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Sunday, November 11, 2012
Reminder: PTO Meets Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
PTO Meeting and For Small Hands Ordering -- Reminders and Information
Get Ready!
Our October PTO meeting is planned for this Monday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., and we have lots of exciting things to talk about. We promise to keep our discussion to less than an hour, and we would encourage you to please go ahead and sign up for childcare by emailing Ellen in the office: ellen@clemsonmontessori.com
A few things you can look forward to Monday night:
- Information about the Pumpkin Delivery and mass unloading, scheduled for 8 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 13
- Sign ups for ongoing Pumpkin Sales, from 10/13-10/31
- Information and Volunteer Sign ups for the Fall Festival on Friday, Oct. 26, 3-7 p.m.
- Answering any questions you may have about For Small Hands ordering. Catalogs are going out in Friday Folders, Oct. 5. Extra catalogs will be available at the PTO meeting.
Here's a little primer on For Small Hands, for those of you who were not here or did not participate last year ...
There is a wonderful Montessori tradition that makes the holidays really easy to handle. The only tricky part is that we ask you to plan ahead and do it in October. The best part is, you'll find loads of educational gifts for all the children in your life, and there are teacher gifts for our Montessori classrooms, as well! Shopping now will get your holiday errands completed early, and it will benefit a great cause: CMS PTO.
WHAT IS IT?
‘For Small Hands” is a catalog that sells Montessori-approved materials, books, toys, and games. Your purchases will earn 15% credit for our school.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
It's a lot like a Scholastic Book Order. (We just need an order total of $500 or more for free shipping, which is why we ask you to place an order through the catalog, and not online.)
HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?
1) An order form will be made available in your child's Friday folder this week!
Fill it out, and include check made out to CMS PTO by Wednesday, OCT. 17th (if you have questions about products, teachers have recommendations)
2) You are welcome to purchase an item off a "teacher wish list" as a classroom gift/donation for the holidays. Teacher wish lists should be posted in classrooms by Monday. To avoid duplicate classroom gift orders, please check these lists and let the teachers know you would like to purchase an item for the classroom. Your classroom parent liaison may also email this list out, and you can "split" larger gifts with another parent or two.)
QUESTIONS/CONCERNS?
Please ask or email PTO co-president Heidi Williams at heidicwilliams@gmail.com or call (864) 247-0097. Turn forms and checks into the office.
Our October PTO meeting is planned for this Monday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., and we have lots of exciting things to talk about. We promise to keep our discussion to less than an hour, and we would encourage you to please go ahead and sign up for childcare by emailing Ellen in the office: ellen@clemsonmontessori.com
A few things you can look forward to Monday night:
- Information about the Pumpkin Delivery and mass unloading, scheduled for 8 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 13
- Sign ups for ongoing Pumpkin Sales, from 10/13-10/31
- Information and Volunteer Sign ups for the Fall Festival on Friday, Oct. 26, 3-7 p.m.
- Answering any questions you may have about For Small Hands ordering. Catalogs are going out in Friday Folders, Oct. 5. Extra catalogs will be available at the PTO meeting.
Here's a little primer on For Small Hands, for those of you who were not here or did not participate last year ...
There is a wonderful Montessori tradition that makes the holidays really easy to handle. The only tricky part is that we ask you to plan ahead and do it in October. The best part is, you'll find loads of educational gifts for all the children in your life, and there are teacher gifts for our Montessori classrooms, as well! Shopping now will get your holiday errands completed early, and it will benefit a great cause: CMS PTO.
WHAT IS IT?
‘For Small Hands” is a catalog that sells Montessori-approved materials, books, toys, and games. Your purchases will earn 15% credit for our school.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
It's a lot like a Scholastic Book Order. (We just need an order total of $500 or more for free shipping, which is why we ask you to place an order through the catalog, and not online.)
HOW DO I PARTICIPATE?
1) An order form will be made available in your child's Friday folder this week!
Fill it out, and include check made out to CMS PTO by Wednesday, OCT. 17th (if you have questions about products, teachers have recommendations)
2) You are welcome to purchase an item off a "teacher wish list" as a classroom gift/donation for the holidays. Teacher wish lists should be posted in classrooms by Monday. To avoid duplicate classroom gift orders, please check these lists and let the teachers know you would like to purchase an item for the classroom. Your classroom parent liaison may also email this list out, and you can "split" larger gifts with another parent or two.)
