It seems hard to believe that we are more than halfway through the school year. We want to once again thank Dr. Allen, teachers and staff, parent volunteers, and parents for attending and supporting our events and for your donations to the annual fund, and helping to make Marshall School all that it can be. As a result of monies that we have raised so far, we have been able to continue to provide funds for trips, cultural arts events, and technology to the school. Additionally, at the end of the year, we would like to provide scholarships to needy Marshall families so that their children can attend summer academic/enrichment programs.
We have some exciting upcoming events. On March 2, 2012, March Madness kicks off with a Disco night at the Maplewood Tennis Club. Many Marshall and Jefferson families will be hosting March madness events. There are adults only events as well as kids events. So join in the fun and support your school at the same time! As the year comes to an end we will have Field Day, a Spring Awakening event, a Book Fair, and Drum Cafe with a new twist!
Enjoy your month,
Zena and Mary Ellen
PTA Co-Presidents
PTA Presidents
Happy Winter Everyone!
We want to touch quickly on fundraising. In January, we held a fantastic fundraising event called Living Your Dream Out Loud in which parents supported our school by singing, performing stand up comedy, sharing their written prose, and playing musical instruments. It was fantastic! We also just kicked off our second Enrichment session in which we are featuring a new class called Mad Science. Please continue to clip Box Tops as every one counts! Finally, we are all gearing up for March Madness – sure to be a month of fun events for everyone!
We also want to let you know some of the amazing ways in which our PTA is supporting Marshall School – thanks to your efforts and support of our fundraising projects:
- We held various events to foster a spirit of Marshall community, including the First Day Coffee, Ice Cream Social, and Class Potluck Fiestas. We are looking forward to the Pajama Party Bingo in February and Spring Awakening in April!
- We provided Marshall/Jefferson Directories for every family.
- Dr. Allen, Mrs. Ringler and other staff members have graciously participated in our Principal’s Roundtable series. We learned about the variety of classroom settings at Marshall and we recently enjoyed hearing about health, physical education and food services with Judy LoBianco and Pat Johnson.
- We provided funding to send 10 teachers to a workshop on the new mathematics curriculum.
- We have been helping to fund field trips for classes and we’ll continue to do so throughout the year. Some of the classes have visited the Liberty Science Center, SOPAC, and the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.
- Culturally speaking, we brought The Lustig Dance Theater’s Jump, Frog Jump! to the children in October and we’ll have TheatreWorks’ Sweet Potato Pie and Such in February. The second grade classes are also currently enjoying their time with poet-in-residence B.J. Ward, who will return in March to wrap up the poetry unit.
- We hosted a program for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at SOPAC, which included a viewing of “Our Friend, Martin” and tributes to Dr. King.
- We have purchased various technology items to enhance the teachers’ use of the iPads that were purchased last year.
We are about half way through the year and we still have many exciting things in store. Please send us any ideas or comments at any time!
Enjoy your month,
Zena and Mary Ellen
PTA Co-Presidents
We are learning as the year progresses that the most important aspect of the PTA is communication. From the personal one-on-one conversations to the mass emails to the flyers, we are trying to make sure every parent and guardian is well informed.
We are hoping to keep everyone abreast of PTA events and fundraisers, Parenting Center speakers and symposiums, Special Education PTO events, and other district events.
This is easier than it sounds. We are learning as we go along. This month we will resume sending out the monthly one page calendar. We are also trying to selectively communicate via hard copy with families who do not have access to email. We thank class captains for their efforts in this regard.
With regrets we announce that Andrea Lloyd, our Communications Board member, is relocating out of the district. We thank her for her efforts for the past several months. She will be missed!
We are thus looking for another parent or guardian to join the Board to help us with Communications. This board member would work with the editor of the Marshall Mirror and our web master. Please contact us if you might be interested.
We are also always open to feedback and ideas – not only regarding communications, but any aspect of the PTA.
Enjoy your month,
Zena and Mary Ellen
PTA Co-Presidents
Dear Marshall Families –
We hope September was a great month for everyone. We want to thank everyone who volunteered and/or participated in all of the special programs/events and fundraising activities during the month of September. We would not be able to do it without all of our great parent volunteers!
Thank you, Dr. Allen for graciously giving your time at the Principal’s Roundtable. Additionally, thanks for following up and addressing concerns raised by parents.
We would also like to thank all administration, teachers, staff, and lunch aides. We also thank and welcome back Mrs. Scates and Mrs. Merrigan to the PTA Board.
