Happy New Year and welcome back to all our students and families!! I hope the Winter break was full of family fun and plenty of rest as the rest of the year will be busy and full of activities.

Kudos to our wonderful chairpersons and volunteers who so passionately provided time and energy to our events and activities in December. Our Caring Through Sharing program was another amazing success that provided us all with the opportunity to give from our hearts to those who so desperately need assistance and compassion. Thank you to every individual and every family who eagerly opened your hearts and added to your shopping list to make the season brighter to the many families represented in our program. We all can be proud of our participation in such a worthy cause.

 Our Fine Arts Night and the Book Fair events were well-attended and extremely well-run and everyone involved seemed to have a good time and enjoy the community and festive atmosphere of these collaborative events. Thanks to all who helped and attended!

Coming in the second part of the school year we have a lot of educational, exciting, and interesting activities ahead for the school community. The first week in March we will be hosting our 2nd annual Spelling Bee. This was a super fun event last year and we hope that even more students will be able to participate with it being shifted to earlier in the year. Also coming up on March 29th is our annual Science Fair. As in years past, Pacific Science Center will be providing a kickoff assembly later this month to excite our kids to participate. Please look for more detailed information in signing up later in this Howler, in upcoming Coyote Connections, from your child’s teacher, and on our website. We will also be having a new event this year at the end of April—a Talent Show. So have your kiddos get their singing voices and dance shoes ready. More info to come as time gets closer!

We also have our second Coffee with the Principal/General Membership meeting of the year and we would love to have a big crowd on Thursday morning, January 26th starting at 8:30 right after student drop-off. As mentioned in recent Howlers, we will be voting for our Nominating Committee and reviewing, discussing, and voting on proposals for spending additional funds. A representative from VIS will also be here to discuss and answer any questions you may have on the upcoming school bond that will be on the April ballot. You won’t want to miss this meeting!

Finally, don’t forget that staying “in the know” is easier than ever with our continually improving website and our member-friendly Howler and Coyote Connection.

Have a great start to 2012! 
Deanne King, PTSA President 
deannewking@live.com