Strong Kids Getting StrongerCamping with the interns
When: Friday, Aug. 26, to Sunday, Aug. 28 (choose Friday night, Saturday night or both!)
Where: Cuivre River State Park, Troy, MO (about 1 hour northwest of St. Louis)
Details:
- The trip is open to families in both The French School and The Spanish School.
- We have reserved the special use area at Cuivre River and have space for 125 people per night.
- Cost is $2 per person per night for all ages.
- The special use area is a rustic tent site with a pit toilet. A bathhouse with showers, sinks, toilets, etc. is within walking distance from our campsite.
- Generally speaking, families must provide their own camping equipment, but we can get you a tent if you need it. If you have a tent to donate for the weekend, please contact the email or phone number below.
- Families are responsible for their own water (available at the main campsite) and food. Families will eat dinner and breakfast together. We provide these meals for the interns as well.
- We’ll be hiking, swimming, making s’mores and getting to know our new interns. Join us for a weekend of FUN!!!!
- If you’ve never been camping before, this is a great opportunity to see all the fun you’ve been missing. Let your fellow SLLIS families introduce you to a new family activity.
RSVP by Aug. 19 with your family’s name, the number of people in your group, and if you are camping Friday, Saturday or both nights. To RSVP, or if you have questions or tent donations, get in touch with Lisa Berman at lisaberman@rocketmail.com or 314-398-6839.
This trip was coordinated through the Parent Assembly’s Intern Task Force. If you can support other social outings for the interns (by donating sporting event tickets, museum passes, etc.), e-mail Lisa Dorner at sllispainterns@gmail.com.
Join us for SLLIS Night at the Magic House on the 7th!
Join us for SLLIS Night at The Magic House!
When: Sunday, August 7th from 6pm-9pm
Where: The Magic House at 516 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122
How much: No cost for your family. Dinner will be served.
This will be a great opportunity to meet your classroom teacher, make new amis and catch up with old amigos!
RSVP with your classroom teacher ASAP!
Join us for SLLIS Night at the Magic House on the 7th!
Join us for SLLIS Night at The Magic House!
When: Sunday, August 7th from 6pm-9pm
Where: The Magic House at 516 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122
How much: No cost for your family. Dinner will be served.
This will be a great opportunity to meet your classroom teacher, make new amis and catch up with old amigos!
RSVP with your classroom teacher ASAP!
Join us for SLLIS Night at the Magic House on August 7th!
Join us for SLLIS Night at The Magic House!
When: Sunday, August 7th from 6pm-9pm
Where: The Magic House at 516 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122
How much: No cost for your family. Dinner will be served.
This will be a great opportunity to meet your classroom teacher, make new amis and catch up with old amigos!
RSVP with your classroom teacher in August.
Join us for SLLIS Night at the Magic House on August 7th!
Join us for SLLIS Night at The Magic House!
When: Sunday, August 7th from 6pm-9pm
Where: The Magic House at 516 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122
How much: No cost for your family. Dinner will be served.
This will be a great opportunity to meet your classroom teacher, make new amis and catch up with old amigos!
RSVP with your classroom teacher in August.
Next playdate is Saturday, July 9
Thanks to all the families who attended the first-ever movie night on June 24 — the kiddos had a lot of fun! It looks like another warm one for the next playdate at Forest Park from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday — don’t forget to bring a towel or change of clothes so your kids can take advantage of the fountains.
After Saturday, there will be only three more playdates in the five weeks before school starts. (Yes, only five weeks!!) They are: Wednesday, July 20, from 5 to 7 p.m., Saturday, July 30, from 10 a.m. to noon, and Wednesday, Aug. 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. All current and new families are welcome, as are older siblings, current students in the French and Spanish Schools, and new first-, second-, and third-graders.
The Kindergarten Transition Playdate series has been a great way for incoming families to get to know each other and to get answers to frequently asked questions (about uniforms, lunch menus, transportation, and so on). It’s also been a great way for the kids to meet their new schoolmates! Starting July 20, we will be distributing booklets to help identify some of the skills and knowledge that will be part of your child’s kindergarten experience. If you’d like one but can’t make the playdates, please e-mail parentsassembly@sllis.org for a digital copy.
