Letter from Our PTA President

Dear Carver Family, 

Organizations such as the Carver PTA are fueled by the passion and enthusiasm of its volunteers.  Next time you see a room mom, a past chairman, maybe a current chairman who is working on the Math-a-thon, Art Festival or the Spring Patriotic Musical, a committee member who is working on the Carnival or an executive board member, please consider letting them know how you feel about their volunteer work.   Thank them for their commitment to Carver and let's show them our appreciation.  I know I am reminded daily of the creativity and dedication of our world class volunteers at Carver.  All of these incredible volunteers need to replenish their fuel tanks and a "Thank You" goes a long way. 

Please, let me be the first to say a personal "Thank You" to all of you who make Carver so special.    

Happiness is... Carver!

Sally Fadley

PTA President

A Message from Our Principal 

STAR Testing at Carver School is scheduled for May 2-11, 2011.

All California students in grades 2-11 are required to participate in the state's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program.  The STAR Program includes California Standards Tests, and the California Writing Standards Test (grade 4 in March).

Parents can help their child perform and his/her best.  Consider the following test-taking suggestions from the U.S. Department of Educations' Educational Resources Information Center and the National PTA:

 ·Make sure that your child is in school during the testing sessions. Do not plan any doctor or dental appointments on test dates. 

·See that your child gets ample sleep before the tests and is well rested. Elementary aged children need 10-12 hours of sleep a night.

·Make sure that your child eats a hearty breakfast on the days of the tests. Hunger can detract from a good test performance.

·Encourage your child to listen carefully to all test-taking directions from the teacher.

·Encourage your child to ask questions about any directions that are unclear.  Teachers may answer questions about directions, but not about test items.

·Encourage your child to do his/her best.

Teachers and parents have a common goal and shared responsibility to have children perform well on tests. California's STAR tests are an important means by which students and schools are measured.  But, please remember that standardized tests are only one measure of what a student knows; daily work, projects, reports, homework, oral reports and chapter tests are all very important ways we can assess progress and performance of our students.

Respectfully submitted by Liz Hollingsworth

Upcoming Events

The Carver Walking Club 

to Walk Twice a Month!

Starting in April, the Carver Walking Club will walk to school TWICE a month (on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of April and May).  So grab your walking shoes, find your club passport, and join a walking school bus on April 13th, 27th, May 11th and 25th.  Our last walk to school will be held on the last day of school, Wednesday, June 8th.  With five walks left, every Carver student still has an opportunity to win a snazzy Carver Walks t-shirt!  All you need is FOUR walk stamps in your passport!  

If you have never been on a Carver Walking Club walk to school, it's not too late!  Just show up at a walking school bus departure point before 8AM on a walk day and we'll give you a Walking Club passport so you begin collecting your stamps.  You can meet us at one of three departure points:

    San Marino Toy & Book Shoppe, located at 2424 Huntington Dr. 

or  The corner of E. Ravendale Rd. and Vista St.

or The South-East corner of San Gabriel and Duarte Road by Howie's Ranch

    Market.

WALK ON!

Math-A-Thon is Coming!

Once again, Carver kids will show their excellence with our Math-A-Thon.  Each student brought home a pledge envelope on March 25th.  Please ask friends, family and neighbors to support Carver by making a pledge.  Every pledge helps!  EVERY student that participates will WIN A PRIZE!  The class with the highest percentage of student participation will earn an EXTRA 20 MINUTES RECESS!  If every class has 100% participation, every class earns the extra recess!  The top earning student will also win a $100 scrip certificate.  Did someone say churros?  The top earning K-3 and top earning 4-5 grade classes will each earn churro parties!  The goal is to have everyone participate.  Let's show our Carver pride and join the Math-A-Thon Adventure! 

Carver PTA Association Meeting

on  April 25, 2011  

April 28^th, 2011   Carver Arts Festival

Come meet our two very talented teaching artists from The Armory Center for the Arts, Naomi Buckley and Meriel Stern, at the Carver Arts Festival this month! Enjoy an art filled evening which will showcase the exceptional artwork created by our children. Come early to enjoy a delicious dinner catered by the Komodo Gourmet Taco Truck and  be entertained by live performances from our 5^th grade Band, Carver Chorus, Hip Hop Dancers and Drama Club Players! It will surely be an evening you don't want to miss!!!

Volunteers Needed to assist with set up, class tours, hands-on art project, and clean up.

Don't Forget to Pre-Order your dinner! Click here for the Dinner Form. Dinner service will begin at 5:30 and end at 6:30pm.

Contact Carver Arts Co-Chairs

Diane Lam and Rose Lynn Jarrett to volunteer

dianelam3@gmail.com and rjarrett@inbox.com

Carver Visual Arts Program

2010-2011

We would like to introduce our two very talented teaching artists from The Armory Center for the Arts, Naomi Buckley and Meriel Stern.

