The AdvocateFalls ChurCh ElEmEntary Pta

www.fallschurchpta.org

Mount Daniel and Thomas Jefferson Elementary Schools

may 2012

In The AdvocatePage 2News from TJSchool Board Update

Page 3News from Mount DanielPage 4PYP: Just Say Yes to InquiryPage 5Meet the Executive Board

Page 6Thanks to our Volunteers

Upcoming EventsMay 7–11 Teacher Appreciation

Week

May 8 TJ Fine Arts Show and Ice Cream Social, 6:30 pm

PTA Meeting, Annual Elections, TJ, 7 pm

May 23 Volunteer Luncheon, MD, 11:15 am

Mount Daniel Art Show, 5–8 pm

May 28 Memorial Day, schools closed

May 30 TJ Band & Chorus Assembly, 9 am

TJ Band Concert, 7 pm

Jun. 13 Early Release

Jun. 14 Last Day of School, early release

From the PresidentApril Rollins

It is hard to believe the school year is almost over! A friend once told me something that rings true for me: “The days are long but the years are short.” Although I have had many a long day, this year has flown by for me. As I write this article, which will be my last one as President, I reflect on the many experiences I have had during this year.

First, I would like to thank and express my deepest gratitude to the wonderful women who served on the Executive Board this year: Shawna Russell, Suzanne Hladky, Nancy Romps, Beth Green, Aime Ballard-Wood, and Stephanie Oppenheimer. Without you, this year’s many accomplishments would not have been possible. I have really appre-ciated your support and dedication. To the many committee chairs and volunteers: Thank you for your time and commitment to the PTA. I would also like to thank the administration and staff at both Mount Daniel and Thomas Jefferson. Your support and involvement in our PTA has made this year incredibly successful. Many thanks to my wonderful family, John, Hannah, Emma, and Sara, for their continued support and patience throughout the year. I truly appreciate it!

On the budget front, the School Board will officially adopt the 2013 school budget on May 8. This budget reflects the School Board’s full request from City Council. Some of the specifics of this budget that will directly affect the elementary schools include the hiring of five new teachers for grades K-8, full step salary increases for eligible employ-ees effective July 2012, plans for hybrid learning, and the replacement/update of math and science text books. This is very positive news for the many citizens who advocated and supported the School Board through this process. Thank you for taking the time and coming out to support the schools during this process.

We have had a outstanding fundraising year thanks to all of your support and in-volvement. From our wildly popular Home & Garden Tour to our fun family March Mayhem event, we have raised quite a bit of money which will support our wonderful teachers and schools in numerous ways. We finish out the year with many more fun events, including Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7–11), the TJ Art & Chorus Show along with PTA Elections & Ice Cream Social (May 8), the TJ Mile Run (May 9), the Mount Daniel Kindergarten Musical (May 15), the 2nd Grade Native American Day (May 17), the Mount Daniel Art Show (May 23), and the TJ Band performing with and without the Chorus (May 30).

To finish, I want to say thank you very much for allowing me to serve the schools and our community this year. I am leaving you in very capable hands with the new Execu-tive Board under the guidance of Shawna Russell, who I am confident will lead the PTA with her wonderful blend of skill, patience, creativity, and exuberance. Thank you, Shawna, for all of your support on the Board over the last two years; we are all excited to see what 2012–13 will bring under your leadership!

The Advocate May 2012

Page 2 ...........................................................................................................................

The Advocate is the newsletter of the Falls Church Elementary PTA, which supports Thomas Jefferson Elementary, 601 S. Oak St., Falls Church, VA 22046, (703) 248-5660; and Mount Daniel Elementary, 2328 N. Oak St.,

Falls Church, VA 22046, (703) 248-5640.

