PTSA Schedule

Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 19 @ 6:30 PM in the Media center. Elections will be held. Anyone interested in holding one of the PTSA Officer positions should be present with dues paid.

Individual Dues - $5.50. Anyone can join throughout the year.

Mark your calendars for future meetings:
November 16
January 18
February 15
March 15
April 19 (Elections for 2007-2008)
May 17

How Do You Get to Know Your Children's Teachers?

How Do You Get to Know Your Children's Teachers?
Teachers do more than just give students information. They teach students to think. They inspire students, encourage and challenge them. Teachers help students realize their full potential, both academically and personally. How do you get to know these influential people in your children's lives? How do you build relationships with them?

If your response is selected to be published in Our Children magazine, PTA will send you a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card. (Concise responses are more likely to be published.)
Deadline for submissions: Monday, October 9, 2006
When submitting your response to forum@pta.org, please include
Your name, Ages of your children, The name and town of your PTA, Your position in your PTA, and your home mailing address so we can send you a gift card if your submission is published.
By sending an e-mail, you'll be granting PTA the right to publish your response, which may be edited for grammar, length, and/or clarity.
This article is from The PTA Parent Biweekly Newsletter http://www.pta.org/newsletters/parent.html Tuesday, September 26, 2006.

WaMoola for Schools

Schools must earn a donation of $50 or more to receive an individual donation. Schools that earn less than $50 will have their donations allocated to organizations supporting education.

Your School: Butler High School 2011 Lumpkin Rd Augusta , GA 30906
Cardholders earning cash for your school: 3
Year to Date Points: 519
2006 Donations (Based on Points earned in 2005): $15.51

Parents do you have or do you know someone with a WaMu Debit Card? Have them designate Butler High School as the recipient. https://www.wamoolaforschools.com/about.aspx

Spread the word! Tell your friends and family. They'll want to help out too. Once they have a checking account with us, all they need to do is enroll their Washington Mutual Debit MasterCard® in the WaMoola for Schools® program. Get everybody to support your school.

GA High School Graduation Test (Writing) 9/27/06

GHSGT Writing, Grades 11 & selected 12 is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, 2006.

What score do students need to pass the GHSGT?

The Pass and Pass Plus scores for all four content areas are:

1. English Language Arts Pass 500 Pass Plus 538
2. Mathematics Pass 500 Pass Plus 535
3. Science Pass 500 Pass Plus 526
4. Social Studies Pass 500 Pass Plus 531

What are students required to do on the Georgia High School Writing Assessment?

Students must write a persuasive essay on an assigned topic. Trained professionals independently judge each essay on four qualities or "domains" of effective writing: content/organization, style, conventions of written language, and sentence formation. In the overall score for an essay, content/organization counts for twice as much as the other three domains.

Want to know more about the GHSGT?
Check out the Georgia Department of Education link at http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/curriculum/testing/ghsgt.asp

How we can help our students

Ideas are not listed in any particular order, try one or try them all:

1. Try having your child teach you the homework. The teacher always learns more than the student.
2. Constantly look for ways to tell your children what you like about them, that you love them. There is no age limit on this. "When I do something well, no one ever remembers. When I do something wrong, no one ever forgets." Those words were written by a high school dropout.
3. Look over your student's homework everyday. Praise good work. Your interest will encourage good work.
4. Be aware that your attitudes about school affect your child. If you hated math, be careful not to prejudice your child.
5. Talk with the school "in time of peace" before major problems develop.
6. How to make report cards a positive experience: Preparation. Ask, "What do you think your report card will tell us?" Getting ready is helpful. Perspective. Understand that a report card is just one small measure of your child. A child with poor grades still has plenty of strengths. Positive action. Find something to praise. Focus on how to improve.
7. Children need the 4 "A"s as well as the 3 "R"s: Attention, Appreciation, Affection, and Acceptance.
8. Every child is gifted-if we will just look for the ways. Helping a child see his/her giftedness is very motivating.
9. Help kids learn from problems, not be devastated by them. Even when something doesn't work out as they'd planned, successful people try to learn something from the experience.
10. Let kids overhear you praising them to others.

Free resources from The Parent Institute accessed from: http://www.parent-institute.com/educator/resources/

This information was prepared by Dr. John H. Wherry, President, The Parent Institute, "Education's #1 Source for Family Involvement Information," P.O. Box 7474, Fairfax Station, VA 22039-7474, 1-800-756-5525. Permission is granted for noncommercial reproduction of this material if this credit message is included.

