Welcome to another school year at Madison! We hope everyone had a wonderful summer. Thank you to Jaime Szfranski and Megan Day, along with their committee and volunteers for the Meet & Treat. It was so fun catching up with friends after summer break.

We are very excited about the year ahead -- continuing the Madison traditions of Multicultural Day, Winter Carnival, Pancake Breakfast, and Explore More Day. In addition, we hope that your children can be involved in the PTA sponsored clubs -- Battle of the Books, Math Club, Chess Club, and the Conservation Committee.

We could not put on these amazing events and extracurricular activities without some fundraising. Our biggest fundraiser of the year, Run-a-Thon, will be held September 7 and 8 (September 9 is the rain date) and our adults-only fundraiser, Trivia Night, is scheduled for Sat., Oct. 22. Please consider contributing to both these efforts as every dollar raised goes back to the students at Madison (contributions are tax deductible).

Have you joined the PTA? Becoming a member is the easiest way to support our PTA. A family membership is $15 and includes access to our mobile directory app, Directory Spot. Please visit the Madison PTA website, www.madisonschoolpta.org and click-on “Join PTA” to become a member. If you have any questions regarding PTA Membership, please contact Lisa Thomas, membership@madisonschoolpta.org.

Can you help? Your involvement in the PTA helps make Madison a wonderful place to learn and grow. We have many committees that are looking for volunteers. If you have some time to give, please consider volunteering. A description of our committees and volunteer sign-up is available on our website www.madisonschoolpta.org. Just click on Committee Sign Up.

There are still a few committees that are in need of chairs or co-chairs:

Reflections

Screen Free Week

If you are interested in chairing one of these committees or would like more information, please contact Kristin Olson (kolson1@me.com) or Rachel Bailey (mooreracheld@hotmail.com).

Our first PTA meeting is Tues., Sept. 20 at 12:00 p.m. in the music room. We encourage all PTA members to attend. We are always eager to have as much input as possible so that the needs and desires of every Madison student are represented in the decision making process. We even offer a few evening meetings for working parents. Here is a schedule of this year’s meetings:

Tues., Sept. 20, 12 p.m.

Tues., Oct. 18, 7 p.m.

Tues., Nov. 15, 12 p.m.

Tues., Jan. 24, 12 p.m.

Tues., Feb 21, 12 p.m.

Tues., March 21, 12 p.m.

Tues., April 18, 7 p.m.

Tues., May 16, 12 p.m.

The Executive Board recently met to develop a budget for the 2016-2017 school year. The budget determines how PTA funds are allocated. This budget is available to review by any PTA members by contacting Treasurer Katie Morris at treasurer@madisonschoolpta.org . The PTA will vote on the budget during our General Membership meeting on September 20.

We are looking forward to a great year! Please feel free to contact any of the officers on the Madison PTA executive committee below with any comments, questions, or suggestions. We are always happy to hear from you.

Kristin Olson, Co-President – kolson1@me.com

Rachel Bailey, Co-President – mooreracheld@hotmail.com

Lisa Thomas, VP of Membership – membership@madisonschoolpta.org

Suzie Weber, VP of Ways and Means – waysandmeans@madisonschoolpta.org

Katie Morris, Treasurer – treasurer@madisonschoolpta.org

Louise Kirkman, Secretary – secretary@madisonschoolpta.org

Mrs. Dern

Ms. Acharya

This role is an easy one. Room Parents serve as the liaison to the parents of students in their class, collect funds for any teacher gifts (birthday, Teacher Appreciation), and communicate with the class party teams throughout the year to ensure that party plans are being made.

If you have a Madison student in the above classrooms, please consider helping out. You can contact Margit Spires at 2mspires@msn.com if you are interested.

Mark your calendars! Picture Day is Thurs., Sept. 1. Every child will have their picture taken for the yearbook and class photo. If you would like to order pictures, order forms should have already come home, check those backpacks! There are extra order forms available in the office. If your child is absent, there will be a picture retake day.

Any questions, please contact Anne Nigrelli (anigrelli@sbcglobal.net) or Dawnelle Muff (dawnelle3@gmail.com).

If you didn't get a chance to check out Madison's new spirit wear during Meet 'n Treat, stop by the table at Curriculum Night or visit www.headsupapparel.com. There are lots of new designs and styles from which to choose. All orders must be placed online by September 2. Please visit www.headsupapparel.com and find "Madison 2016" as your school to review items and place your order.

