 |
 |
|
May 2008 |
Kent PTA eNewsletter |
| |
|
|
 |
From the Principal |
|
| |
|
Cardinals,
Congratulations to our fifth grade students and teachers for their
outstanding scores on Math TAKS. Over 95% passed with 57% commended.
Don't forget Teacher Appreciation Week May 5 - 9. Please let our staff
members know you appreciate them. A simple note or card can make their
day.
Our May calendar is full of spring activities. Fifth grade will attend
the district's annual Track & Field Day on May 6. PTA is sponsoring a
Cultural Heritage Fair at 6 p.m. on May 6. Children's Book week is May
12-16 and our book character parade is the 14th at 8:30 a.m. These are
just a few of the special events, please check your child's backpack for
notes so that you don't miss anything!
Sincerely,
Debbie Williams
|
|
|
Kent Teacher Appreciation Week May 5-9 |
|
|
Lori Neale |
|
Every young mind needs a spark to light the way to a brighter future
through learning-and teachers are that spark. In 1984, National PTA
established Teacher Appreciation Week-the first full week in May-to
honor the dedicated men and women who lend their passion and skills to
educating our children. I encourage you and your PTA to recognize all of
the ways teachers contribute to the lives of children. During this
special week, help National PTA and its nearly 6 million members show
teachers the appreciation they so richly deserve. Teachers, in
partnership with parents, truly make a difference. -Anna Weselak, PTA
National President
This week (May 5-9th) is Teacher Appreciation Week. It would be nice to
show our teachers how much we appreciate them by sending something in
with your child next week. In the past, some parents have sent in one
item, others have sent in a little item every day. It's all up to you.
The main idea is to say "thank you" so a wonderful suggestion is a
homemade thank you card by your child.
The teachers will also be given a lunch sponsored by the PTA & parent
volunteers on May 8th. Many of you may be donating items or your time.
Thank you so much for being so supportive this year.
|
|
|
Kent PTA 2008-2009 Officer Election |
|
| |
|
Tuesday, May 6 at 6:00 p.m.
The 2008 - 2009 PTA officer election will be held on May 6, in the Kent
Cafeteria. The nominees are:
- President - Wende Haynie
- 1st VP, Student Enrichment & President's Aide - Lori Neale
- 2nd VP, Programs, - Sarah Roye
- 3rd VP, Membership - Shirley Johnson
- 4th VP, Fundraising - Vickie Sterling
- Secretary - Gerri Colvin
- Treasurer - Terry Carlin
- Council Delegate, Clothes Closet - Ruth Doocy
- Council Delegate, Used Book Sale - Kay Mathews
We have a wonderful roster of volunteers lined up to lead the PTA next
year, but there are still a number of positions open for next year.
If you are interested in serving on the PTA board please contact me at
daltondx4@verizon.net or 972-446-9472 and I will be happy to talk with
you about the various ways you can get involved.
|
|
|
Cultural Heritage Fair |
|
| |
|
Tuesday, May 6th, 6 - 8:00 p.m.
Join us as the Kent cafeteria is transformed into a "World Village" at
the Cultural Heritage Fair on May 6.
There will be over 20 countries represented. There are new countries
this year and a "Where in the World" Scavenger Hunt. It is a great
chance to try new foods and make new friends.
This year's Cultural Heritage Fair will feature special performances
by:
Carolyn Johnson
The C-FB ISD High School Ballet Folkloric Group,
The C-FB ISD Japanese Yosakoi Group, led by Kazuko
We will also be collecting nonperishable food for the local
Metrocrest Social Services Food Bank.
Our affiliate and sponsor Keep Carrollton Beautiful will be there too!
Ethnic or Cultural attire is encouraged, so shine your Cowboy Boots,
shake out your Kilt or spritz up your Sari! Wear a t-shirt of a favorite
place you have visited, Kent shirt or just come as you are!
Come celebrate our Kent Family's diversity as our children learn about
each other and their world.
Contact Donna Dalton at multiculturalfestival@kentpta.org or
972-446-9472 for more information.
|
|
|
Keep Carrollton Beautiful |
|
| |
|
Special Thanks to Our Affiliate and Sponsor Keep Carrollton Beautiful.
Keep Carrollton Beautiful will there for our Cultural Heritage Fair to
educate us about how we can make a difference in our community.
Keep Carrollton Beautiful will be selling environmentally friendly
shopping bags for $4.00 or 5 for $15.00. 50 cents from each bag sold
will be donated to Kent PTA
|
|
|
Help the Hungry |
|
| |
|
Food Drive May 6 - 9
Support the local Metrocrest Foodbank
We will be collecting non-perishable canned and packaged foods for
the local Metrocrest Foodbank at the Cultural Heritage Fair and
throughout the week.
The need is especially great in the summer when the children are out of
school!
