Parent Advisory Board Notes
November 2008
November 01, 2008
PARENT ADVISORY BOARD
NOTES
Heather Theophilus, Co-President
November is the month of Thanksgiving. During this month of giving thanks, we must all remember to include Norfolk Public Montessori School in our blessings. Not only do we have the good fortune to attend a public Montessori school with it’s nurturing learning environment, but, most importantly, we are blessed with a hardworking, dedicated and fun loving staff. I plan to remember our school and all of our Montessori staff when I consider my Thanksgiving blessings this year, I hope your family does as well!
Speaking of giving thanks, thank you to everyone who has been attending the PAB meetings this fall! We had another great turnout at the October meeting – nearly twenty people were in attendance! Please keep coming, sharing your ideas, and volunteering your time! Consider using this meeting time as an opportunity to share lunch with your student before the meeting – either brown bag it or call your lunch order into Shione that morning. As always, thank you for making a difference!
During the October meeting, the President’s report included the following updates: an Ice Cream Party was held for all students following Hershey’s sales, Phonetic Readers were purchased for classroom use, Computer’s for Education funds were replaced by PAB (eliminating a fundraiser), PAB contributed to field trips to Poppy’s and DeGroot’s, Game Night at Divot’s was reported to be well attended, Quizno’s Night was also well attended, Monthly Staff Apprecition treats were scheduled, a Volunteer Recognition area was dedicated on the school’s front door, and a celebration was held in honor of Cooper’s arrival. The Treasurer’s Report, as of October 4th, indicated a balance of $4420.07.
As always, our
PAB committees have been very active! Volunteers are Montessori
PAB’s most valuable resource! Due to the tireless dedication of
volunteers during events and behind the scenes, PAB is able to
fulfill it’s purpose: to provide a link between parents/guardians,
staff, and community; to organize activities promoting school and
family unity; and to raise and distribute funds for supplemental
educational materials and experiences. PAB truly
understands that your time is valuable and we thank you for taking
the time to support our wonderful learning community!
Thanks to Rachelle Henery and Mary Gansebom, the Yankee Candle
fund-raiser was truly “scent”sational! An enormous thank
you to students, families, and staff for supporting Montessori
through this great fundraiser! The final numbers indicate we
have sold in excess of $4500 worth of Yankee products, bringing in
a total profit of more than $1800 for Montessori! Way to go
Montessori students, families, and staff! Also,
congratulations to Braden, the drawing winner of the $30 Target
Gift Card!
By now everyone has seen the new Montessori T-shirts and sweatshirts! The fresh, new design and styles are a great update! Mary Gansebom did a super job coordinating this effort and getting everyone their purchases in plenty of time to show their school spirit during fall field trips and Red Ribbon Week! If you did not have the chance to place an order or if you have interest in placing another order, please contact Mary for more information! Great job Mary!
I hope that everyone has had the opportunity to check out the newly updated Montessori link on the Norfolk Public Schools website (www2.norfolkpublicschools.org)! Sarah Dittmer has done a fantastic job coordinating this effort! Please check back regularly for continued updates! Thank you Sarah!
The Grandparent and Special Friend Luncheon was a tremendous success! More than one hundred guests attended, spent time in the classrooms, shared lunch and enjoyed dessert. Great big thanks to our wonderfully supportive staff for rolling with the punches during this new event! Also, thank you to all or our generous volunteers for donating so much of their time: Tammy Day, Sarah Dittmer, Megan Hadar, Rachelle Henery, Teresa Hyde, Karen Kalin, Ann Klein, Lesa Mitchell, Jesse Storovich, and Melissa Vietor. It was a very special day for many generations of our Montessori family!
Following area media coverage, it came to PAB’s attention that the shelves of many area food banks are empty. Concerned by this, PAB decided to run our fall food drive early this season. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, 248 pounds of non-perishable food, paper products, and personal care items were collected! A big thank you to Anne Griffee for quickly coordinating the food drive!
PAB would like to thank Rachelle Henery for coordinating the Scholastic Book Fair this fall! We sold $814.59 worth of books, allowing our staff to purchase $538.75 worth of books for our school! A huge thank you to everyone who purchased books, donated books, and to those who volunteered their time to work during the fair! Book fair volunteers included the following: Sarah Dittmer, Anne Griffee, Korrie Hall, Karla Hoff, Colleen Petty, Kristine Schavee, Jesse Storovich, Jennifer Strauser, Melissa Vietor, Shelly Wiley, and Cindy Williams. Also, congratulations to the winners of the candy guessing jar, Garrett and A.J. … it was a tie!
