June 18, 2010 Newsletter

QUOTATION
“There are few things so pleasant as a picnic eaten in perfect comfort.”
~W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), The Razor's Edge, 1943
See you tonight!

CALENDAR
June 18, 5:30 pm – Dallin End of the Year Picnic on Florence Field
June 21, 2:15 pm – PTO Good-bye gathering for Mrs. Chase (outside)
June 23 – Last day of school-1:00 dismissal ** (lunch will be served)

Concert fun
Dallin enjoyed a wonderful concert yesterday by the Elementary Chamber Music group, as well as the Elementary Treble Chorus. The following Dallin students are members of the orchestra led by Jing-Huey Wei: Bella Costantino-Carrigan, Austin Lu and Charlie Whitney. The Chorus (led by Gina Esile-Sylva) included Dallin students Nathaniel Heitmann, Walter Horgan, and Amy Cunniff (soloist).
Congratulations students- it was a lovely concert!

End of the Year picnic- tonight!!
The Dallin End of the Year picnic will be tonight, Friday, June 18th. Fun activities like "Cupcake Spin”, Bouncy Houses, Cake Walk (musical chairs with cake rewards), Raffle Baskets, Bikes Raffle, Richies Slush, Pizza and Drinks will be available for modest fees --all of which go to support the Dallin ASSIST fund. This fund supports Dallin families in times of need. There are still come cake containers available. And if you can volunteer, find Brandy at the picnic!
Mrs. Chase good-bye
There will be a good-bye gathering for Mrs. Chase, our third grade teacher who is retiring this year after 23 years of teaching in Arlington. Please join us on the black top on the Florence Field side of the building after school this coming Monday, June 21st to say good-bye and good luck to Mrs. Chase.

Bottle & Can Update
Congratulations Dallin! You have collected 12,595 bottles and cans this year! Multiply that by 5 cents each to see how much you have raised for the Dallin PTO and Student Council. First grade collected the most bottles and cans at 2,968. Second grade collected 2,592 then Third grade with 2,537; next is Fourth grade with 2,039, then Kindergarten with 1,716 and 5th grade with 748! Thank You!
And thanks to all the parents who helped with the drive this year, especially Diane Siegel, the coordinator!

Library Update and thanks from Mrs. Cubeta
Overdue book notices were sent out this week [look for a green sheet of paper], prompting a steady stream of books back to the library. Thank you for locating and returning them; keep up the good work! Please sign and return the form, if your child
brings one home. Marie Chase and Sue Sherburne were tied in having the fewest students with overdue books.

As the library teacher, I, Kate Cubeta, am very grateful to all the contributors of time and money to the Bridge the Gap campaign who rescued so much for next year, including my library job! I have been very busy this year, getting familiar with the book collection and our wonderful Dallin students. I am looking forward to building on this knowledge in the Fall.

I would have been totally overwhelmed by the job were it not for the supportive staff – including the encouragement of my predecessor Michelle Crowley – and the excellent, steady help of parents: Rebecca Aaronson, Fran Kuebler, Bridget McCaffrey, and Debra Reardon. They helped check-in books and did the lion’s share of the re-shelving. I depended on them week after week and am so thankful for their friendliness and conscientious work! Rebecca was invaluable in sharing her cataloging expertise and discussing children’s literature with me. I also extend thanks to Jenny Brown, Jen Davis-Kay, Sarita Duvadie, and Beth Parker, who helped me out when they could. Librarian Lori Hill was lovely to make Massachusetts Children’s Book Award materials for me to display. Thank you Lori.

Then there are the generous Dallin families who gave great new books for the library this year! Thank you to the Adams, Blumeneau, Cuypers, Davis-Kay, Dobson, Fortier, Jastremski, Johnson, Magee, McCaffrey, Medros, Ng, O’Brien, Pinell, Shriber, Siegal, Tucci and Watson families for expanding our collection so nicely. It is a pleasure to work in such a supportive School.


A Special Note from one of our Crossing Guards
Hi Everyone, For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Joanne and I’m the Traffic Supervisor at the corner of George Street and Florence Avenue. In case I’m not back in September, I want to thank everyone for making me feel welcome when I came here. You’ve all been so kind, generous and considerate. You’re all a wonderful group of people and it’s been my pleasure to know you all.
If myself, or another Traffic Supervisor is not posted in September I would like you all to be extra careful coming to school. Drivers are in a rush to get to work in the mornings and they have their minds on other matters. They aren’t looking for pedestrians. Please impress on your children the importance of making eye contact with all the drivers before stepping into the street. A lot of cars stop at an intersection looking for other cars. They don’t even think of pedestrians. But the children might mistake their quick stop for permission to cross an accident will happen. Especially if the child is coming out from behind a parked car. Please practice safe crossing all summer, especially if your child will be walking without an adult.
Again, thank you all. I’m going to miss you all and your beautiful families if I don’t return.

Sincerely, Joanne Cooper


Calliope Winners
The winners of the 2010 Calliope writing contest have been announced. Congratulations to the following Dallin students:
-Fifth Grade – Julia Gydus (3rd place)
-Fourth Grade – Isabella Costantino-Carrigan (Honorable mention)
-Third Grade –Maggie Horgan (3rd place)
Congratulations to these ace Dallin writers!


Thanks to the Dallin community for all the generous donations and creative fundraising events for Bridge the Gap! The campaign has officially ended, but money will be accepted for Bridge the Gap until the end of July so don't worry if you have an outstanding matching gift coming from your company. If you would like to make a donation or want to track the total money received, please check the website -
http://www.arlingtoneducationfoundationma.org/bridgethegap.html And thank you again!

Next week:
Movie Night to Benefit Bridge the Gap – June 24th, 7pm
The Arlington Regent Cinema will host a BRIDGE THE GAP benefit screening on Thursday June 24 at 7 p.m. of the award winning independent film ON BROADWAY starring Joey McIntyre (New Kids on the Block, Wicked), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), Mike O’Malley (Glee, Yes, Dear) and Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Blades of Glory.) The film was written and directed by Arlington resident David McLaughlin and it was produced and features Dallin student Riley Greene’s dad, Lance.
The suggested donation is $15 and tickets will be available at the Regent Theatre, 7 Medford Street, Arlington – www.regenttheatre.com (781) 646-4849.

Community Events
-4th of July Dallin Neighborhood Bike Parade
It's the annual Dallin bike parade! Decorate your bike and come parade around the neighborhood in this celebration of Independence Day! Feel free to bring a snack to share afterward.
Meet at Dallin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 4.
Babysitting help
My name is Jana Gorman and I am interested in being a summer babysitter. I attended Dallin Elementary School, and I am currently a student at the University of Rhode Island. I have two younger brothers and I have been babysitting for other neighborhood children since middle school. I am available Monday-Friday with some weekend availability. I can be contacted at either 1781-646-7436 (home) or 1617-548-2088 (cell). (References Available)

Ottoson T-shirt Sale
Any Dallin parents who would like to give Ottoson Middle School t-shirts to their graduates as graduation presents, we still have some available. Since these have been part of our fundraising effort, once they are sold out, we may not have them again. Checks for the t-shirts are due by Thurs., June 17th to the teachers. The Ts are $15 each (proceeds will be used for books and other resources for the Ottoson Library and Media Center), and checks should be made out to the OPAC Media Fund. Please note the sizes are Adult -we have women's pink or grey with maroon bulldog mascot and OMS name in sizes small and medium and men's grey with maroon in sizes small, medium and large.
Thank you, Nancy Lowe

This is our last Newsletter of the year.

Happy Summer!