No One Can Do Everything But Everyone Can Do Something!

I took on the job as volunteer coordinator because two of my children are now in Clifford and I thought it was important to do whatever I could for their school and build upon the successes that have been established. My goal to increase volunteer participation was to just go up to people and ask for help- meet people face to face, make a connection, build community and work together.  I am very grateful to the school administration who included the volunteer forms in the MAZE day packets.

The response has been overwhelming.  I have hundreds of volunteer forms and am entering them into a spreadsheet every spare moment I have.  Already, we have found volunteers to head WOW science and I am grateful because my 1st grader LOVED his field trip last year.  We also have a new traffic volunteer being trained by Nanette Silverman, so if you see a new face in the circle please smile and wave.  All this in the first week of school – amazing!  I have lots of work to do to organize and place volunteers but through the year, I’ll be contacting everyone or passing names to chairs of committees.

The Clifford Community has impressed, inspired and overwhelmed me with their hearts and generosity of time and money.  With all of this enthusiasm and excitement, I feel that this is going to be a great year for Clifford and we will compensate for what our school has lost in funding from the current economic situation of California.

Thank You!

Lisa Chad, Volunteer Coordinator

Welcome Back! A Note from the PTO Presidents

Another school year is here again and it’s time to settle into new or familiar routines. On behalf of the Clifford School PTO (Parent-Teacher Organization), we would like to welcome all the new families who are coming to Clifford this year and welcome back all returning families! Working together, we can truly make a difference at Clifford. By the end of the year new friends will be made and many worthwhile experiences will be had by all.

The Clifford School PTO is made up of parents, teachers and our principal, Phil Lind and Vice-Principal Carla Torres. The primary goal of our PTO is to promote our incredible Clifford community spirit and to help our children have what many consider the quintessential school experience.  We do this by organizing fun events throughout the year, supporting teachers and staff, fundraising, helping conserve resources and promoting other important events.

The PTO hopes you will be active in The Clifford School community. We have many activities planned for this year. We encourage you to become involved in as many of these activities as you feel reasonably possible. We have fun together and the students have enjoyable, meaningful experiences as a result of your involvement.

In the fall, the PTO publishes a school directory which includes class lists, family contact information, and other useful information.  Many parents find this to be an invaluable resource for contacting classmates, friends and others parents.  Please keep your eyes open in the fall, and be sure to return the directory form as soon as possible in order to have your information included.

With your help we are looking forward to the 2011/2012 school year being the best one ever for Clifford. If you have any ideas, comments or suggestions, we want to hear from you. Communication is essential if the PTO is to fulfill its mission. Please contact Alpa Bhas (alpabhas@aol.com) or Marilyn Ezrin (tezrin@yahoo.com) or by sending a note to school with your child.

In addition, don’t forget to bookmark our website. It provides information such as the school calendar, activities, the enrichment program and events. As the year progresses we will add pictures of all the exciting activities that take place.

There are big and small ways to get involved – so come find out what’s going on and have a say in your school!

Thank you,
Alpa Bhas and Marilyn Ezrin