June 2018

 

Meet The New Bowman Principal

Dr. Czajkowski will announce and introduce the next Bowman School Principal on Tuesday June 5th at 4:30pm in the Bowman Library.

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Thank You Dr. Antón

We wish Mary Antón our best as she embarks upon new adventures (and moves closer to family) on the West Coast! We are grateful to Mary for her steady leadership, for hiring and supporting the best teachers around, and for her ongoing partnership with the PTA. Bowman has been fortunate to have had a leader who understands the importance of building a strong sense of community at Bowman, celebrating the diverse backgrounds and assets each child, family, and staff member brings. Thank you, Mary, for leading Bowman to great heights over the past 11 years!

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Bowman Site Council

Interested in playing a leadership role at Bowman? Are you available for one meeting a month? We are looking for two parents to serve on the School Based Site Council for a two-year term! Historically, meetings have been on Friday mornings at 7:45-8:30am.

This is a great opportunity to learn about Bowman and contribute to the Bowman community. If you are interested, please send us a short bio (max of 150 words) by Sunday, June 10th at 10pm. For contested elections, an online election will take place from Monday, June 11th until Sunday, June 17th to select the two parent representatives.

As part of the Education Reform Act of 1993, Site-Based Councils were mandated as part of the Act’s decentralization of decision-making. The Site Council is composed of equal numbers of elected teachers and parents, together with the Principal and a community representative. The role of the Site Council is to advise the Principal. At Bowman, Site Council members meet once a month with Bowman teachers to plan ways to meet the diverse learning needs of students; establish a school climate of tolerance and respect for every individual; involve parents in the life of the school; impact safety and discipline; enhance extracurricular activities; and more.

If you have any questions about the Site Council or if you are interested in running for the open seat, please contact us at [email protected].

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New PTA Co-President

The PTA Executive Board is thrilled to announce that Katie Quick will be joining Gary Van Deurse as co-president of the Bowman PTO next year. Katie has two children at Bowman and has been an active volunteer taking the lead on the book fair, planning last year’s auction, working in the library and other activities. We are so happy that Katie has offered her time and energy to help facilitate all the programs and events that the PTA supports.

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Help Wanted

The Bowman PTO is looking for parents volunteers! Below is a list of current open positions. We would love to have you on board!

Community Events
Help coordinate various events throughout the year that foster community building among Bowman families. This is a great position for returning or new Bowman parents who are interested in getting involved and who can attend monthly PTA meetings.

Fundraising Events
Support existing fundraising initiatives such as our Spring Auction, Spirit Wear, Shopping Days, and Class Raffles, while seeking new fundraising opportunities in conjunction with PTA Board. This is a great position for returning or new Bowman parents who are interested in getting involved and who can attend monthly PTA meetings.

School Support
Work with volunteers and the PTA board to oversee a wide range of initiatives including: 5th Grade Activities, Hospitality, Library Volunteers, Lost & Found Coordinator, METCO Family Friends, Playground Equipment, Room Parent Coordinator, Staff Appreciation Week and others. This position calls for someone who is comfortable checking in with existing volunteers and helping recruit new ones as necessary.

Movie Night Coordinator
Two or more volunteers are needed to learn the ‘movie night ropes’ this year and run it next year.

Welcoming Committee
Focus on welcoming new families that enter the Bowman community during the school year. Volunteers will be asked to reach out to new families and serve as a resource to them.

Safe Routes to School Coordinator
Volunteers are needed to help coordinate monthly morning community events that celebrate walking, biking, scooting, carpooling, and taking the bus to school

. At participating Lexington schools, these “Walking Wednesdays” are held on the second Wednesday of most months. Concentrating on safety, exercise, and fostering a sense of community, these efforts have been effective in increasing the number of Lexington students who walk, bike, bus, or carpool and in decreasing emissions through reducing the number of cars and idling at our schools.

Class Basket Coordinator
One more volunteer is needed to learn the ‘Class Basket ropes’ this year and run it the following year. Running the class basket fundraiser involves coordinating basket donations, communication with room parents/school staff, selling raffle tickets, and running the raffle the evening of Disco Bingo. The current team will still be on board with running the class basket raffle and have years of experience to pass on. Requires two busy weeks of selling raffle tickets and coordinating baskets, but this just an annual event and works well for a working parent volunteer.

