DECEMBER RESTAURANT NIGHT

Join our Rio families at Village Host Pizza, Wednesday, December 16th, for pizza night! 20% of the proceeds will return to Rio Del Mar school. (does not include drinks or salad bar). See you there!

See's Candy Pickup

See's Candy will be distributed Monday December 7th, from 7:45 a.m.-8:15 a.m. and from, 1:45 p.m.-2:30 p.m. as well as Tuesday, December 8, 2009: 6:30 p.m.-8:00 pm in the Cafeteria.

Please make every attempt to pick up your candy during the scheduled time. If you have to make alternative arrangements, please contact Michelle Chapa at chapas5@cruzio.com or Michelle Cecchini at rickmich@cruzio.com as soon as possible.

NEXT MEETING: DECEMBER 8TH, 6:30pm in the Library

PA Meeting and See's Candy!

See's Candy Order forms are due this Friday, November 13th. Orders are expecting to arrive on Dec. 7th. Don't be stuck without those last minute hostess, teacher, neighbor gifts!!

Parent Alliance meeeting is Tuesday, November 10, 6:30pm. Childcare and refreshments are available.

Innisbrook Delivery

Innisbrook orders will be delivered to the school Thursday October 22nd. Please pick up your orders Thursday the 22nd or Friday the 23rd, after school, in the MPR. Rio Del Mar School raised approximately $10,500. for the school! Great job and thanks for supporting Rio!!!
Congratulations to the classes that sold the most: Mrs. Skognes' kinder, Mrs. Cooper's class and Mr. McMillan's class!! Those classes will get a pizza party Friday October 23rd!!

Restaurant Night, Wed, Oct 21st

Erik's Deli & CAfe, and Baskin Robbins, in the Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center, are hosting a Rio Restaurant Night. 10% of the proceeds will come back to Rio. Dine between 4-8pm and help support our school!

Parent Alliance Meeting, Tuesday, October 20th, 6:30pm

URGENT: Drive for Schools tickets due Friday, October 16th!!

Please consider purchasing your Drive for Schools tickets right away! We are only at half of our sales compared to last year. We know Parent Alliance has been busy with all kinds of fundraisers, and community events this past month, but this is our last push for 2009. So please turn in all your sold and unsold tickets for Drive for Schools on Friday, October 16th. Return them to your teacher or to the office.
Contact Corrie Slyder for information. 331-8827 or slyderbcs@sbcglobal.net

Thanks in advance!

The Parent Alliance meeting scheduled for tonight has been postponed until next Tuesday, same time, same place. Thank you and we will see you next week.

Drive for Schools/Book Fair

Rio Del Mar's Annual Book Fair Needs Volunteers!! (Oct. 12 - 16). We are low on volunteers to run and manage the book fair. We can't have this awesome book fair, if we don't have enough volunteers. We need your help! Can you please donate some time to help out? If so, please contact Renee Tallman at: ktallman@comcast.net or Rebecca Jot at: rkjot@pacbell.net

Drive for Schools: Win 25,000 in cash or a new Toyota Prius! Tickets are avaiable in the school office. Please return any unsold tickets as we are only given an allotment of tickets to work with. Return sold tickets to your teacher or in the office. All proceeds are returned to the school. Thanks for supporting Rio Del Mar!

Harvest Festival: A big thank you to everyone who contributed to making the Harvest Festival a huge success! We had a wonderful community event, in large part due to the tremendous show of support by everyone who attended and volunteered.

Thank you to the businesses who donated to our event:

• Classified Sound
  Elyxir Distributing
  Full of Beans
  Granite Construction
  Hansens Feed
  Mobile Climb USA
  

Fall Updates

Reminder!
Our first Restaurant Night takes place Wednesday, September 30th, at Cafe Rio, on the beach at Rio Del Mar. It is an "All You Can Eat" barbecue rib dinner which includes salad, beans and mashed potatoes for $14.99. Kids can choose from any number of choices on the kid's menu. Ten per cent of all food purchases and half of all well drinks or house wine will be donated back to Rio Del Mar School. Families can eat from 5-8pm.

Harvest Fair, Friday October 2nd, 5-9pm.
This is considered by many to be our most fun, kid oriented community event. Carnival games, prizes, face painting, climbing wall, jumphouses, prizes, bake sale, delicious food and drink, pumpkin patch and a DJ! the kids go crazy, adults socialize, everyone has fun. Admission is free. Game tickets and food available for purchase at the ticket booth.