Debbie Liang, Editor (703) 531-8840

Correspondence for The Advocate should be sent to the Editor, c/o Elementary PTA, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School,

601 S. Oak St., Falls Church, VA 22046Articles for The Advocate should be submitted by e-mail to

dtmliang@gmail.com

2nd Grade Native American Day is Thursday, May 17

Native American Day will take place on Thursday, May 17, from 12:00–2:00 pm on the TJ playground. At this fun fes-tival, classes will rotate through six stations to learn about various aspects of Native American culture and history—food, planting, beading, games, and more. We will need lots of parent volunteers for each station, to donate and/or prepare materials in advance, and to serve as escorts for each class. If you are interested in helping, or would like to learn more, please contact Lisa Lacroix at octolacroix@yahoo.com.

News from TJBob Palermo, Principal

The thermometer continues to race up and down, and, fortunately, most of our days have been dry allowing students to enjoy outdoor recess. We also attempted to have students outdoors for the recent space shuttle flyovers with a scheduled fire drill, but without prior knowledge of the shuttle schedule, our timing was a bit off; luckily, some classes were outdoors for a sighting, and others had views from their classroom windows. I hope some of our future scientists were inspired by the show.

It is very difficult to believe that May is looming, and for us that means many things. The Art Show and PTA Ice Cream Social will be held the evening of May 8th, and the Mile Run is slated for the 3rd and 4th grades for the following morn-ing at George Mason High School. These mark the beginning of the culminating activities for the year. Of course, testing, including the SOLs, is in our year-end plans, and teachers aim to find the right balance in emphasizing the importance of good effort without causing undue stress. We also see our PYP Planners as providing a balance. Second graders will be think-ing about Sharing the Planet as they study economics. Third graders will be wrapping up their study of Simple Machines and they will also study economics. Fourth graders have recently enjoyed a field trip to Manassas Battlefield to enhance their look at the Conflict and Resolution planner, where the Civil War is one of the vehicles to understanding.

Teacher Appreciation Week begins May 7th, and we celebrate all staff at Thomas Jefferson. I am grateful to work with such a skillful and dedicated team. We at TJ greatly appreciate the continued support of the PTA, and in particular this time of year, we appreciate their sponsoring a lunch for the staff. Thank You!

School Board NewsKieran Sharpe, School Board Liaison

Many thanks for your good attention to and support for an in-creased operating budget for the upcoming school year. With your help, the Board and Council have committed added resources to staffing and other supports after several years of having to reduce overall and per student spending.

Input from parents is also helping us to put increased atten-tion on school bus safety. Although we take many precautions in our own transit efforts and we receive great cooperation and support from the Falls Church police, an incident has occurred where a child was hit by a car and injured. Parents at the bus stops and parents keeping us informed of their safety concerns and prevention ideas help keep such incidents very rare.

Over the next few months, construction will begin at TJ, and plans for increasing preschool and elementary capacity will focus on potential upgrades to a city building on Cherry Street and to the Mount Daniel school. Success for each of these projects will depend heavily on continuing input from parents and school staff. The Architect Selection Advisory Committe met at the Central Office on May 2, and added advisory groups will be forming very soon. Look for the Falls Church Education Foundation to consider an expanded role in raising funds for building and technology facilities over the next few years. Please remember the Foundation’s annual din-ner on May 12, and THANK YOU for your support of PTA, Boosters, and Foundation fundraising throughout the year.

Board advisory groups on Day Care, Special Education, ESL, and other matters will be completing this year’s work and recruiting new members for the upcoming year. Please offer your support—and participation—to keep all these mecha-nisms high-performing on a continuing basis.

Due to the special election on May 1, the Board will have just six members for a brief time at the end of this school year, before reaching seven members again on July 1.

May 2012 The Advocate

............................................................................................................................................... Page 3

News from Mount DanielKathy Halayko, Principal

Happy Birthday Danny! A medley of songs celebrating our favorite hippo was sung by students, staff, and guests in the multipurpose room on Wednesday, April 25. Danny re-vealed his age to the audience and surprised us with a visit. After hugs all around, students were dismissed to Happy Birthday Danny celebrations in their classrooms thanks to some very creative room par-ents. It was a memorable and fun day at Mount Daniel!

