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The
eth Paine Elementary
chool PTO Newsletter
PTO President’s Letter
October 2014
We have an exciting month ahead of us and are keeping busy as ever. As ideas filter in to
the PTO and information filters out, we continue to evaluate and prioritize to make sure
our efforts and funds meet the expectations of our stakeholders. Let’s take a look at this
month. Do our October activities align with our mission statement?
How are we promoting community?
* Haunted Dragon Spooktacular (formerly Freaky Friday/Spooky Saturday, this
revamped festival will be fun for all!)
* Seth Paine Night at Culvers (community-building and fundraising rolled into one)
How are we supporting health enrichment?
* Red Ribbon Week (watch for more information)
* Hearing & Vision Testing (looking out for your kids’ needs)
* District 95 Foundation Run (join us for the full 5K or the 1 mile fun run)
How are we supporting arts enrichment?
* Seth Paine Musical (practices are underway)
* 5th Graders’ Flag Day (kids work in teams, using their creativity to design flags as they
learn about the origin of the U.S. flag and the birth of our nation)
How are we supporting academic enrichment?
* Fall Teacher Grants (helping your teachers in the ways they need most)
* 5th Graders Revolutionary War Days (kids experience what life was like during the
Revolutionary War)
Yes, it looks like we are on track to enhance our students’ lives in a variety of ways.
Thanks to the staff and the scores of volunteers who make these events possible. Have a
happy and healthy October!
Cindy Malin
STUDENT ASSEMBLIES
All the students were able to see an awesome assembly on Sept. 23rd on Bullying Prevention.
Mr. Jim Jelinske of Creative Education Services, came and taught our kids how to Stop,
Think and Report! Make sure you ask them about it! Grades K-3 went first at 9AM and our 4th
and 5th grades heard an older kids version of the same message at 10AM. This is just one of the
things you help bring to Seth Paine when you support PTO! Want to learn more about Mr.
Jelinske or see him in action? Check out his website at http://creativeed.net/schools.html.
Here are a few pictures from that day.
~Debbie Miller
The After School Book Club Kicks-Off
Submitted by Rachel Kamin
Over 70 Seth Paine readers joined the After School Book Club for three great discussions.
The Kindergarten & 1st Grade group read and discussed the #1 New York Times bestseller
The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. The kids ate a
colorful fruit kebab and wrote letters to the crayons asking them not to quit. It worked - the
crayons did not quit! Thank you to Jodi Alt, Merle Erlich, David Finn, Liesl Kochanny,
Tracy Suykerbuyk, and Ms Brawley for all of their help. Next up for the Kindergarten & 1st
Graders is If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen on Monday, November 17.
The 2nd & 3rd Graders enjoyed green treats inspired by the St. Patrick’s Day Party in Look
Out, Jeremy Bean by Alice Schertle – green apples, pickles, snapea crisps, green jelly
beans, and lime green punch. After a very lively discussion of all of Jeremy’s funny
adventures, the students created their own “dust bunny” masks. Tara Elder, Emily Kopp,
Debbie Miller, and Kelly Sviatko were a huge help and a big thank you to Ms. Block for
opening her room. On Monday, November 17, the 2nd & 3rd Graders will discuss Helen’s
Big World: The Life of Helen Keller by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Matt Tavares.
When the 4th & 5th Graders talked about The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate,
they discussed how hard it would be to communicate without words. Ivan the gorilla faced
that dilemma when he had an important message to share with the human world. To
better understand his challenges, the students played a rousing game of Pictionary,
featuring words straight out of the novel. They also had an opportunity to "paint" with
chocolate frosting...just like Ivan did! In addition to the games and snacks and fun, the
discussion, led by Cindy Malin and hosted by Mrs. Whiteman, touched on some of the
many themes of the book, including overcoming obstacles, keeping promises, and the
importance of friendship. Everyone is looking forward to exploring some of these same
themes on Monday, November 17 when the 4th & 5th Graders read Wonderstruck by Brian
Selznick.
Copies of our selections for November 17, If I Built a
House (K-1), Helen’s Big World (2-3), and
Wonderstruck (4-5), are available from the Monarch
and Bluestem Award displays near the entrance of the
children’s department at the Ela Area Public Library
as well as from the Seth Paine Library. Watch the
Seth Paine website for the flyer with more details and
email tracysuy@yahoo.com to RSVP and to volunteer.
The book club will continue on January 26, March 16,
and April 13 – students do not need to attend all of
the sessions to participate.
