Fiesta Azteca - 5th Annual Silent Auction & Dinner

With the holidays upon us and in the spirit of giving, the Silent Auction committee has put together a "wish list" for the silent auction. "Donations" appeared many times on that list, and we are asking for your help in securing items that will ensure the success of this important fundraiser, which is the largest of the PTA fundraisers for DPM.

How can you help? Consider donating duplicate holiday gifts you or the kids received. Or while you are shopping for the holidays, pick up something to create a themed basket. Take along donation forms (see www.dpmsilentauction.com ) to share with vendors where you shop or where YOU would like to receive a gift certificate to shop. Think of connections you personally have with restaurants, vacation spots, professional services, entertainment venues or create your own sign-up party.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

THEME BASKETS: wine lovers, coffee lovers, chocolate lovers, arts & crafts, gardening, spa, date night, game night, movie night

EVENT TICKETS: concerts, theater, performances, bands

SPORTING EVENTS: Kings, Mountain Lions, UC Davis, Sac State, NFL, boxing, ice hockey

TOURS: guided bike rides, hot air balloons, sky diving, wine tours, limo tours

WEEKEND GETAWAYS: boat cruise, mountain cabin, beach house, wine country cottage

DINNERS: host a themed party such as a spaghetti night, a luau, fiesta, barbeque

KIDS: tennis lessons, dance or voice lessons, sporting equipment, video games, the list goes on!

TRAVEL: frequent flyer miles or hotel vouchers

SPECIAL SKILLS: put together a certificate to redeem your own special talents such as landscaping, babysitting, bookkeeping, cooking, cleaning, contracting, plumbing, design, website design

GIFT CERTIFICATES: from your favorite store or restaurant - they make a great addition to a themed basket

SIGN-UP PARTIES: host a game night, wine tasting, tea party, movies in the backyard, skating, swim party

Check out www.dpmsilentauction.com for items that have already been donated and visit us frequently for an update. Forms can be downloaded from this site too. And, should you need some extra help getting started or will have some extra time to get involved after the holidays, please contact us at dpmpta@hotmail.com.

Happy holiday shopping!

the Silent Auction Committee

Silent Auction Planning Meeting

Tuesday December 7 at 6:00 pm at Don Quixote's restaurant on Kings Way a & Watt Avenue!!

If you would like to get involved or are interested in joining one of the silent auction committees, we invite you to join us as we plan the next FIESTA AZTECA themed auction!! Also, while you are doing your holiday shopping this year, consider picking up an item that can be donated to the auction or assembled with a class basket. Need ideas? Want to volunteer? Email the Silent Auction committee at dpmpta@hotmail.com or come to the meeting next Tuesday evening!!!

Reflections Art Competition: FINAL REPORT

Thenks to everyone who contributed to this year's Reflections Program! Winning entries have been forwarded to the next level for judging. A display is being assembled that includes all of this year's entries from DPM, so please look for that in the weeks to come! Awards will also be given to each of the winners, and every student who participated will be receiving a certificate thanking them for their entries. The next level of judging takes place at the 3rd district level in January. Questions? Please contact Annette Evans via dpmpta@hotmail.com.

Take Your Family to School Week (February 2011)

The PTA is looking for a few volunteers to organize some fun events during Take Your Family to School Week in February. If you'd like to help, or just have some awesome ideas, please emails us at dpmpta@hotmail.com.

2010 Read-A-Thon: FINAL REPORT

THANK YOU to all the DPM students and families who participated in this year's "Reading is Magical" Read-A-Thon. We had 35% of our students turn in a Reading Log and qualify to become genuine Reading Wizards! In recognition of their accomplishments, they received $2 coupons redeemable at the Scholastic Book Fair held on campus last week.

In more Read-A-Thon news, the classroom with the most Reading Wizards was.....Mrs Brownfield/Moore's 3rd grade! They will be honored at a "Wizard's Banquet," and they have earned a "magical" treat for their teacher. Meanwhile, prizes have been ordered for students who gathered pledges and raised money with their reading. Look for those to be distributed before Winter Break.

Too "tied" up to come to a PTA meeting?