Arbor Day was celebrated on April 27 with songs and recog-nitions. More than 45 students and adults were recognized by Allison Lohrenz for their participation in the Operation Earth Watch Program this year. Ben Thompson, Falls Church City Arborist, told the audience about the Redbud tree that was planted this year and talked about the importance of trees in our environment

Mark your calendars for some important and fun events com-ing soon in May!

On Wednesday afternoon, May 2, the Mount Daniel staff will welcome prospective kindergarten students and their parents to an Open House and Annual Kindergarten Registration. Students and their parents will visit classrooms, play with materials and toys, meet the kindergarten staff, and have time to complete necessary registration requirements. Parents may give completed registration materials to staff members who will be on hand to answer questions, and share information about day care and other services at Mount Daniel. We look forward to meeting our future kindergartners.

Mount Daniel Field Day will be held on the morning of May 9. Mr. Garrison will be seeking parent volunteers to help the students with a variety of gross motor activities and games both inside and outside the building. This is a fun morning for the students, so we hope you will be able to join us, rain or shine!

The Kindergarten Music Program will be held in the Mount Daniel Multipurpose Room on Tuesday, May 15 at 9:15 a.m. for Rooms 1, 2, and 3, and at 10:15 a.m. for Rooms 4, 5, 6, and 7. The students will sing some favorite songs from their kin-dergarten year under the direction of Kat Rich, our long term substitute for music. We hope families will be able to attend. This is a treat not to be missed!

The Annual MD Volunteer Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, May 23 from 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. in the Li-brary. The entire staff contributes to this lovely day when we personally thank our many volunteers for their generosity and support throughout the school year. Every volunteer’s contri-

bution is special to us, so please come, enjoy a delicious lunch, and let us honor you! We appreciate all you do for us no mat-ter how large or small!

Mrs. Garrett and her team of parent volunteers are hard at work this month preparing for the Mount Daniel Art Show and Dinner on May 23 from 5:00–8:00 p.m. Always an eve-ning to delight the eye, Mount Daniel becomes its own Falls Church Gallery of Art with beautiful works on display by all the students at Mount Daniel. A pizza dinner can be pur-chased that evening for the whole family in the MD cafete-ria. We must know in advance how many pizzas to order, so please complete the order form that will be sent home to you in your child’s Danny folder.

Beginning on June 11 the staff will display Lost and Found treasures in the main hallway. Teachers will walk classes by the items in the hopes that students will recognize their belongings. Please feel free to stop by to collect things your student may have lost this year. Unclaimed Lost and Found items will be donated to a local charity at the end of June.

Mount Daniel OC NewsErika Bean, Mount Daniel OC Coordinator

Mount Daniel’s Outdoor Classroom space has seen many improvements this spring including a stage for nature productions, a digging area, and two new tables to sort natural objects! The gar-den beds are overflowing with spinach, lettuce, green onions, celery, peas, and tomatoes! We are very excited to harvest all of these crops and make our very own salad!

Both Kindergarteners and 1st graders con-tinue to explore nature and learn about the environment by dis-secting owl pellets, us-ing our microscopes, exploring Discovery Woods, and doing sci-ence experiments.

Our second work party of the year was on April 15. Families helped to mulch the garden beds behind the Waterford trailer. A big THANK YOU to The Gradle Family, Susan Matchett, The Lindley Family, and Mara Polanek.

The Advocate May 2012

Page 4 ...........................................................................................................................

Have you seen the short film Caine’s Arcade? If not, you can find it at cainesarcade.com, and it’s ten minutes you really should spend. Nine-year-old Caine is the latest Internet sensa-tion, and not because he can rap like a radio star or play the violin like a junior Yo-Yo Ma. Rather, what he did is some-thing many of your children probably do every day—he built things using cardboard boxes.

