Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!! December 2011

Santa Ana Winds & Tavlian Preschool As you are aware, on Thursday December 1, 2011 the Santa Ana winds caused damage everywhere. Our school is no exception. The upper classrooms’ roof was blown away. The A/C and the gas pipes were broken. All canopies and awnings are gone. The playground equipment and wooden /plastic toys are moved and broken. The big school signs crashed and broke. Teachers did an excellent job responding to the situation first thing Thursday morning by calling the gas company to shut off the gas. Teachers immediately started calling parents using their cellular phones informing families that the school will be closed. The administration and the school Board have been working hard to get experts to repair the damaged parts and to install new ones as soon as possible. As you know we are deeply sorry for the inconvenience of the natural disaster. We are touched for the nice and warm thoughts emailed to us. We understand that having your children home from school for an unexpected and indefinite period of time was trying. Please know that our main concern at the school is the children’s safety. Without heat, we could not have children at school. Unfortunately for us, we had a gas pipe burst which required the assistance of the Gas Co. and the City of Pasadena, Inspection Dept. The school is still responsible for all the overhead whether the kids are in school or not, which is exactly why we would prefer our kids be in school learning. But again, safety comes first. I hope you all can understand why we had to cancel school and are thankful that we as an administration care so much about our students. Thank you for patience and cooperation. Helen

Words of Encouragement Here you will find a sample of the emails and supportive words that came from so many of our parents as well as a special thank you from our school’s director, Oryort Helen.

• We deeply appreciate the warm and nice words of parents addressing teachers this morning .Mrs. Alice Yeghiayan, Grandma of Lara (Red) donated $50.00 for the cause. Mr. Keshishian (Chloe/Colin ,Red), Mr. Lorentzen (Roman and Kaia , K.G. & Pre-K), & Mr .Petrossian (Grace ,Pre-K) offered their skills and abilities to help. PSC ladies were also asking if they could help. Thank you and may God bless you all.

 

• Oryort Helen, Hope all is well. I was wondering if everyone in our Tavlian Family is doing well and if I can be of any assistance to you. Love you much, Lisa Derderian

• Thanks for the update, Oryort Helen. Everything happens for a reason so it'll all work out...it always does! Please let me know what we can do to help, if anything. My husband is very handy about building things and repairs if that's needed and has electricians and plumbers that he works with. Whatever you need, just let us know. You have my number *******, otherwise we'll wait to hear. Try to have a good weekend! - Lots of love

• Oryort Helen, Is there anything I can do to help the school? I am willing and able. Sirov, Maral

 

• This is so sad. Please let me know if I can come clean or help in any way.

• Dear Mrs. Helen, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation to the way you and your staff handled these unfortunate circumstances. I was updated daily with the school situation and progress in place and frankly I was surprised with the timeframe and planning you demonstrated to return our kids to the school in a safe environment. Thank you for all the hard work, leadership and the unity you have in place. Best regards Tamar Orichian Parent – Arthur Saghdejian, Red group

• Thanks very much for the update, oryort Helen! All will be fine, it could be worse. Hopefully we'll see everybody this week but let me know if you need anything in the meantime. - lots of love to all, Camilla

• From a neighbor: Helen, it is sad to hear about the school. I hope that the cleanup goes well. I saw some worker working on the sand box area tonight on my walk. It all seems like a big job. Please take care of yourself. I hope your staff is doing well through all of this mess, also. Rod Rodriguez

Letters to and from Santa We will have a special visit on Thursday the 8th from our mail carrier. Letters to Santa with our students’ “wish lists” will be collected for delivery. Our mail carrier will return on Friday the 16th with letters from Santa Claus. The mail carrier will spend time in our classrooms telling our students about how excited Santa Claus was to receive our students’ letters!

Parent Teacher Conference This is your opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher for a 45 minute chat about your child’s preschool experience. Your child’s homeroom teacher will post a sign-up sheet in the classroom. Due to wind damage, conferences have been postponed until January 2012. Pre-K conference dates: TBD KG conference dates: TBD

Suzan & Kids Our school’s beloved adopted grandmother and volunteer, Ms. Suzan, is set to read to our students on Monday the 12th. As always, Ms. Suzan will donate the books to our school and provide snacks for our kids.

Teachers’ Appreciation Breakfast Every year our PSC shows our gratitude to the staff by hosting an Appreciation Breakfast. We have planned a delicious breakfast which will be prepared and served by the PSC on Tuesday the 13th.

Marionette Show The wonderful art of puppetry with its creative stories magically brought to life will be seen right in our own back yard! Our students will be enchanted by a marionette show on Thursday the 15th.

Christmas Caroling Our Kindergarten students are hard at work practicing their Christmas carols. On Monday the 19th, the Pre-K and Kindergarten students will be caroling in the neighborhood. On Tuesday, December 20th KG students will sing Christmas songs and recite poems for our community’s Armenian senior councils.

