Flynn PTO Update 11/4/12

 

Hey There Flynn Families - Hope you had a great weekend and took advantage of the extra hour of sleep on Sunday!  Hope to see you this week at the Bookfair and Pasta Dinner!

 What's up in the library????  Each week, students come to the library where they are introduced to great books.Children in grades K-4 participate in the Red Clover Award Program, Vermont's children's choice picture book award. Children listen to, read, discuss and vote for their favorite Red Clover nominee each year. Statewide, last year, more than 25,000 students from almost all of Vermont's elementary schools participated in this program co-sponsored by Mother Goose Programs/Vermont Center for the Book, the Vermont Department of Libraries, the Vermont Department of Education and Windham County Reads.  This link brings you to the most current Red Clover picks:  https://sites.google.com/a/etsd.org/essex-elementary-school-learning-center/red-clover-books-2012-2013  Ask your K-2 child which books Mrs. Wells has been reading.

 

Older students are being challenged to read DCF (Dorothy Canfield Fisher) books.  The DCF Award is Vermont's children's choice award for grades 4-8. After reading at least 5 books from the DCF Master List, students then vote for their favorite titles. The winning author is invited to visit Vermont to speak with children about the experience of writing.  Take a peek at the DCF blog for the most current picks. http://dcfbooks.edublogs.org/  Has your child checked out any of the DCF books?  What about a parent/child DCF bookclub???

Speaking of Books... Join us at Flynn this Thursday for a Pasta dinner and great book

shopping to benefit the library. The dinner price is very reasonable - $5/adults, $3/kids, under 5 are free, Family max $15. Doors open at 5:30.

 

 

Dinner Donations If you pledged a dinner donation for the pasta dinner, all non-perishables can be sent into the office through Thursday. Fresh items should be dropped off on Thursday morning. Thank you in advance for your generosity!  Please email the PTO if you have questions or forgot what you pledged - we can help!  flynnschoolpto@gmail.com

Learn More about Burlington's Food Services Posted October 31, 2012
All schools in the Burlington School District offer a full fruit and vegetable bar that is included with every lunch served. On average, 6-8 vegetables and 3-5 fruits are
featured. Students may take unlimited amounts of fruit and vegetables along with their entrée choice. Beans and legumes such as garbanzos, black bean and sweet potato salad, or lentils with roasted roots are also available on a daily basis. Vegetarian and vegan students may take unlimited amounts of these items to meet their daily protein needs. Students may also choose from vegetarian sandwiches including peanut butter and jelly, cheese and vegetables, or hummus wraps. At the K-8 level, hot entrées such as pizza and vegetable pasta are offered several times each month, while at the high school students may choose from hot vegetarian dishes daily. We feel that it is vitally important to offer a diverse menu to our increasingly diverse student body. Many students are new to this country, and it is important that they are offered food that is respectful of their religious and dietary customs. We believe that better food leads to better learning, and we want all students to go to class well fed and ready to learn. It is important to note that our schools have thousands of students and adults that are not vegetarian or vegan and they too need to have a culturally appropriate and varied menu.
It is equally important that as a dairy and agricultural state, we continue to support our farmers, our food system and maintain our working landscapes. We do this through local food purchases, farm and culinary programs for students, and ultimately the creation of a new school food culture. Food unites us all. Hunger affects us all. For more information, visit http://www.burlingtonschoolfoodproject.org/.

 

 

Bluebird BBQ  November 7th,  5-9pm

Come on out to Bluebird BBQ and chow-down on some of the best BBQ in the area.
10% of all food purchases for the evening go to the Burlington School Food Project's Farm-to-School program.  Please make reservations with Blue Bird BBQ and tell them that you're with BSFP.  (802) 448-3070  Thanks all and hope to see you there.

 

Ever Wonder about Allowance? Author Vickie Hoefle (Parenting on Track) writes: 11 Big Benefits of Giving Kids an Allowance

There’s little argument at this point that handling money as a child will prepare you for handling money as a young adult and eventually, as an adult. Great. But what exactly- as in literally- do the benefits look like? Why is is such a valuable commitment?

