Fruchthendler Elementary School

September 2007

PTA Bulletin

As we round the corner into September, Fruchthendler Elementary will continue the tradition of yet another excelling school year in 2007-2008. First, thank you for all your contributions that make our school so successful.

We welcome our new teachers, Marian Dawley (third grade) and Karen Bettenhausen (fourth grade). Some names have changed, but the faces remain the same. Congratulations go to Mrs. Jamison, and Mrs. Ortega-McCarty.

Now as we start planning our year, REMEMBER, WE NEED YOU!!! Volunteers, through your dedication, will enrich our children’s lives in many different areas: art, reading, special events and more. If you haven’t signed up, please look at the list of volunteer opportunities coming home in your Firebird Folder. In addition to volunteering, please remember to sign up as a PTA member. Your membership is vital, and you will help your school by voting on important decisions throughout our school year.

Mark your calendars for school pictures September 6th. Come enjoy a social evening, with Family Fun Night, September 18th, 5:30-7pm. The SPELL-A-THON gets underway and is one of only TWO fundraisers that we have all year. We want to see Mr. Heidel’s hair pink again!!! Plans for our other fundraiser, the Silent Auction, October 27th are already underway, so stay tuned for more upcoming information on this and the Fall Carnival.

Dates to Remember This Month:
September 3 NO SCHOOL/LABOR DAY
September 6   School pictures
September 18  Family Fun Night
September 21  Spell A Thon Fundraiser
September 26  Firebird Folders go home

Marcy Briggs
PTA President 2007-08

PTA Contacts

President	Marcy Briggs	885-7706	sshark@comcast.net
Vice President	Donna Dennis	760-9336	dmspez@comcast.net
Secretary	Lisa Jo Gerovitz	529-1705	ljgerovitz@comcast.net
Treasurer	Renee Hart	298-6380	jandrhart@cox.net
Membership	Patti Molloy	271-1695	pattimolloy@yahoo.com
Fundraising	Betsy Chabin Missy Boldt	733-6201 290-6456	tucsonchab@msn.com missyboldt@comcast.net
Volunteer Coordinator	Sherrie Ramos	615-2806	sqramos@comcast.net

From the Desk of Mr. Heidel, Principal

Dear Fruchthendler Families,

Welcome to 2007-08 year. I have enjoyed welcoming many of our new and returning families at registration and Curriculum Night. All parents, please feel free to stop by and say hi.

We have had a very smooth start with all of our staff on board. Please welcome Mrs. Dawley, third grade, Mrs. Bettenhausen, fourth grade, and our acting counselor, Mrs. Bohan.

Have you noticed our building and playground changes? We have a new portable, the sun screen has been replaced on the large playground, and there is a new sun screen over the playground equipment. Our students really appreciate the additional shade.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who work so hard to support us here at Fruchthendler. So many of you give your time so generously, serving on the PTA Board, chairing committees, sitting on the Site Council, working in the cafeteria and in the classrooms, and volunteering in our Safety Net for Children Program before and after school. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated. We couldn't do it all without your help and support.

As a side note, we need to replace Mrs. Rivera’s position on the SITE Council. If you have a primary student and an interest, please let me know. We are also interested in acquiring the services of a tutor who might be assigned anywhere in the school. Please share your interest and qualifications with front office staff.

Congratulations to our students and faculty. Our AIMS testing results came in for the 2006-2007 school year and Fruchthendler Elementary School received greater than 90% Mastery in all three areas: Reading, Mathematics and Writing. This represents an improvement even over last year’s excellent scores. We have set and achieved high expectations. Way to go, Firebirds! Please read the article by Cheryl Bowman, our Instructional Coach, for more information on testing results.

