Happy November! While it’s hard to believe that we have actually al-ready seen our first snowfall, I would like to take a moment to pause and be thankful for all of the blessings in our lives. As the PTA President, I am very thankful for all of the wonderful parent and teacher volunteers that I get to interact with on a day to day basis. Without all of their support, the PTA would not be able to put on all of the wonderful events that we do. This month, the PTA would like to take a moment to recognize the hard work and dedica-tion of the Spooky Kooky Bingo Committee. We would especially like to thank Julie Harris, Shannon MacCormack, Sarita Belser, Leslie Fox and Laura Emenheiser for the incredible job they did pulling together this event. Of course they could not have done it without all of the many staff and parent volunteers that helped set up, clean up and during the event. We would also like to thank the following staff members for their invaluable assistance with the event: our wonderful custodial staff and of course our wonderful Bingo caller Jason Comins. Thanks for making this such a wonderful event. The Event was a huge success and raised over $3,000 for the PTA. During the fall months, Belmont Station students have also had the opportunity to partici-pate in a number of Afterschool programs that are coming to a close. We would like to take a moment to thank our wonderful Afterschool Program chairs for their hard work in putting these programs together for our students. Thank you to Barbara Corado, Kim Brewer and Jen Canoy for her hard work with the Running with the Stars Program and Sandy Guilliano for her work with the Total Ad-ventures Golf Program. We appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that you each put into the coordination of these programs. The PTA has many wonderful events planned for November and early December and we hope to see as many Belmont Station families there as possible. Join us on November 15th and 16th at our Moe’s Spirit nights. Also, don’t forget the Book Fair takes place during Ameri-can Education Week (November 14-18). Thank you Melba Lesan for all of your hard work in co-ordinating the Book Fair. Finally, our Running with the Stars students will have their 5k race on December 3rd and Winter Wonderland will take place on December 10th. Enjoy the rest of your November and Happy Thanksgiving!

All the BeSt, Chris

PTA Newsletter Volume 8, Issue 3

Belmont Station Elementary School

November 2011 A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

PTA Executive Board

President

Chris Keyser

bestptapres@gmail.co

m

Vice Presidents

Barbara Corado

bestptavp1@gmail.com

Melba Lesan

bestptavp2@gmail.com

Treasurer

Gina Ignotz

bestptatreas@gmail.com

Secretary

Stephanie Clark

bestpta-secy@gmail.com

Prepared by:

Lorna Davis

Visit our NEW PTA website for up to date information on events and activities

http://www.lcps.org/belmontstation

BeST CALENDAR OF EVENTS November

14-18 American Education Week/Book Fair

15 & 16 Moe’s Southwest Grill 4-8 pm

15 Patrol Inductions 1:15

16 Report cards come home

17 2nd Grade Program 6:30

Native American Way

18 Blue Ribbon Staff Luncheon

23-25 Thanksgiving Break

December

3 Running With the Stars Race Day!

6 Spirit Night Chuck E Cheese

10 Winter Wonderland 8am—12pm

15 4th Grade Program 6:30pm

16 Winter class parties 1pm

19 & 20 VA Theatre– Christmas Carol

22– Jan 2 Winter Break

Page 2

Money For Nothing

The Boxtops just keep com-ing in. 7,537 boxtops have been turned in so far and each one is worth 10 cents. We've also earned $260 from people register-ing their store cards! Thank you to all of you who have done so. An-other great way to earn free money for Belmont Station is to begin your online shopping at The Marketplace at www.btfe.com. Please keep this in mind while doing your holiday shop-ping. From ordering Christmas cards (Snapfish, Shutterfly, Vistaprint) to making travel plans (Travelocity, Southwest Vacations) to buying gifts for your family and friends, you can earn money for our school! It's easy and it doesn't cost you anything extra! See the attached flyer (page 6) for more information and a list of some of the participating retailers. Questions? Contact Lynne Torbert at dltorbert@comcast.net

Remember to link your store cards! Please re-member to link your store cards! Only 70 people have linked their cards, so far.

