November meeting follow up

Angel Tree - Kids pick-up Angels on Nov 16th and 17th.

Christmas Boutiques - We are planning for this to happen on Dec 16th and if needed the 17th.

After we see what type of donations are brought in, CWP will help supplement the cost of extra gifts.

Chuck E Cheese - 3 trips November 30th, Dec 1st, and Dec 7th.

We are looking into the possibility of getting a couple trees for the back playground to add some shade to the area.

We are also looking at different ideas for equipment on the playground areas.

Aaron Jones
Principal, Central Elementary

Fall Festival and Soldier Care Packages

Tomorrow is the Fall Festival at Central Elementary!
5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
$1 admission for ages 10 and under
Free for all others

Games, Cake Walk, Costume Contest, Food, and more!

Also, our student council is collecting items to send to our soldiers overseas. Please bring something to their booth at the Fall Festival tomorrow evening. Following is a list of items that can be sent in the packages:

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS
Travel Sizes Only, No Aerosols, and Nothing That Will Melt. Troops have little storage and must carry 50 lb + in gear. The smaller the items the better. THINK CAMPING!
Baby Wipes (Used for bathing in lieu of showers)
Laundry Soap (Small Single-Load Packs, Trial Sizes, or 'Tablets')
Liquid, Bar, or Waterless Soap
Shampoo, Conditioner
Lotion (Tube Only) (For rough, dry skin)
Sunblock, Aloe Vera
Hand Sanitizer
Liquid Body Wash (Used also for shaving)
Deodorant (Roll-On or Gel Only)
Shaving Cream (Non-Aerosol Only)
Eye Drops (Relieves irritation from sand)
Saline Spray/Drops (Sensitive nasal passages)
Kleenex (Individual Packs)
Toilet Paper (1” x 4”)
Q-Tips (Travel Packs) (Used to clean ears and guns)
Feminine Hygiene Products, Tampax
Disposable Razors (2-5 Pack)
Baby Powder, Foot Powder (Used on body and in boots to keep dry)
Dr. Scholls Moleskin (Pads for sore feet)
Blistex, Vaseline, Carmex (Squeeze Tube)
Toothpaste, Toothbrush
Mouthwash
Dental Floss/Picks

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
MAG Lite (Flashlight), Bulbs and Batteries
Insect Repellent (Deet) (Pump Action or Towelettes)
Hand Warmers
Writing Paper, Envelopes, Pens
Games and Puzzles (Hand Held)
DVD’s and CD’s (Movies and Music)
Hand/Foot Warmers

FOOD ITEMS
Travel Sizes Only, No Aerosols, No Pork, and Nothing That Will Melt
PLEASE WATCH FOR FOOD EXPIRATION DATES AS WE CAN NOT SEND FOOD ITEMS THAT HAVE EXPIRED DATES
Chips - Doritos, Pringles, Corn and Potato Snacks (2-3 oz. Plastic Containers or Individual Snack Packs)
Dips (9 oz. Plastic Containers or Cans)
Trail Mix, Poppycock, Butter Toffee (Popcorn) (7-8 oz. Snack Packs)
Crackers, Cookies, Power Bars (12 oz. or Individual Snack Packs)
(Cheese and Crackers, Peanut Butter and Crackers)
Cereal (Individual Boxes or Plastic Cups)
Cheese (Plastic Squeeze Container)
Fruit and Nuts (6-8 oz. Dried or Canned Snack Packs)
(Apricots, Bananas, Cherries, Mixed Fruit,
Peaches, Pineapple, Rasins)
Pudding, Jell-O (Squeeze Tube or Snack Packs)
Soups (15 oz. Plastic Containers) (Campbell’s Soup at Hand)
Lasagna, Ravioli, Spaghetti, Mac & Cheese, Chili, Beef Stew, Chicken n’ Dumplins, Noodles & Chicken (7-15 oz. Plastic Containers) (Chef Boyardee/Nalleys)
Chicken, Turkey, Salmon, Tuna (7 oz. Easy Open Packs) (Chicken of the Sea/Bumble Bee)
Tea, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Apple Cider, Powdered Drinks (Individual Servings) (Chrystal Light, Kool Aid, Country Time, Smuckers, Capri Sun)
Spices (Sweet, Sour, Spicy, etc. - Tabasco, Season Salt)
Sugar (Packs) and Creamers)
MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) become bland (boring) over time and need flavoring
Gum, Lifesavers, Hard Candy

Homecoming is this Friday!

On Friday, if parents want to pick-up early for the parade or any other reason, they need to pick up before noon. If anyone out of the ordinary is picking up a child early, we need a note to teacher.

