Dear Parents –

    Snow is everywhere!  This is certainly a crazy winter for us (my in-laws live in Maine and I think after this storm we will have officially gotten more snow than they have), and because of the inclement weather, we had to cancel our February PTO meeting.  Luckily, our two major January events not only managed to take place in spite of the weather, but were very successful.  On the 25th we had our first of two annual Blood Drives with INOVA.  I am happy to report that 48 units of blood were collected that day, which was well over what was expected!  Thank you so much to everyone who came out and donated.  We are especially thankful to the staff members who made special arrangements regarding their classrooms so that they could give a donation.  Our next drive is currently scheduled for May 10th.  If you could not donate this time, please consider coming to our next drive and join us in helping to save a life!
  January 28th was a first ever Navy Skate Night at Reston Town Center and it was VERY cold, but the kids didn't seem to mind!  According to the staff at the ice rink, we had THE MOST SUCCESSFUL Skate Night they have had to date.  They sold approximately 235 tickets (at $3 each for Navy) and we sold about $230 in goodies (mostly hot chocolate!).  All together, that means we brought in about $735 for Navy.  Not too bad for 4 hours of fun.  Thank you so much to all of my wonderful volunteers for braving the cold...next year we will make sure we have hot coffee!
  Speaking of next year, believe it or not, now is the time that the PTO has to start recruiting parents just like you to join our board for the 2010-11 school year.  We have 4 board positions opening up (President, 2nd VP, Treasurer and Financial Secretary) and I hope that you will consider helping Navy by becoming a board member.  Our school relies on its PTO to not only bring in necessary funds for the school, but also to foster closeness within our school community.  A flyer will be coming home detailing the positions, however, I'm sure you will have more questions!  If you are at all interested in becoming a board member, the best thing to do is contact me (or any of the other board members) and we will be more than happy to talk to you about what each position entails.
  No experience is necessary!  I know I have mentioned this before, but I took over the President position two years ago with no PTO experience at all.  I had never even volunteered at an event.  My kids were little (2nd and Kindergarten), so I hadn't even been at Navy that long.  But, I wanted to do something to help out the school, so I took a chance and accepted the position.  I quickly discovered that I had amazing support.  I had committee heads who had run their committees for years and knew what they were doing.  I had board members who had been on the board the year before, so they could help me through the logistics of meetings, fundraising and newsletters.  I always had someone to ask if I didn't know what to do.  It made being successful easy.  If I could do it, you can too!
  Watch for the flyer, fill out the bottom and send it back into school.  The PTO needs parents like you.

Stay warm-
Laura Gerry