May 2018

FUN FAIR !

May 20182

News from the principalMay has snuck up on us, and suddenly, in the blink of an eye, it’s the end of the school year! It seems like just yesterday we were dropping off school supplies, meeting on the playground on the first day and partying at the back-to-school picnic. A year always begins with high hopes and aspirations. If we’re lucky, the months that follow provide repeated opportunities for us to see those visions through to reality. It is my sincere hope that most of what you dreamt about for 2017-18 has come to pass. For whatever remains unreal-ized, I hope you will pause to consider what your child can do about that moving forward, what you can do about that, and what we as a faculty can do about that. There are no do overs, but we will definitely keep doing as we swing into the 2018-19 school year, and what we learned this year can certainly help us position next year for success.

The District 97 School Board is drafting an equity policy and they are seeking feedback from diverse stakeholders as they look to refine and finalize it. Please visit www.op97.org/equity to learn more about the draft policy and opportunities to provide your perspective and feedback. Once there, you can see an introductory video, read the draft policy, take a questionnaire, learn about upcoming events or email your comments directly to the board.

Safety is an ongoing goal and top priority at Beye School. As we close this year we know that most students will have a summer of play, and that’s as it should be. Having been made aware of a few injuries recently that happened to kids in the com-munity, I’d like to remind everyone that summer play on bikes scooters, roller skates or rollerblades should always include a helmet! It’s easy to think that kids playing on the block or in the yard may

be safer, but concrete is concrete and if you’re un-protected even briefly, you are at risk for a traumatic brain injury. Please make “lids on kids!” a mantra for this summer!

We received news recently that Beye was awarded a sizable grant from the Women Leaders in Philanthro-py of the OPRF Community Foundation. The grant will allow us to provide weekly food supplements to families who may be food insecure. Families who receive free or reduced lunch will be notified this summer of the details of the program and how to apply. In a nutshell, at the end of each week families

will receive a backpack filled with food basics. At the start of each week they will return that backpack to be refilled. A very special thank you to parent Samina Hadi-St.-John who helped us secure the grant!

As we wind up this school year, I wanted to highlight a few things that happened this year as a result of our school improvement plan. We had a fantastic Morning Math Meetup on a Saturday in February that provided parents with a win-dow into our Eureka Math program

and activities they could do at home to support their emerging mathematician. We worked all year to pump up our PBIS program by starting a “Cat’s Cave” where 4th and 5th graders could trade in paw passes for prizes and we instituted a wall of fame filled with certificates for K-3rd graders to help them be honored and celebrated in a very public way. The teachers had training on read alouds (part of our new Reading Units of Study) and teachers in K-2 had individual and team coaching on RUOS as well. The faculty learned from Dr. Monika Black about having a strengths-based mindset and approach. We also created our multi-aged Olympic Day teams way back in January to increase our cross-grade connections and overall sense of community. We saw improved results on the Positive Learning Environment Student Survey on two key measures: “I feel safe at school from bullies” and “Students at school treat me with

Mr. E drawing by Annabelle Y.

3MAY 2018

Principal’s Letter continued....News from the beye pto

http://www.beyeschoolpto.orgDear Beye Families,

“Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection with-out learning is dangerous.” ~ Confucius

We have made it to the end of another school year! We hope you enjoyed the year and are ready for the summer break. A big “Thank You” to everyone for everything you do to support the activities that go along with the school year. We deeply appreciate your dedication to making Beye the welcoming community that it is.We hope you have a lively and memorable summer.

See you next school year!Stephanie Kloster-De La Rosa and Denise Franta, Co-Presidents Beye PTO

respect.” Many other things were undertaken and accomplished, but we appreciate the building leader-ship team (BLT) who oversaw the plan and its imple-mentation.

The end of the year is time to say thank you, and for sure I want to thank some key volunteers who made this year a success. Denise Franta & Stephanie Kloster led our PTO as Co-Presidents, overseeing meetings, budgets, vice-presidents and all things PTO. Maggie Testore spearheaded our Cats and Dogs homework club and organized more than sixty OPRF huskies and thirty Beye Bobcats after school up in the library. Jodi Walker led tastings for our 2nd graders and took them around the world to sample culture and cuisine. We had BeyePASS tutors working one-on-one with students on their learning, and on and on and on! We have a great school because so many peo-ple do their part and do so much to make it great! TO all these volunteers and the many more who should be added to this list if time and space allowed, I know the entire school community joins me in a hearty THANK YOU!!!

