Brywood Bugle April 2011.pub

Principal’s Message
Dear Brywood Families,
I am wondering if all of you are feeling the stress of March Madness.
I’m not talking about college basketball. I am referring to that long
stretch between the beginning of March until spring break. This period
of time includes preparing report cards, parent-teacher conferences,
and of course, spring fever. Throughout the school year, we
are fortunate that a break seems to come along just when we all need it most. March
Madness is not one of those times. I’m not complaining, just recognizing that it’s a
long haul.
This month there has certainly been a spike in behavior issues on campus. At first I
thought it was just related to spring fever. The more I thought about it, and the more
I talked to parents and colleagues, I realized this wasn’t just happening in March and
it wasn’t just happening at school. It’s not new behavior, just more visible as we expect
our students to be clear about our expectations regarding behavior this time of
year. The one recurring theme in all of the behavior seems to be respect or lack of
respect.
April
2011
In this Issue…
Page 2
March Calendar
Page 3
PTA President Message
Page 4 & 5
Bryworld Cultural
Festival
Page 6
Jog-A-Thon
Respect shows itself in so many ways, respect for self, respect for others and respect
for property. One of our ON TRACK statements is Respect yourself and others. We
have expanded this rule to include property as well. Many incidences have occurred
over the last several weeks that really brought the issue of disrespect to the forefront,
again. Without going into a lot of detail they included, extremely hurtful comments to
classmates, including profanity and bullying, rudeness shown to noon supervision,
rudeness shown to a teacher other than a student’s assigned teacher, disregard for
school supplies and property. Sadly, so much of what I describe is glorified on television
and other media. Unacceptable behavior by athletes, celebrities, or reality television
stars has become the rule rather than the exception.
As a parent, I honestly do not know how you can shield your children from all that
they are bombarded with every day. Even if you limit or supervise what is watched on
television or viewed on the internet, there is always exposure when your child leaves
the house, the playground and at the homes of their friends.
I can address the issue of the playground. Whenever an incident of disrespect is
brought to my attention, I handle it as soon as possible. My discipline style is to have
a conversation with the student(s). While sometimes suspension and severe consequences
are warranted, I ALWAYS take the opportunity to teach a life lesson. My
hope is that I have created an environment in which you feel comfortable to discuss
problems your child is having on the playground. I have been told by many parents, “I
didn’t want to bother you with this playground stuff. We thought we could handle it

Brywood Bugle Page 2 April 2011
on our own.” I do appreciate your attempts to take care of school problems at home.
This is a very important first step. However, if you find yourself revisiting the same
issues, please involve me. I’m happy to help and it’s my job. While your report of the
situation is very important, I am a great believer in children getting involved in the
solution. It gives them a sense of power and increased confidence. Building confidence
keeps children from being victims AND it prepares them to make better
choices when confronted with difficult situations. I often see students make poor
choices because they lack the confidence to say “NO” to a good friend who is making
a bad choice.
As for friends and play dates, this is a tough topic. But, I’m going to go there. It is
more important than ever that parents know the families of their children’s friends.
You might ask yourself these questions. Is my child supervised when they play at
their friend’s house? Is there unsupervised media time? Do our families have compatible
rules for our children? Do I have the kind of relationship with this family that
allows for open and honest discussion about the values I honor in my own home?
Asking these questions, can be a reflective activity as well, giving you an opportunity
to review your own house rules with regard to these topics. I’ve said it before and I’ll
say it again, I was a far cry from a perfect parent. I offer this advice because I know it
works and because it would have been very helpful to me while in the trenches of
parenting. I hope you find it helpful too. If not, at least you didn’t have to pay for it.
Experience is a great teacher and sharing my experience with you comes from the
heart. I care about your children.
If we work together as a team, a big giant team, I know we can help our children grow
into respectful, responsible human beings.
Thanks for all you do!
Christine Amoroso
Brywood Principal
April
Calendar
April 12
PTA Meeting 7pm
April 15
Minimum Day
April 18-22
Spring Recess
No School
April 27
Volunteer Tea
April 29
CAN Day
Brywood
Bugle
Needs
Your Help!
Brywood PTA is looking
for a volunteer to publish
the Brywood Bugle newsletter
next year. It’s a
great job to do from
home. Just a couple of
hours a month and a little
MicroSoft Publisher experience
is all you need.
Please consider taking on
this important job for
your school. If you have
any questions, please contact
Denise Riches at
driches@heartwarestore.
com.

