Parkside Happenings:
Here is a full and complete list of what we've been up to at Parkside.Cultural Challenge
CULTURAL CHALLENGE WEEK
LE1 – Tuesday, December 13, 10:30-11:30 am
LE2 – Wednesday, December 14, 10:30-11:30 am
UPE – Thursday, December 15, 10:00-11:30 am
It is time for the children to begin preparing their performances for the year’s first Cultural Challenge. All elementary students are required to perform a 1-2 minute piece. We encourage them to make a challenging choice in dance, music (vocal and/or instrumental), memorized prose or poetry, or a special skill (martial arts, gymnastics) that they’d like to showcase.
Cultural Challenge is a valuable opportunity for the children as it helps them hone skills such as poise, presentation, composure, and timing. Performing in front of a group of loving family and friends gives children a chance to face any fears they may have about expressing themselves in front of a group. Perhaps most importantly, Cultural Challenge is an attempt to stimulate latent talents and creativity in the children which otherwise may remain dormant.
The children must make their performance choices early – by Friday, November 18. Please consult your child’s teacher should you need additional guidance in helping your child narrow down a choice.
Preparation and practice are just as important as the performance itself. Preparing and rehearsing early is key in reducing stress and fears. We are asking that all elementary children practice at home (over the long Thanksgiving break) with guidance and coaching from their parents, so please help them as much as you can.
Parents are invited to attend this community performance. Mark your calendars with the date of your child’s Cultural Challenge performance and please take note of UPE’s earlier start time.
LE1 – Tuesday, December 13, 10:30-11:30 am
LE2 – Wednesday, December 14, 10:30-11:30 am
UPE – Thursday, December 15, 10:00-11:30 am
Cultural Challenge comes up time and again when we hear back from Parkside graduates and their parents. It is an instrumental part of their education at Parkside as we help prepare them for public speaking and performance throughout their lives.
We hope you can join us.
Holiday Bazaar
Tuesday, December 20, 9am – 2pm
This is the time to get ALL of your shopping done – not just the last minute stuff. There will be jewelry, clothing, toys, reusable bags, and MORE ranging in price from $2 – $200. And even better – 20% of all your bazaar purchases go to Parkside!
There will be plenty of food to take care of you throughout the day as well. Coffee, hot chocolate and breakfast tacos will be available in the morning. Tamales & vegetarian chile to warm your heart and fill your belly at lunch and plenty of baked goods (cake balls!) for dessert and in between. Please contact Elizabeth if you can donate any baked goods as we will be in need of plenty to get us through the day.
Take a look at our offerings and plan your shopping list:
Parkside Creations – student- designed greeting cards created with Lorin Bryce
Go Local Cards - $10 buy them for gifts & one for own family — Parkside earns $5/card – check out all the LOCAL discounts online.
Money Academy – Fundraiser for UPE workshop selling “The Money Trap” for $30 – Parkside earns $15/game
Kerri Blackburn – Melvin’s wife creates handcrafted & unique greeting cards & prints
Grace’s Gifts – homemade flavored butters & other creations by Grace Bruno
Moreno’s Tamales – the El Salvadorian version made by Jacqui Moreno – (pre-orders also available)
Aneelee – hot chocolate and Mexican Granola
Angeluz Jewelry Design- Toni’s sister-in-law makes gorgeous one-of-a-kind pieces
BooBooZoo – rice hot and cold packs for the entire family
Mary Thompson – beaded Garlands, cotton napkins & small cloth gift bags offered by Fair Aleshire’s mother
Fleegal Farms – soap & skin care from natural ingredients
The Goodwin Homestead - stained glass mosaics, felted wool, coin purses, bags, headbands & other gifts
Courtney’s CakeBalls – eat ‘em there or take ‘em with you
Stella & Dot – Anita Mennucci offers this jewelry line & invites you to shop before 12/20. Instructions for pre-ordering.
