May Coyote Howler - Cascade Ridge PTSA

April 2009
Volume 8, Issue 8
C A S C A D E R I D G E P T S A 2 . 6 . 2
S A M M A M I S H , W A S H I N G T O N
Coyote Howler
A NOTE FROM YOUR PRINCIPAL
Dear Cascade Ridge Families:
I was so excited to see Spring finally arrive last week - foolishly thinking
that my drives to work in the snow were over! Mother Nature had
other plans, however, as I was greeted by a snow storm this morning
on Tiger Mountain! We are hoping that the snow stays at the higher
elevations and the end of the year activity dates will not have to be
changed due to additional snow days. Mark your calendars for Field
Day on Friday, June 12 th and Fifth Grade Cast-off on Tuesday, June
16 th .
Spring is a busy and exciting time of year in our school house as we
move into our final trimester and begin to plan for the upcoming fall.
This spring the busyness and excitement is still an important part of
our work, but we also face difficult budget issues that will impact our
students and staff next year. Our school district has established a link
(http://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/district/superintendent.aspx) on
our district website to provide updated information and to answer
questions about the impact the state budget deficit will have on our
schools. I strongly encourage you to visit this site frequently to stay
updated on information as it becomes available.
The uncertainty of the state education budget also means that our
district will not be able to determine staffing on our usual schedule.
Staffing determines the number of classrooms at each grade for the
upcoming year and also drives which staff members will be teaching
at each grade and at which school site. We will soon be sending out
by E-news our Student Placement Parent Input form for parents to
provide our staff with information to consider as we create balanced
classrooms for next year. Because of the uncertainty surrounding
staffing, this year we will be creating class lists without teachers’
names attached. The Student Placement Parent Input Form will provide
further information on the factors we consider in creating balanced
classrooms at each grade level.
Have a relaxing and fun Spring Vacation!
Colleen Shields
Calendar of Events
March:
31: Eager Reader Ice Cream
Social/Banking Day
April:
2: Site Council, 7:45 am
3: Dad’s Day on the Playground
6-10: Spring Break—NO SCHOOL
14: WASL testing begins
Banking Day
20-29: K-Kids Pet Food Drive
21: Banking Day
23: PTSA General Membership
Meeting, 7:00 pm
24: WASL testing ends
28: Banking Day
29-30: Book Fair
May:
1: Book Fair
Fine Arts Night
Inside this Issue
From the PTSA President 2
More PTSA News 3
Programs & Events 4
More Programs & Events 5
Parent Education 6
Thank you 7
Editor: Julie Anderson
President: Susan Sansing
April 2009 1

Message from your
PTSA President
$20,000 in Programs Approved
On March 23 rd , the PTSA held its third general
membership meeting of the school year. In addition
to conducting the basic business of the PTSA,
the bulk of the meeting was spent reviewing the
details of the top spending ideas as presented at
the January membership meeting. In January, we
also voted to make available up to $20,000 in
grant money to Cascade Ridge this year. This
grant still enables our PTSA to hold cash reserves
equal to one year of operating expenses.
At this March meeting, the membership voted
unanimously to invest in each of the top three
ideas. These ideas are:
♦
♦
♦
ActivBoards for classrooms that do not
currently have them - $17,000
Lexia Reading software to support the
instructional needs of Cascade Ridge
students with dyslexia - $2,000
Playground equipment and games to
be used during recess - $1,000
Thank you to the Cascade Ridge community for
your contributions to our fundraising efforts over
the past year. These contributions allow the PTSA
to invest in our students, school, and community,
and your participation at the general membership
meetings in the idea selection and presentation
process ensure that the wishes of our members
are being fulfilled.
Speaking of giving thanks, we recently announced
the recipients of this year’s Golden Acorn awards.
This is a PTSA award honoring school and community
volunteers for their dedication and service to
our children. The five deserving Cascade Ridge recipients
are listed below.
However, I wanted to additionally acknowledge
that while five people were specifically recognized
with Golden Acorns this year, it’s the efforts and
involvement of the hundreds of dedicated volunteers
at Cascade Ridge that ensure the continued
success of our PTSA programs and activities. I am
very thankful for your commitment and service to
our school and children. For proof of this, you need
look no further than two recent PTSA events—the
Festival of Cultures and the Science Fair. Countless
hours were spent planning these events and great
efforts were made to ensure that every Cascade
Ridge student had the opportunity to participate
and to be proud of their contributions and talents.
And really, isn’t this the mission of the PTSA
With great appreciation,
Susan Sansing,
Cascade Ridge PTSA President
CONGRATS GOLDEN ACORN WINNERS
Congratulations Golden Acorn Winners! We appreciate your commitment to Cascade Ridge! The following
winners were honored at a reception held at Liberty High School on March 24th.
Julie Anderson
Marni Kurtz
Christy McCarthy
Laure Runyan
Rachel Schnebele
Thanks to the Golden Acorn nominating committee: Nga Selbig, Kirsten Luehmann, & Chrisann Penz.
April 2009 2

