!  Questions?  Contact Anita Kuzmarskis at anitarunner@hotmail.com.

REFLECTIONS DISTRICT WINNERS!

Congratulations to 3rd graders Italia Silva and Natalie Levine!!! They are District winners and their entries have been forwarded on to the State Competition.  Good Luck! Italia Silva's entry was in the Dance Choreography Intermediate Category and Natalie Levine's entry was in the Music Intermediate Category. Bravo to the two Cougars representing our school at State and congratulations to every artists who entered this year. We'll be displaying all of the entries on campus later this year. Questions? Contact Caterina at cnelli@mac.com

REFLECTIONS RECEPTION

If your child submitted an entry to Reflections this year, you are cordially invited to the  31st District PTSA Reflections Reception celebrating artistic expression on the theme of "Diversity Means..." The reception will be held

Monday March 19, 2012 at 6:30pm
Nobel Middle School
9950 Tampa Avenue
Northridge, CA 91324
In the multi-purpose room

Please join us as we honor the 31st District PTSA winners in the 2011-2012 National PTA Reflections Program and recognize ALL of our participants. For further information, contact the 31st District PTSA at (818) 344-3581. If you're planning to attend, please make sure your children have eaten. In the past there has only been some juice and possibly cookies at the event and it sometimes runs long.

TIME TO ORDER GREETING CARDS!

Friday, March 30th is the deadline for ordering your child's personalized greeting cards. Purchase these special keepsakes. Boxes are $21 each, and $8.50 from each box goes directly to supporting our school. New this year - order 3 boxes of the same image and you'll get a 4th box free. This bonus box includes an assortment of personal cards from various students. Please place your order forms, including a check made out to PFC, in an envelope and put it in the Greeting Card envelope in your classroom or bring it to the school office.

Additional order forms can be found on the carpenter website. Questions:  Yvette Lee at:yvettush@yahoo.com, 818-506-6734
OR Lauri Jon Caravella at 
LauriJon@aol.com, 917-674-4255
 
After March 30th, cards will be available
to order on-line at
www.ArtworkForEducation.com (shipping fees apply). 

“THE BOOTLEGGERS’ BALL” HONOREES
 
Parents for Carpenter is pleased to announce the Honorees for the 2012 Auction & Dinner Dance.  These parents have gone above and beyond with their contributions of time and hard work to Carpenter Community Charter, in helping it become the amazing school it is.
 
Cindy Abrams
Jane Cooper
Michellene DeBonis
Jonathon Lee
Yvette Lee
Andrea McEwen
Cindy Northcote-Smith
Kathy Paul
Bill Wright
 
Community Honoree: Dr. Michelle To, DDS, in acknowledgement of her generous donations to the school for several years as a Partner In Education.
 
Congratulations to all of our 2012 Honorees.

SAY THANKS AND CONGRATS!

Who would you like to commemorate with an ad in The Bootleggers' Ball Event Program?  Congratulate your graduating Kindergartener or 5th grader with a special ad.  Tell your child how proud you are of them.  Say congrats to the honorees.  Thank the teachers, enrichment specialists, and staff.  To download an Event Program ad form click here (insert http://bit.ly/AdyLVk).  Questions?  Contact Christie Gilmore at christie2000@yahoo.com  ALL ADS ARE DUE APRIL 9TH.

REMINDER: SPELLING BEE UPDATE

The results are in! Permission slips have gone out!  Congratulations to all the 3rd, 4th and 5th Graders who have made it to Carpenter's 9th Annual Spelling Bee Finals.  Our Spelling Bee Finalists were identified by receiving the top scores from a written spelling test given in each classroom last week.  A list of finalists can be found on the bulletin board outside the main office.  All Spelling Bees begin at 3:30pm in the afternoon and will end when we have a 1st Place and Runner Up Winners. Mark your calendars:

Monday, March 19th: 3rd Grade
Wednesday, March 21st: 4th Grade
Friday, March 23rd: 5th Grade

We have a handful of volunteer positions available during each of the three Bees.  
Please contact Lisa Misraje at ljm@misraje.com to volunteer.  For any additional information regarding the Bee please contact Mindi Pfeifer at mindilp@aol.com.  We look forward to a fun and exciting event!

REMINDER: BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION

Thank you for your Box Tops for Education!  Congratulations to Mrs. Hong’s 1^st Grade class for collecting the most Box Tops during the months of January and February.  Keep clipping and submitting!  Our next top Box Top class will be announced in April.  The class with the highest number collected will receive a special treat.  Please contact Lisa Misraje at ljm@misraje.com or Marilyn Salinger at marsalinger@sbcglobal.net with any questions.  Thanks for your support!