Taking steps for our Bobcats

Do you know exactly how many steps your little Bobcat took this weekend?

We hope so. It means your child enjoyed the inaugural Bobcat BLAST! on Friday, that he or she is still having a good time with the pedometer and — maybe without knowing it — is getting a little extra exercise every day.

After all, fun and exercise were two of the many goals the PTA had for the BLAST.

On Friday, students headed out by grade level onto the field near the gym where the Get Movin’ Crew had set up a running track marked with colorful flags. After lining up by class for photos with Movin’ Max, the children danced to get warmed up. A flag-bearing Crew member led the children on their first lap, then let the students go at their own pace.

For the better part of half an hour, students ran, jogged or walked. They moved at their own pace or teamed up with friends. They timed their steps to the beat of popular music playing over the speakers or they moved to their own rhythm. At times, they were joined by Principal LeCrone, their teachers and parents who had volunteered to help or who had stopped by to see the fun for themselves.

After a Crew member brought out the checkered flag, students ran one more lap before heading back inside with their class to record their steps on a memory page.

The BLAST, of course, was a PTA fundraiser. Students were encouraged to ask family and friends to pledge money for their participation in the fun run. By late Friday, the pledges totaled more than $10,400 and the number continues to rise. Families may pledge online at http://www.thegetmovincrew.com/sponsor.php through Friday, Sept. 30.

“I’m really pleased at what I see coming in — a huge range, a lot of cash donations, $2 from this person, $5 from that person,” event Chairwoman Barb Peterson said. “I love that because it just shows kids are getting out and people are encouraging them to be active and supporting their schools. I’m really glad to see the diversity of people jumping in and getting involved.”

Students were rewarded for collecting more than $8,000 in pledges with music at the start of the day and the ever-popular “round table lunch.” Rather than sitting at long, linear tables with their classes, students were able to sit at any of the round tables with any of their friends from their grade level.

The PTA paid the Get Movin’ Crew $3,144 to run the event for us and manage online pledging. After costs for water, cups, signs and other incidentals are deducted, the fun run already has generated $7,000 to support the educational opportunities the PTA provides.

Because the PTA strives to offer opportunities for every child at Brookdale, we wanted to find a way to raise money through an activity that would likewise include each student. Regardless of whether a child’s family pledged no money or hundreds of dollars, everyone ran with their friends, everyone received a pedometer, everyone took home a memory.

Free brownies!

The Executive Committee members invite you to enjoy a little snack and informal conversation this evening before the first PTA meeting of the year.
We're hoping the relaxed setting will allow us to meet new parents and those who are new to the PTA. Likewise, we want you to have the chance to get to know us and learn a little more about the Brookdale PTA and the ways the PTA enhances the educational experience for all our students.
The meet-and-greet begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, in the Multipurpose Room, where we'll chat over brownies.
The PTA's September business meeting will begins promptly at 7 p.m. Of course, we're hoping you'll stay to become part of the discussion (or at least to hear what's happening).
Here's a look at some of the agenda highlights:
Update on the Bobcat BLAST! fun run students will participate in on Friday.
News about the Reflections program and the Fall Family Fun Night coming up in October.
Adjustments to and final approval of the 2011-12 budget.
We hope to see you there!

See you at Curriculum Night

We hope you're planning to attend Curriculum Night, which runs from 6:30 to 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15.

The evening is an important early step in building the relationship between the home and school. Principal Brian LeCrone and your children's classroom teachers will give you insight into what you and your child can expect this school year. 

From 6:30 to 6:45 p.m. in the gymnasium, Mr. LeCrone will discuss school policies and share information about school-wide initiatives. 

Afterward, parents are invited to visit their children's classrooms for sessions from 6:50 to 7:30 p.m. or 7:35 to 8:15 p.m. In each session, the classroom teachers will offer individual presentations to provide us with an overview of the classroom curriculum, general classroom procedures and expectations.

Attending Curriculum Night is one way for us to work together with the staff to support our children and become involved in our children's education. By working together, we can achieve our mission of ensuring every child has an opportunity to reach his or her individual potential.

You will be able to sign up for Parent/Teacher Conferences this night, so check your calendar and come prepared to sign up. Conferences are offered between 4:30 and 8 p.m. Nov. 9, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 8 p.m. Nov. 10. 

You also will be able to join our PTA at Curriculum Night ... just visit us at our membership table.  If you would like to help with classroom parties, chaperon class field trips, assist the kids in the classroom, share various works of art with the kids, or become a Helping Hand household, you can sign up for these and other volunteer opportunities that night.  

We will have Spirit Wear information available, and you can learn about the various ways we raise money to fund all the PTA-sponsored programs at Brookdale.

PTA volunteer sign-ups and Parent/Teacher Conference sign-ups start at 6 p.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room and on the Stage, respectively. 

Please remember that Curriculum Night is only for adults.

