September 2017



St. Philomena School
Parent Council Newsletter
Hello SPS Parents,
The Parent Council will be sending out a newsletter to all SPS parents regularly throughout the year. These announcements will highlight upcoming events and any opportunities for parents to participate. We are excited for all the family functions scheduled so far and we hope everyone finds these communications helpful. 


What is the Parent Council?
The Parent Council is a newly formed group of parent volunteers dedicated to planning and organizing family events that take place during the school year. The upcoming year will be used to transition into a new and easier way for parents to volunteer and to offer feedback.
How did the Parent Council get formed?
The school community noticed that the Parents Club of the past needed some streamlining and modernization. Mr. Cordeiro sent an email asking for volunteers to join him with developing a new parent group that would meet over the summer. Interested parents responded about joining and all volunteers attended the first meeting held on July 26th. At that meeting parents and Mr. Cordeiro set goals and started planning for the year ahead. This group meets monthly throughout the calendar year.
What Activities will the Parent Council Oversee?
The Parent Council will mainly oversee family fun and social events. The Fall Fair will be sponsored by the Parent Council and whatever money is generated will be part of the Parent Council budget for the year. All other fundraising events will be managed by the school administration and those funds will go directly back to SPS. Examples of Parent Council sponsored events include; Welcome Back Mass/Picnic, Fall Fair, Christmas Pageant, Catholic Schools Week celebrations, Father/Daughter Dance, Mother/Son Event, Spring Family Mass and the Last Day Family Picnic.
Please Note that Room Parent sign-ups will be electronic this year. The Sign-Up Genius will be emailed to all parents on September 15th.The Sign-Up Genius will allow 2 parents (1 Room Parent and 1 Alternate) to add their names to each classroom listed.

What are the responsibilities of a Room Parent? The Room Parent will work with the classroom teacher to send out communications about parties, charitable donations or classroom activities. Room Parents will send information and electronic sign-ups/similar to all the parents in the class. Emails may consist of gathering party planning supplies (Halloween/Christmas), charitable items for churches or emails about volunteers for curriculum based activities (K-Health Fair, 6 th Grade Greek Day). Room Parents act as a liaison between the classroom teacher and their fellow classroom parents.

Still Have Questions?  The Parent Council Room Parent liaisons will be available for questions at the SPS 1 st -8 th grade Open House Night reception on September 14 th
One of our missions is to promote family fun activities throughout the year. At any time during the year a class or entire grade can coordinate to have a fun, family-friendly or parent-only event.  We encourage families to get together for park outings, bingo nights, pot luck etc. We will be able to advertise and highlight your event here in this section of the SPS Parent Council Newsletter. If you would like to coordinate an event for your class or grade, please let us know and we can help you!
Family Mass  September 17 th 10:30 AM
Please join us on Sunday September 17 th at 10:30 for mass and a family picnic. SPS Parent Council looks forward to seeing everyone there.
 
Fall Fair October 14 th 11:00 AM-3:00 PM
The Fall Fair is a family event for everyone. Be on the lookout for the Sign-Up Genius. Volunteers can send in baked goods for our Farmer's Market or possibly sign up for an hour or so where help is needed. Parent volunteers are the key to this year’s fair being successful.

Parents Roundtable - A chance to provide ideas- October 19 th 6:30-8:00 PM
Please mark your calendar and prepare to join us for the first Parent Roundtable. This will be your chance to provide feedback on the reinvention of the Parent Council as it is going through redevelopment for the 2017-2018 school year. This session will focus on brainstorming ideas for the mission of the council, volunteering and ideas for family events. Please feel free to bring your children, an all-ages will be provided with supervision. Food and beverage will also be available. More details coming soon.

Please email Jeanine Barry with any Parent Council questions: jmbarry15@hotmail.com
Want to add information to the Newsletter? alison4events@yahoo.com
Room Parent questions? email Laura Hundt secretacorn@yahoo.com