Come Out & Play Night and Book Fair: September 24

September 11, 2013 PTO Communications Leave a comment

One of the greatest community events at Clifford is the annual Come Out & Play night! This year’s energy- and fun-filled gathering happens Tuesday, September 24, from 4:30 to 7PM approximately. K through 5 students and their families are invited.

The blacktop becomes home to a slew of games and activities — dodge ball, hoola-hooping, skipping, tennis like you’ve never seen before, other ball games, and more! Parents are encouraged to join in. The kids, in particular, get a kick out of the Students vs. Adults dodge ball antics.

Food, snacks, and drinks will be on sale, too.

We need parent helpers to make this fantastic event be a success. Please contact Ann Berljafa via aberljafa@gmail.com and 650-766-0962 to let her know how you can help.

Specific jobs:

Water coolers: someone to fill the water coolers with water and lemonade, buy ice
Set up tables (coolers are available at school)
Paper cups: someone to pick up paper cups for the water (at least 100) and medium-size cups (6-8oz for lemonade)
Costco run: Somebody to pick up bottled water, nacho cheese and chips
Pizza: someone to order pizza (cheese, pepperoni ); Costco or elsewhere
PA set up
Music: someone to create a kid friendly play-list
Food Sellers: People to handle the $$ and be in charge of cash drawer; make poster with what is available to buy
Popsicles: somebody to buy box of popsicles
Flyers: someone to make flyers for folders, along with posters to hang around school; helpers to tape up flyers around the campus

In addition, Come Out & Play night this year will be combined with the Scholastic Book Fair. 5th Grade teacher, Mrs. Defouw, has offered to open the doors for students and parents for a visit — and hopefully to shop! If you are interested in helping at the Book Fair, please contact Ann Bejljafa at aberljafa@gmail.com or Victoria Defouw at vdefouw@rcsdk8.net.

Thank you.

Community, Volunteering

Welcome Back, Clifford Families!

August 27, 2013 PTO Communications Leave a comment

Whether this is your family’s first year at our great school––or your tenth––welcome back to the start of the school year.

Three reminders:

Thurs, September 12, 2013, 6:30PM – 7:30PM: Back to School Night for K-5th Grade families [Classrooms at 6:30PM]
Thurs, September 12, 2013, 7PM – 8PM: Back to School Night for 6th-8th Grade families [Courtyard at 7PM; MUB at 7:30PM]
Thurs, September 19, 2013, 7PM: First PTO (Parent-Teacher Organization) meeting of the year in the MUB/gym. A light meal will be served.

We need a few good women and men: Please consider volunteering with the PTO! We’ve some really interesting and fun positions still open:

VP/Communications – Oversees all PTO flyers, web, and other communication to parents, PTO, and the public. Sits on Exec Board [UPDATE: POSITION FILLED!]
Enrichment Coordinator – Oversees all PTO Enrichment programs and reports at Exec Board meetings
Finance/Audit – Reviews quarterly statements to ensure PTO is in compliance
Business Partnerships – Work with the Communications team to entice businesses to donate to Clifford
8th Grade Fundraiser – TBD work with Fundraising Team to help fund-raise for 8th Grade Activities
RCEF Liaison – Able to attend RCEF meetings and report to PTO about what the RCEF is doing.
Display Case – Posting PTO and student items in the display cases around school.
May Day Flower Parade/ Neighborhood relations – Coordinate the Kinder and/or 1st Grade May Day Parade through the neighborhood to spread good will among neighbors

If one of these jobs interests you, or you need additional information, please contact Christina Sullivan, bandcsully3@yahoo.com.

Lastly, check out our terrific Clifford School Logo Wear site, where you can customize and order t-shirts, sweatshirts, and more, with the school logo or some adorable dolphin designs! Available for men, women, and kids. Two special offers are running right now — they end in September.

Enjoy this lovely weather!

Dolphin_wear — You like? This is one of many designs you'll find among the Clifford School merchandise offerings!

Community, Fundraising, Volunteering

Clifford PTO’s Big Auction: November 2013

August 12, 2013 PTO Communications Leave a comment

Greetings Clifford families!

What, auction-planning already? Sí, sí, sí!

We’re excited to report that this year’s PTO auction — our non-profit’s largest fundraiser — is set for Saturday night, November 16, 2013. So whip out your phone and mark your calendar for a fun-filled Hollywood-themed night here in our very own Redwood City at the La Honda Winery.

What awaits you? Phenomenal auction items, a superb venue, scrumptious food, and a rockin’ dance groove!

We need your help to secure auction donations — that is, items that can be put up for the bidding process to raise money for the PTO. As you go about your daily life, think about the folks you can (graciously) ask for an auction donation.