"As long as hunger exits, peace cannot prevail." -- Nobel Peace
Prize Winner, Willie Brandt
|
|
|
May 10, City General Election |
|
| |
|
City General Election
Mayor & City Council Places 2, 4 & 6
Saturday, May 10
7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Early Voting through May 6
|
|
|
3rd Grade Cardinal Creations |
|
| |
|
Friday, May 16, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Welcome to another exciting year of Cardinal Creations!
Cardinal Creations will have a new look this year. This year we are so
excited about the new program that we will be using to teach our
assembly lines unit (third grade TEKS).
Third grade students and parents, be sure to mark you calendars for
Friday, May 16th for Cardinal Creations. The event will take place from
5:30 p. m. to 7:30 p. m.
We will meet to discuss our new project on Monday, May 5 at 11:00 a. m.
in room 140, so be sure to attend if you are interested in volunteering
to help. We will unveil our new plans at this meeting!
|
|
|
C-FB ISD Council PTA Clothes Closet |
|
| |
|
Remember us as you do your spring cleaning!
Hello Friends of the Clothes Closet!
Our last work day of the school year is May 12th.
Very soon you will be receiving our Summer dates. These are "sorting
only" dates - no clients are served during the Summer. We take all the
clothes off the shelves, put them back where they belong, and fold them.
The place looks GREAT by August, but only if we have helpers to do this!
We usually host three dates each month for our sorting parties, so we
look forward to seeing your "summer glow" at least once this season.
Also, thank you so much for all your support this school year. The
volunteers were wonderful - the best we have had in many years! We will
accept your donations at both openings! Finally, Nancy & Jennifer are
planning to step down and allow you wonderful volunteers to serve our
clients at the Clothes Closet. It is a great service that we provide,
and we need fresh ideas to make it even better. If you might be
interested in becoming a chairperson or aide for the clothes closet,
please e- mail one of us. It seems like such a great responsibility, but
it is so well organized that the time commitment is very doable. Nancy &
I will continue through August to train the new chair, and Jo, Joan &
Theresa are all willing to stay on as committee members.
Thanks again, and see you at the clothes closet.
Jennifer Saenz
jsaenz68@grandecom.net
Nancy Foreman
Foreman.family@verizon.net
The Clothes Closet is located in the Northwest Corner of Standridge
Stadium at Valwood Parkway and Hutton Drive in Carrollton.
|
|
|
Annual Spring Art Show & Choir Performance |
|
| |
|
Tuesday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Join us for the Annual Spring Choir Performance and Art Show on May
20th.
The Spring Art Show features artwork created by each student in grades K
- 5th. The art will be displayed throughout the school and in the Art
Room.
There will be a cookie and punch reception in the Art Room to celebrate
our student's beautiful work.
Are you smarter than a 5th grader?
The game show, "Are You Smarter than a Kent 5th Grader", will be live
on the Kent stage May 20, at 7:00 PM. The Huckleberry team will take on
the Payne team for a chance to win a million dollars. And only on the
Kent stage does the choir perform during commercial breaks! Don't miss
the fun as the honor choirs of Kent present their Spring Program, "Are
You Smarter than a Kent 5th Grader!
|
|
|
Spring Art Show - Volunteers Needed |
|
| |
|
Tuesday, May 13 at 8:10
HELP! Volunteers are needed to help prepare for our annual Art Show.
Please join us in the volunteer room May 13 at 8:10 a.m. to help mount
and hang the children's beautiful art work! Any time is appreciated!
|
|
|
Children's Book Week May 12 - 16 |
|
| |
|
Book Character Parade Wednesday, may 14 at 8:30 a.m.
Some "Characters" from past book parades!
Bring books for the Book Exchange. Children who bring gently read
books will be given tickets to exchange for books at the book exchange.
It is a great way to pick up new material for that summer reading.
Students start planning for the character parade on May 14. Come
dressed as a favorite book character and join in as we parade around the
school. It is loads of fun every year. You never know who you may see!
|
|
|
Kent Retirement News |
|
| |
|
Goodbye to Good Friends
Debbie Pevehouse and Holly Lemmel
It is always a time of mixed emotions when retirements are announced at
Kent. Teachers can quickly become an important person in our children's
education and a mentor that can influence them far into adulthood.
Teachers extraordinaire! This truly describes our teachers that are
retiring this year: Mrs. Holly Lemmel and Mrs. Debbie Pevehouse.
Mrs. Lemmel is part of the 4th grade teaching team and has been at Kent
since August 2001. She will be retiring with 20 years of teaching.
During that time of teaching, approximately 400 students have had the
opportunity to be in her classroom and benefit from her wealth of
knowledge. She never gives up on a child and each child feels her love
and support. Mrs. Lemmel has strong ties to our school as she was a Kent
Mom when her daughter, Maggie, attended school here.
