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Dear Paramount Families,
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome each of you and your families to Paramount Elementary School. As Paramount PTA board members, it is among our responsibilities to talk with you about our organization, enroll you as a member, and very importantly, encourage you to get involved in your school.
What is the PTA and who can be a Member?
Our PTA is part of the national Parent/Teacher Association that strives to enhance children’s educational experiences. Being part of a national organization, we must pay annual dues. To offset these dues, every year, we have a membership drive. Becoming a member does not mean you automatically sign up to volunteer, it just means you support our group and believe in what we’re doing. You will see our membership table at all event nights in September and October. Last year we had 176 members – this year we set our goal for 200! All parents and caregivers, along with school faculty can be members, for only $7! If you buy 4, you get 2 FREE memberships. Please enroll or renew your membership for 2011-12 and help us achieve our membership goal!
PTA Programs & Fundraising
Our primary objective as a PTA is to provide our school with funds, programs, resources and services that will enrich and maximize the education of every child. To meet this important objective, and afford services that are no longer covered by our school budgets, we must fundraise. Though it may not be our favorite responsibility, it is a necessary one. Our school community must raise money if we want to provide our children with the grade and curriculum based assemblies and other hands-on, interactive experiences and presentations that we have in the past. The PTA also sponsors events like Science Night, Winterfest and the Talent Show.
We will hold our annual Fall and Spring Book Fair, movie night, skate night, free Ice Cream social, 5th grade celebration activities and family restaurant nights. The feedback we receive from these events is very positive and we encourage everyone to take some time to meet other Paramount families.
Once again, our primary fundraiser will be the Panther Walk-A-Thon on September 21st. This event provides a substantial portion of our annual budget and relies on business sponsorships and individual donations. Please talk to the businesses you frequent and encourage them to be a sponsor. The PTA Executive Committee can send information to the businesses you refer and will follow up with the contacts. We will also be sending home a coupon book that you can purchase or sell. We believe that you will find the book to be a great value and you will be able to get your money back many times over. We will have additional books available if you would like to purchase them as gifts. They are family focused and provide discounts on items you are already purchasing.
Become a Volunteer…Why YOU should get involved!
As you can see, we are a busy group. This is where you can come in! We need your help, and so do your children. Over 500 independent studies on parent involvement show that when parents get involved in their children’s education grades go up, test scores improve, children are more likely to attend better schools after high school, they have fewer discipline problems and they’re less likely to use drugs and alcohol. Get involved TODAY!
Please look at the PTA volunteer sheet, indicate what events/activities interest you, and we’ll contact you to discuss it further. Volunteering doesn’t have to mean a huge time commitment. We understand it is increasingly more difficult to find time to give, but please, whatever your time schedule allows, we have need of you. We even have tasks that can be performed in the evenings, during the day or that don’t even involve coming to the school at all.
Paramount PTA is Going Green
Because of the amount of paper we use that eventually gets thrown away, we are starting an effort this year to dramatically reduce our paper usage. This will help our environment AND reduce our office expenses. Rather than send home flyers, we will send emails and post information on our website. Please help us by providing your email on the Student Directory form. Your name will be added to our distribution list. If you do not have access to email, we will continue to send home flyers. Please give us your child's name and teacher when you join the PTA, and any PTA information will go home with your child. Also, our PTA website – www.paramountpta.org - is a great resource. By September you will see contact information for our PTA board, a fall calendar of events, volunteer opportunities, parenting resources, and other useful information. Check it out!
In conclusion
Our parent group is certainly about more than bake sales! We’re about men and women working together toward a common goal. That goal, simply stated, is creating a better school and a better educational experience for our children. We strive to create an atmosphere where teachers, administrators, and support staff can do their best work – and so can our children. There is so much more that can be done and we need your help. We invite you to join us the 4th Monday of each month at 6:30pm in the library. Even if you can’t make them all, attend when you can to see what is required “behind the scenes” to make the PTA function.
On behalf of the Paramount PTA we would once again like to extend a warm welcome and best wishes for a successful school year! Please contact any of us with questions, comments or ideas.
Sincerely,
The Paramount Elementary PTA Executive Committee
Amy Cooper/President –
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Leslie Powell/ 1st Vice President –
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Jennifer Kane/ 2nd Vice President –
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Jennifer Fulmer/Treasurer –
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Erin Kothari/Secretary –
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