by Dolores Winchell,
Springtime Greetings,
Most of you should have already completed your election process. Please be sure you invite the incoming president to be your guest at the installation dinner on May 22. This is a legitimate PTA expense, please make sure you RSVP promptly to Linda Ball, so we have enough dinners for all attendees.
NEW OFFICERS / TRAINING
Once your slate is voted in and full, offer to assist your president-elect with recruitment of all the remaining board chairman positions. It is best to end the school year with every position filled so that folks are committed and know what they will be doing next school year. This is also an excellent opportunity to offer all the training that will be available to your chairman.
For program chairmen, there is always the Program Preview Days at the Performing Arts Center. If possible, you should sponsor your program chairman and a teacher to attend this wonderful event, so they may choose next year's programs together.
On the evening of June 5, Saddleback Valley Council will host its annual training workshops for all officer positions including Membership, Reflections and Legislation Chairmen. At this time we are still planning, so watch for more detailed information to be sent out in May. Additionally, the Fourth District PTA is sponsoring two days of training, the evening of May 28 and the morning of May 29. These workshops will be similar to the workshops we hold in June, so please ask folks to attend at least one training with either the Fourth District PTA or Saddleback. I would love to see all the incoming presidents at the Saddleback workshops. Hopefully with all these choices of dates, all new officers and chairmen will be able to attend.
CONVENTION
Any questions or concerns regarding convention should be directed to Karen Edwards. I am pleased to report that our council has 32 folks signed up to attend convention. Please remind your delegates that your unit is spending this money for them to attend all the meetings and workshops available at convention, and ask all attendees to plan on making a convention report at the first association meeting immediately following their return. Karen Edwards and I will be attending and we look forward to meeting each and every delegate from Saddleback Valley Council.
OTHER NEWS
I sent you all an email asking you to assist the teachers in handing out leaflets to parents at the various High Schools' Open House this month. This is an important opportunity for us to team up with our teachers to spread the word about these budget issues. Please make every attempt to assist with this project.
Finally, please be reminded that I will be out of the country most of the month. You may contact Karen Edwards, my vice-president with any questions or concerns you would normally direct to me. The April council meeting will be held at Rancho Cañada Elementary School in the MPR on Thursday, April 24.
Have a wonderful spring break!
Dolores
What to Bring:
APRIL 24 COUNCIL MEETING: 10:00 A.M.,
RANCHO CANADA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, LAKE FOREST, MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
ITEMS TO BRING TO THE MEETING:
* Adopted Audits for Period Ending 12/31/02
* Annual Reports
* Incentive Chart Items
* New Officer List (see May "Orange Leaves" + see below)
* Website Evaluation Form
MARK YOUR CALENDARS...
April 14 - 18 Spring Break
April 21 - 27 National "TV Turnoff Week"
April 24 10:00 AM PTA Council Meeting, Rancho Cañada Elementary School, MPR
April 25 9:30 AM Legislative Roundtable, OCDE
May 1 - 4 California State Convention, Sacramento
May 9 Teacher Recognition Dinner - Laguna Cliffs Marriott
May 13 7:00 PM SVUSD School Board Meeting - Board Room
May 22 6:30 PM End-of-Year PTA Council Dinner Meeting with Incoming
and Outgoing Presidents, Aldo's in Lake Forest
May 28 6:30 PM 4th District PTA Training Workshops - Buena Park
May 29 9:30 AM 4th District PTA Training Workshops - Costa Mesa
June 5 6:30 PM Officer Training Workshops, SVUSD Board Room
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NEW OFFICER LISTS
To provide an easier and more reliable way to compile data for next year's Saddleback Valley Council directory, please submit a copy of next year's officers and any executive board appointments to MaryAnne Shults. There are electronic templates available for MS Word and MS Excel for you to use for your data input. You may also submit as a text file with tabs between each field of information (e.g., title, name, address, etc.). See sample form attached to this newsletter (PDF version only).
The form in the back of the May issue of "Orange Leaves" is for the Fourth District PTA's records and can be handwritten. For Council, please submit electronic file only.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
MaryAnne
NOTE: To save any of these templates to your hard drive, right click on the link and use the "save as" function.
