PTO Newsletter October 2005 Dear Montessori Parents, We had a good turn out for our Ben & Ari’s Family Fun Night on September 11th. Parents and children were enjoying miniature golf, arcade games, and duck pin bowling. Children turned in their tickets for various prizes before leaving. Everyone had a great time! This was a terrific fundraiser for the school. We’ve had several good suggestions from parents for future school fundraisers. Amy Strohmeier has graciously agreed to research all the ideas we’ve received so far to determine what would best fit the school environment. Thanks, Amy! As you’ve noticed by now, the new playground addition is complete! We knew this was a much needed improvement, but what is so wonderful is to see the children enjoying the equipment. They can’t stop smiling when they’re outside playing! It’s great! A very BIG THANK YOU to Bill Lyman, Todd Cunningham, Bryan Plantenga, Sheldon White and Brett Fletch for volunteering their time & talents to assemble the equipment in a short period of time! And we don’t want to forget to thank our contributors who donated the much needed funds to help pay for the new playground. They are: The Barrows Family, The Boyle Family, The Cate Family, The Cederdahl Family, The Cheah Family, The Chobot Family, The Cunningham Family, The Demyan Family, The Fletcher (CH1) Family, The Furuya Family, The Himmelein Family (Grandparents)The Hook Family, The Horan Family, The LeDoux Family, The McGrath Family, The Murray Family, The O’Connor Family, The Sawyer Family, The Welch Family. We also had a tremendous response to our Hurricane Katrina Relief Day on Friday, September 23rd. We raised just over $800 for this one day event. Our proceeds will go to the American Red Cross. Thank you to all the families who contributed to this very worthwhile cause. Our next fundraiser is the candle sale through Bittersweet Candle Company. We’ve recently received the order forms, so Mary Lyman will be contacting the volunteers shortly to expedite this fundraiser. The next Parent/PTO meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. We have several updates for you, along with looking for volunteers for our yearbook project, and our spring fling event. Please make every effort to attend this meeting. The meeting will be kept to 45 minutes, with 15 minutes after for Q&A and refreshments. Please note that there will be a limited number spots open for child care (children age 3 or older). A few of our Elementary 2 students will be available to watch children for a fee of $4.00 for one hour per child. The students will use this money for their spring trip. Please sign up at the front canopy by Tuesday, October 11th if you are needing child care. We will not be able to accept any requests after 10/11. We hope to see you at the meeting! Respectfully, Montessori School of Westfield PTO Board