PTSA EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE NOMINEES
2009—2010
2010
The 2009 Cascade Ridge Nominating Committee
proudly submits the following slate of nominees
to the general membership for election to
the 2009-2010 PTSA Executive Committee:
President
Tina Yerges
Executive Vice President
Chrisann Penz
Treasurer
Pam Gross
Secretary
Mary Jo Webb
VP Communications
Sarah Walden
Co-VPs Community Relations
Jaycee Cooper
Bona Park
VP Fundraising
Cathia Geller
VP Programs
Danna Wickham
Ingrid Sellie
VP Volunteers
Deanne King
Wanted:
Field Day chair(s)!
Field Day is coming!!! We are in need of a chair
person! PE teachers will plan this event scheduled
for June 12, but we need someone to help
them make this the best Field Day ever.
Please contact Chrisann Penz if you can help
out: chrisannpenz@yahoo.com.
Science Fair
Was a Blast!
Last week’s science fair was a huge success and
everyone had a great time, including the robot!
Thank you to all the students who worked
so hard on their projects to display at the fair.
As you may have noticed, the gym was overflowing
with science! And a huge Coyote thank
you goes to every single one of the 42 volunteers
and staff who made this enormous event
possible.
This year, we put together a nice slide show of
our students working on their projects, and are
making it available as a free download to Cascade
Ridge families.
To download your own copy, please visit
h t t p : / / w w w . c a s c a d e r i d g e p t s a . o r g /
ScienceFair2009/Thanks.php
PTSA General Membership Meeting
Please plan to come to the next PTSA General Membership
meeting on Thursday, April 23 at 7:00 pm in the Coyote
Café. Those in attendance will be electing the 2009-2010 PTSA
Executive Committee.
If you have any questions, please contact Susan Sansing, PTSA
President, susansansing@comcast.net.
April 2009 3

PROGRAMS & EVENTS
Cascade Ridge presents
BOOK FAIR
April 29 th —May 1 st
Stock up for Summer Reading!
“Kids who read 4 or more books over the summer fare better on reading comprehension
tests in the fall than their peers who read one or no books over the summer.”
~ Jimmy Kim
Mark Your Calendars!
FINE ARTS NIGHT
Friday, May 1st
Bring your family and enjoy the artwork the students have been working on this year.
Sponsored by the Cascade Ridge PTSA
April 2009 4

PROGRAMS & EVENTS
DI Wrap-up
Congratulations to all seven teams that represented
Cascade Ridge this year at the Destination
Imagination Regional Tournament! The
day-long event was held on Feb. 28 th .
Here are the Cascade Ridge teams: “Coyote
Jags” (Drew Kistner, Jack McCarthy, Nolan
Eggert & Noah Springborn with Team Manager
Lynette Springborn), “Smart Fast Falcons”
(Tealia Abrahamson, Madeline Grubb,
Rohan Vaidya, Tyler Gall & Marjorie Shaw with
Team Managers Swapna Vaidya & Julie Gall),
“Crusaders” (Sam Firnhaber, McNair Shaw,
Max Renton, Frankie Salmick & Jack Sansing
with Team Managers Roberta Renton &
Bridget Salmick), “Why Team” (Josh Banerjee,
Jody Sicuro, Mallory Hunt, Lucy Salmick &
Ryan Wickham with Team Managers Barbara
Sicuro & Kimberly Hunt), “Superfragilistic
Spongebob Huskies” (Max Shaw, Anjali Goel,
Lila Geller, Ostara Maharaj, Nithin Tamilselvan
& Leelu Abrahamson with Team Manager Rajeev
Goel), “Blue Eagles” (Nic Chambers, Jack
Myers, Julia Hong, Nisha Chakrapani & John
Michener with Team Manager Rob Chambers),
and “DInamite” (Sophie Selbig, Jacqui Verrue,
Elena Yerges, Sarah Schnebele, Victoria Young
& Grace Luehmann with Team Managers Nga
Selbig & Tina Yerges).
The first four teams listed above earned 1 st ,
2 nd , or 3 rd place medals. The Smart Fast Falcons
and Coyote Jags go on to compete this
Saturday at the State Championship in Wenatchee.
Good luck teams!!
The next
Dad’s Day
on the Playground
April 3
Recess 4/5: 11:15—11:40
Recess K/1: 11:40-12:05
Recess 2/3: 12:05-12:30
Check out
http://cascaderidgeptsa.org/
for details.
K-KIDS
KIDS
PET FOOD
DRIVE
Cascade Ridge K-Kids are holding a pet food
drive from April 20th thru April 29th. Donations
of wet/dry dog and cat food will be
collected and delivered to the Humane Society
on April 29.
A box will be set up outside of the office. Your
generosity and support is appreciated by the
many pets in King County.
April 2009 5

