Dear Parents,
Thirty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration : May 22nd
Natalie Kaplan and her dedicated team have been taking care of the youngest members in our community for 35 years. Please come and celebrate all that she has achieved and what is still to come on May 22nd at both of the celebratory events.
Carnival: The Carnival is being co-chaired by Ann Adams and Salome Venbrux. Ann’s son Tatum is in the Two’s Room and Salome’s son Aiden is in the Toddler Room. The planning has begun and there are several ways to still get involved with one of the great committees. They are still looking for an activities chair and volunteers for the following comittees: food, logistics and marketing and sales. Please email Ann if you are interested in helping: annadams523@gmail.com
Evening Event: The evening event is being led by Natalie and the Board President, Ed Saitz. The tentative start time is 5pm. More details to follow soon.
Tickets will go on sale for both events at the beginning of April.
This month’s featured parent is Cathy Lewis, Executive Director, from the Sprout Fund. Cathy’s son Matthew is in the four year old room.
Founded in 2001, The Sprout Fund is a nonprofit organization supporting grassroots community projects that are catalyzing change in Pittsburgh. From seeding small-scale community initiatives, to creating new works of public art, to building a stronger and more connected region, The Sprout Fund plays a critical role in Pittsburgh’s ongoing transformation.
Spark is a funding program of The Sprout Fund supporting projects that engage children ages birth to eight through the creative use of technology and media. Spark challenges individuals, organizations, and communities to generate inventive solutions to issues and opportunities facing today’s young child. From the playground to the classroom, Spark initiatives empower kids to live, learn and play creatively while addressing critical needs in their growth and development.
With more than $3.5 million invested in the innovative ideas, creative people, and young and emerging leaders of our region, The Sprout Fund is one of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s leading agencies on issues related to civic engagement, talent attraction and retention, public art, and catalytic small-scale funding.
Please visit the website at www.sproutfund.org to find out more.
Plant Sale:
If you are like me you are ready for tomato, basil and mozarella sandwiches and for the annual Carriage House Children’s Center plant sale! Each year, around Mother’s Day, a large truck of locally sourced fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers take over the Carriage House parking lot. This is made possible with the efforts of parent and staff volunteers with a large amount of the proceeds going back to the school. This year the Plant Sale co-chairs are Katherine Mazey and Kara Rock. They will kick off the plant sale the first week in April. If you do not have a green thumb and the thought of caring for anything green scares you, then there is still an opportunity to contribute by providing plants for Claudia’s Garden. On the order form there will be a box where you can choose to donate to the garden. A description of the garden is below. If you would like to volunteer and did not sign up in the Fall, please email Kara Rock at karalrock@yahoo.com
Claudia’s Garden
Claudia Saitz was the Program Director at Carriage House for 29 years. When Claudia announced that she was retiring to garden and keep bees, the idea to create a garden in her name was born. Claudia’s Garden, which is in raised beds on the playground was designed and built by Carriage House staff. The plants—a variety of flowers and vegetables—were planned, planted and tended by the children and teachers. Each year we will honor Claudia’s time at Carriage House by planting beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables.
Aside from the commemorative aspect of Claudia’s Garden, there are the educational and environmental aspects as well. As the children take part in the planting and all it entails, they are exposed to a variety of science, math, social, motor, and language experiences. They learn about plant life and the environment as they watch the plants grow, as they taste various fruits and vegetables, as they re-plant seeds. The garden is an important part of Carriage House Children’s Center’s aim to be a Green place for children and families.
Barefoot Books:
If you are looking for a great website to buy books from, look no further. Barefoot Books has unique children’s titles and they will donate part of the profits back to the Carriage House. Nikole Bournias Fiedler, mother of Alexsandra in the two morning twos, has spearheaded this effort. Please visit the site at www.barefootbooks.com. If you decide to buy books please use this id at checkout: 000-0bhr.
The next PTO meeting is Wednesday, March 24th at four PM. The more the merrier. Please join us, you don’t even have to be there. We have a call in number. Send us an email if you want to call in and we will send the number. RSVP to elablewis@gmail.com
Thank you for all of your support with the initiatives to date and please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns regarding the PTO. The suggestion box is outside the office or comment on the blog.
Warm Regards,
The PTO
