Dear Parents:

Well, another summer has come and gone and we’re back to the hectic schedule of fall and the new school year.  Fortunately, this school year brings with it lots of entertaining activities and events to look forward to.  It’s going to be an educational year, a fun year, and a memorable year!  We’ve already had our first Parents Club Meeting and we’re off to a running start!  We’d like to offer a sincere thank you to all the parents who were able to attend the meeting. 

As always, your input is invaluable and necessary in creating the best environment for our kids.  We do realize that many of you (parents) work or have other priorities, and attending a meeting on Friday morning can be difficult. However, you can still participate by checking The SOPNS Parents Club Postings on the internet.  You’ll find all the information you need to keep apprised of what’s happening at school; including upcoming activities, events, volunteer info, etc.  It’s also a great way to post comments, ask questions, or voice any concerns you may have.

You can access the same information from all the following sites, so feel free to use what you are most comfortable with.

The Sites Are:

·      www.Shermanoakspc.org

·      FaceBook: (To sign up on Facebook just go to www.facebook.com and create a profile.  It’s fun and easy.  Once you’re signed in, search for “groups” and ours is called “Sherman Oaks Presbyterian Nursery School”.  Simply “add group” and you’re in.) 

·       Yahoo Group – SOPNS (Basically the same process as FaceBook. Once you have a yahoo ID sign up for the group called “sopns”.  Once you’re in, you will be linked to all of the information there as well as will receive email notifications whenever someone posts a message, etc.)

*E-mail:     If you would like information / reminders e-mailed to you, please send your e-mail address to Lverwiel@sbcglobal.net.  (Reference: E-mail List)

1.     Room Parents Needed for the Following Classes ( at least 2/class):

o      Blossoms:  Nicole Polido (Zinnia’s Mom) has volunteered.  We need one more.

o      Penguins

If you are interested in being a Room Parent, please see your class teacher. It’s usually no more than an hour (or two) of your time per month.

      Room Parents Already In Place:

o      Bumblebees –Sandi Kirshen (Dylan), Ada Cottrell (MacGyver), Lori Crupi (Connor)

o      Little Rascals – Kathleen Taylor (Kylie), Lisa Helwig (Max

o      Explorers – Pilar Mashoud (Matthew), Julie Ryan (Nicholas)

2.     Enrollment / Re-Enrollment in Grocery Store School Proceeds Program:

o      Ralphs:  www.ralphs.com/ccprogram.htm   NPO is 82330

o      Vons/Pavilions/Safeway:  www.esrip.com sign up and enter group ID # 500001422

             Every time you shop at these stores and use your club card, a portion of your money spent goes to our school. Please enroll, or re-enroll!  (You must enroll every year.)  If you            need more information, please contact Jeff Loeb at jeff.loeb@gte.net

            SUNDAYS:  8:30am             Intimate Chapel Service

                                    10:00am            Traditional Service with Choir and Hymns in the Sanctuary

                                    11:30am            Contemporary Service; The Fountain (featuring our praise band with well known contemporary songs and original music) in the Sanctuary

            TUESDAYS:   5:30 – 7pm     Young Family Fellowship

o      $10/family: dinner & drinks provided.

o      Activities for kids, fellowship for adults

·       Sunday, Sept. 21      New School Year Kick-off

o      11:30am Church Services

o      BBQ and kids activities immediately following

·       Friday, Sept. 26           Wallaby Man

·       TBD           Parent Coffee Morning

·       Friday, Oct. 3        Class Pictures

·       Friday, Oct. 10           Parents Club Meeting; 9am

·       Tuesday, Oct. 21           Back To School Night Open House; 6:30pm (No Kids! Please contact Cristen Loeb at cristen@roadrunner.com if interested in pooling resources for babysitting)

·       Friday, Oct. 31           Halloween Parade

·       Friday, Oct. 17      The Bubble Guy (look for posters / e-mail / child’s in-box)

·       Tuesday, Nov 4           Election Day Bake Sale

·       Saturday, Nov. 8        Annual Country Fair

·       Friday, Nov. 14           Parents Club Meeting; 9am

·       Friday, Nov. TBD      Kids Activity TBD

·       Friday, Dec. 12           Parents Club Meeting; 9am

·       Friday, Dec. TBD       Kids Activity TBD

·       December 18      Christmas “Sing”

