VIEJA VALLEY SCHOOL 434 Nogal Drive Santa Barbara, CA 93110 805-967-1239 www.viejavalley.org

THE CHARGER Excellence Through Charger Pride

Mariann Cooley, Principal

Sasha McGibben, PTA President November 2012 them the most, their parents. Please be sure to sign up and attend a conference for your child.

November 6 Picture Day Make Up in AM Election Day – VOTE! 9-20 Parent Conferences –

Gr 1 – 6 Early Dismissal 1:30 PM

12 NO School – Veteran’s Day 19 HSD Board Mtg. 7:00 PM 21-23 Thanksgiving Recess 29 SSC 2:00 PM 30 Coffee with Cooley 8:20 AM December 7 Holiday Craft Boutique 13 PTA Meeting 8:30 AM 21 Holiday Sing 9:00 AM in MPR Early Dismissal Grades 1-6 @ 12:45 PM COOLEY’S CORNER: THE PRINCIPAL

GREETINGS

FROM

CONFERENCES November is here and along with it comes Parent-Teacher Conferences. This is your opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher during an uninterrupted period of time, and find out how your child is doing. Teachers work hard to prepare for each conference and look forward to getting to know their students better, through the eyes of those who love

SWEET TREATS This is a good time to remind everyone that candy, soda and other sugary treats should not be packed in lunches. Many children will be out and about this week trick-or-treating. Please remember to leave the candy at home. SUMMER READERS Reading, reading and more reading is what makes all of us proficient readers. Everyday, year round, we encourage students to keep on reading. Each summer the Santa Barbara Public Library offers a program for children. Many of our students participated in the “Dream Big, READ” program during the summer. Please join me in celebrating the accomplishments of our Vieja Valley Students who participated. Olivia Bargiel, Andie Bronstad, Isaac De La Mora, Anja Fassbind, Maia Fassbind, Finn Gamble, Joie Hahs, Josh Hahs, Jessica Hamilton, Hannah Henderson, Anna Hinck,

Jaina Januzik, Aiden Lepere, Li Meihold, Judah Nisen, Nikhil Ograin, Catherine Pizzinat, Jesi Rabinowitz, Rachel Rabinowitz and Lila Woodard. THANK YOU EAGLE SCOUTS Thanks to Vieja Valley alum Benji Sorensen and his crew of scouts, family and friends, our kindergarten yard has many much needed improvements. Check it out! POSTER CONTEST The Santa Barbara Council on Drug and Alcoholism sponsors a poster contest each year. Winning entries appear in a calendar sponsored by the organization. This year the theme was “The Best Me is Drug Free!”. Mariko Tabar, our art teacher, works with students to create a poster. Ms. Tabar tailors the lessons for younger children by promoting healthy choices for a healthy lifestyle. I had the pleasure of attending a reception at the Santa Barbara Courthouse to honor the following Vieja Valley poster contest winners: Livanna Plourde Suriana Corral Brooke Self Tobie Jessup Honorable mentions: Liberty Tank Mariella Rios Amethyst Soto Karli Campiglia Lucy Speier Joshua Hahs Ava Vasquez Ivan Flores Kennedy Funk Colin Newell Lila Woodard

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GOLETA VALLEY BEAUTIFUL=VIEJA VALLEY BEAUTIFUL Thanks to Ken Knight from Goleta Valley Beautiful, and a score of parent and student helpers, eleven new trees have been planted on our beautiful campus. Goleta Valley Beautiful is a nonprofit environmental, educational and community service organization with an emphasis on urban forestry for public areas. Funded through grants, they are able to plant trees throughout the Santa Barbara and Goleta area. Vieja Valley is a proud recipient of their efforts. Join me for coffee on Friday, November 30, at 8:20. This is a great time to chat about all the great things going on at our school. Until then, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me or stop by the office. My door is always open.

Mariann Cooley, Principal WELCOME ABOARD! The PTA would like to welcome Erik Vasquez to the Executive Board! Erik will be taking on the important role of Treasurer.

HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE Friday, December 7th Are you crafty? Do you have a hobby making stuff other people may want to buy? Then please consider joining us for our Vieja Valley Holiday Boutique.

We are currently looking

for families who may want to host a booth and sell arts and crafts.

For more information

please contact Victoria [email protected]

Vieja Valley Charger

PTA VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: We are looking for

The PTA would like to recognize Kristi and Joe

volunteers to help with parking lot safety

Newton-Beban

efforts

during Teacher Conference Week Nov. 9th -

volunteering for our school in just two short

16th. If you are handy with a stop sign or can

months as new Vieja Valley parents! Kristi and

hold up a hand to signal a stop please email

Joe are parents of Kira -- a student in Mrs.

Sabrina at [email protected] The PTA thanks

Seigel-Boettner’s Kindergarten class -- and

you!

for

their

amazing

they have taken on many volunteer tasks. For example, Joe took four old wooden roosting wall boxes from the Kindergarten playground and transformed them into a beautiful play structure that has quickly become the kids' sand toy store and an acorn collection center.

PTA Holiday MeetingPlease join us at the next PTA Meeting on December 13 at 8:30 am in the MPR Room

Joe has also volunteered to take on additional needed construction projects on the Kinder yard to help the teachers create the magical setting they long for. Kristi is a Room Parent and still manages to volunteer in class each Monday.

In addition to their time in the

classroom, Kristi has made an effort to coChair our Annual Charger Fund Campaign that supports our children by funding PE, Science Night, classroom specialists, fun programs and other special events at Vieja Valley. Kristi, who works full-time as the Director of Development at the Granada Theatre, has a long history and passion for participating in and fostering philanthropy and volunteerism. You may remember her standing to speak on behalf of the Annual Charger Fund at our back-to-school picnic after being at our school for less than a month! Thanks to Joe and Kristi for all of your efforts! As Mrs. Seigel-Boettner says, “Both Kristi and Joe are filled with joy and support -

Thank you for your help! Thank you Vieja Valley!!!! Fundraising for 5th and 6th Grade Camps has helped ALL students! Camp Fundraising last year through Genevieve’s Gift Wrap, Axxess Book sales, Cake Auction/Bake Sale, Pizza Mizza Coupon books, along with a contribution from the PTA, has raised over $16,000. These funds reduce the cost of camps by approximately $150 per student. These fundraising efforts help every child to participate in these great week long camps. 5th graders go to CIMI (Channel Islands Marine Institute) on Catalina Island. 6th Graders go to PALI Institute Science Camp in the San Bernardino mountains near Lake Arrowhead. Thanks Vieja Valley, way to show your Charger spirit!! *Fundraising for camps is separate from PTA fundraising.

- making my job even more fun!”

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Vieja Valley Charger

Genevieve’s Sales a Big Success! Thank you to all the families participating in Genevieve and American Hearst magazine sales. I believe our final profit is around $6700. We had 124 kids participate. Congratulations to Ms. Johnson’s class with 70% participation. Her class enjoyed a pizza party for their efforts. Also congratulations to Ms. Heiduk’s class for having the most sales ($1976.30). Her class enjoyed a sundae party as a reward. Congratulations also go out to Christian Rodriguez and Lucy Truong for having the most sales at $550 and $578.75 respectively. They will be receiving Vieja Valley logo wear for their efforts. Thanks once again for everyone’s help. This money helps bring the cost of science camp down for ALL students. Karen Still

PTA 2012-2013 Reflections Program

Students have an opportunity to showcase their talent in the PTA Reflections program by submitting works of art in one or more of the 3 categories: literature, photography, and visual art. Entries must be based on the Reflections theme: “The Magic of a Moment” and will be judged on a local level with an

opportunity to advance to the District, State and National levels. All entries are due Thursday, November 15th and must include all required paperwork. Paperwork, rules and guidelines will be available on ParentSquare or at capta.org-REFLECTIONS.

REMINDER: Friday, Dec.21st - Early Dismissal - 12:45 PM

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For additional information, please email Dawn Genis @ [email protected]

Vieja Valley Charger

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Vieja Valley Charger