Some safety and procedural reminders:

1. All visitors and volunteers MUST sign in at the office and wear a pass so the children and staff will know who you are, and that you belong here. This procedure, although it will not always be the most convenient for you, will help keep us all safe, and that’s one of our key goals.
2. Please use Lodge and the east parking lot for student drop off and pick up before and after school. Be sure to observe the Student Drop Off, No Parking and No U-Turn signs on Lodge. Several individuals are parking illegally along Lodge creating an unsafe environment. The signs are posted for the safety of the children. Remember, the west parking lot is for staff use only. If you should park on the adjoining neighborhood streets before school, after school, or during school events, please do not block driveways or mailbox delivery.
3. Please continue to keep the hallways clear so students may enter and exit their classrooms before and after school. Having clear hallways allows the students, especially the little ones, to see where they are going.
4. Please remember students are NOT ALLOWED on the playground before 8:30 a.m. There is no supervision before that time.
5. Please take a moment to review the Tardy Procedures in the Handbook. Parents must sign in their students when they are late. If a student has three or more unexcused tardies, there are negative ramifications for the students, which we all want to avoid.
6. If you write a check for your child’s lunch, please list their name and their teachers name on the check. A student may also purchase milk from their account should they bring their lunch.
7. Fruchthendler’s parent-teacher conferences will be held October 17-19, not on September 19-21 as many other District schools.

We want to recognize our outstanding custodians John Romero and Frank Candaso. Our building looks GREAT!! Thank you, gentlemen, for a job well done and helping us start the year off clean and organized.

The goal of the Firebird Footnotes and the Firebird Folder is to keep you informed. Thank you to everyone who worked on our school’s web site http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/Fruchthendler. Thank you for taking the time to read and go through the contents of each. Please feel free to contact either the PTA or the school office if you have questions or suggestions. We are excited to make this the best year ever!

Cordially,
John Heidel, Principal

Have You Heard?

We are always happy to hear how our former students are doing. When Alex McNerney won at the Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineer Fair competition last year, he was nominated with 6,000 other students throughout the nation to compete in the Discovery Channel’s Young Scientists Competition. He has now advanced to the top 400 semifinalists. That pool will be reduced to 40 finalists, who will be announced September 12, 2007.

We wish Alex all success in this important competition.

AIMS Accountability Update

The only TUSD school that tested higher than Fruchthendler on the overall Terra Nova scores in Reading, Language Arts and Math was University High School (Children are tested into UHS).

Our AIMS scores continue to exceed Arizona State Standards with overall scores above 92% in Reading, Writing and Math. Our combined scores increased from 2005-2006 in all three AIMS subject areas - substantially in writing.

2006-2007 School-level AIMS Results
Fruchthendler Elementary School, all grades (percentage of students meeting or exceeding standard)
Reading 92.9%
Writing 96.6%
Math 95.3%

Our staff has begun the process of thoroughly analyzing last year's data to identify strengths and areas that require curriculum and instructional adjustments. We always appreciate feedback from all members of our school community. I am available to respond in greater depth to accountability questions at cheryl.bowman@tusd1.org or 731-4400.

Cheryl Bowman, Instructional Coach.

Firebird Spirit Day!

Don’t forget that every Friday is “Firebird Spirit Day,” and the best way of showing your school pride is by wearing your RED FIREBIRD T-SHIRT! These t-shirts are also great to wear on fieldtrips or to school events. If you are interested in purchasing any Firebird fashion wear, please fill out the form included in this month’s Firebird folder. You can also find the form on the Fruchthendler website under Orgaizations/PTA. Orders are due by Friday, September 7. Please be aware that we do not order extra t-shirt stock. Therefore, only pre-paid orders will be guaranteed to receive a shirt. If you have any questions, contact Donna Dennis at 760-9336 or dmspez@comcast.net.

Family Fun Night

Mark you calendars and get ready to join us on the evening of Tuesday, September 18th for Fruchthendler’s annual FAMILY FUN NIGHT. This event is a great way of meeting other Fruchthendler families and building our school and community spirit. The menu will be a yummy Italian pasta dinner catered by Macaroni Grill. The cost is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for children. The price includes the food and bottled water. Just bring your blankets, chairs and balls for the playground. Please fill in the enclosed reservation form and return it by Wednesday, September 12th. If you have any questions or want to get involved in the FUN, Contact Donna Dennis at 760-9336 or dmspez@comcast.net.

