Feb 2011 PTSA Pony Express Newsletter

8/4/2019 Feb 2011 PTSA Pony Express Newsletter

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Please join us for our next

MEETING

Monday, Feb 7th 7 pmIn the Library

Craig Collins

Principal

Cindy Ashley

Editor

Andrea Padian

President

By Craig Collins, [email protected]

Coffee with the Principal

I am pleased to announce that on Tues-day, Februar y 8th, from 7:30am

9am , we will have Coffee with thePrincipal in the Conference Room inthe 500 Building (facing the parkinglot). I will be available to discuss any-thing that you might want to talk aboutand update you on what is happeningon campus. Please drop by if you are

interested, I would love to meet you!

Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

Last year it was Swine Flu, this year the contagious infec-tion Pertussis is of concern. At the time I am writing this,

we have had only a single case reported at Trabuco Hills

High School. Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a bacterialinfection that settles into the lungs. The infected studenthas been checked by a doctor and cleared to return toschool. Under the direction of the county we have noti-fied the families of the students that were in the infectedstudents classes but as of this time, we have not had anyother reports. While pertussis can be serious in infants

and people with a weekend immune system, it is not usu-ally serious for teens. However, you should know to lookfor the symptoms such as a crowing sound or whoop

when breathing in during a coughing spell. If you thinkyour child may be infected, get them to the doctor and letthem know that we have had a reported case at school.

Attendance and Vacation$

As you may already know, when your student is absent welose money. It doesnt matter if you are visiting colleges orat home ill. Trabuco Hills has a very good attendance av-

erage of over 95% everyday.However, just that 5% of ab-sences costs us over $40,000 each month. That is moneythat could be going into the general fund and used to pur-chase equipment and supplies.

By Andrea Padian, PTSA President,[email protected]

Principals Message: Meet Me for Coffee

A Message from Andrea

Happy New Year! Ten years

ago it was a new century andnow, it is a new decade.

Where does the time go?

Weve had a couple very busy months, and cele-brating our teachers and staff was key. ThePTSA celebrated Special Educators Daywith anice breakfast for our special Ed teachers, aides,students and best buddy participants. We alsoheld our second annual Cookie Exchange forteachers and staff, again with parent donations.

Both events were a wonderful way to end

the year.

As the New Year arrived, we held the firstever Superintendent Breakfast Reception

with new SVUSD superintendent, Dr.Harwick, for our teachers and staff. It

was successful beyond my dreams - tonsof delicious food donated by families anda nice opportunity for the staff and Dr.Harwick to mingle. We salute all of the

wonderful teachers and staff at THHS

The Pony Express

Volume 1 Issue 4

Feb 2011

Trabuco Hills High School PTSAPony Express

27501 Mustang Run, Mission Viejo, CA 92691 www.thhsptsa.org

(949) 768-1934

Trabuco Hills High School PTSA

Saddleback Valley PTA Council 4th District PTA California State PTA National PTA

Inside this issue:

Race to Nowhere 2

Mustang Marvals, Grad

Night

4,5

Fundraising, ASB News 6,7

Dolores Winchell, Finan-

cial Aid

8, 9

Superintendent Recep-

tion, Mini-Grants

10,

11

Advocacy, Staff PTSA

Memberships

12,

13

Calendar 14

(continued on pg. 3)

(continued next page)


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Families can help by following some simple common sensesuggestions. Number 1 is DO NOT send your child to

school when they have a fever or there is a chance theycould be contagious. One student out sick is obviouslybetter than having them come to school and get all theirfriends sick as well.

If you are planning college visits, contact the university inadvance, many of them have weekend visit hours. If youmust travel on a school day, have the students attend asmany classes as possible before you leave.

Whenever your child returns from an absence, please senda note and be sure to list the dates and reason for the ab-

sence. The Orange County Department of Education re-quires our attendance office to submit a report everymonth. We must require verification of doctors appoint-ments from the doctors office.Any absence that is notcleared within three days is classified as truant. This can

be very frustrating because we think of truancies as thestudent being absent when the parents didnt know.Thank

you for doing what you can to help improve our atten-dance and helping your student by getting them to class asmuch as possible.

