Meriwether Matters

Contents

Wellness Week

Teacher Appreciation Week

Parent Funding Suggestions

SOL Volunteers Needed

Yearbook Orders

MLS DI Team

Landscape Updates

Community Events

Important Dates

Quick Links

MLS PTO

MLS

ACPS

Box Tops for Education

MLS PTO

Serving the children, families, teachers, and staff of
Meriwether Lewis School.

Wellness Week Community Events

The Wellness Week fun does not end during the school day! Please check out these fun opportunities for extra movement throughout the day:

Thursday, April 30: FAST (Fun, Active, Social, Teamwork) Times Dance Battle at Stone Robinson-3rd-5th graders invited and still a few spots left: http://bit.ly/1bbrwUu

Friday May 1: MLSPE Alumni Night-Any ACPS middle school student who attended MLS is invited back to celebrate the "good ol' days" with their favorite MLSPE activities! 6:15-7:45 in the MLS gymnasium. We are grateful for you spreading the word as I never see my kids from the past!

Sunday May 3: Family Field Day-Come one come all members of the family for some outside fun in the sun! 3:30-5:00 for some awesome Spike Ball, Human Slingshot, and Capture the Flag games! Meet us outside on the basketball blacktop to get the party started!

Teacher Appreciation Week: May 4-8th

MLS TEACHERS ROCK!!

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

MONDAY, MAY 4TH - FRIDAY, MAY 8TH

Click here for all of the details!

IMPORTANT DATES FOR STUDENTS

TUESDAY, MAY 5TH: STUDENTS WITH LAST NAMES A-L

Students with the last names A-L are invited to bring in cards, pictures or a small token for their homeroom teacher
Each class has been assigned a "SPECIALS" teacher/staff to give to as well. If you have not received an email from your Room Parent regarding this, please contact Kelley Hathaway
IMPORTANT NOTE: IF THERE IS ANY ADDITIONAL TEACHER OR STAFF MEMBER A STUDENT WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE, HE/SHE MAY DO SO ON THIS DAY

THURSDAY, MAY 7TH: STUDENT WITH LAST NAMES M-Z

Students with the last names M-Z are invited to bring in cards, pictures or a small token for their homeroom teacher
Each class has been assigned a "SPECIALS" teacher/staff to give to as well. If you have not received an email from your Room Parent regarding this, please contact Kelley Hathaway
IMPORTANT NOTE: IF THERE IS ANY ADDITIONAL TEACHER OR STAFF MEMBER A STUDENT WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE, HE/SHE MAY DO SO ON THIS DAY

RAFFLE FOR TEACHER & STAFF: GIFT CARDS

Every morning a few names are drawn out of a hat and the winners receive a GIFT CARD! We have been collecting gift cards and could still use some more! Our goal is to try and have every faculty member be a WINNER! If you are interested in sending in a gift card, please send it in an envelope with your name on it via backpack mail to the Attn: Hospitality Committee/Kelley Hathaway in Mrs. Robinson's class by Friday, May 1st. * Consider asking a local business to donate a gift card! Businesses are always happy to support our local teachers.

Parent Funding Suggestions

For the PTO board, the end of one year means planning for the next! Traditionally in April and May we have solicited funding requests from teachers, staff, and parents and made decisions to allocate funds raised throughout the year. This year we took a more proactive approach: with the formalization of the Annual Fund last September, we identified our funding priorities at the start of the year. With your enthusiasm and support, we have made progress on all three! Click here to review our Annual Fund Summary.

Beyond the Annual Fund, many of our programs and events exceeded budget expectations this year, thanks to the many parents who volunteered their time to organize, champion, and attend these initiative. We are fortunate to have such a talented and generous MLS community!

We will spend May and June planning for a small number of additional year-end expenditures, setting our budget goals for next year, and working with Dr. Irani to identify to funding priorities for next year's Annual Fund. So now we would like to hear from parents, teachers, and staff. What needs have you identified at MLS? Where would like to see PTO and school funds allocated, for the betterment of our students? We welcome your ideas and proposals. Your suggestions will be included in our prioritization and review process.

