October Newsletter

School News

National School Lunch Week
The theme for this year’s National School Lunch Week is, “All Star School Lunch.” On October 12th through 14th, parents are encouraged to eat lunch with their kids. Please know that a reservation is required a day or two prior to the day you wish to attend. The price for adults is $2.75 and the price for children is $1.75. Please be aware that this is a CASH ONLY event.

Healthy Classroom Rewards for Students
This generation of students faces extraordinary health issues related to diet and exercise. Healthy students are better learners. As a result, the Nebo School District Student Wellness Policy, passed in 2008, created some guidelines for when foods and beverages are made available to students. The policy asks that the food and beverages be more nutritious and feature healthy choices. See http://www.nebo.edu/pubpolicy/E/EFA.pdf. Together, parents and teachers of Nebo School District can help students to achieve and maintain good physical health as part of the child’s growth and education.

Healthy Lifestyle and Wellness Challenges
Watch for information in the coming months for Healthy Lifestyle Challenges!

Halloween Parade
Are your costumes ready for the Art City Elementary Halloween Parade? The parade will be held on October 28th from 1:15 to 2:00 p.m. Watch for more information to come.

Safety
Please do not pull your vehicle through the bus lane. Please know that this poses a hazard to our students. We have had a few close calls.

Recycling
We would like to remind you that we have a recycling receptacle for newspapers and magazines located in the parking lot. Your recycling efforts at this location really help our school.

Early Out Day
Art City faculty and administration thank you for your support of early out Wednesdays. During that time the faculty meets in grade level teams to collaborate on student, class, grade level and student needs.

Book Fair
“Read Around the World” Books take you places near and far…You are invited to visit the book fair October 26th - 29th. We will have exciting activities throughout the weeklong celebration of books. Come discover a world of fun at our family event where there will be food sampling, crafts and drawings for the travelers in your family. When you are finished sight seeing, stop by the fair to shop for fantastic books. The book fair will be open during school hours with a bonus late night on Thursday, October 29th. Get your bags packed, “Destination Book Fair” is about to begin!

Fridays
Fridays are the day to show your school spirit by wearing your school T-shirt or sweatshirt or wearing the school colors (blue and yellow).


PTA NEWS

Green Ribbon Week Recap
Green Ribbon Week was a great success! A big thank you goes out to our Health & Safety commissioner, Amy Peterson and her committee for a great Green Ribbon Week. We had a lot of kids participate this year. Thank you to Officer Mitchell and Officer Drumm, who presented our bike safety assembly. We would like to thank the following for their generous donations: Springville Pool, Utah County Health Department, Art City PTA and Dr.’s Richard Francis, Dale Hadley, Brian Tuft, Mark Fullmer, Dennis Blume and Robert Perkins. Just for your information, you can purchase helmets from the Health Department for $10.00.

PTA Meeting
On Tuesday, October 6th we will be having our PTA meeting at 10:00 a.m. in the teacher’s lounge. All members are invited to attend. Please come, we would love to hear your input!

Red Ribbon Week
October is Red Ribbon Month, which focuses on being Drug Free. The dates for Red Ribbon Week are October 12-14. Watch for a flyer to come home with information on the weeks activities.

Theme Baskets
Do you have baskets stacked up in your garage or basement from past Theme Basket auctions that are driving you crazy? If you do, we would love to have them donated back to us. Then we could use them again in future auctions. So, if you aren’t using your baskets and they are in fairly good condition, please feel free to bring them into the office and get them out of your way!

Reflections
Reflections entries are due soon! We hope that your children have been enjoying creating their entries reflecting this year’s theme “Beauty Is…” The entries are due to the front office by 3:00 p.m. on October 9. Copies of the entry forms, media releases (on the back of the entry forms), category rules and general rules are all available in the front office; you can also find them on-line at www.artcitynews.blogspot.com or www.utahpta.org/individual.htm. Please be sure that your child’s entries follow all the rules and that the entry forms and media releases are filled out completely, including student and parent signatures. Of course, entering Reflections is completely optional, but it provides a great opportunity for the children to explore different art forms. We look forward to seeing the fun things your children will do with this year’s theme! If you have any questions, please call Stacey Hatch at 801-489-8474.

