It seems like our first practice was just yesterday and now it’s time for the championship meets. We are counting on every team member to run in the meets.

Note, the meet starts at 4:00 p.m., the kids need to walk directly from school to the Piedmont Community parking lot. Below is a list of drivers and snack providers, 

· The 6^th grade girls race is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and the 6^th grade boys race will follow, probably around 4:20. There will be an awards ceremony around 5:00 p.m., with the top 10 finishers in each race receiving a trophy and the winning team in each race will also receive a trophy. Every runner will receive a finisher ribbon.

· The meet director has asked that everyone congregate near the finish line picnic table areas. Please look for me on race day or call me on my cell to locate where that is. We will not know what the exact course is until the day of the meet.

· PE mile, and this is especially important on the date of the championship meet, November 5^th, they should take it easy in the PE mile, 10 minutes or a bit under is fine. They should let the PE teacher know why they are not running it 100%. I have e-mailed the PE teachers and so that they are aware of the situation.

· The Rec Dept. & Cross Country coaching staff would like your feedback, suggestions and assessment of this year’s program. The purpose is to try and make it better for next year based on your comments. Just click on this link to complete the survey: http://form.jotform.com/form/13044043677

Calendar for Remainder of the Season

Below is our calendar, subject to possible change, for the remainder of the season. Please note that even after the meet on Monday, all 6^th graders are welcome to attend the below listed practices. Practices will however be just one hour.

November 5 – 6^thGrade Championship Meet

November 6 –Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Optional)

November 7 –Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Optional)

November 8 – 7&8^thGrade Championship Meet – No practice

November 9 - 7&8th Grade Fenton's Party

November 12 – No Practice

November 13 –Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Optional)

November 14 –Practice 1:00 to 2:00 (Optional)

November 15 –Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Optional)

Other Items Of Note

- Regarding the cross country t-shirt, shorts, and singlet it is my understanding that your child can keep these as a memento of the season, except for the singlets that have a “P” inside a circle. We would like those returned please so that they can be used during track and field season and next cross country season.

- The plan is to offer a middle school 10 week “Winter Conditioning Program” from January to March 2013. Enrollment will be limited to around 50-60 runners, it will be offered two days a week, probably Tuesdays and Thursdays, right after school for 75 minutes. More details in a December time frame.

- Reward Program gift cards, I still have some Jamba Juice and a Fenton’s card or two to hand out. If for some reason I miss your child on Monday, I will mail it to them. Any questions about this, let me know.

- Remember the Piedmont Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day is offering a special entry rate to team members of $20. The link to this race is:

http://www.active.com/running/piedmont-ca/piedmont-turkey-trot-2012

- FYI. Chabot College Cross Country Meet for middle school’ers will be held on Wed, Nov 14. Boys race first at 6:30pm and the girls are next, roughly 6:50pm. The top 5 per grade and per gender will win medals (30 medals total).

Summary of Meets & Practices Week of 10/29

Our last regular season meet of the season was held on Monday, October 22 at Lafayette Community Park. This was a new venue and the first time that Stanley Middle School has hosted a meet. The course had a little bit of everything and seemed very viewer friendly. Results from the meet are not available but according to my tabulations, in the 6^th grade boys race we had 4 boys in the top ten and 8 boys in the top 16. Our first runner was Mitch Curtis in 6^th place, followed by Dylan Thayer in 8^th place, Henry Cooper in 9^th, Darryl Tjogas in 11^th, Josh Rogers in 11^th, Judge Williams in 14^th, Zach Chamberlin-Carr in 15^th, and Henry Saunders in 16^th place. A very strong showing across the board for all the 6^th grade boys who ran for the team at this meet.

On the 6th grade girls’ side, Erin Hong ran a strong race from beginning to end and in a close finish came in 2^nd place overall. Our other top 10 finishers were Laila Adarkar in 6^th place and Elie Cole in 7^th place. Rounding out our top five runners was Ruby Wakefield in 15^th place and Carolina O’Bresley in 20^th.

Once results are available, I will post them on our website.

In the 7&8^th grade boy’s race we had 2 boys in the top 15.  Unofficially I believe our first runner was Blake Gruendl in 12^th place followed by Kyle Mortimer in 14^th place.  Rounding out our top five finishers for the team were Walter Teitelbaum, Michael Blake,  and Vincent Titterton. 

On the girls’ side, we placed three girls in the top ten led by another winning effort by Skyler Liu in an unofficial time of 8:20.  Finishing in 7^th place was Ellie Coleman in a time of 8:49, and in 10^th place was Ava Podell.  The team had two runners who finish in the next set of 10 runners with Minnie Cooper in 17^th and Cece Garofoli in 19^th.  

It was a very short week practice wise, but with the championship meet coming up, my feeling at this point is that less is good as we want the kids rested for the season finale. Many thanks to Lisa Ramussen, the mother of 8^th grader Emma Nash, for bringing a special snack for the kids on Tuesday. We had about 15 kids at the Halloween afternoon practice and about the same number the next day for a morning run of the Turkey Trot course. Don’t forget, that for the 6^th graders, after their championship meet, it is their option if they want to come to the remaining practice sessions. 

Dear Piedmont Middle School Cross Country Parents:

As we enter the final weeks of the season, it’s great to see how much the kids have improved in their running. Our hope is that by season’s end we will have achieved our program goal which is to provide every team member the opportunity to develop their running ability in a fun, but directed environment. This past week the weather transitioned from “Indian Summer” like temps, to cool overcast Fall like weather.

-  It will in all likelihood be raining on Monday. The meet will be held even if it is raining, please have your kids dress for the conditions. I will try to have a pop-up tent set-up. Practices are also held rain or shine.There are two meets this week. On Monday, October 22 at the Moraga Country Club and Thursday, October 25^th at MLK Middle School in Berkeley. Directions are attached. Below is an updated meet participation list for the remaining three regular season meets. It is very important to let us know of any changes to your child’s participation. Either e-mail me with changes or use this link:

http://form.jotform.us/form/22506649589164

 -  Last call for orders for the Fenton’s party scheduled for Wednesday, October 24^th. Please use this link and we have had to limit the options, ice cream only: http://form.jotformpro.com/form/22826707982969

October 24th is an early release day; the Fenton’s party will be from 1:30 to 2:30. We will run back to the track after the party ends. If you would like to pick up your child at Fenton’s that is okay, please be prompt and be there at 2:30. A coach will drive a car with their backpacks to Fenton’s. Also, each child is expected to pay for their ice cream, please remember the price includes tax and tip. If they have earned a Fenton’s card, they can use that to pay for the item.

