We are also collecting coats with the Coats for Kids program and participating in the Kids in Need program again this year. We will be working in conjunction with the Lexington Preschool PTA, to collect new and used books. Donations can be left in a box in the front lobby and they will then be delivered to shelters, doctor’s offices and other places where children are in need of books. These programs are detailed within this newsletter.
All of us reap the benefits of a strong community.  Families contribute to the Estabrook community in so many different ways, and all of these "gifts" make an impact and are so appreciated.  From granting wishes through the Wish Tree program, to being a listener for beginning readers in a classroom, to attending an event, to greeting someone with a smile -  thank you to all who make the Estabrook community special!

Diana Beja d_beja@yahoo.com 781-860-9125
Rachel Cortez Catirama@aol.com 781-674-1182

P.S. As always, please contact us with any ideas or questions.  We are happy to hear from you

Next PTA Meeting!
Wednesday, November 19th
(Please note date change)

Please join us at Diamond M.S. Room 164 for our November 19th PTA Meeting. Rick Grandmont, Director of Elementary Education, will lead a discussion on report card changes; those that have already occurred for first and second grades and those to come for grades 3-5. We need your opinions and comments about what you like or what you would like to see improved in school report cards. We will also have a discussion about parent-teacher conferences and share ideas of how they can be most effective. You will also learn how you can be involved in the new "Caring Committee" and Book Fair Gift Certificates will be available for purchase; these gift certificates are great for holiday gifts for children, teachers and friends.

Estabrook School Directory Makeover!

This year’s directory has a sassy new look; smaller, stronger and more economical! The new format has allowed us to decrease printing costs by almost $500. This represents a significant savings which will allow the PTA to provide additional support of our children’s education.

The directory format is a similar one used by Lexington middle schools and some of the other elementary schools. We will continue to "tweak" the format of the Directory, and welcome your feedback and suggestions. Thanks to all of you who sent back your directory forms so promptly. We do our best to include all information and to minimize errors. Thank you to Jennifer Schwartz and Liz Foley for their help and a big thank you to Barbara Bello who always helps us with a smile!

Congratulations to Directory Art Contest winners Jenna Grady (Ms. Sack/Gr.5), Matthew Kiernan (Ms. Barker/Gr. 3), Maggie Oram (Mrs. Linton/K) and Maria Milendorf (Ms. Neufeld and Ms. Murray/Gr. 4) for their very creative designs that bring "pizzazz" to the directory. They will receive a $10 gift certificate to the April Book Fair. Thank you to all the students who sent in many wonderful drawings.

Additional directories are available to PTA members for $5.00 and extras come in handy for your office or car. Please contact Estabrook School secretary, Barbara Bello to request and purchase additional copies. As always, if you have not joined the PTA and would like to, we welcome your support. Membership forms are available in the school office. Additionally, we are looking for an MS Access data base expert in our Estabrook community who would be interested in getting involved with the Directory for next year. Please contact Pam Hoffman if you’d like to help. Thank you!

Sue Amsel and Pam Hoffman,
Directory Co-Chairs

Estabrook Halloween Party a Screaming Success

It's just not a party at Estabrook without Mr. Banks and "Y-M-C-A!" New York Club Scene...you wish your nights were as exciting as this!

On Friday, October 24th, over 350 children and many parents and friends attended the annual PTA Halloween Party held right here at Estabrook School!! Students and their families had a wonderfully ghoulish time playing games, creating decorated pumpkins, guessing the number of different items in a jar, dancing, shopping ‘til they dropped at the Halloween Store and visiting the ever-popular Haunted House. The event never would have come together on such short notice (2 weeks...but who's counting!) if it were not for the outstanding assistance of Estabrook parents, students, alumnae and staff as well as donations from local businesses.

The PTA Halloween Party is one of our major fundraisers. This year we exceeded expectations by beating our budget by almost $800 and netting $2,530. Thank you for your continued support of this fun community event and fundraiser!

The winners of the "Guess the Number Contest" were: Candy Corns Zach Zola, Grade 2, Ms. Pirrello; Marshmallow Ghosts Matt Kiernan, Grade 3, Mrs. Barker; The Weight of a White Pumpkin Leah Reece, Grade 4, Ms. Kim; Orange and Black Bouncy Balls Noah Gilbert, Grade 2, Ms. Rathbun; Plastic Spiders Jenny Maher, Grade 2, Ms. Lam.

