Career Planning and Financial Aid

PTA now offers tools and resources that help parents and families plan their children’s career goals and options for life after high school. Ask your PTA leader for more information or visit the PTA website at pta.org/goestowork.

Keeping Children Safe

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children urges parents not to let their guard down during the holidays. Shopping and travelling require extra attention and forethought to ensure children’s safety. NCMEC suggests talking to children about safety issues before heading to a crowded shopping mall or airport. Parents and their kids need a plan in case they become separated, which can happen more easily as crowds build through the holiday season. Some tips from NCMEC:
Designate a spot to meet in case you become separated.
Teach children to look for people who can help such as uniformed security officers or another parent with children.
Never drop off older children at a mall or public place without a clear plan for picking them up—where, what time, what to do in case of a change in plans.

Simple Ways Families Can Give Back During the Holidays

Parents who wonder how they can instill a charitable spirit in their children can employ some simple strategies this holiday season. Not only will they be giving back to their communities, they will be deepening their own family connections.
Of course, one key to developing this volunteer attitude is that giving back shouldn’t be reserved for just holidays.
"In the families we work with, charitable giving runs through their being," says Steven Moore, associate director for donor relations and regional giving for The Columbus Foundation in Columbus, Ohio. "It’s not a one-time event. It’s part of the fabric of their family. If parents want this to stick, it has to be a message that is repeated often."
Moore offers these other tips for family volunteering for children of all ages:
Set up giving banks. Children who receive an allowance can divide the money into spending money, money for savings, and money for charity, all to be kept in different banks.
Have conversations about being thankful. Promote the idea of giving back to the community.
Be a role model. Take your children with you when you volunteer. Talk to them about your donations.
Join an Adopt-A-Family Program. Provide a home cooked meal or donate some needed clothing items.
Host a giving party. Invite friends and neighbors over and have them bring "presents" for people in need—food or clothing items, toys for impoverished kids, money for relief efforts, or whatever is appropriate for your theme. Giving parties can also be held in lieu of kids’ birthday parties.
Gather unused toys to donate to disadvantaged children.
Really ambitious families can go on a volunteer vacation where families (with children as young as 10) travel to areas in need to volunteer their time. Many programs are international, but some exist stateside to assist Habitat for Humanity and Hurricane Katrina victims.
Online Resources for Family Volunteering
Family Philanthropy Toolkit
Local volunteer activities
Books on Family VolunteeringThe Giving Family: Raising Our Children to Help Others by Susan Crites Price, Publisher: Council on Foundations, 2003
The Giving Book: Open the Door to a Lifetime of Giving by Ellen Sabin, Publisher: Watering Can, 2004

AXA Foundation Offers College Scholarships

AXA Foundation, a Proud National Sponsor of PTA, offers a signature program, AXA Achievement, which provides two resources that help make college possible: access and advice.Access: more than $1.3 million a year in scholarships.Advice: a comprehensive resource for information to help students and parents plan for college. Read More

Managing Our Families' Media Use

An important part of keeping kids safe and healthy is managing their media use. Check out the following PTA resources to become more media savvy.
Watching Television with Your Children
Watching Movies with Your Children
Healthy Thanksgiving Tip #2
Take your kids on a walk through the neighborhood to collect colorful fallen leaves. Use the leaves to create a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.
Video Game Safety
Internet Safety
Listening to Music
Cell Phone Safety
PTA also partners with like-minded organizations that educate communities and families on the effects media can have on children, and that help parents make informed choices.

Are You Interested in Serving in a National Leadership Role?

This is a reminder that this Friday, November 30, 2007 is the deadline to submit a letter of interest form for national leadership positions for the June 2008 election.
The list of positions, descriptions of service requirements and responsibilities, letter of interest form, professional/personal references form, and signature of agreement and submission form are available online.
All required materials must be received in the PTA National Office by Friday, November 30, 2007. Submissions may be made via mail to Diane Tremblay, PTA National Office, 541 N. Fairbanks Court, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60611-3396; e-mail to leadershipdevelopment@pta.org; or fax to (312) 670-0240. Applicants will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of the materials. Please direct any questions to leadershipdevelopment@pta.org, or to Diane Tremblay at (800) 307-4PTA (4782) Ext. 389.

Fundraiser for Autism

For a donation of $1, kids will be able to wear jeans to school on November 30th. More details to follow.

Halloween: A Great Start to Holiday Shopping

Why wait until Thanksgiving to start your holiday shopping? The PTA Online Holiday Auction opens October 31. Check out the auction catalog at www.pta.cmarket.com for books, games, electronics, gift cards, art materials, and more. Sign up for auction updates, tell friends and family about the auction, and bid from October 31 to December 3 on the items you want.The PTA Online Holiday Auction helps you find unique gifts, offers you the convenience of shopping from home, and best of all, supports the work of PTA.

