Forest Trail September 27th Newsletter

September 27, 2018

PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING

"The mosh pit will reveal all the answers. The mosh pit never lies." – Norah, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Every year, as ACL inches closer I start thinking about the line-up, the shows and hoping to find pop-up after shows to get in on. That leads to reflecting back on bands I've seen either in person, on tv, on streamed performances, or even revisited on YouTube. I always come back to one set, one band and one song. In August of 1994 I got my first "taste" of a festival. I didn't attend, but I had the next best thing…MTV. (You see, MTV was a television network which showed nothing but music videos and often times covered live performances.) 1994 marked the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock, and to commemorate the original festival, organizers branded Woodstock '94 as "2 More Days of Peace and Music." The weather for the two-day event did not cooperate, and by Saturday the field had turned to mud. On Sunday, a little band called Green Day performed to what became known as "Mud People". Not only was this my first festival but it was also the first time I can remember seeing a mosh pit. As the band played "When I Come Around," people were dancing, jumping, pushing, dragging, and throwing each other in the mud and having what looked like an amazing time. Years and many mosh pits later, I have learned, like many things, there is a time and a place.

Our annual BINGO night is this Saturday evening, and we count on this event to be a fun-filled family night where we cap off our No-Hassle Fundraiser. We could use your help in preventing the "FTE BINGO Mosh Pit". We want a huge turnout and hope everyone can attend. The excitement of the event and being at school in a new setting gives a feeling of getting away with something and I can appreciate that, but we are still at school and are expected show respect for others, space, and materials. Please help us keep the event safe and enjoyable by not allowing your children to run free throughout the building. We have been addressing this in our announcements in the morning and hope to have an awesome event on Saturday.

We are also in need of parent support in the following areas:

Falcon Frolics Parent Volunteers:

We are in desperate need to volunteers to assist in various ways so that our event will go off as planned on Wednesday, October 3rd. If our numbers of parents remain this low, we may have to cancel Falcon Frolics this year. Our numbers below reflect volunteer spots filled and those needing to be filled in order for us to maintain short lines and maximize efficiency.

Kinder = 12 positions filled out of 16 needed spots

Grades 1-2 = 6 positions filled out of 27 needed spots

Grades 3-5 = 12 positions filled out of 28 needed spots

To sign up for a spot, please go to the following links for the following grades:

Kinder: http://signup.com/go/TJtwzke

Grades 1-2: http://signup.com/go/nvfReLj

Grades 3-5: http://signup.com/go/npgVmii

Destination Imagination Coaches Needed:

Destination Imagination is a unique opportunity to serve our students in a creative way that, as educators, we are not always afforded. There is interest from students at all levels for our Destination Imagination program. We are in need of parent volunteers to serve as Team Managers. At Muffin Morning parents expressed interest for 92 children to participate. As you can see, there is a great interest and currently we only have one manager volunteer. Please contact Kelly Dunning, FTE Art Teacher, (kdunning@eanesisd.net) for questions and information about this weekend's manager training.

Thank you for your constant support of Forest Trail, and I hope to see everyone at BINGO!

Is there a FTE Staff Member You Would Like to Recognize...

Falcon Finest Acknowledgements

Please join me in spreading those feel good vibes around our campus. Everyday our bus drivers, custodians, office staff, and teachers are doing incredible things. If there is a FTE staff member you would like to recognize for their contributions, please let me know by clicking the link below.

Please Click Here

SCHOOL NEWS

Falcon Frolics Rescheduled For October 3rd

Due to inclement weather Falcon Frolics has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 3rd. The new volunteer sign up sheets can be found at the following links:

3rd - 5th Grades: http://signup.com/go/npgVmii

1st - 2nd Grades: http://signup.com/go/nvfReLj

Kinder: http://signup.com/go/TJtwzke

Previously scheduled volunteers must sign up once more on the new volunteer sign up for Oct. 3rd. Thank you for your support!

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

SOCKTOBER - CRAZY SOCK DAY OCT. 3RD!

October is Socktober! Our Fifth Graders will be holding their annual sock drive throughout the month of October.

To help kick it off and begin the month with our best foot forward Wednesday, October 3rd, will be our school wide Crazy Sock Day!!! Wear your crazy and fun socks and jump in for the fun!

During October help support our Fifth Graders with this great cause by donating NEW socks - any size - any color - any style! Next time you're at Costco, Wal-Mart or Target – pick up a multi-pack of socks and help us reach our goal. Don't forget to write your teacher's name on the package. The class that collects the most socks will win an extra PE class!

Popcorn Volunteers Still Needed!

We are in need of one more Popcorn volunteer to fill a 7:00-8:30am shift beginning on October 4th and repeating once a month. Weekly popcorn snack has been an awesome tradition at Forest Trail for many years and is much appreciated by our amazing students and faculty, in addition to being a huge fundraiser for our school. We need all our popcorn teams filled in order to keep the popcorn popping! Please reach out to Mia Townsend @ Miattownsend@gmail.com or 512-608-7777.

BOOSTER CLUB CORNER

Dear Parents,

If you have not done so please go to https://foresttrailbc.membershiptoolkit.com/home to register your child in our system. This is the system we use for STEAM Fest, popcorn, Birthday Cards and much more!! 5th grade shirts are now available for purchase until October 9th.

