Bravo is Back! Bravo Volunteers Needed! Bravo is a music appreciation class, consisting of six 20 minute lessons. Training and supplies are provided, and no music background is necessary. The lessons are fun, and the total time commitment is about 12 hours for the year. A Bravo Volunteer is needed for each classroom, grades 1 through 4.  Please call Kris Ohnsorg at 699-2934 or email at Kirstenohnsorg@yahoo.com if you are interested.

2007-2008 PTA Mid-Term Election Important Dates Want to run for the office of PTA President or Vice-President? Submit your name and the office for which you are running to Judy Browne (in the office) no later than September 17, 2007.  PTA Secretary, Amy Kortuem, will prepare a ballot based upon those submissions on September 18, 2007 and give this ballot to every member of the PTA executive board. Completed ballots will be tabulated on September 2O, 2007 at 4:00 pm. Good luck! Questions: contact Melissa Kestner at 651-690-0021 or crawkestner@aol.com. You can also check PTA info under School Committees on the website.

Geckler Fall Fundraiser The annual fall fundraiser will start on Monday Sept. 10, 2007 and run through Sept. 27, 2007. This event raised over $14,000 last year for the Horace Mann PTA. It is a great opportunity to purchase quality gifts and food items, while supporting our school at the same time. Packets will be coming home with students on Monday Sept. 10.

Remember Your Summer Boxtops Envelopes? The summer drive for Box Tops will continue through the end of Sept.  Each student was given five envelopes during the last week of school and asked to request friends, family and neighbors save Box Tops for Mann.  Our goal is 50 Box Tops donated by each family.  Target gift cards ($10) will be awarded to the top earner in each grade.  If you want your child to be credited, make sure their name and current grade is written on the back of the envelope.  Need extra envelopes?  There are some available in the office. Contact your friends, family and neighbors and ask them to send in their envelopes to Mann!

Dismissal Plan Update The new plan is working! Thank you for your support and assistance. As always, there are few bugs we are working out, but we are getting them solved. Parent picker-uppers…There are no parking signs on Wilder for the busses. You may park on Wilder in the afternoon. The signs are for the morning as that is where the busses unload.

Communication and Contact This year I have asked for all families to provide their email address on the emergency form. I use our computer system to generate important family news and updates that are time sensitive. The messages can be broadcast via phone and email. It is very important that we have up-to-date contact information. If you have any changes, please let us know. We never provide your contact information to any third party.

Email and SpamJam Our school district uses a spam filter that sometimes keeps parent emails from getting to teachers. If you email a teacher and they do not respond within 24 hours, please give them a call. It’s possible the message was hung up in the spam filter. Once a teacher emails your address from within our system, your emails should have not trouble making it through the filter.

Public Relations Committee Do you have a love of Horace Mann School? Tell your neighbors and friends about the wonderful things going on at school? Then you might be interested in joining the Public Relations Committee. We are a group committed to recruitment, retention, and promotion of Horace Mann. If you have any skills in writing, photography, web and graphic design, hospitality, or are just interested and curious, you can contact Eileen O’Connell-Conzet at beconzet@msn.com.

Student Planners and Friday Slips In the past, you have received a Friday slip from your child’s teacher. We are changing the practice starting this fall. Students in grades 2-6 will use their planners to stay organized and responsible for work. Teachers and parents will use the planner for communication. Students in Kindergarten and grade 1 will have a classroom newsletter for communication. For all students Kindergarten through Grade 6, no news from the teacher is good news for academic work. Teachers will contact you through planners (Gr 2-6) or note/call/email (Kdg-Gr 1) if a child is struggling, missing work, and or having any issues.

Playground Update The playground is still in process. Work remaining includes: pouring asphalt; finishing concrete aprons, installing benches, garbage cans, and basketball hoop; laying sod; and putting trees. There is one playground piece that needs to be moved. I am working with a contractor to get that scheduled. I could use two or three volunteers to help with some digging and some quikrete work. It should not take more than 2 hours. Let me know if you are interested and I will keep you posted on scheduling.

Upcoming Events