Dear West Families,

I hope you have had a great holiday and are looking forward to an exciting New Year! We began 2012 with our annual Martin Luther King Day of Service Project on Monday, January 16th. Many thanks to Carole Matlack who orchestrated the event, and to the parent volunteers, and many students who came out for this community service project. We made 500 sandwiches for Cathedral Kitchen! Personally, the experience was enlightening and I was honored to participate in this rewarding event!

Our PTA Membership Drive is still going strong! If you haven’t sent in your membership dues, it’s still not too late! Our Membership Drive continues all year long.

Our next PTA meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 16th at 7pm. Our guest speaker will be Lois DeSantis, West Health teacher, speaking on the Anti-Drug Program at West. I’m sure this topic will be informative, and one I hope you will not miss it!

I hope you’ll get out of the cold this winter and attend one of the many events going on at West! I look forward to seeing you there!

Warmest Regards,

Linda Berenato, President
CHHS West PTA
Berenato4@hotmail.com

Dear West Families,
Welcome back – and welcome class of 2015! Another summer is ready to be filed under “memories” and we are ready to begin another busy school year. West PTA will help to keep you informed through our newsletters, website and meetings. Please help support the PTA and the programs and services we provide.

PTA Meetings 7pm West Library
Sept 14, Nov 17*, Feb 16, April 19

Come to our meetings and share your ideas and talk with other parents. It’s a great way to learn what’s going on throughout the school community. Our meetings will be no longer than 1 hour!
Here are some of the planned activities for this year:

Mum Sale – September 16
Volunteer Fair - October 2
Ford Drive Event – October 21
MLK Day of Service - January 2012

Students at West are very involved in sports and clubs and music groups. We encourage parents to get involved in the West community – join the PTA, volunteer to help with Project Graduation, bake for Back to School Night, attend the Volunteer Fair or MLK Day of Service with your child!
We have a few open Executive Board and Committee Chair positions, check our Officers page and let Linda Berenato know if you are interested in any one of those positions.

Please join us on Wed. September 14th at 7pm in the West library for our first PTA meeting!
We look forward to seeing you there!

* Nov. 17th meeting will start at 6:30 – stop by on your way to Mr. West!

Dear West Families:

As another school year is quickly coming to a close, I would like to thank those who have contributed so much to benefit West and our children. Thanks to Melissa Dykstra, Andrea Walsh and ToniAnn Giampietro for their service on the PTA Board. Karen McGonigle and Laura Leyh have been instrumental contributors to Project Graduation over the years. Last, but not least, Gina Poserina and Pam Rowland are finishing their third year running Project Graduation. Thank you for the countless hours you have worked to raise funds to put on a wonderful and memorable party for our graduates for 3 years !

Our annual Teacher Appreciation Luncheon was held in the atrium on May 6th. This luncheon is our way of saying thank you to the teachers and staff for the great job they do. Many thanks to Joanne Rongione for organizing a fantastic and relaxing luncheon, enjoyed by all.

At our April 6th PTA meeting we discussed the pros and cons of changing from a PTA to an independent PTO. For more information, please read my letter on the next page. We will hold a special meeting on Tues, July 12th at 7pm in the West library to vote on whether we want to change to a PTO and for our slate of officers. If you would like to serve in any position for next year, please email Linda Berenato berenato4@hotmail.com.

Hope to see you at the July 12th meeting.
Congratulations to all West Graduates !

Lisa Perrone
West PTA President
tomlisa5@hotmail.com

Dear West Families:

A lot is happening this Saturday, April 2nd in the Jones gym parking lot:

•We are having a Community Wide Yard Sale to benefit West Project Graduation 8am-2pm

•The folks from Ford are bringing some brand new cars for any licensed 18 or older driver to take a test drive. For each test drive, Ford donates $20 to Project Graduation. (One driver per family) 9am-3pm

•The South Jersey Mustang Club will hold a Classic Car Show ! 9am-3pm

Don’t miss this event. Please tell your friends and neighbors !

At our April 6th PTA meeting at 7pm in the West library, we will announce the proposed slate of candidates for the 2011-2012 school year. If you would like to serve on the board next year, please email Linda Berenato berenato4@hotmail.com. All positions are available. We will hold a special meeting on July 12th to elect our officers.

