www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E0E45ABAD2AA13-talent/

2.      Help your children to polish up their acts before the Dress Rehearsal on Thursday, March 5th at 6:00PM

3.      Volunteer to help!

4.      Have your children submit their favorite jokes in the joke box at the entrance of the school

5.      Come and Support the acts on March 13th at 6:00PM in the Gym at MLS

Thank you!
Kennon Ibbeken (kennonibbs@gmail.com) & Robyn Mattern (robyn_mattern@yahoo.com)

Silent Auction - Friday, Mar 20th 6:30pm

**Don't forget to get your raffle tickets for a HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE this week at the rescheduled Talent Show. Tickets are $10 each. Raffle will be drawn the night of the auction.**

Have you checked out the Catalog yet? Don't forget to plan your bids for the March 20th Silent Auction @ 6:30 PM at King Family Vineyards! In case you missed them, here are a few of our amazing Auction items:

-- Enjoy 4 days and nights during the week of August 9-16, 2015 for Family Camp at Camp Alleghany! Activities include canoeing, hiking, archery, tennis, swimming, arts & crafts and skeet shooting. This package is valid for 2 adults and 2 children under 12. Click here for more information.

-- Ride the Ivy Fire Truck to or From School! Time for your child to grab his or her fire hat and have an experience of a lifetime!

-- Have you been meaning to love the house you're in? Bid on local ARCHITECT or INTERIOR DESIGN services to make those dreams turn into a reality! Or, has your favorite babysitter graduated? A membership with ASAP SITTERS will have you covered! Do you also keep putting off getting those important documents written? An experienced lawyer will help you DRAFT WILLS and related documents!

Take a look at our Silent Auction Catalog with more details about these and HUNDREDS of other amazing items. Visit http://www.mlspto.org/silentauction. We hope to see you there!

Melissa Hoover mhoover@bridgewater.edu ~
Carleen Kupcis carleenkup@gmail.com ~
Christina Keller christinaminglekeller@gmail.com

BOS Town Hall Meetings in March

The Board of Supervisors are hosting a series of town hall meetings on the county's 2016 Operating and Capital Budget, which is currently under development. These sessions are designed to share information and start a community conversation about the budget. Everyone is invited to attend any session, each of which will last about 90 minutes. If you are unable to attend a meeting, you may share your opinions with the BOS at bos@albemarle.org. Meeting dates featuring our district's supervisors are as follows:

Thursday, March 12, 7:30 pm: Supervisor Ann Mallek at the Field School Auditorium, Crozet.

Monday, March 16, 7:00 pm: Supervisors Liz Palmer and Diantha McKeel with School Board members Eric Strucko and Kate Acuff at Murray Elementary with Principal Mark Green

Monday, March 23, 7:00 pm: Supervisor Liz Palmer with School Board member Eric Strucko at Red Hill Elementary

Tuesday, March 24, 7:00 pm: Supervisors Jane Dittmar and Liz Palmer with School Board member Eric Strucko at Monticello High School

Saturday, March 28, 10:00 am: Supervisor Ann Mallek at the White Hall Community Center

For the complete calendar of meetings, including Virtual Town Hall options, visit http://www.albemarle.org/navpages.asp?info=release&ID=18609

Big Changes for MLSPTO.com

We have a brand-new website and a new MLS PTO logo! The site provides the most current news and information in blog-form on the home page, with links to all our programs and services for more detail. It is integrated with our social media sites, so follow us on Facebook (MLS PTO) and Twitter (@MLSPTO) too! Visit mlspto.org today to check it out!

Many thanks to our new webmaster, Miroslav Halas, and co-president Laurel Geis who have engineered the new site. Thanks also to Sarah Eagleburger for her work on the new MLS logo, which gave rise to our PTO version. We also owe a huge thank you to James Younger, who has generously served as our webmaster since the inception of mlspto.org. In addition, James has served as PTO treasurer, EZone coordinator, silent auction back-room guru, and numerous other roles in his seven years of volunteering. Thank you James, Miro, Laurel, and Sarah for your many contributions!

