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Please save the early morning of Feb. 5th at 7:30am for the budget and fundraising committee’s annual discussion of fundraising priorities for the school. If you are an organization who plans on fundraising this spring, please send a representative to discuss your plans for fundraising and the possible spending priorities. Coffee and pasties will be provided. Please contact if you need childcare.
With weather like this, I don’t blame anyone for not getting out of the house. We are planning a social mixer so new and old Drummond parents can socialize in non-meeting environment. Please join us on Thursday February 4th 7 -9pm for pizzas and drinks. Cost is being determined, and the place will be at Lottie’s about 2 blocks West on Cortland. Please email Mollie Stromberg () if you are able to make it for more details. Come join us for a fun and relaxing evening out with other Drummond parents.
Because Cafe Delucca is closed tonight, the Green Team meeting has been moved to the Starbucks at the corner of Armitage and Hoyne. Meeting is at 7 pm. All are welcome to attend.
Drummond’s Green Team will meet tomorrow night, 1/26 at 7:00pm at Cafe de Luca on Damen.
We are looking for new members! Please consider helping us make Drummond one of the most energy efficient, waste-reducing, smog-resistent schools in Chicago.
If you are interested in joining our effort but can’t make the meeting, please email to let us know you are out there.
Here’s the agenda for the meeting:
1-26-10Drummond Green agenda.doc
Just a reminder re the meeting advertised below… THIS Monday at 7pm!
** Happy to help folks out w/childcare – -please let me know if that’s an issue! **
Please RSVP to let us know if you can attend.
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Let’s all get ready for the first ever BIG NON-EVENT!Last spring, the Drummond community came together to put on our third annual Big Event fundraiser (Luau), raising over $58,000, nearly double the previous Big Event! The bulk of this money is slated to cover the cost of a parent worker to support our teachers and TAs (and keep them IN the classroom instead of at the copy machine!) and badly needed technology upgrades.
LET’S DO IT AGAIN!!
Friends of Drummond, together with the PTO, Drummond parents, and the entire Drummond community is raising much needed funds to support our students’ education. We’re planning a new “Big Non-Event” fundraiser for the spring of 2010. As in the past, we hope to include a family sponsorship pledge drive and corporate sponsorship, as well as a raffle. What’s different in 2010 is that we’ll take a break from having an actual event so that we can focus all of our efforts purely on bringing money in, instead of incurring event-related costs.
Drummond needs everyone’s help to make this happen!
Please join us at our next organizational meeting.
BIG NON EVENT planning meeting Monday, January 25 at 7 PM
Club Lucky 1824 W. Wabansia Ave.
(corner of Honore and Wabansia, 2 blocks from school, in the private party room; food and drinks available for purchase, but no purchase required)
Please RSVP to or by returning to the School Office the flier which will be sent home in your backpacks and electronically via Backpack Express.
Even if you can’t attend the meeting, we need your help!
Please let us know if you can help with any of the below functions. Contact to volunteer.
My Gym is offering classes for children with SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER-this will allow children to use the equipment in a calm and safe environment! (1880 W. Fullerton)
Vision Skills for Development and Learning- FREE! Feb. 2, 2010 7-8:30 pm, Queen of Angels, 4412 N. Western, Sponsored by the Belle Centere, call Rachel 773-878-7868. Dr. Margolis will share info. of visual functioning and identify skills that interfer with acheivement/goals. Classroom accomodations and visual skills discussed.
Theater Adventure-Red Kite Round Up- Designed for children with autism, 773-227-0180 X15, until Feb. 19th @ The Jay Pritzker Pavilion, www.RedKiteProject.org
Drummond is kicking off an Anit-Idling campaign at school. We are asking parents/caregivers/community members to turn off car engines while waiting in cars outside school, especially at pick-up. Exhaust from idling cars outside schools is directly linked to air quality and is harmful to our health. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/health/research/13exhaust.html)
If you’d like to help out with our campaign or join the Drummond Green Team, email . Help make the school environment safer for kids! See a letter that will be placed in backpacks shortly:
Dear Parents and Guardians:
Help reduce toxic air pollution that affects our children everyday. Turn your engines off when you are waiting in your car outside the school.
Drummond School invites you to join our “Idling Gets Us Nowhere” campaign. You can help by turning off your engine when you drop off or pick up your children from school or other activities. Turning you engine off will improve the indoor air for Drummond students. Of course, our campaign does not apply to those parents dropping off during kiss-n-go.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in urban areas, cars are the single largest contributor to ozone which is harmful to our health. An idling vehicle emits 20 times more pollution than a car traveling 32 miles an hour. The EPA estimates that air toxics emitted by vehicles account for half of all cancers attributed to outdoor sources of air pollution. By reducing idling, we can reduce the pollution our children are exposed to and make the air healthier for our children to breathe.
Drummond’s Green Team, set up by the Local School Council, has recommended that Drummond start a “Idling Gets Us Nowhere” campaign at the school, in response to an EPA report that the air quality around Drummond is poor. Because we are so close to the highway, we need to do everything we can to cut down on the exhaust our kids are breathing.
YOU CAN HELP BY:
⇒ Turning off your engine whenever you are waiting for longer than a few minutes.
⇒ Tell your family and friends to join the “Idling Gets Us Nowhere” campaign by turning off their engines in the vicinity of Drummond School.
Especially in the colder months and as we approach the warmer months, I hope you will join with Drummond to make a difference in the air that we and our children breathe.
