Friday, March 9, 2012

March is going to be a fun month!

Thank you to everyone who attended our PTO General Session meeting in February. The minutes from that meeting are posted on the OMES website. Our March PTO meeting is a planning meeting and will be held on Tuesday, March 13 at 11am. All parents are invited as usual.

The Birmingham News reported a few Sundays ago, that parent involvement at
home makes a difference in a child’s performance in school. Parent involvement by volunteering and participating in fundraisers also makes a difference in the life of a school. We are lucky to have such wonderful parent support at Oak Mountain Elementary. Clipping BoxTops and participating in fundraisers gives the PTO the ability to help
the school purchase many things for the children to use at the school (e.g. purchasing computers, laptops and promethean boards for each classroom and replenishing the mulch on playgrounds are a few examples). I want to
congratulate all of the OMES families who have clipped BoxTops this year. OMES raised $5,000.

Acts of Kindness Week, where we showed our appreciation to the teachers, was a success this year and was very much appreciated. The teachers and staff enjoyed lunch donated by Jim‘N Nicks as well as many small acts of kindness the week of Valentine’s Day. I want to give a huge thank you to our Room Mom Coordinators Misti Steed and Natalie Ellison for coordinating the Acts of Kindness Week for the PTO as well as the room mothers for implementing the plan.

March is going to be a fun month! We have a FUN fundraiser coming up on March 15th—Boosterthon. Boosterthon is a fun run that takes place on the field behind the school. My favorite part of Boosterthon is the week before the event where the Boosterthon Guys plant seeds of good character. I am so thankful for the positive male role models for my children who are growing up so quickly and to know their friends participate in the same week of character education. All parents are invited to watch the Boosterhon run on March 15th.

It is hard to believe that we are in the last semester of this school year. In March and April,families will have the opportunity to participate in
two community outreach philanthropies. We will be collecting school supplies for Center Point Elementary that was destroyed in the January 23rd tornado. We will also participate in the Birmingham Reads program that is coordinated by The Literacy Council and Better Basics. Books will be collected for children in Shelby County, Jefferson County and Birmingham City Schools. The school that collects the most books will win $1,000 for their library.

There are a lot of opportunities to get involved. I urge you to pick one activity and participate in the PTO. We are currently filling positions for next year’s PTO board. Serving on the board is a great way to become more involved and to meet new people. Please contact me if you are interested. Thanks for all that you do to make
OMES a better place for our children.

— Rebecca Sandidge, OMES PTO President
becsandidge@bellsouth.net