Weekly Update from the P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) PTA

Tuesday, May 31st 4th Grade GOLD OPERA Performances 10 am & 5:30 pm (school auditorium) Please come to hear the original songs that Classes 401 and 402 have written with Gold Opera (professional residency). Each class has worked with the residency for over a month to create their own opera which tells a unique story through song and actions. As other performances at the school - you will want to be there for this! Class 402 in rehearsal getting ready for their big performance! Parent Coffee Hour and Workshop for all families with Don Duerr (Early Childhood Social Worker) Thursday, June 2nd at 8: 30 am, School Library 'Understanding & Raising Boys' Please join us for this unique opportunity to discuss raising emotionally strong boys. Come to enjoy some coffee, tea or morning beverages & breakfast munchies (please bring something to share) & chatting with other parents. Please stay for the discussion - although not everyone has boys, our children have friends, classmates, cousins that are boys :) It will be worthwhile for all who participate! General PTA Meeting & 2011/2011 PTA Elections Thursday, June 2nd at 6pm Please come to listen to updates about the PTA and most importantly cast your vote for next school year's PTA Executive Board. Nominations are open until the meeting on Thursday, June 2nd. Please be sure to nominate yourself or someone that would add to the PTA and PS/IS 217 Community! In order to make the Spring Concert a success, many hands are needed in different areas of the school that evening (and the week prior). Please read below to find a way you can help out. We depend on the support of our parents and families to ensure the success of these events at 217! 1) Kindergarten/1st & 2nd Grade - Choir Dress Rehearsals To help the children line up by height & in the hallway prior to the concert, get on and off the stage area & ensure that every child can be seen during the performance - we need at least TWO PARENTS from each class that is willing to come to dress rehearsals and help out the night of the concert. There are a lot of days that Mr. Solow wants to practice with the classes - parent volunteers need to come to at least ONE rehearsal, to practice with the children and know what to expect the night of the performance. Please look at the schedule below and email Summer Lord at summerday.lord@gmail.com with the dates you can volunteer. THANK YOU! Friday - June 3rd (8:35am - 9:30am) Monday - June 6th (8:35am - 9:30am) Tuesday - June 7th (8:35am - 9:30am) Wednesday - June 8th (8:35am - 9:30am) 2) Volunteer your time and items for the TREAT TABLE! Please consider helping on the evening of the Spring Concert to volunteer at the Treat Table to sell goodies for a set amount of time (you will be free to watch YOUR child/ren perform! The more hands we have helping the easier it makes it for everyone to see their child!) And please donate baked goods (cookies, cupcakes, brownies, cakes, etc.), pre-packaged treats and drinks (bottled water, juice boxes, cans of soda) that will be sold the night of the concert on the 1st Floor. Money the PTA raises goes directly to help fund the Music Program & other essentials of the school. For example - Mr. Solow recently received a new and needed keyboard that was funded 100% by the PTA. He is so grateful & pleased to have this needed item as he practices for the Spring Concert with the students. Please help us with this final fundraising night of the school year! Email Kristi Towey at kristi.pta217@gmail.com with items you can bring & times you can volunteer at the Treat Table. Casual class pictures were recently taken of the Pre-K through 5th grades for the Teacher Appreciation Bulletin Boards in the lower grades. These pictures will be available to order and purchase! A paper will be sent home at the end of this week (approx. June 2nd or 3rd) with a pre-order sheet that will explain sizes and prices of the photos available for your class. Samples of the pictures can be found on the Bulletin Boards around the school and will be on display the evening of the Spring Concert. If you would like to order a picture (or a few!), please know that you will be able to do so shortly. If you have any questions - please contact Summer Lord at summerday.lord@gmail.com. Many thanks! CONGRATULATIONS to the 5th Graders on their Ballroom Dance Performance! Everyone looked fabulous dressed up & showed a great variety of dance steps that they have learned over the past few months with their Ballroom Dance residency. Thank you to all those who have helped raise money for the PTA this year! Through PTA funding, we are able to offer these and other unique & worthwhile experiences to the students in our school! Final BOOK FAIR the School Year! This is a special fair where Scholastic offers a BUY ONE - GET ONE FREE book! Purchase one book and then get another of equal or lesser value for FREE! Save your money & get ready to buy your summer reading books during this great deal! More details to come! HAVE A GREAT WEEK! ©2011 PS/IS 217 PTA | Roosevelt Island School

Weekly Update from the P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) PTA

