Foothill News...

The Falcon Information Flyer
FOOTHILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
“Flying High with Falcon Pride”
National PTA School of Excellence
1700 Via Casoli, Monterey, CA 93940
Phone (831) 649-1744 FAX (831) 649-3428
www.mpusd.k12.ca.us www.foothillfalcons.com
Tom Van Heukelem – Principal
September 25, 2008
Principal’s Notes
Greetings to one and all.
As unbelievable as it may
be, we are almost one
fourth of the way through
our school year already. Fall
break is just a week away
and it feels like we have just
gotten started.
To help all of our
children maintain the
growth they have achieved
so far this year, there are a
few things that you can do
with your child. First and
most importantly, read to
them, with them, and have
them do a lot of reading
during vacation. They can
help you cook and read the
recipe, (which is also great
for math), read the
directions for the VCR and
learn how to program it for
you, (then send them to my
house) and spend a lot of
time at the library.
Please talk with your
child’s teacher as well to ask
them what your child can
do during vacation to really
get revved up for the second
quarter. Hope you’re having
a great year, and thanks for
all of your involvement and
help.
Sincerely,
Tom Van Heukelem

School Site Council News
School Site Council September 16 for our second
meeting of the year and the meeting
was very productive. We took a
close look at the data we have from
the California Standards Test to
begin the process of determining
where we want to focus our efforts
this year and how we think we
could best use the money available
for Foothill to do interventions.
School Site Council
reaffirms or rewrites the School Site
Plan each year and to determine
how best to utilize the School
Literacy Integration Block Grant to
achieve the goals in that Plan.
One final item that we are
happy to report is a change in the
bylaws. Due to the fact that over
20% of our students are English
Learners, we felt that it was
imperative that we have one voting
space reserved for an officer from
the English Language Advisory
Committee. We decided to amend
the bylaws to create that space.
Hope to see you at the next SSC on
October 21 at 2:30pm.
SSC President – Amy Yamada

THANK YOU LONGS DRUGS
We want to thank LONGS DRUGS
of Monterey on Fremont Avenue
for adopting Foothill again this
year. As our partners, they have
donated $500 to the school and
continue to support us in a variety
of ways. THANK YOU LONGS
DRUGS.

English Language
Advisory Committee
The ELAC met on
September 23 at 6:30pm to
talk about the role of the
English Language Advisory
Committee, how well our
English Learners are
Performing, and what
programs we currently have
for English Learners at
Foothill.
We also discussed ways the
ELAC could become a more
integral part of the school.
We discussed ideas about
how Parents from our
English Language Learning
Community can both make
the needs of their children
more clearly know to the
school, and to identify how
they as parents can get more
involved and help in the life
of the school.
We held elections at the
ELAC meeting and 5 officers
were elected to represent the
families of English Learners
here at Foothill. The ELAC
officers are Eduardo Zarate,
Ruben DeAnda, Cristina
Rodriguez, Loranzo Cortez,
and Guadalupe Mellado.
Thank you all for being
willing to give of your time
and serve our School.
Hasta la Vista

ICE CREAM SOCIAL
It’s FREE! Come on out to the ICE CREAM SOCIAL
put on by the Foothill PTA on Tuesday, September 30.
Come visit the book fair while you are here. We have
some great books for your family again this year. The Ice
Cream Social starts goes from 6:30 – 7:30 and the Book
Fair will be open from 6:00 – 8:00. Come by for a fun
filled evening.

BOOK FAIR
The Fall Scholastic Book Fair begins today!!! You can
support your child’s reading development by feeding the
excitement of buying that book they really want to get.
There are also books just for parents. Playing for Pizza is
a fun, light read that you will really enjoy if you enjoyed
the book or the movie Skipping Christmas. Come check
out our book fair yourself. It is open before school
beginning at 7:45am and opens again after school until
3:00pm every day this week, and through Wednesday,
October 1. You can also support your child’s teacher by
buying one or two of the books they have on their wish
list to build up their classroom library. It’s a great way to
say thanks to a teacher and help your child, and the
whole school at the same time. We ask that your children
get your permission before bringing money.

