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NOVEMBER CALENDAR
11/8 - Reflections Awards Ceremony & Celebration, for Participating Students and Their Families, 5th Grade Park, 11:15 a.m.
11/9 - Before School Writing Club with Mr. Perkins, Room 16, 7:45 a.m.
11/10 - No School, Veterans Day Holiday
11/13-17 - Mira Catalina Book Fair, Room 16
11/14 - PTA General Meeting, MPR, 8:45 a.m. 11/14 - Donuts for Dads at the Book Fair, 8 - 8:30 a.m., Room 16
11/14 - Spirit Wear Orders Due - Order Online at renzwear.com
11/16 - Family & Friends Lunch at the Book Fair, Lunchtime, Room 16
11/17 - PTA Whale Cover Design Contest Entries Due to the Office
11/22 - Minimum Day, K-5 Dismissal at 12 p.m., TK Dismissal at 11:45 a.m.
11/28-30 - Parent Teacher Conferences, Minimum Days, Grades K-5 Dismissal 12 p.m., TK Dismissal 11:45 a.m.
11/30 - Before School Writing Club, Room 16, 7:45 a.m.  THANK YOU HALLOWEEN HARVEST FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS! Thank you to all of the Halloween Harvest Festival volunteers for making it a successful and extra fun day! We want to recognize and thank all of the volunteers who: spent many many hours planning the event; coordinated the game booth decorations and manpower; donated silent auction items and game prizes; helped out in the morning to set-up; staffed all the booths and different stations; wore aprons and served food; and stayed late to help tear down and clean up.
And a special thank you to Sophia Eng and Danielle Taningco for co-chairing and organizing a fabulous, fun-filled day! Please be sure to frequent the following business in appreciation of their generous donations and support to Mira Cat: Whole Foods
Costco
Sams Club
Trader Joe's
Sprouts
Universal Studios
Trump National Golf
Admiral Risty
Truxtons
Olivia’s Dollhouse
Promenade Ice Chalet
Nicholson Photography
Skechers
Islands
CPK
Medieval Times
Gable House Bowl
Mulligans
Aquarium of the Pacific
Discovery Cube
Natural History Museum
Federal Bar
Santa Monica Pier
 Thank you to Red Ribbon Week Chair Michelle Lach for coordinating another successful Red Ribbon Week!
Please update your Aeries Emergency Contact information so you can receive emergency messages via text or email, if desired. .jpg)
WE NEED YOUR INFO!If you would like your child to be included in the electronic Student Directory, please be sure to provide the information and sign the form as soon as possible! The Student Directory is a great way to stay connected with friends at school. Only current PTA members who sign the form will have access to the online directory. Please click here to sign up today.  CORPORATE MATCHING GIFTSDoes your company offer matching gifts or service dollars to organizations you volunteer with or designate? If so, consider Mira Catalina PTA as your service organization to support to help fund our programs! For more information, contact Alyson McFerson at lov2punt@yahoo.com. Not a Mira Cat PTA member? Join now by clicking here.
Connect to Mira Catalina PTA on Facebook to stay connected and informed!  Like what you're reading? Please forward our newsletter to other Mira Catalina families!
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Dear Mira Catalina Parents,
October was a busy yet great month. We had an excellent Halloween Harvest Festival (Thank you to Sophia Eng and Danielle Taningco) and a fantastic Halloween Parade at Mira Cat on Halloween Day. Thank you to all the parents for attending these special events!
Important Dates and Upcoming Events
Before School Writing Club: Writing Club #1 is an overview of the writing process, which will meet in room 16 starting at 7:45 a.m. on the following dates: 11/9, 11/30, 12/7, 12/14 with Mr. Perkins (perkinsr@pvpusd.net). This is a great resource for your kids should they have interest. Topics will include: fantastic fantasy creatures (examining creatures from fantasy stories, myths, etc.), writing targets, and writing fictional narratives/poems.
