Contents Below:
New Student Info
SOPA Elections
Halloween Haunted Hollywood

Enrollment for Fall 2008 is now taking place!
Please visit the front office to turn in your enrollment packet.
The earlier the better!
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Incoming 2008-2009 Kindergarten
Playdate!
Friday, June 13, 2008
3:30 pm on Kinder playground
Click here (Newcomers' News) for more information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kindergarten Orientation
Friday, August 29, 2008
2:30 pm
Visit the front office or call 818-784-8283 for details

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Final SOPA Meeting of the Year!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
6:45 pm in the library

Elections for the 2008-09 SOPA Executive Board!
All Board Members are voted in by the SOES stakeholders,
so come enjoy the meeting (about 1 hr) and vote!

SOPA EXECUTIVE BOARD CANDIDATES 2008-2009
(in alphabetical order)

ANDY BERENSON:
I am submitting my name for election to the board of
SOPA. After spending the last 12 months on the board,
I cannot express how happy I am that I chose to run
and how proud I am of the entire SOPA board. We have
accomplished so much in the past year.

Some of the things I was directly involved in include:
organizing the room parents into a group that
communicates and works together to benefit the kids,
parents and teachers; organizing 2 phonathons that
collected over $13000 in pledges; and reorganizing
Stop Drop and Roll into a program that utilizes the
entire parent body as volunteers.

As a group, this Board also had tremendous success in
our Direct Donation Drive fundraising, Halloween
event, Boogie Nights event and our soon-to-be complete
computer lab, to name just a few.

We are all hard at work continuing to build strong
programs for the kids of SOES. With that in mind, I
request that you not only vote for me for next years
SOPA board, but that you also re-elect all the current
members of the board who are running again.

With my oldest son entering 2nd grade and my youngest
entering Kindergarten, I look forward to many more
years of service on the SOPA board.

Thank You.

JODY BRADLEY:
I believe the children are our future, teach them well
and let them lead the way.
Let’s show them all the beauty they possess inside,
give them . . . oh wait, never-mind . . .

My name is Jody Bradley and I am running for the SOPA
Board of Directors. I have served as a board member
for the previous 5 years. We have accomplished many
things for our kids during that time, and with your
support, I look forward to continuing those efforts
for our great school.

Thank you for your consideration.

DEBORAH CABANDAY:
I am a Kindergarten parent and my daughter is in room
29 with Mrs. Uziel. I'm a working mom, but my hours
are East coast, which gives me afternoons free to help
out at the school. My career is in Marketing Science
and I feel I bring an experienced marketing
perspective to the school. In the past year, I helped
expand the highly successful School Tours into an
Incoming Student program, designed to help incoming
parents make informed decisions about SOES. I created
a brochure, held a wine & cheese, kept incoming
parents informed on enrollment and other SOES events,
and held an incoming Kinder Playdate. There is a
second playdate scheduled for June 13th. I help sell
ice cream every Friday, helped with Boogie Nights, and
am now a co-chair for the Halloween Carnival. If
elected to the board, I would help continue the
initiatives currently being done, and add some fresh
ideas to help make the school even better.

MIMI GAZZALE:
My family and I have enjoyed two fantastic years at
Sherman Oaks Elementary (Nicholas is finishing 1st
grade, Ella will join in the fall of 2009), and I have
volunteered in several different areas during this
time; as room parent, classroom volunteer, Silent
Auction solicitor and as a Wonder of Reading
volunteer. I've baked cookies, decorated cupcakes, cut
box tops, shopped at the mall and, of course, stopped,
dropped and rolled. I have attended all of the SOPA
meetings, and have recently started taking the meeting
notes for Andy. I have tried to help out whenever I
can, but feel now would be a good time to step up my
involvement.

I hope you will consider me for the 2008/2009 SOPA
Board. My background includes education and non-profit
arts administration, which I believe could be put to
good use on the board. I understand the importance
and challenges of fundraising and have tremendous
respect for the board and their accomplishments. SOES
represents a community of smart, hard-working and
dedicated people committed to providing the best
education possible for our children. I am thrilled to
be a part of this, and would love to contribute even
more.

Many thanks for your consideration.

DIANE HEGGEN:
I graduated from SOE over thirty years ago and this
school remains very close to my heart! I have been
a parent at Sherman Oaks Elementary for six years.
My oldest daughter, Madison, is graduating this month
and my daughter, Erica, will be entering 3rd grade
in the fall.

I am well known around these parts as The Halloween Lady
as it has been my great pleasure to help organize the
annual Halloween Carnival for our school for the past
couple of years. The 2008 Haunted Hollywood Carnival
promises to be best one yet! I have also assisted with
a number of SOPA sponsored fundraisers and events over
the years, pitching in when and where I am needed.