Giant Food: www.giantfood.com/aplus Belmont Station's code: 04598 Bloom: www.bloomforyourschool.com Belmont Station's code: 01113. Target: www.target.com Belmont Station's code: 121158. Harris Teeter http://www.harristeeter.com/community/together_in_education/link_to_your_school.aspx Belmont Station code: 5842

Belmont Station PTA Newsletter—November 2011

WINTER WONDERLAND

VENDORS NEEDED Do you own your own personal business that you would like to promote this Holiday season? The Winter Wonderland Committee is currently looking for vendors to participate in this year’s Vendor Village. Please complete the attached vendor registration form and submit it with your payment today. Spaces are limited and we are accepting vendors on a first come, first serve basis. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Keyser at cskeyser23@yahoo.com

Save the date:

Winter Wonderland 2011

Please be on the look out this week for your Winter Wonderland flyers. Winter Wonderland will be held on Saturday, December 10th from 8am to 12 noon. There will be games, crafts, home based busi-ness vendors, a kids holiday shop, donuts and bagels and of course our popular silent auction. Many volun-teers will be needed to help make this date a great suc-cess. Please see the attached flyer on Pages 7 & 8 for more information. We hope to see you there. If you have any questions about Winter Wonderland or would like to help with the planning, please contact Chris Keyser at cskeyser23@yahoo.com

Reminder to all PTA Members

Thank you to those of you who have returned your ballots! Have your voice heard, return your ballots before the deadline, Monday November 13th.

Belmont Station Elementary, together with YipDeals is offering Beautiful Fresh Poinsettia’s from a Quality Local grower for our families and friends for the up-coming Holidays. This is a Great Fundraising Opportunity for our school while providing the Highest Quality Poinset-tia’s to everyone wishing to buy them! Our Goal : Earn $1700! Spread the word to every-one! (See flyer and order form on page 10) Please join this effort and buy your Beautiful Poinset-tia’s now! They will be available for local pick-up on Dec 3

rd. Location: TBD

Order your Poinsettia’s 2 ways:

1. Use attached order form: Complete order

and return to your child's teacher with cash or check made out to YippeeO, LLC. OR: Order online: Go To: Yipdeals.com/560 and buy! Spread the word and SHARE this deal with all you know! **There is a HUGE difference in buying Poinsettia’s from local growers and “mega-stores”. Mega-stores usually store plants outdoor, exposed to cold tem-peratures where they can rapidly decline, lose leaves and die after purchase. Locally grown plants are maintained in temperature suitable greenhouses until the time of sale.**

Buy through Belmont Station Elementary today!

This Month’s

Yip Deal

Belmont Station PTA Newsletter—November 2011 Page 3

To the Book Fair and Beyond….

Reading is Out of this World!

Celebrate American Education Week at the BeST Book Fair

November 13th – November 17

th

Sunday November 13th 1pm-6pm

Monday 7:30am – 3pm Tuesday 7:30am – 6pm

Wednesday 7:30am – 3pm Thursday 7:30am – 6pm

VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED!!!

2 hour shifts available: Set-up Friday November 11th, at noon

Clean Up Friday November 19th, 7:30-9am

Monday, & Wednesday, 2 hour shifts 7:30am to 9:30am 9:30am to 11:30am 11:30am to 1:30pm 1:30pm to 3:00pm

Tuesday & Thursday 7:30am to 9:30am 9:30am to 11:30am

11:30 to 1:30pm 1:30pm to 3:30pm

Spirit Night

Enjoy our November Spirit

Nights with tasty Mexican

food on Tuesday, November

15 OR Wednesday, Novem-

ber 16 from 4-8PM at Moe’s Southwest Grill

in Ashburn. A percentage of ALL sales

during this timeframe will be donated to

BeST! See attached flyer on page 10 for

more details. See their menu at

http://moes.com/Menu.php.

Please contact Stephanie Clark at steph-

clark13@me.com with any questions.

Hal-loween has come and gone but it started out FANGTASTIC with the annual Kooky Spooky Bingo event! The kids looked great in their cos-tumes, the gym was filled with excite-ment, the halls smelled of wonderful Pizza Go Round pizza, the conces-sion stand turned into a spooky bak-

ery filled with wonderful cupcakes, and we were able to make a wonderful donation to those in need through the Loudoun Interfaith food drive! On behalf of the committee and the PTA we would like to thank all of you who attended the event with your children. We hope you had as much fun as we did! Congratu-lations to our prize winners that included Travis Parker, Drew Speier, Collin Gibson, Mia Hagood, Hannah Potts, Erich Scholz, Donavyn Greer, Ellen Hamblin, Noah Stewart, Jake Jones, Will Snuggs, Drew Hentz, Jozef Bognar, Julianna Viera, Allison Molthen, Bobby Leonard, Todd Hamblin, Skylar March and Dionne Cornell-Webb! We hope you are enjoying all of your fun prizes! We would also like to thank all the wonderful volunteers who made the eve-ning a success. Thank you for taking time out to help set up (special thanks to the 4

th grade team), donate

cupcakes or be a part of the event crew! We couldn’t have done it without you! Belmont Station really has the BeST staff, teachers, students and parents!

