March 2011 - San Rafael Elementary School

Dear San Rafael Friends and Families:
January has come and gone and I can’t even blame piles of snow for making the month
disappear. I do hope that everyone had a fantastic New Year (and holiday season) and that
your New Year resolutions are still intact. The trick to resolutions – don’t try to focus on too
many things – and definitely come up with a plan for how you are going to reach your goal.
Speaking of goals, at the beginning of the school year, I had a goal of seeing San Rafael develop into a vibrant reading
community. Books have this amazing way of changing the lives of readers and I wanted that for all of our children at the
school. In looking back at the first half of the year (yes, we really are finished with the first semester), I am thrilled with
how we are doing.
Here are some of the things that we have already accomplished:
- Every student and teacher are engaging in reading every day in the classroom – through silent reading, read alouds, and
curriculum oriented reading.
- Thanks to the hard work of Angie Arzili and a team of volunteers, we have had been able to offer nearly every class at
least one Literacy Café experience tied in with a book and/or a special event. And there are even more planned (every
class will receive at least one Café experience).
- Thanks to the hard work of Noeleen Acosta and the PTA, we had our best Book Fair in years. We sold over $6,000 in
books (the school receives 25% of book sales pre-tax).
- Thanks to the help of Noeleen, the PTA, teachers and parents, we held our first Read-A-Thon. Not only was there a
whole lot of reading going on, but we raised nearly $3,000 for the school.
- The school has hosted 3 author events at the school and we have plans for more.
- Our November school-wide Literacy Day (Pajamas and stories on the lawn) was a huge success.
- Thanks to some special monies from the Pasadena Educational Foundation, we now have a part-time Library
Coordinator 2 days per week.
But wait, that’s not all…
- On Friday, March 18, 2011, we are holding another
school-wide Literacy Day. This time we will be focused
on the book, CHALK. (More details to follow).
- March is also Read Across America Day
(Dr. Seuss’ Birthday) and World Read Aloud Day.
Look for information about both of these events.
- We are hoping to host at least 3 more author events.
- And of course more Literacy Cafés.
Despite all of the events and special activities, I am most excited when I see a child with his/her head buried in a book
or when I ask a group of students what they are reading, dozens of hands shoot up eager to share a book title. Of course,
now that we have all this interest and excitement, we need to make sure that we are challenging children to think about
what they are reading and to apply it to various aspects of their life. Remember to ask your children to tell you about
what they are reading and why they like it. Share with them books you loved as a child. Together we will change a little
piece of the world of learning.
Grab a book and read,
Alyson Beecher, Principal
Dodgers win one for San Rafael!
Our Annual Fund committee is very excited to report that the recent Dodgers Dream Game Package was a huge success!
Thanks to all of your hard work selling tickets, we raised over $1,800! Thank you to everyone who bought and/or sold tickets. It
just goes to show you that every $2 counts!
And we’d especially like to thank the Sindici family (daughter Ava is in Kindergarten) for their generous donation of the
Dodgers premium box tickets and Dodgers merchandise.
The cousin of San Rafael parent Jon Acosta (son Amory is in 1 st grade) is the lucky winner of the Dodgers Dream Game
Package.
All proceeds from the sale of the tickets will go to support our wonderful PE program with Coach Clayton.
Look for other exciting raffles coming soon. If you have any ideas to raise money for our Annual Fund, or if you’d like to join
the committee, please contact Emily Mencken (emilymencken@gmail.com).