1.  Happy Birthday Henry: students will hear selected poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the school’s namesake, on February 27 (his 206 th birthday).  Chess Club Tournament: the Chess Club program continues to thrive, thanks to Mr. Winchell, Mr. Smith and Mr. Podlasek. Students in Grades 4-5 meet on Mondays, and students in Grades 2-3 meet on Fridays. The top chess students in Grades 4-5 will participate in the District 97 Chess Tournament at Longfellow on Saturday, March 16 th, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.  ISAT testing will begin Tuesday, March 5 th for students in Grades 3, 4 and 5. Every year the PTO sponsors dinners for families who are invited to participate in Longfellow’s annual reading/writing/test preparation workshops. As we approach test time, please encourage your kids to get enough rest, eat a healthy breakfast, and do their best work on the test.  Girls on the Run: a group of 15 runners will participate in the Spring session, coached by Ms. Carter and Mrs. Hepding. GOTR is designed to reinforce a healthy lifestyle and positive self-esteem for girls in Grades 3, 4 and 5. The program will culminate with a 5k race at Toyota Park on Saturday, June 1 st. The PTO, which helps underwrite the costs of GOTR, is looking for opportunities to offer a similar program for boys at Longfellow. Harambee Harambee is Kiswahili for “Let’s Pull Together” and a fitting name for the school’s annual Black History Month extravaganza. The program will be held from 7-9 p.m. on Friday, February 22 nd at the school. Performers will include the Longfellow KUUMBA Kids Dance Troupe. Dr. DeeDee Farmer will receive a special recognition award. Donna Cannon heads this special event. Winter Carnival The “Longfellow Sock-Hop” will be held at school from 12-4 p.m. on Saturday, March 2 nd. The carnival will feature games, Cake Walk, Pie-in-the-Face Contest, a silent auction and raffle. Please volunteer your time, donate prizes for the raffle and silent auction (items can be purchased at http://amzn.com/w/3RAAQ99EX7ZLH), bake cakes for the Cake Walk, and attend with your kids. Sign-up to volunteer at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F084EAEA72AA46- longfellow. Proceeds help pay for programs such as Super Summer Math, Reading Buddies, Be Enthusiastic About Reading (BEAR) Program, and much, much more. Karin Riggs and Susan Klinger are co-chairing the event.http://amzn.com/w/3RAAQ99EX7ZLHhttp://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F084EAEA72AA46- longfellow Recent PTO ActivitiesLooking Ahead PTO volunteers are busy at work providing fun and enriching activities at Longfellow. We offer many opportunities for you to earn your “High Five for Volunteering” hours. You can keep informed about PTO activities by reading our regular e-mails (“What’s Happening at Longfellow”), checking out the Digital Backpack on the school website, and visiting the PTO website at longfellowpto.org.. PTO February 2013 Newsletter  Book Fair: thank you for supporting the semi- annual book fair the week of January 28 th. We raised more than $1,500 for the PTO and earned scholastic dollars to replenish books in the library and classrooms. A special thanks to the committee chairwomen (Laurel Wolff, Jeannette Hess, Teri Svehla, Darlene Friedman, Melissa Palormo Sullivan, and Kristi Oltman) and 20 additional volunteers.  Teacher Appreciation Lunch: many thanks to parents who cooked, baked, and helped at the January 31 st lunch, which was coordinated by Nikki Richardson.  ALL: 130 students are taking classes in the Winter session of the Always Learning at Longfellow (ALL) after-school program. PTO awarded 20 scholarships this session. New offerings included German and Games (taught by Ms. Patterson). Thanks to Fleur Ewald, Mary DeGrazia, Melissa Taub and Joan Radovich for their work on ALL. Registration materials for the Spring session will be available in coming weeks.  Family Fun Night: scores of families joined together to line-dance and play games on January 18 th. Thanks to Jill Goldberg, Aimee Henssler, Cher Grant, Amy Goldbeck and Melanie McQueen for organizing the event. Join us at the next PTO Meeting at 7 p.m. on March 13th, Longfellow Library!