The Forest Glen Middle School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8. Call the school at 925-5550 for more information.

The John F. Kennedy Middle School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8. Call the school at 925-5560 for

more information.

The John Yeates Middle School PTA will host a chili dinner and legislative meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdav, Oct. 8. The cost is $2 for members and $3 for non-members. Call the school at 538-5400 for more information.

The King’s Fork Middle School PTA will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, featuring a Cyber Caf. Parent and child participation is required for this activity.

Call the school at 925-5750 for more information.

Chili Dinner

The John Yeates Middle School PTA will host a chili dinner and legislative meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8. The cost is $2 for members and $3 for non-members. Call the school at 538-5400 for more information.

Early Start

Parents of Early Start students are invited to attend one of the following monthly meetings designed to help families whose 4-year-old children are in the Early Start program to help the youngsters get ready for success in kindergarten. October’s meetings will focus on nutrition on a budget.

Parents will learn how to prepare well-balanced, nutritious meals that children will eat without wrecking the family budget or taking hours to prepare.

Learn recipes you can have your child help preparing. Leslie Staley of the Virginia Cooperative Extension program will be the presenter.

Sessions will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3 in Florence Bowser Elementary School; at 7 p.m. Thursday. Oct. 10 in Booker T. Washington Elementary School; or 7 p.m. Thursday. Oct. 17 in Mount Zion Elementary School.

Educational gifts will be given for each Early Start child whose parent attends.

Call Faye Sobel, parent relations specialist at the Title I Parent Resource Center, at 538-5419 for more information.

Parenting Workshop

A free parenting workshop on positive discipline will be offered by the guidance department of Kilby Shores Elementary School, starting Monday. Oct. 7. The workshop is called STEP (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) and will meet for six two-hour sessions from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 7 through Nov. 18. Sessions include:

nUnderstanding Young Children; Understanding Children’s Behavior; Building Self-Esteem in the Early Years;

nCommunicating with Young Children and Helping Children Learn to Cooperate; Effective Discipline Techniques: and

nNurturing Emotional and Social Development. Classes are for parents only, and no babysitting services will be available.

Call guidance counselors Barbara Jordan or Karen Jones at 925-5575 to register or for more information.

College Night

High school students and their parents are invited to College Night, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7 in Lakeland High School.

Representatives from dozens of colleges and post-secondary schools will be on hand to answer questions.

While hosted by Lakeland, the event is open to students from any high school.

Call the guidance department at 925-5530 for more information.

Peanut Fest

Suffolk Public Schools will again participate in this year’s Peanut Fest celebration. An entrance tent and Children’s Art Tent will be filled with student artwork and demonstrations to give visitors insight into the excitement happening in the city’s classrooms.

These exhibits will be open Thursday, Oct. 10 through Sundav. Oct. 13. Also, student musicians will perform at the Family Stage on Friday, Oct. 11.

The schedule includes Northern Shores Elementary School at 10:30 a.m., Elephant’s Fork Elementary School at 10:55 a.m., Nansemond Parkway Elementary School at 11:20 a.m., John F. Kennedy Middle School band at 11:45 p.m., Mount Zion Elementary School at 12:05 p.m., King’s Fork Middle School band and chorus at 12:30 p.m., and Driver Elementary School at 12:55 p.m. Come out and see our stars shine!

Upcoming events at year-round schools:

Booker T. Washington Elementary School and Northern Shores Elementary School will dismiss early on Friday, Oct. 11 for a teacher clerical day. Students will dismiss at 12:45 p.m. Call the schools for more information.

Intersession at Booker T. Washington Elementary School and Northern Shores Elementary School will be held from Oct. 14 through Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Parent-Teacher Conferences at Booker T. Washington Elementary School and Northern Shores Elementary School will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14. Teachers will take a dinner hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The two year-round schools will be closed for vacation Oct. 28 through Nov. 1.

Golf Tournament

The fifth annual Benefit Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Suffolk Education Foundation, will be held this year on Thursday, Oct. 17 at Suffolk Golf Course.

Proceeds from the Florida Best Ball tournament will benefit the Foundation’s efforts to provide college scholarships, recognize outstanding teachers, and fund classroom mini-grants.

The shotgun start is set for 1 p.m., followed by a fried chicken and barbecue dinner at 5:30 p.m.

For faster play, only 27 teams will be accepted. The fee for a four-person team is $240 ($60 for an individual player), and includes carts, greens fees, dinner and gift bag. Player registration and the driving range open at 10 a.m.

Cash awards will be given to the top two teams in each flight, as well as prizes for closest to the pin, longest drive, and hole in one.

Call Tim Copeland, the executive director for the Suffolk Education Foundation, at 539-1265 for a registration brochure and additional information on sponsorships.

Junior Achievement

Southwestern Elementary School will kick off its Junior Achievement program this month for first-graders, fourth-graders and fifth-graders. Volunteers from the community and the school’s partners-in-education teach the program, which is provided by Junior Achievement of Greater Hampton Roads.

This semester, Southwestern will welcome the following volunteers: Lt. Grover Craft of the U.S. Navy, Dr. Mark Estienne and Norris Powell of Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Kay O’Keefe (certified public accountant), Cyndi Estienne of Belle Rive Farm, and Matthew Danzi of International Paper. These volunteers will lead students in engaging activities one day a week for five weeks.

The theme for first-graders is &uot;Our Families,&uot; which explores the role families play in the local economy, jobs people have, and their economic needs and wants.

The fourth-grade program is &uot;Our Region,&uot; which studies state economics, the economic resources of regions, and decisions businesses must make.

Fifth-graders will be discussing &uot;Our Nation,&uot; learning about how businesses operate, including management, marketing, production and sales presentation activities.

During the second semester, students in kindergarten, second grade and third grade will participate in the Junior Achievement program.

Call principal Lorita Mayo at 925-5595 for more information.

Star Award

Suffolk Public Schools will again be awarding the Star Award to outstanding employees each quarter.

All Suffolk Public School employees are eligible to receive the award. Nominations can be submitted from all Suffolk Public School employees, parents and the community.

The nomination forms are available at schools, departments, on the Web site and in Human Resources.

Nominations should consider a specific incident or accomplishment; significant commitment and involvement in the community; a positive difference in a child’s life, a show of initiative which created a benefit or service to the school/department or community or any activity that has impacted the school/department in a positive way.

A Support Staff Star Award recipient and an Instructional Star Staff Star Award recipient will be selected each quarter. The Star Award recipients are selected by a committee. The first Star Award Recipients of this school year will be recognized at the Nov. 14 School Board meeting.

Deadline for submission of nominations is Oct. 15.

You can download the nomination package from the Web site at www.sps.k12.va.us. You then click on Superintendent, then &uot;documents.&uot;

For more detailed information, call 925-5632.

Entertainment Books

Oakland Elementary School is selling 2003 Entertainment Books with discount coupons for area restaurants and activities. The fund-raising will continue through November. The books are $30 each.

Call the school at 925-5505 for more information.