June 10, 2016 Issue 27
In This Issue
Looking for past issues? Visit The Flyer archive. 
Flock of Events
5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony
Tuesday, June 15 11:00 AM

Last Day of School:  Early Release
Wednesday, June 16 11:45 AM

 
Letter From Stephanie
Dear Peter Kirk Families,

Here you have it...another school year down! Goes by fast, doesn't it? Seemingly faster every year.

This has been a terrific year on so many levels. I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as your PTSA President.

I want to thank every Peter Kirk family and community member who has volunteered their time this year. Whether you stepped up to chair a committee, showed up to help at an event, made food for staff appreciation, served as part of WatchDOGS, or helped in the classroom, all efforts, both large and small, made a difference in the lives of our kids and the staff at our school.  All of our small efforts created a collective big effort.

And that big effort translates into positive outcomes for kids, and a better community for us all.

Our school would not be as special as it is without our caring, hardworking, amazing teachers and staff. We thank you all, and send an extra dose of gratitude to Principal Monica Garcia, Julie Bebee, Erin Ellis, Brenda Nunn, Cheri Wisdom, Paul Bowler and Pete Oeung for working with us so patiently and collaboratively during the year.

Thank you to our 2015-16 Board members who have given their time, expertise and creative ideas to make wonderful things happen at Peter Kirk: Maureen Crabtree (Community), Hae Sue Park (Enrichment), Mindy Platte (Outreach), Wendy Alston (Secretary), Elysia Heller & Julia Ednie (Treasurers), Megan Smiley (Fundraising), Tracy Squillace (Communications), Meredith Rasche (Arts/Language Arts), Alexis Christensen (Before/After School Programs), Melissa Stone & Bonnie McDaniel (Legislative Advocacy), and Jen Tarrach & MacKenzie Lockhart (Membership). You have been a dream Board and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with you.

Now, please join me in welcoming your 2016-17 Peter Kirk PTSA Board of Directors!

Stephanie Lecovin (President)
Maureen Crabtree (VP Community)
Ashley Fitzpatrick (VP Enrichment)
Mindy Platte (VP Outreach)
Jennifer Greenberg (Secretary)
Julia Ednie & Elysia Heller (Treasurers)
Megan Smiley (Dir of Fundraising)
Trace Kuhn (Dir of Arts/Lang Arts)
Mira Marcus (Dir of Before/After School Programs)
Tracy Squillace (Dir of Communications)
Jen Tarrach (Dir of Membership)
Melissa Stone (Dir of Legislative Advocacy)
Wendy Alston (Volunteers Director)

And finally, while there's no way I can highlight in this letter every successful effort from the year, I did want to lay out my "top 12" list of our PTSA's accomplishments for 2015/16 (sorry...I tried to keep it to "Top 10", but couldn't do it):
  1. We partnered with other elementary schools in the District to bring valuable and engaging Parent Ed nights to families. Thanks, Gayle Shimokura and Margo Wei!
  2. We created an "Adopt-a-Garden" program to make Peter Kirk look a whole lot better. Maureen Crabtree...you are a genius.
  3. Our Artist in Residence program combined with the Art Docent program brought art to all classrooms about every other week. Thank you to Stacy Mehlberg, Marnie Brown, Kelly Fenberg, Meredith Rasche, and every single art docent who worked to bring art into our kids' lives!
  4. Our Marathon Program, led by Alexis Christensen and Marel Pease, won a PTSA Council "You Rock" Award for having such an immensely positive impact on our students. Thank you, Alexis and Marel!
  5. After two years of not having Reflections (a national PTA art competition) at Peter Kirk, it was brought back by a fabulous team - Jana Schwarz, Theresa Stone and JiYeaon Chang. Thank you so much! We had 25 entries, 11 of which went on to the District level!
  6. We built and launched a new website and newsletter, as well as a new online apparel store. Our website won a Washington State PTA Silver Level award (Tracy Squillace...you are my idol)!
  7. We held our first Mom's Night Out. It maxed out at 50 women and was an absolute blast (Megan Smiley, you rock!).
  8. Our Wellness Committee introduced a Green Cleaning Program in the classrooms and provided a Wellness Tip in every PTSA newsletter. Thank you, Kim Lowe and Deanna Mortensen!
  9. 61 students from all grade levels participated in the school play "Rumpelstiltskin" this year. Great job, Julia Ednie and Michelle Currier.
  10. Carnival broke records yet again on quality and participation of the event (Elysia Heller, Sheryl Vincent and team...whatever you're doing, just keep it up. You have this down!)
  11. We worked with teachers and staff on introducing a new 5th grade camp fundraiser...student art notecards. It was a tremendous success! Thanks to Principal Garcia, Hae Sue Park, Julia Ednie, and the fourth and fifth grade teachers for thinking outside of the cookie dough box and working hard to make this happen.
  12. We passed our bond! This is HUGE. Special thanks goes to Melissa Stone, Hae Sue Park and Principal Garcia for their exceptional work on this, and to our entire community for getting out the vote!
I'm looking forward to another stellar year in 2016/17. But for now, take a deep breath, exhale, and have a glorious summer!


