Thanks to the tremendous support of the Central community, we sold over $14,000 worth of books!  This exceeds last year’s total by over $1800.  This translates into over $8,000 worth of brand new books going back into our school library and classrooms!  Books for our school library are already being covered and should be on the shelves for our children to enjoy very soon.  Teachers will be able to start ordering their books within the next month.

We could not run the book fair without the more than 60 parent volunteers who worked to make this event a success.  A special thank you to Patrick O’Laughlin for yet again handling the teacher scheduling, Jen Gentile for coordinating all of those volunteers, Jen Talbot & Katie Leander for making the fantastic decorations on a shoe string budget, and Karina Esparaza for making sure that the teacher wish list program was up and running.

We also have wonderful news about the One for Books change collection contest (www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/programs/oneforbooks/).  Through the generosity of our students, $867 worth of change was collected!

Check out these totals from the top three classes:

Ms. Vizek (3rd grade):  $165!!
Mrs. Kladis (3rd grade):  $119
Mr. Endriukaitis (2nd grade):  $104

These classes have all earned a pizza party for breaking the $100 mark.   A big thank you to Cheryl Dowling for overseeing this contest again!  Almost $350 of the money collected went to help Central students needing financial assistance purchase books from the fair. The remaining $500 was used to purchase brand new books for the Infant Welfare Society in Chicago.  Do you know of another deserving organization that would welcome the donation of new books next year?  If so, please contact Pres-amy@centralptonews.org

On Friday, the PTO raffled off a book and a poster from the fair to two children (a boy and a girl) in every classroom as a way to say thank you for the tremendous support.  The books and posters were already delivered to the children so be on the lookout for the winners at home!

A few book fair related reminders!

Please don’t forget to have your child donate $1 or loose change to their classroom container by Friday, February 3rd in support of One for Books.  The money will be used to buy books for students at Central needing assistance.  Additional monies will be used to purchase and donate books to the Infant Welfare Society in Chicago.  The classroom raising the most money will win a pizza party!

By this evening, every child should have brought home a book fair wish list.  Please do not forget to look it over and send in payment with your child no later than Thursday should you wish to make a purchase (don’t forget to include the sales tax).

If you would prefer to view the books in person, please join us at the Luau Social in the Hauser Cafeteria on Thursday, 2/2 from 7-8:30pm.  The book fair opens at 6:30pm so come and shop early to beat the lines and then enjoy the delicious treats and socialize!  Don’t forget to take a look inside your teacher’s wish list basket should you want to fulfill a book wish for your child’s classroom.  We will have three cash registers this year to help minimize the wait to make a purchase.  Be green and please bring your own shopping bag on Thursday evening!

If you can’t join us on Thursday evening, you can make a book fair purchase via our book fair website at onlinebookfairs.scholastic.com/default.aspx?f=2931410.  Shipping is FREE to the school and you will find an even larger selection than you will find in the school auditorium.

Grandma wants to send a gift? 

Your friend wants to purchase a book for your child while supporting Central School?

This year you can purchase everything found at the Central book fair PLUS many, many more items through the Central School online book fair website.  Scholastic has now given us the option to provide a much larger selection of books for purchase above and beyond what we can fit in the auditorium through a Central dedicated book fair website.  By accessing this site, you not only give 50% of your purchase back to Central in books just like you do when shopping the fair at the school but you also get FREE shipping!  Your purchase will be delivered directly to Central for distribution to your child 5-7 business days after the book fair ends on Friday, 2/3.

 Please visit this website to browse and make purchases from the comfort of your own home!
onlinebookfairs.scholastic.com/default.aspx?f=2931410

Just a few reminders on how it works.  The students will shop the fair on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Your child will bring home a wish list for your approval the day that they shop.  You can choose to select some books off of the list and send in cash, check made out to Central PTO or credit card.   Please don’t forget to factor in the appropriate sales tax (9.25%) when totaling up your order.  Please return the list to school the day after your child brings it home.  If you choose not to make any purchases, there is no need to return the list.  We will then deliver the books to your child this week.  If you would rather view the books yourself, stop by anytime this week between 8:30am and 4pm Monday thru Thursday or during the Luau Social on Thursday from 6:30pm-8:30pm (Luau Social hours are 7-8:30pm but the book fair opens early for shopping).  We plan on having three cash registers going this year on Thursday evening to get those checkout lines moving!

