Published by the
Old Mill School PTA
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November-December Calendar
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Now through Fri Nov 20
Conference Weeks
Early Dismissal 1:45pm
Wed Nov 25 - Fri Nov 27
Thanksgiving Break
No School
Tue Dec 1 10:30-1:30
Book Passage Luncheon
Fri Dec 4 8:45 Board/9:00 General
PTA Meeting
Staff Lounge
Wed Dec 9 6:00pm
School Board Meeting
District Office
Wed Dec 9 7:00pm
5th Grade Winter Concert
MVMS Gymnasium
Tue Dec 15 2:20pm
3rd/4th Grade Chorus Winter Performance
Old Mill Auditorium
Wed Dec 16 8:45am
2nd Grade Music Performance
Old Mill Auditorium
Fri Dec 18 2:00pm
4th/5th Grade Dance Performance
Old Mill Auditorium
Mon Dec 21 - Fri Jan 1
Winter Recess
No School
Every Wednesday 8:30am
Coffee Cart
Old Mill Courtyard
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The Old Mill Creek
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November
2009
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Dearest Old Mill Families,
At this time of being Thankful, we wanted to say how much we appreciate
everyone in this community for their incredible efforts so far this
year. From First Day Packets through the Halloween Parade, so many of
you have pitched in to make the PTA work.
As
we mentioned in our Back to School Night Speech, we couldn't do it
without all of you. It not only takes so much effort, but also
all of your many contributions to pay for the extraordinary programs,
events, books, and supplies for our school. We've done an amazing job
together.
We are most grateful. Thank YOU!
Deborah Goldman & Ingrid Tolson
Co-PTA Presidents
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Photos!
See more photos, below...
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Drop Don't Stop Schedule
Nov 2-6 Nov 9-13 Nov 16-20 Nov 23-24 Nov 30-Dec 4 Dec 7-11 Dec 14-18
Room
4 Room
3 Room
15 Room
1 Room
12
Room 11 Room 10
Jan
4-8 Jan
11-15 Jan
19-22 Jan
26-29 Feb
1-5
Feb 8-12 Feb 22-26
Room
9 Room
8 Room
7
Room 6 Room
5
Room 4 Room 3
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Creek Deadlines and Publication Dates
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All dates are Tuesdays:
Deadline Publication Date
Dec
8
Dec 15
Jan
12
Jan 19
Feb
2
Feb 9*
Mar
9
Mar 16
Apr
13
Apr 20
May
11
May 18
* early Feb. Issue due to Winter Break
Please submit content for consideration to Nicole Taylor at nicole@ascendquality.com on or before the deadline date. Thank you.
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PTA Executive Board
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Co-Presidents
Deborah Goldman
dmfreed@aol.com
Ingrid Tolson
ingrid_tolson@me.com
VP Communications
Nicole Taylor
nicole@ascendquality.com
VP Events
Maggie Woodward
mywoodward@yahoo.com
VP Programs
Mary Stervinou
mstervinou@comcast.net
VP Fundraising
Chris Hill
mackiemackco@comcast.net
VP Fundraising (Lunch Program)
Molly Mercy
molly@foursquareinc.net
Auditor
Karen Meezan
kmeezan@comcast.net
Parliamentarian
Cynthia Samson
cynthiasamson@sbcglobal.net
Secretary
Sarah McNeil
srmcneil@pacbell.net
Treasurer
Sue Weinswig
weinswig@gmail.com
Financial Secretary
Lisa Preger
lpreger@comcast.net
Administrative Rep.
Jane McDonough
jmcdonough@mvschools.org
Faculty Rep.
Linda Tanguay
ltanguay@mvschools.org
Faculty Rep.
Laura Shearer
lshearer@mvschools.org
Kiddo! Rep.
Stephanie Alamin
scalamin@aol.com
Historian
Leanne hansen
leannehansen@sbcglobal.net
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Lost & Found
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The Lost & Found is Overflowing!!
Make sure to check the racks and stacks for your child's belongings:
sweaters
coats
hats
lunchboxes
sweatshirts
thermoses
scarves
umbrellas
pants
( pants!?! )
When the pile gets large, it gets
donated to make room for more . . . don't miss your kids' stuff!
