Parents’
Association of P.S. 101Q, 2 Russell
Place, Forest Hills, NY 11375
www.pa101.org
(718) 268-7230
May 27, 2008
Parents’ Association & School Leadership
Team ELECTIONS 2008
Parents’ Association Election Results
Since none of the Parents’ Association
positions were contested, elections will
not be necessary. The slate of
candidates will be ratified at a P.A.
meeting on Wednesday, May 28 at 9am in
the Auditorium. Here are your Parents’
Association parent representatives for
2008-2009:
President:
Deb Dillingham
1st Vice President: Nancy
Northrop
2nd Vice President: Jacquie
Silano
3rd Vice President: Jennifer
Mannion
Recording Secretary: Mindy
Schmidt
Co-Communications Secretaries:
Belma Hammond, Kelli Herd
Co-Treasurers: Sameen Shareef,
Teresa Mitchell
School Leadership Team Elections
The open positions are as follows:
(A) 2 open positions for 2008-2010
(2-year slot): Jodi Freed, Nancy
Northrop
(B) 1 open position for
2008-2009 (1-year slot):
2 candidates – Lili Cany, Mary O’Connell
Mauro
Since (A) has exactly 2 candidates for 2
positions, elections for (A) will not be
necessary. Here are your 2008-2010
School Leadership Team parent
representatives:
Jodi Freed
Nancy Northrop
They join the following parents
previously elected to the SLT:
Deb Dillingham (P.A. President),
Marcia Parness (2007-2009), Galia
Varadzhakova (2007-2009).
Elections
results for the 2008-2009 School
Leadership Team
parent representative position on
Friday, May 30.
Thank you for your participation
in today’s elections! There were 91
votes cast.
You have selected this parent as your
representative in the School Leadership
Team for 2008-2009:
Mary O’Connell Mauro
The breakdown of votes is as follows:
41 Lili Cany
50 Mary O’Connell Mauro
Mary joins the following previously
elected parent representatives on the
School Leadership Team:
Deb Dillingham as Parents’ Association
President (2008-2009)
Jodi Freed (2008-2010)
Nancy Northrop (2008-2010)
Marcia Parness (2007-2009)
Galia Varadzhakova (2007-2009)
Your name can be on this list next year.
Please consider running during the
nomination-election process in Spring
2009.
Even if you do not wish to hold elected
office, there are many ways to use your
gifts and abilities to make PS101Q a
better school for our children. To get
involved, please come by the Parents’
Association office for more information,
or email us at
PAmail@pa101.org
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all
the candidates.
Nominating Committee:
Joanne Lu
Laura Jett
Rowena Rosini-Gold
Parents’ Association 2008-2009
Candidates
President:
Deborah Dillingham
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
Kindergarten, 2 children in 3rd
Current involvement in the school:
President, Parents’ Association,
School Leadership Core Member
What you
hope to achieve while in office:
I have served on the Parents’
Association and the School Leadership
Team since my children were in
kindergarten. I introduced the Little
Orchestra/Lollipops & Happy Concert
Program, the NY POPS at Carnegie Hall
Program, the Winter Lights Concert (in
conjunction with Ann Kittredge), & the
Mother-Son/Father-Daughter dances to the
school. I have worked on the Halloween
Party, Book Fair, Holiday Fair, etc. I
also worked on developing/ revising the
by-laws for the SLT and the Parents’
Association in order to gain an
understanding of how the two groups
should operate effectively. I have also
attended leadership workshops, Community
Education Council Meetings, P.A
President Council Meetings, and UFT
rallies to keep informed on what is
happening in the district and the city
with regard to education.
As P.A. President I have three goals:
The first goal is to ensure
that our children have a wonderful
experience at our school by hosting
events that promote “community.” As a
“home-away-from-home” I want all of the
children to remember P.S. 101Q fondly,
and keep it as a wonderful memory when
they grow up. The second goal is to
advocate for students’ educational needs
through the School Leadership Team.
