2009

1968 Brittany Street Eugene, Oregon 97405 541.790.5800 Fax: 541.790.5805 http://schools.4j.lane.edu/mccornack

Our new playgroundis ready!

Si desea traducir este boletín para usted, por favor llame a McCornack (687-5800) y preguntar por

Sra. Brinda, or a Sra. Reina.

3rd, 4th and 5th graders enjoyed a strings concert in September sponsored by our Orchestra teacher Peggy Rubenstein.

All 4th and 5th grade students are encouraged to join McCornack’s string program. Flyers went home in

September with more information.

Last year’s Jog-a-thon raised the money to purchase our new playground equipment.

Thank you PTO and to our students who ran all those laps!

In June of 2009, 41 adults and studentsaccompanied Karen Olsen to the East

Coast where the highlight of the trip was laying the McCornack wreath at the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Off

Dear McCornack Families and Friends,

One of the most important things we can provide for our students is relational experience in and beyond the world around them. Whether it is

our local or international community, showing students how we are connected and how we impact others is fundamental in our role as educators. As the

McCornack staff continues to examine what and how we teach, it is evident that we must naturally weave in an inclusive, multicultural strand in the fabric of

learning. It increases rigor, strengthens relationships, and is very relevant in our global age.

Please join me in welcoming two very special guests to McCornack Elementary. Hong Pan and MingYi Gu joined us in September for internships

from Suzhou University, China. Both were selected for their character and academic achievement and will be working in our classes until the end of

January. We are currently setting up a variety of instructional opportunities that include Mandarin language and Chinese culture at McCornack and, in

return, hope to shape a well-rounded “American” school experience for them. Thank you to the families and staff members who are generously hosting

them during their five-month stay in Eugene.

Site Council is up and running! We thank our parent representatives: Laurie Nichols and Heather Wilson. Staff representatives are Kim Hove,

Karen Olsen and Jeanette Engel. Our Site Council sessions, also listed on our master calendar, are meetings open to the public and exist to support

site-based management and our school mission and vision. If you have any questions or would like to be involved in Site Council, please contact our school

office at 790-5800.

Our partnership with parents and family members is essential. Since we recognize that children are educated in the home first, we need your

cooperation and involvement to provide them with the best education possible. It makes a tremendous difference when you make the time to talk with your

children about their school day. Your interest and concern in their school progress will motivate them to do their best. Please maintain contact with your

children’s teachers and with me. Ask questions and communicate concerns so that we can build a partnership that will ensure student success.

Thank you for a great start to the year and for the opportunity to work with your children.

A Hui Hou, Tasha Katsuda

“When we enlarge our view of the world,

we deepen our understanding

of our own lives.”

Yo-Yo Ma

McCornack Office HoursMon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 7:30am-3:30pm Wednesdays: 7:30am-1:30pm

Popcorn Fridays Popcorn is $0.25 a bag or 5 General Mills

boxtops. Limit three bags per student.

Proxima venta de Popcorn será el Viernes 18 de Abril. El costo es de $0.25 centavos por bolsa o 5 tickets de las cajas de cereales. Habra un limite de 3 bolsas por estudiante.

PTO News

Welcome everyone to another great year at McCornack! The PTO is very excited about this year. By the time you read this we will have completed our 2nd annual Jog-a-thon. The kids have been so excited and we can hardly wait to tell you how they did. With the monies earned last year we were able to help the school purchase new playground equipment. This year we are hoping to add new and exciting technology to help assist teachers in making learning even more fun for students.

We would like extend an invitation to all of our McCornack families to attend our first PTO meeting of the school year on Monday, October 5th, at 7:00pm in the library. During this meeting we will have a Jog-a-thon report and discuss the upcoming PTO-sponsored events for this year. This month’s guest speaker, Mrs. Ligon, will be demonstrating some of the new technology is being used at McCornack. As always, Ms. Katsuda will take a few minutes to deliver her “Principal’s Update.”

We will be holding our annual fall Ways and Means meeting on Monday, October 19th, in the library. This is the meeting where we discuss where funds will be distributed throughout the school.

Here’s to another wonderful year at McCornack!

Danielle BensonPTO President

*Free Child Care is available during all PTO meetings.

PTO Holiday Bazaar

Calling all vendors!! Do you have holiday items, art work, crafts, paintings, pottery, jewelry, antiques, or even garage sale items you would like to sell? Be a vendor at the McCornack Elementary Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, November 21st. All proceeds from the table rental will go to McCornack Elementary PTO.

This great community event coincides with McCornack’s annual Book Fair being held at the same location. For more information about this event click on the following link:

http://schools.4j.lane.edu/mccornack/pto/ptoimages/Holiday%20Bazaar/bazaar09.pdf

If you have any questions, please call 485-7511 or email hj_powell@msn.com. Thank you for supporting our students at McCornack!!

Holly Powell

Earn cash for every time you shop for groceries! Clip box tops from General Mills products and have your child bring them to school and put them in our Box Top Drop Off boxes. Each box top is worth $.10 and that adds up fast!

Box Tops Earns Cash for McCornack!

Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast!