Principals Message (cont. from page 1)

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Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of Americas Achievement CultureBy Cindy Ashley & Kim Dennis, Parent Education Coordinator, [email protected]

The PTSA hosted the screening of the critically ac-claimed, thought provoking education documentary "Raceto Nowhere" on January 25th in the school theater. Over200 parents, (including new SVUSD Board MemberDolores Winchell, see a profile of her on page 8) attended.The film, created by a concerned mother turned filmmaker, examines the high pressure culture invading ourschools and the lives of our children.

The Race to Nowhere exposes the silent epidemic in our

schools: students have become disengaged, they sufferfrom stress-related illness, depression and burnout arerampant, cheating has become commonplace and as if that

werent enough, young people are arriving at college andthe workplace unprepared and uninspired. Underlying theconstant striving to take more Honors and AP classes, ex-cel in everything and participate in more extracurricularactivities, is the misguided belief that acceptance into agood school is the ticket to a successful life. This was dis-puted by several authorities in the film. According to sev-eral college admissions officers in the film, many of ourtop students are graduating from high school without hav-ing had the time or opportunity to develop critical thinking

skills or discover what their true passions are.Our principal Craig Collins facilitated a conversation fol-lowing the movie as everyone discussed ways to addressthis problem. Mr. Collins will be available for further dis-cussion at his first Coffee with the Principal on February8th (as well as any other topic). For more informationabout the film and the grassroots movement it has started,and to find future local showings, you can visit the Race toNowhere website http://www.RaceToNowhere.com.

The Trabuco Hills PTSA was proud to bring this movie toour school. We hope to expand on opportunities to offereducation and helpful resources to our THHS fami-lies. Please contact Kim Dennis, Parent Education coordi-nator, if you have ideas for future events at:

[email protected].


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A Message from Andrea (cont. from page 1)

Page 3

February 2011, Volume 1 Issue 4

and happily host such events to recognize their great ef-forts and talents.

We also celebrated the holidays as a PTSA board, with alively White Elephant gift exchange and dinner at Out-

back. Its always nice to have a simple, no-work eveningwith friends, all dedicated to helping every child at ourschool. Im so privileged to work with these people.

Please be sure to read through the newsletter to see all ofthe easy ways you can support the PTSA: lots of restaurantnights, Ralphs, escrip, discount cards, recycling, etc. Wehave been able to provide min-grants to some very gratefulteachers with our funds and purchase classroom supplies,like paper. Wed like to do this more, so please, please sup-port our fundraisers, most of which require no extra

money out of pocket. Its a win-win way to help with PTSAfunding that helps all our kids.

Id like to close with one heartfelt plea. If you haventjoined our PTSA yet, please do. Were trying to do moreand your support is crucial. Our numbers matter so much

with advocacy efforts in Sacramento and they especiallymatter at our school. Its a new year and I present you

with a new challenge - one more . Get one more mem-bership a friend, a teacher, a grandparent, your parent,your studentwhomever. We were challenged to increaseour membership by 5% this year and instead we are downin membership. We have 3300 students at our school andonly 850 PTSA members. This is a team effort. We can domore for the school, the teachers, the students and evenour families if we have your support. So please, write acheck today for $15 to the THHS PTSA and become part ofthe solution.part of the team that believes the educa-tional experience is important, that we can do more as in-

dividuals and as an organization to help our school. Thereis strength in numbers and we need you. It is not too lateto join and support our PTSA. Go Mustangs!

PTSA Holiday Fun!!Our White Elephant

Gift Exchange!


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THHS PTSA Suffers Chilling Defeat Against Rival!!!By Vanessa Braaksma, VP of Membership

In the battle between our PTSA and the Laguna Hills HighSchools PTSA to see which group could increase their staffmembership by the greatest percentage, THHS suffered anarrow defeat.

In keeping with our agreement, our principal, CraigCollins and other THHS PTSA members, cheerfullyheaded over into enemy territory wearing brown, andserved ice cream sundaes to LHHS principal Sean Boultonand members of the LHHS PTSA.

THHS Principal Craig Collins (left) serving up thefirst sundae to LHHS Principal Sean Boulton. Letssee who serves who next year!

