PTA Co-Presidents Cristal Abraham, 770-509-0364 and Doug Clemans, 770-973-1949

A Publication of the Shallowford Falls PTA

Editor: Pamela Drake:

Week Beginning: September 10, 2007

Dates to Remember:

Wednesday, September 12: Sport Day at YMCA; 2:45 - 4:45 p.m.

Thursday, September 13: Rosh Hashanah

Thursday, September 13: 4th Grade Fire Safety

Friday; September 14: School Spirit Day

Friday, September 14: Foundation Meeting, 7:00 a.m.; Administrative Conference Room

Tuesday, September 18: Lunch and Learn; MediaCenter; Reading and Writing Strategies; 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday, September 18: Pancake Breakfast Organizational Meeting; MediaCenter; 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday, September 19: Early Release; STUDENTS DISMISSED AT 12:20 p.m.

Wednesday, September 19: Academic Alerts go home

THANKS for your support of Sally Foster!!!!

PTA Membership: We need you! Don’t forget to join the Shallowford Falls PTA. We are striving for 100% membership. Last year the PTA donated over $16,000 to our school for staff development, printer and cartridge supplies, literacy materials, and clinic supplies. PTA also funds such programs as AR, Book Fair, Fall Festival, Spelling Bee, Math League, Geography Bowl, and staff enrichment. In past years, PTA has help to fund the new sports floor in the gym and the track! JOIN THE PTA NOW! The PTA supports ShallowfordFalls and ShallowfordFalls supports your child! Each membership is only $4.00. Thanks for being a part of a winning team!

Sports Party:NE Cobb YMCA Sports Party – Come join us for our first school Sports Party at the NE Cobb YMCA on Wednesday, September 12 from 2:45 to 4:45 p.m. Students can skate in the Arena (BRING YOUR OWN SKATES), play basketball, play dodgeball, use the batting cages, and enjoy refreshments at the concession stand. The cost will be $1 for the NE Y Facility Members and $3.50 for all other students. $1 per guest will be donated to our school PTA. THIS IS NOT A DROP-OFF EVENT. STUDENTS NEED TO HAVE A CHAPERONE PRESENT.

TRYOUTS!!! Tryouts for the 4th-5th Grade Drama Club’s production of “Peter Pan” will be held Monday, Sept. 17th, and Tuesday, Sept. 18th, from 2:30-5:30pm. Information packets, including the tryout parts, are available on a table outside Mrs. Opie’s office. All students who plan to attend tryouts will need to sign up on the sheets posted on the outside door of Mrs. Opie’s office. Please e-mail Brenda Opie () with any questions.

Help The Science Lab!! The Science Lab needs your old tennis balls! These balls will be placed on the chair legs in the lab to help decrease the noise level. If you have any tennis balls to contribute, please put them in the bin marked “Tennis Balls” just inside the lab door. Thanks for your help!

Get Your Creative Thinking Caps On!! The 2007-2008 Reflections theme is “I can make a difference by…..”Packets were distributed on September 6th. If you have any questions with this program, call Tracy Guillaume at 678/585-9653 or Lisa Kinzler at 770/649-1027.

QAAF Distribution – Please note that the Quick As A Fox is available on our school web-site. Please check the web-site each Monday for the updated version. You can sign up at our web-site to be notified by e-mail as soon as it has been posted. We are excited about this great way to communicate through technology with you and save paper at the same time! Our newsletter can be accessed at

Café’ News: If you need to check your child’s lunchroom balance you can either call the dining room, your child can ask the cashier for his/her balance, or you can check your balance on mealpay.com. Mealpay is available to you 24/7 on line ( .com) or via phone at 1-866-210-3679. At no charge, Mealpay allows you to view your student’s account and meal history, and set an email reminder for notice of a low balance. For payments, Mealpay accepts VISA, MasterCard or Discover. There is a $2.00 convenience charge for each credit card payment up to $200; however, the same payment can be allocated to several students’ accounts. You will need your child’s student number to access this service. Please call or write a note to the front office and we will be happy to send the number home. For security purposes, student numbers cannot be given out over the phone.

QAAF: To place articles in the QAAF please email your submissions to . The deadline for articles will be FRIDAY AT NOON to be placed in the Monday edition.

REMEMBER OUR SCHOOL GOALS:

Grade level and above performance in Reading, Writing, Math, and SCIENCE!

The 411 From Your School Social Worker

Attendance Policy

School Social Workers are assigned the task of enforcing the Georgia Compulsory Attendance Law. If a student's attendance does not improve with interventions from the teacher and school principal, a referral to the school social worker will be made. Together, with the school, we work with students and their families to alleviate the situations that have lead to the excessive absences.

Five Excused Absences: The teacher will contact the parent or guardian. If contact is unsuccessful, then a letter or postcard will be sent.
Five Unexcused Absences: After two reasonable attempts to notify the parent, guardian, or other person who has control or charge of a child of five unexcused absence without response, the school shall send a notice to such parent, guardian, or other person by certified mail, return receipt requested.
Ten Excused or Unexcused Absences: A letter will be sent from a school administrator to the parent or guardian regarding attendance. In addition, an administrator will confer with a School Social Worker to determine whether a referral is warranted, at this time.
Fifteen Excused or Unexcused Absences: A referral will be made to the School Social Worker.

Please note the county policy outlines that at 10 or more absences the school administrator and/or school social worker may require a doctor’s statement verifying illness. You can review this policy at the county’s website .

The above provisions apply to absences during the entire academic year.

Home Alone?

Many parents struggle with the question of hiring a babysitter or leaving their children home alone. Fortunately, the state of Georgia has a policy outlining what the Department of Family and Children Services views as adequate supervision. The policy states the following:

Children, ages 13 years old and above, who are at an adequate level of maturity, can act as babysitters for other children, for up to 12 hours.
Children, ages 9-12 years old, can be left unsupervised for brief (less than two hours) periods of time, but CANNOT serve as babysitters for even 5 minutes
Children who are 8 years old and younger should never be left home alone under any circumstance.

If you need assistance locating a childcare provider, Quality Care for Children (404) 479-4240 can help provide referrals that fit your needs.

Community Resource

NorthstarChurch’s Clothesline Clothing Give Away will be Saturday September 15, 2007 from 8am to 4pm. Open to the public. Gently used clothing for all sizes (infant to adult) and all seasons. Transportation and child care are not provided.

Church is located at : 3413 Blue Springs Road – Kennesaw, GA30144.