As a parent, it is my intention to
ensure that all of our students get the
education they deserve whether it be
through our General Education or Special
Education programs. “Fair is giving
each child what they deserve,” and I
believe that should be the goal of the
Parents’ Association. The
third goal is to raise significant funds
to supplement the educational programs
at P.S. 101Q. The more funds we can
raise, the more we can directly affect
our children’s educational experience in
a world of decreased budgets. We can
have a positive impact through the Arts,
Science Programs, Technology, and a host
of other things. We put an emphasis on
fundraising because our children will
only be in elementary school once, and
we want to offer them as much as we
possibly can.
1st Vice President:
Nancy Northrop
Grade(s)
your children are in: 2nd
& 5th
Current
involvement in the school:
School Leadership Team, After School
Coordinator, P.A. 2nd Vice
President
What you
hope to achieve while in office:
I hope to continue to support the many
programs and fund-raising activities
that make PS101 such a special place for
all our children. I would like to work
to expand parental involvement at PS101
-- there are so many opportunities for
involvement. We are blessed with so many
talented and passionate parents. Please
come join in!
2nd Vice President:
Jacquie Silano
Grade(s)
your children are in: 2nd
& 6th
Current
involvement in the school:
P.A. Secretary, Picture Day
What you hope to achieve while in
office: I plan to continue
supporting the P.A.'s ongoing efforts
to help our children's school
experience.
I have been actively involved in the
P.A. of P.S. 101 since 1991-(My oldest
son has completed his first year of
college), in a variety of roles;
Treasurer, Secretary, coordinating
Picture Day, and volunteering for all
kinds of P.A. sponsored events. I have
also been a class parent for most of my
years at P.S. 101.
3rd Vice President:
Jennifer Mannion
Grade(s)
your child(ren) are in:
Kindergarten,
incoming PreK in the Fall
Current involvement in the school: Chair
of the Halloween Party and Pumpkin
Patch. I have volunteered throughout the
year on the Book Fair, Winter Lights
Fundraiser, Holiday Fair, and in my
child's classroom.
What you
hope to achieve while in office:
I would like to help create a better
environment for our children in school
through increased parent participation.
I want to get more parents involved and
help to create additional events that
build a sense community. I am committed
to fundraising for our school in hopes
of increasing the technology available
at P.S. 101 and therefore available to
our children.
Recording Secretary:
Mindy Schmidt
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
Kindergarten
Current involvement in the school: Mother-Son
Dance, Father-Daughter Dance, Winter
Lights, Halloween Party, Dr. Seuss Day
reader, Book Sale, Classroom special
events.
Co-Communications Secretary:
1)
Belma Hammond
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
Kindergarten
Current involvement in the school: Class
Parent, Coordinating Kindergarten
Stepping Up Ceremony
What you
hope to achieve while in office:
I hope to achieve a productive and
enjoyable atmosphere and encourage more
parents to get involved.
2)
Kelli Herd
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
1st
Current
involvement in the school: I
am new to the area.\
What you hope to achieve while in
office:
I hope to achieve better communication
between parents, Parent's Association,
students, teachers and school
administration.
Co-Treasurers
1) Sameen Shariff
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
Pre K
Current involvement in the school:
Class Parent
What you hope to achieve while in
office:
Maintain a proper management and
accounting of funds for all PA sponsored
events.
2) Teresa Mitchell
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
1st
Current involvement in the
school: Currently involved with
organizing the Cuisines of the World
2008 dinner fundraiser. Active parent
chaperone on all Grade 1 field trips.
What you hope to achieve while in
office: Primarily,
I would like to streamline fund raising
events and activities to be more
effective and efficient. As part of
this, I would like to help P.S. 101
achieve 501(c)(3) status, which should
provide more significant opportunities
for the school to solicit/receive
donations from corporations and
companies. As another part of this
effort, I hope to encourage greater
support from the local community. I
would also like to raise more awareness
amongst parents of the school's
activities, as well as greater parent
participation and involvement.
School Leadership Team Candidates
2008-2010
position (two openings)
Jodi Freed
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
3rd
Current involvement in the school:
Class Parent, active in all school
activities, participant in P.A.
activities.
