Science Fair
It’s time to remind students to start working on science fair projects. Final projects are due on January 14, which is only about six weeks away. With the holiday season coming up, please try to set aside time to work on the projects. Parents Night to view the science fair will be on Jan. 17^th at 6:30-7:30. A few more judges are needed to help pick the projects that will represent Portola at the school district science fair. To get involved, please email emireland@yahoo.com.

Celebrate Portola
We need volunteers to help solicit auction items from local businesses for the Celebrate Portola event on Feb. 2, which will feature dinner, a silent auction and performance by Portola musicians. To get involved, please contact emireland@yahoo.com
See a sample solicitation letter.

Next PTSA Meeting
Everyone is invited to participate in the next PTSA meeting at 7 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 11. We’ll be discussing the Celebrate Portola event and other school news. For more information, contact emireland@yahoo.com

Box Tops
A quick and easy way to help raise money to support school programs without costing you anything extra is to cut out the “Box Tops for Education” logos that you will find on the package of many consumer products. Each Box Top is usually worth 10 cents, and they can add up quickly. We have collection cans for Box Tops at the office and library. Check through your pantry, you may find that you already are buying many products that contain the Box Tops for Education logo.

Gift Card Sales
Need to find a present for that hard to buy for person? Try one of these gifts cards!  With hundreds to choose from, there is bound to be a store or restaurant that the special someone will like. Or buy the gift cards for yourself for a store you make purchases at regularly like Safeway, Lucky or Target. Last day to order is December 7^th. Gift cards will not expire. Gift cards will be delivered before Dec. 14^th. Find order forms here.

In Memoriam

It is with great sadness that we inform you that one of the Portola custodians, Elijah Collar, passed away on Friday Nov. 23rd. A graduate of local schools, Mr. Collar worked for the school district for 32 years, including serving as the Portola day custodian for the last three-and-a-half years. Mr. Collar was a loving husband to his wife of 30 years, Maria, and is also survived by his mother, two brothers, two sisters, and in-laws. We’d like to offer our condolences to his family and co-workers.

Shop at Jenny K This Week

All through this week, Jenny K will donate 20% of purchases to Portola. Just mention “This is for Portola” when making your purchases.  This fundraiser will end with a special event on Friday Nov. 16th from 7 pm to 9 pm. Invite your friends and family for a night of wine and finger food while shopping at Jenny K’s newly expanded store. See flyer for more details.

Gift Cards = Money for Portola
Order your gift cards through Portola PTSA and a portion of the value will be given back to the school! Whether for gift giving or personal use, these gift card purchases are a great way to earn money for our school. There are hundreds to choose from! Order forms are available in the main office. Last chance to orders is December 7th. Order forms may also be downloaded online at http://portolanews.com/forms/.  The gift cards do not expire.

Halloween Dance Rescheduled
The Halloween Dance has been rescheduled to Friday Nov. 16th from 2:30 to 4:00 pm at the El Cerrito Community Center Main Hall. All tickets sold for the cancelled dance will be honored at this dance.  If you would like to purchase tickets for the dance, please see Ms. Renee in Room 22.

Math Enrichment
I am writing to ask your support for a new program that Portola Math Club is trying to implement to raise math capacity at Portola. We have the right teacher and the right program, now we just need the funding!  Please see Math Enrichment Appeal and contact Pamela Gilbert-Snyder at pgilbertsnyder@gmail.com if you have any questions. This could be the start of a real game-changer for our students.

Save the date, February 2 – Celebrate Portola Dinner, Show and Auction Event
If you know anybody who has items or services they wish to donote towards the auction please see the Auction Page to get the Donation Solicitation letter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meetings Next Tuesday
PTSA will be meeting at our usual time on Tuesday November 13th at 7:00 in Room 7.  Items to be discussed are the Jenny K fundraiser, the January Science Fair, and the February Celebrate Portola events. Band parents will meet at 6:00 in the Band Room. 8^th Grade parents will meet immediately after the PTSA meeting adjourns in Room 7.  Please remember to bring your students with you! If you have a favorite bottle of wine you would like to share for the Jenny K event, please bring it to the meeting.

