Did you know that anything you would like to send to the Central School office or PTO mailbox can be sent through your child’s backpack? Just send it in a sealed envelope with the appropriate addressee on the front and it will make it to the office during the day.

And, by the way, please remember to send in any amount of money for those hard-working specials teachers and staff (in an envelope marked “specials” or a check made out to Jennifer Sedivy) by this Friday, December 12th. Little elves need to organize and distribute the gift cards. Thanks very much!

Remember being a new parent at Central School, whether it was because you had a kindergartener entering the school or were new to the district? There were things you wish you knew to make the transition a lot easier that only another parent could tell you.

Central School PTO is going to help with that transition with a handbook of “The Things I Wish I Knew…” for all the new parents of Central School. We are asking you, the veteran parents of Central School, to help. You can fill out this online survey or the paper survey that went home in the backpacks on Wednesday December 10.

If you have any questions please contact Jeanine Vaia, Laura Durkin or Michele Mendoza (see student directory for contact information.)

Take the online survey now. Thanks!

5^th graders at Central School have organized a Holiday Toy Drive. All students are encouraged to donate gently used toys to help others in need. All toys will be donated to the Salvation Army. The toy donations should be placed in the bin outside the school office. Please make all donations by December 17^th. Thank you!

As you know, the theme this year for Central students is C.A.K.E., which stands for Courteous And Kind to Everyone. The C.A.K.E. goal for December is to help someone in need. This holiday season, all students are encouraged to do something helpful to earn $3.00. For example, students may choose to help by shoveling a driveway, cleaning around the house, etc. Students who earn $3.00 and bring it to school will receive a red/white C.A.K.E. bracelet to commemorate the fact that they helped someone during this holiday season. Money collected will then be donated to the KidsCare Project. All money is due by December 19^th. Look for a letter regarding this project to be coming home soon. This letter will be in the form of a “bracelet memo” — students will actually be wearing the letter as a bracelet!

Central School is now on the lookout for students who are demonstrating courteous and kind behavior. Students and teachers may nominate individuals who demonstrate these positive behaviors. Each day, Dr. Limperis will randomly draw one of the C.A.K.E. nominations and read it aloud on the morning announcements. The student who was recognized will then be rewarded with a commemorative C.A.K.E. pin. When you see your child wearing on of these pins, you’ll know that he/she was caught demonstrating exceptional behaviors!

A special thank you to the below listed parents that stepped up to bring food and/or assist during the teacher dinner during parent/teacher conferences on Monday, November 24, 2008. The teachers were able to focus on our children and their progress and dine on fabulous sandwiches and sides, making them feel appreciated!

Melinda Brom, Kathy Dudek, Samantha Durst, Nancy Hutchings, Michelle Marconi, Sue Miller, Kate Nessinger, Mary Jo Robling, Jennifer Sedivy, Tracy Sloan and Lisa Veon.

Mrs. Gail Tuene was the winner of the Fall Flower Centerpiece. Congratulations.

Don’t forget: Friday, November 21st is an early release day with school ending at 11:30am and only PM Kindergarten in attendance.

Central’s PTO is sponsoring a “School House Rock” assembly on Friday, 11/21 at 10:00am and parents are welcome to attend. A special thank you to Mrs. Karen Layng for putting this great assembly together.

Mrs. Jennifer Sedivy, our corresponding secretary, will be sending out a form right after Thanksgiving for a holiday collection for all our special “Specials” teachers, such as PE, art, music, etc., so please contribute in any way you can.

Melinda Brom, 1st VP, will also be sending out some information for the Lead Room parents to assist with holiday collections for our teachers.

Whether you are traveling far or staying near, be safe and enjoy this special Thanksgiving celebration!

At the November 11, 2008, Central School PTA/O meeting the membership voted to dissolve the Central PTA. Central School will now operate as a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) as voted and approved by the general membership in May 2008.

As part of the continued transition to a PTO, the current 08/09 Executive Committee reviewed the officer roles and responsibilities and presented a proposal, at the 11/11/08 meeting, that included minor changes to the future 09/10 officer positions. A brief recap of the potential changes:

• The officer positions will be reduced from 9 to 8
• The President, 1st VP’s, Treasurer, Recording Secretary and Parliamentarian remain unchanged
• The 2nd VP of Fundraising would also cover Philanthropy
• The Corresponding Secretary role changed to 3rd VP of Member Services

Please download and review the proposal and next steps (PDF or Excel format) as shared at the 11/11/08 meeting.

The proposal will be presented again at the January 13, 2009 meeting for membership approval.

If you have any questions, need additional information or would like to provide any feedback, thoughts or ideas please contact Mary Ellen Meindl or Linda LaBelle (see student directory for contact information.)

The Central Veteran’s Day program will take place at 1:30pm in Hauser’s Auditorium on Tuesday, November 11th. Don’t miss it!

If you have already taken the Roller Skating survey, thanks! If you have not, please take a moment to answer four questions. Even if you did not attend the party this year, we are interested in your opinion, We particularly would really like to hear from families who have attended the party in the past, as well as this year, to hear your impressions of the change of location. To take the survey, click the link below:

We would like to know your opinion of the recent roller skating party. Whether or not you were able to attend, please take a minute to complete a very brief survey. There are only 4 questions. Click the skate below to take the survey.