KOOKY, SPOOKY BINGO

Belmont Station PTA is now on

Facebook! Please *like* us! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Belmont-Station-Elementary-School-PTA/135376549897253

Don’t forget to *like* us on Facebook!! We'll

be using our PTA Facebook page as an addi-

tional method of communication with our fami-

lies. We hope you will find it helpful. If you

have questions please contact Ellen Frey

ashburnhokies@gmail.com.

Sign up to receive our weekly Electronic

Thursday Folder (ETF) which

includes important school and

PTA information.

Email Peggy.Tyree@lcps.org to sign up

TODAY !

Winter WonderlandWinter Wonderland

Winter WonderlandWinter Wonderland Silent Auction

We need your donations! Do you have an item or service you might be able to donate? Big or small, your donation matters. This is a great way to get in-volved with our school and support our students. Home improvement, lawn care, event tickets (sports/theatre/tourist attractions such as private tours, etc.), cleaning services, restaurants, hair/beauty, restaurants, specialty ser-vices such as cake making, catering, just to name a few. But, it can't be the success we need it to be with out your help. This year our goal is to raise enough money to be able to provide the students with addi-tional iPads for the school iPad lab. Currently the students are sharing 20 iPads with in the school. The iPads have also proven to be a great tool for our autism classes because the children tend to feel more in control. Please consider helping our school and donating an item or service toward the silent auction. Please contact Barbara Corado if you are interested. A dona-tion letter with our tax ID is available upon request. Sincerely, Barbara Corado bwcorado@gmail.com

BELMONT STATION ELEMENTARY AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK

A 2011 National Blue Ribbon School

NOV 14-18, 2011

Monday, November 14 Belmont Station Spirit Day Wear SCHOOL COLORS today

4th Grade

11:00 Virginia Fair Kick Off

Students will begin the process of translating their weeks of research into a published group project that will be completed for the Virginia Fair. Join your child to help them jumpstart their project. Then join us for lunch and a trip to the book fair. 12:00 Lunch in the Cafeteria

Kindergarten

9:45 and 1:30 Thankful to be in Kindergarten

Join the Kindergarteners on a tour of the KinderGarden, new play yard, and Kindergarten classrooms. Students will work with visitors on a Thanksgiv-ing craft, and share some school songs and a Thanksgiving poem. Enjoy light refreshments with students in the classroom.

Tuesday, November 15 Wear RED, & BLUE & Stars & Stripes today!

5th Grade

10:30 Shark Teeth

Please join the fifth grade as we take a "bite" out of the curriculum evaluating, observing, identifying, describing, sorting, and measuring sharks' teeth. 11:30 Lunch in the Cafeteria

1:15 Patrol Induction Ceremony

5th Grade Student Patrols will be inducted during a special ceremony.

Wednesday, November 16 Wear BLUE today!

1st Grade

11:30 “It’s a Wonderful World”

1st graders will present a “It’s A Wonderful World “ slide show, participate in Fabulous Fall centers, and share other fun activities with visitors. 12:30 Lunch in the Cafeteria

Thursday, November 17 Wear RED today!

2nd Grade

12:00 Project Presentations and 1:15 Special Performance “Native American Way”

2nd graders will be featured in their Native American Way program! Students will play a game, and present projects on three fascinating Native American tribes. Stop by to see several exhibits outside the classroom as well. 11:15 Lunch in the Cafeteria

Friday, November 18 Wear today!

3rd Grade

11:00 Wax Museum of Famous Americans

Tour the 3rd Grade Famous Americans Wax Museum and learn fun and interesting facts about the leaders who shaped our country. 11:45 Lunch in the Cafeteria

Scholastic Book Fair Open Sunday 1:00-6:00, Monday through Thursday During the School Day until 3:00 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday Evening

until 6:00 p.m.

Please see American Education Week Special Lunch Schedule & Menu. Please plan ahead for parking and

building access. We do not want you to miss a minute of the planned activities or lunch with your children.

Vendors Wanted

for the Winter Wonderland Village. Saturday, December 10, 2011

8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

If you have a personal business that you would like to promote,

this is a great chance to generate some business before the Holidays!

The Cost is $50 per slot and we are accepting applications

on a first come, first serve basis!

Please bring your own table and we will provide you with a 5X10 ft space.

Contact Chris Keyser to register by November 30, 2011

703.723.7377 or cskeyser23@yahoo.com

Name:___________________________ Phone:________________________

Email:___________________________ Business Name:_________________

Description of Business:___________________________________________

Please include payment with your registration form

(make checks payable to Belmont Station PTA).