Examples:

Gift certificates from your fave restaurant locally or on the shores of Lake Tahoe, for instance
Gift certs from your hair stylist, nail salon, health club, coffee shop, massage center, dance instructor, and any place you can think of, which has broad appeal!
Gift cards from hotels, camp-sites, bed & breakfasts, the movie theater, the ice rink, parks (like Disney Land etc.) or other spots, Go-Kart racing, golf courses, and so on
An offer of a week, for example, from your co-worker who has a time-share in an exotic location or on the beach near Hearst Castle!
A week of hot meals delivered from your buddy who’s a professional chef
A set of oil-changes or a thorough tune-up from your mechanic — or a detailing service from your go-to car wash place

Download a formal request letter for businesses here. This letter from the PTO includes details about the PTO’s mission, the auction itself, and the auction organizers’ contact info. The next time you are getting your highlights done, you can give your hair stylist this one-page document with all the deets.

The donation form can be downloaded here. Once a business or other party has offered a donation, this form needs to be completed with specifics about the auction item (such as a description of the item, its $$ value, and so on). When the time comes, turn your completed form/s into the PTO office.

Thank you for your help!

PRICING INFORMATION

Celebrity ticket: $60 per person
Includes scrumptious heavy appetizers, dancing, and a night to remember!

VIP Ticket: $80 per person
Includes transportation from the Clifford campus to the Winery and back, and a complimentary drink on the” luxury party bus.” Plus, you are guaranteed reserved seating at the venue. Transportation is provided courtesy of Corinthian Ground Transportation. Thank you, Corinthian, for your generosity!

VIP Table for Ten: $800 (limited availability)
Includes everything on the VIP ticket. Pay for yourself and nine friends, and a reserved VIP table is yours! Note: You need to indicate the names of all your table-mates, if you go with this option.

WILL CALL
If you bought your tickets online, you can pick them up in the school office. In any given week, if you buy your tickets by midnight on a Tuesday, your tickets will be ready for pickup at the school office on Friday. Thank you Clifford staff!

PAY BY CHECK
Bring your check to the Clifford School office. The office staff will have tickets to sell. Make your check payable to Clifford School PTO.

BIG BONUS: Arrive at the Winery by 7:30PM on the Auction night and you can win a new Nexus 7, Google’s fully-fledged Android tablet, with a razor-sharp 7-inch screen.

Tickets are non-refundable. You must be 21 or older to attend this event. No Host bar.

Community, Volunteering

Summer Specials at Peet’s: Enjoy Clifford Students’ Artwork

July 2, 2013 PTO Communications Leave a comment

Run — don’t walk — to Peet’s on Laurel Street in San Carlos: The latest rotation of artwork by Clifford students is on display.

Head downtown to Peet’s to grab a cool iced tea or latté or glaze-soaked bun, and marvel at our kids’ stunning artwork. You may not know this, but Clifford has an exclusive arrangement with Peet’s to hang our students’ artwork 365 days a year! Thanks to various parent volunteers, the art is refreshed roughly four times a year.

The art that is exhibited at Peet’s currently was created through teachers’ individual projects with their students. Other times, the art on display typically comes from the parent-led Art in Action program. In case you missed it, check out our last set of photos, showcasing students’ artwork at Peet’s.

Community, Fundraising

School Supplies: Shop at Target to Benefit Clifford

June 28, 2013 PTO Communications Leave a comment

When the time comes, you can make school supply shopping easy by providing Target with your Clifford student’s supply list ahead of time. In turn, Clifford can take advantage of a special program: Take Charge of Education. Target will make a donation to Clifford after your shopping spree at the store! Read on for sign-up details.

When you have your child’s class supply list, send your school’s supply list to Amelia Lupinetti, Amelia.Lupinetti@target.com.

Take Charge of Education (TCOE) benefits Clifford:

Shopping at Target maximizes the store’s donation to TCOE.
TCOE is a school fundraising initiative that offers families, teachers, and community members an easy way to designate an eligible K-12 school of their choice.
The TCOE program allows Target to donate an amount equal to one percent of their REDcard (Target Visa Credit Card, Target Credit Card and Target Check Card) purchases made at Target and Target.com.
In addition, Target donates 1/2 percent of all Target Visa Credit Card purchases made everywhere else Visa credit cards are accepted.
You can sign up in a local Target store (Redwood City or San Mateo/Fashion Island, for instance) or online.

Happy shopping.

Community, Fundraising, Volunteering

Farewell for the Summer, Clifford Dolphins!

June 23, 2013 PTO Communications Leave a comment

Magnet_resize

Hello Clifford families!

We hope that you all have a grand summer.

We have a host of thank-you tidings:

Thank you to everybody who volunteered their time in class, outside of class (e.g. prepping for teachers), and at Clifford PTO events, including the Father-Daughter Dance, Spring Raffle, Multicultural Festival, and more.

Thank you for all your work as room parents, Art in Action docents and assistants, party and field trip organizers, cleaner-uppers in class––and thank you to those of you who provided classroom supplies and/or donated cash to teachers for materials.