Click here for a copy of the "Parent Funding Suggestion Form" to share your ideas. Please be sure to complete each section as thoroughly as possible so that we may fully consider your request, and submit your form by Wednesday, May 6th. Thank you once again for your enthusiasm and support!

SOL Volunteers Needed:May 18th - May 29th

Parent volunteers are needed to monitor the halls to keep them quiet and conduct students one at a time to the bathroom as needed. They do not go in with the student, but they make sure that students do not talk to other students during testing. It is a low-action and rather boring job--good opportunity to catch up on reading or computer work. It is boring, but critical to helping testing to run smoothly.

Please sign up here if you can help or see Anne Geraty for any questions.

Order Your Yearbook Now - It's not too late!

It's not too late to order your MLS 2015 Yearbooks! Accepting orders until May 29 for $17. After that, you may purchase one directly from Sue or Kim in the front office while supplies last.

Click here for the order form.

Congrats MLS Destination Imagination Team!

Congratulations to the MLS 5th grade Destination Imagination team on advancing to DI Global Finals in Knoxville, TN next month!

The team includes 4 MLS and 1 VLM students (Rachel Klees, Eunice Abaya, Charlotte Dougherty, Giselle Garbaccio and Daxon Citron) who have worked together diligently this year to come up with creative solutions to the DI Improv Challenges. The Dragons did a great job at state-level competitions this winter and will now represent MLS and VLM as they compete with thousands of students from around the world.

The team is raising funds to help subsidize the cost of their trip and will share specifics in upcoming editions of Meriwether Matters. Until then, if you are interested in supporting the Dragons or have any questions, please contact Chris Citron at chriscitron@gmail.com.

Landscaping Volunteer Day

Help MLS look its best! The MLS campus is something we can all be proud of. But, it takes volunteers to make that happen. Please grab the kids and whole family and do a little community service project together by helping trim up and weed the MLS campus. Please bring any hedge trimmers, weeders, rakes, or other tools you have to make the job easier. Some light refreshments will be provided.

DATE: Saturday 5/2/2015 (Sat 9:00AM - 11:00AM)

SIGNUP: Go to the signup page at www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C084DADAD2EAA8-mlsspring

LOCATION: Meriwether Lewis Elementary

QUESTIONS: Contact Kristina Parker at kparker5555@yahoo.com

Community Events

Camp4Real
Camp4Real online and paper registration is ready to go! PLEASE help us spread the word of the camps we are offering this summer, including our first GIRLS camp!

Meriwether Lewis June 15-19
Stone Robinson June 22-26
Meriwether Lewis GIRLS ONLY June 29-July 2
Meriwether Lewis Middle School Evening July 6-10
Meriwether Lewis July 13-17
Brownsville July 27-31
Hollymead (at Sutherland Middle School) August 3-7

With the exception of the middle school camp, rising 1st-6th graders from any school may participate. Camp4Real is a very active half-day camp that focuses on our campers' favorite physical activities, the joys of healthy eating, and character development. Please spread the news to your friends in other communities as we look forward to a REAL Fun, REAL Food, REAL Active, and REAL Awesome summer!

Olivet PreSchool
The Olivet Preschool is hosting an Open House on Sunday, May 17, 12:00-2:00pm. If you have preschool age children or grandchildren, please come visit us! www.olivetpreschool.org

Hallowed Journeys Summer Camp
This social studies camp is open to rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. It fills very quickly, so don't delay.
http://compass.k12albemarle.org/?p=662900

Important Dates

Family Landscape Day at MLS
Saturday, May 2nd
9:00am - 11:00am

Family Field Day
Sunday, May 3rd

Parent Funding Suggestions Due
Wednesday, May 6th

Teacher Appreciation Week
May 4th - May 8th

Kids Night Out
Friday, May 29th
6:00pm

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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.