Chaperones for the party are still needed, if you can help out, let me know.

Calendar for Remainder of the Season

Below is our calendar, subject to possible change, for the remainder of the season:

October 22 – Meet at Moraga Country Club*

October 23 – Practice 3:15 to 4:45

October 24 – Practice 1:00 to 2:30 (Run to Fenton’s)

October 25 – Meet at MLK school in Berkeley*

October 29 – Meet at Lafayette Community Park*

October 30 – Practice 3:15 to 4:45

October 31 – Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Halloween)

November 1 – Post-Halloween Run 9 to 10 a.m. Meet in front of the high school (Magnolia and Bonita Ave.)

November 5 – 6^th Grade Championship Meet at Kennedy Grove Park

November 6 – Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Optional)

November 7 – Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Optional)

November 8 – No Practice (7&8^th Grade Championship Meet)

November 13 – Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Optional)

November 14 – Practice 1:00 to 2:00 (Optional)

November 15 – Practice 3:15 to 4:15 (Optional)

*Note: Practice will also be held on these days from 3:15 to 4:15

Other Items Of Note

- PE mile, just a reminder on meet days if your child is running the PE mile and the meet, they should take it easy in the PE mile, 10 minutes or bit under is fine. They should let the PE teacher know why they are not running it 100%.

- As you know, the 6^th grade championship meet will be held November 5^th at Kennedy Grove Regional Park in El Sobrante. Please note the first race starts at 4:00 p.m. The girls run first and then the boys. The kids will have to hustle after the last bell and go to the Piedmont Community Hall parking lot and leave for the meet as quickly as they can. We need to load up the cars and get the girls going first that day.

- The plan is to offer a middle school 10 week “Winter Conditioning Program” from January to March 2013. Enrollment will be limited to around 50-60 runners, it will be offered two days a week right after school for 75 minutes. More details in a December time frame.

- One of our team members left a hat at the Prospect-Sierra meet, if it is yours let me know.

- Remember the Piedmont Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day is offering a special entry rate to team

members of $20. The link to this race is:

http://www.active.com/running/piedmont-ca/piedmont-turkey-trot-2012

Summary of Meets & Practices Week of 10/15

The kids have continued to train hard and this past week featured a 1200 meter time trial and some interval workouts. It was very hot, so the workouts were modified a bit from the plan. We have just a few more up tempo workouts planned and then a taper, reduction in intensity and distance, to hopefully have the kids rested and ready for the championship meet.

This week the meet was held for the 2^nd consecutive week at Cerrito Vista Park in El Cerrito. The total number of participants was much lower than the previous week and there were no problems with runners making a wrong turn. About 30 PMS team members participated in the meet and we had 9 girls compete in the 6th grade girls race, 7-6th graders and 2-5th graders. The girls’ team was led by Erin Hong who finished 2^nd overall in a close race with 1^st place finisher. Also finishing in the top 10 was Ella Jeffries in 5^th place, followed closely by Naomi Hollinger in 6^th place and Ruby Wakefield in 7^th place. Our other 6^th grade girls were Zoe Ricard in 12^th place, Chelsea Fox in 19^th place, and Carolina O’Bresley (in her first cross country race) in 24^th. For our 5^th grade development squad, Piper Palmeri placed 26^th and Julia Pappas was 46^th in the race. A very nice team effort across the board for all the girls.

In the 6^th grade boys race, 13 of our runners competed. We had 4 boys finish in the top 11 runners overall, led by Dylan Thayer in 7^th place, Zachary Chamberlin-Carr in 8^th place, Kevin Judd placed 9^th, and in 11^th place was Justin Casey. Also, placing well was Luke Anderson in 17^th place and Andrew Stoddard in 20^th. 

We had 4 girls compete in the 7&8^th grade girls race.  Our first finisher was Ava Podell in 12^th place, followed very closely by Cece Garafoli in 14^th place.  Also, Eva Hunter and Rose Eisenbach ran well and finished in 25^th and 30^th places respectively.  In the 7&8^th grade boys race, 11 of our runners competed.  In a very well paced race on his part, Blake Gruendl moved up the entire race and finished in 2^nd place overall, his best finish this season.  Both Reece Proctor and Keith Sibal also placed well, finishing in 13^th and 16^th place respectively.  Our next finisher was Aaron Jeffries in 23^rd.  Other runners who competed for us were Sam White, Vincent Titterton, Toby Fischer, Carter Perkins, Nick Rachwald, Hunter Stern, and Ayden Riley. 

Photos of some of the runners can be found at:  https://picasaweb.google.com/leonardmgoldman/ProspectSierraMeet101812#

While complete results from this meet won’t be available for several days, the results from the meet on October 11^th are available on our website:

http://www.pmscc.com/meet-results

Runner Reward Points

The final day to earn points toward a gift card is October 23. Attached is the latest “Runner Reward Report” as of October 19. Please review it and if we missed anything let us know. I usually round up if a kid is close to getting a JJ card or Fenton’s card.

This Week’s Practice Schedule

Monday – October 15 – Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Tuesday - October 16 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Wednesday - October 17 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Thursday - October 18 – Meet at Cerrito Vista Park in El Cerrito

(Note: Practice will be offered to kids not running in the meet, but only from 3:15 to 4:15.)

We recommend you give your child an extra snack on meet days that they can eat prior to running.

If you are a snack provider, you can check with one of the meet drivers and see if you can drop off the snack with them. A final option is to drop the snack off with Christine Chapon, just e-mail her to let her know.

Directions to Cerrito Vista Park are attached..

Summary of Meets & Practices Week of 10/8

The meet this past week and also for the coming week is at Cerrito Vista Park in El Cerrito. On the 11^th the weather was cool and overcast, with even a little drizzle. This course is tight, with lots of twists and turns and many runners make wrong turns as a result of its somewhat confusing nature. In the 6^th grade girls’ race, we had a nice team turnout, with 12 girls running in the race. They were lead by Naomi Hollinger in 2^nd place and Ella Jeffries in 3^rd place, followed by Franny Lahey-Teare in 8^th place., Several girls also place in the next grouping as Isabelle Wilson was 14^th, Julie Huffaker was 15^th, and Chelsea Fox was 19^th. Overall it was a very solid showing by our girls’ team. I should mention that we had 3-5^th graders from our “development team” run in this race, Piper Palmeri, Julie Ray, and Julia Pappas. They are gaining valuable experience in preparation for when they can run as middle school’ers. Once results are available, they will be posted on our website.

