PALOS VERDES CAMPUS

July 2011

On behalf of the Montessori Parents Association, I am honored to extend you all a warm welcome to the 2011-2012 school year! For those of you who I have not yet met, I am Anjalé Perrault, the mother of Keaton (in transition), and Mason (in pre-primary). I am thrilled to introduce our new families to the MPA this year, and invite all parents, both old and new, to participate in the engaging meetings, events, and activities that the MPA hosts.

You are all members of the MPA, and as our goal is to serve you, we would love for your voice to be heard! The MPA’s guiding principles are to enrich our children’s educational experience by 1) providing an accessible platform for parent involvement 2) fundraising to sponsor school events, assemblies and field trips, and 3) to be ambassadors for the school in the wider community.

Looking back on the myriad of school activities and improvements that were achieved last year through the extraordinary efforts of you, the parents, in conjunction with your MPA, I am overwhelmed with appreciation for being part of this supportive and like-minded community.

In the 2010-2011 school year the record fundraising achieved at our “Bayou Bash” silent auction enabled the MPA to go above and beyond the usual call of duty, providing both playgrounds with new planting boxes so that toddler through 6th grade students can now take part in planting fruits and vegetables and watching them grow. In addition, our Book Fair, e-scrip program, Kids Art Fair, and Holiday Portrait Fundraiser enable enrichment activities to continue to thrive. Special assemblies, Art At Your Fingertips, Snow Day, the International Festival, Ice Cream Social, and Fun Field Day are just a few examples of the exceptional events that are sponsored by the MPA.

In the coming school year we look forward to the continuation of these favorites, as well as the reinstatement of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program which delivers weekly crates of farm fresh organic vegetables straight from Tanaka Farms in Irvine. Half crates will now be available for those of you who found three heads of lettuce a week daunting! I promise you this is one opportunity you won’t want to miss, so keep an eye out for order forms this fall.

Please also mark your calendars for the Parent Social on Saturday October 1st, and the annual Dinner Dance held at Trump National on Saturday February 11th. These parent events are always filled with fun and surprises, and are a great way to meet up with friends, both old and new, building upon the community that is so unique to our Montessori environment.

As the new incoming MPA president, I am fortunate to have the phenomenal example of Gaye Vancans to follow. While this will be my 5th year as an active member of the MPA, I am grateful for the many talents of our MPA team, and for their support in this learning process. My hope is that in this year of growth and change you will join me! Come to a meeting, send over an e-mail, grab me in the hallway, or find me in Starbucks! I promise, I can’t wait to meet you and talk shop.

And don’t forget to login to our website at www.PeninsulaMontessori.com to register with us if you haven’t yet done so, and to participate in our central directory and community marketplace. This is a convenient place to look for the answers to your event or scheduling questions, which can usually be found on the home page. I will also be publishing a monthly Montessori Mom Blog to provide you with some good reading material to go with your morning coffee. I promise it will be funny, heartwarming, honest, and far from boring. So keep an eye out!

I look forward to seeing you all at Orientation on Wednesday, September 7th, and Back to School Night on Thursday October 6th. We will also be holding our first MPA meeting on Tuesday September 13th from 8:45-10:15, so please stop by for some coffee and muffins! Just as last year, we will be alternating between morning and evening meetings every other month to accommodate the schedules of all families. We will provide wine, cheese and babysitting at our evening meetings. It’s like a night out on us! Come join us in making this the most memorable and enriching year for our children yet.

Warmest regards,

Anjalé Perrault
MPA President 2011-2012
anjale@pvpms.com