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Dear Friend of Terraset,
This is our first edition of TouchPoint
for the 2010-2011 school year. We are looking forward to a great year
and invite you to join in the many events and programs we have to
offer.
 If you are new to Terraset, our PTA is very active. Visit www.terrasetpta.org
to get an overview of everything we do! Also, if you know of anyone
else who will be joining our school community, please forward this to
them so they can sign up for our newsletter!
Maybe you will no longer be associated
with Terraset and prefer not to receive this newsletter any longer? See
the link at the bottom of this message to unsubscribe.
This promises to be a very exciting year
for Terraset's PTA. We have been reviewing the surveys you submitted at
the end of the year and as a result will be re-vamping our Fall
Fundraiser. But more importantly, your support for the major programs
and events currently offered was very strong so we will do our best to
maintain them for you.
So, let's get started! Keep reading to
find out what is going on at the moment and gear yourself up for an
active start to the year! The key dates are listed at the end of this
newsletter.
If there is information that you would like to see included in this publication, please send us your thoughts.
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| New Outdoor Classroom! |
Click to see larger view
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Thanks to a grant the PTA received from
Lowes we are planning to install another outdoor classroom for Terraset
near the Butterfly Garden on the school roof.
On August 28, Lorin Randall,
will coordinate a team of volunteers to dig out the classroom
area, pave it, build a retaining wall and install a bench.
The materials can be funded through the
grant, however we cannot use this money for labor. So, we are looking
for volunteers... about 10-20. If you have a strong back, enjoy
working outdoors and would like the opportunity to get to know some of
the other parents at the school, please make yourself available on
Saturday, August 28th. Email volunteer@terrasetpta.org to let us know you'll be there.
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| Vegetable Garden Thriving |
 The
Terraset gardens have been thriving over summer. Thanks to a team of
volunteers made up of the Bailey, Boatwright, Bobby, Falcone, Grant,
Handerahan, Lowther, Rose, Sogandares, Stobie, and Thomas Families --
along with Faye Codding -- we have pumpkins, gourds and
tomatoes growing in the vegetable garden. The butterfly garden is
also looking very lush after all the summer storms we have been having.
The vegetable garden was planted
by last year's kindergartners and will be harvested by this year's
kindergarten group. We anticipate that many other grade levels will be
able to take advantage of observing and working the gardens as part of
their science studies too! In the meantime, we have been watering,
weeding, monitoring the nutrients and keeping away the deer! Hopefully
everything will still be looking good by the time all the kids get
back to school!
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| Helping Kids Adjust from Summer to School |
Summer
break can feel like a long time for most families and regular routines
have probably flown out the window. Educational consultant, Laurie
Hurley, provides tips for easing the transition from summertime to
school time:
- About a week before school starts, have
your children go to bed at the time they will when school begins. Set
their alarm or wake them up early. It's difficult for some kids to
adjust to going to bed and getting up earlier after having an entire
summer of sleeping in or staying up late.
- Buy your school supplies early.
For the child who is not organized, this is a good way to begin the
school year on the right foot. At Terraset, school supplies are pooled,
so no need to label everything. Buy some extra supplies to keep at home
just in case.
- If you have a kindergartner, walk to
school two or three days before school begins (or drive if they take a
bus or you will be driving them). This helps acquaint them with what
they will actually be doing that first day and can work wonders for
alleviating the first-day jitters. If your child is especially anxious,
ask if you can let them visit their new classroom for five or 10
minutes the day before school starts.
- Get backpacks ready the night before school starts.
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| Kindergarten Playgroup Has Started! |
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If you have a rising kindergartner, give
them a chance to make some new school friends before school starts!
Join our kindergarten playgroup! Two groups will be meeting between now
and when school starts. Come at either 4pm on Tuesdays or 5pm on
Wednesdays to the Terraset playground.
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| Looking for Something To Do? |
If you are like most of us, your
child-summer-entertainment-creativity may be starting to wane by now.
Well, there is always Box Tops! We will be collecting them again this
year to raise funds for the school. So, lets get a jump start and
complete this Summer Edition Box Tops Sheet. Kids can return their Box Tops during the first week of school! By the way, if sticking the Box Tops
onto the sheet is too much work... no problem! Just put them in a
baggie with your child's name on it. That saves our volunteers having
to unstick them again anyway!
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| eScrip 10% Back to Schools |
 Help Terraset earn additional dollars! It's easy! It's profitable! It's for a limited time!
Program runs from August 11 through September 14, 2009.
Purchase any of the more than 3,000 items
at Safeway marked with the school bus logo during this time and
Terraset will receive 10% of the purchase price. The top 100 schools
will receive an additional $1,000 bonus!
After September 14, turn in your receipts to Terraset and the school receives the cash value.
Even Better -- link your safeway club card
right now and the school will automatically receive your contribution
-- no receipts needed! Check our fundraising pages for details. Sign-up for all our other grocery receipts fundraisers while you are there!
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| Call for GRACE Art Docents |
GRACE Art is
one of the most popular volunteer opportunities at Terraset. Each
month a volunteer docent presents an artist -- or some aspect of art --
to a class and then helps the students to complete an art project based
on the presentation.
If you have a couple of hours each month
to volunteer and would enjoy presenting an art project to your child's
class, please express your interest via email to Alison Stobie --
alison_stobie@hotmail.com
Current docents are also asked to email Alison to confirm their continued interest in the program.
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| FLEX Teachers for Sunrise Valley |
Sunrise Valley Elementary School (SVES) is
looking for teachers for their FLEX language program, especially
German, Spanish and Italian. This program is offered by SVES
PTA as an alternative to the FLES program available at Terraset.
The time commitment would be 1-3 hours a
week for 15-20 weeks. Classes are held before or after school. It
is a paid position. No teaching certification in the subject area is
required. You can visit the website at http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OACE/flex.htm.
To apply to FCPS as a FLEX teacher, please call 703-658-1291 or
e-mail:joyia.raftelis@fcps.edu. For positions available at Sunrise
Valley Elementary, please email the parent volunteer at alexiagosp@hotmail.com.
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| Interested in Sponsoring our Newsletter? |
 Terraset
PTA wants to ensure that the funds raised, through the hard work
of its members, go to the school and its community. So, we try to
minimize operation costs. Your sponsorship of this newsletter would
help us do just that!
For a small contribution, you could
promote your business or cause in this space! You sponsorship would be
acknowledged in ALL electronic communications from the Terraset PTA
during that month.
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