On the 6^th grade boys side, 13 from our team participated and we had two in the top 10 finishers, Ethan Argue in 7^th and Darryl Tjogas in 10^th place. In addition, David Schwarz finished in 20^th place, Justin Casey 21^st place, Dimitri Manolis in 22^nd place and Jamie Tucher in 25^th place. Again a very nice showing by all the boys who ran and they got to experience running on course that is very quirky.

The emphasis at practices this week was on intensity and the workouts were meant to try and get the kids running at their maximum effort. This consisted of short sprints around the track, followed by a very brief recovery, and then running hard again. The theory behind this is that repeated bouts of speed result in the runner growing stronger aerobically speaking so that they can sustain an increased pace during a race. In addition, we also had the kids run in relay teams of 5 per team, each team member running 100 meters around the track for several laps. This also gave them some experience exchanging a baton. One other exercise we did was a drill with several stations and at each station the kids had to do a different activity. Of course the run to Mulberry’s was probably the highlight of the week for most of the kids.

In the 7&8^th grade girls’ race, we had a nice team turnout, with 10 girls running in the race.  They were lead by Skyler Liu in 2^nd place.  Skyler led much of the race, but due to a wrong turn, lost ground and was passed by another runner.  As mentioned, over the years, I have seen many runners, including one year the entire pack going the wrong way and this is just one of nuances of cross country running.  In 5^th place with a fine run was Leah Kochendoerfer, the 15^th place finisher was Cece Garofoli, 18^th place was Isa Harrison, and Emma Nash was the 21^st place runner.  All the girls ran hard, and showed a lot of determination, a necessary quality for endurance running and something that is best learned by experiencing it, in my opinion.  When the meet director issues results, I will post it on our website.  On the 7&8^th grade boys side, 16 boys ran in the race and they were led by Nick Loduca in 13^th place.  Our next finisher was Joseph Chu in 17^th place, followed by Daniel Jones in 22^nd place.  Aaron Jeffries and Reece Proctor rounded out the top five finishers from PMS. Again a very nice showing by all the boys who ran and they got to experience running on a course that is very quirky.

Results from the GGF meet on 9/24 are available on our website.

http://www.pmscc.com/meet-results

Runner Reward Points

The final day to earn points toward a gift card is October 23. About half the team has earned Jamba Juice gift cards and I expect most team members will earn one. This week we started handing out the first of the Fenton’s $10 gift cards, Attached is the latest “Runner Reward Report” as of October 13. Please review it and if we missed anything let us know.

· The next meet in on Thursday, October 11 at Cerrito Vista Park in El Cerrito. Below is a list of the "yes", "no" and “maybes.” Please review it and let us know any changes to meet participation. Submit your changes to meet participation, driving or snack providing using this link: http://form.jotform.us/form/22506649589164

Or you can e-mail me the changes too.

· Practice will be offered on the 11th for kids not running in the meet, but only for 1 hour, from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.

· Wednesday, October 10^th is an early release day, 12:45. We will run to Mulberry’s at the end of practice, bring money if you want to buy a treat.

· Please review your child’s meet participation for the remaining meets, a spreadsheet with this information is attached. Every team member is required to run in 3 regular season meets and the championship meet on November 5.

· Monday, October 8^th, school is not in session and there is no practice that day. However, extra credit will be offered if your child runs on that day. Please use the on-line form to submit extra credit runs: http://form.jotformpro.com/form/22576570183962

Other Items Of Note

- Remember to save the date; Wednesday, October 24^th is the 6^th grade team party at Fenton’s from 1:30 to 2:30. We need some parent volunteers to chaperone. If you can help, let me know.  The 7&8th grade party at Fenton's is November 9th.

- With Fall officially here, the weather is likely to be changeable. Note, practices and meets take place rain or shine. In past years, we have had some meets take place during heavy rain. You should assume meets and practices will take place as scheduled whatever the weather might be. Also, with cooler temps likely, have the kids dress in layers for both meets and practices.

- Team uniforms are still available to those who have not received them and will be distributed this week at both practices and the meet.

- I just found out that the meet on Monday, October 22 probably will be moved to the golf course at the Moraga Country Club. This could be a unique opportunity to run at a venue we don’t normally have available to us, so if you aren’t scheduled to run in this meet, you may want to consider it.

- Attendance at one meet or practice a week is a team requirement. If your child is sick, injured or can’t meet this requirement for a particular week, please let me know.

- Our team website is your one stop site for the latest information including results, photos, etc.

http://www.pmscc.com/

- Remember the Piedmont Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day is offering a special entry rate to team members of $20. The link to this race is:

http://www.active.com/running/piedmont-ca/piedmont-turkey-trot-2012

The plan is to extend our season into the week of November 12^th and we will concentrate on doing long runs that week, 2-3 miles, in preparation for the Turkey Trot.

This Week’s Practice Schedule

Monday – October 8 – No school, no practice, run on your own to earn extra credit.

Tuesday - October 9 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Wednesday - October 10 - Practice from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., run to Mulberry’s and buy a snack.

Thursday - October 11 – Meet at Cerrito Vista Park in El Cerrito

(Note: Practice will be offered to kids not running in the meet, but only from 3:15 to 4:15.)

At the end of this message is a list of the 6th graders running in each meet and if their parent is driving or providing a snack.

you are a snack provider, the Rec Dept. has asked that you not drop it off with them. I suggest you check with one of the meet drivers and see if you can drop off the snack with them. A final option is to drop the snack off with Christine Chapon, just e-mail her to let her know. We do need more bottled water or juice drinks please.

Directions to Cerrito Vista Park are attached..

Summary of Meets & Practices Week of 10/1

The theme of this past week was hot temperatures as Monday and Tuesday saw heat in the 90’s. For the Orinda meet, our annual team bus ride took place and just about every seat on the bus was filled going to the meet. This provided a bit of a break for our parent carpool drivers and we appreciate all your support this season by driving the kids to and from the meet. Regarding the meet itself, there were several record breaking performances and overall the team really did well. Meet results can be found on the team website: http://www.pmscc.com/meet-results

And photos from both Orinda and MLK meets can be found at this link:

http://www.pmscc.com/xc-photos

I wish I could name every girl and boy who compete in thes meet and I hope you understand that for brevity purposes, my comments are limited.