With summer coming, the pace of things here at school will change. The Oak Park Education Foundation will be hosting their Base Camp here and of course, the Beye Discovery summer session will be here too. Ms. Cooper and Mrs. Harlan work the beginning and end of the sum-mer, and I will be around throughout, except for the last two weeks of July and first few days in August when I will get away with my fam-ily for some vacation. The office will be open from 8:00-3:00 most days, and I always love the chance to catch up and connect with folks, so please stop by to tell me about your summer fun and summer learning! Of course, my wish for you and your family is a summer full of fascinat-ing adventures that will inspire and revitalize the small people and big people alike! Drink it all in and come back on August 22nd raring to go for the first day of the 2018-19 school year!

Sincerely,

Jonathan Ellwanger, Principal

Beye School appreciates its teachers and staff — as well as Staff Apprecia-tion Luncheon committee co-leads, Christina Darley and Maggie Testore, for planning a lovely event again this year! To conclude the Staff Appreciation Luncheon, Christina Darley honors Maggie Testore with a parting gift, as the Testores’ last child moves on to Julian Middle School. Many many thanks to both Christine and Maggie for your leadership and hard work to plan a beautiful annual appreciation event for our teachers and staff these past years!

4 MAY 2018

end of the year picnic

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30

5

FUN Fair

MAY 2018

Beye’s Fun Fair: Yet again, a huge, silly success! The PTO and Special Events Co-chairs want to thank EVERYONE who helped make this year’s Fun Fair a great success! We could NOT have pulled this off without YOUR help!! It was a record breaking event for FUN had by all, for raising over $10,000 (almost 25% of the annual budget) for the PTO - which directly benefits the students, teachers and all of the Beye community.

Fun Fair Department Heads were onsite the entire day, in addition to prep work, to make their zone happen. Thanks to Bonnie Malik - Emergency Room, Mike Kellogg - Karaoke, Cassie Miller - Cakewalk, Stephanie Kloster-DeLaRosa - Raffle/Silent Auction, Jeanna DiMaria - Volunteers, Denise Franta - Silly String, and Jennifer Alten and Sara Neuner - Marketing.

Special thanks to those who went above and beyond with ideas, errand running, donations of things, time and money, baked goods and effort to pull this off: Amy Moriarta, Anna Harlan, Audrey Dormanen, Brian Bonomo, Catalina Viteri, Christina Darley, Christine Bonomo, Deborah Levine, Elizabeth Goodman, Gabriel Iusan, Gina Kreidler, Jen Dunk, John House, Kim Becker, Karen Migneault, Kristen Stenglein, Lucy Armbruster, Molly Greenwood, Nancy Dribin, Rupa Datta, Samina Hadi-Tabassum, Sarah Miller, Silvia House-Iusan, Simon Jurgus, Steve Dormanen, Sue DiMagno, Suzanne Salerno, Theresa Jurgus, and Wendy Roderweiss.

We couldn’t have done it without the help of every single teacher, parent, guardian, former Beye students and local businesses who contributed to the Fun Fair’s success by running games, bouncy houses and cakewalk, stations in the salon and silly string, sold food and tickets, worked the raffle and silent auction tables, and helped with prep and cleanup, and all those who donated things or their time to the raffle and silent auction: Amy Melvin, Bartholomew St. John, Ben Sassone, Calla Champaneri, Carson Brown, Claudia Amador, Dan Foltz, Daphne Williams, Eric Kemp, Ethan Neuner, Hayden Jingst, Jane Walker, Jenn Singer, Steve Miller, Jennifer Carey, Jodi Walker, Jon Campbell, Katherine Knoepke, Katrina Sifferd, Kelly Pollock, Khaled Mohamed, Linda Sassone, Maggie Testore, Malini Datta-Nemana, Mary Ann Jurgus, Matt Niksch, Michelle Jingst, Molly Armbruster, Monica Saydah, Morgan Jurgus, Morgen Alexander, Pamela Daley, Porter Jinst, Rob Malcolm, Sarah Mae Daley, Sean Flynn, Sue Haas, Tania Wilson, Tanya Fisher, and Tariq Mohamed. Also, Cuzzo’s Pizza, Cafe Descartes, Shabby Fly, the Girl Scouts, and The Green Team.