Give Kids Good Schools Week Oct 16-22 2006

Want to support Give Kids Good Schools Week?
From the Give Kids Good Schools.org website:
http://www.givekidsgoodschools.org

"Here are 10 simple things you can do to celebrate Give Kids Good Schools Week in your community:

• Sign the Give Kids Good Schools Pledge. Sign the pledge and join thousands who believe every child deserves a quality public school. Help us spread the word by asking five friends to sign the pledge too! Sign the Pledge
• Ask your elected officials to Give Kids Good Schools. Your email will send a clear message that all kids deserve good schools. Write your elected officials
• Attend a Give Kids Good Schools Week event or plan your own activity. Celebrate the week in your community. Plan an activity Find an event near you
• Start a conversation about public schools. Talk about education at a community meeting, church service or with friends over a cup of coffee. Use our "Tips to Start Conversations About Public Schools"
• Invite a school board member, teacher or student to talk about public schools. Highlight quality public education and local school needs at your church, club or volunteer organization.
• Share your public school “success story”. Tell us how your community is helping to improve public schools and we may post your story on our Web site! Share your story
• Find out how you can get involved in public schools. Contact your school or local library to learn about volunteer activities, after school programs and other opportunities to get involved in your public schools.
• Learn how your public schools are doing. Read a newspaper article about your local schools, look up your district report card or talk with a student about what’s happening in his or her school. Visit "How is My School Doing?"
• Register to vote. Your vote is a powerful way to make your voice heard on the issues that are important to you and your community. Register to vote
• Spread the word about Give Kids Good Schools. Hang a Give Kids Good Schools decal on your car or office window; post a flyer in your workplace, gym or library; and tell friends, colleagues and family about Give Kids Good Schools. Order free materials "

100,000 Wikis in the Classroom

Back in January, we decided to offer our Plus Plan to K-12 teachers for free. We didn't set out with a grand strategy, just an interest in helping teachers with our easy to use wiki technology.

Over 10,000 educational wikis later, we've heard countless stories of excited students and empowered teachers. They've told us about their collaborative essays, group study guides, online lesson plans, and classroom notice boards coming alive on Wikispaces.

Now we're taking the next step - we want to give away 100,000 free K-12 Plus wikis. That includes all the features and benefits that normally cost $50/year - for free. No fine print, no usage limits, no advertising, no catches.

We hope that you'll read on, try a wiki at your school, and help us spread the word.
Start a Wiki in 30 seconds: http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K

What makes Wikispaces different from other wikis? We make wikis easy to use for everyone, not just technical users. We provide a simple interface, a visual page editor, and a focus on community collaboration. Find out more on our brief tour.

Constitution Day September 17

Starting with the school year 2005, all schools that receive federal monies must "hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution on September 17 of each year." (If September 17 is on a weekend day, schools must recognize Constitution Day the week before or after.) What that "educational program" entails is not detailed in the notice of implementation from the U.S. Department of Education, nor is it detailed in the federal appropriations bill that requires it. So it appears that the recognition of Constitution Day is up to you.

For that reason, Education World has gathered resources that should help you figure out just how you might recognize the day. http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson347.shtml

National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/

National Constitution Center: http://www.constitutioncenter.org/constitution/
Click on any of the images at the top of the page to read an explanation of an article or amendment.

Justice Learning: http://justicelearning.org/
Click on any article or amendment, then click the words What It Means for a straightforward explanation.

What Kids Can Do, Moms In Touch, and Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students)

Here are a few links about some organizations that are working in support of better educational environment by students, moms, and dads:

What Kids Can Do: http://www.whatkidscando.org/index.asp
What Kids Can Do, Inc. (WKCD) is a national not-for-profit organization founded in 2001 for the purpose of making public the voices and views of adolescents. On its website, WKCD documents young people's lives, learning, and work, and their partnerships with adults both in and out of school. WKCD also collaborates with students around the country on books, curricula, and research to expand current views of what constitutes challenging learning and achievement.

Moms In Touch International: http://www.momsintouch.org/NewDesign/home1old2.htm
Moms In Touch International is two or more moms who meet for one hour each week to pray for their children, their schools, their teachers, and administrators. Our purpose is to stand in the gap for our children through prayer, to pray that teachers, administrative staff, and students would come to faith in Jesus Christ, and to pray that our schools may be directed by Biblical values and high moral standards.

Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students): http://www.watchdogs.net/Default.aspx?tabid=209
The program allows fathers or father figures such as grandfathers, uncles, or other male adults to volunteer at least one day at their child’s school during the school year. The program is overseen by a “Top Dog” volunteer dad who partners with the school administrator to coordinate scheduling and identify opportunities for WatchDOGS to provide assistance at the school. Events such as monitoring the school entrance, assisting with unloading and loading of buses and cars, reading to classes or small groups of students, assisting with recess, eating lunch side by side with the students and other activities that engage the WatchDOGS with not only their own children but other children in the study body.