Shop Local at Jenny K
All through next week, Jenny K will donate 20% of purchases to Portola. Just mention “This is for Portola” when making your purchases.  This fundraiser will end with a special event on Friday Nov. 16^th from 7 pm to 9 pm. Invite your friends and family for a night of wine and finger food while shopping at Jenny K’s newly expanded store. See flyer for more details.

Portola Fright Write and Fright Fest Follow-up
The annual Fright Write featuring scary stories and drawings from Portola students is now available for $2 a copy.  You may purchase your copy at the school main office.  Congratulations to the students who were published! Thanks to Saidah Said, Kazue Nakahara, Jackie Lucas and Alice Christie for reading through over a hundred entries.

Congratulations also to the students who won the candy jars and the pumpkin weight contests. Great fun was had by all with the guessing, art, cupcake decorating, and scarecrow building.  Thanks to Chris Novak, Saidah Said, Tre Curran, and Kathy Guerneri for supervising the activities.

Gift Cards = Money for Portola
Order your gift cards through Portola PTSA and a portion of the value will be given back to the school! Whether for gift giving or personal use, these gift card purchases are a great way to earn money for our school. The gift cards do not expire.  Order forms are available in the school main office or downloaded online at http://portolanews.com/forms/. First deadline for orders is November 9^th. 

Halloween Dance Rescheduled
The Halloween Dance has been rescheduled to Friday Nov. 16^th from 2:30 to 4:00 pm at the El Cerrito Community Center Main Hall. All tickets sold for the cancelled dance will be honored at this dance.  If you would like to purchase tickets for the dance, please see Ms. Renee in Room 22.

Science Fair is coming to Portola
Get those lab coats ready, and start experimenting! Projects will be due in January 14^th with a Science Fair Night on Jan 17th.  We will need parents help to judge to help select which projects will move on to compete in the district Science Fair. If you are available to help set-up and judge projects between Jan 14^th and 17^th, please email Evangeline Ireland at emireland@yahoo.com.

Email Tree Sign Up
Want more timely news and updates?  Sign up for the email tree. Fill out this form and drop off at the school main office. Or email Michael Suwczinski at nicknaylo@aol.com to subscribe to PTSA mailings. Additionally, if your child is in band, there is a separate band email tree. To receive band only announcements, email Julie Yamashita at jag1999@sbcglobal.net to subscribe.

To find your polling place, click here.

Portola PTSA urges you to vote yes on Prop 30 & 38, and Measures G & E.

Gift Cards = Money for Portola
Order your gift cards through Portola PTSA and a portion of the value will be given back to the school! Whether for gift giving or personal use, these gift card purchases are a great way to earn money for our school. See flyer for more information on how to purchase gift cards. First deadline for orders is November 9^th.

Report Cards
Please watch out for first-quarter report cards, which are being sent home this week.

Portola Fright Write
The annual Fright Write featuring scary stories and drawings from Portola students is now available for $2 a copy. Students whose work appears in the volume will receive a free copy.

Celebrate Portola
Please save the date of Feb. 2, 2013, for the Celebrate Portola auction, dinner and show. This event will feature a delicious meal, entertainment from Portola musicians and an auction for products and services donated by community members and local businesses. See the solicitation letter to learn how you can get involved.

Read Books, Then Match Wits
Battle of the Books is a district-wide competition in which students read five books, and compete in teams to answer questions about the books. The winning Portola team will compete with winning teams from other district middle schools. This year, the five books are a combination of new favorites and enduring classics: “Catching Fire,” “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,”“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,”“The Skin I’m In,” and “Hatchet.”For more information, see Ms. Bogie in the library

Great Excuse to Avoid Cooking
The Ed. Fund (West Contra Costa Public Education Fund) is holding a fundraiser at Rubio’s in El Cerrito Plaza on Nov. 8, 2012. Simply present this flyer and Rubio’s will donate 20% of your purchase to the Ed. Fund. The Ed. Fund sponsors programs including scholarships, art, music, and school-wide grants for educational projects.

