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"Butterfly" >
October 7th, 2009
October 7, 2009
The AMK-8 PTA
"Butterfly"
It takes a village to educate and grow our children:
AMK8 proudly embraces
It’s parent-teacher-student partnerships!!
A Message from PTA Vice President Bruce Barham
Most of the parents, teachers, administration and staff of Ada Merritt K-8 Center reading this edition of “Butterfly” receive their school’s information from many sources. “Butterfly” together with the Room Parents’ Email Network, the Monthly Info Packet distributed by the Main Office, the PTA General Membership Meetings, and the Ada Merritt Website, we have some of the most informed parents in the Miami-Dade County Public School System.
This is a note to remind the school community to visit your PTA’s website, adamerrittpta.com. If you haven’t visited the site recently, we have some new pages. The site has had over 52,000 hits since it’s inception!
We want to invite interested parents to participate in the website’s on-going development and maintenance. Currently, some parents are updating their pages and we are soliciting more input and involvement. If you have an idea for an appropriate page and/or would like to “own” a page on the site by maintaining it a minimum of once a month, please contact me.
Let’s all work together to get the word out.
Thank you!
Bruce Barham amerprosvs@bellsouth.net
In Celebration of Hispanic Heritage
The celebration of world cultures is an important aspect of the Ada Merritt co-curriculum, and during October our school commemorated Hispanic Heritage Month through an enriching array of activities that included:
• A potpourri of dances from Spain choreographed and presented by Spanish dance Instructor Fina Escayola and her Shenandoah Middle School students.
· "Tuna Espanola", a group of musicians form Spain
· "Don Quijote" puppet show presented by "Chiquilinas"
· Film presentations; "Los Lunis y su amigo Don Quijote" for K-4th grades and
"Cristobal Colon: El Descubrimiento" for 5th through 8th. Grades. (Movies
Courtesy of the Government of Spain and Ms. Agueda Perez)
Special thanks is due to SIPA for their invaluable support, and also to Carmen Partridge and Silvia Freedline.
Countdown to IFF! Date Has Changed!
If you have not already done so, please mark your calendar for one of Ada Merritt’s favorite family events, the annual International Food Festival (IFF). Fast approaching on Friday, November 13th from 4 – 8 pm. with many details still outstanding, the call for volunteers remains open for booth chairpersons and food and water donations. Thanks to SIPA, the event will feature Juan DeAlba, an entertainer from Spain with his guitarist and flamenco dancer from 5 pm until 6 pm. Our Fundraising Committee Chairperson, Amanda Kleidermacher hopes to hear from you: mandykleid@yahoo.com.
Your PTA at Work
Moving quickly into high gear this school year, our PTA has already accomplished a great deal for the benefit of students:
• installation of hand sanitizers
• funding for Brain Pop software
• funding allocation for security presence for pick up and drop off
• planting initiative sponsored by the Brickman group, a national landscape company, that has chosen Ada Merritt K8 Center for their Miami office's "give back" project. They were at our school on Friday Oct 16th from 7:30 - noon refurbishing our butterfly and vegetable garden. Thanks to Jacqui Roch-Hernandez for coordinating the effort.
“Go Pass” – What’s this anyway?
It’s neither a Metrorail Pass nor a TriRail Pass; it’s the now coveted Ada Merritt K8 Center ALL ACCESS Pass that every family will want to have. "Go Pass" is an innovative new concept our PTA is establishing this year. It offers access to all major PTA sponsored events for parents/guardians who want an EASY way to participate in the major PTA activities all year long and love the idea of needing to write one check and one check only for events and treats such as: Int'l. Food Festival, Pizza every Wednesday, Annual Gala and Festa Junina. Package options are available to suit family needs, so visit our PTA website where the informational flyer and sign up form are located.
Calling all Parent Advocates!
Want to help out and can put in a little more time? Do you care about issues facing our children locally in our school district? Statewide? Nationwide? We need 1-2 parents to serve as our Advocacy/Legislative chairpersons. Training is available! Contact Lisa Kauffman at lisazkauffman@gmail.com
Donate
Let’s Keep the Dispensers Functioning
The height of flu season is upon us, and the hand sanitizer dispensers are one good way to help keep those little hands germ-free. Volunteers are needed to monitor the dispensers every couple of days to ensure they’re constantly replenished and functioning properly. They're super easy to work with, and lisazkauffman@gmail.com welcomes an email from you if you’re able to assist! Special thanks to those who generously donated batteries to help power the hand sanitizers all year long!
Ada Merritt’s Gone Green!
The school’s Green Team has recycled over a ton of electronics, saved countless trees, decreased the school's carbon footprint, and most importantly, educated Ada Merritt students on the importance of respecting the world and the environment.
Join the Green Team and make a lasting difference. With the right mix of education and enrichment, the students of Ada Merritt children will no doubt become environmental stewards of the future. Students, parents, teachers and staff should together commit to set a good example by actively demonstrating how much they value nature and all the living things on earth, and by doing their part in greening the school. This year, the Green Team will expand its efforts toward water conservation and nutrition related activities, and motivated parents are needed to make it happen. For more information, contact: Ben Cruz, mailto:artmagus@bellsouth.net
Butterfly Garden Rejuvenation!
The Butterfly Garden Committee is pleased to welcome back Jacqui Roch and Sarah Messiah to the Committee as co-chairs; Ms. Velazquez will serve as teacher liaison. The goal is for the Garden to be filled with mature, Florida native butterfly-attracting plants such as rouella and pentes. Consider volunteering your time for watering, weeding and ongoing maintenance of the garden.
Have your slice and eat it too!
Pizza Wednesdays continue to be a real hit! Every Wednesday, at dismissal, there’s pizza for $1.00 per slice. The children look forward to it, and the funds raised help the PTA achieve its important spending goals (teacher grants, courtyard renovation, student awards, events, and more). Remember to send your children with money; they can even bring home a whole pie so no one needs to cook dinner!
“Don’t Miss the Next PTA Meeting”
All parents should plan to attend the November PTA general membership meeting. It's Wed. Nov 4th at 5:30pm in the cafeteria. Details about the agenda will be provided shortly.
PTA Emphasis for 2009-10 School Year
· ENCOURAGE ALL PARENTS TO GET INVOLVED IN THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY
o How? Events (Black History & Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations, Earth Day, Int'l. Food Festival, Annual Gala, etc.); Special Interest groups (Butterfly & Vegetable Garden Committees, Green Team, Fundraising Committee etc.)
· INCREASE COMMUNICATION TO PARENTS ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AT SCHOOL
o How? PTA communication (meetings, Butterfly Newsletter, Room Parent System, use school media - marquee and electronic displays)
WORK WITH TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATION TO MAXIMIZE THE PROGRAM AT AMK-8
o How? Support implementation of PYP/MYP philosophy, fund Teacher Grants, plan Math/Science program discussion events (support Math Bowl prep, County-wide Geography Bee Competition, invite scientist/parents to do programs at school), continue to support Art/Music program, sponsor Career Day, support Clubs
Three cheers…the school year is off to a productive and enjoyable start!
Sincerely,
Malou C. Harrison,
“Butterfly” Editor
To Access the 2009-10 School Calendar:
http://adamerritt.dadeschools.net/Calendars/2009-10/dcps calendar.pdf
To Access the 2009-10 PTA Calendar:
http://www.adamerrittpta.citymax.com/page/page/4882507.htm
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