1st BHS PTSA Meeting

The first BHS PTSA meeting was held in the Media Center. We send a huge "Thank you" to all the parents, teachers, and Dr. Reeves for their support. We look forward to more participation as we have set a schedule for monthly meetings. Mark your calendars for the 3rd Thursday in each month. October 19, November 16, January 18, February 15, March 15, April 19, and May 17.
Dues are set at $6.00 for parents and teachers, $3.00 for all students.
Correction based on last GA PTA approved bylaws: All dues are $5.50 for every individual.

The four winners of a paid PTSA membership for the 2006-2007 school year were drawn tonight and will be called tomorrow. Congratulations to:
1SG Jimmy Ford, Mozella Dobson, James Smith, and William Lewis.

Family Day—Have Dinner Together on September 25

The more often children and teens eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink, and use drugs. Frequent family dinners also help children and teens by lowering tension and stress at home, encouraging them to confide in their parents, and helping them to get better grades in school.

Help make family dinners a part of your family’s routine:
Start the pattern of family dinners when children are young.
Encourage your children to create menu ideas and participate in meal preparation.
Turn off the TV and let your answering machine pick up calls during dinnertime.
Talk about what happened during everyone’s day: school, work, extracurricular activities, and current events.
Establish a routine to start and end each meal.
After dinner, play a board game, take a walk, or serve dessert to encourage the family to continue the conversation.
Keep the conversation positive, and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University created Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™ (www.CASAFamilyDay.org) in 2001, as a national effort to promote family dinners as an effective way to reduce substance abuse among children and teens. Family Day will be celebrated this year on September 25, and PTA supports this event. Your family can participate by taking the Family Day Pledge.

YAGOTTAWANNA Engage All Families!

Yagottawanna: Atlanta…The Engage! All Families Conference
Don’t miss out on the first Engage! All Families Conference to be held in Atlanta, GA on October 12-13, 2006. The theme of our conference is “YAGOTTAWANNA Engage All Families!” The conference will be held at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Atlanta. Learn, laugh, and leave inspired! And while you are here, enjoy the sights and sounds of the greatest southern city!
For more information check out the link for family friendly schools at http://www.familyfriendlyschools.com/Newsletter/default.asp

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. They may have paper, they may have pens, but if your children don't have library cards they're not fully equipped to learn. And it's free!

Golden Apple Awards and upcoming American Education Week

If you know an outstanding teacher who deserves recognition for their efforts in the classroom, we want to know. Complete the entire web form available at http://www.wjbf.com/midatlantic/jbf/community/golden_apple.html

You will be contacted by the Golden Apple Award committee if your nominee has been selected. We save all nomination forms for one calendar year.

November 12–18, 2006 - Celebrate American Education Week (AEW). This year's theme, Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility, highlights the importance of bringing together educators, school staff, parents, students, and communities in a unified effort to build great public schools. From the NEA website: http://www.nea.org/aew/index.html

Monday, November 13: Nationwide Kick Off Celebration. Begin American Education Week with a high profile event to reinforce the theme and preview the week's activities.
Tuesday, November 14: Invite Parents to School Day . Encourage parents to spend the day with their child at school to emphasize the importance of parental involvement.
Wednesday, November 15: Education Support Professionals Day . Recognize the secretaries, classroom aides, maintenance people, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and others who provide invaluable services to schools and students.
Thursday, November 16: Educator for a Day . Invite community leaders to serve as an educator to get a glimpse of a day in the life of a school employee.
Friday, November 17: Substitute Educators Day . Honor the educators who are called upon to substitute for regularly employed teachers and other school employees.

Simple things we can do as parents

1. Communicate with teachers. Start an email correspondence with teacher in classes where your students are having problems. Ask them to identify your student’s weaknesses, and suggest on what they can do – come in for after-school help, study more effectively, proofread, turn in assignments on time…
2. Identify resources: Based on teacher feedback, what type of support is available. After-school support/study hall where students can get help on homework and assignments, online homework links, teacher’s after-school or lunch-time hours, departmental resources, after school assistance.
3. Seek 3-way Solutions: Arrange a parent-teacher-student conference to discuss your student’s progress and problems. See if you can all agree on concrete steps that can be taken and how you can work together.
4. Extra Attention Before Quarter Ends: The last few weeks can be crucial for a student who is on the borderline. Check grades 2-3 three weeks before. If they are close, now is the time to ask teacher about dates of next assignments, quizzes, and tests. Help your student schedule extra time to study and complete all assignments.
5. Get a Tutor: Explore tutoring, whether from upperclassmen, a classmate, another faculty member, or a paid tutor. Find someone who your student connects with and who can explain how to approach problems, clarify instructions, spot common mistakes and help them rectify them.
6. Shift Student Mind Set: Getting extra help is the best way to find and fix problems. However, many students resist it. Sometimes parents have to arrange for and insist on student participation…until they can see results.
7. Praise Success: We all like to succeed and be recognized. As grades improve, congratulate your student, teacher, and all those who have helped.