Portola Test Scores Improve
Congratulations to all students, teachers and staff for helping elevate Portola’s test scores API to 734 from 704 in the previous school year, achieving the biggest gain of any school in El Cerrito.Let’s aim to keep improving the scores this year.

First Quarter Set to End
The first quarter will end on Friday, Oct. 26. This is a great time to check on PowerSchool to see if your student is missing any work that can be made up. If you need a password and login for PowerSchool, please go to the school office. (Note that Monday, Oct. 29 is a minimum day in addition to the regularly scheduled minimum day on Wednesday, Oct. 31)

Get Ready for School Photo Day
Photo Day will be on Monday, Oct. 29. Your student received the LifeTouch order forms with this Thursday’s packet

8^th Grade Hoodie Design Contest
We need students help to create a unique design for the hooded sweatshirt for the 8^th grade class of 2012-2013. Enter a design by the deadline of Monday, Oct. 22. The author of the winning design will receive a free sweatshirt! Design must fit on 9 inch by 12 inch paper, must include the name Portola Middle School or PMS, must include the year 2013 and must only use four colors: black, white, green and yellow.

Turn in Your Scary Art and Stories
The deadline for students to submit pictures and stories for the annual Fright Write anthology is Monday, Oct. 22. Artwork to be considered for the cover of the anthology must contain the words `Fright Write’ and `2012-2013′. Students whose work is published in the anthology will receive a free copy.

Fright Fest to Be Held Oct. 29-31
Student activities during school lunch hour to include a scarecrow building contest on Oct. 31, contests for guessing the weight of a pumpkin and for guessing how much candy is in a jar.

Support Portola Musicians and Athletes
The school cross country team will be competing in meets on Oct. 22 at Rancho Laguna in Moraga and Oct. 25 at King Middle School in Berkeley. All symphonic and jazz bands will perform at the Halloween Concert on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the theater in El Cerrito High School.
Don’t Forget To Vote – Your Vote Counts!
You should be receiving your absentee or mail-in ballots if you haven’t already.  Aside from the presidential race, there is also a race to fill two offices for our school board.  The school board is an important office in our school district, and the people we elect will have a big influence as to the direction the district takes.  Also important are the two propositions, Prop. 30 & Prop 38, and the two measures, Measure G & Measure E, that will greatly affect our schools and the ability of our school district to continue maintaining the minimal services that we currently have if not passed. See Props and Measures flyer (PDF) for a comparison of the propositions and measures. Portola PTSA endorses Measure G.

First SSC Meeting of the year
SSC meeting will be Friday Oct. 19th at 2:45 pm. Items to be discussed include the previous year’s test data and what programs will be continued to increase student achievement, and the School Site Plan for Student Achievement. All SSC meetings are open to the public. However, only council members may vote on any decisions.

Second ELAC Meeting of the year
ELAC is hosting its second English Learner Parent Informational Meeting on Friday Oct. 19, 2012 at 9:00 am in Room 7. You can learn all about the English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC), and how you can get involved to support and improve the English learners program and services at Portola. Only parents of English Learner students are asked to attend.

Fright Fest Update
Fright Fest, Portola’s first annual Halloween party, will take place over three days, Oct. 29-31, instead of the previously announced Oct. 31 date. Activities will occur during the 4th and 5th lunch periods. Planned activities for Oct. 29-31st include guess the pumpkin weight, and guess the number of candy in the jar. Scarecrow building contest is scheduled for Oct. 31st. See attached flyer for more details. (Fright Flyer PDF)

Teacher Treat Day goes Italian
The next teacher treat day will be Friday Oct. 19th (instead of the usual second Friday of the month). The suggested theme for food donations is Italian. Please let Tre Curran know if you can bring anything. Also, if anybody has a red and white checkered pattern tablecloth they are willing to lend to enhance the theme, please let Tre know at trecurran88@gmail.com.

