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Upcoming PTA Meeting
Upcoming PTA Meeting on October 18th at 7:00pm
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A Message from Your PTA Co-Presidents
A great, big THANK YOU to all the Pleasant Hill students, families, and staff that helped us raise funds for our PTA with the Run for Fun! If you forgot to send in your donation, don't worry. It's not too late! It looks like we made our fundraising goal, but we'll have the final figures in the next issue of Pleasant Views. Already this year, the Pleasant Hill PTA has successfully hosted a Back to School Picnic, had a Birthday Book Club sale, and organized the Room Parents for each classroom. In October, the PTA is sponsoring Picture Day, Moms & Munchies, Reflections Gallery, Book Fair and Family Reading Night. As you can see, the PTA is dedicated to our children's educational success, health, and well-being through strong family and community engagement.
By supporting the Pleasant Hill PTA, you are helping us to reach this goal. The three main ways of supporting our PTA are:
2. Volunteer - Did you know that there are still 4 committee chair opportunities open? We need a chairperson for Publicity, Environmental Education (co-chair), Grant Writing (co-chair), and Parent Education. If you'd like to know more about these positions, please contact us! Also, every committee needs volunteers for events throughout the year.
3. Financial support - Run for Fun, "Trash for Cash" programs (Box Tops), Manna gift cards, and cash donations are welcome anytime!
Most of you know that our PTA sponsors family events which bring the Pleasant Hill community together for socializing. Did you know that we also provide school support, culture and arts events, support for school clubs, and services for students and parents? None of these things could ever happen without the strong support of our members. If you've never done so before, I encourage you to check out the PTA today. I think you'll like what you find, and hopefully, you'll want to help us on our mission. We hope you enjoy the opportunity to have some fun with your child at some of our upcoming events!
Sherri Lamerand & Kristi Svec
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Moms and Munchies Reminder!
Oct. 7, 8:15 a.m. - Moms & Munchies A-L
Oct. 14, 8:15 a.m. - Moms & Munchies M-Z
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REFLECTIONS 2011
Start working on your Reflections Entries Today! REFLECTIONS is a nationally sponsored PTA program that offers an opportunity for each child to create works of art for fun and recognition. Each child can participate in any of the six artistic categories: Literature, Musical Composition, Photography, Visual Arts, Dance Choreography, and Film Production.
This year's Reflections theme is "DIVERSITY MEANS..." Encourage your child to dream up a story, compose a musical piece, take a photograph , draw a picture, create a dance, or produce a film that conveys what this theme is to them.
All entries will be due to the front office by Wednesday, October 12th. We will be setting up an art gallery with all the entries. If you would like to view the program rules and guidelines view: www.ptareflections.org/cs/about_reflections
Questions contact: Chris Barto 847-934-9378 or Colleen Novak 847-705-6517
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Boxtops and More!
eScrip: Get your receipts in (or enter on line) before October 19. Make it easier on yourself-renew your support and the amount goes in automatically!
Boxtops: Our 1st Boxtops contest is underway-check out the PHPTA website for contest rules and the bulletin board by the café for current numbers! Contest deadline is Oct. 21. Good luck to all.
Soup labels: There are over 2,500 products now-we need the UPC code to submit them-not just the point value. We have redeemed many of our soup label points to replace all of the playground equipment: balls, bats, jump ropes, etc! Now, we need a place to coral all that stuff: My Coke Rewards for Schools has a sports equipment cart that we can get for 7,500 "Coke" points. Any parent who would like to donate their points to Pleasant Hill can do so at www.mycokerewards.com /schools. If you don't want to sign up, please place any caps and codes in the front collection box with all the other labels.
Questions? Chris Howard-Menk, howardmenk@comcast.net
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Family Reading Night
Thursday, October 20th
Join us on Thursday, October 20th from 6:30-8:00 for Family Reading Night. Put on your pjs, grab your favorite stuffed animal, and head to Pleasant Hill with your family for a cozy night of reading. Families will be able to visit different classrooms to hear read alouds, visit the Scholastic Book Fair in the library, and do some hands-on literacy based activities in the café. Be sure to meet in the café at 7:45 to enjoy cookies and milk while listening to a story from Mr. Palcer!
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The 2011 Scholastic Book Fair!
This year, our Book Fair will be held October 18-21 in Pleasant Hill's Learning Resource Center.
· You are welcome at any time during book fair hours to browse and shop for books, creative kits and small gifts for friends and family.
· There are 100's of items for all ages-and the holidays are right around the corner!
· All profits help fund the LRC.
