Dear Sands Family,

As the year comes to a close, I want you to be aware that there are a few more opportunities for you to show appreciation to teachers and staff before the school year ends. National Teacher Appreciation Week is the first full week of May and the special end of the year luncheon is at the end of May. Please consider serving food, donating food, or decorating for this huge event.

I would also like to acknowledge the amazing efforts of this year’s auction team. A HUGE debt of gratitude goes out to the auction Co-Chairs, Nancy Peña and Nickole Pope-George who ate, drank, and slept auction for weeks on end along with Resource Coordinator EXTRORDINAIRE, Pam Fellerhoff. Thank you to all of the committee heads who were EXCEPTIONAL. What a culmination of an awesome collaborative effort.

As I close I want to thank you for allowing me the privilege and challenge to serve in the capacity of president this year. When I agreed to take on this role I was not yet pregnant with my fourth child. Once I discovered that I was, I wondered if I should continue in this capacity. I so appreciate the support and kindness that my family and I have been afforded from so many of you. This has been a labor of love for a wonderful cause, as my children and yours are worth it. I have learned from the many volunteers who have served alongside me this year that this truly is a collaborative effort, no man (or woman) is an island. I am grateful to each member of the Rudder who have given so much of yourselves. As I pass the torch to Melissa Murphy I am certain that she will lead the parent organization toward even greater accomplishments.

Finally I must say thank you to Amy Scroghan, Parent Center Coordinator who has diligently supported every undertaking of the SMPO. We will miss your service in this capacity. And to the many unnamed volunteers who work behind the scenes to give Sands Montessori the sense of community that is at the heart of our school. Enjoy a sweet summer.

Theresa Ware,
SMPO President