Bulldog 12-16-09

BULLDOG BARK

DEC. 16, 20009

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Dec. 16 – Science Fair Boot Camps after school (more in January)

Dec. 17 – Free coffee and sweets from Thunderbird Coffee and Luscious Pastry, 7:15-8:00, front of the school

Dec. 18 – Jan. 4 – Winter break for students

Jan. 5 – Classes resume for students

Jan. 6 – Report cards go home

YUMMY REMINDER

Thunderbird Coffee and Luscious Pastry are in the house on Thursday, Dec. 17! Come get a FREE fresh cup of coffee and sample mini-scones and tasty tidbits at the front of the school and mingle with fellow parents during drop-off from 7:15 until 8 a.m. What a way to wind down the first half of the year!

SCIENCE FAIR

 Don’t forget to work on your Science Fair projects during your winter break. We’re serious. Just a little, after you’ve opened gifts or finished off the pies. The Science Fair is on Feb. 4, 2010. Boot camps for 2nd – 5th grades will be Jan.11, 13, 20 and 25. If you have any questions email Lisa Boone at lboone@grandecom.net or Luz Suarez Wallace at super_longhorn@yahoo.com.

LOOKING AHEAD

For those who like to get a jump on planning for next year, here is the link to the newly released AISD calendar for the 2010-2011 school year.

http://www.austinisd.org/academics/docs/calendar_2010_2011_20091202.pdf

GREEN FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Did you know Americans throw away 25 percent more trash during this holiday period than any other time of year.  The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week.

What you can do: 

1.  Consider buying or making gifts that have less packaging and that reflect your own “green” values.  Some ideas:

      Books purchased from our Scholastic Book Fair not only support our school library but also support an environmentally responsible publisher.

      Gift cards for local services, stores, and restaurants, especially ones who support Brentwood and can be found in the directory;

      Donations to charities in honor of that person;

      Experiential gifts, such as an art class, a horseback riding lesson, a trip to the rock climbing gym, tickets to the IMAX, etc!

      Original gifts made by local artists and craftsmen at art fairs, like Blue Genie Arts Bazaar, Cherrywood Arts Festival, Wheatsville Arts Festival, and the website Etsy.com..  And a great new store that carries locally made gifts promoting conscientious consumption and recycling is Greater Austin Garbage Art (GAGA) at 2214 South 1st Street.  Open Tues-Sun, 12-6. 373-4242. (GAGA is a sponsor for our Spring Clothing Swap-O-Rama Rama!)

2. Consider your wrapping materials.  Some ideas:

      Use cards and wrapping paper made from recycled paper;

      Re-use old holiday cards by turning them into gift tags and wrapping decorations;

      Recycle used gift wrap. Gift wrap is recyclable, unless it’s laminated, metallic, or has a bunch of tape stuck to it. 

3.  Very little of styrofoam is recycled. CLEAN styrofoam can be taken to Cycled Plastics, www.cycledplastics.com, 10200 McKalla Place Suite 100. 

Cycled Plastics recycles clean styrofoam and accepts drop offs from the public.  Also, if you have styrofoam peanuts, those can be taken to a pack-and-mail store near you, which will likely recycle/reuse them.

GETTING TO LAMAR

Lamar Middle School PTA is creating a task force to promote Safe Routes To School for current and future Lamar students. If you like the Green initiative at Brentwood, you should consider getting involved in promoting bicycling and walking to Lamar as a continuance of that effort. Our kids and our planet will be healthier for it. Students living in Brentwood and Crestview are all in the position of having to cross Burnet Road to get to Lamar Middle School, and some must cross Koenig Lane, as well. Your energy, insight and input is needed to come up with solutions. Please come to the next meeting: Thursday, Jan. 14, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Lamar Middle School cafeteria.

 IN THE COMMUNITY

The Neighborhood is invited to sing at the annual Christmas Caroling Party at the Gazebo of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church , 6800 Woodrow Ave., at 7 p.m. Dec. 16.  For information, call 453-8434. The fires will be going to keep warm.  Hot drinks will be provided with snacks. Bring something to share if you wish including blankets, lawn chairs to sit on. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WINTER BREAK. WE’LL SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!

Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net

Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net

Bulldog Bark Editors

Brentwood Elementary PTA

6700 Arroyo Seco

Austin, TX 78757

512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

Bulldog Bark 12/10/09

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Dec. 10 – Presentation about Lamar, Brentwood café, 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 12 – Movie night in the ‘hood, IGA Shopping Center, 6 p.m.
Dec. 14, 16 – Science Fair Boot Camps after school (more in January)
Dec. 15 – Ann Richards and Kealing magnet presentations for 5th grade, 8 a.m., library
Dec. 15 – Holiday program by 3rd and 4th grade, café, 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 17 – Free coffee and sweets from Thunderbird Coffee and Luscious Pastry, 7:15-8:00, front of the school
Dec. 18 – Jan. 4 – Winter break for students
Jan. 5 – Classes resume for students
Jan. 6 – Report cards go home

LEARN ABOUT LAMAR
Find out more about Lamar Middle School becoming Lamar Fine Arts Magnet School on Thursday, December 10, from 6:30 pm – 7:30 p.m. at Brentwood Elementary café. Michelle Barrientes (Lamar Middle School choir director) will give a slide presentation and introduce a panel of Lamar students to speak about their hopes for Lamar to become a magnet. Discussion will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
The proposal for Lamar to become a Fine Arts Magnet is on the desk of the associate superintendent of middle schools. Supporters want the proposal for the Lamar Middle School Fine Arts Magnet to be on the AISD School Board agenda by February 2010 and the program implemented during the 2011-2012 school year.
**Child care will be provided by Brentwood PTA.

SCIENCE FAIR SIGN-UP
Do not forget to sign up for Science Fair, February 4th, 2010.
Boot camp starts soon for 2nd – 5th grades, do not forget to
sign up:
December 14th and 16th
January 11th, 13th, 20th and 25th.

If you have any questions email Lisa Boone @
lboone@grandecom.net or Luz Suarez Wallace @
super_longhorn@yahoo.com.

REMINDER ABOUT PARKING
Parents, please do not park in the staff parking spots. Many teachers cannot find a place to park and end up being late for school because there are no spots for them. Visitor spots are marked with bright yellow paint labeled “visitor.”

WINTER PROGRAM
Third and fourth graders will be performing in the winter program “Let’s Celebrate” on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the café. Please bring a dessert to share after the performance. Coffee and cider will be served.

FREE COFFEE AND GOODIES
Thunderbird Coffee and Luscious Pastry are in the house on December 17th! Come get a
FREE fresh cup of coffee and sample mini-scones and tasty tidbits at the front of the school and mingle with fellow parents during drop-off from 7:15 until 8:00 AM.

PLEASE GIVE AISD YOUR INPUT ON THE 2010-2011 BUDGET
The school district is asking parents and community members to give feedback on how to deal with a projected $15 million budget shortfall for next year, which could include cutting some programs and services. Make your voice heard and take AISD’s 7-question online budget survey at www.austinisd.org/inside/budget/survey.phtml.

IN THE COMMUNITY

FREE HOLIDAY MOVIE
SAT, December 12th, 2009, 6 p.m.
Little Deli, IGA Shopping Center

Light up your holiday spirit, bring the kiddos and join your neighbors for
a free outdoor movie night featuring the original 1966 classic version of
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Complimentary hot chocolate from Genuine Joe’s and free popcorn will be served. You are welcome to bring your own snacks, too. Lawn chairs and blankets also are encouraged.