Join us Saturday, October 24th, from 8:00am to 10:00am at Applebee’s on West 11th for our second annual Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast! Have a delicious breakfast served to you by the McCornack staff and raise money for the school at the same time! Tickets are $5 per person and can be purchased in the school office.

Ways & MeansCommitteeMeeting

Monday, October 19th7:00pmLibrary

Healthy School Parties Guidelines

If you’d like to help your child celebrate his or her birthday at school, please consider the following:

- Make arrangements with your child’s teacher beforehand. - Only bring in healthy snack choices -- not soda, cupcakes, etc.

For a full list of approved snack choices, please read your McCornack Parent-Student Handbook or you can go to our website: http://schools.4j.lane.edu/mccornack/policies/policiesimages/ParentStudentHandbook.pdf

International Walk or Bike To School DayWednesday, October 7, 2009

Join millions of school children around the globe and walk or bike to school! Earn cool prizes and learn hot tips to help you walk and bike safely every day!

www.walknbike.org

4J Volunteer Background Check and Auto Insurance Requirements

The Eugene School District 4J Criminal Background Check Form must be filled out yearly if you want to volunteer anywhere at McCornack -- in the classroom, library, field trips, etc.

If you’d like to be a driver for one of our field trips, the Private Auto Insurance Information form must also be filled out yearly.

You can get extra copies of these forms either in the office or on the our website: http://schools.4j.lane.edu/mccornack

McCornack has a new P.E. teacher! please join us in welcom-ing Julie Goodale. Julie was born and raised here in Eugene. She attended Western Baptist College (now Corban College), where she played soccer and graduated with honors in a degree of Physical Education. Julie taught physical education for three years at Kelly Middle School.

In addition to teaching, she coached track and field at Kelly, and soccer at North Eugene High School. Julie loves to travel, so she left Oregon and spent some time in Colombia and Panama where she worked with an orga-nization called YWAM. Her job consisted of feeding people in need, coaching a soccer camp for children, and installing clean water systems in homes. Upon returning from Colombia and Panama, Julie moved to Austin, Texas. Here she worked at a K-9th grade school where she taught 5th grade math and science, coached basketball and soccer, was the PE department head, as well as the assistant athletic director. Julie moved back to Eugene this summer. She is so excited to be back in Eugene and to be teaching at McCornack!

Our new P.E. Teacher Julie Goodale!

D.C. or Bust Students Need Your Help!

5th graders are busy raising money to join Karen Olsen on McCornack’s annual trip to the East Coast in June of 2010. Entertainment coupon books, filled with lots of money-saving coupons to restaurants,

grocery stores, theaters and more, are now on sale through Friday, October 16th. The price is $20 a book with 50% of the profits going to the kids!

Please contact Angie Elstone at 345-2000 for more information.

Garden News

We’re starting a new after school activity here at McCornack. Garden Club will begin in October!

Along with planting and garden maintenance, we’ll write a history of the garden, develop site plans, study plant physiology and form and, hopefully, integrate art into the garden space! Contact Sandra Corbin (corbin_s@4j.lane.edu) or watch for further information via McCornack Family email.

Counselor’s Corner

Happy new school year! As your child’s school counselor, I provide programs and services that help students develop their personal, social, and work lives. I work with students, parents, school adults, and members of the community to help students develop:

3 Skills in communicating, cooperating, and resolving conflict3 Positive behaviors that create good physical and mental health3 Good decision making skills 3 Enhanced personal responsibility 3 Greater awareness of the world of work 3 The ability to self-monitor behaviors3 An awareness of and appreciation for America’s cultural diversity

Some of the programs offered through the counseling program: 3 Check in Check Out: This proven, effective program is for students who may thrive with additional positive adult interaction at school. It involves a point card and more positive adult interaction (your permission needed).

3 Attendance Club: is a program to help and reward students who have challenges coming to school on time every day (your permission needed).

3 Small skills groups: Twice yearly, I hold small skill building social groups. Groups of 4-7 students will meet once a week for thirty minutes for about 7 weeks to address topics such as friendship, school success skills, self concept, anger management, divorce, and other important areas in which students might need additional assistance. The groups will begin in October and February (your permission needed).

3 Classroom guidance

3 Parent to School connections and Parent to Community connections

3 Information and referral

3 Conflict Resolution

3 Brief individual consultations

If you would like more information about these and other programs and services that counseling provides, or if you would like to recommend your child for a program, always feel free to call (790-5800) or email me at narayan-wold_b@4j.lane.edu with any questions you have.

Confidentiality: Please know that I operate under legal and ethical counseling guidelines when it comes to confidentiality. What we talk about in my office stays in the office except when I believe that a child might hurt themselves or others, someone is hurting or harming the child or if a judge says I must share. Please seek me out with your questions or comments about this!

How can a student or family connect with me? Students can ask their teacher to see me or they can self-refer by filling out a form right on my office door. Additionally, school staff, and/or family can always request a counseling visit. I am at McCornack every Monday through Thursday. You can contact me by calling the school at 790-5800 or via email at narayan-wold_b@4j.lane.edu. I look forward to another great year at McCornack Elementary School with you and your children.

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