Dear YCS Families,
Please note the important events:
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Ongoing YCS Fundraising Event - Shop Online at Tea Company till Sunday, March 15th
Wednesday, March 18th - Report Cards distributed
Thursday, March 19th – Parent Teacher Conferences/Half day of school
Student Council Bake SALE – Thursday, March 19th – 1:00-3:00 pm and Saturday,
March 21st – 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Friday, March 20th – Friday, March 27th - Spring Book Fair Week
Monday, March 23rd – Thursday, April 2nd – Read-A-Thon
Tuesday, March 24th – General Membership PTA Meeting – 6:00 pm
Friday, March 27th – Family Friday for Grades K-2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES on THURSDAY, March 19TH! HALF DAY of
SCHOOL, DISMISSAL PROMPTLY AT 11:30 AM. Report cards will be distributed on
March 18th. School survey sheets will be given out at the conference. Please be sure to complete
the surveys by hand or online.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------KEEP SHOPPING ONLINE AT TEA COMPANY AND FUNDRAISE FOR YCS!
This ongoing online shopping event at Tea Company is till Sunday, March 15th. So keep
shopping and YCS will receive 20% of your final order! Visitteaschooldays.com and enter
SDS15YORKVILLE in the promo code box at checkout, then click “apply code.” All
contributions will be directed to all the wonderful enrichment programs funded by the YCS PTA.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------STUDENT COUNCIL BAKE SALE - Thursday, March 19th – 1:00-3:00 pm and
Saturday, March 21st – 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
5th grade student council is running a bake sale to support the general fund, which pays for
enrichment programs.
Bake sale will be held on two days:
Thursday, March 19th 1-3 pm, during the Parent Teacher Conferences and
Saturday, March 21st 10-1 pm during the Book fair
We need donations of baked goods or store bought goods. Drop off baked goods on Wednesday
the 18th and Friday the 20th at the PTA office. Please wrap home baked goods individually.
We also would like parent volunteers to help the 5th grade students sell. Parents can sign up for
either day in 1-hour slots:
Thursday 3/19, 1-2pm
Thursday 3/19, 2-3pm
Saturday 3/21, 10-11am
Saturday 3/21, 11am-12pm
Saturday 3/21, 12-1pm
Please respond to class parents with
1) what you can bring on which date and
2) if you can volunteer for any of the slots to help sell.
Class parents, please compile a list by class and send to Ellen Kombiyil at eachilles@gmail.com
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BOOK FAIR AND READ-A-THON
It's time for the YCS Spring Book Fair and Read-A-Thon. During this time, we celebrate our
student’s love of reading through a variety of engaging activities and experiences.
WE KNOW YOU HAVE QUESTIONS! So here's all you need to know about related events and
important tips for sending your student(s) to school with cash for book shopping.
YCS Spring Book Fair will take place from March 21 through March 27.
KIDS SHOPPING - Classes will be attending the Book Fair during school hours during Book
Fair week. Look for your child’s shopping time in his/her backpack.
PLEASE REMEMBER...THERE IS SALES TAX on everything. A good rule of thumb is to add
an extra dollar for every $10 your child plans to spend. The average paperback with tax costs
about $8 and hardcover books range from $14 to $18. Specialty books – like Guinness Book of
World Records – can cost substantially more. We round up to the nearest dollar to make it easier
to give change.
Family Shopping and 5th Grade Bake Sale - SATURDAY MARCH 21 10am-1pm
Bring the whole family to YCS to browse and shop the book fair at your leisure. There will be a
Bake Sale so you can purchase snacks and raise some money for the PTA!
PAJAMA DAY - MONDAY MARCH 23
Come to school in your favorite PJs to celebrate Book Fair Week! Also -- please donate new
(unworn) pajamas to our Pajama Drive to help those in need. For every pair of pajamas you
donate, Scholastic donates a book! Look for donation bins in the lobbies.
The Read-A-Thon will run from March 23-April 10
Next week your children will bring home information about the Read-a-Thon. Please read the
material carefully and spend 5 minutes, helping your child set up their Read-a-Thon fundraising
page. Every child who completes this process can select a free prize from the online Read-aThon store! For questions, email Mary Giles or Ana Guha at: ycsreadathon@gmail.com. Our
students can raise money for our school by simply reading every day! All money raised goes
directly to YCS and will be used for YCS Enrichment Programs as well as classroom supplies.
Author Assemblies – Kids Only
Grades 2-3 – Wednesday, March 25, 2-2:40 p.m., Tracy Dockray, illustrator of the Ramona and
Beezus and Mouse and the Motorcycle series and an author in her own right.
Grades 4-5 - Thursday, March 26, 2-2:40 p.m., Jeffrey Salane, author of Lawless and Justice.
Grades K-1 – Friday, March 27, 2-2:40 p.m., Kaena Clark, author of Marvin and Maria Live in
the City.
VOLUNTEER!!!!! - If you are interested in volunteering with the Family Shopping event or
Kids Shop days, please sign up on our Sign Up Genius by clicking here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------POPCORN FRIDAY SALE
We did it again! We raised $425 this month with the sale of popcorn and other yummy snacks!
Thank you to all popcorn helpers Julia Chui, Heather Parsons, Alissa Dwek, Ian Dow,
Dominique Jones, Jen Papagna, Ruth Berghammer, Ellen Kombiyil, Nesli Ciner and Monali
Fatterpekar. YCS parents are awesome!
NOTE THE TIME CHANGE FOR OUR NEXT PTA MEETING
Mark the date CHANGE in your calendars for General Membership PTA meeting on Tuesday,
March 24th at 6:00 pm and our first lecture from the YCS PARENTS UNIVERSITY lecture
series.
Mindfulness Skills for Test Anxiety and Beyond
This workshop will introduce parents to the concept of mindfulness. Mindfulness skills are
rooted in Eastern traditions like Zen. Mindfulness has been demonstrated in research studies to
reduce stress and anxiety and to enhance attention and performance. Mindfulness is currently
being used in psychotherapy for various problems, in executive skills coaching, sports
psychology and parenting. Parents will learn how to teach mindfulness skills to their children in
order to help them manage stress and reduce worry, especially around testing time!
Workshop Leader:
Michele Galietta, Ph.D. is a YCS parent of three boys. She is a clinical psychologist and
researcher who teaches mindfulness-based interventions to therapists and various other
professionals. She is currently working with two school boards in Ontario, Canada on a project
involving a large-scale implementation of mindfulness skills in their region.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please keep shopping online at Amazon, B&N, Shutterfly, and Hotels.com, and earn money for
YCS! Just click on their logos on YCS website instead of going directly to their website, and
shop like you always do! No extra cost, fees or effort! You won't even know you are doing it,
and YCS receives up to 6% of your total! Even Prime or B&N memberships work just as always.
And don’t forget to designate YCS as your charity of choice on your Target Redcard (go to
“manage my card” on Target.com)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Keep donating to our YCS Annual Fund and for ALL the up to date information check the YCS
Website and please like us on the YCS PTA Facebook page.
Thank you so much for all the support!
Enjoy the wonderful weather over the weekend!