PTSA NEWS

							                                          June 18, 2012
                                 11/12 School Year, Volume 6, Issue 24


                                       SCHOOL NEWS
                           “Reach Far, Be Grand”
          We make Grand choices that don’t cause a problem for anyone.

Did you know…that there are 76 days of summer break? Enjoy!!

As we leave for the summer we do have some staffing changes. Please know, these are not
final and we could have more changes over the summer.

We are sad to say goodbye to: Shelly Dolen –kinder & Lindsay Thomas -kinder, Kristine
Murray – 2nd Grade, Nicole Lockwood – 3rd Grade, Krista Guenser – 3rd Grade, Michael
Herzberg – 4th Grade, Melissa Turnbull – 5th Grade, Lyn Pease - psych, Nicole Siedler –LRC 1,
Vicki Turcotte –custodian

                     Allocated
                     Staffing
Grade Level:         Number:        Teachers:

Kindergarten:             3         Lauren Lanham (am/pm)
                                    OPEN
                                    OPEN
First Grade:              8         Barb Holzer
                                    Sandy Hamasaki
                                    Katie Stewart
                                    Kristin Smith
                                    Ashley Hirst
                                    Lori Cooks
                                    Julie Pendergast
                                    Michelle Face
Second Grade:             7        Emily Lee
                                   Annie Douglas
                                   Carey Brown
                                   Kristin Walerius
                                   Sarah Forkner
                                   Heather Atkinson
                                   Callie Nordell
Third Grade:              7        Denise Mickelson
                                   Debbie Haroutoonian
                                   Renee DeTolla
                                   Tiffany Hale
                                   Kaley Evanger
                                   OPEN
                                   OPEN
Fourth Grade:             5        Allison King
                                   Sanjana Pathak
                                   Becky Rappin
                                   Katie Gahnberg
                                   Sydney Herzberg
Fifth Grade:              5        Darrel Nichols
                                   Maureen Bacon
                                   Jessica Trotter
                                   Wendy Marsh
                                   OPEN
Resource Room:            1        Connie Face

BEL:                     1.0       Megan Lusk
PSYCH:                    .5       OPEN
LST:                      .5       OPEN

End of Year Dates and Times
June 18, Last day of school for AM and PM Kindergarten, regular hours
June 19, Last Day of School for Full Day K through 5th grade, Early Release, 11:45am

Grand Ridge Timeline
Please see our Timeline for important events leading up to the next school year:
2012-2013 Timeline

Counting All Kids!! Watch your mail for LIME GREEN “nose count” cards
“Counting noses” each summer is the way we make sure that we have enough teachers and
supplies on the first day of school, AND that we have all student names included on the class
lists when they are published.

Because family plans can change between June and August, each summer we ask you to verify
Grand Ridge’s enrollment by double checking the records we have on file. Bright lime green
cards mailed to you in July list your family’s student(s) that we believe are coming to Grand
Ridge next year.
When your card arrives in mid-July, you can verify our information by using one of two easy
methods:

   1. You can correct or validate the card’s information and return it to us through the mail
      (Postage is pre-paid for you)
   2. You can go to the District website to the “verify enrollment” link and send an e-mail to
      us telling us whether our lime green card information is correct or needs correcting

Thank you for taking the time to help ensure that our numbers are correct, that our classrooms
are prepared, and that your child’s name appears on a class list for that very important first
day of school.

Grand Ridge Elementary has achieved Level Two of the Green Schools Program!!
Sing along with us (to the tune of: Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

    Turn, Turn, Turn off the lights
    when you leave a room
    Compost, reduce, reuse, recycle
    Important things to do!

    Some of the new green things we’re doing at school:

      Students (60 Earth Heroes from 3rd, 4th, 5th grades) help daily to monitor lunchroom
       recycling and garbage collection containers to ensure proper recycling and waste
       disposal.
      Every room (classrooms, bathrooms, conference rooms…) has a reminder to shut
       off lights whenever people leave.
      Each classroom has an Energy Conservation Checklist to be completed at end of the
       day.
      All utensils used with cafeteria lunches are compostable.
      3rd graders collect & recycle alkaline batteries from GR families



                            GRAND RIDGE PTSA NEWS
       For more information on the following articles, go to www.GrandRidgePTSA.org


A Message from the Presidents
It has been a really fun, eventful 2 years that have gone by really fast! We have enjoyed our
time as Co-Presidents of the PTSA and want to thank everyone for all of their support. As a
volunteer-based organization, it takes a lot of people putting their heart into the work to
make the PTSA run, and each and every volunteer is essential. Grand Ridge has a wonderful
group of supportive parents and we greatly appreciate all of you. We want to give a special
thank you to the creative, thoughtful, hardworking PTSA Board of Directors for their passion
& dedication. We also want to thank Principal Otley and all of the teachers & staff who have
been so wonderful to work with. Grand Ridge is a great school! We hope that you have a fun
summer!