Volunteers
Please make sure to record all of your volunteer hours. This is important information that the PTA reports to the State. This includes time spent in classrooms, helping outside the classroom (even babysitting for someone who volunteers in the classroom) and work spent as part of a PTA committee. The volunteer sheet is located in the office for you to report all of your volunteer time. We highly value volunteers and the time that they spend. Our programs wouldn’t be successful without our great volunteers!

Art City Blog
Please feel free to check out the Art City Blog at artcitynews.blogspot.com. Here you will find more information about upcoming events, happenings at the school, and pictures of different activities at Art City.


Calendar
October 2009

Oct. 6 Picture Day and PTA Meeting
Oct. 8 Kindergarten Field Trip to Vineyard
8:30 - 11:00 All Kindergarteners
Oct. 12-14 Drugs and Violence Prevention Week
Oct. 15-16 No School---Fall Break
Oct. 21 2nd Grade Field Trip to Scera
Oct. 26-29 Book Fair
Oct. 28 9:00 a.m. Kindergarten Halloween Parade
1:15 p.m. School Halloween Parade
Oct. 29 Kindergarten Program for Parents
AM---10:00
PM---1:30
SEP’s for 1st through 3rd Grades
Oct. 30 No School---TDD


Have a Happy Halloween!!

Walk to School Day Pictures

Pictures from Walk to School Day

Health & Safety Week

Just a reminder for all you parents, Health & Safety Week begins next week. There will be lots of fun activities for all to enjoy. Watch for the flyer with all the details to be sent home with your kids. Thanks to Amy Peterson for putting Health & Safety Week together. What would we do without these wonderful parents. Let us all participate and make this a great Health & Safety Week!

Rod Works Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Rod Works gift basket was Stephanie Anderson. Congratulations to Stephanie! We hope she enjoys all the fun things from Rod Works. Thank you to Rod Works for their generous donation. Also, thank you to everyone who signed up to join the PTA. We appreciate all you wonderful parents out there!

PTA Membership Benefits Clarification

The discount at Rod Works for PTA members is only good for a one time use through the month of September. If you haven't signed up to be a PTA member, it is not to late to sign up. Hurry into Rod Works to receive your 10% discount on your purchase. Thanks to all those who have signed up to be a PTA member!

September Newsletter

School News

Back to School Night for Parents
Please plan to attend our annual Back to School Night for parents on Thursday, September 3, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. That night we will meet the teachers, discuss school/classroom policies, procedures, and expectations. You can also join and sign up for PTA, and buy school T-shirts ($8)/cups ($1). Kindergarten parents are encouraged to attend the General Session, however, kindergarten teachers will not be available for classroom sessions since kindergarten already had their orientation.
The evening schedule is as follows:
· 6:00 - 6:30 General Session in auditorium/gym
· 6:40 - 7:00 Individual classroom sessions
· 7:10 - 7:30 Individual classroom sessions

New Faces Grace the Halls at Art City
It’s a brand new year; a time for new classes, new books and new staff members. We want to extend a warm welcome to the following individuals who have accepted positions at Art City School this year:
Mrs. Daybell - Keyboarding Technician
Miss Berger - Psychologist
Mrs. Burton - TK Teacher
Mrs. Hardman - TK Technician
Miss Dutson - Special Ed. Teacher
Mrs. Davis - Speech Pathologist
Mr. Woodruff - Speech Technician
Mrs. Holiday - Music Technician
Mrs. Campbell - First Grade Teacher
Miss Murdock - First Grade Teacher
Miss Haslam - Fifth Grade Teacher
Mrs. Lindsey - Librarian

