The Graystone Home & School Club tries to provide all the "extra" programs that we, as parents, want our children to have included in their education. We also aim to help all of our teachers have all the equipment and supplies they need to teach our children most effectively.
The following is a partial list of the programs and services the H&SC provides. None of these programs could exist without the support of all Graystone families.
$30/child (~$900/teacher) /year
Teachers are given very little money by the district to buy supplies such as books for a classroom library, educational games, art supplies, extra paper, pencils and pens, or something as simple as tissues. Your membership donations go directly to classroom funding. Teachers with 100% H&SC membership receive extra dollars for their classroom budgets.
~$7000/year
We live in an increasingly technical and science oriented world and as such our kids need a deep understanding of science and how it affects our lives and our world. We are one of the few schools with a comprehensive science lab and hands on science curriculum in San Jose.
~$6000/year
Each year the Home & School Club buys planners for grades 4 and 5 and homework folders for grades K through 3. The homework folders help kids keep their work organized and provide a single place for parents to check and see what homework their child has to complete or if there are any papers they need to sign and return. The upper grade planners are used to teach the students how to keep track of their classwork and homework in preparation for graduation to middle school.
The Home and School Club also pays for subscriptions to classroom magazines such as Time for Kids. These magazines provide exposure to current events in a grade level appropriate format. Teachers use them as supplemental material. You'll see these magazines come home periodically in the white Friday envelopes.
~$11,000+technology staff salaries/year
Computers and technology are integral to the future, and the Home & School Club wants to make sure our children are staying ahead of the game. As such we fund and support the K-3 MAC lab and 4th & 5th grade PC pods. Each year we pay for subscription software such as Education City and Spelling City, computer software including typing programs and KidPix, and for lab maintenence. In addition, as funding from the government dwindles we are increasingly asked to fill in the pieces by paying our wonderful technology staff who maintain our labs and keep our computers running. In addition they are always looking at new programs and software to enrich our children's education.
Plato once said that music "is a more potent instrument than any other for education." Research shows that music uses both sides of the brain making it useful as a tool in all areas of development. Music affects the growth of a child's brain academically, emotionally, and physically. Playing instruments and learning about rhythm and beat teaches children about sequential learning, which is essential in reading comprehension.
The Home & School Club contracts with The Music Place to provide music education classes for our Kindergarten through 3rd grades.
In Kindergarten we start with sing-a-longs.
We have tons of fun in first grade music! Each class gets 25 minutes of classroom music each week, and the entire first grade gets to participate in “Sing Along” for 30 minutes once a week in the cafeteria. In first grade we start to learn to play the recorder and read music. We listen to music from all around the world, we learn about all the instrument families, and we even become composers and create our own songs!
Second grade music builds on the foundations learned in first grade through fun and engaging lessons. Students learn to play and read more notes. We work on recorder techniques and reading more complicated music. We even learn how to be accompanists for singers! We continue exploring music from around the world, including singing in foreign languages. Students are introduced to a wide variety of instruments and proper singing technique. Sometimes we even have guest performers! The recital at the end of the year showcases the variety of musical forms studied throughout the year.
Third grade music fun continues to expand the students’ performance on the recorder with an increased ability to read musical notation and perform more complex songs. Students learn to be critical listeners of their own performances as well as others with the goal of improving their playing. We learn rules for composition and create class songs written in standard notation. We learn about the orchestra and even become one as we identify the instrument families playing familiar classical music. Singing and adding percussion instruments to our recorder pieces furthers our musical ability and understanding in third grade. The final recital is a celebration of students’ musical talents.
~$5500+staff salaries/year
Graystone has one of the best school libraries in the county. With over 20,000 books, shelves of DVDs, and a dedicated staff, our library and media center can't be beat. Each year, through events and fundraisers such as Scholastic and Hicklebee's book fairs, we raise money to help replace lost and misplaced books and to bring authors to our school for book readings. During the 2010-2011 year we were able to have Marc Brown (the author of the Arthur books) come visit our school and read to our younger students. Other events put on through the media center include campfire sing-a-longs, mystery dinner nights, and Thanksgiving and Mother's Day events.
