PTA Newsletter September 2013 Dear Parents, This first official PTA email has a slightly different format than the ones that will follow. Earlier this month, a new PTA board has been formed and we are ready for a great year together. We would like to take this opportunity to inform new, but also returning parents, about the role of the PTA at ISL and its goals. WHO IS WHO? The new PTA executive committee consists of: Lonneke Timmerman: President (children in grade 3: Julie and 6: Coen) Signe Friis: Vice President (children in SKG: Oscar, 4: Carl and 7: Clara) Francesca Allen: Secretary (children in grade 3: Filippo and 7: Giorgiana) Nievez Lopez-Loriente : Treasurer (children in grade 2: Kimi and 7: Luka) Beside the executive committee, the extended PTA committee consists of coordinators for the specific functions, who you will find further down the document. ROLE OF PTA The PTA aims to; promote the integration of the home, community and school and provide support to parents and staff members. support school goals through volunteer service, fundraising activities and enhanced educational opportunities for students. provides a channel of communication between parents and the school; provide a forum for discussion of important issues and, where appropriate, inform the school administration and board of the opinions of the members of the association (the constitution will be available on the ISL website under the PTA tab). Last year, the PTA raised money for 2 new smart boards, a play structure for the lower primary classes, and an automatic gate and camera at the school entrance. Except from the play structure the rest has already been put in place. The new PTA will follow up on the play structure and make sure that a suitable solution is found. At upcoming PTA meetings we will discuss new goals. We will regularly inform you about the status of these goals and how much money needs to be raised. The PTA organization looks as follows below; 1
PTA Crossing Patrol Library Publications Welcome Fundraising and Events 2
THE EXTENDED COMMITEES CROSSING PATROL Coordinator : Miruna Barabas We would like to stress once more the importance of having parent helpers for the crossing patrol. Since the beginning of the school year, there has already been two very dangerous situations where the safety of your children was at stake. Volunteers usually sign up for one morning or afternoon per week, which takes up only 20 minutes of your time. Please contact Miruna if you would like to help us. Your help is much appreciated! WELCOME COMMITTEE Coordinator: Angela Wray At the beginning of this year, even before school started, the welcome committee has done a great job in making new parents feel at home. We had a picnic in Parc de la Tete d Or just before school started to get to know new people and have at least one familiar face on the first day at school! Another event which has been very successful was the Welcome BBQ on September 14th.We had great weather, the burgers were perfectly cooked and there were lots of new families who took this opportunity to meet other ISL families. PUBLICATIONS - Coordinator: Erica della Bella Yearbook: Erica Della Bella The school yearbook is a book that the ISL publishes to commemorate and highlight the events occurred during the schooling year. In the yearbook many topics are covered such as activities undertaken by students, trips abroad, sporting, major school events and extra-curricular activities. The whole is enriched by a great collection of photos and colorful drawings. Every year a different theme inspires content and design elements of the annual. Each student is entitled to get a copy and most of them enjoy getting their yearbooks signed by friends and teachers. Yearbooks promote a sense of school pride and unity, they allow students to recollect their favourite school memories and their friends. A yearbook serves as a memory book too. Website: Craig Stevens The PTA and school is working on a private area where you can log in with a password and see specific information on PTA events and activities. This way, we try to reduce the number of PTA emails to be sent out. It also serves as a backup for sent messages so you can always check the website for updates and events. We will inform you as soon as possible. Welcome book: Erika Della Bella The welcome book is an essential toolkit for new families arriving in Lyon. It contains practical tips about life in France (how to write a cheque, how to open a bank account, what insurance is needed, etc.), but also a list of English speaking professional services in the area ( medical specialists, organizations etc.). We are currently reviewing the welcome book. A printed version is available at the school s office at Mrs. Chuong. LIBRARY - The library is very important for our children s learning and the library is extensively used during school hours. However, it is important that parents can help now and then especially just before and just after the end of the school day. At present there is no coordinator for this committee. We are 3