’Tis the season for giving, and new unwrapped toys will be accepted to
benefit the Toys for Tots drive. Put your name in the free raffle and win
local gift certificates and an iPod, too! This free community event is thanks to your neighbors Shelly Roark (Supreme Lending), Eric Reily and Shaun Hncir (Austin Custom Tops), Kyle Nunnallee (Nunnallee Inspections) and Tiffany Peters (Moreland
Properties).
We hope to see you there with Jingle Bells on!

COME AND CAROL WITH US
The Neighborhood is invited!
What: Annual Christmas Caroling Party at the Gazebo.
Where: 1st Cumberland Presbyterian Church , 6800 Woodrow Avenue
When: Dec. 16th at 7pm
For information call 453-8434

The fires will be going to keep warm. Hot drinks will be provided with snacks. Bring something to share if you wish including blankets, lawnchairs to sit on. This year we are supporting Church World Service, and you can help too. How would everyone like to donate to help buy a water well ($1000) or a sewing machine with training ($250) or a water buffalo ($200) or pair of goats ($125) or some chicks ($100/250), rabbits ($50/ 5 pair), seeds and tools for three families ($50), beehives ($25), mosquito nets or blankets? As individuals we can only do a little, but together we can do a lot to help a family or a whole community build the lives that they deserve. Go to www.cwsbestgifts.org for a look at what we could give to help those who need it most. We also have a Food Pantry and a Clothes Closet that we offer in our Open Door Ministries that always accepts donations of any kind and size.
Thanks for considering and hope to see you next Wednesday,
Pastor Mark McNeese

FREE WORKSHOP SPONSORED BY LAMAR MIDDLE SCHOOL: PROJECT WILD
Whether formal, non-formal, home school, or scouts, Project WILD can assist you in teaching any subject, to any grade level: Science, Social Studies, Math, Literacy, or Art. Our commitment to educators is provided in our educational materials and resources. Educator evaluations tell us that educators acquire new teaching skills and practices through Project WILD –practices that translate into more effective teaching. It is the dedication of countless educators that helps make Project WILD possible at the state and local level, and because of that, we dedicate this section to you.

The activities found in Project WILD instructional materials are intended for use in both classroom and informal settings. The instructional materials are designed to support state and national academic standards appropriate for grades K-12. The activities can easily be adapted to meet the learning requirements for academic disciplines ranging from science and environmental education to social studies, math, and language arts. Educators may choose one or more Project WILD activities to teach a concept or skill. The activities may be integrated into existing courses of study, or an entire set of activities may serve effectively as the basis for a specific course. Make wildlife concepts come alive through this popular national, award-winning set of hands-on educational activities…Project WILD! Go to http://www.projectwild.org/ for more information.

Lamar Middle School PTA is hosting this free workshop!
THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR TEACHERS K-12 ,YOUTH LEADERS, PARENTS & NATURALISTS IN OUR COMMUNITY!
Lamar Middle School
6201 Wynona Dr., Austin, TX 78757
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Check in: 8:30 – 9:00 AM
Workshop 9 AM – 4 PM

Workshop participants will receive the Project WILD manual full of 120 activities emphasizing awareness, appreciation and understanding of wildlife and natural resources. The K-12 curriculum is suitablef or classroom, park programs, nature centers, and youth groups. Project WILD is correlated to the TEKS and TAKS. Participants receive 6 hours of SBEC and TEEAC credit. Registration is free! Questions or to register by e-mail: GSCTXUS@AOL.COM.
Or mail to: Lamar Middle School PTA
Attention: Jane Herrin, Lamar PTA
6201 Wynona Drive, Austin, TX 78757
Please include the following information: your name, mailing address, phone number, email, address, and whether you are a parent, teacher, youth leader, naturalist, and/or PTA member.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net
Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net
Bulldog Bark Editors

Brentwood Elementary PTA
6700 Arroyo Seco
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

Bulldog Bark 11/19/09

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Nov. 19 – Thanksgiving lunch, parents invited for Pre-K – 2nd grade
Nov. 19 – PTA General Meeting, “Stop the Bullying Now,” 6:30-8 p.m., café
Nov. 20 – Coffee Talk with Mrs. Carter, 8 a.m., VIP lounge
Nov. 23 – Bilingual Storytime for Preschoolers, 10:30-11 a.m., library
Nov. 25-27 – No School, Thanksgiving break
Dec. 2 – Safe Routes Strategic Planning Meeting, 6-7 p.m., Lamar MS cafeteria
Dec. 4 – Texas Hold ‘Em fundraiser, sponsored by the DOGS (Dads of Great Students)
Dec. 5 – Crestview Green Neighbors Initiative, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., work in Brentwood park
Dec. 7, 9, 14, 16 – Science Fair Boot Camps after school
Dec. 18 – Jan. 4 – Winter break for students

TONIGHT! PTA PRESENTS: STOP BULLYING NOW!
Have you wondered if your child is being bullied and what you can do about it? On Thursday, Nov. 19, Brentwood PTA is hosting the program “Stop Bullying Now.” Larriann Curtis of Texas PTA will talk about how to recognize and prevent bullying. We’ll have a very short PTA meeting at 6:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6:45. PLEASE NOTE: This program is not appropriate for children, so please arrange for child care at home. Light refreshments will be served, but no dinner. Families from the community are also invited to attend. If you’d like more info, email brentwoodelementarypta@yahoo.com.

HALLOWEEN CANDY PUT TO GOOD USE
Brentwood Brownie Troop 792 collected approximately 66 pounds of candy. All the donated candy came from Brentwood students. The candy has been donated to the Capital Area Food Bank for distribution to shelters throughout the year. The Brownies thank Brentwood Elementary for making their first service project a big success!

KEEP THE BOX TOPS COMING
So far this year the school has earned $852 from box tops. As you can see this is easy free money. I have two other ways that you can help and you will not even need to show up at the box tops store on Friday morning to do this. We need everyone to go to the box tops website and ask your friends to join the box tops community. For every person who joins we will receive 5 boxtops. That is 50 cents. Just think about it if every person got 10 people they know to register at the box tops site we would receive $5 just from that person asking 10 friends. Get your coworkers, neighbors, family, and anyone else you can think of. They do not have to commit to anything. I think you can also check that you do not want to receive emails from them and if not you just delete the monthly email they send out. If you have more than one email address register all of them.

The second thing is shopping through the box tops marketplace. You can still shop at all the stores you would normally shop online. You go through box tops and it takes you to the marketplace. You then find the site you were looking for. Our school then gets a % of your purchase. If you are using a coupon you can still use it. It is the same as going directly to the website, but you are now earning money for the school.

Okay how do we do all this? Go to www.boxtops4education.com. You will then click on the earn tab. This is where you will have the choice of the marketplace or bonus box tops. Go through marketplace to shop or go to bonus box tops to ask friends to sign up.

Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Karrie Mannella, 468-5746, karriemannella@aol.com

LAMAR PTA: SAFE ROUTES STRATEGIC PLANNING MEETING
Wed., Dec. 2
6 PM – 7 PM
Lamar Middle School Cafeteria
On November 16, Lamar Middle School PTA hosted a meeting focusing on Safe Routes to School with a panel consisting of Allandale Neighborhood Association President Donna Beth McCormick, Lamar Principal Eleanor Duncan, Lamar parent Mary Jean Matus and Steven Zettner from Sustainable Neighborhoods. Many issues were discussed concerning students crossing the streets and traffic around Lamar Middle School. There was considerable discussion regarding pedestrians and cars in front of the school and some steps were identified that we can take immediately to help alleviate some of the issues.
This is only the beginning of an effort to address traffic issues and concerns that have been going on for many years. A strategic planning group will begin meeting on Wed., December 2 to discuss options that can be presented to AISD and the city. There is an opportunity to request money from Safe Routes to School to fund potential changes.
Right now the City of Austin is seeking input concerning traffic. This is an ideal time for you to make your voice heard on changes you would like to see and bring focus to our area of the city.
Take the traffic survey at

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/transportation/

If you are interested in working on this issue contact Jane Herrin at JHHerrin@aol.com , she will be coordinating this effort.
Thanks, Lamar PTA

COMMUNITY EVENTS

HELP RENOVATE BRENTWOOD PARK
The Crestview Green Neighbor Initiative has given birth to a new
offshoot group, Friends of Brentwood Park (FOBP). This new group has
signed an Adopt-A-Park agreement with the Austin Parks and Recreation
Department. Our first work day is scheduled for Saturday, December 5th
from 9 am to noon. Our task will be simple but important: spreading
mulch! We will mulch several bare areas under large trees where the
soil has been compacted by lots of use, and around newly planted young
trees. We will also mulch the informal “trail” that links Yates
to Arroyo Seco, which turns into a mud pit during the rain. The Parks
and Recreation Department will supply the mulch, and the Austin Parks
Foundation will lend some of the tools we’ll need. Come prepared
with work gloves, a hat and sunscreen, and a refillable water bottle.
All park users from the surrounding neighborhoods are invited and
encouraged to participate. Bring volunteers from your school, church or
other neighborhood organization and get recognition for your
contribution in the neighborhood newsletters and on our future website.
Come out, enjoy the day and get acquainted with your fellow park lovers!

Friends of Brentwood Park needs lots of new friends to make the work
quick and fun! If you are interested in joining FOBP or volunteering for
the first work day, please contact Hedrich (hedrichm@gmail.com
or 459-1750) or Emily
(pamelagrierrocks@yahoo.com or
740-2790). For planning purposes, it’s important that we get a sense
of the number of volunteers we’ll have for the work day, so please
do let us know if you think you will be coming.

MOVIE IN THE PARK
Movie in the Parking Lot by Little Deli
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Saturday, December 12th
Free (bring a donation for Toys For Tots)
6:00-8:00 p.m.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net
Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net
Bulldog Bark Editors

Brentwood Elementary PTA
6700 Arroyo Seco
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

Bulldog Bark, Nov. 12, 2009

BULLDOG BARK

Nov. 11, 2009

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Nov. 13 – Pollyanna Theater performs for grades Pre-K through 2^nd Grade, 9:15 a.m.

Nov. 13 – Lamarfest, 6-9 p.m., Lamar Middle School

Nov. 14 – Violet Crown Fall Festival, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Crestview Shopping Center

Nov. 18 – CAC Meeting, 5:30 p.m., library

Nov. 19 – PTA General Meeting, “Stop the Bullying Now,” 6:30-8 p.m., café

Nov. 20 – Coffee Talk with Mrs. Carter, 8 a.m. in the VIP lounge

Nov. 23 – Bilingual Storytime for Preschoolers, 10:30-11 a.m., library

Nov. 25-27 – No School, Thanksgiving Break

DEC. 4 – Texas Hold’em fundraiser, sponsored by the DOGS (Dads of Great Students)

Dec. 7, 9, 14, 16 – Science Fair Boot Camps after school

Dec. 18 – Jan. 4 – Winter Break for Students

KEEP IT SIMPLE FUNDRAISER

We are off to a great start in the No-Hassle Fundraiser with more than $1,200 in the first few days. Our goal is a hefty $10,000 so don’t forget to give and to ask friends and relatives. Every dollar counts. Thanks to a generous time donation from the Erwin Family (aka Crestview Doors), we have a beautiful thermometer at the school to track our progress. Let’s watch the red rise as we get closer to meeting our goal. The fundraiser ends Nov. 18 so don’t wait, give today!

PTA PRESENTS: STOP BULLYING NOW!

Have you wondered if your child is being bullied and what you can do about it?  On Thursday, Nov. 19, Brentwood PTA is hosting the program “Stop Bullying Now.”  Larriann Curtis of Texas PTA will talk about how to recognize and prevent bullying.  We’ll have a very short PTA meeting at 6:30 p.m., followed by the program at 6:45.  PLEASE NOTE:  This program is not appropriate for children, so please arrange for child care at home. Light refreshments will be served, but no dinner.  Families from the community are also invited to attend.  If you’d like more info, email brentwoodelementarypta@yahoo.com.D

NEW BUS ZONE

You may have noticed that starting Monday, Nov. 2, the front of the school along the yellow painted curb has become the designated bus loading zone. All the buses pick up and drop off by the front entrance. Thanks to all the families for not parking in this designated bus zone during school hours.

VIOLET CROWN FESTIVAL

The PTA is looking for volunteers to help at the Brentwood table at this weekend’s Violet Crown Festival. We will have arts and crafts for the kids, brochures, T-shirts, and, of course, the thermometer for the No-Hassle Fundraiser so we can take donations. If you can give just one hour of time on Sat. Nov. 14 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., please call PTA President Carla Umlauf-Cheesar at 567-1478.

VISIT WITH AN AUTHOR

K. A. Holt, author of “Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel,” will be at Brentwood on Nov. 16. Autographed copies of her book can be purchased for $17.30. (Make checks payable to Brentwood Elementary.)

HELP PROTECT OUR GARDENS
Please help monitor your child(ren) when playing after school near the art cottage.  Several pumpkin vines have been trampled and a couple growing pumpkins are missing.  Also, there are passion flower vines back there with Gulf Fritillary caterpillars on them that need to remain in the vines.  Please remind your child(ren) to touch things growing in the gardens ONLY with parent or teacher permission. We would like to discourage playing hide and seek in the gardens as well. Thank you for your help!
 
GREEN ATTITUDE AWARD 
Congratulations to Brentwood Elementary for winning the UT/Keep Austin Beautiful Recycling Roundup Award for the second year in a row!  Our school won $500 based on our recycling, beautification and conservation efforts during the 2008-09 school year. If you or your child participated in Recycling Rangers, gardening and beautification, the clothing Swap-A-Rama, Eco-Friendly Fridays, composting, the Environmental Club or Earth Day, please give yourself a pat on the back!  The award will be given at the Nov. 21 UT game against Kansas.  Go to http://www.keepaustinbeautiful.org/LRR2009Winners to see a list of all the 2009 winners.  This money will be used for our 2010 Earth Day celebration in May.

PLAYING WITH THE DOGS

It’s time for the second annual Texas Hold’em Night to benefit Brentwood Elementary, sponsored by the DOGS (Dads of Great Students). It’s scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, at the home of a Brentwood family. All proceeds go to the school. If you want to learn more about the DOGS, this is the time. If you want to learn how to play Texas Hold’em, this is the place.

All skill levels are welcome. To RSVP or to find out more, e-mail rsvpbwdogs@yahoo.com.

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY

Have you cleaned out your bookshelves lately?  The Brentwood PTA is collecting children and adult books for our Used Book Sale in March. There will be a collection bin in the library starting next week until March 8. We accept children’s books, adult fiction and nonfiction, CDs, DVDs, computer software and videos.  We especially need reading material for our 4th and 5th graders. Last year, the PTA made $1,000 for the library to buy materials, and we were able to get a book into the hands of all the kids at Brentwood. Make room on your bookshelf for all the fabulous new books you will get for Christmas!

SAFE TOYS

Here’s a reminder from the Texas PTA: The holidays are drawing near, and families are beginning their gift shopping. To help you choose toys that are safe, you can find the latest information on recalled and hazardous toys on these Web sites:.

