cougar ridge ptsa paws in action december...

From: Cougar Ridge PTSA [email protected]: Cougar Ridge PTSA Paws In Action - December Edition

Date: December 18, 2016 at 11:04 AMTo: Catharine Holtan [email protected]

Welcome to the December issue of Paws In Action! In this email you'll find important information relating to theCougar Ridge PTSA!

Presidents' LetterAt this time of year, we pause to reflect and give thanks forthe many blessings we share here at Cougar RidgeElementary. From our school leadership, to the staff, to theteachers, to the students and parents who enrich our schoolcommunity and share their talents to benefit our school – wethank you!

As we look forward to the new year, it's clear to see that wehave some exciting projects on the horizon, including theHeritage Festival coming up February 9th and our brand newSpelling Bee which takes place February 1st and 2nd!

Speaking of “bees,” your PTSA leadership is bzzzzzzy at workpreparing for upcoming projects and events, and we need toadd a few more worker bees to the hive! If you’re interestedin getting involved with PTSA, let us know [email protected] or [email protected].

In an effort to learn more about how the PTSA can bettersupport you, keep your eyes peeled for a Cougar Ridge PTSAsurvey in the coming weeks – we want your input on wherePTSA efforts should be focused. Together we can help inways that have a lasting impact on our kids and the amazingand talented individuals who support our children here atCougar Ridge.

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Upcoming EventsJan 11: Spirit Day - Crazy SockDayJan 27: PTSA Mtg/Coffee withthe PrincipalFeb 1-2: 1st Annual Spelling BeeFeb 9: Heritage Festival

Your $ At Work:Oct/NovStudent directory: $981

Wishing you a warm, and very merry holiday season!

Annie Allison & Gina WeigumPTSA Co-Presidents

Caring Through Sharing - THANKYOU!Wow! We had another incredible year of Caring ThroughSharing!

We posted over 700 "Gingerbread People" on the bulletinboard and, thanks to the generosity of the families at CougarRidge, we were able to deliver over 700 gifts and items to theHoliday Gift Barn through the Issaquah Food Bank. Onceagain, we are one of the top donation sources for thischarity. Thank you to our staff for taking time during theirbusy class day to allow the students to cut out and decoratethe gingerbread people - they turned out fantastic! Inaddition, a special thanks to those who helped us sort, loadand deliver everything: Shamitha Sridharan, Julie Gamble, JillMcClellan, and Gina Weigum.

Thanks for making it a huge success - and a huge thanks toWendy Shah and Marcie Lewis for leading this effort!

Spooky Spaghetti: $4,036Reflections: $260Certified Staff allocations:$1,7225th Grade camp: $4,800Art Docent Program: $2,105Brain Pop: $185Grade Level Enrichment: $2,063All School grants: $1,337Learning Cottage Bonus: $136

A Very Special THANKYOUTo Our VolunteerChairpersons....

Executive BoardAnnie Allison, Gina Weigum,Bonnie Hanson, Kamala Plaisted,Amy Raber, Sangeeta Sarma,Crystal Thacker, Marcie Lewis,Nina Scoffone, Shannon Gerity,Karishma Lal, Melanie Parry,Sandra Walker-Kim, CarolinaMcCabe, Jana Horton

Rachel Auffant, Student Council

Julie Dietiker, Camp WarmBeach and ISF Rep

Jodi Freudenberger, LibraryVolunteer Coordinator

Jennifer Harrington, RoomParent Coordinator

Catharine Holtan, Newsletters &Webmaster

Karishma Lal, MonthlyBirthdays and Art DocentCoordinator

Marcie Lewis, Caring ThroughSharing

Art Docent Program UpdateThe Art Docent program has gotten off to a great start thisyear. Thanks to parent support and PTSA funding, we areproviding art to every student at Cougar Ridge. The DistrictArt Docent program bridges the gap between school fundingand the art curriculum requirement. In October andNovember, parent volunteers taught 50 art docentlessons! PTSA funds have purchased art bins for each gradeand supplies for the 195 lessons the art docent program willteach this year.

Students have studied a variety of art concepts,including color theory, silhouette, positive and negativespace, atmospheric perspective, line, pattern, drawing, andmovement. Students have explored different mediums: paint,oil pastel, mixed media, printmaking, and cut paper. Theselessons have also covered a variety of cultural influences andmaster artists. This Spring, the Art Docent program will offerlessons using clay, glass, metal, and much more. If your student’s work has not come home yet, it is likely ondisplay in the halls of the school. Please take a look if you arein the building, as we are delighted in these budding artistsand their work. We still have openings if you would like to join the Art DocentTeam! Please email [email protected] to reach us.

Coffee with thePrincipal -Please Join Us! Reflections Art

Contest

Sharing

Angela McGann, Reflections

Karissa Mobilia, StudentCouncil & Membership

Natalie Parker, Gift-a-Book

Melanie Parry, MonthlyBirthdays

Nina Scoffone, Winter FamilyNight

Wendy Shah, Caring ThroughSharing

Stephanie Sladic, Yearbook

Susie Skarin, Book Fair

Sandy Su, Book Fair

Holly Wiederin, Directory

Lisa Wiese, Spelling Bee Chair

Suzanne and Andrew Wilkes,Chess Club

Sally Witt, Gift-a-Book

...and many more!