also looking for more volunteers. If you are interested please contact the PTA. FUNDRAISING AND EVENTS Coordinators Claire O Connell & Karen Quigley Like last year, the PTA will organize two big fundraising events this year. The Winter Fête will be held on December 14th 2013 and the Spring Fête on March 22nd 2014. These events are a fantastic opportunity to raise money for the PTA. There will be various food stands, possibilities for parent entrepreneurs to sell their products (e.g. jewelry, organic clothing, home-made cookies, etc.), games and fantastic raffles with nice prizes. PIZZA Coordinator Corina Sarb Once or twice a month on Fridays, PTA organizes a pizza sale for all students. We need 4 volunteers each pizza sale to make this event work. Please contact Corina if you wish to help out! NEW COMMITTEES The various PTA committees exist solely by the support of volunteers. Feel free to contact us for new ideas or fundraising opportunities; it could be possible to regroup existing committees or add new ones. OTHER ACTIVITIES Within the ISL community there are lots of other activities happening. Some events will be on a specific date, some will be held every week. In the upcoming newsletters PTA will inform of these other activities with dates and names of the responsible person, however PTA will not be involved in planning and implementations of these activities. Wine Tasting You cannot live in the Rhone Valley without having tasted some great wines! There will be two different types of tastings coming soon, see below. The 1st wine tasting on Friday October 11 is being offered by Shannon Tesseyre with From Vine to Wine. http://www.fromvinetowinelyon.com/collections/privateevents/products/international-school-of-lyon-wine-tasting. She will present in English for the ISL group. The presentation will feature Rhone Valley wines and will include a small selection of hors d'hoeuvres. Rhone Valley Wine Tasting American Club Lyon, 5 rue Pizay, 69001 Lyon Friday, October 11, 2013. 19:00-21:00PM 35 per person/ 60 per couple Presented by Shannon Tesseyre For more details and to register for this event go to: http://www.fromvinetowinelyon.com/collections/privateevents/products/international-school-of-lyon-wine-tasting (Private Event for International School of Lyon) The 2nd wine tasting on Friday November 8 is a tasting at a local vineyard. Frederic has agreed to present a wine Tasting at his Caveau / Vineyard.He will provide a presentation in English.There is no fee for this event, however there is an expectation to buy 4
some wine.there are some award winning wines from his Caveau and his prices are very reasonable. Rsvp required so that he can plan for the proper number of people attending. Wine tasting Coteaux Lyonnais November 8, 2013 19:00 PM Domaine du Clos St. Marc 60 Route des Fontaines 69440 Taluyers http://www.clos-st-marc.com/ Please contact Angela Wray (angwray@icloud.com) for more info on the wine tasting events. Hiking Clubs At this moment there are two hiking clubs, one on weekdays and one on Sundays for the whole family. They are both very popular. It is a beautiful healthy way of meeting other parents and discovering the beautiful Rhone-Alps region. Thursday hiking club This is an informal walking club every second Thursday. We leave after drop off- car sharing from school- next hike this semester Thursday the 10th of October. We usually do a walk around 5-10 kilometers, trying to experience different areas around Lyon. Of course the walk usually is followed by a nice lunch! Please contact Anna Velin (annavelin1@gmail.com, 06 01 24 72 29) if you want to join. Sunday hiking club This is a hiking club for the whole family and takes place on Sundays. The first hike will take place on October Sunday 13th. Please contact Iris or Alexander Hammers (ihammers@rocketmail.com, 06 69 69 69 92) for more details and location. Book Club There is an english language book club currently running made up of ISL mothers and a couple of other book lovers. We read books written by a diverse range of authors from different countries that are available in English format. Meetings are held once a month at members homes in the Lyon area. Our first read this year is the much acclaimed book, Bonjour Tristesse by the French author Francoise Sagan, available through Amazon u.k A few very valuable members had to leave us last year so we would love to see some new faces. If you are interested in joining us please send an email at rachelepitman@sky.com for further details. Traboules Traboules (from Latin transambulare via vulgar Latin trabulare meaning "to cross") are a type of passageway primarily associated with the city of Lyon. They were originally used by silk manufacturers and other merchants to transport their products. The traboules are a must-see when living in Lyon. We will set up a few dates where you can sign up for a guided tour in English and French. Costs depend on the number of participants but will be between 5,- and 10,- euro p.p. Please contact Estelle Lavost (estelle.lavost@gmail.com)for more details. Dates will come up soon. 5
French classes: We are in the process of organizing this. Updates will follow soon! Yoga classes Iyengar Yoga classes taught by certified Iyengar Yoga teacher Morning classes for groups or individual. Contact: Francesca Allen 06 84 17 31 54 Frasia8@gmail.com Franco-Anglo family exchange We were contacted by a family member of an ISL family in Lyon. She is french and has 2 daughters of 12 and 14. She proposes to set up an exchange (one day per week) between her and an english speaking family in order to improve language skills for her daughters and to discover the francoanglo lifestyles. Contact: Lonneke Timmerman 06-19 49 44 83 lonneke_timmerman@hotmail.com Best regards, The PTA executive committee Lonneke, Signe, Francesca and Nievez 6