Changes to SEP Conferences
SEP’s provide an opportunity for the parent, student, and teacher to meet for the purpose of reviewing student progress and setting goals for the coming months. This year, we are changing the way we schedule our SEP Conferences. The following is an outline of the dates. Please put these dates on your calendars and plan to attend. We will be scheduling appointment times between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Please watch for more details to come.
· September 24 4th-6th Grades
· October 29 1st-3rd Grades
· December 3 4th-6th Grades
· January 14 K-3rd Grades
· February 11 4th-6th Grades
· March 18 K- 3rd Grades

Hearing Screening
Hearing Screening for all K, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade students will be held at Art City on September 11th, 2009. If your child does not pass the first screening (many times due to cold or congestion), or is absent, we will do re-screenings two weeks later. If your child does not pass the second screening, we will contact you. If for any reason you do not want your child’s hearing screened, please contact Lorie Reese at
489-2820 or lorie.reese@nebo.edu.

Vision Screening
Vision Screening for all K, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade students will be held at Art City School on September 9, 2009.

Fridays
Fridays are the day to show your school spirit by wearing your school T-shirt or sweatshirt or wearing the school colors (blue and yellow).



PTA NEWS

A Quick Note from the PTA
Welcome to a new year of school! It’s just the beginning of the year and we already feel like saying thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who do so much for your kids and the school. It is all of you that make Art City Elementary such a great place to be. The PTA theme for this year is “Celebrate Children” which was chosen to help us all remember what our focus is in the PTA organization--our children! Let us all remember to look for the best in not only our own children, but all children. Have a great year!

PTA Meeting
Our first PTA meeting of the school year will be held September 1st at 10:00 a.m. in the teachers lounge. All members are invited to attend.

PTA Membership Benefits
Rod Works has offered to give 10% off your entire purchase to anyone who can show their new PTA membership card. It is not too late to sign up to be a PTA member. With the discount from Rod Works, the $5 membership fee just might pay for itself!

Room Mothers
We will be having a Room Mothers Tea sometime in September. If you have signed up to be a Room Mother, our commissioner, Megan Wilson will be contacting you with more information soon.

Thank You
A big thank you to Christy Brenchley and her committee for all the hard work they did on our school T-shirts. They are a big hit!

Reflections
It’s the new school year, and that means it’s time for Reflections! This is a great opportunity for our wonderful Art City students to showcase their creativity, and we look forward to seeing the fun things your children will do with this year’s theme. The Reflections theme this year is “Beauty is . . .” Each student may submit one entry per category in as many of these categories as he/she would like: Literature, Music, Photography, Visual Arts, Dance, Film/Video, Theater, and/or Three-Dimensional Art. Each submission must reflect the theme and be the new, original work of one student, without assistance from others (parents, teachers, friends, etc.) except in special cases. Students can pick up entry forms and category rules in the front office, or you can find them on-line at www.artcitynews.blogspot.com or www.utahpta.org/individual.htm. Please be sure that all rules are followed and that the forms are filled out completely; failure to do so could result in the student’s entry being disqualified, and we would hate to see anyone’s hard work turned away because of an oversight. Entries are due to the front office by October 9. If you have any questions, call Stacey Hatch at 801-489-8474.


Green Ribbon Month
September is Green Ribbon Month. We will be having Health and Safety week September 14th - 18th. Some of the activities we will be having that week are a bike rodeo, walk to school day, and a safety poster contest just to name a few. Also, that week we will be collecting Emergency Kits from the children to keep in their
classroom. A flyer about the kits will be sent home the week before Health and Safety week so parents can get those ready to send to school.

Volunteers
Please make sure to record all of your volunteer hours. This is important information that the PTA reports to the State. This includes time spent in classrooms, helping outside the classroom (even babysitting for someone who volunteers in the classroom) and work spent as part of a PTA committee. The volunteer sheet is located in the office for you to report all of your volunteer time. We highly value volunteers and the time that they spend. Our programs wouldn’t be successful without our great volunteers!

Art City Blog
Please feel free to check out the Art City Blog at artcitynews.blogspot.com. Here you will find more information about upcoming events, happenings at the school, and pictures of different activities at Art City.



