THE MESSENGER
March 2009
Principal’s Message: Spring Is Coming to MTW
March is in like a lion! We have had a busy return to the school year. January flew by and then the February mid-winter break was upon us. I hope that everyone had a relaxing break. The children and school staff came back to school refreshed and ready for a new round of testing. Math testing has begun and all of our students and staff are ready for the challenge.
Family conferences are coming in March. During this conference you will receive your Environment Satisfaction Survey from the Department of Education. Your classroom teacher will be handing the survey to you during your conference and parent volunteers will be available in the Family Center to assist you with the survey. The goal at MTW is to have 100% of our families and teachers participate in the survey this year.
Please remember that there are several exciting events just around the corner. Wine tasting will be happening this month as well. The sign-up sheet for this event will be on the PTA bulletin board outside the main office. This event is limited to 40 participants and should be fun for everyone, as well as educational. Fundraising is working hard on the auction and you will be hearing much more about this event during the coming weeks. I hope that everyone can attend one or all of the events that are planned. Please join us for the Asian Cultural Connections Celebration on March 12. This new evening event is for the entire community and is shaping up to be a wonderful evening for all our families. From performances to food and kid activities we will have an evening to remember.
Thank you all for your continued support as we move through another positive and successful school year.
Sincerely,
Dean
MARCH CALENDAR
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 Connections Celebration, 5:30pm, details TBA
MAR 13 FRI Fundraising Committee meeting, Family Center, 8:45am
MAR 16 MON SLT meeting, Library, 4pm
MAR 18 WED Class Rep meeting, Family Center, 8:50am
MAR 18 WED Family Conferences – Evening
MAR 18 WED Grade 5 bake sale during evening conferences
MAR 19 THU Family Conferences in the afternoon, half-day for students (11:30am dismissal); Extended Day Mini-Camp available with pre-registration
MAR 19 THU Grade 5 bake sale, cafeteria, 11:30am-6pm
MAR 20 FRI Fundraising Committee meeting, Family Center, 8:45am
MAR 24 TUE Book Club, Family Center, 8:45am
MAR 25 WED PTA Executive Board Meeting, Family Center, 8:15am
MAR 25 WED FRI Wine-tasting fundraiser, 6pm, further details TBA
MAR 25 WED MTW Messenger deadline
MAR 26 THU School Partnership (Cafeteria) Committee meeting, Cafeteria, 8:45am
MAR 26 THU PTA meeting, Family Center, 6pm
MAR 27 FRI PTA meeting, Family Center, 8:45am
EARLY APRIL 2009
APR 3 FRI Fundraising Committee meeting, Family Center, 8:45am
APR 3 FRI Grade 1 bake sale, cafeteria, 3-6pm
APR 6 MON 4 SLT meeting, Library, 4pm
APR 7 TUE Garden Committee meeting, Cafeteria, 8:45am
APR 8 WED Class Rep meeting, Family Center, 8:50am
APR 9 THU through APR 17 FRI NO SCHOOL – SPRING RECESS
Extended Day Holiday Camp with pre-registration
Family Center
The Family Center will be open with coffee, snacks, and assistance to complete the DOE Environmental Surveys for parents. Teachers will distribute the surveys during Family Conferences on Wednesday, 3/18, and Thursday, 3/19. Please take this opportunity to complete your survey.
Be sure to check out the weekly calendar reminders for upcoming events in the Family Center, including the Parent Book Club on Tuesday, 3/24.
Thanks to all who helped coordinate the Black History Month Celebration. It was great!
--Tisa Farley, Parent Coordinator
Extended Day
Mini camp will be held on Thursday, March 19, for the half-day of Family Conferences. We will be staying in the building all day so parents can pick-up their children for their conference. There will be no additional charge for this mini camp except the usual $20 extra-day fee if Thursday is not your regular day. You must sign up on the registration sheet (at the security desk) by Tuesday, March 17, so that we know how many children to expect and can plan for appropriate coverage
We will also have a Holiday Camp during the April spring break. Look for registration forms toward the end of March.
Please remember to check the notices at the sign-out book and on the bulletin board on the Extended Day door for important information about the program. Also, look for 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 month.
Our next Extended Day Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, 3/30, at 6:00. Childcare and pizza are available. If you plan to attend, please notify Tisa at mtwextendedday@verizon.net All are welcome!!!
Please come to the office, call or email me if you have any questions or issues concerning Extended Day.
--Tisa Farley, Extended Day Coordinator
Inch by Inch, Row by Row
Spring is almost here and the Garden Committee (the Green Team) is excited about getting MTW children started on planting during our annual Seed Week (February 26– March 6). Co-chair Aimee Margolis (Ted’s) designed a lovely Children's Plant Journal for the kid's to record their seed progress in their classrooms and Ann Kelly (Jessica’s) was kind enough to make copies for everyone. At this month’s meeting, the Garden Committee Class Reps prepared to hold mini-workshops in the classroom during Seed Week to assist teachers and children in having fun with planting. This year, we decided to be especially conscious of being green by planting seeds in recycled paper egg cartons. Once grown, the seedlings in the egg cartons can be put directly into the soil so as not to disrupt the plants’ delicate root system. Aimee also taught the Garden Committee members how to make self-watering flowerpots, a fun activity for children and adults alike.
