Community Forum Nights 7:00-8:30 PM – In School Libraries

• January 19, 2012, California High School, 9870 Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon
• January 23, 2012, San Ramon Valley High School, 501 Danville Blvd, Danville
• February 2, 2012, Monte Vista High School, 3131 Stone Valley Rd, Danville
• February 8, 2012, Dougherty Valley High School, 10550 Albion Road, San Ramon 

Stone Valley Middle School PTA Roar

February 2012

PTA President’s Message By Pam Absher

Dear Stone Valley Middle School Parents,

Our PTA new year is already off and running with a fast start.  In January, our Parent Ed hosted a Boot Camp for Kids with Laurie Halliday as the presenter. Laurie was also the guest speaker at our January General Association meeting with a presentation on Extreme Organization. This was followed by our annual Dad’s Night Out evening program with guest speaker, George Pappageorge. We hope you had an opportunity to attend one of these informative presentations.  A big thank you goes to Kellee Larsen for putting these events together as our Parent Ed Chairperson.

There are many more events on the horizon.  On February 23, the monthly PTA meeting will be in combination with a Parent Ed program in the evening at 7:00 pm.  Mark Wollan will give a presentation on Becoming Intentional with Your Family: How to develop a family plan and barriers and roadblocks to overcome.

We are also planning a day for all interested parents to visit classrooms in session at Stone Valley to observe the learning activities taking place. It will be a good opportunity to see the classroom environment in action.  Please watch the Newsflash for the date.

The 8^th annual She’s All That conference for all middle school girls and their parents takes place on February 11^th at San Ramon Valley High School. The keynote presentation will be “Live Your Dream!” followed by a choice of three workshops for girls and three workshops for parents.  It is an exciting and distinctive event and a great way to spend a day with your daughter.  Girls can also choose to attend with friends. Please sign up early since this is a very popular event.

The San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs presents its annual parenting conference on Saturday, February 25 at Dougherty Valley High School. “Parenting 2 012 and Beyond…”will feature Dr. Christine Carter as the keynote speaker. She is the mother of two daughters and author of Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents. Participants will have the opportunity to attend their choice of a morning and an afternoon small group seminar, focusing on current parenting topics.  Registration opens on February 6.  Please sign up early as many of the sessions fill up quickly.

The last annual conference coming up is the Youth to Youth Middle School Conference taking place on March 3 at San Ramon Valley High School.  It is more than just an event.  The Youth to Youth Middle School Conference is a way to see the best teens and their leadership skills.  If your kids like hanging out with their friends, meeting new friends, having fun, dancing and good food – then this is the conference for them.  Registration is now open.

Our SVMS PTA Nominating Committee was formed in January and they are now meeting to identify possible candidates to fill open volunteer positions for the next school year.  Please let me know if you would like to volunteer. We have a variety of positions to fill and there is the right job for anyone who would like to become involved and connected with their children’s school.

On a very important note, discussions are now taking place in the San Ramon Valley School District to discuss the possibility of a facilities bond on the June ballot.  An exploratory committee consisting of parents, community members, association leaders and Board members along with various staff members has been formed to make a recommendation to the Board of Education as to whether to hold an election, and, if so, what facilities projects to include in it.  To help with this charge, the exploratory committee will be hosting four (4) staff and community forums starting at the end of January.  Each forum will be held at a comprehensive high school and will primarily focus on possible projects for the high school as well as the elementary and middle schools that feed into that particular high school.  The purpose will be to share the big picture of what is being contemplated (including the projects which would impact all schools), as well as possible projects for that particular feeder area, and then to break into small groups for discussion and feedback.  This feedback will then be used by the committee, (along with professional poll results) to help shape its recommendation to the Board of Education.

I hope your schedule will allow you to attend one of these remaining forums:

Thursday, February 2 at 7:00pm  - Monte Vista High School

Wednesday, February 8 at 7:00pm – Dougherty Valley High School

In closing for this month, thank you to the following volunteers for taking time out of their busy schedules on behalf of your PTA:

Ken Lewis, collection toy drive for our sister school, Coronado

Donna Motta, – organizing the Holiday Staff Luncheon

Joan Remmert, organizing the Teacher Holiday Baked Goods

Irma Volenec, Staff Liason

We hope to see you at our next PTA meeting on February 23 at 7:00pm.  It will be an opportunity for all our parents to attend.