Please contact the Co-Presidents at [email protected] if you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities.

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Behind The Scenes – Our Bowman Volunteers

The Bowman PTO (and all of the PTA-run community and enrichment events) is run entirely by volunteers. We are so fortunate to have so many terrific volunteers and we’re excited to introduce a couple of them to you each month.

There are many ways to get involved at Bowman. Please check here to see a list of open PTA positions: http://bit.ly/bowmanptapositions

Karin Ornstein – PTA Co-president

I volunteer at Bowman and with the PTA because I want to make a difference in my children’s elementary school experience. Volunteering helps me stay in touch with what’s going on in the classroom and at the school at large. It helps me figure out what questions to ask my kids in the evening and it helps me stay connected to our amazing community. I’ve been fortunate to serve as PTA co-president for the past two years while working full-time as a software engineer because the community of volunteers that we have here is always more than willing to pitch in and support each other, which makes it not only possible, but a lot of fun!

Lisa Ellsworth – 5th Grade Activities Co-Chair, Book Swap & Ice Cream Social, Family Math Nights, Room Parent

Even before my kids started at Bowman, I knew I’d be involved with the PTA – I wanted to get to know the school and meet other parents in the community. I wanted my kids to see me as an active member of the Bowman community to send the message that it’s important to invest time and volunteer for things that you value. I also really wanted to get to know my kids’ classmates and teachers – that has led to a much deeper understanding of their experiences at Bowman.

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Box Tops Update

Box Tops collected from Nov 2017 to March 1, 2018 were sent in and Bowman was rewarded with a check for $337.10, which is a total of $1,256.70 for the year! The money will be put into our school discretionary fund and will be used to supplement our children’s education. Thank you all for taking the time to collect Box Tops and keep clipping over the summer!

As a reminder, you can find the Box Tops logos on participating products such as Annie’s Organic snacks, General Mills cereals (like Cheerios), Green Giant vegetables, Old El Paso products, Ziploc bags, Huggies diapers & pull ups, Hefty trash bags, Pillsbury rolls and many more. You can send your Box Tops into the classroom in a plastic bag, envelope or on a collection sheet once or twice a month. Collection sheets can be found here: Collection Sheets

Questions? Contact the Box Tops Coordinators: [email protected]

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PMC Kids Bike Ride

Register Now for the Lexington PMC Kids Bike Ride!

We are excited to share that the fourth annual Lexington Pan-Mass Challenge Kids Ride will be held at Bowman School on Sunday, September 16th.

We hope you will join us this year in making Team Bowman bigger and better than ever! It’s a great way for kids to participate in philanthropy, physical activity and the camaraderie of working towards a great goal – fighting cancer. Come join the fun – be a part of the ride and enjoy the food, music, entertainment and raffle that follows.

Last year’s ride was an amazing success on a number of levels. We raised $111,000 (the highest of any Kids Ride), and the ride sold out to 400 riders by the last week of June!

We know September seems like it’s a long way off, but please don’t wait! This event can only accommodate 400 riders and it will sell out quickly.

To register to ride, click here: http://www.kids.pmc.org/lexington.aspx. Click the orange REGISTER button and on the TEAM REGISTRATION OPTIONS page, make sure to choose Bowman as your team.

Let’s make Team Bowman the biggest and best! If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Fagan Gorospe at [email protected].

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Thank You Karin!

On behalf of the PTA and the rest of the Bowman community we would like to express a tremendous thank you to Karin Ornstein for serving as PTA president for the past two years. Karin has given countless hours of her time and endless energy to the position. Her dedication to the role has been felt by anyone who has attended a PTA event, participated in a PTA program or received information from us. She did this on top of her full time job and all the responsibilities of being an involved parent. Karin is a phenomenal example of what it means to be engaged in your community and dedicated to making our school a better place. We will miss having Karin in this role and are excited to see where she puts her energies and talents next. Thank you Karin for your many contributions to the Bowman community!

