Note: On this Memorial Day, we ask Roosevelt families to please observe a moment of silence at 3:00pm to remember Army Specialist Jesse Snow and others that have died in service to our nation.
Make sure to mark your calendars for the following events at Roosevelt this week:
Monday, May 27
Memorial Day Holiday – No School
Tuesday, May 28
Instrumental Music Performance Practice 9:00am – 11:30am at Carrington Hall Sequoia HS
Water Pollution Play for grades 3 – 5 at 9:30am
Earthcapades Assembly for grades K – 2 at 12:55
Practice for Talent Show – Group A at 2:00 in Rm 2
Instrumental Music Performance at 6:30pm at Carrington Hall Sequoia HS
Wednesday, May 29
7th Grade Field Trip – Lawrence Hall of Science
Practice for Talent Show – Group B at 2:00 in Rm 2
5th grade D.A.R.E. graduation at 6:00pm
Thursday, May 30
Student of the month assemblies in MUR — 8:00am for grades 5-7 , 8:45am for grades 2-4, 9: 30am for 1st grade and 10:00am Kinder
Full Rehearsal for Talent Show after school in the Cafeteria
Friday, May 31
Please come and meet with Principal Girardi over a cup of coffee and breakfast snacks at 8:00am in the upper campus Staff Room (next to Room 26). Hear first hand about district and school news, talk about any issues or concerns you may have or just come for the coffee. This is also a great opportunity to meet other Roosevelt parents! This is a very casual meeting so if you can only drop in for a few minutes, you’re still welcome to attend. Spanish translation is available for those that need it. If you have a younger child, you are welcome to bring him/her.
5th grade Field Trip – Heals Farm
School wide Talent Show at 5:30pm
Important Dates…
June 3 – 3rd grade field trip – Pescadero Beach & Marsh
June 4 – Reading Banquet for students who made their AR goal 3x this year
June 5 – 6th grade field trip – Academy of Science
June 5 – PBL Presentations – 7th Grade at 10:30am
June 6 – 2nd and 3rd Grade Field Trip – RedMorton Picnic
June 6 – Kindergarten on Early Bird Schedule
June 6 – Open House/PBL Fair at 5:30pm – 7:00pm
June 7 – Free Dress Friday!
June 10 – Kindergarten on Early Bird Dismissal for the remainder of the year
June 10-13 – Minimum Day Schedule for grades 1-7
June 10 – Roosevelt Walking Audit Recommendations Presentation Meeting – 5:30pm-7pm. Students of parents attending will receive 2 Raccoon Bucks and Free Dress on June 13 and 14.
June 12 – Field Day (1st grade families are being asked to volunteer)
June 12 – Drama Performance (time TBA)
June 13 – Kindergarten Promotion (TBA)
June 13 – Drama Performance (time TBA)
June 14 – Last Day of School – Super Minimum Day – 12:00 Dismissal
August 20 – MAZE Day for students with last names A-L from 5:00-7:00pm
August 22 – MAZE Day for students with last names M-Z from 4:00-6:00pm
August 26 – First Day of School
Trivia Question…
In honor of Memorial Day, let’s see what you know about the holiday:
On what date was Memorial Day first observed?
a. May 30, 1856
b. May 5, 1866
c. May 25, 1889
d. May 29, 1901
e. May 15, 1919
Make your guess and find out if you’re right at the bottom!
Talent Show…
Please join us for the Roosevelt Talent Show on Friday, May 31. Make it a family night! Dinner will be for sale from 5:30-6:00pm and then get ready for the show to begin at 6:15pm. Admission is free! Come and see the talent at Roosevelt!
Earthquakes Soccer Game…
Roosevelt has once again reserved seats at the June 29 SJ Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy soccer game at Stanford Stadium. Flyers will be going home this week with information about ticket sales! All tickets cost $20 each. Tell your friends and family – this game was sold out last year and we were lucky enough to have an entire section! Flyers and order forms will be going home this week and all orders are due by June 7.
Shoparoo Teacher Appreciation Challenge!…
We only need 2 more people to upload at least 1 receipt this month with the Shoparoo app for our teachers to receive a prize! This is your chance to show Roosevelt’s teachers how much you appreciate their hard work and dedication.
The Shoparoo app is free for iPhone and Android smartphones, so if you have a smartphone, make sure to register and start submitting your receipts! For more information, go to your phone’s app store and search for Shoparoo or go to www.shoparoo.com/
Applebee’s Raffle Winners…
You should have received one raffle ticket for every ticket turned in to Applebee’s. We have drawn the winners and the people with the following raffle ticket numbers have won a $10 Gift Certificate for Applebee’s. The winning numbers are:
459199
459216
459227
459281
459290
459331
459357
Please bring your winning ticket to the office to collect your prize!
