The Acacia Elementary School Foundation leads the fundraising efforts in support of supplemental enrichment at Acacia Elementary School.

The Acacia PTA provides community events, and school spirit.

The Foundation and PTA collaborate to enrich the entire educational experience of Acacia Elementary School’s students. The Foundation and PTA work together as The Acacia Partnership.

Why do we need both organizations (PTA and the Foundation)?

The Acacia Elementary School Foundation is an independent non-profit corporation with a focus on fundraising to support Acacia Elementary School.

The PTA is committed to building a sense of community and school spirit.

Our goal is 100% participation in both organizations. The PTA is a one-time membership of $10.00. The Acacia Elementary School Foundation is asking for monthly donations, in any amount, but with certain goals. We acknowledge that there are different giving abilities and don’t want to exclude anyone from membership. We appreciate anything you can contribute. Membership materials will come home in student folders the second week of school.

Help us support our fabulous school.

Letter from our Foundation President
Letter from our PTA President

Letter from our Foundation President – March 2012

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Acacia families are working together to make our school the best possible learning environment for our children. The response to the letter that went home two weeks ago has made such an impact. Already an additional 25 families have joined the foundation in recognition of the budget shortfalls and the desire to provide enrichment opportunities to our children. Together, we can do so much—we will do great things.

The Casino Royale fundraiser was a tremendous success thanks to the tireless efforts of our Committee Chairwomen, Paula Esterson and Lisa Rowley, our talented Casino Royale Committee, and the amazing generosity of our attendees. The night was great—there were generous donations of auction items from our sponsors and contributors, friendly competition over coveted classroom canvasses and student experiences, and the community spirit to give to our school was truly awe-inspiring...and, we had a lot of fun, too! We are proud to report that the Casino Royale event resulted in donations of $53,870.00, $16,350.00 of which was specifically donated to improve our library and secure Accelerated Reader for the 2012/2013 school year. Thank you to the truly generous Casino Royale attendees.

Please remember to visit The Acacia Partnership website at www.TheAcaciaPartnership.org to learn more about the Foundation and the PTA at Acacia. The Acacia Partnership—fundraising to meet the needs and goals of the school, and organizing community building activities to foster school spirit—the organizations working together to serve the children of Acacia. The Foundation Board of Directors, made up of teachers and parents, will allocate the monies raised to support programs that provide enrichment. By way of reminder, the priorities set this year by the Board are:

• The PE Program
• State of the Art Technology
• Fulfilling Classroom Needs
• Intervention Programs, Supplemental Aides, and Materials
• Staff Training and Enrichment
• Library and Media Center Upgrades
• All the Arts and Field Trips

We can be proud of the work we are doing for our children. We will continue to keep you apprised of progress and allocation. We meet the first Monday night of each month, at 6:30 pm, in the Acacia MPR.

Thank you for your continued support for the Foundation.
Sincerely,
Michelle Knowles, President, Acacia Elementary School Foundation

Letter from our Acacia PTA President – March 2012

Wow, Acacia Parents!

What a wonderful time the Casino Royale event was! Such a giving and upbeat group of people made for a fun and successful night. And…a big thank you to all our recent Acacia Elementary Foundation donors! Your response has been overwhelming and heart-warming. It feels so good to know that we are doing all we can to make Acacia the best possible school for our children.

Speaking of the best possible school for our children…our Spring Book Fair is coming up at the end of March during the Parent-Teacher Conference Week. This is our chance to add to the shelves of our school library with credits earned from Scholastic Book Fair. Our library is going to need some more books due to the lovely new shelving being donated at the end of March by the Olpin Group. This will all be part of our lovely library makeover partially funded by Casino Royale’s “Fund The Need”. Watch for volunteer opportunities coming up to help with the makeover “labor crew”.

In honor of Read Across America month and our upcoming Book Fair, here are some statistics related to literacy.

• There are almost half a million words in our English language – the largest on earth, incidentally – but a third of all our writing is made up of only twenty-two words.
• If a child reads approximately 5 minutes a day, they will find themselves scoring in the 50th percentile in reading test scores. If a child reads 15 minutes a day, they score in the 80th percentile. If a child is reading 20 minutes a day or more, scoring is bumped up to the 90th percentile or higher.
• To prevent the “summer slide” in reading ability, children need to read 4 – 6 books over the summer. This way they maintain their reading achievement levels and start the school year ready to advance.
• The longest novel is “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust with over 3 million words and approximately 4,800 pages in length. That would stop the “summer slide” now, wouldn’t it?!?!

Thanks again to ALL Acacia parents for wanting the best for your children, volunteering your precious time and helping wherever you can! March forth!

Michele Garden, Acacia PTA President