Newsletter: December 4, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Dear Pilgrim School Families, First Church Members, and Friends Near and Far,
I want to begin by saying what a wonderful week we have had at Pilgrim School. TAPPS volunteers are making our beautiful campus festive, hanging wreaths and stringing lights. Next Friday’s Christmas program promises to be one of the highlights of the year. Our students and music and dance teachers have been working overtime to make the evening a memorable one. Details about what students should wear follows this letter.
Before the program on December 11, TAPPS is providing tamales, turkey and cranberry croissant sandwiches, Chinese chicken salad, beverages (including wine) and sweets for a nominal price beginning at 5 p.m. in the First Church forecourt. They are also selling raffle tickets for a mere $5 for a chance to win one of three “stockings,” which are stuffed with goodies. Each stocking is valued from three- to five-thousand dollars, and all proceeds go to the TAPPS treasury, which supports Pilgrim. “Mom’s Day Off” includes salon and spa services, dinner for eight cooked by a personal chef, and more. “Night on the Town” includes three top-quality men’s watches, a case of wine, dinner for two, cigars and more. “Fun and Games” takes the family to Disneyland, the movies, and will keep your children amused and enthused. If you have not yet purchased your raffle tickets, now is the time!
Remember, a can of food (or more) is the requested “entry fee” to the concert. All items will be donated to Hope-Net, to be distributed to food kitchens throughout the city. Please see below for a few alumni recollections on the Pilgrim Facebook page about Christmas programs past!
Read-a-Thon pledge envelopes are pouring in. If you have not yet turned yours in, please do so as our committee is working to ascertain which grade had the highest level of participation. That grade will win a special field trip with me! Funds raised by supporting your student’s reading will be used to purchase new library books.
The Scholastic Book Fair, part of our month-long literary oriented programs, was an enormous success. Thank you to parents Linda Sallas and Love Streams who organized it, and to all of our volunteers (listed below) who sold so many books that Pilgrim earned over $4000 to buy new books for the library. We met our goal – and now I will be duct-taped outside next Thursday at 9:25 by the student body! I hope while I am captive that they will at least read out loud to me!
Junior Kindergarten enjoyed visiting Kindergarten on Wednesday morning, and getting a taste of “big” school. Our JK-ers enjoyed phonics and math lessons on the SmartBoards, while their parents met in the library with teacher specialists who provide “extras” such as music, art and P.E. – which are not extras at Pilgrim, but an integral part of our curriculum.
The “angel” trees at the end of the hallway still have a few tags for needy children at Commonwealth School. Shoe and jacket sizes are indicated, as these items are the most needed. So are books, school supplies and games, if you would like to augment your gift. Please return wrapped gifts by Friday, December 11, to the front office. Dr. Colglazier and I will be delivering the gifts to the school on Monday, December 14. Thank you for your generosity.
Have a wonderful weekend, and I look forward to welcoming everyone back to campus on Monday.
With all best wishes,
Mark A. Brooks
Head of School
DATES TO REMEMBER
Thursday, December 10
5 pm – 8 pm: Secondary parent-teacher conferences
Friday, December 11
Deadline for gifts for Commonwealth Elementary School
12:30 – 4:30 pm: Secondary parent-teacher conferences
5 p.m: Join TAPPS for a light supper and beverages in the beautifully decorated First Church forecourt.
6:30 pm: All-school Christmas Program begins in Forecourt, and continues in the Sanctuary.
Saturday, December 12
2 and 7 pm: “The Nutcracker” with Pilgrim students Chloe and Junah Taylor, at the Japan America Theatre
Sunday, December 13
Noon and 4 pm: “The Nutcracker” with Pilgrim students Chloe and Junah Taylor, at the Japan America Theatre
Monday, December 14
All school chapel
4:45: Preschool early dismissal
Wednesday, December 16
8 a.m.: TAPPS meeting
Friday, December 18
12:30: Early dismissal
Spirit Day for Secondary students (free dress)
ATHLETICS DATES
Monday, December 7
4 pm: Girls Varsity Basketball at Newbury Park Adventist
5:30 pm: Boys Varsity Basketball at Newbury Park Adventist
Wednesday, December 9
3:30 pm: Boys Varsity Basketball at LA Lutheran in Lake View Terrace
Thursday, December 10:
6:30 pm: Girls Varsity Basketball at LA Adventist in Los Angeles
Saturday, December 12:
10 a.m.: Middle School Boys Basketball at Le Lycee Francais in Los Angeles
CHRISTMAS CONCERT NEWS
Dress for the holiday concert is as follows:
Boys in grades K through 5 should wear dark slacks and a “festive” shirt (red or green, for example).
Girls in grades K through 5 should wear attire that is “special” (something she would wear to go to a play, for example).
All students need to be in the classroom, dressed and ready to go, by 6:15. If your child is staying at school all day, please have him/her bring the change of clothes. If you are picking up your student, please make sure s/he is dressed and back in the classroom by 6:15. Students who remain at school will be fed (courtesy of TAPPS).
Please note that students in Kindergarten and Grade 1 need winter scarves for their performances.