What you
hope to achieve while in office:
My goal is to advance our children
academically, emotionally, and socially.
I will achieve this by finding ways to
raise our children’s self-esteem. Help
implement fun and exciting new ways of
learning. I have much knowledge of many
literacy programs and I am well aware of
their pros and cons. I will be willing
to voice my opinion and speak on behalf
of our children. Be their advocate! I
understand that schools are often run as
a business, but it is crucial that our
focus stay on our children and our
community. What is most important to me
is to see our children get the proper
learning environment that every child
deserves!
Nancy Northrop
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
2nd and 5th
Current involvement in the school: School
Leadership Team, After School
Coordinator, P.A. 2nd Vice
President
What you
hope to achieve while in office:
I hope to continue efforts that the SLT
has initiated over the past few years to
improve education at PS101. These
include working to raise standards;
increase feedback on children's school
work (homework, the science project,
writing assignments); bring back a
greater emphasis on grammar, spelling,
and handwriting instruction; and provide
a more challenging curriculum for all
our students, particularly in math and
science. In addition, I will continue
to pressure the administration to keep
6th grade at PS101 -- an annual fight.
While we have made progress, I believe
we need to work with teachers and the
principal to ensure that we continue to
move forward in all these areas.
2008-2009 position (one
opening):
Contested Position
Lili Cany
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
1st & 2nd
Current
involvement in the school: Class
parent, International Dinner
What you
hope to achieve while in office:
Let me present myself first! I am a
Chinese-French mother. I have 2 children
(1st & 2nd Grade)
PS 101 is a wonderful place to be
surrounded by children coming from all
around the world! Because of the rich
diversity of our neighborhood, I truly
believe that P.S. 101 is not only a very
important elementary school for our
children but also a great way to learn
and exchange experiences in all levels.
I would like to build together parents,
principal, school staff a strong
foundation in every single child to face
their future. My value is the love of
learning. I would like to develop in
young students a passion of learning
with fun that will serve them throughout
their lives. I love children, I care for
the school and I learn a lot from all of
them. This is the reason why I would
like to join the School Leadership Team.
I am particularly interested in
curriculum that offers differentiated
instruction. We have so many
different levels of students in each
class that I deeply think we need an
efficient and constructive way of
teaching. Specifically, I think the ELA
curriculum "Treasures" supports
differentiated instruction: it uses
leveled reading materials, implements
data-informed whole group and small
group instruction, and accommodates
students' needs and performance. It is a
very structured method and
children will be using the same book in
each group according to their level.
There are 4 levels: Approaching Level,
On Level, Beyond Level and ELL (English
Language Learners). I hope that I can
give new energy with positive
thinking to all of you.
Mary O’Connell Mauro
Grade(s) your child(ren) are in:
3rd
Current
involvement in the school: SLT
member
What you
hope to achieve while in office:
I am the parent of a child who will be
entering 4th grade in
September. I have been delighted to
serve as a parent representative this
past year. I would like to continue as
a parent School Leadership
Representative for an additional 1-year
term.
As I stated earlier this year, I believe
that the SLT can serve as a vital bridge
between the parents, teachers and
administration. There are several issues
which confronted the team this year
which will continue to be challenges in
the future.
Specifically, the placement of Gifted &
Talented by the Department of Education,
is and will continue to be an issue at
our school. While parents may disagree
on the philosophy of Gifted & Talented
programs, clearly our school is one
wherein our children need and deserve an
enriched and challenging curriculum. I
believe a priority for next year will be
to work with the administration to
develop and enhance an enrichment
program for all grades. In addition, as
a parent representative to the SLT, I
will work with other parent members to
address the actions of the Department of
Education which directly impact the
services our kids get in the classroom,
such as budget and enrollment.
P.S. 101 is a wonderful school. Part of
what makes it great is the involved
parent community. I would like to build
upon what I have learned in this past
year, as well as the many years which
our family has been a member of the P.S.
101 community, and continue to be a
parent member of the School Leadership
Team.
