Monday, November 14, 2011

Flynn Family PTO Update 11/14/11

Hey there Flynn families - Thanks for your participation.  Each month, we have had hundreds of parents turn out for school events like Open house, Math night and most recently, the Bookfair and Pasta dinner.  If you keep coming, we'll keep offering!  Your participation is so much more than just showing up.  You are making connections and building relationships with teachers, administrators and Flynn families as well as showing your child how important school is.  We know, it can be a drag to leave the house after a long day at work - your time is important and we hope that you have had fun learning and playing with your family at school. 
In the Winter, the PTO plans and hosts "Flynn Family Nights."  These nights are free to families and have included activities like Zumba, Movie night, Annual Talent Show, Family Traditions Dinner, Lego Challenge and Skating at Leddy Arena.  We are currently planning activities for the new year - what are your ideas for fun, low-cost activities?  E-mail us at flynnschoolpto@gmail.com.

Pasta Dinner 2011 was a Terrific Success!! The PTO pasta dinner and bake sale alone made $776.16!!!! (We hope that the book fair did just as wellJ) All that money gets put right back into Flynn events and different ways of supporting our students and families.  Go Flynn!!

This would not have been possible without so many helping hands:
1. Thanks to all the families who braved the rainy weather and came to the book fair and dinner to support our school!  
2. Thanks to all the room parents who worked tons at organizing for all the donations.
3. A big thanks to all the families that brought in donations for the dinner and the bake sale.  The dinner was delicious and there were a countless amount of very yummy goodies which made the bake sale so successful. 
4. Thank you to Hannaford for the bread donation and to Jane Hondal for arranging it!
5. And last but certainly not least, a huge THANK YOU TO ALL THE WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS THE DAY OF THE EVENT:  HAPPY VAIL, JON KUYPERS, DASHA ZENTRICHOVA, KATE BELLUCHE, WANDA HLORDSZ, MARIE CLAIRE SMITH, JEN DEBEDOUT, MISSY HELLYER, KATE WHEELER, SHELLEY WATERMAN, TERESA GAILLORENZO, KIM HUNT, LISA TULKOP, BECKY HOLT AND EDITH DUCHARME!!  The dinner would not have been possible without all of you.  Thank you soooo much!!
Student Art Gallery  Ms. Stevens is looking for a parent to come in and get student artwork into frames for our gallery located in the hall outside the multi-purpose room.  Every year, Ms. Stevens chooses works that are framed and displayed until the child leaves Flynn at the end of 5th grade.  This is a special honor and a Flynn tradition.  Every year, the PTO (that's you!) pays for frames so we can continue this tradition.  All the materials will be provided and you do not need any special skills - just the gift of time.  Framing can be done before, during or afterschool on site.  Please contact Dana at dstevens@bsdvt.org or leave a message in the school office and she will return your call.

Flynn School Thanksgiving Food Drive - November 14-18.  Canned goods and Hannaford gift Cards can be brought to the office.  All Food/cards go to Flynn families in need!  If your family is in need of food, please contact Liane Couture at 864-8445.

Five Flynn teachers received PTO Mini-Grants  Five teachers pooled their checks to buy leveled books for classroom libraries.  They got packs of six books and shared them among the three first-grade classroom libraries.  Students take 5 books home every week so they have appropriate books to read at home.  Books get lost and misplaced over the years, so teachers neeed to update their stocks each year in order to have enough books on each level to offer to students.  In recent years, teachers have gotten $200 - $300 per classroom to spend each year. With required ordering of math practice books, spelling notebooks, and other expenses like desk nameplates, potting soil, correction tape, and packing tape, there is rarely any money left for buying books for the classroom. As you may expect, many teachers spend thousands of dollars of their own money to create a classroom library. The PTO mini-grants are very much appreciated to defray these costs.  Our teachers thank you for your generosity.  (Remember, you are the PTO - the money they rec'd to buy books came from the fundraisers you participated in -thanks!)   

Parent Information Sessions: Puberty, Sexual Development & Safety Tuesday November 8th and Tuesday November 15th - Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler - 8 Archibald Street

November 15th Two Sessions: (choose 1 - they are the same!)
6-6:45pm In English, with Interpreters for Swahili and Burmese
7-7:45pm In English, with Interpreters for Russian, Arabic, French, Bosnian

Dr. Frankowski will provide parents with information about adolescent issues related to puberty, sexual development and safety. She will also provide parents with information about how they can discuss these sensitive topics with their children. For parents’ convenience, Dr. Frankowski will offer the same workshop twice each evening, on two different nights. Childcare and refreshments will be provided. If you have questions, please contact Meredith Hoisington, EMS School Guidance Counselor, at mhoising@bsdvt.org or 865-4177.

Check your Calendar...
  • November 14-18  Thanksgiving Food Drive
  • November 22 - Report Cards go home
  • November 23-25 No School - Thanksgiving Break

The Farm to School Project conducted taste testing at Flynn school this past Friday with the 5th graders and a group of Medical Students from UVM- ask you kiddo what they thought of the new recipe- Thanksgiving Pudding.  If you would like to try it at home, Sarah Huesner sent us the recipe.  The formating is a bit off as it is cut from an excel spreadsheet -Also note that the recipe feeds 100 - industrial scale cooking!  What a great math project to cut down the recipe into a more reasonable family serving -  Let us know if you try it! (recipe below)

 







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STANDARDIZED RECIPES
ITEM: Butternut Squash Soufflé ITEM CATEGORY Dessert
ELEM HS ELEMENTARY HS
PORTION SIZE 1/4 Cup 1/4 Cup SERVING UTENSIL # 12 Scoop #12 Scoop
COMPONENT Orange Vegetable   The sugar can easily be substituted with maple syrup.
RECIPE YIELD 100
INGREDIENTS QUANTITY UNIT PREPARATION
Carrot(or, butternut sq.) 15    Pounds Peeled and rough chopped.
Margarine 1    Pound Melt
Sugar, white 3 1/2 Cups
Flour, ap 1 1/3 Cups  Could use wheat flour
Baking Powder 1    Tbsp.
Vanilla Extract 1    Tbsp.
Eggs 4 1/4 Cups Beaten
Nutmeg 1    tsp.
RECIPE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:
1 Preheat oven to 350° F.
2 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add carrots and cook until fork tender.
3 Drain carrots then mash.
4 Add all the ingredients except the nutmeg to the mashed carrots and mix thoroughly.
Transfer to two well greased 2 inch hotel pans.
6 Sprinkle with nutmeg.
7 Bake in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes.

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