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BOO!! It’s time to get excited for this year’s all
new and re-invented Halloween Bash!
The Seth Paine
HAUNTED DRAGON SPOOKTACULAR!!!
When: Saturday, October 18th from 2:00 – 5:00 pm
All ages welcome; Drop-Off event for 4th & 5th Grade only.
Join us for a Bounce House, Music, a thrilling Spook
House, Trunk or Treat, and lots more!!!
4th and 5th Graders… see what excitement awaits in the
Dragon Dungeon!!!
We will be asking for volunteers to decorate their cars to
participate in “Trunk or Treat”. If you’re interested, keep
watching for details as to how you can sign up.
Look for more information to be coming out soon!
If you’re interested in volunteering so we can make this
happen, please sign up by clicking on this link here — We
can’t do this without your help!!
~Julie Moustafhim and Kim Wrzesinski
“FEED THE DRAGON”
The envelopes are in and the race
is on! Who collected the most Box Tops
and Labels for Education this month?
Stay tuned to find out which classes are
on their way to winning an exciting end
-of-year class party, and will get to host
the Seth Paine Dragon and Campbell’s
Bear for the next month!!
DON’T FORGET… To designate
Seth Paine on your Target RedCard!
We are steadily climbing in our
participation and the dollars that will
be awarded to our school. The more families that sign up, the
more money we bring in to purchase items for our kids and
teachers! 1 % of EVERY purchase comes back to the school in
CASH! There’s nothing to do but continue to shop and watch the
numbers rise! Click on the following link to sign up or add your
card:
https://www-secure.target.com/redcard/tcoe/school-details2014?schoolId=47165&enroll=no
Keep collecting Box Tops for Education, Labels for Education,
Coke Rewards, and Tyson Project A+ Labels!!
Our next collection date is October 24th.
~ Kim Wrzesinski
Coming in October!!
Last year we completed the first ever no-catalog fundraiser. We were able to meet our goal with this
event and did not have any catalog fundraisers. Due to the success of last year we will continue this
method to raise money. Our goal this year is to raise $8,000 and if we meet this goal we will not have
any catalog fundraisers.
$8000 Goal
NO-CATALOG FUNDRAISER
No catalogs, no order forms, no overhead!
100% of funds collected go directly to the students and our school.
A donation of $25 per student will allow us to reach our goal.
Any donation amount is greatly appreciated.
Every dollar you donate
remains at our school!
Please donate today to help us fund activities, programs and equipment throughout the year.
A form will be coming home in October keep your eyes open for it.
Debbie Theys-Dice
Seth Paine Trivia
Did you know . . .
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On Friday afternoon April 21, 1967 Seth Paine Elementary was destroyed by a tornado?
Two of Lake Zurich’s early pioneers were George Ela, after whom the Ela township is named,
and Seth Paine, who established a number of commercial ventures in the town?
Seth Paine settled land east of the lake in 1836? He believed in the philosophy of Charles
Fouriers believing that people could achieve happiness through communal living.
In the 19th century, the lake now known as Lake Zurich was once named Cedar Lake?
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/lot/severe/21Apr1967_tornado.pdf
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/717.html
Restaurant Nights
Our first two restaurant nights of the year are quickly approaching.
The first one is October 9th at Culver's Lake Zurich.
There will be a prize for the class with the greatest
participation based on percentage! No flyer is
necessary for this fundraiser!
The second will take place on November 4th at Lou
Malnati's Pizza in Lake Zurich. The next page
contains the flyer needed for this restaurant night.
This is the same day as our November PTO
meeting. Order pizza for the family and then come
share pizza with the PTO!
These are great ways to help support the PTO!
~Debbie Miller
Important Dates to Remember:
OCTOBER
October 02 - 5th Grade Flag Days
October 03 – 5th Grade Revolutionary War Days
October 05—D95 Educational Foundation
5K & 1 Mile Run
October 07— PTO Meeting 7:00
October 10 – Early Release
October 17 - Hearing and Vision Testing
October 20—Red Ribbon Week kick-off
October 25 – Submission deadline for the
November newsletter
NOVEMBER
November 04—PTO Meeting 7:00
November 17—Book club
November 24—Submission deadline for the
December newsletter
Want to submit something to the
newsletter?
The monthly PTO newsletter will be
emailed to families on the first of each
month. If you would like to submit
information about your activity,
please email it to Christy Medley at
cmmedley@webmedleys.com
Future Submission Deadlines:
October 25
November 24
December 30