Leadership Updates

At this time of year, while faculty and students enjoy the immediacy of the curriculum and classroom experiences, the administrative staff is firming up plans for the 2011-12 and beyond. We would like to share some of these improvements with you before the Holidays in anticipation of the New Year!

Office News

We are delighted to announce that our administrative offices are now fully staffed, and ready to implement our plan – view the ED two-year Action Plan here –  and to bring the school forward to its 20th Anniversary in 2015. As of January 4th, 2012, Tabatha Jeantette will join our team in the position of Development Coordinator. Responsible for fundraising and advancement, the Development Coordinator is tasked with meeting – and hopefully exceeding – our fundraising goals, widening our circle of friends and supporters, seeking out and securing grants and corporate funding, and further engaging parents and friends in supporting and expanding our wonderful endeavor. Initially building on community events such as festivals and the auction, Tabatha will work closely with the Executive Director to develop and implement effective fundraising and development strategies to secure a stable future of support for Three Cedars. Please join us in welcoming Tabatha to her new role!

2012-13 School Year ‘Recommitment’ – Managing school related paperwork is daunting for most of us, particularly during the summer when our thoughts turn to the beach rather than classrooms. For the 2012-13 school year we have designed a much simpler process which we are confident you will appreciate. We call this process ‘Recommitment’. In mid-January, you will receive a mailing from the school which will include a letter indicating the tuition for next year, your 2012-13 Tuition Agreement, a copy of your 2011-12 Emergency & Consent form, and simple instructions. While the letter will present much information, the recommitment process itself is quite simple: Mark your calendars now, and plan to stop by the school for about one hour on Friday, February 3th, 8:00 am through 4:00 pm, or Saturday, February 4th, 10:00 am through 2:00 pm to fill out all of your paperwork for 2012-13 at one time. If you are planning to apply for Financial Aid (Previously known as TLA), please note that the deadline for applications with SSS (www.nais.org - NAIS School and Student Services) is February 3rd, 2012.

Time with the Executive Director - With the new year come new opportunities! Beginning on Thursday January 5th, parents are warmly invited to join Geraldine for a cup of tea on the 1st Thursday of every month from 8:30 am to 9:30 am, in the foyer. Geraldine is looking forward to hearing your ideas and wishes for the school, and will gladly respond to any question you may have about our program and our plans. You are welcome to stay for the whole hour or stop by for a few minutes.

We have some surprises in store for you to celebrate the New Year! Under the very able guidance of Pavel Dolezel, Morning Glory parent, with the help of Javier Rodriguez, parent in grade 1 and Buckley Guderian, parent in grade 4 and 8 and long-standing tech volunteer extraordinaire, our website will be transformed by early January: simple navigation, streamlined information, and a tour of our beautiful school via the many pictures selected from the multitude of photos gathered over the years by our school volunteer photographers Rick Saada, Andy Held, Corey ColwellLipson, Paul David, and many others. Our newsletter too will get a face-lift: watch for the January issues!

Parent Association

The next meeting of the Parent Association is scheduled for Thursday, December 15, 6:30-8:00 pm in Trillium Hall. This is our second meeting of this year, and our agenda – informed by some of the topics that emerged in the November 29th World Café, include:

• Adult Education at Three Cedars – what is needed, what do we want? 
• Connecting existing families with new families – ‘Buddy System’
• Select Parent Association leadership – Chair, team, coordinator, point person? Which form of effective leadership do we wish, and how do we choose to select. If we are discipline enough, perhaps we’ll be able to identify leadership on that evening?

Vision

TCWS Parent Association embraces the vision of an engaged and valued parent body in service of the school’s mission. The mission of TCWS Parent Association is to design, hold, and facilitate the effective participation of parents in the unfolding of the school’s mission.