August 27, 2007 PTO EXECUTIVE BOARD 2007-2008 President Rebecca Bankey Vice President LuAnn Parker Recording Secretary Becky Phinney Corresponding Secretary Jennifer Harris Treasurer Ginger Yost Assistant Treasurer Jessica Walter Advisor Kay Norton 2007-2008 General Board Academic Fair* Book Fair Lori Grillo Cafe Team Brenda Merritt Commitment Programs Janell Rogers Courtyard Melissa Meyhoefer Cultural Arts Jan Oden Directory Yvonne O'Toole Fall Fundraiser (Innisbrook) Jannell Rogers Fall Movie Night* Historian* Holiday Festival* Landscape Julie Oldenburg Lead Room Parent Lisa Treon Media Center Lori Grillo Newsletter Cindy Allen & Tiffany Curwen Playground Don Shoaf Publicity Debra Shoaf School Board Representative Cindy Allen School Spirit Nights Jennifer Johnson School Supplies Wendy Livingston Scrip Kay Norton Sound System Don Shoaf Spirit* Spring Fundraiser Tammy Smith Staff Appreciation Chrissy O'Neal & Jennifer Norton Star Tree Jamie Feldman Webpage Brenda Evans Workroom Julie Powell *This committee has members, but needs a chairperson. the county for the other half every year. Now my wish has come true. We now have enough of the new picnic-style tables for all students to use. I hope you will come by and see them. Braelinn is now a cluster center for the ELL program. English Language Learners have traditionally been served at their home schools, and a teacher traveled to their school to help with instruction. This model is not always the best, as that teacher lost a lot of instructional time traveling from school to school. Now we are the host school for ELL students at Peeples, Brooks, Huddleston, and Braelinn. At the present time there are no students coming to us from Peeples or Brooks. Mrs. Jimmie Ann Davis is the Braelinn teacher who instructs our ELL students. We are glad to welcome the Huddleston students who are joining us now. They are our newest Braelinn Stars! I hope you are enjoying the school year, getting to know your child's teacher, and feeling a part of the Braelinn family. Please do not ever hesitate to contact Mrs. Christensen or me if you have any concerns. You should also be in contact with your child's teacher. Help us keep the lines of communication open. Remember to read to and with your child. Review math facts to keep them sharp. Mrs. Bell From the Desk of Mrs. Bell Now that we are back in school we hope that routines have been established and the dust has settled. Here are a few items that might interest you about Braelinn. You might never have noticed that we have a bulletin board that spotlights Braelinn students and staff. It is located across from the Media Center as you turn the corner to go down the back hall. You will find newspaper clippings of Braelinn Stars. If you ever want to have a newspaper picture or article placed there, simply drop it by the office. Mrs. Richart will make sure your child's picture is prominently displayed for all to see. Make sure you check it out the next time you come to school. We usually invite parents to join their children for lunch in the courtyard on a specific day of the week. This year we have a problem with the bees in the courtyard area. They have found our pear tree to be a great food source. We are delaying the start of lunch in the courtyard until the pears are gone and the bee problem has been eliminated. We appreciate your cooperation. You will be notified when it is safe to eat in the courtyard. We hope you will notice the new tables in the cafeteria. Five years ago the PTO purchased enough tables for half of the cafeteria. I have been begging Volume 17, Issue 975 Robinson Road School Office and Clinic: 770-631-5410 Peachtree City, Georgia 30269 After School Program: 770-487-394 www.braelinnelementary.org Fax: 770-631-5430 Stars of Today and Tomorrow Do you have a question for Mrs. Bell? Email your question to braelinnnewsletter@gmail.com Photo Opportunities Help us earn plants for landscaping Courtyard Plan Needs Volunteers Are you interested in gardening?  Do you like the idea of involving the kids for some activities and teaching them horticulture and character lessons from gardening as well:  patience, service, hard work? We will need volunteers to help maintain the courtyard: weed, fertilize, water, replant as needed, prune and general cleanup.  We will do some of these things with children from various classes.  We will also need volunteers to help with planting a few Fall veggies and harvesting them as gifts to Mrs. Bell and/or other staff.  We hope to involve the kids using a few 20 minute sessions with them from time to time.  We will also work on creating a book to document the courtyard including its plant names, their maintenance requirements, the garden's recommended maintenance schedule in general, and some photos of things done in the courtyard with the kids. The more interested volunteers we have the more we can do fun with it with the children.  There are many things to teach them through a garden: not only horticulture but character issues like service, patience and hard work. Please contact Melissa Meyhoefer, 770-487-6801 or meyhoefer@comcast.net to become involved. small bin on the PTO table just inside the cafeteria…and clean out that drawer you've been meaning to get to anyway! We receive a 7% credit for receipts collected that total over $5000. We are Pike's Nurseries Greenback Program is still in effect and I'd wager some of you saved your receipts over the summer and put them in
   

