You're a Better Parent Thank You Think...a free parent/teacher night out with Dr. Ray Guarendi!

Thursday, October 9th
Chestnut Elementary School Gymnasium

Chestnuta PTA is proud to bring you an evening with nationally known child psychologist, author, speaker and radio host Dr. Ray Guarendi. Please note that we are no longer taking reservations for dinner as we are now booked to capacity. However, there is still time to rsvp to see Dr. Guarendi's presentation at 7 PM. If you are interested, please contact Kim at chestnutapta@yahoo.com and let her know how many will be coming. Reservations Are Required!!!

Special Thanks to our Sponsors!

Dinner is provided by Chick Fil-A: Mentor, Willoughby and Great Lakes Mall locations!
Decorations provided by Special Events Floral & Design in Downtown Painesville!
Babysitting provided by LeRoy Community Chapel, Harvey High School Student Community Service Program and Painesville City Schools Preschool! Special thanks to Edith Carmona for providing translation services for the evening!

Can I Borrow $25?

Our former Vice President Amy Kobus sent this to me and I thought it such a wonderful message, I just had to poswt it:

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door. SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'
DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.
SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.' The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked. 'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.. 'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.' The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father. 'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled. 'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied. 'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love. If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Chestnut PTA Wins National Grant Award!!!!

Here's a copy of the press release from the National PTA!!!!!


PTA Awards National Arts Enhancement Grants
CHICAGO (September 15, 2008) – As education budgets tighten, schools may find it tough to keep art programs alive. That’s why PTA is proud to announce the recipients of the national Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant—a matching grant for student-centered arts education programs.
The objective of the grant program is to enhance arts education for students in the classroom or other learning environments through a community effort to introduce activities, materials, new technologies, techniques, and the introduction of visiting artists programs. This year’s winners are:
Chestnut Elementary School PTA in Painesville, Ohio, will employ an artist in residence to stage a bilingual production of The Wizard of Oz as an after-school program. The artist in residence will direct the production while parent, school, and community volunteers head teams of students in set design, costuming, music, and acting.
Crittenden Middle School PTA in Mountain View, California, will host a “poetry year” featuring a poet in residence who will conduct four weeks of poetry workshops for all 7th-graders and a two-hour professional development seminar for all teachers on integrating poetry into lessons plans. The year will also include VIP poetry readings by members of the community among other poetry reading, writing, and performing activities.
Berwyn Heights Elementary School PTA in Berwyn Heights, Maryland, will connect science and art by engaging the entire school—plus school visitors and community members—in creating a mosaic mural of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. This collaborative “Web of Life” mosaic, to be a permanent fixture on the exterior of the school, will be grounded in students’ classroom learning.
The grant recipients were chosen based on creativity of the program, and the number of at risk students who are reached. Special consideration was given to programs centered on helping children whose environmental, familial, and/or socioeconomic situation may affect their academic success or ability to learn.
The grant program complements PTA’s long-standing commitment to quality arts education in public schools by providing funds to local PTAs to establish or enhance school arts programs in one or more arts areas: visual arts, photography, music (including dance), and literature (including theater). Local PTAs must submit complete applications and provide funds that match the amount they are requesting from the national PTA organization.
About PTA As the nation’s largest volunteer parent organization, PTA comprises more than 5 million members, including parents, students, educators, school administrators, and business and community leaders. With more than 25,000 local units, PTA flourishes in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense schools in Europe and the Pacific. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who is concerned about the education, health, and welfare of children and youth.

Photos from our First PTA Meeting of 2008-09