Volunteer Spotlight- March

Volunteer Spotlight

 

Name: Delores Mae

Briefly describe your duties chairing the Bagel and Book Breakfast:

The event brings the families of kindergarten students and 1st/2nd graders new to the school together to see Marshall and learn about the school library. I prepared breakfast for the families, set up three stations (story reading, music, arts and crafts), organized volunteers, and helped clean up. The PTA sponsors the event so they pay for all food and entertainment.

 

How much time does the job require?

An hour to food shop and prepare food, and setup/cleanup in the cafetorium took about 30 minutes each.

 

What’s your favorite part about the job?

I like cooking so I enjoyed the food preparation and meeting new people.

 

Favorite memory?

Seeing the kids’ faces when they come in. They don’t know what to expect so when they see the fun things to do they get excited. I like making it special for them.

 

Would you recommend this job to others?

Yes!

 

Any other thoughts?

I love volunteering and seeing the kids in their school setting. I enjoy seeing who their friends are and making new friends of my own.

 

Delores also volunteers in the library and played a significant role in the MLK movie day event. 

 

 

MARCH THANK YOU

PTA Thank You’s!

PTA Thank You’s!

Special thanks to our Pajama Bingo Chair Sunita Subramanian and volunteers Dannette McBride, Zena Hardy, Mary Ellen Dawkins, Kathy Greenstone, Michele Hurley, Karen Palaitis, Joanna Klein and Emme Mischel.  Thanks to Dr. Allen for calling all the numbers!

Special thanks to our Libary, Lunch, and Art Coordinators Hillary Andreini, Bill Byrne, and Kathy Greenstone.

Special thanks to Disco Night Chair Christine Sirianni and to our Fundraising Chairs Deborah Holt & Nahela Hadi.

Thanks to class captains and Sherrie Mannion, the coordinator.

Thanks to the Custodial Staff – Antawan, Eugene and Ruben – for setting up for our events and graciously assisting us with clean up.

Thanks Mrs. Burgermaster for answering all of our questions and helping us!

Thank you to Erika January and her committee for hosting a wonderful Holiday Breakfast for Teachers and Staff!

Thanks to Dawn Walsh and Natasha Kreizman for chairing School Pictures. You rolled with the punches and we appreciate it!

Thank you Suzette Evans, Robyn Brody-Kaplan and Nahela Hadi for another Fantastic Enrichment Session!

Thank you Lillian Nash for your awesome efforts in leading our Box Tops fundraiser!

Thanks to Delores Mae, Deborah Holt, Nahela Hadi, Scott Murray, Val Frost, Stephanie Cannon, Sonya LeCount-McClanahan, Lori Brown, Mary Ellen Dawkins and Zena Hardy for a fabulous Martin Luther King, Jr Day Event.

Thank you Bronley Luhrman for stepping up and chairing Marshall’s first “Living Your Dream Out Loud” fundraiser. What a fantastic evening! Thanks to Dina Pearlman, Michael Steiner, Laura Brenden, Jenny Turner-Hall, Maria Seigenthaler, Laura Booker, Elizabeth Trundle, David Gold and Doug Skinner for their amazing performances.

Thank you Hilary Andreini for coordinating Library Volunteers! Thanks to Bill Byrne for his continued coordination of Lunch Volunteers! And thanks to Kathy Greenstone for coordinating Art Aides!

Thanks to all the Class Captains and to Sherrie Mannion, Coordinator!

Thank you to Robin Miller, Joanna Klein, Judy LoBianco, and Pat Johnson for a very informative Roundtable on Integrated Student Health. We all learned a lot about health, physical education, and food services!

Thank you Erika Schwartz Hall for your hard work on the Marshall Mirror. Thanks also to Dileri Borunda and Patrick Johnston for their help with re-working it!

Thanks to the Custodial Staff – Antawan, Eugene and Ruben – for setting up for our events and graciously assisting us with clean up.

Thanks Mrs. Burgermaster for answering all of our questions and helping us!

February Thank your

Thank you to everyone who baked and contributed a breakfast item for the Marshall teacher and staff holiday breakfast in December. Everything was delicious, and the event was greatly appreciated by the staff. I would like to send a special thank you to my helpers the night before and morning of - Michele Hurley,              Karen Westwood, Lilliana DeFranco, and Jane Schneider.

ZUMBA Classes

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PAJAMA PARTY BINGO

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Join in the fun for Pajama Party Bingo.  Wear Pajamas, Play Bingo and Have Fun.  Pizza and drinks for sale. We are collecting gently used or new pajamas for donation to a local charity.