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BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
APRIL 8, 2003
Superintendent Jerry Gross remarked on the current events of the state budget and fiscal crisis. He announced the rescinding of the Reduction in Force (RIF) notices related to the first and second grade Class Size Reduction (CSR) program. Dr. Gross also reported that an Option 2 CSR kindergarten program would be implemented, and further that no action will be taken to reduce the school site support staff and administrators. He made note that SVUSD is last among Orange County districts in its ratio of district and school site administrators, and eliminating these positions could seriously impact our ability to operate safe and secure schools. He also announced the postponement of expanding the International Baccalaureate program in the fall.
Dr. Gross encouraged parents and staff to continue to contact local legislators and the Governor and urge them to make budget reductions that would allow school districts the greatest amount of local flexibility in spending state funds.
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THE ACADEMY AWARDS OF TEACHING
By Jackie Wood Co-Chairman, Teacher Recognition Dinner
On behalf of the Teacher Recognition Dinner Committee, I would like to extend an invitation to all of you to attend the SVUSD's third annual celebration honoring the district's outstanding teachers for the 2002-03 school year. This wonderful evening will again take place at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott in Dana Point on Friday, May 9, 2003.
The festivities will begin with an outdoor cocktail hour beginning at 5:00pm, followed by dinner in the ballroom beginning at 6:15pm. The Trabuco Hills High School Jazz Band will be performing during dinner, followed by a performance by the Laguna Hills High School Choir. You will be introduced to our sponsors for the evening and join us in honoring this year's outstanding teachers, as selected by their peers. The most memorable teaching moment for each recipient will be shared as they are escorted to the stage (to the tune of their favorite song) to receive their "academy award." The three finalists for the Orange County Teacher of the Year competition will also be announced during the awards ceremony. It is a heartwarming celebration honoring our teachers and one you will not want to miss.
The menu is outstanding from salad to dessert (taste-tested and approved by the committee) and the evening is elegant and entertaining. There will be a mix of parents, PTA/PTO representatives, administrators, politicians and sponsors from our business community. Business attire is prominent and many will attend in dressy attire (no gowns or tuxes necessary though). You will be seated with your group, provided you get your reservations to us in a timely manner (by the end of April). As you can well imagine, seating for this event that usually numbers 350-400 people, is quite a large task.
Please send in your reservations ASAP. Checks should be made payable to the Mission Viejo Rotary Club and mailed to Lynn McDaid at Saddleback Valley Unified School District, 25631 Peter Hartman Way, Mission Viejo, CA. 92691. Tickets are available to PTA members for $40 each (below our actual cost). Please contact Lynn McDaid at the SVUSD office at 580-3321 if you have any further questions.
Please come and join us for this wonderful celebration of the "T" in PTA. But please don't wait until the last minute.
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THE CALIFORNIA PARENT CENTER
As Californians become increasingly concerned about the education of their children, they begin to look for answers. With a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the California Parent Center provides those answers with resources to promote student success and academic achievement. Numerous The California Parent Center As Californians become increasingly concerned about the education of their children, they begin to look for answers. With a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the California Parent Center provides those answers with resources to promote student success and academic achievement. Numerous studies indicate that parental involvement is critical to a child's success in school. The California Parent Center is a statewide program providing parents, educators, and community-based organizations with a common resource.
Many parents simply don't know how to get involved. The California Parent Center supports four community programs that teach parents to be active participants in their children's lives and schools. The Parent Education programs are offered in several languages to serve California's diverse communities, as is information available on the website at http://parent.sdsu.edu.
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Please come celebrate another successful year
at the Saddleback Valley PTA Council Annual Banquet
Honoring Outgoing and Incoming Unit Presidents
and Installation of Council Officers
Thursday, May 22
6:30 p.m.
Aldo's Italian Restaurant
22741 Lambert, Lake Forest
472-2272
Please send RSVP form by May 15, 2003, to
Linda Ball
Council Treasurer
25382 Spotted Pony Lane, Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Each unit may bring two people.
Each dinner will cost $20.00 and will include
a fountain drink, caesar salad and dessert.
A no-host bar will be available.
Please choose from the following entrees:
Fettucine Alfredo, Lasagna, or Pollo Parmigiana
Unit:
Name:
Entrée:
Unit:
Name:
Entrée:
Amount enclosed: $ ______________
Please RSVP by May 15th with your check payable to:
Saddleback Valley PTA Council