Miss Needle Beetle – reusable sandwich & snack bags
Jupiter’s Child - jumpropes, wooden animals & puzzles
Lip Glosserie – lip & skin care products
Kellydtees – cool t-shirts with pop iconic imagery
Petalwork Enterprises – hand-crafted jewelry, Spirit Art, reusable bags, doTERRA essential Wellness & oils
Original Designs By Jyl – reusable shopping & produce bags, coupon holders & baked potato bags
Ana Brasil Inc. – items from Brazil or handmade in Austin – jewelry, arts & crafts, boxes
BLOOMERS – our favorite flower hair clips
Lotsashimmer – upcylcled bottle spoon rests, glass fused jewelry & plates
Parkside Happenings’ Emails
Click below to read through any of the Parkside Happenings that have been sent out this year.
Fall Festival – Oct. 22
Ghosts of the Past – Oct.27
The Parkside elementary students are participating in an exciting project this month, Ghosts of the Past!
In the spirit of honoring those who have come before and made a positive contribution, the students will choose a “Ghost from the Past” to portray at school on Thursday, October 27th.
The older students are reading biographies and in the coming weeks will write a short report on their chosen character. For the younger children at a beginning reading level, we encourage the families to read the biography to them at home.
Upper Elementary students are required to write a report that focuses on the life and contribution of the famous person. In addition, students will write about why they have chosen this person as a hero or heroine.
On Thursday, October 27th, the children will come in costume prepared to give a very short oral presentation to the community sharing the name, time period and contribution of their Ghost from the Past. The younger students are not required to write a report or give an oral presentation but should choose a famous person, come in costume and be able to say what contribution this person made.
Parents are invited to attend this elementary event.
They will visit the Primary classes later in the day.
Thursday, October 27 8:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Timeline for older LE students and all UPE students:
Oct. 14 — Characters are chosen
Oct. 21 — Rough draft for reports are due (3rd years only)
Oct. 27 — Performances from 8:45 – 10:00 in auditorium
Oct. 28 — Final draft on reports due (3rd years only)
Guidelines for choosing a “Ghost from the Past”:
- person is no longer living
- person has made a positive contribution to society (famous verses infamous!)
- children can articulate the qualities they admire and the contribution this person made
We will provide some classroom time for research and development though many children will need further assistance at home. Discussions at home about famous people, your heroes and heroines and the qualities you admire in them will help spark interest and enthusiasm in this project.
The Internet may also be a good resource. Try www.wikipedia.org or other on-line encyclopedias. Please let us know if you find other good resources!
Costume
Simple, homemade costumes are encouraged. Your child’s dress up or toy chest is a great place to begin. Your local thrift store may be another good resource. Sometimes, a simple hat and prop are all that are necessary.
We are looking forward to this exciting opportunity to honor those who have come before.
Sincerely,
Camille, Devin, Erica, Lily, Melvin and Crystal
Fundraising & Volunteering
Parkside Community School
Fundraising & School-Wide Volunteer Opportunities
Here at Parkside we truly are a community. It takes the efforts and contributions of each and every one of us to make these events successful in order for our outstanding programs to continue to serve the children of our community.
Our fundraising efforts go toward our scholarship, music and development funds. The scholarships allow families to attend Parkside that may not be able to otherwise. The music fund goes to support the lessons and equipment of our classical guitar program for all 3rd – 6th graders. And, the development fund supports our growing art curriculum, our robotics program, our community courtyard gardens, our physical education and martial arts program and many other school and classroom enhancements.
Please contact Elizabeth Kalbacher, our fundraising coordinator at Elizabeth@ParkCS.com or 512-589-1592 to volunteer or assist with any of the following activities or if you have ANY questions at all. Also look for specific requests from her in your weekly Parkside emails.
SnackTAXI: (Aug. 20 – Sept. 16, 2011)
Here we promote what we preach with regard to “No-Waste” lunches by setting up specifically dated fundraisers with SnackTAXI – the original reusable bags for snacks and sandwiches! They also offer reversible napkins, lunch sacks and produce sacks. During these dates, Parkside will receive 40% of all sales ordered through the specific Parkside Fundraiser.
Yearbook: (school year)
Help is needed through the year by photographing individual classroom & school-wide events, selecting & organizing pictures, lay-out and design, captioning, yearbook sales & promotion and distribution of yearbooks in May. Check with the front office to take a look at amazing ones from past years.