QUESTIONS/CONCERNS?
Please ask or email PTO co-president Heidi Williams at heidicwilliams@gmail.com or call (864) 247-0097. Turn forms and checks into the office.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Mark Your Calendars: PTO dates and events
Hi everyone!
Thanks for a GREAT turnout at our first formal PTO meeting of the year. Our intrepid secretary Nadia Moysey has compiled minutes from that meeting.
If you couldn't make it on Monday, please take a moment to peruse the dates, times, events, and notes below. You will see we have a lot to look forward to this year, and we've gone ahead and listed a bunch of dates so you can place them on your calendars now. Remember: you don't have to attend PTO meetings to be a member of the PTO. (Although we'd love to see you there! We enjoyed a little free time to visit and meet new families, after this week's meeting.) Just by virtue of being a parent at CMS, you are a part of our organization, and we value your ideas and insights.
If you attended, and you see any corrections or addendums that need to be made to these minutes, please email Heidi at heidicwilliams@gmail.com, so she can make any necessary corrections. Or if you see anything you'd like more information about, feel free to email either Heidi or Drake (dmacmtb@gmail.com).
Thanks for your continued interest and participation. Your involvement benefits every child at CMS, which is why we appreciate you so much!
-- Heidi & Drake
Thanks for a GREAT turnout at our first formal PTO meeting of the year. Our intrepid secretary Nadia Moysey has compiled minutes from that meeting.
If you couldn't make it on Monday, please take a moment to peruse the dates, times, events, and notes below. You will see we have a lot to look forward to this year, and we've gone ahead and listed a bunch of dates so you can place them on your calendars now. Remember: you don't have to attend PTO meetings to be a member of the PTO. (Although we'd love to see you there! We enjoyed a little free time to visit and meet new families, after this week's meeting.) Just by virtue of being a parent at CMS, you are a part of our organization, and we value your ideas and insights.
If you attended, and you see any corrections or addendums that need to be made to these minutes, please email Heidi at heidicwilliams@gmail.com, so she can make any necessary corrections. Or if you see anything you'd like more information about, feel free to email either Heidi or Drake (dmacmtb@gmail.com).
Thanks for your continued interest and participation. Your involvement benefits every child at CMS, which is why we appreciate you so much!
-- Heidi & Drake
CMS PTO Minutes 9/10/12
Time: 7:00 pm
Attendance: 25 parents, PTO members and teachers/staff
1. What
is PTO and what does PTO do?
- Heidi
and Drake are co-presidents of the PTO
- PTO
is a non-profit organization affiliated with CMS school
- Function
is to raise money and volunteer to support the school and special programs for
the school
- Goal
for this year is to raise money to build a greenhouse
- Also
raises money to fund field trips and visitors to the school
- Create
community between parents and teachers
2. Treasurer
Report
- Beth
Carraway is current PTO treasurer but she was unavailable to come to the
meeting due to illness
- PTO
has two bank accounts – restricted and unrestricted
- Current
account balances unavailable due to Beth’s absence from the meeting
3. Upcoming
PTO Fundraisers
- Primary
Fundraiser: Pumpkin Sale
o
Drake is the primary organizer for the pumpkin sale
o
Pumpkin delivery scheduled for Saturday, October 13 at
8 am
§
Volunteers needed to unload the truck – fun activity
for the whole family and people are encouraged to bring their children
o
Pumpkin sale will begin on Monday, October 15
§
Volunteers needed to sell pumpkins daily from 3-6 pm.
Asking for 2 families per 3 hour block on weekday afternoons.
§
On Saturdays, sales will happen from 8 am – 6 pm.
Saturday shifts would be 1-2 hours each.
- Fall
Festival: Friday October 26 from 3-7 pm
o
Heidi is the primary organizer for the Fall Festival
o
Scheduled activities will include: Touch a Truck,
Bouncers, Craft Table, Paint-a-Pumpkin, Face Painting, Science Table, Bake
Sale, Old time games, Cake walk
o
Possible activities mentioned during the meeting
include: miniature horse rides (possibly provided by the Duffy family), pumpkin
toss/cornhole games (Ryan – Naya’s dad).
If you have additional ideas for activities at the fall festival, email
Heidi and Drake.
o
One flat fee is charged for most of the
activities. Some activities may
have an additional ticket required. Fall Festival pays for itself and then
makes additional income on top.
o
Volunteers needed to run the events, work on advertising,
organize and bake goodies for bake sale, assist with set up of tents and tables,
clean up, etc.
o
Student volunteers are also being organized to free up
parents to have fun with their kids!