Book Fair

Please join us on Friday,January 27th at 8:45am inthe Bobcat Cafe for ourPTSA General Membershipmeeting and Coffee withthe Principal! PrincipalNatalie Fowler will bediscussing the SchoolImprovement Plan as wellas Cougar Ridge's remodelupdate.

It's a great time to comelearn about what the PTSAis up to as well as askPrincipal Fowler anyquestions you may have.We look forward to seeingyou there!

ContestThe Washington State PTA,in partnership with theNational PTA, sponsors anarts education contestknown as the ReflectionsProgram, with a differenttheme each year. Thisyear's theme was "What isYour Story?"

On November 7th we heldour school's ReflectionsNight. With a great turnoutfor Cougar Ridge this year,we were able to send 12finalists to the Councillevel to be judged withother Issaquah SchoolDistrict entries.Congratulations to ourfinalists! We had a greatnight including a musicconcert with the 5thgraders and Mr. KP,hands-on art stations, andmore.

Thank you to AngelaMcGann for again leadingour Reflections programthis year!

Book FairSuccess!What another great yearfor the Book Fair! It takessuch a coordinated effortby the staff and theamazing volunteers to pullthis off every year. To havevolunteers coming in everyday, every hour, for a weekis a lot to ask - and yet italways gets done! Wecouldn’t do it without thededication of our Librarian,Ms. Hembree. She makesthe library space available,coordinates shoppingopportunities for everyclass, and basically putsthe library on hold for theweek. The end result? Ouramazing Cougar Ridgefamilies earned over$7,000 towards books forour teachers and ourlibrary! That, combinedwith all the happy facesgoing home with their newbooks from the Fair,makes all the hard workmore than worth it!

A BIG THANK YOU to SusieSkarin and Sandy Su forleading this effort for thePTSA!

Student Council UpdateOur Student Council is off to a productive start this year! The 4th and 5th grade Student

Council members held their first elections in November. All candidates presented a speech(over 15 students ran for office - nice work future leaders!) Elected officers include: President

Drew S., VP Zachary W., and Secretary Elyse L. These newly elected officers will hold theirpositions through February when new officers will run for office for the 2nd half of the year.

Elected officials meet with Principal Fowler each month to provide an update on what theCouncil is working on. Student representatives visit each classroom once per month to keep all

students informed.

Student Council is responsible for selecting and promoting Cougar Ridge spirit days andhumanitarian projects. Students selected Cancer Awareness for November and Pajama Day forDecember. Please see the full list below of spirit days for the year, and please encourage your

student to show their school spirit by participating in these fun days!

January 11th - Crazy Sock Day

February 8th - Culture Day

March 1st (read across America week) - Book Character Day

April 19th - Creative Hair Day

May 24th - Decades Day

Students have selected a handful of projects to kick off the year. During the book fair,shoppers were invited to purchase an extra book to donate to children at Swedish Hospital. Thecouncil will make a trip in January to donate the books to the hospital. If you would still like to

donate a new and unused book, please have your student bring them in to the staff advisors MsStacy/Ms. Chase by January 10th!! The Council also supports the school’s PTSA Caring Through

Sharing project by running a wrapping paper and battery drive. We are proud of all studentsand families for giving back to our community in so many ways!!

Stay tuned for upcoming spirit day and humanitarian project announcements throughout theyear.

Upcoming Events in 2017: Save the Date!

Excitement is building forthe inaugural Cougar RidgeSpelling Bee! The Bee willtake place on Wednesday,February 1st and Thursday,February 2nd and is open togrades 2-5. The schoolchampion is eligible tocompete at the regionallevel in downtown Seattle inMarch, and then possibly atthe the Scripps NationalSpelling Bee in WashingtonD.C.! The Bee will follow atraditional oral spellingformat, and each participantwill receive a ribbon. Clickhere to register and foradditional information.

The Bee cannot take placewithout volunteers to serveas pronouncers, judges andstage assistants, so pleaselet us know if you are ableto volunteer.

Hope to see you there!

Cougar Ridge's bi-annualHeritage Festival willhappen Thursday,February 9th at 6PM! Thisyear we will also celebrateLunar New Year during thefestival so there will belots of excitement. Asusual, there will be boothdisplays for the countriesthat are represented atCougar Ridge. There willalso be activities and foodsamples. It is always oneof the most popular andwell-attended events thatthe PTSA sponsors.

To put all this together wewill need a lot of help! Ifyou have heritage fromanother country or have aspecial interest or feelingsfor another country, you'rewelcome to host or helpwith a booth. If youhaven't been in contactwith us, please send anemail to the HeritageFestival Team.

If you want to be a part ofthe festival but don't havea particular countryand/or don't want toprepare a booth, pleaseemail us as well! We willneed plenty of volunteerson the actual night to helpwith setting up tables,booths, activities and

Mark your calendars forthis year's Cougar RidgeScience Fair on Friday,March 24th from 5:30-7:30PM. There will be lotsof interactive exhibits anda science demonstrationfor the whole family toenjoy. This is a great wayfor students to learn thescientific process bycoming up with his/herown cool experiment topresent at the fair!

Check out our website forfurther information andideas for your project. Allgrades are encouraged toparticipate!

cougar ridge ptsa paws in action december...

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