Make sure to mark your calendars for the following events at Roosevelt this week:

Monday, March 21
Coffee with the Principal.  Come and join Ms. Girardi at 8:00am in the Parent Room (Room 11). This is your chance to hear about school and district news and talk about plans for Roosevelt. All are welcome to attend. Ms. Girardi will be able to provide Spanish translation. If you have a younger child or a Kindergarten later gator, you still may attend. The Parent Room has a play area for younger children.

Tuesday, March 22
PTA meeting at 6:00pm in the Faculty Lounge (Room 14) Please come and find out what PTA positions are needed for next year’s PTA.  All are welcome to attend and Spanish translation is available.  Free childcare is available in the Champions room.

Wednesday, March 23
Roosevelt needs your help!!  The Expansion Committee has made the presentation to the school board for the expansion of Roosevelt to a K-8 school and now we need you, the parents and students to come to the board meeting to show your support and if you want, speak to the board about why you would like Roosevelt to become a K-8.  The school board needs to see that the parents really want this and the Expansion Committee cannot do it alone.  Wear your school shirts, bring your children, make a sign! We need as many families as possible to attend.  The board meeting begins at 7:00pm at the District Office.  Please come and show your support!  If you are unable to attend, write a letter or send an email to the school board.  For more information, contact Aurora Gallardo (Spanish) or Trish Taylor (English).

This week on the Parent Blog!
Last week I posted a summary of the budget meeting I attended at the school district office.  Many classes are beginning new PBL units, so keep your eye out for more information from the different classrooms.  And continued thanks to some of the 2nd grade parents for their pictures of the 2nd grader’s Person In History presentations and science projects. If you have pictures from the classroom or a school event that you would like to have posted, let me know. Also, if there’s ever anything you’d like to see on the blog, let me know and I’ll be happy to post it.  These weekly emails are also posted to the blog, so in case you need to refer back to this week’s events, you can always check the blog.  www.rooseveltparents.com

Punctuality contest…
The Punctuality Contest is still going until the end of March. The class with the most students on time will win a pizza party! All students must be in line (or in the classroom for those classes that don’t line up) by 8:00am. 8:01am will be considered late for this contest. If students arrive on time, our teachers are able to start classroom instruction right away. There are about 180 days of instruction in a school year and if a child is 1 minute late every day, that equals almost an hour and a half of lost instruction time. Every minute counts!

Save the Date…

Family Fun Night – Bingo! – April 1 – Volunteers and Donations Needed
Mark your calendars for Bingo Night, coming to Roosevelt on April 1st! This exciting event will be fun for the entire family, with a chance to win lots of great prizes. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for a cookie social, followed by bingo at 7 p.m. Please bring a plate of cookies to share. Coffee and hot cocoa will be provided by the Roosevelt PTA. Bingo cards will be available for 50 cents each.

We need volunteers to help make this event a success! If you can help in any way, please send an e-mail to Anneke Cole

Do you have something that would make a great bingo prize? We would love your donation! Please consider donating a gift card, unwrapped toy or art supplies (all items must be new and in original packaging). If you can help, please contact Kim Schiff

PTA Pledges…
Many of you chose the option to pledge money every month to pay for our P.E. program.  Unfortunately, sending out reminder bills has proven difficult.  The PTA still needs your donations to support our P.E. program.  Please stop by the office or send your pledge money in an envelope to school with your child. Thank you for supporting the extra curricular programs here at Roosevelt!

Free Tutoring Website…
I’ve found a free online tutoring website (right now it’s mostly Math and Science, but they are going to be adding all subjects over time). Kids can watch instructional videos and work on problems. They can earn points and badges as they progress through the levels. And like Jiji Math and Accelerated Reader, they can’t move on to the next level until they’ve mastered the level that they’re on. www.khanacademy.org

Fundraising…
The See’s Candies fundraiser forms were sent home last week. All orders are due on March 31. All money earned from this fundraiser will support P.E., Music for Minors and field trips. The class that sells the most will earn a Pizza Party.

Redwood City Art Contest…
Entry forms for the city wide art contest were sent home last week. The contest is open to all children in grades K-8. This year’s theme is “What Makes Me Smile”. The school with the most entries will win $100. Entries are to be turned in to the school office by Monday, March 21. Entry forms are available in the school office.

Neighborhood News…
There is an ongoing fight by some very involved neighborhood families for Schaberg Library.  Right now, the library is open Tuesday – Thursday from 1:00pm to 6:00pm and Saturday from 10:00am to 3:00pm.  However, there was a donation made to support the library of about $250,000.  Instead of using that money to increase or maintain Schaberg’s hours, that money has been allocated for special programs and for retired librarian Chuck Aston to be paid $45 per hour for storytelling.  Please keep your eye out for news on this issue.  Our neighborhood and the students of Roosevelt need this valuable resource.  Here’s an article that gives a brief overview of what’s going on http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_17650446?nclick_check=1

In last week’s Thursday folder you should have received a Speed Hump Survey Form.  For the safety of our students, we would like to have speed bumps on Vera Avenue to force traffic to slow down.  Please turn in your survey form ASAP.  More survey forms are available in the school office.

Have a great week!