We hope to see you at our final meeting of the school year on Wednesday, May 9, 6:30 to 8:30 in the teachers’ lounge.  Click the link below to read the latest newsletter.  And don’t forget that next week is teacher appreciation week.  Show our hard working Mira Vista teachers some love! 

Go Bees!  Go Cobras! 

 May 2012 Mira Vista PTA Newsletter

Support our Schools by Voting YES on Measure K in the June 5^th election

Measure K is a parcel tax measure on the June 5th ballot that would extend and increase the existing parcel tax for 5 years.  The amount of the increase would typically be about $3 per month for the average homeowner.

If the measure does pass:  current K-3 class sizes will be maintained; middle & high school class sizes would decrease; and more AP classes could be added/reinstated in high schools. 

If this measure doesn’t pass: class sizes will increase in K-3  (current plan is to increase to 28 for all K-3 class sizes), funding would be eliminated for district librarians, school counselors, and high school athletics. 

Help our community pass this vital measure!  Here is what you can do: 

PHONE BANKING

Spend 2 hours calling other parents in Kensington and El Cerrito, encouraging them to vote for Measure K. You will be fed, trained, and joined by others from our school.

Where: Interactive Resources, 117 Park Place, Point Richmond, CA  94801

When:

Wednesday, May 2, 5:30 -7:30pm

Sunday, May 6, 1:00-3:00pm

Tuesday, May 8, 5:30 – 7:30

Thursday, May 10, 5:30 -7:30

Monday, May 14, 5:30 – 7:30

Wednesday, May 16, 5:30-7:30

RSVP for your preferred date by contacting Liz Sanders at lizannsanders@gmail.com or 510-236-3989

 VOTING

Vote YES ON K on June 5th! 

Too busy?  Receive an absentee ballot and vote early::https://absentee.contra-costa.org/index.asp

SPREADING THE WORD

Tell your friends and neighbors what Measure K funding will mean for our whole community.

Make sure they know there is a senior exemption!

 For more information: http://www.protectwestcountyschools.com/about-measure-k/

One of my favorite Mira Vista events is just around the corner.  This Thursday, March 29, is Mira Vista’s Cultural Potluck.  Please bring an entree or side dish to share that reflects your cultural or ethnic heritage.  If possible, please indicate the name of the dish, name of the culture or country it is from, and a brief description of the dish.  Dinner starts at 6pm and then cultural performances start at around 6:30.  There is even an international fashion show this year. 

This is an evening to enjoy delicious food, watch amazing cultural performances, and get to know other Mira Vista families.  I plan to meet someone new on Thursday.  Who is with me?  We are all part of the Mira Vista community yet come from many different backgrounds.  Vive la Difference!

Dear MV Community,

Tomorrow is the big day!  We hope to see all of our finalists on the stage in the morning extolling the virtues of academics, but in case the joy of knowing how to spell in a competitive environment just isn’t enough, we’d like to mention a few incentives that come along with achieving a spot in the top three.

For both the lower grade (1-4) and the upper grade (5-8) bees, awards are as follows:

• 3rd place – $15 gift card to Barnes and Noble
• 2nd place – $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble
• 1st place – $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble, plus a one-year subscription to Kids Encyclopedia Britannica online (http://kids.britannica.com)

The overall winner of the Mira Vista Spelling Bee will also receive a one-semester subscription to Powerspeak online (http://powerspeak.com) and the opportunity to move on to the Contra Costa Times County Spelling Bee.

The winner of the county bee will be eligible to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee held in Washington, D.C. on May 31, 2012.  Prizes for the national bee are a little nicer.  Here are last years awards:

• $30,000 cash prize
• An engraved loving cup trophy from Scripps
• $2,500 savings bond
• A reference library from Merriam Webster
• $2,600 in reference works and a lifetime membership to Britannica Online Premium from Encyclopedia Britannica
• $5,000 cash prize from the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation
• An online course and a Nook eReader from K12 Inc.

(Not too shabby for just spelling, eh?  I should also mention this looks great on a college application!)

There are 50 students total slated to compete in our bee tomorrow and 6 prizes…those are good odds!  So kids…brush-up tonight, get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and we’ll see you in the morning bright and early.

