Now that March is behind us and we have all recharged our engines over Spring Break, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who were part of the Meadows March Madness. In our case, it wasn't basketball that caused the madness; it was the hustle and bustle of tons of PTA volunteers!   Two of the PTAs biggest fundraisers of the year came back to back in March, and we rallied together as a community to make them both a huge success!

A special thanks to the Parent Party Chairpersons, Kristin O'Hara and Adrianne Laurita who worked tirelessly for many months to make this year's party a rockin' success and to launch our first ever online auction.   They were joined by many parents who dedicated their time and talent to help. Thank you so much to Jennifer Friedlander, Janine Lizarde, Cynthia Hedges, Amy Hageman, Johanna Kraus, Emily Macias, Becky McCalla, Deb Doyle, Andrea Ramey, Julie Misch, Teresa Hymowitz, Lora Penczar, Heidi Walsh, Miho Minabe, Stacey Graham, Steve and Shawn Truitt, Jenny Tucker, Kristin Kresser, Shelly Summers, Heather Pecoroni Krueger, Kica Worrilow, Katie Driscoll, Tiffannee Watts, Lisa Becker, Erin DeBaets, Ami Martin, Cara Miller, Cara Cutler, Jeanne Dickenson, Julie Cortez, Justine Hunter, and Carol Gerken.

One short week after the Parent Party was the annual Meadows Camp Expo. Returning chairpersons, Nancy Young and Mari Kupiec did an awesome job with the expo that included the addition of the Food Truck Fest.   Despite the rain, it was a very well attended, successful event. A big shout out goes to Julie Misch, Joni Toyooka, Kari Carpino, Leasa Ireland, Andrea Ramey, Carol Gerken, Cynthia Hedges, Deb Doyle, and Lorena Pusateri for all their help!  

We finished off the month with the Mixed Bag Fundraiser, which was spearheaded by Karen Brenneman. Thank you to Karen and everyone who browsed the catalog and placed an order. We will all benefit!

As the state and federal budgets for education have diminished, Manhattan Beach has rallied together to figure out how to prevent our students from feeling the effects of these cuts.   More and more of the program costs and administration of the schools have fallen to the responsibility of the PTAs. I am so grateful to the Meadows parents who continue to work harder to make sure we don't have to make difficult cuts. The over $55,000 that these events raised, will cover a big part of the PTA's roughly $180,000 of expenses for the year. This money will ensure that our cultural arts programs are intact, the curriculum support materials required by our teachers are available, our library, computer lab and science lab are equipped, our copiers and printers have paper and ink, and our special programs like Science Night, Winter Program and assemblies stay in tact.  

In addition to these huge fundraisers, we also put on two of our most loved programs in the same six weeks. The Father/Daughter Dance and Mother/Son Game Night require the hard work of many volunteers.   I want to thank V.P.s of Programs, Jada Hong and Amy Hageman, Father/Daughter Chairs, Rachel Gerrans and Julie Misch and Mother/Son Chairs, Deb Doyle and Jada Hong along with the many other volunteers who make these community-building events possible.  

On behalf of the PTA Board and all of our teachers and students, I want to extend our sincere gratitude to our community for the hard work and dedication that goes into making Meadows such an exceptional school!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Cochran

President, Meadows PTA