Dear Bennett Families,
It was wonderful to see so many parents at the Bennett curriculum night.
We are so lucky to have a great team of highly qualified teachers and specialists
who work with our children all year! Each year I am amazed how much they are
able to accomplish in only one short school year. Curriculum night was a great
way to see how their studies will progress through this year and into their next
academic year. I admire the teachers' patience and organizational skills in keeping
track of each student's individual progress.
Our next PTSA event was the Multicultural Potluck dinner on Wednesday,
October 22nd. This event was an amazing collection of international cuisine and
student talent. Bennett is blessed with a diverse student population and it is so
much fun to sample the delicious and interesting dishes from around the world.
The student performances were very special and offered a view of the arts performed around the world.
The Bennett Auction, The Great Pacific Northwest is fast approaching. Please
send an item or two for your child's classroom auction basket. If you hate to shop,
you can make a cash donation and it will be used to add to the basket. Your class
auction coordinator will probably need your help in the next week to start the Classroom Keepsake.
This usually involves an hour or so in class helping the kids discover
their sometimes hidden artistic talent!
Finally, we are looking forward to receiving the Family Auction Package
donations. Remember, you can procure donations from businesses, family and
friends to make your package extra special. If you need ideas, please contact
Dana Tavener or Lis Stulz. Save the date, November 8th, and we look forward to
seeing you there!
With classroom Halloween parties scheduled for Friday, October 31st, please
remember a couple of things:
* Please donate to your classroom party fund if you can.
* Encourage your child to wear fun/creative costumes with no
weapons or scary masks.
* This party is meant to be fun with a costume parade, in-class games, crafts and treats.
Parents are welcome to join in the fun!
Sincerely,
Kristine Keski
PTSA Co-President
Parent Volunteers Needed!
Are you able to help the office with attendance after you drop off your child? Tuesday mornings and every
other Thursday available. Approx. 30 minute commitment.
For further info, please call Lila Hamai at (425)562-4007.
Loving Without Spoiling:
Effective Strategies for Positive Parenting
With Nancy Samalin
Nancy Samalin, internationally known speaker and author, provides solutions for learning how to deal
with power struggles, sibling rivalry, and setting limits, among other issues in her presentation, Effective
Strategies for Positive Parenting.
Where: Highland Middle School
When: Thursday, November 6, 7 to 9 pm.
Cost: $15 per person; full scholarships are available.
Sorry, but this is an adult only event and no childcare is provided. To register or for questions,
please call 425-688-5259.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow… The Wednesday ski school program starts January 7th. This is the
Wednesday after we return from winter break. I will send registrations home with students who have
participated in the past or have expressed interest in the program. To cut down on the cost of printing you
can request a registration form on line from me at andreanmike@comcast.net otherwise forms are available
in the kiosk across from the Bennett office. If you would like to know more about the program or would like
to volunteer as a chaperone please contact Andrea Hardesty at 425.641.7780 or at the above email address.
DRILL FOR A DAY!
Attention all 4th through 8th graders:
BHS Drill/Dance Clinic Nov. 1st 10am-5pm
What you get to do:
- Learn drill routines from members of the 2003-2004 BHS Drill Team
- Learn basics of drill-style dancing
- Eat lunch with your new drill instructors
- Perform the routines in front of friends & family at the end of the day!
What we provide:
- A t-shirt to wear during the performance, then keep and have forever!
- Pizza for lunch
- Snacks during the day
- Completion certificate J
The cost of the full day is $40. REGISTRATION FORMS AVAILABLE IN THE ACTIVITIES
OFFICE AT BHS or leave your name, address, and phone number at 425-456-7157 and we’ll
mail a registration form to you. Please return it by October 27th to guarantee that you’ll get a
t-shirt. Drop-ins are welcome too!
The Yearbook needs your help!
If you have any spare pictures from last Spring 2003 (March to end of school)....sock-hop, talent
show...ie. I would love to include them on our Spring 2003 page! Please leave with Becky in the
office in an envelope marked Yearbook.
Thanks! Tammy Stafford
Yearbook
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
I am privileged to have the opportunity to be the VIBES and Parent Volunteer Liaison this year.
