DISTRICT 29 PTO MONTHLY MATTERS
PRESIDENT’S WELCOME
Monday, January 6, 2025
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful break and are rested and ready to take on 2025. I was mildly concerned with how excited my kids were to go back to school but I’ve decided it’s definitely because of how amazing the staff is and not at all because they are completely sick of me. Plus, there is no shortage of fun events ahead of us so there’s plenty for all of us to be excited about!
Our next meeting will be Monday, January 13th at 9AM, hope to see you all then.
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 818 3080 9002
Passcode: 423325
Pro tip: If you don’t want to miss any future PTO or D29 event please be sure to subscribe to the district calendar here.
Ranjini Shankar
STAY INFORMED
6th Grade Social Dance
Let's Dance! Quickly approaching is the time-honored tradition of Sixth Grade Social Dance. Sponsored by the District 29 PTO, your child will take part in a four-part series of professional instruction learning everything from the Box Step and Fox Trot to the Tango and a basic Waltz. Dance dates are January 31st, February 7th, February 21st, and February 28th. Dinner will be served prior to the dances in the SRS cafeteria. If your 6th grader would like to participate in the optional dinners before the dances, remember to send your contribution to Gretchen Swank (gretchen.swank@gmail.com). PTO co-chairs Kelly Caruso, Steph Stefanik & Gretchen Swank will be touch with reminders for attire, volunteer sign up, and attendance.
Winter Benefit 2025
Join us in making the D29 PTO Gala on Saturday, March 8, 2025 a success! Your sponsorship supports vital programs for our students and counts toward your 2025 charitable giving.
Sponsorship Tiers:
🎉 Flamingo Fiesta – $5,000: 4 VIP Tickets, full-page ad, event signage, 4 commemorative glasses🌴 Palm Paradise – $2,500: 2 VIP Tickets, 1/2-page ad, name the signature drink, 2 commemorative glasses
☀️ Sunshine Superstar – $1,000: 2 VIP Tickets, 1/4-page ad, 2 commemorative glasses
🌺 Tropical Breeze Backer: Donate any amount to support our event!
Fill out the sponsorship form here and email Megan and Jocelyn at miaminightsd29@gmail.com with any questions!
International Night
Last chance to sign up for D29's International Night on April 30th! All families are invited to represent any country or culture from around the world - this could be your family's culture or simply a country you know and love.
Click here for details and to sign up and please email Carolyn Kelley at carolyn@alumni.nd.edu with any questions!
COMMUNITY NEWS
A Message from the Northfield Park District
Please visit the Northfield Park District website for the upcoming 2025 Summer Camp information, details on winter classes starting January 13th, and Day Off Field Trips on January 20th and February 17th.
Sign up to receive the Park District news here and follow the Northfield Park District on Instagram and Facebook!
A Message from The Alliance for Early Childhood
This year we are working with 40 different schools across the region to provide teacher and professional learning, parent education, and family experiences in the Let’s Play! series. Here is a link to the 2024-2025 Member School Program Guide.
A Message from the Northfield Library
Please visit the Winnetka-Northfield Library website for information on upcoming events and more!
PTO SHOUT OUTS AND THANK YOUS
Middlefork Book Fair Co-Chairs Allison Gaetano, Adrienne Hannis, and Sara Thompson for all their hard work in a wildly successful book fair that brought in over $2,300 in profit for the PTO that will go towards all our great programs for the students.
Holiday Gifts Program chairs Julie Aiello, Sarah Cohn, Carma Pagni, Maggie Yocom-Piatt, and Shiva Seth for their efforts in making the holidays a little brighter for our neighbors at the Northwest Settlement House. There are a lot of logistics that go into making this program a success – planning with NUSH and district staff, assigning sponsor families, auditing, packing, and delivering gifts, and more! They didn’t miss a beat. It is a true partnership between the PTO, District 29 Staff, and the Student Ambassadors which make this sharing program possible. And THANK YOU ALL for your contributions to the sponsored families.
Read A Palooza chairs Christie Caceres and Jenny Gallagher for organizing and running the hot cocoa bar at Sunset Ridge along with some great volunteers. Thanks for helping to provide a treat to the students during this afternoon of reading fun!
Teacher Appreciation Chairs Jayne Nerrie and Alyssa Cochran for organizing a great lunch from SweetGreen for the staff at both Middlefork and Sunset Ridge to celebrate them before the holidays.
COMING SOON & NOTES
Important Dates
January 13: PTO Meeting 9AM
January 14: Board of Education Meeting 7PM
January 20: No School – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 22: Parent Connections Meeting 9AM
February 10: PTO Meeting 9AM
February 11: Board of Education Meeting 7PM
February 13: No School – Parent/Teacher Conferences
February 14: No School – Teacher Institute Day
February 17: No School – Presidents’ Day
February 26: Parent Connections Meeting 9AM
All Zoom links can be found on the District 29 Calendar.
How to Help
Community involvement is instrumental in making the PTO a success. Please consider volunteering your time! Contact Ranjini Shankar at president@district29pto.org to get involved or with any questions.
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