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Newsletter for Joaquin Miller Elementary School, Oakland, CA
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JOAQUIN MILLER SCHOOL 510-531-6688 NOVEMBER 22, 2013
Every Wednesday is Minimum Day Next Walkie Talkie Distributed: December 13, 2013
PTA News ▼ Thanks to everyone who attended the Joaquin Miller
33rd Annual Auction on November 16! I hope
everyone who attended had fun at the casino tables,
dining on good food, enjoying the company of the
JM community and bidding on the fabulous items.
As you know, all funds raised during the auction
benefits our students. A big thank you to the
Auction Committee for all the behind the scenes
work and for such an elegant and fun evening!
If you haven't already, please join the JMPTA. Go to
this link to join now: http://jmpta.force.com/BTS
We're always looking for volunteers:
http://www.joaquinmiller.org/get_involved/voluntee
ring.shtml
As you know, the week of November 25th is
Thanksgiving and the PTA hopes you and your
family have a wonderful holiday. I’m thankful for
such a supporting and involved community at JM!
Ramon Nasol, PTA President
Raffle Wrap-Up▼ HUGE thanks to everyone who sold Raffle tickets
this year. We did a great job and raised over $24,400
for our school!! $300 more than last year! WooHoo!
Principal Smith reached into the Raffle box on
Saturday night at the Auction and pulled out the
three winning tickets and here they are:
1st Place – Kurt Amundson, ticket sold by Wyatt
Ludwig
2nd Place – Ruth Walker, ticket sold by Staci Glick
3rd Place – Kelli Burdessa, ticket sold by Sophia
Fountain (at the Farmer’s Market!)
Here’s a cute story: When I called Kelli Burdessa to
let her know that she won $250 in the Raffle, she told
me that they are a former JM family. Kelli was a JM
mom for 15 years. She served on the Auction
Committee for many years and participated and
volunteered in many ways over her long tenure. But
it’s funny, she said, because she never won a
thing…until now. She likes to continue to support
JM by buying Raffle tickets from children at the
Farmer’s Market and this time she bought a winning
ticket. I love it. It comes back, people. It comes back.
The following classes won Pizza Parties by having
the highest levels of participation:
The upper grade class with the most participation (17
kids sold tickets!) was Ms Palmer's Class!
The lower grade class with the most participation (18
kids sold tickets!) was Ms Kramer's Class!
To see Top 10 Raffle Sellers, go to next page→
Joaquin Miller Auction▼ Thanks to all of YOU, Joaquin Miller's 33rd Annual Auction --
An Evening in Monte Carlo -- was a tremendous success!
An Evening to Remember
From the regal red carpet of the one-woman paparazzi to the casino
games to the over-the-top candy bar - and everything in between -
the Joaquin Miller 33rd Annual Auction was an evening to
remember!
Special Thanks
There is no way to thank everyone who was involved, but several
people deserve special recognition:
Ellen Au-Yeung
Holly Kambeitz
Vicki Morrella
Lynn Petouhoff
Elena Sobel
Misty Waltrip
The efforts, dedication, and countless hours of planning were
evident in the smooth and flawless execution of the evening's
festivities! Thanks to the entire Auction committee and all the
volunteers!
Our Community
More than an occasion to dress up, more than a sumptuous meal,
more than an evening of gambling, drinking, and dancing (!), the
Joaquin Miller Auction was the culmination of a community in
action. That's what we've built here at Joaquin Miller - a
community - of teachers, administrators, families, and students
coming together to represent the very best of what Joaquin Miller is
all about. We are a community that works together for the benefit or
our children, and thanks to all of you, that's we witnessed at the
Auction Saturday night.
In whatever way you contributed - by planning the Auction,
contributing wine or other items, hosting parties, volunteering at the
Auction, or simply attending the Auction and bidding on the
fabulous items - you played a role in the greater good for our
children. Thank you!
Golden Lottery Winner!
Jason Cox was our lucky Golden Lottery Ticket winner!
Congratulations to Jason and his family!
Auction Proceeds
The PTA is compiling the Auction financials and will release
information when it is ready. In the interim, let it suffice to say that
the Auction raised significant funds to benefit our children in a
multitude of ways. Thanks to all of you for your generous
contributions!
Diversity/Inclusion Forum▼ December 4th at 5:30 pm - JM Library
We are excited to announce an open forum to discuss
ideas/questions/concerns about Diversity and Inclusion, both within
the curriculum and in relationship to overall school and community
culture at Joaquin Miller. There are many families who have
expressed an interest in exploring this topic with each other and with
Joaquin Miller Staff. This is an opportunity to get that conversation
started. The agenda is open and will include the recent discussion about the 2nd Grade Feast, but is in no way limited to that
topic. Diversity/Inclusion Forum Continued on next page →
Top Ten JM Raffle Sellers▼ Aaron Paskow
Samantha Ivey
Benjamin Peterkofsky
Rachel Peterkofsky
Elias Korchin
Hannah Lockyer
Henry Fleming
Julian Korchin
Alisa Juarez
Carol Chung
Many, many thanks to all who sold tickets!
Cheers!
--Your Raffle Fairies
P.S. We need Raffle Fairies! You know you want to.
The kids ADORE the Fairies and it just feels good to
help! Let me know if you have about 15-20 minutes
once per week that you can spend at the school
during school hours. Thank you!
SCRIP Update▼ SCRIP orders for December will be due the first
Friday we return to school. DECEMBER 6th will be
the deadline for orders. So take time to plan what
you need for holiday gifts for teachers, babysitters,
family members, and anyone else you want to thank
this holiday season.
