Project Photos:
NEWS & MEDIA PUBLICATION LINKS: -
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/dn/neighbors/pdfs/irving042906.pdf#search='joe%20samuels%' (search for text Joe Samuels)
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http://www.irvingrambler.com/pdf/Irving%20Rambler%204-13-06%20screen.pdf (search text = Joe Samuels)
================================== NEWS PUBLICATION BREAK ============================================================= | http://www.irvingjournal.com/TIJ%20Apr%201%202006.pdf - link to Actual Newspaper article - see The Irving Journal - April 1st 2006, page 15 for readable version, search for "Las Colinas Elementary hosts Sock Hop" Two recent events at Las Colinas Elementary presented great opportunities for students and parents to get involved at the school. Sock Hop A 1950's Sock Hop gave Moms, dads and kids the opportunity to dance the night away in poodle skirts and rolled up jeans. With a DJ and lots of great oldies music and decorations, the gym at LCE was transformed into a past decade. Three dedicated parents and one school staff member were "crowned" queens and king of the "prom" as they received special awards for their volunteerism at the school. Irving resident Vicki Pierce was awarded PTA's coveted award of Extended Life Membership for outstanding service for 10 years or more in PTA and Jodi Galgay received Volunteer of the Year. Dad's Club President Joe Samuels was presented with the PTA Life Membership Award and school employee Pam Graham received the STAR Award for her dedication to kids and education. |
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TRADING SPACES PROJECT by LCE_PTA & the New DADS CLUB: -
http://www.irvingrambler.com/pdf/IrvingRambler2-10-05.pdf#search='las%20colinas%20joe%20samuels - page 1 @bottom, Joe Samuels
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DADS SERVING LUNCH (for Christmas Break) @Las Colinas Elementary 12/15/2007 - Click the Link below: -
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AZOHDJuzZMvi
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-townsell_05wes.ART.West.Edition1.4311f93.html
TOWNSELL PTAinauguration_DallasMorningNewsPublicationNewspaperOct 5'2007 - http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/10-05-
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/10-05-
PTA president Joe Samuels spoke at the group's first meeting after transitioning from a PTO. Townsell principal Linda Willett (right) says the affiliation offers more support and structure.
Photos by MICHAEL AINSWORTH/DMN
New name, new vision for Townsell parent group
Irving: Townsell Elementary joins PTA
12:00 AM CDT on Friday, October 5, 2007
By JASON JOYCE / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
New teachers and students aren't the only change at Townsell Elementary this school year. This year also marks the transition from an independent Parent Teacher Organization to a chapter of the Parent Teacher Association.
PTA president Joe Samuels spoke at the group's first meeting after transitioning from a PTO. Townsell principal Linda Willett (right) says the affiliation offers more support and structure.
Despite the similar names, the switch brings significant changes, said Linda Willett, principal of the Irving school.
"With PTA, there's a structure that a PTO doesn't have," Mrs. Willett said.
The support provided by that structure was a compelling factor in making the switch, Mrs. Willett said. Because the PTA is a national organization, it provides a uniform system for administering local chapters and offers sources of help and advice for PTA boards.
"You don't have that as a PTO," Mrs. Willett said. "You're on your own."
Joe Samuels, president of the new Townsell PTA, agreed that the ability to "pick up the phone and call any PTA in the country" for advice was a strong selling point for making the switch.
Townsell's transition to a PTA chapter wasn't undertaken lightly. Mrs. Willett said the process started in 2006 with informational meetings to gauge parent interest.
After Townsell generated sufficient interest, Mrs. Willett and Mr. Samuels began attending orientation and training sessions.
Sept. 6 marked the PTA's first official meeting. First on the agenda was confirming the slate of PTA officers. Much like the student body at Townsell, the officers reflect the diversity of the community, which Mrs. Willett takes pride in.
"We've got lots of different nationalities," she said. "That's what [Townsell] is about."
