Prior Messages from
your PTA President
April / May 14, 2001
Dear Parents:
What a fantastic fundraiser we just finished with our Spring Book Fair! The teamwork
was evident by the way our fundraisers handles the crowds! Thanks to Wendy Hersh, Rose
McCarthy, Sandra Morabito, Mary O’Brien Miranda and Sandy Newell.
My understanding is that they sold over $3,000 worth of books, which means we get to
put an additional $1,500 worth of books into our classrooms next year. In September
we’ll be able to provide the teachers with a list of books to choose from, allowing
them to select a few for every class room. We’ve also been given a date in early
November for a Fall book Fair! Good work girls!
Along with our school based fund raising activity, in May we received part of the $3000
grant from our contract with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development,
allocated through Council Member Gifford Miller, for our Music Department. We have
purchased $2000 worth of new instruments. We have submitted our receipts and once they are
approved we will receive the rest of the grant money.
The spring Music Concert will be on June 6, 2001. We’re going to need help
preparing desserts and snacks to serve during intermission, as well as assistance in
seating people. A letter describing the help needed was sent out to all parents last week,
via your child’s book bag, from our music teachers, Mr. Solow.
Following the concert will be the White Elephant sale. Keep an eye out for
announcement. If you’re willing to help in either of these events, please contact me,
or leave a note in the PTA box.
Erin Feely-Nahem
PTA President
---------------------------------------------------------------
March, 2001
Dear Parent:
Although it may appear as if the PTA has been relaxing since the International Dinner,
we have continued to work on raising additional monies for the children, paying debts
accrued by past representatives, sending our children on school trips and planning for our
next fund raisers.
We have now opened a new checking account at Montauk Credit Union, moving our monies
out of Chase.
I have completed the final forms, (and there were many forms to complete) in the effort
to secure the money that Council Member Miller allocated to our Music program back in
January. We are at the final stage of a long draw out "city process" and are
just waiting for the money to be put in our account so we can allow Mr. Solow to spend it
on desperately needed instruments and repairs.
As you may have heard, the PTA has financed several class trips over the past two
months. The pre-K classes went to the Paper Bag Players which they reported was loved by
all who attended, and the third grade went to the Planetarium to study the Solar system.
Additional class trips were also supported and others are still being planned.
We have also agreed to support the "Young Audience" program, a group which
annually works with our Fourth graders to create an Opera.
Our Penny collection in February yielded more pennies then we have been able to count
to date. The class that brought in the most pennies will be provided with a Pizza Party
for their efforts.
Our upcoming fund raiser for April is a Book Fair. We are working out the details with
Barnes and Noble presently. If you’re interested in helping Mary O’Brien Miranda
is still looking for volunteers.
The Parent Surveys circulated in February brought limited responses so keep an eye out
for it in your child’s book bag. We will be re-circulating it! If you didn’t
receive it or didn’t find the time to complete previously, please try to make time
now. By answering the question you will provide the School Leadership Team with
information necessary for the creation of our 2001 –2002 Comprehensive Educational
Plan.
Keep an eye out for upcoming events. I hope to see you all soon.
Erin Feely-Nahem
------------------------------------------------------------------
February 14, 2001
Dear Parents:
What a fantastic time everyone had last night at the International Dinner! It really
made me proud to be part of our wonderful school community at PS/IS 217. Every parent,
teacher, and administrator worked together in the creation of a spectacular event. The
teamwork was evident. An evening full of wonderful food, music and good conversation, all
shared with a number of Roosevelt Island community leaders as well as our Council Member,
Gifford Miller.
The entertainment for the gala event? The Seventh Grade band, whose performance of
music from around the world reminded me again of why we are working so hard to support the
music department. They were terrific!
And the food? The event gets a rating of 10! The variety and quality of the cuisine
that the parents created was "awesome" as several children exclaimed. Dishes
from every part of the world, served by a well functioning team of parent volunteers.
Thank you to the crew!
The atmosphere? Flags! Everywhere! Created during art instruction with Ms. Hatfield,
our school’s art teacher. Hung about the room. Flags as the centerpiece, white
tablecloths, the city skyline and the East River gleaming through the window. Who could
ask for more…
Although the dinner wasn’t a fundraising event, the sale of our Valentine’s
Day chocolates, made by Mercedes "Cookie" Lugo, the school T-Shirts, and the
auctioning off of a pair of Michael Jackson concert tickets, donated by our principal,
Sherry Gregory, more than covered the cost of the event! We even made a few dollars.
Beside our school based fund raising activities, since September we have been working
toward obtaining monies from various resources, and have just completed for submission a
contract with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development for $3,000, allocated
through Council Member Gifford Miller, for our Music Department. We have also obtained
letters of support from various organizations on Roosevelt Island, in our efforts to
submit a grant requesting funds from RIOC. We hope to submit this proposal to other
funding resources as well.