For those of you who ordered SCRIP in
Thanksgiving, we are working tirelessly to get you
your cards before the holiday. The perils of the U.S.
postal system have upended our plans to get cards to
you sooner and we are making changes to our system
so that this delay does not happen again. Derek
Yegian can be reached at: [email protected]
Easy Money for JM▼ Earn easy money for JM when you shop at
Amazon & other websites! Now that the holiday
shopping season here, we want to remind you of
easy ways to earn “free money” for JM while you
shop online:
1. Always enter Amazon via our unique address
by clicking on the Amazon button on the JM
Homepage. Better yet, save it to your Bookmark
Bar by dragging the webpage’s icon from the
address field to your bookmark bar. This will
make it easy to click on it whenever you shop! By
entering Amazon this way, a percentage of your
spending will automatically go directly to our
PTA. Don’t forget to share this link with
friends and relatives too! 2. Enter online retailers by first visiting the eScrip
Online Mall and JM will automatically earn up to
16% of every order you place at over 1,000
participating online retailers. No sign-up needed,
and no credit cards need to be registered. Better
yet, download their Auto-earn web app and
automatically earn contributions without having to
enter their Online Mall first! To download, click
on the eScrip Mall button at the bottom the JM
Homepage. Be sure to let friends and relatives
know they can earn for JM this way too!
Please contact [email protected] with any
questions about Passive Fundraising programs.
Diversity/Inclusion Forum (cont.)▼ A goal in hosting this forum is to find others to collaborate
with on addressing any concerns and to brainstorm ideas for future
efforts by the school and wider community to maintain our
commitment to being an open, and inclusive environment where all
voices are heard, honored and respected. We hope to see you there
– PLEASE JOIN US if you are able, or send your thoughts in
advance to Parent Julia Hollinger ([email protected]
510.917.7558) or Principal Paulette Smith.
Montera Information Night▼ Montera Prospective Family Information Night, December 5
If you and your family are interested in learning more
about Montera Middle School –– and we certainly hope you are!
–– please mark your calendar for Montera’s Prospective Family
Information Night on Thursday, December 5, from 6:30 –
7:30 PM, in the Montera Multi-Use Room. Dr. Tina Tranzor,
principal, along with Montera students and teachers, will be on
hand to discuss everything you’d like to know about your
neighborhood middle school, from academics and electives, to
clubs, sports and culture. Come with your questions, curiosity and
desire find out why Montera is a popular choice for families
throughout Oakland. In the meantime, we encourage you to take
one of our parent-led tours, if you haven’t already. The final three
are on Thursday, November 14, and Fridays, December 6 and 13.
Tours begin promptly at 9:10 AM outside the Montera office and
end around 10 AM with a courtyard chat with administrators. No
need to RSVP unless you’re planning to bring a group of 10 or
more, in which case, please email Nancy
1st Grade Calendars & Inserts▼
JM Computer Instructor Helene Moore invites you to order extra
copies of your 1st grader’s homemade computer-designed wall
calendar. Each 1st grader gets one calendar free. Additional
copies are $20 each. Sign your name on the sheet outside the
computer room and put a check for in Helene’s mailbox in the
main office (made out to JMPTA) for additional copies. For
upper grades, 2014 inserts are available at $5 each. Sign the
sheet outside the Computer Room and put your check made out to
JMPTA in her box. All contributions go directly to the JMPTA
General Fund.
Important Dates▼ Monday-Friday Nov. 25th-29th NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Recess
Monday, December 2 9:00am Gold Rush Show Assembly Tuesday, December 3 3:45pm PTA Liaison Meeting Wednesday, December 4 5:30pm Diversity/Inclusion Forum Thursday, December 5 6:00pm ALO Committee Meeting Friday, December 6 End of First Report Card Period
Saturday, December 7 11:00am Holiday's Around the World Monday-Friday, Dec. 9th-13th Minimum Day - Teacher Conferences
Tuesday, December 10 12:00pm Safety Patrol Meeting Wednesday, December 11 JM Holiday Craft Bazaar & Bake Sale
Children’s Author – 11/23▼ Children's author Patricia Polacco will be at The
Storyteller in Lafayette at 3 pm this Saturday,
November 23, to launch a couple of new books
and a reissue of The Keeping Quilt.
I highly recommend seeing Patricia Polacco in
person. JM students are familiar with many of her
books from numerous read-alouds in the library.
Some are set here in Oakland. When Polacco
meets with children she is very candid about her
childhood struggles with reading and math. She
did not learn to read until age 14 due to dyslexia.
She found relief in her art which much later turned
into a career writing and illustrating children's
books (over 50 by now!).
The Storyteller has moved to 3506 Mt. Diablo
Blvd, Lafayette.
Happy and restful holidays,
Cindy Gullikson, JM Librarian
Girls Free Hitting Clinic
Offered▼ Oakland Girls Softball offers free hitting clinics
for girls on Sunday, December 1st.
Beginners: 1pm-2pm. Kids 6-8 interested in the
basics -- how to hold a bat, how to swing,
http://whoozin.com/WRV-KKW-WC7Y
Intermediates: 2pm-3pm. Kids 8-12/14 who have
basic skills, but want work on proper technique,
RSVP: http://whoozin.com/WRV-KKW-WC74
Advanced: 3pm-4:15pm. Kids 10-14 who are
skilled, but want more personalized attention.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for kids interested in
playing summer tournament ball. RSVP here
http://whoozin.com/WRV-KKW-WC7P.
