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PTA NEWSLETTER

April/May, 2001

It is time to elect our PTA leadership for the 2001-2002 school year. We will be meeting on Wednesday, May 16 at 6:00 PM to hold elections. At the April 26 meeting, the following candidates were nominated: for President, Erin Feely-Nahem; for 1^st Vice President, Mosud Mannan; for 2^nd Vice President, Julian Stein; for 3^rd Vice President, Emma Sosa; for Fundraisers, Mary O’Brien Miranda and Sandra Morabito; for Parent Outreach Liaisons, Rose McCarthy and Sandy Newell; for Grants Officer, Jim Tendean-Luce. No one has been nominated for Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Representative to the United Parents Association, or Representative to the Youth Center, and we can elect additional fundraisers and parent liaisons. Anyone else who wishes to serve in any of these positions can become candidates at the May 16 meeting. We also will fill positions on the School Leadership Team, which works with the school administration to establish educational policies and priorities. Nominees are Erin Feely-Nahem, Mosud Mannan, Julian Stein, Mary O’Brien Miranda, Emma Sosa, Rose McCarthy and Jim Tendean-Luce.

The PTA plays a vital role in ensuring that our children receive the best possible education. We raise funds to support school activities, meet regularly with the principal to discuss educational and other issues, and provide a means for every parent to participate in the educational process.

Your participation is crucial, because the more parents who participate, the stronger the PTA can be. Please attend the May 16 meeting to select our officers and School Leadership Team for next year.

Our thanks to all of the parents who responded to the survey that was distributed asking questions about the school curriculum and other school issues. The School Leadership Team will use your answers to help prepare the school’s educational priorities and develop an educational plan for for the next school year. The PTA will also evaluate your answers as we try to be as responsive as possible to parents’ concerns.

Our thanks to all the parents, neighbors, and friends who participated in our 7th annual Career Day on March 28^th. Students in the 6th through 8th grades had an opportunity to learn about a wide range of careers, including writer, diplomat, chiropractor, manicurist, newspaper editor, dentist, housing manager, piano tuner, concert pianist, postal employee, internist, investment banker, personnel consultant, court reporter, and others. Thanks to guidance counselor Susan Cohen, learning leader and Career Day coordinator Mireille Neuprez, and all the participants: Cynthia Ahn Choi, Gwendolyn Acsadi, Elizabeth Berberich, Irene Clark, Angel Colon, Martin Dinerstein, Roy Eaton, Nellie Finnegan, Dr. James Flannigan, Chloe Grimes, Doryne Isley, Dr. Lawrence Itskowitch, Matthew Katz, Karen Kerr, Leon C. Lowder, Nanshan Lu, Dick Lutz, Mosud Mannan, Christiane Milev, Gabriel Milev, Gifford Miller, Jean Neuprez, Suzanne Newman, Linda Pickett, Dr. Jack Resnick, Marlowe Sidney, Emma Sosa, Tracey Strauss, and Jim Tendean-Luce.

A jazz quartet from the Jazz Foundation visited the school on April 27^th to give a special performance for the school’s junior and senior bands. Our bands also will be receiving additional funding from the PTA for the purchase of new instruments and repair of existing instruments.

You may have seen the article in the Wire about Mrs. Berman’s 3^rd grade class visit to New York Children’s Hospital in Queens. The children brought books that they had purchased, using money collected in the recent "penny harvest". Not only did they have the good feeling that comes with having done a good deed for less fortunate children, but they received gifts in return, saw a clown act, and had a pizza party. Special congratulations to 3^rd grader Djordje Vuckovic, whose beautifully written article on the trip to the hospital was published in the Wire.

Our annual book fair will take place from Wednesday, May 9^th to Friday, May 11^th in the school and on Saturday morning, May 12^th at the Marketplace by Motorgate. Wendy Hersh and Mary O’Brien Miranda are organizing this annual event with Scholastic. Please note this on your calendar so your child is prepared to bring some money to purchase books. If you visit the Marketplace for books, please also remember that the PTA sponsors the Marketplace and receives rent from the vendors, so your purchases of fruits and vegetables and other products helps our fundraising for the school.

You also can support PS/IS 217 by shopping online at schoolpop.com and Target.com. Both of these Internet web sites give money back to the school if you shop on-line. Schoolpop.com allows you to shop at more than 250 online retailers, including Gapkids, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, OfficeMax, JC Penney, eToys, Sharper Image, Omaha Steaks, Pets.com, Tower Records, Sports Authority, LandsEnd, Eddie Bauer, Planet Rx, Toys R Us, and many other shopping web sites. Just choose "PS 217 Roosevelt Island", and the school will receive a percentage of every purchase.