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Upcoming Events
Sept. 6
Band Mtg -7:30 @ Emerson
Strings Mtg-7:30 @ Patwin
Sept. 7
PTA mtg 7:00 pm/library
1st Computer Club 1:30-3pm
Strings Mtg-3:30 @ Patwin
Strings Mtg-7:30 @ Patwin
Band Mtg-7:30 @ Emerson
Sept. 8
Back to School Night
4th, 5th & 6th grade @
6pm, 7pm & 8pm
Strings Mtg-7:30 @ Patwin
Sept. 9
4-6th Chorus Begins at
7:30 am
Sept 14
1:30 pm Bike Blender Party
Sept 16-30th
Innisbrook Fund Raiser
Sept. 20th
MPAC 7:00 pm
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Lunchtime Help Needed
Birch Lane has been given the opportunity to offer Crunch Lunch 5 days a week rather than just 2, but we need parents to help supervise on the new days. Crunch Lunch is the district's salad bar with an emphasis on local and seasonal produce. If you have an hour to spare any day of the week (between 11:30 and 12:30) please let me or Ms. Tyzzer know.
Thanks!
Holly Istas
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or
759-2427
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Back to School Lunch Thank You
A big thank you to the PTA Staff Appreciation Committee for the fabulous "Back to School" luncheon held on August 22nd. Thank you to Jeneane Stevenson, Kathy Barnes, Megan Rabin and Annie Ventresco for all the wonderful food and the lovely decorations. We hope it helped kick off a great school year at Birch Lane!
To all Birch Lane families, we look forward to your contributions of goodies during the upcoming school year.
Thank you,
Steff Moss
Staff Appreciation Committee member
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Principal's Message
Dear Birch Lane Families,
Welcome or welcome back to our beautiful campus. We have had a smooth start with not too much heat, not too many tears and lots of happy faces!
Some new faces this year are:
Michele Salisbury, Secretary 1- After trying to do so since April, Nancy Hall is really retiring on September 9th. Nancy and Michele have been overlapping for the past two weeks and Michele is catching on quickly!
Amie Hansen, teacher - 3/4 Montessori
Jessica Markley, teacher - K/1 Montessori
Computer Club and chorus, - now called "Concert Choir," begin this week. Look for information about Student Council to start soon.
Be sure to attend the first PTA meeting of the year, this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the library. There is no better way to stay connected to your child's school than to be involved with our outstanding parent group.
Thanks for all you do to support the students of Birch Lane Elementary School.
Sincerely,
Kathy Tyzzer
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Message from the PTA President
Greetings Birch Lane Families!
Welcome to the first issue of the Birch Lane Newsletter for the new school year! I hope that you are all settling in to a new school routine and enjoying the last days of summer weather. If you haven't already attended your child's back to school night with his or her teacher, you will this week (4th - 6th grade Back to School Night is this Thursday, Sept. 8th).
There is always so much happening at the beginning of the school year! The Back-to-School picnic was a great success and was enjoyed by students and parents alike. A big thank you to Brandi Lutzker for organizing this year's picnic and arranging for the Hotdogger and Jamba Juice to be there. More huge thank-yous are due to all of the volunteers who helped make this year's Paper Parade go so smoothly: Aaron Wright, Brandi Lutzker, Susie Carrell, Kim Masliniak, Allison Chilcott, Gina Nunes, Lisa Dock,
Jen Hagedorn, Delinda Nicolet, Tobie Faith, Kristi Gladding, Kristy Powell, Lana Magness, Jennifer Raven and Lia Lopez.
There are so many different volunteer opportunities at Birch Lane: in your child's classroom, in the garden and grounds and, of course, with the PTA. I hope you'll join us at our first PTA meeting this Wednesday, September 7th at 7 p.m. in the library to learn more about how the PTA contributes to creating a positive learning community at Birch Lane and how you can become more involved.
Please send any questions or comments my way!
Holly Istas
PTA President
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759-2427
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Greetings 4th-6th Grade Families
Welcome to Birch Lane and Student Council. This year at Birch Lane, Student council representation will be open to all interested 4th-6th graders. The requirements to participate in Student Council during the 2011-2012 school year are as follows:
-A letter of recommendation from an adult. This adult can be a parent, grandparent, coach or any trusted adult (not a BL teacher or staff member). This letter is due to Room #19/Palow no later than September 20. No letters of recommendation will be accepted, after this date.
