How to Make Lemonade - Hamden PTA Idea Bank

The faculty basketball game between Dunbar Hill and Shepherd Glen was an “off-the-hook” success.

Who’s pairing up next?

The following is the start of a list of fundraising/family fun ideas:

• Inter-district ball game


• Bottle collection/return


• Crazy hair / clothes / hat days


• Skate party
• Duckpin bowling
• Collect receipts – Big Y, Shaw’s
• Faculty and student waiters at Applebee’s, TGIF’s
• Hamden / School Pizza Night – get a bunch of area pizzerias to pledge 10% of bills from HPS families one or two nights this year
• Walk-a-thon / Dance-a-thon / Read-a-thon
• Talent show – parents, teachers, kids, pets
• Silent Auctions
• Movie Night
• Game Night
• Father / Daughter Dance
• Themed Festival or Fair
• Bingo
• Alumni event
• Local Pro Baseball, Basketball, Hockey Games (Sun, Bluefish, Wildcats, college)
• Coco Keys (at Waterbury Holiday Inn) – discounted rates while they are building clientele
• ESPN free tours

More ideas at:

• www.pta.org/pta_great_idea_bank.asp


• www.ptoideas.com/category/1/Fundraisers


• www.globalideasbank.org/site/home/

Remember to have a membership table at all events

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Make Lemonade

If you are being kept awake at night by the fact that your PTA fall fundraiser only brought in half what it did last year, you need to come to our next meeting, on Thursday, November 6.

This correction in the economy is an opportunity for us as an organization to lead by example about what’s truly important. To quote Suzy Orman, “People first, then money, then things.”

Even though we act in the best interest of children, that may not be what is perceived at the unit level. Parents who do not sit on committees, or are constantly involved, only see the fundraising flyers. Even if they are involed, myself included, when the message from the larger world says to conserve, they recycle the flyer instead of getting out their check book.

So now that we’ve experienced a couple months of the new economy, let’s put our heads together and share strategies for how we’re going to keep our commitments to the children of Hamden.

We will also discuss a communication strategy for PTAs to get our message to parents, politicians and taxpayers, in advance of budget season. If you thought last year was tough, just wait.

I’ll see you at the Middle School, Thursday, November 6 at 7 PM. Please bring your current budget and some low-cost-high-fun-factor ideas to share with everyone.

Election Day Opportunity

I hope everyone is working on their Election Day Bake Sale plans. The CT Secretary of State, Susan Bysiewicz, says that 2 million voters are now registered in CT (out of 3 million people) and that she expects turnout to exceed 90%.

Needless to say, this is a huge economic opportunity.

Please have healthy choices available - local apples and pears. Perhaps even harvest decor like pumpkins, gourds and Indian corn. http://www.buyctgrown.com/

If you have not yet reserved a space at a polling place, please send your request, in writing to the Registrar of Voters, Peggy Rae at PRae@Hamden.com and follow up by phone at 287-7081.

October 2 - CMT/CAPT Forum Recap

Thanks to Supt. Rabinowitz for enlightening us about the CMT/CAPT exams, numbers and process. Those that took the 6th grade math primer now have a much greater appreciation for our children's stamina and test scores.

We will make it through these lean times, but our success is only guaranteed if we work together.

Have a great Halloween and Election Day and I'll see you on November 6, 7 PM in the Middle School cafeteria.

CMT/CAPT Forum October 2

Have you ever wondered how to interpret your child’s CMT or CAPT scores?

Why are these test scores so important?

How are they used to shape my child’s education?

At the next Hamden PTA Council meeting, on Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 7 PM in the Hamden Middle School Cafeteria, Superintendent Fran Rabinowitz will answer these and any other questions you have about the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT). We will no doubt touch on No Child Left Behind and the effect its mandates have on school choice and what options parents' have.

We are so grateful for Fran's willingness to help parents understand the public education process. Between the news stories about "failing schools" and parents' worry about "teaching to the test," this kind of honest dialog is an incredibly valuable resource.