Preparing for High School
The 8th Graders will be taking the ReadiStep assessment test on Oct. 18th and 19th during class. The assessment consists of three multiple choice tests in areas of Critical Reading, Math, and Writing Skills. Students will have 40 minutes to complete each section. For more information, please visit http://readistep.collegeboard.org/.

8th Grade hoodie design due date extended
Students who wish to submit a design for the 8th grade hoodie contest have until Monday Oct. 22nd. Winning artist will receive a free sweatshirt so make sure you have your name on your drawing! See attached flyer for more details. (8th Grade Hoodie design contest PDF)

PTSA Seeking Graphic Designers
PTSA would like to create more signage to announce events and direct appeal progress to hang on the fences along Moesser and Portola. We are in need of graphic designers to create the designs for the signs. We will take take care of the printing. If you can help, please contact Jenny Parks at jennylparks@hotmail.com.

More upcoming events:
Oct. 18th – Cross Country Team at 4:15 in Cerrito Vista Park
Oct. 24th – Portola Bands Halloween Concert at 7:00 pm in the El Cerrito High School Theater
Nov. 1st – Halloween Dance from 2:35-4:00 pm in the El Cerrito Community Center Main Hall
Nov. 1st – Portola Information Night from 6:30-8:00 pm. Program starts at the Café.

Get Your Ghoul On
Look out for the annual Fright Write student anthology of Halloween-themed stories, poems and artwork. Guidelines were sent home Thursday with your student. Submissions are due by Monday, Oct. 22. Adult volunteers needed to judge submissions, please e-mail Evangeline at emireland@yahoo.com if you can get involved. Selected entries will appear in a bound volume.

Fright Fest, Portola’s first annual Halloween party, is also coming up on Oct. 31. Save the date and e-mail Evangeline at emireland@yahoo.com to start helping with the planning of this event. Past activities include scarecrow building contest, guess the pumpkin weight, and guess the number of candy in the jar.

World Cup at Portola
Get ready for the arrival of the beautiful game at Portola with intramural soccer. Sign-ups begin next week. See Mr. Aloi in Room 25 if interested.

Go Cross Country Team!
Portola cross country team hosts the next meet at Cerrito Vista Park on Oct. 11 at 4:15 p.m. Get out there and cheer on those runners!

Thank you!
A big round of applause to all the volunteers and parents who helped with the work day last weekend to help make Portola more beautiful. Thanks to Nerissa Wu, Bobbie Dowling, Susan Riggle and John Waterson, Sarah Rowell and Tim Warner from the GoPortola group. Thank you also to the following volunteers who helped: Sally and Kadin Foster, Natalie and Tom Page, Kara and Jonathan de la Paz, Michael Suwzinsky, Michael Kunz, Matthew and Reggie Burnham, Peter Ireland, Patty Enrado, Romy Douglass, Joanna Pace and Cass Duggan.

Congrats and Thanks
Mary Schmida, Julie Brown and Saidah Said were elected to join the School Site Council as parent representatives. Thanks to them for volunteering for the role. The SSC reviews and analyzes student achievement data and helps develop the school plan and the school budget. Existing members of the SSC are: xyz.

Reminder: Next PTSA meeting is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9. We will be discussing the budget, Fright Fest, and the auction. Please bring boxtops!

Drum roll please…

Mr. Burnham was named Middle School Principal of the Year by WCCUSD! Nominated by his peers in the district, he was selected by the members of the administrators’ union as THE Middle School Principal in the district. He is now in the running for best Middle School Principal in the county. Congratulations Mr. B!