On behalf of the PTA Executive Board, welcome to the 2008-2009 School Year. We are excited to welcome all of our new families and welcome back our returning families. We hope that everyone had a great summer and is excited to start the school year. You’ll be glad to know that almost all of our dedicated faculty and staff, lead by our principal Ifeoma Obodozie, are back with us this year, and that successful PTA programs such as Rhythm and Moves, the Living History program and our enrichment programs, will be back in action as well.
We would also like to welcome our newest staff members Janet Ohanis, Francene Thornton and Joanne Dickerson-Harper. We look forward to working with each of you. We say thank you and see you soon to Karen Fong who decided to leave Joaquin Miller and accept a new opportunity at the district. You will be missed.
At Joaquin Miller, we take pride in creating an environment in which every child can develop academically and socially to his or her full potential. We are able to do so because we are blessed with gifted teachers and staff, an active and involved parent community, and, most important of all, terrific students. Their enthusiasm, energy and creativity is, of course, what drives all our efforts.
To our new families, we will make every effort to meet you personally in the coming weeks and hope that both you and your child will make lifelong friendships during your tenure at Joaquin Miller. To help you navigate the new school environment, we offer a variety of ways to keep informed on school happenings and get involved in school events.
Keep Informed: There are numerous communication tools to help you stay abreast of school happenings, including our bi-monthly Walkie Talkie newsletter (now available in electronic format), this web site, our JM Yahoo Group, our new volunteer (and parent) tracking system Volunteer Builder, and the phone notification system, CallingPost.
Get Involved: Your time and unique talents truly can make a difference at Joaquin Miller, and there is a role for every parent to play in our school. You can volunteer in a classroom, in the computer lab or the library during school hours; or help with a PTA-sponsored event, program or project in the evening or on the weekend.
This year’s PTA leadership group is committed to keeping families informed, involved and supported, with a renewed commitment to social and community-building activities. We look forward to kicking off the year with our Annual Back-to-School picnic on Sunday, September 7th at Roberts Park – hope to see you there.
So, to get started with our new year, please take the time to read through the Handbook For Parental Involvement, complete your JMPTA Annual Application and become a member of this successful and energetic team of parents and staff. If you have any concerns, comments or suggestions about how to improve your/your child’s experience at JM, please feel free to get in touch with a member of our board directly. Here’s to a great school year!
Sincerely,
Paul Derksen JMPTA President
Posted by mbaze at August 23, 2008 11:35 AM