The staff here at Bennett appreciate your willingness to volunteer in our school as classroom
assistants, field trip drivers, party planners, etc. In compliance with Washington State Law
(RCW 43.43.830) every parent involved with any activity in our school must screened. Parent
Volunteer Packets are available in the office. All packets submitted must be accompanied by a
copy of a current personal identification (driver's license, passport, etc. that includes your legal name and birthdate).
A copy of the list of parents that have already completed the process is available in the office. If
your name is not on this list, YOU MUST COMPLETE a packet.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!!!
Norma Gilbert
Also: We are in need of the following for our families: full size sheets, dishes, microwave, pots
and pans. If you have any of these items, please call: Norma at 643-2644.
Bennett Book Fair
Hats Off To Reading
Tuesday, November 4th - 9AM-8PM
Wednesday, November 5th - 9AM-2PM
The Secret Garden will once again provide us with a large selection of books for our annual
book fair. The book fair is a wonderful opportunity for our children to experience the joy browsing
through books they may want to purchase. The library receives 25% of the sales, so come on
down and support our school library! The teachers will pick out some books they would like to
have in their classrooms. What a great opportunity to help them build up their library too. To
make this successful we need your help as volunteers. Besides the 2 hour shifts, we need help
setting up and breaking down. The sign-up sheet is on the window by the office. If you can't get
in to sign up but want to volunteer, please call Debbie McGough at 643-6700.
Thanks and see you there.
Thank You Multicultural Potluck Volunteers !
Big thank you to all parents, family members and staff that helped making the Potluck on Wednesday,
October 22nd such a great success. The dishes were delicious and the performances were delightful and
very entertaining. We're lucky to have such a remarkably diverse and supportive community.
The Multicultural Committee
Take time for Literacy…
A 14-year-old’s vocabulary in 1950- 25,000 words
A 14-year-old’s vocabulary in 1999- 10,000 words
What can you do about it? Turn off the television this weekend.
A poem: “Primer Lesson” by Carl Sandburg
Look out how you use proud words.
When you let proud words go, it is not easy to call them back.
They wear long boots, hard boots; they walk off proud;
They can’t hear you calling-
Look out how you use proud words.
Bellevue Schools Foundation Phonathon is coming on October 27-29.
Make a difference for the children in our schools! Please make a generous donation when volunteers from your school call.
This year, BSF is raising $1.2 million for world-class, district-wide academic programs and support services for teachers and struggling students in Bellevue’s schools. BSF relies on financial support from parents like you to provide these valuable programs for our students. Your dollars also support classroom grants, teacher training, book purchases, middle school science, VIBES mentoring, and childcare scholarships. Funds raised during Phonathon benefit all students in all Bellevue schools.
Company matching funds double your contribution. Microsoft and Boeing are among the companies matching employees’ donations. Please contact your employer for matching gift forms.
Help Wanted for a Fabulous Job!
No pay, but the benefits for our kids are outstanding. Be a Phonathon Volunteer! Volunteers are needed for Phonathon calling on Monday, Oct. 27, Tuesday, Oct. 28 and Wednesday, Oct 29 from 6:30 to 9 pm, and for a follow-up Mailing Party, stuffing and labeling envelopes, on Thursday, Oct. 30 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm (two-hour shifts). Quick and helpful training for Phonathon makes it enjoyable and rewarding.
Call or email Karen Parker at 644-1444 or parkerhome@msn.com to volunteer. Interlake HS, Highland, Ardmore, Bennett, Sherwood Forest, and Stevenson parents will be calling from Rabanco at 1600 127th NE. The mailing party on Thursday, October 30 will be at the ESC (School District Administration Building) at 12111 NE 1st, Bellevue.
For further information please contact the BSF office at 425-456-4199 or info@bsfdn.org.
Dianne Cameron
Office Manager
Bellevue Schools Foundation
425-456-4199
425-456-4176 (fax)
Website: www.bsfdn.org
Dear PTSA Members:
Last school year, I worked with a group of superintendents to craft a legislative agenda that would bring greatly needed funds to our schools. When all was said and done, we failed, miserably. And I learned that our failures are caused by the divisiveness within the education community itself. One example will make the point.