I am also a Girl Scout leader for 15 second graders and
very involved in community service. I am a working mom
but have a great support system that enables me to
volunteer my time and energy, giving me the opportunity
to be involved in my children¹s school community.

I never miss a SOPA meeting and am excited about the
opportunity to work alongside these dedicated parents
who are committed to making our school the best that
it can be.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.

ANN MANGINI
My Name is Ann Mangini~ my son , Rio, will be
graduating from Ms Ozeki's Kindergarten class
in a matter of days! This is my first experience in any
school I love SOES ! I am forever indebted to Ms O,
ALL the teachers~ Mrs Harr and Mrs Ozello
and their fierce commitment to our children's education.

PATTY PUSKAR:
Sherman Oaks Elementary stood out from the other area
schools when my husband and I started to research
schools for our eldest child, who finishing 6th grade
this year. It has been an incredible 7 years. Next
year I will have a 5th grader and a 3rd grader still
in attendance here. I love this school and the
enriching education it offers.

I served for the past four years on the SOPA board,
and wish to serve again in the coming year. I helped
this past year with Boogie Nights, School Site
Council, and making and selling our school apparel, to
name a few. I plan to continue with these next year.
I volunteer in the classroom, and no job is too little
for me to pitch in and lend a hand. I feel that my
organizational skills can be put to good use in
planning our school’s future. I am proud to help the
SOPA board to raise the standards here even higher
when it comes to enriching our children’s education.

Thank you for your consideration!

DAVE RIDDELL:
This past year has been quite a remarkable one for our
school. Our incredible art, music, and physical
education programs are stronger than ever, and our
soon-to-open state of the art computer media lab and
planned lush, beautiful campus will further our
children’s experiences at their top-notch school.
It’s a great time to be at Sherman Oaks.

I have enjoyed being involved with the school and SOPA
the past three years. My daughters will be in third
grade and kindergarten next year. Volunteering in
the classroom, Homework Club, Ice-Cream Fridays,
Combined Council, and the School Tours have been a
pleasure. Most of all, I have enjoyed this past year
serving as your SOPA President, overseeing the
construction of the computer lab, preparing campus
improvements, creating a new school website soon to
launch, and doing all I can to help continue and
improve the standard of excellence at the school.

I am passionate about the possibilities of SOES -- we
are all ambassadors for our children’s schooling, and
I look forward to us working together to continue our
path of providing a world-class education for all our
kids. The forecast for our school has never been
greater, and I am excited to be a part of this family
to take Sherman Oaks Elementary to the pinnacle of
enriched education. I offer my energy and efforts to
help us achieve these goals.

Thank you!

AUDREY SANTOS:
I have been a parent at Sherman Oaks Elementary for
four years, and a member of the SOPA Board for one.

My daughter Maia is currently in third grade and my
son Jesse will enter kindergarten in the fall.

This past year I created the SOPA Bulletin that goes
home weekly; I've been a weekly classroom volunteer
for the past four years; a room parent for two years;
co-chair of the Teacher Raffle for two years; co-chair
of the Entertainment Book fundraiser in 2005; plus I
have assisted with a number of other SOPA sponsored
fundraisers/events including the Halloween event,
Jog-a-thon, and the Teacher Appreciation lunch.

Active parent participation is what makes a school a
community, and helps create a more enriching
environment for our kids to learn in. I would like to
continue to do my part. Thanks for your consideration.

INGRID ZELINGER:
I have been on the SOPA Board for the last two years
and have been a Sherman Oaks Elementary Parent for 9
years this September!! My older daughter Isabella is
a SOES Alum and my younger daughter Mikaela is now
going into 2nd Grade in September.
I have always felt being involved in my daughter’s
school and volunteering in any way I can is very
important to your child’s school. Especially with
LAUSD’s budget cuts, I feel being a volunteer at your
school and raising funds is more important now than
ever!!

I have been involved with Care’s Day, the Gift Wrap
Drive and I have been a classroom Room Parent every
year in both my girl’s classes. I have co-chaired
the Spring Fundraisers for the last 3 years; Fiesta
2006, Wild Wild West 2007 and Boogie Nights 2008. And
I look forward to chairing the Spring Event again in
2009. I have learned a lot over the last two years in
the SOPA Board and hope to continue being a Board
member in 2008-2009. I hope you will consider voting
for me another year for the SOPA Board so I can
continue to help make Sherman Oaks Elementary a great
place for our kids. Thank you.

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HALLOWEEN
"HAUNTED HOLLYWOOD"

Saturday, October 25th, 2008

The Halloween Carnival is coming up soon in October 2008. Planning is underway and the committee needs help from volunteers in all areas of the Carnival. If you are interested in helping with the planning or volunteering in an area of the Carnival, please contact the Halloween Haunted Hollywood Event Chairs:  

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