Vanessa Braaksma, our VP of Membership wearingbrown (!!!) and serving up sundaes to Laguna Hills PTSAmembers with a smile.

Mustang MarvelsBy Andrea Padian, PTSA President

Id like to take this opportunity to thank our board mem-bers, current and past, for their help with our PTSA hospi-

tality work. Karen Gustafson , who stepped down inDecember, did a wonderful job organizing our WelcomeBack Breakfast and Annual Cookie Exchange for Teachersand Staff. We very much appreciate her dedication andefforts.

Id also like to thankSandra McElwee , our Special Edu-cation Chair, for organizing a great Special EducatorsBreakfast. It was the first time wed even heard of this day

but we HAD to celebrate. It makes sense, these teachersand aides are impressive and deserve recognition.

Vanessa Br aaksm a, Mike Padian, Cindy Johnson ,and Sandra McElwee were instrumental in making ourBreakfast with Dr. Harwick a fun event for everyone, too.

Again, it was nice to meet so many of our teachers andstaff, (did you know how great our custodians are?) and wecouldnt have done this without their help. Thank you somuch. And thanks to all the parents that contributed foodfor all these events. Your support is essential. You are all truly Mustang Marvels!


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Grad Night 2011!!!By Lisa Bauer, Grad Night co-chair, [email protected]

It is hard to believe that we have

turned the corner on another year andgraduation is fast approaching. OurGrad Night Committee has been hardat work to put together an eveningthat will be fun and memorable forour THHS Class of 2011. This year

will be an outdoor private party, filledwith a variety of activities that are sureto appeal. Best of all, it has beenplanned by the students for the stu-dents!

Dont wait until the last minute to pur-chase your ticket; there are substantial

savings by buying your ticket now:January 11 March 31, 2011: $160

April 1 May 31, 2011: $175

June 1st June 18, 2011: $190

You can download the forms (ticket

form and permission slip both mustbe completed and signed in full) fromthe PTSA website at http://

www.thhsptsa.org/. Make sure toprint both forms! Your checks should

be made payable to THHS PTSAGrad Night. Please note the cor-rected dates on the form. Graduationand the party to follow is on Tuesday,June 21, 2011. Students will leave thecampus directly following graduationand will return the following morning(June 22, 2011).

Thanks to those of you who have beenvolunteering. We are building up abank of parent volunteers. Due to thenature and size of the event, we arestill seeking additional help. If you

are interested in chaperoning (this

will be a night to remember!) or othervolunteer activities such as the dona-tion committee, contact Lisa Bauer [email protected].

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Second Annual PTSA Teacher and Staff Cookie Party Teachers and staff enjoy an array of homemade cookies and treats supplied by THHSfamilies. With hundreds of yummy delights, everyone was able to take home a variety

of goodies to share with their families. Thank you to all who donated and thank you toKaryn Gustafson for organizing this event.


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Many Ways to Support Teachers and StudentsBy Brenda Hanrath, Ways and Means

CAR RAFFLE:We are still selling raffle tickets for thedrawing of the a Toyota Corolla!!!! PURCHASE yours for$50.00. Only 600 will be sold! You will be supporting allstudents and staff at THHS!! Purchase at the school officefrom Debi Hope, or contact Brenda Hanrath at (949) 702-4247 [email protected]

DONATION BIN: We now have a donation bin in con-junction with Community of Change. Please donate yourold clothing, towels, blankets, sheets, rags and shoes! Alltextiles will be accepted. PTSA will receive a percentage

back for every 50 pounds of donations collected. The binis located on the Santa Margarita Pkwy side of the schoolnear the tennis courts, on the road that leads to the frontof the school. You can just pull up to the bin and drop off

your goods.

SCREAMIN DAILY DEALS: Want to get a great dealon food, entertainment, massages, hair care andmore?? Check out Screaming Daily Deals!! You will getabout 3 daily deals per day from local businesses. Pur-chase your deal, print the coupon and enjoy the savings of

up to 70%! Sign up on the PTSA website, or at screamin-dailydeals.com, and choose THHSPTSA as your school tosupport!!

