The FSUS PTSA is sponsoring the Reflections Program for all students in grades K – 12. This year’s theme is “My Favorite Place.”

Age Divisions
Students may enter the Reflections Program in one of the following divisions:

• Primary: Preschool–Grade 2
• Intermediate: Grades 3–5
• Middle/Junior: Grades 6–8
• Senior: Grades 9–12

Art Areas
Students may submit works in any of the six arts areas:

• Literature
• Musical Composition
• Photography
• Visual Arts
• Dance Choreography
• Film/Video Production

Only new pieces of artwork inspired by the theme "My Favorite Place" are acceptable. All submissions for the PTSA Reflections Program are due by November 14. If you have any questions regarding deadlines or rules, please contact Vicki Cole at 656-9098 or vickicole3@earthlink.net.

At the September 12, 2006 FSUS School Board Meeting, the Playground Committee presented a written and verbal report to the FSUS School Board of Directors about the condition of the playground, including: safety concerns, information on CCA and the resulting arsenic excretion, strategies for cleaning-up CCA-treated wood and soil, fundraising options, and a variety of new play structure options.

The CCA-treated wooden play structure has now been removed from campus and steps are being taken to test the soil for arsenic contamination.

On October 10, 2006, the FSUS School Board appropriated $20,000 dollars for remediation of the site and to bring the playground into compliance with general playground safety standards.

We continue to work with the School Board and Administrators to identify and address playground issues.

Lisa Pessin
Playground Chair

School Care For Kids with Diabetes
A growing number of children and adolescents have diabetes and require care at school to ward off serious short- and long-term complications. In an effort to ensure that students with diabetes are safe and healthy at school, PTA passed an important resolution at the 2006 National PTA Convention: Recognition and Care of School-Age Children with. The resolution sets out a best practices model for school diabetes care, urging that all school personnel receive general training on diabetes and that every school have at least two staff members trained to perform essential diabetes care.

Every November, during American Diabetes Month, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) works to increase public awareness about the seriousness of diabetes and the risks associated with this disease. FSUS parents and staff are encouraged to be aware of the resources ADA has created to enable parents, school nurses, teachers, and other school staff members to provide necessary care to children with diabetes.

Michael's Message is a Drug Awareness program for students and parents that teaches students, "Don't just say, 'NO!' Help your friends say 'NO!'"

Florida High students in middle and high school will get the opportunity to hear Michael's Message on November 14. Parents interested in learning about current club or designer drugs are invited to attend a parent education program that same evening. Mark your calendars now for this event. The drug culture constantly changes and our community is not immune from its impact. For more information about this program, please visit www.michaelsmessage.org

Bonnie J. Abellera
Leon County Council of PTAs President

Parents and family members are invited to have lunch with their student during the annual FSUS Family Thanksgiving Celebration, Thursday, November 16. The time is your student's normal lunch period. Dinner will be $3.75 for adults. Students will pay the regular lunch price of $1.60/elementary and $1.85/secondary.
For additional details, as they become available, click here. We look forward to your joining us for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Linda Searight
Food Service Manager

Teachers, do you need money for class projects, or perhaps to supply FCAT preparation materials, or money for education-based field trips?

Are you aware there's money available to you and all you have to do is be a member of your FSUS PTSA!

Your FSUS PTSA has given out over $2,500 this year in minigrants! Each year teachers may apply for a $250 minigrant to use towards education projects, education trips, or materials needed for the classroom. Simply fill out the required Minigrant application. Yes, it's as easy as that.

What are you waiting for? Become a FSUS PTSA member and apply for your minigrant today!

Llana Seay
Corresponding Secretary

Bike Rodeo
This October 25 event was a huge success due in part to the great weather and the large number of students who joined the FSU Police Department to have tons of fun while learning bicycle safety techniques. After a bicycle safety check and helmet fittings, the kids got to ride through an obstacle course learning different safety techniques along the way, including dodging rocks, stopping and looking before crossing intersections, and balance on the much-loved slalom course.