Tailfeathers
We're Crazy For Carnival
What a fun, fantastic and amazing day...Carnival was a huge success and we are so glad that we all got to celebrate the end of the year in the sunshine having fun.  

We want to extend a huge thanks to all of our student and parent volunteers and   our business sponsors  who rolled up their sleeves to make Carnival happen for our kids.  

Special thanks to Lake Washington Physical Therapy for providing the goodie backpacks for kids to collect their prizes in.  LWPT is also generously donating $5 to our PTSA for all Google Reviews and $1 for all new Facebook likes.  So please take a moment to share the love!

Lastly, all of this would not be possible without our fabulous Carnival Committee.  Elysia Heller, Sheryl Vincent, Amy Rice, Michelle Currier, Jane Moulynox, Julia Ednie and Deb Nielson, thank you for your tireless effort in creating such a wonderful day for all of us.  
Thank you to all for making our school such a special place.  We will see you next year!

For a gallery of images from this year's Carnival, visit the PTSA website.  

And The Award Goes To...
Thank you to all who voted in the awards nomination process this year. We had a huge response and by the sheer number of votes cast it is clear we have so many parents, staff and volunteers that go above and beyond the call of duty to make Peter Kirk amazing. Congratulations to all who were nominated and especially the following winners:


Golden Acorn:  Hae Sue Park

Golden Eagle:  Darlene Hollenbeck

Outstanding Educator:  Liz Feldsher

The winners will receive their award next week during the last day of school.  
Reflections 2016-17 Chair(s) Needed
We are still actively seeking a person or persons to chair Reflections next year. Without chairs, this program will be unable to continue next year!  If you have a passion for the arts or an interest in helping support an integral program for our students, please view our volunteer page or contact Meredith Rasche directly.
Get Ahead:  Buy School Supplies Online 
We are happy to announce that we have lined up pre-packaged online school supply kits for next year!  With just a few clicks, you can order grade-specific academic kits and have them delivered directly to your home.  Kits are available today and must be ordered by August 15 to guarantee delivery by the start of the school year. 

Simply visit  www.schooltoolbox.com and search for Peter Kirk Elementary.  From there, select your child's grade (or multiple grades) and go through the checkout process.  Not only is it easy for parents to one stop shop, School Toolbox will give 5% back to Peter Kirk for each order.  Double win!

For more information, view  the parent flyer.  Happy Shopping!   
Cyber Safety Parent Education Recap
In case you missed it, we have the notes and handouts from the final Parent Education Night on Cyber Safety.  The event was held on May 19 at Mark Twain who co-sponsored the event with Peter Kirk. 
Final Call for Lost and Found 
Be sure to do a drive-by the Lost and Found before the school year ends.  You'd be surprised what you'll find in there!  All unclaimed items will soon be donated after year- end. 

Take A Load Off Next Year
The KiMS PTSA's Backpack Committee sends everyone our best wishes for an awesome summer!   But before we all run for the beach, we think it is important to leave you with a few tips for your back-to-school supply shopping that will help keep your student's backpack weight manageable for next year.  
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If you'd like to learn more, you can visit our webpage.  We have an open-to-all event at KiMS called "Backpack Awareness Day" on 9/21/16 so mark your calendars, we hope you can join us! 
From the Executive Director of The Lake Washington Schools Foundation
As the school year draws to a close, I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone for supporting the Foundation this year. With your help, we were able to support programs that help students succeed in school and in life; programs like the New Teacher Support Program, AVID and LINKS Mentoring. We're excited about working with you again next year. Be sure to check back in the fall for our 2016-17 program announcements.

Thank you for making a difference. Have a great summer.

Sincerely,

Dr. Larry Wright
Executive Director
Lake Washington Schools Foundation
Eagle Flyer Information
This is our final newsletter of the year. If you no longer wish to receive the Flyer, you must unsubscribe yourself. We don't automatically delete any emails from our database, even for 5th grade parents. (The "Unsubscribe" link is below in the footer of every issue.)

Privacy issues and the Eagle Flyer
Each fall in the First Day packet, parents and guardians receive a form from the district called "Directory Withhold Form - SS100". This form has check boxes labeled "Withhold [your child's name or image] From Public Release" and "Withhold [your child's name or image] From District Use". If you check those boxes, your child will not be listed in the Flyer, nor will any photos including their image be published. If your child is in a group photo, they will be deleted from that photo. The Flyer newsletter primarily goes out to PK families, but any member of the public can go to our PTSA website and sign up to receive it; we also archive our newsletter on the PTSA website, which is accessible to the public. 

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact the Eagle Flyer editor, Tracy Squillace.  

Look for your first Eagle Flyer of the 2016-2017 school year in late August!
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