Meriwether Matters
Meriwether Matters is a weekly digest of top news items from the MLS PTO. Click through to mlspto.org for all the most up-to-date information!
 
In the Spotlight

Dear Meriwether Lewis Community,

We wanted to thank everyone for a fabulous 2015-2016 school year and for all of your support throughout the year. We are especially thankful for all of the people who stepped into leadership positions on the board and as committee chairs as well as to all of you who volunteered on committees, in the classroom, and by sending in food and supplies to support our teachers.  Volunteer support is the most important day-in and day-out contribution we can make.

Our combined financial support has also made a huge difference this year.
  • We contributed $30,000 to the new playground, which will be constructed this summer! This was due in large part to the holdover of annual funds from last year.
  • We contributed $15,000 to Year Two of the PTO Professional Development Fund. Click here to read how funds were spent this year.
  • We contributed $6,000 for a mobile Promethean ActivPanel for our new French Program.
  • We contributed $20,000 for 5-6 fixed classroom ActivPanels. If you would like to learn more about these panels, click here and here for information. This is a really amazing opportunity for our students and teachers. A giant Promethean Wall is being installed in the library so every student at MLS will have an opportunity to experience this new technology.
  • We contributed $7,000 to a pilot fund, The Project-Based Learning Fund, which will allow teachers to apply for funds above and beyond their classroom funds so that they can purchase materials for project-based learning.
We continue to be excited about our Bluebirds Care Initiative and hope we can continue this program for years to come. If you missed it, click here for a great news segment about one project that several classes participated in throughout the year. 

Finally, thank you to our teachers and administrators who do so much behind the scenes to make Meriwether Lewis the special place that it is. We are grateful that our children come to school each day under your care.

We hope everyone has a fun and safe summer! 
Mindy Goodall and Peggy Williams
MLS PTO Co-Presidents 2015-2016

Upcoming Events & Deadlines
  • Field Day K-2: Wednesday, June 1 
     
  • Field Day 3-5: Thursday, June 2
  • Last Day of School: Tuesday, June 7
     
  • Summer Library Hours: Tuesday, June 14, 4-6 pm. Click here for the full list of summer library dates on the school calendar.

mlspto.org Highlights for the Week

Please take a moment this week to check the lost and found and claim anything that belongs to your family. Anything left unclaimed at the end of the year will be donated. Mrs. Carey and Mr. Gissendanner's 4th grade math class recently put their skills into practice by categorizing the lost and found items and researching their replacement cost. Click here for the shocking results of their analysis!

MLS is registered as a Crayola "Eco Cool School": Crayola will pay shipping costs for the school to send in dried up/dead markers and tops of any brand! This is a great way to clean out desks, drawers, and backpacks at the end of the school year and keep all these plastic markers out of the landfills. Mrs. Atkinson has a collection box in the library, where students can drop off old markers now through the end of the year. For more information about the program, click here.
  • Irish Dance Classes: Click here for more information on the BAFFA Academy of Irish Dance, offering introductory classes in Charlottesville this fall.
     
  • Camp4Real: The popular Camp4Real, led by PE Teacher Scott Williams and his team, is open for signups for both online or paper registration! Early bird rates last through June 3. Click here for dates, locations, and camp info for this summer. 

Laurel Geis and Holly Stancil, Communications Coordinators
You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to Meriwether Matters, a weekly publication of the Meriwether Lewis Elementary PTO. Community events are listed by request as space is available. The MLS PTO does not endorse or have any additional information regarding these events.