Parents.com Toy and Product Recall Finder

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission

Though recalled toys are pulled from store shelves, they may still show up at thrift stores and garage sales. These up-to-date listings can help parents make informed decisions when shopping for gifts. Keeping hazardous toys out of homes will help everyone have a safe and happy holiday.

DREAMING OF DINNERS

The Dream Dinners fundraiser is continuing through this month.  Dream Dinners will donate 10% of all revenues to Brentwood from customers who let them know they are friends of Brentwood Elementary! Dream Dinners can provide ready-made dinners for pick-up. Or customers can go to the Dream Dinners kitchen and assemble the meals from ingredients provided. Dream Dinners is located at 8127 Mesa Drive. To find out more and to see the menu, visit www.dreamdinners.com/mesawoods.

COMMUNITY NEWS

 

IT’S MILK JUG TIME AGAIN 

It’s time to start collecting milk jugs for the annual luminaria display along the arroyo. We need your help to round up 300 jugs to make this beautiful tradition possible.

 

Instead of putting your gallon milk jugs in your recycling bin at home, please bring them to school and deposit them in the box in the front hall next to the other recycling bins. We promise they’ll get recycled after Christmas.  Also, to prevent the school from smelling like spoiled milk, please rinse the jugs before you bring them.

 

Questions about the luminarias? Want to help? Contact Heather Gardner at hokgardner@grandecom.net.

 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Andrea Roberts            roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net

Carolyn Lindell            clindell@grandecom.net

Bulldog Bark Editors

Brentwood Elementary PTA

6700 Arroyo Seco

Austin, TX  78757

512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails?  Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

 

Bulldog Bark 11/5/09

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Nov. 5 – Craig-O’s Brentwood Night
Nov. 6 – Picture re-takes
Nov. 9 – No School, Staff Development
Nov. 11 – Veteran’s Day Program, 8:15-8:45 a.m. in the cafe
Nov. 13 – Pollyanna Theater performs for grades Pre-K through 2nd Grade, 9:15 a.m.
Nov. 13 – Lamarfest, 6-9 p.m., Lamar Middle School
Nov. 14 – Violet Crown Fall Festival, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Crestview Shopping Center
Nov. 18 – CAC Meeting, 5:30 p.m., library
Nov. 19 – PTA General Meeting, “Stop the Bullying Now,” 6:30-8:00 p.m., café
Nov. 20 – Coffee Talk with Mrs. Carter, 8:00 a.m. in the VIP lounge
Nov. 23 – Bilingual Storytime for Preschoolers, 10:30-11 a.m., library
Nov. 25-27 – No School, Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 7, 9, 14, 16 – Science Fair Bootcamps afterschool
Dec. 15 – Holiday Program
Dec. 18 – Jan. 4 – Winter Break for Students

KEEP IT SIMPLE FUNDRAISER KICK-OFF
Once again, we’re not asking your children to sell anything. We’re raising money for all of our great PTA programs by just asking families to donate what they can. The money will go to updating the school’s maps and globes and helping to pay for tutoring for children who need extra help. If our families give just $25 per child at Brentwood, we will raise over $10,000. Please give as much as you can and ask grandparents, family members, friends and neighbors to donate, too. Donation fliers went out yesterday, so please send in your gift today. And look for the cool new fundraising thermometer to track our progress. You can print out more fliers for friends and family. Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ and look under the “Files” section.

VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION
Brentwood Elementary is having its annual Veterans Day celebration
on Wednesday, November 11th at 8am in the school cafeteria. We would like to invite
veterans from the community to join us and be honored during our celebration.
If you are a veteran and would like to join our celebration, or if you have a relative
or neighbor who might like to, please contact Amy Cox (Brentwood teacher & parent) at
acox1@austinisd.org.

PTA PRESENTS: STOP BULLYING NOW!
Have you wondered if your child is being bullied and what you can do about it? On Thursday, Nov. 19, Brentwood PTA is hosting the program “Stop Bullying Now.” Larriann Curtis of Texas PTA will talk about how to recognize and prevent bullying. We’ll have a very short PTA meeting at 6:30, followed by the program at 6:45. PLEASE NOTE: This program is not appropriate for children, so please arrange for child care at home. Light refreshments will be served, but no dinner. Families from the community are also invited to attend the program. If you’d like more info, email brentwoodelementarypta@yahoo.com.

PARENT/STUDENT HANDBOOKS AND DIRECTORIES ARE OUT.
Handbooks went home in yesterday’s Wednesday folders. One handbook per family was sent in the oldest sibling’s folder. A big thank you to the directory team — Anne-Charlotte Patterson, Amanda Soisson, Heather Gardner and Lisa Roe.

GET SOME DREAM DINNERS, HELP BRENTWOOD
The Dream Dinners fundraiser is continuing through November. Dream Dinners on Mesa Drive will donate 10% of all revenues to Brentwood from customers who let them know they are friends of Brentwood Elementary! Dream Dinners can provide ready-made dinners for pick-up. Or customers can go to the Dream Dinners kitchen and assemble the meals from ingredients provided. Dream Dinners is located at 8127 Mesa Drive. To find out more and to see the menu, visit www.dreamdinners.com/mesawoods.

WEDNESDAY FOLDERS ARE GETTING GREENER
To reduce the amount of paper in the Wednesday folder — and save some trees — PTA and the school are now sending most fliers to only the oldest child in a family. That reduces the paper usage by about 25 percent. Thanks to Rebecca Miranda and Amy Cox for putting together the “Green Count” for each class.

BOX TOP SUCCESS
Karrie Mannella submitted the first of two box tops collections on Saturday. Our submission amount so far this year is $852. We are more than halfway to our goal! Our next and last submission date is February 28th. Keep bringing in those box tops!

MAKE A DIFFERENCE – BECOME A BRENTWOOD MENTOR!
You can make a difference in a child’s life! Interested candidates may apply online through AISD/APIE. Questions? Contact Veronica Miller @ 414-6221 or Christian Alvarado @ 637-0983. We greatly appreciate your commitment and service to our children!

TOO MUCH HALLOWEEN CANDY?
Brentwood Brownie Troop 792 and the Brentwood Daisy Troop are collecting your leftover Halloween candy. The candy will be donated to a charity group so that it can be distributed to people in need throughout the year. Plastic baggies went out in this week’s Wednesday folders, and we will collect the candy from Nov. 5 – Nov. 10. The collection box is near the front office. Brownies will be around some of the mornings to collect your candy as well. They collected 16 pounds of candy on Thursday alone! Questions? Contact Brownie leader Donna Beckett at donnaabeckett@gmail.com.

NEWS FROM LAMAR MIDDLE SCHOOL
The Lamar PTA is going to discuss Student Pedestrian and Bicycle Safe Routes to School at their next general meeting on Monday, Nov. 16, from 7-8 p.m. in the Lamar cafeteria (6201 Wynona). The meeting is open to Lamar families, community neighbors, local businesses and Lamar administrators and faculty. This is an opportunity discuss pedestrian and bicycle safety routes for Lamar students coming and going to school.

Help make the Lamar Fine Arts Magnet a reality! Write a letter to school board members. There is a file document with school board email addresses and suggested bullet points to show your support for this program. Go to the “Files” section of the Bulldog Bark yahoo page: yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/.