We look forward to seeing you then!

Marjorie Clark

Hamden PTA Council Meeting

OUR FIRST MEETING... will be next Thursday, September 4th, 7 PM at the Middle School.
I need everyone to attend for two reasons:

1. This is the best opportunity for all of the units to exchange ideas and information, before we get too far into the school year. We have decades of experience between all of us and it would be wrong not to share. :)
   
2. Hamden Lights for Life will be presenting their fundraising campaign for Hamden's Father Michael J. McGivney Cancer Center. They have asked for all PTAs to help sell luminaries that will be placed all over Town Center Park on the eve of September 28th. The Hamden Cheerleaders are leading the charge and are available for presentations to your school. Come get more details....
   
3. We need to plan our year. I've got some ideas, but I'd like to hear your ideas as well.

A REMINDER...
If you haven't already done so, please submit your officer information sheet to CT PTA, even if your roster is the same as last year. Email them at connecticut.pta@snet.net or call 281-6617.

I look forward to seeing you there - the public is welcome, but only PTA members may vote.

PTA in Transformation

The new National PTA CEO, is Byran V. Garrett, not only a man, but an African American.

In addition, the new national president-elect is a Charles J. Saylors. For the first time, since it's inception, PTA will be run by a dad. Considering that a child is 40% more likely to earn A's if a male role model is involved in their education, I think it's a great thing.

To that end, I would encourage all units to specifically invite dads and the male adults in your school community (uncles, grandfathers, etc.) to contribute time to your schools. Have them read a story, run a car wash or chaperon a baseball game: stuff they’re comfortable doing that doesn't require a lot of meetings. :)

National PTA has launched a new initiative called PTA MORE — Men Organized to Raise Engagement to help units with this idea.

If you haven't already guessed, this is NOT your mother's PTA. It is no longer a gaggle of moms who sit around gossiping over tea in the afternoon. In fact, nationwide, PTAs are finding it increasingly difficult to get members together to talk about what's going on or about getting organized. Our time is divided by multiple jobs, school and/or aging parents; a two hour meeting in the middle of the week, ten times a year is more time than most parents can afford. Not only that, but it's a relatively poor use of their time. After all, Rome wasn't built by having meetings, right?

Our children's generation is the first to never have experienced life without iPods, cellphones, IM, email, Ethernet and social networking. Our adaptation of these tools for running our organization will not only give us the technological knowledge to keep up with our kids, but keep us relevant as an organization.

This is the moment when we evolve or become irrelevant.

Hamden Public Schools has created a space for all Hamden PTAs on their website, www.hamden.org. The hope is that units and HPS will use this platform as a way to keep the vital link between children, family, teachers, administrators, school board and town strong. Please subscribe to their newsletter to be notified of happenings and emergencies via email.

And the winner is...

Thank you to all who made our annual Hamden PTA Council Dinner a tremendous success:

• the executive committee: Mary Clough, Melissa Stasiak, Karen Leeper and Cheri Brooks
• CT PTA executive officers: Presdient, Melissa Johnson, 1st VP, Marne Usher and VP of Legislation, Mike Taylor
• Hamden Lights for Life and the Saint Raphael Foundation
• Mary Marrindino, Hamden Partnership for Youth
• Stephen Beck, 1000 Friends of CT
• Jim Pascarella, on behalf of Mayor Henrici, Hamden Town Council and Hamden Education Foundation
• Superintendent Rabinowitz and Assistant Superintendents, Dr. Portia Bonner
• Kelly Reilly, Nancetta Walker Scholarship Award Winner

Congratulations to all the Meg Nowacki Hamden PTA Council Recognition Award nominees. We are a greater school system because of all of your accomplishments and contributions. Thanks to the nominators for such heartfelt and compelling nomination speeches. The nominees were:

• Cathy Crowe, Bear Path School
• Sue Foraker, Dunbar Hill School
• Melissa Tommaselli, Hamden Middle School
• Jennifer Marchand & Susan Martinez-Sendroff, Ridge Hill School
• Andy DeBenedet, Shephard Glen School
• Evelyn Neuber & Elizabeth Shack, Spring Glen School
• Ruth Croll, West Woods School

And the winner is....