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Holiday Food Drive
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Make Someone's Day - Give to the Marin Food Bank!
Don't
forget to drop off donations outside the office at Old Mill by the end
of the week. Food will be picked up this Friday, Nov 20.
Thank you for helping to make a difference!
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Book Fair Thank You's
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A very well
deserved THANK YOU to each and every one of the volunteers at the Book Fair 2009 who stood by Sue and I through thick and
thin, rain or shine!
Nishie Ranasinghe
Hope Timberlake
Sally Simpson
Valerie Starbuck
Beth Billups
Molly Mercy
Tim Staples
Marie Maass
Lisa Preger
Chris Hill
Kaaren James
Matt McFerrin
Cyndee Dammann
Karen DiDonato
Pilar Vives
Ingrid Tolson
Miri Shlomi
Stephanie Alamin
Deb Goldman
Hannah Goldman
Kathy Potter
Megan Potter
Ashley Sternfels
Zandra Marulanda
Kim Sugrue
Marianne Gilles
Wendy Nichols
Jan Hudson
Tarji Rodriguez
Suzanne Agosta
Cynthia Samson
Jules Campfield
Becky Houha
Nancy Siadek
Tina Dunne
Maggie Woodward
Brian Wong, who revolutionized our Kid Card system and Charlie Wehr
aka Clifford the Big Red
Dog
· Ribbon of
distinction: Nicole Taylor who makes communication a breeze- always
· Honorable
mention to Lynn Frazier, who was there before all of us at opening time and
held in strong and steadfast until the very end.
· Special
appreciation to Gloria, Chris Hill's mom who worked every job at the fair, always willing and smiling and Ashley
Sternfels' and Stephanie Alamin's respective mothers too, who helped their
daughter with the kids while they were helping us!
· My most
heartfelt and deepest gratitude for her professionalism, enthusiasm, friendship
and support, to my cohort in crime:
Sue Weinswig. Could have never asked for a better co-chair!
· To close the list, our gratitude forever to: Hein who
never waivered.
Thank you!
Laura Diecks and Sue Weinswig
and
Old Mill School PTA
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Lapathon Thank You's
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 THANK YOU to all of our parent and
faculty volunteers!
We could not have done it
without you. Suzanne
Agosta
Stephanie Alamin
Mary Anderson
Julia Arno
Susan Baker
Joan Barranon
Nancy Belza
Patti Bigelow
Jean Bolte
Tuyen Bonneau
Sheila Broussea
Jody Burr
Abby Burton
Jessica Buttimer
Lily Chen
Madeleine
Churchill
Heidi Connelly
Steve Connelly
Emily Cookson
Alan Cowan
Claudia
Cowen-Baker
Kathleen Craven
Maki Daijogo
Cyndee Dammann
Nadia Debela
Dawn Dobras
Margie Drechsel
Duncan Drechsel
Victoria Einhorn
Stan Finkelstein
Alan Frankel
Kelly Galland
Tracey Gant
Marianne Gilles
Andrew Grant
Meagan
Grant
Melanie Hamburger
David Hansen
Ted Hatch
Sarah Head
Cooke Hofele
Steven Hoffman
Emily Hughes
Kaaren James
Cory Jamison
Caroline Joachim
Kelly Jones
Pam Kerwin
Rachel King
Elizabeth Kivimae
Pax Kivimae
Misa Klyce
Rix Kramlich
Jackie Lakocy
Donna Lawrence
Traci Ledger
Heejin Lee
Jamie Lunder
Erin Lyons
Rob Maas
Elana Maggal
Patricia Meezan
Molly Mercy
Andy Mercy
Tom Mizukami
Tristan Naramore
Leslie Owen
Allen Preger
Alan Quinton
Nishie Ranasinghe
David
Reich
Lily Roberts
Sonya Robinson
Matt Roche
Tarji Rodriguez
Selene Rose
Nancie Rosen
Julie Rosenberg
Justine Rudman
Diane Rylander
Cynthia Samson
Renee Shelton
Miri Shlomi
Dawn Smith
Valerie Starbuck
Ashley Sternfels
Kim Sugrue
John Taft
Linda Tanguay
Christa Tarantino
Gibson Thomas
Hope Timberlake
Matt Timberlake
Bill Todebush
Mary Van Kreidt
Christine Waldron
Eva Walter
Charlie Wehr
David Weinfeld
Paul Wichman
Kirsty Williams
AlisonWilson
Leslie Wong
Brian Wong
Heather Young
Kara Roche and Jenny Terry,
Lapathon Co-Chairs
and
Old Mill School PTA
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Grist
Character and Giving Thanks
From Jane McDonough, Principal
November 2009
First things first, thanks to everyone in our school and wider district community for their emphatic support of Measure C!