Parent alliance needs only some of your valuable time. Please volunteer for set up, breakdown, or to work one hour at the event. Contact Denise at denirus@sbcglobal.net or Lorna Jordan at lornajordan1@yahoo.com.

Baked Goods are needed!! Bring your yummies to the MPR on October 2nd, between 8am and 3pm. Contact Claire Schultz at cschultz55@yahoo.com.


Innisbrook sale is coming to an end, so sell,sell, sell!
We will continue to accept orders until the September 24th. We will have an assembly/ drawing this week for the students who sold more than 10 items.

To order from your student's catalog
1. Log onto www.Innisbrook.com and select EZ ORDER.
2. Enter our school # 102210.
3. Follow the EZ steps to enter your order.
4. Print a voucher and return to school with the $$. Checks made out to R.D.M.P.A.
You may add to your existing order and re-print the voucher.
5. Need assistance, contact Innisbrook at 1-877-525-5608

Monte Foundation Fireworks and Musicfest tickets are availabe for sale in the office. Tickets are $15 each, but $30 at the door, so buy your tickets at Rio and help support the school. Tickets are available only until September 29th.

Rio Restaurant Night: Wednesday, Sept 30th, 5-8pm at Cafe Rio, on the beach at Rio Del Mar. "All You Can Eat" barbecue rib dinner. Includes salad, beans and mashed potatoes for $14.99. Kid's menu available. Ten percent of all food purchases and half of all well drinks or house wine will be donated back to Rio Del Mar school.

Drive for Schools: Win a new Toyota Prius! Tickets are $5 each, and 100 percent of the proceeds benefit our school. Tickets will be coming home in your child's backpack. Return them to your child's teacher, or drop them in the PA box in the office. Even better, return them at the Harvest FAir and get two free game tickets!

Donate to the General Fund!!!

Good News!! Rio's California Standard Test scores exceed state standards and continue to rise!

Parent Alliance funding of essential school wide programs and curriculum is a critical component of the outstanding education here at Rio. Through direct donations to our General Fund (not Classroom funds) and fundraising, we must raise the equivalent of $175 per child to fund critical programs such as art, math and reading specialists, language arts, and many others.

Please consider making a direct donation to the General Fund. Isn't the quality of your child's education worth just $20 per month?

You can make a single payment, or break it up over the course of the year. We accept checks and credit cards. Donation forms are available in the office, or can be requested through our blog. Checks should be made out to RDMPA. Thank you for supporting our school!

Parent Alliance Meeting Update

Please see the unapproved minutes from the Sept. 8th meeting, to be posted on the RDM website this week. Also look for the Parent Alliance Meeting Update Newsletter, to be sent electronically this week. If you're not on the email list, please email us at riodelmar.pa@gmail.com to be added to the mailing list.

Harvest Fair: October 2nd, 5-9pm. Volunteers needed to organize the following booths: Pumpkin Patch, Cake Walk, Cotton Candy (to package on Thursday), Popcorn, Hot Drinks, Face Painting. Volunteers are also needed to work at the event. Shifts are one hour each and fun!! Contact Denise Russo or Lorna Jordan to volunteer. Email us, or return your volunteer request form.

Innisbrook: Please submit your orders online by Monday, September 14th.

Monte Fireworks tickets are on sale in the office starting Thursday 9/10. Tickets are $15 each and will be on sale until September 29th.

Parent Alliance is looking for parents interested in organizing Parent Education programs. Please contact Lisa Byrd.

We need large garage type shelving!! If you have extra and wish to donate, let us know!

FIRST Parent Alliance Meeting, September 8th

Meet us at 6:30pm in the Library for our first meeting of the year. Childcare and refreshments are available.

August Update

HELLO FROM YOUR NEW RIO-MINDER BLOGGER!

There are so many opportunities for you to help at Rio!

Listed below are the volunteer chair and co-chair positions that are OPEN:
Dinner, Dance/Live Auction-2 co-chairs
Tennis Tournamentas part of Golf Tournament)-1 chair
On-line Auction-1 chair
Annual Book Fair-2 co-chairs
Staff Appreciation Luncheon-1 chair
Restaurant Night-1 chair
Campus Beautification/School Improvement- 2 chairs

In addition, the Harvest Festival is coming up on October 2nd, and we still need volunteers to help man and run booths like the Cake Walk, and the Pumpkin Patch. Any and all help is very much appreciated!

You can return your volunteer form, leave a note in the PA mailbox, or contact any board member if you're interested in volunteering.

Welcome Back to the 2009-2010 School Year!!

Upcoming May Events

Open House is May 20th!