Naomi Buckley, our Kindergarten through 3^rd grade art teacher, creates sculpture that deals with space, time and choices. She has exhibited internationally at such spaces as The Happy Lion, High Energy Constructs, and The Armory Center for the Arts and Phantom Galleries. She has an MFA from Claremont Graduate University and is currently working on her MA in psychology at Antioch University Los Angeles. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

Meriel Stern, our 4^th and 5^th grade art teacher, received her BA from Barnard College, NY, in 1981 and her MFA in Ceramics/Sculpture from the Otis Art Institute/Parsons School of Design, Los Angeles, in 1985. Along with being a practicing professional artist, she has held a variety of teaching and arts administration positions for the past 20 years, including Art Department Chair at The Buckley School, Program Director at Kidspace Museum, and Studio Director at the Armory Center for the Arts. Since 1990, Meriel has been a core teacher at the Armory, teaching in the Studio, Community Outreach, and Schools programs, as well as at special events. As a master teacher for the past 2 years, Meriel has designed visual arts lesson plans that are integrated with the PUSD's Open Court language arts curricula and meet the state mandated standards for visual arts content. She has also designed and taught in-service programs for school staff and faculty in all of the Armory's education outreach programs.

Save the Date: April 28^th, 2011   Carver Arts Festival

Contact Carver Arts Co-Chairs Diane Lam and Rose Lynn Jarrett to volunteer

dianelam3@gmail.com and rjarrett@inbox.com

Happy Spring! Pizza Party Promo!

Of course, April also means Easter is here.  Looking for something to stuff those Easter baskets?  Scrip has got it!  Purchase a pound of See's candy, and 23% goes straight back to our school.   Need a Honeybaked Ham for the festivities?  Make your purchase through scrip, and we get 12% back.   That's worth celebrating!  And so are you!  Thanks again, Carver families, for all your support.  It really does make a difference.  The contest runs until April 29th, and the class in each grade with the highest dollar amount of scrip purchases will win a fabulous pizza party.  Runner-up classes with at least $6,000 in scrip sales get a popsicle party.  And there's even more incentive!  EVERY child whose parent purchases scrip this month will receive a coupon for a FREE Shakey's kid pizza.

CARVER CARNIVAL MAY 7TH!
 

It's Magic at the Carver Carnival appearing May 7th, 2011!  Please continue to drop off in the Health Office your "gently used" books, DVD's, videos, cookbooks, etc, to support our Book Nook.

As you may have seen in your child's Friday Folder we have sent home some flyers.  Please look them over and order a t-shirt or get ready to order your sponsorship.  Your child's classroom has a box available for drop off of any "Game of Chance" items you may want to donate.  Appearing soon will be the actual order forms for Scrip, Raffle tickets, Sponsorship levels and the new and exciting game booth wristband.  You will also find these forms available to print at home via the carver website.  Don't forget to sign up for your shift(s) and make your bakery item!

Volunteers Needed for the Counting Room at the Carnival!
If you are interested in working indoors (in the air conditioning!) the day of the carnival, please join us for an hour shift in the treasurer's /counting room. This shift can be worked in lieu of your classroom booth shift.  We will provide yummy treats too! If you are interested please email or call Jennifer Keefer at jlkeefer7@gmail.com or 626 975-2897.  

Magically,

Nicolette & Debi

PATRIOTIC PROGRAM COMING IN MAY!!

Calling All PTA Volunteers

2011-2012

We welcome your time and would enjoy all self-nominations to next year's PTA Big Board. This is your chance to shine and become more involved with your child's school. Please contact next year's PTA President, Jennifer Giles at jennifer.giles@att.net  if you are interested in participating and have questions about what task might be right for you(everything from Art Festival to Yearbook and all things in between). It is bound to be a stellar year and it only happens with fabulous parent volunteers!  

All Volunteers Please Report Your Hours

All those hours spent volunteering for our school should be recorded as they actually have a direct impact on the PTA and Carver. It helps us maintain our tax-exempt status for our fundraisers as well as qualify us for special grant applications. Please include all hours that you donate to the PTA (fundraisers, meetings, planning, talking on the phone, and working on the computer). These hours emphasize our commitment to our school and our children's education. Report your hours by emailing them to Beth Davis, beth.onholiday@gmail.com.

Thanks a Bunch!

 The cards were dealt and Carver kids won the pot! The 2011 Parent Party was a big success and could not have happened without the generous support of our volunteers, donors, sponsors, and patrons.  Your contribution will play an instrumental role in maintaining the excellence we know and expect from Carver School.  Please continue to support PTA efforts for your children.

It is not too late to join a Fixed Bid Party!

There are some remaining spots in Fixed Bid Parties.  The remaining spots may be purchased on a first come first serve basis.  Join "Family Movie Night", "Get Your Game On" basketball clinics and more.  Sign up by sending an email to Eileen Cameron at ecameron@pacbell.net with your party selection.  It is not a Party without You!

Troop 1391 Beautifies Kindergarten Yard!

The Girls of Daisy Scout Troop 1391 set out to earn petals with this Service Project. They "respected authority" by presenting the project in person to their kindergarten teachers. They were "responsible for what they said and did" by executing the project with smiles on their faces, and they"made the world a better place."

The amazing girls are: Priscilla Seto, Alyson Garcia, Ella Gambito, Katherine Rodgers, Leila Pereira, Elizabeth Bercaw, Nora Chang, Lily Asghari, Zoe Sutliff, Sophia Walcha, Madison Tran, Natalie Sim, Taline Nesnas, Natalie Chuang, Chelsea Chiu

.