Well, we think you'll enjoy this one, so bring your kids and one or two old neckties to our next PTA meeting on Wednesday, December 8 at 6:00 in the DPM library. After a brief business meeting, we'll be working on a fun group craft project to contribute to the Silent Auction which will be on February 12th. We'll have a pot of yummy soup, some fresh bread, and a few treats, too. Please join us for this fun evening.

DPM Winter Book Fair

Are you ready to purchase some BOOKS? The Winter Book Fair will be open during parent-teacher conference week, Tuesday, Nov 30th through Friday, Dec 3rd, from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm. SPECIAL EVENING HOURS on Wednesday, December 1st from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Get some holiday shopping done early -- get great books at a great price for the whole family! Look for a reminder flyer coming home this week.

Box Tops & Campbell's Labels UPDATE:

Sneaky Ms. Springer's class zoomed into 1st place this week! Right behind are: 2nd Staab, 3rd Scholtes, 4th Munsee, and 5th Sherman. Our last collection will be Thursday December 2nd, so gather coupons and labels from your family and friends over the holiday break. The top three classes will win a popcorn party!

Red Ribbon Week

A big thanks to Tracy Harder for organizing DPM’s Red Ribbon Week festivities last week! Saying no to drugs and alcohol is an important message, and Tracy did a great job of putting together a ton of fun activities that reinforced that message. Ask your kids what they participated in and why it is important to Say No! I’ll bet they’ll tell you about Officer Pogson’s visit with her patrol car!

Silent Auction News!!

The dates is set - February 12th - for the DPM Silent Auction & Dinner, so mark your calendars. The Silent Auction committee is also planning a kick-off meeting on November 9th at 6:30pm in the school library. If you would like to find out more about getting involved, or are interested in joining one if the committees, we invite you to join us! There are a variety of ways to volunteer your time, as little or as much as you have available, including decorating, procurement, setup/cleanup, and heading up registration/check-out. Watch out for more information coming, but if you have questions in the meanetime, please email the Silent Auction committee in care of dpmpta@hotmail.com or visit the Silent Auction website at dpmsilentauction.com

2010 DPM Read-A-Thon: November 2-15

The theme of this year's Read-A-Thon is "Books are Magical"! Students will be asked to keep track of the number of minutes they read at school and at home for the two-week period beginning Tuesday, November 2nd. A Prize will be awarded to every student who participates. Eligibility for additional prizes will be based upon number of minutes read and amount of pledges collected. All the money raised during the Read-A-Thon will go directly to our PTA that provides our students with so many fun activities and educational experiences at DPM. Look for details in the packets coming home on Monday. Questions?? Contact Doreen care of dpmpta@hotmail.com

2010-11 PTA Reflections Art Contest Deadline - EXTENDED

Due to the overwhelming response, the deadline for the Reflections contest submissions has been extended to Friday, November 5th! The them of this year's Reflections Program is: 'TOGETHER WE CAN". Students can submit their contest entries to Ms. Buschmann or Kim in the Main Office. Each entry must be accompanied by a signed, entry form and and Artist's Statement. Contest entry forms can be downloaded from www.ptareflections.org/cs/student entry form or picked up in the Main Office.

Family Portrait Night

It's not too late to support DPM and create lasting memories! LifeTouch Photographers will be on campus Tuesday, November 2nd between 4-8 pm to take family portraits for the low price of only $10.00 for an 8" by 10" photo! Better yet 100% of the price goes directly to DPM! Remember, family portraits make great holiday gifts! Interested?? Send a check (payable to DPM PTA) or cash to the Main Office and you can schedule your portrait session appointment. Don't wait to take advantage of this great opportunity! Questions call Ronda at LifeTouch at 844-1214.

Box Tops and Campbell's Labels Contest

We are working on counting each classroom's Box Tops and Campbell's labels collections this week. The race cars will be updated on the Box Tops Racetrack in the MP room on Monday morning? Help your car move by bringing in and dropping off your collections in your class can!!

Fat Cat Winners!