Staff Appreciation Lunch is on May 27th: We still need help! Let the office or Debbie Eaton know if you can host a table, help or bring food.

First ever Outdoor Movie Night at Rio Del Mar School is May 30th (More info coming soon!) Please plan to attend this final community event of the school year.

Our Big Event is a Great Success!!!

A very big thank you to all the individuals and businesses that donated to the auction, purchased auction items online and at the event, and played golf. Thank you for your participation. A warm thank you to every volunteer that worked on the event. It could not have happened without eveyrone's hard work and committment!

Dinner, Dance & Auction Registration

Our Big Event, includes a Golf Tournament, Tennis Tournament (lunch and fashion show), Dinner, Dance and Auction, is this Friday May 7th. a link to Registration forms is on the Rio Del Mar website. this year it's Buckles and Boots, so plan to come in your best Levi's or other Western themed wear. It's great fun, and we have a wine and art auction, as well as a great Live auction. Don't miss it!

PVUSD Board meeting TONIGHT! on Class Reduction

Tonight's Board Meeting is for parents weighing in on the issue of class size reduction.

Please take note the Board meeting PLACE has been changed. It will take place at ANN SOLDO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (go to district web site for map/directions-it is off of East Lake Ave at Holahan end of East Lake).

Public meeting begins at 7:00Be there by 6:30 to ensure a place inside and time to fill out speaking cards

FOCUS: Parents Speak Up on Class Size Reduction Cut
WEAR THE COLOR WHITE

Escrip, Boxtops and Auction Donations

We are still actively seeking donations for our auction our silent and live auction. Please contact Chairperson Justina at justinabryant@sbcglobal.net.

Please remember to sign up with Escrip, a quick and painless way to raise significant funds for our school. Visit www.escrip.com to register.

Boxtops are collected in a container, just inside the Office door. Each boxtop is worth 10 cents, but translates to significant money if everyone particpates.

Budget Update from Superintendent of PVUSD

TO: All PVUSD Employees & Community March 13, 2009

FROM: Dorma Baker

RE: Budget Update

I will be continuing to give updates on the budget situation because even though the Board approved a budget that will meet the County Office requirements, there are many variables still to come. We will be waiting on the following:
* The May Revise. We're hearing that the State deficit has already increased and that there may be additional reductions made to school district budgets.
* The initiatives on the State Ballot have to pass to support the current Budget plan.
* Finance will continue to explore class size for "K" and 3rd grade with the new State penalty formula, looking for an option to lower class sizes at those levels.
* Union negotiations: Any negotiated agreements by either CSEA or PVFT would have a positive impact on the current employee reductions in the budget.
* Federal Stimulus Package: We don't have a confirmation about how much the district will receive, but there will be some additional funds from the Federal Government.
Listening to all of the suggestions or questions that community members or staff had, we will continue to investigate suggestions and/or concerns. Responses to some of those questions follow.

Who decides when to adopt new textbooks and do we have to adopt?:

* The STATE decides on the adoption of new textbooks, not the BOARD.
* The District has the option of asking for a waiver to postpone the adoption of new English Language Arts materials, which we are planning to do.

Could you save money by cutting Food Services?:

* The food service program is funded by Federal and State Categorical Funds only designated for that program. It does not encroach on the General Fund.

Would money be saved if TOSA's (teachers on special assignment) were eliminated?:

* All "Teachers on Special Assignment" are funded through grants or special funds and do not encroach on the general fund.

Would consolidating smaller schools save money?:
The district is not declining in enrollment, in fact we are growing. The recent Facilities Report that was just completed projects the need to build an additional new school within the next 6 years. Most of the school sites are at maximum capacity for numbers of students and unable to add additional portable buildings. Consolidating schools only makes sense if a district is declining in enrollment.
Would there be a savings by moving the District Office to a school site or another location?:

* The "Management Audit Report" analyzed the issue of the "Towers" as the district office and found that the rent of the building is the lowest of anything in the area. We have researched more updated information with the city and have confirmed that that is still the case. In fact, the amount of rent is about half the going rate.
* The audit report also found that by consolidating district services in one building, there was less on-going cost, as well as being more efficient for employees.
* Regarding purchasing the property, the District has pursued that as an option, but at that time, the owners were not open to a sale.
* Are there extra classrooms that could house the "Towers"?
* The latest Facilities Report summarizes ALL of the data with the following: "The total need in six years will be as much as an additional 40 elementary classrooms, 3 middle school classrooms and 2 charter school classrooms. The figures showing "77" empty classrooms includes rooms that are actually in use for something other than a "core" class, i.e. Computer labs, RSP, Counseling, and other services. They are not "empty". The district was recently required to give space to a new charter school and was unable to find enough available classrooms to house even the small charter. Adult Education programs had to be moved from the Porter Building to create the needed space for the charter. The infrastructure necessary to support the services in the district office, even if another location was available, would have to be "recreated" at any new facility and would be a substantial expense.