This month the PTA will be sponsoring several events designed to continue building a strong sense of Marshall Community. The grade-specific International Pot Luck meals will kick off on Friday, October 14th with the Kindergarten Fiesta. The Second Grade/Multi-age and First Grade Fiestas will take place on October 28th and November 4th, respectively. We hope you will bring the entire family and spend time with other families from your child’s grade.
The Book and Bagel Breakfast is another great event we will be co-hosting with Mrs. Poutre, the new Librarian, on October 22nd. It is open for all families new to Marshall. Students will enjoy different activities while parents/guardians learn how to instill the love of reading in their children. Please look in your child’s backpack for more information this week.
The next PTA meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 19th at 7:30 pm. Please feel free to attend. There will be an “open microphone” portion of the meeting in which parents/guardians will have an opportunity to speak. We welcome any ideas and/or suggestions.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or ideas you have for the PTA!
Warmly,
Zena and Mary Ellen
PTA Co-Presidents
Dear Marshall Families –
Welcome to another school year! We are very excited to be the PTA Co-Presidents for this year. For our first Marshall Mirror letter, we’d like to give you a short overview of the PTA.
We are part of a larger, state- and nation-wide organization whose mission includes:
- To support and represent children in schools, community and governmental bodies that make decisions affecting children;
- To assist parents in developing skills they need to raise and protect their children;
- To encourage parent and public involvement in the public schools.
The Marshall PTA is working to build a strong community of parents and teachers that can help us achieve those goals. Events like the Kindergarten Playdates , Kindergarten Picnic, First Day Coffee and the Ice Cream Social, which hopefully you enjoyed, are designed for community building. We will hold additional events like the class pot-lucks and a Parent’s Mixer in the fall, and Pajama Party Bingo and Spring Awakening in the New Year.
To support parents, this year we are introducing bi-monthly Principal’s roundtables that will enable parents/guardians to learn more about various aspects of Marshall School. Additionally, every Principal’s roundtable will be followed by a question and answer session. Our PTA also works closely with the district’s Parenting Center, which hosts Speaker Series at different elementary schools, and sponsors an ADD/ADHD Support Group and LEAP to SUCCESS, which focuses on the achievement gap.
We thank you in advance for your support of our fundraisers. With the funds we raise we are working to enhance our children’s educational experience. This year we will fund cultural arts assemblies for all students and an artist-in-residence for second graders. We will assist with costs for excursions – Dr. Allen has challenged teachers to plan four excursions for each class! We will also provide scholarships for enrichment and summer programs for Marshall children.
Please contact us if you have any questions or idea or have time to volunteer. We look forward to meeting you and continuing to create our wonderful Marshall community!
Zena Hardy (zhardy2@aol.com) or 917-279-0394
Mary Ellen Dawkins (memd@comcast.net) or 201-951-7353
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June 2011
May was a great month at Marshall. It began with a weeklong celebration of our teachers. Our amazing volunteers came together to make sure that each and every day held a special treat for our talented teachers and administrators, the people who work tirelessly to make Marshall such a great place for our kids. The sun finally came out for a rescheduled Field Day. The kids had a blast with all the fun activities planned by Ms. Davis and her fleet of volunteers. And what better way to end the day than with a special delivery by the Ciao Bella Ice Cream Truck? It was the perfect ending to a perfect day! Thank you to everyone who participated. The fun continued with the Marshall/Jefferson night at Bowcraft…which was also rescheduled due to rain. The weather held out and good times were had by all. At the end of the month, Ms. Fong staged our amazing Art Show which spilled out of the cafetorium and onto the bulletin boards around the gymnasium. She and her volunteers transformed our school with their beautiful presentation of our students’ work. It was a great evening with many proud students sharing their artistic creations with family and friends.
And now it’s June, the final month of a year that seems to have flown by in an instant. Can you believe the Ice Cream Social was ten months ago? It hardly seems possible. June began with Kindergarten Orientation as we welcomed a new crop of kindergarteners. It’s always great to see new, eager faces exploring Marshall.
Next week, we look forward to watching our children share their rhythmic talents with us at Drum Circle. Don’t forget your camera!
Later in the month, individual classes will wrap up the year with their own celebrations. As we say goodbye, we recognize how very much our children have grown throughout the year under the careful watch of our dedicated teachers and administrators. We feel privileged to be part of such a thoughtful and innovative educational environment. We feel just as privileged to be part of such a dedicated group of parents and guardians. It’s been a pleasure watching the year come together and getting to know so many of you along the way. Thank you for donating so generously of your time, ideas and dollars. We are excited to conclude our year knowing that we’ve supported significant gains in classroom technology, none of which would have been possible without your many gifts to Marshall School.
