Middle Gate Elementary School
schoolhouse-pic
7 Cold Spring Road, Newtown, CT 06470
Middle Gate Minute
A Bi-Weekly eNewsletter
Edition: May 1 2016

Parent Teacher Association 
PTA Comments or Suggestions?  
Important Notes: Notes
Teacher Appreciate Week May 8 - 12
(some dates are tentative and subject to change)
 
May 1:
Mr. Geissler Day

May 8:
4th Grade Spring Concert

May 8-12:
Teacher Appreciation Week

May 18:
"Screenagers" Edmond Town Hall


May 19 (rain or shine):
Middle Gate Madness
First Talent Show!

June 2 
Fourth Grade Celebration

June 15  
Last Day of School
  
 
Downloads:
(updated every newsletter) 
 
Quick Links  QuickLinks 

Contact us
:
PTA Phone: (860) 532-0464
 
2016/17 PTA Board of Directors
President:  
Vice President
Secretary:
Corresponding Secretary:
Assistant Treasurer:
Yearbook Photos:
HOT TOPICS
PRINCIPAL GEISSLER DAY - MAY 1MrGDay 
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, the First of May has been declared "Principal Geissler Day!

Don't forget, today is Mr. Geissler day. Please feel free to send him an email thanking him for all he does for the school and letting him know what a great principal we have.
 
Let's show Mr. Geissler how appreciated he is. Especially for those of us moving on to Reed. We are really going to miss him and feel that he should know how much we have appreciated his help, support and kindness towards us and our children.
 
Thank you.
Debbie DeBlasi
BUDGET REFERENDUM: PASSED!BudgetPassed
Thank you to everyone who emailed friends, neighbors, family and reminded people and phoned a friend to help get out the vote.

The Newtown Budget and all six CIP (Capital Improvement Projects) passed.
4TH GRADE SPRING CHORUS CONCERT - MAY 8Chorus
4th Grade Spring Chorus Concert
Reed School: Monday May 8 at 7:00pm

Our 4th graders are very excited about their Spring Chorus Concert which will take place at REED School. Concert Date: Monday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Spring Concert attire is a little different this time: SOLID colored top/black bottoms(t-shirt is fine and skirts or pants) and clean shoes. Any color is fine, as long as it is a solid color. Any questions please feel free to email me: [email protected]

"Sing"-cerely,

Tina Jones
4TH GRADE CELEBRATION - JUNE 2FourthCelebration
Fourth Grade Celebration is June 2nd right after school
 
The yearbooks will be distributed to the 4th graders that day (Friday) and the following Monday the rest of the school will get their yearbooks. The committee chair-people are Debbie DeBlasi and Jill Baimel. We are trying to put together a video showcasing pictures of the 4th grade students.

So if you would like your students picture included in the video presentation, (we would especially love photos of them in Kindergarten!), please email them to: [email protected]

More information to follow! Thank you.
TEACHER APPRECIATE WEEK - MAY 8 -12TeacherWeek 

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Hello everyone! Teacher Appreciation week is May 8 -12.

Here is the run down:
Monday May 8th - breakfast cart (need a few volunteers to drop off food)
Tuesday May 9th - each child brings in a flower for their teacher (can be from your yard)
Wednesday May 10th - lunch ( see link below to sign up)
Thursday May 11th - a gift sponsored by the PTA
Friday 12th - a card, note, a little message from the children

If you have any questions let me

Melanie Raslan

Thank you,
Melanie
2017 PTA AWARDS - MIDDLE GATE ROCKED! PTAAward
Middle Gate Received 8 Awards! image

Thank you to everyone that made this possible. These awards belong to everyone that has worked so hard this year regarding all things PTA! We appreciate you all and are very grateful for all of your support of the Middle Gate PTA, Students and Staff.
  1. 10 % increase in membership
  2. 100 % Teacher involvement
  3. 10 outside community members
  4. Family and community Involvement Award
  5. Communications
  6. Membership Promotions
  7. Enrichment
  8. Male Involvement
FREE SCREENING OF SCREENAGERS - MAY 18Screenager
Thursday May 18 7:00pm - 9:00pm Edmond Town Hall

Please mark your calendars for this special event. This showing is being funded by the Newtown PTA's and tickets are no charge. We would like to get as many people to go see this as we can. I saw it with my son and it was very informative and really left an impression. Hope to see you there.
 
Description
Award-winning SCREENAGERS probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including the director's own, and depicts messy struggles, over social media, video games, academics, and internet addiction. Through surprising insights from authors and brain, scientists' solutions emerge on how we can empower kids to best navigate the digital world.
 
For ages 10+, the screening will be followed by a panel of local medical and psychiatric providers as well as law enforcement officials.
 
ABOUT THE FILM
Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time-friction she knew all too well.
 
In SCREENAGERS, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health, Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids' development and offers solutions on how adults can
empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.
 
 
Register:
MIDDLE GATE MADNESS - MAY 19Madness
FLYERS WENT HOME IN BACKPACKS image

When: Friday May 19
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Where: Middle Gate School (Rain or Shine)
Cost: $5/person / $20 Family Max cost

Send in your checks in an envelope marked Middle Gate PTA - Middle Gate Madness
by May 15 to allow time for wristbands to be sent home via backpack. The wristbands will allow you to go through a separate line for ticket holders.