We will be sitting along Springfield Avenue by class. Please do not to sit in the roped off sections. Also, please do not try to sit with the classes because it is very hard to distinguish adults that should not be with the classes if we have a lot of non-staff members with the students.
We will dismiss at normal Friday time, however, please be patient as we will probably be running behind due to the festivities!!

I also want to thank everyone for their donations to our recess equipment! The kids are really enjoying all the new balls, the basketball hoop and the play house!

Just a reminder to please refrain from using your cell phones when dropping off or picking up students. We have had one minor finder bender where no one was hurt, but as you know it could have been much worse!

We have also found some cigarette butts around the driveway. If you happen to see any of these could you please help us by picking them up so the students do not find them during recess or any other time.

Aaron Jones
Principal, Central Elementary

Letter from district concerning bus changes

Below is a letter that is coming home with your child today. Please review it so there are no issues that come up that put us all in a bind.

The first day has been great!!

Please be patient with dismissal!

Aaron Jones
Principal, Central Elementary

***
Dear Parents of students who ride the bus,

Student safety is the primary concern when it comes to transporting our students. In that regard we want to go over some general safety issues that may arise in the upcoming year.
Changing the bus or destinations in which your child will ride in the afternoon.

• Some parents have set routines; everyday your child rides the same bus to the same location. That is great, because the driver knows that student and where he/she lives and this is a safe situation for the child.

• Some parents have set routines also that may differ than that above, for example a child may ride bus “A” on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, while on Wednesday and Friday the child rides bus “B”. As long as this is a set pattern, this is also great because the drivers knows that student and where he/she lives or where he/she needs to be dropped off and this is a safe situation for the child.

• A big safety concern however is; when the schools get phone calls saying that a child needs to ride a different bus to a different location. This causes concern because:

1. The child may not know where he/she is going thus confusing the child and he/she may get off at a wrong location because the driver may not know the child.

2. We cannot be 100% sure that the person making the phone call has the authority to make that change for the child.

3. It becomes very confusing for the school and our students at dismissal time trying to make sure what bus the child is supposed to ride. When there is confusion, a child may not know what he/she is supposed to do.

NEW PROCEDURES for the Safety of our Students:

1. We ask that if there will be a change, we receive either a hand written note with a signature, a fax with a signature, or an e-mail with a PDF with a written signature. We must receive this change no less than 24 hours in advance.

2. We do realize that there will be emergencies; however, these should be limited and will be handled on a case by case basis.

We understand this may take more planning, but it is for the safety and welfare of all of our children. We want to ensure every child is dropped off at the proper location with the appropriate supervision.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation as we try and make changes for the safety of all the children of the Union R-XI School District.

Sincerely,
Steve Bryant, Superintendent
Union R-XI School District

2010 - 2011 School Year...First Meeting Tomorrow Night!

If you haven't put it on your calendar yet, be sure to do so! The first meeting for the CWP 2010 - 2011 school year is TOMORROW.

Tuesday, July 13th
6 p.m.
Central Elementary

Our new principal, Mr. Aaron Jones, will be directing the meeting, so be sure to attend and present any ideas and comments that you have for CWP. If you are unable to make it, don't hesitate to email Mr. Jones at jonesa@union.k12.mo.us with your input.

All parents are welcome, and we hope to see you there!

April Meeting Minutes

Julie Duvall reported that the account currently has $11,043.45. Funds that still need to be distributed from that are for 1st and 3rd grade field trips, several teacher allocations, the SmartBoard, MAP snacks, and Teacher Appreciation lunch.

Julie noted that Dr. Stephens is now looking at InterWrite Boards versus the SmartBoard, as the school can get several InterWrites to the cost of one SmartBoard.

Julie also said that CWP stuffed and "hid" nearly 3,000 eggs for the egg hunt. The students enjoyed it immensely. Thank you to the parents and teachers who helped out. Special thank you to the businesses that sponsored the event, including AQM Computer Help.

Donnie Schuttenberg announced that CWP will be sponsoring Teacher Appreciation Week, May 3rd to 7th. A few businesses have given gift certificates and other small items for the teachers. Any other donations are still being sought. He also said that CWP would be sponsoring a catered lunch for the teachers on a to be determined day during that week. Catering would be by C&D Catering, who is his aunt.

The first meeting for the 2010-2011 school year will be Tuesday, July 13th at 6 p.m. at Central Elementary. Any further planning for next year was put on hold since Mr. Jones was unable to attend the meeting.

Spring Egg Hunt helpers needed

The Spring Egg Hunt is next week already - yikes! Brandy needs more parents to help with stuffing the eggs and then hiding them before the event. CWP events are only successful with parent involvement, so we encourage you to contact Brandy immediately to help out with this event. Here is her information:

Brandy McKenzie
314-480-0648
billyvmom@yahoo.com

She needs help at these times:

Stuff and Prepare the Eggs
Friday, March 26th
in the evening, time to be determined
at Central Elementary School

Hide the Eggs and Set Up
Saturday, March 27th
10 am
Central Elementary School

This is another super fun event for the Central Elementary students and family. We hope to see you there!

