November 2022

Giving Thanks

​With Thanksgiving around the corner, it’s a great time to stop and express gratitude for all we have around us. For me, I’m always grateful for the basics - having food and a safe and warm place to call home, as well as the health of my family and friends.

I’m also very grateful for this community: to all the staff and teachers for keeping the school running, teaching my kids so much, and of course putting on another awesome Harvest Fest! I'd also like to say thank you to all the parents of this community, especially all the board members who volunteer their time to show up and create programs for all of us to enjoy, despite whatever crazy things are happening in their personal lives. And of course, a BIG thank you to all the families that have contributed to the SEED campaign! We know that it’s been a tough year with record high inflation and economic uncertainty, so we definitely appreciate anything that families were able to give!

The PA board is as invigorated as ever to support our community. With the parent survey and SEED campaign now complete (see below for results), we’re focusing our efforts on the most popular programs. And if you missed the survey or ever have any suggestions for the board, feel free to let any board member know or contact us at any time. We love hearing new ideas or feedback for improvement. 

Wishing everyone a safe and happy season of thanks!

With gratitude,
Jessica Lin
President, MCH Parent Association

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Reminder! Parent Association Annual Meeting
You (yes, you!) are a member of the MCH Parent Association and you are welcome and encouraged to join us for our annual meeting. This short get together will provide members of the Parent Association an opportunity to review the previous year’s financial report and learn about the current year’s budget and board priorities. The meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 14th, from 7:30 PM to 7:45 PM. Contact us for Zoom details. We hope you can join us!

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2022 SEED Fundraiser Results
 Thank you to all who donated to the 2022 SEED fundraising campaign. Together, we raised $24,825! While we did not meet our goal, every gift helps us continue our mission of supporting the MCH community. And even though the campaign is over, it’s never too late to donate! We know a lot of companies run giving campaigns in November and December, so please consider the PA if this is available to you. Your gift helps fund special events, extracurricular activities, professional development of our teachers and staff, classroom enrichment materials, and tuition assistance.  
 
Did you decide not to give this year? We’d love to know why! We were further off our goal mark than we expected, so we’d love your anonymous feedback via this survey so that we may improve our communication in future campaigns. 

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2022 Parent Survey Results
Many thanks to everyone who completed this year's Parent Survey! We received great feedback, ideas, and even heard from folks looking to get involved with the Parent Association. We have already begun putting this data to work, guiding the direction of both our programming and spending this academic year. Here's a brief summary of the results. The MCH community:

• Is most interested in events centered around camping/hiking, family game nights, and community service.
• Ranked staff professional development, extracurricular student activities, and classroom enrichment material at the top in terms of where they like to see the PA direct their spending.
• Would like to see both program level and school-wide events that are in-person (either indoors or outside), a few times a year, with the weekend being the best time for getting together.

If you'd like to take a look at upcoming Parent Association events, please visit the MCH Parent Association calendar.

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Harvest Fest Wrap-Up
 Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello at our Harvest Fest pumpkin patch!  We certainly enjoyed seeing all of the smiles and costumes and hearing the conversations around pumpkin decorating. A thank you as well to our community partners, Muddy Boots Farm, Sinnema Farm, and Metropolitan Market Sammamish for helping make the pumpkin patch a huge success.  Still have uncarved pumpkins at home?  Here are some warming recipes for these breezy, cool Autumn Days: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (for children over 3 years old) and Pumpkin Soup (for the whole family).

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Save the Date for the Next Book Club
 Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first book club of the year this week!  Our next online gathering will be January 19, 2023 @ 7:30 pm via Zoom.  Mark your calendar now and watch for details in our December newsletter!