Please join me for our next Parent Coffee, Tuesday, November 7 at 8:30 AM. You can stay for ten minutes or an hour, depending on your schedule. We’ll discuss Yardsticks: Child and Adolescent Development Ages 4 - 14, particularly as it pertains to Kindergarten students. Don’t worry if you haven’t had a chance to read the book. I’ll do a high-level summary for you. We’ll also preview parent conferences (Friday, November 17) and the Elementary Cooking Social on Tuesday, November 21.
Gearing up for the season of giving, there are three items I want to bring to your attention.
The first is our annual Cradles to Crayons drive, the week of December 4-8. This Torit tradition gathers donations in the form of tangible items for children in need. I’ll share more about the drive next week.
The second opportunity is our fundraising effort for the Torit Foundation. Your tax-deductible gift to the Torit Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, helps provide full and partial scholarships to bright and capable low-income students to experience a life-changing Montessori education. Since the Torit Foundation was established, it has provided more than $500,000 in scholarships to many wonderful students, and with your continued support, we look forward to providing additional scholarships in the years ahead. A solicitation will be forthcoming shortly, and we encourage you to give generously.
Third, expect contact from members of the Teacher Holiday Gift Committee. Our faculty is exceptional, and a collective gift for each member of the staff recognizes their commitment to your children and the school. Thanks to Ben and Gretchen Roin for chairing this effort.
Finally, I want to thank you for choosing Torit. As I get to know the students and families, it has been such a pleasure to learn about your hopes and dreams. There are fantastic families and children here, from our infants to our Upper Elementary students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. I’ve loved building relationships at morning drop off, during the school day, and after school. We share a love of learning (I’ve rarely worked at a school with a greater percentage of MDs, PhDs, JDs, and MBAs; welcome to Boston!) and high hopes and expectations for our children. As I work to build excellence into everything we do, thank you for your patience, wisdom, and support.