School Gardens
The Florida High administration October 19 approved the school garden project which calls for a 12x15' elementary vegetable/herb garden, an 8x10' elementary butterfly garden, and a 15x18' middle and high school vegetable garden. The plots will be located along the western edge of campus between the elementary school playground and the gazebo. The next step before beginning to dig is to make sure there are no electric or water lines in the area that would be damaged by the project. Once this is determined, a workday will be set to begin removing the sod and installing the garden soil. We now have an immediate need for use of a sod cutting machine for a few hours, so if anyone is able to donate one please contact me ASAP.

Healthy Snacks
The School Nutrition Advisory Program (SNAP) continues its review and analysis of the snacks available to our children on campus. Raw data has been gathered concerning the nutritional composition of the foods offered at the gym and stadium concession stands, after school program, vending machines, cafeteria a la carte program, and the fall festival. This information is now being analyzed by comparing the calorie, fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugar in the snacks to the standards in the new Florida High Wellness Policy that was adopted by the Florida High Board of Directors in August. Once the analysis is completed, the information will form a baseline of data for use by the Wellness Committee to assess where improvements are needed to the nutritional content of the foods available on campus. The analysis should be completed within the next month.

Future programs include a health and safety fair and a safe driving workshop.

Anyone wishing to volunteer for any of the above projects who has not already done so should contact me.

Danni Vogt
Health and Safety Chair
877-5641 or dannivogt@earthlink.net.

We currently have 345 PTSA members. To put this in perspective there are 1,598 students at FSUS. We would love to see one member per student. It makes a statement about our school and the support it receives from the community. It is never too late to join. Please contact Joni Synatschk for more information.

All the Box Tops, Campbell's labels for education and Tyson labels that were turned in have been counted. The following individuals are the winners for the first collection period.

K - 2 ($10 Borders gift card)
Taylor Cherry
Carson Miller

3 - 5 ($10 Borders gift card)
Brittany Corbett
Dean Delp

6 - 8 ($10 movie card)
Danny Pomidor
Tres Brumbley

9 - 12 ($10 movie card)
PJ Newman
Ke'Sean Lewis

Congratulations to these students for collecting the most labels in their category. Each participant will receive a gift for their participation.

Thank you to all the parents that trimmed their box tops, this helps out alot when there are thousands to handle.

Reminder: There were several box tops turned in that were expired or the expiration date was cut off. The school does not get credit for these so therefore, your child will not get credit for them. Please make sure you do not cut off the expiration date. Also, please make sure to put your child's name on the bag you put your labels in. There were several that were turned in with no name on them so we do not know who gets the credit.

A huge thank you to Alicia Cherry for helping collect, count and sort all the labels.

The next collection date is December 6.

Thank you for your support of this wonderful program.

Trevor Brumbley
Box Tops Chair

• Spanish Club hosts a Day of the Dead party today, November 1, with a piñata, Hispanic foods and tropical soda drinks. The Spanish Club meets biweekly and new members are always welcome! For more information please contact Señor Guastella.


• The FSUS Art Department will host it's 3rd annual Arts and Crafts Fair on Saturday, December 2 from 9:00AM until 3:00PM. Over 40 vendors from around the area will be there with handmade items such as fused glass, ceramics, hats, candles and quilted items. The event is free and open to the public. The Arts and Crafts Fair is held in the cafeteria and the surrounding halls and grassy areas. There are raffles, food, and fun. This year we will also have an "adopt-a-chair" fundraiser with fun chairs for children! For more information contact Barbara Davis at bdavis@mailer.fsu.edu.


• Key Club is starting divisions of this club in both the middle and elementary levels. K-Kids and Builders Club are both part of the international K-family supported by the Kiwanis Club. The Clubs' objectives are based on providing service, developing leadership, fostering strong moral character, and loyalty to school, community and nation. Learn more at www.buildersclub.org and www.kkids.org. Please contact Ninamarie Sapuppo, 245-3811, for more information.


• The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to serve others by helping to instill values in young people and prepare them to make ethical choices over their lifetime in achieving their full potential. These values are based on the aims of scouting: to develop good character, build good citizenship and train our youth to be personally fit. Boys in grades 1-5 and ages 7-10 who are interested in Cub Scouting should contact Renee Edwards at 668-2823.


• A great recommendation from PTSA Member, Ann Robshaw: "I have been receiving e-news from Reading Rockets for awhile. They are a well-known resource for reading information on the web." Thanks, Ann, for a link to a great resource.