Students who are in band need to be in the band room with Mr. Turro by 6:10.
Thank you for your help in making this event run smoothly!
READ-A-THON and LIBRARY NEWS
Thank you for the following parent volunteers for their help in running the Scholastic Book Fair: Estella Hamilton, Ghebru Yemane, Karin Liljegren, Alexandra Paxton, Judy Kim, Elisa Scaglione, Camille Armstead, Shirley Dalton, Ashok Patel, (and his daughter, who helped us dismantle the fair), Gloria Nava, Karen Carrere, Raquel Rivero-Day, Chloe Reid and Karen Nicolas.
With Scott to the Pole: The Photographs of Herbert Ponting, was donated to the library from grandparent David Harris with the following inscription:
“This book is donated to the library at Pilgrim School on the occasion of Grandparents’ Day, November 24, 2009 in the name of Max Gleiberman by his maternal grandfather, David Harris. There are many lessons to be learned from the adventures of Robert Falcon Scott and his crew. Read the book and make up your own answers to the questions of bravery, hubris, stupidity, achievement, failure, meaningful death, sacrifice.”
Thank you to the family of Luka and Eva Lekovic, who donated library books in their names in honor of their birthdays.
Mark Wednesday, January 13 on your calendar for the Pilgrim Parent Book Group. They are reading The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Set in Seattle, it is the story of friendship between a Japanese girl, who is sent to an internment camp, and a Chinese boy. All parents are invited. Refreshments will be served, and future books to read and discuss will be decided.
ELEMENTARY ART NEWS
Katrina Alexy, art teacher extraordinaire, will be making puppets with our Second Graders. She would welcome donations of the following items, which, she says, “will be transformed into the greatest puppets the world has ever known!”
Shampoo bottles; tubes of any type (paper towels, bath rolls, inner rolls from tape, etc.); small cardboard boxes (no bigger than your fist); little plastic bottles (face cream, sun block bottles, etc.); lotion bottles; sample bottles from hotels (the little ones you get when you stay at a hotel). No glass please. Thank you!
FIELD TRIP
Yesterday, Ms. Alexy took the 5th graders to the Craft and Folk Art Museum to see the work of ceramic artist Dora De Larios.
Some of the highlights of the visit were seeing De Larios's totem poles made out of clay and wood, her warrior figures, the wall of masks, and the place settings created for the White House, to name a few.
The 5th graders partook in a clay workshop after the museum tour where they made their own ceramic tiles. Ms. Alexy will fire them over the weekend.
We then walked over to the LaBrea Tar Pits where we had a leisurely lunch, viewed the tar pits and sculptures, and even square danced while a banjo player played a lively tune in front of the Page Museum. It was truly a fun filled, creative experience!
Thanks to Mr. Molnar and Ms. Lang for all their help. Special thanks to the Ikegami family for having us over after the field trip for pizza and chocolate cake!
ALUMNI REMEMBER CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS FROM THE PAST
Eric J. Schneider writes on the Pilgrim Facebook page:
“I was in this pageant from 1972 to 1982; does anyone remember the year of the Russian flu that wiped out half the cast? And, one year we did the flood story and I was a mouse back when I was in nursery school, which is what they now call daycare. Mrs. Hubbard remembers I am sure.”
Pam Keon writes, “In my day it was all music. I can still remember the songs we sang in 1968 and 1969. To go into the church at night (on a Thursday) to perform was so exciting. I can also remember the Collins boys - Donald and David - accompanying us on their trumpets!”
Donna Wells Oltman writes, “I remember 1968. That was the year we had the program at the Masonic Temple because they were installing the organ. I liked that because I never fell off their risers. The risers at school were another subject!”
A special alumni table will be set up in the forecourt on December 11. Please check in there and receive a ticket for a free beverage!
TRAFFIC COMMITTEE NEWS
Parents, please sign up to volunteer to help at morning drop-off! The opportunity to meet parents, open car doors and escort kids at drop-off begins at 7:20 a.m. and ends at 8:15. We are looking for two parent volunteers per morning. This is a GREAT way to meet new parents, log some volunteer hours, and spend some extra time with the kids!
Our parent volunteers enable Miss Ashley and the other Pilgrim teachers to supervise the playground area so that the children are able to play in the morning without their parent present.
Use the links below to either view the calendar or you can sync it to your current calendar as a read only. Please email me back ASAP at edasiano@mac.com with the requested date for which you can volunteer. I will fill the slots on a first come/first served basis. Be sure to include the following in your email:
- name
- requested date (noted on the calendar as "SIGN UP")
- email address
- phone number where you can be reached (preferably mobile)
Thanks again and don't forget to view the calendar ASAP with the links below.
You can view the Pilgrim Dropoff calendar at:
http://ical.me.com/edasiano/Pilgrim%20Dropoff%20Calendar
You can subscribe to the Pilgrim Dropoff calendar at:
webcal://ical.me.com/edasiano/Pilgrim%20Dropoff%20Calendar.ics
See you in the morning!
Ed Asiano
Parent and Director of Traffic and Safety Control - Pilgrim School
edasiano@mac.com
(310) 383-8068