If you have any questions, please contact Hollie Bourne (hvbourne@gmail.com) or Abby May (mayabby1@gmail.com)

Madison Elementary offers parents and teachers a directory app called DirectorySpot available on both iPhone and Android smartphones. The Madison PTA develops the directory, which is available to all current PTA members. So be sure that you have registered for PTA Membership! Online PTA Membership can be completed on the PTA section of the Madison website at www.cusd200.org/madisonpta or by clicking here.

If you were a DirectorySpot user last year, the app still reflects last year’s data. We hope to launch data for the 2016-2017 school year by early October. At that time, all PTA members for the current school year will receive instructions over email for how to download, access, and use DirectorySpot.

DirectorySpot puts many great features right at your fingertips. You can view class lists as well as the school calendar, and the app gives you the option to download and print a PDF of the directory . The app also performs auto dial when you click on a phone number, or the auto launching of maps when you click on an address. DirectorySpot will even create an email if you click on someone's email address.

If you would like access to the Madison School Directory, please be sure to join our PTA.

If you have any questions regarding the Madison School Directory, please contact the Directory Committee at directory@madisonschoolpta.org.

PTA committees are welcome to use Madison’s online payment system called SchoolPay. There are many advantages to using SchoolPay to collect payments for your event or fundraiser:

• Improves payment collection by providing a quick and convenient way for parents to pay.

• Provides a secure form of online payment.

• Reduces the use of backpack mail in which payments get lost or forgotten by children.

• Reduces the amount of cash and check payments that require collection by a chairman.

• Provides a helpful interface for tracking payments and creating monthly Treasurer reports.

For chairman who are new to using SchoolPay, it can take some extra time to learn how to use SchoolPay or to establish a payment item for the first time. Therefore, please be sure to allow approximately 2-4 weeks to coordinate with Madison’s SchoolPay administrator prior to launching the online payment option for your committee.

Although the use of SchoolPay may take some extra time and effort at first, our online payment system will make your work easier. If interested, please contact Madison’s SchoolPay Administrator at Communications@madisonschoolpta.org.

You can now place orders for the 2016-2017 Madison Paw Prints. A yearbook costs $17 and will be delivered to the student before the end of the school year. Please use the following link to order and pay with credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, or Discover) or check. There is a 15% discount if ordered by September 30.

https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1014308585474714

The Yearbook Committee would appreciate you sharing your "Meet & Treat and First Day of School" photos for use in the yearbook. Please upload your images using the following link:

http://www.treering.com/asset/f8204dc52c7ce64f26c966a6a9d59979ee0a5b7a/

Please be sure to share only high resolution images of Madison School students, teachers, and staff only on school property or at the bus stop.

If you have any questions, please contact Dawn Draus at yearbook@madisonschoolpta.org.

The Go Green Committee is happy to announce the addition of a compost bin in the courtyard. An Eagle Scout from Glenbard East created the compost bin, which served as part of his requirements for earning this honor. The compost bin will be used to compost organic waste from school lunches as well as teach students about composting and decomposition. The hope is the compost can be used in the garden beds as a soil amendment. The Go Green Committee is looking for volunteers to assist with the student Conservation Committee. If you are interested contact Lisa Thomas at eal1308@yahoo.com.

Our Library Learning Center (LLC) is in need of your support. We are seeking volunteers in both the morning (9:15 a.m.-12 p.m.) and afternoon (1 - 3:30 p.m.) sessions. Mrs. Graham, our LLC Director, could not have the program she has today without your help. Your time is appreciated no matter how often you can volunteer, be it every week, every other week, or once a month. Volunteering in the library is a special way parents and grandparents can share in their child's school day. Some of the LLC volunteering activities include shelving, checking materials in and out, preparing displays and bulletin boards, and assisting students and faculty. If you are interested in volunteering in the Madison library, please contact Kathryn Medanic at llcvolunteers@madisonschoolpta.org.

Click on the calendar on the Madison section of www.cusd200.org to view upcoming dates. See below for some highlights:

Aug. 23: Curriculum Night (Grade 3, 4, 5)

Aug. 24: Curriculum Night (Grades K, 1, 2)

Sept. 1: Picture Day

Sept. 7 & 8: Run-A-Thon

Sept. 18: Madison Beautification

Sept. 20: PTA General Membership Meeting, 12 p.m. in Music Room

Sept. 23: No School

View the 2016-2017 school calendar here.