FALL FESTIVAL: OCTOBER 18!

PTA NEWSLETTER

PS 11

The William T. Harris School

Office: 212-929-1743

www.ps11pta.org

 

La version espanol de este informativo es disponible aqui!.

 

 

PTA Executive Board

Allia Matta, Co-Pres.                718-353-9190

Linda Osborne, Co-Pres.              212-924-1797

Barbara Somlo, Co-VP                 212-255-4921

Deborah Traussi, Co-VP               212-268-0292

Pam Winberry, Corresp. Sec.          212-977-9857

Didi Re, Recording Sec.              212-675-1088

Anna Matos, Treasurer                212-627-7298

Lucia Santiago, Financial Sec.       212-691-6058

 

Members at Large

Delia Acosta                         212-243-9254

Andrea DiFiore                       212-366-4621

Kathy Ellman                         646-336-8649

Anne Finkelstein                     212-242-6706

Martha Gallo                         212-736-3974

Gil Santiago                         212-691-6058

 

 

 

Mark Your Calendar!

 

Oct. 6 ~ School closed (Yom Kippur)

Oct. 13 ~ School closed (Columbus Day)

Oct. 15 ~ PTA meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 18 ~ Fall Festival, 11 - 4

Oct. 28 ~ Rocking Horse Café, 5 p.m.

Nov. 4 ~ School closed (Election Day)

Nov. 11 ~ School closed (Veterans Day)

Nov. 12 ~ PTA meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 27, 28 ~ School closed (Thanksgiving)

 

See reverse for more information on school events.

 

 

 

Principal’s Message

 

Dear Families and Friends of PS 11,

 

We have gotten off to a great beginning. We are focusing on assessing our children and building up libraries to insure that children are as independent as they can be during reading time. We are thrilled to have Renee Dinnerstein (lower grades) and Melanie Winthrop (upper grades) to be our staff developers. We are also blessed to have a bright, dedicated staff who are in the process of building classroom environments where children are more responsible for their interactions. Thanks to Deborah Traussi's efforts, Asphalt Green will be bringing a conflict resolution program to our recess time in the upper grades. We also have Clinton School volunteers for our early lunch periods.

Our 5th graders will be participating in a musical theater program sponsored by Rosie O'Donnell. They will perform musical numbers and at some point go to a Broadway musical. As you can see a lot is going on already.

Some things you can do to keep the ball rolling:

1. Bring in those Blue Emergency Cards.

2. No candy or junk food in the building.

3. Read and talk to your children as often as

 you can.

4. Support all PTA and School functions.

5. Get to know each other better.

 

SEE EVERYONE AT THE FALL FESTIVAL!!!

 

Francis Del Monaco, Principal

 

 

 

Greetings from

the PTA Co-Presidents

Thanks to the more than 100 people who attended our first PTA meeting on September 17th and to everyone who contributed to its success. Our request at the meeting for volunteers was answered by dozens of parents and guardians who signed up to help out in a variety of ways—from volunteering in the library to using their car to help with deliveries for events. We're off to a good start but we still need many more volunteers.

We've also already received approximately $1,500 in donations for this year's Annual Fund Drive—but we still have a long way to go to reach this year's goal of $18,000.

Can you help? Look for a volunteer sign-up sheet and donation form in your child's homework folder or get in touch with one of us. We're counting on everyone's support to make PS 11 the best school it can be for all of our children.

Allia Matta and Linda Osborne

P.S. And don't forget to come to the next PTA meeting, Wed., Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. Hot topic: Middle school application process. Again, babysitting will be provided. See you there!

 

 

 

 

Rocking Horse Café Benefit

Join us for the annual Day of the Dead Fundraiser for PS 11 and God's Love We Deliver on Tues., Oct. 28th, 5 – 8 p.m. at the Rocking Horse Café on 8th Ave. at 19th St. There will be a cocktail party with much booze and elegant Mexican hors d'oeuvres. Approximately 30 altars will be sold through a silent auction, many made by PS 11 parents! There will also be a short live auction with a Sotheby's auctioneer. PS 11 children are handcrafting items for sale during the event. This is truly a fun and delicious night which benefits our school. Tickets are $50 per person. To reserve a place (only 100 can attend) please call the owner of the Rocking Horse Café, Roe Di Bona, at 212-989-4736.

 

Thanks to Kinko’s at 24th St. and 7th Ave. for donating the printing of our newsletter –

212-929-2679.

News from . . .

My first month was spent settling into my office, getting to know more parents and staff, and assessing where parent volunteers can make a significant contribution:

            Ideally, we need at least 3 class parents per classroom. I strongly urge more parents to volunteer immediately. Did you know you can volunteer for a class where your child is not a student? And there are many other volunteer opportunities that involve limited blocks of time during the school day, such as the library, classroom, lunchroom, or at recess. I am currently working with parents to coordinate those volunteer teams.

            Parents and school leaders have approached me with suggestions for parent workshops in various areas of interest and concern. I will select those most relevant to our school community. Please look forward to parent workshop notices.

Stephen McGill

 

School Tours Start Soon!

Want to show off our school to prospective parents? Want to see what goes on after drop off? Then be a Tour Guide this fall! It only takes a couple of hours and both helps the school out and gives you a glance at the internal workings of the school day. If you are interested, please call Stephen McGill, Parent Coordinator.

 

International Peace Camp Opportunity

Last summer, Mimi Mercado, a PS 11 5th grader, spent "the best summer of [her] life" in Luxembourg in an international peace camp organized by Children’s International Summer Village (CISV), with kids and counselors from 12 countries. They had traditional activities such as swimming, arts and crafts, and camp songs, as well as activities that helped foster a multicultural awareness. Mimi made friends with kids from all around the world.

    CISV is now taking applications for next summer. Contact Lynn Mercado at 212-929-2273 or see www.cisvusa.org. Programs for older teens and over-21 delegation leaders also.