Kentwood Elementary School Newsletter

Jean Pennicooke, Principal Donny Bui, Vice Principal Doug Lee, PTO President

A Letter From Ms. Pennicooke

Dear Kentwood Parents: We have completed a full month of school and there have been several exciting things that have occurred. We are very proud to announce our new API score of 892, up 14 points from last year! More good news: we made our Norm numbers, and have one class more than last year. Mrs. Barbara Berton, our fantastic substitute, opened the class and has been with them since the first day of school. We were very fortunate to get a very experienced teacher, Mrs. Stephanie Sharif, who is also a parent here at Kentwood. She will be starting soon. Last week we successfully rolled out the Breakfast in the Classroom program, and it is going very well. Next up is the iPad deployment on September 24th. Stay tuned. We will proudly celebrate Hispanic Heritage with student work posted in every classroom. This year all students will be learning about important Hispanics who have made positive contributions and who are well known.

September & October 2013

Calendar of Events
September 21 Retro Prom 27 Recycle Fridays start October Dinner social Islands Restaurant 25 United Nations Parade 31 Halloween Parade 31 Minimum Day (12:34 Dismissal)

Lost and Found

Please take some time to stop by the classrooms beginning September 16th through September 27th to see the wonderful work, and to acknowledge and learn about our famous Hispanic personalities. We will celebrate all other cultures with the same theme this year. A huge THANK YOU to all our parent volunteers who are stepping in and helping in any way they can for the myriad activities and events at Kentwood. Keep up the great work. Your partnership and involvement is very important to us. Warmest regards, Jean Pennicooke Principal

If your child loses any personal items, you can look in the Kentwood Lost and Found located in the hallway between Room 5 and the Girls Restroom. All efforts are made to return lost items to their owners, but it impossible if it is not a labeled. So please remember to label all items with your childs name. All unclaimed items are donated to charity three times during the school year.

PTO Yahoo Group

The PTO has started a new PTOKentwood Yahoo Group that differs from our Kentwood Parent Yahoo Group in the past, as it will include only outgoing messages. We will try out best to inform you with only the necessary information in the most effective way possible. The traditional Kentwood Parent Yahoo Group will still be available to all as a Kentwood Elementary public forum. If you are not currently a member of the new PTO-Kentwood Yahoo group, and would like to receive information including the Monday morning assembly recap, newsletters, fundraising updates, after-school enrichment class info and general event flyers information, please join by going to: http://groups.yahoo. com/group/PTO-Kentwood/join.

p. 310.670.8977 f. 310.670.6957 www.kentwoodes.org

8401 Emerson Ave., Westchester, CA 90045

Kentwood Elementary School Newsletter

PTO NEWS Letter from the PTO President
One of my favorite things about being a parent at Kentwood is when I get stopped by an unfamiliar little voice saying, Alexs Daddy? or Jojos Daddy? I turn to greet one of the students in one of my kids classes or at S.T.A.R. who asks me if they can have a play date with my daughter sometime. I say, Of course! We would love that! But if I am being completely honest, I am thinking to myself, When are we going to have time for that?... With all of the swimming lessons, dance classes, church, and miscellaneous weekend activities, when is this play date going to happen? Then, I am reminded just how important playing with friends and making new friends is to my little girls. I am reminded that lifelong friends are made through opportunities and requests just like this one. I am reminded how great it was to get together with my best buddies as a kid. I am reminded that in order for community to be built up, deepened, strengthened, and expanded, we must sometimes be as intentional as that little girl who asked for a play date. Of course, there is no guarantee that this will work, but it might. Imagine the possibilities if it does. I look forward to connecting with more of our Kentwood family throughout the year, and to that little girl who approached me the other day, Ill be in touch with your mommy and daddy soon to setup that play date. Doug Lee PTO President

Computer Lab Corner

Annual Pledge Drive Has Begun!

The Annual Pledge Drive is our biggest fundraisers of the year. Remember, 100% participation from all of our Kentwood families is our goal. Thank you to all the families that have donated to our Pledge Drive so far: Thomas & Kelly Barnes Bishoff Family Brooling Family Brown Family Counihan Family Dr. & Mrs. Eric Dahlstrom Danette Mason Eastcott Family Halloran Family Doug & Angelina Lee Jeremy Luna Carmen & William Ross Family Kerry Sprick Susan Kim Lyons Family Mikhail Family Nishant ONeil Lisa Johnson Smith Yamashita Family

Fundraising Corner

Recycling

Lower grades continue to work on their reading skills using www.Starfall.com and www.Henryanker.com. All students will create their Fall picture using our free art program Tux Paintyou can download this at home for free! Just go to: www.download-tuxpaint.com/. Grades 3, 4 and 5 will begin their diary using PowerPoint. They will make a slide show documenting their experiences at Kentwood, using drawings, photographs, video and sound. At the end of the year they will be able to save their project by bringing in a flash drive so they can share it with family and friends. Website of the month: Lower grades: www.Starfall.com phonics, reading and math Upper grades: http://reading.ecb.org/ Into the Book an interactive reading comprehension website.

Great American Fundraiser & Retro Prom

Thank you to all the families that turned in orders for our Great American Fundraiser and for all the parents, teachers and friends that attended our Retro Prom. We are still waiting to hear how much money was raised for both. Well let you know soon!

Kentwood is going green by teaching our kids to reduce, reuse and recycle! You will be helping the environment and at the same time, help raise money for the Kentwood Education Fund. Please bring your recyclable plastic bottles, aluminum cans and glass bottles to school every Friday, starting this Friday, September 27th. Drop off your recyclables behind the hedge at the front of the school by 8:15 or have your child deliver it to their classroom. If you have any questions, you can email fundraising@kentwoodes.org.

Kentwood Elementary School Website:

Please visit our website at www.kentwoodes.org. You will find a wealth of information about our school, including upcoming events, press releases, monthly cafeteria menu, current flyers, fundraising information, after-school programs and much more!