Torrance Unified School District October 17, 2016

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MAKE-UP PICTURE DAY – TOMORROW, OCTOBER 18TH Make-up pictures are taken if your child was absent or you don’t like the picture. Please tell your teacher (written note or email) if your child will re-take their picture. If so, they MUST return the original picture package on this day. Parent volunteers who need to get ID badges can also take their picture on this day. BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION Earn cash for Arnold by clipping Box Tops from hundreds of products and sending them to school! Drop off your Box Tops in the Alley Cat bin in the office, and please include your Classroom number and teacher so your classroom gets the credit. The classroom that brings in the most Box Tops this year will win a surprise treat near the end of the school year!

REFLECTIONS CONTEST UPDATE DEADLINE EXTENDED! Entries for Reflections will be accepted until 4 pm on Friday, October 21. For entry forms and

rules, and to submit your creations, visit the Arnold front office ASAP. Entries are accepted from all ages and skill levels in the following categories: dance/choreography, literature, photography, film production, music composition and visual arts. For more information on the program, visit pta.org/reflections or contact Holly Henderson at ArnoldReflections@gmail.com.

Important Dates

OCTOBER 18 – Make-Up Picture Day

20 – Great Shakeout (10:20)

21 – Reflections Contest Ends

23 – Skecher’s Friendship Walk

24-28 – Red Ribbon Week

31 – Halloween Parade (9:15)

NOVEMBER 1-10 – APEX Fundraising

6 – Daylight Savings time ends

8 & 9 – 3rd Grade GATE Testing

10 – APEX Fun Run

22 – End of Trimester 1

23-25 – Thanksgiving Break Flyers LA Childrens Chorus Auditions

Torrance Halloween Carnival

YMCA Halloween Camp

Skecher’s Friendship Walk

Girl Scouts Halloween Bash

October Calendar

October Menu

Links Arnold Website PTA Website Titan K-12 Lunch Account Torrance Unified School District California Department of Education

ALLEYCAT TIMES www.arnold.tusd.org | Joseph Arnold Elementary School | 310.533.4524

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ALLEYCAT SPIRIT WEAR UPDATE The Arnold spirit wear will be delivered sometime this week directly to your child’s classroom. Be sure to check their backpacks!

WALK TO SCHOOL DAY WINNERS Check out the classes who won October’s Walk to School Day. Maybe your class will win in November! Don’t forget to walk to school on Wednesday, November 2nd!

Mrs. Hyon’s Class – 1st Grade Mr. Cairns’ Class – 5th Grade

Mrs. Hitt’s Class – 5th Grade

THE GREAT SHAKE OUT - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20TH Arnold Students and faculty will participate in a statewide emergency drill on October 20th at 10:20 am. This statewide drill helps over 7.6 million Californians prepare for an Earthquake. Students will Drop,

Cover, and Hold, and evacuate classrooms. Our emergency bin and supplies will be inventoried. The office will test emergency radio connections with the district office and the City of Torrance’s command center. See the Important Information section for more info about emergency prep and safety here at Arnold Elementary.

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ARNOLD PTA INFORMATION

PTA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE October is PTA Membership Madness Month! We have 274 paid memberships so far. Let's see how many more we can get this month!! Remember, the class with the highest percentage of memberships at the end of October will win a frozen treat on Halloween and a special Halloween prize per student. Right now, Mr. Cairns' class is in the lead with 54%! Check out where your class ranks here. (Flyer attached) Let's see see if anyone can reach 100%!! Don't forget, you will receive a coupon for the Aquarium of the Pacific, Baskin-Robbins, Google Express, and one free spirit stick with your membership.

PTA MEMBERSHIP CARDS For those of you who purchased a PTA membership prior to October 1, membership cards, coupons and spirit sticks were delivered at the beginning of October. If you purchased a PTA membership prior to October 1 and did not receive your card, please email Dhiya at DhiyaVillanueva@aol.com. There are a few cards we could not deliver due to missing information. For those who purchased a PTA membership after October 1, membership cards, coupons and spirit sticks will be delivered in November.

RED BOOK The PTA Red Book is a great place to find information about Arnold Elementary School. In an effort to save paper, this year the Red Book has only been printed for Kindergarten and new families. The electronic version of the Red Book is available on both the PTA and the Arnold websites. We recommend that you bookmark this page on your computer as it is the best place to find PTA and School Contacts, Rules, Procedures and more! Here is a link for your convenience: Arnold PTA Red Book **If you do not have internet access at home, please see Michelle in the office for a printed copy. We did print a few extras!

