Starr King Elementary School » pta

Key September Dates at Starr King

greg — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:25:50 +0000

Here are some dates that are also posted on the school’s Google Calendar!

PTA Meeting: September 1, 5:30
Back to School Night: Sept 2 at 5:30
Soccer Starting: September 3, 2010
Labor Day: September 6, 2010 – No School
Weekly Food Bank: 8:00AM Every Tuesday
Car Wash: Sept 11 at 10:00AM

Principals Back to School Night Message

greg — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:02:17 +0000

Principal’s Message:
As I prepare for Back to School Night this week (September 2), I am aware of the tremendous opportunity that our school has to grow this year. Growth will require a focus on common interests and the present challenges facing our school.
In a nutshell, my plan for Starr King has just three parts:
1. It begins with a solid system for measuring student progress in academics. By knowing where are students are academically, we can better allocate resources and plan strategies. Our school will be part of a multi-school assessment process that gives teachers and parents frequent updates on how students are doing in math and English Language Arts.
2. The second component is a tight focus on instruction that responds to student skills and needs. A focus on instruction also includes meeting in teams that look at the results of our teaching strategies and make adjustments to improve student learning.
3. Third, my plan implies support to teachers whenever they come up against challenges or find opportunities to improve student learning. The expectations for students and staff must be very high, and in a climate of high expectations, support needs to be equally high.
The ‘so that’ on the end of every activity we engage in here at Starr King School has to be ‘so that students learn better’. I look forward to working together with you in our common cause.

Hello from our New Parent Liaison

greg — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:16:36 +0000

Dear parents,

It has been a terrific week getting to know you and your children. I feel honored to keep up the good work that Laticia has been able to put in place with great help from you and our staff. I am also open to new ideas and I’m happy to address your needs and concerns. Remember: Parent Liaisons are here for you and your children, so please do stop by my desk in the main office so we can get to know each other.

Greg, in addition, please announce prominently that the food pantry will be up and running as of next week. Our kick off will be on Tuesday and I am requesting that Frances, our nutritionist, provide samples of something seasonal which can be made mostly with food provided by the food bank.

To ensure that we don’t repeat the chaos of today’s parent meeting in Bungalow B, let’s be sure we have enough people to guide the process and keep order: Christina’s ID’d some crucial veteran parents who I will contact tomorrow, but I’m hoping you can ask some staff to help too. Do you know who among the staff has been involved in the past?

Please let me know if you have any thoughts about this. Thank you,

Claudia

Playground Painting on Friday

greg — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:10:31 +0000

Playworks will be repainting the lines on our playground this Friday. End of day student pick up procedures will be the same as always with the wet-paint areas clearly marked by cones. Thanks for your flexibility as we make way for this improvement and thanks to Playworks for organizing it.

PTA: How to Get Involved

greg — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:40:45 +0000

Greetings Starr King families, on behalf of the PTA, I wanted to extend a warm welcome to our new and existing friends! I hope you had an exciting and fun filled summer! My name is Pierre Barolette and I have the honor of serving as the president of the PTA this school year. I am the proud father of Hayden (2nd grade) and Ethan Barolette (kindergartner).

The PTA has many priorities this school year, a few worth noting are supporting the classroom teachers, building our school community, and improving communications.

There are a number of ways you can support our classroom teachers – becoming room parents, participating in adopt-a-class, bringing supplies for the Back To School Supplies Drive, and many other programs the PTA will be sponsoring this year. I hope you will join us in this important tasks.

We will be building our school community through fun school-wide events like the September car wash, parent socials, and one of my favorites, Books for Dinner. We look forward to welcoming you at one of our exciting events!

You are invited to our monthly PTA meetings, they are the first Wednesday of every month at 5:30pm, in our school cafeteria. Childcare and dinner for the kids is provided. I look forward to seeing many of you there!

Pierre Barolette

Monday Assembly

greg — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:40:21 +0000

We will have a playground assembly on Monday, August 23, to announce birthdays, talk about the three big rules, practice a couple of chants, and kick off the new week. Parents are welcome to join us for this weekly activity.

PlayWorks Coming Monday, August 23rd

greg — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 17:22:41 +0000

The Playworks Program will be coming to Starr King School on Monday, August 23rd.

Friday, August 27th, from 1:30PM to 6:00PM, the playground will be closed so that the lines can be repainted through a corporate-school partnership made possible through Playworks.

What follows is a set of frequently asked questions that may help you know more about the PlayWorks program and why it’s a great deal for our students. THANKS to the PTA and the School Site Council for making the resources possible for this program!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The mission of Playworks is to improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play. Playworks currently operates its on-site program in 170 low-income schools in 10 cities across the United States. The organization will expand to serve schools in 16 cities by the 2010-11 school year, and to serve 27 cities by 2013. This FAQ is designed primarily for principals, teachers, parents and others who are affiliated with schools and would like to know more about how Playworks works within the school environment.

