The website and blog for the PTSA at Maple Elementary School in Seattle, Washington.
PTSA MEETINGS
PTSA Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm in the Teacher's Lounge.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Book Donations Needed!
Next week Maple will be celebrating Read Across America. There will be book giveaways throughout the week and we are looking for donations so we can send as many books as possible home with our students. Please drop off donations in Robin Lee’s office next to the school office.
thanks for your support!
Maple Family & Friends!
Friday, February 12, 2016
MAPLE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Brought to you by Maple Elementary parents and teachers
Coming up:
2/15-2/16, Mid-winter Break (No School)
From Principal Sanchez, Hello Maple Families!
I am excited to welcome you to the Maple PTSA’s Newsletter! I hope you find this to be a useful
resource to stay connected and informed as to what is happening at Maple Elementary School. At
Maple, we value contributions from our school’s community and believe that families are our greatest
partners. I encourage you to be active participants in your child’s education through engaging in
conversations about what they are learning, communicating with teachers and connecting to the
classroom by visiting or volunteering; I know you will be impressed by the work our staff and students are doing every day! I also encourage you to get involved in the greater school community by staying informed of school-wide events and the work that our PTSA is doing to provide opportunities for our students beyond the classroom. As we continue to progress through the 2015-2016 school year, I look forward to our continued partnership and the work that we can do together to make Maple the best place it can be for our students!
Elena Sanchez, Principal
Parent Opportunity!
Are you interested in boosting student achievement at Maple through meaningful family engagement?
Our Family Engagement Action Team (FEAT) plans Maple’s family events, and they are looking for a parent representative to join them. Meetings take place one Thursday a month, from 8:30-9:00am, in the library. If you’re interested please email Ms. Barragan (dabarragan@seattleschools.org)
Healthy Habits Challenge
Using the veggie and fruit chart you receive with this newsletter, keep track of what you eat for a week. Make it more fun and get the rest of your family to do the challenge with you!
Thank you Maple Parents from Ms. Riley!
Thanks to the generous donations from Maple families, our Maple parent group was able to fund a grant proposal from First Grade teacher, Ms. Riley, for iPad minis. “Having access to technology, especially iPads, allows for individualized learning,” say Ms. Riley. “Students use these iPads to read, create projects, explore different cultures and strengthen their math skills. There are so many amazing
educational apps out there and, with these iPads, students will have access to more learning content.
Education technology allows students to learn beyond the four walls of the classroom.”
Teacher Spotlight: Mr. Stevenson
For our first teacher spotlight we wanted to get to know Mr. Stevenson a little better. He’s been
teaching at Maple for 16 years. Nearly every day he bikes (19 miles round trip) to school from North
Seattle! Born in Australia, he’s been married for 33 years, has a son (23y) and a daughter (20y), who is currently in college at Western Washington University. We asked him some questions, and here’s what he had to say.
Q What do you love about Maple? A The Maple students try very hard and they are extremely kind to each other.
Q Why did you want to teach Physical Education? A It was my favorite class as a kid. I love that it gives kids a chance to exercise and to learn how fun it can be. I want them to connect with how good it makes them feel. The team skills that they learn will allow them to enjoy playing for the rest of their life.
Q What is your favorite sport? A The two biggest games in Australia, Cricket and Rugby. I like baseball quite a bit too.
Q What do you love to do away from school? A I enjoy biking, snowshoeing, hiking, taking walks, reading, traveling, and seeing live music.
Q Please tell us about a time you had to work really hard for something. A Playing sports didn't come easy to me, I was never fast, but I did better in sports where I was playing on a team. The enjoyment of team sports made me love it. And I made lifelong friends as well. Playing sports helped me realize I can push myself and it might be hard, but I feel good afterwards.
Q And what's Mr. Stevenson's wish for all of the Maple kids? A To make sure our kids get outside every day and raise their heart rate.
Words of wisdom from a great teacher. Thank you for keeping us moving Mr. Stevenson!
Save the Date!
Maple Walk-a-thon April 1st - more details coming soon!
NEW for parents in the front office
Volunteer Bin: Do you have 30 minutes to spare in your week and want to help our Maple teachers?