Greetings from the Guidance Counselor

Greetings to all Fruchthendler Families from the Guidance Counseling Department! My name is Shannon Bohan and I am so happy to be working as your Guidance Counselor. I have spent the past two weeks meeting the super students and the outstanding teachers, staff and parents at Fruchthendler Elementary School. The hard work and dedication of the teachers and students and the support of the school community make it easy to see why Fruchthendler is an EXCELLING school!

The TUSD guidance program is a proactive preventative model in which the counselor goes into classrooms on a weekly basis and teaches Arizona State Standards-based guidance curriculum to all the students. We will be learning many lessons within the three domains of the guidance curriculum, including personal awareness and social skills, academic learning strategies, and career awareness.

This week students learned about the guidance program and about ways the counselor helps everyone at school. The students worked on listening and speaking skills while sharing individual interests with the class. Students learned about commonalities and differences and ways to show kindness to others.

Upcoming lessons include learning about ways to stay safe and how to get help if needed, using “I messages” to communicate, and identifying passive, aggressive and assertive communication styles.

I am at school Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Please call 731-4400 if you have any questions about the guidance program. Thank you! Shannon Bohan

DIBELS Update

Three times a year all students within the State of Arizona receive a literacy screening using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). DIBELS measures reading success in five basic areas: phonics, phonemic awareness, oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. These early literacy and reading assessments are simple to administer and accurately measure reading progress.

The first round of assessments began the week of August 20. Teachers use this information to help plan and individualize reading instruction for all students within their specific skill level. Teachers can determine patterns in student response, which are used to guide state-required interventions. If you have any questions about DIBELS, please feel free to contact Cheryl Bowman, Fruchthendler’s Instructional Coach, at
cheryl.bowman@tusd1.org or 731-4400.

SCPC Orientation

The School Community Partnership Council (SCPC) is a volunteer organization of parents and staff from TUSD schools. Its purpose is to facilitate communication between each school community and the District. The SCPC consists of a District Council and four Area Councils. This year's SCPC Orientation meeting will be held on Monday, September 17 at Naylor Middle School from 7 to 8:30 p.m. For more information visit the SCPC web site.

It’s Time for Fundraising!

Fundraising time is here!! The Fruchthendler PTA raises money to support the school in a variety of ways. Fundraising money is spent on teacher enrichment and professional development, art programs, music programs, chess club, field trip buses, and many other things. We have planned two fundraisers for the year. If these are as successful as we plan, we WILL NOT have to do any other fundraising!! The two fundraisers are the Spell-a-Thon on September 21st and the Silent Auction on October 27th. Between the two, our goal is to raise $25,000. We can do this but we need our Fruchthendler families
support. Look for the THINK PINK notice in your Firebird Folder for information on our 2nd annual Spell-a-Thon!! For a special treat, take a peek at the schools website and run your curser over Mr. Heidel’s hair for a fun surprise!!

Betsy Chabin and Missy Boldt,
Fundraising co-chairs

Silent Auction Planning Underway...And We’re Off!

Planning is well underway for our second fundraiser of the year.

The committee is beginning to collect items for the live and silent auction and welcomes
all Fruchthendler families to contribute. Please fill out the form in your Firebird folder and let them know how you will be helping. Your contribution can be an item or a monetary donation, and feel free to contact them if you can volunteer as well. Knowing the items coming from our school community will help the committee more efficiently solicit additional items needed. As you know, the funds we make from the Silent Auction enable us to fund many different projects and programs at our elementary school.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Anita Feder and Jen Jewell,
Silent Auction co-chairs.

Families Continue to Help Families

Fruchthendler Elementary will continue its generous tradition of Families Helping Families (FHF) this year. We will be providing detailed information about the program in the next edition of the Firebirds Footnotes. In the interim, we are collecting Cookware Bonus Stickers from Albertsons Grocery Store. Albertons is giving away bonus stickers that can be redeemed for nice cookware. We’ll collect the stickers and redeem them for nice, new cookware items to be distributed to our FHF families. Please deposit your stickers in the box located near the office (next to the box top collection spot).

Thank you for your generosity!

Jayce Martin, Trudy Walsh and Eden Britt.