Lost and Found…
The Lost & Found cart in the office is overflowing! If your child has lost a sweater, jacket, or lunch box, please stop by the office to take a look!
Please remember to put your child’s name on any items – anything with a clear name is returned to the classroom of the owner.
Art Show Set Up…
Help is needed throughout the day on June 6th to get our students’ art displayed for Open House that night. Artistic ability is not needed, but you will have to know how to use a stapler! The art work has to be stapled to display boards and tables need to be covered. The students have been working hard all year on their artwork, so please come and help to get it looking it’s best! Help will also be needed on June 7th to take all of the artwork down. If you can only help for an hour or two, it will be appreciated! Please contact Marlene Perez at marlenevperez@comcast.net to help out.
PTA Enrichment Fund…
Each family that contributes $100 in either a direct donation or fulfills their pledged donation of at least $100 will receive free Raccoon Bucks which the students can use at the Snack Shack!
Checks should be made out to Roosevelt PTA or you can make a cash donation. You can also pay via Credit Card or bank transfer using the PayPal Donate button on the parent blog at www.rooseveltparents.com You can also pay by credit card in the school office. Thank you for your generosity!
Volunteer from Home…
Do you want to help out, but just can’t be on campus to do it? Our PTA is looking for anyone to volunteer as a grant writer to help secure additional fundraising money for our school. You don’t need any special training and you will be given all of the information you need to apply for grants. This is a job that can be done on your own time from home. Please contact Ms. Girardi at pgirardi@rcsdk8.net if you are interested or want more information.
Looking forward…
We need to know what YOU want to see at Roosevelt next year. Last year it was a parent that came to the PTA with the proposal of using Art4All instead of Art in Action. The PTA agreed that it was a great program and so it was made it a budget priority. If you have ideas to share, you can email your ideas and suggestions to trishreillytaylor@gmail.com (English) or Lydia Hernandez at lyhernan2002@gmail.com (Spanish)
4th of July Fun Run…
The 4th of July Parade Run is coming up soon! This family-friendly 5k run and walk kicks off Redwood City’s famous Independence Day celebrations. Family t-shirt sponsorships available until June 1, 2013 – make your family famous! More information and registration at: www.paraderun.org. Proceeds benefit the Redwood City Education Foundation (www.rcef.org).
Fundraise While You Shop…
Do you have a smartphone? Take a picture of your weekly shopping receipts for Shoparoo points! If you have an iPhone or Android smartphone, download the free Shoparoo app today.
Please don’t forget to also sign up on escrip.com to help earn money for Roosevelt at stores such as Safeway, Old Navy, Home Depot, etc. and always look for the Box Tops logo on anything you buy.
Speaking of Box Tops…
Now through May 26, our school can earn 5 bonus Box Tops for every like on their facebook page. Go to
https://www.facebook.com/BoxTopsForEducation/app_367976259968602 and when prompted, put in our school’s zip code (94061) and select Roosevelt.
We are also still collecting Box Tops! You can turn them in to the Box Tops box on the counter in the office or turn them in to your child’s teacher. Each Box Top earns 10¢ for our school. It may not sound like much, but the last batch of Box Tops that we turned in earned almost $450!
“Like” us on Facebook…
Please be sure to “Like” the Roosevelt page to get school and district updates and pictures from Roosevelt school events in your news feed.
If you’ve liked our page, but don’t see any updates in your news feed, it’s because Facebook has been using a formula that hides posts for pages that don’t pay for sponsored placements. What can you do? Go to our Facebook page and hover your mouse over the Liked box. Then make sure Get Notifications and Show in News Feed are checked. www.facebook.com/RooseveltElementarySchool
Trivia Question Answer…
The correct answer is b. May 5, 1866 but there are many other places that claim to have held the first day of observance. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. 
The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.
Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.
Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.
In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo’s claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.
By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities.
It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.
Many Southern states also have their own days for honoring the Confederate dead. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it on May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration Day. Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day January 19 and Virginia calls the last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day.
Gen. Logan’s order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 “with the choicest flowers of springtime” urged: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. … Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”
The crowd attending the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was approximately the same size as those that attend today’s observance, about 5,000 people. Then, as now, small American flags were placed on each grave — a tradition followed at many national cemeteries today. In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones.
The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation’s wars: “Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.”
To ensure the sacrifices of America ’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission’s charter is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity” by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.
The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”
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