Please stop by our volunteer bin in the front office and lend a hand. (All volunteers must complete their application process with Ms. Lee prior to helping).
Parent Information Board: Check our new info board for announcements, volunteer needs and
upcoming events and email Gitane Versakos (gitanev@gmail.com) with anything you’d like to share.
Coming up:
2/15-2/16, Mid-winter Break (No School)
From Principal Sanchez, Hello Maple Families!
I am excited to welcome you to the Maple PTSA’s Newsletter! I hope you find this to be a useful
resource to stay connected and informed as to what is happening at Maple Elementary School. At
Maple, we value contributions from our school’s community and believe that families are our greatest
partners. I encourage you to be active participants in your child’s education through engaging in
conversations about what they are learning, communicating with teachers and connecting to the
classroom by visiting or volunteering; I know you will be impressed by the work our staff and students are doing every day! I also encourage you to get involved in the greater school community by staying informed of school-wide events and the work that our PTSA is doing to provide opportunities for our students beyond the classroom. As we continue to progress through the 2015-2016 school year, I look forward to our continued partnership and the work that we can do together to make Maple the best place it can be for our students!
Elena Sanchez, Principal
Parent Opportunity!
Are you interested in boosting student achievement at Maple through meaningful family engagement?
Our Family Engagement Action Team (FEAT) plans Maple’s family events, and they are looking for a parent representative to join them. Meetings take place one Thursday a month, from 8:30-9:00am, in the library. If you’re interested please email Ms. Barragan (dabarragan@seattleschools.org)
Healthy Habits Challenge
Using the veggie and fruit chart you receive with this newsletter, keep track of what you eat for a week. Make it more fun and get the rest of your family to do the challenge with you!
Thank you Maple Parents from Ms. Riley!
Thanks to the generous donations from Maple families, our Maple parent group was able to fund a grant proposal from First Grade teacher, Ms. Riley, for iPad minis. “Having access to technology, especially iPads, allows for individualized learning,” say Ms. Riley. “Students use these iPads to read, create projects, explore different cultures and strengthen their math skills. There are so many amazing
educational apps out there and, with these iPads, students will have access to more learning content.
Education technology allows students to learn beyond the four walls of the classroom.”
Teacher Spotlight: Mr. Stevenson
For our first teacher spotlight we wanted to get to know Mr. Stevenson a little better. He’s been
teaching at Maple for 16 years. Nearly every day he bikes (19 miles round trip) to school from North
Seattle! Born in Australia, he’s been married for 33 years, has a son (23y) and a daughter (20y), who is currently in college at Western Washington University. We asked him some questions, and here’s what he had to say.
Q What do you love about Maple? A The Maple students try very hard and they are extremely kind to each other.
Q Why did you want to teach Physical Education? A It was my favorite class as a kid. I love that it gives kids a chance to exercise and to learn how fun it can be. I want them to connect with how good it makes them feel. The team skills that they learn will allow them to enjoy playing for the rest of their life.
Q What is your favorite sport? A The two biggest games in Australia, Cricket and Rugby. I like baseball quite a bit too.
Q What do you love to do away from school? A I enjoy biking, snowshoeing, hiking, taking walks, reading, traveling, and seeing live music.
Q Please tell us about a time you had to work really hard for something. A Playing sports didn't come easy to me, I was never fast, but I did better in sports where I was playing on a team. The enjoyment of team sports made me love it. And I made lifelong friends as well. Playing sports helped me realize I can push myself and it might be hard, but I feel good afterwards.
Q And what's Mr. Stevenson's wish for all of the Maple kids? A To make sure our kids get outside every day and raise their heart rate.
Words of wisdom from a great teacher. Thank you for keeping us moving Mr. Stevenson!
Save the Date!
Maple Walk-a-thon April 1st - more details coming soon!
NEW for parents in the front office
Volunteer Bin: Do you have 30 minutes to spare in your week and want to help our Maple teachers?
Please stop by our volunteer bin in the front office and lend a hand. (All volunteers must complete their application process with Ms. Lee prior to helping).
Parent Information Board: Check our new info board for announcements, volunteer needs and
upcoming events and email Gitane Versakos (gitanev@gmail.com) with anything you’d like to share.
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