Auction Catalog and Absentee Bid Form

The 5th annual John Gill Auction will take place from 6:00-10:00 PM on March 24th, 2012, at Sparky’s Hot Rod Garage in San Carlos. 

The auction catalog is available for download here: 

http://johngillpta.org/forms/JGAuction2012Catalog.pdf

Browse the many great items in the catalog and plan your bidding now. If you can't attend the event, but wish to bid on any items for sale, sign up for any of the group events, or make a fund-a-need contribution, an absentee bid form with instructions is available here:

http://johngillpta.org/forms/JGAuction2012AbsenteeBid.pdf

Absentee bid forms are due in the school office by noon on Friday, March 23.

Questions about the event? Contact our auction chairs for more information:

Craig Guinasso, craiggo@pacbell.net, 650-465-1820 or
Ashley Cravens, Ashley.q.Cravens@gmail.com, 503-764-5955

Join The Walking Bus School

Get the full details about this exciting program on our new Walking Bus School page.

E-News: March 4, 2012

IMPORTANT DATES

Thursday, March 8- PTA board meeting, 6:30 pm

March 12-16 - Spring conferences (1:30 dismissal)

March 12-16 - Book Fair

Thursday, March 15 - Book Fair evening event ( 5 pm- 7pm)

Friday, March 23 - EarthCapades Environmental Vaudeville Assembly

Saturday, March 24 – John Gill Auction / Crab Feed

March 30 - Minimum Day

March 31-April 8 - Spring Break NO SCHOOL

Friday, April 27 – Family Science Night

Friday, May 11 – Move-A-Thon

BOOK FAIR NEXT WEEK- March 12-16

John Gill and the Reading Bug are teaming up for a fantastic Book Fair during Spring conference week- March 12-16! The book fair will be open in the library during lunch recess and after school. Students will have a chance to shop during school and parents can stop by anytime during open hours. A percentage of the proceeds will benefit the school library, so stock up for summer reading now!

OPEN HOURS : Monday 11:40 am-12:50 pm; Tues.- Thurs. 11:40 am -12:50 pm and 1:30 pm-5:00 pm ; (5:00 pm-7:00 pm special evening event Thursday only); Friday 11:40-12:50

We are still in need of volunteers to help make this a successful book fair. Please click this link to learn more and sign up: http://tinyurl.com/ReadingBugBookFair. Please contact Tracy Chad at volunteer@johngillpta.org or 780-0425 with questions.

SPECIAL BOOK FAIR EVENING EVENT, "POP IN WITH YOUR PARENTS, POP OPEN A BOOK"- Thursday, March 15 (5 pm - 7 pm)

Any student that brings their parent to the Book Fair Thursday evening event will receive a free bag of popcorn and chances to win prizes! There will also be fun popcorn inspired activities and games, so make sure to "pop in" to shop.

FAMILY ART NIGHT- VOLUNTEERS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

I just have to send out huge kudos and thank yous to everyone involved with the wonderful PTA sponsored Art Night on Friday, Feb. 10th. I know all of the families really enjoyed having a fun evening of creating art together!

Special huge shout out to Tessa M. and Lisa S. for chairing the event and all of the behind the scenes work that goes into that. There were many great art activities this year, including painted rocks which were a huge hit! I feel like we can never thank them enough for everything they do to support art at John Gill. Also, want to give a special huge shout out to Thea H. for coordinating the tile painting fundraiser. We have 17 new tiles to add to the wall! And, of course, we owe special thanks toTracy C. for recruiting all the volunteers and managing the baked goods packaging.

Last, but not least, I'd like to thank everyone who donated time to make art night happen. From baking and packaging to working a shift, we really appreciate all of the support! Thank you Christina S., Michelle M., Diana A., Raquel A., Martha O., Leahann C., Cheri K., Hassiba M., Jennifer L., Dana H., Heather K., Suzy V., Celine W., Luci W., Andrea C., Craig G., Dianne B., and Beth F.

We owe a double thanks to Dana H. who also provided us with a fabulous speaker event, giving a talk about her own artwork and experiences with art. I'm happy to report that the evening raised over $600 which will go a long way toward replenishing those art supplies! That brings me to one final thank you to our amazing Principal, Josh Griffith, who couldn't be more supportive and helpful to us in getting ready for events like these. We appreciate how hard you work!