Good luck to the contestants!

UC Berkeley is having it’s annual Engineering for Kids Day on Saturday, March 17th, 2012.
Fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from Mira Vista School have been invited to preregister before they open it up to the public.  The deadline for preregistration is February 12th, 2012.  The cost: FREE!

To take advantage of this event, you can either print out this form and turn it into Ms. Phan in room 21 no later than Feb. 10, 2012, or use the provided code and link to register online.

Both the link and the code are located in the above document.

(In case you missed it, click here to download the .pdf document for preregistration).

One more thing!  If you register, please also download and print this waiver (behind the link).  Fill it out and bring it with you on March 17, 2012.

Hope to see you there!

This is just a friendly reminder to all of you net-savvy parents that the 2012 Mira Vista Spelling Bee is this Friday, February 10th, 2012.

Grades 1-4 go first at 8:45 a.m. and grades 5-8 follow at approximately 9:30 a.m.

If your student is in the spelling bee, please make sure that they are studying their words!  Every student who qualified for the bee was given their test and a full-set of 1st through 8th grade words that will be used in the spelling bee.  We asked the teachers to return the tests and pledge sheets to all, and notification of entry into the school-wide spelling to those students whom qualified. This happened during the first week following our holiday break.

If you need any information or you have any questions regarding the Mira Vista Spelling Bee, please don’t hesitate to ask.  Direct your message to:  derekreimer@gmail.com or elizabethreimer@gmail.com.

Spread the word!

The Artist of the Month for February is Alma Thomas! Thomas is an African American abstract artist who worked as an art teacher for over 35 years before gaining recognition as an artist. Her primary inspirations were her observations of nature and the abstract patterns of light created when shining through flowers and plants. Today, one of her paintings, Sky Light, hangs in the Obama family’s private residence within the White House. Mira Vista students can learn more about Alma Thomas by looking at the art and information posted on the Artist of the Month board across from the teachers lounge. This month’s take-home art project based on Alma Thomas’ paintings, will be due at the end of February. Completed projects can be turned in to Mrs. Hoy in Room #6. The student produced artwork will be displayed in the Auditorium the following month. Questions? Contact Lia at: pryncesslia (at) yahoo (dot) com

Hello All!  The 2012 Mira Vista Spelling Bee is coming up very soon!  

All of our MV students have already taken the Great American SpellCheck spelling test in class and the results have been tallied and returned to the teachers.  The tests and corresponding pledge sheets are being returned to each student, and the top scorers will be informed that they are invited to participate in the upcoming Spelling Bee.  Qualified students are also being given two pages of study words that will be used during the Bee.

The Mira Vista Spelling Bee will be held on the morning of Friday, February 10, 2012.  Prizes will be awarded to the top spellers, and the winner will represent Mira Vista at the Contra Costa Times Spelling Bee later in 2012.

If your child hasn’t received a corrected test, pledge sheet, or been notified of qualifying for the Bee, please check-in with their teacher as all materials have been returned to them.

With regard to pledges, the Great American SpellCheck is a vocabulary test given both as a qualifier for the school spelling bee and as a fundraiser for our school.  Students raise money by collecting pledges for each word they get correct in the SpellCheck test.  Now that the tests are graded and returned, each student will know the appropriate amount to collect from friends and family who signed up to donate on their pledge sheets.  The last day to turn pledges in is Friday, Feb. 3, 2012.

Here are some important dates:

• Friday, February 3rd, 2012 — Last day to turn in pledges for the Great American SpellCheck
• Friday, February 10th, 2012 — The 2012 Mira Vista Spelling Bee

Congratulations to all the students who will be competing in the Spelling Bee!  Good luck to all!

*Featured Photo:  The 2011 Mira Vista Spelling Bee Champion

Our next PTA meeting is January 11th at 7:00 in the teacher’s lounge.  Please arrive at 6:45 so that we can start promptly at 7.  This is going to be a very important meeting as we will discuss fundraising and the PTA budget for the remainder of the year. 

Resolve to volunteer at Mira Vista in the New Year!  Click the link below to read our newsletter and to learn some fun and easy ways you can help make Mira Vista even better.   

2012 January Newsletter