KEY TO SAFE DRIVING: Protect your teen from tex-ting and talking on their cell phones while driving! It doesallow your teen access to 911 and parents in case of anemergency. The device is $95.00 and can be purchasedfrom the PTSA website.

ITALIAN ICE: Sold every Friday from 2pm to 4pm infront of the school. Cost is $3.00 per cup and supportsPTSA.

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Recycling Competition!!Drop off your used printer cartridges, laptops, digital cameras and cell

phones in the first two weeks of February. The winning homeroom

will be served hot, fresh breakfast burritos. Contact Brenda Hanrathat (949) 702-4247 or e-mail her [email protected] if you

have any questions.

Eat Out, Support the School!By Karyn Bower, PTSA Secretary [email protected]

The PTSA has another win-win fundraiser. Simply by eat-

ing out or picking up some take-out, you can raise moneyfor our school. Now, through June 2011, the PTSA will behosting Restaurant Week the first week of every month.Restaurant Week is happening right now thru February7th and the next one will be March 1-7th so mark your cal-endar!

If you plan to eat out the first week of the month, why notconsider dining at one of these fine restaurants? Visithttp://www.thhsptsa.org, click on the Restaurant Weeklink on the left. Scroll down to Attachments and print outthe restaurant flyer and present it when you order andearn 15% of your bill (pre-tax) back to the school.

Monday: Trabuco Oaks Steakhouse , 20782 TrabucoOaks Rd, Trabuco Canyon.

Tuesday: Peppinos, Foothill Ranch in food court nearmovie theatre. Pick Up Stix , RSM by Lowes and Mission

Viejo (Trabuco and Alica near Mobil).

Wednesday: Oggis Pizza , 23641 Via Linda, MV (offAlicia across from baseball fields) or Red Robin Gour-met Burgers , Foothill Ranch, near Walmart.

Thursday: Claim Jumper , Mission Viejo in HenrysShopping Center or Phillys B est, RSM in the Lowesshopping center.

Friday: Baja Fresh , RSM, next to Kohls, or Del Taco ,Foothill Ranch (near Target).


7/14

Canned Food Drive

Our school proudly was able to col-lect and donate 14,500 cans of foodfor Saddleback Community Out-reach during the week beforeThanksgiving Break. At the begin-ning of the week we only had about100 cans. The deadline was Fridayand we needed a miracle! It wastruly amazing to see a room go fromalmost empty to barely being able tosee the floor in a few days. Thanksto all who donated canned food forour neighbors in need.

Soles 4 SoulsThis year, our school collected gentlyused shoes for a program calledSoles 4 Souls. They distribute shoesthroughout the United States andthe world to those in need. Our shoedrive was a huge success and inabout a month, we collected 3010pairs of shoes!

Holiday Spirit WeekThe last week of school before Win-ter Break, ASB had a Holiday Spirit

Week with dress-up days such asSanta Hat Day, Holiday SweaterDay, Snow Day and Holiday ColorsDay. It was a colorful and spectacu-lar week!

It s a Pixar Perfect WinterFormalOn Saturday, February 5th, 2011 the

Winter Formal will take place at thebeautiful location of Soka Universityfrom 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Congratu-lations to our Winter Formal Court.

The freshmen are made up of,Megan Mondt, Lindsay Logsdon,

Amanda Mills, Kyle Freeman, Con-nor Lee, Jordan Levy. The sopho-more court isAlyssa Ayres, JamieHay, Taylor Keating, John Land,Nathan Perry, and Henry Yin. The

junior court is Ashley Brown, Mon-tana Kleppe, Karli Thompson, VinceRicco, Bryan Russo, and Mitch Si-

monsen. The senior court is led by

Stephanie Keider, Riley Logsdon,Jessica Vuozzo, Joe Garland, YoodooPark and Connor Tyson.

Hope for ChangeFrom December 6th to December10th, the students of Trabuco Hillsreached into their pockets and do-nated $13,442 for local needy fami-lies. The money was used to buy toysand games for children of the com-munity, make food baskets for fami-lies, and buy gifts for some of the

underprivileged in Orange Country.As an incentive to students, freshlybaked cookies and Golden Spooncertificates were offered to home-rooms that collected a certainamount of money each day. Even

without these motivational incen-tives, the kindhearted Mustangs al-

ways come through.