The weather has been cold, and we are looking forward to the spring. In April we will
be having our school Book Fair. Mary O’Brien Miranda is looking for volunteers to
help. If you’re interested, you can contact Mary, or myself, or leave a note in the
PTA box. If you need us to remind you, we will, sometime after the mid-winter recess.
Thanks again for sharing this wonderful event.. Enjoy the school break!
Erin Feely-Nahem
--------------------------------------------------
January, 2001
Dear Parents:
I hope that everyone has had a joyous holiday and will have a productive and happy New
Year.
Last December, at the Holiday Music Concert, I was inspired by the turnout of parents
attending the show! It was tremendous! The many months of preparation and hard work for
teacher, parent and child alike, was evident on this night. Everyone gave 110 %.
We may have even exchanged a few words that night if you were one of the hungry parents
I encountered during intermission. I was one of the people selling snacks at intermission,
along side Mary O’Brien Miranda and her husband Joe, Jim Tendean-Luce, Vladana
Lvicevic and Mr & Mrs.Mosud Mannan. Thanks to all of you on that night. Between the
price of admission and the sale of the donated baked goods, cider and apples, we raised
over $500 for the music department. The kids and Mr. Solow, our children’s music
teacher, did a terrific job! They deserve our support.
January 4th during the next PTA Executive Board Meeting, we plan to discuss
fundraising activities for the New Year, and hope to set a rough schedule of specific fund
raising events. Hopefully knowing about an event in advance will allow parents more
flexibility in volunteering their time. I think that time dedicated to volunteer work is
less overwhelming when you are able to plan around it.
In February, keep an eye out for the PTA’s International dinner, a tradition at
PS/IS 217. This event, a school wide pot luck dinner, coordinated by Mosud Mannan, will
provide us with the opportunity to share a favorite food from our culture with one
another. What a feast we will have!
I look forward to seeing you all at the Math Workshop on January 18th.
We will hold a brief general meeting prior to the workshop. Hope to see many of you
there.
Sincerely,
Erin Feely-Nahem
---------------------------------------------------------------
December 10, 2000
Dear Parents;
The first thing that I want to say to all of you is Thank you! Without the support of
the former Board members and the parents alike, the job of trying to organize and lead
PS/IS 217’s PTA would have been impossible. So many individuals have offered their
support to our collective effort by either giving money, time, ideas, or all three, to the
PTA this school year. The response from the majority of parents to the PTA’s request
for donations at the beginning of the school year was very generous. ising
committee’s efforts to solicit donated baked goods, organize the Halloween raffle,
and staff the PTA’s table in the cold during the parade, all allowed for the success
of our Halloween festivities. A big thank you to Sandra Morabito, Wendy Hersh and Cookie
Mercedes Lugo who were tireless in their combined efforts! My gratitude also goes out to
Mary O’Brien Miranda, who took the day off from work on Election Day to sell the
items donated by our teachers and parents, allowing us to collect $490.00 in profit from
the White Elephant sale.
On a larger scale, Jim Tendean-Luce, our newly elected Grants Officer, has been busy
writing a grant requesting additional funding for our music program and submitted a grant
to the Starbuck’s Foundation in October, proposing the development of a Computer Pact
program where our "families" can explore computer learning together. If these
grants are approved, we could receive several thousand dollars.
But there have been other things happening beside fundraising events. Under Emma
Sosa’s guidance, several parents are now assisting our school librarian to catalogue
books. Other parents, who are available during the lunch hour and want to be where the
action is, have offered to provide additional support during lunch period. On the
technological front, another parent, Carlos Chu, a new member of our community, has helped
us immensely by creating this web site, a whole new way of sharing information with each
other and with parents who may be considering our school in the future.
And you ask, well what is this all for? For our children of course! One example of what
we can do to help can be seen on December 14 at 6:30 pm at the Holiday Music Concert. On
this night you will see and hear our children playing the new instruments that the
PTA’s recent contribution of $2,900 has bought for our school’s music
department. Unfortunately more help is still needed. In order to raise monies for a repair
fund, parent volunteers will be selling refreshments, before the concert and during
intermission. We have been making calls looking for parents to bake, buy, or volunteer a
little time to assist at the refreshment table on the night of the concert. If you can
help, contact Mary O’Brien Miranda.
Because we believe that parents are interested in helping, but often aren’t sure
how to get involved, we are trying to disseminate information to the parents by organizing
a phone chain in each classroom. This calling network will be overseen by the Parent
Liaisons, under the direction of the First Vice President, Mosud Mannan. Those parents who
have volunteered as Parent Liaisons continue to try and find parents from each class to
volunteer to be the Parent Contact in their child’s homeroom. The Parent Liaisons
will provide information on upcoming meetings and events to the Parent Contact in each
classroom, who will then spread the news of upcoming events to the other parents in their
child’s class. If you’re interested in being a Parent Contact, or a Parent
Liaison, please contact Mosud Mannan, or leave him a note in the PTA’s box, in the
school office.
Once again thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Erin Feely-Nahem