Thanks to our extraordinary campaign team and the work of all the
parents and families to get the message out. It is rare to see the
level of support that this community continues to extend to children
and families, and it is a privilege to work in such an environment when
so many seem to have forgotten the central value of providing
excellence in all aspects of education for our children. THANK YOU!
In our own election here at Old Mill,
congratulations to the students who ran for office this year and for
their wonderful presentations to the student body. You can see the
newly elected administration in pictures with names in the front
hallway. Thanks to Linda Tanguay and Laura Shearer for being
Student Council advisors and helping to build the sense of
responsibility for our community that comes with such service. It
builds character!
And speaking of character...in November our district Character Education
focus changes from Building Community to Respect and Tolerance for
Others, I am hoping that you have noticed the posters that are up in
various locations throughout our school and across the district with
the intent to provide language which we can all use with our students
to promote things that we all agree are very important. The
series of concepts was developed and distributed by a teacher
administrator committee who worked throughout last year to design the
program. The topic of Respect includes the following specific
components which are great conversation starters for you to use with
your children. Our vision of this focus is not that we drill these
ideas as we would a spelling list, but rather that we engage in a
ongoing conversation where children get to notice and respond when
these kinds of things DO happen. What
was a time when you saw someone really be considerate? What did that
look and feel like to you? What does it mean to deal gracefully with
anger or insults? Why would anyone do that? When have you seen that
done? What happened then? Of course these ideas may
give rise to conversations when these things we value have not been
part of our own actions. That we value them and think they are
very important for everyone does not in fact make them always be
present in our lives! Students can also have very meaningful
interpretations of historic or even scientific information that they
are gaining in school in light of these concepts. You will see ongoing
emphasis on these matters in Claudia Trinklein-Engman's columns
throughout the year, but I wanted to call your attention to the great
posters (thanks to Laura and Brian Diecks for free graphic design) and what they mean.
For November-December look for our emphasis Respect and Tolerance for Others, which includes (but is not limited to) the following:
- Follow the Golden Rule
- Use good manners, not bad language
- Be considerate of the feelings of others
- Don't threaten, hurt or put down others
- Deal gracefully with anger, insults and disagreements
- Listen to others
- Accept that people are different from each other
- Recognize that we're all unique
Speaking of the Golden Rule, our Food Drive
is under way and will gladly accept food donations through the week of
Thanksgiving and beyond. This will be a hard year, so let's help
the Food Bank get a good start on helping others.
Thanksgiving is always the
sweetest of holidays for our kids; they know that family will gather
and they aren't expecting a present. They can dream of the yummy good
food that will be shared, but know that everyone will just be together
for a time. I hope you will consider unplugging during that
two-three day time at home this year. If you are lucky enough to
be together in one place, mark it well by not checking out into the
laptop, phone or flat screen.. take a walk, play Parcheesi or Scrabble,
or even Go Fish! Take a bike ride and look around together so that this
Thanksgiving is full of memories that aren't necessarily digital.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Jane
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Monday, November 30th
10:30am-1:30pm
Price per person: $40.00
There are still a few spots left!
Featuring the one and only Elaine Petrocelli,
founder and owner of Book Passage
Elaine will present the "must read" and "must gifts" in adult and children's books
for Holiday 2009.
Invite your best friend, your mom, bring your husband---
everyone is welcome but reserve soon as it fills up fast!
Make checks payable to Old Mill PTA and drop off in envelope in school office
(marked Book Passage Luncheon).