Playdates take place at the playground next to the Forest Park Visitors’ Center, 555 Grand Drive. If you have any questions, please contact the Parents Assembly secretary, Amy De La Hunt, at parentsassembly@sllis.org. The series is sponsored by the PA’s Promotions Task Force.
Parents Assembly survey results
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the quality of the Parents’ Assembly, we recently conducted a survey to find out more about parents’ experiences during the 2010-11 school year.
Thanks to the 53 individuals who responded, we learned that:
- More than 90 percent of them received information about the PA from e-mail. That was far ahead of the other forms of communication, including phone (43 percent), notes in backpacks (39 percent) and the blog (24 percent). What this means for you: Expect to receive reminders of PA events and news in your e-mail inbox more often than in flyers or posters. (Families who don’t have e-mail access will still receive paper copies.)
- Two-thirds of them had attended a PA meeting during the year. What this means for you: Because all SLLIS families are automatically members of the Parents Assembly, we will work hard to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to attend a meeting — and that meetings are productive and positive.
- More than 70 percent had participated in a fundraiser sponsored by the PA’s Fundraising Task Force, but the other task forces had a far lower participation rate. What this means for you: We want you to know about the many ways to get involved on the task forces, which for the coming year will include Fundraising, Promotions (events), Communications, Interns, After-School Activities, and Teacher Appreciation.
- More than 70 percent of those who participated in a PA activity had a good or excellent experience. Those who had fair or negative experiences cited a lack of communication ahead of time, poor organization during the activities, and a lack of follow-through by those leading the activities or organizing the volunteers. What this means for you: We need to do a better job of publicizing activities in advance through all the channels of communication, and when people show up, we need to have a plan of action.
- One of the main reasons respondents didn’t participate in a task force last year was a lack of time. (Followed closely by communication; see above.) What this means for you: In the coming year we will provide flexible ways to help, such as the option of making a designated financial contribution, for those whose schedules don’t allow much room for volunteering.
Other topics that were raised included a desire for childcare at meetings and activities, more publicity about what the task forces do and what the PA’s priorities are, more transparency about how funds are raised and spent, and more long-range and large-scale fundraising.
The PA’s Executive Committee and task force facilitators are meeting over the summer and coming up with ways to improve based on feedback like this survey. If you weren’t able to complete a survey or if you have additional feedback to share, please get in touch with us at parentsassembly@sllis.org.
And don’t forget about the movie night at school tonight, Friday, June 24! It’s part of the Kindergarten Transition Playdate series (sponsored by the PA’s Promotions Task Force) and is open to all families. Hot dogs, chips, corn on the cob and cupcakes are on the menu at 5:30, with the movie starting at 6:15. Hope to see you there!
Join us for SLLIS Night at The Magic House on August 7th!
Join us for SLLIS Night at The Magic House!
When: Sunday, August 7th from 6pm-9pm
Where: The Magic House at 516 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122
How much: No cost for your family. Dinner will be served.
This will be a great opportunity to meet your classroom teacher, make new amis and catch up with old amigos!
RSVP with your classroom teacher in August.
Final Future Family Tour
When: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 from 9:00 am-10:00 am
Location: SLLIS
This will be our final tour when parents can see the school in action. See you there!
Hot news about the next Kindergarten Transition Playdate
The weather’s the hot news for the Kindergarten Transition Playdate on Wednesday, June 8, at 5 p.m. Those who attended the first playdate a couple of weeks ago know it was almost too cold for the kids to splash in the fountains at the Forest Park playground (next to the visitors’ center on Grand Drive). This time that won’t be a problem — and some of the parents might even decide to beat the heat by joining the kids!
Families with incoming kindergarteners in The Spanish and French schools are encouraged to come to the playdate series so that their children can meet future classmates. In addition, older and younger siblings as well as current SLLIS students are welcome. And parents of current kindergarteners who would be willing to answer questions about their experiences are invaluable resources!
If you have questions about the playdates, please contact Amy De La Hunt at parentsassembly@sllis.org. Future dates are June 18 at 10 a.m., July 9 at 10 a.m., July 20 at 5 p.m., July 30 at 10 a.m., and August 10 at 5 p.m.
Also, mark your calendars for the movie night for incoming kindergarteners and their families on Friday, June 24, at 5:30 p.m. in the SLLIS multipurpose room. Details coming soon!