PTA President Welcome Letter

September 2014

Dear Parents, Teachers, Friends!

We are now into the next school year at Dranesville, and there are quite a few changes before us. The first is your incoming PTA board. As the new president, I wanted to introduce myself and tell you a little about our themes and goals for this school year. My name is Jack Reda, and I've been a Dranesville parent since 2006. My wife Lynn and I have a second-grader at DES named Quinn. Our older son started in preschool at DES, and we have always been impressed with the school, teachers, and administration. It motivated me to get involved with the school in whatever way I could…so here I am.

That brings me to the first theme (and goal) for this year's PTA, and that is involvement. I understand how busy teachers and parents are. I've learned over the years that even getting involved in a minor capacity can do a lot for the school, so that's why the PTA is hoping you'll find a way to get involved, even it's just once in awhile. Believe me when I say there are many ways for everyone to participate, not only in the PTA, but in many of the events at the school.

Talking to other parents, I've discovered that the PTA is often a mystery. What does the PTA do? The short answer is fundraising. But I think it's important for parents and teachers to have a clearer answer about how the DES PTA has been involved with the school. The end goal is to improve the academic lives of the students. We want the kids to have the best elementary school experience possible. So, the PTA tries to enrich that experience in a variety of ways, from enabling field trips, to the acquisition of special supplies for the students, to even getting a new coffee maker for the teachers (in my opinion, helping the teachers ends up helping the kids). The PTA has been working with Dranesville to outfit the STEAM lab with iPads as part of a technology initiative. Every child at the school will participate. We've also tried to help teachers with registration fees to education conferences, and enable numerous field trips for each grade.

Another big part of the PTA is the school events. Last spring the PTA sponsored an 80's dance party in the cafeteria, among other things. We have more morale-centric events like that planned, because we see Dranesville as a community, and we like the idea of making elementary school a positive experience for everybody.

So how can you get involved? The first part is by joining the PTA. Having your voice as part of the discussion is critical. We do our best to keep a finger on the pulse of the school, but other perspectives will help us to make informed decisions. Another important way to get involved is chairing a committee. There are many committees that support school functions, activities, and more, and each committee needs one or more folks to chair it. This often entails nothing more than being a point-of-contact, or a source for answering questions about a particular event or activity (and PTA can furnish you with the answers you need). It's a lot for just the board to accomplish, which is why we reach out to the rest of the PTA. Most of the involvement is very short-term, but for those with the time, we can always find longer-term ways for you to get involved. Some of the activities the PTA tries to use for supporting the school won't happen unless there's someone to chair it. Our biggest fundraiser this year will be our fall Dragon Dash, and we still need some help chairing that committee.

Please join us at our first PTA meeting on September is 9th. The PTA meets at the school on the second Tuesday of each month. Remember, the PTA is not just the board- it's all of the parents and teachers who devote a bit of their time to making the school even better than it is.

On behalf of the rest of the board: Carrie Hester, Shareem Kilkenny, Nancy Webber-Czekanski, Kelley Smith, and Irina Shestakova, welcome to another great year at Dranesville, and we look forward to working with you.

Jack Reda WE NEED YOU! The PTA needs your help! We are currently seeking chairs for several committees. If you are looking for a way to get involved with the PTA and DES, please consider becoming a chairperson for one of the following committees. If you need further information about a committee, we’ll be discussing committees at our first PTA meeting on September 9th at 7pm in the Library, or you can contact Carrie Hester at [email protected].

Fall Fundraiser We currently need at least one more co-chairs for this event which will be a Fun Run. The PTA would like this event to take place in late October. The chairs will coordinate volunteers to publicize the event, assist with money collection through a website vendor, seek volunteers to put on the Fun Run, etc. This is an IMMEDIATE and pressing need! Without a committee and co-chairs, we cannot have our big, annual fundraising event.

Screen Free Week Help publicize and create activities for Screen Free Week which takes place in early May.

School Play Some of our amazing teachers are coordinating a school play to take place before Spring Break. We are looking for a chair and volunteers to help the teachers with this endeavor. We’ll need help backstage, creating t-shirts for the performers and other tasks.

Make It Take It We are looking for two volunteers to take on this annual event which occurs in December. You will be in charge of securing vendors and crafts for the students to create. We have a lot of information on this event to help you get started!

Glow Necklace Sales We are looking for 5th grade parents to take on selling glow necklaces at Herndon’s Friday Night Live to raise money for the Sixth Grade Carnival.

Herndon Festival Ticket Sales The PTA sells pre-tickets to the Herndon Festival and receives a portion of the sales. We are looking for someone to coordinate this activity.

