PTO Child Enrichment

Some of you may not know what all the events we have proposed for the coming school year. Enclosed is a brief blurb on each of the events.

BUS DRIVER: hope to get a bus driver to talk about the occupation and safety on a bus. Will want him to bring the bus and let kids sit in it, etc. No driving. Christine is teaching about transportation.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: will make a teacher resource box of books and ideas regarding Black History, e.g. inventions, etc. Will also include Color and Art for Miss Stephanie (Bell). This "box" can be passed between the 3 teachers requesting this subject.

BRAINWORKS ASSEMBLY: an interactive theatre show incorporating lessons about the brain and nervous system with comedy and drama. Kids act as sensory organs and solve a mystery. Kids learn how messages travel between the brain and body through neurons. Presented by the California Science Center. Fulfills state science content standards. Very unique opportunity.

CABRILLO OCEAN MUSEUM: presentation on various ocean life then also have a touch tank. Sumei talked to many of her teacher friends and the opinion was the Cabrillo presentation was the best of the 3 choices (Long Beach, Roundhouse, or Cabrillo). It is something different and also the least expensive.

CINCO DE MAYO ASSEMBLY: to be determined. Mr. and Mrs. Mecin are helping arrange visitors for the month.

DENTIST (TENTATIVE): hopefully Dr. Hurley (very good with toddlers and kids). Talked at school many times before. Private practice in Brentwood. Basic dental knowledge and hygiene.

EARTHQUAKE ASSEMBLY: given by Josie Catella and staff from FEMA. Will speak on how to react during an earthquake, at home and at school. Will pass out materials for both children and parents.

FIREMEN: will get MB Firemen (3 of them required) to come with the truck. Will come and talk to kids about safety issues, what they do, and hopefully go in the truck. They prefer to book very short visits in case they get called for an emergency, thus they visit the school multiple times.

FLIGHTS OF FANTASY THEATRE: unique combination of storytelling and comedy with multi-cultural literature. Interactive and presentational. Promotes reading, creativity, interpretation of literature, and verbal expression and demonstrate life lessons that can be learned through literature. 2 performers. 45 min show. Will do 3 stores: Stone Soup (multi national folk tale), Greed Gets the Best of Anansi (African American tale), and How the Stars Fell Into the Sky (Navajo folk tale).

INSECT BUG MOBILE: Run through the Children's Nature Institute. The presenter is a teacher/child development background. Is very good with kids. Hands-on and interactive. Has points about insects she will stress to the kids. The teachers will introduce the concepts to the students before she comes. She will bring dead and live specimens to the class, examine the specimens in detail, take kids outside to look for insects, and will leave walking sticks to raise in each classroom. They only need rose petals/leaves to eat.

J. VALENTINE REPTILES: has an incredible collection of reptiles, mammals, and insects. Many are exotic and unusual. Will present mostly about reptiles, but then compares them to mammals and insects in the last 10-15 min of program. Animals will be moving about class during the presentation. Kids can hold/touch the animals/insects. Excellent with kids, great presentation.

LIFEGUARD: private lifeguard to talk to kids about what he does, basic safety.

LIFEGUARD/OCEAN SAFETY ASSEMBLY: will have County lifeguards come with truck and other visual aids and discuss ocean and pool safety to kids in May. Will bring coloring books, etc for child to bring home.

NATIVE AMERICAN DANCE TROUPE: otherwise known as "the PowWow". A group of students from the Sherman Indian High School are willing to come out to demonstrate different types of dance. It is a govt funded High School through the Bureau of Indian Affairs - the students are grades 9-12. Over 120 tribes represented at the school. They could do 2 assemblies (45 min) featuring members of the Apache Club and the Intertribal Dancers Club.

Will demonstrate different styles of Pow Wow dance- 1) Jingle dress dance with costume 2) Fancy Shawl dance with costume 3) CA Indian Bird Dance with costume. The next thing is to have other Indians in costume explain their costumes.

NUTRITIONIST: will be asking various nutritionists to speak about nutrition and good health.

CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER FIELD TRIP: only for the 2 older classes. Would allow them to see Tess, and how the human body works.

SIGN LANGUAGE: Experience Sign Language professional to speak to a class.

SPACE AND FLIGHT: interactive, hands-on classroom presentation on a topic regarding space and flight (Earth and Moon, Space Shuttle, Star Windows). Will do a craft/activity in the classroom. 45 min presentation. Educators are very good with kids. Classes all meet the National Science Standards for public schools.


