Sylvan Avenue PTA Gets Down to Business

The PTA held its monthly meeting on Nov. 17 and highlighted some of the successful fundraising events held in the school year thus far. The Prestige Fundraiser made a profit of about $3,700 or 48 percent, while the recent book fair netted approximately $2,000 for the PTA.

Alane Dugan, Sylvan Avenue principal, also had some positive news to report. There were 92 children who participated in the Parents As Reading Partners program over the summer. The school will again be participating in the 2010 writing campaign in conjunction with Macy's and the Make A Wish Foundation. Each elementary school child will write a letter to Santa. Parents need to send in a stamped envelope and Mrs. Dugan will deliver all the letters. Macy's donates $1 for every letter received to the Make A Wish Foundation. This activity not only helps a good cause, it also reinforces children's writing skills, Dugan said.

Sylvan students will also be participating in the Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive. Reaching out to the community, the drive will ask for a brand new pair of pajamas for donation. For every pair of pajamas donated, Scholastic Books will donate a book. Dugan also added they may try to tie this in with a pajama day at school for the children and staff.  

The preschool library program will be starting soon, where kids come in for a story and craft. The idea of the program is to get the preschoolers used to the big building, and help them start to know their way around, Dugan said.

From the SIT Committee, which just held its second meeting of the year, is the idea of getting a parent guide together to explain the new assessment tests and cut scores. Since the new test will be longer and different in May, more kids may require push-in academic intervention services. The guidebook is designed to help teach parents about the new guidelines and what will be changing.

The PTA Council met last month and spoke about many ongoing concerns. One topic was field trips and the council's opinion seemed to swing both ways. Some members love the idea of adding more field trips in, while others feel the financial burden is too great during these economic times. In response, the Council has decided to send a poll question to parents via ConnectEd to see whether they would be willing to pay for more field trips.

The playground and its safety is an ongoing concern and the safety report is still being conducted. In the meantime, the PTA is discussing other items to bring in during recess as well as other activities for the children to draw them away from the playground.

The PTA is looking into forming a district-wide committee on anti-bullying. They would like to brainstorm a plan of action and help steer bullying prevention efforts. The "Sylvan's Got Talent" show will hold a parent information meeting after the holidays just so everyone is on the same page for the first-time event. Parent volunteers are also needed for after-school programs, for anything from yoga to art to drawing.

Upcoming events include the Holiday Fair on December 2 and 3 and Family Fun Night on December 3.