Kentwood Elementary School Newsletter

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

A Note From The Principal

Dear Kentwood Family: I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of you. For many, it is a greeting extended to old friends; to others, it is an introduction and an invitation. To all, it constitutes a pledge of continued efforts to provide the best possible education for our boys and girls. Our school takes pride in its highly qualified and dedicated staff members, and a strong parent partnership. Ours has been a tradition of students committed to the proposition that, the privilege of coming to school carries with it the obligation to do the best they can. If there is anything that we can do to help and support your child, please do not hesitate to call. The unvoiced problem cannot be resolved. We look forward to a year of much happiness, learning, and success for our young scholars! Thanks for choosing Kentwood! Warmest regards, Jean Pennicooke, Principal

Aug. / Sept. 2013

Calendar of Events
August
19 Great American fundraiser thru Sept 4 23 Yogolicious Social 25 Back-to-School Picnic 30 Admissions Day No School

September
2 Labor Day No School 3 Banked Time Tuesdays begin (1:24 dismissal) 3 Back to School Night 4 Great American fundraiser ends 5 Unassigned Day No School 12 PTO General Meeting 12 School Picture Day 14 Hispanic Heritage Month 21 Retro Prom Sunday, August 25th, Nielson Field 6000 Will Rogers Street 11 to 2 pm We start every school year welcoming students back to school with a picnic hosted by the PTO. All students receive a free lunch, play games, meet with old friends and make new ones. Many of our teachers attend this event, so its a great way to get to know some of the other families at school, and your new teachers! Sign up to volunteer or bring something by going to www.signupgenius.com and go to find a sign up and enter fundraising@ kentwoodes.org.

PTO Needs You!

PTO General Meeting Kentwood Auditorium

Thursday, September 12th 6:30 p.m.

Well be updating parents on our budget and going over our plans for the school year. Come and find out how you can help out and make a difference at Kentwood!

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
My name is Doug Lee, and I am honored to be serving as your PTO President this year. On behalf of the entire PTO, let me welcome you to the start of another great year at Kentwood! The PTOs mission is to support all of our students at Kentwood by fostering relationships among the school, parents and teachers, enhancing the educational facilities and opportunities for the students, promoting volunteer programs and resources, and sponsoring supplemental projects and events. All of this is made possible through volunteer parent involvement. Together we recognize that one of the ways that we contribute to the education of our children is by supporting the school as a whole. We look forward to sharing with you the variety of opportunities to get connected here at Kentwood. In addition to serving on the PTO this year, I am also a parent of two young Kentwood Koalas. Alexandra (2nd) and Joanna (K) are excited to be at Kentwood this year, and they are really looking forward to being involved in the many different activities that the PTO has planned this year. The reason that I share this is because what makes Kentwood such a special place is not only the excellence and high achievement that goes on in the classroom, but the welcoming ethos of the community that we experience when we gather for picnics, trots, hops, parades, dances, dinner and ice cream socials, ice skating, raffles, pizza, otter pops, and fun days. Whatever your schedule looks like this year, let me invite you to come and enjoy this wonderfully diverse and passionate community as we seek to educate our children in the classroom and model community on the campus. The PTO is here for you. Many of our members have been a part of Kentwood and this community for many years. We welcome your questions, ideas, comments, suggestions, and interest regarding the school, the students, and our community. If there is anything we can ever do to help serve you this year, please do not hesitate to ask. You can always find a PTO member at every assembly by looking for someone in a red Kentwood PTO T-shirt, and we are usually on campus in the morning or at pickup as well. Thank you for continuing to make Kentwood a special place. Sincerely, Doug Lee Kentwood PTO President

2013-2014 PTO Board

PRESIDENT Doug Lee VP of FUNDRAISING Janet Maza & Maria Mikhail (co-chairs) VP of COMMUNICATIONS Lori Counihan TREASURER Sarah Brooling SECRETARY Lourdes Brown MEMBER AT LARGE Debora Eastcott & Celeste Yamashita (co-chairs)

Lost and Found

Koala Gear Sales

PTO Yahoo Group

Kentwood Elementary School Website:

Please visit our website at

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.