PVIS Cross Country Invitational: For the past 10 years PVIS has hosted a cross country invitational for South Bay middle schools at the Palos Verdes Cross Country Course at Lunada Bay. This year we're adding a grade school race for PVPUSD grade school students. The meet is Thursday, November 9 and the grade school race is open to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. The course is one mile with a slight uphill about 400 meters into the race. The race will start promptly at 2:30 p.m. The course address is 2020 Palos Verdes Drive West, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274
Veterans Day Holiday: On Friday, November 10 school will be closed in observance of Veteran’s Day (November 11). Take a moment to have a discussion, or better yet, plan an outing with your children to share why they are off from school this day.
November PTA General Meeting: I would love to see many of you at our November PTA meeting on Tuesday, November 14. We will start at 8:45 a.m. in the MPR. Don’t let the school year pass you by!
Minimum Day November 22: Just a reminder that Wednesday, November 22, school will start at 8:30 a.m. for all students (grades TK-5) and dismiss at 12 p.m. for grades K-5 (TK dismisses at 11:45 a.m.).
Parent Teacher Conferences Minimum Days: Just a reminder that Tuesday, November 28, Wednesday, November 29, and Thursday, November 30, will be minimum days for parent teacher conferences. School will start at 8:30 a.m. for all students (grades TK-5) and dismiss at 12 p.m. for grades K-5 (TK dismisses at 11:45 a.m.).
District LCAP Survey: We are asking PVPUSD parents and students in grades 3 -12 to participate in an annual Local Control Accountability Planning (LCAP) Survey.
The purpose of this survey is to gather information from a variety of sources about the educational environment within the PVPUSD that contributes to the production of high academic achievement levels for all students. The main emphasis of this survey focuses on the conditions of learning, pupil achievement outcomes, stakeholder engagement, and pupil safety. This is an anonymous survey and the collective results will be shared during Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) meetings to guide local priority development, actions, and services. We value each respondent and it is important that we get a representative sample from our community.
We have separated and specified the surveys into categories that include: elementary students (grades 3-5), secondary students (intermediate and high school), parent, certificated staff, and classified staff. We are asking both you, the parent, and your student(s) in grades 3-12 to click on the link provided and complete the applicable survey. Your responses will help guide the funding priorities for the PVPUSD Board of Education.
Parent Survey: Click here
Elementary Student Survey: Click here
Have a great week!
Brett Egan
Principal  ADVOCATING FOR OUR STUDENTS AND INSPIRING FUTURE LEADERSAt its core, PTA is a child advocacy association whose "legislative mission is to speak on behalf of all children and youth at the local, state and federal levels.” As Mira Catalina’s 7th VP, it has been my pleasure to serve on the PVP Council of PTAs Legislative Representative (Leg. Rep.) team since last year. Leg. Reps are nonpartisan local officers of the largest grassroots child advocacy organization in California, responsible for educating PTA members, community members and elected officials about PTA’s issues of concern and legislative priorities and goals.
Importantly, California State PTA took positions on more than 120 bills in the California legislature this year, of which 34 were signed and approved! To learn more about the bills PTA supports, view California State PTA’s end-of-session Legislative Action Report for 2017.
PTA sponsors a strong Civics Education and Engagement Program in our schools. At the elementary level, we run mock elections, just as we did last year with the presidential election. At the middle school and high school levels, PVP Council of PTAs hosts a Capitol Comes to Campus program where students get the chance to spend the evening with elected officials and ask questions about current legislation and important educational concerns within our community, while learning more about a career in government.
The biggest event each year is the opportunity for high school students to travel to Sacramento in April with PVP Council leadership, PVPUSD administrators, teachers and parents to get hands-on lobbying experience. Last year, more than 70 people made the trip, spending two days in small group meetings with members of government and their staff lobbying for several pre-determined key issues such as base grant district funding increases; alternative high school assessment testing; block grants for mental health and wellness at the K-12 levels; and teacher residency program grants to address the growing teacher shortage in our state.