	Child Enrichment Activities The goal of the Child Enrichment committee is to augment the enrichment activities (concerts, Spanish, etc.) that are already provided by the school. The committee has developed a schedule of events based on each classroom's "units of study" and the top priorities of each teacher. Each classroom will receive the same number of enrichment activities over the course of the year. Speakers will be given a stipend (generally $25) as a way of saying thanks. More elaborate events have a higher cost. The enrichment area is where the bulk of funds raised by the PTO are spent. Thank you to all the parents who joined the PTO, to those participating in the Scrip program, and those who donated extra funds. Without this wonderful support, none of these events would be possible. We have received great reviews from the children on the events so far and hope you are as excited as we are to be able to offer these great experiences to our children. *Please see below for the activities planned for your child's class. Realize that the timing of these events may vary and certain events may be added as our budget allows.*
		More Explanation on Enrichment Events

	Some of you may not know what all the events we have proposed for the coming school year. Enclosed is a brief blurb on each of the events. BUS DRIVER: hope to get a bus driver to talk about the occupation and safety on a bus. Will want him to bring the bus and let kids sit in it, etc. No driving. Christine is teaching about transportation. BLACK HISTORY MONTH: will make a teacher resource box of books and ideas regarding Black History, e.g. inventions, etc. Will also include Color and Art for Miss Stephanie (Bell). This "box" can be passed between the 3 teachers requesting this subject. BRAINWORKS ASSEMBLY: an interactive theatre show incorporating lessons about the brain and nervous system with comedy and drama. Kids act as sensory organs and solve a mystery. Kids learn how messages travel between the brain and body through neurons. Presented by the California Science Center. Fulfills state science content standards. Very unique opportunity. CABRILLO OCEAN MUSEUM: presentation on various ocean life then also have a touch tank. Sumei talked to many of her teacher friends and the opinion was the Cabrillo presentation was the best of the 3 choices (Long Beach, Roundhouse, or Cabrillo). It is something different and also the least expensive. CINCO DE MAYO ASSEMBLY: to be determined. Mr. and Mrs. Mecin are helping arrange visitors for the month. DENTIST (TENTATIVE): hopefully Dr. Hurley (very good with toddlers and kids). Talked at school many times before. Private practice in Brentwood. Basic dental knowledge and hygiene. EARTHQUAKE ASSEMBLY: given by Josie Catella and staff from FEMA. Will speak on how to react during an earthquake, at home and at school. Will pass out materials for both children and parents. FIREMEN: will get MB Firemen (3 of them required) to come with the truck. Will come and talk to kids about safety issues, what they do, and hopefully go in the truck. They prefer to book very short visits in case they get called for an emergency, thus they visit the school multiple times. FLIGHTS OF FANTASY THEATRE: unique combination of storytelling and comedy with multi-cultural literature. Interactive and presentational. Promotes reading, creativity, interpretation of literature, and verbal expression and demonstrate life lessons that can be learned through literature. 2 performers. 45 min show. Will do 3 stores: Stone Soup (multi national folk tale), Greed Gets the Best of Anansi (African American tale), and How the Stars Fell Into the Sky (Navajo folk tale). INSECT BUG MOBILE: Run through the Children's Nature Institute. The presenter is a teacher/child development background. Is very good with kids. Hands-on and interactive. Has points about insects she will stress to the kids. The teachers will introduce the concepts to the students before she comes. She will bring dead and live specimens to the class, examine the specimens in detail, take kids outside to look for insects, and will leave walking sticks to raise in each classroom. They only need rose petals/leaves to eat. J. VALENTINE REPTILES: has an incredible collection of reptiles, mammals, and insects. Many are exotic and unusual. Will present mostly about reptiles, but then compares them to mammals and insects in the last 10-15 min of program. Animals will be moving about class during the presentation. Kids can hold/touch the animals/insects. Excellent with kids, great presentation. LIFEGUARD: private lifeguard to talk to kids about what he does, basic safety. LIFEGUARD/OCEAN SAFETY ASSEMBLY: will have County lifeguards come with truck and other visual aids and discuss ocean and pool safety to kids in May. Will bring coloring books, etc for child to bring home. NATIVE AMERICAN DANCE TROUPE: otherwise known as "the PowWow". A group of students from the Sherman Indian High School are willing to come out to demonstrate different types of dance. It is a govt funded High School through the Bureau of Indian Affairs - the students are grades 9-12. Over 120 tribes represented at the school. They could do 2 assemblies (45 min) featuring members of the Apache Club and the Intertribal Dancers Club. Will demonstrate different styles of Pow Wow dance- 1) Jingle dress dance with costume 2) Fancy Shawl dance with costume 3) CA Indian Bird Dance with costume. The next thing is to have other Indians in costume explain their costumes. NUTRITIONIST: will be asking various nutritionists to speak about nutrition and good health. CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER FIELD TRIP: only for the 2 older classes. Would allow them to see Tess, and how the human body works. SIGN LANGUAGE: Experience Sign Language professional to speak to a class. SPACE AND FLIGHT: interactive, hands-on classroom presentation on a topic regarding space and flight (Earth and Moon, Space Shuttle, Star Windows). Will do a craft/activity in the classroom. 45 min presentation. Educators are very good with kids. Classes all meet the National Science Standards for public schools.