Welcome John Muir families to the 2008-2009 School Year!

The PTA Board welcomes all of our new and returning families to John Muir. We are thrilled to start of the school year with some
fresh ideas and goals as we continue to build and foster our school community.

Our Goals

1. Implement community building activities with students and the surrounding neighborhood families.

2. Promote Health and Wellness Policies and keep them active during the school year including the new Snack Policy and
monthly Birthday Celebration Policy, “Popsicles with the Principal”.

3. Build and diversify membership by reaching out to all families through open communication with the goal of 150 total
members.

4. Continued generous support for our teachers and their classrooms both financially and emotionally, including volunteer
time spent in the class room doing various activities.

5. Program Funding

Create an achievable plan for the fundraising of the common school grounds improvement project

Apply for a grant to fund the cost of the construction documents for the school grounds improvement project.

Explore options for continuing a language program by funding a full time position. Lobby School Board and district so our voice is heard.

Explore future music programs to establish the criteria for funding and help to promote current music programs
available to the students (4th & 5th grade band)

6. Research funding to help improve the acoustics in the school both in the assembly space and general PA system.

Calendar of PTA Sponsored Events

Look for further details in the Home Bulletin sent home with your child each month.

September
�� 15th-19th Book Fair
�� 18th Curriculum Night
�� 20th Work Party
�� 21st Day In The Park
�� 22nd Entertainment Book Sales
�� 27th Kick Off BoxTops

October
�� 1st PTA Meeting
�� 2nd Self Manager Party
�� 3rd Picture Day
�� 15th PTA General Meeting
�� Letter Writing Campaign

November
�� 5th PTA Meeting
�� 6th Self Manager Party
�� 21st Parents Night Out
�� RIF (Reading is Fundamental)

December
�� 3rd PTA Meeting
�� 4th Self Manager Party
�� 12th Parents Night Out

January
�� 7th PTA Meeting
�� 8th Self Manager Party

February
�� 4th PTA Meeting
�� 5th Self Manager Party
�� 6th Parents Night Out
�� 9th Black History Month Assembly
�� 14th Distribute Valentine Cards
�� RIF (Reading is Fundamental)

March
�� 4th PTA Meeting
�� 5th Self Manager Party
�� Book Fair

April
�� 1st PTA Meeting
�� 2nd Self Manager Party
�� 10th Parents Night Out
�� RIF (Reading is Fundamental)

May
�� 4th-8th Staff Appreciation Week
�� 6th PTA Meeting
�� 7th Self Manager Party
�� Nike Fun Run
�� Spring Raffle Event

Who Are the PTA’s Board Members?

The Muir PTA meets the first Wednesday of every month from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The meetings are open to all persons interested
in attending. Child Care will be provided by Kids Corner for school age children (if you need assistance with younger children
please contact us 1 week prior to meeting).

For general PTA questions please contact:

Lara Macklin at 206-245-0630 or
mlmacklin@yahoo.com.

• President Lara Macklin, mom to Miles in 3rd Grade. This is Lara’s 4th year on the board.

• Vice President Noel Treat joins us this year. Noel is dad to Sam in 1st grade.

• Charles Fix returns to the Board this year as Treasurer. His son, Jared, a 2nd grader is a former Muir student and
his daughter, Jane is in Kindergarten.

• Jessy Balma joins the Board this year as Secretary. Her daughter, Emma is in 2nd grade.

• Noel Nightingale returns as our Legislative Chair for this school year. Noel is mom of Cosmo in Kindergarten and
Leila in 3rd grade.

• Our Teacher Representative’s this year are Jonni Gray (2nd Grade) & Alex Beaty (Mr. B – Physical
Education)

• Awnie Thompson, our Principal, continues as a member of the PTA board.

• Powerful Schools Representative Louise Wong joins the board this year. Her daughter is Myhanh is in
1st grade.

• CPPS Representative Co-Chair Surella Scott returns on the board and is also a new 2nd grade teacher.
Surella is the mother of 2nd grader, Iyana and 3rd graders Delaun & Jaquon. If interested in co-chairing this position
please contact Surella.

• Membership Chair Liz Stead returns as our Membership Chair. Mom to Tilda in 1st grade.