Calendar
September 2009
September is Green Ribbon Month
(Health & Safety)

Sept. 1 PTA Meeting 10 a.m.
Sept. 3 Back to School Night 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 3rd Grade to Timpanogos Storytelling Festival
Sept. 7 Labor Day (No School)
Sept. 14-18 Health & Safety Week; Emergency Kits Collected
Sept. 15 Election
Sept. 17 5th Grade to Shadow Mountain
Sept. 24 4th - 6th Grades SEP”s 3:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 25 DDD (No School)

Reflections Entry Form and Rules

Please check this link to download a copy of the entry form.

www.utahpta.org/individual.htm

Please click under section on the right labeled "Downloads for parents and students."

PTA welcomes student back to school

Welcome Back to School!

We are excited for a new year at Art City Elementary. The PTA welcomed your students to a new school year giving out pencils and showering them with bubbles! There are a lot of fun activities planned for this year, so check back with the blog for current information and pictures throughout the year.

Let's have a great school year!

Stephanie Petersen
Art City PTA President

School’s Out For Summer at Art City Elementary!

Thanks to all our fabulous teachers, secretaries, staff and Mr. Rowe.
This year has been filled with lots of great learning, wonderful activities and events, tons of parents and grandparents willing to volunteer their time, talents and so much more. Thanks to one and all and a wish to have a fantastic, safe summer.
A special thank you to Mrs. Pearce. We will miss you and trust that there will be frequent visits from you. You will always have a place in our hearts and in the halls of Art City Elementary. We love you!
Below is a list of our PTA Commissioners and Board members. All of these individuals along with their committees and YOU have volunteered many, many hours on behalf of our students. Thank you so much and see you next year!
PTA Executive Board
Pres-Elect: Stephanie Petersen
Secretary: Niccole Webster
Treasurer: Lori Borget
Publicity VP: Mandi Jeppson
Membership VP: Sarah Ferrin
Legislative VP: Arryn Patten
Principal VP: Dave Rowe
Teacher VP: Nishelle Morgan
General Board (Commissioners)
Room Parents: Kristi Ohman
Sep Dinners: Kelli Cutler, Toni Miller, Kim Droubay
radKIDS: Julia Murray
School Yearbook: Eric Ferrin
Awards & Grants: Deanna Lindsey
Soup Labels/Caps/: Katie Fleming
Box Tops: Traci Clark
Health & Safety: Cory Fisher
School Pictures: Sarah Sumsion
Book Fairs: Jennifer Follette
Halloween Parade: Laurie Edwards
Cookie Dough School Fundraiser: Brenda Lindsey
Reflections: Kim Jepperson
Christmas Wish Trees: Tammy Daybell
Teacher Appreciation: Jeni Neel
Hershey Track: Christine Graham
Theme Basket PTA Fundraiser: Samantha Gwilliam
Spring Carnival: Angela Jensen
Field Day: Wendy Packard
Sixth Grade Graduation: Kris Bunnell
School Shirts: Jami Welch
Fun Run: Margie Fullmer
Nebo Healthy Challenge: Hillary Shepherd

Happenings in the month of May

• Mr. Fluckiger's class won the box tops contest! They brought in over 800 box tops. Congrats and thanks to all those that participated and helped raise money for our school.
• Congratulations to all our Nebo District Healthy Challenge participants. There were almost 400 of you that were involved and doing great! Keep it up! Thanks to Hillary Shepherd and Cathy Dutson for managing all the paperwork.
• Our School Carnival was a hit again this year. It has become quite a community event. Thanks to Angela Jensen and her committee and Sam Gwilliam and committee for the awesome theme baskets. It was another record year for sales.
• Field Day and the Fun Run were a perfect end to a great year. Thanks to Wendy Packard and Margie Fullmer and their committees. Lots and Lots of fun!
• The Sixth Grade graduation was a grand affair with a brilliant program and root beer floats to top it off. Thanks to Kris Bunnell and the graduation committee and to all the Sixth grade Teachers for organizing a wonderfully memorable night.

Tuesday Yearbook Sale

We still have 20 copies of the yearbook to sell. Don't forget to get your copy on Tuesday after school, only $8.75 a book!