Weekly Reader February 11, 2010

Weekly Reader

February 11, 2010

LSED Art Exhibit Opening
Thursday, February 11

The LSED Annual Art Exhibit Opening Help Preserve the Rainforests of the World, will be held on Thursday, February 11, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the Cadbury Road Lobby for all LSED families.

The exhibit will be up for several weeks for everyone to enjoy.

MLK All-School Assembly Postponed
to Thursday, February 25

Please join us on Thursday, February 25 for our annual assembly celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The assembly will begin at 8:40 a.m., in the gym.

Sixth Grade Bake Sale
Huge Success!

On behalf of sixth grade students and teachers, we would like to thank the CFS community for helping us organize and carry out our bake sale. Without your contributions and purchases of baked goods, we would not have been nearly as successful. Thank you to all sixth grade parents who helped staff the table throughout the week.

With your combined support, we were able to raise just over $1,700 for the Haiti relief effort. Thank you!

Adoptive Families Potluck
Friday, February 12

The Adoptive Families Group is having its next potluck on Friday, February 12. We know this is right before February vacation, but we hope you'll be able to join us. We welcome parents and guardians of adopted CFS students, as well as parents and guardians who are themselves adopted. Our evening potlucks for the whole family take place from 5:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the Meeting Hall and Gym. Each family brings a dish, salad, dessert or a drink to share. Child care is available for a small fee. Our next potlucks will be held on the following two dates:

Friday, March 19
Friday, April 30

We look forward to seeing familiar faces and new families and hope you will join us. For additional information contact the group's co-clerks Mary McDonald (mother of Mia Guthrie in third grade) or Linda Baer (mother of Sophie Lee in second grade.)

From The Library

February break is a wonderful opportunity for students and their families to spend time reading together. Check out the library's collection of great books - discover new authors and titles and get re-acquainted with classics and favorites.

Please remember that parents and guardians have full borrowing privileges in our library.

Instrumental Music and Dance
Program - Spring
Semester Information

The fall semester of the Instrumental Music and Dance Program will draw to a close shortly after February vacation. The spring semester will begin immediately with no break.

If your child plans NOT to continue with her/his class or lessons, please inform Marytha. Some classes and teachers have a wait list and this information will allow eager new students to be scheduled. If you would like to know the exact date your child's class or lessons end, please contact Marytha. The end dates differ depending on snow days, holidays and date started. If your child is interested in beginning lessons or a class this spring, please be in touch with Marytha (617-354-3880, ext 163.)

All-School Coffee
Friday, February 26

Please come for coffee and conversation on Friday, February 26. Bring pastry or fruit to share; coffee and tea will be provided.

Date: Friday, February 26
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Place: The Center (next to Jody's office)

Faculty and staff, please stop by for a cup of coffee or tea and a tasty treat.

If you have any questions or would like to help with this monthly event, please contact Sarah Bansen (mother of Rebecca in sixth grade and Noah Grossman in eighth grade) or Laura Brewer (mother of Grace and Eli Gershenfeld in seventh grade).

Megara Bell Presentation
For Middle School
Parents and Guardians
Save The Date - Wednesday, March 3

Next month, our middle school students will participate in a human sexuality course. They will meet with Megara Bell for four or five sessions during the weeks of March 8 and March 15.

On the evening of Wednesday, March 3, Megara, our workshop presenter, will hold an information session for parents and guardians. Although additional information will be coming your way, we wanted to make sure that you save this date!

Executive Functioning Seminar
Sarah Ward
Wednesday,March 10, 2010

Social Gathering: 6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Seminar: 7 p.m.
Location: Meeting Hall

Sarah Ward's presentation last year was so popular that parents and guardians have asked to hear her again this year. Sarah gives practical suggestions on how to create an "executive function friendly environment" where kids are more able to develop self-regulating skills, manage time, keep track of their belongings, and attend to their homework with less frustration. These tools are helpful both for children and adults who are challenged in these areas and also for those who want to learn more about this topic.

Super Sleepover
Friday, April 9

The 10^th Annual Super Sleepover is taking place on April 9, 2010! Mark your calendars and come and help us organize this fun event.

The Super Sleepover is a fun social event for our students in grades K-5 and a fundraiser for our school. The children will enjoy balloon-twisting, bingo, scavenger hunts, gym games with Noelle, baking, movies and more on Friday night. They will spend the night sleeping in their beloved school with their friends. Families pick up their children after breakfast on Saturday morning.

We are looking for Apprentice Organizers to help us manage the event this year. We have run the event for 4 years and plan to continue for 2 more years. Once our children graduate to Middle School, our tenure will be over. With your help, this special event will be super organized this year and will continue on for years to come.

Please contact Liz Vernaglia (mother of John in fourth grade), who is the Super Sleepover co-chair, if your are interested in helping with this special annual event.

Folktale Slam, Hosted by CFS Parent
and Storyteller, Doria Hughes
Wednesday, February 17

Doria Hughes, the mother of fourth-grader Ariana Hughes, is the co-founder of massmouth, an organization of Massachusetts-based storytellers. Check us out at http://massmouth.com

Massmouth will host two Folk Tale Slams on Wednesday, February 17. The first, for the "need a nap at noon" crowd (ages 3-6) is scheduled for 10 a.m. and will include 3-minute folk tales. The second session of 5-minute folk tales will start at 2 p.m. and is geared toward kids in the 6-12 age range.

Both shows will be at Toscanini's, 899 Main Street in Central Square, Cambridge MA, (617) 491-5877 http://www.tosci.com, and hosted by local Storyteller, Drumming Teacher, and Laughter Yoga practitioner Stu Mendleson! What is a story slam? Award-winning storytellers from massmouth will take the mic to tell their best 3 to 5 minute updated folk tale.

Cost: $7, includes admission and a ticket for an ice cream treat, and a donation to Heading Home - homeless families in Cambridge @ www.headinghomeinc.org and Partners in Health-health care and emergency relief in Haiti @ http://www.pih.org/

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Presents Consuming Kids
Wednesday, February 24

Please join us for a local screening of the critically-acclaimed new film Consuming Kids, an eye-opening account of the pervasive and pernicious effects of advertising on the health and well-being of kids, at the Cambridge Community Center in Cambridge on Wednesday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. The film is produced by the Media Education Foundation and features the CCFC staff and steering committee. The event is free and open to the public.

The screening will be followed by a discussion featuring a speaker from the film, Josh Golin, Associate Director of CCFC.

Consuming Kids zeroes in on the often shocking practices of the multibillion-dollar youth marketing industry, exposing how marketers have used the latest advances in psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience to transform American children into one of the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world. The film has been earning widespread praise from critics, health care professionals, and children's advocates from around the country.

To find other screenings in your area or to learn how to host your own screening of this film, please visit http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/events/consumingkids.html.

Summer Programs