When it comes to receiving high quality educational experiences, Cornerstone students have the good fortune of being taught by many of the best teachers in the district. In addition, through our Booster Club funds and the talents, hard work, and dedication of our Cornerstone parents, we are uniquely fortunate to be able to offer our children many enhanced educational programs which supplement our core curriculum. The Cornerstone Booster Club raises a substantial amount of money each year, with a large portion of these funds benefiting our students via the Parent Board Committee known as Education. This
Education Committee, chaired by Diane Imbach and Stefanie Schakel is comprised of nine sub-committees, each with its own chairperson and valuable educational offering.We would like to take just a few minutes of your time to introduce you to each of these subcommittees and its chairperson (noted in parentheses) for the 2011-2012 school year. Many of these sub-committees are unique to Cornerstone and exist only because of our dedicated and enthusiastic parent volunteers and our Booster Club funds.
Thank you in advance for helping to make this year at Cornerstone the best ever!Art at Your Fingertips (Dianna Pieper, Chair): Art at Your Fingertip’s primary objective is to help each child at every grade level feel comfortable using art as a means of expressing him or herself while enhancing each child’s creative and mental growth through art. These goals are truly evident when you see the amazing art pieces your child creates during the AAYF sessions. Through simple techniques and your child’s imagination, your child will create masterpieces that you’ll want to surely make space for on your walls at home. Volunteer opportunities are plenty, and range from becoming a trained docent, to helping put supplies together, to working in the class as an assistant with these fabulous projects. You don’t have to be an artist to get involved, just a parent with a passion for working with children. Please contact Dianna Pieper
for more information on all the artistic fun!Art Trek (Yuko Royston, Chairs): Picasso, Monet, Matisse. These are just a few of the Great Masters that our children will be exposed to this year through the unique Art Trek program. The goals of Art Trek include teaching children of all ages a basic working knowledge of art techniques, media, vocabulary and history, as well as increasing awareness of the influence that art has on our culture. Art Trek builds up and enhances children’s drawing and painting skills, heightens their visual senses, and encourages them to appreciate their own creativity, all while working on fun art projects! Again, you don’t have to be an art expert to teach Art Trek. Many of our past docents began the year not knowing how to draw stick figures, and through the docent education program learned amazing art techniques and how to pass those onto our children. You just need an enthusiasm for interacting with the kids, and the rest falls into place. Contact Yuko Royston become a trained docent or docent’s assistant. It’s a blast!
Multi-Cultural Studies (Tara Woods, Chair): Many schools throughout Southern California meet the California State Standards of multicultural studies by devoting one week of the school yearto study a variety of cultures. At Cornerstone, we’ve taken it a bit further and truly delve into one country’s history, heritage and culture by exploring it throughout the year. Throughout the 2011-12 school year, our children will have the opportunity to learn about the country of
Mexico through a multitude of activities including assemblies, recess activities, newsletters, Family Fun Nights, “After School Series” courses, and other educational experiences. This is Cornerstone’s seventh offering of a year-long multicultural study, and it’s just one stop on our trip around the globe as we attempt to make the world smaller, one country at a time. Previous Cornerstone multicultural studies have included the Italy (2010-2011), India (2009-2010), Caribbean (2008-2009), China (2007-2008), Ireland (2006- 2007), Brazil (2005-2006), Greece (2004-2005), and Japan (2003-2004). To make the program a success, we need many parent volunteers to help with these special events and activities. You don’t need to be an expert on Mexico; you will learn right along with your kids! Please contact Tara Woods for more information on how you can contribute to this unique and enriching experience.Characters Come Alive ((LeeAnne Pinner & Lori Ketkar, Chairpersons): What would Marco Polo, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Maya Angelou, and Laura Ingalls Wilder have to say if they were alive today? What would you ask Sacagawea and Teddy Roosevelt if you saw them roaming the Cornerstone halls? Well, thanks to the talent of some of our Cornerstone parent volunteers, (who study their characters, dress in costume, and visit the classrooms throughout the year), all of our kids have the chance to learn directly from these historical figures. Whether you’ve got the acting bug or a passion for history, you could help bring an important character to life for our children. Contact LeeAnne Pinner or Lori Ketkar