Also at our April 6th PTA meeting we will discuss dissolving our PTA and becoming an independent PTO. At this meeting there will be a discussion of the pros and cons of making this change. We will vote on this at our July 12th meeting.

Our next project graduation meeting is Mon April 11th in the West library. This is our balloon mailing meeting; many hands are needed!
Please remember to vote on April 27th for the Annual School District Budget and Board of Education candidates.
Our annual Teacher Appreciation Luncheon will be held in the atrium on May 6th. It is our way of saying thank you to the teachers for the great job they do. If you can help out with this event, please email Joanne Rongione anamariasmom@verizon.net.

Hope to see you at our next PTA meeting on April 6th.
Lisa Perrone
West PTA President
tomlisa5@hotmail.com

Dear West Families,

Over 100 students and adults participated in another very successful Martin Luther King Day of Service at West on January 17th.

The West students were eager to work:

•They made over 300 sandwiches and 300 bags of cookies and delivered them to Cathedral Kitchen in Camden.

• They painted the background for a mural on one of the cafeteria walls in preparation for art students to paint a mural of Martin Luther King.

• They collected and sorted food items for Cherry Hill Food Pantry.

• They cleaned windows and doors throughout the school.

See page 3 for pictures. Our busy students accomplished all of these tasks in just over 1 hour and they were featured on Channel 6 Action News!

Many thanks to those who came out to help and those who donated food and to Carol Matlack for organizing the event.

Project Graduation
If you would like to help with Project Graduation, the next planning meeting is Mon Feb 7th at 7pm in the West library.

Please mark your calendars for a Spring Yard Sale and Ford Drive Event sponsored by Project Graduation on Sat April 2nd.

Next PTA Meeting
The next PTA meeting is on Wed Feb 9th at 7pm in the West library.
You won’t want to miss this meeting because our esteemed guest is our popular West guidance counselor, Mr. Cigus Vanni. He will talk about planning for college. He will talk fast because the meeting will be over by 8pm.
Hope to see you there !

Lisa Perrone
Cherry Hill West PTA President
TomLisa5@hotmail.com

HOLIDAY BOOSTER

SALES NIGHT !

Looking for that perfect West gift for the West student, parent or alumni or your holiday list?

Come to the West Cafeteria
Tuesday, December 7, 2010, from 6-8 pm
Project Graduation, and a variety of Booster groups, will be selling their West gear. Sales benefit our kids, and you’ll have a great holiday present!

SEE YOU THEN!

Dear West Families,
Just a few words about what has gone by and what events are coming up.

Mum Sale /Barnes & Noble
Thanks to all who supported our Fall Mum Sale which raised $300 for the PTA to use on student programs throughout the year. Many thanks to Maria Viola. If you didn’t get a chance to order mums this year, look for our mum order form next year. Tues Nov 30th is Barnes & Noble Night – perfect time to shop for holiday gifts! Details on pg 13.

Project Graduation
The Yard Sale and Ford Drive Event was also very successful, raising over $3000 for Project Graduation. Lori Durkin did a great job organizing the event. You are invited to the next Project Graduation meeting on Mon Nov 15th at 7pm in the West Library .

Volunteer Fair
Our second annual Volunteer Fair, sponsored by East and West PTA’s, was held on Oct 25th at the Cherry Hill Library. Over 100 East and West students attended and got to talk to the wonderful folks at 22 volunteer organizations all in one room ! It was a really great event that we will run every year so look for it again next October.

PTA Membership
Our PTA membership drive is still going strong. Thanks to all who have joined. If you haven’t yet, please help support the PTA and the programs and services we provide.
A membership form is on the next page.

Next PTA Meeting
Our next PTA meeting is Wed Nov 10th at 7pm in the West library. Dennis Millar will present “Bullying Awareness” and as usual, Mr. Meloche will tell us about all of the wonderful things going on at West.

Our PTA meeting will wrap up by 8pm. I promise. See you at the meeting!


Lisa Perrone
Cherry Hill West PTA President
TomLisa5@hotmail.com