February Newsletter

Hello again and Happy 2008! I hope you all had a super winter break full of fun and smiles. I know we all like to make resolutions during this time of year and PTSA is no different. We resolve to stay involved! PTSA is more than fundraising. Being active in PTSA is truly a way for us to all work as a team to make sure that the children here at Cram are not simply meeting the standards set for them, but exceeding them.

Because of the strong parent involvement at our school, PTSA will be providing new computers for our school site this year. It is only through the combined effort of staff, parents, and students that PTSA can make these improvements to Cram.

With the New Year with comes a new PTSA Board, starting in July. Please consider being a part of the Board next year. I found it to be a very rewarding experience.

Some of our open positions include:
President
1st Vice President
2nd Vice President
Treasurer

If you feel that you could serve in one of these positions, please contact me so that our nominating committee can begin the nominating process. You are needed!

May the New Year bring all that you hope for and more!

Jennifer Janiskee, President Cram PTSA
jenjan5@adelphia.net
863-9443

Redlands Council PTA honored the following Cram students at the Reflections awards night on January 28th:

Certificates of Participation:
Joely Kostiuk
Garrett Branstetter
Kaitlin Kamiyama
Alexandria Lugo
Victoria Chung
Jeremy Blanch
Awards of Merit:
Alison Kelley-Hubbard
Charles Austria
Adam Smith
Amber Garcia
Alexis Scott
Ferris Singleton, Jr.
Madeline Tuff
Timothy Mason
Awards of Excellence: (move on to 5th District PTA county judging):
Claire Kovensky (Literature)
Michelle Yi (Visual Arts)
Ryan Smith (Film/Video)
Colin Copeland (Film/Video)
Daysia Cornish (Music)
Alexis Scott (Music)

Cram was well represented in the awards! Thank you to all of these students for their efforts! See pictures on the back page!

Dear Parents,

I hope that you are all aware that we now have a new phone number. It is (909) 307-2460. Also, we all have a voicemail system now. You can call and leave a message for me, office staff, or your child’s teacher. If it is a message that must get to your child before the end of the day, please call the office. Some teachers are only picking up messages before school and after school.

I also wanted to make you aware that schools are facing large budget cuts. We at Cram have two budgets, a Categorical budget and a general budget. I recently received the projected categorical budget for Cram for next year, and it is showing approximately a $30,000.00 budget cut. I have not received our general budget projection yet, but I expect that to show a dramatic cut as well. I am telling you this because I want you to be prepared for program cuts. We will be relying even more now, than ever before, on our parents and PTA to provide us additional financial support. Many of our PTA board members are completing their two-year term and we need some new volunteers that are willing to work as hard as they have. If you have some extra time that you can give, we desperately need your support.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Cinq-Mars, Principal


The Limo Brunch was a hit! 109 children were eligible - quite a turnout! Breakfast burritos, fruit and juice were served and everyone had a limo ride. Great job on selling at least 30 items for the fall Pacific Fundraiser! Thank you to all the families who participated.

SEND IN ALL THOSE PLASTIC BAGS! RECYCLE! Collection boxes are in the school office for plastic bags. Each 60- gallon bag of plastic bags earns $5 from the Wal-Mart Kids Recycle program for Cram Elementary and keeps all those bags out of our landfills! Last date to turn in bags for this years' contest will be March 21. REDUCE! RECYCLE! REUSE!

EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS
There are easy ways you can support Cram students:

Boxtops for Education / Campbell’s Labels- Help Cram earn free merchandise this year by clipping Box Tops and Campbell’s labels. Turn them in to your child’s teacher.
Albertson’s- Sign up for a community card to contribute 2.5% of every purchase to Cram.
Ink Cartridges / Laser Jet Cartridges- Drop your used ink and laser jet cartridges in the box located by the drinking fountain in the MU Room. Please put in a plastic bag to avoid leaks.
Stater Brother’s Gift Cards
Krikorian Tickets

Volunteers Needed!

PTSA is still in need of help this year. We are especially in need of a Safety/Disaster Preparedness chairperson. This position does not require you to attend the monthly meetings and it is so important for our school.

Let me know if this position, or any other volunteering opportunities, interest you. Every volunteer makes a difference!

Jennifer
jenjan5@adelphia.net

Winter Break!

Happy Holidays! This is such a special time of year, especially when you view it through the eyes of children. I hope you all have a wonderful winter break and that your new year is full of happiness and joy!

Thanks for all of your continued support and please contact me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Jennifer Janiskee

PTSA President
Cram Elementary

School Fundraiser

I am sure you have recieved our fundraiser information. We are excited to once again be participating with Pacific fundraising. Your participation in this fundraiser really helps out our school.

We have always been successful with this fundraiser in the past and we are confident that this will be our best year ever!!

Thanks so much for your support!!

5th Grade Fundraiser

We need your help! As you are "hopefully" aware, the 5th grade class is hosting a Fall fundraiser at Dream Dinners to raise funds for science camp. You should have received information about this in your mailbox several days ago. All teachers are invited to participate in the Sneak Peek which is next Wednesday, September 26th @ 7:30 in the Mervyn's/Tri City shopping center in Redlands. When you attend you will prepare a delicious chicken meal for your family which you will take home and cook at a later date at no cost to you. The whole event should only take about an hour of your time. This way, you can see how simple and quick preparing meals at dream dinners is and can schedule your own session for October at that time. The 5th graders will receive money for each session booked. Hopefully, you will have a fabulous time and tell everyone you know about the fund raiser. We all need to eat, Dream Dinners makes dinner simpler, and you can help the 5th graders all at the same time. Perhaps you have a friend or neighbor that would like to come as well. Just hit REPLY and RSVP now to hold your spot (space is limited) and your friend's as well. Please mention this fund raiser in class to your students as well as in your parent letters. I think the food is excellent and tastes great, even my kids like it! : - ) If you can't make it to the Sneak Peek, you can schedule your own session on-line @ http://www.dreamdinners.com/ or call the store @ (909) 798-4626. Thank you so much for your help! We appreciate it. Please feel free to call us if we can answer any questions.

We look forward to seeing you there!
Tami Shotts Wendy Toddhm
(909) 425-2387 (909) 307-2747
cell (951) 897-2388 (909)609-6995

What is SCRIP Anyway?

The Cram PTSA SCRIP Program is an easy way to support your school! When you purchase Stater Bros gift cards or Krikorian tickets (places we all need to go anyway) we receive a percentage of the profits and it all goes to our school!

Everyone needs to shop for groceries and we all love the movies. This is a way to help out Cram Elementary and it does not cost you a thing! Just use your gift card for your normal shopping trips. The movie tickets can be used for all movies, even new releases!

Stop by the SCRIP table in front of the multipurpose room every Friday and buy your SCRIP.

PTSA Needs You!

Please consider volunteering for Cram PTSA. When we all work together we can accomplish so much for our children. We are in need of a room parent coordinator as well as people to help out with various events throughout the year.

Contact Jennifer Janiskee at jenjan5@adelphia.net or 909-863-9443 if you are interested in helping out PTSA or if you have any questions.