** Please email Sue, below, to make your lunch selection **
Questions?: Contact Sue Weinswig @ weinswig@gmail.com
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 Psychologically Speaking
Building Tolerance, Respect, and Empathy within our School Community
From Claudia Trinklein-Engman
November 2009
During November and December
schools throughout the district will focus on the core values of tolerance and
respect for others. Here is an
article on ways parents can support this initiative, written by our elementary
counselor, Claudia Trinklein-Engman
The building of respect, tolerance
and empathy is a somewhat sophisticated idea; yet, the rudiments can begin to
be developed early. It is as much about tolerating and embracing differences
among people, as it is to being exposed to those differences. Empathy building begins with personal
awareness. With my Kindergarten groups, school counselors discuss the unique
and shared traits among students.
Initially, the concept is quite broad. For example, all of the children are in Kindergarten and all
of them live in Mill Valley. At
the same time, some have blue eyes, some hazel, some are boys and some are
girls. These different and similar
qualities are straight forward and easy to identify.
The stage is now set for conversations in first and second grade about
differences among children that a child might see and differences that might
not be readily apparent. For
example, a list that a group might generate would include: a child who is
confined to a wheel chair, a child who has profound speech difficulties, a
child who is notably shorter than the rest of the class and may not be able to
reach something, a child who needs a hearing device or especially strong glasses
to see the whiteboard, or a child who does not speak English well. Out of these lists, counselors then
encourage the groups to speak specifically to ways in which they could be
helpful to a child with a special need.
For example, holding the door open for the child in a wheel chair or
being sensitive to the short child not able to reach something and getting it
for him/her. Students talk about how it might feel to be confined to a wheel
chair or to not be able to hear well.
We try very hard to normalize the
fact that ALL of us have something that does not work as well as we would like
it to or have something that appears to make us feel very different from our
peers. Out of these discussions often comes a better understanding of
differences in general. Learning to be tolerant and respectful stems from
understanding. (Good material for
a family discussion. For instance, Mom might have a chronically sore
back. It is not necessarily
apparent, but if the information is known among family members, it is important
to help mom when she needs to reach for something in a high place .... Dad is
slightly hard of hearing and family members may need to remember to speak
clearly and make eye contact with him when speaking. )
Empathy includes tolerance and inclusion
of religious and cultural differences as well. Our schools try very hard to expose children to many
different possibilities. As
families, we can augment empathy building outside of the classrooms. Children could visit Chinatown or
Japantown, see movies about children from other cultures, visit and possibly
volunteer with a parent at the Redwoods, deliver gifts to a homeless shelter,
volunteer with an adult to feed the needy during a holiday celebration. (One local parent deliberately had her
child play soccer on a San Rafael team, instead of a Mill Valley team, to
expose her daughter to children from a greater variety of cultures.)
By third grade and beyond, empathy
building becomes much more personalized.
We begin to discuss what it is like to have a friend who is different
from other friends.
Developmentally, this is a time when children begin to want to be like
everyone else. Being different can
be difficult. Embracing different
opinions, different friends, and being different yourself is oftentimes
challenging. We, as adults, need
to foster opportunities in which our children can talk freely about the
experience of "being different" and living within a community in which people
are sometimes uniquely different from each other.
We need to model empathy, not only
within the family, but on a much more global scale as well. But above all else, we need to help our
children talk about what "being different" is all about. In Kindergarten, having blue eyes, when
the majority of their peers have brown, might be easily reconcilable and
certainly not material for being personally shunned. But as a child gets older, having learning disabilities or
physical limitations might be possibly stigmatic. Keep the dialog going.
Help our children respect differences. Nurture tolerance.
It is important to their future and to ours.
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Psychologically Speaking
Building Tolerance, Respect, and Empathy within our School Community
From Claudia Trinklein-Engman
November 2009
During November and December
schools throughout the district will focus on the core values of tolerance and
respect for others. Here is an
article on ways parents can support this initiative, written by our elementary
counselor, Claudia Trinklein-Engman
The building of respect, tolerance
and empathy is a somewhat sophisticated idea; yet, the rudiments can begin to
be developed early. It is as much about tolerating and embracing differences
among people, as it is to being exposed to those differences. Empathy building begins with personal
awareness. With my Kindergarten groups, school counselors discuss the unique
and shared traits among students.