Three for Me: Finding Time for Involvement

For many of us, the hustle and bustle of work, household responsibilities, chauffeuring children to activities, obligations to various organizations, etc., leaves us wondering at the end of each week, "Where has the time gone?" If we're not careful, we risk ending the year asking that same question and thinking of all our intentions to get more involved in our children's schools.
Three for Me is a simple PTA program that can help you find the time for involvement. It calls on you to dedicate three hours of your time to the school over the course of the school year, and asks that you put that commitment into writing by signing a Three for Me promise card. For many parents, having that written commitment—and then getting some good tips on ways to be involved—is enough to help them find the time to participate more fully in the life of the school. Your three hours can be broken up into 10-minute increments or completed in large chunks, fulfilled in the school, at home, or in the community.
Here are just a few ideas on how to fulfill your promise:
Read a book to your child's class.
Make classroom decorations for the upcoming holidays.
Help out with class celebrations and school performances.
Tutor a child once a week in a particular subject area.
Help a teacher grade papers.
Ask your employer to make copies of the class or school newsletter.
If your school doesn't have the Three for Me program, visit www.three4me.com to learn how to get started.

Get Dads Involved!

According to a study done by the U.S. Department of Education, children are more likely to do well academically and participate in extracurricular activities if their fathers are actively involved. Furthermore, children are less likely to drop out of school or repeat a grade when fathers are around to provide a positive influence in their lives.

October PTA Meeting Minutes

Minutes from PTA meeting held 10/03/2007 @ Chestnut Elementary School
Attendees: Anissa Preston, Cheryl Altizer, Michele Carpenter, Laura Gonzalez, Kim Freeman, Amy Kobus, Robin Stava, Michelle Kovauk, Karen Wivell
Meeting was called to order at 7:03pm by Anissa Preston
Greeting – Poem read by Anissa Preston
Pledge of allegiance to the flag
Minutes from last meeting were approved as read
Treasures Report read by Cheryl Altizer
Changes were made geared toward whole school, not just certain grades.
Budget was reviewed voted and passed.
Banner was purchased
Assignment books were bought for all students
Glow in the dark necklace’s for Halloween parade to be purchased
President’s & Principal’s Reports were read together
Volunteer for Halloween day to help with costumes at 9am.
Channel 96 to film parade
If the child doesn’t have a costume, PTA will provide one. Otherwise the student will not be able to participate
Mrs. Leahy would like the PTA to do something for the High school band for playing at the Halloween parade.
Shirt and sweatshirts were approved. PTA cost is $12.50 for polo shirts, $13.00 for sweatshirts. We will be selling them for $15. / $18. Or a combination of both shirts for $30. We must have 300 before an order can be put in. Colors offered are red, white, and black.
Recess volunteers are needed for recess
School is looking for volunteers for Grandparent/parent week visits. Oct 15 to 18
Teachers are in need of help on school days for misc. stuff
YMCA is offering free swim the 1st Saturday of the month to PTA members between the times of 6:30p to 9pm
PTA received a Certificate of Recognition from the Ohio council for safety for getting the school crossing fixed.
School is starting a character word month. Each month will be a new world. Every time a student exhibits the word they will be given a coupon that will go in a drawing for a prize.
There have been some lunch issues. A letter will be going home to parents on how they can set up a pre-pay lunch account.
Coming in November we will have a parent come to talk about supporting the Autism Society. November 20th if the students pay a $1 to support Autism they will be able to wear jeans to school.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
Membership – Lori Gonzalez
Kim Freeman and Lori Gonzalez are setting up a table at Literacy night 10-4 for a membership drive. They will also be giving away free books, donated by Half Price Books, to anyone joining PTA. They will also be passing out flyers for the school shirts and taking orders.
Students will get a Free Arbys lunch with the most PTA membership sign ups.
Count for member is at 38 members. 18 of those members are teachers.
Need membership ideas for November.
Market Day – Connie Orosz
No report due to Connie not at meeting
Fundraisers – Michele Carpenter
Popcorn Palace – Prices $5 - $35 50% profit, but we have to pay for shipping. Voted to sell. Dates for sale – October 15th – 26th
Family night at Chuck E Cheese October 18th
Max & Erma November 12th
Holiday shop December 7th
Original Works – more info to come
Fundraising meeting October 11th 7pm at Panera Bread
Book Fair – Kim Miller
No report due to Kim not at meeting.
Reflections – Mrs. Sextella
No report due to Mrs. Sextella not at meeting.
Yearbook – Kim Freeman
Planning on putting together Yearbook Club for 4th, 5th, 6th graders.
Yearbook will be extended to 40 pages full color.
The cost will be $15 per book.
Giant Eagle – Natalie Pugh
No report due to Natalie not at meeting.
Old Business – None
New Business - None

National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week is Just Around the Corner

National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week is October 21-27. Join in the nationwide effort to increase awareness and reduce the prevalence of bullying. The week is sponsored by PACER Center’s National Center for Bullying Prevention, and cosponsored by PTA.

