The Stanford PTO invites your family to experience the magic of books! As we prepare to enjoy fall break after a wonderful start to our school year, the PTO is excited to launch our main fundraiser of the year. This new and very meaningful endeavor will not only benefit our school financially, but also will provide priceless academic and emotional support to our children. It will replace the live basket auction during this year’s pasta dinner.

The Read-a-thon encourages Stanford students to read each day, and emphasizes the important link between reading and learning. The Read-a-thon will begin tomorrow, Thursday, October 15 and end on Tuesday, November 17. We will have a halfway goal check-in on Tuesday, November 2.

Due to the different age groups and reading levels throughout our school, books may be read in three ways: by the student, with the student, or to the student. Books may be read at home and at school. For those children reading chapter books, each chapter counts as one book, so be sure to list chapters individually.

Each student is encouraged to set a daily goal and a total Read-a-thon goal for books or chapters read or read to, and to submit the top portion of the Reading Pledge form included in this packet.

Students will record their books read on the enclosed Reading Log. Once they have read halfway to their total goal, they will submit the enclosed Halfway Goal form documenting their total books read. The Halfway Goal forms are due no later than Tuesday, November 2.

At the end of the Read-a-thon, students will submit the Final Tally form indicating the total number of books read. These final forms should be returned no later than Tuesday, November 17.

Here are 4 key steps to the success of our Read-a-thon:

1. Find sponsors to make pledges for the number of books read, or a flat donation
2. READ, READ, READ and then read some more!
3. Set personal goals. If your child normally reads one book per day, take this opportunity to expand your child’s reading time to two or more books per day.
4. Turn in your forms on the following dates:
   Pledge Form: Thursday, October 15
   Halfway Goal: Tuesday, November 2
   Final Tally: Tuesday, November 17

Our goal is to read 15,000 books and raise $25,000. If we meet our school-wide goal of 15,000 books and $25,000 raised, we’ll celebrate the successful finish of our Read-a-thon with a special assembly for the entire school.

We encourage students to find sponsors to pledge money toward their reading goals. This is a great opportunity to share your child’s academic achievements with family and friends, while asking them to support a vital part of your child’s education. Proceeds benefit the enrichment of our children’s educational environment at Stanford.

Pledge Sheets and Reading Logs are included in this packet and should be returned with your collected pledges no later than Tuesday, November 17. Please see the additional pages in this packet for help setting an appropriate goal for your student, and for strategies to encourage reading.

If you have questions about the Read-a-thon, you may contact your child’s teacher, Mrs. Stricklin, or email me at victoriacollins07@yahoo.com. Reading is a skill that lasts a lifetime. Please join in the challenge as Stanford embraces the magic of books!

Sincerely,

Victoria Collins

& the Read-a-thon Committee

Reading Tips & Strategies

Recommended Times

Listed below are the daily recommended reading times for each grade, in order to make setting a goal easier. Please work with your child to set a daily

reading goal given his or her reading level. If you have questions about what is appropriate, please contact a member of the Read-a-thon Committee or your student’s teacher.

Pre-K & Kindergarten: First Grade: Second Grade: Third Grade:

Fourth Grade:

Reading Strategies

10 – 20 minutes or 1 book 15 – 25 minutes or 2 books/chapters 20 – 30 minutes or 3 books/chapters 25 – 35 minutes or 4 books/chapters 30 – 45 minutes or 5 books/chapters

Make this challenge fun for the whole family! Take a trip to the library and stock up on books that interest your student.

Encourage and praise your student as they participate and engage in reading anything that is appropriate for their reading level, and in any language that is comfortable for them.

For students in the younger grades, listening to adults or older siblings read to them or with them counts as reading time. When reading with your child, ask recall questions about characters or details of the story in order to build his or her reading comprehension skills. Talk about the story and relate it to your child’s everyday life when possible.

For families with students in the older grades, consider having them read in one room with others who are reading quietly. Or, try reading out loud as a family one night a week while rotating readers.

Help strengthen your child’s reading skills by asking questions about his or her reading in terms of comprehension, recall of details, and discussing the book’s theme or ideas. To the adults, we encourage you to take the challenge of setting a goal and reading daily as well. When our children see us reading, they learn the value and joy of it.

Good luck reading!

Wow, what a terrific start to our school year at Stanford Montessori! Sincere thanks to our parent volunteers, PTO members, Stanford staff and teachers for all of your hard work on making our Opening Night, Opening Day, and our first month of school such a huge success.

It has been wonderful seeing and talking with all of our returning parents and children over the past few weeks. I have also had the pleasure of meeting many of our new parents and children, and I look forward to meeting more new families and working with everyone this year.

We are fortunate to have such an involved parent community that makes our PTO so successful in raising funds to put back into our school for our children’s education.

Please take time to review all the wonderful “Painless Fundraising” information on our blog.

Our fundraising team has been working hard over the past year to uncover many programs that support education and provide an opportunity for us to raise money for Stanford in a “painless” manner. Many of these programs incorporate our day-to-day routines and shopping practices without requiring any additional work at all.

I invite each of you to get involved in any way that you can. We promise that the time you give to the PTO and the school will be worth your while—and fun!

For more information on how you can be a valued part of our PTO, please contact me at 268.7647 or vcollins@thinkingahead.com.

Together, we can make a difference at Stanford Montessori!

Victoria Collins, PTO President

Also, please be sure to check the calendar page to see all of the “painless” opportunities to help the PTO!

Save big $$$ and time by carpooling!

If you live 5 miles from school, you can save an average of $350 in gas per year by carpooling. Ten miles away? Save $700.

If you are interested in finding someone to carpool with, send an email to Jeannie Taylor at stanfordcarpool@yahoo.com. Please include your name, address, phone number, permission to share your email address or phone number with other interested parents, and any special needs related to carpooling (elementary or primary side, number of seats available, etc.) to Jeannie and she will share information with other people in your area. Think green and save some green at the same time!

Principal Stricklin recommends that each Stanford Montessori family volunteer a minimum of 35 hours per school year to provide the support that our teachers and students need to make the school successful. Here are a few ideas for ways to earn those hours, and how many hours each activity qualifies for. Don’t forget to log in your volunteer hours in the Volunteer Logbook on the table in the front office. Box top sheets: each completed sheet 1 hour Cooking or donating food for any special event: 3 hours Log the exact time you spend, rounding up to the nearest half-hour or hour when necessary for the following activities:

1. Volunteering in your child’s classroom
2. Assisting teachers with classroom materials
3. Making phone calls for any school-associated item
4. Helping in lunch room or office
5. Assisting with dropoff and pickup
6. Helping at picture days, screening days, or TCAP testing
7. Serving food at PTO events
8. Attending PTO meetings/Committee meetings
9. Chaperoning field trips
10. Parent contacts: preparing communications, emails, etc.
11. Eating lunch with your child at school
Thanks for all you do to make Stanford a very special school!

School pictures for the annual will be taken on Wednesday, September 24. Students should wear uniforms to these pictures. The make-up day for any missed photos is Wednesday, October 29. Holiday pictures are scheduled for Wednesday, November 19, and Spring pictures will be taken on
March 11. These two dates are popout days, when students are allowed to wear non-uniform clothing for the seasonal photos.

We need your help as a volunteer for this year’s Pasta Dinner and Silent Auction on Friday, October 3. Volunteer opportunities include setting up tables and chairs, serving food, selling desserts, helping with the auction, and cleaning up. Your classroom contact parent will be contacting you soon to see how you would like to help out with this big event. Please also contact Lisa Marasco at utgrits@yahoo.com or 883-5620 to sign up.