Hi Stanley Parents!

I have two names to share with you today. You probably will not recognize these names, but you may recognize the faces that they belong to. I’m sure you probably did not know these names. In fact, I did not… and I had to ask Vice Principal Toni McShane to help enlighten me, but I would wager that you value and you count on what these two folks do.

Along with our rotating Stanley faculty, these two people work for us every day. In fact, they actually place their bodies in harm’s way to protect our kids every day. I have watched our kids walk past these people and not say a word to them… every day.

We all drive past them. Some of us wave. Some of us don’t. Some of us just take it for granted that our kids will get to school safely no matter how many hundreds of cars are zooming past, trying to get to work or other destinations. Stanley has 1,100 students. Each and every one of them gets to school safely every single day with cars speeding past as fast as they think they can.

We are lucky. We live in a place that values education. We live in a place that values each and every student. I would like it if we also lived in a place that valued ALL the people who helped make this happen.

Thank you, William Patrick and Raya Nurgalinova for being our crossing guards. Thank you for donning those lovely yellow parkas on rainy days and keeping our kids safe. Thank you for doing it every single day, rain or shine.

We are all grateful to you.

Cheers!
Becky Kenney
PTA President, 2011-2012

P.S. Buy your tickets for our Stanley CommUNITY social! It is going to be a blast, and I look forward to hoofing it up with you on the dance floor!

I’d like to take this opportunity
To thank some folks in our community.

Last week, at the Crab Feed you volunteered to work
Never once hoping your LPIE duties to shirk.

You donated wine; you baked gourmet cakes
You’re hosting parties; you are not flakes!

But after the party, I admit I was hoping
To hear some stories that might be provoking.

Dancing on the tables? Public intoxication?
But, alas, no crazy stories of that persuasion.

Instead I heard only good things
About friendship, generosity, and opening of purse strings.

And a special shout-out to our own Mr. Anke
No one can accuse him of being cranky

His donated “Ultimate Biking Experience” feature
Was very generous, even for a Stanley teacher.

Thank you to all who donated their time,
To not recognize your efforts would be a PTA crime.

So with gratitude in my heart 
for your contributions to our cause,

I want to thank you with this poem – my personal round of applause!

It is a pleasure and a privelage to work with all of you.
For your donated time, talents, and abilities – THANK YOU!!

Cheers!

Becky Kenney
PTA President, 2011-2012

P.S.
Mark your calendars now for February 24
The best party of the year you cannot ignore.

Your Stanley faculty puts on a show
That will leave you laughing and all aglow.

With good food, good drinks, and friends around
A better evening could not be found!

The band is hired, the photo booth is ready
So go to our website and buy your tickets already!!

Register here!!

Dear Stanley Parents, Teachers and Friends:

At our PTA meeting and Friday Forum this week, Principal Schrag led us in a discussion of the New York Times article, “What if the Secret to Success is Failure?”  After reading the article, we broke up into small groups to discuss the following quote, “We have an acute, almost biological impulse to provide for our children, to give them everything they want and need, to protect them from dangers and discomforts both large and small.  And yet, …what kids need more than anything is a little hardship: some challenge, some deprivation that they can overcome, even if just to prove to themselves that they can.”

How many of us have driven to Stanley, sometimes still wearing our pajamas (like me!), bringing a brown bag lunch or forgotten book or essay? C’mon, be honest.  You can’t stand the thought any more than I can that the semi-healthy lunch you made will sit in the fridge all day.

I once asked Denise Taranto in the Stanley office if there had EVER been a day when every single student brought his or her own lunch and no parent had to bring it in.  She said that in all her years at Stanley, that has NEVER happened.  Never!

Is it possible that we are all sometimes guilty of “helicopter parenting?”  In some way, shape, or form, do we all hover over our kids to try and solve their problems for them? This week, if we can, let’s try to remember that we are really not doing our kids any favors by doing this.  Their time at Stanley is a preparatory time for both high school and college.  Let’s let them make mistakes now, so they can learn from those mistakes, learn how to cope with the consequences of mistakes, and learn how to be better people after the whole experience.  Then, let’s cheer them on when they learn to do better!

As adults, we all know that success is empty if there’s no possibility of failure.  Let’s not deprive our children of learning this valuable lesson!

Have a fantastic week!

Becky Kenney
PTA President, 2011-2012

P.S.  Our CommUNITY social is quickly approaching – Friday, February 24.  Mark your calendars now for a fun, non-fundraising night with other Stanley parents, teachers, and staff.  I look forward to boogying to the beat of the band with all of you on the dance floor!

Hi Stanley Parents!

Coming up is a fun but busy week at Stanley School.

Monday: Drama… anyone?  Pre-Teen Girl… anyone? If you have excessive drama in your home and want to find a creative outlet for it, then Wildcats on Stage may be just the ticket for you.  Mock Class and Informational meeting Monday after school for the Musical Theatre Training Program ~ Spring Showcase: Journey Through the Happiest Songs on Earth.

Thursday:  Teenage Boredom in the Afternoon.  School will be dismissed at noon on Thursday so that our teachers can have time for Parent Teacher Conferences.  I’d like to think that our kids will all be home quietly reading while cleaning up their rooms, but a more honest statement would be…Let the epic Wii/Xbox/iPhone afternoon begin.

