THE MESSENGER
February 2009
Principal’s Message: Winter Events Warms Up Midtown West
Welcome to Winter!! The weather has kept us all in the "deep-freeze" but our hearts were warmed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. I mentioned during my opening remarks that the celebration was indeed a wonderful complement to such a historic week. There was excitement and hope throughout our school, community, and the nation as we witnessed history in the making with President Obama's swearing-in ceremony. Midtown West seems to be ahead of the curve as it has always celebrated diversity and been dedicated to service in our community.
ELA testing seemed to be a huge success. We were, as usual, able to test almost 100% of our students. Teachers and students worked extremely hard to showcase their talents during this mandatory and stressful event. Math testing is in the near future and I thank everyone for making this process as stress-free as possible. Please take a moment to thank your child and your child's teacher for the dedication they provide to Midtown West and to their own professionalism as educators and students.
Skating is coming soon. After the mid-winter break we will have our annual ice-skating event at Lasker Rink. This is a wonderful MTW tradition. We come together as a community and enjoy the winter activities. This has been and continues to be a great event.
Book Club continues to be a huge success. We will be selecting a new book this week. If you have time in your schedule please try to join us as we look at quality children’s literature.
Stay positive and enjoy the winter months. Spring and summer are just around the corner.
--Dean
PTA Co-Presidents: Celebrate, Skate, and Donate!
Dear Midtown West Families:
The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration was extraordinary this year. The children and families were resplendent in their rainbow colors. The food was some of the best we’ve ever had at a MTW potluck. The video, the dancing, and the singing were wonderful. We offer many thanks to Yee Yip and Karl Heist, our committee chairs, and the entire MLK Jr. committee for making such a wonderful event possible.
The annual ice-skating trips are scheduled for Monday, February 23, for grades K/2/4 and Sara’s class, and Tuesday, February 24, for grades 1/3/5 and Ana’s class. This is a great event (weather permitting) and the children look forward to it each year. Once again, the PTA will fund this event in its entirety. Fill-in your child’s shoe size on the list outside his/her classroom. If you have any questions, please ask your class rep.
Our third annual Virtual Auction is beginning to heat up. All families have received forms to solicit donations for the auction. We strongly urge every family to participate. If every family brings in two donations we will be guaranteed to meet our fundraising goal for the auction and for the PTA for the year.
Our next PTA meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 26, at 6:00 pm and Friday, February 27, at 8:45 am in the Family Center. Pizza and childcare are available for the evening meeting. We look forward to seeing you there.
--PTA Co-Presidents Elena van Schendel (Nicole, Kay) and Jennifer Collins (Jeremy, Yolene)
FEBRUARY CALENDAR
FEB 5 THU Asian Cultural Celebration committee meeting, Family Center, 8:45am
FEB 6 FRI Fundraising Committee meeting, Family Center, 8:45am
FEB 6 FRI Grade 3 bake sale, Cafeteria, 3pm-6pm
FEB 9 MON PTA Executive Board meeting, Family Center, 8:15am
FEB 9 MON SLT meeting, Library, 4pm
FEB 10 TUE Full professional development day with Dan Feigelson grades 2 to 5
FEB 10 TUE Garden Committee meeting, Cafeteria, 8:45am
FEB 11 WED Class rep meeting, Family Center, 8:50am
FEB 13 FRI Fundraising Committee meeting, Family Center, 8:45am
FEB 16 MON NO SCHOOL Mid-winter recess, through Feb 20 FRI. Extended Day Mini-Camp available with pre-registration.
FEB 23 MON School resumes
FEB 23 MON Ice-skating at Lasker Rink in Central Park, grades K, 2, 4, & Sara’s class, 10am-2pm
FEB 23 MON Extended Day Committee meeting, ED Office, 6pm-8pm
(childcare available)
FEB 24 TUE Ice-skating at Lasker Rink in Central Park, grades 1, 3, 5, & Ana’s class, 10am-2pm
FEB 25 WED Book Club, Family Center, 8:45am
FEB 26 WED School Partnership Committee (Cafeteria) meeting, Cafeteria, 9am
FEB 26 THU Seed Week begins (through March 6). Classroom planting of seeds for spring planting in the garden!
