Kids' Triathatlon Fundraiser

Look for a flyer coming home next week about the Tuscaloosa Kids' Triathalon, a fun event supporting a great cause.

The triathalon is a fundraiser for the "Secret Meals for Hungry Children" program. This is a really awesome partnership between Alabama Credit Union and West Alabama Food Bank. The program provides little packages of "weekend meals" for children who may not have enough to eat between school lunch on Friday and school breakfast on Monday. The food items are always thoughtfully chosen; they're generally things kids can fix themselves without adult help, and they are nutritious, balanced combinations.

The triathalon is Saturday, May 18 at the University of Alabama Recreation Center. Kids ages 5 - 16 of ALL athletic abilities are welcome to participate. Every athlete receives a medallion, water bottle, and t-shirt. The swimming, running, and biking distances vary based on children's ages, but no one runs more than 1 mile, bikes more than 4 miles, or swims more than 150 yards. The event meets the safety standards of USA Triathalon (USAT).

You can find more information at www.secretmeals.org or by emailing Tuscaloosakidstriathalon@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading! We are glad you are here!

Spread the Word to Pre-School Parents!

There is an exciting opportunity about to start for parents of low-income 3-and-4-year-olds! A great organization is running FREE groups for parents on Tuesday evenings. Participants will receive free books and supplies, free childcare during class, gift cards, and light refreshments. The groups teach parents how to prepare their children for school success.

If you are a parent of a 3-or-4-year-old and your family qualifies for free or reduced lunch at school, call 855-332-9333 for more information about signing up for the program. The first meeting is Tuesday, February 26 at 5:30pm in the Chestnut Trace Community Center.

Or, if your church or business is looking to partner with a group for community service or charitable donations, this is a great cause! The organization is called First Teachers @ Home, and I have been very impressed with the passion and intentions of the people running it. You can call the number above if you would like to volunteer or contribute in any way!

Cards for Hostage

If anyone would like to send a birthday card or supportive card to the child who was taken from the school bus in Midland City last week, a TPS parent thoughtfully sent me the address. It is:

Napier Field Police Department
c/o Lt. McDaniel
400 Headquarters Street
Napier Field, AL 36303

The boy's name is Ethan. His birthday is sometime this week.

Thank you for reading! We are glad you are here! Hope you have a good weekend.

Walton's Event Tonight!

Thinking about picking up dinner or eating out tonight? If so, you may want to consider Walton's here on 69 South!

Tonight from 4:00 - 9:00, Gail Watkins' Bible study class is hosting a charitable fundraiser at Walton's. Ten percent of all proceeds will be donated to Water of Life, a filter system that provides clean water for families in Africa. All you need to do is tell Mr. Bill Walton that you are there for Water of Life when you place your order and check out. Gail's 4th graders will be demonstating the filter tonight too, if you would like to see how it works!

For more information on "Water of Life" check out this website...
http://water.compassion.com/about-water-of-life/

Gail (one of our awesome reading specialists) and Valley View Baptist Church's 4th grade Bible study class thank you for your support, or for spreading the word!

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

Hurricane Sandy Project

I just got word that Englewood Elementary is heading up a drive for items to send up to New York. Dr. Robin Blackburn (one of the counselors there) says that after our tornado, her contact person up there sent down a huge 18-wheeler full of supplies for Tuscaloosa. Now, we have a chance to return the favor!

If you would like to participate, here are the details!

Englewood is collecting the following new, unused items in their original packaging:

• diapers, baby formula
• socks, gloves, underwear
• wash cloths, towels
• sheets, blankets
• garbage bags
• kleenex, toilet tissue
• cleaning supplies
• toiletries
• empty boxes and empty plastic bins for packing these items
• gift cards from Target, Home Depot, Wal Mart, and Lowe’s

Any items you'd like to donate need to be at Englewood by this Friday, November 9, at 2:00pm. We apologize for short notice, but that is when our big truck will start making the long drive to New York City!

If you only have children at Taylorville (not Englewood) please feel free to send any donated items in to me at TPS. I will drive all our donations over to EES on Friday around noon.

If you would like to volunteer your time to help with this project, or if your Sunday School class, church group, business, or other group would like to partner with Englewood, please call Dr. Robin Blackburn at 342-2644 extension 3.

