Welcome Back!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful first day of school! Since this is my first official newsletter, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself, especially to those who may not know me yet. My name is Patrick Johnsen, and I am excited to serve as the PTA President for the upcoming school year. I have a daughter in 2nd grade, and over the past two years, I’ve truly enjoyed being part of the Cunningham Park community. These newsletters will typically arrive on Sunday afternoons to help you prepare for the week ahead—and maybe even remind you if tomorrow is a spirit day (something my family has forgotten more than once!), and hopefully be shorter than this. My goal for the newsletter is to share what is coming up, highlight fun things the PTA has done, and let you know how we are using the budget.

We have a lot of exciting activities planned for this year, starting with a Pizza Party at the playground this Friday from 5–6 p.m.We’ll have a water bottle fill station available, so please remember to bring your own water bottle. During this event, we’ll also hold a PTA meeting to review our plans for the year, finalize the budget, and introduce everyone. The agenda will be posted on Thursday (assuming I can figure out how to put it on the website). Our second PTA meeting will be on September 29th at 7 p.m. in the library, where we’ll discuss specific school goals and how the PTA is supporting them. 

A huge thank you to our Hospitality Committee for organizing two wonderful meals for our teachers and staff. Your efforts made everyone feel truly welcomed back after the summer break.

Unfortunately, we were unable to find a volunteer to run the PTA-supported after-school programs for the fall, so they will not be held this session. We are currently exploring private companies to help fill this role, with the hope of offering a winter session. If you are interested in volunteering for the winter, please let me know, and I can share more details about what the role involves. There are two main responsibilities: organizing/registering the classes, and providing support with attendance and other needs after school on a daily basis when the activities are held. My Email is president@cpes-pta.org.

The best way to stay up-to-date on events, Dining for Dollars nights, and PTA meeting times is to subscribe to our school calendar. I’ve found it incredibly helpful over the past two years for keeping track of everything happening at Cunningham Park.

I’m looking forward to a fantastic year ahead and can’t wait to see everyone at the Pizza Party this Friday!