Carolyn Kennedy & Kari Leon
PTSA Co-Presidents

Lost & Found… items to be donated June 19th
The Lost and Found pile has grown to quite a collection this spring. There are numerous coats,
sweaters, and other items that are waiting to find their owner. Please check Lost & Found
located at the bottom of the main stairwell ASAP. Unclaimed lost & found items will be
donated to charity Tuesday, June 19th.

Thank You to All of Our Committee Chairs … You are Extraordinary!
Thank you to the many hands and hearts of our Committee Chairs without which we would
not have survived.

KinderConnect Summertime Playdates!
If you have an incoming kindergartener this fall, come meet other parents and incoming
kindergarteners at the park. For details, go to:
http://grandridgeptsa.org/Article/View/KinderConnect-schedule

Reflections
The Reflections art program theme for the 2012-2013 school year is: "The Magic of a
Moment..."
The Reflections Program is a National PTA and WSPTA cultural arts competition. The purpose
is to provide an opportunity for students to use their creative talents by expressing themselves
through their own original works.

PTSA Accomplishments
With the dedication of so many, the PTSA was able to do a lot this year. Here are just a few
of the highlights, please see www.grandridgeptsa.org for more.

      The Auction raised over $68,000 for Science, Art, Music and Literacy
      The Book Swap collected over 2000 books that we redistributed to students & teachers
      The Diversity Council was created and gave over 500 volunteer hours for more than
       10,000 crafts and almost 1200 hours learning about other cultures & countries.
      Feed Gilman raised over $15,000 for classroom enrichment
      Grand Ridge Guys was created and started a new game night
      The Science Fair offered 17 different vendors for wonderful hands on science fun!
Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Elaine Eckert, our May Volunteer of the Month. Elaine volunteers weekly
in the library. She pops in frequently to help shelve books, enter holds and more. She and her
family have also donated many new books! She is reliable and efficient, and her enthusiasm for
books is evident.
Thank you Elaine, for all you do here at Grand Ridge!
If you would like to nominate someone for this GRAND honor, please email their name and
your reasons for nominating them to erinfw@ihmail.com

Fundraising
Keep supporting your PTSA all summer long for FREE! Earn up to 4% of your purchase
amount for Grand Ridge PTSA by swiping your “B Caring” card every time you shop at your
neighborhood Bartell Drug Store! Registration forms can be found on the PTSA bulletin board
or picked up at any Bartell Drug location (be sure to indicate “Grand Ridge” on the back of
the form) Its FREE and EASY …please sign up TODAY! Contact LoriAnn Morrey at
grptsafundraising@gmail.com with any questions.

Jamba Juice is perfect for summer time and is an easy way to continue to support your PTSA!
Just swipe your Jamba Juice card every time you visit Jamba Juice (sorry, not the locations
inside of Safeway) and they will automatically send us a percentage of the money from your
purchase. The key ring swipe cards can be found in the Grand Ridge office. Contact LoriAnn
Morrey at grptsafundraising@gmail.com

Box Tops!
Be sure to keep saving box tops! We’ll collect again in the fall.

Move-a-Thon
LET'S GET MOVING!! Interested in helping out with an exciting new fundraiser for next year?
Our "Move-a-Thon" Information Meeting will be held Friday, June 15th from 10am-11am at
the Starbucks inside Swedish Hospital. Come and join in the discussion to hear what's in store
for this new fundraiser, scheduled for the fall, or just come to hear what all the buzz is about!
Contact LoriAnn Morrey at grptsafundraising@gmail.com with any questions. We hope to see
you there!


                                         CALENDAR
June
18 ......... 1st Grade Picnic 11:30am-1:30pm
18 ......... 5th Grade Farewell at Grand Ridge MPR, 2:00-3:30pm
18 ......... Kindergarten Report Cards
18 ......... Last day of school for AM and PM Kindergarten, Regular Hours
19 ......... FDK and 1st-5th Report Cards
19 ......... Last Day of School for Full Day K through 5th Grade, Early Release, 11:45am