In the Orinda meet, Erin Hong continued her fine running finishing 3^rd overall and breaking the PMS 6^th grade girls record for the course in a time of 6:56. This is the first time a 6^th grade Piedmont girl has run under 7 minutes on this course. PMS girls finished in 3^rd through 8^th place, a very dominating performance for any team as Erin was followed by Laila Adakar, Elie Cole, Ruby Wakefield, Naomi Hollinger, and Josie Gross-Whitaker respectively. In addition, other runners who finished in the top 20 were Lillian Brien placed 13^th, Zoe Ricard was 15^th, Lily Keville in 18^th place. All the girls ran well considering the heat and should be proud of their performance. I wish I could name every girl and boy who competes in the meets.

The 6^th grade boys were equally as impressive, and in the most exciting race of the season so far, Lorand Cheng ran down the race leader in the very last yards of the race and placed first by one second. His time of 6:42 broke the old 6^th grade PMS boys course record. Sam Von Herrmann in 3^rd place and a time of 6:48 also broke the old school course record. Our 6^th grade boys team captured seven of the top 10 places with Henry Cooper, Dylan Thayer and Dylan Han 4^th, 5th, and 6^th; followed by Josh Rogers in 8^th place and Mitch Curtis in 10^th place. A total of 18 PMS boys ran in this race, the most of any school and again all the boys are to be congratulated for running in such warm conditions.

Offical results for Thursday’s meet at MLK are not available, but unofficially for the girls Erin Hong finished in 2^nd place, Frannie Lahey-Teare was 5^th and Ella Jeffries was the 6^th place finisher, Gillian Truesdell was 20^th, and in her first cross country Veda Skatter was 23^rd. On the boys side, Lorand Cheng was 3^rd, with Sam Von Herrmann 8^th and Darryl Tjogas was 9^th.

Just a note about practices, we are starting to divide the kids into pace groups based on meet times and performance at practice. The goal is to match kids up of like ability. I have found that this is another way to motivate kids, and often this internal team competition with a faster pace group helps everyone get better. The coaches for each pace group have assigned workouts and we are doing more track workouts at a pretty high intensity. This will continue the next several weeks when we will begin to “taper” for the championship.

Runner Reward Points

All kids on the team should have received a water bottle and coupon for a free Icee at Mulberry’s. Please let me know if they didn’t. I expect every child on the team will earn a $5 gift card for Jamba Juice. Any child who reaches 22 points will receive a JJ gift cart. The most current Runner Reward Report, 10/5/2012 can be found at this link:

http://www.pmscc.com/downloads

Dear Piedmont Middle Cross Country Parents:

Our first set of meets took place this past week and the 7&8^th graders ran well.  I look forward to the meets coming up this week and seeing the kids put into practice the training they have been doing.Thank you to all the parents who drove and provided snacks. Below is a brief recap of the meets and results are attached.   The key points for this week are:

·        Monday, October 1, the kids will take the team bus to Orinda.  We want the kids to get the “bonding experience” of riding a bus at least once this season.  A few parent drivers will be at the Community Hall to handle any overflow, but we ask that every child who will fit on the bus ride in it.  They don’t have to take the bus home unless they want to; it’s okay to drive them home when they are done with their race.  The bus will bring them back to the Piedmont Community Hall.

·        Thursday, October 4th is the meet at MLK School in Berkeley.  The kids are to walk down to the Piedmont Community Hall and meet the drivers there.  Note, for the kids who are not able to run in the meets this week, practice will be offered on both Monday and Thursday. 

·        If you are a snack provider, the Rec Dept. has asked that you not drop it off with them.  I suggest you check with one of the meet drivers and see if you can drop off the snack with them. A final option is to drop the snack off with Christine Chapon, just e-mail her to let her know. We do need more bottled water or juice drinks please.

·        It was great to see so many kids and team parents at the Wellness Run on Saturday.  If your child ran in the race please submit them for “extra credit,”  just go to this web page and click on “Extra Credit Form”

http://www.pmscc.com/parents

            Also, the Piedmont Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day is offering a special entry rate to team

            Members of $20.  The link to this race is:         

             http://www.active.com/running/piedmont-ca/piedmont-turkey-trot-2012

One item I would like to mention.  Usually about half way through each season we notice a drop off in attendance at practice.  One practice or running in a meet each week is required unless your child is injured or sick.   In sports there is something call the "rule of specificity."  Basically it says to get better at a sport you have to practice that sport on a consistent basis, that's one of the reasons we have the runner reward program to encourage attendance.  So it’s important to attend practice, plus studies have shown that kids who exercise actually do better in school and it's a healthy activity.

This Week’s Practice Schedule

Monday – October 1 – Meet at Golden Gate Fields Race Track

(Note: Practice will be offered to kids not running in the meet.)

Tuesday - October 2 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Wednesday - October 3 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Thursday - October 4 – Meet at MLK School in Berkeley

(Note: Practice will be offered to kids not running in the meet.)

At the end of this message is a list of the 7&8th graders running in each meet and if their parent is driving or providing a snack.  For the Orinda meet, only a few drivers are needed because we are taking the bus.

To view the entire schedule for what meets your child is running in and if you are scheduled to drive or provide a snack it can be found at our website.

For the meet on October 11, it appears we are short drivers, need 2-3.  Complete the change form if you can drive.

Directions to both Orinda and MLK are attached.

 PMS Cross Country Website

In this and future e-mails we will refer a lot to our website, here is a quick summary of what is available and the links to them:

www.pmscc.com – Home Page and Summary of Upcoming Week Activities

http://www.pmscc.com/parents - Extra Credit Form and Change in Meet Participation Form (all on-line forms)

http://www.pmscc.com/downloads - Spreadsheets that are updated with points for each team member and participation, drivers and snack providers

http://www.pmscc.com/xc-photos - Meet photos

http://www.pmscc.com/meet-results - Results from meets

Summary of Golden Gate Field and Temescal Meets & Practices Week of 9/24

Results from the Golden Gate Fields Meet have not yet been provided us by the host school.  Results and photos will be posted on our website: 

Preliminary placings and to name just a few runners from the GGF meet our first finisher in the boys race was 8^th grader Kyle Mortimer in 21^st place.  Right behind him were Joseph Chu and Daniel Jones.  Our 4^th and 5^th place runners across the finish line were Reece Proctor and Mathis Richards.  On the girls’ side,  7^th grader Elie Coleman in her first cross country race finished in 5^th place.  Next for Piedmont was Ava Podell in 11^th place, followed by Kate Gross-Whitaker in 14^th, Minnie Cooper in 18^th, and the 5^th runner for the team was Emma Nash in 24^th place. 