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL PROGRAMS! Thank you to everyone who has already made a Direct Donation to the PTA to help fund our many school enrichment programs. We are grateful for any amount which you can spare. So far, we are only at around $18,000 of the $50,000 we need to continue our Adventures in Art program, to send our students on Field Trips and to purchase computer equipment for our students. We wish to continue these and many other programs for this year, but we need your help. Please consider making a tax-deductible direct donation. As a small thank you, for every $100 donation made before October 30th, we will enter you into a raffle drawing for a chance at 2 iPad Minis and 2 iPod Touches! Donations can be made directly on our website at www.arnold-pta.org by clicking on the Direct Donation icon. If you would prefer to donate by check, please see the enclosed flyer for more information and the form to let us know who you are to enter you in our drawing. Thank you! - PTA President Colan Kwock

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RED RIBBON WEEK IS NEXT WEEK: OCT. 24TH – 28TH PTA is proud to sponsor this year’s Red Ribbon Week with the theme: YOLO – You Only Live Once, Be Drug Free! We will be kicking off the week of events at Monday’s Flag Assembly. Look for a Schedule of Activities in Next Week’s ACT!

SKECHERS FRIENDSHIP WALK – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23RD The Skechers Pier to Pier Walk is Sunday, October 23rd. This is a fun event for all ages, and an easy way to raise money for our school. Please register at www.SkechersFriendshipWalk.com. Our team name is Arnold

Elementary School and the entire $30 entry fee gets donated directly to our school. Be sure to register as a walker in order for our school to get credit. Even if you can’t attend, you can enter as a virtual walker and the money will still get donated to our school. These are the easy steps:

1. Visit www.SkechersFriendshipWalk.com 2. Join the Team “Arnold Elementary School”

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3. Register to Walk 4. Choose the type of walker you will be (In-Person or Virtual) 5. Choose “Torrance Education Foundation” as the organization you want your registration

to support Every school that registers 100 walkers will receive an extra $1000 and the elementary school that raises the most money will be awarded $2,500! Ms. Lang has already signed up to walk, so I know she would love to see you out there! Thank you in advance for your support.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

HALLOWEEN INFO Even though Halloween is on a Monday this year, please don’t forget that we must follow the TUSD Wellness Policy on campus at all times. Do not send your children with candy to school that day, for themselves or for others. There will be more info in next week’s ACT about the Halloween activities, but as you are planning please also remember that costumes must follow the dress code and NO masks, fake blood or fake weapons of any kind are allowed.

EMERGENCY/SAFETY INFORMATION The Torrance Fire Department came to Arnold on Tuesday, October 4th for Basic Aid Training (BAT) for all 5th grade students. They will come to Arnold again for the TFD Fire Drill and Safety Inspection on October 24th. Please see the Arnold Bell Schedule below to review the safety drills that Arnold practices.

Emergency Information

EARTHQUAKE - no bells (duck, cover, and hold) – then evacuate

BELLS: FIRE - Continuous 10 second bell, 5 second pause, repeated to evacuate.

SHELTER IN PLACE - 1 long bell, 2 short bells, repeat 3 times. Announcement over the PA system.

Should an emergency or disaster situation ever arise in our area while school is in session, please be assured that our school and school district have prepared and continue to update our emergency plans. However, your cooperation is essential to support your child who may be at school when such an emergency occurs. These are some of the most important things you can do:

Preparedness: Make sure the Online Emergency Card information is current and accurate.

Provide your child with his/her “Student Survival Kit”, which will be kept in the classroom with the current blue “Emergency” card. This kit will help sustain your child until he/she can be picked up safely from school. The “Student Survival Kit” specifications can be found on the Arnold Website www.arnold.tusd.org

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If there is a disaster . . .

Remain Calm Do not telephone the school; telephone lines may be needed for emergency

communications. Walk, do not drive, to school to pick up your child. Streets must be kept open for

emergency vehicles. Come to the “release area” at the back gate on 228th. Parents are not allowed to

enter campus during an emergency. Parents must fill out a Student Emergency Release Form and then a staff member will radio the classroom teacher for release of the student.

Tune your radio to KFI 640AM, KNX 1070AM or KFOX 93.5FM for emergency announcements.

All children will be kept at school until we are able to make some type of contact with you. Our staff members are prepared to become civil defense employees in times of emergency and will remain on campus to assist children until dismissed by the principal.

The school is equipped with emergency medical supplies, water, and various types of needed equipment and tools. The more prepared the school and community members are, the safer our children will be.

Please cooperate with school personnel during an emergency.

NEXT BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING – MONDAY, OCTOBER 24TH The meeting will be held at 7:30pm at the District Office – 2336 Plaza del Amo. Torrance.

Check back next week for more important school info. Arnold Elementary School is proud to be a California Gold Ribbon School!