We would like to thank everyone involved in making the party a big success: Haunted House: Greg Sheehan, John Royer, Kathy Royer, Kathy Sheehan, Paul Lewis, Sue Grant-Lewis; Halloween Store: Chew Hoong Koh, Chris Smith, Lauren Zack, Sharon Anderson, Frances Gillespie; Pictures: Drew Beja, Elisabeth Harvey, Karen Ruben, Kim Coburn, Peg Griffen; Refreshments: Geoff Zola, Joni Jay, Paula Moran, Mariah, Taylor Rowe; Tickets: Karen Kristin, Kim Bond, Lauren Berly, Liz Watson, Jay Pydah; Transportation: Mike Barry, Stephen Dooley; Games: Anne Maasland, Beth Davenport, Bob Heingartner, Ed Bond, Harvey Simkovits, Irwin Mesch, Steve Chaput, Suzanne O’Neil; Guess the #: Jesse Strohmeyer, Joanne Strohmeyer, Marissa Pavio, Mia Karnofsky, Sabine Clark; Face Painting: Helen Galanopoulos, Sharon Goddard; Crafts: Annie Barbieri, Krista Manickas, Linda Bara, Melissa Robichaud; Dancing: Jim Banks: All Around Help: Brenda Nishimura, John Kiernan, Tricia Rowe, and many LHS Students. Wagon Wheel Nursery & Farm Stand on Waltham Street in Lexington made a generous donation of pumpkins for the party. Thank you to the Diamond M.S. fortune tellers! Special thanks goes to Joni Jay for her support and school custodians Joe McLaughlin and Ronnie Cormier for their help. And let us not forget the Haunted House crew (Sue Grant-Lewis, Paul Lewis and John Royer were the primary creators) - they really worked hard putting together and staffing a truly terrifying good time! And to anyone we inadvertently left out, Thank you!!

Suzie Barry & Sheila Carme
Halloween Party Co-Chairs

Special Thanks!

Suzie Barry and Sheila Carme did an exceptional job as chairs for this year’s Estabrook PTA Halloween Party. They spent much time and effort in trying to find an alternate venue when we found out that Diamond Middle School was not available, and quickly, efficiently and with good humor put together a wonderfully successful and enjoyable Halloween Party.

Chooyoung Oh and Brenda Nishimura spent many hours planning, organizing and troubleshooting for this year’s Gift Wrap fundraiser. The work started during the summer, and is almost, but not quite finished! Chooyoung’s wonderful displays, her attention to detail and her patience kept the fundraiser on track; Brenda put together wonderful surprise party bags for almost every Estabrook classroom and worked with teachers to find out which games they could use for their classrooms.

Thank you for your time, energy and support of the PTA and Estabrook School.

Diana Beja and Rachel Cortez,
PTA Co-Presidents

Gift Wrap Fundraiser a Real Community Effort

Thank you to the Estabrook community for your wonderful support of the PTA’s only major fundraiser this year, Innisbrook Wraps. Nearly $20,000 in products were purchased, and 50%, or almost $10,000 will go to the Estabrook PTA to be put to use for school wide programs and educational support for our children. Almost every Estabrook classroom had participation of 50% or more, and each was treated to a "surprise party" that consisted of snacks, beverages and a gift of games for each classroom. The following students/families were our top sellers:

David Whitman-Kinghorn Grade 2 - Ms. Lam
Brendan Cue Grade 3 - Ms. Durkin
Zachary Strohmeyer Grade 3 - Ms. Durkin
Emma Scott Grade 1 - Mrs. Ray
Madison Cappadona Grade 1 - Mrs. Ray

We also had some wonderful volunteers who helped tally forms, deliver boxes, and organize and deliver surprise party bags — Thank you to Diana Beja, Carol and Amanda Bouchard, Brenda Bishop-Tillotson, Christine and Melissa Fopiano, John Kiernan, Jinah Oh and Michelle and Dave Williams for their help and support.

We also extend a very special thank you to the good folks at Toys on the Green in Lexington for helping us choose the gift games for the classrooms and then allowing us to purchase them at a discounted price. With the holiday season approaching, let’s support Toys on the Green and their generous community spirit by patronizing wonderful local store.

Chooyoung Oh and Brenda Nishimura,
Gift Wrap Co-Chairs

Thank you "Heights and Weights" Volunteers!

Thanks go to Kim Coburn, Carol Bouchard, Dave Geller, Jane Pratt, Jennifer Minasian, Terre Oram, Jennifer Schwartz, Michelle Weisberg, and Marilyn Wong for their help.

Have You Heard the Buzz?

