Welcome to the 2009-2010 School Year
Dear Lawrence School Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to the 2009–2010 school year. We hope that this mailing will help you start and navigate the school year. Among the many elements it contains are:
It’s you! Every Lawrence family is a member of the PTO—it’s not just the Board members and event organizers. We hope you will find some tempting options on the enclosed Volunteer Opportunities form. If not, please call us—we are always open to new ideas!
What is the PTO?
Working closely with the principal and vice principal, the PTO focuses on community building and enhancing our children’s experience at Lawrence. During the year we host many events designed to bring people together (the Fall and Spring picnics, and International Night, for example) and provide funding for enrichment activities in every classroom.
How does the PTO do it?
The PTO raises over $50,000 a year. Half of these funds are raised through our annual Phonathon and the contributions resulting from the solicitation in this mailing. The rest comes from smaller events during the year whose primary goal is community building, but which also help raise funds. Here is just a sampling of where PTO funds go:
How does the PTO communicate? The PTO produces a weekly newsletter, maintains a parent e-mail notification list, and has a bulletin board in the front hallway, a website (lawrencepto.org), and monthly PTO meetings. Our meeting schedule is enclosed in this mailing.
Your contributions make all these things possible. Please consider helping the PTO—not only financially but also with your time. We look forward to meeting new families, seeing familiar faces and hearing your ideas for how the PTO can best serve the community.
Hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Amy Luster
Kate Shea
Laura Ziouani
Welcome to the 2009–2010 school year. We hope that this mailing will help you start and navigate the school year. Among the many elements it contains are:
- The Calendar, which shows important school and PTO events as well as early release and vacation days
- The Working Groups form, providing contact information for various groups and events
- A Volunteer Opportunities form, for you to fill out and return. Every bit of help ensures the success of our PTO!
- A List of After-school Options, including an overview of extended-day options and after-school classes
- A Welcome Breakfast on Thursday, September 10, at 8:00 a.m. in the library. Brief introductions will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions informally and learn more about the Lawrence Community.
- The First PTO Meeting of the year: Tuesday, September 15, at 7:00 p.m. in the library. Principal Rick Rogers will highlight new staff, and we will introduce our topics/speakers for upcoming PTO meetings.
It’s you! Every Lawrence family is a member of the PTO—it’s not just the Board members and event organizers. We hope you will find some tempting options on the enclosed Volunteer Opportunities form. If not, please call us—we are always open to new ideas!
What is the PTO?
Working closely with the principal and vice principal, the PTO focuses on community building and enhancing our children’s experience at Lawrence. During the year we host many events designed to bring people together (the Fall and Spring picnics, and International Night, for example) and provide funding for enrichment activities in every classroom.
How does the PTO do it?
The PTO raises over $50,000 a year. Half of these funds are raised through our annual Phonathon and the contributions resulting from the solicitation in this mailing. The rest comes from smaller events during the year whose primary goal is community building, but which also help raise funds. Here is just a sampling of where PTO funds go:
- 40% goes directly back into the classrooms for classroom supplies, field trips and teacher grants.
- 10% supports before- and after-school enrichment programs such as the Elementary Grade Plays and Intramural Sports.
- 30% supports curriculum-based enrichment programming such as the 3rd Grade Symphony Trip, which ties into the students’ introduction to instruments, and the 1st Grade Bee Keeper Visit, which relates to the insect curriculum. We also sponsor in-school performances such as last year’s visits by the Cashore Marionettes, Ruby Bridges, and violinist Lucia Lin. Our support for visual arts includes the 5th Grade Pinhole Photography Project and the amazing 8th Grade Self-Portrait Project.
- 5% is spent on the annual Send-an-Educator-to-Japan (SET-J) Program, which is funded by the two Japanese Fairs.
How does the PTO communicate? The PTO produces a weekly newsletter, maintains a parent e-mail notification list, and has a bulletin board in the front hallway, a website (lawrencepto.org), and monthly PTO meetings. Our meeting schedule is enclosed in this mailing.
Your contributions make all these things possible. Please consider helping the PTO—not only financially but also with your time. We look forward to meeting new families, seeing familiar faces and hearing your ideas for how the PTO can best serve the community.
Hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Amy Luster
Kate Shea
Laura Ziouani