Please respond by May 10 if you plan to perform in the talent show

**** Tickets will be sold at the door *****

There are too many activiities to mention all of them. Some favorites are: the Cake Walk, Bounce House, and Pocket Lady. For the third year a dunk tank featuring Principal Geissler, a rainwater regatta racing station and the treasure hunt.

And much, much more!! Don't miss out on this event, it is such a big one, and a favorite for the Middle Gate Families!

We look forward to seeing you!
Debbie DeBlasi and Jen Sinapi


CHASING THE MUSIC EVENT - JUNE 4 ChasingMusic
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Date
: Sunday, June 4th, 2017, 2pm
Venue: Waterbury Palace, Webster Hall
Audience: 2,600 seat capacity
Ticket Sales: Waterbury Palace Box Office
Website/info: chasingthemusic.org

Preface
:
Carter and Ilaria Brey and Rebecca and Stephen Kowalski have forged a strong friendship in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy. This event is an expression of this friendship and the Brey's desire to support the the Kowalski family in memorializing Chase through the Foundation.
 
Performance:
The CMAK Sandy Hook Memorial Foundation presents "Chasing the Music", a classical music event featuring Saint-Saens' "Carnival of Animals" performed by members of the NY Philharmonic and friends of Carter Brey. This will be an exceptional event bringing world renown musicians to entertain the audience of adults and youth in Chase's memory and in support of the CMAK Foundation.
 
In the spirit of Chase and the mission of the Foundation, CMAK will use the event to introduce youth to classical music. The event will consist of two sessions. First, eleven musicians will perform Saint-Saens "Carnival of Animals" where each movement represents a different animal. This famous symphony was originally composed by Saint-Saens for school children. The youth invited will be able to view this performance produced for their enjoyment. They will depart the theater at intermission. After intermission, Carter Brey will select movements of his choice to entertain the adult audience remaining.
 
The performance will be followed by a reception in the Palace atrium where participants will be able to meet some of the performers.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR PTA BOARD AND COMMITTEESPTAVolunteers 
 
Thank you to the people who already stepped up to volunteer committees for next year and those that have expressed interest in being on the PTA Executive Board for next year!
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Here are the candidates we have so far:
 
President: Amy Habboush
Vice President: Jessica Sachs
Treasurer: TBD
Assistant Treasurer: Meredith Campbell Britton
Secretary: TBD
Corresponding Secretary: Jen Doyle 
 
If you are currently chairing a committee or event, please PM [email protected] to let me know if you will continue on next year in that role, or if we need to find someone for that position. I tried to list the committees I knew people expressed willingness to run and people who indicated they would stay on for next year. 
So far we have:
  • Kindergarten Bus Run/Bus Buddy Program - Jessica Sachs
  • Trunk or Treat - Nadia Comstock 
    • (need additional people for this committee for 2017 - 2018)
  • Holiday Boutique  Committee: Frances Sorger Wengart. Tammy Figueroa, Michelle Haley, Donna Petersen (Logan Butler's Grandma), Kathleen Shope.
  • Square One Art: Christine Tisi
  • Middle Gate Madness: Jennifer Sinapi and Christine Tisi. 
    • We would really like more volunteers for this committee so you can shadow it this year and help on the committee 2017-2018. 
  • Library Volunteer List: Lauren Pickard
  • Diversity Day: Jennifer Chaudhary 
  • Sock Hop: Cale McCausland
  • Spirit Wear: Roxann Monaghan (We need someone to shadow Roxann for the 2017-2018 school year)
  • Muffins with Mom:  Lindsay Knauf, Emily Howard
  • Used Book Sale: Kim Marks and Kathleen Shope
  • Teacher Appreciation Week: Melanie Raslan
  • Middle Gate Yearbook: Kelley Michael
  • Parents Night Out and Silent Auction: Kelley Michael 
    • (we need someone else on this committee for the 2017-2018 school year)
  • Kindergarten Registration: Jen Chaudhary 
    • (We need someone else on this committee for the 2017-2018 School Year)
  • Publishing Center: Jen Chaudhary 
    • (We need someone else on this committee for the 2017-2018 school year)
  • Box Tops for Education: This can be done from home. We need new chair people for  2017-2018
  • Room Parent Coordinator: Beth Guerrera
  • Cultural Arts (Assembly reservations) -  can be done from home - We need new chair people for 2017-2018
  • Scholastic Book Fairs (Fall and end of school year) - We need a new chairperson/chair people for 2017-2018
Most events/committees do not take a big investment in time but give a lot back. We have all the information you need to be successful and make it an easy volunteer spot to take over. You are never alone on any volunteer events, there are plenty of people to help or to give you helpful hints and ideas.
 
You can make a big difference in the educational experience of your child and all the students and staff at Middle Gate by being involved as much or as little as you want. There are so many ways to help.

I am working hard to fill all the positions for next year for the new PTA President. This way they do not have to spend their first months in office trying to set all this up. It will hopefully allow them a smooth transition with as much already in place as possible.

Thank you.
Debbie DeBlasi

SUMMER SCHOOL REGISTRATIONSummer  
Summer is quickly approaching!!

If your child has been recommended for summer support, don't forget to register him/her.

If you need additional information feel free to contact us at Newtown Summer Schools/Newtown Continuing Education, 203-426-1787  or [email protected]
CONTINUED NEWS....