· The Fair is sponsored and run by PTA volunteers.
· New this year - you can browse and order ONLINE!
In-School Book Fair Hours - October 18-21
Tue (18th): 9am-4pm
Wed (19th): 9am-4pm
Thurs (20th): 9am-4pm AND 6pm-8:30pm
Fri (21st): 9am-4pm
Online Book Fair - October 10-28
During the dates above, enter the web address below to browse and order from an expanded book selection!
http://www.scholastic.com/schoolbookfairs/2894634
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Run for Fun Update
Thank you to everyone who contributed to and participated in the PTA's Run for Fun Fundraiser last Friday! The PTA met its goal and will be able to provide all the fun and educational activities that are planned for this school year. In addition, the students had a great time getting exercise on a fall day as they ran, hopped and danced their way around the course. Congratulations to all the raffle winners!
Top winners are:
Class that donated the most: Mrs. Caldwell's (wins an e-recess)
Top students who donated: Elizabeth Pae, Rebecca Pae, Jack Raker and Lucas Raker (principal for 1/2 day)
4 winners of $100 gift cards from the raffle: Law Poklacki, Christina Sieben, Stephanie O'Mara, Bryce Chierico
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October is "Walk to School" Month!
Looking for a healthy way to start the day? Jump-start it by walking or biking with your child to school! Schools around the world are celebrating "Walk to School" for the entire month of October. The PTA encourages walking or bicycling to school as it gives children time for physical activity, a sense of responsibility and independence; it also creates an opportunity to be outdoors and provides time to connect with parents, friends and neighbors. Not to mention, the entire community benefits when there is less traffic and congestion. Plan for an extra few minutes in the morning, grab an umbrella when it's raining, add an extra layer if it's cold and enjoy some extra time with your child. Start today!
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BOE Community Forum
District 15 Board of Education will host its first in a series of quarterly
community forums on Monday, October 24, from 7-9 p.m. at the
Joseph M. Kiszka Educational Service Center, 580 N. 1st Bank Drive,
Palatine. The evening will open with a discussion of the purpose and
structure of the community forum concept, which is designed to create
additional opportunities for community members to share feedback
with, and ask questions of, Board members and the administration
on a variety of topics. Click Here for more information.
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Halloween Celebrations
 Can you believe we are preparing for Halloween already? Halloween Celebrations at Pleasant Hill are fun and unique! Children will have a "typical" Monday morning routine. All students will share the same lunch period from Noon-1pm. This is a great opportunity to sign-out your student(s) for lunch at home and change into their costume and return at 1pm. If children are not going home, they can bring their costumes with them and change at school. Weapons or bloody costumes are not allowed. At 1:45pm, the students will head outside for a Halloween parade around the block. (Morning Kindergarten will be paraded around the school before their dismissal. The time is to be determined and parents will be notified prior to the celebration day.)Families are welcome to come and see the parade of costumes with classroom parties following the parade. |
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5th Grade Boys ONLY Program
All 5th Grade boys and their father's (or other significant male adult) are invited to attend Pleasant Hill's 3rd annual health education event for boys. The evening allows pre-adolescent boys to learn about changes they experience during puberty.The program is meant to help fathers open the lines of communication with their sons as the boys begin to experience physical and emotional changes. Our guest speaker comes from the Robert Crown Center for Health Education and will help young boys strengthen their confidence. We will combine facts and humor to make the sensitive topics easier to discuss. The event will be held in the PH cafeteria on Thursday, November 3rd from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Please RSVP by October 28. For more info, contact Heath and Safety coordinator, Carol Witucki, carolah@dls.net
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Environmental Education Committee
Below is an article I recently received via email from SWANCC (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County). It has some pretty interesting statistics that I did not know. Read on . . .
Margo Ban
Food Scraps to Soil
Leftovers Are Not Destined for the Landfill
Food waste makes up 8 to 12% of what is thrown away. Composting is a process by which organic material, food scraps and landscape matter, decomposes to create a nutrient-rich soil amendment that can be used in garden, landscape and road projects, instead of taking up space in a landfill.
Since 1990, landscape waste (grass, leaves, sticks and branches) has been banned from Illinois landfills. The organic material is collected separately from solid waste, transported to a composting facility. In 2011, Illinois passed a law that allows food scraps to be commercially composted at permitted sites, to include fruits, vegetables, meat, coffee grounds, egg shells and paper waste. In prior years, food waste was either landfilled, disposed of down the drain, or when permitted, composted in a backyard bin.