Thank you to all who sold or bought cookie dough this fall! A HUGE thank you to the following students that where top sellers in their grade level: Ari Carter, Jay Wilson, Julian Cerrato, Cooper Shults, Evelyn Fulford, Audrey Harper, and Emma Webb. The winner of the iPOD shuffle was Vincent Pogson in Mrs. Sherman's class. Congratulations to the top selling class in grades K-3, Mrs. Wilson's class, and to the top selling class in grades 4-6, Mr. LaMarr's class. The students in these classes have earned their teacher a very special lunch delivered to their classroom. Finally, the PTA would like to thank all the parents that helped with the Fat Cat Cookie Dough fundraiser, as well as the Fat Cat Bakery for their generous donation of plush Fat Cats and an iPod Shuffle!

Box Tops & Campbell’s Labels

The competition to see which classroom can collect the most Campbell’s Labels for Education and Box Tops for Education has started. There will be prizes for the top collecting classes, not to mention bragging rights! Collection cans have been placed in each classroom, so get started filling them up! We will be posting the top collecting classes every couple of weeks. Don’t forget to ask your friends, family, and neighbors to help you collect more Campbell’s labels and Box Top coupons. Good luck!

2010-11 PTA Reflections Program

DPM PTA is proudly sponsoring the 2010-11 Reflections Program! The program's theme this year is: "TOGETHER WE CAN". Flyers with additional information went home last week. There will be a PTA sponsored Reflections Workshop for the kids to work on their entries on Tuesday, October 26^th from 2:30-4:00. More info will come home soon regarding that workshop. The deadline for Reflections entries is: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29th. Questions? Please contact Annette Evans at: dpmpta@hotmail.com

Carnival Donations still needed!

K-2^nd grade: 1 large bag of individually wrapped CANDY (no chocolate please).

3^rd -6^th grade: 12 PACK SODA, JUICE (juice boxes/bags in great need), OR WATER.

Everyone loves the cake walk, but we need BAKED GOODS to make it successful. These can be dropped off at the school on Friday the 22^nd or in the morning of the carnival on Saturday the 23^rd.

EASY-UP CANOPIES – If you could loan yours for the carnival, it would be greatly appreciated. Please clearly mark your Easy-up with your name and your child’s teacher and drop it off at the school by Friday afternoon.

Questions? Contact the PTA at dpmpta@hotmail.com.

Fall Carnival – VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED – Oct 23, 1-6pm

We need parents, friends and family members to volunteer time in their child’s class booth. If you haven’t done so yet, please return your volunteer/donation commitment form as soon as possible or email the times you are available to work a booth at dpmpta@hotmail.com.

SPIRIT WEAR SALES EXTENDED!!!

Spirit wear sales have been extended through the Fall Carnival, Saturday, October 23rd. Spirit wear brings our school together and helps give a sense of community and pride to our school. Your support of DPM through the purchase of Spirit Wear is greatly appreciated by all. For additional information, measurements for the Jr. Ladies Fitted T-shirts or to view color pictures, please visit the PTA section of the school's website.

2010-11 National PTA Reflections Program

Our PTA is proudly sponsoring the 2010-11 Reflections Program! Since 1969, the national PTA Reflections Program has encouraged students across America to explore their artistic talents. The program's theme this year is: "TOGETHER WE CAN." Flyers with additional information on how students can submit an entry will be coming home soon. Details on how students can sign up to attend a Reflections Workshop sponsored by the PTA to work on their entries will also be coming soon. Questions? Please contact DPM PTA's Reflection Program Chair, Annette Evans at dpmpta@hotmail.com

PINK ELEPHANTS?!

Last year, we introduced a new prize booth at the Fall Carnival—the Pink Elephant booth, where redemption tickets could be used to “buy” games and toys. Would you like to clear out some space at home and help a good cause? Please consider donating gently used toys and games for our Pink Elephant booth! Boxes will soon be placed in the office foyer to collect donated items.

DPM's 5th Annual FALL CARNIVAL

Our awesome Fall Carnival is just about a month away: Saturday, October 23rd from 1pm-6pm.