Volunteer Opportunity With Local Kids

I've gotten word about a program called First Teachers @ Home that is starting next week at Chestnut Trace apartments. It sounds really cool! This is a nonprofit organization that aims to teach parents of 3 and 4-year-olds how to prepare their children for kindergarten. What a fantastic head start for those families! I can tell you without any doubt in my mind that those kinds of skills are incredibly valuable for school success over the years.

First Teachers @ Home is looking for volunteers to either work with the children's program, or provide simple meals for the meetings (for example, a hot dog, chips, apple, and water). I thought I would let y'all know, in case you or a group/church/business you know of may want to support this cause.

You can read more about the program in this article:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20120819/NEWS/120819774

And you can watch a video clip of a WVUA news story about it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O85VDImKWWo

If you're interested in volunteering, you can visit the website http://www.first-teachers.org/ and contact Yolanda McKinney, the Community Partnership Director, at 951-8989.

If you live in Chestnut Trace, have a 3 or 4-year-old, and would like to participate in the program, please let me know! School counselors can make "referrals" and I am happy to do so for anyone who is interested!

Thank you for reading! We are glad you are here!

Grief "Camp" and Christmas

Y'all, I'm sorry to bombard you with so much information right at the beginning of the year! Hopefully once we get beyond all these sort of obligatory announcements we'll be more in our pattern of informative articles, resources, and lesson topics!

First, has your child suffered the loss of a loved one? The wonderful Sunrise Center at the Hospice of West Alabama is hosting their one-day "bereavement camp" for children ages 6-13 on Saturday, October 6. Counselors will work with kids on fun, therapeutic, and active skills to help them deal with their grief and successfully adapt to life after their loss. The day camp runs from 9am - 12pm. It is free (!), but pre-registration is necessary. If you would like me to send a flier home with your child so you'll have more details, just let me know.

Secondly, Christmas letters and fliers went home with every child earlier this week. If you did not receive them and would like the information, please let me know so I can send home a second copy. The fliers give details on exactly when and where the Salvation Army and Toys for Tots are taking sign-ups next week, the week of September 24, and the week of October 1. If you need assistance with Christmas, please be sure to sign up with one of these organizations!

For those of you who are Christmas "angels," if your family, church, or business is interested in donating time, funds, or gifts to families in need for the holidays, you might consider funneling your generosity through these two great organizations. They take on the huge task of creating a master list of which children are being served in our city, and try to make sure everyone in need is helped, but no one is double-helped. They could definitely use the support of the community with that enormous undertaking! For more information, you can call 553-1600.

Thank you for reading. We are glad you are here! Have a great weekend.

Family Night Cards & Volunteers Appreciated!

Well, we seem to be rolling along at full speed in our new school year! Today I have just two small things to get our blog communication started: some family night cards I saw over the summer, and a hopeful request for volunteer help!

First, I noticed these printable family night cards for sale online ($9). Of course, you could make your own for much less money with your own ideas that you family has brainstormed themselves. Each card has a different activity, like craft night, movie night, outdoors night, etc. These might be fun to put in a hat and let one of your children "draw" one out each week to see what the family will do together, or just to use as reminders of all the fun family activities that are possible when you're in a rut.

Lastly, I know that we're all busy and overscheduled, but if any parents, guardians, or family members out there have a little bit of extra time now and then and wouldn't mind helping me with a few tasks to keep the school counseling program running efficiently, I'd love to hear from you! Having extra hands makes a huge difference!

The things I most often need help with are counting pretzel sticks into ziploc baggies, counting and distributing snack bags for several classrooms weekly, folding or cutting papers for classroom lessons, and sticking labels on my "backpack mail" newsletters and putting them in teachers' mailboxes.

Most of these tasks will likely take 30 minutes or less (probably rarely more than 1 hour), and I am more than happy to work around volunteers' schedules. Some of the jobs can be taken home or done here at school at times that work well for you. For the snack bag distribution, though, it would be best to have someone who could come on Thursdays or Fridays as standing commitment (could be once a month, or hopefully even less frequently if we get several volunteers to share the days!)

