DISTRICT 29 PTO MONTHLY MATTERS
PRESIDENT’S WELCOME
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Welcome Back D29!
I can’t believe we have already kicked off the 2024-2025 school year and what a great start it has been! My name is Ranjini Shankar and I am thrilled to be the PTO president this year. We moved to Northfield over 8 years ago and the babies that we moved here with are now a 5th grader at Sunset Ridge and a 3rd grader at Middlefork. While many things have changed over the years (including the now staggering number of eye rolls I get from my kids), what has remained constant is the incredible community. From the time we entered D29, we were surrounded by staff, parents, and students who were welcoming and made this feel like home and I hope that all of you feel the same as well.
This is Monthly Matters, the monthly PTO newsletter that has all of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) happenings in one place. It will include events, volunteer opportunities, upcoming meetings, community engagement and more. Another easy way to stay in touch is to attend our monthly meetings which take place on the second Monday of the month at 9AM over zoom. The schedule and zoom information can be found on the PTO Website.
Our first meeting will be Monday, September 9th at 9AM.
Zoom Information:
Meeting ID: 818 3080 9002
Passcode: 423325
The PTO Board is made up of 7 Executive Board and 36 Board positions - all of which are filled by parent volunteers. They work hard to bring a variety of programs that benefit our community including AM Rec, Coding Club, Parent Directory, Author Visits, Junior Great Books and so much more. This year the PTO will also be hosting the Winter Benefit, and the team is already hard at work to make it a night to remember. If you’re looking for a way to get involved with any of our programming, stay tuned for messages from us throughout the year asking for volunteers or just reach out to me at president@district29pto.org.
We have a great year planned ahead of us and I can’t wait to experience it with all of you!
Ranjini Shankar
STAY INFORMED
PTO Dues & Classroom Party Fees
The PTO is currently collecting the following which can be paid through MySchoolBucks online or through the app.
1. PTO Dues, $25 per family – Dues help to fund the many PTO programs such as the upcoming Movie in the Park, Middlefork Coding Club, SRS AM Rec and more. Visit the PTO website to see the complete list of everything we fund.
2. PTO Classroom Fees, $25 per student – Room parents use these to fund classroom celebrations. Please pay these by October 11th.
Directory Spot
Don’t forget to join the PTO Family Directory through DirectorySpot! If you’re new to the district or didn’t get to it last year click here or scan the QR code below to fill out the form and get added. DirectorySpot is the easiest way to find contact information for families within the district so fill out the form, download the app or go online to get connected.
Parent Connections
D29 Parent Connections meetings are a forum for school administrators to share district programming, services and outcomes and actively seek out parent input into decision making. The meetings take place once a month typically on a Wednesday at 9AM. Upcoming dates and times can be found here. Please note that the first meeting will be an exception and will take place September 26th at 6PM as a special update from the D29 Board of Education on the Middlefork School Facilities Improvement Plan.
Bylaws
The PTO Executive Board presented changes to the PTO Bylaws in the May 2024 meeting and we will be voting to approve these changes during the September 9th meeting. Feel free to review the bylaws on the PTO website.
School Supplies
The PTO School Supply Kit program was successfully completed for the 2024-2025 year! We sold 192 kits at Middlefork (84% participation) and 234 kits at Sunset Ridge (87% participation). This program gives parents the convenience of purchasing competitively priced kits filled with all the school supplies students need for the year and having them delivered right to the classroom on the first day of school. Kits for 2025-2026 will be available for purchase in the spring of 2024. For any questions about next year’s school supply kits, please reach out to our chairs – Marina Gallagher (mdedes@gmail.com) and Lindsay Mullen (lindsay.e.mullen@gmail.com).
Last Spring, fellow parent, Rachel Kerman, continued her efforts to collect extra unused school supplies and donate them to those in need. Our community rose to the occasion and donated plenty of supplies that were distributed to both Whitter School and the Roberti Community House. Some of the children served by these organizations don’t have access to basic supplies so your donations have made those resources available for children to enjoy. Thank you to Rachel for organizing such a great effort and to all the parents and students who donated!
Winter Benefit 2025
Are you ready to party? Get ready for the hottest night D29 has ever seen with the Miami Nights Winter Benefit on March 8th at Sunset Ridge Country Club. Block your calendars, start working on your outfits, and even more importantly, click here to volunteer! We can use any and all skills to make this epic event a night to remember.
