Just a reminder that HAUSER DIRECTORIES are available in the school office at a cost of $7.00 for those who forgot to pre-order. (If you pre-ordered the directory would have already been sent home with your oldest child.) As your purchase of a directory is inclusive of PTA membership you (or your child) will be asked to complete a PTA membership form. This form is also available on the PTA website should you choose to prepare it in advance.

If you haven’t already, please consider becoming a member of the Hauser PTA. For working parents’ convenience, all PTA meetings will be held in the evening this year. Attendance at these meetings is an excellent way to stay on top of what is happening at the school itself and in District 96. Please consider joining us! If you have any questions related to directories or PTA membership, please e-mail Lisa Vais at lisavais@sbcglobal.net.

The Hauser Student Directory is in its final stages!

The last day to submit your information will be Friday, September 11, 2009.

If you think you may have forgotten to submit the “Hauser Directory Form” (or want to make sure we have the correct information) – please contact Kathie Kunish via email: kskunish@speakeasy.net with your information for publication.

You may include all of the following information or whatever you feel necessary. Be sure to include the grade your child is in.

1) Student’s Name (as you would like it to appear in the directory)
2) Grade
3) Primary phone number (cell or home or both)
4) Home address & town
5) Parent/s names
6) Parent/s email

For those who have paid for PTA membership – you will automatically receive the directory, which will be distributed and sent home via student courier (backpacks). If you are interested in receiving the directory and still need to join: Please fill out the membership attachment and send it to the Hauser Office with $7.00. We will be sure you receive your membership and directory!

Please don’t forget to send the PTA forms to school on Tuesday with your Hauser student. The forms should be dropped off in the office in the PTA mailbox.

One of the most useful items provided by the Hauser PTA is our School Directory, which contains the contact information for all Hauser students. Unfortunately, the form that was included in the registration packet last spring was lacking some of the information needed for the Directory. PLEASE, download the form here, print it, and return it to the school office (PTA mailbox). Please submit this form even if you already returned the ”deficient” form.

One of the most useful items provided by the Hauser PTA is our School Directory, which contains the contact information for all Hauser students. Unfortunately, the form that was included in the registration packet last spring was lacking some of the information needed for the Directory. PLEASE, download the form here, print it, and return it to the school office (PTA mailbox) on or before the first day of school, which–in case you’ve forgotten–is August 25. Please submit this form even if you already returned the “deficient” form.

Last spring your student may have also brought home the form for you to order your Directory (in addition to the form to collect the contact information). If you can’t remember if you already ordered the Directory, please just submit another copy of the PTA membership form. (The Directory is included with your membership). Any duplicate payments will be returned, if necessary.

Confused? So are we. Just download the forms and return them to the office!

The executive board of the 2009-2010 Hauser PTA is excited about working with you to make this school year a successful and stimulating one for our students. Our kids deserve the support of everyone at home and school, and this year Hauser PTA will focus on helping to make this a reality by making it easier for everyone to participate in PTA.

We realize that traditionally, as children enter junior high, more stay-at-home parents head back to work. In our new, more difficult economy, this trend is becoming even more obvious. That’s why we’ve decided to hold our PTA meetings in the evenings and whenever we can, combine them with other Hauser events. We know your time is valuable and we’re hoping that this will make it easier for working parents to take part. We realize, too, that teachers are not able to participate in day-time meetings because they need to be with their classes. This seems unfair, as we are the Parent Teacher Association, and we should make it easier for our teachers to participate.

With parents and teachers communicating at PTA meetings, we can make sure that both our PTA dollars and the hours of our volunteers are being put to the best possible use to make Hauser Junior High a special place for our children, and that we are doing all that is possible to support their education.

But the PTA has always been able to raise money and find volunteers to do things, so why should you, in particular, join?

First, and most notably, your involvement in PTA sends a message to your child that school is important. All kinds of studies have shown that parent involvement at school has a positive effect on student performance.

Second, attending PTA meetings not only gives you first hand information, but also gives you a voice. As children get older, it gets harder and harder to get them to talk about school (or to hand over things that went into the backpack!). And whether they are talking or not, there are administrative details of which they are probably unaware. There are always administrators at our PTA meetings. They give reports as to what is happening in the district and are very good about answering parent questions and addressing concerns. Not only do you get great access to current information, but you bring the support and point of view that are uniquely yours to contribute.

Third, as your child moves from elementary school to middle school, their circle of friends widens. PTA is a great place to meet the parents of your children’s friends, and working on PTA projects with them gives you the opportunity to know them better. Many lasting friendships have been made through the PTA.

Your joining the PTA is a win/win/win situation for you, for the school, and most importantly, for your child. The membership dues are only $7, which goes a long way to support the many programs and events at Hauser. It also gets you the best book in town – the Hauser Student Directory. We’re hoping to give Hauser students 100% support by having 100% participation this year. Please come join us, everyone is welcome!

Sincerely,
Lisa Aulerich-Marciniak & Fran Sitkiewicz
Co-Presidents

If you have any questions please contact Lisa Marciniak or Fran Sitkiewicz.

Trying to access information on pta.org that requires a user name and password? Just plug in “local” for your user name and “benefits” for your password.

To date (9/15/2006), 322 out of 390 families at Hauser have joined PTA. This represents an 82% participation rate. Haven’t joined yet? It’s not too late. Please note that during the 2007-2008 school year state & national PTA dues have been paid by the Hauser PTA for all Hauser families.