COMMUNITY EVENTS
Crestview United Methodist’s Angel Affair, a Christmas marketplace, will be held in the church fellowship hall at 1300 Morrow this Saturday, Nov. 6, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You can purchase handmade items and raffle tickets for a one-of-a-kind, hand-made whole cloth quilt. Crestview UMC’s Preschool (where lots of Brentwood students attended as preschoolers) will hold a silent auction as part of the Angel Affair. The auction items are great! They include a Dell laptop, a weekend at Port Aransas, IMac computers, children’s bikes, restaurant gift cards, yoga classes, personal training sessions, jewelry, and much more! Proceeds from the Angel Affair benefit the Montopolis Friendship Center, the Salvation Army, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief in Sudan. Proceeds from the Silent Auction enable the Preschool to purchase new equipment and fund teacher bonuses. Questions? Contact Terri Sloan, director of the preschool, at 451-9665.

DOES YOUR CHILD LIKE TO GARDEN?
Ms. Candis of Gardenheads offers after-school and “No School Today” gardening camps at her home in the Crestview neighborhood. Ms. Candis is the wonderful woman with the pink poodle who helps the Environmental Club and classrooms with gardening at Brentwood. For more information, please contact Ms. Candis at candis@gardenheads.net

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net
Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net
Bulldog Bark Editors

Brentwood Elementary PTA
6700 Arroyo Seco
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

Bulldog Bark 10/22/09

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Oct. 23 – Coffee Talk with the principal, Q&A, bring questions or just come and talk, 8 a.m. in the library
Oct. 23 – Haunted House construction, 4 p.m. to midnight
Oct. 24 – Brentwood “One World” Carnival, 3-7 p.m.
Oct. 26 – Bilingual Storytime for preschoolers, 10:30-11:00 a.m., library
Oct. 26 – Lamar Fine Arts Academy Proposal presentation at the Lamar PTA meeting, 7-8 p.m.

Nov. 9 – Bilingual Storytime for preschoolers, 10:30-11:00 a.m., library
Nov. 13 – Lamarfest, 6-9 p.m., Lamar Middle School
Nov. 14 – Violet Crown Fall Festival, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Crestview Shopping Center
Nov. 18 – CAC meeting, 5:30 p.m., library
Nov. 19 – PTA General Meeting, “Stop the Bullying Now,” 6:30-8:00 p.m., cafe
Nov. 23 – Bilingual Storytime for preschoolers, 10:30-11:00 a.m., library
Nov. 25-27 – No School, Thanksgiving Break

THE CARNIVAL IS SATURDAY!!!!
This year’s carnival should be lots of fun! We need everyone to pitch in a little to make it a success. Here are the ways you can help:

1. Haunted House construction and tear down, decorate, or be a ghoul – see the Bulldog Bark Special Edition that went out Monday for all the info on the haunted house., or contact Anne-Charlotte Patterson at annecharlottep@gmail.com.

2. Volunteer for a booth. Large sign-up sheets are located on the window in front of the café. Some classes have a lot of blank spots, so you may consider helping out another class if you haven’t signed up yet. Here is what we need:
• Baldwin, Gardner, Long – Stuffed Animal Walk – 2 people
• Sluyter – Rock Wall – 5 people
• Calderon, Castillo – Convict Hill – 5 people
• Obregon, Breckenridge, Berry – Chopstick Race – 3 people
• Geiser, Svrcek – Inflatables – 1 people
• O’Dea – Tattoos – 7 people
• Gray, Joliffe – Basketball Toss – 5 people
• Reese, Gonzales – Haunted House – 3 people
• Avey, Mclain – Broom Race – 2 people
• Tierney – Football Toss – 5 people
• Malhlstadt, Rodriguez – Bake Sale – 5 people

3. Donate to the bake sale. Please wrap your goodies in individual portions. We really want home-baked sweets, such as cookies, brownies, scones, candy and cupcakes. If your items have special dietary ingredients, please label them ( dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, wheat-free, sugar-free egg-free or dye-free). You can drop off your donations on Friday, Oct 23rd in the teacher’s lounge, or on the day of the carnival by 3:00 p.m.

4. Donate to the grade level baskets. If you have an item to donate for the theme basket, please get it to your child’s teacher ASAP! We will put them together and inventory them after school on Friday. Once more, the grade level countries are:
Pre-K/K – Africa 1st – Australia 2nd – Asia
3rd – United Kingdom 4th – USA and Canada 5th – Mexico

TICKETS – Presale carnival tickets have gone home, so check the Wednesday and daily folders if you paid for them. If you haven’t received your tickets by this afternoon, please email Lisa Roe at lwroe@grandecom.net as soon as possible. Wristbands should be picked up on the day of the carnival.

CLIMBING THE ROCK WALL – In order to climb the rock wall in the gym, kids need to wear sneakers and have no loose clothing.

MORNING DROP-OFF
Please make sure you are dropping off your child in the circular drive in the back of the school. The traffic congestion in the front of the school is unsafe for safety patrol students as well as our Brentwood students who are walking to school. If you would like to walk your child in, please park in the church parking lot across from the school, in marked places along Arroyo Seco, or in the back of the school.

PTA MEMBERSHIP CARDS ARE OUT
PTA members should get their membership cards this week. If you haven’t received your card by Monday, please email Lisa Roe at lwroe@grandecom.net. Don’t forget to check the back of the thank you flier for discounts from companies such as La Quinta, Sea World, and Dell.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net
Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net
Bulldog Bark Editors

Brentwood Elementary PTA
6700 Arroyo Seco
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

BARK, Oct. 15, 2009

BARK, OCT. 15, 2009
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
TONIGHT!! Oct. 15 – PTA meeting, “How to help your child with homework,” 6:30 p.m., café
Oct. 19 – Student Holiday, parent-teacher conferences
Oct. 21 – report cards go home
Oct. 21 – CAC meeting, 5:30 p.m., library
Oct. 23 – Coffee Talk, Q&A, bring your questions or just come and talk, 8 a.m. in the library
Oct. 24 – Brentwood “One World” Carnival, 3-7 p.m.
Oct. 26 – Bilingual Storytime for preschoolers, 10:30-11:00 a.m., library
Nov. 13 – Lamarfest – music, games, prizes, food, Lamar Middle School

PTA MEETING TONIGHT!
Tonight’s PTA meeting offers homework help. If you’ve been wondering about the best ways to help your child with homework, you can get some answers. Brentwood teachers will be there to give tips. The taco dinner from Elsi’s Restaurant starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $6 per adult and $3 per child. See you there!

GET YOUR CARNIVAL TICKETS NOW AND SAVE!
Order forms for presale tickets went out in yesterday’s Wednesday folder. Depending on the number of tickets you buy, you could save as much as $5 — and you’ll spend less time in line. We’re also selling wristbands for $15 — an even better deal! Wristbands give your child access to all booths except for Silly String and the Haunted House, and they can’t be used for food or drinks.

Be sure to get your orders in now. Tickets will be sent home in the Oct. 21 Wednesday folder, and wristbands can be picked up on the day of the carnival. If you have questions about tickets, contact Lisa Roe at 496-9471 or lwroe@grandecom.net.

ART NEWS
Art classes have just started our unit on portraits, and are studying the artist Chuck Close. He has work on exhibit at AMOA (Austin Museum Of Art). This Friday, 4th and 5th graders are going to the museum to see his work. Thursdays are FREE museum day at AMOA, so take the kids, play in the Family Lab, and your child will get extra credit in Art!

Kindergarten artwork is up in the hall for a few more weeks. We explored lines and shapes while learning to draw birds and tried out five different artist’s materials. Come see your little artist’s masterpieces!