FEB 26 THU PTA meeting, Family Center, 6pm
FEB 27 FRI PTA meeting, Family Center, 9am
FEB 27 FRI New York Children’s International Film Festival (NYCIFF) starts (through March 15), $4 from each $12 ticket goes to MTW PTA
EARLY MARCH CALENDAR
MAR 3 TUE Math testing for grades 3, 4, 5
MAR 4 WED Math testing for grades 3, 4, 5
MAR 5 THU Math testing grade 4 ONLY
MAR 6 FRI Fundraising Committee meeting, Family Center, 8:45am
MAR 6 FRI Grade 2 bake sale, Cafeteria, 3pm-6pm
MAR 10 TUE Garden Committee meeting, Cafeteria, 8:45am
MAR 12 THU Asian Cultural Celebration (TBA)
FUNDRAISING
Auction Fever is HERE…and here’s what you can do about it:
Get ready: we’re going online on April 27 to May 14, with a live party on May 1. Last year we made more than $70,000! We’re hoping to do as well or better this year. And that depends on all of us: We need people to solicit donations (look for donation forms outside your classrooms and the family center—start handing them out to anyone whose goods and/or services you’ve enjoyed); we need people to input items onto the Cmarket website (let Marion or Andi know you’re a good typist and we’ll teach you how—it’s very easy); We need people to photograph items for the website; we need people to help close out the auction and pack and mail items to people bidding from afar. So, anyone with connections to theatre, sports, restaurants, shops—please go solicit! Anyone with computer savvy skills—please help us input! Anyone with good follow-through—please help us make sure everyone receives their winning items! Anyone wanting to help—we will find a task for you! PLEASE MAKE SURE TO ADD THE FOLLOWING E-MAILS TO YOUR ADDRESS BOOKS or are accepted addresses: midtownwest@cmarket.org for receiving our MTW Auction e-mails and midtownwestfundraising@gmail.com in case we need to contact you with questions.
And while we’re waiting for the Auction to start, remember….
• Send in a Pledge to MTW; 2) Remember to send your Pledge in to MTW; 3) Actually send in your Pledge! Give often, it’s good karma!
• Come stretch and save your school too: Jodi’s exercise class is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, $15 a class, and the generous Miss Moccia donates every last cent to MTW!
• In vino veritas, and all that. Look for our 2009 Wine Tasting fundraiser March 25. Places at this super-popular event go fast, so sign up as soon as the sign goes up. Details to come, we’ll keep you posted.
• Watch for our annual TADA fundraiser in early April—a favorite of little and middle-aged kids alike!
• Loose change lingering in your life??? Give it to the BIG Change Jar on Fridays at drop-off: bring it in, drop it off, and help the school. COMMON CENTS…it could not be easier.
• Got scissors? Snip those Box Tops.
• Remember: you and your family can still buy beautiful wrapping paper on line from Innisbrook. Use school code 101672
• Shop online with One Cause: And lastly, when on-line shopping, make sure you hit the stores via onecause.com (your cause is Midtown West School-PTA). Then they give money to MTW! You simply enjoy your purchase…..got to love it! Speaking of love, think Valentine gift.
JOIN US EVERY FRIDAY after drop-off in the Family Center or Cafeteria. WE NEED YOUR HELP AND EXPERTISE as our AUCTION goes into full throttle.
Fundraising Co-Chairs
ĉ Andrea Casson (Jessica)
ĉ Marion Mackles (Jennifer)
CONTACT US AT: midtownwestfundraising@gmail.com
Extended Day
Extended Day will offer a Holiday Camp on Tuesday through Friday, February 17-20, from 8:30 - 5:30 (no camp on Monday, 2/16) during the mid-winter break, There is a maximum enrollment of 25 children and registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis. All registrations must be in by Monday, February 9. Registration forms were e-mailed to all ED families on Friday, January 23, and are also available on the ED office door and at the sign-out desk in the evenings.
