This Months Spotlight is Lori NagyPTA Thanks you for all that you do!

Grindstone PTA Newsletter

November 2017

Upcoming PTA Meetings January 11 February 8

March 8 April 12

All meeting are in the library

Dates to remember….November 17Catalog Fundraiser Pick up from 6pm-8pm

November 21Reflections entries due

November 22-24Thanksgiving Break

December 13-15 and 18-19Holiday Shop

December 20- January 2Christmas Break

The holidays are just around the corner and the Grindstone PTA is delighted to host

our Annual Holiday Shoppe running during school hours December 13th,14th,15th,

18th and 19th. Each student will have a chance to shop with their class. Please keep

a lookout for more information and, of course, some sweet volunteer opportunities!!

Feel free to contact Molly Fritz (mcatfritz@gmail.com) with any questions or concerns.

Would you like be a part of Grindstone history? PTA wants your help in creating a Welcome sign for

Grindstone. The sign will be made up of about 30 6x6 white tiles each rendering a “Welcome/Hello” in

a different language. Every class is being asked to represent one country. Submissions from each

class will be blindly judged, by a panel comprised of PTA members and Teachers. One winner will be

chosen, from each class, for the final piece, which will be displayed in the front of the school. Entries

must be turned in to your teacher by November 28th!!!

Thank you All Pro Dads for another fun Daddy Daughter Dance! Visit allprodadberea.com for more information on how you can volunteer!

Every year the National PTA sponsors the Reflections Art contest in which students submit original artwork in the areas of Dance, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts. Each submission must reflect on the national annual theme. This year the theme is "Within Reach" . Here at Grindstone our Reflections program is in full swing. This year we had 100+ student and parent participants in our workshops! We hosted

workshops in the categories of Visual Arts, Creative Writing, and Dance. The purpose was to give students information about the program and to inspire them to start creating original artwork, literature or dance choreography. The students had very creative ideas which were enhanced by the guidance of our parent volunteers.

Thank you to all of the staff, teachers, and parents who helped make these workshops possible. Your dedication to the students and to the arts is greatly

appreciated! If you missed the workshops, don't worry! All Grindstone students are eligible to enter this contest. Entry forms are located on the PTA

bulletin board across from the school office. Entries are due to the school office by Tuesday November 21st. For additional information, you can contact me at ladybugkeeper@yahoo.com or go online to: Ohiopta.org (click on: programs>reflections>2017-2018 Handbook)

After the deadline, all entries will be anonymously submitted to judges who specialize in each category. The Grindstone winners will move to the BCSD level and have the chance to move on to the state and national levels. Thank you again for supporting this program and good luck to all of the participants!

This Months Spotlight is Lori NagyPTA Thanks you for all that you do!

Grindstone PTA's 7th Annual Carnival was a huge success!  Hundreds of families enjoyed our classic games, while also enjoying a few new additions!  We were pleased to welcome well-known magician, Rick Smith Jr.  He entertained us with hilarious and mesmerizing tricks, and got our students, teachers, and even Mrs. Grimm in on the fun!  We were also thrilled to welcome Critter Camp Farm to our event!  They provided Grindstone's first ever petting zoo!  Families had a great time snuggling the bunnies and meeting the goats and the 300 pound pig!  Many children enjoyed taking home a cake or treat from the Cake Walk and taking home a new pet from Win-a-Fish!  Congratulations to all of our raffle basket winners.  We had some incredible baskets!  Of course, none of our family events would be possible without our volunteers.  Carnival takes a whole lot of parent, grandparent, community, and student volunteers.  We are so lucky to have a great network of families at Grindstone that want to help provide fun family activities!

Thank you to everyone who made our book fair a success! It was a wonderful week. The kids were so excited to get a new book to read and research shows that the more children read, the easier it gets and the more they'll enjoy reading. Because of your participation we raised almost $3000 for our school.  We couldn't have done that without your support! And Thank you for supporting our All for Books coin challenge.  Because of your help our school raised $1600! This money was used to buy books for our library PLUS we were also able to donate a full box of books to Snow school! Your simple act of kindness brought more knowledge, more adventure, more humor, more mystery, and more imagination into the lives of so many kids! Thank you again for your support of All for Books!