Got Spirit?The fourth Got Spirit Day was onDecember 3rd and the seniors arestill in firstkept their lead. The sen-iors have 21,113 pts while the Jun-iors are a close second with 20,329pts. The sophomores have 14,912 ptsand the freshmen are in last place

with 10,139 points. The next GotSpirit day is February 17th. Getready, get pumped and get spirit!

Go B l ue !

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ASB News: Weve Got Spirit (and Generousity)!By Aiko Mackus, Senior Class President, Monica Ukah, Junior Class President

Henry Yin, Sophomore President

O u r M u s t a n g s c o ll ec t in g c h a n g e f o r c h a r i t y .


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Dolores Winchellis one of two newschool boardmembers sworn inat the DecemberSchool BoardMeeting. Wethank her for tak-ing time out for us

to get to know her better.

Tell us a little about yourself.....

I moved to Orange County in 1976 andmy husband, Scott and I bought ourhome in Lake Forest in 1992. Both of

our kids attended Rancho Caada andSerrano Intermediate in Lake Forest.Our daughter attends Laguna HillsHigh School and she will graduate thisJune. Our son is in the 8th grade atSerrano and plans to attend El Toronext year.

Ever since my daughter started kin-dergarten in 1998 I have been an ac-tive member of the PTA and a volun-teer in the schools. I have served asPTA president three times, first atRancho Canada, then at Council

(district level) and most recently atLaguna Hills High School.

My career background is in humanresources. I earned a BS in Manage-ment from Pepperdine University. I

worked as a full-time HR director for15 years and switched to part-time HRconsulting in order to provide full-time care for our kids and volunteer inthe schools. I am still actively workingas a Human Resources Consultant.

Why were you interested in running

for this new school board position,especially under our current budgetcrisis?

Running for a school board positionwas what I considered a call to duty.Having attended board meetings formore than ten years, I understand,appreciate and support public educa-tion.

I have visited legislators locally and

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Meet Dolores Winchell: New SVUSD Board MemberBy Andrea Padian,[email protected]

made at least seven trips to Sacra-mento to advocate for K-12 education.

As a parent invested in the educationof all children, I subscribe to themotto of them that can.should.Children are our future and as a soci-ety, we need to recognize that we havea duty and responsibility to educatethem and provide them with everypossible opportunity to become suc-cessful contributing members of soci-ety.

What new ideas/skills do you bring tothe table that you think will help ourschool board/community most?

I bring 12.5 years of consistent parentand community involvement in ourschools. Along with serving in manydifferent PTA positions, I have volun-teered in the schools and served onsite council at all levels and also onnumerous district-wide committeesincluding the Facilities Advisory,Budget, Strategic Planning, etc. After

working for the passage of Measure B,I was appointed to the Citizens Over-sight committee and have served as

the vice chairman since its inceptionsix years ago.

What would you like most to seechange, if you could change anythingin our district?

I would like to see public educationfully funded. I also believe that a re-duction in class sizes would result inan improved learning environment forall students. In addition, all students

would benefit from the restoration ofprograms at all levels including thearts, music, theatre, sports and occu-

pational programs to name a few. Ibelieve all students should have theopportunity to explore their strengthsand natural abilities by being exposedto a curriculum that reaches beyondthe four-year college tract studentpath. Academics are important, how-ever we also need to recognize andprovide occupational learning oppor-tunities for students who have differ-ent talents and career interests as well

as co-curricular activities to providefor a well rounded education.

I believe and fully support local con-trol for SVUSD and all school districts.Running school districts from Sacra-mento with a one size fits all ap-proach doesnt work.

What do you see as your biggest chal-lenge and how do you plan to face it?

Our biggest challenge is getting publiceducation fully funded and gaininglocal control. As a community weknow best how dollars should be spent

locally and the state should allow us tomake those decisions.

What is your philosophy about educa-tion in our public schools and its fu-ture in our state?

