Merriam PTO N2K ( Need to Know)

From the PTO Board: Neena Arora, Kristina Rychlik, Dianna McNeish and Eleni Digenis-Bury

Week of 9/5/11

Summary

Calendar Of Events

Merriam School Picnic

Volunteer Opportunities

Merriam School Directory

Merriam Family Portrait Fundraiser

Two Parent Representatives Needed For Merriam School Council

September Back to School Lamplighter Edition

9/5  Monday --  No School

9/9  Friday – School Picnic, 5:30 -7:30 PM

9/12 Monday -- New Parent Coffee 8:30 to 9:30 AM

9/13  Tuesday --Open House 7:00 – 8:30 PM  ( Kindergarten starts at 6:00 PM)

9/17, 9/18  Saturday, Sunday -- Family Portraits Fundraiser

9/29  Thursday -- No School

9/30  Friday -- School Pictures

Come celebrate the start of the school year on Friday, September 9^th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM in the playground behind the school!  Please bring a blanket or chairs, a picnic dinner and non-alcoholic beverages for your family.

(This is not a drop off event – all children must be supervised.)

Merriam School Front Office: We are in need of additional volunteers for the Merriam School front office.  The commitment is a few hours in the morning for one day every other week. If you are interested in volunteering or would like more information, please call/email Dianna McNeish at 978-263-1825, mcneish4@verizon.net.

Friday Mail : Come join a group of fun and friendly parents on Fridays at 8:30 AM to put together the information packets that go out every Friday. Please contact Karen Brandstein at kmwb1@yahoo.com.

Thursday Photocopying: One parent needed to help with photocopying, every other Thursday.  Please contact Karen Brandstein at kmwb1@yahoo.com.

Room Parents: Becoming a Room Parent can be a great way to get involved with your child's class. If interested, please contact Lauren Pollak at lpollak@partners.org.

To find out more about other volunteer opportunities, please contact Neena Arora (neenaarora@aol.com) or Kristina Rychlik ( krychlik@mac.com)

Every fall, the PTO creates a directory listing of students so that families can communicate with each other. To make sure that your family is included in the directory please log in to PowerSchool at https://absis.ab.mec.edu/public for each of your Merriam children to check that the information we are using for you is correct and give the District/Parent Group permission by 9/9/11.  If you have problems or questions or prefer not to use PowerSchool, contact Hannah Bloch at hannah@newview.org or 978-635-1648.

If you are interested in taking out an ad in the directory, please contact Ginger Chen at gingertchen@yahoo.com for more information.

Please look for directory order forms in upcoming Friday Mail packets.

It is that time of year again to get your family portraits!

This year, Susan Bartolini of Susan Bartolini Photography will be conducting 15 minute sessions held at the Old Manse Minuteman National Park in Concord on Saturday, September 17th and Sunday September 18th  from 9 am to 4 pm.

Sessions are booked on a first come first serve basis. Please email Susan at susan@susanbartolini.com to reserve your 15-minute appointment. Appointments will be confirmed upon receipt of a check for $50 made payable to “The Merriam PTO”.  Please send your check to the Merriam office, via backpack mail, in an envelope marked:  Family Portraits Fundraiser. 

The entire sitting fee of $50 goes to support our terrific teaching assistants!  Prints and/or digital files can be purchased separately directly from Susan. (Rain dates are September 24th & October 2nd respectively.)

The School Council meets on a regular basis to assist the principal in identifying educational needs of students, reviewing the annual budget and formulating the school improvement plan and educational goals and tracking progress toward those goals.

Our School Council members include the principal, four parent representatives, three teacher representatives and at least one community member. The Council typically meets 6:00 to 7:30 PM on the second Tuesday of most months throughout the school year. In addition to meeting attendance, members may be responsible for subcommittee work. 

There are currently two openings for parent representatives.  If you are interested in serving a three-year term on the Merriam School Council, please send the following information to Neena Arora (neenaarora@aol.com) or Kristina Rychlik(krychlik@mac.com) by e-mail or via backpack to school by Sept.16^th :

Your name, grade of youngest child , phone number, e-mail address and a short statement about your interest in serving as a parent representative on the Merriam School Council.

Please go to http://ab.mec.edu/about/aboutpdf/LL-Sept-2011.pdf