Mark your calendars for the Central School

Family Fun Night

Join us on

September 24th from 5:30-7:30 PM*

to kick-off the school year with other Central families.

Family Fun Night will take place behind Central/Hauser in the school parking lot. This is a great way to meet new Central friends and catch up with old ones.

Don’t miss our games, prizes and giant jumpee! Dance lessons will be provided by Riverside’s Principle Dance along with rockin tunes from our DJ!

What if all of that dancing gets you hungry?

Pizza, popcorn and ice cream too! Look for more information about this exciting event over the next few weeks.

We are currently looking for parent volunteers to sign-up for 1/2 hour time slots to help set-up, serve food and supervise activities during the event on September 24th. This is a great way to meet other parents.

If you are interested in volunteering — please contact Tracy Sloan at sloant@centralptonews.org.

Thanks in advance for your help.

*Note – in the event of rain, Family Fun Night will be held in the Hauser gyms from 6:30-8:30.

Central Elementary PTO

2010/2011 School Year

Dear Central Parents,

Welcome to the 2010/2011 school year at Central Elementary!  While it is hard to believe that Summer is over, we are excited to begin what is sure to be a rich and rewarding school year. There are a wide variety of ways you can get involved, stay informed and participate in the many activities we have planned throughout the school year.  As we are your PTO, we want to hear from you so please attend a meeting, send an e-mail or stop one of us at drop-off to tell us your thoughts and ideas.  As we continue to build our community, we wish to include a diverse range of ideas.

Get connected and stay informed!
There are two major ways you receive information, both of which are paperless.  The first is through E-Backpack sent from Dr. Limperis every Wednesday.  E-Backpack announcements include school-related information and important dates.  To receive weekly E-Backpack e-mails, you must subscribe by going to www.district96.org/central, where there is a sign up option located on the right column.   To find out about what is happening with the PTO, go to www.centralptonews.org and subscribe to the weekly announcements.  You also may receive e-mails from your child’s Room Parent, but keep in mind that all communication will be via electronic mail.  You can always check out both of these websites to see past announcements, but these are the main ways to stay informed as we are committed to eliminating the paperwork sent home in backpacks.

Get Involved!
There are so many ways you can get involved at Central and we encourage you to do so.  We have an incredibly rich and varied school environment and would love you to be part of the mix.  Consider volunteering in the Library, participating in our Cultural Arts program, donating something for the classroom, attending a PTO meeting, volunteering for the Book Fair or Family Fun Night…the options are endless.   PTO meetings are held the 2nd Friday of each month with a few exceptions such as evening meetings.  You can find a complete list of meeting dates in the District Calendar which can be found on the District 96 website.  You also can purchase a copy from the PTO and we can assure you, it comes in handy.  Research shows that children of parents who volunteer, grow up to volunteer themselves so it’s a great way to teach your children the value of giving back to the community and to be part of the amazing Central School community.  As a parent of a Central child, you are automatically part of the PTO; there are no membership dues and every voice is heard equally.  Our first PTO meeting is on Friday, September 10 @ 9 am in the Library.

What are we doing?
The PTO has several initiatives this year but our primary focus is on our Cultural Arts and Artist in Residence programs.  Both of these programs allow the PTO to enhance our children’s public school experience.  In these challenging economic times, we believe it is our main charter to fully fund programs which will benefit every child at Central.  This year we are very excited to partner with Dr. Limperis and the Central Staff to bring an amazing story teller to Central who will work in concert with the teaching staff to dovetail storytelling curriculum with Central goals and objectives.  We are very excited to have been able to secure this storyteller and were able to take advantage of significant savings by partnering with Hollywood school to split the costs.  The Cultural Arts program will receive a big facelift and we will begin a restoration process to protect this significant investment.  Stay tuned for details later in the school year.  We also have many family activities and events planned and are greatly looking forward to our very popular (and profitable) Book Fair.  We are proud of the past accomplishments of our past PTO Boards and are thrilled at the completion of the playground project in front of Central.  This is an example of your hard earned PTO dollars at work.

As we embark on another year, we wish to be very mindful of our fiscal responsibility and ask that you consider donating through one or more of our fundraisers or volunteer your time.  We offer several ways for you to donate, volunteer and/or participate, and thank you for your involvement.  Attached you will find a list of our fundraisers and their timelines.  We are looking forward to a great year!  Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.

