Testing will be starting Monday, May 3rd. In preparation the children will be taking a practice test next week and discussing strategies for test taking.

It is important that students arrive on time all week. Testing will start right after flag salute ( 9:15).
A free breakfast will be served from 8:30-8:45. The children will need to fill out a form that asks for first and last name, room number and grade level before entering the cafeteria.
Please make sure your child gets enough sleep and is well rested. Encourage them to do their best, listen carefully and follow directions.

The breakfast menu for the week is as follows:
Monday: Strawberry Pop Tart, juice
Tuesday: Bagel w/ cream. cheese, juice
Wednesday: Jelly filled biscuit, juice
Thursday: French Toast w/syrup, juice
Friday: Breakfast wrap w/salsa,juice

During the week of testing there will not be homework. Therefore, there will not be any Homework Center after school. Please pick your child up promptly after school.
Len Conrad distributed your picture proofs. If you are interested in purchasing any packages, money is due back by April 27th. Please make your checks payable to Len Conrad.
Besides testing, the week of May 3rd is Teacher Appreciation Week. This is the week to let your child’s teacher know how much you appreciate her. I always hear when there is a problem but not when good things are going on. Letter’s of appreciation may be addressed to me to included in their personnel files. I will then make a copy to give to the teacher for her personal file.
The teachers at Graystone are a very professional group that works extremely
hard to help your child succeed.

It is that time of year again- BUDGET TIME!! We need your input about where the money goes for the school year 2004/2005. A preliminary budget will be drafted at the general meeting on May 11 at 9:00 am. It is imperative that any persons requesting monies from the H/ SC attend this meeting, OR submit a budget request prior to the date. Please contact Kim Carey, Treasurer with any questions or requests. Email
timkimc@pacbell.net

There will be a meeting on Thursday, April 27th at 9:00 am in the Teachers Lounge.  We will be discussing the details of the party and handing out jobs.  We would love for you to attend.
If you cannot make the meeting but would like to help, you can call or e-mail Patti Rottjakob psrottjakob@sbcglobal.net  Thanks,
Patti Rottjakob and Cindy Griffeth

PROXY BIDS ARE NEW THIS YEAR AT SILENT AUCTION!
This year for the first time, PROXY BIDS (absentee bids) will be accepted for Silent Auction items. Auction brochures will be sent out the week prior to Auction. Included with your brochure will be instructions on how to place proxy bids. Proxies will be accepted beginning May 3rd. You will be notified of any winning proxies after the Auction. There are a lot of terrific items to bid on this year! Be looking for your copy of the brochure.
Please be supportive of your class’ Auction basket. Remember, all monies generated will be put into the Save - Our - Programs fund. Music, Art, and the Library Clerk are entirely dependent on this fund.

Walk-A-Thon Update
A HUGE thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to help out during the upcoming Walk-A-Thon. This event is only possible with your help! In the next few weeks, you will be getting a call to confirm your scheduled time to volunteer.

It’s not too late to turn in Sponsor Envelopes!
Help your class win an ice-cream party…turn in your sponsor envelopes or use the sponsor sheet on the back of this Link. Every dollar counts!!!

The Office of Parent Education and Involvement will be sponsoring: The annual Parent Education Conference on:
Parents are Teachers, Too!
Saturday, May 1st
8:30 A.M. - 3:30 P.M.
District Office
855 Lenzen Ave.

It is a FREE event for parents in SJUSD K - 12 grades
Interactive workshops will in both languages: English and Spanish Material, Lunch and Entertainment included. The Keynote speakers are alumni of SJUSD currently attending universities or working in the community: They are excellent role models who will be sharing their insight on strategies for students to achieve success. Parents with students in Middle and High School grades are encouraged to invite their children to participate in the interactive workshops.
Day Care will be provided for children 4 - 12 years of age. To register please call (408) 535 - 6404.

A P R I L

Apr. 27 5th grade
end of the year party
planning mtg. 9 am


M A Y

May 3 - 7 SAT 9
Testing Grades 1-5

May 8 Walk-a-Thon

May 11 H & SC Mtg
9 am, Cafeteria

May 12 Bilanin to
Sacramento

May 13 Strasser &
Pinnella 4th gr. to
Sacramento

May 14 Last Chat
with the principal, 9am

May 14 Bartley,
Wilson& Holguin
4th graders to
Sacramento

May 18 Volunteer
Brunch

May 20 SSC Mtg.
12:15 pm , RW office

May 25 Open house
6:30 pm

May 28 Celebration
honoring Mrs.
Kazmierczak, 1:30 pm
Black top

May 28 Spirit Shop
2:45 pm front of
school

School Site Council is a state-mandated committee of teachers, staff and parents. Its responsibilities include developing, approving and reviewing a School Site Plan. This is a comprehensive plan designed to improve the effectiveness of the school program. The Council then allocates money from the SIP (School Improvement Program) budget to fund programs outlined in the plan.
Five parents serve on this committee for a 2 year term. Parent representatives are elected by parents. We have two positions open for a two year term, beginning in September 2004. If you would like to run as a candidate, please submit your name and a brief paragraph about yourself to Rita Maczka (school secretary) at Rita_Maczka@sjusd.org no later than April 27th. Your name and statement will be published in the April 30 LINK. Ballots will also be sent home April 30th. You may also nominate another parent that you feel would serve well on the Council. This can
be done by sending his/her name and phone number to Rita by Wednesday, April 7th. The Council will then ask that person if he/she would be willing to have his/her name on the ballot.