Mr. E.: Thanks for all your support, and for being a great sport for pie-in-the-face, and the most important THANK YOU of all, Mr. Stewart and Mr. Duran who did not complain at all about the extra silly string mess that was created this year. It DOES take a village, and ours is GREAT!

(Please note, the names above are from the signup genius, we know MANY others volunteered as well too, THANK YOU!)

Submitted by Suzanne Cronacher, Jen Kellogg, PTO co-VPs of Special Events

6 MAY 2018

News from the green team

Thanks For Another Great Year in Beye Green! The Beye PTO Green Team wishes to thank all students, staff, and families for another great year in making our school that much greener! Beye, along with the other 9 schools in District 97, is a green school, and we are proud to conclude another year of sustainability programs with all of you, enjoying fun ways to uphold our green school “status”.

What makes Beye a green school? We have received $20,000 in grants from the IL Dept of Commerce and Economic Opportunity over the years to turn the Commons into a “reusable lunchroom” (rather than a disposable one), with reusable trays and utensils, a dishwasher, a well-marked waste sorting station, and more. Beye is the District97 leader in zero waste, consistently diverting more than 96% of our lunchroom waste annually for the past 8-10 years, and often celebrated in Oak Park “PlanItGreen” updates and its annual PlanItGreen report card. Additionally, Beye and District 97 have won Governor Quinn’s Environmental Hero Award, Oak Park’s Public Health Award, and a Green Award from the Village of Oak Park; visit some of these awards hanging in the Beye School office! Beye School takes its continued hard work towards these accolades — and its responsibility towards our students and our planet — seriously, and we appreciated your wonderful support and partnership again this year, as Beye celebrated 10 years as a green school (and a leader among green schools) this year!

What’s Next? • Beye School Green Team encourages your family to enjoy a healthy, safe, sustainable,

straw-free (!) summer with plenty of walking, biking, scooter-ing, and outdoor time in and with nature.

• We invite returning students to submit answers to the following prompt: “A highlight of my green summer was . . . . “ by email to beyegreen@gmail.com anytime throughout the summer, and before September 1. Feel free to include a photo, if you wish. We will include your “One Green Summer” entries in the first BeyeLines newsletter of the new school year.

• Participate in the 2nd annual Beye School Car-Free Summer Challenge; see separate write-up in this newsletter.

• We welcome new parent volunteers to join us in Beye Green programs and activities for the 2018-2019 school year. Volunteering entails fun, a little bit of planning, and 1 meeting every month or every other month. To volunteer, email beyegreen@gmail.com.

• Share your ideas for helping Beye stay green and be greener! Email beyegreen@gmail.com. Thank you in advance!

7MAY 2018

green team at thatcher & GArden Art

Earth Month Family Hike and Scavenger Hunt at Thatcher Woods

The Green Team wrapped up its Earth Month activities on April 27 with an after-school nature hike in Thatcher Woods. Eleven students and their parents met at the Thatcher Woods Pavilion for a quick snack, followed by play, exploration, hiking, climbing logs and a scavenger hunt. It was a beautiful afternoon (a little rain didn’t get in our way) and it is always fun to spend the afternoon outdoors with a lovely group of people from the Beye community. Thank you to all the kids and adults that joined the Green Team in celebrating Earth Month by appreciating our local natural surroundings!

1ST GRADE GARDEN ART CREATING

L and Bottom R: Outdoor Explorers Earth Month outing to Cheney Mansion. En route, Claudia D. chronicles bird sightings for the group.

Top R, Top Middle, Bottom L, Bottom Middle: Hike and Scavenger Hunt at Thatcher Woods, coordinated by parent Sarah Miller of Beye’s Green Team.

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1st grade garden art & Right Club Camp

MAY 2018

Right at School Summer Camp Reminder:Great news families! Registration for Right At School is now open!