Mark Neidlinger Miriam Espada
Ps- If you’d like to help out with our campaign or join the Drummond Green Team, email and help make the school environment safer for kids!
Drummond PTO Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
9:00 A.M. – Room 303, Drummond
Present: Grace Kwon, Pamela Anderson, Megan Hinchsliff, Simone Widney, Mark Neidlinger, Sarah Landicho, Bonnie Kenaz-Mara, Cindy Nicita, Laura Lopez, Mollie Stromberg, Elsa Rivera, Jennifer James, Melisa Latorre, Holly DuPart
1. Welcome/Introduction
2. Principal’s Report
• Non-Event
o Last year, it was ‘The Big Event’, this year, it is ‘The Big Non-Event’
o Looking to streamline and make easy on the volunteers
o Opportunity to not have to spend money on getting dressed up – put that $$ towards event
o CPS is in dire straits with a projected $935 million loss next year
o Any funds raised this year will help to protect against potential cuts next year = excellent
• Inclement Weather Drop Off
o During inclement weather, the children will gather in the following areas until their teachers get them at 9:00 am: Early Ed = Gallery, Elementary 1 = 007, Older children = Lunch Room
o Please remember, the school is legally not responsible for the children until 8:50 am
3. Treasurer’s Report
• $4,816.38 as of December 31st
• 8th Grade Class Trip to Washington, D.C.
o Grace Kwon moved to donate up to $1,000 towards 8th grade trip if they do not raise all the funds needed through other fundraising methods. Cindy Nicita 2nd motion. All in favor.
4. Old Business / Updates
• T-Shirt Holiday Sales – Grace Kwon
o $697 profit on December sales
o Will open sales in August with shirts arriving in September
o Contemplating leaving t-shirt sales open all year round
• Fall Book Fair – Sarah Landicho
o Scholastic Book rep said this was the most successful Book Fair at Drummond, grossing $4,233.37 with $1,058.34 cash made and $286.67 in Scholastic dollars. This includes the $97.03 in the One for Books donations.
o The book fair was very popular – the kids & parents loved it!
o In future, the fair will be scheduled a week earlier to get 5 days of sales and possibly hold it in the gallery so it can remain setup daily.
• The Big Non-Event – Grace Kwon for Monica Lasky
o CPS has an over $400 million deficit. We need to raise money to be prepared for budget cuts that may impact Drummond
o Non-Event meeting on Monday, Jan. 25th at Lucky’s – need to create excitement and understanding of financial need
5. New Business – Committee Reports
• Pay It Forward (8th grade DC trip) – Pamela Anderson for Mr. Z
• Goal is to have every class sponsor 1-2 8th graders for their trip to Washington
• Establishes relationship with older and younger kids, which is very Montessori
• Each class would do a fundraiser of their choice to help raise money for 8th graders
• Discussed possibility of creating a method for parents to donate $$ online towards trip
• Family Reading Night – Bonnie Kenaz-Mara
o February 25th, Theme: Mystery
o 4 rooms this time with performance in 1 room
o Puzzles and clues to collect in all 4 rooms
o Props organizer is Melissa Stern
o Food: Grace Kwon and Pam Anderson
o Flyers: Lisa Wright
o More volunteers needed: See Bonnie
o Anyone with neighborhood connections for restaurants who can donate food, let Grace Kwon know
• Room Parents – Bonnie Kenaz-Mara
o Currently working on Pay It Forward
o 1 parent resigned but a replacement stepped up
o Grace represented the LSC in asking the room parents to ensure all kids get at least 1 valentine kiss (part of the fundraiser).
• Drummondschool.org website – Simone Widney for Mollie Stomberg
o Updates were made by Mark Neidlinger and Mrs. Wheatley and have been submitted to the web master for implementation by Jan. 31st
6. Kudos / Thanks
• Sarah Landicho for Fall Book Fair Sales
Book Fair Volunteers: Grace Kwon, Pam Anderson, Laura Lopez, Susanah Friedman, Aimee Kam, Holly DuPart, Alyse Goodwin, Melissa Sterne, Sherry Coleman, Elsa Rivera, Sabrina Craig, Jane Boal and the kids who volunteered to help clean up.
• Cindy Nicita and all the parent volunteers for the Kiss-n-Go
7. Announcements
• Kiss N Go Volunteers Needed
o More parent volunteers needed
o Commit to 1 day per week (or more) from 8:35 am to 9:00/9:05 am
o Anyone interested, please contact Cindy Nicita:
8. Adjournment
CPL has some great FREE programs going on now. Check out the CPL website. BESTSELLING author Temple Grandin, animal scientist/advocate will be at the Harold Washington Library on Jan. 19th, 6pm. Ms. Grandin has drawn on her experience as an autistic person to develop insights into the world of animals. This is appropriate for adults.
WORKSHOP Only $12.00
Music and play for ALL Children: a workshop for early childhood professionals and PARENTS alike with Jim Gill, famous musician and author who has a degree in early childhood. Sat. Feb. 27th 9:00 – 12:00. CPDU’s available for teachers. this is sponsored by UPS for Downs but is open and relevant to all educators and parents of children in early childhood.
http://jimgillworkshop.eventbrite.com/
Due to testing, the NCLB meeting scheduled for 1/15/10 is
rescheduled to Friday, 1/22/10 at 9:00 a.m. in room 007. Hope
to see you there!