September PTA Meeting Minutes

Minutes from PTA meeting held 9/5/2007 @ Chestnut Elementary School.
Attendees: Am meeting: Mrs. Dey, Mrs. Sharon Miller, Ms. Poulter, Mrs. Minder and Anissa Preston.
Pm meeting: Anissa Preston, Amy Kobus, Cheryl Altizer, Michele Carpenter, Connie Orosz, Mrs. Leahy, Beth Hutton, Melanie Stewart, Brandi Smith, Kiyana Aston, Angela Lett, Jamie Patternac, Penny Robinson, Brian Poole, Heather Miller, Kim Miller, Michele Kovacik, Lori Gonzalez, and Kathy Nardi.
-Introduction of the officers: Anissa Preston—President, Amy Kobus—Vice President, Kim Freeman—Secretary and Cheryl Altizer—Treasurer. Introduction of Committee Chair persons present: Membership: Laura Gonzalez, Ways and Means: Connie Orosz,
Book Fair: Kim Miller, Reflections: Mrs. Sextella, Yearbook: Kim Freeman, Holiday Shop: Michele Carpenter, Giant Eagle: Natalie Pugh
Meeting was called to order at 7:08pm by Anissa Preston.
Unable to say pledge of allegiance due to no flag
No minutes available from last meeting due to only nominations of current officers was done
Treasurer report:
Changing banks- new account open today
Current balance- $
Review of budget- finalization to be voted on at next meeting
Development of a finance committee—meeting to be held on 9/12/07 7pm at Panera in Mentor
PTA to offer polo shirts for sale with Painesville logo in all colors per dress code for $14.25 per shirt
Banner to be purchased for parades--$95.00
-President Report:
Explanation of what PTA is, mission statement discussed, participating in the Lake County Chapter of PTA
School Safety—regarding the students walking to school—PTA working with principal, school board, and Painesville City on plan for improved safety of walkers. Letter to be sent home regarding changes to be made in the next couple of weeks. Volunteers needed in the AM and the PM to assist the students
Painesville police and AAA in to school this afternoon teaching children about street safety.
-Principal Report:
Beginning of the school year is very hectic and with the new school lots of kinks to be worked out
New schedule district wide being used—being revamped currently—questions addressed regarding when copies would be available from the teachers so parents will know what the children have scheduled for that day
Picture day 9/11/07
Emergency card and handbook contract due 9/7/07
Painesville parade on 9/21/07
Parent grandparent visitation week of 10/15/07
Dress code doing well—will be stricter starting this week, students to be sent to the office if not in code. There are articles of clothing available for those students who are not in code. The PTA will develop a clothing bank when articles of clothing are donated.
Discussion of clothing vouchers program. Questions answered and referral made to speak with Chris Hanahan at the Board Office regarding this
-Membership—Lori Gonzalez: work in progress—prize to classroom with most PTA
members ?sub sandwich lunch?
-Ways and Means—Connie Orosz: Marketday: last year money went to the play
ground this year it will go to the library. If in October we get 10 new orders, we will get $400.00 from Scholastic Books
We are collecting Box Tops, Campbell’s soup labels, Tyson Chicken tops and labels from Nestle Water.
-Reflections—Mrs. Sextella: Mrs. Preston explained the concept. Art week 10/8-10/12
-Yearbook—Kim Freeman: working on getting 4,5, and 6 graders to help with the
yearbook ?after school?
-Safety—Ms. Stokes and Mrs. Venman doing Safety Patrol
-Holiday Shop—Michele Carpenter: first Friday in December discussed options for what
to do this year will continue to work on this
-Giant Eagle—Natalie Pugh: need to register every year for Apples for Education
-Old business—none
- New business--
Bylaws are available on our website ChestnutPTA@ohrr.com and on our Blog site
http://chestnutpta.blogspot.com/
Budget to be voted on at next meeting October 3, 2007 at 7pm.

100 Ways to Help Your Child and School Succeed

There are many ways that you can help your child succeed! Here are two that you can do this week:
Coordinate and participate in evening and weekend volunteer activities at school. (Coordine y participe en actividades que se llevan a cabo en la escuela durante la tarde y los fines de semana.)
Be a role model; be active in community service yourself or together with your child. (Dé el ejemplo; adopte una posición activa en el servicio comunitario solo o junto a su hijo.)

