El Morro starts on a high note

El Morro Elementary is off to a great start for the 2005-2006 school

year. Students arrived on the first day of school bright-eyed,

relaxed from the summer and excited to get started on a new year. Mr.

Chris Duddy, the principal, and all of the teachers were energized

and enthusiastic, having just learned that El Morro test scores were

up, with an increase in the school’s Academic Performance Index of 24

points. Way to go El Morro students and teachers! Let’s make the

2005-2006 school year even better!

The fall is a busy time at El Morro. The PTA Membership drive is

currently underway. Our goal is to have 100% of El Morro families

join the PTA. Membership is only $10 per person, and the drive ends

on Sept. 26. PTA membership is not limited to students’ families; any

community members are welcome to join. Please contact Dian Jonus at

(949) 525-2955 if you would like more information.

Our Scholastic Book Fair will take place the week of Sept. 18 to

23 from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and

Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday. The book fair will also be

open on Wednesday and Thursday nights from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for

back-to-school night.

Hurricane benefit

During the Book Fair, El Morro will be partnering with Scholastic

Books in a “One for Books” fundraiser in which, for every $1 raised,

Scholastic Books will match that amount and donate that number of

books to a school in Louisiana or Mississippi that was affected by

Hurricane Katrina. Please donate to help benefit a school less

fortunate than ours.

Back-to-school night

El Morro’s Back-to-School Night will take place at 6 p.m. on

Wednesday, September 21, for first through third grades and at 6 p.m.

on Thursday, September 22, for fourth through fifth grades.

Back-to-school night is for parents only and offers an opportunity

for them to meet their child’s teacher and find out more about what

their child will experience in the course of the school year.

In addition, El Morro will kick off its fall fundraiser with a

sale of Sally Foster gifts and gift-wrap products on September 30.

This fundraiser will run through October 14. Please help support an

El Morro student you know with a purchase from the Sally Foster

catalog. For more information, please contact Crisi Hosea at (949)

376-6808.

Boo Blast in works

Many parents are hard at work preparing for El Morro’s annual Boo

Blast. There will be a T-shirt design contest for all El Morro

students. The current T-shirt was designed by Josh Simkin and will be

on sale through the school and at the Boo Blast this year. Mark your

calendars. The Boo Blast will be Friday, October 28. For more

information, please contact Elizabeth Lamb at 715-9094.

Many thanks go out to all of the parents who volunteer and support

the El Morro PTA. We have an ambitious calendar for the year ahead

with many fabulous programs offered to the students, including art

masters, class act, after school clubs, math challenge, science

assemblies and more. We couldn’t do it without all of you, especially

our executive board and committee chairs: Kendall Clark, Tracey

Williams, Elizabeth Lamb, Mary Quellmalz, Valinda Gunell, Eve

DiGenova, Dian Jonus, Jean Wollam, Rhonda Hall, Stacey Davis, Terri

Benson, Lin Beers Steinoff, Robin Rounaghi, Pam Boyd, Suzy

Elghanayan, Lynn Gregory, Gisell Sveningson, Crisi Hosea, Cyndie

Young, Beth McCombs, Peggie Thomas, Claudia Cameron, Mary Blanton,

Erin Capobianco, Belinda Rubel, Chris Barton, Lisa Mansour, Pat

Menne, Dori Bunting and JoAnne McMahon. Thank you one and all.

There are more committees for which we are seeking chairpersons.

If you would like to become more involved, contact Melissa Cavanaugh,

PTA president, at (949) 499-4893.