We need a few folks to help organize the Pink Elephant booth, the Cake Walk, and donations solicitation. Please email us at dpmpta@hotmail.com for more information on these items. Keep in mind that volunteering with friends is always more fun, so please consider getting together with a friend or two and make it a fun friend project!

Annual DPM Spirit Wear sales

On sale beginning September 24^th through October 14^th

Flyers, signs and order forms are coming home this week! Spirit Wear brings our school together and helps give a sense of community and pride to our school. Your support of the DPM through the purchase of Spirit Wear is greatly appreciated by all! For more information or to see product options and size charts click on the following link: http://www.sanjuan.edu/DelPasoManor.cfm?subpage=129804

Community Forums to discuss 6th grade configuration...

San Juan Unified School District is in the process of proposing a reconfiguration plan that would make convert many elementary schools either K-5 or K-8, resulting in more 6th grade students attending area middle schools. The proposal indicates that DPM is slated to become K-5 beginning the fall of 2011-2012. In addition, the district is realigning the boundaries for middle schools; Churchill would become DPM's middle school choice. Although 6th grade is a long ways away for many families, it is important to know that decisions made this fall by the district will affect families’ options in the future.

If you would like to let the district hear your opinion on the proposals, there are several steps you can take:

1) Attend a Community Forum on the proposal on Sept. 29 at 7 pm at Churchill Middle School.

2) Voice your opinion (or ask questions) regarding reconfiguration in a short, easy to use feedback form at http://www.sanjuan.edu/gradeconfiguration.

3) Write letters to the San Juan board members and staff.

4) Attend District board meetings on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 630pm in the District office: Sept 14 and 28, October 12 and 26.

Your voice can make a difference in directing this decision. Let the district know what you want for your children's education.

GoodSearch.com & GoodShop.com

Wow! During the months of July and August, you DPM GoodSearchers and GoodShoppers helped us earn $17 in each of those months. Although $17 a month doesn’t sound like much, we’ll earn over $200 in a year if we keep it up. That is about the cost of a bus field trip and in these tough budget times, PTA funded field trips mean a lot to our kids. Please be sure to indicate DPM Elementary as the charity you wish to support and keep GoodSearching and GoodShopping for our DPM kids! If you haven’t tried this and have questions, please email us at dpmpta@hotmail.com. Or just click the link at the top of the page for more information!!

Room Parents still needed!

Could you help your teacher with communication to the other parents in the class? There are still a number of teachers who don’t yet have a parent signed up to help them. Please email the PTA at dpmpta@hotmail.com if you think you would like to sign up to help your teacher with this very valuable role!

Fall Carnival Coming Soon!!!

DPM's 5th Annual FALL CARNIVAL is coming soon. We have plans underway to create a fun , festive , community event on Saturday, October 23rd from 1pm-6pm. Please mark your calendars and join us in celebrating the coming of fall, the energetic spirit of our children, and the generosity of our wonderful families and community. Volunteers are needed to help with the planning stages. Please email us atdpmpta@hotmail.com if you think you may want to help!

Fat Cat Cookie Dough

All Fat Cat cookie dough orders are due to your child’s teacher by Tuesday, September 14. Thank you for supporting the DPM PTA! Remember, all cookie dough will be delivered to DPM and distributed to families on October 12^th.

…and the DPM PTA Membership Drive continues!!

In an effort to accommodate as many DPM families as possible, we have decided to extend our PTA Membership Drive through next Friday, September 17th. Extra membership packets can be found in the school lobby on the PTA board. A school-wide PTA Membership contest is currently underway: The top 2 classrooms with the highest percentage of PTA Memberships submitted will each win a PIZZA PARTY!! You are encouraged to send in your PTA Membership forms if you have not already done so. It is such a terrific way to be an "Agent of Change" for your child, and to be a an active participant in providing a more positive future for all of our students. The PTA plays a crucial role in not only fundraising [to provide funding] for numerous programs, but also to help bring our community of educators, administrators, parents, and students together. Questions? Please contact Annette Evans at: dpmpta@hotmail.com

DPM PTA thanks YOU!

