Paw Prints mark your calendars February 2-6
Book Fair
February 4
Midterm Progress Reports
February 5
Vision Check for K-2nd
February 5
Curriculum Night ~ 6PM
February 10
EXPO Turn In
February 11
2nd Grade Children’s Theatre
February 12
K-1 Grade Children’s Theatre
February 16
NO SCHOOL: President’s Day
February 17
EXPO Pick Up
February 18
Spring Class Pictures
February 19
AL Learning Exchange GEMS
February 25-27
5 Grade Dauphin Island
February 26
K-2nd Author Michelle Nelson-Schmidt
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2014-2015 PTO Officers Georgia Pearson President Marivee Jerome Vice President 2
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Mandy Black Vice President Sharon Pierson Treasurer Leslie Black Secretary Michel O’Brien Historian
Michelle Grant Parliamentarian Anna Hart Fundraising Chair Karyn McRee Head Room Mom Ann Welborn K-2nd Teacher Rep Tricia Shanlever 3rd-5th Teacher Rep
CURRICULUM NIGHT Thursday, February 5, 6-7PM
Shop the Barnes & Nobles Book Fair beginning at 5:30PM! Sign up for a library card with Katy Jane from Hoover Library! Purchase Vosha Rosenblum math games! Enjoy stories presented by guest readers! Play math games with your entire family! Eat cotton candy! Step into the photo booth! Do fun crafts!
The book fair will be at Bluff Park Thursday, February 5-Thursday, February12! Barnes & Noble will also host an on-site fair Tuesday, February 10 from 5-7PM. All proceeds from sales will go to purchase books for our school library!
The kindergarten classes celebrated the 100th day of school January 20 by dressing up as 100-year-olds. Thank you, Mrs. Vilseck, for sharing these great pictures!
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Hi, All! Happy New Year! Your PTO has been hard at work trying to help make Bluff Park Elementary School the best place to teach & the best place to be a student. On January 22nd, Stacy Neal, the head of our hospitality committee, arranged a special soup & salad lunch for all the teachers and staff. Thank you to her & all the moms who cooked up their best recipes to share with the teachers during this chilly month of January!
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president
From now till Spring Vacation there is only one day that school will be closed (hopefully). It is important that your child be here and on time. This is an uninterrupted period of time that allows a great deal of instruction to take place. Remember students need to be in their classroom by 7:50AM daily. Last week was the one year anniversary of the “dusting of snow.” I am still amazed at the dedication of the staff at Bluff Park who did whatever it took to keep your child safe, warm and fed. Also the support of the community was outstanding. We had a need for blankets, and that need was met. Anything we needed we got. It was a great experience, but one I could do without repeating. There are some new faces at Bluff Park. Student teachers from several of the local universities are on campus for their internship. This should be their last step in becoming new teachers. It speaks well of our school thatuniversities recognize the great job our staff does and want their students to work with our staff. I hope you have been as impressed by our students and their use of the Chromebook as I have been. They and their teachers are doing some amazing things with them. During the year, we are going to send out reminders asking you to check your child’s browser history. We want our students to become good digital citizens who make good choices about search terms and sites to go to. Look at their history and talk with them about the choices they are making. As I look at data, I see that 98% of our students are making great decisions. One thing that has surprised me are the times that students log on. There are a few that are logging on from 11:00PM to 3:00AM on school nights. Please occasionally check your child’s browsing history and when they were signed on.
David Fancher
GO Panthers!!
We have purchased the hooks necessary for all classroom students to hang their jackets & bags up & keep them off the classroom floors. These should be installed in the hallways during these last few months of school. We have set a goal of raising $3,400 during our Loose Change Week Fundraiser the week of February 9th. The funds we raise, combined with the generous $1,000 donation received from Paul DeMarco, will be enough to install a new shade structure on the playground this summer for teachers & students. We are also installing a fantastic water fountain donated by Mr. Carlo Joseph on the playground. Thank you so much, Carlo! The kids & teachers will appreciate this donation for years & years! Outdoor Classroom Brick Sales will be going on February 2nd-13th. These personalized bricks are a great gift to show a teacher or staff member your appreciation for their hard work. It is also such a special way to leave a legacy at the school for your family, especially your children! This brick fundraiser is used to raise funds for our fantastic Outdoor Classroom. We are currently recruiting for 2015-2016 PTO board members & committee chairs, so if you are interested in becoming more involved in the school, please send me a note. We would love to have you! My email is georgiapearson48@gmail.com. There are so many volunteer opportunities for you as parents, & I decided to list them below for you to put in your calendars! We rely so much on your generous gifts of time to make Bluff Park fantastic! There are events in the early morning, evening & day time, so hopefully you can find one that will work with your schedule. Please pay special attention to the Spring Fling Date! This is an event where we will need lots & lots of volunteers! You are a wonderful group of parents that give so much to this school, & we never take your volunteerism for granted. Thank you so much for all you do!
Parent Volunteer Opportunity Dates February 3 Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night at the Galleria February 9-13 Loose Change Week March 14 Spring Outdoor Cleanup March 19 Walk to School Day March 23-27 Reach for the Stars Fundraiser April 13-17 Teacher Appreciate Week May 6 Tentative Bike to School Day May 15 Spring Fling
Georgia Pearson PTO President