New date for Mt. View at Skateland

In April, Skateland will shift our Mt. View skate night to the 4th Tuesday of each month. Look for your reminder flyers immediately before then (Tuesday, April 27th).

Dust Off Your Dancing Shoes!

Mt. View PTA Family Fun Night

March 5, 2010, 6:00-8:00 pm

*DJ in the gym *Karaoke in the library

*Cupcake decorating in the cafeteria

*Tacos in a bag in the cafeteria. $2.50 ea. $.50 drink

*Wear GREEN for St. Patrick’s Day!!

*No entrance fee. Canned food donation requested!!

*Children must be accompanied by an adult!!

Thanks very much for your donations - they make a difference!

You can also buy your Mt. View spirit wear (Mt. View t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts - adult and youth sizes available).

Any questions or if you want to volunteer to help out, please contact coordinator Randy Weeks (who happens to double as your proud principal). If you are able to donate your time as a volunteer or drop off green cake decorating supplies, we need you! Please drop off any items at the front office.

Here is the link to the full flyer and volunteer form - see you on Friday!

Mt. View PTA joins with ACE

Starting this Thursday, close to 30 Mt. View students will start their twice-a-week excursion to a far-off land, with the help of Mt. View PTA and Associates in Cultural Exchange (ACE) - World Language Program. This is an after-school program funded almost entirely by Mt. View PTA. Half the students will enjoy an introduction to German each Thursday and the other half Spanish, each Tuesday and Thursday.

Thanks very much to Mr. Weeks and Mr. McCann for providing space for these classes.

Click here for more information about ACE. If you have questions, please contact Olympia Area Coordinator Elke Armajo - 360-456-1402

March meeting agenda

Please join us for the next general membership meeting:

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
6:30-7:30 p.m.
Mt. View Elementary library

Click here for the agenda, which includes a guest speaker from St. Martin's University about opportunities to host foreign students this summer. We'll also have a report from our elected Nominating Committee.

See you there! Contact me with your questions and comments about the agenda.

- Brian Morgan
Mt. View PTA President 2009-2010

Congratulation to Daniel Grimm!

Congratulations to Aspire student Daniel Grimm - he attended Mt. View years ago but his parents, Lucia and Glenn are both PTA members and constant, quiet contributors to Mt. View, particularly with their time and energy. The below is taken from the weekly NTPS Success page.

February 17 Board Meeting Highlights

Student Recognition: The Board recognized Skye Aslaksen, 5th grader at Meadows Elementary and Daniel Grimm, 6th grader at Aspire Middle School, who were National Geographic Bee school winners. The National Geographic Bee occurs in three stages, beginning at the school level. This year both Meadows Elementary and Aspire Middle School participated. Aspire social studies teacher Paul Garrett , who helped organize the Geographic Bee at Aspire, noted how tough the questions were. One example question from the website, for instance, was "Which Canadian province produces more than half the country's manufactured goods?" Answer: Ontario. Each school winner takes a written test, and the top hundred scorers in each state and territory compete at the state level. State-level Bees are held in the spring, and the winner of each state Bee proceeds to the national competition.

The Board also recognized Daniel Grimm individually for his outstanding community service. Daniel spent the past several months supplying school libraries with books from their "wish" lists, often purchasing the books himself. Daniel has been involved in several community service projects throughout the district and his dedication serves as an inspiration and a great example of student leadership in our district. Daniel donated a total of 917 books to Aspire, Evergreen Forest, Lacey, Lydia Hawk, Mountain View, Olympic View and Woodland. The Board presented Daniel with a thank you bag from South Sound Reading Foundation.

Mini-Grant Recipients Announced - Vickie Hanson

Grant Recipients: Teachers and schools often rely on outside funding to enrich their programs. Congratulations to this year's MAC Mini- Grant Recipients and TwinStar Classroom Cash Winners!

MAC Mini-Grant: Karen Harris, Mari Knapp, Sara Bodigheimer & Pat Cummings (Olympic View); Heidi Roycroft, Norma Sassone & Chris Traber (Aspire); Joyce Ott & staff (Komachin); Norel Swanson (Pleasant Glde); Adina Brito (Pleasant Glade); Bethany Partin (Lakes); Karen Owen and Staff (Nisqually); Pam Morr (Woodland); and George Christoph, Sarah Applegate, Scot Haury , & Randy Keller (River Ridge).

Classroom Cash: Sarah Coulson (Lydia Hawk), Laura Giebelhaus (Seven Oaks), Nancy Hall (Lacey), Corie Hancock (Lydia Hawk), Victoria Hanson (Mountain View), Debbie Hathaway (Seven Oaks), Helen Henry (Seven Oaks), Tesa Manix (Lakes), Terri McCuiston (Pleasant Glade), Cynthia Monge-Eaton (Pleasant Glade), Jeanne Pittenger (Woodland), Cari Quiocho (Lakes), Katie Schmidtke (Horizons), Jennifer Trinidad (Lacey), and Claire Williams (Olympic View).

Mt. View teacher April Whitaker "hooping" it up

Mountain View Hoopsters: When sixth grade teacher April Whitaker started a basketball team for 5th and 6th grade girls at Mountain View Elementary four years ago, she opened new doors and mentorship opportunities with lasting impacts. "Many of these girls had never even seen a basketball team on TV, much less being played by women," said Whitaker, who says playing on the afterschool team helps prepares the girls for middle school sports.

The team is appropriately called "The Small Storm" and they recently had the opportunity to see the game in action at a women's basketball game at The Evergreen State College. Afterwards, the coach and members of the TESC team came and played with the girls after school as they wrapped up their season. TESC coach Monica Hever and her team, including Alex Saab, Ali Matisons and Mele Rich , says it's a great way to get out in the community. "It's wonderful for my team to be able to give back to these young girls and be role models."

One MVE hoopster, Hannah, has been playing for two years. "It's awesome…I love it!" She and her friends said they all plan to play middle school basketball too. The team's season will culminate in a field trip to opening night for the Seattle Storm game.

The above is taken from the weekly NTPS Success page.

Some resources for you and your family

101 Ways to Praise a Child
Being an Effective Parent - Helping Your Child Through Early Adolescence
Raising Siblings

These and other resources are available at Mt. View, on the table just inside the main entrance.

February newsletter published

Here's the link to your latest and greatest Mt. View PTA newsletter! Please note that it includes a time-sensitive flyer, giving you the opportunity to send your student to an after-school language class. Check it out and turn your flyer back in to the school as soon as possible!

See you tomorrow (Tuesday) for our general membership meeting!

Best to you all,
Brian

Brian Morgan
Mt. View PTA President 2009-2010

February meeting agenda

Please join us for our February general membership meeting next week:

Tuesday, February 9th
6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Mt. View library

We will discuss 2010 Fun Nights - looks like we may have one in February or March and then again in May! Come provide your ideas and input or at least find out what is coming up!

Click here for the draft agenda. Questions? Contact President Brian Morgan.

See you there!