to see how you can get involved!Assemblies & Workshops (Maggie Heisler, Chair): Assemblies and workshops offer another unique way to have learning jump out of a book and land right here at Cornerstone. Every year we find interesting, educational, interactive and FUN experiences to enhance our children’s educational experience. Last year’s events included safety awareness and the negative effects of bullying within the context of an extreme BMX bike racer exhibition. We also had an amazing hands-on science museum and some swarthy Pirates of the Caribbean show up at Cornerstone. In addition, we have yearly grade-specific workshops, including a visit by Beatrix Potter to Kindergarten and an amazing “Walk Through the American Revolution,” where 5
th Graders take on roles of famous men and women, recreate historical battles, and sign the Declaration of Independence. If you’ve got an interesting idea, or just want to help coordinate and/or execute one of these fun events, please contact Maggie Heisler.Field Trips (Maggie Heisler, Chair): In addition to the time devoted to the learning experience in the classroom, all children participate in two grade-level fieldtrips, ranging from museums to theatrical performances to beach cleanups and more. These field trips, supported in part by Booster Club funds, are aimed at enriching the lessons learned in class. We are currently looking for grade level representatives, as well as chaperones for these awesome adventures. Each of the grade-level reps works in collaboration with their teachers to schedule educational experiences that will supplement their curriculum, and the chaperones get to join in on the fun. Please contact Maggie Heisler
for more details.Performing Arts (Leslie Scow, Chair) Cornerstone is again on the cutting edge by bringing the performing arts California State Standards to our children through this fabulous program. Your child will sing, dance and act under the direction of Fantasia Family Music, a performing arts institute that believes every child has artistic potential that should be developed to its fullest. Each grade level works for sixteen weeks on a live performance for family and friends, in which every child is a star. It’s an amazing and unique opportunity for our children, and one of the favorite activities of the year. You’ll be singing right along as your child practices at home for the big show! We need lots of adults on-hand during the performances and dress rehearsals for coordination, costume changes, and crowd control. (You wouldn’t be asked to work during your own child’s show.) Let us know if you’d like more information on how you can help our kids become stars on stage! Please contact Leslie Scow.
Spelling Bee (Sherisse Emory, Chair): Children in Grades 3, 4 and 5 have the opportunity to hone their spelling and speaking skills by joining the Spelling Bee competition at Cornerstone. The Spelling Bee benefits our children by encouraging them to study from lists of high caliber words for several weeks, after which they will stand up and compete in front of an audience of their peers, parents, and teachers to demonstrate their “t-r-e-m-e-n-d-o-u-s” spelling skills! Upper-grade winners at the school level then go onto compete at the district and state levels, with the ultimate prize being a spot at the National Spelling Bee. A lot of coordination and administrative “behind the scenes” work goes into the Bee each year, and there are many adults needed on-hand during the actual event. It’s a lot of fun and always very exciting. Please contact Terry Jenness
to see where you can best help out.Archeological Dig (Dianna Pieper, Chair): This program, offered each year to 4
th grade students, allows our children to learn about fossils, relics and the field of archeology first-hand. During the “Dig”, students receive classroom training over a period of two days, and then explore a “real” archeological dig on the Cornerstone campus, unearthing bones, fossils and other treasures. This program originated at Cornerstone and has since been adopted by the PVPUSD with offerings at other local elementary schools. If you are the parent of a 4th Grader, please contact Jennifer Townsend to see how you can help bring this Dig to life!We hope you have enjoyed reading about the enriching experiences our children receive as students here at Cornerstone. If any of these have piqued your interest, and would like to learn more about please contact the specific chairperson listed.
Involvement in any of these sub-committees is a fulfilling and rewarding way to be involved in your child’s education, and is a fun way to earn Service Hours. Remember, it takes all of us, through our talents, time and effort, to bring these wonderful programs to our children.
Diane Imbach and Stefanie Schakel
Education Co-Chairs