CARNIVAL IS GETTING CLOSE!!
One World Carnival Spooktacular – Oct. 24 – 3-7 p.m.
You can explore lots of different countries, jump in the bounce house, play games and scare yourself silly in the Haunted House. Wear your costume, too! Delicious food will be available from Tacodeli, Crag O’s and Jim Jim’s Ice. There will be a mariachi band and other performers, too. Fourth and fifth graders should start sharpening their stories for the second annual spooky story contest.
It’s not too late to help. Look for sign-up sheets outside your child’s classroom to volunteer for your class booth. Volunteering for just an hour or two will help our carnival be fun and successful.
We need more ghouls to make the Haunted House extra eerie. It is a great job for a middle or high school student. Do you know a student needing service hours? This is a great way to give back!
Questions? Want to volunteer? Contact Lisa Boone at lboone@grandecom.net, or at her mobile number, 512-796-6752.
Carnival Collection – Please consider donating the following to the carnival:
• Gently used and clean stuffed animals. Collection boxes are in the 100 wing hallway.
• Items for your grade level’s silent auction basket. Each grade has an assigned country. Baskets are provided by the PTA. Ideas for the baskets include: music CDs, tea, coffee, bread, cookie mixes, masks, books, maps, puzzles, games, art, jewelry or gift certificates. Homeroom teachers may also collect money and make collective purchases. Check with your homeroom parent.
Countries:
Africa – Pre-k and K
Australia – 1st
Asia – 2nd
United Kingdom – 3rd
USA and Canada – 4th
Mexico – 5th

HEY, BRENTWOOD DADS
It’s time to go to the DOGS. The DOGS (Dads of Great Students) is a group of Brentwood dads – and granddads, uncles or buddies – who want to have fun with their kids and work on projects to benefit our school. We want to make it easy for men to get involved no matter how much time they have. If we work together, we’ll get to know one another, make Brentwood even better and show our kids we think their education is important.

We’ll have several projects and events during the year, and our first big project is building the Haunted House for the Brentwood One World Carnival on October 24. Many hands make for light work, and we need lots of help with construction, staffing and tear-down of the popular carnival attraction.

For more information about the DOGS or to hear about upcoming events and projects, contact Russell Roe at russellroe@grandecom.net or 453-2358. You can also join the Brentwood DOGS Facebook Group at
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=195848755328 or subscribe to
the DOGS Yahoo group by sending an e-mail to brentwooddogs-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

LAMAR FINE ART ACADEMY PRESENTATION
Come see a presentation on the proposal for Lamar to become a Fine Arts Academy, at the Lamar PTA meeting, Monday, Oct. 26, from 7 to 8 p.m. The agenda also includes an update on “No Bullying” efforts and info on LamarFest, .There will be a brief performance by Lamar Scottie Singers!

GET YOUR SHOTS
FREE children’s immunizations (NOT flu shots) are offered by Children’s/AISD Student Health Services on Monday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Delco Activity Center, 4601 Pecan Brook Drive, 78724. Parents must accompany children and MUST bring the student’s shot record. For more information, please call 324-0195.

COMMUNITY NEWS
VIOLET CROWN COMMUNITY THEATER
Check out the free production of “Rumpelstiltskin,” put on by the Violet Crown Community Theater. Cast members include some Brentwood parents, volunteers and neighbors! The performance will be 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 at Brentwood Park outdoor stage (near the pool). In case of rain, the show will be at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 6800 Woodrow Ave. Please bring a canned good donation for the church’s food bank. Other performance dates are 7 p.m., Oct. 15 at Freddie’s Place on South 1st Street, and 5 p.m. Oct. 18 at Central Market on N. Lamar.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net
Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net
Bulldog Bark Editors
Brentwood Elementary PTA
6700 Arroyo Seco
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

Bulldog Bark 10/8/2009

MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Oct. 9 – Scholastic Book Fair ends at 1:30 p.m., library
Oct. 12 – Bilingual (Spanish/English) storytime for preschoolers, 10:30-11:00 a.m., library – NEW!
Oct. 15 – PTA meeting, “How to help your child with homework,” 6:30 p.m., café
Oct. 19 – Student Holiday, parent-teacher conferences
Oct. 21 – report cards go home
Oct. 21 – CAC meeting, 5:30 p.m., library
Oct. 24 – Brentwood “One World” Carnival, 3-7 p.m.
Oct. 26 – Bilingual Storytime for preschoolers, 10:30-11:00 a.m., library

Nov. 13 – Lamarfest – music, games, prizes, food, Lamar Middle School

BRENTWOOD CARNIVAL – LOTS TO KNOW!

One World Carnival Spooktacular – Oct. 24 – 3-7 p.m.
Come explore Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Mexico, and Asia. There will be more booths, bounce houses and activities this year. Costumes are welcome! There will be food from Taco Deli, Craig O’s, and Jim Jim’s Ice. Thunderbird Café will sell drinks. Don’t forget our traditional haunted house – it is sure to get you in the Halloween mood. Bounce houses are sponsored by Grande Communications. We will also have the second annual spooky story contest for 4th and 5th graders.
• Look for sign-up sheets outside your child’s classroom to volunteer for your class booth. Please give and hour or two – it will help our carnival be fun and successful.
• We will have a mariachi band performing, with Asian and African performers as well.
• Can you be a ghoul? We need them for the Haunted House. It is a great job for a middle or high school student.
• Do you know a student needing service hours? This is a great way to give back!
Questions? Want to volunteer? Contact Lisa Boone at lboone@grandecom.net, or at her mobile number, 512-796-6752.

Carnival Collection – Please consider donating the following to the carnival:
• Gently used and clean stuffed animals. Collection boxes are in the 100 wing hallway.
• Items for your grade level’s silent auction basket. Each grade has an assigned country. Baskets are provided by the PTA. Ideas for the baskets can include: music cds, tea, coffee, bread, cookie mixes, masks, books, maps, puzzles, games, art, jewelry, or gift certificates. Homeroom teachers may also collect money and make collective purchases. Check with your homeroom parent.

Countries:
Africa – Pre-k and K
Australia – 1st
Asia – 2nd
United Kingdom – 3rd
USA and Canada – 4th
Mexico – 5th

NEW! PRESCHOOL STORYTIME IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH
This new event is open to the community, and is for kids ages 18 months to 4 years. We will sing songs, read books, and dance. The storytime will take place at Brentwood’s library, the second and fourth Monday of the month, beginning Oct. 12, from 10:30-11:00 a.m. Make sure to sign inat the front office when you first come in. If this is your first time at Brentwood, remember to bring your ID. If you have any questions, please contact Evangeline Herring at evaherring@gmail.com.

LAMAR NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT
As you may have heard, Lamar Middle School is attempting to become a Fine Arts Middle School Magnet Program and is seeking letters of support from the community. If you support a Lamar Middle School Fine Arts Magnet, please send your letter TODAY to Michelle Barrientes at mbarrie1@austinisd.org. Michelle is heading the magnet task force at Lamar. To learn more about this school within a school endeavor and view a couple of sample letters, go to: http://www.austinisd.org/schools/staff.phtml?teacher=2794&opt=handouts

RECYCLING AT BRENTWOOD
We continue to collect the following items in white bins across from the main office:
Bottle corks, energy bar wrappers, cell phones, toner and ink cartridges, and crocs.
We are also beginning to collect #6 clear plastic for Earth Day (we need lots)! #6 plastic is typically used for take-out containers. Also, we are adding used CD’s and DVD’s to our collection. These items are collected by Balcones Recycling, our paper recycling source.
Lastly, do you have bags of leaves that you wouldn’t mind bringing to the school? Our compost pile needs them! Please drop off near the compost pile on the south side of the school across from the Art Cottage. Please contact Amy Cox at acox1@austinisd.org with any questions.