On Thursday, PMS hosted a home meet at Temescal Regional Park and over 350 runners from 15 different schools participated.  Many thanks to the parent volunteers and to my assistant coaches who helped put on this very successful meet.  Also the Boosters Club was very generous in picking up the tab so chip timing could be used.  We are the only school in the league to use this technology for timing races.  As you will see in looking at the results, all the kids on the team ran well and space and time permits me to name just a few.  Two course records for PMS 8^th grade runners were recorded.  Sklyer Liu broke the old record by 1.5 seconds and finished in 2^nd place out of 97 girls in this race.  Our other top 5 finishers were Leah Kochendoerfer in 8^th place, Minnie Cooper in 11^th place, Ava Podell in 13th and Kate Gross-Whitaker in 16^th place.  Our girls team had a very strong showing and should fare well this season.  On the boys’ side, Blake Gruendl had a record-setting day, running 6:50 to break the old record for PMS 8^th grade boys on this course by almost 20 seconds.  In 18^th place and the next Piedmont runner was Daniel Jones, then Nick Loduca in 20^th, closely followed by Joseph Chu in 21^st and rounding out our top 5 finishers was Keith Sibal in 30^th place.

Runner Reward Points

All kids on the team should have received a water bottle and coupon for a free Icee at Mulberry’s.  I have begun distributing the $5 gift card for Jamba Juice.      Any child who reaches 22 points will receive a JJ gift carted.  Attached is the latest “Runner Reward Report” as of Sept. 28.  Please review it and if we missed anything let us know.

Weekly Bulletin #5-Week of 9/24

I think we had a good week of practice and that the kids are ready to test their cross country legs by running in the meets. We have been reviewing maps of the course layout and terrain, but there’s nothing like running on them. I have tried to emphasize that running in a race is a learning process and you come away having gained some knowledge, even though at the time you may not realize it. I and the other coaches will be there to support and encourage them. Competing in any race is an accomplishment that they can take pride in and knowing that they tried their best.

The key items for this week are:

· Monday, Sept. 24 remind your child to bring their running attire and shoes with them and promptly after school, walk to the Piedmont Community Hall. The car pool drivers will be waiting for them. Coach Christine and one of our team parents for the 7^th graders, Beth Eyre, will be there to assist with loading up the cars.

· Thursday, Sept. 27, we host a meet at Temescal Regional Park and it is an early release day, 2:05 p.m.. We will be offering a “study hall” at the Piedmont Community Hall from after school until the drivers arrive. To encourage kids to attend, a raffle will be held and prizes awarded.

· Changes to meet participation, driving, providing snacks can be made using this on-line form:

http://form.jotform.us/form/22506649589164

Attached is a spreadsheet with details for each team member about the meets they

are running in, drivers, and snack providers. There are worksheets (tabs) for each

of the first 5 meets, and the “Submissions” tab has all the selections. Let me know if

you have trouble using it.

· On October 1, a bus will drive the kids to and from the meet in Orinda. We want all the kids running in that meet to take the bus there. We just need a few drivers at the Piedmont Community Hall in case there is an overflow situation. The 6^th grade team parent, Jana Oliver, should have contacted you if you were scheduled to drive. It is okay for you to drive your child home after the meet or the bus will take them back to Piedmont. We could use another parent volunteer to be a chaperone on the bus. Let me know if you are interested.

· For the meets on October 4^th and 11^th we are short car pool drivers. We need 2-3 more drivers for each of these meets based on the number of 6^th graders running in them. Use the change form or contact me or Jana if you can drive to either of these meets. To check your child’s status for each meet, please see the attached spreadsheet. There is a tab for each of the first 5 meets, the remaining meets will be added.

Reminder About Driving to the Meets

On meet days, car pool drivers are to meet the kids in the parking lot of the Piedmont Community Hall at 711 Highland Ave. Please be there by 3:00 p.m., a representative of the Rec Dept. will check you in. Also, kids are not assigned to cars and drivers in advance; as children arrive they are put into cars. Of course you will want your child to ride with you. On occasion you may have to give a 7^or 8^th grader a ride. Attached are directions to the meets on 9/24 & 9/27.

The meets start at 4:15 p.m., 6th graders race first, so it is important for the drivers to leave as soon as your car has been loaded with kids. Attached are the directions to the meet. Our website also has maps for each meet location: http://www.pmscc.com/directions-to-meets

I will be at the meet site, waiting for the team. My cell number is included, 510-304-9533. The kids can either change into their running attire at the meet or wear it under their regular clothing, changing into it prior to their last period.

To give you some idea of the meet timeline,

- 4:15 to 4:30 -- 6th grade boys race

- 4:30 to 4:45 -- 6th grade girls race

- 4:45 to 5:05 -- 7th & 8th grade boys race

- 5:10 to 5:30 -- 7th & 8th grade girls race

Once 6th graders are done with their race, they are free to leave, or they can stay and cheer on their teammates. Note, I suggest giving your child a "light" snack to take with them so they can have something to eat prior to the race that will not upset their stomach, but provide some energy.

This Week’s Practice Schedule

Monday - September 24 – Meet at Golden Gate Fields Race Track

(Note: Practice will be offered to kids not running in the meet.)

Tuesday - September 25 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Wednesday - September 26 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Thursday - September 27 – Meet at Temescal Regional Park

(Study hall will be offered at the Piedmont Community Hall from the last bell until the car pool drivers arrive.)

Also, on Wednesday, September 26, on the way back from our endurance run, we will be making a stop at Mulberry’s. If your child wants to buy a treat, they should bring enough money to pay for it or they can use the coupon for a free Icee that they were given.

Summary of Practices Week of 9/10

To kick off the start of competition we had pizza for a snack on both Wednesday and Thursday. Many thanks to Cybelle’s in Montclair. We completed our 800 meter “time trials” this week; a total of 70 kids ran in them over the past two weeks. We have started to introduce some speed workouts to our training and this will continue. However the stable of our training are the endurance runs and this week, we went to Dracena Park, the Rose Garden, and ran part of the Wellness Course, mile 2 of it. The kids also practiced running up the stadium stairs, did hill repeats, and practiced starts. Our snack on Monday was popscicles courtesy of Lisa Rasmussen, 8th grader Emma Nash’s mom.