Friday:  Parliamentary Procedure in the Morning.  Welcome one and all to our General Association PTA Meeting, held at the Stanley Middle School Library at 8:45 am.  Coffee will be served, and after the formal motions, minutiae, and particulars, we will adjourn to the much-more-interesting Friday Forum with our principal, David Schrag.

Also this week:  Desperately Seeking Symphony.  Twice this week, our talented Stanley Middle School musicians will be performing at two separate concerts:  Thursday night at the Lafayette Orchestra Festival and Friday at the Mayor’s Concert.  Good luck, performers! (Music lovers can find more details on the PTA calendar).

Have a great week, everyone!

Best,
Becky Kenney
PTA President, 2011-2012

P.S.  I complained about driving my kids around after school every day, and someone listened (or, more likely, we were all just complaining together…) 

Like many of you, I have kids in multiple schools here in Lafayette – I am not only a Stanley parent, but also an Acalanes parent, and a Lafayette Elementary School parent.  This week, the PTA at LES is trying something new – once-a-week extra-curricular classes right on campus after school. This 8-week maiden voyage has three classes to choose from: Art, Science (with LES’s own Mr. Winter), and Chess.  What a great idea!  Who wouldn’t want to let their kids remain at school for an extra hour for an extracurricular experience vs. driving them across town in your own car for the same activity?  Well Done, LES PTA.  Think of all the cars you have personally taken off the road each afternoon! I hope it catches on!

Welcome to 2012, Stanley Parents!  I hope that you have all enjoyed your two-week break.  I know that I did, even though it involved a 13-hour drive to Idaho with four kids in the car and a DVD player that only worked intermittently.  Still, that long desolate drive through the bleakness of Northern Nevada (and fun towns like Elko and Winnemucca) allowed me some time to think, reflect and plan. I’m feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the new year.  Hope you are too!

Most of the New Year’s Resolutions I came up with while on that drive involve losing 10 pounds, but the ones that don’t, I thought I would share with you…

1.     Cut back on the extreme number of kid activities!  I don’t know about you, but I drove myself a little bit crazy in 2011 trying to get my kids to a disproportionate amount of lessons and classes.  I’m using the new year as a reminder to keep everything in my life and my family’s life more balanced.

2.     Be kind to everyone around me, all the time.  From the hippie dude collecting signatures outside of Safeway to the brassy woman in the SUV who cuts me off on Pleasant Hill Road – everyone deserves my caring and respect.

3.     Remember my reusable bags whenever I go shopping.  No more plastic bags for me in 2012!

4.     Show appreciation and tell people when they have done an outstanding job.  I waited tables all through college, and even though I knew that it wasn’t a job that I would have forever, I still wanted to do the job well while I was there.  It was always gratifying when customers told me directly that I had done a good job and had helped them to have a lovely meal. Kind little comments can make a big difference sometimes.

Here’s to a wonderful 2012 for us all!  May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May we all have someone in our lives that loves us enough to forgive our faults and be blind to our blemishes while appreciating our virtues.  Love and luck to us all in the new year!

Becky Kenney

PTA President, 2011-2012

 

Dear Stanley Parents,

Welcome to the crazy holiday season we call December. Here is my wish for us all during this last action-filled week of school before our winter break:

May we all smoothly and without interference from other commitments, circumnavigate the bounty of Holiday shows, recitals, exhibitions, parties and performances that I’m certain are on your family calendars this week, as they are on mine.

May we all calmly go from one lovely holiday event to another without needing to stop at McCaulou’s to buy the hostess or gift exchange gift that we need. May the line at McCaulou’s wrapping station be short, and may our friends be understanding when we arrive late.

May our cars move safely on the road easily avoiding the package-laden, Christmas-sweater wearing pedestrians carelessly crossing our paths as we get in our cars ONE MORE TIME to pick up yet another child from his or her holiday party/show/recital.

May every address that we need to track down for our holiday cards appear magically in our Address Books. May every child in our families look at the camera and actually smile in at least one picture for said card. May the post office staff be blessed with super-human speed and efficiency.

And may we all remember how truly blessed our lives are.

Happy Holidays!
Becky Kenney
PTA President, 2011-2012

Hi Stanley Families!

Hope you all enjoyed your three-day weekend!

Congratulations to 6 of our Stanley 8th graders, who are the winners of this year's PTA Reflections Arts competition for literature!  These talented writers will move on to the Regional competition.  Their work, as well as that of all of the winners, will be on display from 11am to 2 pm on December 3, 2011 at the WCI Library in Walnut Creek.  Good luck everyone!

Please take a moment to look at the latest news from the Wide, Wide World of Wildcat Sports to see a fabulous wrap-up of the Stanley Cross Country season.  Great job, kids and coaches!  Isn't it great to have these sports programs available to everyone at our school?  We are lucky to live in such a great place, and also to have Sue Thoren around, helping to coordinate all those programs!  Thank you, Sue; and thank you, coaches and assistants, who spend so much of your time after school, helping our kids become better athletes.

Did you know that your Stanley student can get to school earlier than their 9am start time on Wednesdays?  If you need to get to work, rest assured knowing that your student can warm-up (and study!) in the library or he or she could go to the Stanley Cafe.  My daughter looks forward to the bagel and cream cheese she gets there each Wednesday.  Thank you so much to Stephanie Marrone for making this fun Wednesday morning program possible week after week!

Have a great week everyone!

Becky Kenney
PTA President, 2011-2012