This has been an absolutely won­derful start to the year!!  It is so exciting to see everyone and meet so many new parents!  Thank you for your encouraging notes and thoughts as the school year begins. 

 

Thanks to Cindy Allen and Mi­chael Curwen for making the Braelinn Star online a reality! The newsletter is still "under construc­tion" so it may not look the same next issue. Please email feedback or articles for publication to braelinnnewsletter@gmail.com.

 

Meet the Teacher was a huge suc­cess.  Thanks to you, the PTO is able to fund the school clinic and give the teachers each an ink car­tridge that they would normally have to purchase themselves.  

 

Tissues and Treats---we didn't even use tissues!!  But the treats were great…thank you to the Ex­ecutive Board Bakers.

 

  

Our Newcomer's Coffee was fantas­tic!  Thank you to the newcomers and veteran Braelinn parents who attended.  There were so many ques­tions asked and answered—and there was food!!  Another Coffee is sched­uled for November—it's for anyone with Braelinn questions. 

 

Tentatively, here is what you can expect on a regular basis on email from the PTO:  Once a week— A Sneak Peek of the Week ; Once a month—The Braelinn Star .  Also, please check our Braelinn Website, www.braelinnelementary.org. Brenda Evans keeps it updated fre­quently and the calendar is right there.

 

Our PTO meetings generally take place on the 2 nd Thursday of every month (with no meeting in Decem­ber).  They alternate between 9:30 morning meetings and 7:00 evening meetings.  They are open to every­one; they are a great way to meet other parents and get the inside

 

scoop on what's happening  at Braelinn!! 

Our Innisbrook Fall Fundraiser featuring wrapping paper, gifts and more began Friday, August 24.  I know Janell Rogers will be keep­ing you updated on Innisbrook.  Also, mark your calendars for October 12, our Fall Movie Night. 

 

A special thank you to the Execu­tive Board—they really do a lot!  From being cashiers at Meet the Teacher to making posters and moving tables, they have excellent advice and I am proud to work with them!  They are:  Kay Nor­ton, LuAnn Parker, Ginger Yost, Jessica Walter, Jennifer Harris and Becky Phinney. 

 

Suggestions, comments, positive feedback, concerns are always welcome. Looking forward to a fantastic year! 

 

Rebecca Bankey

 

  
  Braelinn Elementary School Calendar Braelinn Open House—Tuesday, August 28, Grades K—2: K—6p.m., 1—6:45 p.m., 2—7:30 p.m. Braelinn Open House—Thursday, August 30, Grades 3—5: 3—6 p.m., 4—6:45 p.m., 5—7:30 p.m. CogAT Testing for 2nd grade—Tuesday-Thursday, September 4-6 Running Club begins—Tuesday, September 4 Fall school pictures—Tuesday, September 11 PTO meeting—Thursday, September 13, 7 p.m. Progress Reports go home—Monday, Septermber 17 ITBS testing for 3rd and 5th grades—Monday-Friday, September 17-21 Fayette County Board of Education meeting—Monday, September 17, 7 p.m. Innisbrook sale ends—September 18 Spirit Nights: Beef O'Brady's—August 27; Bruster's– August 31; Mellow Mushroom—September 4; Mike & C's—September 11; Chick-fil-A—September 25. Happy Birthday! Pam Herres—Aug. 4, Barb Casini—Aug. 14, Ashley Mitchell—Aug. 29, Teresa Collins—Aug. 31, Roselyn Roberts—Sep. 9, Lynn Norman—Sep. 10, Mae Stokes—Sep. 15, Marianne Pegues—Sep. 18, Vicki Porter—Sep. 20, Diana Menick— Sep. 25 Getting Kids to School is the First Step to a Great Education by Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools The first days of school are very exciting, as everyone comes together to make sure that the academic year gets off to a great start. At the start of each school year, I'm often asked