Piedmont Wellness Run

The Piedmont Wellness Run in on September 29^th. For more information about this run, the link is:

http://piedmontfallfest5k.org/

I hope to see you there.

PE Mile

One question I get a lot from parents and kids is about having to run a mile for time in PE class. I understand this and the PE teachers know about the cross country program. On the days of the meet, and if your child is scheduled to run the mile that day, they should tell the teacher that they have a cross country meet that day and they will be jogging the mile, not racing it at 100% effort. They should "save" their energy for the cross country race is my recommendation.

My understanding is that as long as the child runs the PE mile in 10 minutes or under, the PE teachers are okay with it. So the kids still have to run the PE mile but they can take it easy on the days they will be racing, just let the teacher know. Any questions or concerns about this, let me know.

Nutrition Checklist for Cross Country

by Coach Frank Pucher

The Cross Country Season is almost here! So before it begins, let's talk about Race Day Nutrition.

Morning Races
For morning races, always eat something 2-3 hours before race time. Some toast or a bagel with some peanut butter is an excellent race day breakfast. A ClifBar / PowerBar is another good choice. Be sure to drink 8-10oz of water with breakfast. Avoid fruit with skin (apples, plums etc.) before races unless you've tried them before other races as they may cause stomach discomfort if not digested in time.

Afternoon Races
Afternoon races pose a different strategy. Beginning in the morning eat a typical day's breakfast (whatever that may be). Assuming lunch in school around 12pm, try to eat an easily digested meal - perhaps a chicken/turkey sandwich with a Banana. Drink 8-10oz of water with lunch. Assuming a 4pm Race Start consume 1/2 of a ClifBar / PowerBar with another 8-10oz of water about 1- 1 ½ hrs before the race if you're still feeling hungry.

An accepted principle is that you can consume 100 calories for each hour before your event.

After the Race
After you finish your race and have properly warmed down, you should eat something within 1 hour to help spark the rebuilding and recovery process. Yogurt, fruit, or a sandwich with some more water are the best choices. The worst choices you can make after a race are cookies, crackers, chips and cokes.

Your body wants to rebuild and recover; bad food choices will simply delay the process. An athlete who eats properly "post race" has an advantage over their teammates and competitors almost immediately. If you've ever felt really bad the day after a race, take a good look at what you ate right after!

In Summary
There is no "magic formula" for eating that will lead to excellent performances. However, there are plenty of things you can do to SABATOGE all of your hard work and miles run. Follow the suggestions listed and you'll be on your way to a safe and successful season.

Coach Christine and Coach Len

The competitive portion of our 2012 season kicks off on in a week, on September 24. The kids have been working very hard and are excited about running in the meets. In anticipation of running in the first meet, the tempo of our workouts will pick up a bit in the coming week. Key items for you are:

• Meet Participation Form – If you haven’t completed this form yet, please do so. An on-line form has been created for you to enter this information. The link to the form is as follows, be sure to click on submit when you are finished:

http://form.jotform.us/form/21507220954145

Once you have made the initial submittal, if you need to change anything, we have an

on-line change form to do this. The link to the change form is:

http://form.jotform.us/form/22506649589164

• Participation in Meets on 9/24 & 927 – Attached is a listing of the kids and their status for the first two meets of the season. Please review it. This listing is as of Saturday, September 15. It will be updated as new information is received and the spreadsheet will be posted on our website at:http://www.pmscc.com/downloads
• Pizza Party – To kick off the competitive part of our season, the snack next week on Wednesday will be a slice of pizza. On Thursday, pizza will be served to those kids who couldn’t attend on Wednesday, so the pizza party will be held two days next week.
• Driving to the Meets - It is not necessary for you to drive to every meet that your child is running in unless you want to. If you are driving, so we can accommodate every child, we may ask you to drive a 7^th or 8^th grader. Below is more information about the meet logistics.

Every season for at least one of the meets, we rent a team bus to transport the kids.

I think this year it will be the October 1 meet at Orinda. More information in next

week’s bulletin.

• Team Uniform – These items are on order but may not arrive in time for the meet on Sept. 24. Every team member will receive a t-shirt that they can keep, a racing singlet (as long as supplies last) and I believe running shorts.
• Fenton's Party - Save the Date - Our traditional party at Fenton's has been scheduled for Wednesday, October 24 at 1:30 p.m. This date is for 6^th graders only, 7&8^th graders will go a different day. More details to follow in future bulletins.

A note about the team, 52-6th graders have signed up so far with a few more expected to. This is our largest group of 6^th graders since the program started, so thank you for the support. In total for all grades the team numbers about 105, which is a new record. Thank you kids and parents for your support!

Information About Driving to the Meets

On meet days, car pool drivers are to meet the kids in the parking lot of the Piedmont Community Hall at 711 Highland Ave. Please be there by 3:00 p.m., a representative of the Rec Dept. will check you in and I believe you have to provide them proof of car insurance. If the parking lot is full, park on the adjacent street. Also, kids are not assigned to cars and drivers in advance; as children arrive they are put into cars. Of course you will want your child to ride with you. On occasion you may have to give a 7^or 8^th grader a ride. Attached are directions to the meets on 9/24 & 9/27.

The meets start at 4:15 p.m., 6th graders race first, so it is important for the drivers to leave as soon as your car has been loaded with kids. Attached are the directions to the meet. Our website also has maps for each meet location: http://www.pmscc.com/directions-to-meets

Coach Len will be at the meet site, waiting for the team. His cell number is included, 510-304-9533. The kids can either change into their running attire at the meet or wear it under their regular clothing, changing into it prior to their last period. Coach Christine's cell phone is 510-325-3261.

Please note, on most meet days (I will announce it in the bulletin), practice at our normal time and place will also be offered. However, I expect any child scheduled to run in a meet will do so. The meets are an important part of the cross country season and learning process.

