Look-out...the 2010 Read-a-thon is COMING NEXT WEEK!
The spring 2010 Read-a-thon will be starting next week; your support is needed for the success of this program. The Read-a-thon fosters positive reading habits, promotes literacy and financially supports our school’s Art curriculum. With this program 100% of the proceeds go directly to Miraloma!! Our primary goal every year is to have every child participating in the program, whether they are able to solicit pledges or not; we all win by encouraging each child to read!
Packets will be delivered to your child next Wednesday in their classroom. For those new to the program and fundraiser, It’s simple, your children:
- Read (or are read to) and keep track of the reading time
- Solicit pledges from friends and relatives for the reading time
- and then collect pledges for all their hard work!
Last year we raised a record $19,745.00! Let’s beat that! More info to follow next week.
The Read-a-thon Committee

EGGStra! EGGStra! Read all about it!
There is plenty of "egg"citement at Miraloma. This week, Ms. Howard's (K1) and Mrs. Jabbar's (room 100) classrooms begin incubating an assortment of bantam chicken eggs. Bantams are small chickens with a sweet disposition that come in a variety of shapes and colors. In approximately three weeks, the chicks will begin to hatch. After an "egg"hausting 24-hour pecking process (with plenty of breaks for rest), the chicks will fully emerge from their shells. They will rest in the incubator an additional 24 hours, then go into a small heated pen (the brooder) in Ms. Howard's classroom. In about 6 to 8 weeks, they will be ready to go outside into their new home in our school garden. Bantam chickens make "egg"cellent backyard pets, and our children will have fun watching their growth and transformation from egg to egg layers.
Both Ms. Howard (champion 4-H chicken breeder extraordinaire!) and Mrs. Jabbar have experience with chickens, and they are spearheading the project with the assistance of their classroom parent volunteers who are overseeing the incubators. Stay tuned for the countdown.
- Joyce Mordenti & Jim Pohl

Order Your Yearbook Online!
Preserve precious memories for you and your children by purchasing a Miraloma Elementary School yearbook! Over 40 full color pages of portraits and photos of special activities throughout the school year will put a smile on your faces for years to come.
Orders will be accepted through the month of February only.
Books will be delivered during the last weeks of school in May. Our price of $20 helps the PTA reach important fundraising goals, so all books must be purchased, including those by the 5th graders.
Please use our secure and easy online order form.
Paper forms will be available next week in the office, please return checks and forms to the locked PTA box by February 26. Thank you!
Lisa Petrie & Ottilie Cools - yearbook@miralomasf.com

Feeling Helpless about the Budget? Start Taking Action.
Say NO to (even more) Budget Cuts! Parents at Sherman are working hard to get a grassroots advocacy effort going among SF public school parents to stop the budget insanity - let's join them! One of the first events is an open SF Town Hall meeting on February 25 moderated by Michael Krasny, host of KQED's award-winning Forum.
We are hoping to get at least 50 Miraloma parents there and would love a standing room only house to show our policy makers that enough is enough.
Here are the specifics.
Want to get even more involved - Volunteers needed! Come to the planning meeting on Wednesday, January 20th 6pm at Sherman Elementary School (1651 Union Street).

Fundraiser at Pacific Catch Restaurant - February
The Delicious Pacific Catch (9th Ave @ Lincoln) is helping us again this year with a February restaurant fundraiser!
February 9th (K/1st grade night), Tuesday
February 16th (2nd/3rd grade night), Tuesday
February 23rd (4th/5th grade night), Tuesday
Specific grades not mandatory, you can join in on any night, just highlighting classrooms for the community. Please make reservations ahead of time to help their staff: 415.504.6905 Vouchers will be available at First Friday, February 5th!

Miraloma 2010 Auction - List Your Class Project
The Miraloma Elementary's 2010 Auction will take place on Saturday, April 24th at the historic Verdi Club.
All auction information and documents are available on the Miraloma website and on the Auction Bulletin board. Email Katrin Robb your questions and ideas.
Contact Gina Cicciarelli (706-6194) to have a project listed for your class by Friday Jan. 29th.

Fundraiser at The Buddy Club - March 7
The Buddy Club and Miraloma Elementary are proud to present a family fun fundraiser featuring entertainer, Robert Strong - recently voted "San Francisco's Funniest Prop Comic."
Date: Sunday, March 7, 2010
Time: 10:30 am arrival; 10:45 priority admission; 11 am - noon "Showtime"
Place: The Randall Museum Theater, 199 Museum Way @ Roosevelt Way
Cost: $10 per person (children 2 and under are free)
Miraloma Elementary will get $5.00 of every ticket sold through Miraloma.
The show does sell out so buy your tickets early and help raise funds for our school!
If you'd like to buy tickets, sell tickets or organize a bake sale at the show, please contact: Rolyn Parker at 415.312.2982
For information about The Buddy Club, call (510)236-SHOW.

SF Food Bank Volunteer Days
Sunday, February 28, 9-noon
Saturday, March 13, 9-noon
Sunday, April 18, 9-noon
If you'd like to volunteer, please look for the sign up sheets on the Community Service bulletin board across from Room 105. Contact Julie Wise for more information.

MEEP: MEEP Will Be Open on January 29th
MEEP will be open on Friday, January 29th from 8:30am-5:30pm. (It is a Staff Development Day at Miraloma). This day is no charge to enrolled MEEP families. If you would like your student to attend, please fill out the attached form and return it to the MEEP office (Room 111). We need to know how many people need our services in order to staff accordingly.
Non-MEEP families are welcome to come to MEEP that day for a fee of $65. Please fill out and turn in the form as well.

MEEP: Enrichment Classes - Need More Students!
Intermediate Mandarin: We currently only have 7 students enrolled. We need at least 10 to hold the class.
K/1 Capoiera: We have 12 people who have expressed interest in continuing K/1 Capoiera.
If you would like to enroll, please drop by the MEEP office and fill out a registration form. We must have a registration form in order to count you as enrolled. We need all registration forms in by Friday, January 29th. Please disregard the fees on the registration form (it will be less), once we figure out if we can hold the class, we will know how many classes to charge for and invoices will be sent out later. Classes will be held on Fridays.
Please find all the information you need to know about each class here. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us (584-7080) or drop by the MEEP office.

MEEP: Tutors R Us - 20% discount if signed up before Feb 29
At Tutors R Us, our main mission is simple. We are dedicated to help students achieve their individual academic goals. The way we achieve our mission is to recruit the most qualified Credentialed Teachers. We take great pride in our tutors and their abilities to guide, support, and educate K-8 students. Additionally, our year-round program is committed to making sure parents are well informed of their child’s strengths and needs throughout the entire tutoring process.
Tutors R Us is offering 20% discount to all Miraloma parents for signing up from now until February 29, 2010.
To obtain references about our tutors please contact our liaison at Miraloma Ms. Jennifer Shivers (2nd grade teacher in room 100). You may also send us an e-mail or call us at 415-632-1665.