Dear Columbia Greenhouse Parents,

We would like to welcome you to what promises to be an exciting and busy year. As parents of children who have attended Greenhouse for multiple years, we’ve experienced first-hand what a special place it is and we look forward to working with our class representatives to ensure you have the support you need, while experiencing the close-knit community that Greenhouse is known for. In the next year, you’ll see your children grow in ways you didn’t think were possible, all while creating special relationships with classmates and staff.

The goal of the Parent Association (PA) is to bring together the entire Columbia Greenhouse community, giving parents the opportunity to connect, talk and exchange ideas and information. We have planned five events for the 2013-14 school year with the hope that parents will not only find the information presented beneficial, but will also find conversations with fellow parents productive and useful.

In previous years, evening meetings have always been held on topics relating to your children; i.e. nutrition, child development, etc. This year we have decided to mix things up a bit by hosting various events including a book fair/story telling on a Saturday morning and a child development workshop on a weekday morning, rather than hosting all of our meetings in the evenings. Hopefully these changes will allow more of our parents to attend meetings throughout the year.

Below are the confirmed dates, locations and times of the PA Events:

Oct. 2 – Cocktail party, Jerome Green Annex – 7pm

Nov.16 – Book Fair/Storytelling, Book Culture (114th & Broadway) – 10-12pm

Jan. 28 – Child Development Workshop, Greenhouse in 424 in the 2/3’s – 9 am

March 27 – Math in the Classroom, Greenhouse in 424 in the 3/4’s – 6:30 pm

May 14 – The Kindergarten Search, Greenhouse in 424 in the 3/ 4’s – 6:30 pm

Our first event, The PA Cocktail Party, is rapidly approaching and we are encouraging all parents to attend on Wed, Oct. 2nd. This is a great opportunity to build connections with one another and will give you the opportunity to meet the parents of other children in your child’s class. Class representatives will be introduced and wine and light appetizers will be provided. You should have received an Evite last week for the party. Please RSVP by Fri., Sept. 27th.

Should you have any questions or concerns about the PA and our activities, please feel free to contact one of us. We are here to help each other!

Best,

Stephanie Schafer, Co-chair (Ian, 3Day 2’s)

Pam Schnatterly, Co-chair (Evan, 4/5’s)

Katie Smith, Secretary (Rocco, 4/5’s and Bo, 2/3’s)

PHOTOS BELOW FROM OPENING PICNIC

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