If you might be willing to help with the Thursday/Friday job or the "as-needed" tasks, please email me and let me know. I'll set up a schedule of dates for the Thursday/Friday volunteers, and for the "as-needed" tasks, I'll just email the people who are willing to volunteer when I anticipate one of those jobs coming up and you can write me back if you're available to do it. Thank you so much for your consideration. I cannot tell you how much your extra pairs of hands mean to me!

Thank you very much for reading! We're glad you are here!

Exciting Success Story/Community Resource

I've got two tidbits for you today!

First, one of our student teachers who interned with us at TPS this year is interested in tutoring kids over the summer. She is charging $25 an hour. If you would like her contact information, please let me know!

Secondly, I have a really exciting sucess story and community resource to share. A former TPS parent has recently fulfilled her dream of opening a resale and consignment shop that gives 20% of its profits back to the community. I will not go into personal details, but in brief, this is a mother who has weathered difficult times, and she and her daughter have taught me lessons about strength, people, and "doing the right thing" that remain close to my heart to this day. 

If you ever are looking for a place to donate or sell on consignment things like clothing, furniture, and household items, this is a small business that would appreciate your support! Of course, you can shop there too. It looks like they have tons of VHS tapes, DVDs, clothing, various decor items, and even some cute handpainted kids' furniture. They say their prices are so low, you will think they are crazy! It looks to me like they also rent booths in the store, so if you had lots of things to sell or know someone who does, they have spaces available for that.

You can see more pictures on the website below!

The owner would especially like to give back to our school, so she has a neat opportunity for us! It is called School Bucks. Basically it is a card that you would present when you shop at the store. Just by showing it, you will receive 5% of your purchase total in "come back" dollars for you to spend on a future shopping trip, AND she will donate another 5% of your purchase total to TPS! Isn't that amazing?! What a win-win. If you would like a card, please just let me know and I will send one home with your child.

The store is called Nu-Beginnings, and you can see their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nubeginningsresaleandconsignment

You'll find Nu-Beginnings at 307 Skyland Blvd. On the map, it looks to me like you would turn right onto Skyland from traveling north on 69, then you would pass Old Montgomery Hwy and 5th Ave, and look for the store on your right, in the same shopping center as the antique mall. If you pass Skyland Drive, you've gone too far. The phone number is 752-0550.

Fundraiser Night at Dairy Queen

Tomorrow evening, Tuesday April 24, the Taylorville area Cub Scouts will be holding a fundraiser night at Dairy Queen to support their local packs. You can visit DQ between 5:00 and 8:00pm to eat ice cream and other treats for a good cause! My understanding is that all the money raised stays right here in the Taylorville area for programming that directly benefits our boys and community.

The Cub Scouts thank you for your support!

Thanks for reading. We are glad you are here!

Dairy Queen Cub Scout Fundraiser!

If you eat at the Dairy Queen in the Publix shopping center across from Bobby Miller Parkway this Thursday between 5-8pm, 10% of your bill will go to Cub Scout Pack 151, which is our local Taylorville pack. The money will be used to help carry out the scouting program in our area. It's a great opportunity to get a treat and support a good cause!

Recent Photos

I am long overdue to share some photos with you! Here are just a few of the hundreds of Valentines and crafts we gave to the Veterans' Hospital.

Earlier this month, our Adopt-A-School partner First United Security Bank invited one 2nd grader from each class to a job shadowing event. It was educational and fun! We really appreciate all the ways they support TPS and the learning and development of our students.

Thank you for reading! We are glad you are here!

Toys for Tots Collection Box

The Marine Corps Toys for Tots program brought a collection box to our school! If you would like to donate new toys of any kind, you or your child can bring them to the big box in the front office. These toys should not be wrapped in Christmas paper- just bringing them in their original store packaging would be perfect.

Holiday Food Drive

I want y'all to know that normally I would not be throwing community service projects at you one right after the other! I hope you do not feel serviced out! :) This year is a bit unusual because Dr. Lamon's wife asked us to do the letters to troops, and now the Salvation Army has asked us to help with their food drive. So I am putting them out there for those who would like to take part, but please of course never feel obligated or pressured to participate if you'd rather not. Things should calm down a bit in the spring! :)

One of our TPS parents works for Salvation Army, which is part of the reason we are aware of their needs and able to partner with them so easily. Additionally though, they are seeking out help from schools and other organizations more this year than in the past because needs of all kinds have increased so greatly since the tornadoes. My understanding (which I hope is correct) is that the Salvation Army got a new director last spring, right before the disasterous weather struck. She is trying to help guide our community through this difficult time, and of course needs our support to help all the kids and families in need.