Kindergarten Registration

Beginning Monday, March 2, families will be able to register their child online for kindergarten in any of the 16 elementary schools in the Albemarle County Public Schools division.

Parents and guardians can log on to www.k12albemarle.org/kindergarten to begin the registration process for their child. They still will be required to bring a copy of their child's original birth certificate, social security card, immunization records, and two proofs of residency to the school that their child will attend.

In-person kindergarten registration begins on Wed, March 18

Yearbook Pictures Needed

Calling all photographers! We need your photos for the 2015 Yearbook! Please click on this link to see instructions on uploading directly from your phone, (equivalent of iPhone 5 or higher is acceptable), or from your computer. Thanks!

Lost and Found

There are MANY items in the MLS lost and found right now. MLS parent Jolene Park kindly did some organizing and took photos! Check them out on our "MLS PTO" Facebook page and if any of these belong to your child, please come by the school and claim them. If you're not on Facebook, access the album by visiting www.mlspto.org and click on the Facebook icon (f) on the upper right area of the home page.

Spring 2015 EZone

Spring session II courses begin March 16.

All course descriptions and dates are available at this link: Spring 2015 EZ Schedule. If you haven't submitted payment for Spring I and II courses, please do so! Payments accepted via cash or check made out to MLS PTO should be sent through backpack mail, ATTN: Enrichment Zone. Questions? Please email ez@mlspto.org.

Thank you for your continued support of the MLS PTO through the Enrichment Zone program!

Box Top Contest Totals

The Box Tops Classroom Contest is over. A sincere THANK YOU goes out to all of the students and teachers who collected Box Tops for Education and helped us earn over $1800 for our school!
The final numbers are in. . .
Mrs. Straume's 3rd graders won 1st place with a whopping 2796 Box Tops! (That may be a new school record!)
Ms. Wetmore-Simpson's 5th graders came in 2nd place with 1760 Box Tops.
Mrs. Oehler's 1st graders earned 3rd place with 1243 Box Tops.

K - Franco           364
K - Klug               383
K - Sadler           480
K - Warren          224

1 - Benoit           942
1 - Jackson        594
1 - Oehler         1243

2 - Ealy              639
2 - Robinson      882
2 - Stewart         266

3 - Kirtley           734
3 - Kuhn           1181
3 - Meeks           622
3 - Straume      2796

4 - Carey            884
4 - Scully          1009
4 - Wilson         1003

5 - Jordan            636
5 - Parmelee        888
5 - Wetmore-Simpson    1760

EZone

The MLS PTO is taking applications for the Enrichment Zone (EZ) Coordinator position for Meriwether Lewis Elementary school for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 school years. The EZ Coordinator will be paid an annual stipend of $2,500 for the part-time position. Applicants should be current members of the MLS PTO and be willing to commit to two years. PTO members are all parents and legal guardians of children currently enrolled in the Meriwether Lewis School, as well as all teachers, teachers' assistants, guidance counselors, and administrators of MLS. Total expected working hours are in the range of 150-200 hours spread over the course of the year. Please click here for a detailed EZ Coordinator position description.

Applicants interested in the position should submit a resume and a cover letter detailing their interest in the position and why they feel they would be a good fit for the role. Cover letters and resumes should be submitted no later than Friday, April 3rd, 2015 to MLS Assistant Principal Brandi Robertson at bprobertson@k12albemarle.org or submitted in the office. Please contact Mrs. Robertson or PTO Co-Vice President Peggy Williams peggybwilliams@icloud.com with any questions about the position.

Important Dates

Talent Show

Friday, March 13th

6:00pm

Silent Auction

Friday, March 20th

6:30pm

Kids Night Out

Friday, March 20th

6:00pm

Class Pictures
Wednesday, March 25th

Principal Coffee Chat

Wednesday, March 25th

8:15am

End of the 3rd Quarter

Friday, April 3rd

Spring Break

April 6th-10th

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Dana Quist, Communications Coordinator

Meriwether Lewis School PTO

To submit items for inclusion in Meriwether Matters,

please email mlsmatters@gmail.com.

Community events are listed by request as space is available. The MLS PTO does not endorse or have any additional information regarding these events.