Questions? Contact Sunita Subramanian at 917.566.5735 or sunita_subramanian@hotmail.com

 

Volunteer Spotlight – February

 

Volunteer Spotlight:  Feb 2012

Name: Sonya LeCount-McClanahan

Describe your duties chairing the 2^nd Grade/Multi-age Potluck Dinner: 

As the chair, my duties included preparing and distributing flyers, signup sheets, and response forms; retrieving response forms returned through student backpacks; maintaining records regarding attendees’ contact information and ethnic dishes they planned to bring; distributing recipe cards to attendees; organizing volunteers for set-up, clean-up, and serving during the event; obtaining supplies for dinner, decorating, and children’s craft table; coordinating with Marshall janitorial staff regarding cafetorium set-up and clean-up.

How much time does the job require?

It varies throughout the month of the event. The bulk of the time occurs the days before and the day of the event. During the week of the event, you will spent about 20-30 hours finalizing attendees, wrapping utensils, shopping and organizing supplies, decorating, setting-up, attending, and clean-up after the event.

What’s your favorite part about the job?

I love the collaborative process — interacting and working with other parents and the Marshall staff members, seeing everyone’s gifts used, and all of us coming together to support one another.  I also loved decorating the cafetorium and turning it into an international fairway.

Favorite memory?

Watching the children try new dishes and give their thumbs-up or thumbs down on how good the dish tasted.  Their honesty and facial expressions are priceless.

Would you recommend this job to others?

I highly recommend chairing this event to anyone who likes people and fun.

It’s one of the best PTA events because it celebrates the diversity among our student body in a fun, tasty, and relaxed manner.  It encourages fellowship among families, students, and teachers and allows parents to put faces to names of classmates we hear our children talk about.

From the Principal’s Desk

February

PARTNERSHIP

Interim reports were distributed on Friday, January 27, 2012.  This document is designed to provide insight into your child’s performance levels at this point in the school year. Communication between home and school is a critical element in each child’s education.  With that said, we are here to answer questions as well as discuss any concern you may have about your child’s school experience.  Thank you once again for entrusting your child to us.  Progress reports are scheduled for distribution in early March at our spring conferences.  If you have not scheduled an appointment with your child’s teacher, please contact him or her.  Also, if you desire to speak with a specialist, please feel free to contact him or her.

Lunch and recess time is the linchpin in our students’ day at school.  With that in mind, the goal is to allow our students as much time outside as possible for free play activities.  Therefore, we are asking for students to come dressed appropriately for a 25-minute period of outdoor activity when the temperature is above 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  (This includes the wind chill.)  Proper footwear is also essential, as students desire to jump in puddles or walk in the snow.

When the weather prohibits outside recess, we provide inside recess for students prior to their dining period.  Thank you to the numerous PTA lunch volunteers who help our students enjoy dining in our cafetorium alongside our lunch monitors.  Also, thank you to the PTA for your various donations to our lunch and recess program for our students.

There are many activities planned by our specialists from February to June.  Please keep a keen eye on the calendar as we begin with Jump Rope for Heart in February.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

appreciation

In this season of giving, I desire to present the gift of appreciation to all who give of themselves to enrich others in our school community.  We are grateful for your kind words, incredible deeds, and unbelievable surprises.  In addition, I would like to thank our awesome PTA for their outstanding work and commitment to supporting our educational endeavors.  It is through the efforts of numerous volunteers that Marshall School continues to thrive as a unique educational center.

The faculty and staff at Marshall School continue to do an excellent job of tapping into the imagination and wonder in each student’s mind.  The opportunities for exploration are visible in every discipline and students are challenged to reach beyond their previous heights of success.  In January you will receive your second interim report.  Please review this document carefully and discuss it with your child.  Also, we sincerely hope that the opportunity to observe your child in his or her learning environment during American Education Week was insightful.  This is a great building block for a conversation with your child about his or her learning experiences in school that I hope you weave into your interim report dialogue.

Students at Marshall School not only met but also exceeded my reading challenge during the week of the Book Fair.  As a result, I appeared in a friendly alien costume, the number one choice of the students.  This event coincided with the scheduled arrival of the Reading Train in the halls of the school.  Every one boarded the Reading Train with a book in tow for five minutes.  The Reading Train only visits a few times throughout the year and students love taking a ride in the name of reading.

