PTO Website

PTO Calendar

FEBRUARY 10, 2019

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important dates & district news

Click on the calendar to see full PTO calendar.

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DISTRICT

  • Mid Winter Break: 2/18 - 2/22
  • Parent's Education Night 2/26 630pm @ CMS

ORMONDALE

  • Super Staff Lunch: 2/13

CORTE MADERA

  • ​​Grades 6-8 BBQ Lunch 2/28

parent education event

The Portola Valley School District will be hosting its second Parent Education event on Tuesday, February 26 from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. in the CMS MUR.  This event is open to all PVSD and Woodside Elementary School District parents and is being sponsored by the Sequoia Healthcare District.  The topic is Managing Anxiety and Building Self-Efficacy.

"Learn strategies to help your child build self-efficacy and resilience, manage anxiety about school and homework and effectively cope with stress and failure in order to experience success."

More information can be found here:  Parent Ed. Night #2 

Superintendent Search Forums and Survey

If you were not able to attend, or did attend, please consider filling out the Online Survey. Information compiled here will also be part of the Superintendent Leadership Profile.

Please refer to the PVSD Website for timelines, important dates and news on the 2019 Superintendent Search.

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AMAZON SMILE

Make your Amazon purchases through Amazon Smile and you could help send up to $10K more to our schools!

Go to smile.amazon.com and select "Portola Valley Parent Teacher Organization" as your designated organization.  More info here.

ORMONDALE news

viajando en español

Ormondale will start the preparations for the annual school wide event happening on March 15th, "Viajando en español"

Each classroom will represent a Spanish speaking country. Students with their passports will travel to various Spanish speaking countries. In each country (classroom) students will be able to learn a bit about that country, make a craft, taste some food, play a game, listen to some music and more. Kids and adults encouraged to get into the spirit by dressing up in cultural clothing and costume.

Volunteers are needed to donate supplies and help in classrooms during shifts from 8am-10am and 10am-12pm. Watch for the Sign Up Genius coming soon. There is also a mid-day Spanish Musical Assembly that is fun for all to attend.

If you have any questions about how to get involved with "Viajando en Español" please talk to the lead parents in your grade, stop by room 1, or send an e-mail to Señora Covotta.

Lead parents for Viajando en español are:

K - Rosa Salgado (Valentina and Hector’s mom)- [email protected]

1st - Anne Fazioli-Khiari (Lulu and Camila’s mom) [email protected]

2nd - Eva Diez (Victoria’s mom) - [email protected]

3rd - Daphne Melendez (Bruce and Pierce’s mom) – [email protected]

Hope you are "viajando" with us on March 15th.

science fair THANK YOU!

THANK YOU to all the parents who dropped in and posted words of encouragement, questions or interesting observations about the boards and projects at this year's Science Fair. It was so nice to see so many colorful post-it’s at the fair! 

And a huge THANK YOU to Mieke Bloomfield Barrows, for her amazing help at the Make it & Take it Event. So many students were able to finish their projects just in time for the fair! 

Mrs Rusch truly appreciates all the help contributed this year, it could not of been as successful without it. 

Thursday’s Science Fair Night was a huge success - it was great to see so many families having dinner together on the back top, enjoying a nice evening at the Fair! Till next year!

corte madera news

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GRAZIE MILLE!

Thank you so much to Sarah Dorahy for organizing the beautiful Italian luncheon and her delicious lasagna and flowers! CMS and District staff had a great time with their parent catered lunch and the room was full of happy chatter.

Thank you to the parents that provided the great food: Megan Koch, Aimee Armsby, Moonyi Satusky, Jami Worthington, Brook Coffee, Rich Zamboldi, Allison Kroeger, Gloria Sin, Sue Ten, Michelle Bellomo, Lauren Donovan, Linda Wong, and Veronica Jerng.

And a big call out to the parents that were able to help out with serving, clean-up and yard duty: Stefanie Ostmann, Aimee Stepp, Chantal Ferrini, Stefanie Trenchard, Jen Arends, Karyn Bechtel, and Brook Coffee.

A great time was had by all of the staff (and the volunteers!).

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RAVE REVIEWS for CROSSPULSE ASSEMBLY!

Last Friday, CMS was visited by the mesmerizing Oakland based musical group, Crosspulse. The students and teachers enjoyed a school wide cultural assembly displaying the influence of West African music and instruments through great performances of everything from New Orleans Jazz to Americana and beat boxing. At one point the entire student body was practicing beats through body music, which was quite a sight to see. After the performance, students were able to get more hands on experience in smaller workshops lead by the talented performers. Thank you to Crosspulse, the PV-PTO, and efforts of Mrs. Green for making this special day happen!

If your student has not already talked about Crosspulse, ask them about it!

For more information, visit www.crosspulse.com

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Volunteer to help the CMS Spring Play

Come help us create props, costumes, and sets for the CMS Spring Play, Almost History.  All CMS families are invited to work days on Friday March 1st  and Friday March 22nd from 3-5 p.m.  Siblings are welcome; if they are younger than 4th-grade, a parent must stay with them to help out.  We are also still looking for volunteers to help with backstage, hair & make-up, and other teams for the production in April.   