Mrs. Pevehouse is also part of the 4th grade teaching team and she has
been at Kent since August 2004. She has 25 years of teaching time under
her belt! Mrs. Pevehouse has mentored approximately 500 students during
her time with the school district. She is able to get her kids through
the 4th Grade Writing TAKS fears with disciplined practice and that
right amount of love. Mrs. Pevehouse is devoted to her family and we
hope her retirement allows plenty of relaxation with them.
Our loss at Kent is definitely the gain of the Lemmel and Pevehouse
families. We send you off with our most sincere gratitude and
appreciation.
|
|
|
If your child is absent don't contact Mary Palmer anymore! |
|
| |
|
Retirement - Take 2
Mrs. Mary Palmer will be retiring from Kent this year after four years
in C-FB ISD. This is actually her second retirement! Her first
retirement was from the Irving ISD after over 20 years of service. Mrs.
Palmer has kept our Kent kids honest, or at least creative, with the
simple question of "Why were you tardy?". She surely could write a book
with the answers she has received. Mrs. Palmer is one of the members of
staff at Kent that has the opportunity to interact with virtually every
child in our school. And she will know their name and where they should
probably be heading! Mrs. Palmer does her job with a smile and with
kindness at all times. There will be a void left when she leaves us but
wherever life takes her she will continue to shine.
|
|
|
BoxTop$ for Education |
|
| |
|
Turn in Your BoxTop$ by May 20
|
|
|
Little Things Can Make a BIG Difference |
|
|
Miles Kuperus, Environmental Education |
|
Well folks, it would appear that gas prices will not be dropping anytime
soon, in fact the upward trend is likely to continue. On the bright
side, the US enjoys relatively cheap fuel when compared with other
developed nations. I was talking to a friend in Canada yesterday who
told me gas there is over $1.30/l ($5/gallon) and is projected to reach
$6/gallon by this summer!
When we look overseas we see that in Europe gas is getting close to
$10/gallon. The downside to living in the US is, of course, the abysmal
fuel efficency standards that have been set - even the current mandate
of 31.6 mpg (up from 25mpg) by 2015. With European and Japanese
standards already over 40mpg, this is a rather ineffective benchmark.
But I digress.
Operating costs aside, cars are also one of the leading causes of air
pollution. With cars idling in front of the school and in the parking
log, when our kids get out of school, they are often walking into an
invisible cloud of exhaust fumes. On days with a high UV index, the
problem is compounded by the presence of ozone. So, in order to save us
all a bit of money and clean up the air we breath around Kent, I am
proposing that we make our school an Idle Free Zone (my apologies to
Randy, Paula and Simon...sorry dawg).
Check your local Tuesday
folder in the near future for some great information and ideas on how to
participate.
Also, look for the results of the 2nd Grade Kent Light Bulb Tally; it
should be enlightening.
|
|
|
Kent Volunteers |
|
|
Christi Victor, Volunteer Coordinator |
|
The Best of the Best!
Greetings fellow volunteers!
I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who worked so hard this
school year to make our volunteer year so successful. Thanks to all of
you who were ready at the drop of a hat to answer my emails or phone
calls requesting volunteers - sometimes even last minute! We had several
thousand hours of volunteering to report this year! I'm so excited by
that and proud of all our volunteers!
For all of you who will be "graduating" from Kent this year, a great big
THANK YOU to you for the many years of service that you have put in at
our great school. Thanks for setting such a fantastic example for the
rest of us, and for putting some really terrific programs in place for
us that make will make it easier for us to come in and organize
ourselves as volunteers. You will be greatly missed!
And for all of us who will still be here next school year, now is the
time for us to step up to the plate and continue the legacy of great
volunteering that the parents before us have left us. I look forward to
the 2008-2009 school year and know that with our volunteer help, the
school will be able to continue to give our children an exceptional
education.
Should you have any questions over the summer about programs that will
be kicking off at the beginning of the year, or about helping with
Back-to- School projects, please email me at volunteer@kentpta.org or
call me at 214.995.2538. And have a blessed summer!
Christi Victor
Kent PTA Volunteer Coordinator
Volunteer@KentPTA.org
214.995.2538
|
|
|
Thanks for the Hospitality |
|
|
Heather Kline & Beverly Wilcocks, Hospitality |
|
Teacher Appreciation Luncheon, Thursday, May 8
Thursday May 8th will be the last teacher luncheon of the year. It
happens to coincide with teacher appreciation week, so let's go out with
a bang. We are providing a healthy salad luncheon and could do with
helping hands on the day.
If you are able to help in any way either by providing a salad or
helping serve and clean up on the day please contact either Heather
Kline at pandhkline@verizon.net or Bev Wilcocks at wbeverley@gmail.com.
We have had lots of wonderful support in the hospitality area this year
and hope lots of you will be back for more fun in the kitchen next year.
Thanks a million.
Heather and Bev :)
|
|
|
eNews Contact Information |
|
| |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Kent Elementary PTA
phone: (972) 323-6900
|
|
|