We’re always looking for activities for the kids!  If you have ideas (i.e. Wallaby Man or the Bubble Guy) please contact Susan Sanford at susan2ford@hotmail.com or talk to Denise Peters

·       Halloween Picture Frames

·       Country Fair

·       Election Day Bake Sale

·       Class Calendars / Key Chains

·       Christmas Ornament Sale 

*If you have any fundraiser ideas, please let us know! Contact Susan Sanford at susan2ford@hotmail.com  or Jeff Loeb at jeff.loeb@gte.net 

This Months Hot Topic is “Earth Quake Kits”. The Earth Quake Kit is for your home.  The Sherman Oaks Presbyterian Nursery School already has in place an emergency disaster plan that includes the provision of an earthquake kit for each child designed to last a minimum of 72 hours.

Earth Quake Kits by Theresa Villeneuve

After watching hurricane Katrina, our family decided that we really needed to pull it together when it came to earthquake preparedness.  I freely admit that we went a little nuts preparing.  Feel free to scale this list back a bit, it’s just food for thought.  The important thing is to have all this stuff together in one location, so that when the big one hits, you’re not gathering it from all over your (potentially unsafe) house.

Home Kit
For our home kit we wanted enough stuff to keep us going for about a week. 

·      Water – we have a 55 gallon drum of water that we keep outside on the side of the house, because I didn’t want to store gallons and gallons inside the house.  Another alternative is water purifying tablets or another gadget to convert your water from sketchy/skanky to drinkable without illness.  You can get the drum from a place in Simi Valley (contact me for details) and with water preservative, it stays drinkable for 5  years (then you just empty it out and re-fill it again).   Tablets and other water gadgets are available from Amazon or camping stores.

·      Food – This could just be a case of mac and cheese and Power Bars, or they also sell things like freeze dried lasagna, bacon and eggs and other delicacies with a 30 year shelf life from Amazon.  Evaporated or powdered milk is good to have too.  Don’t forget food for pets.

·      First Aid Kit – we bought one off of Ebay that is an army surplus medic kit, but you don’t have to get that fancy.  Bandages, antibiotic cream, gauze, tweezers, instant hot packs, instant cold packs, and latex gloves are all good things to have in yours.  Don’t forget to have at least a week’s worth of prescription medications, as well as over-the-counter medications for the whole family. 

·      Sterno

·      Matches/Lighter

·      Scissors

·      Paper and pen

·      Deck of cards

·      Soap

·      Hand sanitizer

·      Toothbrush and toothpaste, hairbrush

·      Baby wipes

·      Diapers?

·      Toilet paper

·      Ziploc and Trash Bags (you might need to improvise a bathroom…)

·      Duct Tape

·      Crank radio

·      Crank flashlight

·      Dust masks or respirators

·      Pepper Spray

·      Disposable camera

·      Cash

Car or Work Kit

You never know where you’ll be or where you’ll have to go.  We carry a small kit in a wheeled piece of luggage just in case we have to walk somewhere with our supplies.

·      A complete change of clothes including shoes for you and your children.  When I’m at work, I’m often wearing clothes that I’d rather not be wearing in a major emergency (particularly my shoes).  For Johnathan, I carry a set of clothes in a size larger than he is right now so he doesn’t have an outfit just sitting in the car that never gets worn.

·      Dust masks

·      Water

·      Powdered milk and other food.  I bought nutrition tablets from Amazon, because in the heat of the car, I wanted something that wouldn’t spoil very quickly.

·      Small first aid kit

·      Soap

·      Hand Sanitizer

·      Toilet paper

·      Plastic bags/Ziplocs

·      Diapers?

·      Baby Wipes

·      Dust masks

·      Pepper spray (I know – I’m paranoid)

·      Multi tool

·      Deck of cards

·      Whistle (to signal help when your voice is gone)

·      Rain Slicker?

·      Thermal blanket

·      Flashlight (crank?)

·      Radio (crank?)

·      Pen and Paper

·      Disposable camera

·      Duct tape

·      Cash

Under the Bed Kit

Under each of the beds in our house we keep a few things in a box just in case we get pinned there. 

·      Water

·      Lightstick

·      Whistle

*If you have a Hot Topic idea or would like to see something featured in the newsletter, please contact Lori Crupi at LVERWIEL@SBCGLOBAL