To give you some idea of the meet timeline,

- 4:15 to 4:30 -- 6th grade boys race

- 4:30 to 4:45 -- 6th grade girls race

- 4:45 to 5:05 -- 7th & 8th grade boys race

- 5:10 to 5:30 -- 7th & 8th grade girls race

Once 6th graders are done with their race, they are free to leave, or they can stay and cheer on their teammates. Note, I suggest giving your child a "light" snack to take with them so they can have something to eat prior to the race that will not upset their stomach, but provide some energy.

This Week’s Practice Schedule

Monday - September 17 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Tuesday - September 18 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Wednesday - September 19 - Practice from 2:15 to 3:45 p.m. (Pizza Party)

Thursday - September 20 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. (Pizza Party for kids not at practice Wednesday)

Summary of Practices Week of 9/10

A quick summary of the week, Monday was a community service run as the team delivered a notice to those houses which are on the route of the 5K Wellness Center Run. The kids I ran with really enjoyed it and wanted to know when they can do it again. Obviously this is a once a year type activity. Our other endurance runs this past week took us to various parts of Piedmont including Hampton Field, the first mile or so of the Wellness Run course and Lakeshore Ave. We have started doing some time trials and prior to the first meet I hope every child will have been able to do it. The distance is 800 meters, two laps of the track. The time trials will continue this week. Also, I have started to review with the kids, using a course map of Golden Gate Fields, what to expect during the race in terms of the course layout. During the meets we like to have the kids stay with a coach at all times, we don’t want them wandering about unsupervised.

Piedmont Wellness Run

The Piedmont Wellness Run in on September 29^th. For more information about this run, the link is:

http://piedmontfallfest5k.org/

I hope to see you there.

This bulletin has important information and a meet participation survey that needs to be completed. Please review this information and any questions let me know. Key points in this week’s bulletin are:

• Meet Participation Form - Our schedule of meets with other schools has been developed. Now we need you to tell us what meets your child would like to participate in and whether you can either drive or provide snacks for any meet. An on-line form has been created for you to enter this information. The link to the form is as follows, be sure to click on submit when you are finished:

http://form.jotform.us/form/21507220954145

Two bonus points if submitted by Sept. 12 or sooner. Also, we understand plans

might change regarding meet participation, just call or e-mail me if they do.

• Runner Questionnaire & Goals - Please don't forget to submit the "Runner Questionnaire and Goals" form, 1 bonus point if submitted by 9/6. Just go to this link on our website and then click on the Runner Questionnaire and Goals item: http://www.pmscc.com/parents

Team Parents – 7& 8th^th grade team parents to help with the coordination of

drivers and snack providers to the meets are needed. This is the only item where we

need some parents to lend a hand with the team. If a several of you volunteer, it

makes it a it easier, 1-2 hours a week max. Contact me if you can lend a hand.

Sydney Shaul (Reece Protor's mom) has already volunteered.

• Bonus Points – Run over the weekend and Labor Day and earn bonus points if you do. Remember the extra credit form must be submitted to let us know what you have done. The form to submit extra credit runs can be found at this link:http://www.pmscc.com/parents

As a reminder, for the next several weeks we continue to invite and welcome any 7 or 8^th grader to attend a practice or two and get an idea of cross country before deciding if they want to join the team.

Participating in Meets

As most of you know already, the cross country meets are where the hard work the kids put in during practice pays off. Every child must run in three regular season meets plus the 7/8th grade championship meet.

The league championship meet on Thursday, November 8 is our most important race.

Note, four runner reward points are awarded for every meet your child runs in, double the value of a practice session. Please arrange your child's calendar so that they can run in the championship meet and appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Any questions or concerns about this, please contact me.

I recommend that if possible your child run in between 3 to 6 regular season meets plus the championship meet. Several meets are at the same location twice, i.e., MLK School and Cerrito Vista Park. Only choose one of the dates for these locations, not both dates, unless your child has no other options. Piedmont hosts a meet on Thursday, September 27^th and of course we want as many of our team members there as possible.

Parent volunteers are needed for this meet, respond to this e-mail if you can help with it.

Also, the plan is to offer practices on the days there are meets (except 9/27), but the primary obligation of each team member is to first fulfill the three meet requirement.

Attached is a document which hopefully will answer many of the questions you have about cross country meets, if anything is not clear, please contact me. Meets (and practices) take place rain or shine.

This Week’s Schedule

Monday - September 3 - Labor Day Holiday, no practice (if your child runs on their own they can earn 1 or 2 bonus points).

Tuesday - September 4 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Wednesday - September 5 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

Thursday - September 6 - Practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m.

The next minimum day is Wednesday, September 12th, practice is held right after the last bell starting at 1:00 p.m. On days the kids get out early, it just means practice starts sooner than usual.

Don’t forget your running attire, running shoes, water bottle, sun screen and we advise wearing a hat.

Summary of Practices Week of 8/27

We completed our first full week of practices this past week and the kids ran and worked hard. We averaged about 40 kids for each practice, except for Thursday, Bonanza Day.

A brief re-cap of the week is as follows. The weather was very warm all week and added to the challenge. We do take frequent water breaks and that’s one of the reason we are giving each child who registers for cross country a water bottle. We never have a child do a particular activity if they don't want to and they have a legitimate reason. Normal muscle soreness because of doing physical exertion is not unusual and is to be expected. In addition, some fatigue and tiredness may also occur. That's why we recommend the kids run a couple of days a week and have rest days too. Our longer endurance runs this week included a run to Crocker Park, Piedmont Park, and a jog from the track down to Lakeshore Ave. and back. There are always several coaches with the kids on these runs. The kids also ran by the parking lot of the Piedmont Community Hall where they will walk to on meet days for a ride to the cross country meets. In addition, we did some dynamic warm-ups, strides, circuit work, centipede runs on the track, and played games. Sometimes small prizes are given to the "winning team." Hopefully during the course of the season every team member will receive one of these prize items.

Runner Reward Program Points Report

Attached is the “Runner Reward Program Report.” It is updated at the end of each week, so this report is as of September 1. Let me know if we missed anything for your child.

As milestones are reached, the awards will be distributed at practice. Note, there several worksheets that make up this report. The "Main" worksheet is a summary of points earned. The "Attendance and Points" is the detail by date or activity. Regarding the Runner Reward Program, in summary, the kids earn 2 points for every practice they attend. If a child can only attend one practice a week due to another sport(s) they are playing, I will give them one point per week for participating in that sport. Also, they can run on the weekend for extra credit, 15 minutes earns 1 point and 30 minutes earns 2 points. In addition, sometimes at practice we hand out "bonus" points for the things the kids do. To receive any of the rewards, your child must be registered for cross country. The water bottles are the initial reward the kids will receive and next will be a coupon for a free Icee. Many thanks to Mulberry’s for partnering with us on this reward prize.

