ESTABROOK UPDATE
Joseph Estabrook Elementary School
117 Grove Street, Lexington, MA
(781) 861-2520

Volume 2 Number 3
Friday, September 21, 2007

An Assistant Principal Notes....

What a wonderful Back to School Night! All who attended seemed to have an enjoyable evening. Children were enthusiastic about showing off their classrooms. They showed off their desks, their books, and their work. It was amazing to see how proud the children were of their classroom and accomplishments. Parents happily followed their children on guided tours of the school, stopping to visit all of the specialists in the library. In addition to providing guided tours, the children also taught their parents games, shared books, and discussed favorite genres. The conversations were informative and engaging allowing the children to share all that they do at school. The evening was full of enthusiastic welcoming staff, children sharing, and parents learning.

Clean-Up Day on Sunday the 23rd

Thanks to all who have already signed up to help beautify Estabrook this Sunday, September 23rd. We'll be planting bulbs, landscaping flowerbeds, painting lines for a new playground game and doing all we can to make Estabrook look even better! All ages are welcome so come if you can between 2:00pm and 4:00pm - we can always use volunteers. Snacks and water will be provided - hope to see you then!

PTA Meeting on Tuesday night

Join us at the first PTA Meeting of the school year, Tuesday, September 25 at 7:00 in the library. We'll find out "What's New at Estabrook" this year from Mrs. Batten and the PTA. There will also be a special presentation from the Anti-Bias Committee on their initiatives this year. Babysitting will be provided if you let us know in advance. Please contact Pam Hoffman, pwhoffman@rcn.com or 781-862-1434 by Monday if you will need this service. Hope to see you on Tuesday night!

Gift Wrap Fundraiser

Last week we kicked off the annual Innisbrook Gift Wrap Fundraiser. As you are aware Estabrook receives 50% of the sale's proceeds. Please help by purchasing the items you need. You may also want to share the catalog with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Please remember to register on www.innisbrook.com to receive prize credits for orders placed online by friends and relatives. When you register, the school number is 118190. Make checks payable to Estabrook PTA and please submit one check with each order. All orders (payment and order form inside the envelope) are due by Wednesday, September 26. Please contact the Gift Wrap Fundraiser chairs with any questions:

Chitra Tissera     781-652-8823   tissera@rcn.com
Diana Swift     781-862-5602   diana-swift@comcast.net

Big Backyard

The general Big Backyard training for parents new to the program will take place at the NEW Harrington School on: Tuesday, September 25 from 7pm-9pm and on Friday September 28 from 9:30am-11: 30am at the "new" Central Office Building at 146 Maple St. ("Old Harrington") in the conference room opposite the Superintendent's Office.

Big Backyard "Basic Training" includes a discussion of the basic principles of environmental science plus an introduction to some of the basic philosophy and essential activities of the Big Backyard nature study program. Participants need only bring curiosity, appreciation for the natural world, and a desire to help children appreciate nature. Fran Ludwig will lead the training.

Many thanks to the new Estabrook Big Backyard co-chairs, Jennifer Breen and Maria Cue for taking on this important program - we'll be hearing more from them soon!

Estabrook Calendar

Helpful Web Links and Other Information:
http://lps.lexingtonma.org/
http://lps.lexingtonma.org/bus/index.html
http://estabrook.lexingtonma.org/
http://estabrook.lexingtonma.org/Library/Library.html

Estabrook Elementary School
117 Grove Street
Lexington, MA 02420
Phone (781) 861-2520
Fax (781) 862-5610