Archive for the ‘Parent Association’ Category
“The Birds, The Bees and Kids”
Join us on Monday, April 29, 7-8:30 p.m. at Villa Academy for a presentation by Amy Lang. Amy, a well-known parent educator, therapist, and author, will discuss three simple tips that even smart parents need to take the sting out of the Birds and the Bees talk. You will learn how to start and continue the conversation. You will understand better why your parents’ approach may not have been successful and how you can do it differently. You will leave the discussion feeling more confident and inspired to keep the conversation going. This event is free and open to the public.
Raising the Bar: What Parents can Expect when their Child has a Learning Disorder and/or ADHD
Barbara Bennett, M.A., Educational Therapist/Educational Consultant, discusses up-to-date scientific theories about learning disorders such as dyslexia and ADHD. These theories are based upon almost a century of solid research and effective intervention techniques. Barbara Bennett, who trained with key national figures in both dyslexia and ADHD, presents the reasons for a comprehensive evaluation and for an individualized treatment model that works. What is the role of accommodation in the process of skill acquisition? Can your child truly be an independent, functional student who can read, write, spell, do math, think, problem-solve, speak articulately – and turn his or her work in on time?
Ms. Bennett, who served on the WA Branch board of IDA (International Dyslexia Association), is a life-long IDA member. A co-founder of Eastside CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder), she co-facilitates its monthly meetings.
Childcare will not be provided.
This event is free and open to the public. Please join us and invite your friends.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Villa Academy – 5001 NE 50th Street
This event is for parents with children of all ages.
Positive Discipline for Preschool to 3rd Grade
Erin Olson, Ph.D. will discuss positive discipline strategies that focus on younger children. Erin has a broad clinical background in child psychology and is an educational psychologist. She is a graduate of the University of Washington with a private practice in Seattle working with children with behavioral issues and broad spectrum neuro-developmental conditions.
Childcare will not be provided. This event is free and open to the public. Please join us and invite your friends.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
This event is for parents with children in Preschool thru 3rd Grade.
Recognizing Anxiety in Children
Jenny Lobo, a Pediatrician with the Polyclinic will be speaking on child development and the impacts of anxiety in children. This discussion will assist parents and medical professionals in identifying how they can support children with anxiety issues.
Childcare will not be provided.This event is free and open to the public. Please join us and invite your friends.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Villa Academy – 5001 NE 50th Street
This event is for parents with children of all ages.
Parent Association Newsletter – Winter 2012
The following newsletter is an update on information discussed at the December and January VPA meetings. We hope that you find the following information helpful and are using this newsletter as another source for finding out all the wonderful things that are happening at our school!
VPA Meeting Minutes December 7 2012
VPA Meeting Minutes January 25 2013
News from our Development Office
Annual Fund
Thank you to all who have donated to this year’s annual fund and to those who have helped by reaching out to the families in your grade. We are currently at about 75% participation, and there is still time to pledge. You may donate to the annual fund right up to the end of the year! The chart in front of the school shows Annual Fund involvement for each grade in the school. Congratulations to Kindergarten for their 100% involvement. Way to go Kindergarten families! If you are one of the families that helped your grade raise awareness, please provide any feedback you may have about the process to Joan or Marcie.
Auction
As you already know, invitations went out for this year’s Great Gatsby Auction! Tickets are selling quickly, so make your purchase soon! If you are interested in attending the auction in Great Gatsby inspired clothing, Jennifer Roberts posted ideas on Pinterest. What a great way to look for styles from the 1920s! There is also a fabulous bulletin board outside of the Admission office with photographs from that era.
This year, the silent auction will be held online prior to the Gala. This will be held February 20th through February 27th. The teachers will again be donating their “days with the teacher” and bidding for that will be online. A catalog featuring all the silent auction items will be going home in Kid Mail one week prior to the online auction.