For more information, please go to the Almost History website to sign up for one of the teams.

portola valley schools Foundation News

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FANfare tickets on sale now!

FANfare tickets are now available! Join us for a very special evening under the stars, filled with great food, signature drinks, dancing, live music, and of course the amazing PVSD community of parents and local supporters. Not only is this the party of the season but it’s also one of the biggest moments to raise funds for our students and teachers. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, April 27, from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. in the big white tent on the Corte Madera lawn.​

community news

Alpine Strikers Spring Soccer

Is your child excited about soccer and wants to play in the spring? Alpine Strikers FC is the local soccer club and our professionally coached teams still have room in many age groups. The season starts the week of February 25th and ends on June 2nd. Please email our Technical Director Gino Pucillo with your interest and/or with questions.  Find out more at www.alpinestrikers.org

Volunteer – An Hour a Week Could Change a K-5 Student’s Life

Over 80% of East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park students are performing below grade level in reading and math. As a classroom volunteer, you will work with the same teacher and student every week for an hour during the school year. It’s an opportunity to build a relationship with a student and impact his or her life. All Students Matter provides training and coordinates logistics with you and your schedule in mind. Sign up now and start mid-September. Learn more, sign up to volunteer, or you're welcome to contact Keri Tully. You can make a real difference!

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 Palo Alto Girls Softball Spring Registration is now open!

Girls ages 5-15 with all skill levels are welcome to join our Spring 2019 recreational season. No prior experience is necessary. Practices start in February, and Opening Day (first game) is on March 2, with games through May. Its recreational which means "fun" is the most important part! 

Click here to register!

For more information visit:  www.paloaltogirlssoftball.org or contact us at info@paloaltogirlssoftball.org 

*PAGS – Serving Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, and surrounding communities for 30+ years*

Parent-Tot swim class (Baby and me)

Aqua Babies: Ages: 6mo to 24 months, 8:00 am– 8:30 am (30 Mins)

This class is an introduction to swimming for babies emphasizing bonding and communication between  parent and child, student initiated activities and water adjustment. We use developmentally appropriate songs and games to introduce basic swim skills including: back floating, submersion and water safety.

Toddler classes Ages: 2 year –3 years old,  8:30 am– 9:00 am (30 Mins)

These students are comfortable being submerged underwater for 3-4 seconds, are anchoring to their parent's arm and the wall, and ready to be independent. This class focuses on introducing independent swimming skills including: advanced Sit Listen & Wait, Bobs, Safety Jumps and Propulsion.

Program cost per class: $30/Member $45/Non-Member

Optional packages:

10 class package- $250/Member $325/Non-Member

20 class package-$475/Member $625/Non-Member

To register please email [email protected]

PAnthers "all sports" camp

Activities: Campers participate in a core group of physical activities, which enhance self-confidence, cooperation, sportsmanship, lifelong fitness, and an appreciation for a wide variety of sports. Camp activities change daily and include traditional and non-traditional sports. 

Registration for Panthers Camp 2019 is available online - www.pantherscamppv.com.  

Dates: 

  • Session 1: June 17-21
  • Session 2: June 24-28
  • Session 3: July 1-5 (no camp on 7/4)

* All sessions include optional extended care from 3:00-5:30 Monday - Thursday.

* All sessions include optional fun Friday camp from 9:00-3:00.

We look forward to another great summer at Panthers Camp building confident movers who inspire others.  Any questions, please contact Dan Flahavan ([email protected]).

PALO ALTO BABE RUTH BASEBALL PREP SEASON REGISTRATION OPEN!

Palo Alto Babe Ruth Baseball invites you to register for our upcoming 2019 Prep Season. There are no tryouts or cuts, so every player who registers is guaranteed a spot to play in this season which runs from March to May. Our Prep Season is a developmental league designed to help younger players develop their skills on the full-sized diamond and prepare players for our 15U Season. It includes two weeks of preseason clinic-style practices, a player draft, and an eight week season featuring one practice and two games per week for each team culminating in a fun City Championship Tournament. The league features minimum playing time rules to allow all players a chance to play in each game.

The Prep League is open to all 7th and 8th graders, as well as any high school student not on a high school baseball roster. Full refunds are issued if a player makes his/her high school team and is unable to play Prep, so there is no risk in registering. Registration closes Feb 15, but $400 early-bird pricing ends Jan 1For more information, visit our website at www.pababeruth.org or contact Chris Lillios at [email protected].

mountain camp

Making the world a better place by positively impacting campers and staff though the camp experience.

For the past four years, Mountain Camp Woodside has partnered with the Stanford University Graduate School of Education and Challenge Success to study how participation in our summer camp provides children with opportunities to develop critical 21st century learning skills. The results have been overwhelmingly positive and confirm what we have always believed - camp provides outstanding opportunities for kids to practice empathy, creative problem solving, personal responsibility, self-control, perseverance, teamwork and communication.

We encourage you to take a few minutes to watch this VIDEO to learn more about why camp is such a powerful experience for children.

Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions about this research and the impact that it has had on our camp program.  Thank you.

Mountain Camp Woodside

Tel:  650-576-2267 / Email: jim@mountaincampwoodside.com

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