- Other
Possible Fundraisers
o
Usborne Book Fair
§
CMS will receive 50% of the proceeds of the sale in
either cash or books for the school.
§
Examples of books are set up in the front office and
order forms are available there as well.
§
You can also order books online at www.booksaremoore.com. Place your orders under the CMS eshow
link.
o
For Small Hands – Montessori product catalog
§
Order deadline is October 13 and catalogs will be sent
out soon
§
Go through the link to FSH website posted on the CMS
web site and our school earns even more.
§
Make great holiday gifts. School gets free shipping as well.
§
Can also buy gifts for the classrooms. Teachers will be providing wish lists
for items they would like.
o
Arts Center – decorating Christmas ornaments (or
possibly doing something in-house)
o
Open to suggestions for other activities (parents night
out?)
4. Ongoing
CMS Fundraisers
- Beth
will discuss our ongoing fundraising opportunities at a future meeting.
- They
include: SCRIPTS, Box Tops, Campbell’s Labels for Education, Bi-Lo and Ingles Savings
programs, Printer/ink cartridges, 3 Spoons night, Columbo’s night, etc.
- Note:
Need to update your information for the Bi-Lo and Ingles programs every
year. CMS school codes are
available in the store or online.
- Upstate
Locally Grown – online farmer’s market which delivers natural/organic/locally
grown food. Orders are placed online and deliveries are made to CMS campus
every other Wednesday between 4:15 and 5:00 pm. 3% of the proceeds are donated
to CMS PTO. Heidi will be writing
about this on the CMS PTO blog if you would like more information.
5. Classroom
Reps
- Another
point of communication between parents and the school
Pre-Primary -
Saara DeWalt (Sasha’s mom)
Susan and
Patrick’s class – Joey Sarkees (Martin’s mom)
Marjorie and
Judy’s Class – Marie (Oliver’s mom)
Junior Elementary –
possibly Sandra
Senior Elementary –
possibly Beth
6. Communication
with PTO
- Using
Mail Chimp for email so that the PTO can verify that you have received their
emails.
- Email
messages will ask you to click through to the CMS PTO blog which will act as a
repository of all PTO information.
- Suggest
bookmarking the blog so that you will have access to all PTO information in one
place.
- Access
to the school calendar is also available on the blog.
- CMS
PTO also has a Facebook page.
7. PTO
and CMS Meeting Programs
- During
PTO meetings, teachers from CMS can offer programs on Montessori approaches to
math, reading, and science. Need
to gauge interest from parents to determine what topics should be covered this
year.
- CMS
will also be offering the following workshops this year:
o
Parent Talk: The Language of Responsible Parenting
§
Thursday, October 4 at 7:00 pm
§
Examples of the types of language that you can use with
your child to effectively parent.
§
Offers various parenting strategies.
§
Presentation followed by interactive dialogue with
parents.
§
If there is enough interest, a complete 6 week program
could be offered.
o
Silent Journey and Discovery
§
Held over 2 days – Friday, November 9 (evening) and
Saturday, November 10 (morning).
Attendance on both days is required.
§
No child care is available as this is meant to be a
silent experience.
§
Provides insight into the classroom through your
child’s eyes.
§
Guiding questions are provided as you go through the
classrooms silently.
8. PTO
meeting schedules
- Next
PTO Meeting will be held on October 8 at 7:00 pm.
- Every
third meeting will be more informal.
It will be held at Columbo’s or 3 Spoons and PTO will be there to
distribute information and field questions.
9. Other
Important Dates
October 9: 7:00 pm - PTO Meeting
October 13: For Small Hands- Montessori product catalog order
deadline.
October 13: 8:00 am – Pumpkin delivery
October 15 - 31: Pumpkin sale
October 26: 3:00-7:00 pm – Fall Festival
November 13: 5:30 pm - PTO meeting, followed by Soup &
Songs at 6:00 pm
NO DECEMBER PTO MEETING (a holiday fundraiser instead)
December 13: 6:00 pm Winter Program, Pendleton Playhouse
(Clemson Little Theatre)
10. Questions/Concerns
- None
11. Closing
Comments
- Important
to keep the lines of communication open between parents and the
school/teachers. Make sure you are
communicating both the good things you see happening and the concerns that you
may have. That will truly help to
keep the school functioning well.