We wish to thank the following 74 families who’ve joined the PTA so far this school year! Adams, Austin, Auyeung, Baer, Barnhart, Bates, Bearson, Beck, Campbell, Castaneda, Cerrato, Chambers, Chriss, Cloninger, Cohen, Cojan, Condrin, Cook, Cramer, Cushing, Dahal, Del Pilar, Duty, Estacio, Ettinger, Evpak, Fackenthal, Finnerty, Fouche, Gallagher, Giblin-Vance, Han, Harper, Hinojosa, Hunter, Hyunh, Jones, Jones, Kempter, Knapp, Kurzrock, Lenhart, Locke, Londeree, Mackey, Martinez, McGinnis, McGowen-Perez, Medicine Crow, Mohamed, Morse, Moseley, Muilenberg, Norman, Osecheck, Pedroncelli, Pokhrel, Randle, Rivas, Sanchez, Seefloth, Segale, Shukry, Shults, Sinnwell, Snyder, Srinivasan, Strawn, Sullivan, Thiesen, Wemmer, White, Wormald, and Young

DPM PTA Needs Your Help

We're looking for a CPA to help us complete our IRS Form 990 EZ. As the due date is November 15th, we need your help soon. Please contact us at dpmpta@hotmail.com!!! Thank you!

PTA Membership Drive Continues

DPM's Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) invites you to join. Membership forms can be turned in until next Thursday, September 9th.

The first 300 to sign up will receive a coupon for one free admission to Legoland with one paid admission.

We're also having a classroom membership contest - the class with the highest percentage of PTA sign-ups will get a pizza party!

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS

PTA is looking for volunteers to help plan the fall carnival (set for Saturday, October 23), as well as volunteers to help plan the annual silent auction and dinner. We have committee chairs - we just need helpers, so if that's you, please contact us at dpmpta@hotmail.com . These events wouldn't be as great without your help.

Fat Cat Cookie Dough Fundraiser!

Please show your support for DPM by purchasing Fat Cat Cookie dough from your child or neighbor here at DPM. Cookie dough sales will run from September 2 to September 14 with 45% of the sales going to our school.

All students who turn in an order will be entered in a drawing to win an iPod shuffle.

The top selling class will win a special lunch for their teacher.

All student who pick up their order on October 12 will receive a prize!

Become A PTA Member

PTA forms were sent home with students in the blue folders during the first week of school, which included membership, school directory, volunteer interest, and and email address request for the PTA email communications. Membership is open to anyone interested in the welfare of our children - not just parents, but also grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, community businesses, students and staff. Please return the forms to your child's teacher or the school office.

Thanks for your help in making our school a school community!

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell says:

"I am a proud member of the PTA, and I hope that parents throughout the state get involved with this wonderful organization at their local schools. Parents are essential to our effort to prepare all students for success in the increasingly competitive global economy, and joining PTA is a great way for parents to become fully informed and effective partners in their children's education."

PTA Meetings for the 2010-2011 Year

Mark your calendars!!! The PTA meeting for the 2010/2011 school year will be the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 6:15. Please take note of the change and join us to see how you can play a part. Everyone is welcome!!!

Community Celebration

Come Join us on Saturday June 26 at 11:30 a.m. as we celebrate Del Paso Manor becoming a distinguished school!!!

Please join us as we raise the distinguished school flag followed by a celebration in the multi-purpose room.

DPM PTA IS ACCEPTING BIDS FOR A NEW SHADE STRUCTURE FOR CAMPUS:

The PTA is currently accepting bids for a shade structure project set to be built outside the Multi Purpose Room of the school. Please see below:

The wood shade structure’s finished dimensions will be approx: 21ft tall X 24ft Deep X 64ft Wide. Please see below for design idea.

If you [or someone you know] is a licensed contractor, and would like to submit a bid for this DPM project, please contact Shannon Larsen at: slarsen@pensysinc.com for additional information.

Show your support - Wednesday June 2

Would you like to find out what is in the works for the next couple of years at DPM? Would you like to find out how you can help be a part of it? Join us for the PTA Meeting this Wednesday June 2 where Ms. Springer will be presenting the Site Strategic Plan. This is where the committees reveal what they have developed for the future of DPM. Join us at 6:00 pm in room 5 for this important meeting. Show your support!!