I’ll bet you didn’t think about PYP when you watched the film about Caine’s Arcade, but that’s one of the first things that came to my mind. This child built an elaborate cardboard arcade because that’s what sparked his interest. He wanted to buy a claw machine, but his dad said no. So he took an s-hook, a string, and a cardboard box, and he built one himself. If Caine hadn’t been interested in building arcade games and some teacher had assigned that to him as a project, it would have felt like a lot of work. But Caine built his arcade because it interested him. He obviously spent lots of time putting it together, and I’m betting it didn’t really feel like work at all.

What we’re trying to do with PYP is to find your child’s “arcade”—the project that lights up their mind, engages their curiosity, and sets them off on a learning journey that doesn’t feel like work. This is why our units start with provocations—exciting, thought-provoking activities that get your children thinking about the concepts we want them to understand. They care a lot more about the answer to “How long does it take a chick’s egg to hatch?” when they’re the ones asking the question.

The thing is—we can’t really let our students build large card-board arcades at school, even if that’s what they want to do.

Primary Years Programme: Just Say Yes to InquiryBeth Green, Mount Daniel PYP Coordinator

We don’t have the supplies, time, or space. But it’s important that they have the freedom to tackle big projects like that. I know my daughter is always coming up with elaborate ideas (A tent village in the playroom! A restaurant of her own in the dining room!) and I’m embarrassed to say that, even though I know better, much of the time my instinct is to say no. No, that’s too much trouble, it’s too messy, it takes up too much space, it’s too hard to clean up. Can’t we do something smaller and easier?

I want to encourage you (and me!) to fight that instinct and to say yes more often. Say yes when your child asks to do something messy or labor-intensive or that takes up a lot of space. Find a corner of a room and let your child loose. You may wind up with a neon green sign reading “The Café is OPEN!” attached to your chandelier (I speak from experience here), but you’ll also find yourself with a child who is engaged, active, and learning without even knowing it.

In the book Light Up Your Child’s Mind, Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis explain that their research shows “one overriding and universal finding: the greatest source of [children’s] satis-faction [with learning] almost always results from children’s freedom to pursue topics of their own choosing in a manner with which they feel most comfortable.” So let your child build that enormous model airplane or that Lego city that takes up half the floor in your living room. And when you start to develop the shakes over the chaos involved, remind yourself of Renzulli and Reis’ words, or of Caine’s face when he finally had customers at his arcade. Learning isn’t just about facts. It’s about delving into what interests us, and sometimes that’s a messy prospect.

8th Annual Falls Church Education Foundation GalaThis year’s Gala will be held on the evening of Saturday, May 12 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. Plans for this special evening include a cocktail reception, auction, and dinner. Entertainment will feature our talented Falls Church City Public School students!

To purchase a ticket, please go to www.fcedf.org and click on 2012 Gala under Activities

Proceeds from the Gala benefit the foundation’s operations and programs including our teacher grant fund and other special FCCPS activities. For a complete listing of FCEF activities in your child’s school, please visit the Foundation’s website and click on What We Do.

For information about sponsorship opportunities or donating an item/service to the auction, please contact FCEF at (703) 538-3381.

May 2012 The Advocate

............................................................................................................................................... Page 5

Meet the 2012-13 Officer NomineesElections for the 2012-13 slate will be held at the May PTA meeting at TJ on May 8 at 7:00 p.m. The Nominating Com-mittee has presented this slate of 2012-13 nominees. Nomina-tions also will be accepted from the floor at the May meeting.

President — Shawna RussellShawna Russell, her husband Dave, and their two children Callie and Charlie moved to Falls Church in 2008 to be a part of the best school system in the DC area. Callie is now a third grader at TJ and Charlie is in first grade at Mount Daniel. This will be Shawna’s third year on the PTA Executive Board, where she has also served as President-Elect and Recording Secretary. She has chaired the Original Works art program for the past three years and helped organize the March May-hem event in 2012. Shawna really enjoys working with the dynamic volunteers in the PTA and is constantly amazed and impressed by the dedication and hard work that supports our community. She can be found volunteering at the schools dur-ing the week and cheering on the kids’ soccer and basketball teams on weekends.