• Event Coordinator Judy Cordova joins our board for the first year after volunteering a tremendous amount last
year. Mom to Jada in 1st grade

• Volunteer Coordinator Beth Jacoby joins us this year. Her son Harry is in 1st grade.

• Fundraising Co-Chair Melanie Fix joins the board this year. Melanie volunteers in many ways and will also be
our E-Script Coordinator. Her son Jared is a former Muir student and Jane begins Kindergarten this year. If interested
in co-chairing this position please contact Melanie.

• Arts Coordinator Sandy Eshleman returns in her 4th year on the board. Sandy is mom to Susanna in 3rd grade.
Sandy wears many volunteer hats and will focus her talents in the growth of various arts related issues.

What Does the PTA Do With Your Dues?

 

Here are just a few things…

• Fund the Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program. Three times a year, every student in our school selects a new book
during the RIF book give-away.

• Provide funds for bus transportation for one field trip for each grade-band. Buses for field trips can be pricy; the PTA
helps cover those costs.

• Provide scholarships for field trips and the IslandWood experience for our 4th and 5th grade students. The PTA provides
scholarships for students who otherwise would not be able to afford to go on class field trips.

• Assist with teacher appreciation week. A small portion of the money raised helps us to say “thank you” and “we
appreciate you” to our teachers during teacher appreciation week each May. We also give the teachers a cash gift each
year to use as they wish in their classroom.

• Purchase nutritious rewards for Muir Mediators and Student Librarians. These students donate their time and effort to
assist other kids. We’ll also be providing assistance to the monthly self-manager parties.

• We provide dinner at two of our general PTA meetings. Sharing a meal together helps build community.

• The Printed School Directory – handed out in October once all forms included in this packet are returned

Our PTA Budget:

Our budget will be posted on the PTA Yahoo site. If you would like more information please contact our treasurer, Charles Fix at
uwcrew@hotmail.com or 206-604-2366

Uniforms:
As mentioned in the letter sent home in August, new this year is the opportunity to have a portion of your purchases returned
directly to the school. If you purchase through:

Lands End www.landsend.com or 1-800-963-4816. Our school code is: 9001-2871-1
Coming soon from Lands End the school logo may be added to the item ordered.

French Toast, www.frenchtoast.com or 1-800-373-6248. Our school code is: QS47859
Also for sale all year will be John Muir T-Shirts that may be worn as a uniform. Gold short sleeve shirts are $7 and navy long
sleeve shirts are $10. Adult and Kids sizes are available in the office and will be sold at family events through out the year.

How Can You Help?

Join us!

 

Membership is $10.00 for an individual and $20.00 for a family, a form is included in this packet.

 

Who may join the PTA?

Parents, grandparents, family members, teachers, school staff, and community members. You will receive a bumper
sticker and PTA member card shortly after turning in your form.

Looking for other ways to help?

 

Sign up on the volunteer list of activities. This list is posted on the PTA board in the hall way at the school or contact Lara at 206-245-0630 or e-mail mlmacklin@yahoo.com for a copy and to be added to the e-mail and phone contact request list.

Some Volunteer Ideas:

• Grant writing/source locating
• Letter Campaign (photocopy letter, assemble and distribute
to classes—occurs in October)
• Spring Raffle
• Teacher Appreciation Week
• Attend a field trip with your child’s class
• Reading is Fundamental
• Attend a school event (showing support/interest in your
child’s school life is a wonderful boost to your child and
therefore a wonderful help to our school community
• Spring PTA Dinner & Meeting (occurring in March)
• Parents Night Out Volunteer
• Black History Month Assembly (assist with props,
photocopying, et cetera; we begin early for February)
• Mt. Baker Enrollment Meeting (occurs in January)
• School Tours (begin in January; dates and times will be
announced as they are made available)
• Picture Day
• Selling T-Shirts at events
• Book Fair (assist with set up/take down, cashier/help
customers, help with teacher preview day)
• Be a classroom PTA rep
• Fall PTA Dinner & Meeting
• Assist with school banking

If you have a way to help that is not listed, please do not hesitate to let us know. Remember that family members can also help with these activities.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us and ask any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you
at our meetings, held the first Wednesday evening of every month from 6-8pm in the school library. Child Care will be provided
by Kids Corner for school age children (if you need assistance with younger children please contact us 1 week prior to meeting).

Have a wonderful year!

The John Muir PTA Board