Central PTO Co-Presidents
Jeannine Glavas (Pres-jeann@centralptonews.org) and Samantha Durst (Pres-sam@centralptonews.org)

Help make winter recess fun for everyone.

Donate your children’s outgrown & gently used snow gear (boots, pants, gloves, hats) to Central School’s Winter Lending Closet. Help make winter recess fun for everyone!

Drop all donations off at Central school’s office by June 1st.

Thanks for helping!!

Ever wanted to paint the United States?

Ever want to paint a tree?

How about a rocket??

Now is your chance!

The Central School PTO has purchased stencils (a rocket, a alphabet tree, a map of the US) for the back playground area.   We will begin painting Friday evening June 4th, and finishing Saturday morning June 5th, weather permitting.

Please RSVP by e-mailing Greg Nessinger and let him know which day(s) you are available.  We are looking for 10 to 12 people to assist for a few hours.

Thanks for your help — We can’t do this project with you.

PTO Committee Openings

Extension for Committee and Room Parent Sign-Up – May 21st

Thanks to all of you who have already submitted your committee and room parent applications! Confirmations will be coming shortly to those who have been assigned to committee chair positions. Thanks in advance for volunteering your time and energy to make our PTO programs a success next year. There are several committee chair positions still available and a listing of those is provided below.

As you may know, our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) provides countless opportunities to get involved, whether as a Room Parent or Committee Volunteer. Even if your time is limited, there is a place for you in our PTO! Room Parent and Committee volunteer assignments take place this summer before school starts in the fall.

So please do not forget to submit theCommittee Application and/or Room Parent Letter 2010-2011 located on the Central PTO Website. Paper copies are also available in the school office for your convenience. We are extending our deadline for submissions to Friday, May 21st and all forms should be submitted to the PTO mailbox located in the school office. Questions regarding volunteering for the PTO next year? Feel free to contract Erin Durkin or Tracy Sloan.

Committee chair positions still available:

Innisbrook Wrap and Gifts:
Help make one of our largest fundraisers a success by being part of a big team to motivate the kids to sell premium gift wrap and gifts. Online ordering and other processing make this fundraiser a cinch! You just have to get the kids excited to ask friends and family to purchase the high quality product. Fundraiser runs from mid-September through delivery in November.

Spirit Wear:
Research vendors, prepare flier, take orders, and distribute Central School sweatshirts, tshirts, etc. Spirit Wear sale takes place early in school year.

Central 100% Fund:
Back by popular demand! Promote and monitor participation in the PTO’s most lucrative fund- raiser! Solicit tax-deductible contributions (primarily from the Central School community) to provide funds needed for budgeted PTO programs and activities. A good job for working parent since most can be done from home with few, if any, meetings required.

Target:
Communicate information regarding the Target program and educate parents as to the benefits of registering their credit card with Central Elementary as the recipient of up to 1% of all purchases. Distribute flyers and communicate several times a year.

Cultural Arts, Artist-in-Residence Coordinator:
One person to investigate and coordinate the Artist-in-Residency programs for the school.

Family Night Program(s):
Plan, organize and execute family social events at Central.

Flying Carpet Club:
This is a fun format for introducing children grades 1-5 to stories of literary merit from around the world selected by the Great Books Foundation. Using “shared inquiry” method of discussion, plus a healthy dose of creativity, we lead small groups of 6-8 children once-a week on literary adventures during the lunch/recess hour. The club meets 10 weeks between return from Winter break January until Spring break in March.

Halloween Festivities at Central School:
Assist in the planning and execution of the Halloween day celebrations.

Halloween Village Event:
Coordinate Central School’s participation in the district-wide creative Halloween program (directed by Ames School in 2010). Collect forms and gives to Ames.

Hike and Bike to School:
Plan and promote a week of awareness and activities promoting walking or riding bikes to school. (Fall Program)

Ice-skating Party:
Involves reserving an ice rink, sending out promotional fliers and coordinating volunteers to provide baked goods and refreshments. February event (on a Friday, if using the rink we have used in years past).

P.R./Media Coordinator:
One person to inform media of school events for the purpose of getting photos and articles into the local paper.

Student Directory:
Are you Excel savvy?? If so, this may be the job for you!! During the first 2 weeks of September, you will arrange for the typing, printing, and distribution of the school directory.

Teacher Appreciation Week:
Help plan and implement a weeklong event in May to recognize our teachers.

Central School

just would not be the exciting and fabulous place it is without the

INCREDIBLE EFFORTS, TALENTS AND HARD WORK

by the Committees and those who Chair them

We would like to award the following awards to. . . .

Kids Art – The “Take Home Test” award goes to Krista Varady and Jennifer Gentile for successfully navigating the challenging “at home” version of the Kids Art project this year.

Spirit Wear – The “Fashion Diva” award goes to Elaine Cinkay and Diane Grossi for the awesome tie-dye Roadrunner fashion statement introduction.

Book Fair – The “Almighty Hallelujah” award goes to Amy Jacksic and Kim Macchia for grabbing tight hold of the “book fair baton” as it was passed from veteran masters, Nancy Hopkins and Beverly Aieta! Not only did the new chairs learn the ropes, but they raised a whole lot of money and had a very successful fair for Central School this year! Yippee!!

Soup Labels – The “Souper Mom” award goes to Michelle Hruska for running our box tops and soup label program for so many years and raising hundreds of dollars for pto and the school!

Birthday Boards – The “Blood from a Stone” award goes to Monica Degand for creating wonderful and creative birthday boards with no camera, no budget and no helper this year!!! Amazing!

Cultural Arts: Artist in Residence – The “Overwhelmed and Underpaid Award” goes to Dawn Gmitro whose passion for artist in residence shined again this year with the wonderful Esther Hershenhorn program at each grade level.

Cultural Arts: Field Trips – The “Ultra-organized/Working Mom & Volunteer” award goes to Ingrid Lulich and Dorie Skiest for doing a fabulous job orchestrating numerous large field trip endeavors!

Education Committee – The “No Child Left Behind” award goes to Mary Judy for putting her heart and soul into the beginnings of a committee that will be important for all children and their inclusion in the school community.

Environmental Concerns – The “Best New Pilot Program” Award goes to Dawn Gmitro and her super hip environmentally friendly committee! This group, along with the Ecology Club and the dedicated efforts of Holly Machina, Sue Pipal, Michelle Marconi, and several other environmentally conscious parents and helpers, have been instrumental in getting our school on a path to a greener future! Hip Hip Hooray!

Family Fun Night – The “Weather Goddess Award” goes to Tracy Sloan, Katie Cavanaugh, Michele Mendoza, and Vicki Young for remaining calm, cool and collected while facing a stressful rain-location dilemma the night of their first event in September. Boy, did they make the right call to stay outdoors!!

5th Grade Games Night – The “Set the Bar High” award goes to Kim Bolton, Cyndie Robinson-Hane, Michelle Hejna, and Diane Grossi for helping organize a night of incredible fun for all 5th graders in the district. The evening ran so smoothly and great fun was had by all!

Flying Carpet Club – The “Ali-Babah” award goes to Aberdeen Ozga for keeping the carpet flying for those Great Books readers for yet another year at Central!

Garden Gurus – The “Smith & Hawken” award goes to Michelle Marconi for sleuthing out the best clearance sale and getting some amazing gardening items at great cost for us!

Halloween Play – The “11th Hour Award” goes to Cheryl Dowling for directing the Central Players in another entertaining stage production!

Hike & Bike to School – “Re-invent the Wheel” award goes to Melanie Strubbe and Jodi Connelly who planned and executed our hike & bike week while the missing folder from the prior year was never recovered.

Ice Cream Social – The “Willy Wonka” award goes to Nadine Esposito and Mary Jurgens for orchestrating the all-time-favorite ice cream social and doing a fantastic job of keeping the students well-sugared while parents purchased books to support our school!

Ice Skating & Roller Skating – The “Roller Derby” award goes to Audrey Korslund for keeping a level head through the planning and executing of both popular skating days!

KidsCare – The “Helping Hands” award goes to Cheryl Dowling for giving to this effort for many years running and continuing to raise money for our local families in need.

Kindergarten Picnic – “Miss Southern Hospitality, well, okay, Midwestern Hospitality” goes to Erin Durkin for doing such a nice job these past few years organizing the kindergarten welcome picnic!

Library – The “Bookworm Award” goes to Jeannine Glavas for creating a system in the libraries that the librarians have come to rely upon over the years!