PE Class with Mrs. Spitzer

PE classes will begin the week of September 4th. I'm looking forward to a great year, filled with lots of fun and excitement. Our half hour classes are filled to the max with warm-ups, stretching, activities and games, all incorporating the TUSD Physical Education standards. Fitness testing and our 20 minutes walk/run (THE FIREBIRD) are also part of the program. This year we’ll be adding a Sun Safety Program into the curriculum, so get those hats, water bottles and sun screen ready to go.

Please make sure that your student is ready for PE by wearing the proper clothing and shoes. CLOSE-TOED SHOES ARE A MUST! No flip-flops, boots, sandals or croks. This is for safety reasons, no exceptions. Shorts, skorts (girls - no skirts) and capris are great to wear and allow the kids to move freely in class. Also please have your children bring a hat, sunglasses, iced water bottle, and put the sun screen on before coming to school. I'm looking forward to getting class started, seeing old friends and making new ones.

Go Firebirds!!
Kim Spitzer

It Happened Again at Townsend…

As each year at the elementary school draws to a close, and during the hot months of summer, incoming middle schoolers become increasingly aware of the changes about to occur in the fall. Enthusiasm mounts about having multiple “expert” teachers, getting a locker, having an elective and meeting new students from at least three other schools. Fears grow as well. “Will I get lost?” “Am I allowed to go to the bathroom?” “Will my teachers know who I am?” “Will I have friends?”

Many of you address those fears by visiting Townsend in the spring or summer, making calls to our office, and by coming in during registration to stroll the hallways.

Yet, that first day is the big moment.

And this year, it happened again.

Students arrived breathless…and as the day passed, their confidence and curiosity grew. They could make it from class to class, they did understand the expectations, and there were friends around every corner.

This is what I call the “middle school miracle.” During that first day, that week, and that month we realize with great relief and pride that our children really are ready to take on the sixth grade…and beyond. And the beauty is, they come to understand that they can do it, too.

Our daily message to them:

What you do here is important.
You can do it.
None of us are ever going to give up on you.

The latest on the HOUSE Program:
The Townsend HOUSE opened this year, and currently is home to 65 sixth grade students. The HOUSE Team celebrated on Sept. 23, 2007 at a well attended “housewarming party,” where they communicated the central message of the program:

Highly rigorous, striving for
Outstanding academic achievement with an
Understanding of students’ potentials.
Students and teachers working together for high
Expectations of success.

Barbara Kohl, Principal

New Walking Path and Golden Sneaker Thursdays

It is so wonderful to see all of the families using the new walking path to get to and from school! Morning exercise has been shown to give students an edge in school by getting their minds and bodies revved up for learning. The walking path is the featured article in the September-October issue of Walkin’ & Rollin,’ the Pima County Department of Transportation’s newsletter for pedestrians and cyclists. A copy of this issue is included in your Firebird Folder.

Since everyone is fired up and ready, Golden Sneaker Thursdays will start next week on September 6. Golden Sneaker Thursday is the designated day each week that students and parents should leave the car at home and walk, bike or bus to and from school. The classes with the highest participation get to show off a coveted Golden Sneaker on their door for the week.

The Safe Routes to School committee is looking for parent volunteers to walk or ride groups of students to and from school on Golden Sneaker Thursdays. There is one official Walking School Bus which starts at 7800 block of Knollwood Terrace. They are in search of a parent to ride with the bicyclists to and from school. Other suggested areas for future Walking School Busses are the streets south of Cloud Road to the west and east of Fruchthendler, Knollwood Drive, Sabino Vista west, Sabino Vista east, Pantano and Cloud, and bike riders from Larrea Lane.

If you are interested in helping get students to and from school on Golden Sneaker Thursdays, please contact Karen McWhirter, Safe Routes to School Coordinator at 955-4491.

Art Enrichment Volunteers Needed

The first meeting for Art Enrichment parents will be Tuesday, August 28 at 9:00 a.m. in the cafeteria. This will be a general information meeting.