THANK YOU to all our parents & families who volunteered their time and talents in helping make Staff and Teacher Appreciation Week at P.S./I.S. 217 a wonderful success! We want to give special recognition to the many hours that parents volunteered to help put together the Bulletin Boards that say Thank You with quotes from students and updated class pictures. We also had parents that helped cook the most amazing dishes for the Staff Luncheon which was held last Tuesday & many parents that helped set up and serve the lunch that day as well. The Staff were amazed at the great variety that our parents provided with the delicious dishes & desserts from all over the world and kitchens of our 217 families. As the PTA we are grateful that we have such a wonderful support group that helps us put together these amazing events & that together we were all able to let our teachers and staff know how much we appreciate them. Thank you for all your help this week! THIS WEEK: Monday - May 23rd STUDENT OF THE MONTH ASSEMBLY Select students from the month of April and May will be recognized by their teachers during the assembly. Parents are invited to attend and help honor their child & to take a picture at the end of each assembly. PLEASE wait until the end of the assembly to come down and take a picture of your child & the group of students they are with We are also giving BOX TOP Awards & choice of a book for students who have brought in 100 or more BOX TOPS during this school year. Assembly times: 3rd - 5th grades: 8:35am - 9am Pre-K - 2nd grades: 9:10 - 9:30am Middle School - 6th - 8th: 10am - 10:20am Monday - May 23rd BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Students who have a birthday during the month of May are invited to come and celebrate with our Principal, Ms. Beckman! Parents are invited to attend and to help serve and enjoy a piece of cake with your child. Please come to the cafeteria at 2 pm to help set-up & children will be down at 2:15pm. Remember your camera!! Friday - May 27th BOXTOPS for May are due this Friday, May 27th Monday - May 30th MEMORIAL DAY - NO SCHOOL!!! LOOKING AHEAD: Wednesday, June 8th SPRING MUSIC CONCERT! Singing performance by Kindergarten - 2nd grades & Band Performances by 3rd - 8th graders. A letter went home this week from Mr. Solow. Please be sure to pay attention to the dress that is required of all participants. Boys: White shirt, dark pants, tie and dark shoes.Girls: White shirt & dark skirt or pants, or black dress. Please contact Mr. Solow if you do not have the proper attire for the concert. A BAKE-SALE fundraiser will take place during the concert! Please look for more information on volunteering during the concert to help with the table & sellling the treats & for donating a food item to help raise money for Music and Special Events that the PTA sponsors at our school.! PTA NOMINATIONS FOR THE EXECUTIVE BOARD 2011-2012 PTA is now accepting Executive Board nominations. Nominations are open for the following seats: President First Vice President Vice President, Public Relations & Events Vice President, Membership Vice President, Middle School Affairs Secretary Treasurer Fundraising Officer Newsletter Officer Grants Officer Parent Liaisons Website Maintenance Officer We are especially looking for people willing to become Vice President, Membership; Vice President, Middle School Affairs; Secretary; and Parent Liaisons, but if you are interested, please, do not hesitate to nominate yourself or someone else for any position on the Board. If you have any questions, please email psis217info@gmail.com. Use the Nomination Form; completed forms should be placed in the marked box in the main office. We will elect a new Executive Board at the PTA meeting on June 2nd. June 14th - 17th Final BOOK FAIR the School Year! This is a special fair where Scholastic offers a BUY ONE - GET ONE FREEbook! Purchase one book and then get another of equal or lesser value for FREE! Save your money & get ready to buy your summer reading books during this great deal! More details to come! HAVE A GREAT WEEK! ©2011 PS/IS 217 PTA | Roosevelt Island School

Weekly Update from the P.S./I.S. 217 (Roosevelt Island School) PTA

TEACHER & STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK This week is Staff & Teacher Appreciation at PS/IS 217. There are special displays on the first floor of the school for your child's classroom teacher as well as all staff in the building. Be sure to look at the different bulletin boards which say a BIG Thank You to those that are so dedicated to our children! On Tuesday the 17th, we are hosting a very special event with a luncheon for all teachers and staff to enjoy during their lunch break. We ask for families to contribute to this luncheon by preparing a dish from your country, culture or a favorite family dish. The International food that is unique to our school is a treat that we can share with the staff. We would prefer as many dishes from around the world and the many cultures - however, if you would rather choose an item from the list below, we need many items and are thankful for your help in either way! Please prepare a homemade dish to serve 12 - 16 people Dishes can be warm or cold. If your dish is warm - we ask that if possible you bring it to the school and up to the library between 10:30 - 11:00am. If the item does not warming or refrigerated - you can drop off in the office any time Tuesday morning. Please mark your dish with your child's name & teacher if you need the dish returned. We will clean them out and return on Wednesday. Please RSVP to Summer Lord & let her know what food item you will bring -summerday.lord@gmail.com ITEMS NEEDED FOR LUNCHEON Water bottles (case of ind. size) Sparking water (case of ind. size) Soda Pop (Diet Coke or Sprite) Bag of ice Lunch Meat (pkg. any kind - turkey, ham, roast beef) Sandwich cheese (any kind) Tomatoes (for slicing - about 6-8 needed) Green Salad (garden, caesar, etc.) Rice Dish (to along along with Enchiladas) Guacamole Salsa We are grateful that we can count on the support from our parents & families of 217 for this event. We are excited to say THANK YOU to our school staff & teachers for their excellent work each day! PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE PTA GENERAL MEETING on THURSDAY, MAY 19TH AT 6:00 PM. PTA is now accepting Executive Board nominations. The Executvie Board is the governing body of the PTA. Nominations will be open for the following seats on the Executive Board: First Vice President Vice President, Public Relations & Events Vice President, Membership Vice President, Middle School Affairs Secretary Treasurer Fundraising Officer Newsletter Officer Grants Officer Parent Liaisons Website Maintenance Officer Click HERE if you want to read the description of Roles of Executive Board Officers. Please, remember that every parent with a child at the Roosevelt Island School is a member of the PTA. If you are interested in nominating yourself or someone else for these positions or have any questions, please email psis217info@gmail.com. Use the Nomination Form; completed forms should be placed in the marked box in the main office. We will elect a new Executive Board at the PTA meeting on June 2nd. MAY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION will take place on Monday, May 23. ALSO THIS WEEK: May 18, Wednesday, at 8:45 am - School Tour May 19, Thursday, at 6:00 pm - PTA General Meeting HAVE A GREAT WEEK! ©2011 PS/IS 217 PTA | Roosevelt Island School