Thornapple PTO Mission Statement
The Thornapple Elementary PTO is a non-profit organization exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. We welcome into this organization all parents, guardians, persons significant to a Thornapple student, teachers and staff. We strive to promote a sense of fun and community among teachers, staff and Thornapple students and their families through various social functions. We hold fundraisers for the specific purpose of supplementing educational materials and experiences for Thornapple students and staff. It is our belief that the team effort of our PTO, the Thornapple staff and students’ families help offer the best possible learning environment for our children. We greatly appreciate any amount of support that you can offer!
PTO Board Officers 2011-2012:
Co-Presidents: Kathy DiBenedetto and Kirsten Zarou
Co-Vice Presidents: Katy DiMeglio and April Woods
Co-Treasurers: Nicole Gill and Lauren Koehler
Secretary: Cathy Chan
PTO Meeting Minutes
PTO General Meeting Minutes 04172012
PTO General Meeting Minutes 02072012
PTO General Meeting Minutes 12142011
PTO General Meeting Minutes 10182011
March is Reading Month
In celebration of National March is Reading Month, Thornapple will spend the month engaging in a variety of fun literacy activities and projects that will encourage our children to read more and to read for the fun of it. The staff, Mr. Shubel and the PTO have been hard at word planning many fun activities.
The PTO will support teachers in the classroom as they engage students in the following: in-depth author studies, authoring and illustrating a collaborative school-wide storybook, Book Buddies, Mystery Book of the Week, Scavenger Hunts through the Media Center and much more.
As a family, you can support your child’s participation by engaging them in such things as:
- Read with your child every day. Set aside a special time and space for the two of you to enjoy reading together. Fill out the Whitecaps bookmark and your child can earn TWO free tickets to a game (watch for more info. on Thornapple Day at the Whitecaps in next month’s newsletter).
- Watch for your child’s “Book”-tivities calendar. Encourage and support your child in completing as many of the activities as they can during the month.
- Watch for information from your child’s teacher about their guest reader calendar. Sign up to come in for a few minutes one day during the month to read a book to your child’s class (invite a favorite relative or special person).
- Take a picture of your child reading at home. Send it in for the “Get Caught Reading” bulletin board.
If you have any questions or would like to get more directly involved in March is Reading Month, contact Kristi O’Meara 682-7929 or mkomeara@comcast.net or Jane Stidolph 706-6232 or jstidolph@gmail.com
Friday March 2nd is Dr. Suess’ Birthday!
Join us in celebrating this event as we join in with NEA’s Read Across America Day celebration. Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries and community centers will gather to celebrate reading with young people. We will have a school-wide reading of The Lorax and other activities that special day to kick off our month long celebration of March is Reading Month.
Check out these websites for more information:
www.seussville.com
www.nea.org
Thornapple’s Media Center website is bursting with information and website links to further your child’s learning experience, www.thornappleottermedia.com
ReadWriteThink is a free website sponsored by the International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English, and MarcoPolo. The site contains grade specific ideas to help kids with their reading and writing skills. www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources
Fun quotes about the joy of reading:
- Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read. –Groucho Marx
- Books had instant replay long before televised sports. –Bern Williams
