Dear Parents,

Welcome (or welcome back) to CCSD 180 on behalf of our Parent Teacher Council (PTC).  Our PTC is a closely-knit group of active parents and teachers who work together to enhance our children’s learning environment.  We sponsor activities that promote cohesiveness in the community as well as host children-centered events.

In this letter I’ll highlight some of the many accomplishments of our PTC over the past few years.  If you are a new parent, I hope this encourages you to be involved and take an active role in your child’s education.  If you are a returning parent and have helped us in the past – THANK YOU!  If you haven’t been able to in previous years, we’d like to invite you to help in any way you can.  We’d love to see our participation grow.

We are always evaluating the events we run to see how we can make them more successful and ensure they meet the needs of our district.  As I reflect back over the past several years, I find that our small group was able to help the district in a very meaningful way.  PTC-funded projects include:

• Partial funding of a fantastic new mosaic at BRMS created by our talented art teacher, Mrs. Tammy Yates, a group of students, and led by a well-known artist.

• Purchase of a tree as part of a memorial to a student who passed away last year.

• Purchase of backpacks, supplies, and incentive materials for use at Anne M. Jeans.

• Purchase of technology equipment for classroom use at BRMS.

• Partial funding of a new electronic sign for Anne M.  Jeans. The CCSD 180 Foundation for Excellence is primarily funding this effort, with us paying for the balance.  This will enhance our ability to communicate important school information – and will help people better notice our school.

• Annual contribution of $2,000 to each school’s cultural fund ($4,000).  This funds assemblies, speakers, and other enrichment programs that might otherwise go undone.

• Annual contribution of $3,000 to the Music Department as a result of the Giftwrap Fundraiser;

• Reimbursement of teacher classroom expenses totaling approximately $4,000;

•  Contribution of $2,000 to begin to address the sound system needs at BRMS to better highlight our musical, choral, and band performers;

• Annual funding of teacher grants for books, equipment and supplies of about $8,000.

• Purchasing of new playground equipment at Anne M. Jeans. 

All this was raised through the efforts of our volunteers at the many functions we have held over the years!  We have reason to be proud!  Thank you.

A big change!

For the first time in school history we will not be running a major fund-raiser this year.  We surveyed parents last year and the majority felt that they would not plan to participate in a sales-type fundraiser based on busy schedules, interest, and other financial commitments.  Although this will limit the projects we are able to accomplish for the school, we felt it was important to listen to all of you! 

We will continue to build some money-raising opportunities into our fall dance and family dance in February.  But we won’t be asking you or your children to sell anything!!

Please Join Us
Again, we depend on your support to accomplish what we need to help make our children successful!  If you’ve been involved in any way over the past year – thank you!  If you didn’t participate this year, but are interested, please contact me or any other PTC member at any time.  This is a great way to be present at your child’s school, meet other involved parents, and help make decisions about the programs that are sponsored.  Of course, membership in the PTC is free.

 Whether you are an at-home parent, work full-time, or work part-time – your talents can be put to great use.   We meet on the second Wednesday of each month, at 9:30, in the Anne M. Jeans lounge.  We look forward to having you join our team! 

Sincerely,

Paula Dupont,
President, PTC
325-654

Parent Teacher Council (PTC) Events, Activities, and Fundraisers
2007 – 2008 School Year
This is a brief overview of the events and activities we will sponsor during the coming school year.  Please take a look at the list and consider how you’d like to be involved. We welcome any help you can provide!   If you have any questions, please contact me or any other PTC member.

August:

• Welcome back breakfast for teachers and staff.  Held on Tuesday before school starts. 

September

• Art Attack – Our children work with their classmates to create a piece of art.  This effort is sponsored by PTC, and spear-headed by our art teacher, Tammy Yates.  Classrooms pick a theme, and do their own drawing and painting on a 2ft by 2ft canvas.  The paintings are hung throughout the school and will be raffled off at the family dance!  This is a great way to own a very unique piece of your child’s school history.  Last year’s painting were Art Institute-worthy!

October

• Sweetest Day Sale – We’ll be selling flowers, candies, or small trinkets at school which children can purchase to honor those they hold “sweetest”.
•  Fall Festival – This is the second year we’ll be running this event.  We will host a Friday night gathering at Anne M. Jeans for parents and children of the entire district.  Plans are not final, but we will have entertainment of some type, food, and prizes, as well as a raffle of donated items, including an American Girl doll.
• Create-a-card program – This was a fantastic success last year!  Each child will work during art class to create his/her own piece of art.  These will be used to create holiday cards, mugs, bags, notepads, etc. as desired by each parent.  We keep 50% of the profit on this.

November

• Conference dinners – We host a dinner for teachers and staff at both schools so that they can take a much-needed break during parent-teacher conferences.  We are always looking for donations of salads and goodies.
• Barnes & Noble CCSD 180 Day – We will earn 20% of all purchases during a designated day.  We plan to host a child-centered event including book reading and treats.  It’s a great way to get some holiday shopping done early – and benefit the school.

December

• Room parties – We sponsor the room parent program that ensures that each room has a fun send-off to winter break!

February

• Family Dance –– This is one of our most successful events, both as a positive school-community effort, and as a fund raiser.  We host a dance from 6 – 9pm on the first Friday in February.  All children and parents are invited.  We’ll have food, dancing, and the first opportunity to bid on Art Attack pictures!!
• Ice Cream Social – PTC hosts an ice cream social for the children at AMJ on Valentines Day.

March

• McDonald’s Night – We work with the Rt. 83 McDonald’s to host an event where our teachers and administration “staff” the restaurant, and we earn more than 20% of CCSD 180 sales for that night.  We hosted this event for the first time last March and had huge turnout!!  It takes place after ISATs have been taken and the students are ready to relax.

April

• Plant sale – We sell gorgeous hanging baskets that are delivered in time for Mother’s Day.

May

• Teacher appreciation week – We show our teachers how much they’re valued!  We make a gift from PTC (handmade note-cards), provide chocolates during one day, and sell flowers during lunch that the children can purchase.

On-going

• Spiritwear – We will have a wide range of spiritwear available for order throughout the year.
• Boxtops for Education – We collect boxtops and tally them by classroom.  Please send them in!
• MANNA – Our MANNA program is back and will be offered on a quarterly basis in Sept, Nov., Feb, and April.  Through this program we form a partnership with many vendors (movies, gas, restaurants, shopping, etc.)  You can pre-order gift cards in desired amounts and each vendor donates a percentage of the sale to the school, ranging from 2 – 10%!  We’ll be sure to have these available during key holiday periods throughout the year, and will provide all the info you need to get started in September.

Thanks for being active in your child’s school!  We look forward to a great school year.

Paula Dupont
President, PTC (325-6548)