Principal’s Message – Shaun McElroy

New Year's Resolution - Be thankful for good teachers

"Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own." -- Nikos Kazantzakis

We have all heard the expression the "those who can't do teach". The lay person or adults without school age children may think teachers are college educated adults who choose a lesser path because they cannot compete for "real world" jobs.  I think it's time to change misperceptions that teachers teach because they don't possess the wherewithal to do anything else. Our new motto should be "thank goodness we have great teachers". I spent my first ten years as an educator in the classroom and for the past 23 years as a site administrator and I rank teaching in top three of life's most difficult professions, here's how I rank them:

1. A. Single parent

1. B. Parent

2. Middle school teacher (P.S. I've been all three!)

The path to the classroom includes a four year undergraduate degree, a fifth and/or sixth year to earn a teaching credential and complete two or three student teaching assignments (unpaid). After teachers land a job they typically continue their education through seminars, workshops and district staff development events. About 50% of the Stone Valley staff has completed their master's degrees.

Most staff arrives at school well before the contractual 8am arrival time. Classrooms are open for 1:1 or small group tutoring, parent conferences, coaching academic clubs or sports teams. Teachers are preparing lessons, making copies or meeting with colleagues and attending to scheduled supervision duties. We also have two classes that begin at 7:15am.

During the school day teachers deliver six 45 minute lessons to an incredibly complex audience. The social emotional growth in middle school is developmentally second only to years 0-3.  Students in middle school make the bumpy transition to young adults. 6-7-8 graders are going through puberty, experiencing dramatic physical and emotional changes and the gamut of social issues, their first crush, sometimes "life's most embarrassing moment", struggling with change(s) in the family structure (death, divorce, addiction, illnesses, and decline in income). With this in mind teachers deliver lessons with a clear teaching point derived from state and national standards, guided practice, checking for understanding, connecting prior learning and a summation. This is a tall order and it is delivered 180 days each year.

Included in the instructional a day is a single preparation period and a 30 minute lunch period. Some teachers use their lunch period to tutor students, attend meetings or provide student supervision.

At the end of the teaching day (contract day ends at 3pm) teachers communicate with parents and students, coach after school sports, attend department or grade level meetings, represent the school on district level committees and of course grading tests, quizzes, reports, projects and essays. For many teachers the grading routine can encompass the evening and weekend hours. On early release Wednesday's teachers commit to an hour of staff development each week. The major focus for our staff is creating lessons that are infused with technology.

When teachers are gone from the classroom they have to leave a foolproof plan for the substitute teachers to ensure that learning continues in their absence. Teachers spend time recruiting and training substitutes to step in their absence.

The final line in every teaching contract has the statement "other duties as assigned". The "other duties" include student supervision, emergency preparedness, CPR and first aid certification, creating and maintaining academic data bases, updating web based grade books and reading research on student learning.

Our hiring practices require potential teachers and support staff to embody four core values:

(1) Subject area expertise, (2) choose to work specifically with middle school children, (3) strong desire to work collegially, and bring a (4) "value added" skill to the school community.

Suffice to say that teaching is very complex task that requires equal amounts of passion, devotion and expertise to be done well. Thank goodness for great teachers. Your first task in the New Year is to share a story with your children about a teacher who was an inspiration in your life; we all have at least one.

New Lexicon: Those who can do Teach!

Stay tuned for news about parents visiting the classrooms in February

Stone Valley PTA Honors Staff

Each year the Stone Valley PTA honors our staff prior to the holidays with a grand luncheon and a holiday basket of home baked goods for each staff member. Donna Motta provided the staff with an Italian feast of three types of lasagna, Cesar salad, garlic bread and biscotti for dessert.  Holiday Baking was chaired by Joan Remmert. Joan organized the baking, delivery and distribution of over 60 gift baskets made by parents for our staff. PTA President Pam Absher was in the wings assisting at luncheon while Ed Fund President Yvonne Poon kept watch over the gift baskets. Thanks to all of our parents for your generous support and kindness to the Stone Valley staff.