Brywood Bugle Page 3 April 2011
From Your PTA President
The month of March was a busy one for us here at the Brywood PTA. I know I
speak for my fellow officers when I offer a BIG THANK YOU to all the parents
who have made the PTA events of the first part of 2011 such a success. We
held our annual Jog-A-Thon on March 4 th and thanks to Diane Aviles and all
the other volunteers it was a very successful event for Brywood.
I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to all of our Parent volunteers
for all their hard work and outstanding planning of our March events!
In the month of April, we have our PTA Meeting, on Tuesday April 12 th at 7:00 PM. I look forward
to seeing everyone there. Research studies have shown that parent involvement in their
children’s education and in the schools GREATLY enhances the level of their students’ academic
performance. Getting involved in the educational process here at Brywood in meaningful ways is
one of the best, easiest and most effective ways to improve student learning.
And don’t forget about SPRING BREAK April 18 th – 22 nd .
We have our Volunteer Tea scheduled for the 27 th and Can Day the 29 th .
Now on to the important announcement. My position will be ending very soon. I would love to
impart some words of wisdom to my replacement, but alas, I have no replacement. We need
someone to step forward to take over my position and they need an Executive V.P. to help them
out. So, please contact the PTA as soon as possible and volunteer for your Board for next year.
These are my final three months here at Brywood after starting back in 1991!
I welcome comments, suggestions, or thoughts throughout the school year. Feel free to contact
me at brywoodpta@cox.net or call me at (949) 400-5354.
Rob Wolf
Brywood Elementary School PTA President

Brywood Bugle Page 4 April 2011
Bryworld Culture Festival
Friday, May 6
5 — 8 pm
Planning for the 7 th Annual BryWorld Culture Festival and the Raffle/Auction Fundraiser is underway. The festival is
Brywood's way of opening all of our minds to the beauty and treasures each culture has to offer. On Friday, May 6 th at
5pm, our big play yard will be transformed into a festival of food tastings, the Parade of Nations show starring our very
own students, performances representing various countries, and community sponsored raffles! So many cultures
make up Brywood. The festival is a chance to take part in them, traveling locally within our school family. Last year,
an estimated 1,500 people attended. Please respond to the festival fliers that come home with your child. We'd love to
share your culture, via your families!
The Culture Festival committee chairperson is Teresa Vejsicky (tvejsicky@yahoo.com). A few parents have already
signed up to offer their support. The festival requires more hands to make it a success. In fact, a 5 th grader has volunteered
to help at her country’s booth but no parent has come forward yet to lead the booth. If you have not submitted
the purple Culture Festival Interest Form or the orange Booth Volunteer Form, it’s not too late to turn them in.
The festival theme is “Celebrations Around the World”. Our booths and entertainment will offer glimpses into
ways that different holidays are celebrated by various cultures throughout BryWorld.
Booths
We currently have the booth leaders for the following countries:
France: Sophie Leguillette (sophieleguillette@yahoo.com)
Germany: Markus Vester (Markus.Vester@cox.net)
India: Nikhila Srirangpatna (nikhilaa@yahoo.com)
Indonesia: Risa Harris-Fawaz (risaharris@hotmail.com)
Japan: Kumiko Iwana (kiwama@hotmail.com)
Korea: Terri Yi (terrikyi@yahoo.com)
Mexico: Gracie Iversen (iversens.4112@yahoo.com)
Philippines: Vida Gotico (vidautvd@hotmail.com)
Poland: Grazyna Wolski (drewuszka@cox.net)
Spain: Encarna Zamanian (iraspa@cox.net)
USA: Traci Maynard (mikeandtraci@sbcglobal.net)
Vietnam: Amie Pham (phuong-thao@sbcglobal.net)
Cake Walk: Sue Lips (susanlips@hotmail.com)
Volunteers have expressed interest for these countries: Afghanistan, Canada and China, but a leader is needed to
coordinate the country team in order to have a booth. If you have already signed up to either donate food or your
time, please consider being the contact person to lead your booth.
Vendors will also be on campus to sell Kettle Corn, Baked Potato and Shaved Ice.
If you do not see your country listed above but you are interested in representing your culture with a booth, please
contact Chetana Rao at raochetanu@yahoo.com (Phone # 949-551-4430)
...continued on next page.

