Quick Notes

School Calendar

Wednesday	April 9	12:15-12:45 p.m.	Pizza Day (12:05-12:45 for Middle School) – Parents Welcome No pizza day for Seminar students.
Thursday	April 10	7:00 p.m.	Elementary & Middle School Information Session - for current & prospective parents.
Monday	April 14	6:15 p.m.	Board of Trustees Meeting
Wednesday	April 16	12:15-12:45	Lunch-A-Month (12:05-12:45 for Middle School) – Parents Welcome (chicken nuggets, potato chips, cookie, lemonade
Thursday	April 17		No classes - Staff In-Service Day
Friday	April 18		Conference Day - No Classes
Wednesday	April 23	12:15-12:45	Pizza Day (12:05-12:45 for Middle School) – Parents Welcome No pizza day for Seminar students.
Friday	April 25	10:00 a.m. to noon	Arbor Day Celebration (C.S. is hosting for Roanoke County)
Wednesday	April 30	12:15-12:45	Pizza Day (12:05-12:45 for Middle School) – Parents Welcome No pizza day for Seminar students.
Thursday	May 1		Strawberry Festival Berry Cleaning
Friday & Saturday	May 2-3		28^th Annual Strawberry Festival

Arbor Day Celebration - Friday, April 25, at 10:30 a.m. on the C.S. Campus

In the fall of 2006, the Garden Design and Land Use Management Friday Group was born. Evidence of our presence on campus has been subtle, but all our planning and hard work is starting to take physical effect.

In December, we finally received the full support of the Department of Forestry (DOF) in our campus reforestation program. The students designated 72 trees that can be documented as lost through construction, compaction, or simply life. The DOF committed to help us with our campus beautification and arboretum by providing slips (very small trees). They then encouraged us to apply for the Valley Beautiful Grant of $1500 in a matching grant. Bob Boeren of the DOF also approached Valley Beautiful and asked that Community School be the Roanoke County host of Arbor Day. The students wrote the grant and won it. They have planned all parts of our Arbor Day festivities. We hope you will come to see the great reforestation work they have done including Christmas tree row, 52 trees along our seasonal creek and Carvins creek, and now the 26 trees that will be going in this month along Williamson Road. Please join us on April 25 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon in the sports field, rain or shine.

Elementary & Middle School Information Session this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. - For current and prospective parents. If you need free childcare during the session, please cal the office now to reserve a space.

Current parents: Will your child be moving to a new class next year? Join us at our Elementary and Middle School Information Session for answers to your questions about homework, class schedules, middle school Friday groups, peer pressure, etc.

Also, please remind your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to join us as well. If you have invited someone to attend this session, please don’t forget to complete a referral card – you will not receive the $250 credit on your fall tuition if you have not turned in the referral card. Referral cards are available in the office and can be downloaded from our website (www.communityschool.net) on the Downloadable Documents page. If you have any questions about the information session or the admissions process, please call Victoria.

Software Order Forms Attached

Please return your software orders to Lelia by April 15. Checks should be made payable to Scholastic Software. Your Scholastic software purchases earn points towards free software for our computer lab. Questions? Contact Lelia at leliac@communityschool.net .

Strawberry Festival Parent Packets - T-shirt orders are due in the office this Friday, April 11.

Parent packets containing Strawberry Festival advanced sale tickets, large order delivery forms, volunteer work schedules, and t-shirt order forms were sent home with students last week. If you did not receive your packet, please check with your child. Questions? Please call the office.

Alumni Update

1)     Congratulations to Sarah B. on her acceptance to Guilford College with a substantial academic scholarship. Congratulations also on her second place Gold Circle award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for a literary piece she wrote for the Salem High School “Laconian.” Sarah attended C.S. for eight years in elementary and middle school (Seminar Class of 2004).
2)     Congratulations to Rose H. who also won a Gold Circle award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for a literary piece she wrote for the Salem High School “Laconian.” Rose attended C.S. for six years in elementary and middle school. She is a junior at Salem High School.
3)      Congratulations to Cap P. on yet another college acceptance, this time to the College of William and Mary. Cap has decided to accept the offer of a Venable scholarship to Hampden Sydney. He has attended C.S. and CHS for over eight years.

