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!

Each time you shop at Food Lion and use your MVP card, a portion of your total grocery purchase will be donated to our school. We are registered with Food Lion as “Stanford Montessori PTO.” We must have at least 25 MVP cards linked to our school to participate. However, the more cards registered for our school, the more money we can earn when shopping at Food Lion.

It is fast, easy and convenient to register your MVP card. You can register your card by phone or on the Web. Either contact customer relations at 704- 633-8250, extension 3810 (Please have your MVP card number ready to provide to the Food Lion customer relations representative) or go to www.foodlion.com/IntheCommunity/ShopandShare/secure/RegisterMVPCards.asp and follow the prompts.

Mark your calendar to join Stanford Montessori at the Chick-Fil-A on Old Hickory Boulevard in Hermitage for Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night! On Thursday, November 5 from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm, Stanford can earn up to 20% of the total proceeds from purchases made by our PTO members and families. Drive- through purchases count too—make sure you tell the cashier that your purchase is for Stanford Montessori. We raised $647 last year at our Chick- fil-A Spirit Nights.

Stanford is participating this year in the Drink Pouch Brigade program. It is sponsored by TerraCycle, a company that “upcycles” materials into eco-friendly products. The Drink Pouch Brigade program collects all brands of juice drink pouches and turns them in to TerraCycle. The program pays our school $.02 for every drink pouch collected. The more we collect, the better for the environment and the more cash we earn for Stanford! Empty juice drink pouches can be dropped off in the Drink Pouch Brigade collection trashcan located in the cafeteria. All brands of pouches are accepted. The rules are simple: no juice “boxes,” no straws, pouch should be empty. If your child brings a juice pouch in for lunch or snack, please have them drop the used pouch off each day in the collection bin located inside the cafeteria. At home, please begin saving drink pouches today and drop off at school any time.

Stanford Montessori raised more than $2200 last year with the Kroger Co.’s gift card fundraising program. The money we spend is tracked through gift cards, and then sent to our school when it totals $5,000. It’s a real win- win situation.

You can use the Kroger gift card for groceries, gas and prescriptions, and it works through the summer as well. Next time you’re buying groceries, remember to load up your gift card and send the proceeds to Stanford!

Please keep sending in those box tops—last year our PTO earned nearly $580 from this program.

Remember that if you glue your box tops onto the collection sheets provided in in the office you can earn one volunteer hour for each sheet completed. You may also turn in your box tops in a plastic bag in the collection bin. To see a list of participating products, go to www.boxtops4education.com/earn/clip/brands.aspx.

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!

Stanford Montessori Presents the
7th Annual Pasta Dinner and Silent/Live Auction
Friday, October 3rd

Dinner served from 5:30 to 7:00pm
Tickets prices for adults are $5.00
Children $3.00 (5 and under)
Family of four is $15.00
Pasta and salad provided by Ellendale’s

Silent Auction bidding Thursday, October 2nd from 3:00 to 6:00pm and Friday, October 3rd from 5:00 to 6:30pm.

Live Auction starts at 6:45pm until all items are sold
Auctioneer services by Bill Colson Auction and Realty Services
Titans single-game tickets, Predators tickets
Vanderbilt and UT football tickets
Signed Country Music items
Framed “Music City Star” print by Phil Ponder
And many more items!

Call Stanford Montessori School office (885-8822) for more information.
Stanford Montessori is a Metropolitan Nashville Public School