Rise-N-Shine:
1) Friday, October 28
2) Friday, November 18
3) Tuesday, December 20
4) Friday, January 13
5) Friday, March 30
6) Friday, May 18
This is a time of fellowship and gathering on pre-selected Friday mornings in the courtyard before and after Simple Gifts. Help is needed to pick-up coffee, procure donations from area vendors/restaurants/coffee shops, bake and/or buy healthy morning munchies to share, set-up at 8:00am and clean-up around 10:00am.
Halloween/Fall Festival: (Saturday, October 22, 2011)
This is a kid-friendly event but way fun for the whole family. Help is needed with procuring food donations, determining games, activities and prizes, decorating, ordering rentals, organizing a raffle, directing the Upper Elem. Haunted house, wristband sales, “work” activities at the event, set-up and of course, clean-up.
Annual Holiday Bazaar: (Tuesday, December 20)
This wonderful shopping opportunity has vending and craft booths, food and good cheer. It coincides with our school-wide holiday sing-a-long. We welcome and encourage our own crafters and vendors to participate but invite others from outside of our community to sell as well. A percentage of all sales are given back to the school. Everyone is invited to shop!
Music Matters: (February)
This is an adults-only, music-centered event. It is our largest event of the year with live musical entertainment as well as live and silent auctions. Lots of help is needed to arrange the musical entertainment, procure a venue, ask, obtain & organize the food, the beverages & the auctions, design promotional materials, advertise, assist with decorating, secure rentals, aid with ticket sales, set-up, “work” the event and again of course, clean-up.
Spring Garage Sale: (April)
Collect all of your garage-saleable items (not junk) throughout the school year and drop them off a week or so prior to the sale. Assistance is needed with securing a garage sale venue, sorting, organizing, set-up, pricing, “working” at the garage sale, clean-up and delivery of unsold items to a selected charity.
Staff-Only Appreciation Dinner: (May/June)
Each year, the families of Parkside show their tremendous appreciation to the teachers and staff by honoring them with a year-end, staff-only attended dinner. Help is needed to provide a venue (usually the home of a Parkside family), the food (sometimes it’s catered, sometimes parents prepare), the beverages, the rentals, the décor, the set-up, the service and the clean-up.
BoxTops for Education (BTFE): (year-round)
BTFE is new to Parkside in the 2011/12 school year. There are two ways to earn money; (1) is by simply cutting the BoxTops from participating products and bringing them to school for the October and February collections (look for the drop-box in the front office) and (2), by making online purchases at over 100 retailers through the BTFE Marketplace. Go to www.boxtops4education.com to view participating products and join to earn money for Parkside online. Assistance will also be needed with collecting and bundling boxtops twice a year. Ask family and friends to help with boxtops collecting and online shopping too!
Amazon Associates: (year-round)
Our Parkside Amazon Associates account allows us to earn percentages of any Amazon purchases that our community makes. Use this link for all your Amazon purchases to make your online shopping charitable. It’s as simple as bookmarking this link and starting here when you want to shop on Amazon — the link is already coded with our ID so no matter what you purchase, Parkside will automatically receive a percentage. Share this link with family and friends too!
At times, we may have a specific item we are promoting, like the book Between Parent and Child for the book study with Joe Bruno or classroom wish-lists. In this case, we will provide a specific link and when purchases are made through that direct link, Parkside earns an even greater percentage.
Target REDcard: (year-round)
There are two main benefits to having and using a Target REDcard. First, each time you use your Target REDcard at Target, you get 5% off your purchase (that almost covers the tax). Second, once you have enrolled in the Target “Take Charge of Education” program, Target will donate a percentage of your Target and Target.com purchases to Parkside.
Click here to apply and enroll in the Target “Take Charge of Education” program. Our school ID# is 110553.
Randalls Remarkable Card: (year-round)
Randalls allows you to designate Parkside as a Good Neighbor linked through your Remarkable Card. This will direct a percentage of your purchases to Parkside. The next time you are at Randalls, simply fill out the Good Neighbor form at the courtesy booth indicating Parkside’s # 396 as your designated non-profit.