Finally, if you are able to donate items for the auction, please do that ASAP. There is a procurement form available on our website under the Auction News. Airfare, hotel accommodations, and cash are greatly needed in order to put together some really great live auction packages!
News from the Admission Office
The deadline for new student application was in January, and it looks like we have more applicants this year! Re-enrollment agreements for current families will be going out in mid-February. Please return those forms as quickly as possible after receiving them!
After the success of the “host family” program last year, the Welcome Committee will be organizing this again! If you are interested in being a host family, please contact Alexa Crawford alexa@alexacrawford.com or Staci Foster stacibfosti@comcast.net. They also welcome any feedback from last year’s host families, and are interested in any ideas you may having regarding the program. If you can think of something you wished you knew before starting Villa, they would love to know!
VPA News
*The VPA nominating committee will be meeting soon to nominate VPA committee chairs and board positions for next year. If you currently hold a position, and you are not continuing that position for next year, please let Krissy Grey know ASAP! If you are interested in holding a committee chair or co-chair position, or a board position, please let Krissy know that as well, so that your name can be added to the nomination lists. Nominees need to be in place by March, so that voting can take place in April.
*Attention to all who are helping with auction class projects… receipts for reimbursement are due by March 1st! Please get your receipts and forms in to the office by then!
*Huge applause to Gretel James and Nikki Wagner for all the work they put in to our Spirit attire and sales! Remember to wear your items around town to get the Villa name out there!
Our next VPA meeting will be held on March 1st at 8:45am in the Parlor! Hope to see you there!
Internet and Computer Safety: A frank talk on children and technology
Rindee Ashcraft, Ph.D. and Brady Miller Ph.D. will be conducting a talk that will address computer safety and how and why to keep your children safe during technology use. We will discuss some easy steps you can take to keep your kids safe while helping them better navigate the world of technology and the internet.
Childcare will not be provided. This event is free and open to the public. Please join us and invite your friends.
Tuesday, January 29, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Villa Academy – 5001 NE 50th Street
This event is for parents with children of all ages.
Parent Association Newsletter November 2012
Dear Parents,
Welcome to our very first VPA newsletter! The mission of the Villa Parent Association is to help build community at our school. When asked what draws families to our school, over and over we hear that it is our wonderful community! Everyone is so dedicated to making this school a place where we all work together for the education and development of each and every child.
Part of maintaining a strong community is making sure that everyone at the school is informed and up to date. Our teachers and administrators work very hard to keep us “in the know” and we feel that VPA has a responsibility to do that as well! We understand that it is not always possible to make it to our monthly meetings, so this newsletter is our way of getting information to everyone. We will highlight pertinent information discussed at each meeting, along with reminders for upcoming events, volunteer needs, school spirit items, etc.
We also want to hear from YOU! As a parent of Villa, you are a member of the VPA, so your thoughts and opinions matter to the VPA board! If there is anything in particular you would like to see in this newsletter, or anything you would like discussed or considered at VPA meetings, please let us know. There is a suggestion box in the Parent Lounge. Please feel free to use this for any comments or suggestions you may have.
AUTUMN NEWS
VPA Meeting Minutes – November 2 2012
Admission/Welcome Committee
The first Villa Open House this year will be on November 18th. We are looking for more volunteers for that event, especially for kindergarten and preschool. If you are able to help, please contact Alexa Crawford. There will be a training prior to this event for those of you who are volunteering for it. The training will be held Wednesday, November 14th at 8:30am. If you want to volunteer for Open House, but can’t attend the training, that is fine, you can contact Alexa for information!
There will also be three Parent Coffees this year for potential new families. If you are able to volunteer for any of these, please let Christa Callanan in the Admission Office know via email. The dates for these are; November 8th for Middle School families, December 6th for Preschool and December 13th for K-5.
Open House invitations were mailed in the beginning of November, so please spread the word to friends and family! The best way to learn about our school is by word of mouth! Our admission application is now online, so that’s some information you may want to pass along as well!