In addition to the registration fee, we are asking each vendor to donate a gift for our

raffle drawing. Approx Value of $15-20 dollars

DON’T FORGET YOUR CHECKBOOK! You don’t want to miss

out on all these great opportunities!!

The Belmont Station

Winter Wonderland Saturday December 10

th 8am to 12 noon

RETURNING AGAIN THIS YEAR!

Concession Stand with Breakfast items!

Items to include:

Donuts, Bagels, Fruit, Juice

Yogurt, Water, Coffee

Shop for gifts both big and small from the KIDS

GO SHOPPING HOLIDAY SHOPPE or the

BELMONT STATION VENDOR VILLAGE,

featuring over 20 local vendors! Don’t forget to

bring cash so the kids can shop!

INCREDIBLE RAFFLE for the many vendor sup-

plied prizes. Each $5 activity stamp will automati-

cally get an entry into the raffle. Pre-ordered activity

stamps will get TRIPLE the raffle tickets!

Additional tickets available at the door for $1 each

or 7 tickets for $5.

Bid on an AMAZING GIFT

BASKET!!! Every class

contributes a theme basket

filled with wonderful goodies!

Get a CD containing high-resolution digital photos of the whole

family in front of the beautiful Winter Wonderland scene. We’ll

take several shots so you can choose your favorite!!!! Only $4!

Wow!

Please bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys For Tots. There will

boxes on-site to accept your donation. ORDER FORM ON BACK

Play UNLIMITED games, make crafts, and have

your face painted. All this is in-

cluded with your $5.00 activity

Breakfast & Winter Wonderland Order Form

Tickets will be at will-call the day of the event. .

We will be offering a new breakfast concession stand this year. Items will be first come, first serve. You do not have to pre-order

items from the concession stand.

Please return this order form no later than TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6.

Child’s name ________________________________________________________________________________________

Grade _________________ Teacher ____________________________________________________________________

An activity stamp is required only if your child wants to participate in the games and crafts.

Activity stamps ($5.00/child or $15/family):

Family 1 x $15.00 = $ ______________________

Child ____ x $5.00 = $ ______________________

---- Pre-ordered activity stamps will get triple the raffle tickets!!! ---

TOTAL (make checks payable to BELMONT STATION PTA) = $ __________

Questions about the event? Contact Chris Keyser at (703) 723-7377 or cskeyser23@yahoo.com

Desperately Seeking Volunteers

Could you be a volunteer at the Belmont Station Winter Wonderland? We cannot run an event without your help. We only ask for one

hour of your time. Please contact Yvonne Carolan (703) 724-0709, wwvolunteer@verizon.net if you have any questions about

volunteering opportunities.

YES I CAN! I have one hour to devote to the Winter Wonderland on Saturday, December 11 th, 2010. Put me down for the following

shift:

8:00 – 9:00 9:00 – 10:00 10:00 – 11:00 11:00 – 12:00

12:00 – 1:00 (calling all Dads, we could really use some muscle for clean-up)

CAN YOU volunteer to help setup on Friday Dec. 9 starting as early as 2:45? CHECK HERE

Middle school parents, do you have a child who can help out with crafts, games, or the kids shoppe? CHECK HERE

Volunteer Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone Number: _______________________________________ Email: ____________________________________________

Grade: ______________________________________ Teacher: __________________________________________________

Thanks for helping out! We’ll call or send information home with your child.

Belmont Station Elementary, together with YipDeals is offering Beautiful Fresh Poinsettia’s from a

Quality Local grower for our families and friends for the upcoming Holidays. This is a Great Fundraising Opportunity for our school while providing the Highest Quality Poinsettia’s to everyone wishing to buy them!

Our Goal : Earn $1700! Spread the word to everyone! Please join this effort and buy your Beautiful Poinsettia’s now! They will be available for local pick-up on Dec 3rd. Location: TBD Order your Poinsettia’s 2 ways:

1. Use attached order form: Complete order and return to your child's teacher with cash or check made out to YippeeO, LLC. OR: Order online: Go To: Yipdeals.com/560 and buy! Spread the word and SHARE this deal with all you know! **There is a HUGE difference in buying Poinsettia’s from local growers and “mega-stores”. Mega-stores usually store plants outdoor, exposed to cold temperatures where they can rapidly decline, lose leaves and die after purchase. Locally grown plants are maintained in temperature suitable greenhouses until the time of sale.**

Belmont Station Elementary Parents:

A Very Special Offer for Our Families and Friends:

The Holidays are fast approaching and if you’re like most families –

you’ll want to include Poinsettias in your Holiday Décor.