February 6, 2008

IMPORTANT CALENDAR DATES

If you have items to add to the calendar, please e-mail the date and time along with a description to calendar@pacificaschool.org

HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE MEETING TODAY AT 3:30 PM

Everyone is welcome to attend today’s meeting at 3:30 pm to discuss candidates for open teaching positions.

FEBRUARY SCHOLASTIC ORDER

Pacifica families! The order fliers for this month are in your mailboxes. Please place any orders by 2/20/08. You may put the order form into the WEISSE family mailbox with a check or money order made out to Scholastic Book Clubs; or exact cash. Another new way to order is to go online and place your order at www.scholastic.com/parentordering our Class User Name is: pacifica and our Password is: peace. Online orders require payment by credit card.

I want to thank all families who have used this program to buy inexpensive books and activity kits. Our combined Bonus points have afforded us to get a bunch of things for free, namely a 27 inch TV, 2 electric pencil sharpeners, a set of 30 books for the 6/7 class and other fun things. For any questions call me at (310)936-8984. - Annette Weisse

COOKBOOK FUNDRAISER UPDATE

The success of this fundraiser depends upon all of us contributing. We need 150 recipes (we now have 10!). We need families to preorder a cookbook on the recipe card. Our goal is 300 orders (we now have 2). The books will be published by a publishing company that specializes in cookbook fundraisers. The cookbooks will be $10 each with at least $5 going to the school.

If you think this is a worthwhile endeavor... please get recipe forms (the publishing company wants recipes on forms) in the school entry hall and drop recipes in the envelope in the hall by FEBRUARY 22, 2008.  Call Jeannette at 310-391-0372 evenings if you need more info.

RE-ENROLLMENT TIME

Re-enrollment forms have been placed in everyone’s box in the entrance hallway. If you have misplaced your form, there are extras on the table in the hall.  Remember, this is an essential piece to our enrollment process. We need to know how many students we can accept for next school-year. Please return your forms no later than Friday, February 15 to the BUCHMANN box in the hall.

KNOW YOUR COUNCIL!

As part of our continuing series of introductions of members of Pacifica’s Organization Council, this week, meet one of your Community Affairs Committee Co-Chairs:

“Hi – my name is Agnete and I am one of the chairs of the community affairs committee. This is my fourth year at Pacifica. My son Drake graduated last year and this is Liam's first year at Pacifica – Liam is in the 6/7 group. I was born in Sweden and came to Los Angeles when I was 19th to study acting at the Lee Strasberg institute. I have acted in many plays and movies here and in Sweden. I have also produced and directed adult and children's plays. I am proud to be a lifetime member of the Actors Studio here on the West Coast and New York. I recently completed my first screenplay and am hard at work on my second one. With all this going on I also have had the pleasure and honor to raise two amazing boys that sometimes teach me more than I teach them. Before coming to Pacifica, we spent 9 years at Play Mountain Place, where we all learned conflict resolution and to know our limits. I worked there as an assistant teacher and taught drama the last three years. I am so happy to have found an alternative way of raising my children and an alternative way of learning.”

PLEDGE NOTIFICATIONS ARE IN BOXES!

If you made a pledge of a monthly donation to Pacifica's Annual Giving Campaign, the notification should have been in your box this week. If you did not get a notification, we may not have gotten your pledge. If you have any questions about whether we received your pledge or donation, please contact Erika Gonzalez at erika@pacificaschool.org or leave a note in the Gonzalez box.

Please submit pledges and donations to Carmen or put them in the box marked "Donations" outside her office (it is locked). Please make sure that you include some kind of note mentioning that it is for annual giving.

Many thanks!

ART PARTY NEWS

We still need your donations… they are slow coming in and we could really use the help! Last week a letter to use for soliciting donations from businesses was placed in everyone’s box – please, when you go buy coffee in the morning or find yourself in your child's favorite store, pull out that letter and just ask, "Could you give a donation to our school?" People want to say yes! Make as many copies as you like, and there are more in the hall.

Please also consider how you can contribute of yourself. Are you good at organizing? I would love to bid on an organizer to help me with my closet! Make a mean spaghetti? I know a few folks who could use a night off from cooking! Providing these types of services really build our sense of community!

The Donation Forms went in your boxes this week and more are available in the front hall or office. Please include these with any donation you drop off. We would like at least one donation from each family.

- Fundraising Committee

PACIFICA PRESS NEEDS ARTICLES!

If you are an aspiring writer or reporter, how about writing for our own newsletter, the Pacifica Press? In particular, the newsletter needs an article about the talent show, “Coffee Tea & Talent,” that took place in December, but articles on other topics are certainly welcome. Please submit entries or indications of interest in writing for the Pacifica Press by e-mail to newsletter@pacificaschool.org, or to the Communications Committee box in the office.

PARENT SUPPORT GROUP

The Community Affairs Committee is asking you to save the dates. February 27, 6 to 8 pm and March 6, 3:30 to 4:30. The February date is for a 6-7-8 Parent Support Group and the March date is for a K-1 Parent Support Group. More details to follow!

CLASSROOM UPDATES

K/1 Group: 

K/1 has been studying community and visited the Palms post office last week to learn how our mail and packages get from place to place.  This was also our first walking fieldtrip and the kids got to practice walking with the ropes.

The community unit is continuing with a walking fieldtrip to the fire station next week on Friday, February 15th at 10 am.  Please note that this date is rescheduled from Thursday, 2/7, and occurs on an early release day.

K/1 hosted yesterday's LA Jazz Society concerts and a great time was had by all.

The class is starting to study more science and the plant unit is up next for mid-February.  Parents and community members with ideas for plant-related lessons or field trips are invited to contact teachers Eric or Sascha.