I am thrilled to have had the chance to travel back to Sacramento with the students in April. It’s an eye-opening and inspiring experience that our children can look forward to in the future.
As PTA members, all of us are welcome and encouraged to promote legislative advocacy for the welfare of children and youth in California. Should you have an idea for a potential lobbying point, or if you would like more information, please contact me at carmstrong75@gmail.com Christine Armstrong
7th Vice President, Legislative Representative MIRA CATALINA BOOK FAIR NOVEMBER 13 -17!
Volunteers Needed! The Wild West Book Fair is coming and we need volunteers to help students select books and make purchases. No experience required. Working at the fair is "book loads" of fun! Please click on the link to sign up to volunteer: signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4baba62ea2fa7-book5
Special events during the fair include: Donuts for Dads on Tuesday, November 14, from 8 - 8:30 a.m., and Family & Friends Lunch on Thursday, November 16, during lunchtime. Information about the book fair and these events will be sent home on Monday, November 6. Proceeds from the Book Fair support Mira Catalina's PTA programs.
HALLOWEEN HARVEST FESTIVAL APPRECIATION
On October 22 Mira Catalina's annual Halloween Harvest Festival took over the lower field welcoming 400-plus students and their families for a community fun-filled event!
Mira Catalina parents and volunteers from the Los Hermanos Peninsula Service Club helped transform the lower field into a harvest game carnival, manned the game booths and worked tirelessly through the 90 degree heat!
We want to give special thanks to our custodial staff. Thanks to Miguel Guerrero who was there from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., helping us set up and doing much of the heavy lifting with our dad volunteers, and to Armando who also helped with breaking down and getting everything back in the MPR and storage!
We appreciate all of you who worked their positions the whole time because we were short on volunteers. These volunteers worked their booths tirelessly with lots of traffic and no relief! Only a friendly smile on their faces! Thank you so very much!
We also want to say thank you to our food donating families: Puritan bread for donating the buns and bread, a wonderful family who donated hot dogs burgers, and to the Bader family for donating their fabulous ice cream and sweet treats, and especially to Jen for doling out treats all day and for selling our Mira Cat spirit wear!
Thank you to: Wholefoods for donating 20 pounds of beef, Costco for the water donation, Sams Club for the condiments and paper goods donation, and Target for some of the candy and prize donations.
Thank you to the Mira Catalina families who solicited and/or donated silent auction items.
Most importantly - thank you all so very much for coming out to the Halloween Harvest Festival! We truly appreciate all of your support and do hope everyone had a great time. And last, but not least, a big shout out and thank you to Danielle Tanigod and Sophia Eng for co-chairing a successful event!.png) MIRA CAT SPIRIT WEAR DEADLINE NOVEMBER 14!
It's easy to order Mira Catalina spirit wear in time for the holidays! Visit renzwear.com and click on the “schools” tab. Select Mira Catalina and from there you will be able to shop! There are two great designs to chose from and a nice selection of shirts and sweatshirts in several colors. Adults and kids sizes are available. Please be sure to indicate your child’s room number and merchandise will be delivered to the classroom. Shop by November 14 and support our school!
2017 REFLECTIONS AWARDS CEREMONY NOVEMBER 8
This year's PTA Reflections contest had 47 participants and 57 entries. There will be a Reflections Awards Ceremony & Celebration on Wednesday, November 8 at 11:15 a.m. Participants and their families are invited. Pizza lunch and refreshments will be provided.
Click here for information about the PTA Reflections program. .gif) MR. PERKINS WRITING TIPS #2
The fall is upon us and great learning is in full swing at Mira Cat. This year I’m working with grades 2-5 and I’m always so amazed by the creative ideas and details of these young writers!
How can our students’ writing improve?
There are many ways to improve a piece of writing, the first thought is to develop your child into a self-editor. Students need to complete a draft, step away from it and return to it. When they return, they have to “switch gears” and become the first reader. This is not an easy skill to integrate but all the students I work with practice strategies that guide them to this. For example, after students finish writing, let them take a five-minute break. Upon their return give them specific “look fors,” including: - Check on your verbs. Specifically have students circle their verbs. Once they’ve completed that, ask them which of those are action verbs? For example, verbs of being are boring: is, was, were, has been, being. John was walking to school. Better: John skipped to school on Fridays.