A PLACE FOR ALL THOSE TINY TOYS
Does anyone have any extra Happy Meal or similar toys they want to donate? If so, Mrs. Jones, Brentwood’s speech therapist, needs them for her “prize box.” Feel free to drop them off in room 111, the front office, or email her at sheryl.w.jones@austinisd.org, and they will be given away to speech students who are doing their “personal best” in speech! And when Mrs. Jones has her fill, continue to bring in those little toys for the Box Top Store. You can leave them at the front office with the name ‘Karrie Manella – Box Top Store’ on them.

HOMEROOM PARENT UPDATE
Thank you to those who have volunteered to serve as homeroom parents. Look for an information packet to come home with your child at the beginning of next week if you have volunteered for this. These teachers still need a homeroom parent:
Castillo (1), Baldwin (K), Breckenridge (2), Avey/Tierney (4/5), Rodriguez (3), McClain(3), O’Dea (5), and Berry (2).
Contact arellano.jessica@gmail.com. If you would like to help one of these great teachers by becoming a homeroom parent.

TEACHER VOLUNTEER NEEDS
Mr. Geiser – 2nd
Once a week commitment for one hour during center time (9-10 a.m.) or writer’s workshop (1:15 -2:00 p.m.) jgeiser@austinisd.org

Ms. Breckenridge – 2nd
Volunteer to stuff Wednesday folders once a week in room 205. pbrecken@austinisd.org

COMMUNITY EVENTS

FRUGAL MEDIA – Oct. 9, 6-10 p.m. – 5400 N. Lamar
Craft fair, live music, DIY demo: duct tape wallet, book drive fundraiser
www.frugalmedia.com (They are a big supporter of our used book sale!)

VIOLET CROWN COMMUNITY THEATER
What’s better than spinning straw into gold? Taking your children to see a free production of “Rumpelstiltskin,” put on by the Violet Crown Community Theater. Cast members include some Brentwood parents, volunteers, and neighbors! The performance will be at 5 p.m., Oct. 17 at Brentwood Park (by the pool). In case of rain, the show will be at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 6800 Woodrow Ave. Please bring a canned good donation for the church’s food bank. Other performance dates are 7 p.m., Oct. 15 at Freddie’s Place on South 1st Street, and 5 p.m., Oct. 18 at Central Market on N. Lamar.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net
Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net
Bulldog Bark Editors

Brentwood Elementary PTA
6700 Arroyo Seco
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

BARK, Oct. 1, 2009

BULLDOG BARK, OCT. 1, 2009
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Oct. 3 – Kick-off Celebration for Marathon Kids, 9 a.m. at UT Mike Myers Stadium
Oct. 5-9 – Scholastic Book Fair, library
Oct. 15 – PTA meeting, “How to help your child with homework,” 6:30 p.m., café
Oct. 19 – Student Holiday, parent-teacher conferences
Oct. 21 – Report cards go home
Oct. 21 – CAC Meeting, 5:30 p.m., library
Oct. 24 – Brentwood “One World” Carnival, 3-7 p.m.

Nov. 13 – Lamarfest: A Night to Remember, music, food and fun

PIZZA NIGHT
Tonight is the first Thursday of the month, which means it is Brentwood Night at CraigO’s Pizza and Pastaria. CraigO’s will give 10 percent of its total sales for the night to Brentwood Elementary. Dine on an Italian supper this evening, while helping raise money for the school. CraigO’s is at 5501 Balcones Drive (at MoPac and 2222).

BOOK FAIR
The Fall Scholastic Book Fair will be next week. Hours will be
7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday
7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (open late)
7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday (open early)
7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday (closes early)
Each child will visit the Book Fair to make a wish list. Parents will get the wish list and cost of those books and can send money to the school. You can also donate books from the teacher’s wish list. This fund-raiser helps pay for hundreds of new books at the library.

GET TO KNOW BRENTWOOD
Please join us for the new bilingual(Spanish/English) storytime for kids ages 18 months to 4 years old. We will sing songs, read books, and dance to the beat of the music. The storytime will take place at Brentwood’s library, the second and fourth Monday of the month, starting Oct.12, from 10:30-11:00 a.m.

Make sure to sign in at the front office before you go to the library. If you have any question, please contact Evangeline at evaherring@gmail.com

WE STILL NEED HOMEROOM PARENTS

Thanks so much to all of the wonderful parents who have volunteered, but we still need homeroom parents for many of the classes at Brentwood! Please consider helping out your child’s teacher in this special way. If you have any questions about this great job, please contact Jessica Arellano (arellano.jessica@gmail.com or 736-4257) or Andrea Roberts (roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net or 323-6974). Teachers who still need a homeroom parent are: Bilich (Pre-K), Calderon (1), Castillo (1), Baldwin (K), Breckenridge (2), Obregon (2), Avey/Tierney (4/5), Rodriguez (3), McClain(3), Gonzalez (5), O’Dea (5), and Berry (2).

ONE WORLD CARNIVAL SPOOKTACULAR
Plans are still coming together for Brentwood’s big “One World” carnival, where families can explore different countries. There will be booths, bounce houses and activities. Costumes are welcome! There will be food and drinks from Taco Deli, Craig O’s, Jim Jim’s Ice, and Thunderbird Coffee, as well as the traditional Haunted House and the spooky story contest for 4th and 5th graders.
How can parents/friends help?
• Look for the sign-up sheets outside your child’s classroom to volunteer for your class booth. If everyone gives an hour or two, the carnival will be a great success.
• We are looking for cultural acts to participate in our carnival. If you know of anyone who would love to perform, please contact Lisa Boone at lboone@grandecom.net or 512-796-6752.
• Could you be a scary ghoul for the Haunted House? This is a great way for Brentwood alumni in middle school or high school to give back and have fun.
• If you know of any service groups that are interested in giving back to the local community for this event, contact Lisa at lboone@grandecom.net or 512-796-6752.

DREAM DINNERS FUND-RAISER FOR BRENTWOOD
Dream Dinners on Mesa Drive will donate 10% of all revenues to Brentwood from customers who let them know they are friends of Brentwood Elementary! Dream Dinners can provide ready-made dinners for pick-up. Or customers can go to the Dream Dinners kitchen and assemble the meals from ingredients provided. Dream Dinners is located at 8127 Mesa Drive. To find out more and to see the menu, visit www.dreamdinners.com/mesawoods
WALK TO SCHOOL
Did you know that October is Walk to School month? Not walking to school is a missed opportunity for kids to get fresh air and exercise. Roughly 10 percent of children nationwide walk to school regularly. Even among those kids living within a mile of their school, only 25 percent are regular walkers. Physical activity recommendations for children suggest that they need a variety of activities each day. Walking or cycling to and from school is an ideal way to get some of that activity at no extra cost to your family or the environment!
In terms of improving our air quality, October is Austin’s last chance to reduce ground-level ozone levels in order to avoid restrictions from the Environmental Protection Agency that could hurt economic growth. So try having your child walk, bike, scooter or carpool to school if you live nearby!

OPEN HOUSE FOR McCALLUM ACADEMY

The Fine Arts Academy at McCallum High School will hold its Open House for prospective students at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6. Eighth-grade students and their families will have a chance to learn about the Academy programs, learn about the application process and meet Academy teachers and students. The Open House will be in the theatre of the school, at 5600 Sunshine Drive.
The Fine Arts Academy is a diverse program with more than 500 students who have come from every AISD middle school. Examples of the Academy¹s summer arts activities:
Academy theatre students and their teachers studied in Costa Rica; competed at the national Thespian Festival in Nebraska, and performed in Seussical, the AISD Summer Musical

68 Academy music students competed at Texas State Solo and Ensemble in June.
120 choir and orchestra students performed Schubert¹s Mass at Carnegie Hall.
For more information, call 414-7506.

