Hi folks,

• The parents of Ross Road Grade 6 French Immersion students have begun to plan their exchange to Québec next year, and are selling lovely flower baskets to fundraise for the program.  Baskets will be ready for pickup May 8th (2:45 to 4:00); in time for Mothers’ Day!  The deadline to order is TODAY!  Order forms are available at the office. If you would like to support a specific student, please order through that person. Thank you for your support!
• Spring Carnival 2015 (Friday June 12th) is coming quickly and everyone is getting excited! WAH-HOO! We currently need donations/items/gift cards/gift packages for our silent auction and raffle baskets. Anything helps, big or small. Since we missed our spring carnival last year, it’s even more important we try to make up for last year’s drop in fundraising. Please consider helping with a donation. It’s as easy as sending an email to Dana Kovanda (danakovanda@gmail.com) for the silent auction and/or Shelley Clark (scsmith00@hotmail.com) for the raffle baskets. Stay tuned for more exciting news on what to expect and how to help. Thanks.
• Parent Social – Please join us for a fun night out on Saturday May 9^th at the Black Bear Pub starting at 7 pm and raise money for Ross Road at the same time!  Tickets are $20 and $5 will go towards Ross Road PAC.  Ticket includes a burger and one beer or glass of wine.  There are only 45 tickets available, so make sure you get your ticket fast!  To purchase your ticket, please go on the MunchaLunch website under the “Fundraising Open” tab.  https://secure.munchalunch.com/apps/munch/Login.aspx  You can pay by credit card or cash or cheque.  Please note that we have to pay service charges for all payments made with credit card.  If paying by cash or cheque, please drop off your payment in the PAC box by the stairs in the lobby.  Your ticket is reserved once payment has been made.  Thank you and hope to see many of you there!

•  Book Sale – new date – Friday May 22^nd  Please note the book sale has been moved to the same day as Fun Day on Friday May 22^nd.  Books will be available for sale in the lobby during the day. Thank you for all the generous donations we have received so far…please keep them coming!  Books can be dropped off in your child’s classroom or under the stairs in the lobby.

Dear parents,

The PAC desperately needs a treasurer.  Like seriously.  No kidding.  This is one job that is critical to the smooth running of the PAC, and if no one steps up we’ll have to resort to hiding the cash we raise under our mattresses and paying for things in chickens.  No-one wants that.  Please consider volunteering to do this job.  For more details, please get in touch with Sarah Dennis (denniss@sutton.com)

In other news, the Annual Staff Appreciation Lunch this week was another huge success! Thank you to all who donated gifts – we ended up with more than we needed and will use the leftover ones for Spring Carnival and other events in the future. Thank you also to those who brought in food for the lunch and who volunteered on the playground so the staff could enjoy a lunch together. They were all very appreciative of everything and asked us to pass on their thanks.

School staff are also hosting a Ross Road Volunteer celebration in the Ross Road foyer on Tuesday, 28th April, 2015 from 8:00 – 8:30 a.m.  Please RSVP via the form that was sent out on or before Monday, April 27th, 2015 to indicate your presence and if you will require babysitting from 8:00-8:30 only.

Finally, we will be holding a children’s book sale on Monday, May 11, and Tuesday, May 12, with all proceeds going to the school library!  In previous years, our bi-annual Spell-a-thon raised extra funds for the library, but as it was cancelled this year, we have decided to try something new! While we raise funds for the library, you get to clean out your bookshelves! It’s a win-win situation!  Please bring in your gently used or new children’s books.  There will be boxes in each classroom to collect them in.  Please bring in your books by Monday, May 4^th.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Dear parents,

There’s a lot happening at Ross Road lately.

• The KM club started this week!  Lace up your running shoes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 20 minutes, starting at 8.05am…rain or shine!  Open to all grades, parents, and siblings!  For full details, click here.  Thanks to all the parents who volunteer each morning to help out and special thanks to Kevin Vallely, Colette Anderson, Michele Romano and Angela Tancon for organizing it all.
• The Annual Staff Appreciation Lunch is on Tuesday, April 14.  (less then 2 weeks away!)  Say thank you to your favourite teachers and admin staff by signing up to bring a plate of food (appetizer, main or dessert) and/or small gifts . Please sign up on this google doc as soon as you can. Gifts can be dropped off at the office before Friday April 10th.  Food can be dropped off in the morning on the day of the lunch in the staff room (Tuesday April 14). Please email Frances at carmichael@telus.net if you have any questions.
• Save the date for the Ross Road Spring Carnival – it will be held on Friday June 12th this year. Tamrah Corben will be heading it up again this year and is looking for some parent volunteers to help with the organizing/coordinating. Please email her at corbenst@telus.net.

Dear parents,

Hope everyone is having a great spring break.  Just wanted to plant a seed in your heads that in April, the PAC will be organising a kids book sale.   So start going through your bookshelves to get rid of books you don’t want and to make space for new titles!   More details coming soon.

And a big thank you to Jacquie Stebbings for running a great workshop a few weeks back.  Through donations received from parents who attended, we raised $150.

Hi there,

Hope to see you at the PAC GM.   Here’s the agenda.

