Roots and Branches
November 2008

Wow! What a wonderful success the wrapping paper, Walk-A-Thon, and Book Fair were! Thank you so very much to all of the parents who participated in these events. In wrapping paper, we around $2,500, which is a huge success!

The money is still being calculated for the Walk-A-Thon, but I personally know that this was a big hit just by the number of smiling faces I saw and those little feet literally running laps around our school! Once the children realized that they would get a sticker each time they did a lap, those feet took off! Many, many thanks to our very own office manager (and parent of twins Kooper and Preston) Kacy Kohut and Susie Cavallo (mom to Dante) for all of their hard work! Thank you also to the many parents who helped with set up, check-in, or clean-up for this event. We could not have pulled this off without your help! We will be looking forward to next year and hope to see even more families involved. Just a reminder: if you haven't turned in your pledge sheet to Kacy yet, please do so as soon as you can.

The Scholastic Book Fair was also a win-win situation! We always welcome this event to our school because it is such fun to see the children so excited to be reading! Thanks to the hard work and tremendous efforts of Teacher Judi, alum mom Suzanne Scherzinger, and current mom Christine Cucina (Jackie's mom), as well as the support of all of our Live Oak Families, the teachers will be able to spend several hundred dollars on new books! This is always such a treat for the teachers an the children! Thank you all for all your hard work and support that went into all of these events!

As you are all too aware, this past month many Live Oak Families (and teachers) have been hit with this cold and cough going around (and around). We appreciate your being very careful to keep your children at home when they have had a fever within 24 hours or are either still coughing or having a great deal of congestion and nasal discharge. We are definitely trying not to pass this along!

Come, Let Your Voice Be Heard!
We are still looking for Live Oak parents to join the board! We are especially in need of a treasurer and secretary, but are also hoping to simply add new board members who are interested in making a difference in the lives of children at Live Oak. Come for a visit to any board meeting!

Change of Seasons Means Change of Clothes ...
When you have a chance, you might want to change your child's extra set of clothes that we keep here at school to something a little warmer (long pants and long-sleeved shirts). This is usually something we forget until we need the clothes, and sleeveless shirts and shorts just don't seem to work in January or February!

Live Oak T-Shirts and Sweatshirts
If you would like to purchase a T-shirt or sweatshirt, just let us know. The T-shirts are $10 and the sweatshirts are $18. Kacy also has a few Live Oak water bottles left that she is selling for $5. Be sure to write your child's name in his or her shirt if you purchase one please!

"Parent Ed Night" was a huge hit! Jeanie Harmon was very well received and, as I heard from many parents, she was both informative and helpful. I'm sorry if you were not able to make it, but we will be having another night in the spring with a very special parenting coach, Barbara Joy.

Speaking of parenting and child development, you will find in your child's art folder a very interesting article, "Is Your Child Gifted?" Teacher Melanie came upon the article in a parenting magazine and passed this along to the teachers who, in turn, felt it was very worthwhile to share with each of you. While we aren't as interested in the "gifted" part of the article, you will notice on page 3 of the article #2 and #3, which talks about the "basics" and "play's the thing" respectively. This part of the article is so in line with our philosophy here at Live Oak, and supports every aspect of how we believe teaching should be with children of this age. Please take time to read this article - I think you will be glad you did.

Holiday Happenings!

Believe it or not, before we know it the holidays will be upon us. In November we talk with children about what they are thankful for in their lives. It is so nice to hear them usually mention Mom and Dad first, knowing that, as young as they are, they remember what is truly important in their lives. Holidays are always a hectic time in the lives of the children and their families, so try to remember what your child remembers when things get a little too crazy ... remember to take time to simply be together.

Just to give you a Live Oak "heads up", the following is a list of a few things that will be happening around our school. We will be having our Thankful Feasts in each of the classes 45 minutes prior to the end of class. For MWF classes this will be on Monday, November 24, and for the TTH classes this will be on Tuesday, November 25. All families are welcome to come and share food and friendliness with us! This has always been a potluck feast, with sign-up sheets out the two weeks prior to the date. We will have up on the walls the children's thankful lists that are always very enlightening!

Dates to Remember

• Monday, November 10: Teacher Workday - NO SCHOOL
• Tuesday, November 11: Veterans' Day - NO SCHOOL
• Monday, November 24: Thankful Feast for MWF classes (10:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m.)
• Tuesday, November 25: Thankful Feast for TTH classes (10:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m.)
• Thursday, November 27: Thanksgiving - NO SCHOOL
• Friday, November 28: Holiday - NO SCHOOL

Therese Walker