Box Tops for EducationThe winning class from our Fall Box Tops Submission Contest was Mrs. Cheyney's class with a total of 441 Box Tops. Second place went to Mrs. Mucha's class who collected 389 Box Tops.  Mrs. Cox's class came in a close Third with 386 Box Tops.  As a school, we collected a total of 6,031 Box Tops from the beginning of the year until mid-October!  Amazing!  When we include the Box Tops from the summer we turned in enough Box Tops to earn $1,165.20!!Our Spring Box Tops Submission Contest is about to start.  It will run from Monday, November 13 - Friday, February 16.  Just like the last contest, the classroom that submits the most Box Tops will be our winner.  Each student in the winning classroom will be entered into a drawing to win:  2 Complimentary Tickets to see the All Pro Dads take on the Harlem Wizards on Sunday, March 4th.  (Tickets courtesy of APD) The winner will be announced on Friday, February 2

This Months Spotlight is Lori NagyPTA Thanks you for all that you do!

Bakers Corner, Thanks to Jen Callicoat 1st VP of Fundraising

Since it's getting close to the Holidays and one of my FAVORITE things to do is make Christmas Cookies with my family I thought I would share one of our favorite recipes.  Since I was little, one of my fondest Holiday Memories is baking.  Growing up I looked forward to the time of year when my mom would spend hours in the kitchen making cookie after delicious cookie. She would carefully fill the tins as full as they could get, and we would slowly empty their delicious contents into our bellies until they were gone.  As I grew older, I continued the tradition with my friends and eventually my family.  I hope that my kids enjoy the week of endless baking and bottomless tins of cookies as much as I did and still do.  But, now, we make more than cookies each year.  Sure, we make the traditional Sugar Cookie Cut-Outs, and the Holiday SnoBalls, who doesn't love a Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie, or the Monster Cookie recipe that has been passed down through the family.  But we also make Cornflake Wreaths and creamy Buckeyes, and FUDGE! Since my husband and I have been together we have made the same recipe of fudge EVERY YEAR just simply because it is so delicious! And it helps that it is made with Eggnog!  I include it in all of our cookie platters and get nothing but rave reviews.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Eggnog Fudge

1/8 cup Butter, chilled3 cups Granulated Sugar1 cup Eggnog6 oz. White Chocolate Chips1 1/2 cups Miniature Marshmallows1 cup Almonds, chopped1/2 tsp. Nutmeg1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Line a 9x9 inch cake pan with aluminum foil and set aside. Spray the sides of a large saucepan with butter-flavored non-stick spray. Add the eggnog and sugar, and bring to a rolling boil over medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 full minutes. Fold in the marshmallows, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring back to a rolling boil for another 6 minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture will start to turn brown, which is normal, but if you see brown flakes in the mixture then turn down the heat a little. Remove from heat and add the butter, chocolate chips and nuts. Stir until thoroughly mixed or until the mixture starts to lose its glossy appearance. Pour into prepared pan. Cool at room temperature. Remove from pan, remove foil, cut into 1-inch squares. 

One PersonUnfortunately, sometimes, it’s the horribly tragic occurrences which makes us see the big and little miracles happening every day. In the wake of a brutal

murder in an affluent bordering town I was called to ask myself, “How can this happen? Could it happen to me and my family?” Since then, suspects have been named, families torn apart, and lives forever changed. I got to the point where I was so stunned by this event I couldn’t get the ‘what ifs’ out of my head. Then