The following Chicago-land schools will hold summer camp...Onahan- 6634 W Raven St, Chicago

Waters- 4540 N Campbell Ave, ChicagoNettlehorst- 3252 North Broadway, Chicago

We hope there is a location near your home or place of employment; we want your student to be a part of our SUMMER FUN!

REGISTER HERE!Registration for 2018-19 Right Club is now open! Please spread the word to incoming parents and caregivers in the OP97 school district

who may need afterschool care. You can register online and find more information at www.rightatschool.com or through our Customer

Service department: (855-287-2466).

Beye students and families “digging” a sunny day rebuilding and sub-irrigating the Beye raised garden beds on the front lawn. Many thanks to parent Karen Migneault, of Beye Green Team, for spearheading!

rIGHT CLUB

9MAY 2018

rIGHT CLUB...

Good Day Right Club Families:As the school year comes to a close, we wanted to reflect on a few highlights that took place in 2017-2018:

Our enrollment nearly doubled this year thanks to the awesome kids and families who participated in our program and not only were able to enjoy it, but were gracious enough to spread the word to other parents and caregivers at Beye! Thank you so much for your support and for putting in a good word for us.

This year we focused on building community as we always do, but were able to pinpoint certain concepts that needed to be ad-dressed and/or discussed, such as: WHY we keep our hands to ourselves (and appropriate ways to use them), confronting bullying behavior, healthy conflict resolution vs. escalating a problem, preventing and dissolving cliques, being respectful to one another, problem-solving that promotes independence where necessary, ways to be helpful and a number of other important values. I have heard feedback from Beye staff that the students have been listening and applying these important topics outside of Right Club and during their school day. This is wonderful news to us, as we want to make sure that these things are not just discussed and deemed a good idea, but also put into practice.

Beye Right Club tied with Forest Road Elementary Right Club for the greatest number of responses for our Parent Surveys, and our prize is an ice cream social! Details on the date of the social are forthcoming. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete a survey (we know how much everyone loves surveys; thank you for bearing with us!) and helped us reach our goal of 100 percent parent participation!

Here is some feedback from some of our Right Club students.We thought you’d like to hear directly from them what they like most about our program:

Victor: “I really like our snacks, especially on Wednesdays when we have a longer day. Besides the snacks, I like when we do Right Moves because right after school I can play and burn off some energy.”

(Note: we have Right Moves/active play just before Homework Help time so that they are charged up and ready to hit the books!)Asher: “I like that we get to use our Pokémon cards (during Free Play), and I like when we go outside.”

Niani: “I like the people at Right Club and the games we play.”Khalaya: “I like our Daily Double and when we play sports.”

(Note: Daily Double is where students have a choice of doing evidence-based curriculum as well as free art) Esther: “I like when we go outside, go to the game. I like when we did the egg painting game and when we jump rope.

I made friends with Ava and Avery.”

Have a great summer!Ms. Mimi Farmer and Ms. Krystle

P.S. The kids have probably already mentioned to you that I (Mimi) got engaged over the weekend! Thank you for all of your well wishes!

10 MAY 2018

NAMEOFSTUDENT GRADE

BEYE SCHOOL CAR-FREE 2nd ANNUAL SUMMER CHALLENGE

Brought to You by the Beye School PTO Green Team

THE RECORD – Way back in the Summer of 2017…. • 9 brave students participated in the 1st ever Beye School Car-Free Summer Challenge. • Together, they made it 152 total Car-Free days. • Nate J. and Rob J. set the Beye School world record. They each went 37 days without using a car. • 3 students (Addyson E., Austen F. and Jessamyn F.) went all summer without using a disposable water

bottle and one student (Beatrice A.) made it 70 days without a disposable water bottle!

Can we beat those numbers in the Summer of 2018?

THE CHALLENGE – Can you go at 5 DAYS or MORE without using a car this summer?

WHY SHOULD YOU ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE? One way to positively impact the environment is to DRIVE LESS. Personal vehicles create carbon dioxide emissions that are harmful to our planet. Let’s face it, most of us need cars to get places and sometimes it just makes sense to drive. But, when you are about to ask for a ride this summer, just ask yourself whether you could give the car a break and get where you want to go Car-Free.