Koala Gear will be on sale near the auditorium during our Monday Morning Assembly in the months of August and September (except on rainy days). Come check out the inventory before supplies run out. Every Friday, show your Koala Spirit! Wear your Kentwood gear or a red shirt and receive a spirit card. Spirit cards can be redeemed at our monthly Spirit Store!

This is new to Kentwood this year. The PTO will start a new PTO Yahoo Group that will differ 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. Please see the Yahoo Group flyer for more information.

www.kentwoodes.org You will get a wealth of information about our school, including upcoming events, a monthly cafeteria menu, current flyers, fundraising information, after-school programs and much more!

Kentwood Elementary School Newsletter

Fundraising Corner Annual Pledge Drive Has Begun!
Participate in the biggest fundraiser of the year and help to continue the current programs at Kentwood! Make checks payable to Kentwood Education Fund. Our goal is 100% participation. Our pledge drive helps to fund the following PTO sponsored events/items:
Computer Aide Library Aide and Books Yard Supervisors Classroom Supplies Books and Art Materials All Field trips/Assemblies Art/Vocal/Music Programs Physical Education by YMCA Campus Beautification Special Events Back to School Picnic School Socials

The MONKEYS are coming!

Weve selected a great company (Great American, that is) for our fall sales fundraiser. They offer everything from magazines to jewelry, and Kentwood supporters can purchase from you or on-line. The sale started on August 19th and will run through September 4th.

RETRO PROM 2013! Dont Miss Out!!

Reserve your babysitters now! The Retro Prom is not only one of our main fundraisers for the year, its a TOTALLY AWESOME time with fellow parents and friends! Saturday, September 21st, 2013 at Westchester Elks Lodge. Featuring Legendary KROQ Retro DJ, Richard Blade!
Adults 21+ only. Presale price is $40/each. BUY EARLY AND SAVE $$$ Groups of 8 or more get tickets for $35/ticket Rockin Dance Floor Costume Contest Video Trivia Contest 50/50 Raffle Silent Auction Tompkins Square $5.00 Taco Plates Full Bar $99 Hotel Rooms at Custom Hotel Invite your friends and support the Kentwood Education Fund!! Prom tickets are available at Kentwood Front Desk or online at www.retroprom2013.com. For questions or more information contact Prom Queen or Roddy Rod at Retroprom2013@gmail.com

Kentwood Elementary School Newsletter

Ongoing Fundraisers At Kentwood Raised Over $2,600 Last Year!

eScrip fundraising is an easy way to make money for KEF just by shopping atVons and Pavilions! Go to www.escrip.com (anytime between Aug 14Sept 10) and click on sign-up.

Register your Vons club card and choose Kentwood Education Fund (group # 139429772) and KEF will receive 10% of your qualifying purchases. IfyouarealreadyaneScripparticipant,

you must renew yearly by logging on to www.escrip.com and click the registration box. Thats it! If you dont have a club card, you can take your receipts to the front office.

Ralphs
Use your Ralphs Club card when you purchase groceries, and KEF receives up to 4% back depending on how much you spend per month.To enroll, you need to setup a login account at ralphs.com. You will need a valid email address, a Ralph Rewards Card number, and Kentwoods Ralphs organization number (90945). Follow the steps below to sign up: Goto the Community Contribution Program enrollment page at www.ralphs.com Create a login account for ralphs.com. Once you have signed into your account click on My Account. Enter your Ralphs Rewards Card number. Click on Edit Community Contribution Program Information and enter 90945 for our Organization Number.

Labels for Education

Office Depot
Office Depot will give credit to Kentwood equal to 5% of all your qualifying school supply purchases. Every time you shop at Office Depot, give them Kentwoods school id # 70010333 (they can also look up our ID at the register).

Clip and UPC labels and beverage caps from participating products and turn them into the front office- when the whole school participates, the points really add up! Kentwood

can redeem Labels for Education points for FREE educational resources! Check out the complete list at: http://www.labelsforeducation.com/Earn-Points/ Participating-Products

Recycling
Kentwood is going green by teaching our kids to reduce, reuse and recycle! We are currently looking for a coordinator and general volunteers to help collect and transport recyclables.

Box Tops for Education

Turn those shopping trips into easy cash for our school, and encourage friends to do the same! All you need to do is clip and paste them onto the monthly flyers that are sent home. Each Box Top is worth 10-40 for our school.