We welcome Zena Hardy and Mary Ellen Dawkins as the new incoming PTA presidents. Their board is a fantastic group with many great plans already underway.
Thanks again to everyone for playing a special part in the 2010-2011 school year. Enjoy your summer and we’ll see you in September!
Amy Cummings and Jessica Arkel
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May 2011
Dear Families,
April was a wonderful month at Marshall. It was great to see and hear from so many of our young students at the Poetry Festival. Over 150 students recited poetry – an incredible number when you consider that we are a school of kindergarten, first and second graders. Many students even wrote their own poems to share. Ms. Evans, our beloved librarian, organized this special event and gave our kids all the encouragement they needed to find their voices. Thank you Ms. Evans!
We had such a great response to March Madness, the events continued on through April 30th! In addition to offering so many fun opportunities for students and parents to get together, March Madness raised over $24,000 for both schools. We are so grateful for the generosity of all who hosted and participated in the events.
We are also grateful to all our teachers and administrators for their participation in Teacher Time Raffles. Our kids love any and all opportunities to spend more time with their favorite Marshall staff members and make this fundraiser a guaranteed success. This year’s winners were announced via email to avoid disappointing those students who did not win one of these coveted opportunities.
As we write this letter, our amazing volunteers are busy organizing Teacher Appreciation Week. We are so glad to have the chance to let our teachers know how much all their hard work means to us. Volunteers have planned a week of indulgences, including lunches and breakfast. Class captains have also organized classroom specific efforts to give our teachers a heartfelt THANK YOU for all they do every single day for our kids.
Nestled in Teacher Appreciation Week is Field Day. This is a fantastic way for our community to share in the fun of physical fitness. There are always lots of smiles and laughter as our students rotate through the engaging activities planned by Ms. Davis, Ms. Wagner and our parent volunteers. Cooling down from the day is equally fun with ice-cream treats for all!
Later in the month, on May 24th, we’ll celebrate our children’s artistic sides at the evening Art Show. Ms. Fong is already busy preparing for this special event. Please reach out to her and see how you can help. The PTA General Meeting will also take place at the Art Show and the new board members will be introduced to the Marshall community. We are excited to have such a great group of volunteers stepping up and look forward to welcoming them on board.
As we welcome all that May has to bring, remember the Marshall Garden! A hefty donation of mulch needs spreading and we welcome all of you to dig a little dirt. Stop by whenever and take and hands-on part in bringing spring to Marshall!
Happy Spring!
Jessica Arkel and Amy Cummings
April 2011
Dear Families,
It has been an incredibly busy March. So many families hosted PTA sponsored March Madness events. The festivities began with a wonderful Mardi Gras kick-off party. As the month progressed, kids and adults shared cupcake-making, tapas and vodka tasting parties, hiking in South Mountain Reservation, St. Patrick’s Day cheer, yoga and Zumba classes, and “mustache growing” contests; all to raise money to enhance our children’s educational experience. We are so grateful for the generosity of all who hosted and participated in the events.
March was also the month our students celebrated “Read Across America.” Highlights included Dr. Allen visiting the classrooms to “read across Marshall;” celebrating Dr. Suess’ birthday by donning our best red, white and black attire; and reading aloud at Sparkhouse Kids where Marshall students got to share their reading skills in public. Kudos to all of the students and their families who participated in this wonderful night of reading. The week concluded with a visit by children’s author, Wendy Pfeffer, who inspired the students with her stories about writing and researching her books.
March was also the month we celebrated our differences at the Diversity Fair. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the various family structures and cultures that make up our Marshall community. Beautiful displays representing South Africa, Sri Lanka, Germany, Puerto Rico, adoptive families, and many more were viewed by more than 200 people in the cafetorium. Thank you to all the families who participated and helped to educate our community.
Looking ahead to April, parents will have an opportunity to attend two Board of Education candidate evenings. Please try to take time out of your busy schedules to attend one or both of these forums to hear what our candidates have to say.
April is also the month we have our annual Poetry Festival. This is a great opportunity for students to share a favorite poem with the rest of the school. Families are welcome to attend and hear some great poetry recited.
Our Spring break follows on April 18th through the 22nd. We hope all of you have a wonderful, restful time with your families. We are looking forward to welcoming in a new season…it is time to say good-bye to the snowy weather.
We are grateful to be a part of the incredible community that is Marshall School. Even in this very challenging environment, so many of you have stepped forward to support and enhance our children’s learning experience. If you have not had the opportunity to participate in the PTA thus far, we urge you to look at the positions open at the chairperson and board level, and to step up to participate. It is truly a privilege to work side-by-side with so many dedicated parents.