PARENT EDUCATION
A TIP FROM THE READING TEACHERS
Keep reading going during Spring Break
Whether you are staying home or traveling over spring vacation, remember
to involve your child in the trip. Keep a journal of interesting
sights and events, collect and scrapbook postcards, pamphlets and pictures,
and read road signs, maps, and menus. At the end of the day,
recap your daily adventures.
- Pat Corra & Sheri Ogilvie
PARENT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
Flyers are available for all classes at:
http://www.issaquahptsa.org/parented/main.htm
DATE TIME LOCATION TOPIC CONTACT
4/21 7:00—8:30 pm Challenger ES Raising Resilient Kids
By Jan Faull
4/27 7:00—9:00 pm Sahalee Fire
Station
The Total Transformation
(continued)
Sarah Jakle
skjakle@aol.com
Cherry O’Neill
dwo-mci@msn.com
4/29 7:00—8:30 pm Issaquah Valley
Elementary
5/4 7:00—9:00 pm Issaquah
Middle School
5/6 7:00—8:30 pm Grand Ridge
Elementary
Helping Children Transition
Smoothly to Kindergarten
Understanding the Law:
IEP and 504 Services
Helping Children Transition
Smoothly to Kindergarten
Susan McDonald
425-391-0366
Sandra Lum
425-644-4589
Jessica Burles
mjburles@ihmail.com
April 2009 6

An exciting evening of entertainment and education
was enjoyed by all on 2/27 at the Festival of
Cultures. It took many people to make this event
a success and each of them contributed in a significant
way to ensure that all ran smoothly.
Thank you to all the host families and their
many helpers. You were outstanding! Thank you
for proudly displaying your cultures and helping
us learn more about our community. Every child
who attended had a global education in one evening
and that was our main purpose.
Thank you to the many volunteers who helped
set up and carry over 40 tables from different
parts of the school to the lunch room. A special
thank you to Rajeev Goel and Randy Ernst.
Thank you to all helpers who stayed until 9:45
pm sweeping and moving lunch tables - a huge
thank you to Tina Yerges for this.
Thank you to the entertainers who simply dazzled
the crowds – Neetha Sumana, Master Hwang
and his troupe, Belltown Martial Arts, and
the Scoil Rince Slieveloghane Team.
Thank you to Tom Cady for leading every child
that was present in song with global tunes. Thank
you for your months of work in teaching these
songs and for setting up sound equipment too.
Thank you to—
FESTIVAL OF CULTURES
Thanks!!
Thank you to Zana Moore for helping with the
flag activity, displaying global books and loaning
us many library materials.
Thank you to Peter Olden and the school custodians
who were unbelievably helpful and accommodating
in setting up.
Thank you to the front office who patiently handled
all inquiries, the PTSA for their support, and
a special thank you to Barbra Riegelhof and
Diana Verrue my co-chairs for their amazing
support, willingness to do anything to help and
commitment to the end. ~ Nisha Maharaj
Finally, many thanks from the whole CRE community
to Nisha Maharaj for chairing our first ever
Festival of Cultures!! To say the least, it was an
amazing night that was “impressive, entertaining,
fun-filled, exotic, fantastic, off the charts” and
“exceeded my expectations,” according to a small
sampling of feedback from our attendees.
Although it was a first-time experience at
CRE, it’s really impressive how well run and organized
the evening was. This event reached a
broad section of our community and all age
groups. Wow!! What a great start to a new tradition
for our school and community. You all are
amazing and we are appreciative and proud of
what you accomplished with your team.
Thank you Volunteers
♦
♦
The PTSA Board Nominating Committee: Diana Verrue, LeeAnn Howe, Rachel Schnebele,
Chrisann Penz, and Joan Bear.
Rob Chambers for chairing Destination Imagination. It was a great year!
May Coyote Howler
The next issue of the Howler will be delivered electronically via Cascade Ridge E-News and posted on the
PTSA Website on Friday, 5/1. Email submissions must be made to howler@cascaderidgeptsa.org no later
than Wednesday, 4/29 by 5 p.m. Questions Contact Julie Anderson at larsjulie@comcast.net.
April 2009 7