Little Symphony – The “Cultural Awareness” award goes to Alisa Jerz for keeping the Little Symphony performance happening for our students.

Living Classroom – The “Tulip and Trowel Award” goes to Mabel Mullins who spent a great deal of time searching for the tools in order to dig the garden for the 3rd grade classrooms!

Preschool Screening – The “Easy Cheesy Lemon Squeezy” award goes to Nancy Connelly for making this multi-day, multi-volunteer extravaganza appear to be a “walk in the park.”

Webmaster – The “Wizard” award goes to Chris Hajer for being the man behind the curtain for Central’s website for several years. He is our technology guru and we would be lost without his guidance!

Read to Succeed – The “6 Flags of Fun and Organization” award goes to Maureen Zalewski for keeping track of all of the reading logs and Great America tickets for so many years for this program!!

District Calendar – The “Compromise my Summer Break” award goes to Julie Tucek and Melinda Brom for undertaking the District Calendar task!

School Supplies – The “Pack Mule Relief” award goes to Lynnette Johnson for helping create a plan so the kids do not have to haul their school supplies from school and then back again in the fall this year!

Student Directory – The “Excel Savvy Revision Queen” award goes to Sandy Briolat for shouldering this enormous task!

Teacher Appreciation Lunch and Teacher Appreciation Week – The “Appreciate the Appreciators” award goes to Maura Braun and Krista Varady (lunch), and Melinda Brom and Lauren Zobel (week) who all do an incredible job organizing and executing their events, which require many volunteers, donations, etc. Great job, everyone!

Turn Off TV/Electronics Week – The “Girl Scout” award goes to Cathy Louthen, Susan Lynch and Colleen Liegge for being the quintessential volunteers. When no one else stepped up to run this event, they took the reins and, with the help of their girl scout troop, had a fantastic and popular week, capped off with a fun fair at school that was attended by 100 kids! Super Job Girl Scouts!

Roadrunner Yearbook – The “Photo-Finish” award goes to Kim Bolton and Kim Frank for always doing such a super fine job with the yearbook, even with the last minute pressures of getting in end-of-year photos and meeting final publishing dates!

and a special thanks to Jennifer Sedivy, 1st VP for providing her creativity in writing these awards

Thanks Jenn!!

Staff and PTO Member of the Year awards:

The Staff Member of the Year went to Meg O’Brien for fearlessly leading the PTO into a one-of-a kind Artist in Residence with Esther Hershenshorn.  Our children are fast and furiously finishing their guide books to their current grade. Thanks Meg!!

The PTO Member of the Year went to Samantha Durst for being all she could be as the Fundraising Chair this year.  She ran the 100% Fund, Innisbrook and even found time to begin and single handedly run our phenomenally successful Riverside Foods Gift Certificate program.  Thanks Sam!!

A few of our members and their committee’s stood out in volunteerism.  We would like to especially note:

Brick Pavers:  Rumor has it, Cathy Daun was seen standing on street corners in the First Division with her tiniest swaddled newborn in one arm and a bullhorn in the other through the fall and winter months!  Thankfully, the swine flu did not get either one of them.  But, Cathy did octuple brick paver sales this year and we are so grateful!  We are thrilled that she has a kindergartner coming in next year, so we’ve told Cathy there is no way she can wriggle her way out of brick paver sales for at least one more year.  She clearly has a gift for this!!

Cultural Arts:   Molly Carl and her Committee deserves the Nate Berkus Closet Award!!!  Who knew the full-time working mother and her committee had time to bury herself in the third floor attic closet in Central School and make it an organized, cheery, bright spot in the school??  Boy, would we like to see her closets at home?!  Molly added some color, cute polka dots, cardboard poster squares, and cleaned out the filing cabinets!!  The place looks stunning!  Cinderella and her helpers have nothing on Molly.  Great work!

Lightening Thief Fundraiser: Kathy Dudek at the last moment and working in partnership with Hollywood School managed single handedly to organize a fun and profitable outing to the movies’ on a cold and windy early release day.  Can she organize or what?!!

Science in a Can: Jennie Hepker-Royer, while jetting to and from London, England, for her demanding work schedule, managed to dodge to the inner city to procure new Pringles cans?  She also purchased wizard pencils at the end of the Science in a Can run and had them delivered to each student participant!  We love the science geek in Jennie who really went above and beyond her duties as committee chair!  Thank you for your extraordinary efforts!  Thanks also to her committee who ran a very smooth multiple week PTO event.