Classroom Shopping Dates:

Monday, January 30th

Economos (AM)
Elgeness
Feldman
Kladis
Laughlin
Laws
McCarthy
Murdock
Ross
Scaggs
Sula
Vizek

Tuesday, January 31st

Brackett
Economos (PM)
Endriukaitis
Lutz
Musgrave
Preble
Teune
Walsh

Wednesday, February 1st

Adelsman

There will be wish list baskets for each teacher at the book fair.  These are filled with books that the teachers have put on their wish list for use in their classrooms.  You are welcome to purchase a gift certificate for a teacher by indicating so and including the appropriate amount when sending in your child’s approved wish list.  They can use this to purchase books from their wish list basket.  You are also welcome to come in yourself during fair hours and pick a book from the basket and fill in a gift sticker from your child that will be placed in the front of the book.  The baskets are quickly emptied the evening of the Luau Social so shop early if you would like to purchase something for a teacher!

The Central Book Fair is coming and KidsCare is helping children in need with the One for Books program.

Please have your children donate $1 or loose change to their classroom container by Friday, February 3^rd. This is a great opportunity to involve your child in a charity project.  No slips needed this year.

The classroom raising the most money will win a pizza party!!!

The One for Books money will be used to buy books for students at Central School needing assistance.  Additional monies will be used to donate books to the Infant Welfare Society in Chicago.

Then, Scholastic will match the funds and donate books to Toys for Tots, National Center for Family Literacy and Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc.

This is a great program!  If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl Dowling at kidscare@centralptonews.org.

Thank you for your support.

-KidsCare

Help!

We need volunteers to fill these specific slots to staff the upcoming book fair.

Wednesday, February 1
8:30am-10:30am
10:30am-12 noon
1:00pm-1:45pm

Thursday, February 2
8:30am-10:30am
10:30am-12:30pm
1:00pm-3:00pm

During the Luau Social (great slots for working parents!):
6:30-7:30pm
8:15-9:00pm

If you can help, please email gentilej@centralptonews.org with your preferred time slot. 

We need volunteers to serve drinks and yummy treats at this upcoming event in the Hauser Cafeteria on Thursday, February 2nd.

We are looking to fill the following 30 minute shifts:

6:50 – 7:20 (3 people)
7:20 – 7:50 (4 people)
7:50 – 8:20 (4 people)

The Book Fair is coming!  Last year we gifted over $7,500 worth of books to the school thanks to the success of the fair!  We are hoping to do even better this year!  Part of the reason our fair is so successful is because of our many parent volunteers.

We need volunteers for the Book Fair Luau during the following dates and times.  Sign up early to get your preferred time slot!  Talk to your friends now and sign up together as we need 3-4 volunteers per hour depending upon what time of day it is.  We would prefer if you can volunteer for at least an hour if possible.   If you can help out on multiple days, even better!  We will take any time that you can give.

• Friday, Jan. 27, 9am-noon:  Book Fair set up (set up tables, unpack books, set up decorations)
• Monday, Jan. 30-Thursday, Feb. 2:  help the students shop the fair, 8:30a-4pm
• Thursday, February, 2: staff the fair during the Winter Wonderland Social, 6:30p-9:00pm (great opportunity for working parents to get involved!)
• Friday, February 3:  help to fill student orders and break down the fair, 8:30a-3pm

We can’t have a successful fair without your help.  If you can volunteer, please email Jen at gentilej@centralptonews.org with your preferred date(s) and time(s).

This information was originally posted on . Please note that the article refers to events from a previous school year.

Please join the entire Central Community at the annual Book Fair Social.  Bring the Family for an evening of Library building, brownie eating and socializing fun.  Come early to shop the Book Fair and stay for the social.

Hope to see you all there!

pres-sam@centralptonews.org