Book your summer plans through GoodShop.com and DPM earns money

As you start to make your summer travel plans, keep in mind that if you first go to www.GoodShop.com before booking your hotel or car rental, the online merchants such as Priceline, Jet Blue, Hotwire, TripAdvisor, Best Western, and Budget will donate part of every purchase to our school. It takes just a few seconds to go to www.goodshop.com, select DPM Elementary as your charity, and then click through to your favorite travel site or store and shop as usual. The retailer donates a percentage of each purchase to DPM PTA at no additional cost. You can even download their new toolbar to make it easier and faster!

Don’t start your Summer without a Grocery Card!

If you shop at SaveMart, FoodMaxx, Safeway, or Bel Air/Raley’s, please contact Shannon Larsen to get signed up for a grocery card. The grocery cards allow the businesses a way to make donations to benefit our school. These programs all donate a percentage of your purchases to our school at no cost to you. DPM PTA thanks you!

Box Tops / Campbell ’s Labels collection – LAST CALL!

As many Box Tops expire in June, please turn in your stash to the collection can in your classroom or in the Campbell ’s bin in the office lobby no later than Thursday, May 27^th. Thank you all so much for your collection efforts this year. We raised $1,250!!!

Teacher Appreciation Week Update

Monday marked the start of Teacher Appreciation Week and it has been a week full of surprises for our awesome DPM teachers. In appreciation for all of their hard work, the super secret surprise was revealed Monday morning when they came to school:

When they left school on Friday, the staff room looked like this:



But little did they know, the PTA had a plan....after some new paint, furniture, curtains, decorations and some teamwork the staff room had a whole new look.

When the teachers returned Monday morning there was a huge surprise waiting:





THANK YOU DPM TEACHERS FOR ALL YOU DO!!!

$5,000 GoodSearch Giveaway - Three Days Only!

GoodSearch will donate $1 (up to $5,000 total) for every toolbar that is downloaded between May 19th at 12 noon and May 21st at 12 noon Eastern! To help our cause benefit from this contest, please download our toolbar now by following this link - http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/del-paso-manor-elementary-school-pta


Our new toolbar is free to download and allows you to raise money for our cause virtually every time you search or shop online! Once added to IE or Firefox, each time you shop at more than 1,400 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to our cause - at no cost to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar also provides you thousands of discount coupons and free shipping offers!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search the Internet, about a penny is donated to our cause.

Please hurry and do this now so that we can earn the $1 bonus per toolbar!

And, please pass this along to all of your friends. The two minutes it takes to add this toolbar to your browser can make a lifetime of difference for our cause!

Get the toolbar NOW! http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/del-paso-manor-elementary-school-pta

New PTA Officers Announced!!!

Congratulations to our new PTA officers for 2010-11!

Shannon Larsen - President
Annette Evans - Vice President
Diana Tomasetti - Treasurer
Tracy Hinojosa - Secretary
Doreen Adams - Financial Secretary
Julia Bilaver – Auditor

And to our outgoing officers Mike Cushing, Stephanie Miranda, Laurie Clay, and Deb Osfeld, thank you for your service to the school during 2009-10! We really appreciate your time and efforts.

Who could you reach with $7,500?

Please help support the New San Juan School District Performing and Visual Arts Center to be built at El Camino High School. It only takes three easy steps:

Raley's has launched a community giving campaign entitled Raley's Reach, asking northern California communities - "Who could you reach with $7,500?"

Here's how you can help, right now: ECArts, the group organized to create the new center, is seeking a $7,500 grant from Raley's toward conceptual drawings and environmental studies. To win this grant, supporters need to log on to a Raley's web site and vote, once each day until May 12. Visit

What You Can Do Today!

1. Sign up to vote at Raley's Reach

2. Vote for The San Juan School District Performing Arts Center ONCE A DAY, EVERY DAY from April 21 to May 12, 2010.

3. Tell your friends, family and co-workers via email, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to VOTE FOR THE SJSD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER!

Raleys Reach winners will be announced May 14, 2010. The Top 5 vote getters will receive a $7,500 grant to implement their idea.