Imagine This First.  Well, imagine for a moment, that you have been giving your children money each week from the time they were four years old and each week they were encouraged to make decisions about the money. Imagine if you handed over the gift buying power, the junk food buying power, the cheap “crap” purchasing power, and so forth. Imagine if you allowed your child to experience the frustration when she didn’t have enough money to go out with friends, buy the perfect jeans or pay for her car payments. If you can imagine these lessons during childhood, you can imagine her respect for money heading into the real world.

The Benefits of Consistent Allowance (Why it’s worth the inconvenience of getting cash and handing it out!)

1. Kids, at an early age learn the true value of money. As in, what can I buy for one dollar? $100?
2. They discover what money can and can not do (happiness is not in the box you waited all month to buy, only to forget about a week later).
3. They learn the “real” way how hard it is to save money and how easy it is to spend money.
4. Kids develop a keen ability to assess what purchases are really important to them and which they can do without. (They’ll eventually say things like, NO. NOT WORTH IT… and walk away).
5. Kids discover things about themselves- Am I a saver? Am I a spender? When will that benefit me? When will it not?
6. Kids who buy their own things, DO NOT expect the adults around them to buy them stuff. In fact, they stop asking.
7. Kids learn to negotiate, barter and work together. (i.e. If one kid only has 15 bucks and his brother pitches in five, you bet they come up with creative reimbursement plans!).
8. Kids who carry their cash grow independent. There is no need to ask mom or wonder what she’ll say or how to sweet talk her (note: no fits because the answer is yes if the child has money). The child simply walks over, and decides if he wants to purchase or not.
9. Kids who make mistakes with their money have learned the good old fashioned hard way money has value, it can go away and with time, you can earn it back– financial resiliency is valuable.
10. Kids who spend enough time practicing also have time to understand- and make a judgement that sometimes, it’s ok to say– it’s only money- and there are things more important than a wad full of ones.
11. And finally, as a result of their experience with money, kids develop a strong work ethic and an appreciation for everything you provide.

Want more money management ideas? Visit  Kids & Money Pinterest Board!

PARENTS FOR CHANGE 

invite you to our

New American Action to Improve

the Student Placement Process

 

Monday, November 12th, 2012

7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Cathedral Church of St. Paul

2 Cherry Street, Burlington

 

Special guests:

Jeanne Collins, Superintendent of Burlington Schools

Amy Mellencamp, Principal of Burlington High School

Henri Sparks, Equity Director, Burlington Schools

Linda Walsleban, English Language Learner Director

Join Parents for Change as we seek to enhance opportunities for

New American students in Burlington by improving the student placement process and communications with parents and multi-cultural liaisons.

By bus: The church is 2 blocks from the Cherry St. bus station.

By car: Parking on Cherry or Pearl St. (free after 6 pm), or Cherry St. garage (free for 2 hours).

Child care is available – please call to request.

For more information about the event, call (802) 318-5892.

Voices for Vermont’s Children and Vermont Interfaith Action support Parents for Change networks. We are part of the Winooski-Burlington Partnership for Change working to reshape our schools and strengthen our communities by better preparing all students for the future.  Voices independent community-organizing helps new parent leaders build relationships, develop leadership skills and identify solutions to improve educational opportunities.

 
<sub>SAVE THE DATE

November 6 - Early Release at 11:30- Election day!
November 8 - Chess Club meets at 7:30 in the Learning Center at Flynn - ALL abilities welcome!
November 8 - Bookfair and Pasta Supper at Flynn - 5:30-7pm
November 13 - PTO Pizza forms due
November 16 - Principal's Coffee at 8:15am
November 20 - PTO Pizza Pick-up 4:30-6pm
November 21-23 - No School - Thanksgiving Recess
November 29 - Chess Club</sub>