Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Eudaimonia, parent volunteers and on and on...

It's horrifying to realize it's been 5 weeks since the last parent blog post. Sorry to anyone out there reading and hoping to catch up on what's been going on at school that may relate to parents. First, I hope that everyone enjoyed our first kinda-fancy, really fun fundraiser, Eudaimonia. Joanna has lots of good thank yous on her blog so I won't repeat them here, but I will say that there was a moment when I looked up at parents, staff and board members running around, decorating, putting things into place and making this gorgeous event and thought "WOW! This is utterly amazing!" People were fully into the work. Delightful pictures were being hung on walls, tables were being set with vibrant orange cloth, our own children's art work was being displayed...all in a great act of care and anticipation of a great evening. I was proud of what we were able to accomplish together and felt an even greater connection to the Summers-Knoll community than I had before.

But it also demonstrated to me that parents are more than willing and able to help make things work for the school, especially if they are given an important role. One of the Board members was mentioning at the last meeting that S-K used to have a very vibrant PTO and maybe it's time for that PTO to come back. Parents are a critical element to the success of the school...could there be a great way to organize efforts so that parents can be involved in activities that engage their interests and skills in the best way possible? But creating something like a PTO has to come from the parent community. What would be the best way to think about it/make it happen? How about this being a topic at an upcoming parent coffee?

Finally, we have a fantastic group of parents coming in to the school next year (as well as some we hope will be recruited in the following months--keep your recruiting caps on!). I know one of the biggest draws for our family was the parent community at S-K. What are some ideas for bringing new parents and kids into our community in ways that make them feel welcome, engaged and appreciated? If you have a good idea, please share it here or talk about it at the parent coffee.

Thanks again to all of you who either came to Eudaimonia or helped in some form or fashion. If you have feedback on how the event went, please feel free to email me at fran.loosen (at) gmail.com and I will pass it on to the development committee, or (of course) reach out to Joanna or the staff.

Enjoy the weather, have a wonderful week.

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