Meet the PTA: Kali Williams, President

Greetings Clinton Families,

It is my pleasure to serve as your PTA President in this unprecedented year.

In typical years, your PTA would be greeting you at our Back to School Coffee. We’d be preparing for community building events like the Ice Cream Social and the Pumpkin Patch. And we'd be securing orders for the in-school Farmer’s Market and for the Book Fair. Unfortunately this year, district and state directives prevent us from holding any large in-person events.

When school starts, our kids will also be facing the unfamiliar. They won’t be greeted at the door by Mrs. Connors, or have a chance to meet our new Assistant Principal, Mrs. Correa. There will be no bandaids from Mrs. Harrigan, or gentle reminders from Ms. Liz to eat their lunch before their dessert. They’ll miss meeting their teachers in person and seeing their friends on the playground. It’s tough. And as a working mom of four (three here at Clinton School), I get it.

If you are feeling anything like I am, you’re a bit saddened by these changes. You’re exhausted and frustrated by all the disruptions we’ve had this year, and upset by the difficulties faced by those in our community who have it way worse. We are all being faced with the impossible choice to sink under our frustrations or to swim towards unseen opportunities. Which will you choose?

The Clinton PTA has chosen to swim. And though it won’t be easy, it’s certainly the only way forward.

With this in mind, your PTA will have three central goals for this school year:

1. To make sure that the basic needs of our families are met

It's more important than ever that we ensure that all of our families are taken care of. This year, we introduce a new Board role -Vice President for Equity, Inclusion and English Language Learners. Our Co-Vice Presidents will take the lead on identifying any opportunities where we can ensure that all of those in our community have their needs met. We will continue to encourage support for SOMA Cares, our ongoing district wide food and school supplies drive. And we hope to create an unprecedented partnership with the District and other SOMSD PTAs to kick off a district wide fundraising initiative to respond to today's childcare needs.

2. To provide classroom and teacher support

As in years past, we will continue to offer support to our personal heros: Our Clinton School teachers. We will continue to provide a stipend for each classroom to help teachers offset classroom expenses. We hope to continue to offer educational enhancements that our kids love (such as the Kindergarten Harmonize Kidz, 4th Grade Artist In Residence and 5th Grade graduation swag). And, of course, we will acknowledge our teachers’ efforts with gifts during Teacher Appreciation Week.

3. To build community

Our PTA has always had an interest in community building.Though these events will look very different than years past, we do intend on offering safe, socially distant or virtual experiences for our families. We have already kicked off the year with programming from Balanced Kidz to help parents prepare for this school year. We will be promoting Chalk The Walk Week the first week of school to encourage our families to get out and mingle in the community- safely at a distance! And we hope to offer a range of virtual activities that will allow us to continue to stay connected during this time.

Speaking of fundraising efforts, we, like other organizations, need financial support more than ever. As most of you know, we were unable to hold our biggest fundraiser last year, the Spring Auction. And for the safety of our families, we are cancelling it again this year. But the programs mentioned above happen with your No Frills and Membership donations. And they happen with volunteer contribution.

But what’s more, one day, we will be back in the building, laughing together on the front lawn. Our kids will be enjoying the programs they once did like Pumpkin Patch, and Spring Picnic, not to mention all of the in-school programs. They will be enjoying field trips again, looking forward to Philadelphia and their class trip to the pool. And when that time comes, the PTA wants to be ready to support those programs as we always have.

So come swim with us!** And join us in our mission to make every child’s potential a reality, regardless of the distance.**

The water may be a little cold right now.

But I promise, it will feel good again in no time!

Warm regards,

Kali Fields Williams, PTA President (Parent Volunteer), 2020-21

Hello and welcome back, Clinton families!

It is my honor to serve as your PTA Vice President this year. I am so excited to work and collaborate with such amazing families and staff to ensure that, even during these interesting times, we are truly creating a village that nurtures and supports all of our children. Now, more than ever, is a time to embrace the positive and find joy in the simple and smaller moments of our day to day routines.

As Vice President, it is my responsibility to work closely with the President and the rest of the PTA board and continue to advocate for our families, teachers and students. I will be attending monthly meetings with PTA members from other schools, along with Dr. Taylor our superintendent, to discuss district-wide issues, submit questions I have received from Clinton parents, and report back to our PTA board and community.

One of the most important tasks I have will be communicating with Class Parents. Class Parents play a crucial role in relaying information to the rest of the families in the class. Class Parents will forward emails and important information I send from the district, school and PTA. They will work directly with teachers if any information needs to be passed along to students' homes. Class Parents also help coordinate teacher gifts. Lastly, once we are back in the classroom, Class Parents will work with teachers for classroom events and parties. Normally, there are two to three Class Parents per class. If you are interested, please click on the link https://clintonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/ and find the volunteer tab to sign up, or you can send me an email at kristy.lynch@clintonelementary.org.

I can’t wait to meet you all and work together to make this the best year yet!

Hello Clinton Families!

I am Emilia Hallquist, serving as Secretary for a second year and your new VP of Membership.

What does PTA Membership mean this year? This year, every dollar, cent, and donation counts now more than ever. The auction, our largest fundraiser, was cancelled last year and even though I do not regret the gold wingtip shoes I purchased, the auction is on hold this year also.

Membership is only $24/family or $12/individual and goes to necessary line items like website and bank fees, but also favorites like Book Fair and Yearbook. Little known fact, fish tank maintenance is also supported by your PTA membership! Your contribution is critical, not just for this year but next year, and the years to come. I look forward to working hard with the PTA, for the families and the teachers, and for the fish. No matter what happens, we are stronger together.

Become a PTA member here!

Hello Clinton Families!