So, we are holding a food drive between now and December 3! We're collecting canned goods and non-perishables, such as:

• Rice, pasta, mac ‘n’ cheese, dry beans, or soup mixes
• Boxed biscuit, mashed potato, or cornbread mix
• Oatmeal, grits, muffin mixes, boxes of cereal
• Peanut butter, nuts, trail mix
• Crackers, cookies, snacks
• Canned goods like vegetables, beans, soup, or fruit

There are red plastic bins in the front lobby to hold food donations. Thank you in advance for anything you'd like to contribute! Every little bit helps. :)

Also, for the volunteer-minded, our TPS parent working for the Salvation Army is still looking for volunteers to help with the big Christmas angel tree project at the mall. They need volunteers this Friday, November 11, through December 10. If you'd like to sign up for a time slot, please call Vera Ballard at 344-9040.

Thanks for reading! We are glad you are here!

Treats for Troops and 2nd Grade Conflict Resolution Lesson

The Treats for Troops drive was a big success! We ended up with SEVEN copy paper boxes full of candy, plus a few additional bags and smaller boxes. Thank you so much to all parents, teachers, and students who supported this project. I am sure the soldiers will be so excited when they receive our candy, letters, and cards! I hope it was meaningful for you and your children. Here are a few pictures of just a few of the sweet treats we got, and how much the candy filled up my car!

I'm starting a new lesson in second grade today, and we'll learn about conflict resolution. We will play a fun "Wheel of Fortune" game and discuss 6 ways to solve conflicts with siblings or friends:

• Share
• Take Turns
• Decide With Luck- flip a coin, do rock-paper-scissors, draw names from a hat, etc.
• Make A Deal- compromise, so that nobody gets everything they want but everyone gets something they want. Everyone needs to agree that the plan is fair.
• Take A Break- walk away and take some time to calm down. Come back and solve the problem later if it still seems important.
• Talk & Listen- each person tells their side of the story without interruptions, and you try to talk the problem out and come up with a solution.

I hope these strategies will help our students resolve disagreement at home with siblings as well as at school with peers. Look for your second grader to bring home a small booklet with these 6 ideas and a few other tips in them after we have our lesson. If you have any other great ideas for conflict resolution that work well with your children, please feel free to share them by commenting on this post!

This week I'll do the lesson with Frith, Hamner, Dover/Peake, Johnson, Singley, Horst, Smelley, Phillips, and Bowlin. All other 2nd grade classes should have the lesson next week. 

Letters to Troops for the Big Thank You

We collected about 100 letters for the troops to send to the Atlanta-based radio show that is collecting for their Big Thank You project! I'm posting some samples below so that you can see how precious they are and what sweet bucket-filling students we have at TPS. I'm sure our kids' sentiments will bring happiness to many troops! Thank you so much to all those who participated. It was fun to see letters from K, 1st, and 2nd graders!

I think this next one says "Woo, I'm tired." "Me too." (It took me several minutes to figure this out, so I thought I would translate in case I wasn't the only one. :))

Treats for Troops

It is time for our Halloween school-wide service project! Here is the scoop:

WHAT: Our project has 2 parts:
 • We’re collecting “treats” to send to U.S. soldiers overseas. The idea is that students can “donate” some of their Halloween candy to our troops! All candy is welcome, but the best things to mail are those that won’t melt, like fruit-flavored candy, lollipops, fruit roll-ups, etc.
• We’ll dress up school-wide on Wednesday, November 2, to honor our troops! Students can wear camouflage, military-inspired clothing, or red, white, and blue.

WHEN: Tuesday November 1 – Friday November 4, 2011

WHERE: Your child can bring his or her candy to his or her classroom or to my office.

WHY: We are collaborating with a “Soldier’s Angel” who works for Tuscaloosa County Schools. She will mail some of our candy to the men and women she is assigned through the Soldiers’ Angels program, and we will mail the rest to other troops. We strive to choose service projects that are meaningful to our students and that they can do with their own two hands. We figure that sacrificing their own Halloween candy may be a service opportunity that inspires that kind of personal interest!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know. Also, if you have an address for a soldier who is currently serving in the military and you would like them to receive one of our boxes, please email me the address as soon as possible. I don't know how many boxes we'll have, but we'll spread around as many as we can. Thank you so much for your support!