- Vary your sentences. Have your student look back at every sentence, if every sentence ends with a period, change that. One of the State of California’s criteria for a high score on the CAASPP (formerly the SBAC) is using a variety of sentence types. Adding questions and exclamatory sentences make the writing stronger and more interesting.
- Stay away from repetition. If students have many sentences that begin with “I”, they will have to modify. Additionally, if they keep describing a situation or a character with the same description, they’ll have to use a new word. Example: Mr. Lincoln was very smart. His parents thought he was smart at a young age., etc. Better: Mr. Lincoln was wise in his decisions. As a young boy, he stood out to his parents when he displayed his creative intelligence.
I suggest to all the students that having “thesaurus.com” as a tab when they write is a very valuable tool.
I am getting ready to begin our first morning writing in November. Be on the lookout for information about “The Fantastical Creatures” Writing Club starting November 9. Thanks to all for your support of the writing program. Happy Thanksgiving!
Mr. Richard Perkins is a Title 1 English teacher who works with our grades 3 - 5 students.
THANK YOU - TEAM MIRA CATALINA!
A big thank you to the Mira Catalina families who supported the Skechers Walk, which took place on October 29 and supports the Peninsula Education Foundation. We signed up 75 walkers, which was shy of our goal (100 walkers), and had 11 Mira Cat students who actually walked (and enjoyed popsicles as a thank you for their participation)! Congrats to the 1st graders who had the most total walkers (virtual/actual)! The entire class will receive a PE party, compliments of PE teacher Kristy Winbauer! In addition, thank you to PEF reps Cherie Beffa and Diane Suzuki for coordinating the Skechers Walk activities.  .jpg)
Happy November everyone! Now is the time to start thinking about fall and holiday decorating and making gift giving super easy. Lynch Creek offers beautiful products that are sent straight to your door or to the homes of friends and family in time for the holidays.Click here to begin shopping. Lynch Creek donates 20 percent of sales directly back to Mira Catalina. What a great way to make the holidays easy and raise money for our school at the same time! Visit the link to shop www.lcffundraising.com/c/112997.
PENINSULA EDUCATION FOUNDATION FOOD & WINE FEST 2017 Ms. Amy Ferrera Receives Chuck Miller Grant
In appreciation to PEF's major donors who have given $2,500 or more this school year, PEF will host the Food & Wine Fest on Thursday, November 16 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Trump National Golf Club. Some of South Bay’s most popular restaurants will be providing food and drinks, including Bettolino Kitchen, Red Car Brewery,The Depot, Brio Coastal Bar & Kitchen, Ortega 120 and many more.
If you would like to donate or pledge $2,500 or more and receive an invitation, go to pvpef.org. Your generous donations directly fund STEM, elementary music, PE, academic counselors, college and career centers and many more vital programs and teachers that are necessary to keep our schools the best in the state.
At the event, Chuck Miller Grant recipients will be highlighted. This year Mira Catalina teacher Ms. Amy Ferrera will receive a grant for kindergarten classroom rugs.
MIRA CAT CELEBRATES RED RIBBON WEEK
Mira Catalina celebrated Red Ribbon Week October 23-27. Red Ribbon symbolizes the commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. In keeping with this tradition.
For parents, we encourage you to "Lock Your Meds®," which is a national multi-media campaign designed to reduce prescription drug abuse by making adults aware that they are the “unwitting suppliers” of prescription medications being used in unintended ways, especially by young people. To to learn more about their campaign log on to www.lockyourmeds.org. 
SHOPPING FOR SOMETHING, REMEMBER SMILE.AMAZON SUPPORTS MIRA CATALINA
Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Mira Catalina Elementary School PTA whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. You can select a different charitable organization after signing in. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com.
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