Organics can be composted indoors using red wiggler worms and special bins or outdoors in a variety of containers. Always know local ordinances prior to composting outdoors.
For details on how to start composting (and a lot of other useful information), visit SWANCC's website at www.swancc.org.
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Birthday Book Club
A big thank you to Mrs. Amy Cunningham and Mrs. Karen Siena for all their hard work involved with making this PTA sponsored club such a success.
We were able to add 155 books to our library collection. Books were sold on Meet the Teacher Day and Orientation Night.
As I have shared some of the new books with students during story time, I've had many students comment that they were the person who donated that book in honor of his/her birthday. It was obvious that they were proud of their contribution to our school.
Thank you to all the parents who supported our Pleasant Hill Birthday Book Club. These books will be enjoyed by Pleasant Hill Students for many years to come.
The pictures of all the students who purchased books are hanging on the wall in front of the resource center. Come by and see the pictures. You will always find students in the hallway looking at the pictures. Thank you again for supporting our community of readers.
Kelly Garro
Learning Resource Center Teacher
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Pleasant Hill Welcomes New Teachers
Justinne Nikchevich
I'm the new third grade teacher Justinne Nikchevich. I am very excited to be at Pleasant Hill teaching third grade; it's going to be such a fun year. I graduated from the University of Iowa in 2010. Go Hawkeyes! This past year I worked as a reading interventionist at Ardmore Elementary School in Addison teaching kindergarteners and first graders reading strategies. Literacy is very important to me so this was really a great experience, plus seeing the growth the kids made was amazing.
I love how warm and inviting Pleasant Hill is. I think it's great how well the staff and parents work together. The parents and staff have all been extremely friendly and helpful. In my free time (because teachers do have lives even though our students don't seem to think so!), I enjoy watching Iowa football games and Bears games. I am also a Cubs fan and love to go to Wrigley Field, even though the Cubs are not that good. I love March Madness! College basketball is a lot of fun to watch. As you can see, I am a sports fan. I enjoy staying active and being with my family and friends.
Now you know a little bit more about myself. Thank you for welcoming me into this great school community. I look forward to seeing you around!
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Kaitlyn Haran
I am so thrilled to be teaching first grade at Pleasant Hill School this year! I am a former Pleasant Hill student, so it is very surreal to be back here teaching! My mother and her four siblings along with my brother and many of my cousins also attended Pleasant Hill. I feel fortunate to teach at a school near and dear to my heart.
Before teaching, I attended DePaul University where I graduated with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Communication Studies. During college I worked as a family nanny and as an assistant teacher in a preschool classroom. Before coming to Pleasant Hill I student taught third grade at Willowbrook School in Glenview. In my spare time I enjoy reading, exploring the city, and taking my huge Mastiff named Tank on walks. First grade at Pleasant Hill School is a fabulous place to be! I feel honored to teach at such a fantastic school.
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Get to Know Your PTA Co-Presidents
Sherri Lamerand: Co-President
 This is Sherri's second year as co-president. When her oldest son started Kindergarten, Sherri volunteered as room parent. This opportunity opened her eyes to all the extra hands involved in making school a positive experience for children and decided then to help at school whenever possible. Prior to becoming a full-time mom, Sherri worked as a regional manager for a lobbying association. Sherri and her husband, Scott, have 2 sons, 4th and 2nd grade. Sherri can be found running the streets of Palatine with friends, family dinners and cozy movie nights with her boys.
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Kristi Svec: Co-President
This is Kristi's first year as Co-President. Kristi started volunteering with the PTA 9 years ago when her daughter, Carlee, was in Kindergarten. Since then, she's helped at Fall Fests and Cougar Carnivals, clipped Box Tops, hung pictures in the hallway for Reflections, taken Manna orders, hosted the New Zealand booth for Multicultural Fest, planted flowers and bushes for the Beautification committee, helped at Waste Free Lunches, and been a room parent too many times to count. You may also see her helping in the Resource Center on Monday afternoons. In all of her spare time (ha, ha), she is a Girl Scout troop leader for her younger daughter, Abby, who is in the 4th grade; and she taxis her girls to various after school activities. Kristi and her husband, Chris, enjoy traveling, dancing, and watching movies together; and they love being small group leaders at Harvest Bible Chapel Lake Zurich.
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Calling All Volunteers!
Mrs. Garro needs 3-4 volunteers to help out in the Resource Center once every other week. Mornings and/or afternoons are available. If interested, contact Mrs. Garro.
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D15 E-Flyers
Don't forget to check-out what is happening in the community that might
interest your children click here for more information.
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