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What’s Old Is New Again!

The Book Swap and Ice Cream Social, held on May 15 this year, was once again attended by enthusiastic students who couldn’t wait to see what ‘new’ books were waiting for them as they passed on some old favorites. Many thanks to Lisa Ellsworth, Hien Nguyen and Sisy Thomas for planning and organizing the swap, it’s a favorite end-of-the-year event. Thank you to the family members who volunteered that night to help run the swap. Thanks also goes to the Denoncourt family for donating tasty Abbott’s Frozen Custard for us to enjoy.

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Around The World In… A Few Hours

Our Bowman community had a great opportunity to “travel the world” and celebrate our diversity on May 31st. Students and adults, alike, tasted, learned and experienced something new from a culture different from their own heritage at Passport to the World! We are very thankful to the committee that volunteered to plan and run this celebration: Beth Glick, Caroline Uzenski, Ellen Day, Sade Finnih, Suzanne Udell, Joshua Curhan, Martha Rogers, Joan Strodel, Rosanne Barbacano, Jackie Anderson, Paula Raha, Roma Batra, Cindy Arens, Hien Nguyen, Tania Kouprach-Rolandi, Vibha Singhal and Ruvini Sudharma. Thanks also goes to those who volunteered to share your family’s culture at the event, whether with food, traditions, language or art!

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We Also Appreciate

Bowman celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week the last week of May and as usual there was an array of heart-felt student-created Appreciation projects presented to our class teachers. Thank you to our room parents for organizing this work! Our teachers were also appreciated with afternoon snacks and drinks on Tuesday, mints and goody bags on Thursday, and a lovely breakfast buffet on Friday. A big thank you goes to Anne Richtarik and Andrea Re for putting those wonderful treats together!

On behalf of the PTA, we would like to thank everyone who helped make this another wonderful year at Bowman!

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Eco Corner

* REDUCE * REUSE * RECYCLE *

Thank you to everyone that ‘recycled’, i.e composted, their food waste at our recent Passport to the World! While on average 15% of waste sent to landfills/incinerators is food waste, Bowman had 0% food waste directed to the incinerator at our event! Here’s some more ‘food’ for thought, things you can do, to help ‘green’-up our Bowman community:

• Reduce your food waste by asking your student to bring home uneaten food from their home lunch, rather than throw it out.
• Reduce your plastic waste by sending your student’s lunch in reusable food containers and with reusable cutlery.
• Just like our students at school, bring your own reusable water bottle when you plan to be out and about in our community.
• Recycle your food waste into valuable soil nutrients by composting at home or through a pickup service. You can make $ for our school by mentioning Bowman PTO when signing up with Black Earth Compost pickup service.
• Talk to your students, family and friends about why it is important to reduce waste.

Questions? Want to get involved with Bowman’s Green Team? Email: [email protected]

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It Takes A Village

First and Foremost we would like to thank our amazing Staff and Teachers for everything you do to make our childrens’ day at school the best it could be. We are so grateful for everything you do for our children and cannot thank you enough!

Thank you to Dr. Anton for all your support throughout the years and everything you have done for Bowman! We will miss you next year!

Thank you to Mrs. Glick for all your support throughout the year and for taking the lead on reviving ‘Passport to the World’ this year!

Thank you to Joshua Curhan and Martha Rogers for being an integral part of our PTA meetings. We really appreciate you sharing your perspective and insights and for helping to liaise with the teachers and staff.

Thank you to our fabulous office Staff for everything they do for us throughout the year, all with a smile on their face and often juggling multiple things at once!

We would like to thank our wonderful custodians. They work tirelessly for the school and are the last to leave after every event, be it weekend or evening to make sure everything runs smoothly and that there is no sign of the event the next day at school. Next time you see any of them, please say thank you!

Next we would like to thank all the families who contributed to the PTA. Whether through purchasing a membership, making a donation, leading or joining a committee, or volunteering. Bowman is the amazing community it is b/c of every one of you.

We have thanked the coordinators of one-time events throughout the year in the Broadside, so we would like to take this opportunity to thank the people whose contributions do not fall into that category.