Interested in getting involved with our parenting organizations? Contact PTA President Pam Absher at absher@sbcglobal.net <mailto:absher@sbcglobal.net>  or Ed Fund President Yvonne Poon at ypoon@astound.net <mailto:ypoon@astound.net>  and find out how you can support our school.

A Collaborative Message from Elizabeth Calhoon & Sarah Baumgartner

Happy 2012 and Happy New Semester!

We hope you enjoyed your Winter Break, as well as the periodic three-day weekends we’ve been having, and used the opportunities as a chance to relax, rejuvenate and catch-up on all the things we’ll “do later”.

As we start the new semester, please use this opportunity to help your student get organized and start the new semester off with a strong start and positive outlook. To that end, we hope you were able to take advantage of the “Extreme Organization” education provided by our PTA on January 18 (for students) and January 24 (for parents). If you missed it, please keep your eye out for all of our PTA’s Parent Education nights upcoming. Come one, come all!

Another way you can get involved is by volunteering for lunchtime supervision, even if only as a substitute. Contact me (Elizabeth Calhoon) at ecalhoon@srvusd.net<mailto:ecalhoon@srvusd.net> if you’d like to volunteer or go to the following link and complete the form: http://bit.ly/SVMSLunchVolunteers<http://bit.ly/SVMSLunchVolunteers>

Also, be aware of this great opportunity for middle school girls and their parents, the “She’s All That!” conference! This exciting event is on February 11 from 9am-3pm at San Ramon Valley High School. It includes keynote presentations, workshops for girls as well as workshops for parents. Some examples of girls’ workshops include Self Defense, Cyber Safe & Sane Online, Mean Girls, and Defining Me/Setting Personal Boundaries. Adults have the choice to attend workshops including Conscious Communication, Healthy Relationships, Teen Talk, and Who’s the Parent.  You can go to http://www.soroptimist-sr.org/index.php/signature-project<http://www.soroptimist-sr.org/index.php/signature-project> to register or for more information!

In addition to the “She’s All That!” conference, the 18th annual Youth-to-Youth Conference is coming up on March 3 at San Ramon Valley High School. Local high school students will be leading this exciting event and have planned a variety of drug and alcohol prevention programs aimed towards middle schoolers. More information can be found on Stone Valley’s homepage. Don’t miss out on this great event!

Last, but not least, if you are interested in serving on our Climate Committee, please contact me (Sarah Baumgartner) at sbaumgartner@srvusd.net<mailto:sbaumgartner@srvusd.net>,as our next meeting is March 1, and we’d love to hear your ideas and collaborate on ways to make Stone Valley even more safe and supportive!

News from the Ed Fund – By Yvonne Poon

We all have our time machines.  Some take us back, they’re called memories.  Some take us forward, they’re called dreams.                                                              Jeremy Irons

Happy New Year!  As a community, we accomplished a great deal in 2011.  We funded 14 sections of Core and Math with your Class Size Reduction contributions and matching gifts.  All of our fundraisers met our fundraising target and these funds are being used for ongoing expenses such as SchoolLoop, library expenses, copier lease/supplies and teacher classroom allotments.  From excess reserves, we funded over $20K of new technology and classroom equipment. Thank you so much! 

And as we close one year, the new year comes roaring upon us!  The Class Size Reduction Campaign for school year 2012-2013 will begin in March. The Fitness Challenge is set for April (exact date to be determined), and you will be hearing more about that in the coming months.  We are still in need of a chair or co-chairs for the Ladies Luncheon in May.  Please let me know if you can help with any of these fundraisers!

Please join us at our next Ed Fund meeting on Tuesday, March 6^th, at 1:00 pm in the Stone Valley Library.  Our nominating committee is forming so if you would like to serve on the nominating committee or step up for a board position, please email our Parliamentarian, Sandi Jacobsen at sjaco@astound.net.  We have numerous job openings for next year - small, medium and large.  There’s bound to be one that fits your time and talents!  We welcome your involvement! 

See you around!