Our supporters are growing and so is the amount of money Graystone is earning through the eScrip program.
We currently have 826 members, over 300 new members have signed up since September. It's easy to enroll your grocery cards or add credit and debit cards by going to (http://www.escrip.com) The deposit for money earned in January is $2,262.39!
We have sent letters to Safeway and PW thanking them for generously giving to Graystone. Feel free to thank the managers of the stores when you are shopping as well.
If you have any questions about eScrip or would like some help signing up, please feel free to contact Cathy Palmen (408)268-6112. Thank you,
The eScrip Committee Cathy Palmen, Dia Guido,
Jennifer Kunzelman, Natalia Sydir & Kristi Ramey
eScrip - It Makes Cent$

Both of our yard duties; Mr. Patel and Terry Shaffer will not be here for yard duty next week. If you are able to give us an hour or two of your time, please contact Mr. Correa at 535-6317.

Friday, June 4, 2004 at 7 p.m.
Summit Center - 4th and San Fernando

An evening to honor Dr. Murray as she retires from San Jose Unified School District.

* Silent Auction
* Entertainment
* Tribute to Dr. Murray
* Dancing to the Joe Sharino Band.

Dr. Murray has a passion for art and music programs in our schools. During times of cutbacks, she has fought to maintain these programs for our students.
As further cutbacks seem inevitable, the possibility of maintaining art and music programs becomes dimmer and the reality of losing them becomes greater. The Linda Murray Arts Fund is being established to support art and music enrichment programs in San José Unified’s forty-five schools. The kick-off to this fund will be at ‘CELEBRATE THE ARTS’ - a fundraiser on June 4th at the Summit Center in San José. This event is an opportunity to honor Dr. Murray for her eleven years of work and dedication. All proceeds will go to the Linda Murray Arts Fund.
For further information on the event or how to contribute to the Linda Murray Arts Fund, call 535-6108 or e mail event@sjusd.org

Asset 20 “Youth are more likely to grow up healthy when they go out “with nothing special to do” two or fewer nights per week. “

Life isn’t always easy to navigate. Work, school, activities, people and other things can at times pull family members apart rather than bring them together. Too often, we feel as if everyone is traveling on a different road.

But we don’t necessarily have to change our road maps radically in order to find family time. All we need to do is to get together and ask these questions:
• How do we feel about our schedules? Our time
together?
• How can we better balance our individual
commitments and our family time?
• Is anyone having their time use determined by
others? (For example, sometimes a child may have
lots of time alone because others are busy.)
• How can we make home time more appealing?
• How can we steer our family more in the same
direction rather than opposite directions?

It is an old idea but a good one: a great way for families to spend time at home together is to gather around the table for a meal. Asked how many times a week all the people in their household ate dinner together, 22% of surveyed youth said none or one, 32% said two to four times and 45% said five to seven times. How often do you gather the whole household at supper time?

“There is nothing like staying home for real comfort.”
Jane Austen

Congratulations to the winners of the March PeaceBuilders Puzzle Challenge drawing! Each of these students, three from each grade, received a special bag of prizes.  The winners were: Sandhya Iyer, Shannon Hoang, Andrea Haaland, Ryan Reichelderfer, Liam Kirker, June Lee, Austin Kim, Jessica Danelen, Ann Marie Guido, Brent Kyono, Haley Kepp, Rhys Maddock, Jenny MacDonald, Krysta Calomeni, Samantha Yang, Naomi Atkin, Ted Nieuwsma, and Erika Ghose.
 
The theme for the April PeaceBuilders Puzzle Challenge will be "PeaceBuilders Right Wrongs".  
We are teaching our students the importance of making amends for wrongs we have caused.  The focus is not on punishing the person who caused the hurt; that does not teach the child how to "un-do" the hurt they have caused.  Making amends also does not mean a simple apology; often an apology is not believed by the person who is hurt because there is a lack of trust. An apology accompanied by appropriate restitution however, helps the person hurt believe the perpetrators apology is sincere.  An example of righting the wrong would be if someone loses their friend's favorite book, he or she apologizes and replaces it.  Another example is if someone teases another student, he or she writes an apology that explains why what they did was wrong, and includes a promise not to do it again.  Studies show that helping children right wrongs works better than punishment in changing negative behavior.  The April Puzzle Challenge will be sent home on Friday, April 23rd and will be due back in the school office by Friday, April 30th.  Remember...the whole family is invited to work on the puzzle challenge together!   
If you have any questions about the PeaceBuilders Program, please feel free to call or email me.
 
Karen Haley, 535-6317, mail to:kthaley@yahoo.com

Box Tops for Education update . . .
Thank you to the many families clipping
and sending in those box tops for education labels. We just mailed off our next collection and will be receiving a check in the amount of $361.00.


Parent Reminder . . .
The parking lot is for staff only. There are limited spaces. Please park in the front of the school in the visitor parking spaces, or on the street across from the school. Thank you for your understanding.

Puzzle Corner....Take a guess at this week’s puzzle. Stop in the office and fill out a guess form. Answer to last week’s puzzle: three degrees below zero.

Mark your Calendars . . . .
A school wide retirement celebration for Mrs. Kazmierczak will be held on Friday, May 28th at 1:30 pm. More information to follow. Jennifer McLaughli