I am serving as PTA Treasurer this year. 2020-2021 is my second year on the Executive Board, and my first year in this position. I’m the one keeping track of those PTA dues and “No-Frills” fundraiser contributions. I’ve been enjoying all your notes and emojis with your Venmo transfers at the PTA spirit store!

I’m looking forward to helping maximize the PTA’s support impact, despite funds being limited due to the unique circumstances of this school year. Like any non-profit organization, we are working to pivot our focus while maintaining a responsible budget.

This is my sixth year as part of the Clinton Family, and I am proud to serve as an Officer on the PTA Board. The dedication and energy of this group is inspiring!

Hello Clinton Community:

We are very excited to introduce ourselves as the co-vice presidents of Equity and Inclusion, serving on the PTA for the upcoming school year. This role was created to ensure that all of our students are set up for success and to foster a strong sense of community across our families. We will also oversee the ELL initiatives. [English Language Learner]

You may be wondering what "equity" entails in the context of education. The term is often used interchangeably with “equality”. Equality ensures all children are treated the same--with the respect, dignity, and kindness they all deserve. Additionally, equality provides all children with the same tools, knowledge, and support needed to achieve academic success. We believe that equity means tailoring these resources, tools, and support to the unique needs of the family & child. In these “virtual times” equity is one of the key factors towards ensuring all our children maintain a high level of academic, social, and emotional success.

The school year has yet to begin and, of course, there are still many details to be sorted out. However, the PTA is sure that regardless of how the school structure looks and feels, there will be those among us who will require extra help. For this reason, we are looking for volunteers committed to equity and are interested in lending their talents & skills so we can hit the ground running come September 8th. If you are able to translate, provide tech support, tutor, drop off supplies, etc please let us know by sending us an email.

Additionally, in order to truly determine and understand your needs, the PTA will be sending a survey very shortly. Your responses will help us to tailor an action plan to help meet the needs of our community. Please keep your eye out and take the time to complete in order to ensure your needs are expressed.

We look forward to having many more open and honest conversations about the needs of our Clinton families. We have much work to do at Clinton and in South Orange-Maplewood but we are #ClintonStrong #NoMatterTheDistance. Let’s work together to empower and inspire each and every student.

Please let us know if you have any questions!

--Makeda (Rising 1st grader) and Sheyna (Rising 4th grader)

Meet the PTA: Mark Trucinski, Webmaster

Mark Truscinski, Webmaster

Greetings from your friendly Webmaster here. Most of you probably know me as the guy who sits behind the lightboard with our Tech crew for Clinton Student Theatre Annual Show, but I also sit behind the controls of the PTA website - http://clintonelementary.org

Our site was relaunched 2 years ago with a number of new features, but most notably, an online directory and the ability to purchase and sign up for events online. The PTA website is your go-to place for... well... everything. If you have a question about something Clinton PTA related it's probably already on the website.

If you are not a member of the PTA website you can find the instructions on how to join here: http://bit.ly/joinPTAwebsite

If are a member and have not logged in this year please do it and confirm your contact information. Also, please update the classroom teacher(s) for your child(ren).

Once you are member you will also have access to the Online Directory. During this virtual time this is an important tool you can use to try and reach out to other parents to plan virtual or socially distant playdates for your kids. The information you share is completely up to you. We do hope that you will at least post your basic information such as name and email address. Only people who are logged in as members can view this information. You can find instructions on how to control the information that is published to the Directory here. Once you are set up with an account you can:

Purchase "Clinton Strong" signs and masks from the online store: https://clintonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/store
Officially Join the PTA with a membership: https://clintonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/membership
Donate to our No Frills Fundraiser: https://clintonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/packet/6138
Subscribe to the PTA Calendar: https://clintonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/Calendar
Sign up to Volunteer: https://clintonpta.membershiptoolkit.com/Volunteer

The website is also conveniently available in app form. You can download the Membership Toolkit App for both Apple and Android devices.
Please explore the site and take a look at what is there. If there is information missing, feature you think would be helpful, or are having trouble please let me know. You can email me directly at webmaster@clintonelementary.org

Hi Clinton Elementary family!

I'm Jess Murphy, and in addition to being an emeritus member of the PTA Executive Board as a past PTA president (2017-2018), I'm taking on the role of Cultural Arts VP this year.

In a normal year, this position would involve coordinating assemblies for the students throughout the school year, but clearly that is not the way things are working in these Covid times! So instead, I am working on a project that I hope will help make sure our students are still given opportunities to be exposed to new and interesting people and experiences, even while staying safely at home. But it's going to require some help from you guys! More details to come via a digital flyer and survey, but if you have a talent or skill that you think you could share with the Clinton community, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. You can draw off of your job, your hobby, your heritage... or anything that you feel passionately about! We are hoping to put together a series of mini virtual assemblies, which can be "hosted" by our fifth graders, and will showcase the various talents, skills, and cultures throughout our Clinton family. So stay tuned for more information.

And in the meantime, hang in there, folks! I have a fifth-grader, a second-grader, a toddler, and a four-month-old (so I'm going to be a part of this school for a looooooong time)... I keep looking enviously at my baby son, because he has no idea the chaotic world he has entered. Then I remember that someday he will be at Clinton -- probably before I know it! -- and when that happens, all of this will be in the rear view (I hope!). And we will all be able to look back at this time and know that we made it, and that we're stronger and more resilient than any of us could have possibly realized when we kicked off 2020. So be kind to yourself. And never hesitate to ask for help... including from this PTA. We are so blessed with this amazing team of parents, teachers, and administrators, all of whom are looking out for you and your families.

Looking forward to working with many of you on some great cultural arts experiences in the months ahead. For now, stay safe and healthy, everyone!