I have not met a single Bellevue community member who doesn’t believe that teachers and other education employees are grossly undercompensated, especially given the high cost of living in our region. Bellevue citizens strongly supported the initiative for a cost-of-living increase as well as the initiative aimed at reducing class size. Bellevue parents, administrators, and teachers have been leaders in the drive for increased funding for schools. Our community routinely supports political leaders who are education advocates. From our collective perspective, then, the idea of increased financial support for both wages and needed services should be a rallying cry for our entire state, a political slam dunk. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Instead of crafting compromises and unifying around a set of specific legislative changes that will finally change the status quo, Washington’s education community fights with itself about the wisdom of raising local levy capactiy, about the need for providing more state support to districts which can’t raise the needed funds on their own, about the fairness of connecting compensation to regional cost of living. As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
The question for all of us – parents, staff members, and everyone in our community who cares about the quality of schools – is what can we do about this. My suggestion is that we begin to provide leadership at the state level by reaching out a hand to other districts, that we offer solutions that may not give us everything we want but will move us forward, that we focus first and foremost on coalition building and political activism.
We have a great school system, but it could be so much better with adequate funding. Districts like ours in other parts of the nation enjoy revenues one and half times the size of ours. A better paid staff is a more stable staff, a better trained staff, a more effective staff. Smaller classes allow for more individualized attention to student needs. Greater support for struggling students benefits all students because it allows for increased school and district-wide expectations.
I refuse to believe we can’t change the out-of-date and insufficient funding system in Washington. I look forward to working with you in the months ahead to advance the cause.
Sincerely,
Michael N. Riley
Upcoming Computer Training at Bennett
We are offering classes at Bennett for parents to learn to use a variety of software. There is no charge for taking these classes. The Dell laptops that the PTSA purchased for student use at the school will be used for this training.
On Wednesday, October 29 we are offering a morning class. Information is below.
Please sign up for classes by completing the form below; drop off the form at the Bennett office.
Name: ___________________________ Phone #: _________________ e-mail: ____________________
If you have never used PowerPoint, or want to start learning it from the beginning, this class is for you.
What: Basic PowerPoint
When: Tuesday, October 21 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in Bennett Library
Topics: Starting a new presentation; apply a template; adding text; inserting clipart; building effects; applying transitions, etc.
If you have never used WORD, or want to start learning it from the beginning, this class is for you.
What: Basic WORD
When: Wednesday, October 29 from 9:00 to 10:30 AM in room #4 at Bennett
Topics: Touring Menu and Toolbars; creating, opening and formatting documents; inserting clipart, etc.
If you have never used Excel, or want to start learning it from the beginning, this class is for you.
What: Basic Excel
When: Tuesday, November 4 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in Bennett Library
Topics: Understanding a spreadsheet; touring Menu and Toolbars; entering data; using simple formulas, etc.
If
you would like to be a trainer and/or support person for any of the Office
programs, or have any suggestions, please indicate below.
A Trainer Support a trainer Comments/Suggestions: ___________________
If you can be a trainer or helper during the day session, please let me know.
Turn in this form at the Bennett Office. Contact Jim Shoemaker for more information (phone #: 456-4842 or e-mail: shoemakerj@bsd405.org)
From The Editors
Editors:
Karla Ostlund and Janan Carter
We are pleased to serve as editors of The Friday Flyer this year. Send submissions to thefridayflyer@yahoo.com. Please do not send formatted text produced in a word-processing document. It’s easiest if you just type the information directly into the body of your email program. Please advise us of any specific formatting request in your email.
The deadline for the next issue of The Friday Flyer is October 31.
Calendar
October 27, 28, 29: BSF Phonathon
November 4: Reflections entries due.
November 4 & 5: Book Fair
November 8: Bennett Auction
November 10: Conference Day, No School
November 11: Veteran’s Day, No School
November 13: General Membership Meeting
November 14: Picture Re-takes
December 22-January 2: Winter Break
January 13: General Membership Meeting