Welcome to another great year at Khalsa!

We have a lot planned for our community, and invite you to participate in any way you can. Our mission is unchanging: To enhance the delivery of excellence in education while cultivating the community of Khalsa Montessori School.

We’d like to say thanks to to all who helped us last year. We have a very active parent community whose many hands makes our work easy. A special thanks goes to two former PTO officers who have moved on: last year’s vice-president Theresa Sanchez, and treasurer Janet Wilson, who have given years of service to Khalsa.

We have two new officers this year. Anne Elizabeth Hamilton is our vice-president, and Lisa Streu is our treasurer. Victoria Coe continues as secretary, as does Brian Flatgard as president.

First PTO Meeting

Our first meeting is Wednesday, September 8, in the Elementary Multipurpose room (upstairs). We provide the pizza, childcare, and a fun, prompt, one-hour meeting. The meeting runs from 6 pm to 7 pm. The pizzas arrive at 5:45 so you can arrive a bit early and enjoy some food and conversation. Most meetings are the second Wednesday of each month.

We want to stress that it’s not necessary to attend PTO meetings to be involved with PTO. The meetings are where many of our decisions and discussions take place, but we understand it may be difficult for some parents to attend all the meetings.

Communication

We’ll be getting in touch with you through our website at KhalsaPTO.org, our email newsletters, and continue to place flyers in your student’s folders. Check our site regularly at khalsapto.org, and if you’ve not received one of our emails within the month, let us know and we’ll be sure to get you on the list.

Volunteer

Please give a bit of your time to the PTO. We plan to make it as easy and fun as possible. As you know, all parents are required to put in 20 parent participation hours. Not only can we help you easily spend 20 enjoyable hours in the community, PTO meetings count as well.

Visit our website where we have a full list of volunteering opportunities, khalsapto.org/volunteer. If there’s something on the list that interests you, contact us and express your interest.

We want our volunteers to organize around their passions, so if there’s something you have to offer and we’re too foolish to ask for it, please take the initiative and let us know! We’re always open to suggestions for new events and fundraisers.

Fundraising

One of the ways we fulfill the PTO mission is by raising money, which goes directly to your child’s classroom. You’ll be receiving wallet-sized cards which detail most of our ongoing fundraisers that involve shopping or eating: eScrip, Amazon.com, Box Tops for Education, Target, zPizza/Pink Spot, Safeway, Alberton’s and Bashas.

We really, really, really encourage you to sign up with eScrip.com. It is “easy money” as they say, and one of our best fundraisers. While it’s great for any of you who are Safeway shoppers, you can link your credit and debit cards and other store cards as well. Just go to eScrip.com, link up your cards, and choose Khalsa Montessori Schools as the beneficiary. You’ll be fundraising the rest of the year with ease!

Events

Here’s a quick rundown of events we are involved in this year. Trust us, you’ll know all the dates and details as we get them.

• Parent/Teacher Mixer Gala, October 20, Valley Garden Center.
• Fat Man’s Pass Hike, January, MLK weekend, South Mountain Park.
• Family Day at the Ballpark, spring training season.
• Spring Carnival, March 4, Monterey Park.
• School Picnic, usually in June.

We’re looking forward to a great year with your help, and see you at the first meeting!