The immediate challenge facing the PTA is increasing parent involvement and "growing membership by leaps and bounds," Mr. Samuels said.
While initial response has been encouraging, Mr. Samuels said, his focus is on keeping the group active after the initial excitement and energy has worn off.
"The concern is what percent of parents stay actively involved," Mr. Samuels said.
Along the same lines, Mr. Samuels hopes to extend opportunities to participate to parents who don't fit the traditional image of PTA parents.
"When they hear PTA, most people think stay-at-home moms," Mr. Samuels said. "They don't think working moms or dads."
Keeping parents involved is a large concern for Mrs. Willett, too. Her approach to getting and keeping parents active starts with her own commitment to participate.
"For some parents, PTA is us just taking $5 from them," Mrs. Willett said. "If I don't stay right there and show them it's important to me, why should they care?"
Jason Joyce is an Irving freelance writer
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ARTICLE 1:
TOWNSELL ELEMENTARY ACES TAKS IN FLYING COLORSWhereas Townsell Elementary has the IISD's 2nd highest student population of 843 while also in a pocket with the lowest per capita income in the district, Principal Willett and her teaching staff has surmounted the odds by dedication to hard work to earn Townsell the IISD'd Gold Performance Award. In the recently tabulated Texas TAKS test results, Townsell Elementary's 3rd thru 5th graders ranked 2nd and 3rd at READING and MATH across the district - not varying by much at the state rankings as well. With only 4-years since officially opening it's doors as a new IISD school, Townsell took several concerted measures at ramping it's test population for this much anticipated statewide assessment test in order to guarantee it's phenominal performance. Rewarding tactics included a well orchestrated construct whereby students adopted their position to be one of astronauts emabarking on a journey to no other than "The Moon". Yes, literrally complete with fully suited live ASTRONAUT (played by the Townsell's PTA President, Joe Samuels). In the very motivational oratory by Principal Willett, the students took on such sense of duty and self-edification (almost likened to the Quarterback of a proud, small-town football team) - a charge that leaves no room for anything but outstanding victory. The theme included pictures with a life-size art piece by Art Teacher, Mrs. Johnson, each class also photographed with the resident Astronaut (Mr. Samuels), as he offered words of encouragement to each student. That such ingenious tactics would yield such a huge result - who knew! ARTICLE 2:
SANTA CLAUS VISITS TOWNSELL ELEMENTARYTOWNSELL ELEMENTARY - IRVING, TEXAS – Now in it’s four years of educating Irving kids, this K-5 elementary school continues to make great gains in the district. On the Thursday, just before the end of the falls semester, SANTA CLAUS was on hand to spread cheer and goodwill all over the Townsell campus. It is the first of it’s kind for this almost newest of Irving ISD schools, and so it was quite a treat for all and sundry. With eyes as big as saucers, and mouths gaping, SANTA went classroom to classroom with an entourage consisting of Principal Linda Willett, Assistant Principals Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Koke along with Intern Principal Susan Dea, PTA V.P. Michelle Young and Khalid Shahnewaj, Newsletter Chair-Lynn Stacey and Counselor Hickey – faces all aglow with cheer. One would have imagined the 5th grade audience to be one of dismissiveness and non-belief but if their mythical Santa days were behind them, there were certainly no tell-tale signs of it to be seen. In the preceding period, the PTA VP Young and both assistant principals hand-served served each school staff member with a token appreciation in the form of brownies and hot chocolate drinks to set the mood. It all serves to cement the very diverse backgrounds that have become a distinguishing character for Townsell, the IISD’s more recent of new school. Townsell PTA founded and inaugurated earlier this year has spared no time, nor has the local chapter spared any expense in catering to it’s host school. Santa's suit came courtesy of the Townsell PTA, and so did the newly installed marquis Bulletin board hanging proudly over the school’s entry way. Testaments such as these reinforce the ever strengthening force of cooperation growing between the parent and teacher bodies of campuses all over this nation of ours. The PTA organization was founded in 1897 