We will have a mini-camp on Thursday, March 19, for the half-day of Family Conferences. We will be staying in the building all day so that parents can pick-up their children for conferences. There will be no additional charge for this mini-camp except the usual $20 extra day fee if Thursday is not your regular day. Everyone who wants to attend this mini-camp must sign-up on the registration sheet (at the security desk). We need to know how many children to expect and can plan for appropriate coverage. The registration sheet will be available at the end of February. Please pay attention to the cut-off dates for signing up.
Please remember to check the bulletin board on the Extended Day door for important notices and information about the program. Also, look for your e-mailed statements and bring in the tuition amount specified as on the bill. If you have questions about your statement please come into the office for help. Payments are due the first of the month. A $15 late fee is charged after the 10th and children cannot remain in the program with any outstanding balance at the end of the preceding month.
Our next Extended Day Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 23, at 6:00. Childcare and pizza is available with prior notice to Tisa. Everyone is welcome to join the Extended Day Committee.
Family Center
School tours for prospective families for fall 2009 have been extended through the end of February. I want to thank all the MTW parents who help guide the tours. Your gracious help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you to everyone who helped with the MLK celebration. It was a great evening—fabulous food, dazzling decorations, and a great performance. I particularly loved the hula-hoop peace signs hanging from the ceiling and the peace quilts.
Be sure to check out the calendar for upcoming events in the Family Center including: the Parent Book Club on Tuesday, February 24.
Our annual Asian culture celebration will be an evening event this year on Thursday, March 12. The planning committee welcomes volunteers.
--Tisa Farley, Parent Coordinator
A Little MTW History
Our Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration began sixteen years ago, with Paul Smith, a teacher and the choral director at that time (now a principal in the Bronx) who originally came to us as an intern from Bank Street (as did Ted Pollen, Karl Heist, and numerous other beloved male teachers whose internships were sponsored by the Plan for Social Excellence “Learning For Life Grant”). These internships as well as our collaboration with Bank Street and our commitment to parent involvement were major components of this national five-year grant that was awarded to MTW in 1990 and helped to shape MTW into the community we are today.
Inspired by the Bank Street tradition, MTW teachers began this unique celebration as a way of celebrating our own cherished diversity as well as “King’s dreams of non-violent community action and the power of words, both spoken and sung, as a means of addressing social injustice. His work and mission involved values that we emphasize daily in our life at school. Celebrating his struggle for equal rights for all people has a positive impact on children’s concern for fairness.”*
Paul began this tradition with his chorus performing in a vocal concert. He then collaborated with Ted to include several Extended Day dance classes. When Robin began teaching at MTW in 1997 she took over the chorus and helped shape the concerts as they evolved. The event kept growing and after a few years parents formed a committee to incorporate a potluck dinner. Initially, the committee focused on King’s cultural heritage with a food tasting and historical displays of King’s life and legacy. Over the years the event included storytelling, West African dance, the traditional Boot Dance, parent musicians performing in the Papa’s Band, historical video presentations, poetry, parents performing skits focusing on prejudice, segregation, and social injustice, and much, much more. The MLK Committee became a mandated committee within the PTA structure with its own budget allotment and met regularly beginning early each school year to plan for this beloved annual event. It became the most highly attended event of the school year often bringing back alumni families. Parents devoted countless volunteer hours, energy, and their hearts and souls into creating these memorable school-wide celebrations. We have focused on various themes over the years, such as It Takes a Village…, Beyond the Dream, Community Service, and Family. This year, we celebrated peacemakers and their dreams.
