How about a new HDTV?

We already told you about the iPod Touch that we would be selling raffle tickets for at Fun Fest (Friday, February 4). Item #2 that you will be able to purchase raffle tickets for : a class 42" Plasma Panasonic HDTV (720p 600Hz ). The approximate retail value is $600.

Again, items will actually be raffled of the night of Spring To It (Saturday, March 12), but you can start buying your tickets at Fun Fest!

All proceeds will benefit WPPA, and of course go straight towards funding fantastic things at Wilshire Park. Stay tuned for two more exciting items that we will be pre-selling tickets for and raffling off on March 12.

Let Us Eat Cake

Everyone loves a Cake Walk! We are looking for donations for this favorite Fun Fest game. Drop off your store-bought treats at the school office next week between Tuesday, February 1 and Friday, February 4. Bonus ... you get Fun Fest game tickets for each item donated!

Also, Fun Fest chairs are looking for someone to help coordinate this piece of the event. Volunteer would 1) keep track of cakes/items donated and 2) be available the day of Fun Fest (February 4) to help shop for additional items if needed.

Questions or want to help? Email Angela M.

Bikes!

A big huge thanks to the St. Anthony Lions Club for their donation of two bikes! WPPA will be raffling off these bikes (both 20", one boys one girls -- actual color may vary) at Fun Fest on Friday, February 4. Proceeds from the raffle will go directly to WPPA.

Fifth Grade Recognition

Planning has begin for Fifth Grade Recognition! Parents of fifth graders, please check out this letter from the chairs for more information.

iPod Touch!

Need yet another reason to come to Fun Fest? How about a chance to win an iPod Touch?

We will be pre-selling raffle tickets for a few select items that will be given away the night of our Spring To It fundraiser (which is Saturday, March 12 ... remember, you were going to mark your calendars!?!).

One of these items is an Apple iPodT8GB (4th Generation) with touch screen.

Are you as excited as we are?

This Week 1/24

Two things to think about for this upcoming week:

1. Fun Fest: Our all-school carnival is a fun event that the students really enjoy! However, we need many helping hands to pull it off. If you haven't already, please plan to volunteer an hour of your time to run a game Friday, February 4 sometime between 4-8 p.m.Contact Nancy J. to sign up.
2. Spring To It Donations: Please consider a donation towards raffle items for the Spring Fundraiser. Cash or tickets to local sporting events and/or museums/family attractions would be greatly appreciated. All items are fully tax deductible. Forms were sent home with students last week. Any questions? Email us.

As always, thanks for all you do to help make our school the best it can be for our kids!

Last Call for Personalized Yearbooks

This is the LAST WEEK to order personalized yearbooks, and also to get the early-bird price of $20. You can order directly from the Josten's site. Check it out.

Fun Fest

Thanks to all those who have volunteered for Fun Fest. We still have over 100 spots to fill. Please email Nancy J. to volunteer one hour of your time for this fun family event. Remember, you can volunteer WITH your kids!!

Morning Coffee

Coffee with the Superintendent Parents and community members are invited to a small, informal gathering with Superintendent Dr. Rod Thompson to learn about what is happening in our school district and take a tour of the renovated secondary building. Meetings are scheduled from 7:15-8 a.m. on Thursday, January 20 and Thursday, April 28. Call Mary Law at 612-706-1002 to make a reservation. Space is limited.

Coffee with the Principal The next event will be on January 21 from 9:15-10:15 in the Multipurpose Room. The topic for this meeting will be the math curriculum and the guest teachers will be Mr. Nowlin and Mrs. Frank. If you have volunteer work to do, please bring it along!

There are some available spaces in the Community Center Sibling Care program that takes place on Friday mornings. Preschool children will be cared for by parent volunteers if you would like to attend Coffee with the Principal. Contact Shiela Grand for more information.

Spring To It

You should have received save the date postcards for the Spring To It fundraiser happening on Saturday, March 12 at Elsie's in Minneapolis.

We have gotten a few questions about this event — the main ones being: What is Spring To It? And When is Silent Auction Going to Be?

Here’s the dealio about that — Spring To It will be our spring fundraiser going forward. We will not be having a Silent Auction.

Here are just a few things the group considered when planning/making changes to this event:

We had GREAT feedback from an off-site, parents-only event last year. We wanted to continue that tradition. However, a Silent Auction is a lot of work. The amount of time that the chairs volunteer each year is staggering. And because of that, it was difficult for people make more than a one-year commitment to chairing the event. Also, volunteers weren’t usually knocking down our door looking to be the next chair — this year was no exception.

The hope of this year is to have an event that will be consistent from year to year. By not constantly reinventing the wheel, we cut down on the planning and coordination. We also minimize the risk of exhausting our hard-working volunteers so that we hopefully have a steady group of people (with some changes and additions of course!) working on the project from year to year.

All that said, the goal of Spring To It —just like Silent Auction — is to raise money! We are confident that through corporate sponsors, amazing raffles (raffle alone brought in almost $4k at last year’s event), and the help of our community, the event will do just that! Please watch for more information coming about this event, and please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns!

Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes for December 2010 and January 2011

Last Week to Order Yearbooks!!

This week is the final week for ordering personalized yearbooks and to get the yearbooks for $20. After this week the price will go up! You can order yearbooks on the school website. Look for the scrolling information down the right side of the screen. Click on the yearbook ad and it will take you to the online ordering page!

Thanks to Kari Tholkes, Kim Nogosek, Steve Campbell and Tasha McFarland for all their hard work on this project!

A Note From the Fun Fest Chairs

Wilshire Park Fun Fest will be held on Friday, February 4 from 4-8 p.m. You and your family are invited to come play games, eat and socialize with other Wilshire Park families! Fun Fest is only as good as the help we get, and we need YOU! Please make plans now to spend an hour helping with this all-school event.

You may help in different ways. We need volunteers to fill approximately 200 shifts in the game booths, or you can help with set-up or clean-up.

Please contact njarmulowicz@stanthony.k12.mn.us You will receive a confirmation message.

Spring To It

SAVE THE DATE postcards for the spring fundraiser were sent home today. Did you get yours?