The Estabrook Estabrains came through with a strong performance on the evening of November 6th, and just missed out on winning their "swarm" at the LEF Trivia Bee. Team members Kathy Johnson (Estabrook school nurse), and parents Ken Karnofsky and Kenny Laxague did not hesitate when asked, " What is the name of the Celtics head coach?" and " What is the name of the award given to the winner of the Super Bowl?" (answers: Jim O’Brien and the Lombardi trophy). The question that "stung" them… "Who was the French painter who created Le Déjeuner Sur L'herbe that caused a stir in the art world because the nude figure in the center looks directly at the viewer?" (Find the answer hidden somewhere in the Newsletter) The LEF Trivia Bee generated over $25,000 that will support innovative educational programs and teacher grants within our Lexington School System. Thanks also to Estabrook parent Chew Hoong Koh who was a chairperson for the event!

Let’s Give Thanks

This is the time of year that we remember how lucky we are and try to share what we can with others. The Estabrook PTA suggests three ways you can help others this season:

Coats for Kids — Look for the collection box in the front lobby of the school. Coats for Kids is sponsored by Anton's Cleaners, Fox 25, the Boston Bruins, the Salvation Army and MASSCAP (Community Action Programs in Massachusetts). The drive is in process now, and continues through January 15th.  Coats are needed particularly for men and women, as well as children.  Their goal is to collect 45,000 coats this year. There is a school rewards program; the top three elementary and middle schools collecting the most coats per total students will receive prizes. The Estabrook community was very generous last year and we hope you will clean out those closets and attics again this year. (No damaged coats please. Snow pants are welcome.) Questions? Contact Karen Kristin, 781.862.3775.

Book Drive - Collection Box located in the front lobby. The Estabrook PTA has teamed up with the Lexington Preschool PTA to sponsor a book drive, collecting used and/or new books to benefit local family-centered charities. Shelters are especially in need of books for elementary-aged children, like beginning readers and chapter books. Questions? Contact Miko Brais, 781.860.9196

Kids In Need — This is a wonderful program that Estabrook School has participated in for many years. Families with children receiving care from Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana-Faber and the Shriner’s Burn Center are chosen to participate. Each classroom will be matched with a family in need. Family members, ages and gender are listed and ideas of items for donation are suggested and include new clothing, toys, and non-perishable food items. We hope to kick off the program with a school assembly on Wednesday, November 26th. We ask that donations be brought to school on Monday, December 1st, Tuesday, December 2nd and Wednesday, December 3rd. Volunteers are needed to collect the donations from the classrooms and deliver to Susan Meyers home. Please call Susan Meyers at 781.860.0413 if you can help.

PTA Family Math Nights -- Save these Dates!

PTA Family Math Nights have been scheduled for January and February this year. These parent-child events will take place in the evening at Estabrook on the following dates:

Kindergarten and Grade 1 — Mon. Jan. 26
Grades 2 and 3 — Thurs, Jan. 29
Grades 4 and 5 — Mon, Feb. 9
Snowdate: Thursday February 12

Details will be sent home with your child in December. Questions? Call Carol Bumbaca(781-274-9770), Doug Cohen (781-863-5494) or Sulochana Devadas (781-863-8514).

Did you see Estabrook’s “composting ” assembly in the Minuteman? Seems that turning “garbage into gold” is big news, as Estabrook students supply the “leftover lunch bits” that become nutrient-rich soil used in the Greenhouse.

What’s up at the Greenhouse

Now that it’s getting cold, we’ve put the Greenhouse beds to bed (!). As a last hurrah, we harvested the end of the carrot crop and -- along with the hydroponic lettuce -- put together a giant Greenhouse salad for students to sample during lunch.

Inside activity has now begun in earnest. As part of the "What Do Scientists Do" unit, Mr. Robertson has designed a Grade 5 project that allows students to participate in the scientific process, giving them opportunity for observing, making testable questions, and controlling variables. Simulating the effects of flooding, forest fires, and animal behavior, all four classes are investigating the question "How do forces of nature affect marigold and bean seeds?" Stay tuned for preliminary research reports. To complement their organisms unit, first grade classes have begun their Seed-to-Seed Self-Watering Bottles project. Using their science notebooks, they make careful observations of plant growth -- from seed to flower to seed– and generate good questions in the course of that study. To re-launch lunch-time composting, Martha Slone and DPW recycling coordinator Robert Beaudoin presented a wonderful school-wide assembly to remind students about the hows and whys of composting. Student volunteers played the parts of giant compostable vegetables and hard-working decomposers in a demonstration of how lunch scraps get transformed into rich black soil for our gardens. Again this year, fifth graders will take most of the responsibility for getting lunch waste out to the compost bin, including weighing and recording how much waste is being kept OUT of the dumpster. Third graders will soon start propagating plants to supply their mini-terrarium project, which begins in late January.