I am passionate about public educa-tion and believe that parents, the com-munity and elected representativesneed to do everything possible to en-sure that all children are provided

with the opportunity to receive a well-rounded public education. In thesetimes education is not a spectator

sport. If we are going to make head-way in how our state and nation ap-proach and fund education, we must

ALL become advocates. Federal andstate mandates without full fundingshould be prohibited. How will weever catch up if we are forced to spendfunds we dont have? And far toomany dollars come with strings at-tached as demonstrated in the fundingtied up in categorical programs. Dis-tricts that are accomplishing educa-tional goals and consistently showing

increases in API should be rewardedwith flexible spending. Every districtand their respective community aredifferent and local districts should beable to make local decisions with re-spect to the education of their stu-dents. Sacramento legislators cantpossibly know what the needs are forover 1,000 school districts in the state.

We need full funding and local con-trol.


9/14


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Support the PTSA and Win

a Car!!!For just $50, you can purchase a raffle ticket to wina 2010 Toyota Corolla LE 1838 from CapistranoToyota.

Only 600 tickets will be sold and every ticket pur-chaser will receive a coupon for 50% off an oilchange at Capistrano Toyota.

When will you ever have these kind of odds? Dontlet this chance slip away. For more details and

purchase information, visit thhsptsa.org.

(must be 18 to purchase a raffle ticket)

Show Me the Money: Financial Aid for CollegeBy Christa Schulz, Guidance Counselor, [email protected]

It is that time of year for our seniors and their parents.Applications have been completed, letters of recommenda-tion sent, and we are anxiously waiting to hear about ad-missions. Now is the time to be filling out the FAFSA andthe CalGrant. These applications are due March 2nd. How-ever, apply now as funds may be depleted. Pleasedownload these forms at http://www.fafsa.ed.govandhttp://www.calgrant.org. There is a portion of the Cal-Grant that must be completed by our records clerk in guid-ance, Mrs. Fronke. These are not submitted automaticallyor electronically by Trabuco Hills High School, so pleasedo print a hard copy and request a certificate of mailing(not registered mailing) from the post office. Students willreceive a Student Aid Report (SAR) within four weeks ofapplying. Students should check for accuracy, make cor-

rections if necessary and return to the FAFSA processor.

Additionally, some colleges or programs have uniqueforms. Contact the college financial aid department foraddition forms and requirements. See page 39 and 40 ofthe High School Planning Guide for more information.This guide was given to seniors in November. However, if

your student does not have the guide, it is available on thedistrict website under the guidance department.

And as always, continue to check both the district and Tra-buco Hills High School websites for local scholarship op-portunities. These applications will continue to comeavailable through June. Happy hunting!


10/14

Sign up or renew your participation in Ralphs and Vons/Pavilions

Value Customer Community Support Programs

ITS EASY! ITS FREE! ITS POWERFUL!

www.ralphs.c

om

Org. Number

92164

Or

Name: Tra-

buco HillsHigh School

PTSA

Registeryourgroceryclubcard(s)andtherestisdonebyRalphsandeScrip.

Theinstructionforhowtosignupforthesegreatfundraisingopportuni

tiesarepostedathttp://www.thhsptsa.org.ClickonRalphsClubCardIn

structions.Theiconforeachprogramontheabovementionedwebsitewill

leadyoudirectlytoaSignInscreenforthatparticularprogram. Then

justfollowthepromptsandusethegroup/organizationnumbersfromthis

ad.

Evenifyousignupforthesefundraisersinthepast,youHAVEtorenewyour

participationeveryyear.

The Ralphs program runs from September 1 to August 31.

eScrip (Vons/Pavilions) program runs from August 1 to July 31.*

DONT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW.