Thank you to all of you who served on the PTO Executive Board and other committees and positions. And thank you to everybody who donated money to the PTO throughout the year.

Reminder: First day back to school is Monday, August 26, 2013.

Lastly, view the Redwood City School District’s calendar for the 2013-2014 school year here.

Stay cool this summer, have fun, and see you in the fall.

Cheers!

Community, Fundraising, Volunteering

Clifford Spring Raffle: And the Winners are……

May 31, 2013 PTO Communications 1 Comment

Greetings from Spring Raffle Central!

A heart-felt THANK YOU to all the Clifford parents, teachers, staff and friends, who visited the Library — or who had others do the honors on their behalf — and reached into their pockets to support the PTO and enter the raffle for a chance (or two) to win some seriously awesome prizes!

A special thank you to Mrs. Barron who generously donated the Library’s space as our Raffle venue. We are incredibly grateful to Mrs. Barron for letting us take over her domain for a couple of weeks.

On Friday morning, May 31st, the raffle prize winners’ names were pulled from each (colored) box.

View the complete list of prize winners here.

Raffle_winner — Mrs. Barron, Clifford's Librarian for eight years, pauses in her work day for a photo beside her prize: an "instant 4th-of-July celebration basket." Congratulations!

Congratulations to all you winners! A team of parents has called or emailed all winners, depending on the contact information raffle entrants provided on the tickets!

The prizes that attracted the biggest ticket draws? Movie passes for four people (Century Theater), the American Girl Doll basket, the Chamberlands cabin in Lake Tahoe, and Monterey basket (four passes to the Aquarium, a one-night stay at the Seascape Resort, and basket goodies). In that order.

The least popular, alas: A month of self-defense classes and a jewelry store gift certificate.

Mixer_medley — Shaken, not stirred: Here's the "Mix with the Best" prize, including a handy condiment tray!

What was in the large green Mystery Bag, that “cornucopia of treasures,” you ask? Well, the winner received a $50 gift certificate to Yokohama (Japanese restaurant), a $25 gift card for Café La Tartine, a $25 gift card for Quinto Sol, a newly-opened Mexican restaurant in Redwood City, a San Francisco Giants t-shirt, a bottle of wine — and two movie passes!

Stay tuned for details on how much money we raised.

Thank you for your support!

Mystery_prize — The box runneth over: A lot of people, it turns out, wanted to win the Mystery Prize! This photo shows the box full of raffle tickets!

Community, Enrichment, Fundraising, Volunteering

Multicultural Day, June 7: Super Fun for all the Family

May 31, 2013 PTO Communications Leave a comment

Multicultural1 — Saddle up, folks: We are having a mechanical bull ride at the Multicultural Day again this year!

**Quick Link**
Ready to volunteer? Sign up here to volunteer your time or food items (or both). Thank you!

Dear Clifford Community,

Friendly reminder: Friday, June 7^th is the date for our 4^th annual Multicultural Day.

It will be happening all over the Clifford campus from 4PM to 8PM. Upper field, too! Tickets for our event go on sale Monday, June 3rd, and they will be sold in the morning and afternoon outside the school office. Tickets are $1 each, or you can buy 30 tickets for $25.

We still need volunteers to sign up. Specifically, we need help setting up, starting at 2PM. We need parents to manage the games and attractions — and we are desperate to staff the kitchen, so that we can sell food and drinks. And we need help with tear-down (8PM).

Plus, food items are needed; ethnic foods, desserts, drinks, paper products, and so forth.

Donations from families (such as food) and your commitment of time during the event are needed — and valued — to make this event a whopping success.

Visit SignUpGenius to add your name as a volunteer and/or to donate.

We look forward to seeing you all at this fun-filled event.

Please contact us:

Suaima Figueroa at (650) 281-9157 or suaimab@yahoo.com

Pamela Martin at (650) 492-3937 or pmartin@sdi-insulation.com

Bunnie Morrow at (650) 465-4297 or hulabun@yahoo.com

Community, Fundraising, Volunteering

Last PTO Gathering of the Year: Canyon Inn, June 6

May 30, 2013 PTO Communications Leave a comment

Hi everybody,

Please come and hang out with fellow parents at The Canyon Inn, Thursday, June 6, at 7PM. 587 Canyon Road (at Oak Knoll) in Redwood City. It is our last meeting of the year — and it will be casual and fun.

Appetizers and sodas will be provided.

This is primarily a social gathering, but we do have an agenda, which you can view here. We want to look forward to the calendar for next year, and have a recap on the budget, 8th Grade Graduation, the Spring Raffle, and updates on Multicultural Day.

To view the archives covering what was discussed at prior PTO meetings, check out the Meeting Minutes (scroll down the page).

See you at the Canyon Inn, Thursday night, June 6.

Community, Fundraising