Upcoming PTO Events:
September 9th 9:00AM: PTO Meeting on Zoom
September 10th 4:30PM: New Family Ice Cream Social at Clarkson Park – New families and their mentor families are welcome to mingle while enjoying a cool treat!
October 18th Evening: Movie in the Park at Clarkson Park. This is a family event for the whole district. Stay tuned for more information!
COMMUNITY NEWS
Looking for a way to get involved with the community? School, Parks, and Village boards are looking for candidates! If you’re interested in running for a position on any of those boards, reach out to the appropriate contacts listed below.
D29 School Board: Ed Stange - stangee@srd29.org
Northfield Parks Board: Bill Byron – bbyron@nfparks.org
Northfield Village Board: Patrick Brennan - pbrennan@northfieldil.org
A Message from the Northfield Park District
Please visit the Northfield Park District website for information on the upcoming Clarkson Cookout on September 7th, fall classes starting on September 16th, and the childcare program Club Dolphin.
Sign up to receive the Park District news here and follow the Northfield Park District on Instagram and Facebook!
A Message from The Alliance for Early Childhood
This fall, we’re launching a new program, Mindful Beginnings, an outdoor meet-up for new and expecting parents, guided by a certified doula and childbirth educator. It will offer monthly gatherings across nature trails in New Trier Township to build community and address early parenting challenges. Here is the link to sign-up.
This year we are working with 40 different schools across the region to provide teacher and professional learning, parent education, and family experiences in the Let’s Play! series. Here is a link to the 2024-2025 Member School Program Guide.
A Message from the Northfield Library
Please visit the Winnetka-Northfield Library website for information on upcoming events and more!
PTO SHOUT OUTS AND THANK YOUS
House and Grounds Chair Jeanine Fragale-Rashkow for not only the stunning planters around school, but also for orchestrating and installing our 100 year commemorative plaque at Sunset Ridge.
Directory Chair Catherine Lucas for all her time and attention in ensuring every student and their family are included in the PTO Family Directory on DirectorySpot.
PTO Newsletter Chair Sara Thompson for doing all the heavy lifting of gathering content and formatting everything so that our Monthly Matters looks fabulous.
Hospitality Chairs Aimeé Reynolds and Maureen Huhs for planning and hosting the Back to School Luncheon for teachers and staff. A special shoutout to all the families who helped create the beautiful flower arrangements that brought a splash of color and joy to the event!
Lunchroom Volunteer Chair Laura Hendricks for her herculean efforts in recruiting and organizing over 150 volunteers to work the lunchrooms across both schools. We are so lucky to have so many parents who step up and Laura who works her magic on the back end to make it all happen.
Teacher Appreciation Chairs Devon Pearce, Maria Mastroianni, Ema Dzaka-Dizdarevic, Jayaa Poddar, Alyssa Cochran, Phoebe Nitekman, and Jayne Nerrie for coming up with a fun new way to celebrate teachers this year – stay tuned!
Technology Chair Brent Payne for his uncomplaining willingness to maintain the PTO website, answer all our questions and put in his time to make the updates every year.
School Supply Chairs Robin Decker and Mallory Ruh for making school supply shopping the easiest thing to check off the never ending back to school list and delivering them to the classrooms. And thank you again to Rachel Kerman for another successful School Supply Donation campaign.
Welcome Team Chairs Molly Lu, Laura Curry and Dan Friedman for working hard even before school started to match new families with mentor families. Thank you to Treasurer Karie Smith for giving a warm D29 welcome to all the Kindergarten families at the Kindergarten Meet and Greet.
PTO Secretary Emily LeMire for purchasing gifts from the PTO for staff members to celebrate special anniversaries.
PTO Vice President Hillary Bufalino for her tireless work in recruiting and organizing Room Parents for every grade. Our students are going to have a blast this year!
2025 Winter Benefit Chairs Jocelyn Dinkel and Megan Reed for coming up with an amazing theme for our Winter Benefit and working hard on securing a venue and fundraising platform.
COMING SOON & NOTES
Important Dates
September 9: PTO Meeting 9AM
September 26: Parent Connections Meeting 6PM
October 3-4: No School
October 8: Board of Education Meeting 7PM
October 14: PTO Meeting 9AM
October 23: Parent Connections Meeting 9AM
October 24: No School – Parent/Teacher Conferences
All Zoom links can be found on the District 29 Calendar.
How to Help
Community involvement is instrumental in making the PTO a success. Please consider volunteering your time! Contact Ranjini Shankar at president@district29pto.org to get involved or with any questions.
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