Canandaigua PTSA
"The Advocate" - September 2018
A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Hello, everyone! I’m so excited to start the 2018-2019 year as your new PTSA President. If you don’t know me already, my name is Leslie Mast. I’ve been involved with Canandaigua PTSA for the past four years, the last two serving as Treasurer. I have two daughters who attend the Primary school, one in third grade and one in first grade, as well as a two year old boy at home.
The PTSA does many things, but our main mission is to connect parents and the community with the district, and act as an advocate for every single child. With the money raised from our fundraising events, we are able to do everything from giving each new kindergartener a pack of crayons and a notebook at kindergarten screening, to purchasing instruments for the music department to loan out to students who cannot afford to play otherwise (Music Appreciation Fund), to sending CMS students to Washington DC, and so much more. We appoint parent representatives to many different district committees to make sure parent voices are heard, hold meetings with administrative representatives from all of our buildings, and organize events that invite students to come into their schools and have some fun.
PTSA is here for you! If you have any questions about anything regarding the district, our organization, or anything else you may think we can answer, please do not hesitate to contact us at canandaiguaptsa@gmail.com
Leslie Mast, PTSA President
ABOUT US...
The Canandaigua Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA) believes in making every child's potential a reality by being the premier organization for parent involvement and advocacy. Canandaigua PTSA is a powerful voice for all children, a significant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child.
The PTSA provides critical financial support for various school activities and resource or equipment needs. It strongly supports the community-wide Character Education, Health & Wellness, and Family Involvement initiatives of our school district.
WHY JOIN THE PTSA?
Membership is vital to our existence and to fulfilling our mission. When our membership numbers increase, both locally and within NY State, we have a stronger voice in Albany and we are able to advocate on behalf of our children and the future of education. This advocacy is the most important reason for the PTSA. Fundraising for our schools is also a priority for our PTSA. Thanks to our supporters, we are able to bring wonderful programming to our students, outreach to our community and support to our families through many PTSA-sponsored events and direct donations. We could not host these events without the help of our volunteers and we are extremely thankful for each person's time and care.
Click here to view a list of our donations of time & money.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Becoming a member of our PTSA does not require any volunteer time whatsoever!
This seems to be a common misconception regarding PTSA membership. As mentioned above, large membership numbers help show our lawmakers that we care about our students, our children, our communities, our educators and the entire education system. Membership is our voice to these law makers. While we do need volunteers for all our events, you are not automatically signing up as a volunteer just by joining our PTSA. We have seperate sign-up opportunities for each event and post chairperson opportunities in our newsletters.
As with any membership, there are also money-saving partner benefits through the National PTA and the NY State PTA. These benefits can be viewed here.
Your donations at work!
WHO CAN JOIN THE PTSA?
Short answer... ANYBODY!
Parents, guardians, grandparents, neighbors, teachers, students, men, women, community members... the list goes on. You do not need to have a child in school or even have a child at all! If you care about parents-teachers-students and our schools, please consider joining.
HOW DO YOU JOIN?
For convenient & secure online enrollment (our preferred method), click here. Credit cards are accepted on our MemberHub site.
To print a paper copy of our enrollment form and pay with cash or check, click here. Please return the enrollment form to any PTSA mailbox with cash or check made out to Canandaigua PTSA.
We encourage ALL family members to become PTSA members; men, women and children!
I JOINED... NOW WHAT?
First, thank you for joining! You are not obligated to do anything more.
However, if you are interested in being involved:
- You can join us at a monthly meeting. This is a great way to meet the PTSA leaders, other members, school administration and any special guests we may have speaking. The meetings are family-friendly and casual.
- We always have several volunteer opportunities available. Our eNewsletter posts the most recent opportunities for ongoing projects or upcoming events. We appreciate any amount of time that you can give!
- Please follow us on Twitter & Facebook @CanandaiguaPTSA
As always, please email us directly at CanandaiguaPTSA@gmail.com or contact Heather Holman, Membership Chairperson, at HeatherLHolman12@gmail.com for any questions, comments, suggestions or ideas you may have. We love hearing from you!
PTSA NEWS
WELCOME OUR NEW OFFICERS
President- Leslie Mast
Vice President- MaryKate Cywinski
Treasurer- Heather Holman
Secretary- Julie Henry
Each individual is dedicated to furthering the mission of the PTSA and looks forward to working together with the school, the students and the community. If you would like to contact them, please email CanandaiguaPTSA@gmail.com or join us at the next meeting!
Next PTSA Meeting
Meeting in Middle School Library.
Attending a meeting is a great way to hear what's going on in our schools directly from administrators, PTSA officers and other community members. Please note: meetings are informal and you are welcome to bring your young children!Wednesday, Nov 7, 2018, 06:30 PM
Canandaigua Middle School, Granger Street, Canandaigua, NY, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE PTSA
Volunteer Opportunities
We are in need of volunteers for various, ongoing services we provide to the schools. For most general volunteer work, you determine your hours and commitment frequency. Any small amount of time does a lot of good!
- Regular Copying- Come to help an hour or so a week doing copying for staff
- Clothing Closet Helper- Help out in the PTSA room to organize donated clothing/shoes
- Book Room- General organization
- If you're interested in being involved with cooperatively planning & executing the Father Daughter dance or Mother Son movie night, we would love to hear from you! We will provide the basic structure and contacts, you just bring your creativity and dedication.
Excuse Pad Order Form
Print your order form here and send to school with payment. Thank you for your support.