BEYE STUDENTS WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE:

1. RULES – For Beye students who go Car-Free for an entire day, write down the date on the chart to the right (if your parents use the car without you, it still counts!). Days do not have to be consecutive. Cars include, well, cars of course (and yes, even fuel efficient ones), as well as trucks and other personal motor vehicles. You CAN use bikes, scooters, your legs, wheelchairs and public transportation (buses, trains, etc…) which are all acceptable and count towards a Car-Free Day.

2. 81-DAY CHALLENGE PERIOD – The Challenge begins the first day of summer, Saturday, June 2, and goes up through Tuesday, August 21.

3. DEADLINE - Submit your results by FRIDAY, AUGUST 24 by: 1) dropping in the PTO mailbox located in the Beye School Main Office; or 2) e-mail the info to Green Team member Sarah Miller at sstmiller@comcast.net.

4. PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES! Prizes will be announced at the Beginning of the School Year for: a. PRIZES for any student with 5 or more Car-Free Days! Those with the most days choose prizes first! b. GRAND PRIZE for the student with the MOST Car-Free Days! c. BONUS PRIZES! –For those who make it all summer without using a disposable water bottle! Tally

those days (on the back, top or side of this sheet) before turning it in! 5. QUESTIONS – contact Sarah Miller at sstmiller@comcast.net. 6. DON’T FORGET TO WRITE IN YOUR NAME AND GRADE BELOW BEFORE TURNING IN!!!

Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 7Day 8Day 9Day 10Day 11Day 12Day 13Day 14Day 15Day 16Day 17Day 18Day 19Day 20

green team summer challenge

Beye PTO’s After School Enrichment Program with a Focus in Art and Science

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BEYE DISCOVERY

http://www.beyeschoolpto.org/beye-discovery.htmlbeye.discovery@gmail.com

MAY 2018

Beye Discovery Mid-April through May Highlights:

One of the most exciting events of the year is our trip to OPRF High School each spring! Lindy Novotny, Art Educator at OPRFHS, Beyelines designer, and Mom to two Beye kids (and Beye Discovery participants) has kindly hosted special workshops for our Beye Discovery students for the past four years. This year, ceramist Pennie Ebsen and nine of her talented students, taught our children how to create wheel-thrown clay vessels. It was a wonderful experience and our students made some terrific small bowls and vases! We are extremely grateful to Ms. Ebsen, Ms. Novotny, and the following OPRF students: Bria Tell, Nini Catrambone, Storm Coleman, Katherine Andolina, Maggie Kosterman, Eliza Zamudio, Iris Nosek, Dana Small, & Camryn Zdziarski-West for offering this outstanding workshop.

In May, we were also thrilled to visit the Animal Care League in Oak Park , as a follow-up to our fundraiser last November. Beye Discovery students had raised over $700 for the Animal Care League, as a service project for “Giving Tuesday.” During our visit, ACL volunteer staff provided an educational presentation about the organization and the animals they care for. Students enjoyed a short tour and loved making braided rope toys for dogs and fleece cats beds!

In Beye Discovery, it is our goal to make every month Earth month. We especially enjoy the ability to innovate with repurposed materials, re-directing an object’s path from the recycle bin or landfill and giving items a new life! For one project, we repurposed clear plastic tubes with colorful paper scraps, old marbles, beads and packaging materials to create sculptures that will hang as a vibrant, colorful tree display at Beye. In another project with repurposed materials, our students made abstract paintings on the paper sleeves that protect ice cream cones. We then rolled them into cylinders to create attractive lantern-like shapes. Inspired by the picture book “A Perfect Tree” by Chloe Bonfield, we also created some terrific tree collages, using the pages of a torn book and paper scraps.

This May, our students have been hard at work to complete our rainforest ecosystem mural. It is a large, three-paneled mixed-media piece, combining drawing, painting and collage. Our favorite book about the Amazon Rainforest is “Discover the Amazon” by Lauri Berkenkamp. It has lots of practical information about how to survive in the Amazon, including navigation, finding food (how do you test what plants are safe to eat?) and finding clean water (how do you purify water in the jungle?). We are putting the finishing touches on our rainforest mural now, so please stop by the main hallway near the office this May to see it firsthand!

