SRES PTA News...

President’s Message
(Dana Wilburn, Jan 01, 2009)

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It is with great sadness that I am announcing my resignation as PTA President. My last day as President will be Dec 23rd. Karen Ritter, the current VP, will become the new President. Nominations for the open VP position will be accepted at the General Meeting on January 13, 2009. The Executive Board will then vote to elect a new Vice-President.

My husband, Jimmy, and I have decided for personal reasons to put James and Amanda in private school. Our decision does not reflect the experience we have had with Spring Ridge Elem., the teachers and staff, the parents, the students or the PTA. We have loved it here and will miss Spring Ridge immensely. This was a very difficult decision for us.

I want to thank all of the PTA volunteers who work so hard and give it their all. There are too many people to name individually; however, I do need to thank the rest of the officers. Karen, Terri and Jennifer, thank you for being supportive and understanding both during my time as President and as I leave you now. I am leaving, confident that Spring Ridge is in good hands. I wish everyone best wishes for the rest of the school year.

Warmest regards,
Dana Wilburn

After School Enrichment
(Colleen Saint Loup, Jan 01, 2009)

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The book club is off and running! Please remember to bring your cards and that the time will be for reading.

We would like to also present, after the holidays, an art program called Young Rembrandts. This program teaches students grades K and up basic skills of drawing that will help the to learn skills necessary to succeed in life, including developing perceptions, articulating a vision, learning to solve problems and make decisions, increase self confidence and self discipline, developing the ability to imagine what might be and the responsibility to complete tasks from start to finish. The program will be offered in 8 week increments, 1 day per week for 1 hour after school. Look for the flyer to come and if you are interested check out the website: www.youngrembrandts.cm/MD

SRES Reading Idol
(Karen Craney, Jan 01, 2009)

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"SRES Idol" is off to a great start! Over 300 students have turned in Card 1! Remember you must have turned in at least one card by the end of Nov. to be eligible for the "big" prize! The card 4 party deadline is approaching be sure to have all of the first 4 cards turned in by Jan. 6th to be eligible for this prize. This gives you plenty of time to read over the holidays and get all caught up. All students are eligible for this prize even if you didn't get that first card in on time! Pick up a good book and start reading. Check the website for new songs on the IPods. Book talks will be up on the website before the break!

CULTURAL ARTS
(Liz Van Brunt, Jan 01, 2009)

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The "Legacy Mural" project should be completed by the time you're reading this article! Local Artist Jack Pabis met with the fifth grade children to come up with a design concept for the mural. It was decided that the theme would be, "It's time to Eat Right" which is befitting of the cafeteria location.

Mr. Pabis painted the main part of the mural and then worked with the fifth grade students during art class to create a variety of fruits and vegetables for the mural. The children's unique contributions will become a permanent part of the cafeteria setting; thus allowing them to leave behind a legacy when they graduate from Spring Ridge to middle school!

Please take a look at this wonderful group project next time you're in the school.

Help Wanted
(Karen Ritter, Jan 01, 2009)

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Chairperson(s) for the winter dance. The date is set for 2/27. Contact Karen Ritter at ritterfive@comcast.net , if interested.

SRES PTA HOLIDAY BAZAAR… Was a SUCCESS!
(Colleen Saint Loup, Jan 01, 2009)

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A huge thank you goes out to ALL who came out to support this first kick off of a hopeful annual event to come and grow at Spring Ridge! A BIG thanks to ALL the staff at SRES who helped in getting all the little pieces going and getting the word out, including Ms. Terri for collecting all those milk cartons and the Karaoke machine! The mere fact that it was organized a put together in about 3 weeks and had the interest it did, means it could become something wonderful at the school for future years to come.

About 20 vendors showed up for the event. We had large waves of people come to shop on Friday night. Karaoke was a big hit (thanks Ms. Terri!) as well as the video showing all classes singing some Christmas music (thank you Mrs. Trio!). The biggest success I have to say was the gingerbread house making! We had snow everywhere but everyone, including the parents, had fun with that. Thanks to all the volunteers and parents who helped to manage that craft.

Santa came on Saturday and photos were taken with him. For those of you who did have their photos taken, if you haven’t already, I will be getting these to you at your respective classes. We collected about 30 letters to Santa for the Macy’s Make a Wish Campaign and we’ll be dropping those to get to Santa by December 18th. Toys for Tots also have 2 boxes almost full! If you’d like to bring in a toy for a child in need the boxes will be at the front of the school until December 18th at 4pm.

All the vendors were given a survey to fill out to pick a date and give feedback on the bazaar and how to improve it for 2009. The feedback was great and most agree some type of food be available for shoppers and to help the vendors get through the time slot ;) I will be trying to get a committee together for 2009 sometime after the holidays to help start organizing for next year’s bazaar. Planning would probably start in the summer. Stay tuned for more information.

The best part is that everyone who came seemed to have a GREAT time! This event earned the SRES PTA around $300.00 to help be able to continue programs at the school.

Spirit Wear
(Crystal Lemley, Jan 01, 2009)

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Don’t forget Christmas! Shop now! Orders need to be in to be ready for Christmas delivery! Colleen Saint Loup 240-529-3066 or colleen@saintloupdesigns.com

Newsletter Info
(Crystal Lemley, Jan 01, 2009)

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Starting in January the SRES PTA will be publishing the Newsletter monthly. It will be sent home the 4th Thursday of each month.

President's Message
(Dana Wilburn, Dec 08, 2008)

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Family Involvement! It is a proven fact that students are more successful in school if they have a parent involved in their school life. Being involved doesn't necessarily mean being at school three times a week. There are many levels of involvement and many ways to be involved. Whether you bake something, volunteer in the classroom, cut things out at home, help run an event or just attend an event; all effort is needed and appreciated. I encourage everyone to get as much involved as possible. Obviously, situations differ, for example, both parents may work outside of the home or there may be only one parent in the home, etc. so support your child and his/her education in any way you can.

Unfortunately, we always have the same handful of people volunteering and attending events. Although we appreciate them immensely, if new people don't get involved, what will happen to the PTA and the activities and programs that we provide? Eventually the regular volunteers will get burnt out or move on to middle school or move out of the area, then who will enhance the lives of our children?

Volunteering isn't the only way to be involved. More participation in events and fundraisers is needed to keep the PTA going. Many people think the sole purpose of the PTA is to be a fundraising machine, but that is not the case. We are here to advocate for our children's education, care and protection as well as bring closer the relationship between home and school. However, in order to do this, funds are needed.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Orange Envelope Drive, $536 was raised. However, due to a lack of participation in the Basket Bingo, some items in our budget will need to be cut back. Therefore, our PTA meeting scheduled for December 4th will be a General Membership meeting. Please attend because we will need to take a vote on the changed budget items. A reminder that anyone can attend but only members can vote.

Also, the PTA will be doing their share to try and reduce expenses. The newsletter will only be printed on orange paper until the paper runs out, then we will be switching back to white paper. While I have seen some newer faces this year, I would LOVE to see more! In these hard economic times, give of your time instead.

Thank you,

Dana