Other PTA News
PTA is still looking for volunteers to get involved in
making our school the best possible place for all of our
kids. We are in the middle of our Fall Book Fair, and
getting ready for our Ice Cream Social, Parents Nite out,
and the Foothill Gala. We have people to take charge, but
we will need help to make the events come together and
be successful. Please help make this year a special year
for all of our kids.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
A huge round of thanks to Rick Smith and Wayne
Weitzel for donating base rock and preparing the surface
area and assembling our new greenhouse. We really
appreciate all of your time and effort for our kids and our
school. THANKS!!

And thanks also to many of our sixth grade
students for helping spread the rock, Brenda Bullock for
making it all happen, and Gennifer Millington for the
vision and getting us started.

PARENT’S NITE OUT
Come drop off your kids on October 24 to watch a movie
and enjoy Pizza, popcorn and punch or water. Have them
dress in pajamas and bring a pillow or sleeping bag. It is
a great time for all and gives you a chance to have an
evening to yourself.

THE CALENDAR
September, 2008
30 … 6:30 – 8:00 Ice Cream Social & Book Fair @
… Southern Community MPUSD
Town Hall Meeting
... Great America Fund Raiser Materials will be
delivered to classrooms.
October, 2008
2 ... Great America Fund Raiser Materials will
be delivered to classrooms
6 – 17 Fall Break – No school
20 – 24 Red Ribbon Week
21 – School Site Council Meeting 2:40pm
- PTA Meeting 6:30pm
24 – Parent’s Nite Out 6:30 – 8:30pm
28 – ELAC Meeting
31 – Halloween Parade - Please bring your best
pictures in for the yearbook.

Come Volunteer
On Saturday, October 25, one of our
former Foothill Falcons is returning to
Foothill to complete his Eagle Scout
Project. Jared Gensel will be working
and organizing volunteers to repaint
many of our rails and benches, trim
some of the trees, and paint the back
wall of the stage. Come on out any time
between 8:00am and 1:00pm and help
spruce up our school. For more
information, you can call Jared at
(831) 333-0937.

District Configuration
TOWN HALL MEETINGS
Superintendent Dr. Marilyn Shepherd and
Assistant Superintendent Dan Albert invites the
MPUSD community to attend a Town Hall meeting
for an opportunity to learn, give input and ask
questions about the proposed District boundary
reconfiguration.
Thursday, October 2
Central Learning Community
(City of Seaside and Sand City)
Oldemeyer Multi-Use Center
6:30-7:30 p.m.
986 Hilby Avenue, Seaside
Tuesday, September 30
Southern Learning Community
(City of Monterey, Pebble Beach,
and Del Rey Oaks)
Instructional Materials Center
6:30-7:30 p.m.
540 Canyon Del Rey, Del Rey Oaks

Let's Give Foothill a Facelift!

Former Foothill Falcon Jared Gensel has come up with a terrific idea for his Eagle Scout Project - he wants to 'spruce-up' some of the areas of campus that have become neglected and shabby. So far, about a dozen parents have signed on to join him, on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, FROM 8AM-1PM. But we can still use more help. If you've got the time and aren't afraid of a little manual labor, come roll up your sleeves and help us make Foothill Shine. Some of the projects planned include sanding and painting the benches and railings, trimming of trees on the lower playground, and possibly some painting inside the cafeteria. If you'd like to suggest a project or join the clean-up crew, please sign up at the office, or call Jared at 831-333-0937.

The Book Fair is Here!

The Scholastic Book Fair is Here! This year's theme is Safari, and there are some really great books and gifts for you to share with your children. Visit the bookfair in the Foothill Library through October 1, 2008. It is open daily from 7:45 until 3:00pm, and will also be open during the Ice Cream Social on Sept. 30, from 6:30 until 8pm. Feel free to do some early Christmas shopping at the bookfair - proceeds go towards supporting student programs at Foothill. Here is a link to our very own website for more details on all of the books and gifts that will be available at the Foothill Book Fair. www.bookfairsscholastic.com/homepage/foothilles Hope to see you there!

TENTATIVE CALENDAR FOR '08-'09-CLICK TO ENLARGE

New PTA Board set for 08-09

Welcome our newly elected P.T.A. Board for 2008-2009:

President - Brenda Bullock
VP - Heidi Short
Secretary - Katia Stornetta
Treasurer - Amy Yamada
Financial Sec. - OPEN
Auditor - Lynn Blakey
Historian - Laura Williams