-Student Council meetings will take place in Room #19 on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, beginning September 27. Meetings will run from 3:05-4:00 p.m. SHARP. Please make arrangements for your child to be picked up or travel from school to home at 4:00 p.m. on the meeting dates.
-A Student council representative missing three (3) meetings (unexcused) will be dismissed from Student Council representation.
It is the goal of the BL staff and Student Council leadership to include any and all 4th-6thgraders interested in student government. We want to encourage every 4th-6th grader to join this fun and active organization.
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The School Site Council is an elected body that equally represents the staff and the parents and community members of each school. The chief function of the Council is to oversee the school plan and to approve the budgeting of categorical funding for the school. The Birch Lane Site Council has openings for two parents on this year's council. Members usually serve a term of two years, with an" option to renew" for two more years. Meetings are held at least six times each year beginning September 21, 2011. The usual meeting date and times are 7:00 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month.
If you are interested in being of the School Site Council, please submit a brief biographical statement (one paragraph or so) introducing yourself and your interest in being elected to the council. Statements are due in the office or by e-mail by Monday, September 12, 2007.
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Welcome from the Birch Lane Library
The Birch Lane library would like to welcome both new and returning families to a wonderful year of books and reading. We have been busy preparing the library for the new school year and will have many new books to share with teachers, students, and families. The library will open to students on Monday, Sept. 12 when we will begin our library classes. Primary students take part in a rich literature based library curriculum while the intermediate students focus not only on books and authors, but take part in an information literacy program consisting of internet skills, research strategies, and literature based projects.
We are already planning the second annual "Love a Picture Book Month" for February 2012 with a family night celebrationon March 1st so save the date! Of course students will also take part in Battle of the Books in spring and the library year will culminate with a Reading Road Trip celebration in May. There are many things to look forward to but like anything else, the library could use help to make all our programming needs successful. Please consider volunteering in the library.
The library compiled a wonderful "picture book" about our Love a Picture Book Month last year and subsequent letter to the editor at the New York Times and the incredible response we received from publishers, authors, and illustrators. We are planning to make the book available for purchase if there is enough interest. Stop by the library to view the book and let us know if you would be interested in purchasing a copy.
Lastly, our theme this year is "Books take you places!" so if you took a picture of your child reading a book while traveling this summer, or perhaps enjoying a staycation, submit the picture to the library for display as well as an opportunity to win a free book.
We wish you a wonderful school year and happy reading!
Lynne Sundstrom and Katy Larson
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Welcome all to the new school year.
The SaveAGallon scanning program has begun and many students are taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity. This program is intended to notify parents when their student has arrived at school, increase students' interest in biking and walking, reduce auto traffic before and after school, track CO2 (carbon dioxide) savings, help the school know how many students are biking/walking to school and this therefore allows the school to apply for safe routes to school money based upon actual numbers. Yes, Birch Lane is the only school in the district that offers this scan and notify program (option). Parents may choose to be notified via e-mail, text or phone so bring your contact (parental) e-mail address or cell/home phone number to the scanning table and get registered now!
The SaveAGallon program is FREE to all students and parents at Birch Lane Elementary and our scanning table is conveniently located near the bike racks at the back of the school. What does the program cover? All miles to and from the school by biking or walking qualify. Students involved in this program earn 'Monkey Money', at 0.25 each day, by remembering their tag and stopping by the scanning station between 8:10-8:30 a.m. Monkey money can be redeemed for snacks and prizes at monthly after school parties.
All are welcome to attend our Bike Blender smoothie party after school on Wednesday, Sept 14, at Birch Lane on the blacktop at the back of the school. (Volunteers needed!)
The classrooms with the most participating students so far are: Walthers, Hansen, George/Viguie, Monticello and Sater.
Additional miles, outside of this contest, may be logged at www.saveagallon.org by joining the BL Staff/Family team.
We are looking for volunteers and/or money to help support this vital program. Volunteering is fun and easy even if you only have one morning per week. If you can't volunteer please consider a financial donation to help keep this program going. If you can help or have any questions feel free to stop by the scanning station or email
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.
Thanks to Steve Faith and our SaveAGallon co-founder Tim Starback.
The BL Bike lady, Sanne
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The BRAVO music program is back this year! This program offers Music Appreciation to all of our students by introducing them to a variety of composers throughout the year.