in Washington DC as the National Congress of Mothers by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst. There are nearly 23,000 local organizations recognized by the National PTA organization in the United States. The organization has evolved tremendously to become even more demographically inclusive. No longer the exclusive domain of stay-at-home moms, PTA now includes career mothers, and YES, fathers as well. Joe Samuels, the face and beard in the Santa's red suit at Townsell is no newcomer to the PTA fold. Following years of involvement elsewhere, Mr. Samuels became one of the ‘male’ Executive Board members at Las Colinas Elementary where he also founded a DADS CLUB in 2004, and is now the Townsell PTA’s inaugural President. No doubt Santa has become a Townsell tradition, judging by how well the gift-giving was received by the students and staff present for the festivities. Even where the customary wish-list would have been the order of the day, a simple candy cane for each child and token gifts to teachers/staff earlier earned this local PTA an above average passing grade performance.PIXX - http://YOUalreadyHavePicturesOfTheAbove.comSANTA ARTICLE 3:
A TOWNSELL CARNIVAL Townsell Elementary PTA celebrates it’s first annual CARNIVAL festivities on May 3rd 2008. Activities would include variations of the Bean-bag Toss, Face-painting, Basketball/baseball toss, Hockey-pass, Bucket-toss, Cake-walk, Can Knock-down, Bounce House, Ring-toss, etc; These various fundraisers since Townsell got it’s very own PTA have included their Founding Member T-shirts, and the school’s Timberwolves Spirit Gear. Special thanks for a Bounce House sponsored by the Irving Bible Church in partnering relationship, and funding by the VERIZON FOUNDATION Employee Partnering program. Heartfelt appreciation is also fitting of Wal-Mart who has been a longstanding supporter of sorts for Townsell Elementary since it’s inception as an Irving school. The funds arrived were constructively spent on such gifts to school as the Bulletin Board, shredder for the Special Education wing, and more books, technology and educational additions to the library - all benefiting the Townsell student body. If all predictions bear true to the parent-Teacher cooperation at the school, the future would be so bright at Townsell, one would almost need sunglasses to stand it.
ARTICLE 4:
DADS SERVING LUNCH CAFETERIAMake some room Moms, the DADS CLUB did storm the Las Colinas Elementary cafeteria to deliver it’s bi-annual performance while serving the cafeteria line. You might remember this is a tradition maintained since it’s inception in 2004. The DADS CLUB has sought to support the very strong school PTA by harnessing the interest of these caring fathers and to ramp up from a curbside drop-off to a very industrious bunch. An ant hill or a bee hive has become the customary analogy as these DADS mill about the task of helping from setup, to serving the lunch line, to helping the cafeteria staff at tear-down – not without the occasional musical interludes to receive each class grade moving thru the serving line. Donning the traditional variety of hats as elves, and Santa’s Helpers, these DADS would spend their lunch break serenading and caroling the kids filing thru the lunch line, occasionally marketing the health advantages of actually “eating your vegetables daily”, and surprisingly winning over their audience at both. It was all humorous, albeit without the luxury of a professional lead singer, it was also a good thing the teachers and student were NOT grading on lyrical abilities since the DADS bumbled thru the later verses of some of the more notable Christmas carols. Maybe a little more effort at memorizing the verses and significantly less time at their various careers of choice would have helped but their loyal audience could not be more appeased by the mere presence of these men, the enthusiasm, and the energetic spirit that captivated and held the cafeteria court for lunch that December 14th, 2007. Such exemplary and contagious spirit has continuously kept former DADS CLUB founding member, Joe Samuels actively involved – even from outside the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, and with two years past.Please select some pictures here - http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=juw7clu.7jv390sy&x=0&y=-g1lb93 
ABOVE: DADS CLUB President, Joe Samuels in the middle take requests (MORE PICS in link above) >
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Please, standby for more photos to come....
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