Together, we can make field trips and memories possible for Sacramento students - Vote Today!

This is such an important addition to our schools and to those of us who live in this area, that we're passing on a request to help (at no cost) get the work started. This will be a huge benefit to the community and all you need to do is:

sign in, vote, and tell pass this along to all your friends!!!!!

What are YOUR Favorite Summer Programs??

This time of year, many of us are looking for good summer programs for our kids. Have your kids attended a program that you would recommend? PTA would like to assemble a directory to help parents find quality activities for our kids this summer. Please take a few minutes to recommend up to five programs that you and/or your kids have enjoyed, or that you’ve heard were good even if you haven’t tried them out yet. Send your recommendations to us, and we’ll publish the results. Because registrations are already underway for some programs, we’d like to do this quickly.

You may submit up to 5 recommendations by paper to the front office, by e-mail to box1@cushings.com , or by filling out the form at http://cushings.com/dpmpta/ . Please include:

- the name of the program
- who runs the program
- where it’s located
- a brief description of the program and why you are recommending it
- any other comments
- your name and e-mail address (preferred) or phone number

Your name, e-mail address, and phone number will only be used if we need to clarify your comments.

Please submit your recommendations by by next Friday, April 30th.

To save on paper and time, the finished directory will be available mostly by e-mail. Some paper copies can be printed for those who need them. Thank you for your recommendations!

Jog-a-Thon Wrap Up

Jog-a-Thon donations have now topped $7500!

In this tough economy, we are very grateful for your generosity. Thank you!

Congratulations to those students who won the drawing prizes for Sports Authority merchandise: Alex Pulido (grand prize bicycle, $130 value), Zachary Muilenberg and Elena Perez ($50 gift cards), Austin Mohamed, Ian Jones, Magnolia Appleton, Allie Cloninger, Peter Vickland, Logan Miller, Amanda Carroll, and Brendan Cushing ($25 gift cards).

And finally, congratulations to those students who ran the most laps in their classrooms: Noah Wavrin, Quintin Stpierre, Angelo Thompson, Matthew Capetillo, Skyler Owens,William Seubert, Kayden Bates, Zainulabdeen Jabbar, Alberto Amezcua, Adam Kroll, Louis Gallia, Sam Goodman, Trey Schlingmann, Jose Madrigal, Hannah Gonzales-Moore, Casey Fowler, lkaika Schulte, Connor Ettinger, Alec Londeree, lan Jones, Svibor Turkovich, Jose Betancourt-Mejia, Christina Kennedy, Zachary Muilenburg, Charles McMurry, Joseph Simpson, Ryan Marcoccia, lvan Partsey, Jaaziah Reese, Jack Baer, and Riley Tucker. Riley ran 24 laps (3 miles), a school best. Jack, Charlie, Joseph, and Zachary ran 21 laps (2.6 miles). These top runners will be invited to a special lunch. The Kindergarteners will receive a special snack back!

Please contact Mike Cushing box1@cushings.com with any suggestions on how to improve next year's Jog-a-Thon.

Teacher Appreciation Week May 3-7

We are planning a "SUPER TOP SECRET" surprise for our teachers and staff. If you would like to join in on the planning and execution of events for that week, please contact Laurie Clay at 916-607-1507 at dangsmom@sbcglobal.net.

April 24 is Crafting with our Kids Day

Only 1 more day to sign up!!!

We have a very exciting day planned, which includes a lunch with admission and a wide assortment of craft projects for both adults and children! Please look for the “Crafting With our Kids Day” Pre-Registration form that will be coming home this week. On the form you will need to pre-register for lunch as well as any/all craft project workshops offered. The [nominal] fees for the projects and admission cover the cost of the materials provided and lunch. All pre-registration forms/payments are due by Wednesday, April 21^st so the PTA can determine the amount of materials needed for each project as well as the number of lunches to provide. Please turn the registration forms and payments in to your child’s teacher. It will be a great opportunity to spend some “quality crafting time” with your kids and other DPM families! We are still looking for volunteers help supervise workshops, so if you or someone you know is interested, please contact Annette Evans or Deb Osfeld