Of special note: Once again, Lexington Gardens has donated their end-of-season seeds to the Greenhouse. Each year the first graders do good work for the Greenhouse by sorting all those packets so that we can find just what we need for the various upcoming projects. Thank you to the first graders and, especially, thank you to Lexington Gardens for all the ways they support the Greenhouse. If you’re in the store for end-of-the-year supplies or holiday shopping, please be sure to tell them how much we appreciate them!

As always, we welcome extra hands to help with the work. If you would like to volunteer–or you’ve got ideas, comments, or questions–please call Alex Dohan (863-5882), Mimi Watstein

( 862-0502) or myself, Gretchen Denison (674-2935). Thanks. Hope to hear from you soon.

Book Lovers and Bingo Fanatics

We are looking for people who would be interested in helping with two new events; a school Book Swap and Bingo Night. Both of these events are something new and different for our school and community. Come join the fun! Call or email Diana Beja, 781-860-9125, d_beja@yahoo.com, for more information.

Host Family Program Helps Support
Families New to Estabrook

Estabrook School has welcomed about 60 new families this year, and more than half are from other communities in the United States and around the world.  The Host Family Program sets out to help these families feel welcome and answer their questions.
We would like to thank the following Host Family Volunteers for helping new families. Shirley Ao & Scott Li, Annie Barbieri, Debby & Eyal Bartfeld, Lee Ann Bartow, Diana & Andrew Beja, Hema Bhatt, Miko Brais, Drusilla Brown, Rachel Cortez, Sabine Clark, Eleanor Gilbert, Maria Fernandez, Donna Kozin, Wendy & David Ernst, Helen Galanopoulos, Susan Lanich, Cathy Liu, Brenda Nishimura, Chooyoung Oh, Jane Paulson, Carol Puschak, Joanne Strohmeyer, Jennifer Tsai, Geoffrey & Judith Zola. (We apologize if we have forgotten to thank any host families; some of our records were lost!  We very much appreciate everyone's help.)

Yukari Scott and Annabelle Snyder,
Committee Chairs

Pssssst…..

The painter of "Le Déjeuner Sur L'herbe" was Edouard Manet.

National Education Week Open House

Estabrook Staff hope to see you on Thursday, November 20th, at Estabrook School to visit your own children’s class between 8:45 and 10:15am. Community members are also invited to tour the school, so please feel free to invite neighbors and friends, so they can experience all the wonderful learning that takes place at our school. After classroom visits, parents and community members are invited to enjoy coffee and refreshments from 10:15 to 10:30am in the gym. At 10:30, Superintendent Joanne Benton will address the Estabrook community regarding the current and upcoming budget issues facing the Lexington Public Schools. This is an important opportunity to learn about the real constraints facing our schools and to have your questions answered. Hope to see you there!

Donations for Art Supplies Needed

The following items are needed in the Art room. Please drop off donations in the box just inside the Art room: Clear deli containers (quart and pint size), rolls of aluminum foil, lightweight cotton or poly fabric, disposable plastic tablecloths, men’s dress shirts for smocks, small pieces of scrap wood 12" or less, chicken wire, calendars of art prints, buttons, ribbon, lace and any other sewing notions. We are also looking for Art volunteers. Please contact Ms. Murray or Ms. Wehmeyer if you can help. Thank you!

UNICEF Reminder

We hope your trick or treating was fun and fruitful! Thank you for your participation in Estabrook’s UNICEF drive this year. Please convert the coins and bills your child collected to a check payable to UNICEF and return them to the box in the office marked UNICEF or your child’s teacher. Your contributions are welcome as well. Thanks again for your help with such a worthy cause and for helping children throughout the world have better access to education, clean water and sanitation, medicine and immunizations. Questions? Please call Carol Bumbaca @ 781-274-9770.

Wish Tree Update

The Estabrook Wish Tree provides opportunities for the Estabrook community to donate to donate needed items to our school. The staff greatly appreciates the donations. The Wish Tree is located on the parent board in the front lobby. Be sure to check it periodically. There are a wide variety of items ranging from small to large. All used items are welcome!

As a result of the Wish Tree program, we have a work order in to install our kiln!

Thank you to the Smith, Davies, Simkovits, and Johnson families for helping to grant this wish.

Attention Fourth Grade Parents and Students!
Youth Exploration in Science (YES) Program is Back!