Father-Daughter Dance 2012 (April 13)!

This year we will be holding the annual Father Daughter Dance on April 13 from 6:30 – 9:30pm in the MUB. Tickets will be $15 per person and can be purchased via Paypal (see below) or at the door on the night of the dance.

The theme for this year’s dance is Masquerade Ball and all of the girls will have the opportunity to decorate and wear their own masks. We are going to do things a little differently this year and have food at the event as well as cupcakes, so no need to eat dinner before the dance! We will also have the photo booth again this year and raffle off some fun Father Daughter prizes!

If you would like to donate food or prizes or have any questions, please contact Crystal Meyer.


Girl(s) Name
Father (or chaperone) Name


Measure W (Parcel Tax) – Vote YES!

The Board of Trustees of the Redwood City School District voted unanimously to place a parcel tax measure on the ballot for an election to be held on June 5, 2012. To read more about this diverse community effort and see who in your community has endorsed Measure W, go to Redwood City for Better Schools.

If the measure passes, the annual tax of $67 per parcel will provide local and stable funding for our schools and bring over $5 million dollars to our schools over the next 5 years. These dollars can’t be taken by the State. So, every dollar would stay in our schools protecting our academic programs, retaining our quality teachers and keeping our libraries open.

Volunteer Now!

To ensure success on June ballot, each Redwood City school is being asked to recruit at least 100 volunteers to “get the word out” (aka Phone Bank and Precinct Walk).

Clifford’s Phone Bank nights are scheduled for Tuesday, April 10 and Tuesday, May 8 from 5:30-8:30pm.

The all school and community Precinct Walks are scheduled for the following Saturdays: April 28, May 5, May 26 and June 2.

Sign Up Now!

To be part of the team that brings much needed funds to our schools, sign up to Phone Bank and Precinct Walk at betterrwcschools.org/Better-RWC-Schools/GetInvolved-BetterSchools.html.

If you have questions, contact Joni Reicher, Clifford Parcel Tax Site Captain, at jbreicher@mac.com.

Clifford Store’s Grand Opening!

Monday, March 19, 2012: After lots of planning and preparation, Student Council members set up shop outside the Teachers’ Lounge on campus. With help from Mr. Tashman (Student Council Moderator and 2nd Grade teacher) and Tia Knuedler (parent volunteer), the store’s debut drew in the crowds.

Hot ticket items: colored pencil pens along with basketball-and-hoop-adorned pens! As a Council-driven venture, all proceeds will feed back into the store’s operation; customers’ dollars will be used to restock the merchandise, for instance.

Congratulations everybody!

If you missed checking out the store’s goodies with your kids, come back again next time: Weekly on Mondays, 2:35PM to 3:15PM roughly, outside the Lounge near the school office.

Pictured here (from left to right): Jasmine Castillo, Heather Valverde (both 8th Grade students), Tia Knuedler (store volunteer), Marilyn Ezrin (PTO president), Asher Ezrin (2nd Grade student), Mr. Tashman, and James Gusto (7th Grade student).

Going Once, Going Twice, Fundraiser Success!

Hula dancers and live music by Bay Area resident Kawika Alfiche. Delicious food served by Hula Sisters. Fruit punch. Flowers and Hawaiian garb. A top-notch range of auction items…… What a night!

130 people attended Clifford’s Luau & Auction on Sat., March 10, 2012. Some highlights: A premier (yearly) parking spot at Clifford went for $1,400; a framed photo of Room 2’s Kindergarten students posing as the alphabet sold for $1,100; front row seats at graduation closed at $600.

As of this writing, it’s too early to tell how much we raised, but we know that it will be an impressive amount! Huge thanks to Bunnie Morrow and Elaina Pitre for the countless hours they spent organizing and running this fundraiser.

Lap-A-Thon 2012 on May 18

Mark your calendars, Clifford’s Annual Lap-a-thon is coming up, on Friday, May 18! The theme this year is “LOL-Lappin’ Out Loud”! It will be a day of laughter-filled lap-running for our Clifford students and teachers!

Also, it is a great day for parents and grandparents to come show their school spirit and cheer the students on! For this event, students ask family, friends and neighbors to sponsor them or make a $ pledge for every lap that they run/walk. The Lap-a-thon is a fun way of raising money for our school and the valuable programs funded through the PTO.

Stay tuned for more details and Lap-a-thon pledge sheets to come home in the Wednesday folders next month.