Family Dinners: A Healthy Habit

The more often children and teens eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink, or use drugs, according to research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. Family dinners are also an ideal time to learn what’s going on in your children’s lives.
Reap the benefits of family dinners in your family with these tips from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
Start the pattern of family dinners when your children are young.
At the start of each week, identify several nights when the entire family can eat together. Try to stick to the schedule.
Turn off the TV and let your answering machine answer any calls during dinner.
Talk over dinner about what happened in everyone’s day. Make sure everyone gets a chance to speak.
Eat dessert or play a board game after dinner to continue the conversation.
On September 24, families across the nation will celebrate Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™, created by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University to encourage frequent family dinners. Join in with a special family dinner of your own—but remember, there’s no need to wait two weeks to make family dinners a habit. Start today!
For more information about the benefits of family dinners, visit www.casafamilyday.org.

PTA Parent Resources

Do you have a child who is the victim of bullying at school? Need some ideas for getting your family more physically active? Do you want to make the most of your next parent-teacher conference?
As the best resource for parents, PTA offers useful information to many thousands of parents just like you. PTA provides the resources and support you need to stay involved in the life of your child every day.
Take a look through the following categories within Parent Resources and learn about new ways you make a difference in your child's life.
Student Achievement
Safety
Media and Technology
Health and Wellness

Tailgate Party and Parade September 21st

This year’s Celebration of our Schools Parade and Tailgate Party is scheduled for Sept. 21st. As in past years, parade participants will gather at Harvey High School and will march through Painesville City to Jack Britt Memorial Field at Recreation Park . As the parade ends, participants can attend the Tailgate Party which will be going on at the stadium prior to the Friday night football game. Attached is the flyer with the details of the event, a Registration Form and a Parade Route for all prospective parade participants.

We are looking for parade entries from PTA and all school groups from each of the district’s buildings and representation by any school or community organization. Please let me know if you know of any community group that may be interested in joining us for this fun fall festivity. (Feel free to forward this e-mail to them). Also, each school, organization or group should have a banner that will lead your entry in the parade.

We stress that all children that participate in the parade need parental or adult supervision during the Parade and at the Tailgate Party and Football Game. Parents not involved in the parade will need to meet their child at the end of the parade. Registration Forms need to be returned to me ASAP but no later than September 15.

If you would like to participate, pleaes contact Anissa Preston at chestnutpta@oh.rr.com.

A Parent’s Guide to Healthy Lifestyles

Arriving at Leaders’ DoorsKeep an eye on the mail for a health and wellness resource to share with PTA members.
Local PTA presidents will be receiving a packet with 10 copies of PTA Healthy Lifestyles: A Parent’s Guide. The guide covers five key topics:
Physical activity—The importance of physical activity to children’s academic success, and tips to help families include fitness in their day-to-day lives.
Nutrition—Recommended daily portions for toddlers to teens, plus healthy snack ideas.
Grocery shopping—The impact of marketing messages on children’s food choices, and how to counter advertising’s influence.
School wellness policies—Information on the physical activity and nutrition standards that schools should have in place.
Vaccinations—A discussion of key vaccinations as kids head back to school, focusing particularly on vaccinations recommended for adolescents.
Share this information with families through the school and local library, PTA Healthy Lifestyles events this November, and reprints in school and PTA newsletters. The contents of the guide are also available online. Download the entire guide at www.pta.org/healthylifestyles, or direct parents to individual articles in the Parent Resources section of www.pta.org.

Kids' Stuff Sale at the Great Garage Sale Sept. 15th

Mothers of Multiples Club Kids's Stuff Sale will be part of the Great Garage Sale on Saturday Sept. 15th from 9:00AM to 4:00PM. They will be inside the Commercial Building at the front of the Lake County Fairgrounds in Painesville. Free admission and free parking.

School + Schedule – Summer = Change: How to prepare your child for back-to-school time

From the PTA Parent Newsletter...

Change can either bring fear or hope to an individual. Make sure that you are helping your children prepare for back-to-school time changes by talking to them positively. Whether it is a new school, new teacher, new town, new schedule, or even a new librarian at your school, children need to be comforted and reminded that change is good.

Children in elementary school are generally more interested in knowing how these changes will affect their everyday life. Take a moment to talk to your child about their daily routine. If you have time, take them on a mini-day trip to their school and show them their new environment. Introduce your children to their teachers and staff at the school. Always maintain a positive, friendly attitude about the change.

Adolescents generally are more concerned with how the change will affect their peer status. What will everyone be wearing? Who will my friends be? Anger is a common reaction -- they feel they do not have control over their lives. Help them gain control by taking trips to a local mall or youth center to observe what other adolescents are doing. Encourage them to invite friends over or attend community and school events where they can meet more friends.
It may take a while for your children to adapt to changes, and each child’s reaction to change varies. Take time to listen to your child’s reactions and questions and help them make this change an exciting, positive adventure!

Welcome to a New School Year...A New School!

Welcome to a new school year at the totally new and beautiful Chestnut Elementary School. I hope to have lots of news and happenings to list. And if you have anything you'd like to see posted on the Chestnut Elementary Blog, just drop us a line!