Dear PMS Cross Country Parents:

Welcome

Thank you for signing up your 6th grader for the cross country team. This e-mail is going both to the parents who have signed up their child and those whose 6^th grader is still deciding if they want to do it. Hopefully they will, just keep me posted of their decision. Our first two practices went well and the entire coaching staff is looking forward to the coming season. We understand that the start of middle school is a big change, and hope that cross country can help your child with this transition by providing a healthy and fun outlet for them. While practice is available 4 days a week, you decide what days your child would like to attend. The minimum is one day a week, and because rest days are also important the maximum should be three practices a week, plus possibly running for extra credit on one day of the weekend for 10 or 20 minutes. The Rec Dept. does offer scholarships for families who might need assistance with the fee; please contact David Weisgerber at 420-3074 for more information.

Communications

The weekly bulletin will be the primary vehicle for providing information to you. The bulletin will be sent weekly, usually over the weekend.

Please read it in it’s entirely and share it with your child. In addition we have a team website: www.pmscc.com

The "Frequently Asked Questions" tab has answers to many of your questions.

If at any time you have any questions or want to discuss things, feel free to either e-mail or call:

lgoldman@pacbell.net

510-339-2430 (home)

510-304-9533 (cell)

Organization structure

As the team has grown over the years, the need to restructure how we are organized has also become apparent. So starting this year, Christine Chapon will be the head coach for the 6^th grade team. She will be responsible for leading the 6^th graders during their day to day practices. Christine will report to me and I will be the overall coordinator for cross country and the 7/8^th grade head coach. I will continue to be at most practices working with all the kids, but the coach most responsible for the 6^th graders will be Christine. Please note that going forward the weekly bulletin will be sent by Christine and you should contact her first if you have any questions, comments, etc. Her contact information is:

cchapon1305@gmail.com

Christine has been part of the PMS coaching staff for the past three years, and has also assisted with the PMS track and field team and the Piedmont high track team. She is a Piedmont resident and her son Jules will be a junior this year and runs on the cross country team at PHS. I have known Christine since she moved to the Bay Area in 2000 and we have worked together on many running related projects over the years.

Schedule for The Week of August 27^th

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we practice from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. Thursday is a minimum day and the kids are excused at 12:45. Practice is from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. We meet at Witter Field. The 6th graders have Bonanza Day on Thursday afternoon and I completely understand if they choose that over practice. (I would!) For the 7th & 8th graders, I expect to see them at practice that day.

Parents are welcome to observe our practices to see what we do.

Attached is our practice schedule, some meets are listed and others will be added. PMS hosts a meet at Temescal Park on Thursday, September 27th. More information to follow. I understand the students will be released at 2:05 that day, but it should not be a problem with participating in the meet.

Note, our schedule is also posted and updated on Google Calendar: http://www.pmscc.com/calendar

Practice Items

Every child should bring a water bottle to practice. To encourage doing this, every child who registers for the team will receive an aluminum water bottle. The initial distribution of these bottles took place on Thursday. This is part of our “Runner Rewards Program.” We will always have a water jug and paper cups at practice, but having a personal water bottle helps with hydration. In addition, every child needs to run in running shoes, not court shoes or other types of gym shoes. Most of our running will be on the track, sidewalks or asphalt. The meets will be run on a variety of surfaces, mainly dirt and grass. Regular running shoes work fine on this surface also. If your child's running shoes are more than 6 months old, you may want to buy a new pair. There are many running stores in the area and I recommend going to a specialty running stores, so your child can be fitted by someone knowledgeable. Transports on College Ave. do offer a 10% discount on non-sales shoes if you mention PMS. Kids are not allowed to practice in flip-flops, barefoot, dress shoes, etc.

Sun screen, it’s sunny at the track and there is little shade, so protection from the sun is important. I recommended wearing a hat too.

It’s also important that they eat a nutritious breakfast and lunch. They can't run if they don't have the energy. It’s okay if they want to bring a light snack (fruit, etc.) and have it right before practice.

At the end of every practice, we have a healthy snack. If your child has any allergies let me know.

Questionnaire

To assist the coaching staff in getting to know more about your child, I am asking you to complete a brief on-line questionnaire. It will take about 5-10 minutes. I am also asking that your child tell me what goal(s) they have relative to being on the cross country team. It is the last item on the questionnaire and there is a menu of items to choose from or they can submit their own. We discussed at our second practice what goals are and why they are important. Extra credit will be give for those team members who submit it by Sept. 6. To complete it, just go to this link:

Runer Questionnaire & Goals

Be sure to click on the submit button when you are finished. If you have any problems doing this, please let me know.

Runner Reward Program and Earning Extra Credit

Since the program was founded, we have had a program for rewarding team members for coming to practice, running in meets, and running a mile or two on the weekend. Attached is a document explaining the program. I would appreciate it if you could review it with your child. We will do the tracking and issue a weekly report of points earned. As milestones are reached, the rewards will be handed out at practice.

I give extra credit if the kids run on their own or with a parent on the weekend. There is a limit of just one extra credit form per weekend and it must be a standalone run, not part of some other sports team activity. To report extra credit mileage, go to this link:

http://www.pmscc.com/parents

Click on "Extra Credit Form," complete the form and press the "submit" button.

Note, if your child can only attend one practice a week because they play another sport or have some other commitment, indicate that on the questionnaire and I will give them one point each week because of this situation. This is so they are not disadvantaged relative to earning miles.

Team Parents

We do need some parent volunteers to help coordinate drivers and snack providers for the meets. It should take just an hour or so per week starting the 2^nd week in September. If interested, let me know.

Team Members

While we have quite a few 6th graders on the team, we welcome any boy or girl who want to be part of the team. Any student is welcome to try a few practices before deciding if they want to sign up. So please have your child tell their friends and ask them to join them at one of our practices. I hope to publish the initial roster in the next bulletin.

Staff

We have a very competent and experienced staff of coaches. I feel it is important to have a sufficient number of coaches at each practice so the kids can be well supported and supervised. You can read a summary about each coach on our website and I hope you have a chance to meet each of them during the course of the season.

http://www.pmscc.com/coaches

Any question on the above items, let me know. Thank you.