Numerous studies have shown that students who spend little or no time watching television perform best in school.  The time you spend reading with your child will make a great difference in her or his literacy development.  With that in mind, please ask your child to read a story to your family during the Winter Break or to write about their activities before returning to school as all of our students continue to work very hard on developing as readers, writers, and thinkers.  Enjoy your holidays and a Happy New Year to you all.  We look forward to seeing everyone in January 2012.

Appreciation Breakfast

Marshall Teacher and Staff Holiday Breakfast

On Friday, December 16^th the Marshall PTA will host the annual Teacher and Staff Holiday Breakfast. This is a much appreciated event at a busy time of year. If you are interested in baking a breakfast item for our wonderful Marshall staff or in helping with set-up, serving, or clean-up, please contact Erika January at ewjanuary@yahoo.com

March Madness

March 2^nd- March Madness Kick-Off Event

Mark your calendars; it’s almost here — Disco Night! Join us March 2^nd at The Maplewood Club to dance the night away and kick-off a fun-filled month of activities for adults and children. This adult’s only event will feature a DJ, cocktails and light fare. This year we have added a silent auction that will feature such great items as a children’s disco party with DJ Mike Levitt, tickets to major sporting events and dinner at Ver Jus restaurant with Brian Osborne. Look for additional details and sign up information with your March Madness package coming soon via backpack mail.

Kick –Off March Madness with Disco Night!

Be prepared to break out your best Danny Terrio and dance the night away at this year’s March Madness Kick-Off event. This year’s event will once again be held at the Maplewood Club and will feature a DJ playing the best 70’s, 80’s and 90’s dance music, light fare and cocktails. We decided to add a silent auction and already have some great items including dinner at Ver Jus restaurant with superintendent Brian Osborne, a custom made hat by local milliner Lisa Battaglia, whose fashions have been featured in Glamour and Marie Claire, and a party with DJ Mike Levitt.

We are currently looking for more great auction items so if you can offer a unique experience or skill, are willing to donate a night or two at your weekend home or donate tickets to a great event please contact Christine Drayton at christinesirianni@yahoo.com.

You can also contact Christine if you are interested in working on the event.

This event is a great way to kick- off a month of fun and we look forward to seeing you all there!

Lunchtime Concert Series

Groove on Grove is Back!

For those of you new to Marshall School, Groove on Grove is a lunchtime concert series that occurs throughout the school year. The kids “Groove on Grove” to the sounds of rock, folk, jazz, and classical music while they eat their lunch in the cafetorium.

On November 21^st Marshall students had the opportunity to hear Maplewood pianist, Birgit Matzerath perform.  During the Kindergarten lunch, she played and read “A Bear for Emily” which is a story suite Birgit wrote and composed.  For the First and Second Graders she performed two works by Chopin: the “Revolutionary Etude op 10 no 12, and the 2nd Ballade in F-major.

We are fortunate to live in a community with many talented parents and neighbors who play either professionally or just for their own personal satisfaction. If you have any suggestions for a musical group or wish to volunteer yourself for the next Groove on Grove, please contact Erica Jacobson at ejandaf@comcast.net.

Volunteer Spotlight: December

Volunteer Spotlight:  Sherrie Mannion

Name:

Sherrie Mannion

Briefly describe your duties as a book fair volunteer:  

Transforming library, assisting students with filling out their ‘wish lists’, unpacking & displaying reordered books, checking people out/register duty.

How much time does the job require?

A volunteer can give as much time as you can give – it can be an hour or two or all day.

What’s your favorite part about the job?   

Seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces as they walked into the “Out of this World” themed library – you’d think there was a celebrity there! Some acted like the alien figure was a celebrity as they walked up to him and shook his hand and tried to give him a hug. I also like getting to see my girls with their class. Also like that I am now ‘in the know’ about popular children’s literature.

Any memories of your experience? 

I was very touched by some of the kids’ choices for their wish lists. I was surprised that some kids were price conscious. It was very sweet how some of the kids put books on their list for the parents (adult best sellers are sold at the fair too) and older siblings. It was also funny to see so many boys flocking to the Star Wars table and coordinating who got which one so they could share/trade them.

Would you recommend this job to others?

Absolutely! It’s a one-time event so it’s not a big commitment to help out.  The book fair is open all week (even one evening and on Saturday) so it’s very flexible for those who want to help. If you love books like I do, it’s awesome to see kids so excited about books.

What have you learned about the Marshall community?   

Marshall families are so generous with their time and donations of books to their teachers and staff.