Dear parents,

• Just a reminder that the PAC GM is next Wednesday at 7pm in the library.  Carla Orr will be talking about the new curriculum and you’ll find out more about the new technology the PAC is buying for the classrooms.  Plus, you’ll get to meet other parents and have a say in how the PAC makes things happen in your school.  If you would like (free) babysitting, please let Sarah Dennis know by emailing her at denniss@sutton.com.
• Ordering for the next food day session is OPEN.  First time users might like to read about Food Days here.  If you already have an account, click here.
• Finally, what information would you like to see in this newsletter?  Now’s your chance to tell the PAC what’s important to you.  Send an email to Greg Thorpe at gpthorpe@yahoo.com or Sarah Dennis at denniss@sutton.com with your ideas or requests.

Dear parents,

The Christmas fair was an incredible success.  It was awesome to see so many people come out on a Friday night to have a great time and support their school and their community.

The list of people to thank is enormous…..from the wonderful sponsors who provided prizes for the silent auctions, to the administration, teachers and support staff who let us take over the place, to the organizing committee who put it all together (especially Justine Simmons, their tireless leader), to the class parents for putting together all the raffle baskets and of course, to you, the parents, who baked, donated and volunteered your time to make it all happen.

We raised over $11,000!!!!  Way to go!

Have a safe and happy holiday season and we’ll see you in 2015.

Dear parents,

Here’s what you need to know about the Christmas Fair.

• Date and Time: December 5.  5pm to 8pm.
• Pre-order your meal on the Munch a Lunch Website- don’t be disappointed (and hungry), there will be a very limited amount of food to buy the night of the Market if you haven’t pre-ordered. munchalunch.com

• Sign up for a shift! Christmas Market Volunteer Sign-Up It really is a fun way to meet other parents.

• Bake Sale: Please sign-up in the school foyer. Drop off your cookies, brownies, squares , etc at the office on Friday December 5th. Where possible, please do not put nuts in your baking. Store bought “baking” is always welcome! We ran out of baking last year so please be generous!

• Holiday Shop N Wrap: Kids only! Shop for gifts for friends and family. For it to work we all need to pitch in and donate small new or nearly-new Clear your closets of those candles, books and soaps that you thought you would use. Donate those DVDs that you have viewed and still look new. Socks, toys, bath products, art kits – all of these things will find good homes. It does not need to be brand new – just present-able. (Pun intended!) Drop off in foyer.

• Mystery Bags: Bags can be dropped off in the foyer all week long. The children LOVE these fun bags. Bags should have an approximate value of $5 per bag, and everything in the bags should be NEW (please, NO old candy or used toys).The bags could include fun holiday- or winter-themed things such as craft kits or supplies, ornaments to colour, kids’ costume jewellery or hair bands, fun kid’s gloves, small puzzles or games, candy boxes or bags, pencils, etc. The “bag” can be anything you like… brown lunch bag, goodie bag, gift bag – with the contents a mystery! All styles are welcome and fun! Please label the bag as boy, girl, or either, and the approximate grade level as appropriate.

• Ticket sales: Save yourself time by buying tickets ahead of time in the foyer before and after school on Thursday and Friday December 4^th and 5^th. 1 ticket = $1. Price list will be posted. All kids’ crafts and activities will be by tickets only – however Adult Craft Vendors and Silent Auction will be cash sales. Tickets will also be available the night of the Market.

Thank you to everyone for your time, energy and contributions!

Dear parents,

• The Christmas Fair is fast approaching and there’s a lot you can do to help.
  • Volunteer!  All parents are requested to sign up for at least one 30 minute shift.  Here’s a complete list of shifts and jobs that are still available.  Get in quick before only the crappy jobs are left.  (just kidding – all the jobs are fun and easy and you only need to sign on for 30 minutes)
  • Mystery Bags -the more we have of these, the better.  Kids hate it when they run out in the first 15 minutes!   To help, please fill and decorate a Christmas gift bag worth approximately $5 and label either “boy” or “girl” and estimate Grade K-1, 2-3, 4-5, or 6-7.   Contact: Tereana Lazarowich ttlazaro@telus.net  for more information.
  • Holiday Shop n’ Wrap:  This is a great way for your kids to purchase presents for family and friends.  Looking for donations of small items worth $1 to $5 (or more).   Contact: Christine Birkett cbirkett5@gmail.com for more information.
  • Bake Sale – Mmmm…baked goods.  Keep your eye out for signs in the foyer with details.  Contact Ann Marie Lewis annmarielewis604@gmail.com for more information.
  • Food ordering –  The Munch a Lunch site is open now to take your orders for dinner on the night of the fair.  Options include a variety of pizza and the always popular pulled pork bun with a kale coleslaw salad.  Just use your regular login at the Munch a Lunch site and click on the fundraising tab at the top.   You must have your order in by 6pm, Friday November 21.  Want to know how to use Munch a Lunch?  Click here for more information.

• Tomorrow is election day.  Robin Hicks, Jessica Stanley and Roger Bassam are all connected with our school and are running for election tomorrow.  Find out more about what they stand for, as well as information about all candidates here.
  • Candidates http://www.dnv.org/article.asp?a=6120&c=764
  • General District Election information http://www.dnv.org/article.asp?c=764

• Just a reminder that the deadline for the Card Project is today!  For complete details and information, please click here.  Ready to order?  Click here.  Remember, that 25% of all sales go to the PAC!