Christmas Program The Christmas Program/”hantes” is set for Sunday, December 18th at the Pasadena Armenian Center. The following are the performance times: Purple class: 11:45 am – 12:45 pm Red class: 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm Pre-K: 2:30 pm - 3:45 pm KG: 4:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Tickets will be on sale soon! Siblings who attend the school are free. Youth tickets (ages 2-12) will cost $10 and adult tickets (ages 13+) will cost $15.

Restaurant Fundraiser Night Come join us for a fun, flavorful evening with families from Tavlian! We are hosting a restaurant night at the Pasadena El Torito restaurant on Wednesday, December 21. El Torito will donate 20% of the sales from our group to benefit Tavlian Preschool & Kindergarten. We encourage family and friends to attend the restaurant night. You may dine-in or take out; please be sure to submit your flyer to the restaurant upon payment.

Box Tops For Education

Tavlian Preschool & Kindergarten has launched our Box Tops for Education fundraising campaign. Each month a collection sheet will be distributed. Please staple, tape or glue one box top coupon in each square indicated on the collection sheet. You can also drop your box tops off in the designated collection boxes in your child’s classroom. Extra collection sheets can be found in the school’s office on the bulletin board. Anyone can support our school by turning in clipped Box Top coupons; please ask your Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents, friends and neighbors to contribute for you and your school.

Donations and Acknowledgements-Need all sponsors This month’s bake sale is sponsored by Ung. Marie Terterian. The Stepanian Family (Shant Pre-K) sponsored November’s bake sale.

The Yeghiayan Family (Lara-Red) sponsored the Thanksgiving turkeys for the entire school’s Thanksgiving luncheon. Sponsored breakfast: The Apikian Family (Jack-KG) and the Kirakosian Family (Juno-KG) each sponsored a breakfast for their child’s classroom. Sponsored lunch: The Mitilian Family (Harout-Red), the Timour family (Nicole-KG and Claire-Red), the Kassimian Family (Ayden-Pre K) and the Urfalyan Family (Alex-Pre K) each sponsored a lunch for their child’s classroom.

We continue to seek sponsors for our monthly Bake Sales. If you are interested in contributing, kindly inform the school’s office.

Fundraising Efforts Diaper Drive- Last month an email was sent out about the Paros “Lighthouse” Abused Women’s Shelter in Armenia. Tavlian is supporting their diaper drive by asking families to donate diapers for newborns to age 2. You can bring all diapers to Tavlian and we will deliver all donations to the appropriate location in Glendale. Please bring all diapers to the school office. Thank you to those who have already given so graciously. Fresh & Easy Fundraiser- Shop and this market and submit your receipts to the school. It’s that simple. Tavlian will get $1 for every $20 spent. Submit all receipts by January 10, 2012.

Shopping Night @ Fresh & Easy– December 15th from 4-8 p.m. We need 5 volunteers to stand in front of the store and collect as many receipts as you can from all customers. The store will donate 5% of all receipts collected. Americana Fundraiser- From November 14-December 31, when you shop at the Americana, you can take your receipts to the concierge and designate the school you would like to support and they will donate a percentage back to Tavlian. Tell your family and friends!

DECEMBER DATES TO REMEMBER:

Bake Sale – Wednesday the 14th (changed to second Wednesday this month due to winds) The first Wednesday of every month we have a “Bake Sale” for the students. Each student purchases his/her breakfast for $1.00 a piece (please remember to send the money with your child).

Parent Support Committee -Thursday the 8th and Thursday the 15th (changed to Thursday this month due to winds) Meetings are held in the school’s office at 8:00 p.m. however, the meeting on the 15th will begin at 8:30 p.m. We encourage all parents to join and bring ideas and suggestions. We will need lots of help for the month of December, so please come and contribute your time to help make this the best school for our kids! PIP hours are available at the meeting on the 15th to assist with wrapping presents and preparing for the children’s hantes.

Birthday Celebrations – Thursday the 22nd Students with a birthday in December will collectively celebrate their birthdays with their classmates on December 22nd. Parents are encouraged to view the festivities as the children sing “Happy Birthday” and eat their own cake made from scratch. Please ask your child’s teacher for details.

Last Day before Christmas Break Friday the 23rd Note that this is a half-day, and the school will close at 12:00 p.m.

School Closed Christmas break begins on Friday the 23rd at noon. School resumes on Monday, January 9, 2012.

Sharing Days Students are allowed to bring a book to school on the first Friday of the month. The following Fridays they are allowed to bring either a book or a toy to share with their classmates. Please label your child’s items.

You can read the “Gargach Newsletter” online on our school’s website: http://www.tavlianpreschool.org/

We welcome your suggestions, feedback and questions. You may send emails to Director@TavlianPreschool.org Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Courtney Maglio (mother of Rocco – KG and Nicholas – Red) Parent Support Committee