Minutes for Meeting, March 2nd

Meeting began with a welcome by Tyann Marcink.

Julie Duvall was absent, so Krista Stranghoener reported for Julie that the only expenditure the past month was one teacher check for $125. Everything else has stayed the same.

Krista said that Bingo Night was on track, and that they have many door prizes from business donations. Skaterz donated two birthday parties. One will be used for a raffle, and the other used for the blackout prize. Cards will be $1 each, and soda and popcorn will be 50 cents each.

Brandy was unable to attend, so Krista reported for her. She is need of parent volunteers for stuffing eggs with candy and prizes, as well as set up on Saturday morning. She is not getting a lot of business sponsors, so she requested if CWP could purchase eggs to make up the difference, most likely around 1,000 more eggs will be needed. The group approved the expenditure.

Tyann reported that Kasey Straatmann is working on getting bids and designs together for the CWP shirts. Anyone with an idea for a design is asked to email it to Kasey at kaseystraatmann@sbcglobal.net. The goal is to have a few shirts available by the first of the school year for parents to purchase. Ongoing orders would be taken and then placed everyo ther month or when a specific number has been reached.

Traci Canby was unable attend, so Tyann reported for her about the MAP goodie bags. Sam's Club has the best prices for cheese sticks, pre sliced apples, granola bars, and oatmeal bars. She is looking for parent helpers each morning.

The group decided that April will be the final meeting for the school year. The first meeting for the 2010-2011 school year will be in August.

Julie Duvall has stated that she would like to remain treasurer for the next school year. If someone would like to help her out and train for the position to take over the following year, she would be happy to do that.

Amanda Bequette was unable to attend, so we do not know if she would like to be secretary next year.

Mr. Jones, the new principal beginning next year and current principal at Clark Vitt, described how the Clark Vitt parent/teacher group worked. He leads the meetings and delegates organizers for events. Tyann asked him to consider how he would like the CWP to run next year.

There was general discussion about the CWP events that were held this past fall, and the consensus was that we would like to do them again if possible.

Dr. Stephens suggested doing an actual Open House in the fall some time so that students could show parents their classrooms, the cafeteria, gym, etc.

Third grade is set to go to the Science Center on May 12th for their field trip. Kindergarten is going to the Earth's Classroom in Rosebud on 3 different days in April and May.

Meeting was adjourned.

Standing Room Only!

Yes, it was! Thank you to all the parents and teachers who attended the CWP meeting Tuesday night. It took a very long time to push through all of the items in the agenda, but we made it before 8 p.m. and survived. Thank you for your patience and for participating in the meeting. We received many wonderful ideas that we are moving forward with!

Please look for the minutes of the meeting to be posted on the blog soon. If you can't wait, feel free to give any parent involved with the CWP a ring on the phone.

We'll see you at Movie Night!

Meeting Agenda for September 1st

Following is the agenda for our September 1st meeting. We encourage all parents to attend and be a part of CWP!

September 1, 2009
Meeting Agenda
Introductions
Explanation of Communication Tools (Blog, Forum, and Facebook) - Tyann Marcink
Update on TREND providing childcare – Tinecia Schuttenberg
Update from CCT on room parents and parties – Amber Eads
Update on field trips - Teachers
Financial update – Julie Duvall
Update on Movie Night and pass out sign-up sheets for concessions – Traci Canby
Need volunteer for Public Relations (press releases and photo ops) - Tyann Marcink
Need library volunteers - Dr. Stephens
Kiwanis Circus – Tyann Marcink
Signature Fundraiser – Donnie Schuttenberg
Update on Fall Festival and pass out sign-up sheets – Donnie Schuttenberg
Holiday Boutique sign-ups and need a chair(s) - Tinecia Schuttenberg
Trivia Night sign-ups - Tyann Marcink
Open question and answer

Welcome to the new CWP!

Welcome to the brand new blog for the awesome Central Wildcat Pride! The CWP is organizing exciting activities throughout the year for the Central students, and this is the place to find all of the information.

Just a few of the things that will be regularly posted:

• upcoming events
• requests for volunteers
• deadline reminders
• contact information
• meeting dates and times
• minutes to meetings
• and more

We invite all parents to attend meetings, volunteer for activities, and to get involved. The CWP wants to make Central Elementary an even better school for our children.

So add the Central Wildcat Pride blog to your favorites and check back often!

Tyann Marcink
Co-chair