The district will continue to look to reduce cost in the present facility, but it is not a viable option to move from the current location.

* Who is in the "Towers"
* Extended Learning
* Migrant Head Start
* Pacific Coast Charter (270 students)
* Adult Education (approx. 10,000 students a year)
* Migrant Education
* SELPA - Special Education
* Payroll, Business Services & Technology
* Human Resources
* Child Development
* Student Services
* Food Services & Central Kitchen (pack out for 17 schools)
* District Warehouse
* Board members do NOT have offices in the Towers.
* Boardroom and meeting spaces for professional development.

Within the 3 floors that the District leases, there are a total of 325 employees. The district office does not use one floor of the building which is leased to other businesses. In addition, with the reduction of positions and departments, the district will be consolidating, eliminating some of the current space being leased.
The District should restructure the district office and where are the cuts at the D.O.?

* There are 5.50 administrative positions being reduced at the district office.
* The work load of these 5.50 reduced positions will now fall under the Assistant Sup positions.
* In addition, all departments in the D.O. are reducing personnel by 25%, reducing individual departments from 1 to 6 employees.
* In the last two years of budget reductions, the administrative positions at the District Office dealing with educational services will have been reduced by over 40% without any reduction of workload or mandates.

What is administration contributing?:
District administrators came forward and agreed to the following reductions:

* 5 Furlough Days
* Changes in the Benefit Package equivalent to 12%
* Freezing salary placement

This agreement is for all management, including the Assistant Superintendents and the Superintendent. In addition, the Assistant Sups agreed to give up the option of 10 additional days in their contracts, which makes their contribution a total of 15 days.

Dorma

How to Contact Our District Representatives

For anyone interested in writing our Representatives to voice concerns about education in California:

Senator Abel Maldonado

District Address:
1356 Marsh Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Capitol Address:
State Capitol
Room 4082
Sacramento, CA 94248-0001

Assembly Member William W. Monning

District Address:
701 Ocean Street Room 318-B
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Capitol Address:
State Capitol
Room 5150
Sacramento, CA 94249-0027

Pink Friday Information

Pink Friday is being organized on March 13th, as a day to show support for our education system. There are plans in Santa Cruz County to hold a rally at Anna Jean Cummings Park (blue ball park) that day at 4 pm, with concerned citizens wearing pink. The Rio Del Mar Parent Alliance is not a political organization but we are an organization which supports our school community via events and fundraising. State budget changes have a direct impact on how the funds we work so hard to raise will be used to support our children in our school. Less money from the state means that the RDMPA will have to make more difficult choices next fall in deciding what to fund. This information is being passed along to keep you informed and is FYI.

If you want more information about Pink Friday, check out this website: http://www.pinkfriday09.org/

Golf Tournament Donations Needed

Our biggest fundraiser of the year is coming up in May! We are actively pursuing donations of all sizes for our online and live auctions, and sponsorships for our annual Golf Tournament. If anyone would like to donate, they can contact Justina at justinabryant@sbcglobal.net.

February Meeting Update

For a complete description of Februarys meeting minutes, visit the RDM website visit http://www.riodelmar.pvusd.net/ and click on the upper left tab Parent Alliance Minutes.

Restaurant night at Palapas was a success! Thank you to everyone who came and supported our school!

Radio Rio is up and running! Tune into AM 1670 when you are near the school for school information updated weekly.

Remember to sign up for escrip (www.escrip.com) as a cost-free way to contribute to your school of choice. If you are using Safeway pease remember to swipe with your Safeway card - just entering your phone number at the kiosk doesn't kick in with escrip.

Check into Innisbrook for cute chocolate bunnies and send 50% of the proceeds to Rio. Our school customer # with Innisbrook is 102210.

February Restaurant Day
Dine at Palapas on Tuesday, February 3rd, 5-9pm, and support our school! Reservations are recommended. Please tell them you're from Rio when paying for your meal.

