Summer is over, it's Back to School

Welcome to the 2009-10 School Year! It's going to be another extraordinary year!

On Thursday, August 24th, we held our annual Back-to-School Night. I believe that is does take a village to raise a child. Therefore, I am continually looking for opportunities to bring the school, home and community together. Back-to-School Night is one such occassion!

Families were invited to join us for a family picnic of hotdogs, chips, and a water at 5:00 pm. This was a wonderful opportunity for families to meet other Victoria families. We also had several information/resource booths set up near the picnic area.

Our Victoria P.T.A. not only cooked hotdogs, they also had a "Spirtwear" booth and a membership booth. Parents and students were able to purchase school t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and bags. I saw one family leave wearing their newly purchased matching shirts and hats, including mom with a hat and bag! The P.T.A. also had a membership booth; all those who joined the P.T.A. got a discount coupon to Aquarium of the Pacific or Legoland.

The branch manager, Susie, of the Casa Blanca Library and Family Literacy Center also had a booth. Students who visited her table got a free book, pencil, and/or bookmark. She also had information about activities and services the Library provides for the local community.

Although Riverside Public Utilities was unable to attend to our event, they gave us information to pass out to families about living green. Victoria School is interested and motivated to recycle, reduce, and reuse!

The YMCA, located across the street at Hope Luthern Church, shared information with families interested in attending their afterschool program.

Mrs. Gonzales and Mr. Kaufhold provided information about "Parent Involvement" opportunities, including School Site Counsel (SSC), English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC), and Parent Academies. Several parents signed up to attend our first parent workshop scheduled for September 10. At this workshop, parents will discuss how they can support their child with homework. Each parent in attendance will also make a study center for their child to use at home when completing homework. At this booth, parents also expressed ideas for future topics of parent academy workshops.

As the Victoria tradition, Outdoor Ed held their annual Back-to-School Bake Sale. This is the kick off to their busy year of fundraising for sixth grade science camp in May.

In the classrooms, teachers presented information about grade level curriculum, classroom rules, homework, and other applicable information. We held two sessions of classroom presentations (at 5:45 and 6:30 pm) to accomodate families with more than one student or for those who were eating or visiting booths.

Although the extreme heat may have pevented many families from attending, Back-to-School Night was a success!