Fall Festival was yet another wonderful PAB activity during the month of October! A big thank you to Jesse Storovich and Teresa Hyde for volunteering to head up the festival this year! The kids all had a great time bobbing for donuts, carrying mouthfuls of gooey gummy worms, decorating mini pumpkins, assembling Sandy Candy necklaces, adorning themselves with tattoos and hair color, walking like spiders, and collecting prizes! It was a fun way to celebrate the season! Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers: Tammy Day, Sarah Dittmer, Korrie Hall, Karla Hoff, Teresa Hyde, Karin Kalin, Kristina King, Andrea O’Brien, Heidi Snitchler, Susan Stebbins, Jesse Storovich, Melissa Vietor, Shelly Wiley, and returning students!
The upcoming Holiday Gift Shop was briefly discussed during the October meeting. For the third year, Montessori PAB will again offer this fun, gift shopping service to our students! The gift shop will operate during school hours on December 9th, 10th, and 11th. Through the Reindeer Lane Secret Gift Shop Company, students will have the opportunity to purchase small gifts for family and friends, ranging in price from $0.25 to $10. Adult volunteers will assist with purchases, ring up totals on a real cash register, and gift-wrap items. PAB will kick off this fun event with a Holiday Gift Shop Dessert Open House on the evening of Monday, December 8th. Beginning in November, staff will begin distributing “PAB Holiday Tokens” at their discretion. Tokens may be used like cash during the shop. This is a special service PAB provides for our students, NOT a fundraiser. Please contact Heather Theophilus if you would like to volunteer for this fun event!
The first Family Movie Night of the school year will be held on the evening of Friday, November 14th. On these nights, families pour into the gym armed with beanbags, sleeping bags, blankets and pillows. Upon sprawling out upon the floor, families enjoy a current and appropriate family movie, popcorn, drinks, and a variety of sweets. Please keep in mind that this is not a drop-off event and all attendees are asked to be attentive to the movie. This is a great opportunity to spend a quality evening with your family! A big thanks to Charlotte Easland and Rebecca Munson for coordinating this event!
PAB would like to thank everyone who has come out to support Montessori during Quizno’s Nights! On these evenings, Quizno’s has generously agreed to donate ten percent of their profits to Montessori. The September night raised over $60 for our school! Thank you to Charlotte Easland for coordinating these nights throughout the school year!
Surely everyone has noticed the big, green dumpster in the school parking lot! This dumpster is provided to us by Green Fiber, an insulation company which turns post- consumer paper into insulation for homes and commercial use. The dumpster is intended to collect newspapers, phonebooks, cardboard boxes (flattened), cardboard food packaging (like cereal boxes), brown paper bags, office paper, construction paper, as well magazines. No food, contaminated paper, yard waste, glass, metal, plastic bottles, plastic bags, aluminum, string, or styrofoam. Please use this dumpster! However, do remember that only clean paper items are acceptable and please do not put anything in plastic bags.
Did you know that you could earn money for Norfolk Public Montessori just by designating our school on your Target credit card? In fact, some of you are already earning money for our school! Just last month, nearly eighty dollars was raised as a direct result of your purchases! To enroll, simply visit Target.com/tcoe or call 1-800-316-6142.
As always, please keep neatly trimming those box tops! Thanks to everyone’s efforts, Montessori has already earned $297! Thank you to Cindy Williams for collecting, bundling, and sending these in!
As you go about your daily routines, please remember to keep collecting those old ink jet cartridges . . . they really add up! Thank you to Anne Griffee for coordinating this ongoing fund drive.
PAB is on the lookout for more community service ideas for students and families. If you have an idea you would like to share, please contact Heather Theophilus (heathbird@aol.com/844-3369) or Tammy Day (tammy@daycos.com/379-6746).
YOUR PAB DOLLAR$ AT WORK IN OCTOBER:
$ Grandparent & Special Friend Luncheon decorations, cakes, and raffle prizes
$ Fall Festival games, crafts, treats, prizes, and snacks
$ Kindergarten field trip to Poppy’s
$ 1st/2nd/3rd graders to DeGroot’s
$ Staff birthday surprises and acknowledgements
Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming PAB events:
November 7 PAB Meeting (Montessori Library) 12:00 p.m.
November 14 Family Movie Night 6:30 p.m.
November 18 Quizno’s Night 5 – 10 p.m.