President-Elect — Celaine BrunoCelaine Bruno, her husband Steve, and their two children Kaitlyn and Matthew moved to Falls Church City in 2010 from Atlanta, Georgia. Kaitlyn is currently a sixth grader at Mary Ellen Henderson, and Matthew is in first grade at Mount Daniel. Celaine works part-time as an accounting consultant, and when she is not working enjoys running, bak-ing and cooking, reading, and exploring the DC area. Celaine served as co-chair of the Fall Parent Social in 2011 and as a room parent at Mount Daniel. In Atlanta, she served on the PTA board as fundraising chair, organized several Spring carnivals, and was chair of the welcoming committee for new families for three years. She is very excited to be a part of a great school community here in Falls Church City and is looking forward to serve as President-Elect for the next school year.

Vice President — Beth GreenBeth Green, husband Joe, and their two children Mia (3rd grade) and Ryan (1st grade) moved to Falls Church in 2004. Beth is the PYP Coordinator at Mount Daniel. Before her daughter was born she taught third and fourth grade GT in Fairfax County, and then preschool at Arlington Unitarian Cooperative Preschool for six years. Beth has been one of the parent chairs for Odyssey of the Mind for the past two years, and was the PTA Executive Board Corresponding Secretary for the 2011-12 school year. Beth loves being involved in the school system as both a parent and a teacher.

Treasurer — Suzanne HladkySuzanne Hladky and her husband, Shannon, moved to Falls Church in 2006 when their son, Henry, was 1 year old. They were looking for a safe, warm community to raise their family and found Falls Church fit the bill. A year after the move in 2007, twins William and Lucy were born and now they will be starting kindergarten at Mount Daniel in the fall. The family is happy to have a few more years at Mount Daniel with the twins, since Henry is finishing up 1st grade and will be start-ing 2nd grade next year at TJ. Suzanne has enjoyed her first year on the board as Treasurer and looks forward to another fun year with a great group of parents. When she’s not busy running to the bank with loads of checks, Suzanne likes to spend her time on family vacations to DisneyWorld, Ocean City, and Michigan.

Corresponding Secretary — Stephanie OppenheimerStephanie Oppenheimer finished up her second year as Vice President for the Falls Church Elementary PTA and, when she learned of the position’s two-year term limit, decided she couldn’t tear herself away. So, she is adding one more year to her service with a stint as Corresponding Secretary. She and her husband Peter, and their two boys, Jonathan (3rd grade) and Danny (1st grade) moved to Falls Church four years ago. Stephanie has been a room parent at both Mount Daniel and TJ and also served as the PTA’s Recording Secretary for the 2009-10 school year. Over the summer, Stephanie and her family look forward to plenty of time at High Point Pool, Bethany Beach, and a trip out to Colorado to visit family... that is, once she finishes sobbing that she no longer has a child at Mount Daniel.

Recording Secretary — Kristen RossKristin Ross, a native of Virginia, has lived in Falls Church since 2001. She has two daughters, Greta in 2nd grade and Avery in kindergarten. Before having children she worked as an elementary school counselor. Kristen has co-chaired the class basket raffle for the last two years. and has been a stylist for Stella & Dot for the last two years. Kristen enjoys traveling with friends and family, running, and eading.

School Board Liaison — Aime Ballard-WoodAime Ballard-Wood grew up in Arlington a few yards from the Falls Church City line, but moved into the City with her husband Charlie Wood in 1999, settling within blocks of the homes where three generations of Ballards were raised. Even before their son, Emmett (2nd grade), was born, Aime was an avid supporter of the school system and close follower of the City’s annual budget process. Although Charlie has more time to volunteer in the classroom, around the school, and on the field, Aime has made a spring sport of attending School Board and City Council meetings and ruining dinner parties with tales of local politics.

The Advocate May 2012

Page 6 ...........................................................................................................................

