FRI 17 - THURS 23 --- Green Team Carbon Footprint Logs - keep track of your actions and calculate your footprint, turn in on April 24

MON 20 - FRI 24 --- Green Team Recycling for Earth Day - Lobby collection bins in lobby

THURS 23 --- PPS District Spell Down

THURS 23 --- Family Math & Science Night, grade K-1, 6:30 - 8 PM

FRI 24 --- Caton's and Goldstein's classes do Run for the Arts

FRI 24 --- School Spirit Day: Crazy Hair!

FRI 24 --- Waste Free Lunch Day, cafeteria, all lunch times

TUES 28 --- Site Council, library, 3:30 PM

TUES 28 --- 3rd Grade Musical, 9:15 AM for student audience, 7 PM for family audience

WED 29 --- Science Fair, cafeteria, 6:30 - 8:30 PM

THURS 30 --- Family Math & Science Night, grades K- 1, 6:30 - 8 PM

Thanks to all those who were able to make it out on Sunday afternoon, April 19th to lend your efforts and energy to Alameda School! We got the mulch pile moved very quickly, weeds pulled, cotoneaster pruned, and walkway swept.

And if you're interested in getting more involved in the Alameda landscape committee next year and in the future - there's an opening! Lee Tyler is currently co- chair of the committee and could use a companion co- chair for next year.

There are lots of great things happening at Alameda: playground committee, field rejuvenation and the Green Team.

Thanks for the memories; you'll find me working up at Beaumont Middle School's grounds the next few years.

Mary Jaron Kelley

Dear Alameda staff and families,

Yesterday I shared the news with the Beverly Cleary School community that Teri Geist has accepted the principal position there for next year, after she wraps up her one-year special assignment leading the school district's Talented and Gifted Education Office.

I really appreciate that your assistant principal, Raddy Lurie, stepped up and took on the interim principal job in Teri's absence. Now it is time to make a long-term assignment for Alameda. Loretta Benjamin-Samuels from our Human Resources Department and Beverly Pruitt, area director for the Grant cluster, will work with your staff and families on the principal hiring and placement. The first step is a community process to identify the schools' needs.

We will share more news as we move forward.

Carole Smith

Superintendent, PPS

In honor of Walk N Bike day. . .

Did you know that studies show that children who regularly play in natural environments are healthier, more agile and better coordinated than their indoor counterparts?

Or that in 1969, nearly 90% of children aged 5 to 15 who lived within a mile of school traveled there by foot or bicycle? Today, only 31% do so.

Or that research shows that regular cyclists tend to be as fit as people 10 years younger who don't exercise?

Or that traffic congestion in the morning rush hour can drop by 30% during school vacations?

What can I do?

• Encourage your kids to have fun without toys - garden with them or play simple games like hopscotch or hide and seek.
• Walk or bike to school as often as possible. Consider taking turns with other parents walking children to and from school. With a revved up metabolism and fresh air in their lungs, self-propelled kids will be fitter and more alert. Check out an Alameda walking map at http://www.portlandonline.com/TRANSPORTATION/ind ex.cfm?c=49335&a=235488
• Try to walk or bike some place you would normally drive once a week. Every 4-mile trip by bike, rather than car, avoids about 2 lb. of CO2 emissions and builds a stronger heart.
• If you don't feel confident about cycling on roads, enroll in a family cycling proficiency class to build up skills and road awareness. Visit http://www.bta4bikes.org/at_work/bikesafetyed.php

Lost and found clothes are collected, washed and donated to the Clothes Closet at Marshall High School.

Please check the table in the front hallway the Monday and Tuesday before our donation date for your lost items!!

Donation Dates:

• Next Wednesday, April 29
• Wednesday, May 27
• Wednesday, June 10

Please contact tmcwonactt@comcast.net if you have any questions!

One-half of the 2009-2010 titles have been announced. If you want to get an early start on the reading for Battle of the Books, here are the titles that have been distributed so far:

• BFG, by Roald Dahl
• Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne Jonell
• Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan
• Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins
• Honus and Me, by Dan Gutman
• Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Stewart
• No Talking, by Andrew Clements
• Socks, by Beverly Cleary

As we enter the home stretch of the school year, I am happy to share this year's progress in the Campbell Soup's "Labels for Education" program. As of April 15th, Alameda families brought in over 3,000 eligible UPC labels from Campbell's Soup and Pepperidge Farms products. What an accomplishment!

As a result, we have ordered needed PE supplies such as playground balls and tether balls. Thank you for your donations. Let's keep it going for the remaining few months of the school year!

Andrea Sten / (503) 282-9782 / asten@hevanet.com

I just wanted to let everyone know, we're still in need of volunteers and judges for the Science Fair! If you're available to help on the night of the fair (Wednesday, April 29), please contact me. We need help with setting up and breaking down the fair, as well as general help during the evening. Judges will be provided with scoring sheets outlining the judging criteria and will only be needed for about two hours.

Sara Freedman / Sara_Freedman@earthlink.net / (503) 493- 3023

Staff Appreciation Week is just around the corner. Take part in showing Alameda teachers and staff how much we appreciate their efforts by volunteering to help the week of May 4 through May 8. Volunteers are needed each day for a variety of tasks. You can bake goodies at home or come to school to help package and deliver items to the classrooms. The week culminates with a sit down lunch for all staff. Many volunteers are needed for Friday's lunch event. If you are interested in helping out, contact Andrea Weinman at andhow@sterling.net or 503-288- 3771.

Have you been wanting to help with a school fundraiser this year, but just haven't found a chance yet? Alameda has a simple and wonderful volunteer opportunity coming up! Our school is one of five Portland area schools who have been invited to participate in the nation's largest food drive: Stamp Out Hunger! This food drive is run by letter carriers across America and is sponsored by many organizations -- including Campbell's Soup. For the first time ever, Stamp out Hunger and Campbell's Soup have teamed up with other sponsors to collect food at local Fred Meyer stores during the week of May 4th. KPTV Channel 12 is on board to help with advertising. Alameda's part in this event is to have parent volunteers and their children spend an hour or more at the Hollywood Fred Meyer store on Saturday, May 9th. . .anytime between 10 am and 4 pm. Volunteers will collect food donations and box it up -- all of which will be delivered to the Oregon Food Bank. This is a special opportunity to help families in need. It falls on Mother's Day weekend, which could be fun for the family. In addition to benefiting the Oregon Food Bank, Campbell's Soup will also award our school with thousands of points for their Labels for Education program (see above), which will help pay for needed school supplies.

If you are able to help with this tremendous cause on May 9th, please contact Andrea Sten at (503) 282-9782 or campbellslabels@alamedaschool.org.

Alameda News Notes is a mostly weekly publication of the PTA to keep you informed about what is going on in the school community. Please e-mail articles appropriate for this publication to me, David Peyerwold, at: peyerwold@comcast.net. Some items may need to be cleared by the District before publication. Submissions that don't arrive in my mailbox by Wednesday morning at about 9:30 a.m. will not make it into the hard copy version that is distributed at school. If your item is too late for this week's issue, it will be included in next week's. Please note: Information, flyers, etc., from unaffiliated school groups or general community groups announcing class offerings and other activities may be picked up from the magazine racks outside the main office.