Thanks,

Karin Culverhouse

President, PTA

PARCEL TAX CAMPAIGN - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

To provide local and stable funding for our schools, the School Board has placed a $67 parcel tax measure on the June 5th ballot. If successful, this critical effort will bring $8.5 million dollars to our schools over the next 5 years to protect academic programs, retain quality teachers and keep libraries open.

To ensure success, each Redwood City school is being asked to recruit at least 100 volunteers to “get the word out”. John Gill’s Phone Bank nights are scheduled for Monday, April 23rd and Monday, May 21st from 5:30-8:30pm. Childcare will be provided. Precinct walks are being held on Saturday, April 28th; Saturday, May 5th; Saturday, May 26th and Saturday, June 2nd from 9:00 - 12:00.

To be part of the team that helps bring much needed funds to our schools, contact Julie Guaspari, Co-Chair Redwood City Community for Better Schools, at julieguaspari@comcast.net or sign up to phone bank and precinct walk athttp://www.signupgenius.com/go/volunteer1271

To read more about this diverse community effort or learn more about how you can help go to Redwood City for Better Schools.

CALL TO AUCTION!

John Gill’s 5th annual Auction and Crab Feed is just few weeks away and this is your opportunity to make a difference in your child’s education opportunities. With budgets continuing to shrink, your child will continue to get fewer and fewer enrichment opportunities. Yes, this does affect you! Here are some of the reasons every parent at John Gill needs to attend this important fundraiser:

5. The Auction Will Raise Critically Needed Money for our School and Your Child: John Gill needs additional funding in order to fund programs at the school. Thanks to the success of the auction last year, the John Gill PTA was able to keep programs that would have otherwise been cut. If we cannot raise sufficient funds from this auction, these programs will be at risk next year.

4. Your Support Is Needed Now More than Ever: Redwood City schools are facing unprecedented cuts. Your support counts now more than ever – if you can’t attend the auction, please make a donation or buy raffle tickets – EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS!

3. The Auction is a Great Place for Bargains: Many items at the auction will be available at a fraction of their usual cost. This includes restaurant gift certificates, event tickets, and admissions to theme parks… all available at discounted prices. Again this year, we have a fantastic selection of items for auction.

2. You’ll Find Items You Won’t Find Anywhere Else – including “priceless” items thoughtfully donated by our community and supporters. There are also amazing “time with teacher” events that you won’t want to miss and some great discounted vacations.

1. It’s a Fun Evening Out! The auction is a great place to enjoy an adult evening out without your children; make it a date night. You will enjoy seeing the terrific items that were donated to the school, the beautiful decorations, and the excitement of our community coming together for a common cause.

The big event takes place Saturday, March 24th at 6:00 p.m., at Sparky’s Hot Rod Garage in San Carlos.

AUCTION RAFFLE TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Since the money we are raising benefits 100% of the students and parents at this school, we are striving for 100% participation. If you are unable to attend the auction this year, one way to support our school is by purchasing at least one raffle ticket, and asking your friends and family to do the same. No funding comes from the District for the Dance, Art, Assemblies, Science Night, Garden Program, or any of the other social events we put on at our school. Without the PTA’s funding, they will be cut. Every student can sell at least one ticket!!!

Raffle Prize: MacBook Air - 11-inch : 64GB 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5

Price: Each raffle ticket sells for 1 for $5 or 5 for $20

The winning Raffle Ticket will be drawn on Saturday, March 24th at John Gill’s Dinner Auction. Winners need not be present to win. Winners will be notified by phone. Students need to return all tickets and money to the school office by Friday, March 23, 2012.

Please contact Marlene Guinasso, vp@johngillpta.org, 650-464-9857 of more information.

BOXTOPS

Did the boys or did the girls win our February contest? Results coming soon.... Have you visited the Bonus page recently? There are THREE contests running right now plus a daily opportunity to win boxtops instantly in the Building With Boxtops Community - I won 10 boxtops on a spin last week! Visit today --- and everyday: http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/bonus/

DANCE WITH DANNY G!

Please join us every Friday 10:45-11:30 with Danny G and dance your way into shape while having fun with other moms and friends. Bring your friends! $10/class or $40/5 classes

SAFETY REMINDER!

Parents, please follow traffic rules, and do NOT drive in to the main driveway of the school. We are working very hard to ensure the safety of all of our children and need every one of you to work together with us to make this happen. Thank you very much.