We rely on your support and help to keep our library running. A complete inventory was completed in 2011 with the help of many of our Graystone parents. Graystone parents also help prepare new books for entry into our systems and labeling so the kids know reading levels when they are choosing books to check out.
~$4000/year
The Accelerated Reader program is a computerized reading program designed to motivate, manage and assess literature-based reading. The objective of the program is to improve reading comprehension and develop a lifelong love of reading.
The program is structured so that students select and read books at their reading level. STAR assessments help place students in books at the appropriate reading level so they are challenged, but not frustrated. When students are done reading a book they can take a computerized multiple choice quiz. The computer immediately scores the quiz and awards points based on the book’s length, difficulty level and number of correct answers Teachers, parents and students get reports automatically through email. There are over 20 detailed reports that give individualized, constructive feedback that enables teachers to target instruction appropriately.
Perhaps the best part of the Accelerated Reader program is that students are assessed and placed at an individualized reading level where they are challenged but not frustrated. The lower the student’s reading ability when they start the program, the greater the improvement. This improvement carries over into other subjects as well. It not only helps those who are struggling with reading and reading comprehension but motivates high achieving students to get out of easy series books and read classics and other good literature. AR continuously adjusts reading levels to ensure maximum growth for every student.
~$2500/year
Art Vistas is a program designed to expose children to fine art and give them hands-on experience with art techniques. There are six lessons for each grade level from kindergarten to 5th grade. The curriculum is based on the Art Vistas Unlimited program developed by Union School District in 1984. (For more information about Art Vistas Unlimited, visit their website at http://www.artvistas.org/about.html). Graystone uses an older version of the curriculum than the one described in their official website. Also, a few of our lessons have been modified or added over the years.
Art Vistas is completely run by parent volunteers or docents. A lesson is comprised of a set of fine art prints, which are shown and discussed with the class, followed by a hands-on art lesson. The students will experience a variety of art mediums over the six years at Graystone including, painting, pastels, oil pastels, tissue paper collage, ceramics and more.
The H&SC supports the art vistas program by supplying all the art supplies necessary to do these hands on projects. Most art supplies are consumables and need to be replaced frequently. Art supplies include:
Recess is a time for students to get outside and run off some energy. It allows the brain to relax and recharge. Studies have shown that a little exercise helps children concentrate and do better in school. The Home and School Club provides recess equipment to help stimulate and encourage the kids to get out and run around for a little while. Equipment we provide and take care of includes:
Friday, October 28th, 2011
Co-coordinators: Sandi Geringer and Katrina Healy
The Pumpkin Bust is Graystone's version of the old time school fair. During school hours the kids participate in a costume parade, at night families come out for an old fashioned school fair. Come dressed in your costumes if you want. The ever popular Cake Walk features baked goods provided by our Kindergarten and first grade families (or anyone else who wants to donate). Classic school fair games such as Frisbee and football tosses, basketball bowling, toss across, and many more require only a couple of tickets to play. Come play a little BINGO in the Bingo room. One of our most popular booths/games is the coin toss. Get a coin to land on a plate and win one of the many donated, stuffed animals.
~$1300/year
Friday, March 23rd, 2012 4-7PM
Co-coordinators: Negin Hojabri & Carol Chiu
Heritage Day is Graystone's annual cultural fair where parents and their children volunteer to set up booths celebrating their heritage. All Graystone students and their families are encouraged to participate! Students can perform songs, dances, music, and tales from their culture, and also taste foods from various countries around the world.
~$500/year
Thursday & Friday, May 24th & 25th, 2012
Coordinators: Elise Newton & Dean Nessen
Sport's Day is a two-day event that is held at the end of the school year. One day is designated for the 1st-3rd grade students and the second day is the for the 4th-5th graders. The event lasts 3 hours and consists of ten relay/game stations for the students to rotate through. The students are broken into ten groups of approximately 35-40 students per group and they spend approximately ten minutes at each station. In 2010, the stations consisted of: bucket brigade relay, sponge relay, scoop ball toss, parachute volley, basketball, baton relay, Frisbee toss, potato sack races, tug of war, and football.
This event is typically held the Thursday and Friday prior to the last day of school. The students enjoy participating and especially enjoy the water activities.