PTO NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2006

*No school November 10^th

*PTO Meeting November 13^th at 6:30 p.m.

*Town Meeting November 14^th

* Pie Pickup November 21^st 3:30-6:00pm

* Noon dismissal November 22^nd

* Thanksgiving Day November 23^rd

* No School November 24^th

* ½ day November 29th

Please read the following important information concerning the upcoming town meeting:

The school department budget will be discussed at the Town Meeting on November 14^th regarding whether or not $1.7 million will be given to the school department to fully fund the school department budget.

Some of the ways that the school committee has stated that they would come up with the missing funds are with busing and parking fees, as well as extra-curricular activity fees for grades 9-12. The thermostats at the schools would be kept at 65 degrees and every other light within the school would be shut off. There would be two weeks off for the February school vacation and April vacation would be eliminated.

At the November 1^st joint PTO meeting held at the Dartmouth Middle School, approximately one hundred people attended. A number of topics were discussed, including the difficulties of a proposition 2 ½ override and the single tax rate vs. the dual tax rate. The repercussions of the failed override for Officer Mello were also discussed.

We are asking you to PLEASE GET INVOLOVED within your community and with your child’s school.

BUDGET: Our current account balance is $34,048.25. We still need to pay for Yankee Candle, the bus fees for the 1^st Grade field trip, teacher allotments and Grandma’s Pies. A final balance will be available at the upcoming PTO meeting on November 13^th.

CLOTHING: Jill is looking into having order forms for logo clothing in late February. You will be able to order fall, spring and summer type items. Start looking for that after the holidays. If you need something prior to that, please call the Middle or High School (they do not carry many child items).

WEBSITE: Be sure to check out our website. It has information like lunch menus, teacher’s wish lists, budget information, fundraising information, minutes from our PTO Meetings, a school calendar for days off, holidays, half days, field trips, etc. The website address is http://geocities.com/demellopto/index.html

VOLUNTEERS: We are looking for parents to help with fundraising, logo clothing, and cultural events. Please help - we can only do this with your support.

FUNDRAISING: Yankee Candle was a success again this year. Our school sold $24,228.00 worth of merchandise giving us a profit of $9749.12. That is awesome!!!! We want to say thank you for all of you that worked so hard for our school. We also wanted to send out an extra thank you to all of you who came out and helped count and tally orders. Volunteers are the backbone of our PTO and we wanted you to know that we appreciate your support.

Grandma’s Pies were also a huge success. We do not have the exact total profit as of yet but we did reach our goal which was approximately $4,500.00 Pies are being delivered on November 21^st. They will be available for pick up between 3:30 and 6:00 p.m. We will need volunteers to distribute the pies. If you are available, please be at the school anytime after 2:00 p.m.

We had an overwhelming amount of parents who donated money to the PTO. We collected $740.00 and want to say thank you very much to those who donated. We really are thankful that our budget has been met.

Mrs. Smith’s class was our top selling class for candles. They will have a pizza party soon. Michale Pax was our top seller for the school.

He sold over $700.00 worth of candles and received a $25 gift certificate to Toys R’Us.

Thank you all again for your hard work.

CALLING ALL FIFTH GRADE PARENTS:

We need your help! Please join us for the second meeting on November 15^th at 6:30 p.m. Let’s help our children have a memorable last year at DeMello! If you can not make it and would still like to be involved please feel free to contact Cindy Hamel at 508-999-5306 or Wendy Bessette at 508-991-5767.

BOX TOPS: Please do not forget to send in your Box Tops. If you go to the Box Tops website there is information on which products are participants. There are coupons for products and they change often. You can also do online shopping thru their website and they will donate one to three percent of your purchase to the school. Check out which stores are participating. www.boxtopsforeducation.com

CULTURAL EVENTS: Grammy nominated storyteller Sharon Kennedy introduces Susannah Winslow of Plimoth Plantation to the 3^rd graders at DeMello School. Susannah talks to the children in her peculiar New England accent and comes dressed in costume. She discusses:

- Her nine week trip across the ocean when she was seven years old.

- Her house, furniture (“… we have three chairs only-of course the children stand at meals”) garden, and farm animals in Plimoth.

- Colonial food, cooking and table manners.

- Her eight children, their work and play (Idle hands are the devil’s playground.”)

- Church and other Sunday behavior (“You cannot kiss your mother on a Sunday!”).

This presentation will be held on November 9, 2006 at 10:30 a.m.

On the same day Sharon Kennedy will present to the 1^st graders her wonder fairy tales at 1:45 p.m. To find out more go to www.sharonkennedy.com.

On December 9, 2006 the 3^rd graders will experience the Regal Reptile Presentation.

If you would like to see any of these presentations please contact the office.

PTO Meeting: The next PTO meeting will be November 13^th @ 6:30pm