The Littlest Christmas Tree with the Best 4th Graders!

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Yesterday was a very big day for our fourth grade thespians. It was a time to show the school and families how very talented they all are! I made it to the afternoon program in time to help them dress into their costumes of Christmas trees, elves, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Most parents attend the evening program but I much prefer the afternoon program seeing it as all of the other classes get to see it and enjoying it as the kids do. 

 Our original Santa broke his arm the day before his performance and couldn't go on, so his understudy filled in for him and did a fantastic job. Mrs. Claus was quite witty as she talked of charging for her autograph. I have to say, I regret not buying one as I am sure she will be someone very important one day. The elves looked fantastic in their colorful jingly costumes and the forest of Christmas trees were quite convincing as one of our little toddlers walked through before the play began. The star of the show, was of course, the littlest Christmas Tree. She was the smallest, plainest tree, with the sweetest voice and the biggest heart of them all. She was chosen by Santa as his tree, as she embodied the true meaning of Christmas. It was a heartwarming story to begin our holidays with.

Thank you Mrs. Kay and  our enrichment team for a job very well done. Thank you also, to Heather Byford for designing the costumes and background. They were perfect! Thanks again to ALL volunteers who helped pull this off. From making costumes and painting sets, to taking pictures, it wouldn't have happened without everyone pulling together to get it done. Thanks most of all, to our fourth graders! Great Job ladies and gentlemen.


Sincerely,
Kimberly Asaro
PAW President

Angel Tree - Sunday December 13th

We had our school Angel Tree delivery on Sunday. A prominent community church takes families from our school and helps Santa get presents to them. Sunday was the day they were delivered and it was the first year that we volunteered to help as a family.

  I actually had a dilemma about this. At first, I decided to have grandma babysit the boys. My oldest son is beginning to have doubts. About Santa. I was afraid that him seeing us do the receiving from a truck driver who was definitely NOT Santa, may push this issue even more. I was also afraid that seeing all those presents lined up along the walls would be just too tempting for my youngest to bear. At the last minute, I decided that the right thing to do was include them. It would help to instill our desire for community service in our boys in a way that they could understand. We get there and Santa comes in a Fed-Ex truck twenty minutes later. We, the elves, begin to unload the truck and sort them along the wall. My oldest ran from one end of the other delivering packages as my youngest carried packages in from the truck with dad. It didn't take long for either of them to grasp the meaning of what we were doing and they were proud to help bring a smile to another families face, just as Santa does theirs on Christmas morning! I have to say that it didn't dampen their belief in Santa, but it strengthened their belief in themselves. They now see Santa as we see him. The essence of goodness and the spirit of giving begins with each of us. Santa can't do it all without a lot of help from his elves! I am so glad that I trusted them with this very important task. I am sure that it will become a tradition for our family and I look forward to the next one.

I should also point out that there were a LOT of other elves helping us. Many people from the church came to help, as well as staff and volunteers from school. I hope I don't forget anyone, but I will try to list them.

School Staff
Mrs. Watson
Mr. Watson
Mrs. Fossler
Mr. Fossler
little Fossler
Mrs. Silva
Mr. Mooser and his brother

PAW members
Kim Asaro
Joe Asaro
the Younger Asaro's
Jessica Ramirez

Sincerely,
Kimberly Asaro
PAW President

Pre-Register for The Holiday Parties!

All parents planning to attend and/or pick up your children after holiday parties MUST pre-register at the front office by Thursday, December 17th. If this isn't done it may hinder you from getting to your childs class party on time. Everyone also must have their picture ID on the day of the event, as there will be volunteers running the check-ins.


Sincerely,
Kimberly Asaro
PAW President

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Fun Friday Kick Off

Fun Friday Kick Off!

December 11, 2009 the PAW Club will be hosting the Fun Friday Kick Off!

All of our wonderful Cubs deserve a special treat for all of their hard work this Semester, therefore we are serving M&M's and Juice at recess.

Keep looking for Fun Friday News every month. We are going to have one fun Friday monthly with a cute theme.

As always Volunteers are much needed for these events as well. Should you be available to Volunteer on a Fun Friday we will not turn down the help!

Thank you to all of the PAW's who have already committed to help with the Kick Off!

Angela Perry, Stefanie Kocurek, Donna Dague

Crystal Oliver, & Kim Asaro

2009 - 2010 Yearbook

When the school year is over,
all that remains are...
Memories

Dear Parents:

This school year will hold many precious moments that should never be forgotten. These memories will last a lifetime in your child's copy of...

The Creighton Elementary Yearbook!

...filled cover to cover with photographs of friends, special events, classes, activities and candid shots of all the pitfalls and pratfalls during the 2009-2010 school year. This PAW Club designed yearbook will be a precious reminder of some of the happiest times in your child's life.

You can hold on to these valuable times by giving your child a gift that will last a lifetime. Order NOW during our *Advance sale and SAVE $.

From now through December 11, 2009, you can purchase a yearbook for only $15.00. All you need to do is send a check, money order or cash with your child in an envelope with the students name and teacher on the front. Please make checks payable to Creighton Elementary.