CSRA College Night

CSRA College Night 2006
Thursday, September 14, 2006 5:00-8:30 pm Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center, Augusta, GA

For more information check out the link: http://www.srs.gov/general/outreach/edoutrch/coll_night.htm

The purpose is to provide an opportunity for students, parents and guidance counselors to learn about education opportunities available from accredited colleges and universities.

First PTSA Meeting

Parents, Teachers, Students...come join us for the first PTSA meeting in the media center, 6:30 PM on Thursday, September 14, 2006.

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Butler High School Open House: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 6:00 PM.

Upcoming Events

September 7, 2006
Volleyball Butler vs. Cross Creek & Glenn Hills 5 PM Home Game
AP Parent Night 6PM Media Center

September 8, 2006
Football Josey vs. Butler Home Game 7:30 PM

September 12, 2006
OPEN HOUSE
Please attend BHS Open House at 6:00 pm
Show you care...Be there!

Bring your ink cartridges to support the CARE (Cartridges Are Revenue for Education) to support Butler High School.
Check out the CARE website: http://www.carefundingprogram.com/care/index.shtml
You can check the accepted cartridge types from this link: http://www.usrecycleink.com/shop/console/buyback_list.cfm

We look forward to seeing everyone at the BHS Open House on September 12, 2006.

Notice to All Teen Drivers and their Parents

Are you familiar with Joshua’s Law? It is a bill that changes the requirements that teen drivers must meet in order to obtain a Class D driver’s license starting on January 1, 2007.

To get a Class D driver’s license at age sixteen (16):
You must have completed a driver education course approved by the Department of Driver Services and complete a cumulative total of at least forty (40) hours of other supervised driving experience, including at least six (6) hours at night.

If you have not completed an approved driver’s education course, you cannot get your Class D driver’s license until you reach age seventeen (17). Remember, forty (40) hour of driving experience, including six (6) hours of driving at night, is always required for a Class D driver’s license.

For more information and to take an online version of the practice test check out the GA Department of Driver Services: http://www.dds.ga.gov/teens/index.aspx

AP Parent Night

When: September 7, 2006 at 6:00 PM
Where: Media Center
Why: To give parents a better understanding of the AP program requirements, have parents and teachers meet, refreshments.

Show you care...Be There!

Office Depot school donations

Office Depot is proud to support our schools and communities through the "5% Back to Schools" Program*. This program gives you an opportunity to help local schools receive credits for FREE supplies when you shop at Office Depot for student school supplies.

Want to designate a school to receive 5% of your next school supply purchase? Visit your local Office Depot store to find a listing of "5% Back to Schools" ID numbers or designate the school of your choice at order confirmation.

*5% of qualifying school supply purchases made during each program period will be offered to the participating school designated by each customer quarterly in the form of an Office Depot Merchandise Card (computers, technology items, furniture items and accessories, some bulk packaged products, ink & toner cartridges and Gift Cards are not qualifying purchases). Credits are not available to schools with less than $10 in tallied credits per quarter. Unaccepted/declined credits are void. Limited to Pre-K-12th grade. Other restrictions apply; visit your local Office Depot for details. Office Depot will honor up to $10 million in total credits to the designated schools that opt to participate.

Check out the Office Depot link: http://www.community.officedepot.com/local.asp

Target's donations to Butler High School

GEORGE P BUTLER HIGH SCHOOL AUGUSTA, GA 30906 School ID: 43888
Target’s most recent donation(September 2006) 136.97
Total of all of Target’s donations through September 2006 2422.34
Amount accumulated so far toward Target’s next donation* 0.0
Number of Target® Visa® and Target® Card holders who have designated this school: 213

Data is updated on a daily basis. Check your school’s progress often.
http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-001814

*Target makes school donations in March and September each year. Accumulated donations of less than $25 are carried forward to the next donation date. If you have further questions about your school, call 1-800-316-6142 or contact us.

If you have a Target card designate Butler or your school of choice. This can also be done by friends and family members who are interested in supporting our students.
http://sites.target.com/site/en/corporate/page.jsp?contentId=PRD03-001825

Open House September 12, 2006

We started the drive to gather parental interest at the gates of the first home football game. We will be giving away 2 PTSA memberships on September 12, 2006 during the Open House. We look forward to meeting more parents, teachers, alumni, and students who are interested in investing in our students through outreach programs, sharing knowledge and experiences, and taking an interest in our students who will become our future leaders.

A very big "Thank You" to everyone who showed an interest at the first home game and we look forward to seeing you again during Open House. Progress reports will go home next week and we look forward to a great open house on September 12, 2006. Show that you care...BE THERE!

If you can't make it to the open house, contact your student's teachers and let them know your concerns. Click here to find your student's teachers and contact them via email: http://butler.rcboe.org/site_faculty.aspx?show=All

Post a response by clicking on the word Comment at the end of each blog. You can post anonymously or as a registered blogger.