Yvonne Poon

Ed Fund President

ypoon@astound.net

Legislatively Speaking …By Jenny Caulfield , VP Legislative

This school year, our legislative committee, composed of legislative representatives from each school in our district, is working on three areas of focus:        

1) Continue to raise public awareness through monthly legislative articles and Legislative Education Nights at various school sites;

2) Visits with our local Legislators;

3) PTA Advocacy Day.  

You can find our legislative updates in this newsletter and I will give special notice of any Legislative events.  Our committee co-hosted a Legislative/Parent Education Night at Sycamore Valley Elementary School this past October and we are working on a similar event in early 2012 in the Dougherty Valley area.

Our legislator visits have been productive and insightful.  In October, we met with Assembly member Joan Buchanan and we met with State Senator Mark DeSaulnier in December.

Advocacy Day. Save the date, Friday March 23, 2012.

Our committee is already working on PTA Advocacy Day, usually held in Sacramento, to bring our message of stable education funding to legislators.  This year it has been decided to hold Advocacy Day locally in our area and have the legislators come to address us on the theme Legislative Challenges Facing Education. 

You can also sign up for California State PTA alerts by visiting the California State PTA website - Legislative and by visiting the SRV Council Website. 

If you have any questions regarding PTA Legislative activities, feel free to contact me, Jenny Caulfield at jennycaulfield@gmail.com

Corporate Matching Requests for your donations – it’s not too late! by Karen Labella

If you work for a company who will match your donation, you may still have time to put through your corporate matching request. Make it your New Year’s resolution to process your corporate matching donations with your employer now!

Thank you so much to all the families that have completed your forms already.

Your donations to Class Size Reduction, Curriculum & Technology, Library, Science, and Band are all eligible for matching donations!

The process is easy:

1.      Obtain a matching gift form which is usually available on the company's intranet site.

2.     Complete the employee section of the form; mail or take it to the school office marked to the attention of Courtney Dettlinger, Ed Fund Treasurer.

3.     We will complete the balance of the form and submit it to your company.

4.     Some companies process their gift or grant requests on line. It couldn't be faster or easier! If this is the case for your company they will contact us to confirm your donation after you have completed the process.

5.     If you have any questions about corporate matching, please contact Karen Labella at kapeda@comcast.netor 287-0623.

Double Your Donation to Stone Valley

Apply for Corporate Matching Funds Today!

Leadership – by Monique Metzcus

Leadership sponsored its annual toy drive for Coronado Elementary in December. The students at Stone Valley brought in over 350 toys. Leadership class is a great way to get involved in school activities and give back. Any student can take leadership in 7th and 8th grade. Look for applications in the spring. Please e-mail Ms. Metzcus with any questions.

Parent Education – by Kellee Larsen

Parent Education Presents:

Topic:  Becoming Intentional with your Family- How to develop a family plan and overcome barriers and road blocks

Date:  February 23, 2010

Time: 7:00pm

Place:  Stone Valley Middle School Library

Speaker:  Mark Wollan

Dessert and beverages provided

Thank you!!!  Kellee Larsen

Please see this link for more information about the Doodle for Google Competition for K-12 students. The winning doodle goes on the Google homepage on May 18, 2012 and I know we have some great talent in our students here at Stone Valley in all of our classes!
 

This year’s theme: If I could travel in time, I’d visit...

http://www.google.com/doodle4google/index.html

Attention Students

Join, Laurie Halliday, School Counselor, for tips on keeping your backpack useful...instead of being that black hole from which nothing can escape.  

Wednesday, January 18th at 2:15 pm in the MPR.

Parent Education

Join Laurie Halliday, School Counselor, for tips, tools and strategies to help your child be more organized at school and home.

Tuesday, January 24th at 10 am in the library.  Laurie will be the guest speaker at our PTA Meeting. Click here for flyer!

Please RSVP to Kellee Larsen at kelleelarsen@gmail.com

Please take notice that the General Association PTA Meeting scheduled for Monday, January 9, 2012, is being rescheduled.  The next General Association PTA Meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, from  9:30 - 11:00am in the MPR.  Laurie Halliday will be our guest speaker with a  presentation on Extreme Organization. Click here for flyer and more information! Refreshments will be served.

We welcome everyone to attend!

SRVUSD's new Framework for Excellence is a symbol for how the district is "supporting students and their learning" and "staff and their work.