One of the best investments you'll ever make!

The 2009 - 2010 yearbook features:

• 
  
  Custom artwork designed by Creighton Cubs in Full Color!
• 
  
  4 Pages of Full Color action packed pics of our Cubs!
• 
  
  Tons of pics of our Cubs showing off their school spirit and using their thinking caps.
• 
  
  Special pages dedicated to our enrichment team.
• 
  
  Special pages dedicated to our Awesome 4th Graders

We are so proud of our Cubs!

Wrapping t-shirts for Santa

Every year, Santa sends notice that we PAW elves are to wrap t-shirts for every child in our school. He does this because we have amazing kids that deserve a little extra for a job (or 800) well done.

   This year, we decided to do this at my house. It gives us a chance to celebrate our newfound friendships outside of the schoolhouse walls. There are a little over 800 kids in our school, so we had a daunting task ahead of us as we began at 9:00 am this morning. There were mountains of red and white cubs t-shirts to fold, roll and tie.

Two hours into the fun, we had our pot-luck brunch of ham, cheesy grits, Mexican casserole, meatballs, along with fruits, cheeses and dessert of Hello Dolly and lemon cookies. I have to say we have really great cooks among our PAW moms. Everything was fantastic! By the way, cheesy grits are awesome!

After lunch, we were onto round two of the task ahead. There were a few little ones, being as some of us still have pre-school age kids, so we spent some time wrangling each others kids. The surprising thing is, play dates such as these afford us with some valuable work time that we wouldn't have without our children to distract each other, so it worked out quite well. I have to say, one of my favorite things about volunteering for the school is watching each others children grow and learn and interact. Becoming best friends as we spend our day's wrapping Christmas presents and planning classroom parties.

As 3:00 came near, we realized that, although we made a sizable dent in the mountain of shirts, we still have a long way to go. We are a little over halfway through the task. Truthfully, I'm glad. That means we get to do it again next week! I'll see you all on Monday, 9:00 am. Joe and I will do what we can this weekend as well.

Thank you to the following:

Belinda Harrell
Tracy Lindsey
Heather Byford
Stephanie Kocerak
Brandy Duncan
Crystal and J. Oliver
Andrea Fitzgerrell
Kim Asaro

Sincerely,
Kimberly Asaro
PAW President

The Littlest Christmas Tree - 4th Grade Program

Our Paws Holiday Program team have been working very hard on getting ready for our upcoming 4th grade Holiday program! Costumes are completed as well as this amazing background drawn by our own Heather Byford. We spent all day today transferring and painting Heather's artwork, and are quite pleased with the results. We are all very excited to see things coming together so well.

We would like to take a moment to thank those who have participated.

Kay Kammerdiener (music teacher)
Heather Byford
Belinda Harrell
Tracy Lindsey
Mandy Jones
E. Johnson
Jessica Ramirez
Kimberly Asaro
Joe Asaro

Thanks also to our amazing kids. They have been very patient as we spent time pulling this all together

More to be posted

Sincerely,
Kimberly Asaro
PAW President

Homeroom Parents

Thank you for becoming a homeroom parent for your child's class. We appreciate all your time and effort into making the 2009 -2010 school year a success!  it's the most wonderful time of year for planning our holiday parties! Below are some tips for helping with your classroom party.

Contact your teacher:

As homeroom parents, we are to assist homeroom teachers with classroom parties and/or special events.  If you haven't already, please get with your teacher to schedule a conference time to discuss your individual class needs.

The classroom Holiday parties will be on December  18th. Your teacher may already have a plan for this event, but may need your assistance in contacting other parents and coordinating what each should be responsible for.

Contact other Parents:

Once you've discussed your classroom needs with your teacher, I may be able to provide you with a class parent  list to aid you with getting other parents involved. This will help to alleviate some of the responsibilities off of you. You may want to send a note home to each parent introducing yourself with your contact information along with a list of items that they can sign up to bring or do.

Keep up with what everyone is bringing:

Consider meeting with your teacher  a few days before the event to finalize any last minute details. Give her a list of who is providing what. Also consider sending a reminder out to each parent.

Have Fun!

On the day of the party, you will need to arrive early to assist in setup and direct other parents in their tasks.  Also, make sure to have someone that can stay and clean up afterwards.

Food Allergies

 Be considerate of any food allergies some classmates may have in choosing food items for the party; such as red food dye, nuts, milk, eggs, pork, etc. Your teacher will have this information.

Some things that may be needed (enough for each student + teacher and volunteers)

Plates                                     
Cups or juice boxes                                 
napkins

sandwiches                                    
fruit or veggie trays                                    
Chips

Cupcake or cookies                      
treat bags                                              
game and/or story-time

craft                                                
paper towels                                          
trash bags

remember: kids love themes. Your teacher most likely has one in mind, so ask.

Another reminder:

 December 17th is Polar Express day. Our kids will wear pajama's, drink cocoa, and watch The Polar Express. There will also be ornament  making. We will need volunteers for this event .

Some upcoming events to plan for may include ; valentine's day, spring treat day, last day of school

Sincerely,
Kimberly Asaro
PAW President