First we would like to thank the Executive Board: Rebecca Fagan Gorospe, Cindy Arens, Lauren Avery, Alison Stevens, Courtney Lauriat, Lisa Premerlani, Valerie Machinist, Gary VanDeurse, and Karin Ornstein.

Many thanks to Gary VanDeurse for stepping into the role of Co-President. He has been an amazing addition to the role and his dedication to Bowman and our community is evident in all he does. He has helped facilitate positive change and is a lot of fun to work with!

Thank you to all our volunteers who keep us informed! Suman Murali, who patiently puts together and distributes the Broadside every month; Diane Callahan who assembles and sends out our PTA announcements every week; Luckshmi Anil and Pavani Kondapi who manage our directory; Margot Tracy who moderates our Yahoo email list, Courtney Lauriat who documents our PTA meetings, and our VP Communications: Rebecca Fagan Gorospe and Cindy Arens who make sure to keep us all informed. Rebecca continues to take the lead on the informative sign in front of the school as well as managing our website, email aliases, Facebook page and more! Whenever we need a sign or flier made, she is more than happy to create something beautiful for us. Rebecca is also responsible for the amazing swag that is offered with PTA memberships. Cindy helps make sure to keep us informed by maintaining our calendar, writing blurbs for the broadside, sending out MSA special announcements, and more. This year, she has taken the initiative and the lead to bring composting to Bowman via our events as well as helping to create Bowman’s green team.

Thank you to all the volunteers who help support our teachers and staff. Thank You Justine Cohen, who is our Room Parent coordinator, and thank you to all the room parents for supporting your classroom and teachers. Thank You to BBY coordinators and trainers, Ming Tregay, Victoria Moule, Danielle Olivier, and Laurie Wright and everyone who volunteered to lead a walk in your classroom. Thank you to everyone who volunteered in the library to help Ms. Loof and the Library Co-ordinators Wendy Bertsekas, Monica Mahoney, and Rebecca Fagan Gorospe. Thank you to Wendy Betsekes for staying on top of our Lost and Found. Thank you to Alison Stevens, Kavita Ravi, Seth Moeller, and Lauren Avery for serving as parent representatives on the Site Based Council. And thank you to Andrea Re and Ann Richtarik for showing our teachers and staff how much we appreciate them by treating them to back to school, curriculum night, and end of year meals as well as a week of Staff Appreciation treats!

Thank you to our volunteers who help enrich our children’s experience: to Nitya Jay, Gitanjali Srivastava, and Susan London for bringing Arts to school via ACT; Kath Cunningham and Lisa O’Brien for being our SEPAC representatives; Sarah Wolfson and Lisa Premerlani for coordinating our METCO Family and Friends program; and Courtney Lauriat and Lisa Ellsworth for coordinating 5th grade activities. Thank you as well to our newly formed Green Team: Cindy Arens, Hien Nguyen, Danielle Olivier, Ming Tregay, Victoria Moule, and Lori Wright who are committed to making us all a bit greener.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our ongoing fundraising efforts throughout the year. Thank You to Kim Moore and Millie Webster for collecting and organizing Box Tops every month; to Sharon Huang for helping us earn money through Stop and Shop, and Heather Ford for spearheading our Wilson Farm shopping day. Thank You to Alison Stevens, our VP Membership, for encouraging Bowman families to join and participate in the PTA. Alison is responsible for the wonderful addition of ‘PTA Volunteer Profiles’ to the Broadside in a addition to crafting all of our membership communications and helping to finalize swag and membership options. She helped bring in 22% more revenue from memberships than we expected this year. Thank you to our treasurers: Lisa Premerlani and Val Machinist who have helped to keep us on budget and have made sure funds are sent to the appropriate places including ACT Performances, Sagaam, Puerto Rico, and our teachers and staff! They even successfully dodged a few phishing scams this year!

Finally, thank you to our 5th grade parents who have contributed to Bowman and the PTA throughout their many years here.

There are so many people who have been invaluable to the PTA’s success this year. It is a true testament to the wonderful community we have here at Bowman!

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