Christmas Volunteer Opportunity

Salvation Army and Toys for Tots are huge Christmas charities in our community. They are currently coordinating gifts for 3,086 children in Tuscaloosa! Needs are expected to be higher than usual this year due to the tornadoes. 

Right now, the two organizations are looking for volunteers to help in the mall between November 11 and December 10. Volunteers may assist angels as they sign out stars from the Angel Tree or help place bags of toys in bins as angels deliver them. If you'd like to help, please contact Vera Ballard at 344-9040. Vera is not only an angel herself for heading up this project, she is also a TPS parent. She'd love to hear from us!

If you would like to sponsor a child, the Angel Tree goes up on November 11, I believe at University Mall. Toys for Tots will place collection boxes around town for new toys that have not been wrapped in wrapping paper. In the past they have placed a box in our front lobby at Taylorville Primary. Of course, Salvation Army and Toys for Tots also take monetary donations if you would prefer to contribute that way.

Thanks for reading! We are glad you are here!

Camp Alabama Storm

First, a reminder- 2nd Grade Career Day is this Friday, October 21. Each class will hear from 5 different people about their jobs. Many speakers start at 8:30, so if you can avoid tardies or absences that day, your child will have a better chance to catch all the fun! I hope it is an enjoyable and educational experience for all. I expect to post pictures on the blog this weekend so you can get an idea of what the day was like.

Now, onto the real announcement: On November 11-13, there will be a free overnight camp for children ages 8-12 who were affected by the April tornadoes: Camp Alabama Storm. It looks like a great opportunity if your child had a traumatic experience with that weather event. Their goal is to provide a fun, relaxing, safe place for campers to tell their story, celebrate the present, and look toward the future. There will be arts and crafts, a drum circle, bonfire, hayride, storytelling, outdoor cookout, canoeing, hiking, live music, outdoor games, and more. If your child isn't old enough or wasn't affected by the tornado, please spread the word to others who might be interested!

The camp being paid for by donations. To date, volunteers have raised over $10,000! Donations cover the costs of food, lodging, transportation, t-shirts, printing, and postage. If you or someone you know is interested in making a tax-deductible donation, email campalabamastorm@gmail.com.

If you'd like more information, you can download the application and information packet at this website:
http://campalabamastorm.wordpress.com/

The camp is free, but applications are necessary. They'd like to receive all applications by November 1.

Thanks for reading! We are glad you are here!

Big Thank You Project

We've had a surprise school-wide service opportunity arise!  

An Atlanta-based radio show is trying to collect enough letters to mail one to each U.S. soldier serving overseas for Thanksgiving. So we’re inviting our TPS students, teachers, and families to write letters to our troops! If you'd like to take part, here are the guidelines:

• Letters must reflect a positive message in the spirit of Thanksgiving or saying “thank you."
• Letters must be handwritten, original, and heartfelt.
• Letters cannot contain any political statements.  
• No cards, photographs, or donations. 
• No staples, glue, stickers, tape, cardboard, or glitter.  
• Only one piece of paper (8.5 x 11 or smaller) can be used for each letter.

Please have your children bring your family's letters to me or their teachers by Tuesday, October 26.

If you'd like more information (or if you'd like to start your own collection of letters from people in your church, workplace, neighborhood, etc.) please go to http://thebertshow.com/the-bert-shows-big-thank-you/

Dr. Lamon’s wife, Gloria, suggested this idea to us. We think it’s a great way to support our troops, community, and Dr. Lamon, all at the same time! We'll take a picture of the box(es) of letters we collect to show Dr. and Mrs. Lamon.

I was already planning to do a Treats for Troops collection November 1-4, like we did last year, and we will not cancel that even though this other troop-related activity has come up. No letters or cards are necessary for Treats for Troops though! The main idea of that event is that kids can donate their "extra" Halloween candy to be mailed to soldiers overseas. I'll send a flier home in a couple of weeks with more details.

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know! 

Thank you for reading, and for your support of our community and school counseling program! We are glad you are here!