Parent Alliance Board Job Descriptions

Many Parent Alliance Board positions will open for elections this May. Here's a brief description of the duties of each Board position.

a. President presides at all meetings of the Parent Allianc and Executive Board and is a member ex-officio of all committees. She/He coordinates the appointment of the Chairperson of each Standing Committee as well as filling of all Executive Board vacancies.
b. Vice President acts as an aide to the President and assumes the President's duties in his/her absence. The Vice President may advance to the Presidency in the second year of his/her 2 year-term. The Vice President receives and reviews all bank statements and forwards them to the Treasurer for reconciliation. The VP is responsible for making all banners needed by the Parent Alliance.
c. The Recording Secretary keeps an accurate record of proceedings of the Executive Board and the General Meetings, aas well as preparing a summary for the President of all unfinished business.
d. The Corresponding Secretary conducts all necessary correspondence of the organization and is responsible for sending out notices of the organization’s meetings and special events sponsored by the organization.
e. The Treasurer receives all moneys for the organization and makes bank deposits and keeps an accurate record of all receipts and disbursements. She/He presents a current statement of account at every regular meeting, and any time that this statement may be requested by the Executive Board.
f. The Classroom Volunteer Coordinator appoints and organizes volunteers for each classroom, including room parents, auction donation coordinators, yearbook page coordinators and photographers, and Parent Alliance Liaisons (PALS).
g. The Volunteer Coordinator distributes volunteer forms and collects volunteer information for all Standing Committees.
h. Hospitality Coordinator provides refreshments for the General Meetings and for childcare during meetings and will arrange for childcare for these meetings.
i. The Rio Minders Editor compiles information for and produces camera ready art for Rio Minders, the school newsletter, to be distributed online, monthly, during the school year and following the Parent Alliance

Next Parent Alliance Meeting:
Tuesday, February 10th, 6:30pm. Childcare and refreshments provided.
Current meeting minutes can be found on the RDM website, in the upper left corner, under the Parent Alliance tab, at http://www.riodelmar.pvusd.net.

February Restaurant DayPalapas, date to be announced.
Bittersweet Bistro is March 3rd.

**Parent Alliance Board Member Elections are happening this May! This is a great way to become involved. A few of our current board members have volunteered to stay in their positions, but all positions are up for renewal. Due to by-law revisions, a few positions will be a 1 year term for 2009-2010, only. Please consider the following positions and contact any current board member for more information. Our blog, http://riodelmarpa.blogspot.com will have job descriptions posted soon.

President: 1 year term--current is Denise Russo.
Vice President: 2 year term --current is Gina Guhin.
Treasurer: 2 year term--current is Mimi Rudd.
Recording Secretary: 2 year term--current is Rebecca Jot.
Corresponding Secretary: 1 year term--current is Cindy Evans.
Rio Minders Editor: 1 year--current is Athena Wolfe.
Volunteer Coordinator: 2 year--current is Michelle Guzman. Next year will be Cindy Evans.
Classroom Volunteer Coordinator: current is Sheila Hurley.
Hospitality Coordinator: 1 year—current is Veronica Seitchick.

**Yearbooks will be on sale 1/16-2/20. The pre-sale, discounted yearbook price is $15 per book. The books are a beautiful memory of your child’s year at Rio. Pre-selling yearbooks helps to keep the cost down and guarantees to those children that they will have a book. Limited copies may be available in June for those who don’t pre-order and at the regular price of $20.
**The District Survey is coming out soon. All parents/guardians are encouraged to fill this out and return by the deadline

Welcome Back!

The next Parent Alliance meeting is this Tuesday, January 13th, 6:30pm in the Computer Lab. Childare is available and delicious refreshments are served.

Rio's Big Yearbook Meeting for all Yearbook Page Reps and Photographers is this Friday January 16th at 9am in the Multipurpose Room/Cafeteria. Pages will be handed out and class page design begins! Finished pages are due Feb. 23

Yearbooks go on sale for a presale price of $15 on Friday Jan 16th through February 20th. The price goes up to $20 on February 21st. Be sure your child receives a yearbook, and order during the presale!

Sees Candy Fundraiser Thanks!!

A big thank you to all the students and families who participated in the See's Candy Fundraiser.

Our top sellers were: Gabrielle Taulbeethe, the Sanchez Family, Skylar Seyffert, Austin Eaton, The Esche Family, The Chapa Family, The Hughes Family, Nick La Placa, and Heather Mapes.

Also, a HUGE THANKS to all of the helpers! Leslie Kootstra, Laura Matarazzo,Susan Nichols-Heffner,Cathy McMinn, Shanna deDiego, Liz Coniglio, Kristy Webster, Michelle Cecchini, Charlie Millar, Patti Long, Christy Florez, and Carole-Anne Byck-Kessler.
We truly appreciate your efforts and we couldn't have done it without you!

**Michelle Chapa Chairperson**