If you are interested in helping out in one or more of these committee/events, please contact Carrie Hester at [email protected].

2014-2015 Yearbook Cover Contest Lets’s Get Creative

All Dranesville students are invited to submit and 8 ½” x 11” original artwork design for the yearbook cover contest.

Markers work best. Bold colors are best. Make it colorful! The more color the better. The design must be bright/colorful so it can easily be duplicated on the cover.

Contest Guidelines: . Design should be done on clean 8 ½” X 11” white paper or white card-stock. (No lined paper.) *White card-stock is recommended. . Artwork must have a minimum ½” margin around the border. . Design must be in “portrait” format—NOT landscape—to be eligible for the front or back cover . Include all the following in artwork: - “Dranesville Elementary School” - “2014-2015” - Drake the Dragon done in BLUE . Please do not use metallic/shiny markers (they do not scan well). . Include your name, grade and teacher ONLY on the back in pencil. Do NOT sign/date the front of your design. (If your design is chosen for one of the covers, we will obtain your signature on the design after the winners are announced.) . Computer generated artwork is NOT allowed. . Please do not recreate previous cover winner designs.

Submit your artwork to the front office or your classroom teacher.

DEADLINE is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31st.

The winners will be selected by the Yearbook Committee. Questions? Please contact Michelle Grant at 703.880.6632 or [email protected] Easy Ways to Raise Money for Dranesville Elementary School

Box Tops for Education Fundraiser!

Box Tops for Education is a school fundraising program started by General Mills in 1996. This is a very easy way for Dranesville Elementary to earn money with little effort on your part!

1. Clipping your Box Tops:  Clip Box Tops—Find Box Tops on hundreds of your favorite General Mills products. Each Box Top coupon is worth 10¢ for our school.  Send your Box Tops & Bonus Box Tops certificates to school with your child.  The school earns cash! The school Box Top Coordinator submits all of the Box Tops and Box Tops Certificates and then twice a year we receive a check from the program!

2. Shopping & Finding even more Box Tops:  Did you know that there are 100’s of products that have box tops on them? Everything from apparel to frozen foods, cereal, storage items, paper products, produce, instant meals/sides, refrigerator and dairy items, school/office supplies, snacks/juice, tableware and even trash bags! You can even register your grocery cards and earn E-BOX Tops and BONUS Certificates worth additional box tops when you go grocery shopping!  We love our parents that clip those box tops from things items that they may see in recycle bins on their walks throughout the neighborhood or that clip at work. We have parents that have set up collection bins at their work so their co-workers can help DES too!  Visit this website for more details: http://www.boxtops4education.com

Campbell’s Labels for Education!

Step 1: Clip and save Labels for Education UPC Bar Codes with point value on over 2,500 products.

Step 2: Send your Labels for Education UPC bar codes including point value to school with your child. (If product does not have a point value shown, but is still a LFE product, that’s ok…send in the UPC!)

Step 3: Earn FREE Stuff DES! We redeem Labels for Education points for FREE educational resources (we are currently working on working on fulfilling the need for additional folding tables). Website for more info: http://www.labelsforeducation.com Help Dranesville Earn Money While You Shop for Groceries!

Dranesville participates in a number of retail rewards programs. These programs allow Dranesville to receive cash rewards from retailers based on dollars spent by participants who have designated Dranesville as their recipient. Signing up takes only a few minutes and best of all, once registered, you don't have to do anything other than shop as usual!

Please note: These programs require participants to re-register every year. Even if you registered last year, you have to register again for DES to receive credit. You must register EVERY year!

GIANT BONUS Card The website to sign up is: http://www.giantfood.com/our_stores/bonus_bucks/index.htm?opco=GNTL. Our school is listed as Dranesville Elementary School. Our school code is 01947. Giant Bonus Card numbers are 12 digits. Be sure you use the whole number, including the number before and after the bar code.

SAFEWAY CLUB Card Safeway utilizes a program called eScrip. Click on this website www.escrip.com and proceed to Sign Up. Follow the directions on the web pages. Our school is under Dranesville Elementary School and our Group ID code is: 6593969. Safeway Club Card numbers are 11 digits and all start with 430. Be sure you copy the whole number.