Office Depot: (year-round)
The “Back to Schools” program through Office Depot will give 5% (on qualified purchases) back to Parkside. All you have to do is give our ID# 2006118273 when you make in-store or online purchases. Click here to see a list of qualified products and learn more about the program.
Fall Campout – Oct. 7-8
PEDERNALES FALLS STATE PARK
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Marathon Kids Details
PARKSIDE MARATHON KIDS PROGRAM 2011-2012
Dear Marathon Kids (MK’s) and Families
Welcome old and new Marathon Kids! The following is some basic information about Marathon Kids that answers most of the common questions. We will be registering students the week of the 12th, before and after school. We need more parent volunteers to help with the runs on the trail and reregistering students next week.
We run on Tues and Thurs mornings together (barring inclement weather). Please arrive promptly at 8 AM for stretching and then a ½ mile loop around the trail. If you plan to join us, please drop your backpacks and lunches on the bench inside the gate at Parkside and then join us at the starting area. There will be a parent leader (usually Simon) who will lead the run, decide on the route and stops along the way. Please stay with him in order to get our mileage in and stop so the rest of the group catches up.
As the kids finish the course, they will cross the street with Claire, and then pickup their belongings and head to class. The kids are welcome to bring a water bottle or drink water in their classrooms. We will be starting the program on September 20th, Tuesday. See you there!
In order to complete the 26.2 miles by Feb 25th, kids should run a mile and half a week. Falling behind makes it very challenging for participants to catch up on the mileage needed to complete the program. The mileage log helps keep track of miles. Please post this log somewhere at home to fill in regularly.
The kick-off event is on Sat. Oct 1st at UT Mike Myers Track Stadium. Attendance is optional. Students will run 1 ½ laps around the track. The benefits are getting to feel a part of a city of kids who are also in the program, being cheered by UT athletes and receiving a free water bottle at the end. I will not be here for this event. I will send out information to those of you who signed up to go.
The Final Mile Medal Celebration is scheduled for Sat, Feb. 25th at 11 am. The children must be at their last ½ mile by this time. Marathon Kid participants will not be able to receive a finisher’s medal or t-shirt unless they complete their miles. After the Final Mile Medal Celebration, we will schedule a recognition ceremony at Simple Gifts with a presentation of our finishers. It’s a real moment of pride and accomplishment for the kids and their families.
If you have questions, please call me at 402-9484 or e-mail me at tleothom@sbcglobal.net. We welcome any ideas you have on making this a great year of running together.
Tara Thompson (on behalf of the rest of the team – Simon Studd)
Simple Gifts
Title: Simple Gifts
Location: auditorium
Description: Join us in the auditorium for Simple Gifts.
Start Time: 8:45 am
Date: Just about every Friday morning
September: 9, 23, 30
October: 7, 14, 21, 28
November: 4, 18
December: 9, 16 – Last one of the year!
January: 6, 13, 20, 27
February: 3, 10, 24
March: 2, 23
April: 13, 20, 27
May: 11, 18
June: 1 – Last one!
Join us in the auditorium for Simple Gifts.
The whole community comes together for singing and dancing.
Friends and families are welcome to come watch.
Interested in the story of Simple Gifts, click to read about it.
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SnackTAXI
Parkside has a great opportunity to promote what we preach with regard to “No-Waste” lunches in that we have set up a fundraiser with SnackTAXI – the original reusable bags for snacks and sandwiches! They also offer reversible napkins, lunch sacks and produce sacks.
Starting on Saturday, August 20 and until Friday, September 16, Parkside will receive 40% of all sales ordered through the specific Parkside Fundraiser set-up on the snackTAXI.com website. Orders will be shipped directly to each purchaser.
It is soooo easy. See the attached flyer for the instructions -SnackTAXI PDF - or (1) log onto www.snackTAXI.com (2) click on fundraising near the top of the page (3) type in Parkside and “search fundraisers” (4) click on Parkside to enter our special ordering section (5) place your order!
Please contact Elizabeth Kalbacher at elizabeth@parkcs.com with any questions. Thank you.