Minutes complied by Nadia Moysey, PTO Secretary
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Reminder: PTO meets 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10
Hi all!
We are excited about our first formal PTO meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 10 in Marjory's classroom, in the main preschool building. Childcare is made available for these meetings, in the basement of the building, but we ask that you RSVP Friday or Monday, so we know how many childcare personnel we will need.
You can email how many children you will need care for to Ellen at ellen@clemsonmontessori.com.
Our goal is to keep these meetings to an hour, but preferably less. We will be talking about the school calendar, some fundraising opportunities, and Natalie will present some information about programming offerings we are looking forward to receiving at future PTO meetings. We will also talk a little about our upcoming Pumpkin Sale and Fall Festival.
We look forward to seeing you Monday.
Best,
Heidi & Drake
We are excited about our first formal PTO meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 10 in Marjory's classroom, in the main preschool building. Childcare is made available for these meetings, in the basement of the building, but we ask that you RSVP Friday or Monday, so we know how many childcare personnel we will need.
You can email how many children you will need care for to Ellen at ellen@clemsonmontessori.com.
Our goal is to keep these meetings to an hour, but preferably less. We will be talking about the school calendar, some fundraising opportunities, and Natalie will present some information about programming offerings we are looking forward to receiving at future PTO meetings. We will also talk a little about our upcoming Pumpkin Sale and Fall Festival.
We look forward to seeing you Monday.
Best,
Heidi & Drake
Friday, August 31, 2012
Books, Books, Books!
Happy almost September, CMS folks!
In today's Friday folders, you'll see a form for Scholastic Book Orders. These forms will come home with your child throughout the year, so feel free to bookmark this blog post for future orders, as well.
- If you fill out a paper form, please send a check along with it made payable to Clemson Montessori School.
- Place order forms and checks in an envelope. No staples!
- Pre school students should return the orders to the office.
- Elementary students should return orders to their teacher.
- If you would like your books to be held for pickup (instead of sending them home with your child), please specify this on your order form.
If you prefer to order online, this year we have a way for you to do that, and still benefit the school!
Register at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and use the following, one-time class activation code: GT8TZ
Submit your order online and complete the secure checkout with a debit or credit card. Books will be delivered to your child.
We have another book fair that benefits the school coming up in September, as well. Save the date for our Usborne Book Fair. We will have a display in our front office the week of Sept. 10, and your purchases that week will help the PTO will earn free books for CMS and money for our PTO account. For more information about Usborne Books, feel free to visit our consultant's Web site: www.booksaremoore.com
Happy reading!
Heidi and Drake
In today's Friday folders, you'll see a form for Scholastic Book Orders. These forms will come home with your child throughout the year, so feel free to bookmark this blog post for future orders, as well.
- If you fill out a paper form, please send a check along with it made payable to Clemson Montessori School.
- Place order forms and checks in an envelope. No staples!
- Pre school students should return the orders to the office.
- Elementary students should return orders to their teacher.
- If you would like your books to be held for pickup (instead of sending them home with your child), please specify this on your order form.
If you prefer to order online, this year we have a way for you to do that, and still benefit the school!
Register at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs and use the following, one-time class activation code: GT8TZ
Submit your order online and complete the secure checkout with a debit or credit card. Books will be delivered to your child.
We have another book fair that benefits the school coming up in September, as well. Save the date for our Usborne Book Fair. We will have a display in our front office the week of Sept. 10, and your purchases that week will help the PTO will earn free books for CMS and money for our PTO account. For more information about Usborne Books, feel free to visit our consultant's Web site: www.booksaremoore.com
Happy reading!
Heidi and Drake
Friday, August 10, 2012
CMS 2012-2013 School Year Calendar
The 2012-2013 calendar is now live on the CMS website at http://www.clemsonmontessori.com/events/
It is incredibly easy to add this calendar to Google Calendar by clicking on the 
image at the bottom right side of the calendar. This will embed the CMS Calendar under the Other Calendars in your Calender view where it may be viewed or hidden at any time.
image at the bottom right side of the calendar. This will embed the CMS Calendar under the Other Calendars in your Calender view where it may be viewed or hidden at any time.
If you do not currently use Google Calendar it is a free resource. The following link tells how to get started... How to Sign Up for Google Calendar.
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