Our Welcome Committee, which was new this year, did a wonderful job pairing up Villa families with new families this past summer. They would love feedback from those of you who were new to the school this year or those of you who were anchor families. You can contact Staci Foster or Alexa Crawford with your comments, or drop them off in the VPA suggestion box.
Annual Fund
Many thanks to the volunteers at each grade level who are contacting the families who have yet to give to our Annual Fund. Our numbers show that 36% of the families have donated so far. Our leading classroom right now is 4A with 72% participation, followed by KC with 67%, and 6B with 50%. Donations as of now total just over $200,000 which, to date, is about even with last year.
If you have not donated to the Fund, you can go online or send in the envelope that was sent in the mail. Please know that you can pledge now and donate later! The Annual Fund drive will end on December 21st, but that does not mean you can’t donate after that!
Teacher Appreciation
Laurie Blattner and Chrissy Acarregui did an amazing job treating the staff to a Chinese dinner and Mexican lunch during our fall conference days. They would like to thank all those who volunteered. There were some people who signed up to help, but did not attend. In the future, please let Laurie or Chrissy know if you are unable to attend. They would also like to give a special thanks to Tonya Shum for catered food.
School Spirit
Thanks so much to Gretel James and Nikki Wagner for all the hard work they put into creating wonderful spirit items! We want the Villa name to be seen everywhere around Seattle, and what better way to do that than to have it on our clothing and accessories. Look for some new items this winter, including Villa scarves and hats, auto decal stickers, dog leashes, golf shirts, and athletic shorts! And remember to place your orders online or through the office!
Auction
This year our Auction will be held on March 2nd. We are switching things up this year and moving to another venue! It will be held at the Arctic Club Dome Room at the Doubletree Hilton in downtown Seattle and our theme will be Great Gatsby. There will be rooms reserved for families and transportation available. More information about this will be available in the months to come.
Another change this year is that the 4th grade families will be the auction leads. This is something we will be trying this year, and hopefully continuing as the years go on. Keep in mind that just because the 4th grade is leading the event, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still volunteer opportunities for EVERYONE! The more volunteers for this event, the better! Not to mention, it’s fun and a really great way to meet other people!
Our Auction leads are now working on procuring big ticket items! We currently have 4 tickets to Disneyland, an apartment in the heart of Rome that sleeps 7, and a four night stay at a San Juan Island home that sleeps 8! Please, if you have vacation homes, airline tickets, hotel vouchers, and you are willing to donate them, please fill out the procurement form on our website! They are also looking for tickets to UW games, Seahawks games, Sounders games, Mariners games, etc. You can donate items via the website here.
The VPA would like to acknowledge and thank those who have already signed up to volunteer for the auction! Those people are:
Auction Chair-Jennifer Roberts
Chair Emeritus-Anne Kennedy
Volunteer Coordinators- Nikki Wagner and Kim Williams
Graphics-Amy Fouke
Class Auction Project Coordinators- Kate Shoemaker and Julia Younker Live/Silent Procurement- Amy Fouke, Lisa Caldwell, Jen Roberts, Paula Blume, Shonagh Pleas, Stephanie Mortimer, Kirby Winfield, Alexa Crawford, Chrissy Acarregui, Seni Balogun
Accommodations/Transportation-Anne Kennedy, Beth Koehler, Shonagh Pleas Theme and Decorations- Meg O’Connor, Amy Fouke, Anne Kennedy, Jen Roberts Registration/Checkout- Amy Calomeni, Amy Fouke, Gab Fitzgibbon
Set Up- Tammy Taylor-Raden, Kara Anderson, Carrie Rosenthal, Viv Souter
Clean Up- Marcie Cheung
Runners- Gab Fitzgibbon, Cyndi Standaert, Kara Anderson
Our next meeting will be held in the Villa Parlor on Friday, December 7th at 8:45. Please stop by if you can. Coffee and treats will be served!