Initially, the concept is quite broad. For example, all of the children are in Kindergarten and all
of them live in Mill Valley. At
the same time, some have blue eyes, some hazel, some are boys and some are
girls. These different and similar
qualities are straight forward and easy to identify.
The stage is now set for conversations in first and second grade about
differences among children that a child might see and differences that might
not be readily apparent. For
example, a list that a group might generate would include: a child who is
confined to a wheel chair, a child who has profound speech difficulties, a
child who is notably shorter than the rest of the class and may not be able to
reach something, a child who needs a hearing device or especially strong glasses
to see the whiteboard, or a child who does not speak English well. Out of these lists, counselors then
encourage the groups to speak specifically to ways in which they could be
helpful to a child with a special need.
For example, holding the door open for the child in a wheel chair or
being sensitive to the short child not able to reach something and getting it
for him/her. Students talk about how it might feel to be confined to a wheel
chair or to not be able to hear well.
We try very hard to normalize the
fact that ALL of us have something that does not work as well as we would like
it to or have something that appears to make us feel very different from our
peers. Out of these discussions often comes a better understanding of
differences in general. Learning to be tolerant and respectful stems from
understanding. (Good material for
a family discussion. For instance, Mom might have a chronically sore
back. It is not necessarily
apparent, but if the information is known among family members, it is important
to help mom when she needs to reach for something in a high place .... Dad is
slightly hard of hearing and family members may need to remember to speak
clearly and make eye contact with him when speaking. )
Empathy includes tolerance and inclusion
of religious and cultural differences as well. Our schools try very hard to expose children to many
different possibilities. As
families, we can augment empathy building outside of the classrooms. Children could visit Chinatown or
Japantown, see movies about children from other cultures, visit and possibly
volunteer with a parent at the Redwoods, deliver gifts to a homeless shelter,
volunteer with an adult to feed the needy during a holiday celebration. (One local parent deliberately had her
child play soccer on a San Rafael team, instead of a Mill Valley team, to
expose her daughter to children from a greater variety of cultures.)
By third grade and beyond, empathy
building becomes much more personalized.
We begin to discuss what it is like to have a friend who is different
from other friends.
Developmentally, this is a time when children begin to want to be like
everyone else. Being different can
be difficult. Embracing different
opinions, different friends, and being different yourself is oftentimes
challenging. We, as adults, need
to foster opportunities in which our children can talk freely about the
experience of "being different" and living within a community in which people
are sometimes uniquely different from each other.
We need to model empathy, not only
within the family, but on a much more global scale as well. But above all else, we need to help our
children talk about what "being different" is all about. In Kindergarten, having blue eyes, when
the majority of their peers have brown, might be easily reconcilable and
certainly not material for being personally shunned. But as a child gets older, having learning disabilities or
physical limitations might be possibly stigmatic. Keep the dialog going.
Help our children respect differences. Nurture tolerance.
It is important to their future and to ours.
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Kiddo!
November/December News
Donations Needed - Kiddo! Annual Campaign
Thank
you to everyone who has already donated to Kiddo!s
Annual Campaign! To date we have
received $1,137,000 with another $400,000 in pledges! This means
we are close, with just $63,000 left to raise. So, if you haven't
yet made your
donation, it's not too late. Pease make your donation today at www.kiddo.org or sign up for a payment plan by calling the Kiddo! office
(415-389-7794). Thanks to all the families who have already made their
donations to keep our students enjoying the art, music, drama, poetry and
technology that your contributions make possible!
In January we will be printing a list of all Kiddo! donors
in the PTA Newsletters. If you
would like to be included, we must receive your gift or payment arrangements by
December 31. We will also be
printing our stationery that includes the names of our Honor Roll Donors (those
who have given $3,000 or above for the current school year) soon after. Again, if you would like to be included
on this list as well, we need to receive your gift or payment arrangements by
December 31. Please call the
Kiddo! office at 389-7794 for more information.
Does your company match gifts for charitable
contributions? Many companies match a portion or all of their employees'
charitable gifts. Check with your
human resources department to see if yours is one of them. You could double your donation to
Kiddo!
Do you give your annual Kiddo! donation through payroll
deduction or United Way? If so, please contact the Kiddo! office at 389-7789 and
let us know so we can send you a decal!