If you have questions or would like to help in any way, contact Claire Cosentino at cosentinoconsulting@gmail.com.

“Educate Our State” Rally: Thurs., March 15, 730am

We need you and your kids to BLOW BUBBLES for education! The California legislature is on the verge of blowing it, and our children are going to pay the price.

The current budget proposal depends on revenue generated from a not-yet-passed November initiative — but even kindergartners know the school year starts months before that. Our schools can’t pay for teachers and programs with money they don’t have and might never get.

On March 15, the notorious “Pink Slip” day, thousands of teachers will get lay-off notices while their students will be blowing bubbles to tell our state leaders, “Don’t blow it! You have the power to fund education NOW!”

Will you join us?

When: March 15, 7:30 am
Where: Adjacent to Clifford School, on Clifford Ave.

Click here to RSVP.  For more information, go to ThisBudgetBlows.org

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

It’s Time to Start Planning for Next Year…

The PTO has had a very successful year. We’ve implemented a lot of new programs and met most of our 2011/2012 goals.

Now is the time to think about next year. The PTO will be holding elections at its April 12th meeting to fill the offices of president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. The executive board positions are re-elected each year. This is an exciting opportunity to work closely with the new administration at Clifford and help shape the future of our children’s school.

There are commitments to run from current board members as well as from the general PTO. If one of these positions interest you or you would like to get more information please contact Marilyn Ezrin at tezrin@yahoo.com.

Multicultural Festival: “Clifford’s Got Talent” Entry Forms!

At this year’s Multicultural Festival (June 1,  5:30-6:30pm), we will be hosting the “Clifford’s Got Talent” Show. If your student(s) is interested in sharing their talent with the Clifford community – this is their opportunity!

Can they sing or dance or both? Can they play an instrument or perform magic tricks? Maybe combine their talent with a friend’s – play an instrument while a friend sings or dances. Enrichment classes are welcome to perform.

We are looking for students to perform individually or as a group. Auditions will be held on March 22 & 29 from 2-3pm in the MUB.

Please contact Cecilia Fernandez with your questions at jcjjfernandez@sbcglobal.net or (650) 279-9706.

March 8 2012 PTO Meeting Minutes

Thank you to those who came to the PTO Meeting on Thursday. For those who weren’t able to attend, here is an outline of what happened. We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting (7pm, Library, Thursday, April 12th).

  • The Clifford School play (Beauty & the Beast) ended up costing the PTO only $850. The income was from tickets sales (sold out) and student fees to participate. It was a tremendous community event that really brought many different grade levels together. An enormous thank you to Kim & Sam Faus for making this all happen and their hard work.
  • Ann Berjlafa & Gail Bloomstrom – Educate Our State. There will be a statewide march called “This Budget Blows” on Thursday, March 15th. Gail will coordinate. The plan is to meet before school on Clifford Ave. to unite the voices of Californians in support of high-quality K-12 Public Education and demand real change.
  • Middle School Forum will be on March 21st in the library from 7PM-8:30PM. For 5th-8th grade parents. It is planned as an information and action meeting. Janet Wilkerson (Clifford Kindergarten Teacher) will be the Moderator.
  • Christina Sullivan -The Read-a-thon raised $9933.06. The Teachers will receive half of the money that their classrooms raised. $2000 will be given to the Library, $1000 to the Clifford Resource Teachers. The class in each grade level that raised the most money will bet a cupcake party as acknowledgement.
  • Volunteer Appreciation will be on May 24th. The idea is to acknowledge special volunteers. If you know someone who should be nominated, contact Claire Cosentino at cosentinoconsulting@gmail.com.
  • RCEF Annual Fundraiser is May 4th. Go to their website for more information. RCEF.org.
  • Multicultural Day. There will be a Talent Show this year. Auditions will be on March 22nd & 29th in the MUB from 2-3PM. Flyers will be sent home with applications. Contact Cecelia Fernandez.
  • Parcel Tax – Joanie Reicher. The school board has approved the parcel tax. Of $67. It will go on the ballot in June. Clifford needs more volunteers to call voters. All you need to do is ask a few questions.
  • Father Daughter Dance is Friday, April 13th.
  • The Lap-a-thon will be on May 18th. All grades this year (not doing hoop-a-thon for middle schoolers). If you would like to help, please contact Claire Cosentino.
  • If you are interested in being on the PTO Board, please contact Marilyn Ezrin as soon as possible. We will vote on the new positions at the next meeting on April 12th. Open positions include: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer.