PTO eNews Feb. 13

Dear Families,

On Saturday, February 11th, District 4J sponsored a School Showcase at César Chávez Elementary.  Representatives from every 4J school were on hand to talk to prospective families about their schools. This was a great opportunity to promote our immersion program. Tom, Becky and Larisa answered questions about Charlemagne and reminded folks about the second set of school tours which will continue February 28th-March 1st at our school.

See below for more information if you or someone you know has an incoming Kinder for next year.

Mardi Gras!

Mark your calendars! Charlemagne’s annual Mardi Gras celebration is Friday February 24th, 5:30-8pm.

The gym and cafeteria will be filled with lots of fun carnival games, food, raffle baskets, and a silent auction. More information and details are available on the Mardi Gras webpage.

Just a few important reminders! 

Please donate something to help our school! We want to showcase the talents, businesses, and families that are part of our school community! Be creative! Everything helps and shows the breadth of our school families.

Last year the silent auction was the second most successful fundraiser for Charlemagne! We raised $

Parents donated everything from homemade cookies, honey from their honeybees, bikes, and French lessons to theater tickets, vacation houses, and pool parties! It was great!

There is a box in the office for donations. Please fill out a donation form from Heather and THANK YOU!!

Questions?   Cindy Matherly (541-341-1600),
Keith Crudgington (541-338-7939) or kbcrudg@gmail.com,
Jess Keiper (541-485-1591),  or Jen West (541-914-1470).

We are also looking for bottles of wine to be donated to our new feature this year:  The Wall of Wine.  Woo hoo! Cheers!

Office needs extra clothing

We have had some muddy, wet kids this winter and are very low in the pants and underwear department. We are in need of pants mostly sizes 6-9. All pants are good, it’s great when they find something they like. Stretchy pants, like sweats work best for most. We need them for both boys and girls, but especially boys.

Thank you to those parents who return the clothes clean and ready for the next student!

Garden Club/Green School News

There may be many weeks of winter left, but don’t tell that to the daffodils! Yes, the daffodils that every student planted back in November are peeking out of the ground! Should be a beautiful display in March. Preparations are underway for the spring planting of the garden beds. Each class will be out there in early spring planting and tending their beds.

GROW. EAT. LEARN. Wondering how to get your kids to be excited about vegetables? Have them join the Charlemagne Garden Club! This after-school program is now accepting students for spring sessions. Food kids grow themselves is food that they love. Working in the garden gives kids a sense of accomplishment and an appreciation of the outdoors. Experienced instructors from the School Garden Project will lead students in garden adventures through games, experiments, garden work, cooking and art.

Garden Club happens Wednesdays, 2:45-3:50pm and costs $30 a student for one six week session. Space is limited to 10 students per session. For more information or to sign up contact Jenny Laxton (from the School Garden Project) at sitecoord.sgp@gmail.com

Session 1: March 14-April 25
Session 2: May 2-June 6

For more information, contact Erika McFarlane erikamarkmcfarlane@gmail.com

It’s School Choice Time!

If you have an incoming Kinder for next year you will need to fill out a school choice request form, even if you have another student already enrolled at Charlemagne. School choice request forms are being accepted now and must be turned in to the district office at 200 North Monroe St. by March 23 at 5 p.m. to be considered in the school choice lottery.
New this year: You may have heard that a new state law is changing how transfers between school districts work. 4J will accept out-of-district students into some of our schools for the 2012–13 school year. The district will receive state school funds for each student. These students will be placed in schools after the regular school choice process. Transfer applications from out-of-district students are due April 1.

If you have any friends or family members who are considering school choice, please invite them to come learn more about our wonderful school!

Charlemagne Tours are:
Tues. Feb. 28   8:30 – 9:45 a.m.
Wed. Feb. 29   6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Thurs. Mar. 1   8:30 – 9:45 a.m.

Parents of 5th graders may want to go to the school choice activities for Roosevelt.
No appointment needed- Just show up!
http://www.roosevelt.4j.lane.edu/rmsweb/Welcome.html

Roosevelt School Choice dates:
Mar. 1   6:00-7:00 pm School choice presentation in the Theater
Mar. 2   9:00-10:15 am School choice presentation in the Theater.

Fundraisers

There are many ways to support our school. Learn about them here.

Volunteer Sign-up

Stand for Children

Monday, February 20  OEA Rally in Salem on the State Capitol steps on Presidents’ Day (no school day). Stand for Children is supporting it. Email Joy@stand.org to save a seat on the OEA bus. More details to come.

Community Events

The Science Factory Children’s Museum & Exploration Dome is proud announce its continued co-sponsorship of the 2012 Block Kids Competition in conjunction with Chapter 77 of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) in Eugene.  Block Kids is a nationally-recognized, award-winning building competition for children in elementary school, grades 1 through 6. The competition will take place on Saturday, February 18 at Gateway Mall in Springfield from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.  Check-in begins at 1 p.m. and the contest will begin at 1:30 p.m.  The competition is free to all participants.  Advance registration through the Science Factory is required due to limited space.  To register, visit the Science Factory or call the Museum at 541-682-7888.  Click here for more information.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Please email us if you have any other after school activity ideas, eNews articles, or want to let us know about something your kids do that you think others would be interested in!

Please submit articles by Friday at 5:00pm for inclusion in the following week’s eNews.