CRS PTA > Home

On behalf of your PTA, welcome to Churchill Road Elementary School’s (CRS’) 2009-2010 school year. As you know, CRS is a great school with phenomenal kids, committed staff, involved families, and a caring community. Your PTA will continue to be an integral part of the school’s efforts to educate children, develop character, and nurture a supportive, respectful learning environment.

You’re invited to be a part of the PTA’s exciting initiatives for this school year:

· Improve and expand academic programs that complement CRS’ curriculum, including Art Appreciation, Outdoor Odyssey, After-School Programs, Integrated Arts Assemblies, Reflections, Field Trips, Student Performances, and Math and Art Nights. The PTA also supports enhancements to CRS’ reading, music, math, technology, and special education programs.

· Support other student development programs including Peer Mediation and Safety Patrols.

· Maintain support for teachers and staff by providing teacher incidentals, staff appreciation, and approximately 80% of the costs associated with teacher/staff professional development.

· Continue and increase community service activities:

o Sandwich making for Martha’s Table, the annual SHARE food drive, and Thanksgiving grocery gift card and holiday gift drives to benefit families at our buddy school, Dogwood Elementary in Reston;

o Our Churchill Cares program, which fosters community support for CRS families in need; and

o Our student, faculty, parent, and staff Green Team will work to make CRS an environmentally friendly school that conserves resources, reduces waste, recycles, and engages in proactive stewardship.

· Foster parent education and networking through seminars on topics such as internet safety and drug awareness. The PTA also hosts community-wide social events such as Outdoor Family Movie Night, Ice Skating, a Backyard Barbeque, and the International Parade of Cuisines Potluck Dinner. The PTA also organizes outreach to families that are new to CRS.

Our PTA can’t make this happen without your involvement:

Become a member of the CRS PTA. Membership is only $10 per parent per year. For returning families, don’t forget that membership must be renewed annually. There is a membership form HERE.
Volunteer your time and expertise, if you can. The PTA can use your time not only during school days, but also on evenings and weekends. Contact your teacher, Andrea Favro, or Larraine Bettios(volunteers1@churchillroadpta.org).
Contribute money. All of the enriching activities and events described above are part of the proposed PTA 2009-2010 budget, included in the Back-to-School folder or on the website here, along with line item explanations. This $82,000 budget works out to $110 per student. This year the PTA is conducting an armchair fundraiser to cover the budget: We’re asking all CRS families to write one check now, $100 per student. You can contribute this as part of your membership application, or you can send it in response to the fundraising letter. We hope that this initial “armchair” drive will enable the PTA to focus more time and energy throughout the year on programs, instead of fundraising.

* * * * * * *

Lastly, whether you are a new or returning family, remember there is a wealth of information about school policies and the PTA on the inside and back of your Back-to-School folder. And don’t forget about all of the information on the CRS and PTA websites: www.fcps.edu/ChurchillRoadES and www.churchillroadpta.org . Also look for the email notices through the School’s "Keep in Touch" (KIT) system.

Please feel free to contact us ( or ) or any of the PTA Board members with any questions or comments. Thank you in advance for your support and we look forward to having the opportunity to work for and with you this school year.

Cat Lippman, President & Liz Holzapfel, Vice President

CRS PTA 2009-2010

Cat Lippman Liz Holzapfel

Announcements

2009-2010 Officers Elected

Officers for 2009-2010 were elected at a General Membership Meeting on June 5:

• President: Cat Lippman
• Vice-President: Liz Holzapfel
• Treasurer: Ellen Donovan
• Recording Secretary: Holly Houmaoui
• Membership Secretary: Marlen McKinney
• Appropriations: Arezoo Niliaram
• Long-Range Planning: Cheryl Bamdad

PTA Executive Board Approves Committee Chair Nominees

The Nominating Committee has recruited Committee chairs for next school year, which have been approved by the PTA Executive Committee:

• After School Activities: Sandra Bendler, Laurie Schaefer (Coordinates after school enrichment activities)
• After-School Foreign Languages: Karina Candamo & VACANT
• Art Appreciation: Kerry Buckley, Dianne Forburger, & Pernilla Scott (Coordinates the curriculum, supplies, and visuals; and recruits and schedules volunteers)
• Book Fair: Susan Stewart, Beth Harkaway, & Liz Holzapfel
• Box Tops: Elizabeth Beers (Coordinates General Mills Box Tops 4 Education program)
• Churchill Cares: Melissa Cain & Nazita Bagha (Provides assistance to CRS families in need)
• Community Service: Martha Blue, Sarah Walter, & Marta Bascom (Coordinates community service projects (Martha's Table sandwich making; Dogwood, CRS buddy school, projects; SHARE Food Drive; quarterly donation of CRS lost and found items; etc.))
• Directory: Lauri Dacey & Suzanne Seigel (Assembles the CRS school directory at the beginning of the school year)
• Family Activities: Jenifer Lesan & Kara Kaldes (Organizes family focused activities to promote community spirit (ice skating, Backyard BBQ, Parade of Cuisines))
• Finance: Will Ferris & Diane Ferris (Support Treasurer.)
• Fun Fair: Debra Furman & Simone Alvarez
• Fundraising – Armchair: Christine Peterson & Marti Friedman
• Green Team: VACANT
• Grocery Scrip: Jennifer Schuette (Coordinates program where CRS families may register with Safeway (eScrip) and/or Giant (A+ Bonus Bucks) so that CRS will receive a percentage of registered families' total grocery receipts. Also escrip online.)
• Hospitality: Suzy Thompson, & Forough Yazdani (Organizes the back to school luncheon for the staff and faculty and the end of school year staff appreciation luncheon.)
• Integrated Arts: Trish Yi (Works with Arts Director, Louise Garcia, to schedule school assemblies for the year. May attend assembly to assist with set-up , and clean up of chairs, and provide assistance to performers.)
• Library Volunteers: Karen Megrue & Terri Markwart (Manages library volunteers and runs the book fair)
• McLean Citizens Assoc.: Steve Gee (Liaison between the MCA and CRS)
• New Family Outreach: Karen Mulquin & Robin Hoeymans (Organizes activities and outreach to the school community, especially new families)
• Outdoor Odyssey: Andrea Liddell, Katherine Mardirosian, Kim Wenk, & Lauri Dacey (Outdoor classroom projects, Overall program/budget, Farmer’s Market, Scheduling, Stewardship, Greenhouse/seeding)
• Parent Education and Resources: Lisa Ugone, Lezlie McBride, & Sarah Tyler (Oversees parenting materials kept in the PTA room. Schedules seminars on issues of importance to parents (works closely with guidance counselor on scheduling), liaison to Safe Community Coalition)
• Parliamentarian: Linda Dempsey (Provides advice on bylaws; oversees five-year revision process)
• Pre-Packaged School Supplies: Gabrielle Aulisi
• Reflections: Jennifer Anthony & Vibha Miller (Coordinates the National PTA Arts Recognition Program)
• School Performances: Cheryl Bamdad
• Sixth Grade Party: Liz Holzapfel & Leisel Curtis (Organizes the 6th grade end of year party, partially funded by CRS PTA)
• Sally Foster: Amy Swaak (Coordinate the fall gift wrap fundraiser)
• Spelling Bee: Rajee Ramesh
• Staff Appreciation: Jennifer Feinstein, Patricia Dunne, & Genie Strong (Coordinates events to show appreciation for the CRS faculty (approx. 4 times during the school year))
• Student Performances: Cheryl Bamdad (Organizes & maintains student costumes & assists teachers with performances)
• Volunteers: Lorraine Bettios & Andrea Favro (Coordinates volunteers for various activities and organizes orientation for room parents)
• Website: Nathan Ward (Maintains PTA website)
• Wellness: Heidi Appel & Liesl Curtis (Organizes activities to promote healthy lifestyle)
• Yearbook: Melissa Schwartz, Jenifer Lesan, Stephanie Sirh, & Arezoo Niliaram

If you are interested in participating in any of the PTA's efforts, please contact Lorraine Bettios (lorraine@bettios.com ) or Andrea Favro (m_andreina@yahoo.com ).

On-Line Shopping -- Free Credits for CRS!

"Read more" below for information on how your on-line shopping can automatically earn credits for CRS is available on the PTA website. Questions? Contact Christy Slade, groceries1@churchillroadpta.org , 703.506.9433.