Lars Chelberg from the NYC Council on Environmental Education was a guest speaker at the February meeting. As always, he gave us useful information and support regarding the upcoming planting season. Out of our discussions with Lars, we came up and loved the idea to set up our own mini-water recycling project, an exciting idea we will explore during future meetings.
Consider becoming a part of MTW’s Green Team and join the excitement. The next Garden Committee meeting will be on March 10 at 8:50 in the cafeteria. Feel free to contact co-chairs Aimee Margolis (Ted’s) or Elena van Schendel or our new co-chair Roger Puckett with any questions.
--Sharon Daly (Gina’s, Mary’s)
PTA Co-Presidents: Surveys and Cultural Celebrations at MTW
Dear Midtown West Families:
Our traditional ice-skating trips welcomed families back to school from the mid-winter break. We all want to thank Kim Foley (Mary’s, Jennifer’s) for taking over the organization and supervision of this great school-wide event.
At various February meetings we discussed the upcoming Environmental Survey. We would like to remind you that the Environmental Survey is a part of a newly introduced (this is the third year) NYCDOE accountability system, which is used to grade all NYC public schools. The results of the survey also define areas of improvement. We the parents can affect our school’s total score just by completing and returning these surveys. All families will receive their surveys at the family conferences in mid-March and are encouraged to fill them out right away in the Family Center where coffee and refreshments will be served. Reviewing the survey results from previous years, we came to the conclusion that possibly some survey questions were not understood correctly by respondents. This year, the PTA executive board and the SLT decided to create a support team to help the participants understand what issues were addressed in the survey, if such questions arise. Please look for parent-volunteers with name tags in the Family Center on the days of the conferences.
Thank you to all who organized another wonderful MTW event: the Black History Month Breakfast with a special presentation about Seneca Village by Crystal Williams (Kristin). The food served was delicious, the presentation included special readings and singing and was very interesting and informative--the whole atmosphere felt very “MTWestern.” Don’t miss our next MTW cultural event, the Asian Cultural Connections Celebration on March 12.
If you have a few hours or minutes to spare in school, please visit the library and check to see how you can help. There is always someone to ask and something to do.
Our third Virtual Auction is speeding up. We have received a lot of donations from previous year’s donors but we need much, much more. We strongly urge every family to participate. Please check the fundraising column to get the answers to when, what, and how.
Dan Brecher and Angela Ortiz (Yolene’s), along with retiring PTA co-president Jennifer Collins, have volunteered for the Nominating Committee, which seeks out candidates for PTA office and SLT membership. Parents can contact them (Angela Ortiz & Dan Brecher) if interested in running for PTA or SLT. There will be a more detailed announcement in the April Messenger.
Our next PTA meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, at 6:00 pm, and Friday, March 27, at 8:45 am.
--Elena van Schendel (Nicole’s, Kay’s) and Jennifer Collins (Jeremy’s, Yolene’s), PTA co-presidents
Asian Cultural Connections Celebration March 12
This year’s celebration has so much to offer—demonstrations in traditional drumming, classical dance (Korean and Indian), calligraphy (Chinese and Japanese), karate, and much, much more—it will be an evening event for the first time in its 11-year history. In addition, there will be displays of Thai and Japanese flower arranging and henna tattooing. Children can learn how to make Japanese sushi handrolls and Philippine parols (lamp lanterns). There will be opportunities to get photographed wearing traditional dress, to learn to write the Japanese words for love, star, and peace, and, of course, to sample delicious foods from the myriad Asian cultures present at Midtown West.
The Asian Cultural Celebration committee welcomes participation from any Asian culture, donations, and especially volunteers. Contact the committee chairs Sachie Hirayama (Jennifer’s) and Yoko Ebihara (Jennifer’s) if you’d like to help.
New York International Children's Film Festival
If you haven't purchased your NYICFF tickets yet and/or you want to see more films to raise more money for the PS 212 Midtown West PTA (for every ticket you buy, we get $3-5 dollars back), there are still screenings available, for tots to teens. Go to www.gkids.com to check the schedule. To purchase tickets, click on "Tickets" tab and then elect PS 212 Midtown West from the dropdown menu at top of page (very important!). Select the show times, purchase your tickets, and enjoy great films and lots of popcorn. Please note: for sold-out screenings, a waitlist will be available at the
theater on the day of the screening. If you get in off the waitlist, you can still participate in the school fundraising program. Just let them know which school you're from at the time of purchase.
The deadline for the April issue is March 25.
Send all submissions to
mtwmessenger@verizon.net.
Please be advised that submissions are subject to editing, deadlines (late copy can be posted on the web site), and space considerations.
Midtown West School 328 W. 48th St.
New York, NY 10036
(212) 247-0208 midtownwest.net