“We strive to engage children in ongoing dialogue and action to develop strategies for talking, negotiating, and compromising. This helps them become skilled at finding peaceful resolutions to a range of everyday challenges and conflicts. We feel Dr. King’s struggle and dream for social justice, peace and equality need to be reaffirmed and honored on this special day. It is our hope that through this positive active engagement with one another, the world might become a better place for our children and future generations to live and grow in.” *
*Spring 1999 Street Scenes publication for Bank Street School for Children by Ann-Marie Mott, Lower School Coordinator
—Tisa Farley, Parent Coordinator
Inch By Inch, Row By Row
February is here, and is it possible that some of our MTW families are starting to suffer from cabin fever? Therefore, it may come as good news that February 26 to March 6 has been designated as Seed Week at MTW. The Garden Committee is ordering seeds for the classes and children will have the opportunity to plant and watch their own seeds grow day by day, which is a very rewarding process. Class representatives from the Garden Committee have been selected to support the teachers in getting ready for Seed Week with soil, seeds, cups, and popsicle sticks. Seedlings will be transferred outdoors to the class plots before the spring break in April. We will also have extra seeds and new plants to supplement the seedlings grown in the children's classrooms, so every child gets to plant in their garden plot in the spring. So let's get ready for spring!
This February we will have a special guest speaker, Lars Chellberg, from CENYC to get us "Springing into Seed Week"!
The MTW Garden Committee welcomes new members and meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 8:45 AM in the cafeteria. Contact co-chair Aimee Margolis
(Ted), or Elena Van Schendel (Kay, Jeremy) from the Garden Committee with any questions. Come join us!
—Sharon Daly (Gina, Mary)
ICE SKATING 2009
(funded completely by the MTW PTA!!)
Monday, February 23, grades K, 2, 4, and Sara's class
Tuesday, February 24, grades 1, 3, 5 and Ana's class
Ice-skating is right after the mid-winter February break so please return permission forms (with shoe size indicated) to the teachers PRIOR TO THE BREAK.
Lasker Rink is located at the north end of Central Park, near 110th Street & Lenox Avenue. Parents and other adult family members are invited/needed to help and to skate. Make sure to PACK YOUR CHILD A BAG LUNCH and dress warmly.
In addition, 1-2 parent volunteers to assist on both days at the rink would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to contact me.
See you at Lasker Rink!
—Kim Foley, Co-VP of Communication
New York International Children’s Film Festival
The NYCIFF this year is Feb. 27 to March 15. This festival showcases the very best in new film from around the world including new animation, live action, experimental, documentary shorts, and feature films. There are parties, filmmaker Q&A, hands-on workshops, panels, and audience voting. Screenings are organized by audience age-range: from tots to teens and everything in between! Watch for brochures in your mailboxes!
And the BEST NEWS??… $4 from every ticket you purchase ($12 each) will be donated directly to the Midtown West PTA. What a great AND easy way to help your school!
For more information, contact Kim Foley.
THE MIDTOWN WEST LIBRARY NEEDS YOUR HELP
Parent volunteers are needed to bring the beautiful new library to completion. There’s a job for everyone, no matter how much time you have to volunteer. Training and instructions are available and tasks are posted (and updated daily) on the white board.
Some of the things you can do to get the library ready for a truly grand opening:
Rubber stamp books
Affix bar code stickers
Automate books using a scanner and the computer
Affix spine labels
Wrap the books with protective covers
Shelve books
Staff the library desk so students can check out and return books throughout the school day
Stop by the library or contact the Library Committee co-chairs, Karen Trott (Mary) and Teresa Richards (Gina, Nicole), to volunteer. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Asian Cultural Celebration Expands
Now in its 11th year, the popular Asian Cultural Celebration has evolved from a breakfast into an evening event. Showcasing the myriad Asian cultures in our school, the March 12 event is shaping up as another fun-filled MTW celebration.
The Midtown West community can look forward to demonstrations in Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, Indian classical dance, karate, making sushi hand rolls, and much more. Families can participate in Korean dancing, get photographed in traditional clothing, sample ethnic foods, and hear traditional music.
The Asian Cultural Celebration committee welcomes participation from any Asian culture, donations, and especially volunteers. Contact the committee chairs Sachie Hirayama )Jennifer) and Yoko Ebihara (Jennifer) if you’d like to help.