LET OUR SCHOOL EARN MONEY TOO.

www.eScrip.c

om

Group ID

10482514

Or

Group

Name:

Trabuco Hills

Ptsa

*Starting January 1, 2011, our school must earn a minimum of $100 annually (January 1 - December 31) to continue to receivecontributions through the Safeway eScrip program


Page 10

On January 12th, the PTSA hosted a ReceptionBreakfast with Dr. Harwick, our new SVUSD Super-intendent, for the staff and teachers at THHS. The

breakfast was supplied by the PTSA along with familydonations that included everything from eggs tohomemade muffins. Everyone enjoyed the opportu-nity to mingle and meet Dr. Harwick. Starbuckskindly donated coffee for the event and over 150 peo-ple attended. Dr. Harwick introduced himself andtalked about his philosophy to encourage working asa team - and of course encouraging all there to sup-port and join our PTSA. A Q & A followed and theroom was full of laughter and smiles. Dr. Harwickonce played baseball for the Cubs and so one of thefirst questions asked was, "Why the Cubs?" He was

warmly welcomed and everyone had a lot offun. Thanks to Vanessa Braaksma, Sandra McElwee,Mike Padian, and Cindy Johnson for helping thatmorning and thanks to all the families that donatedall the goodies everyone enjoyed.

PTSA Breakfast Reception for Dr.Harwick, Superintendent


11/14


By the time you read this, all the equipment and materials funded by the PTSA Mini-Grant program will be in the class-

rooms and getting full use by the students. To date, the PTSA has purchased over $11,000 in education-related suppliesthat otherwise would not have been available.

As you can imagine, all the teachers have been extremely appreciative of the PTSA Mini-Grant program. With adequatefundraising and membership participation, this program can continue to be a direct means for members to have an im-mediate positive impact on the students classroom experience.

Here are a few notes of appreciation:

My thanks to the PTSA for this grant! It [a high quality photo printer] will make a huge difference in howour work looks when we send it out to exhibitions. Lydia Neumann, Photography

I want to thank you for your generous approval of my mini-grant from the PTSA. I realize it was a weirdrequest, but I can assure you that the students who are using this furniture are truly enjoying it. They lovegoing to the living room and getting comfortable during reading. Now that you have approved a bit moreseating for them there, Im sure they will love it even more. There is nothing more gratifying to me than see-ing my students actually enjoy reading a book. In addition I wanted to thank you for your donation of the

bean bag chair. Thank you again!! I am so excited!!! Kate Pe tty, English

I placed an order for the electrophoresis equipment today . Thank you so much for the grant. It will givemy students a valuable experience that they never would have had if not for your orga nizations generos-ity. Matthew McDermit, Biology

Thanks so much!! Its alway s exciting to get new music!! Pam Son sini, Music

The kids have been using them [the calculators] every day since [they came in]. Thank you aga in for theopportunity. Its great to be able to get things done so quickly a nd get the technology right into the hands ofthe kids. Jeanette Suarez, Math

PTSA Mini-Grants: Making a Difference in the Classroom

Page 11

Mr. Grzecka enjoying new supplies forhis Science classes.

By Mike Padian, Mini-Grant Committee


12/14

Page 12


By Mike Padian, Advocacy and Legislative Representative

THHS PTSA Advocating for YOU in Sacramento!This spring, your PTSA will be busy

making sure the issues of the 4thSchool District (Orange County),SVUSD, and THHS are heard by ourrepresentatives. Kurt Walker, a THHSteacher, and I will be going on the Sac-ramento Safari in March when a con-tingent of ninety 4th District PTA rep-resentatives converge and talk to ourlegislators and state staff. We makemore inroads and obtain more re-sponse as a result of these lobbyingefforts than anything else, exceptmaybe through the voting booth.

Due to the state budget crisis, currentschool funding is at 2004-05 levels.More cuts are looming for collegesand universities this year. Currently,almost 20% of the states school dis-tricts are in peril of financial defaultand being taken over by the state, andthe number is anticipated to increase

dramatically. Saddleback has been on

the verge of default for the past twoyears, but has been able to avoid it byenacting furlough days, and decreas-ing custodial and library services,sports and extracurricular activities,and supply budgets. Californias rank-ing among the states is embarrassingand the challenges daunting amongthe lowest spent per pupil, the leastamount of staff per pupil, the highestteacher pay, the largest student popu-lation whose parents do not have highschool diplomas, and the largest non-English speaking student population.

Since schools now make up 55% of thestates general fund programs, itshard to find a way to bring the statesfinances into a better situation with-out impacting education. K-12 fund-ing is proposed to remain the samethis year, (again, at 2004-05 levels),

but almost 25% of the funding is de-

ferred, an accounting exercise to makethe situation look better by stretchingcash flow. Unfortunately, schools cannot defer costs, so they have to obtainshort-term financing, which has inter-est costs that are not reimbursed bythe state.