District 204 Parent Diversity Advisory Council

The District 204 Parent Diversity Advisory Council (PDAC) is offering a complimentary PDAC Liaison training session. 
This training is provided to help build knowledge and skills that will enable liaisons to have a full understanding of the  PDAC's mission, the role and responsibility of a liaison, the important connection to their school’s PTA and the entire District 204 community, and ideas and strategies on how to get started with diversity initiatives at their school that help positively impact the academic achievement of a diverse student population. 
The session is open to all District 204 parents interested in learning more about the PDAC and becoming involved. One need not be a liaison to join in.
The session is optional and not a prerequisite for becoming a liaison, and a liaison need attend only one training session. 
The training session is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the Crouse Education Center, 780 Shoreline Drive, Aurora.
If you are interested in serving as a PDAC Liaison for your school, or if you would like to attend this training session to learn more, please email Lynda Moresco, PDAC parent org. liaison, at bluiethedog@msn.com, by Sunday, Sept 25.
For more information on PDAC, visit http://ipsdweb.ipsd.org/Subpage.aspx/PDAC or email your Brookdale PDAC Liaison Saily Joshi Moorthy at saily@aol.com.
The PDAC already has scheduled meetings and discussion topics for the 2011-12 school year, with the first discussion on Strengthening the Home & School Bond from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Crouse center. For a look at the full schedule, click here.

Busy Bobcat Store moves to Wednesdays

The Busy Bobcat Store will open on Wednesday this week for students in third, fourth and fifth grades, a move coordinators hope will allow more students to take part.

For several years the student-run store has operated on Fridays, but the sales have posed conflicts  with activities such as chorus and gym club that also meet on Friday mornings.

By moving the sales to Wednesdays, students participating in Friday morning activities no longer will need to choose between the activity and going to the store.

For the fifth-graders who help out at the store, the change allows them to also take part in other extracurricular activities. Additionally, because classes start later on Wednesdays, the student volunteers will be able to close the store and report to class on time rather than missing the first few minutes as they do on Fridays.

The change begins this week, with the sale for third-, fourth– and fifth-graders running from 8:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday in the school gym, rather than in the library.

The Busy Bobcat Store carries an assortment of school supplies — both practical and fun — and lets students practice “money math.”

Younger students practice coin recognition, addition and budgeting as they shop. Meanwhile fifth-grade students who staff the store learn customer service skills and reinforce their money-handling abilities.

The fun pencils, erasers, sharpeners and more generally range from 25 cents to 75 cents. A Brookdale window cling runs 60 cents. Mini calculators and .5 oz jelly-wrapped Purell Hand sanitizers (clips to backpack or lunch bag) are among the most expensive items at $1.50.

A new item this year is a stainless steel water bottle with a Bobcat logo, priced at $3.50 or less. Click here for a complete look at the items and price list.

Children should enter through the main doors. Fifth-graders and parent volunteers will be there to lend a hand as well.

Questions? Contact Jeanette Curtis at (630) 579-6207 or jeanettecurtis@mac.com or Antonella Erbacher at (630) 946-6787 or tabasco002@aol.com.

Bobcat BLAST fun run offers healthy way to raise money

Who’s ready to have a blast?

The Brookdale PTA is launching a new event this fall that aims to get everyone moving and having fun.

The Bobcat BLAST fun run, on Friday, Sept. 23, will take students out of their daily routine for a time to run, walk, skip, hop or otherwise move around with their classmates.

The BLAST serves many purposes for the PTA. It encourages healthy behavior, joining events like Red Ribbon Week and Jump Rope for Heart. It encourages school spirit. And it’s a fundraiser we hope will make parents’ lives easier.

The event replaces the annual fall product sale that has been our major fundraiser in years past. Rather thank asking families to sell and deliver products, we are asking families to collect pledges for their students’ participation.

Movin' Max greets Brookdale students
at the launch of the Bobcat BLAST
pledge period. Max and the Get Movin'
Crew return on Friday, Sept. 23, for the
 fun run .

Students can encourage friends and relatives near and far to invest in their health and their education. Our event organizer, the Original Get Movin’ Crew, makes online pledging simple. Check out the Parents Page at www.thegetmovincrew.com.

But the great thing about this event is that every student participates on the day of the fun run. Each student can have a BLAST with their friends and, at the same time, be an active participant in an event that raises money for their school. Acquiring pledges is not mandatory to participate in the fun run. (But we urge every student/family to contribute something because we know every little bit counts!)

So, what is a fun run?

During school on Friday, Sept. 23, students will spend 40 minutes at the Bobcat BLAST! The time includes a fun warmup led by the Get Movin’ Crew, followed by time to run, jog or walk with friends and classmates. Afterward, students will have a few minutes to cool down before returning to class.

All students — regardless of whether they’ve collected pledges — will receive participation souvenirs. They will be given a pedometer to keep and encouragement to take 10,000 steps a day. They’ll also receive a number like a racer bib to wear during the run and that can be affixed to a memory sheet that asks children to record their favorite memory from the day and to make note of a new healthy habit they plan to adopt.

Students brought home a pledge packet on Thursday, Sept. 1, following the kick-off pep rally on Walk to School Day. Through pledges and donations, the BLAST will provide funding for PTA-sponsored assemblies, field trips, class parties, the Variety Show, special in-class programs, educational supplies and more.