We wish the Beye community a fun and beautiful summer! If interested, please join us for one or more weeks to make some fabulous art in Beye Discovery’s Summer Adventures Camp. Please access the flyer here: http://www.beyeschoolpto.org/beye-discovery.html

Beye Discovery is an enrichment program of the Beye PTO that offers children opportunities for exploration and growth through creative project-based learning in art and science. It is facilitated by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director, and Maia Gillet, Teaching Assistant.

Pennie Ebsen, OPRFHS Visual Art Teacher demonstrating a wheel-thrown vase at OPRF

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BEYE DISCOVERY continued...

MAY 2018

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5 6 71. Sebastian & 2. Valen & 3. Blake & 4. IV and Gabe OPRF Clay Workshop; 5. Mekhi, Rainforest Margay; 6. Viviana, Painted Pottery from ACL Workshop; 7. David, Harpey Eagle Sketch on Canvas; 8. Salma, Spider Monkey; 9. Elise, Charlotte, Ascen-sion, Blanket Mak-ing ACL. 10. Eco Art with Repurposed Materials; 11. Ulric, Rainforest Palm; 12. Olivia & 13. Rafa, Painted Pottery; 14. Eco Art; 15. Sonia, Rainforest Fern

13SEPTEMBER 2017

BEYE DISCOVERY continued...

MAY 2018

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16. Dakin & 17. Elise & 18. Morgan, OPRF Clay Workshop; 19. David, Harpey Eagle; 20. Hank, OPRF Clay Workshop; 21. Ascension, Macaw; 22. Jose, Toucan; 23. Yusef, Black Panther 24. Charlotte and Aliyah with Sara at ACL Field Trip; 25. Harrison, OPRF Clay Workshop

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beye-in parties

MAY 2018

Host a 2018 - 2019 Beye-in Party!

What’s a Beye In Party? And why would I want to go, let alone host? Trust us, you want to go. You want to host. Beye-Ins are the best way to meet other Beye parents and families and have a ton of FUN! We want 2018-19 to be the biggest and best year yet - but we need your help. Here’s the deal: You host a party (the PTO can reimburse costs or you can make it a tax deductible donation). It can be at your house, at the school, or at another venue of your choosing. You pick the theme. You decide if it’s kids only, a family affair, or adults only. Other families buy tickets. The PTO gets the proceeds. Everyone wins! Here are some of the highlights from past years:

• Wine tasting • Indian food cooking class • College Kegger • Crawfish boil • Harry Potter night • Sleep-in at the school • Decades Dance party • Hamilton sing along

Do you want to do something fun and new, but need help thinking of an idea? We have a ton in different sizes, styles, themes, and price ranges! Check out this HUGE list of party ideas at www.beyeschoolpto.org/beye-in. Have a different idea? Let’s do it! Interested? You should be! Email Monica Khetarpal and Jen Stringfield at beyefundraising@gmail.com and let’s set up a 5 minute phone call to pick a date and solidify the plan & budget. We will create the flyers and advertise the party. You throw the party. Easy Peasey. We’ll be announcing some of the parties at the End of the Year Picnic on May 30th, and again at the C’Mon Beye Party tentatively scheduled for September 15th. Let’s do this!!!

15MAY 2018

fourth of july parade

Mr E: @BeyeTheWayBeye School Familieswww.op97.org/beye

Editors: Jennifer Alten and Sara Neuner

Graphic Designers: Blake and Lindy Novotny 16

The Beyelines is an online and hard copy newsletter of Beye School that is distributed monthly in an effort to highlight activities and events that have already occurred at Beye School, both in the classroom and outside the classroom. Articles may be written by Beye School Parents, community members, teachers, and students.

All articles should be submitted to beyelines@beyeschoolpto.org.

BeyeBytes Newsletter: If you are not currently receiving BeyeBytes email newsletter and would like to be added to the list, please send and email to beyebytes@gmail.com.

MAY 2018

Beye School’s PTO fundraising team is looking for volunteers! Time commitments vary. Get involved as much as you would like. Meet new people and show your kids your school spirit. Visit the PTO home page and scroll down to the bottom of the page to indicate your interest(s): www.beyeschoolpto.org; www.beyeschoolpto.org/volunteer.html.

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Silly String Graffiti from Fun Fair