Archie T. Morrison PTO

December Newsletter

Dec 26, 2003

Fall Fundraiser ?– The Fall Fundraiser corrections were delivered on Monday, December 15th to the students. Thank you for your patience!

Classroom Communication Network Update ?– More than 100 families have joined the Classroom Communication Network. Every classroom has at least one Communicator. Guidelines have been established and published to the staff for review and feedback. Marie-Anne Baker will be contacting the Communicators after the holidays to officially kick off the program.

Seminars presented by South Shore Mental Health - The PTO was thrilled with the attendance at the ?“Building Self Esteem in Children?” seminar held on Wednesday evening, December 3rd. Twenty parents attended! Kris Clasby, a licensed social worker from South Shore Mental Heath in Quincy presented the seminar. She was an excellent speaker. The seminar was very informative. There are copies of the handouts on the PTO bulletin board. Please help yourself! The next seminar is planned for late January or early February. The date will be posted on the website and communicated through PACE when it is finalized. Thank you to Mrs. Kane, our School Psychologist, for coordinating the seminar with S.S.M.H.

Student Holiday Shopping Fair Recap ?– The Annual Holiday Fair was held on Friday, December 5th. Each classroom had 15 minutes to shop for holiday gifts for their families. Every child was afforded the opportunity to participate in the fair. There were seven tables to choose from men, women, girls, boys, pets, ornaments and this year a ?“Clearance/Sale?” table was added. There was also a ?“Morrison Pride?” table available selling Morrison water bottles, ice cream scoops and taking orders for the all new ?“Morrison Apparel?”. Items ranged from 25?¢ to $2.00. Items could also be personalized at the ?“monogram?” table. The PTO provided bags for the children to shop with. Every student received a ?“Happy Holidays?” Morrison School pencil as a gift from the PTO. Twenty-five items were donated to the raffle table.
The PTO would like to thank everyone that helped make the holiday fair a huge success! The selection of items was outstanding! Everyone was extremely organized! It couldn?’t have been done with out all of our wonderful volunteers!
The children were very excited about the fair! They had huge smiles on their faces as they walked through the door. It was fun to watch them opening their bags to show their classmates what they had bought. Many of their bags were overflowing with goodies! Doesn?’t it feel great to be a part of an event that creates such wonderful memories for our children!

A BIG THANK YOU TO?…
 The table captains for their hard work coordinating the inventory for their tables and the raffle items.
 All the shoppers who purchased items for the fair.
 The families that donated sales items and raffle items.
 Everyone that helped set up the gymnasium on Thursday afternoon.
 The table and raffle ticket sales associates and the monogrammers who worked throughout the day on Friday.
 The personal shoppers that assisted the children who needed help with their shopping.
 All the parents that attended and shopped with their children and in many cases other children.
 The Hospitality Committee for feeding all the volunteers.
 Our Treasurer, who reimbursed the shoppers, handled all the cash, made sure the tables had change, and calculated the proceeds.
 All the volunteers that helped cleanup after the fair on Friday afternoon.

The PTO would especially like to thank the 5th grade parent volunteers that will be leaving Morrison this school year. This was their last holiday fair! We appreciate all of your hard work and dedication. Your experience and organization skills will be sadly missed.
We also would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the new parents who volunteered for the fair this year as well! We are very fortunate to have all of you and look forward to working with you for many years to come!
Planning needs to begin for next years fair. A committee will be forming shortly. If you are interested in chairing a table please contact Marie-Anne Baker. In order to keep our costs low; bargain-shopping right after Christmas this year is a great idea!

Morrison Apparel ?– More than 140 ?“Morrison Apparel?” items were ordered. Thank you to Sally Bowen for coordinating the effort. The apparel was delivered to the students on Thursday, December 18th. The PTO plans to take additional orders for ?“Morrison Apparel?” in the spring. Thank you for your continued support!

Staff Holiday Luncheon - The PTO hosted a holiday luncheon for the staff in the teacher's lounge on Wednesday, December 17th from 11:30 AM ?– 1:00 PM. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Upcoming Events:

Cultural Arts ?– The 2nd grade classes will be receiving a cultural arts program performed by Star Labs (Museum of Science) on January 15th, 2004. Be sure to ask you second graders about their program!

Fun Nights ?– The PTO will be sponsoring a ?“Sweet-Art?” Valentines social for 2nd and 3rd graders in early February in the cafetorium. The children will be making a Valentines Day craft and decorating cupcakes. Face painting will also be available. Admission will be a small item for Sunny Shaw?’s Clothes Closet (hats, mittens, socks etc.). More information will be forthcoming through PACE.

PTO Meeting ?– The Tuesday, January 13th PTO meeting has been cancelled and replaced by a ?“Town Wide PTO Meeting?” on Wednesday, January 14th at the Hollis School. The topic for the combined meeting is ?“Developing Math Thinking?”. The Morrison PTO will meet briefly at 6:30 PM in the Hollis auditorium to discuss Morrison specific business. The ?“Town Wide PTO Meeting?” will begin at 7:00 PM.

The word "appreciation" means to be thankful and express admiration, approval, or gratitude. It also means to grow or appreciate in value. As you appreciate life, you become more valuable?—both to yourself and others.
~ Sara Paddison ~
We wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Your friends,
Lisa, Mary & Marie-Anne