Monday Spanish Lunches Beginning April 14

Starting April 14, Elena will be hosting Spanish Lunches in her classroom every Monday. Bring your lunch and join her for Spanish conversation practice. Students and parents welcome.

Rehearsal Scheduled for Cast of Tom Sawyer

We will be holding a rehearsal on April 18 (Conference Day) for cast members with speaking parts in our middle school production of Tom Sawyer. Rehearsal runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Be sure to bring a lunch! Cast members need to bring in their signed contracts this week.

Summer Camp Registration

Summer is just around the corner, so don't miss out on the opportunity to sign up your child for our C.S. summer camps. We still have a few openings in all of our fabulous camps. You can grab a camp flyer in the office or download it from our website. If you have any questions regarding camp, please feel free to contact Lucia at (540) 563-5036 or email at luciak@communityschool.net. Thank you!

Attention Middle School Choir Members!

Kim M. is looking for eight volunteers to usher at the Roanoke Valley Choral Society spring concert. The concert is Monday, April 21, at First Presbyterian Church. We will need to be there around 6:30 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity, not only to do some volunteer music work in the community, but also to hear a great program -- the theme is Broadway Favorites. Your parents are invited to join us for this free concert.
Choir Parents: Please look for Kings Dominion information this Thursday. The choir is also making plans to sing the national anthem at a Salem Avalanche game in May. For information, contact Kim M. at kimmuch@communityschool.net.

Help Needed in Costuming Friday Group

On May 9 and May 16, the costuming Friday group in the middle school will be making quarter-scale costumes from patterns designed by the students. Our Friday group meets from 10:00 a.m. to noon in Katrina’s classroom. If you have a sewing machine, time, and a sense of humor, we could use the help of four great people. Please call Anna Beebe if you are interested.

Large Order Delivery Drivers needed (Drive and earn double credit toward your required volunteer time!

We need people to sign up to drive for large order deliveries on Friday, May 2. We cannot pay for gas, but we do know it is very expensive. To thank you for your time and to help offset the cost of gas, for each hour of your driving shift, we will count it as two hours of volunteer time. (If you drive four hours, we will count it as eight hours of Strawberry Festival volunteer time.) Thank you for all you do toward making Strawberry Festival a success.

Tuition Assistance

The Financial Aid Committee mailed 2008-2009 tuition assistance grant letters to parents over Spring Break. If you submitted a financial aid form to SSS and you have not received a grant letter, or if you have questions about tuition assistance, please contact Michi.

Engraved Bricks - Order by April 15 for delivery and installation by Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day on May 23 - Order forms available in the office.

Just in time to celebrate spring...we are about to order new engraved bricks for our walkway. Please take this opportunity to give a unique gift in honor of a family member or loved one and to personalize our school campus at the same time. Bricks ordered by April 15 will be delivered and installed in time for Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day May 23. A 4 x 4 brick is $100 (three lines of text, 20 characters each). An 8 x 8 brick is $200 (six lines of text, 20 characters each).

Purchase a brick in honor of a child or in memory of friends and loved ones, or to acknowledge special occasions such as a birth, anniversary or graduation...Seminar parents, what a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to your child as they end their time at Community School!

CHS Applications

Community High School is now accepting applications for the 2008-09 school year. The application deadline is April 15 with decision on admission communicated by April 30. Download applications at www.communityhigh.net. (Click on Admissions link and then the Printable Application link.) Current Seminar students are encouraged to apply. Limited financial aid is available; please see the CHS application for instructions to apply for financial aid. If you have questions, please call the CHS office directly at 345-1688.