Happy Spring!
Amy Cummings and Jessica Arkel
March 2011
Good bye snowy February! We are so excited that March has arrived, knowing it will bring both better weather and lots of opportunities for us to enjoy our Marshall/Jefferson community. And the Mixer this past Friday was a great way to kick it off! The Mixer was a ton of fun with great food, drinks, music and even a few Minute-to-Win-It games. Thank you to Sonali Ganti, Mary Ellen Dawkins and the many great volunteers who made this evening such a success. We are so grateful to have so many Marshall/Jefferson folks hosting March Madness events and hope you have all found one, two (or more!) events that have piqued your interest. There truly is something for everyone, from yoga and wine to candy sushi-making. And some events are still open. So please sign up. It’s guaranteed fun and a great way to support Marshall. Whatever you do, be sure not to miss Minute-to-Win-It for a lot of laughs and fun for the whole family.
And as if the Madness wasn’t enough, March also brought us a weeklong celebration of reading with Read Across America. Mrs. Evans, our fabulous librarian, who is ever vigilant in her pursuit of opportunities to inspire our kids to read, planned a week chock-a-block full of engaging reading-based activities. A reading train, an evening of reading aloud at Sparkhouse and a visit from Wendy Pfeffer, an author whose books many of us have shared with our children to their and our delight, are just a few of the events our children enjoyed.
March also brings us Marshall’s Diversity Fair which is not to be missed. It is happening on March 12th from 12 to 3 at Marshall. Come enjoy the afternoon and celebrate our diverse community with us. You will be inspired and amazed at the diverse group we represent.
Lisa Ringler and Dr. Allen discuss classroom configurations including: multi-age, inclusion, looping, and traditional classes at the General PTA meeting.
On the PTA side, we are happy to report that the Nominating Committee was approved at our February 16th meeting. The meeting began with a discussion by Dr. Allen and Ms. Ringler of the different class structures at Marshall. It was an informative and well received discussion and we thank both Dr. Allen and Ms. Ringler for sharing their evening with us. The job of the Nominating Committee is to recruit next year’s board and committee chairs. If you are looking to get involved, please reach out to them. You can find their names, pictures and email addresses right here in the Marshall Mirror. They can help you learn more about what kind of role would work for you…and there is something for everyone, so please think about getting involved. It’s a great way to forge a deeper and more meaningful connection with Marshall.
Remember that the Board of Education will be meeting March 7th to finalize the budget for next year. If you can’t be there, you can always watch from home. Just go to SOMAtv’s website to find the station you should tune into.
Amy Cummings and Jessica Arkel
February 2011
2011 got off to a great start at Marshall with many of you joining us – despite the snow, snow and more snow – to celebrate our community. We kicked off the New Year with Pajama Party Bingo, a new event for Marshall. It was so great to see so many families coming together for an afternoon of fun and games. Many of you also joined us at SOPAC for a showing of “Toy Story 3”. Thanks for making this event such a success.
Certainly the most memorable event of January was the Marshall/Jefferson Variety Show. This event showcased the talents of over 250 Marshall/Jefferson students to a packed house. Act after act demonstrated what a diverse, unique, and talented community we truly are. Our students demonstrated great commitment that was matched by the parents and guardians who dedicated their considerable time and talents to the cause. The show was phenomenal. Thank you to all of you for helping our kids shine!
Marshall was happy to host the Parenting Center’s discussion of Sibling Rivalry on January 25th. This engaging discussion afforded parents and guardians the opportunity to ask for advice on handling specific sibling rivalry issues. The Parenting Center has many other interesting adult programming scheduled for February, so keep these opportunities on your radar. You can find them on our website or in our weekly email. Additionally, in February, Dr. Allen and Mrs. Ringler will speak to us about the different class structures at Marshall. This discussion will take place at the General PTA Meeting scheduled for February 16th where we look forward to approving the Nominating Committee. Once approved, the Nominating Committee will begin the process of filling PTA Board and Committee positions for the upcoming year. Remember, the more people we have involved, the stronger our school…so please consider how you might like to take part and reach out with any questions.
Marshall has an event packed March with “March Madness” bringing lots of fun events for both kids and adults. Sign-up information for these events will make its way home in backpacks soon. And remember to put the Diversity Fair on your calendar. It’s taking place March 12th from 12 to 2 at Marshall and is a fun celebration of the many facets that make up our wonderful Marshall community. Don’t miss it!
