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We keep you informed throughout the year with poignant posts and informative articles.
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BLOG
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We keep you informed throughout the year with poignant posts and informative articles.
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Thank you all so much for your nominations for this year's Golden Acorn Award.
Congratulations and thank you to this year’s recipient, Erin Senge! Here are just a few testimonials on why she deserved this recognition: "Erin Senge has been a leader of ME PTSA in the toughest of times; throughout the pandemic she strived with her small team to bring projects and encouragement to the Mukilteo Elementary community. She brought our PTSA a sense of continuity to grow again as she guided new members in the process. Erin’s passion for the Art Docents and Nature Guides has grown increasing support for these programs, as she encouraged all classes to have volunteers. She persuaded me to shadow her in one of her Art Docent lessons as I expressed hesitancy in being able to teach art. She has created many beautiful graphics for our programs, including the logo for our Nature Guides program. She has also created many engaging, information-rich art lessons throughout the years, some which are viewable on the website. She has sought to be a bridge for our ME community in explaining the history behind each of the programs our PTSA supports. Sometimes her work has been invisible as she moved forward paperwork and projects of her predecessors to create a uniform platform for future leaders. I feel her persistence and resilience deserves the Golden Acorn Award." "Erin encompasses all that it means to be a selfless volunteer. In the nearly 2 years that she had been PTA President, she helped make Mukilteo Elementary PTSA an organization that parents wanted to be a part of. All of the events and programs that she helped bring back and all of the events and programs that she added has brought so much enrichment to our ME community. Beyond just leading this PTSA, she has been a HUGE advocate for students everywhere. Her passion, kindness, energy, and warmth inspires everyone around her to be better. This community is a better place because Erin is a part of it!" We are incredibly thankful for all of our volunteers this year!
It's that time of year to recognize a few of our amazing volunteers with the PTSA Golden Acorn Award, given to individuals who have given exemplary volunteer service to children and youth in our school community. This award is given to recognize volunteer service “above and beyond” a particular job description. Please help us by nominating someone you think deserves this recognition. Nominations are due by 11:59 pm, MAY 1ST. The Golden Acorn Award is Awarded to those people who have given exemplary volunteer service to children and youth in our school and community. Nominees for this award include volunteers that meet the mission of the PTSA: "To promote the health, welfare, safety and education of all children and youth in the home, school and community".
Since we haven't been able to meet to have a nomination committee, the board was presented with a difficult task of bestowing the honor of the Golden Acorn on one individual. But in light of everythng that has happened we decided that we couldn’t just pick one person. The winners of this years Golden Acorn Award are Judy Katsh, Carrie Mitchell, Michelle Forsen, Heather Edwards, Julie Radeff-Huang, and Jenny Thompson. Judy Katsh It is possible that many haven't noticed the quiet and consistent support that Judy Katsh gives the ME PTSA, but our board is keenly aware and deeply appreciative of her dedication. She attends every meeting and event, always signing up to volunteer. She also works behind the scenes to support the PTSA and all of the ME students in ways that she prefer go unpublicized, so we won't mention them all here. Judy is a wonderful educator and influence in our students’ lives, and we are so grateful that she extends her efforts outside of the classroom via the ME PTSA. Carrie Mitchell & Michelle Forsen In the spring of 2019, the PTSA was experiencing a bit of a "fundraiser fatigue" when two very special teachers stepped up to the plate with a crazy notion of mixing everything up and throwing a huge fundraiser auction. We thought—great idea but SO much work! They swore they were up for the challenge and worked tirelessly all summer long and into the fall to procure live and silent auction items, secure a fantastic event space, hire caterers and bartenders, make spreadsheet after spreadsheet and deal with all manner of details that comes with coordinating such a huge event. If you were there, then you already know—the ME PTSA fall fundraiser last November was not only a fantastically fun evening but was also a smashing success, raising more than we ever hoped for to support all the programming the PTSA does throughout the school year. Now more than ever, as we are facing prolonged school closures and uncertainty around what next year will look like, their actions singlehandedly served as a major boon to the financial health of our organization and ultimately our school. Carrie Mitchell and Michelle Forsen are much more than wonderful teachers, though they certainly are that—they are energetic, vibrant, prized assets to our school community and we thank them so very much for their amazing fundraising work this year. Heather Edwards Some of you know that I have known Heather Edwards for most of my life, but it has been a privilege to watch her here at school in her element. When she came to ME, the library needed an overhaul. She has revamped the library to be an amazing space in the school that the students love to be in. Not only does she get to interact with the entire student body in one week, but she has been a tireless volunteer with the PTSA. She runs the school book fair twice per year. At many schools, the PTSA Board is responsible for many more of the nuts and bolts of running the book fair. We have been extremely fortunate as Heather coordinates with Scholastic to receive the books and leads the volunteers in set up, tear down, and training the cashier volunteers to work the registers. She also comes to Multicultural Night with books and computers for kids explore related themes. If that weren’t enough, when we thought that the Halloween Bash wouldn’t happen this year because we didn’t have a chair, Heather raised her hand and said she would do it. She transformed it into a super fun pumpkin carving night for the students and their families. Heather is another fantastic teacher who has risen to the challenge of helping out the ME PTSA and all of the students here at ME. - Karen Siscel Smith Julie Radeff-Huang When the impossible calls, call Julie Radeff-Huang. That is, call her if the impossible is a good idea worth backing! For the past 6 years, Julie has been an active part of encouraging as many students, parents and teachers into the MEco Outdoor Classroom as possible, a worthy endeavor. Since 2014, she has headed the Nature Guide volunteer recruiting, training, mentoring, and partnering and has worked tirelessly to make sure that as many children experience a lesson in Nature’s classroom as can, even offering to take on multiple classes in order to make it possible. As volunteer coordinator and partner in the program development in the MEco project, she has contributed much of her time and talent, with stints as co-presenter to interested organizations like the Association for Learning Environments and the Snohomish Conservation District, as well as host to meetings designed to refine and plan the MEco offerings each year. She has seamlessly used her work experience both as a scientist and as an ME parent of two girls to rewrite lessons for volunteers so that anyone, no matter his or her background, can easily teach our science and conservation lessons. Julie has a passion for making sure kids as well as other adults experience the science that is all around us, especially in our MEco woods! Julie Radeff-Huang deserves a huge thank you for her years of tireless effort in our MEco Outdoor Classroom. - Sue Idso Jenny Thompson Jenny Thompson has chaired the Teacher Appreciation committee for multiple years. She coordinates multiple themed luncheons for the teachers each year with volunteers bringing in donated food items while she has brought in either the main dish or made sure to fill in the gaps. She makes sure that there are enough K-cups in the Teachers’ Lounge, so that the teachers can have plenty of energy to teach our students, a task that we are sure the teachers are extremely grateful for. Last year, she served on the Budget Committee as we evaluated what was a legitimate expense going forward. It was extremely helpful to have her input as she has had kids at ME for a number of years. She has also served as a room parent and volunteered in her kids’ classrooms. When we were putting together the Board for next year, we were extremely grateful when Jenny stepped up to serve as VP of Membership. We may not know what lies ahead, but we know she will be a steady hand on the PTSA Board. |
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April 2024
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