The BRAVO program is run by volunteers in the classroom. If you enjoy Music and children, then BRAVO is for you!! A musical background is NOT required! Many people have taught who have never played an instrument or studied music. There are 6 lessons per year, so you are in the classroom 6 times during the school year. You arrange the time based on your schedule and the teacher's schedule. All of the training and supplies are provided, including study guides, materials for the classroom and a lesson plan! One or two volunteers are needed per class. If two people sign up, they can split the lessons.
Training is provided, although the dates have yet to be determined. The training is helpful, but if you cannot make it, you can still volunteer. The handbook that is provided includes the lesson plans and ideas for the presentation.
If you would like to sign up as a volunteer, you can go to the BRAVO page on the Birch Lane PTA website, under "Resources", and download the form, or click here to do the same. Please hand the form into the office and be sure to put down what class you would like to teach.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you!
Kim Maslaniak
BRAVO Coordinator
759-1060
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Get Your Birch Lane T-Shirts!
Attention all Birch Lane Families. Still looking for that perfect piece of Birch Lane Spirit Wear that is just right? The annual back to school spirit wear order is coming soon! T-shirts, Sweatshirts, long sleeved T's, and specialty items are available. Order forms will go home the week of Sept. 12th and are due back by Friday Sept. 23rd. Orders and payments should be returned to the collection box in the school office. Sample items will be available in the school office to aid in finding the right size/style.
Please contact James Booth at
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with any questions about your order. Very limited surplus is kept on hand for sale throughout the year. Don't miss this chance to get the item you really want!!!'
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It's time for the annual Birch Lane Eagle contest! The winner will have his or her picture printed on the front of the school directory. The contest will run from Monday September 12 through Friday September 23. Contestants may submit their pictures in a box to be located in the library.
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Interested in Chinese? Say So!
We are a group of parents campaigning for the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) to offer Chinese language instruction at Holmes Junior High School and to avoid further reduction to the current Chinese program at Davis High School (DHS). There is great interest in learning Chinese in our community and junior high students should be given the opportunity to take Chinese classes. DJUSD officials and Holmes Principal told us that it may be possible to offer Chinese at Holmes if there is sufficient enrollment (e.g., 25 students per class). Harper students can take it if Chinese is offered at Holmes. We will also explore the possibility of intra-district transfer. If you are interested to have your children take Chinese at Holmes, please contact:
· Rui Chen at
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or Ying Fang at
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if your children attend or will attend Holmes
· Amy Kapatkin at
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if your children attend or will attend Harper, or if you would like us to find more about intra-district transfer.
We hope to gather enough interests by January 2012 to negotiate with DJUSD to offer Chinese at Holmes starting in the 2012-2013 school year.
Currently DJUSD offers Chinese classes only at DHS, and the DHS Chinese program has suffered reduction due to low enrollment. A reason for low enrolment in DHS Chinese program is no access to Chinese at the junior high level. Based on our survey, students start taking foreign language classes available to them in junior high for several reasons, including acquisition of 3 to 4 years of foreign language education required for admission by many universities. Offering Chinese at the junior high level will make the Chinese program at DHS more sustainable. Please e-mail us or visit our parent group's website at http://groups.dcn.org/clp for more information. We will be at the Saturday Davis Farmers Market on September 10 and 17, 2011 to provide information and collect signatures from those interested to have their children taking Chinese classes at Holmes or DHS. We will also have activities and fortune cookies for children.
Parent Group for DJUSD's Chinese Language Program (CLP)
http://groups.dcn.org/clp
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Davis Neighbor's Night Out
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The City of Davis, UC Davis and Associated Students of UC Davis are planning the 6th Annual Davis Neighbors' Night Out Block Party (Dnno) on Sunday, October 9th 2011.
Dnno is an informal opportunity for neighborhoods to meet their neighbors by way of a block party. The event is scheduled in October to enable neighborhoods to include new or returning UC Davis students in the festivities. We believe that starting the academic year on a positive note will reduce the potential for misunderstandings or conflicts by opening lines of communication among all residents. Last year, we had 130 block parties.
We ask neighbors, neighborhood associations, apartment complex's, and/or homeowner associations to be a "Party Sponsor". The Party Sponsor will take the lead in setting up an activity such as a potluck dinner. The City will help with mailing invitations and providing party supplies.
Fore more information on the event or how to host an event, visit the City of Davis website: http://www.cityofdavis.org/neighbors or contact City of Davis staff, Stacey Winton, at (530) 757-5661.
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