Amy Cummings and Jessica Arkel
December 2010 – January 2011
It’s hard to believe the holidays are here. We are all starting to think about how we’ll come together with family and friends to celebrate this season. We’d like to take a moment to thank all of you for coming together to make November such a special time at Marshall.
The Book Fair was such an incredible experience for our children and community and its success can only be accredited to the willingness of our parent volunteers, teachers and administrators to work together to make it happen. Our volunteers rolled up their sleeves and hauled books, moved tables, got creative and stuck around for days to man the show. Mrs. Evans, our beloved librarian, was their constant companion chipping in wherever and whenever needed. Our teachers, who know that their involvement means the world to our kids, graciously gave up their time to make guest appearances. And Dr. Allen got our kids fired up to read even more through her willingness to dress-up as the hero of their choosing. Thank you all. An especially big thank you to Christina Waldon, the leader of the charge, who thoughtfully planned out the entire event and all its special touches. Thank you also to Carol Fardin, who seamlessly organized our fleet of volunteers. The theme says it all…you are all our heroes!
The Classroom Visit that took place on November 17th was a much welcomed opportunity to peek into our kids’ daily lives at Marshall. We are so grateful to our teachers for opening up their classrooms and to our administration for organizing this event.
As we look ahead to December and January, we are excited for many new opportunities to come together for more special moments at Marshall. Poet BJ Ward will join us as our Artist in Residence for the second grade. We will host an informational session on “Our Children’s Health” with the help of the Parenting Center. In January we will share some laughs at our Pajama Party Bingo event and we will return to SOPAC for Marshall at the Movies. And last, but certainly not least, we will undoubtedly be mesmerized by the talents of our children as they put on the Marshall/Jefferson Variety Show.
Happy holidays and thank you all – parents, guardians, teachers and administrators. Your dedication to is what makes our school such a special place for our children.
Amy Cummings and Jessica Arkel
November 2010
Dear Families,
It’s only November, but the Marshall community can already boast some hard-earned accomplishments. Hopefully you heard Mr. Osborne’s recent report about the improvement in district NJASK scores. What you may not know is that Marshall School posted the highest 2nd Grade NJPASS scores in the district for Math and Language Arts. Great news!
Congratulations to all our fabulous teachers and administrators who have excelled at teaching a challenging curriculum.
This curriculum goes well beyond core subjects, of course. Marshall students also learn important lessons in building character through monthly Character Assemblies. On November 1st, the theme of our school-wide assembly was “cooperation.” The kids put on a great show reinforcing this character trait and everyone got to meet a new friend at Marshall, our very own “owl”. She stopped by to ask our students to help find her a name. Ideas should be mailed to Dr. Allen through Wee Deliver by November 15th. The winning name will be chosen by a panel of ornithological experts at Marshall and announced at the November 29 Character Assembly. So get those creative juices flowing and help your kids have fun with writing!
As if to prove that cooperation isn’t just something we talk to our kids about, we’ve watched our volunteers work tirelessly to produce the Marshall/Jefferson school directory. Online registration made the process of compiling the directory markedly easier this year, and we thank those families who registered this way. Even with this improvement, producing the directory remains a tremendous task. We thank our dedicated volunteers who contributed their time, skills, and patience to get the job done. The finished product should arrive in backpacks soon.
November is always a great month at Marshall because it is kicked-off by the Marshall Book Fair. The theme for this year’s book fair is “Heroes” and our Book Fair volunteers have lots of fun events planned – from teacher readings to special guest stars. The Book Fair is a great way to keep our kids excited about reading, so come in and check it out. Your participation not only helps spread the joy of reading but also helps raise money for our school and put books in our classrooms. Be on the lookout for more information about all the special goings-on planned around the Book Fair.
As always, we thank all those who have volunteered, whether for an hour at a single event, for an hour each week, or for an untold number of hours on an ongoing project. In October we had a fabulous Book & Bagel Breakfast for new students, hosted by Ms. Evans, three fun-filled International Nights and a special treat with Movie Day at SOPAC. We appreciate every moment volunteers take out of their day to help make events, fundraisers, and school programs a success. Thank you, Thank you.
So, don’t forget: (1) come to the Book Fair; (2) look out for the Marshall/Jefferson directory; and (3) name our owl!
If you have questions, ideas, comments or suggestions, we’re listening, because this is your PTA.
Your PTA Presidents,
Amy Cummings and Jessica Arkel
P.S. Marshall PTA is now tweeting. Follow us on twitter, http://www.twitter.com/marshallPTA