Sometimes notification from businesses and United Way can be delayed,
and we want to thank you for your gift.
Kiddo! happily accepts stock transfers! If
you would like to make a donation to Kiddo! by a stock transfer, please contact
the office at 389-7790 for more information.
eScrip Amnesty
If you have not yet registered with eScrip you can sign up
today on line at www.eScrip.com or pick up a
Shop-4-Kids form in your school's front office, fill it out, and fax it to
Kiddo! at (415) 389-7766.
If you are registered with eScrip but have not yet updated
your information for the 2009-2010 school year, it's not too late! The sooner you do, the sooner your
shopping will generate dollars for the important programs that Kiddo! supports.
Go to www.eScrip.com and click on "Yes! Renew" to renew your
Safeway Club Card and go to "Sign in to my eScrip" to update your credit and debit
cards.
Questions???
Call Kiddo! at 389-7792.
Kiddo! Golf Classic
Thanks to Louis Stervinou, Mary Stervinou
and Maggie Woodward as well as all the sponsors and golfers who helped make the
5th Annual Golf Classic a great success. The costumes were great, the weather
was perfect and we raised $35,000 for Kiddo! Thanks also to the many volunteers
who helped make this fun annual event possible.
Kiddo! Business
Partners
The Holidays are a great
time to support our local businesses!
Please check the back of your District Student Directory or the Kiddo!
website www.kiddo.org to see all the
wonderful businesses that support our schools! Please support them with your business.
Shop Kiddo!
The holiday shopping season is almost
upon us. We
encourage everyone to shop locally, but understand that some people shop
online. If you do, please
visit
www.kiddo.org or www.shopkiddo.org to
link through to Amazon and help us while you do your shopping. The site will
donate between 4% and 15% of each purchase to
Kiddo! All your shipping and ordering preferences are still there, it's the
same Amazon, but it helps Mill Valley kids!
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It Takes a Village
Special Education PTA
www.itavmv.org
Annual Holiday Appreciation Party
Wed, Dec 9th, 3:00-
5:00 pm
Mill Valley Community Center, 180
Camino Alto, Mill Valley
Mill Valley's special education staff members will be the guests of
honor. Parents and children from
all of the District's schools are invited to attend and support our
teachers. We will have lots of food, beverages and fun activities. Please come and enjoy!
CORRECTION:
The Mill Valley Middle School
tour on December 11 is by invitation only and requires an RSVP. It is specifically designed for those parents of students
who have a particular Individualized Education Plan (IEP). This tour is to
allow these parents to feel comfortable asking questions and to preview
Resource Services and Special Day classes offered there.
Next Speaker Event
Maeve Burke: "Executive Functioning"
Thurs, Jan 7th, 2010, 6:30-8:00
pm
Mill Valley Middle School
Multi-Media Room, 411 Sycamore
Next Parent Coffee
Fri, Jan 15th, 9:00-11:00
am
806 Chamberlain Court, Mill Valley
Parents of children with learning
differences face many challenges. Our coffees provide a chance for parents to share information and
support each other. Please join
us. If you have questions, please
contact Strawberry Point School parent, Ross Buffington (ross@itavmv.org, 383-7294).
Playgroup to be Rescheduled
Our
play group will resume at a later date. Contact Strawberry Point School parent Mark McGahan (markmcgahan1@mac.com,
306-3463) for more information.
Website
Please check our website out to
learn how we can help you and your child. It's at www.itavmv.org. Information
about our speaker events (including speaker notes and handouts), parent
coffees, and playgroups is posted.
Speaker Notes and Handouts
Many parents have asked for notes
from our speaker events. They are
available on our website, www.itavmv.org.
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 352 Throckmorton AveMill Valley CA 94941415 389-7727www.oldmillschool.org |
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About The Creek
The
Creek is published by the Old Mill School PTA on the 3rd Tuesday of
each month to keep parents of students at Old Mill School informed on
all the events, happenings, and news at Old Mill, in the Mill Valley
District, and the school community. Entries for submission can be
emailed as described in publication and deadline schedule, above. Any
questions or suggestions about this newsletter can be addressed to
members of the PTA Executive Board (listed above) or Nicole Taylor nicole@ascendquality.com. |
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