Douglas Dragoneer

Early Rease Days

Our early release day last Thursday went very smoothly. Our early release days for the rest of the school year are as follows:

October 12

November 22

February 17

April 13

We will dismiss at 12:30 on these days. Please mark your calendars.

From the President

Wow, school has already been in session for a month. Where does the time go? I know you are bombarded with items in the Monday folder, but I wanted to remind you of three important things.

1. Join the PTA. We really need your membership and your input to make this a great year for your children! Send in $6 per membership.

2. Participate in the Wrapping Paper fundraiser. If you don’t want to sell the items, consider sending in a donation to the PTA.

3. Get involved at Douglas. Sign up to be a volunteer and come to the PTA meeting on Thursday, October 6 at 6:30 p.m.

As always, we welcome your suggestions and input. Feel free to contact us. Beth Gargan, ncgargans@earthlink.net and Karen Moore, kmoore22@nc.rr.com.

See you at school!

Beth and Karen

Do you have 90 minutes a week to help out?

Do you have an hour and a half available to volunteer in the main office? We’re looking for a “few great parents” who would be willing to give an hour and half each week to help with clerical tasks, late check-in and early checkout. The shifts are 8:30-10:00, 11:30-1:00 and 2:45-4:15. If you’re interested in helping, please contact Wendy Sielaty at 846-6276 or Kevin Gorman at 876-8422 (lgorman@nc.rr.com).

Join us for McTeacher’s Night on October 12

Will your favorite Douglas teacher or specialist be serving up burgers and fries at your neighborhood McDonald’s on October 12? Come and find out! That’s right – the Douglas PTA will be “selling cheeseburgers” as a fundraiser, sort of!

On Wednesday, October 12, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Douglas will celebrate McTeacher’s Night at the McDonald’s located at 6213 Falls of Neuse Road. During the event, a group of teachers and administrators, including Dr. DeRee, will be working at McDonald’s, greeting customers, taking food orders and serving dinner.

And -- this is the good part -- a portion of the sales made that evening will go directly to our PTA. This could be one of the easiest fundraisers we do this year, but we need your help. To make the evening a success, we need to get as many Douglas supporters out to the Golden Arches at 6213 Falls of Neuse Road on Wednesday, October 12, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for a McTeacher’s Night dinner. Tell your neighbors! Bring your family and friends to support our school!

Dragons for Katrina

Thanks to all of the Douglas family – staff, parents and students – who participated in the Dragons for Katrina program last week. Children enjoyed seeing their dragons on the wall, and loved dressing in their pajamas on Friday. The money collected last week and at our Bakeless Bake Sale will be given to the American Red Cross for Katrina victims. A special thanks is due to our wonderful guidance counselor, Kelli Williams, for a great job in coordinating these efforts.

Winter Clothing Needed

We have some students at Douglas who are in urgent need of the following clothing items: Boys size 6 winter clothes and Girls Size 12 winter clothes. Gently used clothes and hand me downs are welcome! Please deliver all donations to the main office or classroom teacher with Kelli Williams’ name on them.

Can you help?

We are in need of size 10 girls clothing and size 6 boys clothing. If you have some gently used clothing to donate, please give these items to our guidance counselor, Kelli Williams. Thank you.

Scrip is coming!

Please be sure to read the light purple SCRIP information brochure located in your child's backpack today. This is a great opportunity to raise money for Douglas Elementary while buying items you would normally buy for your family. The first order forms will be place in the backpacks on Monday, October 3 and will be due by Wednesday, October 5. The gift cards will be distributed the following week. We will be placing orders every few weeks. Contact Carla Smith at 781-7613 with any questions.

School T-Shirt Design Competition

Don’t forget to turn in your t-shirt design for the 2005-2006 school t-shirt! Your design should include Douglas Dragons (name or mascot) and incorporate the school theme for 2005-2006: “Student Leaders Under Construction.” All designs must be turned in to the Design Competition Box by Friday, September 30. The Box is located at the School Store and is checked daily. Please remember to put your name, grade and teacher on the back of the design. The design winner will be chosen by Friday, October 7, and the winner announced in the Monday folder on October 10. T-shirt orders will begin on Monday, October 12 and will conclude on Friday, October 28. T-shirt design entries will be displayed at Arts Night in November.

Wrapping Paper Reminders

Our wrapping paper sale continues! If you need additional order forms, you may pick them up from the school office. Please remember to collect the money for the orders when they are placed. All orders must be prepaid. Checks should be made payable to Douglas Elementary PTA. The wrapping paper sale ends on Monday, October 3, with order forms and money being due to the school on Tuesday, October 4. Adult volunteers are needed to help collect and count orders Tuesday - Friday, October 4 - 7. Volunteer hours for this project are 9:15 to 10:30. Please call or email Kim Lamb to volunteer your time (878-0848, klamb2@nc.rr.com ).

Bring The Family To The Dinner Table

Your son has a doctor's appointment on Monday, a play date on Wednesday, and violin lessons on Thursday. Your daughter has volleyball practice every night this week, plus a choir concert. You have a more-than-full week at work, a PTA meeting, plus your duties as family chauffer. Once you all get home, the kids have homework, and you have bills to pay and laundry to do. Amidst all these activities and responsibilities, it's hard to get everyone to the dinner table at the same time.

On Monday, September 26 , which has been designated Family Day/ A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children, find the time to share a meal as a family and start making family dinners a habit, even if it requires putting off the housecleaning, cutting back on some of the extracurricular activities, or changing what time your family eats.

To make your family dinners more lively,

· Have each family member bring an object to the table and talk about it (just like show-and-tell in school).

· Go through old family photos and tell a story about a family member from the past who younger family members might not know well.

· Fill a container with conversation starters. Pick out a question and have everyone answer it.

· Play Simon Says at the table.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

September 28 Fall School Pictures

October 3 PTA Exec. Board

9:15(Starbucks)

3 SCRIP Fundraiser

4 Wrapping paper sale ends

6 PTA Meeting 6:30 pm

12 Early Release 12:30

12 McTeacher’s Night –

McDonald’s, Falls of the Neuse