The popcorn team needs a volunteer to fill a once a month spot Thursdays from 7-8:30 a.m. Please reach out to Mia Townsend @ Miattownsend@gmail.com or 512-608-7777.

2ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT to Support FTE through the No-Hassle Fundraiser!

FTE Booster Club's No Hassle Fundraiser is coming to a close!!! The last day to donate is this Saturday - BINGO NIGHT! If you haven't yet, please consider contributing any amount. All donations are greatly appreciated! Your contributions to the Booster Club fund so many of the activities our students love (like STEAM Fest, field trips, gardening, and tending the chickens) and so many of the upgrades to our classroom and specials areas (like educational technology, reading curriculum, art supplies, musical instruments, and library upgrades). Plus, the class with the highest percentage of families participating in each grade level will win a Kona Ice party! Also, each class that reaches 100% participation will win a very special lunch surprise. Do your part to help your child's class win!!!

Remember, the last day to donate is this Saturday – Bingo Night! At Bingo Night, we will have No Hassle raffle tickets available for $5 for a chance to win a gift package from Breed & Co, Sanctuary, and Chick-fil-A!

Below are the class rankings in each grade as of Monday:

Kindergarten: CHEN 100%, Ormand 74%, Linder 67%, Purdy 65%, Martinez 48%

1st grade: GRIFFITH 80%, WEST 80%, Dunagan 75%, Brightwell 71%

2nd grade: HURST 81%, Bailey 75%, Hernandez 65%, Bloomer 64%, Koepsel 63%

3rd grade: CRAIN 81%, Brandenburg 70%, Fromberg 59%, Ueckert 45%

4th grade: BROOKSHIRE 59%, THORNHILL 59%, Ellis 55%, Robinson 55%

5th grade: WENDELL 57%, Lindsey 52%, Berrios 50%, Hitt 42%

Congratulations to last week's gift card raffle winners: The Miracle Family, The Philp Family, and the Eberle Family.

Learn more and donate online via the new Booster Club Website by September 29th: http://tinyurl.com/ ftenohassle2018

FTE Directory

Don't forget to purchase your directory at https://foresttrailbc.membershiptoolkit.com. Deadline is September 28th for directory!

Directory Photo Contest Deadline Extended! Please turn in your entries by Monday, October 1st.

Give your child a camera or phone and have them snap a picture of what makes Austin, AUSTIN! The overall winning photo will be featured on the cover of the FTE Directory. Grade-Level winners will be featured in the directory with the class lists.

PHOTO must be in digital format and a raw phone file (under 18MB) or approximately 300 dpi. PORTRAIT ORIENTATION is preferred.

EMAIL your child's photo to ftedirectory@gmail.com with the subject FTE DIRECTORY PHOTO CONTEST. Please include your child's Name/Grade/Teacher.

Forest Trail's Annual BINGO Night is THIS SATURDAY, September 29th, with doors opening at 5:00 PM and first game at 5:30 PM.

Please bring cash to purchase Bingo cards, raffle tickets, pizza and snacks.

This year's raffle prizes include gift cards from Altitude and Embellish, a candy tower, cleaning products from Lemi Shine, a fabulous India Hicks package, and the ever popular extra recess!

Also, Saturday's Bingo Night will be your last chance to donate to FTE's No Hassle Fundraiser. In addition to the raffle prizes above, there will be special No Hassle raffle tickets available for a chance to win a gift package from Breed & Co., Sanctuary, and Chick-fil-a.

Finally - we still need volunteers to help us with this fabulous event. Most shifts are just ONE hour! Please go to http://signup.com/go/LqivrCY to sign up or email our chairs at ftebingo@gmail.com.

Garden Volunteers Needed!

We are in need of volunteers to help with the school garden. Volunteers will lead students in pre-selected lessons; execute activities and guide garden observations, using talking points provided. Garden experience IS NOT necessary. All tools, lessons, activity supplies, planting plan and plants/seeds are provided. Generally, the time commitment is 6, 1 hour visits (with students) to the garden over the semester. What better way to get involved with your kiddo's class!

Garden activities begin this week with the 5th grade Interest group. 3rd and 4th grades will also be gardening in the Fall! Kinder, 1st, and 2nd will be gardening in the Spring! Please reach out to Jennifer Wendel if you are interested or have questions jenn.wendel@gmail.com.

EISD NEWS

The Gifts of Diversity: A Parenting Discussion Group

*New session added on Nov 1st at 5PM* Does talking about our differences make you anxious? Are you afraid of saying the wrong thing, or offending someone else? If we have trouble talking about diversity as grown-ups, how can we help our children to navigate the diverse world they are inheriting? Join Eanes ISD parent and author, Carolyn Helsel, for a three-part discussion series on the Gifts of Diversity: Understanding our Differences through the Lens of Gratitude.

Come Dance with Hyline

Calling all Dancers!! Kindergarten through 5th grade!! If you want to dance on the field with the award-winning Westlake Hyline then register now for their Youth Dance clinic which takes place at Westlake High school on October 8th from 9am-1pm! Participants will then perform at the Westlake Freshman Football Game on October 11th. All dance levels are welcome! Visit the Hyline website, www.whshyline.com to register.