We still need Art Enrichment volunteers for Mrs. Jamison and Mrs. Bettenhausen. If you can spare a minimum of an hour a month fostering creativity in young minds, please let me know!

Carol Corvo, TUSD Visual Arts, will offer classes monthly at Fruchthendler on a variety of artists and techniques. The next Art Partnership class will be Wednesday, September 19 from 9:30 – 11 a.m. in the cafeteria. Carol will be covering Fritz Sholder. Please RSVP to 225-4900 if you plan to attend.

For more information on the Art Enrichment program, please contact Kathy Campbell at kq@ghostdance.net.

Box Tops and Labels Needed!

This year our school is involved in these label and box tops collection programs:

Campbell’s Labels for Education
Labels for Education earns points for school merchandise. Simply clip the UPC code and the little Campbell’s kid holding the pencil (not the whole label) from participating brands. Please trim them close. If you collect lids, rinse them well. Participating products besides Campbell’s include Pepperidge Farms, Pace, Swanson and Prego. For a complete product list you can go to www.LabelsforEducation.com. This program earned over 7000 points last year.

Box Top$ for Education
Box Tops for Education earns us cash! Collect Box Top$ for Education coupons (please no Betty Crocker Coupons). Again, trim the coupons close but don’t trim off the expiration date. Products include General Mills, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Ziploc and Kleenex. For the complete product list you can go to www.BoxTops4Education.com. We earned $500 in cash last year.

Please deposit all items in the Collection Box near the front door. For more info contact Moira Richards at 290-3709 or neomom@comcast.net .

AZ Tax Credit Program 2007-08

Does your child love PE? Is he or she excited to learn Spanish this year? Ready to play some music or join the choir? All of these programs are financed by the Arizona’s State School Income Tax Credit. State law allows you to get a tax credit for up to $200 for single filers and $400 for married filers for contributions to Fruchthendler. This is not considered a charitable donation, but an easy way to lower your taxes and benefit our school.

For the 2007-08 school year Fruchthendler collected $73,000 from 235 donors. Tax credit dollars are used to fund these programs and more:
Spanish teacher
PE teacher
Music and fine arts programs
Tutors (3). Tutors also serve as monitors during lunch and before school.

In the coming months you will be hearing more about Fruchthendler’s Tax Credit program and how you can help bring all these amazing enrichment classes to our children. For more information on the program and how to contribute please go to AZ Tax Credit web site.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR SEPTEMBER
Sept 4	Labor Day Holiday—No school
Sept 6	Picture Day for Fall Pictures
Sept 7	Fall School Pictures— Interstate Photography
Sept 18	Family FUN Night, 5:30-7pm Italian Pasta Dinner Rear Patio & Playground
Sept 21	Spell-a-Thon Fundraiser Firebird Footnotes deadline for October articles
Sept 26	Firebird Folders go home!
October 3	Int’l Walk to School Day

Picture Day This Month!

Interstate Photography will be taking Fall School Pictures on Thursday, September 6. Please mark your calendars so your children can look their best! Remember to have your child hand in their paid picture order forms to their teacher by Sept. 6.

Retakes and club photos are scheduled to be taken Thursday, October 25.

How to Submit Items for the Next Issue of Footnotes

We hope you find your Firebird Footnotes monthly newsletter enjoyable and informative. It is here that you’ll be brought up to speed on special school announcements, student activities, class events, fundraiser updates and other items of interest important to all families of Fruchthendler Elementary.

To submit an article or item to be considered for publication, send them via email to Firebird.Footnotes@gmail.com by the published deadline. The earlier the better! Items can be submitted in Microsoft Word or cut-and-pasted in the body of the email message. You can also hand in your articles (labeled “Firebird Footnotes” or “Newsletter”) in the main office but you should follow up via email or leave a voice message at 979-4769. Be sure to note your name and reachable phone number in case there are any questions. Please don’t leave articles in the Parent Room, as these will have a great chance of getting overlooked.

The next deadline for submitting articles or items is Friday, Sept. 21.
Steve Delgado, Newsletter editor

Firebird Footnotes

September 2007

IMPORTANT DATES FOR SEPTEMBER