While painful and difficult, the solu-tions may require significant amputa-tion and paradigm shifts, includingmajor surgery on sacred items, likeProp 13. Hang on to your seats, itsgoing to be a bumpy ride.

(This is an excerpt from a longer arti-cle. To read the complete article,please visit our website: http://

www.thhsptsa.org and click onAdvocacy.)

Special Education ReportBy Sandra McElwee, Special Education Advocate

March 3rd is national Spread the Word to End the WordDay. The word we are referring to is retarded. The word"retarded" hurts millions of people with intellectual dis-abilities, their families and friends. The campaign encour-ages everyone to take the following pledge to help promotea new R-word, Respect:

I support the elimination of the derogatory use of the R-word from everyday speech and to promote the accep-tance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabili-ties.

We invite everyone to go towww.r-word.org and take thepledge!

Special Educators Day wa s December 2nd and the PTSAprovided the Special Education teachers and a ides atTHHS with a nice breakfast to honor their efforts andcommitment to our students. Thank you all.


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The PTSA Would Like to Thank the Following Teachers for Joining:

Tony AmmiratoTeri Ansevin

Elizabeth Armstrong

Pam Barnett

Paul Beidler

Stephanie Bell

Susan Berner

Chris Brayler

Jonathan Bromblerg

Michael Burns

Mario"Jay" Camiling

Ted Campos

Linda Chappell

Ann CharlesAlerini

Shauna Coghill

Craig Collins

Jeff Dekofsky

Diane Douglass

Christine Egge

Candie Elson

Kimberly Erskine

Tracy Fanelli

Kathie Farley

Katie Fliegler

Mike Folmar

Vicki Fronke

Andrea Gaggiano

Kelli Gaines

Susana Garcia

Barbara Gard

Thomas Gizzecka

Susan Gordon

Sita Gorski

Garrett Gray

Stacey Hamamura

Sandra Hanneman

Dorian Hinesly

Debi Hope

Jenelle Huffman

Valerie HutchensViji Janardan

Madeline Jarock

Lynn Kagel

Anne Kahle

Daveen Kaplan

Dominique Keith

Dennis Kelly

Fred Kendell

Linda Kimble

Christa LeebPeters

Lisa LotitoByers

Scott Mann

Georgeann Marietta

Tom McCluskey

Matthew McDermit

Gladys Miller

Kurt Mitthuf

Bridget Mondt

Ron Mooshagian

Lydia Neuman

Lindy Noroozi

Scott Orloff

Candy Parr

Dan Peters

Kate Petty

Gwen Reagan

Thomas Rico

Todd Sautner

Tia Shields

Christine Smedberg

Pam Sonsini

John Spangler

Patty Stewart

Antonette Stone

Jon Stordahl

Jeanette Suarez

Gregg Swenson

Ana Tapia

Mary TerryChristy Thompson

Jon VanTassel

Kurt Walker

Sharon Webber

David Williams

Jay Wozniak


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Mark Your Calendar...

February 1Deadline for seniors to apply for CA State PTA scholarships

February 7, 7pmPTSA General Meeting, Library, slate of officers for the 2011-2012

PTSA Board will be announced

February 8, 7:30am-9am Coffee with Principal Collins, 500 Building Conference Room

(next to MPR, facing the parking lot) BYOC (Bring Your Own Coffee!)

February 8, 6:15pmSVUSD Board of Education Meeting, SVUSD Boardroom

February 11Jason Barber assemblies for students on drunk driving, sponsored by the

PTSA

February 12ACT (Saddleback College & Capistrano Valley High) February 17PTA Founders Day

February 18, 21February Recess, no school

March 8, 6:15pmSVUSD Board of Education Meeting, SVUSD Boardroom

March 12SAT (register by February 11)

March 21PTSA General Meeting, Library

The Pony Express

Words to Ponder.

The way you see people is the way you treat them and the way youtreat them is what they become.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Documents

Feb 2011 PTSA Pony Express Newsletter