How many staff are assigned to a school?

One full-time, caring and consistent Playworks program coordinator implements the entire program. They work Monday through Friday, usually 9:00–5:00, depending on the school bell schedule. (For Starr King, our schedule will be 8:00AM to 4PM to allow for the expansion of our before-school offerings). Through a selective hiring process, intensive and thoughtful training, and an ongoing support process, our staff is provided with a comprehensive set of tools and resources to help them run successful programs.

Who are your staff members? What are their qualifications?

Energetic, fun, and consistent are three words that capture a Playworks program coordinator, or “coach” as they are known to students. A common thread among our staff is a commitment and passion to support the health and well-being of children. All program coordinators come to Playworks with prior experience working with children and generally have worked within afterschool programs, youth leagues and summer camps, or within other youth service agencies in the non-profit sector.

Do we still need to provide supervision at recess periods?

Yes. The role of the program coordinator on the playground is to create structured, safe opportunities for play. They will not be a substitute for a “yard supervisor.”

Does your staff teach PE classes?

No. Our program coordinators are not PE teachers and are not required to have a teaching credential. Playworks does offer 30-45 minute structured physical activity classes. During these “class game times” students and teachers are able to learn and practice the games and physical activities that will be provided during recess periods. The degree to which this physical activity times meet or support California Fitness Standards is determined by the teacher.

How would you work with our existing before and after-school program?

The Playworks after school program model works with the same 20-25 students for the entire school year with the goal of developing a strong, on-going relationship with students and their families. We have found that our format often complements larger after school collaborative programs by working with those students who would benefit from being a part of a smaller community were they will receive greater attention during the after school hours.

Do you work with Kindergarten?

Yes. We work with all grade levels through our recess and class game time components.

Do you work with middle schools or K-8 schools?

We work solely with elementary and k-8 schools in our expansion cities.

Do you provide part-time staff?

No. One of the essential aspects to our program’s success is that our staff becomes a part of the larger school community. By having a consistent presence during the in-school and after school hours, our program coordinators build strong relationships with students, families, and staff, throughout the school year.

Who is responsible for supervising the Playworks staff person?

Playworks provides each school site with an area director, whose role is to supervise and support a group of 8-12 program coordinators. Area directors are responsible for overseeing and maintaining program quality at each school site and serve as the primary contact person for school administrators.

How much does it cost?

The total cost for your school to have the program is $25,000. This covers a full-time program coordinator for the entire school year. We also ask schools to provide a basic set of playground equipment (balls, cones, jump ropes, etc) that usually cost no more than $500 and can be supplemented by existing equipment at the school site.

http://www.playworks.org/make-recess-count/play/playworks-san-francisco

StageWrite End of Year Shows

jennifer — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 23:49:44 +0000

StageWrite Presents…. Superhero Movies

“short plays by short people”

See Seven Original plays written by Fifth Graders of Starr King Elementary. 2 Performances Only!

Friday May 14th at 6:30pm

Friday May 21st at 11:00am

deYoung Museum

Koret Auditorium

Golden Gate Park

San Francisco

Reserve your FREE tickets here.

For more information about the event download this flyer.

To learn more about StageWrite visit www.stagewrite.org.

The Spring Fling is Coming!

jennifer — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:47:29 +0000

We are working on a brand new event – the Starr King Spring Fling. Part community celebration, part fundraiser and sure to be lots of fun!

Please Help by:

Selling Raffle Tickets
- suggested donation: $3/ticket or 4 tickets for $10
Special prizes for the classrooms selling the most tickets!
contact Carmen Cordovez (carmen_cordovez at yahoo.com) or Joanne Lee (jleeccdc at hotmail.com) for ticket booklets

Soliciting donation items for the Silent Auction and prizes for the Raffle

Volunteering to help organize the event. Contact Iolande Bloxsom (iolande at bloxsom.org) or Joanne Lee (jleeccdc at hotmail.com) if you are interested in getting involved.
For more information and periodic updates see the Spring Fling page or download a printable event flyer to distribute to friends and family.

Campaign Update

jennifer — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:34:12 +0000

A message from PTA President Pierre Barrolette:

As we close week one of the of campaign and enter the weekend, I am happy to announce that we have already raised $19,000! Great work families! We are almost half way to our goal of $40,000, the amount we need to ensure our kids get what they need next year.

One quick note on just how urgent this appeal is — the letter we put out referenced Mr. Rosenburg’s deadline of April 9th to submit a balanced budget to the district. However, in order for him to demonstrate to his bosses that he has enough money for his plan, we would like to get all of our donations “in the bank” by March 26th. I know that this is an extremely quick turn around, just one more unfortunate reality of these difficult circumstances.

A heartfelt thanks to all of the families who have already given such generous donations to this urgent fundraising campaign. Thanks also to all of you who are in the process of making your donation. It will take everybody pulling together to help our school weather this storm, but I’m confident we can do it.

Thanks,

Pierre Barolette