Brywood Bugle Page 5 April 2011
Raffle/Auction Fundraiser
This year we have opted to include the Annual Spring Raffle/Auction in the Bryworld Cultural Festival. This is to
keep focus at Open House on just that – Open House. We will be raffling Principal for A Day, a day with Mr.
Manny, the coveted parking space and many other special school items. In addition, we will have raffles for goodies
and services generously donated by neighboring businesses. Please contact Liz Cooper at
liz.leah.cooper@gmail.com if you wish to assist with the raffles.
Entertainment
We welcome Brywood students to showcase their heritage on stage. All acts must have at least one Brywood student.
The festival aims to represent as many cultures as possible that make up Brywood. To accommodate all Brywood
students wishing to participate, the Multicultural Committee may ask performers to unite acts or include
other Brywood students who wish to join a performance. The deadline for submitting the yellow Performance
sign-up form is Friday, April 8. Please contact Maybel Quaglierini (qmaybel@gmail.com) if you have any questions.
Parade of Nations
Back by popular demand! Look for the green Parade of Nations sign-up form. Brywood students are invited to
join the parade while wearing traditional outfits from their heritage or any culture of their choice. The sign-up
deadline is Friday, April 15. There is a mandatory dress rehearsal for all parade participants on Thurs, May 5th at
3pm at the Brywood festival stage. Sylvie Hanks (milkshakedeer@gmail.com) and Gigi Labus are coordinating the
parade.
Other Contacts
Bryworld Culture Festival
Friday, May 6
5 — 8 pm
Volunteer
Coordinator
Ticket Sales
Press Contact
Recycling
Nicole-Yvette Chang nicyvette@gmail.com is recruiting parents and
high school volunteers for various areas
Janet Saito jljs598@sbcglobal.net
Robin Lewis robinandlogan@gmail.com
Kellie Almy kelliealmy@gmail.com

Brywood Bugle Page 6 April 2011
Walk to School Day Winter Results
Jog-A-Thon T-shirt winner.
Winter Walk to School winner.
Are you walking or riding your bike to school each day but especially on Wednesday's. There's no excuse why
your'e not. We have made an exception to eliminate school traffic by dropping off your student in a safe designated
area and having them walk the last block, we have provided you with neighborhood maps asking you to
park and walk your student one block and the City of Irvine has offered a fabulous prize encentive to give you that
extra push. Get out and enjoy our beautiful Southern California weather, get some exercise in the morning and
enjoy a nice conversation with your student. Walk to school everyone day but especially on Wednesday's and
make sure your stuent signs up to win fabulous prizes each season. We are now a few weeks into Spring. Sign ups
are in their classrooms. Congratulations to our 5th grade winner Paul Kon of Mrs. Koss's class who won a beautiful
brand new Schwinn Bicycle.
Jog-A-Thon Was a Success Thanks to Brywood Families
Brywood Families because of you, your family and friends, our Jog-a-thon was a success. The morning brought in
over $11,000.00 after expenses were subtracted. That means that we most likely received 100% participation from
every student at Brywood. Thank you for your hard work. Many thanks goes out to all the families that help and participated
with the fun jobs the day takes. A special thanks to our Brywood Dad, Hiram Aviles who DJ'ed the
run, Nicole Yvette Chang who was my right hand, Kristi Kelson and Kathleen Lhamon who saved the entire morning.
And a special congratulations goes out to Ms. Seigel's 6th grade student, Lillian Zhu who designed this year's T-
shirt.
5th grade students enjoying popsicles after the event.
Jog-A-Thon participants working hard!