When asked about the nominee, one of her students said this:

“She’s really good at math. She’s always fair. She’s really into birds. She makes learning fun with math and spelling games. She knows when to give the right test to each kid.”

Mrs. Ruth Croll has been teaching at West Woods School since its opening, starting as a 3rd grade teacher in 1974. In those 34 years, she’s also taught 2nd grade, a readiness class and a combination 1st and 2nd grade class. But she’s been teaching 1st grade for 27 years. It’s her favorite grade because she loves to watch the kids grow, as they learn how to read and write and be part of the West Woods School family.

Since the beginning of her tenure at West Woods, she has been a representative from the teaching staff to the PTA. Whatever we ask of her, the usual response is “No, I don’t mind. I don’t mind at all.” In return, we supply her with as much bird seed and field trip money as we can afford.

As an avid bird enthusiast Mrs. Croll, or “The Bird Lady” as many students know her, has instilled in our children an appreciation for the natural world and all its wonders. Almost twenty years ago she joined forces with naturalist Flo McBride and integrated her bird watching and feeding habit into the fabric of life at West Woods.

The courtyard in the center of our school is the ultimate observatory for Project Feeder Watch, coordinated by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, to monitor the distribution and abundance of winter bird populations. She and her fledgling bird watchers have sent their data from November to March to Project Feeder Watch for the last ten years.

In addition, Mrs. Croll heads the Bird and Nature Club, a group of 3rd to 6th graders, which meets in the trails behind our school every Thursday morning. Not only does she lead the group in enjoying the natural classroom, but also helps them to maintain the trails.

The first graders are one of the most mobile classes in our school. Mrs. Croll and the other Oak Teachers always make good use of their PTA allotted funds and free transportation. The children annually go to:

• Lighthouse Point Park for the fall hawk migration
• the local fire station
• The Peabody Museum
• East Rock Park / Mill River for spring bird migration
• The Beardsley Zoo

Mrs. Croll’s class also has a thriving publishing company, producing 20 class books per year about their travels, family traditions and curriculum projects, with each child contributing a well written sentence or two and thoughtful illustration.

Lastly, here are five more reasons why the West Wood PTA recommends that Mrs. Croll be given the Meg Nowacki Hamden PTA Council Recognition Award:

1. She’s dedicated to her students and school (arriving at 7 am, often not leaving until 7pm), and to our PTA, attending nearly every meeting.
2. She balances curriculum requirements with the learning abilities of each student. It is a fortunate child who has benefited from an individual educational plan with Mrs. Croll.
3. She shows her classes how to practice gratitude. One PTA member put it best by saying “I'm going to miss those nice ‘thank you’ notes her classes always write us!”
4. She has taught parents, as well as their kids, how to identify a sharp shinned hawk from a red tailed hawk and a barn swallow from a chimney swallow. (Just wait, that skill will come in handy one day!)
5. Mrs. Croll is retiring this year and we feel this honor is fitting for a woman who has given our school, our children and our PTA so much of her passion, knowledge, integrity and dedication. The West Woods PTA’s relationship with Mrs. Croll is the epitome of what all parent/teacher relationships should be: a shared involvement in our children’s education, doing whatever it takes to help them achieve great things.

Congratulations, Mrs. Croll!

What are your kids doing this summer?

We've brought together 30 day and overnight camps to help you figure it out.

The Hamden / North Haven PTA Council Camp Fair
runs Saturday from 11 AM – 2 PM
Thornton Wilder Auditorium @ Miller Library Complex
2901 Dixwell Ave, Hamden, CT 06518

It's totally free and open to the public.

It’s going to be a great time, so I hope to see you there.

Marjorie