something happened. Little by little bright rays of sunshine started to shine. I have always known our community, and by community I don’t just mean Berea. I am referring to every person or place we involve in our lives: school, Facebook, work, family, friends, PTA, sports. These are the true meaning of community, and these are places the light shines brightest. So very often I think; “I’m only one person, what good could I do?” Then, like I said, “bright rays of sunshine started to shine.” A woman in a mom’s group I am involved in, ONE person, had a conversation and gave a free meal to a young girl in need. This girl’s life will be forever changed! ONE person thought of helping one of our own BCSD schools in need. This school will be forever changed. ONE person organized a group of women to remember Melinda Pleskovic with a simple symbol of blue balloons outside St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. The memory of this will change the mourners lives forever. It should be to no one’s surprise the holidays have moved into our lives. Like it or not. Thoughts of gift giving, and if you are five and eight, like my children, gift receiving is at full-throttle mode. I’m not one of those people who hate to see Christmas decorations sitting beside the old Halloween decorations because our big name box stores are pushing inventory. I am quite the opposite. The twinkle of little lights starts to warm my dormant holiday cheer. Those cinnamon pinecones make me feel all cozy inside. Even the early Christmas music makes me savor the moment a little longer because I know it will be gone all too soon. I hate the abrupt stop on the twenty-sixth of December. A little magic is lost on that day. The magical snow of December turns to gray muck in the wake of January and February until the next big event. I think this is when I start clutching onto any holiday to savor what we find so magical about the Christmas season. ONE person, one magical person, awakens the child in all of us, and makes us believe for a little bit there is power in ONE.

I was inspired by the horrendous to write this essay, but my heart is in a good place now, and I would like to leave you at the same place. Our fourth graders are reading the book, Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, in Language Arts. I have read this book myself (Thank you for sharing Mrs. Millen). The main character experiences the power of ONE as the book progresses. The author defines this phenomenon so eloquently through the words of Mr. Tushman, the school principal. “If every person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, wherever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really wold be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single ONE of you, the face of God (Wonder, R.J. Palacio p. 301).” I believe in every ONE of you. Have a wonderful, bright, holiday season. See you next year!

Written By:Stacey MillerGrindstone PTA President 2017-18

This Months Spotlight is Lori NagyPTA Thanks you for all that you do!

Name:  Lori Nagy Title:  Assistant Principal Hometown:  Parma, Ohio Current town:  Brook Park, Ohio College:  Cleveland State University Number of years in the Berea City School District:  12 Years

Tell us about your family. I have been married to my husband, Joe, for 10 years.  We have no children. We have a puppy that I will talk about in another question.  I am very close to my parents who live in Parma.  I have 1 sister.  She is married and has 2 kids.  My niece, Kaelin, is 15 years old and my nephew, Braedin, is 12 years old.  They live in South Carolina so I only get to see them a few times a year.  I have lots of extended family that I enjoy getting to spend time with.   

What is your favorite vacation spot? Every Christmas Joe and I go on a cruise.  This is our favorite vacation, because we get to go to new places and have different experiences.  We also enjoy a cruise because there

are so many different activities to do throughout the day.  We are counting down the days until our 2017 Christmas Cruise.  

What is one fun fact about you? I have been to China, the Philippine Islands, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Northern Ireland.  

What is your favorite thing to do? Read.  I love to lose myself in a great book.  I prefer to read while either lying next to my pool or floating in my pool, but in the winter I settle for a good book cuddled up inside.  Each year I keep track of how many books I have read and so far in 2017 I have read 37 books.

Where would you like to visit one day? I have 2 places on my list that I hope to visit someday; South Africa and Hawaii. I want to go to South Africa because I had a friend in High School who was from South Africa. The way his family described the beauty and awesomeness of South Africa has

left me always wanting to visit there. I want to visit Hawaii because I have been to the airport, but only saw it and the view from the airplane as we landed and took off. The view was amazing. It left me wanting to go back so that I can actually leave the airport. Tell us about your pet(s). My puppy is a 1.5-year-old German Shepherd named Tikka. Her full name is actually Tikka May Nagy. We brought her home when she was 8 weeks old. She loves to play ball and Frisbee. She is very energetic. She also loves to swim (in her own pool, not my pool!). She enjoys ice cream, car rides, and walks. She is also extremely smart. She has many toys (a snake, hedgehog, pigeon, moose, etc) and if we tell her to go get any toy by name she searches the house until she finds it and brings it to us.