The 4th biannual Falls Church Elementary PTA Home & Garden Tour went off without a hitch on April 22 with record crowds braving the record-breaking rain and cold tempera-tures, making it the best-selling tour in HGT history! As many as 430 people enjoyed our Tour stops and in doing so supported our schools.

While our collectible Tour booklet credits the many people who contributed to the planning of the event over the last six months, the Steering Committee of the Home & Garden Tour would like to highlight and extend enormous thanks to the following members of the FCEPTA community, whose time and talent made Tour Day a flawless experience from start to finish.

Volunteer docents: Rosaura Aguerreberre, Patti Austin, Monti Board, Sara Diemel, Donna Englander, Robyn Evans, Celia Gieser, Debbie Hauter, Suzanne Hladky, Maureen Kahr, Chrisie King, Crystal Langstaff, Sandy Lee, Debbie Liang, Karen Mehring, Bharat Pathak, Jennifer Payne, Stacey Pilson, Sandy Reinfurt, Kristin Rodriguez, Kristen Ross, Mary Ste-vens, Jennifer Tabola, Stacy Vagoun, Brittanie Werbel, Lisa Young, Christine Zinman, Aime Ballard-Wood, and Maryam Enayat.

Outdoor Classroom representatives: Kathy Halayko and Erika Bean.

Ticket pickup staff: Kathi Bakin, Kristen Milhorn, Alane O’Neill, Stephanie Oppenheimer, Shawna Russell, Robin Wil-liams, and Jamie Zike.

Reception: Celaine Bruno

Last-minute rainy-day equipment lenders: Lisa Lacroix, Angelina Lopez, Jackie & Paul Handly, Pete Seroskie, Tom Clinton, and Katrin Boneau.

Homeowners: Claudine Pierce & Steve Handy, Nikki & Ed Henderson, Jay & Carol Baker, Joanne Rodman & Wesley Warren, Wendy Koch & Alex Keenan, Kent & Cathy Taylor, and Sam Beatty & Ellen Gilmore. Special thanks to current FCEPTA parents Kent & Cathy for welcoming not only PTA volunteers but costumed Victorian docents into their home; and to Sam & Ellen who made their tour stop a coveted one by keeping their garden docents warm, dry and sustained with hot coffee and cocoa!

Finally, we would like to recognize two individuals whose ability to think ahead and anticipate our needs was unrivaled on April 22. Jennifer Cohn coordinated docent schedules and equipment, and was an indispensable part of Tour day, checking in frequently with everyone staffing the homes and making last-minute swaps. We are so grateful for Jennifer’s take-charge attitude and making sure every home had every-thing it needed. Alane O’Neill was prepared for the influx of buyers and pre-sales pickups and kept the operation running extraordinarily smoothly for the entire sales period, complete with refreshments for our hardworking ticketing crew. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Bonnie Games, Nancy Romps & April Rollins2012 Home & Garden Tour Steering Committee

2012 Home & Garden Tour Acknowledgements

Mount Daniel Picture Day Volunteers for helping the kids look their best: Moira Demyan, Suzanne Hladky, Isabel Holliday, and Aimee Urquhart.

School Supply KitsDon’t forget to place orders by Friday, June 15 to receive the best price. To order, go to www.edukitinc.com.

This optional program is a time saving, simple way for you to ensure that your student has exactly what they need to start the year off right and to be successful throughout the year. Your kit will contain the name brand items your teach-ers have chosen and be delivered to your child’s classroom before the first day of school.

This is a small fundraiser through the Falls Church Elemen-tary PTA. Thank you for your participation in the EduKit program at Mount Daniel & Thomas Jefferson Elementary!

Questions? Contact Mandy Lindley at mandylindly@hot-mail.com or 703-635-7326.

Art ShowsMay is the month of art shows at our

elementary schools. Please join us!May 8: TJ Fine Arts Show and Ice Cream Social, 6:30 pm; Elementary PTA Annual Elections, 7:00 pm

May 23: Mount Daniel Art Show, 5:00–8:00pm