A MESSAGE FROM OUR PTO CO-PRESIDENTS
“We are pleased to report another successful
year and express our gratitude to everyone who donated their time, talents, and financial resources to support the PTO.”
W
e are so thankful to have been given the opportunity to lead the St. Martin’s PTO during the 2019-2020 school year. Having been a part of the St. Martin’s community for the past seven years, we have seen the important role the PTO plays in supporting and enriching St. Martin’s. The PTO organizes events to create fellowship among SMES families, raises money to donate to the school, and provides opportunities to show appreciation for our incredible faculty and staff. We are pleased to report another successful year and express our gratitude to everyone who donated their time, talents, and financial resources to support the PTO. We want to give special thanks to our PTO Executive Board: Erin Spink, Jennifer House, Lindy MacPhee, Marianne Zalenski, Julia Hubbard, Kelly Greene, and Kerri Levitt. In addition to meeting weekly to ensure all PTO events were run well and communicated about effectively, they all went above and beyond the requirements of their roles to help make this PTO year as successful as it was. A special thank you to all our event chairs who worked so hard organizing and planning our 40-plus PTO-sponsored programs and events and to the St. Martin’s Board of Trustees and school staff for their continued support of the PTO. The highlight of our fundraising efforts this year was the $135,000 raised through our Winter Social and Online Auction. The Barnyard Bash-themed event was a huge hit thanks to the energy, imagination, and dedication of our Winter Social co-chairs Alex Livingston and Richelle Terry. The online auction was so successful thanks in large part to the generous item donations from many St. Martin’s families and the many teacher treasures offered by our faculty and staff. The PTO had many other fundraising events throughout the year, which will be summarized in the St. Martin’s Annual Report.
While the 2019-2020 school year started rather routinely, we had no idea the year would end so differently than how it began. As the St. Martin’s community sheltered in place and acclimated to distance learning, the St. Martin’s PTO’s mission of “working together for our children” was never more evident. The parents and teachers worked together like they never had before. While we had to cancel some events and reimagine some others, the spirit of the PTO remained strong. Again, we are grateful for the support of each of you and the opportunity to lead the PTO this year. We wish our successors, Jennifer House and Erin Spink, all the best and know that they will welcome and appreciate the same support as they work to make the 2020-2021 school year an even bigger success. Sincerely,
Carrie & Renee Carrie Ackel and Renee Loope
PATTERNS | SUMMER 2020
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