PREVENTION IS THE BEST CURE
We can’t say it enough: personal hygiene, particularly hand-washing is your child’s best weapon against the swine flu (and other germs too!) this fall and winter. If you haven’t seen it yet, the video linked below is a great educational tool. Please watch it and learn along with your children a good habit we can all adopt to help stop the spread of germs and viruses. www.coughsafe.com/media.html

FREE RECYCLING OF BATTERIES, OIL, PAINT (LATEX) and ANTI-FREEZE
The Southwest Texas Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action is offering a free recycling collection on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 8 to 11 a.m., for items that many find difficult to recycle. The collection is open to all noncommercial members of the community. Simply drive up, provide your zip code, and volunteers will help unload your items.

The collection will accept ONLY the following:
_ Batteries (household, auto)
_ Oil in a closed container (motor oil, cooking oil)
_ Paint in a closed container (latex only, wet or dry)
_ Antifreeze in a closed container
_ Handheld electronics (phones, media players, games)
_ CFL bulbs (unbroken glass only)

The location is the parking lot north of St. John’s United Methodist Church, 2140 Allandale Road (2222 @ Burnet Road) that is shared with Lamar Middle School. After the collection volunteers will take these items to local recycling facilities.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net
Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net
Bulldog Bark Editors
Brentwood Elementary PTA
6700 Arroyo Seco
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.

Bulldog Bark 9/24/09

BULLDOG BARK

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Sept. 25 – School Pictures
Sept. 26 – Brentwood gardening, 9 a.m. at circle drive
Sept. 28 – Math Pentatholon Parent Info Meeting, 7 p.m., library

Oct. 5-9 – Scholastic Book Fair, library
Oct. 7 – PTA No-Hassle Fundraiser begins
Oct. 15 – PTA meeting, “How to help your child with homework,” 6:30 p.m., café
Oct. 19 – Student Holiday, parent-teacher conferences
Oct. 21 – PTA No-Hassle Fundraiser Ends, report cards go home
Oct. 21 – CAC Meeting, 5:30 p.m., library
Oct. 24 – Brentwood “One World” Carnival, 3-7 p.m.

***SCHOOL PICTURES TOMORROW!***

COME GET DIRTY
Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who have come out the past few Saturday mornings to work on the teaching gardens! If you want to do it again or missed it last time, you’ll have another chance to get dirty and have some fun this Saturday morning. Volunteers are needed to shovel new soil into gardens at Brentwood so that fall planting can begin! Please meet at the circle driveway at 9 a.m. Children are welcome to help and there are some adult and child-sized shovels at the school. If you have your own shovels and gloves, please bring those as well. Also, if anyone has a pick-up truck we can borrow or send you to pick up dirt, please contact Annie Harnett at ahartnett@grandecom.net. Thanks!

WE NEED HOMEROOM PARENTS
We still need homeroom parents for about half the classes at Brentwood! Please consider helping out your child’s teacher in this special way. If you have any questions about this great job, please contact Jessica Arellano (arellano.jessica@gmail.com or 736-4257) or Andrea Roberts (roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net or 323-6974). Here are the teachers that still need a homeroom parent:
Young (PPCD), Bilich (Pre-K), Fisher (K), Calderon (1), Castillo (1), Baldwin (K), Breckenridge (2), Obregon (2), Avey/Tierney (4/5), Mahlstadt/Svrcek (2/3), Rodriguez (3), McClain(3), Gonzalez (5), Odea (5)

ONE WORLD CARNIVAL SPOOKTACULAR
Come explore Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Canada, Mexico, and Asia. There will be booths, bounce houses, and activities this year. Costumes are welcome! There will be food and drinks from Taco Deli, Craig O’s, Jim Jim’s Ice, and Thunderbird Coffee. Don’t forget our traditional Haunted House! We will also have the second annual spooky story contest for 4th and 5th graders. Here are ways you can help:
• Look for the sign-up sheets outside your child’s classroom to volunteer for your class booth. If everyone gives and hour or two, the carnival will be a great success.
• We are looking for cultural acts to participate in our carnival. If you know of anyone who would love to perform, please contact Lisa Boone at lboone@grandecom.net or 512-796-6752.
• Could you be a spook for the Haunted House? This is a great way for a Brentwood alumni in middle school or high school to give back and have fun.
• If you know of any service groups who are interested in giving back to the local community for this event, contact Lisa at lboone@grandecom.net or 512-796-6752.

AISD STRATEGIC PLANNIING SURVEY
AISD is looking for input with its Strategic Planning. This plan will set the direction for our district and this is your opportunity to make your voice heard. The deadline is today, Sept. 24.

http://www.austinisd.org/inside/initiatives/strategic_plan/framework.phtml

MATH PENTATHOLON PARENT INFO MEETING
Monday, Sept. 28th, 7 p.m., in the library
Come find out all about Brentwood’s new Math Pentatholon after school program for 2nd-5th graders. Math Pentatholon is a program of interactive problem-solving games, which strengthens basic math concepts and skill and stimulates creative thinking while developing problem-solving skills. A critical feature of the program is the linkage of arithmetic reasoning with geometric/spatial and logical/scientific thinking. And, it’s FUN!

TEACHER VOLUNTEER NEEDS
The volunteer coordinators for the PTA and the school are trying to match up parent and community volunteers to teacher and student needs. Here are some current needs. Contact Andrea Roberts (roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net) or Luz Suarez-Wallace (super_longhorn@yahoo.com) to help out!
Long/Sluyter – K/1
1. Assist students during centers (M-F, 10:50-11:45)
2. Assist students during writer’s workshop (M-F, 1:50-2:20)
3. Wednesday folders (W afternoon)
4. Display and file student work (M-F, 9:15-10:00)
5. Read with students (M-F, 7:45-8:05)
6. Make copies (M-F, 9:15-10:00)
7. Prepare materials at home and/or school (TBA)

Slaten – Library
1. Escort kinder and 1st graders to library for new library books (mornings)
2. Shelve books and process new books
3. Make copies
4. Update bulletin boards
5. Assist with library programs – birthday book club, book club
6. Assist children during Scholastic Book Fairs (Oct. 5-9 and May 17-21)

Go Green/Environmental Club
1. Assist Amy Cox during Monday meetings after school
2. Garden upkeep

Anderson – Art
1. Hang artwork for shows (once a month or so, file art back into student files)
2. Help with school website

Brown – Special Ed.
1. Help organize and set up files for a few hours, on a weekend morning
2. Put together a teaching easel (about 1 hour)
3. Be a caring mentor for a child with special needs

Calderon – 1st grade bilingual
1. Assist students during centers (M-F, 10:45-12:15)
2. Assist students during writer’s workshop (Tue-F, 2:00-2:35)
3. Display and file student work (M-F, 9:30-10:00)
4. Read with students (M-F, 7:45-8:05)
5. Make copies (M-F, 9:15-10:00)
6. Prepare materials at home and/or school

Noble, Suttle – AI-PPCD
1. Go to Read Elem. and make die-cut shapes (1-2 times a month)

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Andrea Roberts roberts_andrea@sbcglobal.net
Carolyn Lindell clindell@grandecom.net
Bulldog Bark Editors

Brentwood Elementary PTA
6700 Arroyo Seco
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-2039 (front office)

http://brentwoodpta.wordpress.com/

Want to receive these weekly newsletters as emails? Just go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brentwood-elementary/ to join the Bulldog Bark.