HARRIS TEETER VIC Card Registering support for DES at Harris Teeter is easy!! Click on this website & follow the instructions: http://www.harristeeter.com/community/together_in_education/link_to_your_school.aspx

TARGET REDcard Credit Cards Visit www.Target.com/tcoe or call 1-800-316-6142 to designate our school, then use your REDcard whenever you shop. When you use your REDcardSM (Target® Visa® Credit Card, Target Credit CardSM or Target Check CardSM), Target will donate up to 1% of your purchases to the eligible K–12 school of your choice. Dranesville's School ID is: 103764

SUNNY D/SUNNY DELIGHT UPC’s mean FREE Books for Teachers at DES! Clipping and saving your Sunny “D”/ Sunny Delight UPC’s can earn our teachers FREE BOOKS. This program only runs through November, but we will collect them year round in the hope that they bring it back next year. Simply clip and submit UPC’s from Sunny Delight products 6.75oz or higher and turn them into the DES office for the PTA volunteer to submit.

COKE REWARDS Codes We collect the UNUSED codes from Coke, Powerade, Fanta, Sprite, Dasani Water, Fresca, Seagrams, Minute Made Lemonade and many more soft drinks. Simply send in the caps with the codes or cut the codes from the plastic wrap on the flat cases or the cardboard 12packs. DES PTA will redeem the codes and use our points for educational resources for the school.

KELLOGGS FAMILY REWARDS Codes – We collect the UNUSED codes from all Kelloggs products! Send in the codes and write Kellogg’s on it (if it’s not clearly marked) so we know which program to apply the code to!

TYSON A+ PROJECT Send in the special panels from Tyson Products and we earn 25¢ each one.

If you have any questions about any of these programs, please contact Julie Saylor at: [email protected] 2014-15 GRACE ARTS Program

Please help bring GRACE Arts into your child’s classroom! This is a special program that the children (and the parents) really look forward to every year!

GRACE Arts is a Greater Reston Arts Center parent volunteer program sponsored by the PTA and the school. Parents are trained to teach a 1-hour session in the classroom. The parent will discuss the artist or genre and show a ready-made PowerPoint presentation, then instruct and help the students in a hands-on project. All art supplies and instructions will be provided.

Parent volunteers and the classroom teacher can discuss a suitable time for the sessions. Volunteer Training Sessions are held in the cafeteria at 9:30 AM and again at 7:00PM. You need only attend one session: morning or evening.

TRAINING DATES FOR 2014-15

SEPTEMBER 24th (For Oct) Eric Carle –American Author and Illustrator OCTOBER 29th (For Nov) Native American Art –Beadwork and Crafts JANUARY 28th (For Feb) Ancient Egyptian Art –Hieroglyphs and Symbolism FEBRUARY 25th (For Mar) Andy Warhol –American Painter and Printmaker

YOUR HELP IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM!

TO VOLUNTEER, PLEASE CONTACT RACHEL WACEK AT [email protected] OR (703) 772-6329

For more information or questions please visit: www.desartnews.org or contact:

Melissa DeSantis John Zuzik [email protected] [email protected] (703) 966 1565 (571) 258 7157 Global Language Opportunity Benefiting All Learners (GLOBAL) is an approach to language learning that allows students to develop basic communicative skills in a language, using fun, interactive SMARTboard technology.

Why choose this program?  The great advantage is that your child learns a foreign language, and at the same time, receives reinforcement of SOL objectives. This is because the GLOBAL curriculum teaches the concepts that your child is already learning in social studies, science, math, and language arts at their grade level.  Teachers are employed by FCPS and are trained specifically for the GLOBAL program and FCPS Best Practices in Teaching and Learning.  Designed for all skill levels - from beginners to native speakers of the target language.  New, enhanced curriculum will be introduced this fall 2014!

20 sessions @ 1 hour each – $299; Weekly classes

Course Information GL08625–Spanish–Grade 1-3 – Wed 4:10 pm – Oct 15, 2014 GL08412–Spanish–Grade 4-6 – Wed 4:10 pm – Oct 15, 2014

Students will have a supervised snack break right after school before class begins.

First-come, first-served registration! Registration begins Sept 5. To register, go to: http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/worldk6.shtml#global

For questions about registration, please contact the Dranesville ES GLOBAL Rep, Shakira O'Neill at [email protected] Questions about GLOBAL program: Paulina Nicopoulos, GLOBAL Program Specialist, [email protected]

Go to the link below to view a 3 minute video showing a GLOBAL class in action!! http://tinyurl.com/pbctm6y All Federal civilian, military and postal employee’s, please consider donating to Dranesville Elementary PTA when selecting your charities for the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area (CFCNCA). CFCNCA runs from September 1 - December 15.

The Dranesville Elementary PTA code is 99524.

CFCNCA, is the only authorized workplace charitable giving drive for employees in the Federal workplace. CFCNCA is the local campaign for Federal employees in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

If you have any questions on donating, please contact Irina Shestakova at [email protected]