Talent Show: Tiffaney McManus and Company work their little hearts out so our children can SHINE on stage.  We are so very grateful . . and lets face darn impressed with what they do!! Thanks a million from the Board and the hundreds of grateful parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who get to see our dear ones perform.  You guys are the bomb!!!

Central School PTO

Letter from Incoming Co-Presidents

2010-2011

Greetings Central Parents,

As another wonderful school year is coming to a close, we already are making our plans for what promises to be an exciting 2010-2011 year at Central! This past year, we have gone paperless. Consequently, the 2010-2011 PTO forms, which traditionally you have received in your child’s backpack, are now attached and available on the Central School PTO website (www.centralptonews.org)* as follows:

Committee Information & Volunteer Sign-up sheet – lists and describes each of our PTO committees;

Room Parent Volunteer Sign-up sheet – describes how you can help in your child’s classroom (Print out and return completed Committee and Room Parent forms to the PTO mailbox by Wednesday, May 12);

Student Directory & District 96 Calendar Order Form – (Print out and return completed form with payment to the PTO mailbox, by Wednesday, May 12);

Central 100% Fund Information & Contribution form – an optional way in which to donate directly to the PTO (If you choose the Fund, we would appreciate the completed form with your donation by Friday, May 28, 2010);

Auction flyer (caution 3.4 MB download) – provides information regarding our first auction, set for Friday, November 5, 2010 at PJ Klems (Mark your calendars!); and

Fundraising programs flyer – lists and describes other Fundraisers sponsored by the PTO, including brand new ones such as Riverside Foods and Great Lakes Scrip.

Central is more than just our school; it is a community. While we are fortunate that Central has a phenomenal team of teachers and staff, the excellent education that our children receive is bolstered by our efforts as parents. Countless studies show that children perform better in the classroom when parents actively participate in the school. Our PTO provides many opportunities to get involved, whether as a Room Parent or Committee Volunteer, or through participation at our events. Even if your time is limited, there is a place for you in Central’s PTO!

Last, but very important, are our Fundraisers. New next year is our Auction, which will be held on Friday, November 5, 2010, at PJ Klems. We are partnering with Central’s teachers and staff to make this event a night to remember. The money we raise from our Auction and other Fundraisers allows us to sponsor many programs including Artist-in Residence, Book Fair, Cultural Arts, Ecology Club, Flying Carpet Club, Science-in-a Can, Family Fun Nights, Ice Cream Social, and much, much more.

It will be our pleasure to serve next year as your PTO Co-Presidents. We are looking forward to a successful and fun 2010-2011 school year. In the meantime, browse through the above forms, and have a wonderful summer!

Warmly,

Samantha Durst (Pres-sam@centralptonews.org)
Jeannine Glavas (Pres-jeann@centralptonews.org)
Incoming Co-Presidents, Central PTO, 2010-2011

*If you would like to receive automatic e-mails (“feedblitz”) from the PTO, the PTO website has a sign up option located on the bottom right column. In addition, you can access District 96 information, important dates, and a link to your child’s classroom page on the District 96 website at www.district96.org. 4/19/10jc

Teacher/Staff Appreciation

Luncheon Committee Needs Volunteers

On Tuesday, May 11 from 11:30am-1:00pm  - give back to the teachers and staff of Central School as a way of thanking them for all that they do for our students! While the teachers and staff members are treated to lunch, we need parents to help watch our students during their lunch and recess hours.  The success of this luncheon depends on the volunteers — so please volunteer.

Tuesday May 11th 11:30am-1:00pm

is the only time commitment.

Please e-mail Maura Braun ASAP!  Thanks, as always, for your prompt response.

The PTO wouldn’t be the great organization it is without our fabulous volunteer base.

Book Fair Diner…all you can read!

Have an appetite for reading?

A great Book Fair can never have
too many cooks in the kitchen!

If you have not signed up as a volunteer yet, but would like to do so, there is still time. Simply contact Lisa Veon, who is making up the volunteer schedule for the Book Fair.

The Fair begins with set up on Monday, April 5th and ends with tear-down on the following Monday, April 12th. Choose the day and hour that you would like to participate, and don’t miss the fun of…